Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 24 / Thursday, February 5, 2004 / Notices 5509

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. Please note that 

comments will not be accepted by email or other electronic media.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick Opay, (301)713–1401 or Ruth 

Johnson, (301)713–2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject modification request to Permit 

No. 1295, issued on June 4, 2001 (66 FR 

29934) is requested under the authority 

of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and 

the regulations governing the taking, 

importing, and exporting of endangered 

and threatened species (50 CFR 222–

226).

Permit No. 1295 authorizes the permit 

holder to take 5 loggerhead (Caretta 

caretta), 1 leatherback (Dermochelys 

imbricata), 2 Kemp’s ridley 

(Lepidochelys kempii), 1 hawksbill 

(Eretmochelys imbricata), and 2 green 

(Chelonia mydas) sea turtles for 

scientific research. The permit holder 

requests authorization: (1) to allow 

research designed to develop and test 

methods to reduce incidental bycatch 

that occurs in commercial pound net 

and scallop drag fisheries, and (2) to 

authorize sampling of turtles captured 

incidentally during the NEFSC biennial 

shark longline surveys. The permit 

holder proposes to take an additional 

113 loggerhead, 2 green, 40 Kemp’s 

ridley, and 2 leatherback sea turtles 

annually during the remaining 2 years 

of the permit. Turtles will be measured, 

flipper and PIT tagged, biopsied and 

released. A total of up to 4 loggerhead 

and 3 Kemp’s ridley sea turtle 

interactions are expected to result in 

lethal takes. The research will be 

conducted in the shelf waters of the 

Atlantic Ocean from Cape Hatteras to 

the Gulf of Maine.

Dated: January 30, 2004.

Amy C. Sloan,

Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and 

Education Division, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2417 Filed 2–4–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

[I. D. 012304B]

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Application for an 

Exempted Fishing Permit

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of an 

application for an exempted fishing 

permit.

SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt 

of an application for an exempted 

fishing permit (EFP) from the Alaska 

Fisheries Development Foundation, Inc. 

(AFDF).If granted, this EFP would be 

used to support an AFDF project that 

investigates and develops hook-and-line 

techniques specific to the harvest of 

various rockfish species in the Gulf of 

Alaska (GOA) Southeast Outside District 

(SEO), which historically had been 

targeted by trawl gear, a gear type now 

prohibited in the SEO.The project is 

intended to promote the objectives of 

the Fishery Management Plan for 

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP) 

by improving utilization of the rockfish 

resources in the SEO.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the EFP 

application may be obtained by writing 

to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 

Alaska Region, NMFS, P. O. Box 21668, 

Juneau, AK 99802, Attn: Lori Durall.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Melanie Brown, 907–586–7228 or 

melanie.brown@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the domestic groundfish 

fisheries in the GOA under the FMP.The 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) prepared the FMP 

under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act).Regulations 

governing the groundfish fisheries of the 

GOA appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 

679.The FMP and the implementing 

regulations at §§ 679.6 and 600.745(b) 

authorize the issuance of EFPs to allow 

fishing that would otherwise be 

prohibited.Procedures for issuing EFPs 

are contained in the implementing 

regulations.

NMFS received an application for an 

EFP from the AFDF.The purpose of this 

EFP is to support a project to develop 

and test hook-and-line gear for the 

harvest of rockfish species in the SEO 

that historically had been harvested 

with trawl gear.Trawl gear has been 

prohibited in the SEO since March 23, 

1998, (63 FR 8356, February 19, 

1998).The goal is to improve the 

utilization of rockfish resources in the 

SEO in ways that are consistent with 

Magnuson-Stevens Act national 

standard 1 which directs that 

conservation and management measures 

must achieve optimal yield from a 

fishery and national standard 5, which 

seeks to promote efficiency in the 

utilization offishery resources.The 

project, as described in the application, 

has two phases: (1) development of two 

rockfish-specific hook-and-line gear 

types that can be effectively handled on 

typical Southeast Alaska fishing vessels, 

and (2) comparative testing ofthe gear 

types developed in phase 1 in terms of 

catch of target rockfish species per unit 

of effort and incidental catch of 

nontarget species.

As an alternative to the use of trawl 

gear, which was prohibited in 1998, this 

EFP is necessary to allow the applicant 

to develop and test hook-and-line gear 

for rockfish in the SEO with certain 

exemptions from fishery closures and 

fish retention restrictions. The hookand-line rockfish fisheries may close to 

prevent: (1) exceeding a total allowable 

catch (TAC) amount of a target species, 

(2) reaching overfishing levels of a nontarget groundfish species, or (3) 

exceeding the prohibited species catch 

(PSC) limit for Pacific halibut.

Since the taking of rockfish is crucial 

for determining the effectiveness of 

hook-and-line gear in harvesting these 

species, and potential exists that the 

amount of some rockfish species taken 

during the EFP period would approach 

or exceed the TAC limits, the applicant 

has requested that rockfish taken during 

the testing not be counted toward the 

2004 TAC amounts specified for the 

GOA under § 679.20. Counting rockfish 

taken during the testing phase against 

the TACs may create an additional 

burden on the hook-and-line industry 

by causing earlier closures of one or 

more hook-and-line fisheries.Although 

the EFP would allow the applicant to 

continue harvesting up to the amount 

specified in the permit, even if rockfish 

harvest amounts have resulted in the 

closure of one or more rockfish hookand-line fisheries in the SEO, fishing 

activities would not be exempt from any 

hook-and-line fishery closures in the 

SEO that address overfishing concerns.

The EFP applicant has requested 

permission to retain and sell all rockfish 

species taken while fishing under the 

EFP.To accommodate this request, the 

EFP would exempt the applicant from 

one or more maximum retainable 

amounts specified in Table 10 of 50 CFR 

part 679.Since demersal shelf rockfish 

(DSR) are managed by the State of 

Alaska, which has special provisions for 

the retention and sale of DSR, the 

project is required to be conducted in 

compliance with the State’s DSR 

regulations at 5 AAC 28.171, which 

allows full retention of DSR but limits 

the numbers of DSR that may be sold for 

revenue to the harvester.Sablefish and 

legal sized Pacific halibut would be 

retained within the limits of the 

5510 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 24 / Thursday, February 5, 2004 / Notices 

individual fishing quota available to 

those individual(s) on the vessel 

conducting the project.Information 

gathered on the catch of target and 

incidentally taken species will allow the 

applicant to further modify the hookand-line gear targeting rockfish species.

The applicant has requested the 

following amounts of target and 

incidental catch species: 50 metric tons 

(mt) each of Pacific ocean perch, other 

rockfish, and pelagic shelf rockfish; 15 

mt of rougheye/shortraker rockfish; 2 mt 

each of thornyhead rockfish and DSR; 

and 10 mt each of Pacific halibut and 

sablefish.These levels of harvest and 

manner of harvest are not expected to 

have a significant impact on the marine 

environment, but the potential effects 

on the marine environment will be 

further analyzed during the application 

review process.

In accordance with § 679.6, NMFS has 

determined that the application 

warrants further consideration and has 

initiated consultation with the Council 

by forwarding the application to the 

Council for its input.The Council will 

consider the application during its 

February 2–10, 2004, meeting which 

will be held at the Hilton Hotel in 

Anchorage, Alaska.While the applicant 

has been invited to appear in support of 

the application, all interested parties 

may comment on the application at the 

meeting during public testimony.

Certain information regarding the 

vessel identification was not provided 

with the application, but will be 

provided as a condition of the EFP, once 

the vessels have been selected for the 

project.The NMFS Regional 

Administrator may consider and attach 

additional terms and conditions to the 

EFP that are consistent with the purpose 

of the experiment.Public comment may 

facilitate such consideration.

A copy of the application is available 

for review from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

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

Dated: January 29, 2004.

Bruce C. Morehead.

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2413 Filed 2–4–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

[I.D. 010904B]

Marine Mammals; File No. 1038–1693–

00/PRT064776

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Interior.

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Darla Rae Ewalt, Principal Investigator, 

Diagnostic Bacteriology Laboratory, 

National Veterinary Services 

Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, United States 

Department of Agriculture, 1800 Dayton 

Road, Ames, IA 50010, has been issued 

a permit to import/export marine 

mammal specimens from Canada for 

purposes of scientific research.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following office(s):

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)713–0376;

Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 

Executive Center Drive North, St. 

Petersburg, FL 33702–2432; phone 

(727)570–5301; fax (727)570–5320; and

Branch of Permits, Division of 

Management Authority, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, 

Arlington, VA 22203.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ruth Johnson or Jennifer Skidmore, 

(301)713–2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

October 9, 2003, notice was published 

in the Federal Register (68 FR 58316) 

that a request for a scientific research 

permit to import/export marine 

mammal specimens had been submitted 

by the above-named individual. The 

requested permit has been issued under 

the authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and the Regulations 

Governing the Taking and Importing of 

Marine Mammals (50 CFR parts 18 and 

216).

Dated: January 30, 2004.

Amy C. Sloan,

Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and 

Education Division, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

Dated: January 30, 2004.

Charlie R. Chandler,

Chief, Branch of Permits (Domestic), Division 

of Management Authority, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2416 Filed 2–4–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

[OMB Control No. 9000–0090] 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; 

Information Collection; Rights in Data 

and Copyrights

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of request for public 

comments regarding an extension to an 

existing OMB clearance (9000–0090). 

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal 

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 

Secretariat will be submitting to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) a request to review and approve 

an extension of a currently approved 

information collection requirement 

concerning rights in data and 

copyrights. The clearance currently 

expires on May 31, 2004. 

Public comments are particularly 

invited on: Whether this collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of functions of the FAR, 

and whether it will have practical 

utility; whether our estimate of the 

public burden of this collection of 

information is accurate, and based on 

valid assumptions and methodology; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways in which we can 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

information on those who are to 

respond, through the use of appropriate 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology.

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

April 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments including 

suggestions for reducing this burden to