Extended Comment Period on Shrimp Bycatch Reduction Device Proposed Rule
On June 3, 2008, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries
Service (NOAA Fisheries Service) began accepting
public comment on proposed changes regarding the use
of bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) in the Gulf of
Mexico shrimp fishery.
In summary, NOAA Fisheries
Service proposes to:
• Decertify the Expanded Mesh BRD.
• Decertify the Gulf Fisheye BRD.
• Establish a more restrictive placement for the
Fisheye BRD.
The intent of this proposed rule is to improve bycatch
reduction in the shrimp fishery and better meet the
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act.
At the request of the shrimp industry, the comment
period for this proposed rule has been extended through
August 6, 2008.
Dates and Addresses
Written comments on these proposed changes must be
received no later than 5 p.m., Eastern time, August 6,
2008. You may submit comments, identified by 0648-
AV14, by any one of the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic
public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
http://www.regulations.gov
• Fax: 727-824-5308, Attn: Steve Branstetter
• Mail: Steve Branstetter, Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida
33701.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted to
http://www.regulations.gov 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 Service will accept
anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel,
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
The proposed rule is available via the Internet at
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html (do an
advanced search under proposed rules for “page 31669”
or “0648-AV14”). Printed or electronic copies of the
rule can be obtained from the Southeast Regional Office
by contacting Steve Branstetter (see address above).
Comments received by August 6, 2008, will be
considered by NOAA Fisheries Service in its decision to
approve, disapprove, or partially approve the proposed
actions. Comments received after that date will not be
considered by NOAA Fisheries Service in this decision.
All comments received by NOAA Fisheries Service will
be addressed in the final rule.
This bulletin provides only a summary of the
information regarding the proposed rule. Any
discrepancies between this bulletin and the proposed rule
published in the Federal Register will be resolved in
favor of the Federal Register.
