Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 17, 2012 / Proposed Rules 22753 

Public Involvement 

Scoping is an early and open process 

for determining the scope of issues, 

alternatives, and impacts to be 

addressed in an EIS, and for identifying 

the significant issues related to the 

proposed action. A principal objective 

of the scoping and public involvement 

process is to identify a range of 

reasonable management alternatives 

that, with adequate analysis, will 

delineate critical issues and provide a 

clear basis for distinguishing among 

those alternatives and selecting a 

preferred alternative. Through this 

notice, NMFS is notifying the public 

that an EIS and decision-making process 

for this proposed action have been 

initiated so that interested or affected 

people may participate and contribute 

to the final decision. 

NMFS is seeking written public 

comments on the scope of issues, 

potential impacts, and alternatives that 

should be considered for the Steller sea 

lion protection measures. Written 

comments will be accepted at the 

address above (see ADDRESSES). Written 

comments should be as specific as 

possible to be the most helpful. Written 

comments received during the scoping 

process, including the names and 

addresses of those submitting them, will 

be considered part of the public record 

for this proposal and will be available 

for public inspection. 

The public is invited to participate at 

the Council and any Steller Sea Lion 

Mitigation Committee meetings where 

the latest scientific information 

regarding Steller sea lions and fisheries 

interactions with the BSAI groundfish 

fisheries is reviewed and alternative 

Steller sea lion protection measures may 

be developed and evaluated. During the 

scoping period, and in conjunction with 

the October 2012 Council meeting, a 

public meeting will be held where this 

proposed action and alternatives, issues, 

and potential impacts will be discussed. 

The public may participate by 

submitting written comments or by 

testifying at these public meetings. 

Notice of future Council and Steller Sea 

Lion Mitigation Committee meetings, 

and any other public meetings where 

these issues will be discussed, will be 

published in the Federal Register and 

posted on the Internet at http:// 

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/ 

sustainablefisheries/sslpm/eis/. Please 

visit this Web site for more information 

on this EIS and for guidance on 

submitting effective public comments. 

Dated: April 12, 2012. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9244 Filed 4–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

RIN 0648–BB42 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska and Pacific Halibut 

Fisheries; Observer Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public hearings. 

SUMMARY: NMFS will publish a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register to 

restructure the funding and deployment 

system for observers in North Pacific 

groundfish and halibut fisheries via 

Amendment 86 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (BSAI FMP) and 

Amendment 76 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP). The public 

comment period for the subject 

proposed rule will close 60 days after 

date of publication of the proposed rule 

in the Federal Register. We will hold 

public hearings to receive oral and 

written comments on the proposed 

regulations during the public comment 

period. 

DATES: The meetings will be held in 

April and May, 2012. For specific dates 

and times, see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held 

in Seattle, WA, Newport, OR, and 

Juneau, AK. For specific locations, see 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

You may submit written comments, 

identified by FDMS Docket Number 

NOAA–NMFS–2011–0210, by any one 

of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at 

http://www.regulations.gov. To submit 

comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 

first click the ‘‘Submit a Comment’’ 

icon, then enter NOAA–NMFS–2011– 

0210 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: Address written comments to 

Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. 

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

• Fax: Address written comments to 

Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. Fax comments to 907– 

586–7557. 

• Hand delivery to the Federal 

Building: Address written comments to 

Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. Deliver comments to 

709 West 9th Street, Room 420A, 

Juneau, AK. 

• Hand delivery to NMFS at one of 

the public hearings listed in this notice. 

Comments must be submitted by one 

of the above methods to ensure that the 

comments are received, documented, 

and considered by NMFS. Comments 

sent by any other method, to any other 

address or individual, or received after 

the end of the comment period, may not 

be considered. 

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 (e.g., name, address) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

will 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, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

portable document file (pdf) formats 

only. 

Electronic copies of the proposed rule 

to implement Amendment 86 to the 

BSAI FMP and Amendment 76 to the 

GOA FMP and the Environmental 

Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/ 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(EA/RIR/IRFA) prepared for this action 

may be obtained from http:// 

www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS 

Alaska Region Web site at http:// 

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. 

A copy of the proposed rule that will 

be published in the Federal Register is 

available on NMFS Alaska Region’s Web 

page (http:// 

www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/ 

sustainablefisheries/observers/ 

default.htm). 


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22754 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 17, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brandee Gerke, (907) 586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

will publish a proposed rule in the 

Federal Register to restructure the 

funding and deployment system for 

observers in the North Pacific 

groundfish and halibut fisheries via 

Amendment 86 to the BSAI FMP and 

Amendment 76 to GOA FMP. Per the 

requirements of MSA section 313, we 

will conduct three public hearings to 

inform interested parties of the 

proposed regulations and receive 

written and oral comments. 

The proposed rule to implement 

Amendment 86 to the BSAI FMP and 

Amendment 76 to the GOA FMP was 

prepared under the authority of Section 

313 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(MSA). MSA section 313 requires NMFS 

to conduct a public hearing in each state 

represented on the North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) for the 

purpose of receiving public comment on 

the proposed regulations. The states 

represented on the Council are Alaska, 

Oregon, and Washington. 

Meeting Dates, Times, and Locations 

We will conduct public hearings on 

the proposed regulations on the specific 

dates listed below: 

• April 17, 2012; Pacific Daylight 

Time (PDT) 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Seattle, 

WA. 

• April 19, 2012, PDT 1 p.m. to 4 

p.m., Newport, OR. 

• May 2, 2012, Alaska Daylight Time 

1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Juneau, AK. 

The hearing locations are: 

• Seattle, WA—NOAA Western 

Regional Center, Building 9 Auditorium, 

7600 Sand Point Way NE., Bldg. 9, 

Seattle, WA 98115. 

• Newport, OR—Hatfield Marine 

Science Center, Hennings Auditorium, 

2030 SE. Marine Science Dr., Newport, 

OR 97365. 

• Juneau, AK—Centennial Hall, 

Hickel Room, 101 Egan Drive, Juneau, 

AK 99801. 

People wishing to make an oral 

statement for the record at a public 

hearing are encouraged to provide a 

written copy of their statement and 

present it to us at the hearing. If 

attendance at the public hearings is 

large, the time allotted for individual 

oral statements may be limited. Oral and 

written statements receive equal 

consideration. There are no limits on 

the length of written comments 

submitted to us. 

There is no need to register for these 

hearings. Please be advised that a valid 

government-issued photo-identification 

will be required for entry through 

building security at the Seattle, WA, 

hearings. 

Dated: April 12, 2012. 

Carrie Selberg, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9219 Filed 4–12–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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