[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 146 (Monday, July 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44592-44593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18534]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-BA75


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Electronic Dealer Reporting 
System Workshop

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

ACTION: Notice of public workshops.

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SUMMARY: On June 28, 2011, NMFS published a proposed rule that 
considered requiring, among other things, Federal Atlantic swordfish, 
shark, and tunas dealers (except for dealers reporting Atlantic bluefin 
tuna) to report commercially-harvested Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and 
bigeye, albacore, yellowfin, and skipjack (BAYS) tunas through one 
centralized electronic reporting system. This electronic reporting 
system will allow dealers to submit Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and 
BAYS tuna data on a more real-time basis and more efficiently, which 
will reduce duplicative data submissions from different regions. We 
proposed to delay the effective date of the electronic reporting 
requirements until 2013 in order to give sufficient time for dealers to 
adjust to implementation of the new system and the additional 
requirements. On June 29, 2012, we announced the date and location for 
nine upcoming workshops in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic 
area to introduce the new reporting system to Highly Migratory Species 
(HMS) dealers. In this notice, we announce the date and location for an 
additional training workshop in the Caribbean.

DATES: The additional training workshop for the new HMS electronic 
dealer system will be held on August 29, 2012, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional details.

ADDRESSES: The training workshop will be held in St. Thomas, United 
States Virgin Islands (U.S.V.I.) at the following address: Department 
of Planning and Natural Resources, Office of the Commissioner, 8100 
Lindberg Bay, Suite 61, Cyril E. King Airport, Terminal Bldg., 
Second Floor, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., 00802. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for additional details.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Delisse Ortiz or Karyl Brewster-Geisz 
at (301) 427-8503 (phone); or Jackie Wilson at (240) 338-3936, or (301) 
713-1917 (fax); or http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/index.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic HMS are managed under the dual 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., and the Atlantic 
Tunas Convention Act, 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. Under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, NMFS must ensure consistency with the National Standards and 
manage fisheries to maintain optimum yield, rebuild overfished 
fisheries, and prevent overfishing. Atlantic Tunas Convention Act 
authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate regulations, as may 
be necessary and appropriate, to implement the recommendations adopted 
by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. 
The authority to issue regulations under Magnuson-Stevens Act and 
Atlantic Tunas Convention Act has been delegated from the Secretary to 
the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA. The implementing 
regulations for Atlantic HMS are at 50 CFR part 635.

Background

    The current regulations and infrastructure of the Atlantic HMS 
quota-monitoring systems result in a delay of several weeks or more 
before NMFS receives dealer data. This can affect management and 
monitoring of small Atlantic HMS quotas and short fishing seasons. As 
such, on June 28, 2011 (76 FR 37750), we published a proposed rule in 
the Federal Register that considered requiring, among other things, 
Federal Atlantic swordfish, shark, and tunas dealers (except for 
dealers reporting Atlantic bluefin tuna) to report commercially-
harvested Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and BAYS tunas through one 
centralized electronic reporting system. Under this new system, dealers 
would submit HMS data electronically (instead of in a paper format) and 
include additional information that is necessary for management of HMS 
(e.g., vessel and logbook information). The electronic submission of 
data will eliminate the delay associated with mailing in hardcopy 
reports. In this manner, HMS landings data will be submitted on a more 
real-time basis, allowing for timely

[[Page 44593]]

and efficient data collection for management of Atlantic HMS.
    In order to give sufficient time for dealers to adjust to 
implementation of the new system and the additional requirements, we 
proposed delaying implementation of the new HMS electronic reporting 
system for all federally-permitted HMS dealers until 2013. 
Additionally, we decided to conduct outreach to HMS dealers to train 
them how to use the new system and help ease the transition from the 
current paper format to the new HMS electronic reporting system. On 
December 14, 2011, we conducted an initial training workshop for HMS 
dealers in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. On June 29, 2012, we announced the date 
and location for nine upcoming workshops in the Caribbean, Gulf of 
Mexico, and Atlantic area to introduce the new reporting system to HMS 
dealers. In this notice, we announce the date and location for an 
additional training workshop in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. Future training 
workshops will be held throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and 
Southeast regions at a later date and will be announced in a future 
notice.
    These workshops will be physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Delisse Ortiz at (301) 425-8503, 
or Jackie Wilson at (240) 338-3936, at least 7 days prior to the 
workshop date. The public is reminded that NMFS expects participants at 
the workshop to conduct themselves appropriately. At the beginning of 
the workshop, a representative of NMFS will explain the ground rules 
(e.g., alcohol is prohibited from the hearing room; each attendee will 
have an opportunity to ask questions; and attendees should not 
interrupt one another). Attendees are expected to respect the ground 
rules; if they do not, they will be asked to leave the workshop.

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

    Dated: July 25, 2012.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-18534 Filed 7-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P