Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 107 /Thursday, June 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 30465

applicant of the negative determination

with the reasons therefore.

(4) Final determination and

publication of a final rule. Following

public comment, NMFS will approve or

disapprove the amendment to the list of

gear and fisheries.

(i) If approved, NMFS will publish a

final rule in the Federal Register and

notify the applicant and the Council, if

appropriate, of the final approval.

(ii) If disapproved, NMFS will

withdraw the proposed rule, notify the

applicant and the Council, if

appropriate, of the disapproval; publish

emergency or interim regulations, if

necessary, to prohibit or restrict the use

of gear or the participation in a fishery;

and either notify the Council of the need

to amend an FMP or prepare an

amendment to an FMP in the case of

Atlantic highly migratory species.

[FR Doc. 98–14735 Filed 6–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 052698C]

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management

Council; Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public hearings;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

convene public hearings on the Draft

Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Generic

Amendment to the Fishery Management

Plans (FMP) of the Gulf of Mexico.

Public meetings on the NMFS draft EFH

recommendations will be held following

one of the public hearings.

DATES: Written comments on the

Council’s draft EFH amendment will be

accepted through July 17, 1998. Written

comments on NMFS’ draft EFH

recommendation will be accepted

through July 15, 1998.

The public hearings will be held in

June and July. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for specific dates and times

of the public hearings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

draft amendment should be sent to, and

copies of the draft amendment are

available from, the Council at the

following address: Gulf of Mexico

Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S.

Highway 301, North, Suite 1000,

Tampa, FL 33619. Copies of the

amendment can be obtained by calling

(813) 228–2815.

Written comments on the NMFS draft

EFH recommendations should be

addressed to: Habitat Conservation

Division, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center

Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702-2432,

Attn: Draft EFH Recommendation to

GMFMC. Copies of the draft

recommendations can be obtained by

calling (813) 570-5317.

Public hearings will be held in

Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi,

Alabama, and Texas. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for

locations of the hearings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Wayne E. Swingle, Executive Director,

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management

Council; telephone: (813) 228–2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Council will hold public hearings on a

draft generic amendment addressing

EFH in the Gulf of Mexico; eight public

hearings will be held to obtain public

comments. The description and

identification of EFH is mandated by

section 305(b) the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The

generic EFH amendment that is the

subject of these hearings addresses EFH

in all seven of the Council’s FMPs. The

following is a summary of the

amendment:

1. EFH is identified and described

based on areas where various life stages

of 21 selected managed species and the

coral complex commonly occur. The

selected species are: Shrimp (brown

shrimp, Penaeus aztecus; white shrimp,

Penaeus setiferus; pink shrimp, Penaeus

duorarum); red drum, Sciaenops

ocellatus; reef fish (red grouper,

Epinephelus morio; gag grouper,

Mycteroperca microlepsis; scamp

grouper, Mycteroperca phenax; red

snapper, Lutjanus campechanus; gray

snapper, Lutjanus griseus; yellowtail

snappper, Ocyurus chrysurus; lane

snapper, Lutjanus synagris; greater

amberjack, Seriola dumerili; lesser

amberjack, Seriola fasciata; tilefish,

Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps; and

gray triggerfish, Balistes capriscus),

coastal migratory pelagic species (king

mackerel, Scomberomorus cavalla;

Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus

maculatus; cobia, Rachycentron

canadum; and dolphin, Coryphaena

hippurus), stone crab, Menippe

mercenaria; spiny lobster, Panulirus

argus; and the coral complex.

2. The selected species represent

about a third of the species under

management by the Council.

Collectively, these species commonly

occur throughout all of the marine and

estuarine waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

EFH for the remaining managed species

will be addressed in future FMP

amendments, as appropriate.

3. EFH is defined as everywhere that

the above managed species commonly

occur. Because these species

collectively occur in all estuarine and

marine habitats of the Gulf of Mexico,

EFH is separated into estuarine and

marine components. For the estuarine

component, EFH includes all estuarine

waters and substrates (mud, sand, shell,

rock, and associated biological

communities), including subtidal

vegetation (seagrasses and algae) and

adjacent intertidal vegetation (marshes

and mangroves). In marine waters of the

Gulf of Mexico, EFH includes virtually

all marine waters and substrates (mud,

sand, shell, rock, and associated

biological communities) from the

shoreline to the seaward limit of the

EEZ.

4. Threats to EFH from fishing and

nonfishing activities are identified.

5. Options to conserve and enhance

EFH are provided and research needs

are identified.

6. No management measures and,

therefore, no regulations are proposed at

this time. Fishing-related management

measures to minimize any identified

impacts are deferred to future

amendments when the Council has the

information necessary to decide if the

measures are practicable.

NMFS is in the process of developing

an EFH recommendation to the Council

in accordance with the 1996

amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens

Act. The NMFS draft EFH

recommendation to the Council

includes a review and comments on the

Council’s draft EFH amendment. The

NMFS draft EFH recommendation to the

Council will be available for public

distribution June 8, 1998, and will be

available at the Council’s public

hearings. Copies may be requested from

the NMFS Habitat Conservation

Division (see ADDRESSES). Written

comments on the NMFS draft EFH

recommendation may be sent to the

NMFS Habitat Conservation Division

(see ADDRESSES). NMFS will hold a

public meeting on the NMFS draft EFH

recommendations immediately

following the Council’s June 22, 1998,

public hearing in Kenner, LA.

Public hearings will be held from 7:00

p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at all of the following

locations:

1. Wednesday, June 17, 1998—

Ramada Airport Inn & Conference
30466 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 107 /Thursday, June 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

Center, 5303 West Kennedy Boulevard,

Tampa, FL 33609.

2. Thursday, June 18, 1998—Holiday

Inn Beachside, 3841 North Roosevelt

Boulevard, Key West, FL 33040.

3. Monday, June 22, 1998—New

Orleans Airport Radisson, 2150

Veterans Boulevard, Kenner, LA 70062.

4. Tuesday, June 23, 1998—J.L. Scott

Marine Education Center & Aquarium,

115 East Beach Boulevard, U.S.

Highway 90, Biloxi, MS 39530.

5. Wednesday, June 24, 1998—

Holiday Inn on the Beach, 365 East

Beach Boulevard, Gulf Shores, AL

36547.

6. Thursday, June 25, 1998—National

Marine Fisheries Service Panama City

Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road,

Panama City, FL 32408.

7. Tuesday, June 30, 1998—Hobby

Airport Hilton, 8181 Airport Boulevard,

Houston, TX 77061.

8. Wednesday, July 1, 1998—Port

Aransas Library, 700 West Avenue A,

Port Aransas, TX 78373.

Special Accommodations

These meetings are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Anne Alford at the

Council (see ADDRESSES) by June 10,

1998.

Dated: May 29, 1998.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–14871 Filed 6–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F