15276 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 54 / Monday, March 21, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 110210132–1133–01] 

RIN 0648–BA65 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quotas and 

Atlantic Tuna Fisheries Management 

Measures; Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: On March 14, 2011, NMFS 

published a proposed rule to modify 

Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) base quotas 

for all domestic fishing categories; 

establish BFT quota specifications for 

the 2011 fishing year; reinstate pelagic 

longline target catch requirements for 

retaining BFT in the Northeast Distant 

Gear Restricted Area (NED); amend the 

Atlantic tunas possession at sea and 

landing regulations to allow removal of 

Atlantic tunas tail lobes; and clarify the 

transfer at sea regulations for Atlantic 

tunas. This action is necessary to 

implement recommendations of the 

International Commission for the 

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), 

as required by the Atlantic Tunas 

Convention Act (ATCA), and to achieve 

domestic management objectives under 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). In the 

proposed rule, NMFS announced the 

end of the comment period as April 14, 

2011, which would allow an 

approximately 30-day comment period. 

In order to provide additional 

opportunities for the public and other 

interested parties to comment on the 

proposed rule, NMFS is extending the 

comment period for this action until 

April 28, 2011, allowing a 45-day 

comment period. Comments received by 

NMFS on the proposed rule will help 

NMFS determine whether and how to 

implement final management measures 

for the BFT and Atlantic tuna fisheries 

as described in the proposed action. In 

addition, NMFS has rescheduled the 

public hearing that was originally 

scheduled for March 21, 2011, 3 to 5 

p.m., in Gloucester, MA. NMFS has 

rescheduled the public hearing to be 

held on April 1, 2011, 1 to 3 p.m. at the 

same location. 

DATES: The deadline for comments on 

the proposed rule regarding BFT quotas 

and Atlantic tuna fishery management 

measures has been extended from April 

14, 2011, as published on March 14, 

2011 (76 FR 13583), to April 28, 2011. 

The public hearing that was originally 

scheduled for March 21, 2011, in 

Gloucester, MA, has been rescheduled 

for April 1, 2011. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for further details. 

ADDRESSES: As published on March 14, 

2011 (76 FR 13583), you may submit 

comments, identified by ‘‘0648–BA65’’, 

by any one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov 

• Fax: 978–281–9340, Attn: Sarah 

McLaughlin 

• Mail: Sarah McLaughlin, Highly 

Migratory Species Management 

Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries 

(F/SF1), NMFS, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930 

• Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter 

N/A in the required fields, if you wish 

to remain anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. To be 

considered, electronic comments must 

be submitted via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Do not submit 

electronic comments to individual 

NMFS staff. 

Supporting documents, including the 

draft Environmental Assessment, 

Regulatory Impact Review, and Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, are 

available by sending your request to 

Sarah McLaughlin at the mailing 

address specified above. These 

documents and others, such as the 

Fishery Management Plans described 

below, also may be downloaded from 

the HMS Web site at http:// 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/. 

The location of the rescheduled 

public hearing in Gloucester, MA, 

remains as follows: NMFS, 55 Great 

Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for further 

details. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, 

978–281–9260. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic 

bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore tuna, 

yellowfin tuna, and skipjack tuna 

(hereafter referred to as ‘‘Atlantic tunas’’) 

are managed under the dual authority of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. 

ATCA authorizes the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) to promulgate 

regulations, as may be necessary and 

appropriate, to implement ICCAT 

recommendations. The authority to 

issue regulations under the MagnusonStevens Act and ATCA has been 

delegated from the Secretary to the 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

NOAA (AA). 

In the proposed rule, NMFS 

announced the end of the comment 

period as April, 14, 2011. NMFS has 

received several comments requesting a 

15-day extension of the comment 

period. NMFS has determined that it is 

reasonable to extend the comment 

period to allow additional opportunities 

for public comment, and is extending 

the comment period until April 28, 

2011. These comments will assist NMFS 

in determining final management 

measures to conserve and manage the 

Atlantic tunas fisheries, consistent with 

the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, ATCA, and 

other applicable law. 

Need for Correction 

This Gloucester, MA, public hearing, 

originally scheduled for March 21, 2011, 

has been rescheduled to April 1, 2011, 

to provide additional advance notice of 

the hearing and allow attendees 

additional time to prepare their 

comments prior to the hearing. In the 

proposed rule that published March 14, 

2011 (76 FR 13583): 

1. On page 13583, in the second 

column, the date and time of the first 

public hearing listed under the heading 

DATES should be corrected to read as 

follows: 

‘‘1. April 1, 2011, 1 to 3 p.m., 

Gloucester, MA.’’ 

2. On page 13588, in the first column, 

the first paragraph under the heading 

‘‘Request for Comments’’ should be 

corrected to read as follows: 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 54 / Monday, March 21, 2011 / Proposed Rules 15277 

‘‘NMFS solicits comments on this 

proposed rule through April 28, 2011. 

See instructions in ADDRESSES section 

above. NMFS intends to add additional 

hearings to allow for additional 

opportunities for public comment. 

NMFS will announce the dates and 

locations of those hearings in a future 

notice.’’ 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: March 16, 2011. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–6563 Filed 3–16–11; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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