7994 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 35 / Friday, February 21, 1997 / Proposed Rules

with, a collection of information subject

to the requirements of the PRA, unless

that collection displays a currently valid

OMB Control Number.

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of E.O. 12866.

The Assistant General Counsel for

Legislation and Regulation of the

Department of Commerce certified to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration that this

proposed rule, if adopted, would not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities as

follows.

This change constitutes a minor regulatory

amendment needed to reinforce the intended

purpose of the 6–hour prior notice of

landing. The current regulations do not

require, as was intended, fishermen to make

the landing at the time scheduled in the Prior

Notice; they are restricted only from making

the landing before 6 hours have elapsed since

the Prior Notice was given. This action

would define the length of time within which

a 6–hour prior notice is valid and require that

fishermen land IFQ species at the time

specified in the prior notice or within 2

hours after the specified time.

The estimate of the reporting burden

associated with the prior notice of landing is

.2 hours and $2.00 per response, as described

in the Supporting Statement for Collection of

Information submitted for OMB authorization

of the IFQ Program (OMB control number

0648–0272). NMFS expects instances when a

vessel operator inadvertently miscalculates

the expected time of landing and thus needs

to submit an additional prior notice to be

relatively infrequent. Hence, the economic

impact of this rule would not be significant.

Therefore, a regulatory flexibility

analysis was not prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR 679

Fisheries, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: February 13, 1997.

Nancy Foster

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR Part 679 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF

ALASKA

1. The authority citation for part 679

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et

seq.

2. In § 679.5, paragraph (l)(1)(i)(B) is

revised and paragraph (l)(1)(i)(D) is

added to read as follows:

§ 679.5 Recordkeeping and reporting.

* * * * *

(l) * * *

(1) * * *

(i) * * *

(B) Notification must include: Name

of the registered buyer(s) to whom the

IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish will be

landed and the location of the landing;

vessel identification; estimated weight

of the IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish that

will be landed; identification number(s)

of the IFQ card(s) that will be used to

land the IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish;

and the date and time that the landing

will take place.

* * * * *

(D) The operator of any vessel wishing

to land IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish

before the date and time reported in the

prior notice or later than 2 hours after

the date and time reported in the prior

notice must submit a new prior notice

of IFQ landing in compliance with the

provisions set forth in paragraphs

(l)(1)(i)(A) through (C) of this section.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–4263 Filed 2–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 697

[I.D. 021197A]

RIN 0648–AH58

Atlantic Weakfish Fisheries; Public

Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public hearings;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS will hold three public

hearings to receive comments from

fishery participants and other members

of the public regarding proposed

regulations on the harvest and

possession of weakfish in the exclusive

economic zone of the Atlantic Ocean

from Maine through Florida.

DATES: Written comments on the

proposed rule and supporting

documents (Draft Supplemental

Environmental Impact Statement and

Regulatory Impact Review (DSEIS/RIR)

must be received on or before March 17,

1997. The public hearings will be held

during the month of March. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for dates

and times of the public hearings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Richard H. Schaefer, Chief,

Staff Office of Intergovernmental and

Recreational Fisheries (Fx2), National

Marine Fisheries Service, 8484 Georgia

Avenue, Suite 425, Silver Spring, MD

20910. Clearly mark the outside of the

envelope ‘‘Atlantic Weakfish

Comments.’’ The public hearings will be

held in New Jersey, Delaware, and

North Carolina. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for the public hearing

locations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas Meyer/Paul Perra, 301–427–

2014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

proposed regulations are necessary to be

compatible with rules already

implemented by the coastal states

through the Atlantic States Marine

Fisheries Commission’s Amendment 3

to the Interstate Fishery Management

Plan for Weakfish, and to ensure the

rebuilding of the weakfish stock along

the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

A complete description of the

measures, and the purpose and need for

the proposed action, is contained in the

proposed rule published on February

14, 1997 (62 FR 6935) and is not

repeated here. Copies of the proposed

rule may be obtained by writing (see

ADDRESSES) or calling the contact person

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

To accommodate people unable to

attend a hearing or wishing to provide

additional comments, NMFS also

solicits written comments on the

proposed rule.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 35 / Friday, February 21, 1997 / Proposed Rules 7995

The public hearings will be held as

follows:

Tuesday, March 4, 1997, Cape May

Court House, NJ 7–9 p.m.

Rutgers’ Cooperative Extension Office

355 South Dennis/Court House Road

(Route 657)

Cape May Court House, NJ 08210

Thursday, March 6, 1997, Manteo,

NC, 7–9 p.m.

North Carolina Aquarium

Airport Road

Manteo, NC 27954

Monday, March 10, 1997, Dover, DE,

7:30–9 p.m.

Department of Natural Resources

Environmental Control Auditorium

89 Kings Highway

Dover, DE 19903

The purpose of this document is to

alert the interested public of hearings

and provide for public participation.

These hearings are physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to

Thomas Meyer by February 25, 1997

(see ADDRESSES).

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–4349 Filed 2–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F