[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 21, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 12332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05702]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

RINs 0648-XG007, 0648-XF947


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries; Pelagic Longline Fishery Management and Shortfin Mako Shark 
Management Measures

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

ACTION: Notice of rescheduled scoping meeting.

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SUMMARY: On March 2, 2018, NMFS published a Notice of Intent with 
scoping meeting dates for upcoming rulemaking for pelagic longline 
bluefin tuna area-based and weak hook management. On March 5, 2018, 
NMFS published a Notice of Intent with scoping meeting dates for 
Amendment 11 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP. In this notice, per a 
request from constituents in that area, NMFS reschedules the New Jersey 
meeting date and provides a new meeting location.

DATES: The scoping meeting will now be held on April 11, 2018, from 4 
p.m. to 8 p.m..

ADDRESSES: The scoping meeting will now be held in Little Egg Harbor, 
NJ, at the Little Egg Harbor Branch Library, 290 Mathistown Road, 
Little Egg Harbor, NJ 08087.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gu[yacute] DuBeck or Craig Cockrell by 
phone: 301-427-8503, or Jennifer Cudney by phone: 727-824-5399.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implemented under the authority 
of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) and 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) governing the harvest of HMS, 
including bluefin tuna and sharks, by persons and vessels subject to 
U.S. jurisdiction are found at 50 CFR 635.
    On March 2, 2018, NMFS published a Notice of Intent (83 FR 8969) 
with scoping meeting dates for pelagic longline bluefin tuna area-based 
and weak hook management. The notice announced a public process for 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying the 
significant issues relating to the management of Atlantic HMS, with a 
focus on area-based management measures and weak hook management 
measures that were implemented to reduce dead discards of bluefin tuna 
in the pelagic longline fishery. On March 5, 2018, NMFS published a 
Notice of Intent (83 FR 9255) with scoping meeting dates for Amendment 
11 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP. This notice announced 
consideration of potential new management measures for shortfin mako 
sharks that could be implemented through rulemaking to address 
overfishing and to implement, as necessary and appropriate, measures 
adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of 
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) (ICCAT Recommendation 17-08) in response to the 
2017 shortfin mako shark stock assessment.
    Due to a request to reschedule the meeting due to a conflict with 
another meeting for local constituents, NMFS is canceling the original 
scoping meeting that had been scheduled for April 12, 2018 in 
Manahawkin, NJ and changing it to another date and location. The 
scoping meeting in New Jersey is now scheduled for April 11, 2018, in 
Little Egg Harbor, NJ (see ADDRESSES and DATES).
    Because the rulemakings overlap for some gear types, the public 
scoping meeting being held in Little Egg Harbor, NJ will address the 
issues from the scoping documents for both the pelagic longline bluefin 
tuna area-based and weak hook management and Amendment 11 to the 2006 
Consolidated HMS FMP. The shortfin mako shark management measure 
presentation will likely be given first unless polling of the audience 
indicates another approach is appropriate. After each presentation, 
public comment for that issue will be received. Meeting attendees 
interested in this issue are encouraged to show up at the beginning of 
the meeting to help determine the order of the presentations. The 
second presentation will not start any later than 6 p.m.
    The public is reminded that NMFS expects participants at the public 
hearings to conduct themselves appropriately. At the beginning of each 
public hearing, a representative of NMFS will explain the ground rules 
(e.g., alcohol is prohibited from the hearing room; attendees will be 
called to give their comments in the order in which they registered to 
speak; each attendee will have an equal amount of time to speak; and 
attendees should not interrupt one another). The NMFS representative 
will attempt to structure the meeting so that all attending members of 
the public will be able to comment, if they so choose, regardless of 
the controversial nature of the subject(s). Attendees are expected to 
respect the ground rules, and, if they do not, they may be asked to 
leave the hearing.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: March 16, 2018.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-05702 Filed 3-20-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P