[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 236 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76703-76704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30950]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA080


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Monkfish Fishery Management Plan Amendment 6; Scoping Hearings; 
Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) will hold 
public hearings to solicit comments on proposals to be included in the 
Draft Amendment 6 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The 
purpose of Amendment 6 is to consider one or more catch share 
management approaches for the monkfish fishery, including, but not 
limited to, Individual Fishery Quotas (IFQs), sectors and/or community 
quotas. The NEFMC is initiating a public process to determine the scope 
of

[[Page 76704]]

issues and range of alternatives to be addressed in Amendment 6 and its 
environmental impact statement (EIS).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 5 p.m. EST, 
February 15, 2011. The public hearings will be held from January 4, 
2011 to February 9, 2011. For specific dates and times, see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The Council will take comments at public meetings in 
Gloucester, MA; Hyannis, MA; New Bedford, MA; Warwick, RI; Portland, 
ME; Riverhead, NY; Manahawkin, NJ; Ocean City, MD, and New Bern, NC. 
For specific locations, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 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 Scoping Comments on Monkfish 
Amendment 6 in the subject line. Requests for copies of the scoping 
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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. monkfish fishery is jointly managed 
by the NEFMC and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), 
with the NEFMC having the administrative lead. On November 30, 2010, 
the NEFMC, in coordination with NMFS, published a Notice of Intent 
(NOI) to prepare an EIS for Amendment 6 to the Monkfish FMP (75 FR 
74005). At that time only one hearing was scheduled to be held on 
December 15, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. in conjunction with the MAFMC meeting in 
Virginia Beach, VA. The purpose of this notification is to alert the 
interested public of additional public scoping hearings that were 
scheduled following the publication of the NOI for Amendment 6. The 
following schedule provides the information for these public hearings.
    The dates, times, locations and telephone numbers of the hearings 
are as follows:
    Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 3 p.m.--Annisquam River Marine 
Fisheries Station, 30 Emerson Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930; telephone: 
(978) 282-0308;
    Monday, January 10, 2011 at 3 p.m.--Holiday Inn, 1127 Route 132, 
Hyannis, MA 02601; telephone: (508) 775-1153;
    Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 9 a.m.--Fairfield Inn & Suites, 185 
MacArthur Drive, New Bedford, MA 02740; telephone: (774) 634-2000;
    Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 4 p.m.--Hilton Garden Inn, One Thurber 
Street, Warwick, RI 02886; telephone: (401) 734-9600;
    Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 1 p.m.--Clarion Hotel, 1230 Congress 
Street, Portland, ME 04101; telephone: (207) 774-5611;
    Monday, January 31, 2011 at 1 p.m.--Holiday Inn Express East End, 
1707 Old Country Road, Riverhead, NY 11901; telephone: (631) 548-1000;
    Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 9 a.m.--Holiday Inn, 151 Route 72 
East, Manahawkin, NJ 08050; telephone: (609) 481-6100;
    Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 9 a.m.--Clarion Fontaineblue Hotel, 
101st Street on the Ocean, Ocean City, MD 21842; telephone: (800) 638-
2100;
    Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 4:30 p.m.--Hilton Riverfront Hotel, 
100 Middle Street, New Bern, NC 28560; telephone: (252) 638-3585.

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: December 6, 2010.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-30950 Filed 12-8-10; 8:45 am]
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