9210 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 16, 2011 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA214 

Draft NOAA National Aquaculture 

Policy 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft 

aquaculture policy; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NOAA is seeking public 

comment on a draft national 

aquaculture policy that supports 

sustainable marine aquaculture in the 

United States. The intent of the policy 

is to guide NOAA’s actions and 

decisions on aquaculture and to provide 

a national approach for supporting 

sustainable aquaculture. The NOAA 

Aquaculture Program will host national 

call-in briefings on the policy for the 

public. 

DATES: Public comments must be 

received by midnight, EST, April 11, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: The NOAA draft national 

aquaculture policy is available online at: 

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/

policy2/index.htm. Paper copies of this 

document are also available on request 

from NOAA Aquaculture Program, Attn: 

Susan Bunsick, 1315 East-West 

Highway, SSMC#3–13th Floor, Rm. 

13152, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

You may submit comments, identified 

by ‘‘NOAA Aquaculture Policy,’’ by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments online by 

accessing http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/

aquaculture/policy2/index.htm and 

following the instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Fax: (301) 713–9108, Attn: Susan 

Bunsick, NOAA Aquaculture Program. 

• Mail: NOAA Aquaculture Program, 

Attn: Susan Bunsick, 1315 East-West 

Highway, SSMC#3–13th Floor, Rm. 

13152, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Mark 

the outside of the envelope, ‘‘Comments 

on NOAA Aquaculture Policy.’’ 

Instructions: All comments received 

will be posted online. Do not submit 

confidential business information or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. All comments and 

attachments will be reviewed based on 

the commenting guidelines listed below. 

If you have a question about the status 

of your comment, send an email to 

NOAA.Aquaculture@noaa.gov. Do not 

submit comments to this e-mail address. 

Use the comment form provided on line. 

Commenting Guidelines. In 

accordance with NOAA’s Online 

Privacy Policy, we treat your name, city, 

state, and any comments you provide as 

public information. You may enter a 

comment as ‘anonymous’ if you do not 

want this information available to the 

public. Also, supporting documents, 

links, etc., are welcome as long as they 

are pertinent to the policy. However, the 

appearance of external links, 

advertisements, political opinions, or 

other comments do not constitute 

endorsement by NOAA or that of the 

U.S. Government. 

While this is a public process, NOAA 

will not post content that meets the 

following criteria: 

Contains vulgar language, personal 

attacks of any kind, threats, obscenity, 

or offensive terms that target specific 

ethnic or racial groups; 

Promotes services or products (noncommercial links that are relevant to the 

comment are acceptable); 

Are far off-topic (i.e., not pertinent to 

the draft policy); or 

Make unsupported accusations. 

You may submit attachments to 

electronic comments in Microsoft Word, 

Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 

formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Bunsick, NOAA Aquaculture 

Program, (301) 713–9079; fax: (301) 

713–9108. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The draft NOAA Aquaculture Policy 

provides guidance for NOAA’s actions 

regarding the development of all forms 

of marine aquaculture, from shellfish 

farming and habitat restoration to the 

culture of marine fish and algae on land 

and offshore. The policy provides a 

national approach for supporting 

sustainable commercial production, 

expanding restoration aquaculture, and 

researching and developing new 

technologies, and is part of NOAA’s 

national approach to sustainable 

seafood, which encompasses both 

aquaculture and capture fisheries. The 

draft policy features: 

• A reaffirmation of the importance of 

aquaculture. 

• An overarching policy statement to 

guide agency actions. 

• A set of updated agency priorities to 

implement the policy through initiatives 

in four areas: 

Æ Science and research 

Æ Regulation 

Æ Innovation, partnerships and 

outreach and 

Æ International cooperation 

• Detailed principles for aquaculture 

in federal waters. 

The draft policy responds to public 

input submitted to NOAA at the 

listening sessions held in 2010, by 

emphasizing the protection of wild 

species, acknowledging the importance 

of sound science, and taking other 

suggestions into account. It also affirms 

that sustainable U.S. marine aquaculture 

is vital to the U.S. seafood supply, the 

economic vitality of coastal 

communities, and the maintenance of 

working waterfronts. 

Informational Briefings for the Public 

The NOAA Aquaculture Program will 

host a series of informational briefings 

for stakeholders interested in learning 

more about the draft policy. The 

briefings are as follows: 

Feb. 16, 2011 

10–11 a.m. (Eastern) 

Call-in—800–369–1823, Passcode: 

Aquaculture. 

4–5 p.m. (Eastern) 

Call-in #—800–369–1823, Passcode: 

Aquaculture. 

Feb. 23, 2011 

10–11:a.m. (Eastern) 

Call-in #—800–369–1823, Passcode: 

Aquaculture. 

4—5 p.m. (Eastern) 

Call-in #—800–369–1823, Passcode: 

Aquaculture. 

Dated: February 10, 2011. 

Eric C. Schwaab, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–3424 Filed 2–15–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Draft DOC National Aquaculture Policy 

AGENCY: Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft 

aquaculture policy; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce 

(DOC) is seeking public comment on a 

draft national aquaculture policy that 

supports sustainable aquaculture in the 

United States. The intent of the policy 

is to guide DOC’s actions and decisions 

on aquaculture and to provide a 

national approach for supporting 

sustainable aquaculture. The National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) within the 


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