Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Petition for Rulemaking for Rotational Opening of Georges Bank Closed Areas for Scallop Fishing; Reopening of Comment Period

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 061998C]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Petition for

Rulemaking for Rotational Opening of Georges Bank Closed Areas for

Scallop Fishing; Reopening of Comment Period

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition for rulemaking; reopening of

comment period.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it is reopening the public comment period

for the petition for rulemaking requesting that sea scallop harvest be

allowed on a rotational basis in areas of Georges Bank that are

currently closed to all vessels capable of catching groundfish.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted through October 9, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the petition should be directed to Dr. Gary C.

Matlock, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway,

Silver Spring, MD 20910. Copies of the petition for rulemaking are

available upon request from the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark R. Millikin, 301-713-2341.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As a result of requests received from the

Conservation Law Foundation, Rockland, Maine, in a letter dated August

14, 1998, from David E. Frulla, of Brand, Lowell, and Ryan (the

Petitioner), in a letter dated August 25, 1998, and from the

Environmental Defense Fund in a letter dated August 31, 1998, NMFS is

reopening the comment period for the petition for rulemaking, which

closed August 31, 1998. The notice of receipt of petition for

rulemaking was published in the Federal Register on June 30, 1998 (63

FR 35560). The Conservation Law Foundation advised NMFS that it needs

more time to investigate issues that were raised at an August 11, 1998,

meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council regarding the

details of an experimental fishery. The experimental fishery was

requested by Brian Rothschild of the Center for Marine Science and

Technology of the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth (CMAST), and

is mapping sea scallop distribution and abundance, as well as bycatch

of other protected species (particularly groundfish) in Closed Area II.

The Petitioner requests an extension of the comment period for its

petition so that the information obtained from the sampling of the

CMAST experimental fishery can be included in the decisional record and

analyzed prior to NMFS's decision on its request for rulemaking. The

Environmental Defense Fund requested a reopening of the comment period

to allow additional time for persons who were either traveling or

otherwise unavailable during August to submit comments on the petition.

Because of these requests, NMFS is reopening the public comment period

for the petition for rulemaking for an additional 30 days effective

September 9, 1998, through October 9, 1998.

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

Dated: September 2, 1998.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98-24179 Filed 9-8-98; 8:45 am]

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