Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 222 / Thursday, November 18, 2004 / Notices 67539

night). When marine mammals are 

observed entering or within the 

exclusion zone, observers must call for 

the shut down of the airgun array; 

seismic operators must shut down the 

seismic array when instructed by an 

observer. Ramp-up and seismic 

activities may be reinitiated only when 

the observer has: (a) determined that the 

marine mammal(s) has departed the 

exclusion zone, and (b) visually 

monitored the exclusion zone for at 

least 20 minutes since the mammal 

sighting within the exclusion zone.

Comments

NMFS requests public comments on 

the range of alternatives and the scope 

of issues that should be considered in 

the EIS. NMFS recommends 

participants review the MMS PEA prior 

to submitting comments.

At the public scoping meeting a brief 

presentation may precede a request for 

public information and comments. 

Those who intend to submit verbal 

comments will be asked to submit a 

speaker card (available at the meeting). 

Depending on how many cards NMFS 

receives, speakers may be required to 

limit their verbal comments to a 

specified period of time so that all 

persons wishing to comment may have 

an equal opportunity to do so. NMFS 

encourages members of the public who 

provide verbal comments to also submit 

them in writing, along with any 

associated graphics, so as to ensure 

accuracy. All comments, written or 

verbal, will become part of the public 

record on this matter.

The public scoping meetings will be 

accessible to persons with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Ken Hollingshead 

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Photo identification will be required to 

attend these meetings.

Information and questions regarding 

the proposed action and/or scoping may 

be obtained by writing to the person 

listed herein (see ADDRESSES), or by 

telephoning the person listed (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Additional opportunities for public 

review and comment will be provided 

when the draft EIS is completed. A 

notice of availability will be published 

in the Federal Register. After release of 

the draft EIS, NMFS intends to hold 

public meetings in various cities in 

Florida, Texas, and Louisiana.

Dated: November 12, 2004.

Laurie K. Allen,

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–25643 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

[I.D. 111204D]

New England 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 New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) is 

scheduling a public meeting of its 

Habitat/Marine Protected Areas/

Ecosystem Oversight Committee in 

December, 2004. Recommendations 

from the committee will be brought to 

the full Council for formal consideration 

and action, if appropriate.

DATES: The meeting will held on 

Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 9:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth 

Hotel, 250 Market Street, Portsmouth, 

NH 03801; telephone: (603) 431–2300.

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, 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 continue to work on 

elements of the Essential Fish Habitat 

(EFH) Omnibus Amendment 2 

including, but not limited to; progress 

on dedicated habitat research areas, EFH 

species reports, EFH designation 

working group, strategy for prioritizing 

protection of EFH, and non-fishing 

impacts workshop. The Committee will 

discuss the ecosystems pilot project 

work plan and the potential application 

of the proposed habitat closed areas in 

Lydonia and Oceanographer canyons to 

other fisheries. They will also develop 

comments contributing to a Council 

response to the Cape Wind Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement. Other 

topics may be discussed at the 

Committee’s discretion.

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 (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 

days prior to the meeting dates.

Dated: November 15, 2004.

Alan D. Risenhoover,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. E4–3245 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

[I.D. 111204B]

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of meetings of the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

Gulf Rationalization Community 

Committee.

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) Gulf 

Rationalization Community Committee 

will meet at the Captain Cook Hotel.

DATES: The Gulf Rationalization 

Community Committee will be held 

December 3, 2004, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Captain Cook Hotel, 

Voyager Room, 4 and K Street, 

Anchorage, AK.

Council address: North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council, 605 W. 

4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 

99501–2252.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nicole Kimball, Council staff, Phone: 

907–271–2809.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Council tasked the committee with 

considering several specific design and 

implementation issues related to each 

program, including: the community 

eligibility criteria, determining who 

represents the community, determining 

67540 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 222 / Thursday, November 18, 2004 / Notices 

how the quota may be used, criteria by 

which the entity decides which 

individuals fish the shares, restrictions 

on sale of quota share under purchase 

program, use caps and harvest share 

designations, determining the 

distribution method among eligible 

communities, how the Community 

Fisheries Quota (CFQ) Program and 

Community Purchase Program (CPP) 

would work in combination, and how 

the CFQ program and CPP program 

would work under Alternative 3.

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this notice may come 

before this Council for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

Council action during this meeting. 

Council 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

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Gail Bendixen at 

907–271–2809 at least 7 working days 

prior to the meeting date.

Dated: November 12, 2004.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–25644 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

[I.D. 110904A]

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

General Provisions for Domestic 

Fisheries; Application for Exempted 

Fishing Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of a proposal for 

permits to conduct experimental 

fishing; request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 

Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant 

Regional Administrator) has made a 

preliminary determination that the 

subject Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) 

application contains all the required 

information and warrants further 

consideration. The Assistant Regional 

Administrator has also made a 

preliminary determination that the 

activities authorized under the EFP 

would be consistent with the goals and 

objectives of the Northeast (NE) 

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). However, further review and 

consultation may be necessary before a 

final determination is made to issue the 

EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that 

the Assistant Regional Administrator 

proposes to recommend that an EFP be 

issued that would allow one commercial 

fishing vessel to conduct fishing 

operations that are otherwise restricted 

by the regulations governing the 

fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States. The EFP would allow for 

exemptions from the FMP as follows: 

The Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling 

Closure Areas, the minimum mesh size 

for trawl gear, the Days-at-Sea (DAS) 

notification requirements, and the 

effort-control program (DAS). 

Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act require publication of 

this notification to provide interested 

parties the opportunity to comment on 

applications for proposed EFPs.

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 3, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast 

Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside 

of the envelope ‘‘Comments on the GOM 

Rope Separator Trawl Study.’’

Comments may also be sent via fax to 

(978) 281–9135, or submitted via e-mail 

to the following address: 

da689@noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Karen Tasker, Fishery Management 

Specialist, phone 978–281–9273.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An 

application for an EFP was submitted on 

September 22, 2004, by Dr. Pingguo He 

of the University of New Hampshire 

(UNH) for a Cooperative Research 

Partnership Initiative contract project. 

The primary goal of the research is to 

design and test a rope separator trawl 

that targets haddock and pollock while 

releasing cod and flounder in inshore 

western GOM waters. The intent of the 

researchers is that the experimental net, 

if successful, could be suitable for 

fishing using B DAS in the future.

The project, which is anticipated to be 

18 months in duration, would include 

flume tank trials and 12 days of at-sea 

trials during the first year of the project. 

At-sea trials would consist of three to 

four 1-hour tows per sea day. 

Additionally, researchers would use 

remote underwater video observation 

and acoustic gear geometry monitoring 

to assess the success of the net during 

at-sea trials. The design of the net would 

consist of a rope separator in place of 

the more common netting separator in 

order to simplify design and rigging; a 

large bottom escape area for cod, 

flatfishes, and benthos; and a raised 

fishing line running through long drop 

chains to further allow benthic species 

to escape. Researchers have requested a 

small mesh exemption to allow for the 

use of a second codend or a small-mesh 

cover to collect fish released from the 

trawl to assess the effectiveness of the 

separator trawl.

All specimens caught would be 

sampled and measured. All undersized 

fish would be returned to the sea as 

quickly as practical after measurement 

and examination. The overall fishing 

mortality is estimated to be 30 percent 

of the average commercial fishing 

mortality that would result from the 

proposed number of DAS. The 

researcher anticipates that a total of 

6,249 lb (2,834.5 kg) of fish, including 

1,550 lb (703.1 kg) of cod, will be 

harvested throughout the course of the 

study. Other species that are anticipated 

to be caught are haddock, dab, 

yellowtail flounder, winter flounder, 

grey sole, white hake, and pollock. All 

legal-sized fish, within the possession 

limit, will be sold, with the proceeds 

returned to the project for the purposes 

of future enhancing research.

The first year of the study would take 

place from May 1, 2005, to April 30, 

2006. All at-sea research will be 

conducted from one fishing vessel. The 

trials would occur between 43°20′ and 

42°30′ N. lat. and west of 70°15′ W. 

long., excluding the Western GOM 

Closure Area. Researchers have asked 

for an exemption to the regulations 

establishing the Western GOM Rolling 

Closure Areas because they believe that 

an optimum mixture of haddock and 

cod for testing the experimental gear 

will be present in the waters of the 

Western GOM during May and June. 

Because the aim of the project is to 

separate haddock and cod before the 

fish are brought onboard, an exemption 

from the Western GOM Rolling Closures 

is important to the success of the study. 

An exemption from DAS is requested 

since a commercial DAS level of effort 

will not likely be realized due to the 

additional time necessary to weigh, 

measure, and sort the catch, and to 

adjust underwater video and acoustic 

monitoring systems.