[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21618-21619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10757]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 040202C]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions, Subpart H; General Provisions 
for Domestic Fishing; Correction

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Correction of notice of receipt of petition for rulemaking and 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In the April 18, 2002, Federal Register, NMFS announced 
receipt of a petition for rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure 
Act. Oceana, a non-governmental organization concerned with the 
environmental health of the oceans, petitioned the U.S. Department of 
Commerce to promulgate immediately a rule to establish a program to 
count, cap, and control bycatch in U.S. fisheries. The announcement 
indicated under ``ADDRESSES'' where copies of the petition could be 
obtained, and under ``SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION'' that a copy of the 
petition was available at a

[[Page 21619]]

NMFS website. An error in the NMFS web address is corrected by this 
document.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the petition are available, and written comments 
on the need for such a regulation, its objectives, alternative 
approaches, and any other comments may be addressed to William T. 
Hogarth, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; telephone 301-713-2239. Comments 
may also be sent via fax to 301-713-1193, attn: Val Chambers. Comments 
will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Val Chambers, telephone 301-713-2341, 
fax 301-713-1193, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of receipt of the petition for 
rulemaking as filed by Oceana was published in the Federal Register on 
April 18, 2002 (67 FR 19154). The petition asserts that NMFS is not 
meeting its legal obligations for bycatch of birds, mammals, turtles, 
and fish under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and 
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The petition seeks a regulatory program 
that includes a workplan for observer coverage sufficient to provide 
statistically reliable bycatch estimates in all fisheries, the 
incorporation of bycatch estimates into restrictions on fishing, the 
placing of limits on directed catch and bycatch in each fishery with 
provision for closure upon attainment of either limit, and bycatch 
assessment and reduction plans as a requirement for all commercial and 
recreational fisheries.

Correction

    In proposed rule FR Doc. 02-9462 published on April 18, 2002, (67 
FR 19154) make the following correction. On page 19154, under 
``SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION'', in the third column, the first complete 
paragraph is corrected to read as follows:
    ``The exact and complete assertions of nonconformance with Federal 
law are contained in the text of Oceana's petition which is available 
via internet at the following NMFS web address: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/sfweb/index.htm. Also, anyone may obtain a copy 
of the petition by contacting NMFS at the above address.''
    This corrects the error in the website address.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries has determined that the 
petition contains enough information to enable NMFS to consider the 
substance of the petition. NMFS will consider public comments received 
in determining whether or not to proceed with the development of the 
regulations requested by Oceana. To this end, NMFS, by separate letter, 
has requested each of the Regional Fishery Management Councils to 
assist in evaluating this petition. Upon determining whether or not to 
initiate the requested rulemaking, the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NOAA, will publish a notice of the agency's final 
disposition of the Oceana petition request in the Federal Register.

    Dated: April 25, 2002.
John H. Dunnigan,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 02-10757 Filed 4-26-02; 4:30 pm]
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