Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices 65657 

Note: The times and sequence specified in 

this agenda are subject to change. 

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

Dated: September 19, 2023. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20619 Filed 9–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD382] 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council (Council); Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold a meeting of the Snapper Grouper 

Advisory Panel (AP) in Charleston, SC. 

DATES: The meetings will be held 

October 10–12, 2023. The Snapper 

Grouper AP will meet from 1 p.m. until 

5 p.m. on October 10; from 8:30 a.m. 

until 5 p.m. on October 11; and 8:30 

a.m. until 12 p.m. on October 12, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: 

Meeting address: Town & Country Inn 

and Suites, 2008 Savannah Highway, 

Charleston, SC 29407; phone: (843) 571– 

1000. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim 

Iverson, Public Information Officer, 

SAFMC; phone: (843) 571–4366 or toll 

free: (866) SAFMC–10; fax: (843) 769– 

4520; email: kim.iverson@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Meeting 

information, including the agenda, 

overview, briefing book materials, and 

an online public comment form will be 

posted on the Council’s website at: 

https://safmc.net/advisory-panelmeetings/ two weeks prior to the 

meeting. The meeting is open to the 

public and available via webinar as it 

occurs. The webinar registration link 

will be available from the Council’s 

website. Public comment will also be 

taken during the meeting. 

The agenda for the Snapper Grouper 

AP meeting includes: updating the 

blueline tilefish and golden tilefish 

fishery performance reports; updates 

and discussion of issues pertaining to 

Amendment 46 to the Snapper Grouper 

Fishery Management Plan (Private 

Recreational Permit); Snapper Grouper 

Amendment 55 (Scamp and 

Yellowmouth Grouper); Snapper 

Grouper Amendment 44 (Yellowtail 

Snapper); and providing input for a 

Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) 

for the snapper grouper fishery. 

AP members will also receive updates 

on additional ongoing amendments to 

the Snapper Grouper Fishery 

Management Plan and other Council 

programs and initiatives. The AP will 

provide input and recommendations on 

agenda items for the Council’s 

consideration and address other items 

as needed. 

Special Accommodations 

The meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

auxiliary aids should be directed to the 

Council office (see ADDRESSES) 5 days 

prior to the meeting. 

Note: The times and sequence 

specified in this agenda are subject to 

change. 

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

Dated: September 19, 2023. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20620 Filed 9–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD388] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the Office of 

Naval Research’s Arctic Research 

Activities in the Beaufort and Chukchi 

Seas (Year 6) 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of renewal 

incidental harassment authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 

amended, notification is hereby given 

that NMFS has issued a renewal 

incidental harassment authorization 

(IHA) to the Office of Naval Research 

(ONR) for the renewal of their IHA to 

take marine mammals incidental to 

Arctic Research Activities (ARA) in the 

Beaufort Sea and eastern Chukchi Sea. 

DATES: This renewal IHA is effective 

September 18, 2023 through September 

13, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Pauline, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of 

marine mammals, with certain 

exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and 

(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce 

(as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon 

request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who 

engage in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) within a specified 

geographical region if certain findings 

are made and either regulations are 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, an IHA is issued. 

Authorization for incidental takings 

shall be granted if NMFS finds that the 

taking will have a negligible impact on 

the species or stock(s) and will not have 

an unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

taking for subsistence uses (where 

relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe 

the permissible methods of taking and 

other ‘‘means of effecting the least 

practicable adverse impact’’ on the 

affected species or stocks and their 

habitat, paying particular attention to 

rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of 

similar significance, and on the 

availability of such species or stocks for 

taking for certain subsistence uses 

(referred to here as ‘‘mitigation 

measures’’). Monitoring and reporting of 

such takings are also required. The 

meaning of key terms such as ‘‘take,’’ 

‘‘harassment,’’ and ‘‘negligible impact’’ 

can be found in section 3 of the MMPA 

(16 U.S.C. 1362) and the agency’s 

regulations at 50 CFR 216.103. 

NMFS’ regulations implementing the 

MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) indicate 

that IHAs may be renewed for 

additional periods of time not to exceed 

1 year for each reauthorization. In the 

notice of proposed IHA for the initial 

authorization, NMFS described the 

circumstances under which we would 

consider issuing a renewal for this 

activity, and requested public comment 

on a potential renewal under those 

circumstances. Specifically, on a caseby-case basis, NMFS may issue a onetime 1-year Renewal IHA following 

notice to the public providing an 

additional 15 days for public comments 

when (1) up to another year of identical, 

or nearly identical, activities as 

described in the Detailed Description of 

Specified Activities section of the initial 

IHA issuance notice is planned, or (2) 

the activities as described in the 

Description of the Specified Activities 


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