Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 188 / Friday, September 29, 2023 / Notices 67249 

address governance issues associated 

with climate-related shifts in stock 

distributions. 

Given the Mid-Atlantic Council’s 

shared regional boundaries with two 

other East coast Councils, as well as the 

number of Mid-Atlantic stocks that 

extend beyond the Council region 

boundaries, this policy has the potential 

to directly impact a number of MidAtlantic Council fishery management 

plans. The purpose of this webinar is to 

inform Mid-Atlantic Council 

stakeholders on the development of this 

draft policy, and to ensure that Council 

stakeholders have the opportunity to 

provide feedback to NOAA Fisheries on 

this issue. 

Additional information, background 

documents, and instructions for 

providing written comments will be 

posted to the Council’s website at: 

https://www.mafmc.org/actions/nmfsclimate-governance-policy. 

Special Accommodations 

The meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aid should be directed to 

Shelley Spedden, (302) 526–5251, at 

least 5 days prior to the meeting date. 

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

Dated: September 26, 2023. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21455 Filed 9–28–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD417] 

New England 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 New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) is 

scheduling a hybrid meeting of its 

Scallop Advisory Panel to consider 

actions affecting New England fisheries 

in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

Recommendations from this group will 

be brought to the full Council for formal 

consideration and action, if appropriate. 

DATES: This meeting will be held on 

Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at 9 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: 

Meeting address: This meeting will be 

held at the Fairfield Inn/Waypoint 

Event Center, 185 MacArthur Drive, 

New Bedford, MA 02740, Phone (774) 

634–2000. 

Webinar URL information: https://

attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/

6354731240783343452. 

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cate 

O’Keefe, Ph.D., Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Agenda 

The Advisory Panel will review 

Framework Adjustment (FW) 38: 

Receive an update and provide input on 

a range of potential access area and DAS 

allocations for the 2024 and 2025 

fishing years. Council staff will update 

the group on any modifications the 

Council may make to the scope of this 

action at the September Council 

meeting. FW 38 will set specifications 

including ABC/ACLs, days-at-sea, 

access area allocations, total allowable 

landings for the Northern Gulf of Maine 

(NGOM) management area, targets for 

General Category incidental catch, 

General Category access area trips, and 

set-asides for the observer and research 

programs for fishing year 2024 and 

default specifications for fishing year 

2025. They also plan to discuss the 

Northern Edge Framework: Receive an 

update on progress and review the 

timeline for this action. They will also 

develop recommendations for possible 

2024 scallop work priorities. Other 

business will be discussed, if necessary. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained on the agenda may come 

before this Council for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

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 MagnusonStevens Act, provided the public has 

been notified of the Council’s intent to 

take final action to address the 

emergency. The public also should be 

aware that the meeting will be recorded. 

Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy 

of the recording is available upon 

request. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Cate 

O’Keefe, Ph.D., Executive Director, at 

(978) 465–0492, at least 5 days prior to 

the meeting date. 

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

Dated: September 26, 2023. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21463 Filed 9–28–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD383] 

Endangered Species; File No. 27686 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application 

and conservation plan for renewal of an 

incidental take permit. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, 

Incorporated (hereinafter ‘Clearwater’) 

has applied in due form to renew a 

permit pursuant to the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). 

The renewal permit application is for 

the incidental take of Atlantic sturgeon 

(Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) and 

shortnose sturgeon (A. brevirostrum) 

associated with the otherwise lawful 

environmental education program 

conducted on the Hudson River, New 

York. The education program uses small 

otter trawls and beach seines to collect 

fish and invertebrate specimens that are 

held onboard the vessels for educational 

purposes. The duration of the proposed 

permit is 10 years. NMFS is providing 

this notice in order to allow other 

agencies and the public an opportunity 

to review and comment on the 

application materials. All comments 

received will become part of the public 

record and will be available for review. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received at the appropriate address or 

fax number (see ADDRESSES) on or before 

October 30, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: The application is available 

for download and review at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

endangered-species-conservation/ 

incidental-take-permits and at https://

www.regulations.gov. The application is 

also available upon request (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

You may submit comments on this 

document, identified by NOAA–NMFS– 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
67250 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 188 / Friday, September 29, 2023 / Notices 

2023–0111 by any of the following 

methods: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and 

NOAA–NMFS–2023–0111 in the Search 

box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

Instructions: 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 by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (e.g., name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. We will accept 

anonymous comments (enter N/A in the 

required fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats 

only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steven Hughes, (301) 427–8576, 

steven.hughes@noaa.gov; Celeste Stout, 

(301) 427- 9436, Celeste.Stout@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9 

of the ESA and Federal regulations 

prohibit the ‘taking’ of a species listed 

as endangered or threatened. The ESA 

defines ‘‘take’’ to mean harass, harm, 

pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 

capture, or collect, or to attempt to 

engage in any such conduct. NMFS may 

issue permits, under limited 

circumstances to take listed species 

incidental to, and not the purpose of, 

otherwise lawful activities. Section 

10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA provides for 

authorizing incidental take of listed 

species. NMFS governing regulations for 

permits for incidental taking of 

threatened and endangered species are 

promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307. 

Background 

On July 10, 2023, Clearwater Inc. sent 

a permit renewal request before permit 

number 18600 expires December 31, 

2023. On August 28, 2023, NMFS met 

with Clearwater Inc. to discuss reducing 

the number of requested takes for the 

permit from 20 to 10 sturgeon over the 

course of the 10-year project. 

Over the course of the 10-year project 

two sturgeons were captured during the 

proposed action. The species affected 

were two Atlantic sturgeon. The two 

sturgeon were released back into the 

Hudson River immediately after they 

were brought up to the boat. The 

Clearwater applicant has submitted end 

of year reports every year. There were 

no compliance issues throughout the 

permit that would prevent the 

application from being renewed for 

another 10 years. 

Conservation Plan 

Clearwater’s conservation plan 

describes measures to minimize, 

monitor, and mitigate the incidental 

take of ESA-listed Atlantic and 

shortnose sturgeon. Clearwater will 

regularly communicate with New York 

State Department of Environmental 

Conservation to avoid known sturgeon 

habitat and spawning grounds. 

Clearwater will use small otter trawls 

(95.52 by 45.72 centimeter doors and 

weigh less than 0.45 kilograms) and 

short tow times (= < 5 minutes). Beach 

seines, which allow for targeted catch, 

will be used where practicable (e.g., 

away from urban areas and where tides 

allow). If Clearwater incidentally 

captures a sturgeon in its sets, it will 

follow protocols for safe handling and 

immediately release any sturgeon 

caught. Clearwater will maintain a 

detailed log of all gear sets and will 

submit to NMFS incident and annual 

reports of incidental capture, if any, of 

listed sturgeon. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as implemented by 

40 CFR parts 1500–1508 and NOAA 

Administrative Order 216–6, 

Environmental Review Procedures for 

Implementing the National Policy Act 

(1999), an initial determination has been 

made that the activity proposed is 

categorically excluded from the 

requirement to prepare an 

environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Next Steps 

This notice is provided pursuant to 

section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS will 

evaluate the application, associated 

documents, and comments received 

during the comment period to 

determine whether the application 

meets the requirements of section 10(a) 

of the ESA. If NMFS determines that the 

requirements are met, a permit will be 

issued for incidental takes of ESA-listed 

sturgeon. The final NEPA and permit 

determinations will not be made until 

after the end of the comment period. 

NMFS will publish a record of its final 

action in the Federal Register. 

Dated: September 26, 2023. 

Catherine G. Marzin, 

Deputy Director, Office of Protected 

Resources. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21446 Filed 9–28–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD415] 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold a meeting of the Dolphin Wahoo 

Advisory Panel on November 6–7, 2023, 

and a meeting of the Mackerel Cobia 

Advisory Panel on November 7–8, 2023. 

DATES: The Dolphin Wahoo Advisory 

Panel meeting will be held November 6, 

2023, from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m., EDT and 

November 7, 2023, from 9 a.m. until 12 

p.m. The Mackerel Cobia Advisory 

Panel meeting will be held November 7, 

2023, from 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m., EDT 

and November 8, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 

5 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: 

Meeting address: The meetings will be 

held at the Town and County Inn, 2008 

Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 

29407. 

The meeting will also be available via 

webinar. Registration is required. 

Webinar registration, an online public 

comment form, and briefing book 

materials will be available two weeks 

prior to the meeting at: https://

safmc.net/advisory-panel-meetings/. 

Council address: South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, 4055 

Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N 

Charleston, SC 29405. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christina Wiegand, Fishery Social 

Scientists, SAFMC; phone: (843) 571– 

4366 or toll free: (866) SAFMC–10; fax: 

(843) 769–4520; email: 

christina.wiegand@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Dolphin Wahoo Advisory Panel (AP) 

Meeting 

The Dolphin Wahoo AP will develop 

and update a fishery performance report 

for wahoo, receive a presentation from 

the National Marine Fisheries Service 


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