22750 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 17, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

strengthened if we take additional time 

to allow the public, non-federal experts, 

non-governmental organizations, state 

and territorial governments, and 

academics to review and provide 

information related to the Status Review 

Report and draft Management Report 

prior to issuing our 12-month finding. 

We will hold listening sessions and 

scientific workshops in the Southeast 

region and Pacific Islands region and 

will then consider the information 

gathered through these venues and 

through written submissions to inform 

our 12-month finding and, if 

appropriate, a proposed listing rule. 

We expect that this outreach effort 

will allow the public to understand 

more clearly the context in which this 

petition is being evaluated and the basis 

and rationale supporting our 12-month 

finding. We also expect this process will 

ensure that any additional relevant 

scientific information available is 

brought to our attention. This document 

is not part of the usual rulemaking 

process and is unique to NMFS’ 

response to the petition to list 83 coral 

species. Thus, the additional outreach 

conducted in this case does not 

establish precedent for any other ESAlisting process. 

Information Solicited 

We are particularly interested in 

receiving information on the following: 

(1) Relevant scientific information 

collected or produced since the 

completion of the Status Review Report 

(2011) or any relevant scientific 

information not included in the Report; 

and 

(2) Relevant management information 

not included in the draft Management 

Report, such as descriptions of 

regulatory mechanisms for greenhouse 

gas emissions globally, and for local 

threats in the 83 foreign countries and 

the U.S. (Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, 

U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands), 

where the 82 coral species collectively 

occur. 

Although this action is not a 

rulemaking, we will accept information 

received in response to this solicitation 

and will take such information into 

account, along with the information 

received on the 90-day finding (75 FR 

6616; February 10, 2010), when we 

make our 12-month finding on whether 

CBD’s petitioned action is warranted. If 

you have submitted information during 

the previous comment period, there is 

no need to re-submit it. We request that 

all information submitted be 

accompanied by supporting 

documentation such as maps, 

bibliographic references, or reprints of 

pertinent publications. If possible, 

comments should include the heading 

of the relevant section of the Status 

Review Report or draft Management 

Report. Please submit any information 

to the ADDRESSES listed above. 

Public Listening Sessions and Scientific 

Workshops 

In addition to soliciting input from 

the public on the Status Review Report 

and draft Management Report, we will 

hold one public listening session and 

one scientific workshop in each of the 

two relevant regions: the Southeast and 

Pacific Islands, during which we will 

explain the evaluation process and the 

public and experts will have 

opportunity to provide any additional 

relevant information on this matter. 

Dates, times, and locations of these 

meetings will be announced in a 

subsequent Federal Register document 

and on our Web site at: http:// 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2012/04/ 

4_13_12corals_petition.html. 

We have not yet published a proposed 

listing rule for the 82 coral species. 

Therefore, we cannot consider 

comments on whether a determination 

should be made as to whether some or 

all of the petitioned corals are an 

endangered or threatened species. The 

ESA also prohibits us from taking 

economic or social impacts into 

consideration in any listing decisions. 

Accordingly, we cannot consider 

comments on these matters. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 

Dated: April 12, 2012. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9243 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–XA975 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish Fisheries 

in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement, 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS, in consultation with 

the North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council), announces its intent 

to prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) on Steller sea lion 

protection measures for the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI) groundfish fisheries, in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The 

proposed action would restrict 

groundfish fishing in the BSAI to ensure 

the groundfish fisheries are not likely to 

result in jeopardy of continued 

existence or adverse modification or 

destruction of designated critical habitat 

(JAM) for the western distinct 

population segment (DPS) of Steller sea 

lions. The western DPS of Steller sea 

lions is listed as endangered under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) and 

NMFS must ensure that the groundfish 

fisheries are not likely to result in JAM 

for this DPS. NMFS intends to work 

with stakeholders to develop fisheries 

restrictions that avoid the likelihood of 

JAM and minimize the potential 

economic impact on the fishing industry 

to the extent practicable while meeting 

the requirements of the ESA. The 

analysis in the EIS will determine the 

impacts to the human environment 

resulting from this proposed action and 

the alternatives. In scoping for the EIS, 

NMFS will accept written comments 

from the public to determine the issues 

of concern; the appropriate range of 

management alternatives; and the direct, 

indirect, and cumulative impacts. 

NMFS, in coordination with the 

Council, will conduct a public meeting 

at the October 2012 Council meeting to 

inform the public of this proposed 

action and alternatives, present issues 

and potential impacts, and gather public 

comment. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by 5 p.m. Alaska Standard 

Time (AST), October 15, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this action, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2012–0013, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal 

www.regulations.gov. To submit 

comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 

first click the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon, 

then enter NOAA–NMFS–2012–0013 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 that line. 

• Mail: Address written comments to 

Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
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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. 

Instructions: 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 for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address) submitted 

voluntarily by the sender 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 or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

Electronic copies of the 2010 

environmental assessment and 

biological opinion prepared for the 

Steller sea lion protection measures are 

available from http:// 

www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS 

Alaska Region Web site at http:// 

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/ 

sustainablefisheries/sslpm/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melanie Brown, (907) 586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the United 

States has exclusive fishery 

management authority over all living 

marine resources found within the 

exclusive economic zone. The 

management of these marine resources, 

with the exception of certain marine 

mammals and birds, is vested in the 

Secretary of Commerce. The Council has 

the responsibility to prepare fishery 

management plans for those marine 

resources off Alaska requiring 

conservation and management. 

Management of the Federal groundfish 

fishery in the BSAI is carried out under 

the Fishery Management Plan for 

Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP). The FMP, its amendments, and 

implementing regulations (found at 50 

CFR part 679) are developed in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and other 

applicable Federal laws and executive 

orders, notably the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the ESA. 

Alaska Groundfish Fisheries Steller Sea 

Lion Protection Measures 

Steller sea lion protection measures 

have been used to manage the 

groundfish fisheries since 1999 (64 FR 

3437, January 22, 1999) and have been 

annually revised in 2000 through 2004. 

Details of these rules are available at the 

NMFS Alaska Region Web site at 

http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/ 

sustainablefisheries/sslpm/. The 

protection measures have been used to 

mitigate the potential adverse effects of 

the groundfish fisheries on Steller sea 

lions and on their designated critical 

habitat. Steller sea lions may be 

incidentally taken in fishing gear, may 

be disturbed by fishing activities, and 

may compete with groundfish fisheries 

for important prey species. Atka 

mackerel, Pacific cod, and pollock are 

important Steller sea lion prey species 

that also are harvested in the groundfish 

fisheries. The protection measures 

temporally and spatially disperse Atka 

mackerel, Pacific cod, and pollock 

harvest to reduce potential impacts from 

the groundfish fisheries on Steller sea 

lions and on their designated critical 

habitat. Spatial protection measures 

include closures of areas to groundfish 

fishing near Steller sea lion haulouts 

and rookeries, and in foraging areas, to 

reduce potential interactions with 

Steller sea lions and fishing vessels and 

to reduce potential impacts on prey 

resources in locations important to 

Steller sea lions. Harvest of pollock, 

Pacific cod, and Atka mackerel also is 

temporally dispersed through seasonal 

apportionments of the annual total 

allowable catch for these species. The 

details of the current Steller sea lion 

protection measures for the Alaska 

groundfish fisheries are available on the 

NMFS Alaska Region Web site at 

http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/ 

sustainablefisheries/sslpm/. 

In 2010, NMFS completed an ESA 

section 7 consultation on the effects of 

the Alaska groundfish fisheries on ESAlisted species, including the western 

DPS of Steller sea lions, and on 

designated critical habitat. Based on the 

best available commercial and scientific 

information, the consultation resulted in 

a biological opinion (2010 Biop) that 

found that the Steller sea lion protection 

measures implemented in the BSAI 

since 2003 could not ensure that the 

groundfish fisheries were not likely to 

result in JAM for the western DPS of 

Steller sea lions. A reasonable and 

prudent alternative (RPA) to the 

protection measures was included in the 

2010 Biop to ensure the groundfish 

fisheries were not likely to result in 

JAM. This RPA was implemented by an 

interim final rule as the 2011 Steller sea 

lion protection measures (75 FR 77535, 

December 13, 2010, corrected 75 FR 

81921, December 29, 2010). 

The 2011 Steller sea lion protection 

measures primarily affected the Pacific 

cod and Atka mackerel fisheries in the 

Aleutian Islands subarea and were in 

addition to previous measures adopted 

since 2004. The 2010 Biop determined 

that the weight of evidence indicated 

that fisheries may remove prey species 

important to Steller sea lions, which 

may affect the reproduction and 

numbers of Steller sea lions and 

adversely modify the conservation value 

of their critical habitat in Statistical 

Areas 543, 542, and 541. Competition 

with fisheries for prey is likely one 

component of an intricate suite of 

natural and anthropogenic factors 

affecting Steller sea lion numbers and 

reproduction. While natural factors may 

be contributing, NMFS must ensure that 

actions authorized by NMFS are not 

likely to appreciably reduce the 

likelihood of survival and recovery of 

the western DPS of Steller sea lions, 

which is required to avoid the 

likelihood of JAM. 

The RPA was developed based on 

performance standards that address the 

effects of the groundfish fisheries—and 

the population status and foraging 

behavior of Steller sea lions—in the 

Aleutian Islands subarea. The details of 

these standards are in the 2010 Biop 

(see ADDRESSES). The RPA was 

structured to mitigate effects of the 

fishery in locations where Steller sea 

lion abundance continues to decline 

(Statistical Areas 543, 542, and 541). 

One of the performance standards 

requires that the protection measures be 

commensurate with the rate of Steller 

sea lion population declines, with more 

stringent measures in those locations 

with greater population declines. The 

RPA meets this standard by applying 

more fisheries restrictions in Area 543, 

where Steller sea lions have the highest 

population decline, and applying fewer 

fisheries restrictions in Areas 542 and 

541, where Steller sea lion population 

decline is less than in Area 543. 


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Implementation of the RPA is expected 

to minimize local competition between 

Steller sea lions and the Atka mackerel 

and Pacific cod fisheries in Area 543. 

This is intended to improve foraging 

success and prey availability for 

juvenile and adult Steller sea lions, 

which is expected to lead to higher 

survival and natality rates. The RPA 

also reduces the competitive overlap 

between Steller sea lions and fisheries 

for Atka mackerel and Pacific cod in 

Areas 542 and 541. This is intended to 

improve foraging success and prey 

availability for Steller sea lions, 

particularly adult females with 

dependent young in winter, which is 

expected to lead to higher natality rates 

and survival. 

Litigation on the 2011 Steller Sea Lion 

Protection Measures 

On March 5, 2012, NMFS was ordered 

by the U.S. District Court of Alaska to 

prepare an EIS on the Steller sea lion 

protection measures implemented in 

January 2011 (75 FR 77535, December 

13, 2010, corrected 75 FR 81921, 

December 29, 2010). The Court’s 

decision and order for this action are 

available on the NMFS Alaska Region 

Web site at http:// 

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/ 

sustainablefisheries/sslpm/eis/. The 

Court ordered NMFS to prepare an EIS 

for the Steller sea lion protection 

measures because NMFS failed to 

provide sufficient environmental 

information for informed public 

comment to the agency decision-making 

and failed to provide for adequate 

public participation when it prepared 

the environmental assessment for this 

action in 2010 (see ADDRESSES). Two 

areas identified by the Court as 

scientifically controversial were the use 

of single species rather than 

multispecies models for groundfish 

fisheries stock assessments and the 

effects of the groundfish fisheries on the 

availability of Steller sea lion prey 

resources. 

The Court ordered the completion of 

the final EIS by March 2, 2014. The 

Court also ordered that any subsequent 

rulemaking for the BSAI groundfish 

fisheries as a result of the EIS must be 

completed by January 1, 2015. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action is a set of 

protection measures that would ensure 

groundfish fishing in the BSAI is not 

likely to result in JAM for the western 

DPS of Steller sea lions. Spatial and 

temporal dispersion of the harvest of 

Steller sea lion prey species would be 

included in the protection measures to 

reduce potential adverse impacts. The 

protection measures should ensure the 

groundfish fisheries are not likely to 

result in JAM while minimizing 

economic impact on fishery participants 

to the extent practicable. 

Alternative Management Measures 

The EIS will evaluate a range of 

alternative management measures for 

the BSAI groundfish fisheries with focus 

on the Aleutian Islands groundfish 

fisheries management. Alternatives may 

be developed based on the elements 

identified here, and those developed 

through the public scoping and Council 

processes. Possible alternatives could be 

constructed from one or more of the 

following alternatives, and public 

suggestions on the specific features for 

these alternatives are requested: 

1. The status quo alternative to 

continue implementation of the 2011 

Steller sea lion protection measures and 

management of the groundfish fisheries 

under the FMP. 

2. An alternative recommended by the 

Council that is intended to maintain 

protection of Steller sea lions while 

reducing fishing restrictions imposed by 

the 2011 Steller sea lion protection 

measures, particularly for the Pacific 

cod and Atka mackerel fisheries in the 

Aleutian Islands subarea. 

3. An alternative that provides 

precautionary, additional protection to 

Steller sea lions in the Aleutian Islands 

beyond those provided by the 2011 

Steller sea lion protection measures. 

4. An alternative that changes the 

2011 Steller sea lion protection 

measures based on information since 

development of the 2010 biological 

opinion, and may be more or less 

restrictive than status quo. 

The Council will recommend 

alternatives for analysis in the EIS. The 

Council’s Steller Sea Lion Mitigation 

Committee may review the latest 

scientific information regarding the 

biology of Steller sea lions and fisheries 

interaction, and may develop alternative 

Steller sea lion protection measures for 

the Aleutian Islands groundfish 

fisheries for the Council’s consideration. 

NMFS may develop additional 

alternatives to ensure that a reasonable 

range of alternatives is analyzed and 

that its responsibilities under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the ESA, and 

other applicable law are met. 

Preliminary Identification of Issues 

A principal objective of the scoping 

and public input process is to identify 

potentially significant impacts to the 

human environment that should be 

analyzed in the EIS. The analysis will 

evaluate the impacts of the alternatives 

for all resources, species, and issues that 

may be directly or indirectly affected by 

the Steller sea lion protection measures 

for the BSAI groundfish fisheries. The 

following components of the biological 

and physical environment may be 

evaluated: (1) Target and non-target fish 

stocks, forage fish, and prohibited 

species (including Pacific halibut, 

Pacific salmon, and crab); (2) species 

listed under the ESA and their critical 

habitat; (3) seabirds; (4) marine 

mammals; (5) habitat; and (6) the 

ecosystem. The target species analysis 

would include examination of the use of 

single species and multispecies stock 

assessment models. The latest 

information regarding interactions 

between the groundfish fisheries and 

Steller sea lions for prey resources 

would be examined in the EIS. The 

direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts 

on the environmental components 

would be based on the environmental 

assessment prepared for the 2011 Steller 

sea lion protection measures with 

revisions based on the alternatives and 

issues identified in scoping, and the 

best available information during the 

development of the EIS. 

The baseline used to compare the 

impacts of the alternatives on the 

human environment is recommended to 

be the human environment in the BSAI 

between 2004 and 2010. This time 

period represents the condition of the 

environment before the implementation 

of the 2011 Steller sea lion protection 

measures, includes the most complete 

data set of fisheries catch information, 

and provides a reasonable time period 

to compare potential effects of all 

alternatives, including status quo, 

which has only been implemented for 1 

year. Public review and comments on 

the baseline for the analysis during the 

scoping period are welcome. 

Social and economic impacts caused 

by changes to Steller sea lion protection 

measures also would be considered in 

terms of the effects on the following 

groups of individuals: (1) Those who 

participate in harvesting groundfish 

(particularly Pacific cod and Atka 

mackerel in the Aleutian Islands 

subarea); (2) those who process and 

market Pacific cod and Atka mackerel 

and their products; (3) those who 

consume Pacific cod and Atka mackerel 

products; (4) those who rely on living 

marine resources caught in the 

management area, particularly Pacific 

cod, Atka mackerel and Steller sea lions; 

(5) those who benefit from commercial, 

subsistence, and recreational fisheries 

and Steller sea lion harvest; and (6) 

fishing communities, including Adak, 

AK. 


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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). 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS