Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 175 / Friday, September 11, 2009 / Notices 46745 

Administrative Order 216–6 

(Environmental Review Procedures for 

Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act, May 20, 

1999). ULA’s activities and impacts for 

2008–2009 are expected to be within the 

scope of NMFS’ 2005 EA and FONSI. 

Determinations 

NMFS has determined that the impact 

of harbor activities related to the Delta 

IV/EELV at VAFB (transport vessel 

operations, cargo movement activities, 

harbor maintenance dredging, and kelp 

habitat mitigation) will result in the 

Level B Harassment of small numbers of 

Pacific harbor seals, California sea lions, 

and northern elephant seals. The effects 

of ULA’s harbor activities are expected 

to be in the form of short-term and 

localized behavioral changes, and no 

take by injury or death is anticipated or 

authorized. NMFS has further 

determined that these takes will have a 

negligible impact on the affected marine 

mammal species and stocks. 

While the number of incidental 

harassment takes will depend on the 

distribution and abundance of marine 

mammals in the vicinity of the activity, 

the number of potential harassment 

takings is estimated to be small (less 

than five percent of any of the estimated 

population sizes) and has been 

mitigated to the lowest level practicable 

through incorporation of the measures 

mentioned previously in this document. 

The provision requiring that the 

activity not have an unmitigable adverse 

impact on the availability of the affected 

species or stock for subsistence uses is 

not implicated by this action. 

Northern fur seals, Guadalupe fur 

seals, and Steller sea lions are unlikely 

to be found in the area and, therefore, 

will not be affected. No rookeries, 

mating grounds, areas of concentrated 

feeding, or other areas of special 

significance for marine mammals occur 

within or near south VAFB harbor. 

Authorization 

As a result of these determinations, 

NMFS has issued an IHA to ULA to take 

marine mammals, by Level B 

harassment, incidental to conducting 

harbor activities at VAFB for a one-year 

period, provided that the previously 

mentioned mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting requirements are incorporated. 

Dated: September 4, 2009. 

James H. Lecky, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–21961 Filed 9–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XR52 

Marine Mammals; File No. 14534 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Ned Cyr, Director, NOAA Office of 

Science and Technology, Silver Spring, 

MD, has applied in due form for a 

permit to conduct research on marine 

mammals in the Pacific Ocean. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

October 13, 2009. 

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 (APPS) home page, https:// 

apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting 

File No. 14534 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 

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West 

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, 

CA 90802–4213; phone (562)980–4001; 

fax (562)980–4018. 

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 the File No. in the 

subject line of the email 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: 

Tammy Adams or Carrie Hubard, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended 

(MMPA; 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 (ESA; 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). 

The applicant requests a five-year 

permit to conduct a research program 

involving studies of sound production, 

diving and other behavior, and 

responses to sound of marine mammals, 

including endangered species. The 

results would be integrated with related 

studies and directly contribute to 

conservation management for sound 

producers and regulatory agencies by 

identifying characteristics of target 

species that are critical for passive 

monitoring, detection, and/or density 

estimation and by demonstrating how 

specific sounds, including simulated 

military sonar, may evoke behavioral 

responses in marine mammals. The 

experimental design involves 

temporarily attaching individual 

recording tags to measure vocalization, 

behavior, and physiological parameters 

as well as sound exposure. Behavior 

will be measured before, during, and 

after carefully controlled exposures of 

sound in conventional playback 

experiments. Tagged subjects will be 

exposed to received sound levels up to 

180 dB re: 1μPa. This study will involve 

various activities that could take 

animals by harassment, including close 

approaches, attachment of tags, and 

sound exposure. Small fragments of 

sloughed skin, which often remain 

attached to retrieved tags, would be 

used for genetic analyses. Target species 

include beaked whales and other 

odontocetes, key baleen whales, and 

pinniped species for whom such data 

have not been previously obtained; 

other marine species may be 

incidentally impacted. Please refer to 

the tables in the application for the 

numbers of marine mammals, by species 

and stock, that are proposed for this 

permit. The research will be focused in 

the waters within the U.S. Navy’s 

Southern California Range Complex, 

and primarily near the vicinity of San 

Clemente Island. 

The applicant also submitted a draft 

environmental assessment (EA) 

prepared under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), to examine whether 

significant environmental impacts could 

result from issuance of the proposed 

scientific research permit and conduct 

of the research. The draft EA is available 

for review and comment simultaneous 

with the scientific research permit 

application. 


cprice-sewell on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
46746 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 175 / Friday, September 11, 2009 / Notices 

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. 

Dated: September 4, 2009. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–21962 Filed 9–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN: 0648–XR55 

Pacific 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: A public meeting of the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council’s 

(Council) Scientific and Statistical 

Committee (SSC) Groundfish 

Subcommittee will be held to review 

new rebuilding analyses for eight west 

coast groundfish species. This meeting 

is a work session which is open to the 

public. 

DATES: The SSC Groundfish 

Subcommittee meeting to review new 

groundfish rebuilding analyses will be 

held beginning at 9 a.m., Wednesday, 

September 30, 2009 and will end at 5:30 

p.m. or as necessary to complete 

business. The meeting will reconvene at 

9 a.m., Thursday, October 1, 2009 and 

will end at 5:30 p.m. or as necessary to 

complete business. 

ADDRESSES: The SSC Groundfish 

Subcommittee meeting will be held at 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) Western 

Regional Center’s Sand Point Facility, 

Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 

Observer Training Room 1055, 7600 

Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, WA 

98115–6349; telephone: (206) 526–4000. 

Council address: Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

John DeVore, Pacific Fishery 

Management Council; telephone: (503) 

820–2280. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the SSC Groundfish 

Subcommittee meeting is to review new 

draft rebuilding analyses for bocaccio, 

canary rockfish, cowcod, darkblotched 

rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, widow 

rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, and petrale 

sole and any other pertinent 

information, work with the Stock 

Assessment Teams to make necessary 

revisions, and ultimately produce an 

SSC report for use by the Council family 

and other interested persons. These new 

rebuilding analyses will be used to 

analyze 2011–12 harvest specifications 

for these species and to develop or 

modify rebuilding plans for these 

species. 

No management actions will be 

decided at this SSC Groundfish 

Subcommittee meeting. The SSC 

Groundfish Subcommittees’ role will be 

development of recommendations and 

reports for consideration by the SSC and 

the Council at its November meeting in 

Costa Mesa, CA. 

Entry to the NOAA Western Regional 

Center’s Sand Point Facility requires 

visitors to show a valid picture ID and 

register with security. A visitor’s badge, 

which must be worn while at the NOAA 

Western Regional Center’s Facility, will 

be issued to non-Federal employees 

participating in the meeting. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in the meeting agendas may 

come before the meeting participants for 

discussion, those issues may not be the 

subject of formal action during these 

meetings. SSC Groundfish 

Subcommittee 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 meeting participants’ 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 Ms. 

Carolyn Porter at (503) 820–2280 at least 

5 days prior to the meeting date. 

Dated: September 8, 2009. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–21937 Filed 9–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN: 0648–XR57 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings and 

hearings. 

SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold a meeting of its Non-Commercial 

Fisheries Advisory Committee which 

may make recommendations on fishery 

management issues in the Western 

Pacific Region. 

DATES: The Non-Commercial Fisheries 

Advisory Committee Meeting will be 

held on September 30, 2009. For 

specific times and agendas, see 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: The Non-Commercial 

Fisheries Advisory Committee will meet 

at the Council Office, 1164 Bishop St. 

Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, 

telephone: (808) 522–8220; and by 

teleconference (1–888–482–3560, 

Access Code: 5228220). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director; 

telephone: (808) 522–8220. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

addition to the agenda items listed here, 

the Non-Commercial Fisheries Advisory 

Committee may receive reports and 

make recommendations on emerging 

fishery issues in the Western Pacific 

Region. A public comment period will 

be provided in the agenda. The order in 

which agenda items are addressed may 

change. The meetings will run as late as 

necessary to complete scheduled 

business. 

Schedule and Agenda for NonCommercial Fisheries Advisory 

Committee Meeting 

Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 1 p.m. 

- 5 p.m. (Hawaii Time) 

1. Introductions 

2. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

3. Recreational Fishing and 

Management in the Western Pacific 

Region 

A. Recreational Data Task Force 

B. Marine Recreational Fisheries 

Statistical Survey 

C. Hawaii Marine Recreational 

Fishery Survey 


cprice-sewell on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES