[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3532-3533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-1199]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / 
Notices  

[[Page 3532]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 98-085-3]


Aquaculture; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: This is to notify the aquaculture industries, interested 
parties, and the general public that a public meeting will be held to 
discuss how and to what extent the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service should regulate aquatic species, and to discuss any other 
issues concerning possible regulation of aquaculture by the Agency.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Friday, February 16, 2001, 
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Radisson Inn 
Cincinnati Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, 
Hebron, KY, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the North Central 
Regional Aquaculture Center.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the APHIS public 
meeting, contact Dr. Otis Miller, Jr., National Aquaculture 
Coordinator, Center for Planning, Certification, and Monitoring, VS, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 46, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231, (301) 734-
6188.
    For information regarding the annual meeting of the North Central 
Regional Aquaculture Center, contact Liz Bartels at 
[email protected] or (517) 353-1962.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 4, 1999, the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) published in the Federal Register (64 FR 
23795-23796, Docket No. 98-085-1) an advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPR) titled ``Aquaculture: Farm-Raised Fin Fish.'' We 
published this ANPR after receiving petitions \1\ asking us to regulate 
aquaculture in various ways. Many petitioners asked us to define farmed 
aquatic animals as livestock. In general, the petitioners seemed to be 
interested in receiving the same services that domestic producers of 
livestock receive for animals moving in interstate and foreign 
commerce. However, based on the petitions alone, it was difficult for 
us to determine what segments of the industry want services and exactly 
what services they want. It was also difficult to determine the 
objectives sought by the petitioners who were requesting Federal 
regulation. We published the ANPR in an attempt to clarify the 
industry's needs, the nature of the services sought, and the concerns 
the petitioners had with regard to such regulations.
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    \1\ All the petitions and comments we received are a part of the 
rulemaking record for Docket No. 98-085-1. You may read the 
petitions and comments in our reading room. The reading room is 
locatd in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours 
are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To 
be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 690-2817 
before coming.
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    We received 55 comments \2\ in response to the ANPR. A majority of 
the commenters supported the idea of APHIS regulation of cultured fin 
fish. Unfortunately, the commenters generally did not clearly 
distinguish between fin fish raised for food and ornamental fin fish. 
Commenters who wanted regulation were, however, very clear that they 
want programs to prevent and control disease and to support increased 
commerce, both domestic and export.
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    \2\ All the petitions and comments we received are a part of the 
rulemaking record for Docket No. 98-085-1. You may read the 
petitions and comments in our reading room. The reading room is 
locatd in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours 
are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To 
be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 690-2817 
before coming.
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    The commenters also suggested that any rulemaking initiated by 
APHIS be a negotiated rulemaking. In negotiated rulemaking, industry 
representatives and other interested persons meet with APHIS officials 
and draft proposed regulations together. The proposed regulations are 
then published for public comment. Negotiated rulemaking is designed to 
ensure that all interested persons are involved together from the start 
in the development of regulations.
    Unfortunately, negotiated rulemaking is not suitable for all 
situations. It works well when there is a small number of interested 
parties, and the parties are easy to identify. This is not the case 
with regard to aquaculture. The aquaculture industry is very large and 
diverse. It would be difficult for us to identify everyone who should 
be represented in a negotiated rulemaking. In addition, there are many 
parties outside aquaculture that would have a substantial interest in 
such a rulemaking. In our view, the number of people who would need to 
participate in a negotiated rulemaking would be too large and would 
suggest that negotiated rulemaking is not appropriate. Furthermore, a 
negotiated rulemaking would be expensive, and APHIS does not have 
adequate funds. Therefore, we have concluded that it would not be 
appropriate to pursue an aquaculture negotiated rulemaking.
    We have not, however, decided whether to pursue aquaculture 
rulemaking by other means. Before we make that decision, we want to 
have as much information as possible from all interested persons, and 
we want to provide the aquaculture industries and other interested 
persons with as much opportunity as possible to discuss with us and 
inform us regarding the relevant issues.
    Therefore, we are holding a series of public meetings. Public 
meetings allow anyone who is interested--industry representatives, 
producers, consumers, and others--to present their views and to 
exchange information among themselves and with APHIS.
    There are no set agendas for the meetings. Any issues and concerns 
related to aquaculture and possible APHIS regulatory action can be 
discussed. However, there are three specific issues on which we would 
like more information. These are issues that the people and 
organizations who commented on our ANPR either did not address or were 
unclear about. Specifically, if APHIS does propose regulations: (1) 
Should our program be mandatory or voluntary; (2) should we cover shell 
fish; and (3) should we cover ornamental fin fish?
    Information elicited at the meetings could result in a new APHIS 
regulatory program, or in changes to aquaculture-

[[Page 3533]]

related services currently provided by APHIS.
    We have scheduled this public meeting, the second meeting in our 
series, for Friday, February 16, 2001, at the Radisson Inn Cincinnati 
Airport. If you wish to speak at the meeting, please register in 
advance by calling the Regulatory Analysis and Development voice mail 
at (301) 734-8139. Leave a message with your name, telephone number, 
organization, if any, and an estimate of the time you need to speak. 
You may also register at the meeting itself. Please register at the 
meeting room between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., before the meeting 
officially begins. Starting with the advance registrants, we will call 
speakers in the order in which they registered.
    The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 3 p.m. 
We may end the meeting early if all the registered speakers have had a 
chance to speak and if no one else wants to speak. We may also extend 
the meeting, or limit the time allowed for each speaker, if necessary, 
so all interested persons have an opportunity to participate.
    An APHIS representative will preside at the meeting. The meeting 
will be recorded. We encourage speakers to present written statements, 
though it is not required. If you choose to present a written 
statement, please provide the chairperson with a copy. The complete 
record, including the transcript and all written comments, will be 
available to the public.
    This meeting is the second in our series of public meetings. The 
first public meeting will be held on January 25, 2001, in Lake Buena 
Vista, FL. We plan to hold additional meetings in Idaho, Maine, 
Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Washington. We will publish a notice or 
notices in the Federal Register announcing the dates, times, and 
locations of the meetings.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 9th day of January 2001.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-1199 Filed 1-12-01; 8:45 am]
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