Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 229 / Tuesday, November 28, 2000 / Proposed Rules 70841

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, Food and Drug

Administration, Health Resources and

Services Administration, Indian Health

Service, National Institutes of Health,

the Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration, and the offices

of the Regional Health Administrator.

§ 94.655 PHS funds or PHS funding.

PHS funds or PHS funding means

Public Health Service grants, contracts,

or cooperative agreements.

§ 94.660 Research misconduct.

Research misconduct means

fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or

other practices that seriously deviate

from those that are commonly accepted

within the scientific community for

proposing, conducting, or reporting

research. It does not include honest

error or honest differences in

interpretations or judgments of data.

§ 94.665 Responsible official.

Responsible official means the official

designated by a covered institution to

establish and implement the

institution’s whistleblower protection

procedures as required by this part.

§ 94.670 Retaliation.

Retaliation for the purpose of this part

means an adverse action taken against a

whistleblower by a covered institution

or one of its members in response to—

(a) A good faith allegation that the

covered institution or one of its

members has engaged in, or failed to

respond adequately to an allegation of,

research misconduct; or

(b) A good faith cooperation with an

investigation of an allegation in

paragraph (a) of this section.

§ 94.675 Secretary.

Secretary means the Secretary of the

Department of Health and Human

Services or any other officer or

employee of the Department of Health

and Human Services to whom the

Secretary has delegated authority.

§ 94.680 Whistleblower.

Whistleblower means an institutional

member who in good faith—

(a) Makes an allegation that the

covered institution or one of its

members has engaged in, or failed to

respond adequately to an allegation of,

research misconduct; or

(b) Cooperates with an investigation

of an allegation in paragraph (a) of this

section.

[FR Doc. 00–29988 Filed 11–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–17–U

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 697

[I.D. 112100A]

American Lobster Fishery

Management

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS has prepared a draft

supplemental environmental impact

statement (DSEIS) which identifies

several preferred management actions

and alternatives for the American

lobster fishery in Federal waters. These

measures are based upon

recommendations in Addendum 1 to

Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery

Management Plan for American Lobster

(ISFMP) made by the Atlantic States

Marine Fisheries Commission

(Commission) for management of the

American lobster resource in Federal

waters. NMFS will hold public meetings

to receive comments on the biological,

economic, and social impacts addressed

in the DSEIS.

DATES: Written comments on the

preferred lobster management measures

and alternatives discussed in the DSEIS

must be received at the appropriate

address or facsimile (fax) number (see

ADDRESSES), no later than 5 p.m.,

eastern standard time, on Tuesday,

January 9, 2001. Also, verbal comments

may be presented at public meetings

which are scheduled to be held from

Tuesday, December 12 through Friday,

December 15, 2000, in Maine, Rhode

Island, New York and New Jersey. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for times

and locations of the meetings and

special accommodations.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

direct requests for copies of the lobster

public meeting document and DSEIS

should be sent to the State, Federal and

Constituent Programs Office, National

Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast

Region, One Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. Comments

may also be sent via fax to (978) 281-

9117. Comments submitted via email or

Internet will not be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter Burns, NMFS, Northeast Region,

telephone (978) 281-9144, fax (978) 281-

9117.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is

considering several new management

measures for the American lobster

fishery in Federal waters in response to

the Commission’s recommendations in

Addendum 1 to Amendment 3 of the

ISFMP. Specifically, NMFS is

considering a preferred alternative to

control fishing effort in the lobster trap

fishery in LCMAs 3, 4 and 5 by limiting

access to only those Federal permit

holders who can substantiate a history

of trap fishing in these areas. The

eligibility criteria for access to these

management areas would be based upon

industry advice developed by the

ISFMP’s lobster conservation

management teams. In LCMA 3, eligible

permit holders would have to meet all

of the following criteria:

1. Possession of a current Federal

limited access lobster permit.

2. Provision of documentation to

demonstrate a history of 2 consecutive

calendar-months of active lobster trap

fishing in LCMA 3 in any calendar year

during the March 25, 1991 through

September 1, 1999 qualification period

(qualification period). A history of

active trap fishing is defined as the

fishing of at least 200 traps set in LCMA

3 for the duration of the 2-month

qualifying period. Documentation may

include copies of vessel logbooks, state

or Federal Fishing Trip Reports, permit

applications, or any other form of

certification that denotes area fished

and harvest information.

3. Provision of sales receipts or

records showing the landing of at least

25,000 lb (11,370 km) of lobster from

any area throughout the range of the

resource during the year used as the

qualifying year referenced in the

preceding paragraph (Criterion number

2).

Under the preferred alternative

Federal permit holders who qualify for

participation in LCMA 3 based on the

preceding criteria would be required to

submit a signed affidavit to NMFS

certifying the number of traps they have

historically fished in LCMA 3.

Qualifying permit holders would be

restricted to the number of traps they

have historically fished in that area, but

limited to no more than 3,250 traps, and

would be required to comply with

annual trap reductions over a 5-year

period.

In LCMA 4 and LCMA 5, the preferred

alternative would require eligible permit

holders to meet all of the following

criteria to participate in the trap fishery

in either of these areas:

1. Possession of a current Federal

limited access lobster permit.

2. Provision of documentation to

demonstrate a history of 2 consecutive

70842 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 229 / Tuesday, November 28, 2000 / Proposed Rules

calendar-months of active lobster trap

fishing in LCMA 4 and/or LCMA 5 in

any calendar year during the

qualification period. A history of active

trap fishing is defined as the fishing of

at least 200 traps set for the duration of

the 2-month qualifying period.

Documentation may include copies of

vessel logbooks, state or Federal Fishing

Trip Reports, permit applications, or

any other form of certification that

denotes area fished and harvest

information.

As with LCMA 3, permit holders who

qualify for participation in LCMA 4 or

LCMA 5 would be required to provide

NMFS with a signed affidavit of the

number of traps they have historically

fished in the elected area(s) during the

qualification period. Trap allocations for

each qualifying permit holder would be

based on the number of traps designated

in the signed affidavit. Unlike the

preferred alternative’s provisions for

LCMA 3, there would be no maximum

trap limit or annual trap reduction

schedule for LCMA 4 or LCMA 5.

Alternatives to this action include: (1)

maintaining the current management

scenario requiring lobster trap fishers to

designate specific LCMAs for trap

fishing and abide by either the

nearshore area trap limit of 800 if LCMA

4 or LCMA 5 is selected exclusively or

in combination with any other LCMA,

or the offshore area trap limit of 1,800

if LCMA 3 is selected exclusive of any

other management area; (2)

implementing limited access in LCMAs

3, 4 and 5 based on historical

participation, but retaining the current

trap limits; and (3) implementing the

historical participation regime but

establishing a 1,440 maximum trap limit

for vessels qualifying for LCMA 4 or

LCMA 5.

The DSEIS also analyzes the impacts

of a measure allowing Federal lobster

permit holders who also hold full

commercial New Hampshire state

lobster licenses to fish an additional 400

traps in New Hampshire State waters.

The alternative to this option would

maintain the status quo. Specifically, it

would require dual Federal and New

Hampshire commercial lobster licensees

to abide by the more restrictive Federal

trap limit of 800 traps in state and

Federal waters. It would also require

those dual licensees who elect to fish

more than the Federal trap limit in New

Hampshire State waters to forfeit their

Federal lobster permit.

The third measure analyzed in the

DSEIS would adjust the boundary lines

for LCMA 1, LCMA 2, and the Outer

Cape LCMA to maintain consistency

with the ISFMP. The alternative to this

preferred option would maintain the

boundary lines for these LCMAs as they

currently exist.

In publishing this document, NMFS

announces four public meetings to

discuss the preferred lobster

management measures and alternatives.

The dates, times, and locations of the

meetings are scheduled as follows:

Meeting Dates and Times

1. Tuesday, December 12, 2000, 3

p.m.--Narragansett Town Hall Assembly

Room, 25 Fifth Street, Narragansett, RI.

2. Wednesday, December 13, 2000, 3

p.m.--Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring

Street, Portland, ME.

3. Thursday, December 14, 2000, 4:30

p.m.--Riverhead Town Board Room at

Town Hall, 200 Howell Ave, Riverhead,

NY.

4. Friday, December 15, 2000, 1 p.m.-

-Community Room at the Toms River

Municipal Complex, 33 Washington

Street, Toms River, NJ.

Electronic Access

The lobster public meeting document

and DSEIS are also accessible via the

Internet at www.nero.nmfs.gov/ro/doc/

nr.htm.

Special Accommodations

These meetings are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Peter Burns (see

ADDRESSES) at least 5 days prior to the

meeting date.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1851 et. seq.

Dated: November 21, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–30310 Filed 11–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S