[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 232 (Friday, December 3, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 75449-75450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30403]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 100804324-0489-01]
RIN 0648-BA01


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Comment Period Extension

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of a comment period.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is extending the comment period for the proposed rule to 
implement the 2011-2012 Biennial Specifications and Management 
Measures; Amendment 16-5; and Amendment 23 to the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP). The comment period is 
being extended to provide additional opportunity for public comment.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., local time on 
January 4, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the RIN number 0648-
BA01, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: 206-526-6736, Attn: Sarah Williams.
     Mail: William Stelle, Administrator, Northwest Region, 
NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070, Attn: Sarah 
Williams.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All personal identifying information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information, or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will accept anonymous

[[Page 75450]]

comments (enter N/A if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to 
electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, 
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Information relevant to the proposed rule, which includes a draft 
environmental impact statement (DEIS), a regulatory impact review 
(RIR), and an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) are 
available for public review during business hours at the office of the 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), at 7700 NE Ambassador 
Place, Portland, OR 97220, phone: 503-820-2280. Copies of additional 
reports referred to in the proposed rule document may also be obtained 
from the Council.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Williams, phone: 206-526-4646, 
fax: 206-526-6736, or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed rule that published on November 
3, 2010 (75 FR 67810), establishes the 2011-2012 harvest specifications 
and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. exclusive 
economic zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California 
consistent with the Mangunson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act and the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 
(PCGFMP). The proposed rule revises the harvest specifications for 
groundfish species and species complexes and the collection of 
management measures in the groundfish fishery regulations that are 
intended to keep the total catch within those harvest specifications. 
The proposed rule also includes regulations to implement Amendment 16-5 
to the PCGFMP. Amendment 16-5 would create a new rebuilding plan for 
Petrale sole, which was declared overfished on February 9, 2010, revise 
the existing rebuilding plans, and revise status determination criteria 
and a harvest control rule for flatfish. Finally, the proposed rule is 
consistent with and partially implements Amendment 23 to the PCGFMP. 
Amendment 23 would make the PCGFMP consistent with the revised National 
Standard 1 Guidelines (74 FR 3178, January 16, 2009).
    The proposed rule published in the Federal Register with a 30-day 
comment period that closed on December 3, 2010. NMFS announced at the 
November 2010 Council meeting that the 2011-2012 biennial 
specifications and management measures originally schedule to be in 
place January 1, 2011, would be delayed to allow for the preparation of 
the analytical documents needed to support final action. Because of 
this delay many of the specifications in the proposed rule will not be 
effective for the beginning of 2011 and instead specifications from 
2010 will be effective for the beginning of 2011, until the final rule 
is in place. Because of the extra time now available due to the delay 
in final action, NMFS is extending the comment period on the proposed 
rule through January 4, 2011 to allow the public and the Council 
additional time to comment.

    Dated: November 30, 2010.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-30403 Filed 12-2-10; 8:45 am]
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