[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 122 (Friday, June 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36360-36361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-15484]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XX11


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Notice of public hearings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold 
six public hearings to solicit

[[Page 36361]]

comments on proposals to be included in the Draft Amendment 15 to the 
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

DATES: The public hearings will be held from July 12 through July 21, 
2010. For specific dates and times, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The Council will take comments at public meetings in 
Portland, ME; Fairhaven, MA; Chatham, MA; New London, CT; Cape May, NJ 
and Newport News, VA. For specific locations, see SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

DATES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia Kurkul, Regional 
Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Comments may also be sent via fax to (978) 
281-9135 or submitted via e-mail to [email protected] with (Comments 
on Scallop Draft Amendment 15'' in the subject line. Requests for 
copies of the public hearing document and other information should be 
directed to Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery 
Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; 
telephone: (978) 465-0492. The public hearing document is also 
accessible electronically via the Internet at http://www.nefmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council proposes to take action to amend 
the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and to address 
the new and revised requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Act. 
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 Draft Amendment 15 to the Scallop 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 written public comments on the 
Proposed Rule when it is published in the Federal Register.
    Major elements of the alternatives in the Draft Amendment 15 and 
Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement include: (1) 
implementation and specification of annual catch limits (ACLs) and 
accountability measures (AMs) to comply with a new mandate of the 
reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act; (2) measures to address excess 
capacity in the limited access scallop fishery and provide more 
flexibility for efficient utilization of the resource through various 
permit stacking and leasing alternatives; and (3) several adjustments 
to make the overall Scallop FMP more effective. The third general goal 
includes measures to consider changes to the limited access general 
category fishery, adjusting the overfishing definition, modifying the 
essential fish habitat closed areas in the Scallop FMP, changing the 
scallop fishing year and several adjustments to the research set-aside 
program.
    The dates, times, locations and telephone numbers of the hearings 
are as follows:
    Monday, July 12, 2010 at 7 p.m. - Holiday Inn by the Bay, 
88 Spring Street, Portland, ME 04101; telephone: (207) 775-2311;
    Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 7 p.m. - Seaport Inn, 110 Middle 
Street, Fairhaven, MA 02719; telephone: (508) 997-1281;
    Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 7 p.m. - Chatham Bars Inn, 297 
Shore Road, Chatham, MA 02633; telephone: (508) 945-0096;
    Monday, July 19, 2010 at 7 p.m. - Radisson Hotel, 35 
Governor Winthrop Boulevard, New London, CT 06320; telephone: (860) 
443-7000;
    Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 7 p.m. - Congress Hall, 251 Beach 
Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204; telephone: (609) 884-8421;
    Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 7 p.m. - Omni Newport News 
Hotel, 1000 Omni Boulevard, Newport News, VA 23606; telephone: (757) 
873-6664.

Special Accommodations

    These hearings are physically 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 date.

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

    Dated: June 22, 2010.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-15484 Filed 6-24-10; 8:45 am]
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