Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 38 / Friday, February 25, 2011 / Notices 10561 

musculus), fin whale (B. physalus), 

humpback whale (Megaptera 

novaeangliae), right whale (Eubalaena 

japonica), sei whale (B. borealis), beluga 

whale (Delphinapterus leucas) Cook 

Inlet stock, killer whale (Orcinus orca) 

southern resident stock, and sperm 

whale (Physeter macrocephalus). The 

false killer whale (Pseudorca 

crassidens) Hawaiian insular stock is 

proposed for listing under the ESA. 

Seven species of pinnipeds may be 

incidentally harassed from research 

activities, including three species listed 

as endangered: Steller sea lions 

(Eumetopias jubatus), Guadalupe fur 

seals (Arctocephalus townsendi), and 

Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus 

schauinslandi). The purposes of the 

proposed research are to study: (1) 

Population size and structure, (2) range 

and movement patterns, (3) diving and 

night-time behavior, (4) social 

organization, (5) feeding ecology, and 

(6) disease monitoring. Harassment of 

all species of cetaceans may occur 

through vessel approach for sighting 

surveys, photographic identification, 

behavioral research, opportunistic 

sampling (breath, sloughed skin, fecal 

material, and prey remains), and aerial 

over-flights for the purpose of locating 

animals and conducting aerial 

validation studies. All cetaceans species 

(except harbor porpoise, right whales, 

and Cook Inlet beluga whales) and 

unidentified mesoplodon and baleen 

species would be dart and/or suctioncup tagged. Import and export of marine 

mammal prey specimens, sloughed skin, 

fecal and breath samples obtained is 

requested for research purposes. 

Research would occur over a five-year 

period. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a draft 

environmental assessment (EA) has 

been prepared to examine whether 

significant environmental impacts could 

result from issuance of the proposed 

scientific research permit. The draft EA 

is available for review and comment 

simultaneous with the scientific 

research permit application. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of the 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Documents may be reviewed in the 

following locations: 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301) 713–2289; fax (301) 427–2521; 

Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand 

Point Way NE, BIN C15700, Bldg. 1, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0700; phone (206) 

526–6150; fax (206) 526–6426; 

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668; phone 

(907) 586–7221; fax (907) 586–7249; 

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West 

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, 

CA 90802–4213; phone (562) 980–4001; 

fax (562) 980–4018; and 

Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 

Kapiolani Blvd., Rm 1110, Honolulu, HI 

96814–4700; phone (808) 973–2935; fax 

(808) 973–2941. 

Dated: February 18, 2011. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4292 Filed 2–24–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA248 

New England Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) is 

scheduling a public meeting of its 

Research Steering Committee 

(Committee), in March, 2011, to 

consider actions affecting New England 

fisheries in the exclusive economic zone 

(EEZ). Recommendations from this 

group will be brought to the full Council 

for formal consideration and action, if 

appropriate. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Crowne Plaza, 50 Ferncroft Road, 

Danvers, MA 01923; telephone: (978) 

777–2500; fax: (978) 750–7959. 

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

committee will review all funded 

cooperative research projects in the 

Northeast over the last several years, 

including those approved through 

NOAA Fisheries, the Council’s research 

set-aside programs, and both the 

Northeast Consortium and the Southern 

New England Research Collaborative 

Initiative. Information about project 

topic, level of funding and results will 

be organized in a format that will allow 

a clearer understanding of regional 

accomplishments and information gaps. 

The Research Steering Committee will 

have the opportunity to make 

recommendations about how to make 

the information collected more relevant 

to management, how to use research 

results more effectively, and also to 

comment on future research priorities. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during this meeting. Action will 

be restricted to those issues specifically 

listed in this notice and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the Council’s intent to take 

final action to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, at (978) 

465–0492, at least 5 days prior to the 

meeting date. 

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

Dated: February 22, 2011. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4251 Filed 2–24–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA249 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

convene its Law Enforcement Advisory 

Panel in conjunction with the Gulf 

States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 

Law Enforcement Committee. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
10562 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 38 / Friday, February 25, 2011 / Notices 

DATES: The meeting will convene at 8:30 

a.m. on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 and 

conclude no later than 12 noon. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the JW Marriott Houston, 5150 

Westheimer Road, Houston, TX. 

Council address: Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council, 2203 

North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, 

FL 33607. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Richard Leard, Deputy Executive 

Director, Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council; telephone: (813) 

348–1630. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

of Mexico Fishery Management Council 

will convene the Law Enforcement 

Advisory Panel along with the Gulf 

States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 

Law Enforcement Committee to 

consider the status of recently 

completed amendments and other 

regulatory actions as well as the 

schedule for completion of ongoing 

actions. The two groups will also 

discuss and potentially make 

recommendations with regard to Joint 

Enforcement Agreements. A review and 

possible recommendations with regard 

to a recently published Proposed Rule to 

potentially reduce bycatch of bluefin 

tuna in the Gulf of Mexico will also be 

conducted. Finally, the two panels will 

review and discuss a proposal to 

potentially modify requirements for 

crew size on vessels that have both 

commercial and for-hire permits. 

The Law Enforcement Advisory Panel 

consists of principal law enforcement 

officers in each of the Gulf States, as 

well as the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

Law Enforcement, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (FWS), the U.S. Coast 

Guard, and the NOAA General Counsel 

for Law Enforcement. A copy of the 

agenda and related materials can be 

obtained by calling the Council office at 

(813) 348–1630. 

Although other non-emergency issues 

not on the agendas may come before the 

Law Enforcement Advisory Panel for 

discussion, in accordance with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), those issues 

may not be the subject of formal action 

during this meeting. Actions of the Law 

Enforcement Advisory Panel will be 

restricted to those issues specifically 

identified in the agendas and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the Council’s intent to take 

action to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to 

Kathy Pereira at the Council (see 

ADDRESSES) 5 working days prior to the 

meeting. 

Dated: February 22, 2011. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4252 Filed 2–24–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA247 

Caribbean Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery 

Management Council’s (Council) 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) will hold a meeting. 

DATES: The SSC meeting will be held on 

March 15–16, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Doubletree Hotel at Gallery Plaza 

(former Pierre Hotel), De Diego Avenue, 

Santurce, Puerto Rico. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 

268 Mun ̃oz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108, 

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918–1920; 

telephone: (787) 766–5926. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SSC 

will meet to discuss the items contained 

in the following agenda: 

• Call to order. 

• Queen Conch. 

Update on status of queen conch in 

the USVI and PR. 

• ACL 2011 Amendment. 

Presentation/review of requirements 

to establish ACLs for species, which are 

not overfished or undergoing 

overfishing (ACL II) and species/species 

groups under consideration. 

Species that need ACLs in 2011: 

1. Reef Fish FMP. 

2. Coral FMP. 

3. Spiny Lobster FMP. 

4. Queen Conch FMP. 

• Issues: 

1. Reporting. 

2. unclassified (reef fish and queen 

conch). 

3. list of species not included in 

Options Paper but included in FMPs. 

4. Proposed ACLs with 

accompanying data. 

5. Ornamental Species. 

• Discussion and recommendations 

by SSC. 

1. Species/species unit 

recommendations based on data, species 

life history, etc. 

2. Indicator species 

recommendations for units with more 

than one species. 

3. ACL recommendations. 

• Update on Aquarium Trade. 

• Review D. Olsen letter—MRAG 

study versus catch intercepts 

reporting—Validation of catch data. 

Discussion regarding data gathering 

regarding Virgin Islands commercial 

fishery. 

• Update of St. Croix Independent 

Fishery Trap Survey. 

• Update on status of data from PR 

and USVI, including issues that need to 

be addressed to obtain more timely data. 

• Status of the implementation of 

MRIP in PR and plans for 

implementation in USVI. 

• Review of specific research directed 

to ACLs and recommendations by SSC 

of type of research that should be given 

priority to provide information for 

establishing ACLs. 

Essential Fish Habitat 

EFH 5-year-revision document. 

Discussion and Final 

recommendation to the CFMC SEDAR 

26: Silk and queen snapper, red tail 

parrotfish. 

Commitment to the workshops and 

time (Data-Assessment-Review) Other 

Business. 

The SSC will convene on March 15, 

2011, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., and will 

reconvene on March 16, 2011, from 9 

a.m. until 5 p.m. The meeting is open 

to the public, and will be conducted in 

English. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during this meeting. Action will 

be restricted to those issues specifically 

listed in this notice and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the Council’s intent to take 

final action to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. For more 

information or request for sign language 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES