[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 68 (Thursday, April 9, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 17353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-9260]
[[Page 17353]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 285 and 644
[I.D. 040198B]
Atlantic Tuna Fisheries; Atlantic Billfishes; Public Hearings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public hearings; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS will hold seven public hearings to receive comments from
fishery participants and other members of the public regarding proposed
Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT) quota specifications and General category
effort controls, tournament reporting for Atlantic billfishes, and an
increase in minimum size limits for Atlantic blue marlin (BUM) and
Atlantic white marlin (WHM). These management actions are necessary to
achieve domestic management objectives for Atlantic highly migratory
species (HMS).
DATES: The hearings will be held during April and May. See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for dates, times, and locations of the public
hearings. Written comments on the proposed ABT specifications must be
received by May 4, 1998, and comments on the regulatory amendments for
Atlantic billfishes must be received by May 22, 1998.
ADDRESSES: The hearings will be held in Massachusetts, Delaware,
Florida, Maine, and North Carolina. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for
dates, times, and locations of the public hearings. Written comments
should be sent to Rebecca Lent, Chief, Highly Migratory Species
Management Division (F/SF1), National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Clearly mark the outside of
the envelope ``HMS Comments.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Murray-Brown at 978-281-9260,
Sarah McLaughlin at (301) 713-2347, or Buck Sutter at 813-570-5447.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The actions that are the subject of the
hearings are necessary to improve management and monitoring of the U.S.
Atlantic tuna and billfish fisheries, to implement 1996 and 1997
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
recommendations, and to enhance collection of data to improve
assessment of the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the
fisheries.
Complete descriptions of the proposed ABT specifications and the
interim billfish measures are contained in the proposed rule for ABT
published April 2, 1998 (63 FR 16220) or in the interim rule for
billfish published March 24, 1998 (63 FR 14030) and are not repeated
here. Copies of these actions may be obtained by writing (see
ADDRESSES) or calling one of the contact persons (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). The public hearing schedule is as follows:
Thursday, April 16, 1998, Plymouth, MA, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Sheraton Inn Plymouth, 180 Water Street, Plymouth, MA 02360.
Tuesday, April 21, 1998, Wilmington, DE, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Wilmington Hilton, 630 Naamans Road, Wilmington, DE 19703.
Thursday, April 23, 1998, Panama City, FL, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
National Marine Fisheries Service, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama
City, FL 32408.
Monday, April 27, 1998, Brunswick, ME, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Atrium Inn and Conference Center, Cooks Corner, Brunswick, ME
04011.
Monday, April 27, 1998, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Holiday Inn, 4900 Powerline Road/I-95 Exit 32, Fort Lauderdale, FL
33309.
Tuesday, April 28, 1998, St. Petersburg, FL, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
NMFS Southeast Regional Office, 9721 Executive Center Drive North,
St. Petersburg, FL 33703.
Friday, May 1, 1998, Atlantic Beach, NC, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Sheraton Atlantic Beach, 2717 West Fort Macon Road, Atlantic Beach,
NC 28512.
The purpose of this announcement is to alert the interested public
of hearings and provide for public participation.
Special Accommodations
These hearings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Rebecca Lent at least 5 days prior
to the hearing date (see ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 3, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-9260 Filed 4-3-98; 4:40pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
