10268 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2001 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 020501C]

Caribbean Fishery Management

Council; Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing; request

for comments.

SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

hold a public hearing to obtain input

from fishers and the general public on

its proposed language for the definition

of essential fish habitat (EFH) for the

dolphin/wahoo fishery of the U.S.

Caribbean. This definition will be part

of the Fishery Management Plan for the

Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the

Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico

(FMP) that is currently under

development.

DATES: The public hearing will be held

on Tuesday, February 20, 2001, at 7

p.m.. Written comments from the public

will be accepted through until February

20, 2001. See also SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be

held in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., at the

conference room of the Windward

Passage Holiday Inn Hotel, located at

Veterans Drive, Charlotte Amalie, St.

Thomas, U.S.V.I. Written comments on

the proposed EFH language should be

submitted to the Caribbean Fishery

Management Council, 268 Mun ̃ oz

Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108, San Juan,

Puerto Rico 00918-2577; telephone (787)

766-5926. Written copies of the

proposed EFH definition language are

available from the Council at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Miguel A. Rolo ́n, Executive Director,

Caribbean Fishery Management Council,

268 Mun ̃ oz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108,

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-2577;

telephone (787) 766-5926.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Council will hold a public hearing to

obtain input from fishers and the

general public on its proposed language

for the definition of EFH for the

dolphin/wahoo fishery of the U.S.

Caribbean. The currently proposed

language for EFH is the following:

‘‘Identify Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)

for dolphin and wahoo in the U.S.

Caribbean as any floating natural object

in the water column, such as Sargassum

or other floating algae or any other

plant, plus ocean fronts where these

objects accumulate. Included as EFH are

those associated species that serve as

prey or food for dolphin or wahoo. Manmade objects, such as fish attracting

devices (FADs), refuse and lost nets, are

excluded from this definition.’’ The

Council has prepared a written

statement of its proposed defintion of

EFH for the dolphin/wahoo fishery of

the U.S. Caribbean, which is available

from the Council (see ADDRESSES) and

will be available at the hearing.

The Council’s intention is to consider

the public comment on this issue before

adopting its final proposed definition of

dolphin/wahoo EFH for inclusion in the

proposed FMP. The FMP is under

preparation jointly with the South

Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery

Management Councils. These three

fishery management councils intend to

hold a joint meeting on February 22,

2001, to discuss and adopt final

measures for the final FMP prior to

submitting it to NMFS for review,

approval, and implementation under

procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act. The notice of this meeting was

published at 50 66 FR 7628 on January

24, 2001.

Special Accommodations

This hearing is physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr.

Miguel A. Rolo ́n, Executive Director,

Caribbean Fishery Management Council,

268 Mun ̃ oz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108,

San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00918-2577,

telephone (787) 766-5926, at least 5 days

prior to the meeting date.

Dated: February 8, 2001.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–3769 Filed 2–13–01; 8:45 am]

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