Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Skate Complex Fishery; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement; Scoping Process; Request for Comments, 825-827 [2016-31864]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2017 / Notices Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan.5 Weight % .................................... Also excluded from the scope of this order is ultra-tempered automotive steel, which is hardened, tempered, surface polished, and meets the following specifications: 0.90–1.05 • Physical properties: Width less than or equal to 150mm. Width of 150 to 330mm. Flatness of less than 0.2% of nominal strip width. Flatness of less than 5 mm of nominal strip width. mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES • Microstructure: Completely free from decarburization. Carbides are spheroidal and fine within 1% to 4% (area percentage) and are undissolved in the uniform tempered martensite; • Surface roughness: less than or equal to 0.80 to mm Rz; • Non-metallic inclusion: D Sulfide inclusion less than or equal to 0.04% (area percentage) D Oxide inclusion less than or equal to 0.05% (area percentage); and • The mill test certificate must demonstrate that the steel is proprietary grade ‘‘PK’’ and specify the following: D The exact tensile strength, which must be greater than or equal to 1600 N/mm2; • The exact hardness, which must be greater than or equal to 465 Vickers hardness number; • The exact elongation, which must be between 2.5% and 9.5%; and • Certified as having residual compressive stress within a range of 100 to 400 N/mm2. Also excluded from the scope of this order is certain cold-rolled flat-rolled steel for porcelain enameling meeting the requirements of ASTM A424 Type 1 and having each of the following characteristics: • Continuous annealed cold-reduced steel in coils with a thickness of between 0.30 mm and 0.36 mm that is in widths either from 875 mm to 940 mm or from 1,168 to 1,232 mm; • a chemical composition, by weight, of: D not more than 0.004% carbon; D not more than 0.010% aluminum; D 0.006%–0.010% nitrogen D 0.012%–0.030% boron D 0.010%–0.025% oxygen D less than 0.002% of titanium; D less than 0.002% by weight of vanadium; D less than 0.002% by weight of niobium, D less than 0.002% by weight of antimony; • a yield strength of from 179.3 MPa to 344.7 MPa; • a tensile strength of from 303.7 MPa to 413.7 MPa; 5 See Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from the People’s Republic of China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan: Antidumping Duty Orders, 79 FR 71,741, 71,741– 42 (Dep’t Commerce Dec. 3, 2014) (‘‘Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from the People’s Republic of China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan’’). The orders define NOES as ‘‘coldrolled, flat-rolled, alloy steel products, whether or VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:46 Jan 03, 2017 Jkt 241001 0.15–0.35 0.30–0.50 [FR Doc. 2016–31890 Filed 1–3–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P not in coils, regardless of width, having an actual thickness of 0.20 mm or more, in which the core loss is substantially equal in any direction of magnetization in the plane of the material. The term ‘substantially equal’ means that the cross grain direction of core loss is no more than 1.5 times the straight grain direction (i.e., the rolling direction) of core loss. NOES has a magnetic permeability that does not exceed 1.65 Tesla when tested at a field PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 • Thickness: less than or equal to 1.0 mm; • Width: less than or equal to 330 mm; • Chemical composition: Less than or equal to 0.03 • a percent of elongation of from 28% to 46% on a standard ASTM sample with a 5.08 mm gauge length; • a product shape of flat after annealing, with flat defined as less than or equal to 1 I unit with no coil set as set forth in ASTM A568, Appendix X5 (alternate methods for expressing flatness). The products subject to this order are currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (‘‘HTSUS’’) under item numbers: 7209.15.0000, 7209.16.0030, 7209.16.0060, 7209.16.0070, 7209.16.0091, 7209.17.0030, 7209.17.0060, 7209.17.0070, 7209.17.0091, 7209.18.1530, 7209.18.1560, 7209.18.2510, 7209.18.2520, 7209.18.2580, 7209.18.6020, 7209.18.6090, 7209.25.0000, 7209.26.0000, 7209.27.0000, 7209.28.0000, 7209.90.0000, 7210.70.3000, 7211.23.1500, 7211.23.2000, 7211.23.3000, 7211.23.4500, 7211.23.6030, 7211.23.6060, 7211.23.6090, 7211.29.2030, 7211.29.2090, 7211.29.4500, 7211.29.6030, 7211.29.6080, 7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7225.50.6000, 7225.50.8080, 7225.99.0090, 7226.92.5000, 7226.92.7050, and 7226.92.8050. The products subject to the order may also enter under the following HTSUS numbers: 7210.90.9000, 7212.50.0000, 7215.10.0010, 7215.10.0080, 7215.50.0016, 7215.50.0018, 7215.50.0020, 7215.50.0061, 7215.50.0063, 7215.50.0065, 7215.50.0090, 7215.90.5000, 7217.10.1000, 7217.10.2000, 7217.10.3000, 7217.10.7000, 7217.90.1000, 7217.90.5030, 7217.90.5060, 7217.90.5090, 7225.19.0000, 7226.19.1000, 7226.19.9000, 7226.99.0180, 7228.50.5015, 7228.50.5040, 7228.50.5070, 7228.60.8000, and 7229.90.1000. The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and CBP purposes only. The written description of the scope of the order is dispositive. 825 Less than or equal to 0.006. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648–XF094 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Skate Complex Fishery; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement; Scoping Process; Request for Comments National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact statement and initiate scoping process; request for comments. AGENCY: The New England Fishery Management Council announces its intent to prepare, in cooperation with NMFS, a draft environmental impact statement consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act. A draft environmental impact statement may be necessary to provide analytic support for Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan. This notice alerts the interested public of the scoping process for a potential draft environmental impact statement and outlines opportunity for public participation in that process. DATES: Written and electronic scoping comments must be received on or before March 6, 2017. ADDRESSES: Written scoping comments on Amendment 5 may be sent by any of the following methods: • Email to the following address: comments@nefmc.org; • Mail to Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; or • Fax to (978) 465–3116. Requests for copies of the Amendment 5 scoping document and SUMMARY: of 800 A/m (equivalent to 10 Oersteds) along (i.e., parallel to) the rolling direction of the sheet (i.e., B800 value). NOES contains by weight more than 1.00 percent of silicon but less than 3.5 percent of silicon, not more than 0.08 percent of carbon, and not more than 1.5 percent of aluminum. NOES has a surface oxide coating, to which an insulation coating may be applied.’’ E:\FR\FM\04JAN1.SGM 04JAN1 826 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2017 / Notices mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES other information should be directed to Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950, telephone (978) 465–0492. The scoping document is accessible electronically via the Internet at https:// www.nefmc.org. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, (978) 465–0492. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The New England Fishery Management Council, working through its public participatory committee and meeting processes, anticipates the development of an amendment that may require an environmental impact statement (EIS) to meet applicable criteria in the Council on Environmental Quality regulations and guidance for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Amendment 5 will consider limited access to the skate (bait and non-bait) fishery. The Northeast Skate Complex is comprised of seven species (barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette, smooth, thorny, and winter skate), managed as a single unit along the east coast from Maine to Cape Hatteras, NC. The skate bait fishery primarily targets little skate, with a small component of winter skate catch. The non-bait fishery, including the wing fishery, primarily targets winter skate. Following the first skate stock assessment in 1999, the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan was adopted in 2003. Amendment 3 established an annual catch limit and annual catch target for the skate complex, total allowable landings for the skate bait and non-bait fisheries, seasonal quotas for the bait fishery, new possession limits, and in-season possession limit triggers. The skate fishery is an open access fishery—any vessel may join or leave the fishery at any time. Skate fishermen are concerned that increasingly strict regulations in other fisheries— particularly in the Northeast Multispecies (groundfish) fishery where several stocks are overfished and subject to strict catch restrictions—might cause these fishermen to switch their fishing effort onto skates. An increase in effort in the skate fishery could cause the VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:46 Jan 03, 2017 Jkt 241001 fishery to harvest its catch limit in a shorter time period, trigger reduced skate trip limits, or have other negative economic impacts on current participants since developing skate markets could be negatively impacted by a flood of product. A control date for the bait fishery was established on July 30, 2009 (74 FR 37977). A control date for the non-bait fishery was established on March 31, 2014 (79 FR 18002). The control dates may be used as a reference date for future management measures related to such rulemaking. The Council has initiated the development of this amendment to address three issues: • Limited access qualification criteria that would determine whether vessels may target skate. These criteria may differ by stock or management area and may treat older history differently than newer history; • Limited access permit conditions (transfers, ownership caps, ‘history’ permits, etc.); and • Permit categories and associated measures. The amendment’s objective would be to establish qualification criteria for skate (bait and non-bait ‘‘wing’’) fishing permits and possibly different qualification criteria or catch limits for each fishery, considering how they operate differently. For example, in the wing fishery, it may be desirable to have different permit tiers that distinguish between skate vessels that currently target skate, historically targeted, and/or vessels that catch and land small quantities. Qualification criteria might include several factors such as, but not limited to, the time period vessels have participated in the fishery (possibly using the control dates established for this fishery), historic levels of landings, and dependency on the fishery. The Council may consider limiting access to the skate (bait and non-bait) fishery in a manner that may affect individual permit holder access to skates depending on the qualification criteria and other permit conditions developed. Based on individual fishing history, a vessel that has targeted skate may be distinguished differently from a vessel that caught and landed skates while fishing for other species. Landing limits for qualifiers and non-qualifiers could therefore be more consistent with the type of fishing that these vessels conduct in order to minimize discarding and economic effects. For example, the PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 bait skate fishery currently requires a letter of authorization, but has substantially larger landing limits than the wing fishery. Some historic participants in the Northeast Skate Complex fisheries also may desire limited access privileges (a catch share program, for example). Following the scoping period, the Council and its Skate Committee will identify the specific goals and objectives of the amendment and develop alternatives to meet the purpose and need of the action. With input from its committees and the public, the Council would select a range of alternatives to implement limited access in the skate fishery. Public Comment All persons affected by or otherwise interested in Northeast skate management are invited to comment on the scope and significance of issues to be analyzed by submitting written comments (see ADDRESSES) or by attending one of the six scoping meetings for this amendment. Scoping consists of identifying the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts to be considered. At this time in the process, the Council believes that the alternatives considered in Amendment 5 should include limited access to the skate fishery. After the scoping process is completed, the Council will begin development of Amendment 5 and, if necessary, will prepare a draft EIS to analyze the impacts of the range of alternatives under consideration. Impacts may be direct, individual, or cumulative. The Council will hold public hearings to receive comments on the draft amendment and on the analysis of its impacts presented in the draft EIS. In addition to soliciting comment on this notice, the public will have the opportunity to comment on the measures and alternatives being considered by the Council through public meetings and public comment periods consistent with NEPA, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Any amendment developed and approved by the Council would have to be approved and implemented by NMFS. The Council will take and discuss scoping comments on this amendment at the public meetings listed in Table 1. E:\FR\FM\04JAN1.SGM 04JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2017 / Notices 827 TABLE 1—AMENDMENT 5 PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING INFORMATION Meeting date and time Meeting location Portsmouth, NH, Tuesday, January 24, 2017, 5:00 p.m. (or immediately following the Council Meeting). Via Webinar, Tuesday, January 31, 2017, 6:00–8:00 p.m ...................... Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801 04101, Telephone: (603) 431–2300. Webinar Hearing, Register to participate: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/194149773, Call in info: Toll: +1 (646) 749– 3122, Access Code: 194–149–773. Mass Maritime, 101 Academy Drive, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532, Telephone: (508) 830–5000. Graduate School of Oceanography, Coastal Institute Building—Hazard Room, 215 S Ferry Rd, Narragansett, RI 02882, Telephone: (401) 874–6222. Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation, Inc., 240 Edgemere St., Montauk, New York 11954, Telephone: (631) 668– 1124. Grand Hotel of Cape May, 1045 Beach Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204, Telephone: (609) 884–5611. Buzzards Bay, MA, Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m .... Narragnasett, RI, Thursday, February 9, 2017, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m ...... Montauk, NY, Wednesday, February 15, 2017, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m ...... Cape May, NJ, Thursday, February 16, 2017, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m ........ A scoping document with additional background information is available on the Council’s Web site at https:// www.nefmc.org/management-plans/ skates or may be obtained by contacting the Council. Additional information on the scoping meetings can be accessed online at https://www.nefmc.org/. Special Accommodations The meetings are accessible to people with physical disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Thomas A. Nies (see ADDRESSES) at least five days prior to each meeting date. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: December 29, 2016. Alan D. Risenhoover, Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2016–31864 Filed 1–3–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Government-Industry Advisory Panel; Notice of Federal Advisory Committee Meeting Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics), Department of Defense (DoD). ACTION: Federal advisory committee meeting notice. AGENCY: The Department of Defense is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Government-Industry Advisory Panel. This meeting is open to the public. DATES: The meeting will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, January 18–19, 2017. Public registration will begin at 8:45 mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:46 Jan 03, 2017 Jkt 241001 a.m. on each day. For entrance into the meeting, you must meet the necessary requirements for entrance into the Pentagon. For more detailed information, please see the following link: https://www.pfpa.mil/access.html. ADDRESSES: Pentagon Library, Washington Headquarters Services, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301–1155. The meeting will be held in Room M2. The Pentagon Library is located in the Pentagon Library and Conference Center (PLC2) across the Corridor 8 bridge. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LTC Andrew Lunoff, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acquisition), 3090 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301–3090, email: andrew.s.lunoff.mil@mail.mil, phone: 571–256–9004. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Meeting: This meeting is being held under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA) (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 41 CFR 102–3.150. The Government-Industry Advisory Panel will review sections 2320 and 2321 of title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.), regarding rights in technical data and the validation of proprietary data restrictions and the regulations implementing such sections, for the purpose of ensuring that such statutory and regulatory requirements are best structured to serve the interest of the taxpayers and the national defense. The scope of the panel is as follows: (1) Ensuring that the Department of Defense (DoD) does not pay more than once for the same work, (2) Ensuring that the DoD contractors are appropriately rewarded for their innovation and invention, (3) Providing for costeffective reprocurement, sustainment, PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 modification, and upgrades to the DoD systems, (4) Encouraging the private sector to invest in new products, technologies, and processes relevant to the missions of the DoD, and (5) Ensuring that the DoD has appropriate access to innovative products, technologies, and processes developed by the private sector for commercial use. Agenda: This will be the twelfth meeting of the Government-Industry Advisory Panel with additional meetings possible for February and March. The panel will cover details of 10 U.S.C. 2320 and 2321, begin understanding the implementing regulations and detail the necessary groups within the private sector and government to provide supporting documentation for their review of these codes and regulations during follow-on meetings. Agenda items for this meeting will include the following: (1) Final review of tension point information papers; (2) Rewrite FY17 NDAA 2320 and 2321 language; (3) Discuss final report frame work and future collaboration; (4) Comment Adjudication & Planning for follow-on meeting. Availability of Materials for the Meeting: A copy of the agenda or any updates to the agenda for the January 18–19 meeting will be available as requested or at the following site: https://database.faca.gov/committee/ meetings.aspx?cid=2561. It will also be distributed upon request. Minor changes to the agenda will be announced at the meeting. All materials will be posted to the FACA database after the meeting. Public Accessibility to the Meeting: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended, and 41 CFR 102–3.140 through 102– 3.165, and subject to the availability of space, this meeting is open to the public. Registration of members of the public who wish to attend the meeting E:\FR\FM\04JAN1.SGM 04JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 825-827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31864]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF094


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Skate 
Complex Fishery; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement; Scoping Process; Request for Comments

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement and initiate scoping process; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council announces its 
intent to prepare, in cooperation with NMFS, a draft environmental 
impact statement consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act. 
A draft environmental impact statement may be necessary to provide 
analytic support for Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery 
Management Plan. This notice alerts the interested public of the 
scoping process for a potential draft environmental impact statement 
and outlines opportunity for public participation in that process.

DATES: Written and electronic scoping comments must be received on or 
before March 6, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Written scoping comments on Amendment 5 may be sent by any 
of the following methods:
     Email to the following address: comments@nefmc.org;
     Mail to Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England 
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 
01950; or
     Fax to (978) 465-3116.
    Requests for copies of the Amendment 5 scoping document and

[[Page 826]]

other information should be directed to Thomas A. Nies, Executive 
Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 
2, Newburyport, MA 01950, telephone (978) 465-0492.
    The scoping document is accessible electronically via the Internet 
at https://www.nefmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council, (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The New England Fishery Management Council, working through its 
public participatory committee and meeting processes, anticipates the 
development of an amendment that may require an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to meet applicable criteria in the Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations and guidance for implementing the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Amendment 5 will consider 
limited access to the skate (bait and non-bait) fishery.
    The Northeast Skate Complex is comprised of seven species 
(barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette, smooth, thorny, and winter 
skate), managed as a single unit along the east coast from Maine to 
Cape Hatteras, NC. The skate bait fishery primarily targets little 
skate, with a small component of winter skate catch. The non-bait 
fishery, including the wing fishery, primarily targets winter skate.
    Following the first skate stock assessment in 1999, the Northeast 
Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan was adopted in 2003. Amendment 3 
established an annual catch limit and annual catch target for the skate 
complex, total allowable landings for the skate bait and non-bait 
fisheries, seasonal quotas for the bait fishery, new possession limits, 
and in-season possession limit triggers.
    The skate fishery is an open access fishery--any vessel may join or 
leave the fishery at any time. Skate fishermen are concerned that 
increasingly strict regulations in other fisheries--particularly in the 
Northeast Multispecies (groundfish) fishery where several stocks are 
overfished and subject to strict catch restrictions--might cause these 
fishermen to switch their fishing effort onto skates. An increase in 
effort in the skate fishery could cause the fishery to harvest its 
catch limit in a shorter time period, trigger reduced skate trip 
limits, or have other negative economic impacts on current participants 
since developing skate markets could be negatively impacted by a flood 
of product.
    A control date for the bait fishery was established on July 30, 
2009 (74 FR 37977). A control date for the non-bait fishery was 
established on March 31, 2014 (79 FR 18002). The control dates may be 
used as a reference date for future management measures related to such 
rulemaking.
    The Council has initiated the development of this amendment to 
address three issues:
     Limited access qualification criteria that would determine 
whether vessels may target skate. These criteria may differ by stock or 
management area and may treat older history differently than newer 
history;
     Limited access permit conditions (transfers, ownership 
caps, `history' permits, etc.); and
     Permit categories and associated measures.
    The amendment's objective would be to establish qualification 
criteria for skate (bait and non-bait ``wing'') fishing permits and 
possibly different qualification criteria or catch limits for each 
fishery, considering how they operate differently. For example, in the 
wing fishery, it may be desirable to have different permit tiers that 
distinguish between skate vessels that currently target skate, 
historically targeted, and/or vessels that catch and land small 
quantities. Qualification criteria might include several factors such 
as, but not limited to, the time period vessels have participated in 
the fishery (possibly using the control dates established for this 
fishery), historic levels of landings, and dependency on the fishery.
    The Council may consider limiting access to the skate (bait and 
non-bait) fishery in a manner that may affect individual permit holder 
access to skates depending on the qualification criteria and other 
permit conditions developed. Based on individual fishing history, a 
vessel that has targeted skate may be distinguished differently from a 
vessel that caught and landed skates while fishing for other species. 
Landing limits for qualifiers and non-qualifiers could therefore be 
more consistent with the type of fishing that these vessels conduct in 
order to minimize discarding and economic effects. For example, the 
bait skate fishery currently requires a letter of authorization, but 
has substantially larger landing limits than the wing fishery. Some 
historic participants in the Northeast Skate Complex fisheries also may 
desire limited access privileges (a catch share program, for example).
    Following the scoping period, the Council and its Skate Committee 
will identify the specific goals and objectives of the amendment and 
develop alternatives to meet the purpose and need of the action. With 
input from its committees and the public, the Council would select a 
range of alternatives to implement limited access in the skate fishery.

Public Comment

    All persons affected by or otherwise interested in Northeast skate 
management are invited to comment on the scope and significance of 
issues to be analyzed by submitting written comments (see ADDRESSES) or 
by attending one of the six scoping meetings for this amendment. 
Scoping consists of identifying the range of actions, alternatives, and 
impacts to be considered. At this time in the process, the Council 
believes that the alternatives considered in Amendment 5 should include 
limited access to the skate fishery. After the scoping process is 
completed, the Council will begin development of Amendment 5 and, if 
necessary, will prepare a draft EIS to analyze the impacts of the range 
of alternatives under consideration. Impacts may be direct, individual, 
or cumulative.
    The Council will hold public hearings to receive comments on the 
draft amendment and on the analysis of its impacts presented in the 
draft EIS. In addition to soliciting comment on this notice, the public 
will have the opportunity to comment on the measures and alternatives 
being considered by the Council through public meetings and public 
comment periods consistent with NEPA, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. 
Any amendment developed and approved by the Council would have to be 
approved and implemented by NMFS.
    The Council will take and discuss scoping comments on this 
amendment at the public meetings listed in Table 1.

[[Page 827]]



         Table 1--Amendment 5 Public Scoping Meeting Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Meeting date and time                   Meeting location
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portsmouth, NH, Tuesday, January 24,     Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 250
 2017, 5:00 p.m. (or immediately          Market Street, Portsmouth, NH
 following the Council Meeting).          03801 04101, Telephone: (603)
                                          431-2300.
Via Webinar, Tuesday, January 31, 2017,  Webinar Hearing, Register to
 6:00-8:00 p.m.                           participate: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/194149773 194149773, Call in info: Toll:
                                          +1 (646) 749-3122, Access
                                          Code: 194-149-773.
Buzzards Bay, MA, Tuesday, February 7,   Mass Maritime, 101 Academy
 2017, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.                Drive, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532,
                                          Telephone: (508) 830-5000.
Narragnasett, RI, Thursday, February 9,  Graduate School of
 2017, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.                Oceanography, Coastal
                                          Institute Building--Hazard
                                          Room, 215 S Ferry Rd,
                                          Narragansett, RI 02882,
                                          Telephone: (401) 874-6222.
Montauk, NY, Wednesday, February 15,     Montauk Playhouse Community
 2017, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.                Center Foundation, Inc., 240
                                          Edgemere St., Montauk, New
                                          York 11954, Telephone: (631)
                                          668-1124.
Cape May, NJ, Thursday, February 16,     Grand Hotel of Cape May, 1045
 2017, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.                Beach Avenue, Cape May, NJ
                                          08204, Telephone: (609) 884-
                                          5611.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A scoping document with additional background information is 
available on the Council's Web site at https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/skates or may be obtained by contacting the Council. Additional 
information on the scoping meetings can be accessed online at https://www.nefmc.org/.

Special Accommodations

    The meetings are accessible to people with physical disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Thomas A. Nies (see ADDRESSES) at least five days 
prior to each meeting date.

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

    Dated: December 29, 2016.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-31864 Filed 1-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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