19164 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

Dated: Issued on: March 23, 2012. 

Christopher J. Bonanti, 

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7623 Filed 3–27–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

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. 

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: 

• 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. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Margo Schulze-Haugen, 1315 East-West 

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

• 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 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALSEP30MR12.002</GPH>
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Proposed Rules 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 MagnusonStevens 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 MagnusonStevens Act. 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). 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

Date Time Meeting locations Address 

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 Marriot Frenchman’s Reef Marriott 5 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 

Agricola.

2440 Avenida Las Americas, Ste. 208, Centro Gubernamental, 

Ponce, PR 00717–2111. 

May 10, 2012 ....................... 6–9 p.m ....... Universidad de Puerto 

Rico.

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, Physics Building, 

Room 310, Mayaguez, PR 00680. 

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] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 100812344–2165–01] 

RIN 0648–AY74 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery Off the Southern 

Atlantic States; Amendment 20A 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to 

implement Amendment 20A 

(Amendment 20A) to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic 

Region (FMP) as prepared and 

submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council). If 

implemented, this rule would revise the 

wreckfish individual transferable quota 

(ITQ) program, by defining and 

reverting inactive wreckfish quota 

shares, redistributing reverted quota 

shares to remaining shareholders, 

establishing a cap on the number of 

wreckfish quota shares a single entity 

may own, and establishing an appeals 

process for redistribution of reverted 

wreckfish quota shares. The intent of 

this rule is to help achieve the optimum 

yield (OY) from the wreckfish 

commercial sector in accordance with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before April 30, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the amendment identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2011–0277’’ by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic submissions: Submit 

electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Nikhil Mehta, Southeast 

Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

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.) 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS