[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 98 (Monday, May 21, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29961-29962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12273]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-BB42


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska and Pacific 
Halibut Fisheries; Observer Program

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

ACTION: Notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: On April 18, 2012, we, NMFS, published a proposed rule in the 
Federal Register to restructure the funding and deployment system for 
observers in North Pacific groundfish and halibut fisheries via 
Amendment 86 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the 
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) and 
Amendment 76 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf 
of Alaska (GOA FMP). The public comment period for the subject proposed 
rule closes on June 18, 2012. We will hold a public hearing in Seattle, 
WA, to receive oral and written comments on the proposed regulations 
during the public comment period.

DATES: The public hearing will be held on June 1, 2012, 10 a.m. to 12 
p.m., Pacific daylight time, at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science 
Center, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Building 4, Observer Training Room 
(1055), Seattle, WA 98115. Written comments must be received no later 
than 5 p.m., Alaska local time, June 18, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FDMS Docket Number 
NOAA-NMFS-2011-0210, by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 
first click the ``Submit a Comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2011-
0210 in the keyword search. Locate the document you wish to comment on 
from the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on 
the right of that line.
     Mail: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant 
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region 
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, 
AK 99802-1668.
     Fax: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant 
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region 
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Fax comments to 907-586-7557.
     Hand delivery to the Federal Building: Address written 
comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional Administrator, 
Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Ellen 
Sebastian. Deliver comments to 709 West 9th Street, Room 420A, Juneau, 
AK.
     Submit oral or written comments to NMFS at the public 
hearing listed in this notice.
    Comments must be submitted by one of the above methods to ensure 
that the comments are received, documented, and considered by NMFS. 
Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, 
or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered.
    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 (e.g., name, address) voluntarily 
submitted by the commenter will be publicly accessible. Do not submit 
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required 
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats only.
    Electronic copies of the proposed rule to implement Amendment 86 to 
the BSAI FMP and Amendment 76 to the GOA FMP and the Environmental 
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis prepared for this action may be obtained from http://www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brandee Gerke, (907) 586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 18, 2012, we, NMFS, published a 
proposed rule in the Federal Register (77 FR 23326) to restructure the 
funding and deployment system for observers in the North Pacific 
groundfish and halibut fisheries via Amendment 86 to the BSAI FMP and 
Amendment 76 to GOA FMP. The proposed rule was prepared under the 
authority of section 313 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (MSA). MSA section 313 requires NMFS

[[Page 29962]]

to conduct a public hearing in each state represented on the North 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) for the purpose of 
receiving public comment on the proposed regulations. The states 
represented on the Council are Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. We held 
public hearings in Seattle, WA, on April 17, 2012; Newport, OR, on 
April 19, 2012; and in Juneau, AK, on May 2, 2012. Because the proposed 
regulations did not publish until April 18, 2012, we will conduct 
another public hearing on the proposed regulations in Seattle, WA, to 
receive written and oral comments on the proposed regulations.
    People wishing to make an oral statement for the record at the 
public hearing are encouraged to provide a written copy of their 
statement and present it to us at the hearing. If attendance at the 
public hearing is large, the time allotted for individual oral 
statements may be limited. Oral and written statements receive equal 
consideration. There are no limits on the length of written comments 
submitted to us.
    There is no need to register for the hearing. Please be advised 
that a valid government-issued photo-identification will be required 
for entry through building security at the hearing.

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

    Dated: May 15, 2012.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-12273 Filed 5-18-12; 8:45 am]
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