Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 14 / Tuesday, January 23, 2007 / Notices 2867 

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: January 18, 2007. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–932 Filed 1–22–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 011707E] 

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 (Council) will 

hold a three-day Council meeting on 

February 6–8, 2007, to consider actions 

affecting New England fisheries in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Tuesday, February 6 beginning at 1 

p.m., and Wednesday and Thursday, 

February 7 and 8, beginning at 8:30 a.m. 

each day. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 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: 

Tuesday, February 6, 2007 

Following introductions, the Council 

will hear a series of brief reports from 

the Council Chairman and Executive 

Director, the NOAA Northeast Regional 

Administrator, Northeast Fisheries 

Science Center and Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council liaisons, 

NOAA General Counsel and 

representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, 

NOAA Enforcement, and the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission. 

Following these reports, the Council 

will have a general discussion about atsea processing vessels, including 

potential monitoring, reporting, 

observer and Vessel Monitoring System 

(VMS) requirements. Changes to 

Council processes and procedures as a 

result of reauthorization of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act will 

then be reviewed. The day will 

conclude with a report from the 

Council’s Enforcement Committee. Its 

chair will discuss committee progress to 

develop recommendations concerning 

the use of VMS and other tools to 

address safety-at sea, regulatory 

compliance, and other fishery 

management-related activities. 

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 

During the morning session, the 

Council will receive a report on the 

comments received in response to 

public hearings held to consider 

standardized bycatch reporting 

methodology alternatives. The Council 

will also hold a hearing on Amendment 

13 to the Sea Scallop Fishery 

Management Plan. The intent is to 

provide an opportunity for the public to 

comment on the establishment of a 

mechanism to reactivate the industryfunded observer program in the scallop 

fishery. The hearing will be followed by 

final action on the amendment. The 

Council will then discuss the 

alternatives identified in Amendment 

11 to the Scallop Plan, some of which 

may be affected by provisions in the 

newly reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. The Council will hear an update 

concerning the status of five stocks of 

small mesh multispecies whiting, red 

hake and offshore hake. The briefing 

also will address issues related to the 

development of the next small mesh 

multispecies amendment. An open 

period for the public to address any 

other Council-related business will be 

provided at this point in the day. During 

the afternoon session of the meeting, the 

Trawl Survey Committee will seek 

approval of recommendations related to 

the FSV Henry Bigelow, soon to be 

deployed in the Northeast Region. At 

the end of the day, the Council plans to 

review and approve Phase I of the 

Essential Fish Habitat Draft 

Supplemental Environmental Impacts 

Statement. 

Thursday, February 8, 2007 

The Council’s Research Steering 

Committee Chairman will report on the 

committee’s recommendations 

concerning the use of information 

provided in several cooperative research 

final reports. This will be followed by 

a discussion of other issues related to 

cooperative research, including the 

future use of industry-based surveys. 

There will be a presentation on the 

results of the 44th Northeast Regional 

Stock Assessment Workshop. The status 

of surf clams, ocean quahogs, and the 

skate complex will be reviewed. The 

Groundfish Committee will provide a 

report to the Council on scoping 

comments received for Amendment 16 

to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery 

Management Plan. The Council will 

consider committee recommendations 

concerning alternatives to be developed, 

including input from the on the 

Recreational Advisory Panel. 

Although other non-emergency issues 

not contained in this agenda may come 

before this Council for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subjects 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 Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act, provided that 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. 

Dated: January 18, 2007. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–934 Filed 1–22–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 011707F] 

Pacific Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

2868 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 14 / Tuesday, January 23, 2007 / Notices 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Council) Highly 

Migratory Species Management Team 

(HMSMT) and Highly Migratory Species 

Advisory Subpanel (HMSAS) will hold 

work sessions, which are open to the 

public. 

DATES: The HMSMT/HMSAS work 

sessions will be held on Wednesday, 

February 7, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. until 

5 p.m. and on Thursday, February 8, 

2008, beginning at 8:30 a.m. until 

business is completed. 

ADDRESSES: The work sessions will be 

held at the National Marine Fisheries 

Service, Southwest Fisheries Science 

Center, Large Conference Room and 

Green Room, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, 

La Jolla, CA 92037; telephone: (858) 

546–7000. 

Council address: Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Kit Dahl, Pacific Fishery Management 

Council; telephone: (503) 820–2280. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

HMSMT/HMSAS work sessions will 

continue review of U.S. and Canadian 

albacore catch and effort data, with the 

intent of recommending an appropriate 

method to characterize historical effort 

in the fishery. The two groups will also 

review progress in developing 

environmental impact evaluations of 

exempted fishing permit proposals for 

2007 and any information on potential 

applications for 2008. They will also 

discuss development of an fishery 

management plan amendment to 

address overfishing of yellowfin tuna in 

the eastern Pacific Ocean and 

procedures to enhance communication 

with regional fishery management 

organizations, including the Western 

Pacific Fishery Management Council. 

The HMSMT will also discuss 

preparation of the 2007 stock 

assessment and fishery evaluation 

report and related data issues. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in the meeting agenda may be 

discussed, those issues may not be the 

subject of formal action during these 

meetings. Action will be restricted to 

those issues specifically listed in this 

document and any issues arising after 

publication of this document 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 intent to take final action to address 

the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

The meetings are 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. 

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

Dated: January 18, 2007. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–933 Filed 1–22–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 011707A] 

Marine Mammals; File No. 774–1847–01 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science 

Center, Antarctic Marine Living 

Resources Program (Rennie Holt, Ph.D., 

Principal Investigator), 8604 La Jolla 

Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, has 

requested an amendment to scientific 

research Permit No. 774–1847. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

February 22, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: The amendment request 

and related documents are available for 

review 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)427–2521; 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 or requests for a 

public hearing on this request should be 

submitted to the Chief, Permits, 

Conservation and Education Division, 

F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those 

individuals requesting a hearing should 

set forth the specific reasons why a 

hearing on this particular amendment 

request would be appropriate. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: File No. 774–1847–01. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate 

Swails or Tammy Adams, (301)713–

2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject amendment to Permit No. 774–

1847, issued on September 11, 2006 (71 

FR 53423) is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 

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

governing the taking and importing of 

marine mammals (50 CFR part 216). 

Permit No. 774–1847 authorizes the 

permit holder to continue a long-term 

ecosystem monitoring program of 

pinniped species in the South Shetland 

Islands, Antarctica. The applicant is 

authorized to take up to 710 Antarctic 

fur seals and 20 leopard seals annually. 

The animals are captured, measured, 

weighed, tagged, blood sampled, and 

have time-depth recorders, VHF 

transmitters, and platform terminal 

transmitters attached. A subset of fur 

seals are given an enema, have a tooth 

extracted, milk sampled, and are part of 

a doubly-labeled water study on 

energetics. A subset of leopard seals are 

blubber and muscle sampled. The 

permit authorizes the research-related 

mortality of up to three Antarctic fur 

seals (one adult and two pups) and one 

leopard seal annually. 

The permit holder requests 

authorization to increase researchrelated mortality to eight Antarctic fur 

seals (3 adults and 5 pups) and two 

leopard seals annually. Permit 

conditions are such that research must 

be stopped when the mortality level is 

reached. The requested amendment is 

intended to allow the continuation of 

the long-term monitoring studies in the 

event of greater than anticipated levels 

of research-related mortality. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of this 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES