[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 182 (Thursday, September 20, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 53751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18590]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 070627217-7218-01]
RIN 0648-AV70


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Region Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Omnibus Amendment

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: NMFS extends for 4 days the comment period on the proposed 
rule to implement the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) 
Omnibus Amendment (SBRM Amendment) to the Fishery Management Plans 
(FMPs) of the Northeast Region, developed by the Mid-Atlantic and New 
England Fishery Management Councils (Councils).

DATES: The deadline for written comments on the August 21, 2007 (72 FR 
46588), proposed rule is extended from September 20, 2007, to no later 
than 5 p.m. on September 24, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the subject 
line the following identifier: ``Comments on the Proposed Rule to 
implement the SBRM Omnibus Amendment.''
     Federal e-rulemaking portal: http:/www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 
Mark the outside of the envelope: ``Comments on the Proposed Rule to 
implement the SBRM Omnibus Amendment.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9135
    Copies of the SBRM Amendment, and of the draft Environmental 
Assessment and preliminary Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR), are 
available from Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South New 
Street, Dover, DE 19901-6790; and from Paul J. Howard, Executive 
Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, 
Newburyport, MA 01950. The EA/RIR is also accessible via the Internet 
at http://www.nero.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Pentony, Senior Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9283.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 303(a)(11) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that all 
FMPs ``establish a standardized reporting methodology to assess the 
amount and type of bycatch occurring in the fishery.'' In 2004, several 
conservation organizations challenged the approval of two major 
amendments to Northeast Region FMPs. In ruling on these suits, the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Columbia found that the FMPs did not 
clearly establish an SBRM as required under the relevant section of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and remanded the amendments back to the agency to 
fully develop and establish the required SBRM. In particular, the Court 
found that the amendments (1) failed to fully evaluate reporting 
methodologies to assess bycatch, (2) did not mandate an SBRM, and (3) 
failed to respond to potentially important scientific evidence.
    In response, the Councils, working closely with NMFS, undertook 
development of a remedy that would address all Northeast Region FMPs. 
The Councils took final action to adopt the SBRM Amendment at their 
meetings in June 2007, and submitted the amendment for review shortly 
thereafter. This amendment covers 13 FMPs, 39 managed species, and 14 
types of fishing gear. The purpose of the amendment is to: Explain the 
methods and processes by which bycatch is currently monitored and 
assessed for Northeast Region fisheries; determine whether these 
methods and processes need to be modified and/or supplemented; 
establish standards of precision for bycatch estimation for all 
Northeast Region fisheries; and, thereby, document the SBRM established 
for all fisheries managed through the FMPs of the Northeast Region. The 
amendment also responds to the ``potentially important scientific 
evidence'' cited by the Court in the two decisions referenced above.
    On July 26, 3007 (72 FR 41047), NMFS published a notice of 
availability that requested comments on the SBRM Amendment and draft 
Environmental Assessment. The comment period on the notice of 
availability closes on September 24, 2007. On August 21, 2007 (72 FR 
46588), NMFS published a proposed rule that requested comments on the 
regulations to implement the SBRM Amendment. The comment period on the 
proposed rule was scheduled to close on September 20, 2007. In order to 
provide the maximum opportunity for the public to review and provide 
comments on the proposed rule to implement the SBRM Amendment, NMFS is 
extending the comment period on the proposed rule to 5 p.m. on 
September 24, 2007. With this extension, both comment periods will end 
at the same time.

    Dated: September 17, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-18590 Filed 9-19-07; 8:45 am]
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