[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19164-19165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7713]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 600 and 635

RIN 0648-XB121


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2006 Consolidated Highly 
Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 4

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: On March 16, 2012, NMFS published a proposed rule for a 
fishery management plan (FMP) amendment modifying the regulations 
governing the Federal small-scale HMS fisheries in the U.S. Caribbean, 
and announced that public hearings would be scheduled in a future 
notice. In this notice, NMFS is announcing public hearings in St. 
Croix, United States Virgin Islands (USVI) St. Thomas, USVI, San Juan, 
Puerto Rico (PR), Ponce, PR, and Mayaguez, PR, in order to provide 
greater opportunity for public comment on the proposed rule. Public 
comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before June 14, 
2012.

DATES: Public hearings for Amendment 4 to the 2006 Consolidated Highly 
Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) will be held from 
April through May 2012. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for meeting 
dates, times, and locations.

ADDRESSES: As published on March 16, 2012 (77 FR 15701), written 
comments on this action may be submitted, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2012-
0053, by any one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Electronic submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 
first click the ``submit a comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2012-
0053 in the keyword search. Locate the document you wish to comment on 
from the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on 
the right of that line.
    <bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to Margo Schulze-Haugen, 
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
    <bullet> Fax: 301-713-1917; Attn: Margo Schulze-Haugen.
    Instructions: All comments received are part of the public record 
and generally will be posted to portal http://www.regulations.gov 
without

[[Page 19165]]

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). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted 
in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats 
only.
    Supporting documents, including the 2012 Environmental Assessment, 
Regulatory Impact Review, and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, as 
well as others, such as the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management 
Plans may be downloaded from the HMS Web site at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/. These documents also are available by calling Greg Fairclough or 
Randy Blankinship at 727-824-5399.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Fairclough or Randy Blankinship 
at 727-824-5399.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic tunas and swordfish are managed 
under the dual authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Atlantic Tuna 
Conventions Act (ATCA), which authorizes the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) to promulgate regulations as may be necessary and 
appropriate to implement recommendations of ICCAT. Federal Atlantic 
shark fisheries are managed under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act. The authority to issue regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
and ATCA has been delegated from the Secretary to the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA). On May 28, 1999, NMFS published 
in the Federal Register (64 FR 29090) final regulations, effective July 
1, 1999, implementing the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, 
Swordfish, and Sharks (1999 FMP). On October 2, 2006, NMFS published in 
the Federal Register (71 FR 58058) final regulations, effective 
November 1, 2006, implementing the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, which 
details the management measures for Atlantic HMS fisheries, including 
the HMS handgear fishery.
    In a proposed rule published on March 16, 2012 (77 FR 15701), NMFS 
indicated that dates and locations for public hearings on the proposed 
action would be published in the Federal Register at a later date. In 
this notice, NMFS announces that it will hold six public hearings (see 
Table 1 for meeting dates, times, and locations). These hearings, in 
addition to written comment collected via the methods described above, 
will allow NMFS to collect public comments on the proposed rule, which 
will assist NMFS in determining the final action for Amendment 4 to the 
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
ATCA, and other applicable laws.

                           Table 1--Dates, Times, and Locations of Six Public Hearings
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               Date                          Time            Meeting locations                Address
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April 10, 2012....................  6-9 p.m..............  Buccaneer Hotel......  5007 Estate Shoys,
                                                                                   Christiansted, VI 00820.
April 11, 2012....................  8 a.m................  Buccaneer Hotel......  5007 Estate Shoys,
                                                                                   Christiansted, VI 00820.
April 12, 2012....................  6-9 p.m..............  Frenchman's Reef       Frenchman's Reef Marriott 5
                                                            Marriot.               Estate Bakkeroe, St. Thomas,
                                                                                   USVI 00801.
May 8, 2012.......................  3-5 p.m..............  Ateneo Puertorriqueno  Biblioteca del Ateneo
                                                                                   Puertorriqueno, Avenida
                                                                                   Constitucion, Parada 2, Viejo
                                                                                   San Juan, San Juan PR 00901.
May 9, 2012.......................  2-5 p.m..............  Servicio de Extension  2440 Avenida Las Americas,
                                                            Agricola.              Ste. 208, Centro
                                                                                   Gubernamental, Ponce, PR
                                                                                   00717-2111.
May 10, 2012......................  6-9 p.m..............  Universidad de Puerto  University of Puerto Rico,
                                                            Rico.                  Mayaguez Campus, Physics
                                                                                   Building, Room 310, Mayaguez,
                                                                                   PR 00680.
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    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: March 27, 2012.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-7713 Filed 3-27-12; 4:15 pm]
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