[Federal Register: September 20, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 182)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 53751]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20se07-28]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 070627217-7218-01]
RIN 0648-AV70
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast
Region Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Omnibus Amendment
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: NMFS extends for 4 days the comment period on the proposed
rule to implement the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM)
Omnibus Amendment (SBRM Amendment) to the Fishery Management Plans
(FMPs) of the Northeast Region, developed by the Mid-Atlantic and New
England Fishery Management Councils (Councils).
DATES: The deadline for written comments on the August 21, 2007 (72 FR
46588), proposed rule is extended from September 20, 2007, to no later
than 5 p.m. on September 24, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: SBRM.Amend.PR@noaa.gov. Include in the subject
line the following identifier: ``Comments on the Proposed Rule to
implement the SBRM Omnibus Amendment.''
Federal e-rulemaking portal: http:/www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS,
Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
Mark the outside of the envelope: ``Comments on the Proposed Rule to
implement the SBRM Omnibus Amendment.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135
Copies of the SBRM Amendment, and of the draft Environmental
Assessment and preliminary Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR), are
available from Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South New
Street, Dover, DE 19901-6790; and from Paul J. Howard, Executive
Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street,
Newburyport, MA 01950. The EA/RIR is also accessible via the Internet
at http://www.nero.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Pentony, Senior Fishery Policy
Analyst, 978-281-9283.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 303(a)(11) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that all
FMPs ``establish a standardized reporting methodology to assess the
amount and type of bycatch occurring in the fishery.'' In 2004, several
conservation organizations challenged the approval of two major
amendments to Northeast Region FMPs. In ruling on these suits, the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia found that the FMPs did not
clearly establish an SBRM as required under the relevant section of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and remanded the amendments back to the agency to
fully develop and establish the required SBRM. In particular, the Court
found that the amendments (1) failed to fully evaluate reporting
methodologies to assess bycatch, (2) did not mandate an SBRM, and (3)
failed to respond to potentially important scientific evidence.
In response, the Councils, working closely with NMFS, undertook
development of a remedy that would address all Northeast Region FMPs.
The Councils took final action to adopt the SBRM Amendment at their
meetings in June 2007, and submitted the amendment for review shortly
thereafter. This amendment covers 13 FMPs, 39 managed species, and 14
types of fishing gear. The purpose of the amendment is to: Explain the
methods and processes by which bycatch is currently monitored and
assessed for Northeast Region fisheries; determine whether these
methods and processes need to be modified and/or supplemented;
establish standards of precision for bycatch estimation for all
Northeast Region fisheries; and, thereby, document the SBRM established
for all fisheries managed through the FMPs of the Northeast Region. The
amendment also responds to the ``potentially important scientific
evidence'' cited by the Court in the two decisions referenced above.
On July 26, 3007 (72 FR 41047), NMFS published a notice of
availability that requested comments on the SBRM Amendment and draft
Environmental Assessment. The comment period on the notice of
availability closes on September 24, 2007. On August 21, 2007 (72 FR
46588), NMFS published a proposed rule that requested comments on the
regulations to implement the SBRM Amendment. The comment period on the
proposed rule was scheduled to close on September 20, 2007. In order to
provide the maximum opportunity for the public to review and provide
comments on the proposed rule to implement the SBRM Amendment, NMFS is
extending the comment period on the proposed rule to 5 p.m. on
September 24, 2007. With this extension, both comment periods will end
at the same time.
Dated: September 17, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-18590 Filed 9-19-07; 8:45 am]
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