Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 23, 2020 / Notices 83899 

NMFS proposed the implementing 

notice on August 11, 2006 (71 FR 

46364), and published the final notice 

on September 29, 2006 (71 FR 57696). 

NMFS allocated the $35,000,000 

reduction loan (A Loan) to the reduction 

fishery and this loan is repayable by fees 

from the fishery. 

On September 24, 2007, NMFS 

published in the Federal Register (72 

FR 54219), the final rule to implement 

the industry fee system for repaying the 

non-pollock groundfish program’s 

reduction loan and established October 

24, 2007, as the effective date when fee 

collection and loan repayment began. 

The regulations implementing the 

program are located at § 600.1012. 

NMFS published a final rule to 

implement a second $2,700,000 

reduction loan (B Loan) for this fishery 

in the Federal Register on September 

24, 2012 (77 FR 58775). The loan was 

disbursed December 18, 2012 with fee 

collection of $0.001 per pound to begin 

January 1, 2013. This fee is in addition 

to the A Loan fee. 

Purpose 

The purpose of this notice is to adjust 

the fee rate for the reduction fishery in 

accordance with the framework rule’s 

§ 600.1013(b). Section 600.1013(b) 

directs NMFS to recalculate the fee rate 

that will be reasonably necessary to 

ensure reduction loan repayment within 

the specified 30 year term. 

NMFS has determined for the 

reduction fishery that the current fee 

rate of $0.021 per pound is less than 

that needed to service the A Loan. 

Therefore, NMFS is increasing the Loan 

A fee rate to $0.024 per pound which 

NMFS has determined is sufficient to 

ensure timely loan repayment. The fee 

rate for Loan B will remain $0.001 per 

pound. 

Subsector members may continue to 

use Pay.gov to disburse collected fee 

deposits at: http://www.pay.gov/paygov/ 

. 

Please visit the NMFS website for 

additional information at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

funding-and-financial-services/longlinecatcher-processor-subsector-bering-seaand-aleutian-islands-non-pollock. 

Notice 

The new fee rate for the non-pollock 

groundfish fishery will begin on January 

1, 2021. 

From and after this date, all subsector 

members paying fees on the non-pollock 

groundfish fishery shall begin paying 

non-pollock groundfish fishery program 

fees at the revised rate. 

Fee collection and submission shall 

follow previously established methods 

in § 600.1013 of the framework rule and 

in the final fee rule published in the 

Federal Register on September 24, 2007 

(72 FR 54219). 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.; Pub. L. 

108–447. 

Dated: December 17, 2020. 

Brian T. Pawlak, 

Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative 

Officer, Director, Office of Management and 

Budget, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28361 Filed 12–22–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[Docket No.: 200918–0249] 

RIN 0648–BJ52 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Critical Habitat for the Threatened 

Indo-Pacific Corals, Public Hearings 

and Extension of Public Comment 

Period 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public hearings, 

extension of comment period. 

SUMMARY: We, NMFS, will hold two 

public hearings related to our proposed 

rule to designate critical habitat for 

seven threatened corals in U.S. waters 

in the Indo-Pacific (Acropora globiceps, 

Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora retusa, 

Acropora speciosa, Euphyllia 

paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, and 

Seriatopora aculeata) under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA). We are 

also extending the public comment 

period for this proposed rule by 30 days 

to February 25, 2021. 

DATES: Public hearings on the proposed 

rule to designate critical habitat for the 

seven threatened Indo-Pacific corals 

will be held online on the following 

dates, during the early evening hours of 

the affected jurisdictions (Guam, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, American Samoa). Times are 

given in Chamorro Standard Time 

(GMT+10:00), Samoa Standard Time 

(GMT–11:00), and Hawaii Standard 

Time (GMT–10:00). 

• The first hearing is scheduled for 

the early evening in Guam and the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, from 4 to 7 p.m. Chamorro 

Standard Time on Wednesday, January 

20, 2021 (7 to 10 p.m. Samoa Standard 

Time on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, and 

8 to 11 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time on 

Tuesday, January 19, 2021). 

• The second hearing is scheduled for 

the early evening in American Samoa, 

from 4 to 7 p.m. Samoa Standard Time 

on Thursday, January 21, 2021 (1 to 4 

p.m. Chamorro Standard Time on 

Friday, January 22, 2021, and 5 to 8 p.m. 

Hawaii Standard Time on Thursday, 

January 21, 2021). 

Since the hearings will be held 

online, any member of the public can 

join by internet or phone regardless of 

location. Instructions for joining the 

hearings are provided under ADDRESSES

below. 

The proposed rule to designate 

critical habitat for the seven ESA-listed 

corals was issued on November 27, 2020 

(85 FR 76262), and provided for a public 

comment period to end on January 26, 

2021. The comment period is now 

extended 30 days and will close on 

February 25, 2021. Comments must be 

received by February 25, 2021, as 

specified under ADDRESSES. Comments 

received after this date may not be 

accepted. 

ADDRESSES: Both public hearings will be 

conducted as Webex meetings. You may 

join the Webex meetings using a web 

browser, the Webex desktop app (app 

installation required), a mobile app on 

a phone (app installation required), or 

audio-only using just a phone call, as 

specified below. 

• To join the first hearing, click on 

the link https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.

com/noaanmfs-meets/onstage/ 

g.php?MTID=ecfe01efe62d246f

452d3bf93c907008a Password: ‘‘coral’’. 

If you do not have internet access, you 

may join by phone: US Toll +1–415– 

527–5035 Access code: 199 477 7805 

• To join the second hearing, click on 

link https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.

com/noaanmfs-meets/onstage/ 

g.php?MTID=e616fdb7791f

ad92917495cd0002b23bd Password: 

‘‘coral’’. If you do not have internet 

access, you may join by phone: US Toll 

+1–415–527–5035 Access code: 199 394 

4864 

More information about the public 

hearings is provided under 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. You may 

submit comments verbally or in writing 

at the public hearings, or in writing by 

any of the following methods. 

Comments must be received by 

February 25, 2021: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=

NOAA-NMFS-2016-0131 click the 

‘‘Comment Now’’ icon, complete the 

required fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 


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83900 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 23, 2020 / Notices 

• Mail: Lance Smith, Protected 

Resources Division, NMFS, Pacific 

Islands Regional Office, NOAA Inouye 

Regional Center, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 

176, Honolulu, HI 96818. 

Instructions: You must submit 

comments by one of the previously 

described methods to ensure that we 

receive, document, and consider them. 

Comments sent by any other method, to 

any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period, may not be considered. 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. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in the required 

fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lance Smith at lance.smith@noaa.gov or 

808–725–5131, or Layne Bolen at 

layne.bolen@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On November 27, 2020, NMFS 

proposed to designate critical habitat for 

seven Indo-Pacific corals listed as 

threatened under the ESA within U.S. 

waters in Guam, the Commonwealth of 

the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), 

American Samoa, and the Pacific 

Remote Island Area (PRIA). The seven 

species are Acropora globiceps, A. 

jacquelineae, A. retusa, A. speciosa, 

Euphyllia paradivisa, Isopora 

crateriformis, and Seriatopora aculeata. 

Proposed coral critical habitat consists 

of substrate and water column habitat 

characteristics essential for the 

reproduction, recruitment, growth, and 

maturation of the listed corals. 

Proposed critical habitat consists of 

17 separate units, each of which 

contains all ESA-listed corals that occur 

there: There are four units in American 

Samoa (Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega, Ta‘u, Rose 

Atoll); seven in CNMI (Rota, Aguijan, 

Tinian, Saipan, Anatahan, Pagan, and 

Maug Islands); five in PRIA (Howland, 

Palmyra, Kingman, Johnston, and Jarvis 

Islands); and one unit encompassing all 

proposed designations in Guam. 

Between one and six listed corals occur 

in each unit. The following areas are 

either ineligible for proposed critical 

habitat, or excluded because of national 

security impacts: A complex of 

overlapping Navy Surface Danger Zones 

off of Ritidian Point in Guam, other 

parts of Guam, parts of Tinian, a group 

of six Navy anchorage berths on 

Garapan Bank in Saipan, all of Farallon 

de Medinilla, and all of Wake Atoll. 

Critical habitat protections apply only 

to Federal actions under Section 7 of the 

ESA; activities that are not funded, 

authorized, or carried out by a Federal 

agency are not subject to these 

protections. The proposed rule and 

other materials prepared in support of 

this action, including maps showing the 

proposed critical habitat, are available 

at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

action/proposed-rule-designate-criticalhabitat-threatened-indo-pacific-corals. 

We are accepting public comments for 

the proposed rule through February 25, 

2021. Public comments can be 

submitted as described under 

ADDRESSES. 

Public Hearings 

The two public hearings will be 

conducted online as Webex meetings, as 

specified in ADDRESSES above. More 

detailed instructions for joining the 

Webex meetings are provided on our 

web page https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

proposed-rule-designate-critical-habitatthreatened-indo-pacific-corals. If you do 

not have internet access, you may join 

by phone at the numbers listed in 

ADDRESSES above. 

Each hearing will follow the same 

format and cover the same material. The 

hearings will begin with a brief 

presentation by NMFS that gives an 

overview of critical habitat under the 

ESA and a summary of proposed coral 

critical habitat in Guam, CNMI, 

American Samoa, and PRIA. After the 

presentation but before public 

comments, there will be a question and 

answer session during which members 

of the public may ask NMFS staff 

questions about proposed coral critical 

habitat. Following the question and 

answer session, members of the public 

will have the opportunity to provide 

oral comments on the record regarding 

proposed coral critical habitat. Members 

of the public will also have the 

opportunity to submit written 

comments at the hearings. Written 

comments may also be submitted at any 

time during the relevant public 

comment period as described under 

ADDRESSES. All oral comments will be 

recorded, transcribed, and added to the 

public comment record for this 

proposed rule. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 

Dated: December 18, 2020. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28434 Filed 12–22–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XA728] 

Pacific 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 Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Pacific Council) 

Highly Migratory Species Advisory 

Subpanel (HMSAS) and HMS 

Management Team (HMSMT) will 

conduct online meetings, which are 

open to the public. 

DATES: The HMSMT will hold an online 

meeting on Friday, January 15, 2021, 

from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Pacific Time. 

The HMSMT and HMSAS will meet 

jointly from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., or 

until business is completed, on the same 

day. 

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held 

online. Specific meeting information, 

including directions on how to join the 

meeting and system requirements will 

be provided in the meeting 

announcement on the Pacific Council’s 

website (see www.pcouncil.org). You 

may send an email to Mr. Kris 

Kleinschmidt (kris.kleinschmidt@

noaa.gov) or contact him at (503) 820– 

2280, extension 412 for technical 

assistance. 

Council address: Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kit 

Dahl, Staff Officer, Pacific Council; 

telephone: (503) 820–2422. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) is seeking clarifications on the 

Pacific Council’s September 2019 

proposal to authorize deep-set buoy gear 

and specifically criteria the Pacific 

Council identified for individuals to 

receive a permit under the proposed 

limited entry permit program to use the 

gear in the Southern California Bight. 

The HMSMT will first meet to discuss 


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