[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 52 (Thursday, March 16, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14332-14333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6545]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG-2000-6942]


Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Listening Sessions

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard will hold five more regional listening 
sessions to present, and receive feedback on, the Coast Guard's 
Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Action Plan (CFVSAP). The Coast Guard 
created the CFVSAP to help fishermen improve the level of safety in the 
fishing industry. The information gathered during these listening 
sessions will be presented to the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel 
Advisory Committee and used to further refine the CFVSAP. The first two 
listening sessions took place in Rockport, ME, and Kodiak, AK. The 
remaining listening sessions are scheduled for Norfolk, VA; Charleston, 
SC; Galveston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; and Seattle, WA.

DATES: The listening session in Norfolk, VA, will be on April 5, 2000, 
from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; the one in Charleston, SC, will be on 
April 13, 2000, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the one in Galveston, TX, 
will be on May 5, 2000, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; the one in Los 
Angeles, CA, will be on May 20, 2000, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; and 
the one in Seattle, WA, will be on June 13, 2000, from 9:00 a.m. to 
12:00 p.m. The comment period will close on July 30, 2000.

ADDRESSES:

Norfolk Airport Hilton, 1500 North Military Hwy, Norfolk, VA 23502, 
Tel. (757) 466-8000
Maritime Center, 10 Wharfside St., Charleston, SC 29401, P.O.C.: Victor 
Smith at Tel. (843) 853-3625, Fax (843) 577-6673
Texas Shrimpers' Association Convention, Moody Gardens Hotel, 7 Hope 
Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77551, Tel. (361) 758-5024--Texas Shrimpers' 
Assoc.; Tel. (409) 741-8484--Moody Gardens Hotel
Italian American Club, 1903 Cabrillo Avenue, San Pedro, CA 90831, Tel. 
(510) 437-2947
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Building 9 Auditorium, 
7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98115

    To make sure your comments and related material do not enter the 
docket more than once, please submit them by only one of the following 
means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, (USCG-2000-6942), 
U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (2) In person to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is 202-366-9329.
    (3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
    (4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
notice. Comments will become part of this docket and will be available 
for inspection on the Plaza Level of the Nassif Building at the above 
address between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
federal holidays. You may also electronically access the public docket 
for this notice on the internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public docket, 
call Carol Kelly, Coast Guard Dockets Team Leader, or Paulette Twine, 
Chief, Documentary Services Division, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329; for

[[Page 14333]]

information concerning the notice of meeting reach Lieutenant Joe Paitl 
or Ensign Chris O'Neal, (G-MOC-3), 2100 Second St, SW, Washington, DC 
20593-0001, telephone 202-267-0507 or 202-267-2008, or electronic mail 
[email protected] or Co'[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We encourage interested persons to participate in this information-
gathering initiative by submitting written data, views, or other 
relevant documents. Persons submitting comments should include their 
names and addresses, and identify this notice (USCG-2000-6942) by the 
date and give the reasons for each comment. You may submit your 
comments and material by mail, delivery, fax, or electronic means to 
the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES, but 
please submit your comments and material by only one means. Please 
submit all comments and attachments in an unbound format, no larger 
than 8\1/2\ x 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing to 
the DOT Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES. If 
you want acknowledgement of receipt of your comments, please enclose a 
stamped, self-addressed post card or envelope. Comments received, 
whether submitted in writing to the docket or presented during the 
regional listening sessions, will be considered in refining the CFVSAP.

Background

    In response to the alarming number of deaths in the fishing 
industry, the Coast Guard chartered a Task Force to identify ways to 
improve safety. The Task Force examined fishing vessel casualties in 
the context of historical data, reviewed the Coast Guard's existing 
Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Program, reviewed past safety 
recommendations, and provided quick feedback to the fishing industry by 
recommending measures believed to have the greatest potential for 
reducing loss of life and property. The Task Force completed a report 
containing safety recommendations in March 1999 and presented the 
report to the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Advisory Committee 
(CFIVAC) and Coast Guard District Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinators. 
The Task Force report is available at http://www.get.to/thefishingreport or from Commandant (G-MOA), U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001, 202-
267-1430. The Coast Guard consolidated the Task Force recommendations 
commonly supported by both the CFIVAC and the District Fishing Vessel 
Safety Coordinators and subsequently developed the CFVSAP. The CFVSAP 
was presented at the October 4-5, 1999, meeting of the CFIVAC. The 
CFIVAC agreed with the concepts presented in the CFVSAP. Also, the 
CFIVAC agreed with the Coast Guard that holding regional listening 
sessions would result in valuable input from a larger segment of the 
fishing industry. By publication of this notice, the Coast Guard is 
seeking further feedback from fisherman on the CFVSAP. The CFVSAP is 
available at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/advisory/cfivac/fishexpo99.pdf 
or from Commandant (G-MOC), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001, 202-267-2008.

Objective and Issues

    The objective of the regional listening sessions and the request 
for comments is to receive information from the general public and the 
fishing industry pertaining to the CFVSAP and other possible safety 
issues affecting the fishing industry. The Coast Guard wishes to 
identify ways to improve safety in the fishing industry.
    The Coast Guard is specifically interested in information 
pertaining to the following:
     The most critical safety issues in your region.
     Ways the Coast Guard might better communicate with the fishing 
industry.
     Ways the Coast Guard might assist in improving safety in the 
fishing industry.
     Ways the fishing industry might improve its safety record without 
Coast Guard or other government involvement.
     The minimum level of training that should be considered in a 
training-based certificate program.
     The most safety-beneficial composition of a vessel examination 
program.
     Whether the Territorial Sea Baseline is the best reference 
parameter for setting certain safety equipment carriage requirements.

Format of Regional Listening Sessions

    Each listening session will follow a presentation by the Coast 
Guard on the CFVSAP. After the presentation the audience will have an 
opportunity to comment on the specifics of the CFVSAP. The Coast Guard 
will then present a list of standardized issues similar to those 
contained in Objectives and Issues and then open the listening session 
to general comments from the audience.

Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meetings, reach LT 
Paitl or ENS O'Neal where noted in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT as 
soon as possible.

    Dated: March 10, 2000.
R.C. North,
Rear Admiral, Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety and 
Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 00-6545 Filed 3-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-U