[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 111 (Friday, June 8, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30866-30867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14521]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[ I.D. 052201E]


Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of scoping meetings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
convene scoping meetings to obtain public comments on essential fish 
habitat (EFH) issues to be discussed in and potentially added to a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Council's 
Generic Essential Fish Habitat Amendment to the Fishery Management 
Plans of the Gulf of Mexico (EFH Generic Amendment).

DATES: The scoping meetings will be held in June. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for specific dates and times of the scoping meetings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of issues that should be 
addressed in and potentially added to the SEIS should be sent to and 
copies of the EFH Generic Amendment are available from the Council. The 
Council's address is: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, The 
Commons at Rivergate, 3018 U.S. Highway 301, North, Suite 1000, Tampa, 
FL 33619-7015; telephone (813) 228-2815; fax (813) 225-7015. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates, locations, and times of 
the scoping meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Richard Leard, Senior Fishery 
Biologist, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone (813) 
228-2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The scoping meetings will be convened to 
obtain public comments on the range of issues to be discussed in the 
SEIS for the EFH Generic Amendment. The Council is especially 
interested in public views on what alternatives should be considered 
for the designation of EFH, the identification of Habitat Areas of 
Particular Concern (HAPC), and the recommendation of management 
measures to minimize the adverse impacts of fishing activities and gear 
on identified EFH and HAPC areas.
    The Council prepared the EFH Generic Amendment in response to 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The EFH Generic Amendment identifies and 
describes EFH for the species managed under the Council's fishery 
management plans; it also discusses threats to EFH from both fishing 
and non-fishing activities, discusses EFH conservation and enhancement 
opportunities, and identifies HAPCs. NMFS partially approved the EFH 
Generic Amendment in 1999 after conducting Secretarial review under 
Magnuson-Steven Act procedures. NMFS and the Council previously 
published a notice in the Federal Register (66 FR 15405; March 19, 
2001) announcing their intent to prepare a SEIS for the EFH Generic 
Amendment that will supersede the environmental assessment originally 
prepared in support of this amendment.

Meeting Dates, Locations, and Times

    The scoping meetings will be held at the following dates, 
locations, and times:
    1. Thursday, June 14, 2001, 3 p.m.-5 p.m., Omni Bayfront Hotel, 900 
North Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi, TX 78401; telephone (361) 
887-1600
    2. Friday, June 15, 2001, 1 p.m.-3 p.m., Courtyard by Marriott, 
9190 Gulf Freeway, Houston, TX 77017; telephone (713) 910-1700
    3. Monday, June 18, 2001, 2 p.m.- 4 p.m., New Orleans Airport 
Hilton, 901 Airline Drive, Kenner, LA 70062; telephone (504) 469-5000
    4. Tuesday, June 19, 2001, 3 p.m.-5 p.m., Imperial Palace Hotel, 
850 Bayview, Biloxi, MS 39530; telephone (228) 436-3000
    5. Thursday, June 21, 2001, 3 p.m.-5 p.m., National Marine 
Fisheries Service, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL 32408; 
telephone (850) 234-6541
    6. Monday, June 25, 2001, 3 p.m.-5 p.m., Holiday Inn Beachside, 
3841 North Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, FL 33040; telephone (305) 
294-2571
    7. Thursday, June 28, 2001, 3 p.m.-5 p.m., Tampa Airport Hilton, 
2225 Lois Avenue, Tampa, FL 33607; telephone (813) 877-6688

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 8, 2001.


[[Page 30867]]


    Dated: June 4, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-14521 Filed 6-7-01; 8:45 am]
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