2866 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 14 / Tuesday, January 23, 2007 / Notices 

that had reduced historical levels of 

fishery mortality. The petitioner further 

asserts that a 2004 regulation restricting 

spear and recreational fishing for 

rockfish to periods when fisheries were 

open for lingcod and/or Pacific salmon 

inadequately limits fishing effort and 

mortality during the open fishing 

periods. We recognize that the 

petitioner believes that WDFW could 

enact regulations to further protect 

Puget Sound rockfish stocks. However, 

the fishing regulations the petitioner 

criticizes represent a reduction in 

previous fishing levels, and do not 

portend an increasing threat due to 

fishing for the copper and quillback 

rockfish Puget Sound DPSs. 

Does the Petition Present Substantial 

Information Indicating That the DPSs 

May be Endangered or Threatened? 

The petitioner presents no new data 

or information regarding the abundance, 

trends, productivity, or distribution for 

these species. With respect to the 

maternal-age effect discussed above, the 

petitioner presents no substantive 

evidence that the age composition of 

these stocks has actually been truncated, 

or that the maternal-age effect is an 

important determinant for copper or 

quillback rockfish recruitment. 

Similarly, we do not have any new data 

on hand relevant to assessing the status 

of copper and quillback rockfishes in 

Puget Sound. 

We are aware that WDFW is in the 

process of compiling new abundance 

data and finalizing a status report for 

these species. As yet, the new data and 

analyses are not available. 

Petition Finding 

After reviewing the information 

contained in the petition, as well as 

information readily available to our 

scientists, we determine that the 

petition fails to present substantial 

scientific or commercial information 

indicating the petitioned actions may be 

warranted. 

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

Dated: January 17, 2007. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–943 Filed 1–22–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; 

National Sea Grant Review Panel 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the 

schedule and proposed agenda of a 

forthcoming meeting of the Sea Grant 

Review Panel. The meeting will have 

several purposes. Panel members will 

discuss and provide advice on the 

National Sea Grant College Program in 

the areas of program evaluation, 

strategic planning, education and 

extension, science and technology 

programs, and other matters as 

described below. 

DATES: The announced meeting is 

scheduled for: February 21–22, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Headquarters of the 

Consortium for Oceanographic Research 

& Education (CORE), 1201 New York 

Avenue, NW., 4th Floor Conference 

Room, Washington, DC 20005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Joseph Brown, National Sea Grant 

College Program, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 1315 EastWest Highway, Room 11717, Silver 

Spring, Maryland 20910, (301) 734–

1088. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Panel, 

which consists of a balanced 

representation from academia, industry, 

state government and citizens groups, 

was established in 1976 by Section 209 

of the Sea Grant Improvement Act (Pub. 

L. 94–461, 33 U.S.C. 1128). The Panel 

advises the Secretary of Commerce and 

the Director of the National Sea Grant 

College Program with respect to 

operations under the Act, and such 

other matters as the Secretary refers to 

them for review and advice. 

A link to the agenda for the meeting 

can be found on the web at http:// 

www.seagrant.noaa.gov/leadership/ 

review_panel.html. 

If you do not have access to the 

internet, please contact Joe Brown at the 

address above for a hard copy. 

This meeting will be open to the 

public. 

Dated: January 16, 2007. 

Mark E. Brown, 

Chief Financial Officer, Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. E7–848 Filed 1–22–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–KA–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 011707D] 

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) Vessel 

Monitoring Systems (VMS)/Enforcement 

Committee will meet to consider actions 

affecting New England fisheries in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Tuesday, February 6, 2007, at 8 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Sheraton Harborside, 250 Market 

Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; 

telephone: (603) 431–2300. 

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. Introduction: safety, regulation 

compliance, and familiarizing industry 

with proper use of VMS. 

2. Presentation by Office for Law 

Enforcement: the capabilities and 

limitations of VMS as an enforcement 

tool. 

3. Comments and recommendations 

from the public, VMS users, state 

agencies, and the Coast Guard. The 

committee received the following 

request: 

a. Safe harbor notification, to suspend 

fishing trip, due to storms or other 

emergencies; 

b. Declaration in/out of a fishery 

while at sea, rather than in port; 

c. Closed area transit notification, to 

replace gear stowage requirement. 

4. Industry and law enforcement 

dialog on VMS usage, and how it can be 

improved. 

5. Closed session: selection of new 

advisors and any other issues the 

committee finds pertinent. 

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 

mstockstill on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES