[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 28, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70939-70940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28820]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 120813331-2562-01]
RIN 0648-XC164


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern 
United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Proposed Rule To 
Implement a Targeted Acadian Redfish Fishery for Sector Vessels; 
Reopening of Comment Period

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: This action reopens the comment period for an Acadian redfish 
proposed rule that published on November 8, 2012. The original comment 
period closed on November 23, 2012; the comment period is being 
reopened to provide additional opportunity for public comment through 
December 31, 2012.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published November 8, 
2012 (77 FR 66947), is reopened. Written comments must be received on 
or before December 31, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2011-0264, 
by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Brett Alger.
     Mail: Paper, disk, or CD-ROM comments should be sent to 
John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the 
outside of the envelope: ``Comments on Redfish Rule.''
    Instructions: All comments received are part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. No comments will be posted for public viewing until after the 
comment period has closed. 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. NMFS will 
accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required fields, if you 
wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to electronic 
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 
formats only.
    Once submitted to NMFS, copies of addenda to fishing year (FY) 2012 
sector operations plans detailing industry-funded monitoring plans, and 
the supplemental environmental assessment (EA), will be available from 
the NMFS NE Regional Office at the mailing address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brett Alger, Fisheries Management 
Specialist, phone (978) 675-2153, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule published on November 8, 
2012 (77 FR 66947) that would implement addenda to FY 2012 NE 
multispecies sector operations plans and contracts to add additional 
exemptions from Federal fishing regulations for FY 2012 sectors. 
Specifically, the action would expand on a previously approved sector 
exemption by allowing groundfish sector trawl vessels to target redfish 
using nets with codend mesh as small as 4.5 inches (11.4 cm). In 
addition, the action proposed to implement an industry-funded at-sea 
monitoring program for sector trips targeting redfish with trawl nets 
with mesh sizes that are less than the regulated mesh size requirement.

[[Page 70940]]

    The proposed rule published in the Federal Register with a 15-day 
comment period that closed on November 23, 2012. Public comment from 
the fishing industry requested that the comment period be extended to 
allow the New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Groundfish 
Oversight Committee and the full Council to discuss the proposal and to 
provide comment. The Groundfish Committee will be meeting December 19, 
2012, and the Council will be meeting December 20, 2012. Both of these 
meetings plan to discuss the sector exemption request to target redfish 
using a codend mesh as small as 4.5 inches (11.4 cm). Reopening the 
comment period to overlap with the Council's meetings will provide 
additional time for the Council and other interested parties to provide 
comment on this action. Thus, NMFS is reopening the comment period on 
the proposed rule through December 31, 2012.

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

    Dated: November 23, 2012.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, Performing the Functions and 
Duties of the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-28820 Filed 11-23-12; 4:15 pm]
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