2012-16061. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Electronic Dealer Reporting System Workshop

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of public workshops.

SUMMARY:

On June 28, 2011, NMFS published a proposed rule that considered requiring, among other things, Federal Atlantic swordfish, shark, and tunas dealers (except for dealers reporting Atlantic bluefin tuna) to report commercially-harvested Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and bigeye, albacore, yellowfin, and skipjack (BAYS) tunas through one centralized electronic reporting system. This electronic reporting system will allow dealers to submit Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and BAYS tuna data on a more real-time basis and more efficiently, which will reduce duplicative data submissions from different regions. We proposed to delay the effective date of the electronic reporting requirements until 2013 in order to give sufficient time for dealers to adjust to implementation of the new system and the additional requirements. On December 14, 2011, we conducted an initial training workshop in the Caribbean area in order to introduce the new reporting system to HMS dealers. In this notice, we announce the date and location for additional training workshops in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic regions in order to continue introducing HMS dealers to the new electronic system.

DATES:

Training workshops for the new electronic dealer system will be held from July through September 2012. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for meeting dates, times, and locations.

ADDRESSES:

Workshops will be held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico; St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands (U.S.V.I.); Belle Chase, Louisiana; Dulac, Louisiana; Panama City, Florida; Port Orange, Florida; Seminole, Florida; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Marathon, Florida Keys. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for dates, times, and locations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Delisse Ortiz or Karyl Brewster-Geisz at [phone] (phone), or Jackie Wilson at [phone], or [phone] (fax), or http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/​sfa/​hms/​index.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Atlantic HMS are managed under the dual authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., and the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. Under the MSA, NMFS must ensure consistency with the National Standards and manage fisheries to maintain optimum yield, rebuild overfished fisheries, and prevent overfishing. ATCA authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate regulations, as may be necessary and appropriate, to implement the recommendations adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The authority to issue regulations under MSA and ATCA has been delegated from the Secretary to the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA. The implementing regulations for Atlantic HMS are at 50 CFR part 635.

Background

The current regulations and infrastructure of the Atlantic HMS quota-monitoring systems result in a delay of several weeks or more before NMFS receives dealer data. This can affect management and monitoring of small Atlantic HMS quotas and short fishing seasons. As such, on June 28, 2011 (76 FR 37750), we published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that considered requiring, among other things, Federal Atlantic swordfish, shark, and tunas dealers (except for dealers reporting Atlantic bluefin tuna) to report commercially-harvested Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and BAYS tunas through one centralized electronic reporting system. Under this new system, dealers would submit HMS data electronically (instead of in a paper format) and include additional information that is necessary for management of HMS (e.g., vessel and logbook information). The electronic submission of data will eliminate the delay associated with mailing in hardcopy reports. In this manner, HMS landings data will be submitted on a more real-time basis, allowing for timely and efficient data collection for management of Atlantic HMS.

In order to give sufficient time for dealers to adjust to implementation of the new system and the additional requirements, we proposed delaying implementation of the new HMS electronic reporting system for all federally-permitted HMS dealers until 2013. Additionally, we decided to conduct outreach to HMS dealers to train them how to use the new system and help ease the transition from the current paper format to the new HMS electronic reporting system. We conducted an initial training workshop for HMS dealers in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. on December 14, 2011, and in this notice we are announcing additional training workshops in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, and Caribbean regions. However, we are not holding a training workshop in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. at this time; we are working on scheduling an additional training session in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. in the future.

Date	Time	Meeting locations	Address
July 17, 2012	4:30-7:30 p.m.	Centro de Recursos para la Información y Educación Marina	Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Mayagüez, Edificio de Física, Salón 310, Mayagüez, PR 00681.
July 19, 2012	5:00-8:00 p.m.	Center for Marine and Environmental Studies	University of the Virgin Islands, RR#1 Box 10,000, Evans Center, Theater/Room EVC 401, Kingshill, VI 00850-9781.
August 7, 2012	5:00-8:00 p.m.	Belle Chasse Auditorium	8398 HWY. 23, Belle Chasse, LA 70037.
August 8, 2012	5:00-8:00 p.m.	Grand Caillou Recreation Center	106 Badou Drive, Dulac, LA 70353.
August 15, 2012	1:30-4:30 p.m.	Bay County Government Center	840 W. 11th Street, Room #1030, Panama City, FL 32401.
August 21, 2012	3:30-6:30 p.m.	Port Orange Regional Library	1005 City Center Circle, Port Orange, FL 32129.
August 22, 2012	4:30-7:30 p.m.	Seminole Community Library	9200 113th Street N., Seminole, FL 33772.
August 23, 2012	4:30-7:30 p.m.	Tyrone Bryant Branch Library	2230 NW 21st Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311.
September 5, 2012	6:30-9:30 p.m.	Marathon Government Center	2798 Overseas Highway, Milemarker 48.5, EOC BOCC Meeting Room, 2nd Floor, Marathon, FL 33050.

These workshops will be physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Delisse Ortiz at [phone] or Jackie Wilson at [phone] at least 7 days prior to the workshop date. The public is reminded that NMFS expects participants at the workshop to conduct themselves appropriately. At the beginning of each workshop, a representative of NMFS will explain the ground rules (e.g., alcohol is prohibited from the hearing room; each attendee will have an opportunity to ask questions; and attendees should not interrupt one another). Attendees are expected to respect the ground rules; if they do not, they will be asked to leave the workshop.

Dated: June 26, 2012.

Emily H. Menashes,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.