45628 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Notices

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

National Institute of Standards and

Technology received letters dated May

10, 1994, and October 31, 1994, from the

American National Standards Institute

requesting to have the ANSI–RAB

American National Accreditation

Program for Registrars of Quality

Systems recognized under NVCASE.

The request seeks U.S. Government

assurance of the competency of the

ANSI–RAB program to accredit

registrars so that they can in turn

register organizations in satisfaction of

foreign mandatory regulatory

requirements.

The NVCASE procedures at 15 CFR

Part 286 require NIST to seek public

consultation when it receives requests

for evaluation. The original request was

published in the Federal Register at

Vol. 60, No. 20/Tuesday, January 31,

1995, page 5901. A 30-day public

comment period ended on March 2,

1995. The comments received are

discussed below.

No action was taken on the request

until now, pending conclusion of U.S.-

EU MRA negotiations. The MRA was

initiated on June 20, 1997. NIST is now

proceeding with establishment of

criteria and initiation of the application

process.

NIST received responses from 15

different organizations during the public

comment period on the original ANSI

request and also considered an

additional letter received after the

official period closed.

Of the 16 letters considered, nine

indicated general support, five opposed

specific sectoral areas included in the

request, one indicated general nonsupport and one provided only a general

comment. The specific sectors to which

the five commenters voiced opposition

are not planned for inclusion under the

proposed NVCASE program. The

pressure vessel sector is not presently

part of the U.S.-EU negotiations (three

opponents), and the medical device

sector is under the jurisdiction of the

Food and Drug Administration (FDA);

NIST will not take action in that sector

without full agreement from FDA (two

opponents). Further, NIST will not

accept any application for recognition in

these two sectors without notifying the

opposing entities and other members of

the sectoral community.

Notwithstanding any other provision

of law, no person is required to respond

nor shall a person be subject to a

penalty for failure to comply with a

collection of information subject to the

requirements of the Paperwork

Reduction Act unless that collection of

information displays a currently valid

OMB Control Number.

Dated: August 22, 1997.

Elaine Bunten-Mines,

Director, Program Office.

[FR Doc. 97–22928 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 080697D]

Request for Nominations of Individuals

for the Federal Investment Task Force

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of request for

nominations.

SUMMARY: The Sustainable Fisheries Act

(SFA) requires the Secretary of

Commerce (Secretary) to establish a task

force to study the role of the Federal

Government in subsidizing fleet

capacity and influencing capital

investment in fisheries. NMFS requests

nominations of qualified individuals to

serve on the task force.

DATES: Nominations will be accepted

through September 5, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Nominations should be sent

to Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission, 1444 Eye Street, NW, 6th

Floor, Washington, DC 20005, ATTN:

Federal Investment Task Force.

Nominations may be submitted by fax,

(202) 289–6051.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert Beal, Atlantic States Marine

Fisheries Commission, (202) 289–6400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

In accordance with section 116(b) of

the SFA (Public Law 104–297), the

Secretary is establishing a task force of

interested parties to study the role of the

Federal Government in (1) subsidizing

the expansion and contraction of fishing

capacity in fishing fleets managed under

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), and (2)

otherwise influencing the aggregate

capital investment in fisheries. The task

force will report the findings of the

study to the Committee on Commerce,

Science, and Transportation of the

Senate and the Committee on Resources

of the House of Representatives.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission (ASMFC) has contracted

with NMFS to establish the Federal

Investment Task Force and complete the

tasks necessary to prepare and submit

the report to Congress. ASMFC is in the

position of being knowledgeable about

the issues associated with the Federal

Investment Study, while lacking a

vested interest in the outcome of the

task force’s work.

Procedures and Guidelines

A. Procedures for Establishing the

Task Force.

Individuals with definable interests in

fisheries will be considered as members

of the task force. Nominations may

include, but are not limited to,

individuals who are associated with

commercial or recreational fishing,

environmental organizations, academia,

or quasi-governmental entities.

Selection of task force members will not

be limited to individuals who are

nominated.

Nominations are invited from all

individuals and constituent groups. The

nomination should include:

1. The name of the applicant or

nominee and description of his/her

interest in or association with the role

of the Federal Government in

subsidizing fleet capacity and

influencing capital investment in

fisheries.

2. A statement of background and/or

qualifications.

3. A written commitment that the

applicant or nominee will actively

participate in good faith in the duties of

the task force.

B. Participants.

The task force will consist of no more

than 15 individuals who have a

substantial interest in fisheries.

Nominations will be accepted to

represent commercial and recreational

fishing interests, the conservation

community, and the academic

community. ASMFC and NMFS believe

that all interests should be represented

on the task force. The intent is to have

a group that, as a whole, represents all

interests fairly and supplies the

necessary expertise to complete all

assigned tasks. Current employees of

NOAA will not be considered for the

task force.

ASMFC will provide the necessary

administrative support, including

technical assistance, for the task force.

ASMFC will also reimburse all travel

expenses that are directly related to the

activities of the task force. However,

ASMFC will be unable to compensate

participants with additional monetary

support of any kind.

C. Tentative Schedule.

The task force is tentatively scheduled

to meet five times between September

1997 and May 1998. These meetings

will focus on programs that both
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Notices 45629

directly and indirectly increase the

capacity and capitalization of

commercial and recreational fishing

fleets. The task force will also evaluate

the extent to which Federal programs

have been successful at reducing the

capacity and capitalization of fishing

fleets managed under the MagnusonStevens Act. U.S. Coast Guard vessel

mortgage records will be reviewed to

evaluate the influence of the Federal

Government on vessel financing. The

final report of this task force will be

submitted to Congress by September 1,

1998.

Dated: August 22, 1997.

George H. Darcy,

Acting Office Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–22860 Filed 8–22–97; 4:51 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 072597B]

Advisory Panel on Highly Migratory

Species Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for

nominations.

SUMMARY: NMFS solicits nominations

for the Highly Migratory Species (HMS)

advisory panel (AP). The purpose of the

AP will be to assist NMFS in the

collection and evaluation of information

relevant to the development of a

comprehensive HMS management plan

for Atlantic tunas, swordfish, and

sharks. The AP will include

representatives from all interests in

HMS fisheries.

DATES: Nominations must be submitted

on or before September 29, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Nominations should be

submitted to Rebecca Lent, Highly

Migratory Species Management

Division, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD, 20910.

Nominations may be submitted by fax;

301–713–1917.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill

Stevenson or Liz Lauck (301) 713–2347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

In accordance with the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act, (Magnuson-Stevens

Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., as amended

by the Sustainable Fisheries Act, Public

Law 104–297, an Advisory Panel (AP)

will be established to consult with

NMFS in the collection and evaluation

of information relevant to the

development of a comprehensive HMS

fishery management plan (FMP) for

Atlantic tunas, swordfish and sharks.

The purpose of the AP is to assist

NMFS in the development of an FMP

for the Atlantic shark, swordfish, and

tuna fisheries. Among the first issues to

consider will be the development of

rebuilding programs for those species

that are overfished. The AP will assist

NMFS in meeting requirements of the

Magnuson-Stevens Act throughout the

FMP development process.

In response to a Federal Register

notice of April 4, 1997 (62 FR 16132)

NMFS received comments that

supported the establishment of separate

APs for sharks, swordfish, and tunas.

Other comments suggested various

combinations of APs. NMFS has

concluded that one AP with an

extended meeting period, species

working groups (composed of AP

members with particular species

interests), and a detailed agenda by

species will allow members to address

their species-of-concern at relevant

portions of the meeting and will be

more effective in addressing the

overlapping issues in these related

fisheries. One of the long-term goals of

HMS management has been to better

coordinate the management of Atlantic

tunas, swordfish and sharks. There is

considerable species overlap in several

recreational (e.g., rod and reel fisheries

for sharks, yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna,

and billfish) and commercial HMS

fisheries (e.g., longlining for yellowfin

tuna, bigeye tuna and sharks; purse

seining for bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna,

and albacore tuna). Preparation of one

HMS FMP is consistent with the

Presidential Regulatory Reform

Initiative and will lead to a more

holistic approach to fishery

management, consistent with the

National Environmental Policy Act.

Furthermore, a single HMS AP reflects

the structure of the U.S. Advisory

Committee to the International

Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) which also has

one panel for all HMS species with

supporting species working groups.

Finally, combination of tunas, swordfish

and sharks under one management plan

and one AP will minimize the financial

and time burden on the affected

constituency. The overlap in fisheries

could result in considerable repetition

in representation on separate panels.

NMFS wishes to minimize the time and

financial burdens to panel members

while simultaneously promoting better

integration of Atlantic tuna, swordfish

and shark management.

Procedures and Guidelines

A. Procedures for Establishing the

Advisory Panel.

Individuals with definable interests in

the recreational and commercial fishing

and related industries, environmental

community, academia, governmental

and quasi-governmental entities will be

considered as members of the AP.

Selection of AP members will not be

limited to those that are nominated.

Individuals previously nominated to the

Atlantic Tunas Negotiated Rulemaking

Advisory Committee will be considered

for membership on the HMS AP.

Nominations are invited from all

individuals and constituent groups. The

nomination should include:

1. The name of the applicant or

nominee and a description of their

interest in or connection with highly

migratory species (HMS) or one species

in particular from among sharks,

swordfish, and tunas;

2. A statement of background and/or

qualifications;

3. A written commitment that the

applicant or nominee shall actively

participate in good faith in the tasks of

the AP.

B. Participants.

The AP shall consist of not less than

seven (7) members who are

knowledgeable about the pelagic

fisheries for Atlantic HMS, particularly

fisheries. Nominations will be accepted

to allow representation from

recreational and commercial fishing

interests, the conservation community,

and the scientific community. NMFS

does not believe that each potentially

affected organization or individual must

necessarily have its own representative,

but each interest must be adequately

represented. The intent is to have a

group that, as a whole, reflects an

appropriate balance and mix of interests

given the responsibilities of the AP.

Criteria for membership include one or

more of the following: (a) Experience in

the recreational fishing industry

involved in catching swordfish, tunas,

or sharks; (b) experience in the

commercial fishing industry for HMS;

(c) experience in connected industries

(marinas, bait and tackle shops); (d)

experience in the scientific community

working with HMS; (e) former or current

representative of a private, regional,

state, national, or international

organization representing marine

fisheries interests dealing with HMS.

NMFS will provide the necessary

administrative support, including

technical assistance, for the AP.