[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