45398 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 166 / Wednesday, August 27, 1997 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 081997B]

Gulf of Maine Aquaculture-Pinniped

Interaction Task Force

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of report.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Marine Mammal Protection Act

(MMPA), NMFS submitted a report to

Congress regarding pinnipeds

interacting in a dangerous or damaging

manner with aquaculture resources in

the Gulf of Maine. The report, which

addressed public comments on an

earlier draft, is available to the public

upon request.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the report are

available from Chief, Habitat and

Protected Resources Division, NMFS,

One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA

01930, or Chief, Marine Mammal

Division, Office of Protected Resources,

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Scott Sandorf (508)281–9388 or Tom

Eagle (301) 713–2322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Pursuant to section 120(h) of the

MMPA, NMFS convened a Task Force

to examine the issues and problems

associated with pinniped-aquaculture

interactions in the Gulf of Maine. Task

Force members were selected from the

aquaculture industry, state government,

the scientific community, and

conservation organizations. The Task

Force convened three times for multiday meetings, visited pen-sites,

conducted public hearings, met with

salmon growers, conducted surveys, and

reviewed literature related to the issue,

prior to completion of its report. The

report contained Task Force

recommendations to mitigate the seal

predation, all of which represented the

consensus of the Task Force.

NMFS considered the

recommendations from the Task Force

and prepared a draft report to Congress

recommending options available to

mitigate the interaction. NMFS

published a notice of availability of the

draft report and solicited public

comments on it (62 FR 12602, March 17,

1997).

NMFS used the public comments in

preparing a final report to Congress and

forwarded the report to the Department

of Commerce. The Secretary of

Commerce transmitted the report to

Congress on August 1, 1997. Copies of

the report are now available to the

public (see ADDRESSES).

Dated: August 21, 1997.

Hilda Diaz-Soltero,

Director, Office of Protected Resources,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–22843 Filed 8–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 081997C]

International Whaling Commission:

Environmental Assessment and

Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce

ACTION: Notice of availability of an

Environmental Assessment (EA) and

change in meeting location.

SUMMARY: The Makah Tribe (Tribe) has

indicated that it wishes to harvest up to

five gray whales per year for subsistence

and ceremonial purposes. Within the

U.S. Government, whaling is managed

by the Department of Commerce, which

must therefore consider whether to

support the Makah interest in

continuing its tradition of whaling.

NOAA has prepared a draft EA which

weighs the impacts of supporting the

Makah interest in whaling and

considers alternatives to concurrence.

This notice also announces a change in

the room where the next IWC

Interagency Committee will meet. The

first notice of this meeting was

published on June 26, 1997 (62 FR

34441).

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before September 22,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft EA be

obtained from the Office of Protected

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910;

telephone: 301–713–2332. Comments

should be submitted in writing to the

same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Angela Somma, Office of Protected

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Phone: (301) 713–2319.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Tribe

has indicated that it wishes to harvest

up to five gray whales per year for

subsistence and ceremonial purposes.

Within the U.S. Government, whaling is

managed by the Department of

Commerce, which must therefore

consider whether to support the Makah

interest in continuing its tradition of

whaling. This EA weighs the impacts of

supporting the Makah interest in

whaling and considers alternatives to

concurrence. The EA analyzes

alternatives, including the proposed

action. The alternatives are: 1) Support

the Tribe’s decision to whale after

receiving approval from the

International Whaling Commission

(IWC) [proposed action]; 2) delay

consideration of support until after the

five-year monitoring program of the

eastern Pacific stock of gray whales is

complete; 3) persuade the Tribe to

engage in alternative activities such as

ecotourism instead of whaling; and 4)

no action.

NMFS also announces that the

Interagency Committee meeting for the

IWC will be held September 9, 1997, at

2:00 pm in Room 5215, Herbert C.

Hoover Building, Department of

Commerce, 14th and Constitution,

Washington, DC. The room will be

opened at 12:00 pm to permit viewing

of U.S. positions papers for the 49th

Annual Meeting of the IWC. The

Interagency Committee meeting will

review recent events relating to the IWC

and will review U.S. positions for the

1997 IWC meetings.

Dated: August 20, 1997.

Hilda Diaz-Soltero,

Director, Office of Protected Resources,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–22841 Filed 8-26-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 080697G]

ICCAT Advisory Committee; Public

Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The Advisory Committee to

the U.S. Section to the International

Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Highly

Migratory Species Management Division

of National Marine Fisheries Service

announces the schedule of regional

public meetings to be held this fall.