[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 170 (Friday, August 31, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45957-45958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-22033]


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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. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2001 / 
Notices  

[[Page 45957]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 98-085-7]


Aquaculture; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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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. This notice also invites written comments on these 
issues.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on October 4, 2001, from 1:30 
p.m. to 4 p.m. We will consider written comments that we receive on or 
before February 1, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the University of 
Arkansas at Pine Bluff, 1890 Extension Building, Spruce and Oliver 
Streets, Pine Bluff, AR.
    Please send four copies of your written comments (an original and 
three copies) to: Docket No. 98-085-7, Regulatory Analysis and 
Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to 
Docket No. 98-085-7.
    You may read any written comments that we receive on this docket 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.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the public 
meeting, contact Dr. Otis Miller, Jr., National Aquaculture 
Coordinator, Planning, Certification, and Monitoring, VS, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 46, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231, (301) 734-6188.
    For information regarding aquaculture activities at the University 
of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, call Dr. Carole Engle, Director of 
Aquaculture/Fisheries Center, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, 
(870) 543-8537.

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 we received are a part of the rulemaking 
record for Docket No. 98-085-1. You may read the petitions in our 
reading room. See the ADDRESSES section of this documents for the 
location and hours of the reading room.
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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 comments we received are a part of the rulemaking 
record for Docket No. 98-085-1. You may read the comments in our 
reading room. See the ADDRESSES section of this document for the 
location and hours of the reading room.
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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 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

[[Page 45958]]

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 for Thursday, October 4, 
2001, at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR. If 
you wish to speak at the meeting, please register in advance by calling 
the Regulatory Analysis and Development voice mail at (301) 734-4339. 
Leave a message with your name, telephone number, organization, if any, 
and an estimate of the time you need to speak. On the day of the 
meeting, you may also register from 1 to 1:30 p.m. at the meeting site. 
Starting with the advance registrants, we will call speakers in the 
order in which they registered.
    The meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. and is scheduled to end at 4 
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 part of 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. 
The third public meeting was held on April 5, 2001, in Machias, ME, and 
the fourth public meeting was held on June 8, 2001, in Twin Falls, ID. 
Recently, we announced three other meetings: Washington (September 19, 
2001, in conjunction with the joint meeting of the Pacific Coast 
Shellfish Growers Association and the National Shellfish Association/
Pacific Coast Section Conference); Pennsylvania (October 9, 2001, in 
conjunction with the annual meetings of the Pennsylvania Aquaculture 
Advisory Committee and the Pennsylvania Aquaculture Association); and 
Mississippi (October 10, 2001, in conjunction with the annual Board 
meeting of the Catfish Farmers of America). On July 27, 2001, we 
published a notice in the Federal Register (66 FR 39134-39136, Docket 
No. 98-085-6) announcing the dates, times, and locations of these three 
meetings. Transcripts of the proceedings of each meeting are available, 
as we receive them, on the Internet at www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/aquaculture.html.
    Additionally, to provide interested persons with as much 
opportunity as possible to inform us of relevant issues, we are 
accepting written comments mailed to the address listed at the 
beginning of this document under ADDRESSES.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of August 2001.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-22033 Filed 8-30-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P