[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 4, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56525-56526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22522]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 082602B]


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Public hearings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold 
a series of public hearings to solicit comments on proposals to be 
included in the Skate Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

DATES: Written comments on the proposals will be accepted through 
October 15, 2002. The public hearings will begin on September 16, 2002, 
and end on October 1, 2002. See Public Hearings for specific hearing 
dates.

ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the public hearing document or to submit 
comments, contact Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England 
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 
01950. When submitting comments, identify correspondence as ``Comments 
on Draft Skate FMP.'' Hearings will be held in Massachusetts, New 
Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Delaware. Requests for special 
accommodations should be addressed to the New England Fishery 
Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; 
telephone: (978) 465-0492. For specific locations, see Public Hearings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council proposes to take action to 
implement a management program for the Northeast Region's skate complex 
and its associated fisheries and to address the requirements of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as amended by 
the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996. The Council will consider 
comments from fishermen, interested parties, and the general public on 
the proposals and alternatives described in the public hearing document 
for the Skate FMP. Once it has considered public comments, the Council 
will approve final management measures and prepare a submission package 
for NMFS. There will be an additional opportunity for public comment 
when the Notice of Availability and the proposed rule for the Skate FMP 
are published in the Federal Register.
    Major elements of the proposals in this public hearing document 
include: (1) a Federal permit program for skate fishery participants; 
(2) modifications to reporting requirements for all federally-permitted 
vessels and dealers that allow for the collection of skate-specific 
fishery information; (3) identification of the fishing year and 
management unit for the skate complex; (4) requirement for a letter of 
authorization for vessel-to-vessel sales of skates for bait; (5) 
specification of rebuilding programs for overfished skate species; (6) 
selection of overfishing definitions for each species of skates; (7) 
designation of essential fish habitat (EFH) for each life history stage 
of the skate species; (8) prohibitions on the possession, landing, and/
or sale of barndoor, thorny, and smooth skates; (9) development of a 
monitoring and adjustment mechanism for this plan including a framework 
adjustment process; (10) skate possession limits for the wing fishery; 
and (11) identification of management measures in other fisheries that 
benefit skates. The Council will consider all comments received on 
these proposals until the end of the comment period on October 15, 
2002.

Public Hearings

    The dates, times, locations, and telephone numbers of the public 
hearings are as follows:
    Monday, September 16, 2002 at 6 p.m.-Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake 
Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; telephone: (508) 997-0046;
    Tuesday, September 17, 2002 at 6 p.m.-Narragansett Town Hall, 5th 
Avenue, Narragansett, RI; telephone: (401) 789-1044;
    Friday, September 20, 2002 at 10 a.m.-Provincetown Town Hall, 260 
Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA 02657; telephone: (508) 487-7013;
    Monday, September 23, 2002, at 6 p.m.-Sheraton Portsmouth, 250 
Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; telephone: (603) 431-2300; and
    Tuesday, October 1, 2002 at 7 p.m.-Holiday Inn Select, 630 Naamans 
Road, Wilmington, DE 19703; telephone: (302) 791-4603.

Special Accommodations

    These hearings are accessible to people with physical disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Paul J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days 
prior to the meeting dates.


[[Page 56526]]


    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et. seq.

    Dated: August 29, 2002.
Virginia M. Fay,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-22522 Filed 8-29-02; 4:09 p.m.]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S