[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16031-16032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7163]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 98-085-4]


Aquaculture; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: We are issuing this notice to inform 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 Thursday, April 5, 2001, from 
5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the University of Maine 
at Machias, Kimbal Hall, Science Room 102, 9 O'Brien Avenue, Machias, 
ME, in conjunction with the 9th Annual New England Farmed Fish Health 
Management Workshop.

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 9th Annual New England Farmed Fish 
Health Management Workshop, contact Ms. Susan MacDonald or Dr. Mike 
Optiz, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Room 332, Orono, ME 04469-5735; phone (207) 
581-2788 or fax (207) 581-4430. Information is also available online at 
http://www.umaine.edu/livestock/NE%20Fish/findex_Machias.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 4, 1999, the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) published an advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPR) titled ``Aquaculture: Farm-Raised Fin Fish'' in the 
Federal Register (64 FR 23795-23796, Docket No. 98-085-1). 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 
located 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 
located 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 
aquaculture. Because the aquaculture industry is large and diverse, we 
would have difficulty identifying everyone who should be represented in 
a negotiated rulemaking. In addition, many parties outside of 
aquaculture 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.
    However, we have not 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 you 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 all interested parties--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, we would like more information on three specific 
issues. 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-related services 
currently provided by APHIS.
    We have scheduled this public meeting, the third meeting in our 
series, for Thursday, April 5, 2001, at the University of Maine at 
Machias, ME. 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. Please register at the meeting 
room between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., 12 noon

[[Page 16032]]

and 12:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.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 5 p.m. and is scheduled to end at 8:30 
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 third in our series of public meetings. The 
first public meeting was held on January 25, 2001, in Lake Buena Vista, 
FL. The second public meeting was held on February 16, 2001, in Hebron, 
KY. We plan to hold additional meetings in Idaho (June 2001, in 
conjunction with the Idaho Aquaculture Association Annual Meeting), 
Washington (September 2001, in conjunction with the Pacific Coast 
Shellfish Growers Association Annual Conference), Pennsylvania (October 
2001, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Aquaculture Advisory 
Committee and Pennsylvania Aquaculture Association Annual Meeting), 
Mississippi (October 2001, in conjunction with a meeting of the Catfish 
Farmers of America), and Arkansas (October 2001, in conjunction with a 
meeting of the Catfish Farmers of Arkansas). 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 19th day of March 2001.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-7163 Filed 3-21-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P