Sea Turtle Conservation; Shrimp Trawling Requirements; Public Hearing

NMFS announces a seventh public hearing to be held in Port Orange, FL on July 6, 2012, to answer questions and receive public comments on the proposed rule to withdraw the alternative tow time restriction and require all skimmer trawls, pusher-head trawls, and wing nets (butterfly trawls) rigged for fishing to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in their nets, which was published in the Federal Register on May 10, 2012. In the proposed rule, we announced five public hearings to be held in Morehead City, NC, Larose, LA, Belle Chasse, LA, D'Iberville, MS, and Bayou La Batre, AL, and on June 22, 2012 we announced an additional public hearing in Miami, FL.

Agency Contact: Michael Barnette, 727-551-5794.