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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22753-22754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9219]

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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.

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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).

[[Page 22754]]

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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