NOAA Fisheries Announces a Proposed Rule to Revise Atlantic
Highly Migratory Species Shark Fishery Closure Regulations
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA
Fisheries) announces a proposed rule that would revise the regulations related to
closures of the Atlantic commercial shark fisheries. The proposed action addresses previous public
comments asking for consideration of revisions to the shark fishery closure procedures.
Who is affected?
This
action could affect:
- Any commercial shark fishermen in the northwestern
Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
- Any dealers who buy or sell sharks or shark
products in these areas.
What will it do?
The
proposed
revisions to the closure regulations include:
- Maintaining the current 80-percent closure
threshold but allowing a shark fishery to remain open after this landings threshold
has been reached or has been projected to be reached, if NOAA Fisheries determines
the landings are not expected to exceed 100 percent of that quota before the
end of the season (Alternative 1f), and
- Decreasing the minimum notice of a shark
fishery closure from the current five days to three days (Alternative 2b), given
reduced trip lengths and electronic reporting obligations, which have resulted
in less need for extended notice of closures to avoid trip interruption.
Submit Comments by March 26, 2018:
During
the comment period, NOAA Fisheries will hold one public hearing by phone for
this proposed rule (see below). The public
is reminded that NOAA Fisheries expects participants at the public hearings to
conduct themselves appropriately. At the
beginning of the conference call, the moderator will explain how the call will
be conducted and how and when attendees can provide comments. NOAA Fisheries representative will attempt to
structure the meeting so that all the 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 or may not be allowed to speak during the conference call.
Information for Upcoming Conference
Call/Webinar:
During the public hearing call, NOAA Fisheries will receive public feedback on the proposed management measures. Written comments, identified by “NOAA-NMFS-2017-0070”, may be submitted electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or mail to the contact information included below. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted to Federal eRulemaking Portal without change. 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. NOAA Fisheries 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.
This notice is a courtesy to the HMS fishery
participants to help keep you informed about the fishery. Copies of these documents are available upon
request from the Highly Migratory Species Management Division, 1315 East-West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (phone: 301-427-8503) or on the HMS
website. For
further information on this proposed rule and its requirements, contact Guý
DuBeck or Lauren Latchford at 301-427-8503, or Delisse Ortiz at 240-681-9037
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