65FR37513 Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings
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Posting-number: Volume 65, Issue 116, Page 37513
[Federal Register: June 15, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 116)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 37513-37514]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15jn00-18]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[I.D. 053100A]
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public hearings; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will
convene public hearings to receive comments on a draft Generic
Amendment Addressing the Establishment of Tortugas Marine Reserves
(draft Generic Tortugas Marine Reserves Amendment).
DATES: Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. on June 30, 2000.
The public hearings will be held on June 21 and 22, 2000. See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times of the public
hearings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to, and copies of the draft
Generic Tortugas Marine Reserves Amendment are available from, the
Council. The Council's address is: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council, 3018 U.S. Highway 301, North, Suite 1000, Tampa, Florida
33619. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times of
the public hearings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Wayne Swingle, Executive Director,
Senior Fishery Biologist, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council;
telephone: (813) 228-2815.
[[Page 37514]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council will convene public hearings to
take comments on a draft Generic Tortugas Marine Reserves Amendment,
which proposes to establish the Tortugas South marine reserve that will
encompass the Riley's Hump mutton snapper spawning aggregation site
established by the Council in 1994. The total area of the proposed
Tortugas South marine reserve is 60 square nautical miles (nm). The
draft Generic Tortugas Marine Reserves Amendment also proposes to
create the Tortugas North marine reserve cooperatively with the Florida
Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), the State of Florida, and the
National Park Service, which will encompass an area of 120 square nm.
The portion proposed to be established by the Council is 13 nm. The
Council proposes that marine reserves be established for a period of at
least 10 years, during which the ecological benefits of the reserve
will be evaluated. The Council also proposes that fishing, for all
species managed under the Council's fishery management plans and for
Atlantic highly migratory species, and anchoring by fishing vessels be
prohibited within the marine reserves.
The draft Generic Tortugas Marine Reserves Amendment would amend
all of the Council's fishery management plans and contains a draft
supplemental environmental impact statement (DSEIS), a draft initial
regulatory flexibility analysis, and a draft regulatory impact review.
The DSEIS has not yet been filed with the Environmental Protection
Agency for announcement for public comment. The Council will hear
public testimony on the draft Generic Tortugas Marine Reserves
Amendment before taking final action on the Generic Tortugas Marine
Reserves Amendment at its July 12, 2000, meeting in Key Largo, Florida.
Also, there will be a Highly Migratory Species (HMS) NMFS staff member
present at both hearings to specifically hear public testimony of
affected HMS fishermen.
Public hearings on the draft Generic Tortugas Marine Reserves
Amendment will begin at 3:30 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. at all of the
following locations:
1. Wednesday, June 21, 2000--Sombrero Country Club, 4000 Sombrero
Boulevard, Marathon, Florida 33050; and
2. Thursday, June 22, 2000--Holiday Inn Beachside, 3841 North
Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, Florida 33040.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Anne Alford at the Council (see
ADDRESSES) by June 7, 2000.
Dated: June 9, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-15179 Filed 6-14-00; 8:45 am]
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