Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 217 / Monday, November 10, 1997 / Notices 60485

1. Status of preparations for the FAO

Consultation: Room 5215, Herbert Clark

Hoover Building (Department of

Commerce), 14th and Constitution

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

2. Shark regional workshops:

Sarasota—Mote Marine Laboratory,

1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota,

FL 34236, and Monterey—Monterey Bay

Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey,

CA 93940.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dean Swanson at (301) 713-2276; to

attend shark workshops as an observer,

contact Kathy Kessler at (202) 861–8346.

Information on the FAO initiatives is

available online at http://

kingfish.ssp.nmfs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The FAO, with input from the United

States and other governments, is

preparing for an FAO Consultation in

late 1998 to consider action plans on the

conservation and management of sharks,

reduction of incidental catch of seabirds

in longline fisheries, and the

management of fishing capacity. All

FAO member countries as well as

observers will be invited to the FAO

Consultation. Preparations include

meetings of expert Technical Working

Groups (TWGs) to consider draft

guidelines and plans of actions well in

advance of the FAO Consultation.

On August 8, 1997, NMFS published

a notice of U.S. involvement in the

planning and preparations for the FAO

Consultation (62 FR 42766). Additional

background information is presented in

that Federal Register notice and is not

repeated here. NMFS will host a

meeting to brief the public on the status

of preparations for the FAO

Consultation at the time and place

provided above.

Shark Regional Workshops

To assist development of background

documents for the Shark TWG, the

United States will sponsor two shark

regional workshops. The goal for the

upcoming shark regional workshops and

the subsequent TWG and FAO

Consultation is to contribute to

developing a global strategy (action

plan) and guidelines for sustainable

international and regional management

of elasmobranch species by national,

regional and highly migratory

management groups. The workshop

proceedings will be compiled into

proposed strategies and used to

contribute to the TWG, which will

provide background documents for the

FAO Consultation.

The shark regional workshops will

review—

1. Shark fisheries in the region,

including directed fisheries and

fisheries in which sharks are a bycatch

and

2. Current data collection and

management in the region.

Regional workshop participants will

also be asked to develop

recommendations on action areas,

priority issues and time targets for the

following categories:

1. Research, data collection, and

monitoring;

2. Conservation and management for

sustainable shark populations;

3. Building capacity for conservation,

research, and management;

4. Regional and international

cooperation; and

5. Funding for shark conservation and

management.

Regional workshop participants will

include fisheries scientists, shark

experts, and regional fishery

management organization

representatives. The workshops are

open to interested observers. Anyone

planning to attend as an observer should

contact Kathy Kessler (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT).

Special Accommodations

The meeting on the status of

preparations for the FAO Consultation

will be physically accessible to people

with disabilities. Requests for sign

language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to

Dean Swanson at least 5 days prior to

the meeting date.

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

Dated: November 4, 1997.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–29584 Filed 11–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 110397A]

Marine Mammals; Permit No. 1024

(P77–2#69)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Issuance of scientific research

permit amendment.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a

request for amendment of scientific

research permit no. 1024 submitted by

the Southwest Fisheries Science Center,

National Marine Fisheries Service, 8604

La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92038

[Co- Investigator: Dr. Rennie S. Holt) has

been granted to increase the number of

Antarctic fur seals to be taken annually.

ADDRESSES: The amendment and related

documents are available for review

upon written request or by appointment

in the following office(s):

Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13130,

Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713–

2289); and

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach,

CA 90802–4213 (310/980–4001).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

September 29, 1997, notice was

published in the Federal Register (62

FR 50907) that an amendment of permit

no. 1024, issued December 30, 1996 (62

FR 1875), had been requested by the

above-named organization. The

requested amendment has been granted

under the authority of the Marine

Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as

amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the

provisions of § 216.39 of the Regulations

Governing the Taking and Importing of

Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216), and

the Fur Seal Act of 1966, as amended

(16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).

Dated: November 3, 1997.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–29583 Filed 11–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

COMMITTEE FOR THE

IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE

AGREEMENTS

Adjustment of Import Limits for Certain

Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk

Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber

Textiles and Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in

Indonesia

November 4, 1997.

AGENCY: Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements

(CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the

Commissioner of Customs increasing

limits.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 12, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet Heinzen, International Trade

Specialist, Office of Textiles and

Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce,

(202) 482–4212. For information on the