68756 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 216 / Tuesday, November 9, 2010 / Notices 

publication of a cancellation notice to 

appear in advance of the scheduled 

meeting date. The details of the 

cancelled meeting are: 

DATE AND TIME: Friday, November 5, 

2010; 8:30 a.m. EDT 

PLACE: 624 Ninth Street, NW., Room 

540, Washington, DC 20425. 

Meeting Agenda 

This meeting is open to the public. 

I. Approval of Agenda 

II. Program Planning 

• Approval of Project Outline and 

Discovery Plan for FY 2011 Enforcement 

Report. 

• Discussion of Possible Briefing 

Topics for FY 2011. 

• Update on Status of Briefing on 

Disparate Impact in School Discipline 

Policies. 

III. Management & Operations 

• Expiration of Commissioner Terms. 

IV. State Advisory Committee Issues 

• Wisconsin SAC. 

V. Approval of Minutes of October 29 

Meeting 

VI. Adjourn 

CONTACT PERSON FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION: Lenore Ostrowsky, Acting 

Chief, Public Affairs Unit (202) 376– 

8591. TDD: (202) 376–8116. 

Persons with a disability requiring 

special services, such as an interpreter 

for the hearing impaired, should contact 

Pamela Dunston at least seven days 

prior to the meeting at 202–376–8105. 

TDD: (202) 376–8116. 

Dated: November 5, 2010. 

David Blackwood, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28354 Filed 11–5–10; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 6335–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA018 

Eastern North Pacific Gray Whale; 

Notice of Petition Availability 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS). 

ACTION: Notification of availability; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a petition 

to designate the Eastern North Pacific 

population of gray whales (Eschrichtius 

robustus) as a depleted stock under the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA). In accordance with the 

MMPA, NMFS is announcing the 

receipt of the petition and its 

availability for public review and is 

soliciting comments on the petition. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

close of business on November 24, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the petition may 

be requested from Chief, Marine 

Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910. 

You may submit comments, identified 

by 0648–XA018, by any one of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Fax: 301–713–0376, Attn: Chief, 

Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle 

Conservation Division. 

• Mail: Chief, Marine Mammal and 

Sea Turtle Conservation Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West 

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

Instructions: No comments will be 

posted for public viewing until after the 

comment period has closed. 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). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Shannon Bettridge or Dr. Gregory Silber, 

Office of Protected Resources, Silver 

Spring, MD (301) 713–2322. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

Interested persons may obtain the 

petition for review on the Internet at the 

following address: http:// 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/ or by 

contacting Dr. Shannon Bettridge or Dr. 

Gregory Silber [see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT]. 

The 2008 stock assessment report for 

Eastern North Pacific gray whales is 

available on the Internet at the following 

address: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/ 

pdfs/sars/ak2008whgr-en.pdf. 

Background 

Section 3(1)(A) of the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16 

U.S.C. 1362(1)(A)) defined the term, 

‘‘depletion’’ or ‘‘depleted’’, to include any 

case in which ‘‘ * * * the Secretary, 

after consultation with the Marine 

Mammal Commission and the 

Committee of Scientific Advisors on 

Marine Mammals * * * determines that 

a species or a population stock is below 

its optimum sustainable population.’’ 

Section 3(9) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 

1362(9)) defines ‘‘optimum sustainable 

population [(OSP)] * * * with respect 

to any population stock, [as] the number 

of animals which will result in the 

maximum productivity of the 

population or the species, keeping in 

mind the carrying capacity [(K)] of the 

habitat and the health of the ecosystem 

of which they form a constituent 

element.’’ NMFS’ regulations at 50 CFR 

216.3 clarify the definition of OSP as a 

population size that falls within a range 

from the population level of a given 

species or stock that is the largest 

supportable within the ecosystem (i.e., 

K) to its maximum net productivity 

level (MNPL). MNPL is the population 

abundance that results in the greatest 

net annual increment in population 

numbers resulting from additions to the 

population from reproduction, less 

losses due to natural mortality. 

The MMPA provides for interested 

parties to submit a petition to designate 

a population stock of marine mammals 

as depleted. Section 115(a)(3) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1383b(a)(3)) requires 

NMFS to publish a notice in the Federal 

Register that such a petition has been 

received and is available for public 

review. Within 60 days of receiving a 

petition, NMFS must publish a finding 

in the Federal Register as to whether 

the petition presents substantial 

information indicating that the 

petitioned action may be warranted. 

If NMFS makes a positive 60-day 

finding, NMFS must promptly initiate a 

review of the status of the affected 

population stock of marine mammals. 

No later than 210 days after receipt of 

the petition, NMFS must publish a 

proposed rule as to the status of the 

species or stock, along with the reasons 

underlying the proposed status 

determination. Following a 60-day 

minimum comment period on the 

proposed rule, NMFS must publish a 

final rule within 90 days of the close of 

the comment period on the proposed 

rule. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with NOTICES_PART 1
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 216 / Tuesday, November 9, 2010 / Notices 68757 

Petition on Eastern North Pacific Gray 

Whales 

On October 21, 2010, NMFS received 

a petition from the California Gray 

Whale Coalition to designate the Eastern 

North Pacific population of gray whales 

as depleted under the MMPA. The 

petition alleges that the causes of the 

decline include the following: 

(1) Over-harvesting; 

(2) Collapse of cow/calf numbers; 

(3) Predation by transient orcas; 

(4) Major changes in primary prey and 

habitat as a result of climate change; and 

(5) Reduction in available prey 

species resulting in starvation. 

In accordance with the MMPA, NMFS 

announces the receipt of this petition, 

and its availability for public review 

(see ADDRESSES and Electronic Access). 

NMFS also solicits comments and 

information related to the statements in 

the petition and additional background 

on the status of the Eastern North 

Pacific population of gray whales. 

Dated: November 4, 2010. 

Thomas C. Eagle, 

Acting Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle 

Conservation Division, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28282 Filed 11–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA022 

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’s (Council) 

Herring Committee will meet to 

consider actions affecting New England 

fisheries in the exclusive economic zone 

(EEZ). 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

November 30, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 250 

Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; 

telephone: (603) 431–2300; fax: (603) 

433–5649. 

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 items 

of discussion in the committee’s agenda 

are as follows: 

1. Continue development of 

alternatives for consideration in 

Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP), with 

particular focus on catch monitoring 

alternatives; 

2. Discuss and develop elements of 

proposed portside sampling program 

(data priorities, sampling design, 

potential coverage levels, 

administration) and measures to 

confirm self-reported catch; develop 

Committee recommendations; 

3. Discuss and further develop 

options for funding; 

4. Address other outstanding issues 

related to Amendment 5 as time 

permits. 

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 

identified 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. 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 date. 

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

Dated: November 4, 2010. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28216 Filed 11–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XZ66 

Marine Mammals; File No. 781–1824 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

permit amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Northwest Fisheries Science Center 

(NWFSC, Dr. M. Bradley Hanson, 

Principal Investigator), 2725 Montlake 

Blvd. East, Seattle, Washington 98112– 

2097, has applied for an amendment to 

Scientific Research Permit No. 781– 

1824–01. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

December 9, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the Features box on the 

Applications and Permits for Protected 

Species home page, https:// 

apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting 

File No. 781–1824 from the list of 

available applications. 

These documents are also available 

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; and 

Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand 

Point Way NE, BIN C15700, Bldg. 1, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0700; phone (206) 

526–6150; fax (206) 526–6426. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted to the Chief, 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, at the address listed above. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile to (301) 713–0376, or by email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. 

Please include File No. 781–1824 in the 

subject line of the e-mail comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and 

Education Division at the address listed 

above. The request should set forth the 

specific reasons why a hearing on this 

application would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Sloan or Laura Morse, (301) 713– 

2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject amendment to Permit No. 781– 

1824–01 is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the regulations 

governing the taking and importing of 

marine mammals (50 CFR part 216), 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. 781–1824–00 (issued on 

March 31, 2006; 74 FR 19875), as 

amended by Permit No. 781–1824–01 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with NOTICES_PART 1