[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 1, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 5128]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1800]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[I.D. 012405B]
Gulf of Mexico 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 Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will
hold a series of public hearings to receive public comments on
``Amendment Number 13 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp
Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. Waters with Environmental
Assessment, Regulatory Impact Review, and Regulatory Flexibility Act
Analysis.''
DATES: Written comments must be received by the Council on or before
March 4, 2005. The meetings will be held in February 2005 (see
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times).
ADDRESSES: The hearings will be held in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Texas (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific
locations).
Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected].
Federal e-Rulemaking: http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S.
Highway 301, North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.
Copies of Amendment 13 to the Shrimp FMP can be obtained from the
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Leard, Deputy Executive
Director, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: (813)
228-2815.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council (Council) will hold a series of public hearings to receive
public comments on ``Amendment Number 13 to the Fishery Management Plan
for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. Waters with
Environmental Assessment, Regulatory Impact Review, and Regulatory
Flexibility Act Analysis.'' Amendment 13 contains alternatives to (1)
establish a separate vessel permit for the royal red shrimp fishery or
an endorsement to the existing federal shrimp vessel permit (Action 1);
(2) define MSY, OY, the overfishing threshold, and the overfished
condition for royal red and penaeid shrimp stocks in the Gulf (Actions
2 through 7); (3) establish bycatch reporting methodologies and improve
collection of shrimping effort data in the EEZ through the use of
logbooks, electronic logbooks, and observers (Action 8); (4) require
completion of a Gulf Shrimp Vessel and Gear Characterization Form by at
least a subset of shrimp vessel permit holders (Action 9); (5)
establish a moratorium on the issuance of commercial shrimp vessel
permits (Action 10); and (6) require reporting and certification of
landings during a moratorium (Action 11). For each action, a ``No
Action'' alternative may also be considered. The Council is soliciting
public comment on alternatives under each of these potential actions,
and for other alternatives, that should be considered by the Council.
The Council is soliciting public comment on these issues through the
public hearings, by mail and by e-mail; and must be received by the
Council on or before March 4, 2005.
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is one of the eight
regional fishery management councils that were established by the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council prepares fishery management
plans that are designed to manage fishery resources in the Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Hearing Dates, Times, and Locations
The hearings will begin at 7 p.m. and end no later than 10 p.m. on
the following dates and at the locations specified below:
Monday, February 14, 2005, Holiday Inn I-10, 5465 Highway 90 West,
Mobile, AL 36619; 866-436-4329;
Tuesday, February 15, 2005, Mississippi Department of Marine
Resources, 1141 Bayview Drive, Biloxi, MS 39530; 228-374-5000;
Tuesday, February 15, 2005, DoubleTree Grand Key Resort, 3990 South
Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, FL 33040; 888-310-1540;
Wednesday, February 16, 2005, LSU Agricultural Center Extension
Office, 1105 West Port Street, Abbeville, LA 70510; 337-898-4335;
Thursday, February 17, 2005, Ramada Inn Houma, 1400 West Tunnel
Boulevard, Houma, LA 70360; 985-879-4871;
Thursday, February 17, 2005, DoubleTree Guest Suites Tampa Bay,
3050 North Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607; 813-888-8800;
Monday, February 21, 2005, Brownsville Events Center, 1 Events
Center Boulevard, Brownsville, TX 78526; 956-554-0700;
Tuesday, February 22, 2005, Palacios Rec Center, 2401 Perryman,
Palacios, TX 77465; 361-972-2387;
Wednesday, February 23, 2005, San Luis Resort, 5222 Seawall
Boulevard, Galveston Island, TX 77651; 409-744-1500; and
Thursday, February 24, 2005, New Orleans Airport Ramada Inn &
Suites, 110 James Drive East, St. Rose, LA 70087; 504-466-1355.
Special Accommodations
The hearings are open to the public and are physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation
or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Dawn Aring at the Council
office (see ADDRESSES) by February 7, 2005.
Dated: January 27, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-1800 Filed 1-31-05; 8:45 am]
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