Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2012 / Notices 9211 

and to maintain the stocks at those 

levels. The IPHC fulfills this objective in 

part by recommending Pacific halibut 

fishery conservation and management 

measures for approval by the United 

States and Canada. Pursuant to the 

Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, 

the Secretary of State, with the 

concurrence of the Secretary of 

Commerce, may accept or reject, on 

behalf of the United States, conservation 

and management measures 

recommended by the IPHC. 16 U.S.C. 

773b. Measures accepted by the 

Secretary of State are adopted as 

binding regulations governing fishing 

for Pacific halibut in Convention waters 

of the United States. 16 U.S.C. 

773c(b)(1). More information on the 

IPHC can be found at http:// 

www.iphc.int. 

Section 773a of the Northern Pacific 

Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773a) 

requires that the United States be 

represented on the IPHC by three U.S. 

Commissioners. U.S. Commissioners are 

appointed for a term not to exceed 2 

years, but are eligible for reappointment. 

Of the Commissioners: 

(1) One must be an official of the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration; and 

(2) two must be knowledgeable or 

experienced concerning the Northern 

Pacific halibut fishery; of these, one 

must be a resident of Alaska and the 

other shall be a nonresident of Alaska. 

Of the three commissioners described in 

paragraphs (1) and (2), one must also be 

a voting member of the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council. 

(3) Commissioners who are not 

Federal employees are not considered to 

be Federal employees except for the 

purposes of injury compensation or tort 

claims liability as provided in section 

8101 et seq. of title 5 and section 2671 

et seq. of title 28. 

In their official IPHC duties, 

Commissioners represent the interests of 

the United States and all of its 

stakeholders in the Pacific halibut 

fishery. These duties require a modest 

amount of travel (typically two or three 

trips per year lasting less than a week), 

and travel expenses are paid by the U.S. 

Department of State. Commissioners 

receive no compensation for their 

services. 

Nomination Process 

The U.S. Department of Commerce is 

currently accepting nominations for two 

U.S. Commissioners for the IPHC who 

are not officials of the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA). Successful nominees will be 

considered for appointment by the 

President and (pending Presidential 

action) interim designation by the 

Department of State. 

Nomination packages should provide 

details of an individual’s knowledge 

and experience in the Pacific halibut 

fishery. Examples of such knowledge 

and/or experience could include (but 

are not limited to) such activities as: 

Participation in commercial, tribal, 

Community Development Quota (CDQ) 

and/or sport and charterboat halibut 

fishing operations; participation in 

halibut processing operations; and 

participation in Pacific halibut 

management activities. 

Nomination packages should 

document an individual’s qualifications 

and state of residence. Self-nominations 

are acceptable, and current and former 

IPHC Commissioners are eligible for 

reappointment. Re ́sume ́s, curriculum 

vitae, and/or letters of recommendation 

are useful but not required. Nomination 

packages will be evaluated on a case-bycase basis by officials in the Department 

of Commerce who are familiar with the 

duties and responsibilities of IPHC 

Commissioners; evaluations will 

consider the aggregate of an individual’s 

prior experience and knowledge of the 

Pacific halibut fishery, residency 

requirements, and any letters of 

recommendation provided. Nominees 

will be notified of their status (including 

rejection or approval) and any need for 

further information once the nomination 

process is complete. 

Dated: February 10, 2012. 

Rebecca Lent, 

Director, Office of International Affairs, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3697 Filed 2–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB008 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council will hold meetings 

of its: Law Enforcement Advisory Panel; 

Ad Hoc Data Collection Committee; Law 

Enforcement Committee; Spiny Lobster 

Committee; Ecosystem-Based 

Management Committee; King and 

Spanish Mackerel Committee; Shrimp 

Committee; Information and Education 

Committee; Executive Finance 

Committee; Southeast Data, Assessment 

and Review (SEDAR) Committee; 

Golden Crab Committee; Catch Shares 

Committee; Snapper Grouper 

Committee; and a meeting of the Full 

Council. The Council will take action as 

necessary. 

The Council will hold an informal 

public question and answer session 

regarding agenda items and a public 

comment session. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for additional details. 

DATES: The Council meeting will be 

held March 5–9, 2012. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific 

dates and times. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Savannah Hilton DeSoto, 15 East 

Liberty Street, Savannah, GA 31401; 

telephone: (1–877) 280–0751 or (912) 

232–9000; fax: (912) 232–6018. Copies 

of documents are available from Kim 

Iverson, Public Information Officer, 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 

201, North Charleston, SC 29405. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim 

Iverson, Public Information Officer; 

telephone: (843) 571–4366 or toll free at 

(866) SAFMC–10; fax: (843) 769–4520; 

email: kim.iverson@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Meeting Dates 

1. Law Enforcement Advisory Panel 

Meeting: March 5, 2012, 1:30 p.m. Until 

5 p.m. 

The Law Enforcement Advisory Panel 

(AP) will receive an update on recent 

amendments and review and develop 

comments on the following 

amendments: Snapper Grouper 

Amendment 18B (golden tilefish); 

Snapper Grouper Regulatory 

Amendment 12 (framework action to 

adjust the golden tilefish Annual Catch 

Limit (ACL), Optimum Yield (OY) and 

Annual Catch Target (ACT) in the 

fishery); Comprehensive EcosystemBased Amendment 3; Snapper Grouper 

Amendment 20B (wreckfish Individual 

Transferable Quota (ITQ) program 

modifications); Spiny Lobster 

Amendment 11 (weather-related fishery 

closures and a revised Minimum Stock 

Size Threshold (MSST) for pink 

shrimp); and Golden Crab Amendment 

6 (catch share program for the 

commercial fishery). The AP will also 

begin the process for the 2011 Law 

Enforcement Officer of the Year award. 

Note: Concurrent Session. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
9212 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2012 / Notices 

2. Ad Hoc Data Collection Committee 

Meeting: March 5, 2012, 1:30 p.m. Until 

5 p.m. 

The Ad Hoc Data Collection 

Committee will discuss the joint South 

Atlantic/Gulf Council dealer permits 

and review commercial and for-hire 

vessel reporting requirements in the 

South Atlantic. 

3. Law Enforcement Committee Meeting: 

March 6, 2012, 8:30 a.m. Until 9:30 a.m. 

The Law Enforcement Committee will 

receive a report from the Law 

Enforcement AP and discuss other 

issues as appropriate. 

4. Spiny Lobster Committee Meeting: 

March 6, 2012, 9:30 a.m. Until 10:30 

a.m. 

The Spiny Lobster Committee will 

receive an overview of Spiny Lobster 

Amendment 11, which includes 

measures to help protect threatened/ 

endangered species. These measures 

include area closures for the commercial 

trap fishery to protect corals and gear 

marking requirements for trap lines. The 

Committee will also review public 

hearing comments and Supplemental 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(SDEIS) comments and modify 

Amendment 11 as appropriate. The 

Committee will provide 

recommendations to Council. 

5. Ecosystem-Based Management 

Committee Meeting: March 6, 2012, 

10:30 a.m. Until 3 p.m. 

The Ecosystem-Based Management 

Committee will receive updates on: The 

status of catches versus quota for 

octocorals; the status of Comprehensive 

Ecosystem-Based Amendment 2; the 

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 

Strategic Plan; and public scoping 

comments for Comprehensive 

Ecosystem-Based Amendment 3 (CE– 

BA3). The Committee will develop 

recommendations for CE–BA3, give an 

update on ecosystem activities, and 

provide direction to staff. 

6. King and Spanish Mackerel 

Committee Meeting: March 6, 2012, 

3 p.m. Until 5 p.m. 

The King and Spanish Mackerel 

Committee will receive updates on the 

status of catches versus quotas for 

species under quota management and 

the status of Mackerel Amendment 18, 

which establishes ACLs and 

Accountability Measures (AMs) for 

mackerel and cobia. The Committee will 

also receive a presentation on king 

mackerel tournament sales of fish and 

will select items to include in the joint 

South Atlantic and Gulf Mackerel 

Amendments 20 and 21. The Committee 

will provide guidance to staff and 

recommendations to Council. 

7. Shrimp Committee Meeting: March 7, 

2012, 8:30 a.m. Until 10 a.m. 

The Shrimp Committee will review 

scoping comments for Shrimp 

Amendment 9, which would expedite 

the closure process during severe cold 

events in order to protect overwintering 

shrimp populations and would revise 

the MSST proxy for pink shrimp. The 

Committee will take action as 

appropriate and provide guidance to 

staff. 

8. Information and Education 

Committee Meeting: March 7, 2012, 

10 a.m. Until 11 a.m. 

The Information and Education 

Committee will review the 

recommendations from the Snapper 

Grouper AP relating to outreach and 

will receive presentations on the use of 

social media tools. Additionally, the 

Committee will receive a review of the 

recent public hearing and scoping 

meetings and discuss options for future 

meetings. The Committee will provide 

recommendations as appropriate. 

9. Executive Finance Committee 

Meeting: March 7, 2012, 11 a.m. Until 

12 Noon 

The Executive Finance Committee 

will: Receive a report on the Council 

Year (CY) 2012 Council expenditures; 

review and approve the draft CY2012 

Council activities schedule and budget; 

and review the President’s 2013 budget 

proposal. 

10. SEDAR Committee Meeting: 

March 7, 2012, 1:30 p.m. Until 3:30 p.m. 

The SEDAR Committee will receive 

an overview of SEDAR activities and 

review SEDAR assessment priorities. 

The Committee will also receive a 

presentation on the Marine Recreational 

Information Program (MRIP) Electronic 

Logbook Pilot Study, a report on recent 

MRIP workshops and a report on 

revised MRIP catch estimates. The 

Committee will discuss and develop 

recommendations for the next SEDAR 

Steering Committee meeting. 

11. Golden Crab Committee Meeting: 

March 7, 2012, 3:30 p.m. Until 5:30 p.m. 

The Golden Crab Committee will 

review: The status of commercial 

catches versus quotas (amount landed to 

date); public hearing comments on 

Golden Crab Amendment 6; Golden 

Crab AP recommendations; and staff 

modifications to the amendment. The 

Committee will provide direction to 

staff and recommendations to the 

Council for approving the amendment 

for Secretarial review and approval. 

Note: There will be an informal public 

question and answer session with the NMFS 

Regional Administrator and the Council 

Chairman on March 7, 2012, beginning at 

5:30 p.m. 

12. Catch Shares Committee Meeting: 

March 8, 2012, 8:30 a.m. Until 10 a.m. 

The Catch Shares Committee will 

receive a presentation on a voluntary 

catch share program and take action as 

appropriate. 

13. Snapper Grouper Committee 

Meeting: March 8, 2012, 10 a.m. Until 

5 p.m. 

The Snapper Grouper Committee will 

receive updates on the status of catches 

versus quotas for species under quota 

management and address any necessary 

actions as the result of these reports. 

The Committee will receive a report on 

Oculina research activities and updates 

on the status of amendments under 

review, including: Regulatory 

Amendment 11, which proposes 

elimination of the current 240′ 

restriction on the harvest of some 

deepwater species within the snapper 

grouper management unit; the 

Comprehensive Annual Catch Limit 

(ACL) Amendment, which establishes 

ACL and AM for species that are not 

currently undergoing overfishing; 

Amendment 24 establishing a 

rebuilding plan for red grouper; 

Amendment 18A addressing black sea 

bass management and data collection; 

and Amendment 20A pertaining to the 

wreckfish ITQ program. 

The Committee will also review 

Amendment 18B that includes measures 

to limit participation in the commercial 

golden tilefish fishery. The Committee 

will receive a summary of comments 

from recent public hearings, choose 

preferred alternatives for actions, 

modify the amendment as appropriate 

and provide recommendations to the 

Council. Additionally, the Committee 

will receive an overview of Regulatory 

Amendment 12 regarding a framework 

action to adjust the golden tilefish ACL, 

OY and ACT based on the most recent 

stock assessment. The Committee will 

choose preferred alternatives and 

modify the amendment as appropriate. 

The Committee will discuss limiting the 

number of black sea bass commercial 

trips, receive an overview of 

Amendment 20B addressing 

modifications to the wreckfish ITQ 

program, discuss relevant actions in CE– 

BA3, receive a presentation on National 

Marine Protected Areas (MPA), and 

provide recommendations as 

appropriate. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2012 / Notices 9213 

Note: A public comment session will be 

held on March 8, 2012, beginning at 5:30 

p.m., on Snapper Grouper Amendment 18B, 

Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 11, 

Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 12 

(framework action adjusting the golden 

tilefish ACL), Golden Crab Amendment 6, 

and Spiny Lobster Amendment 11, followed 

by comment on any other item on the agenda. 

Council Session: March 9, 2012, 8:30 

a.m. Until 1:30 p.m. 

From 8:30 a.m. until 8:45 a.m., the 

Council will call the meeting to order, 

adopt the agenda, and approve the 

December 2011 meeting minutes. 

From 8:45 a.m. until 9 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Ad Hoc Data Collection Committee, 

consider recommendations and take 

action as appropriate. 

From 9 a.m. until 9:15 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Law Enforcement Committee, consider 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

From 9:15 a.m. until 9:30 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Spiny Lobster Committee, approve 

Spiny Lobster Amendment 11 for formal 

Secretarial review and approval, 

consider recommendations and take 

action as appropriate. 

From 9:30 a.m. until 9:45 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Ecosystem-Based Management 

Committee, consider recommendations 

and take action as appropriate. 

From 9:45 a.m. until 10 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

King and Spanish Mackerel Committee, 

approve Mackerel Amendments 20 and 

21 for public scoping, consider other 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

From 10 a.m. until 10:15 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Shrimp Committee, consider 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

From 10:15 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Information and Education Committee, 

consider recommendations and take 

action as appropriate. 

From 10:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Executive Finance Committee, approve 

the CY2012 activities schedule and 

budget, consider recommendations and 

take action as appropriate. 

From 10:45 a.m. until 11 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

SEDAR Committee, consider 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

From 11 a.m. until 11:15 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Golden Crab Committee, approve 

Golden Crab Amendment 6 for formal 

Secretarial review and approval, 

consider other recommendations and 

take action as appropriate. 

From 11:15 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Catch Shares Committee, consider 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

From 11:30 a.m. until 12 noon, the 

Council will receive a report from the 

Snapper Grouper Committee, approve 

Snapper Grouper Amendment 18B and 

Regulatory Amendment 12 for formal 

Secretarial review and approval, 

consider other recommendations and 

take action as appropriate. 

From 12 noon until 1:30 p.m., the 

Council will receive status reports from 

the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional 

Office, NOAA Fisheries Southeast 

Science Center, review and develop 

recommendations on Experimental 

Fishing Permits as necessary, review 

agency and liaison reports, and discuss 

other business, including upcoming 

meetings. 

Documents regarding these issues are 

available from the Council office (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this Council for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subjects of formal 

final Council action during these 

meetings. 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 Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the Council’s intent to take 

final action to address the emergency. 

Except for advertised (scheduled) 

public hearings and public comment, 

the times and sequence specified on this 

agenda is subject to change. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to the Council office 

(see ADDRESSES) by February 24, 2012. 

Dated: February 13, 2012. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3670 Filed 2–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for clearance the following 

proposal for collection of information 

under the provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 35). 

Agency: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO). 

Title: Public User ID Badging. 

Form Number(s): PTO–2030, PTO– 

2224. 

Agency Approval Number: 0651– 

0041. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden: 989 hours annually. 

Number of Respondents: 10,003 

responses per year. 

Avg. Hours Per Response: The USPTO 

expects that it will take the public 

approximately 5 to 10 minutes (0.08 to 

0.17 hours) to gather the necessary 

information, create the document, and 

submit the completed request. 

Needs and Uses: The USPTO is 

required by 35 U.S.C. 41(i)(1) to 

maintain a Public Search Facility to 

provide patent and trademark 

collections for searching and retrieval of 

information. The USPTO issues online 

access cards to customers who wish to 

use the electronic search systems at the 

Public Search Facility. Under the 

authority provided in 41 CFR part 102– 

81, the USPTO also issues security 

identification badges to members of the 

public who wish to use the facilities at 

the USPTO. The public uses this 

information collection to request an 

online access card or a security 

identification badge and to register for 

the free user training classes. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profits. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. 

OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, 

email: 

Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov. 

Once submitted, the request will be 

publicly available in electronic format 

through the Information Collection 

Review page at www.reginfo.gov. 

Paper copies can be obtained by: 

• Email: 

InformationCollection@uspto.gov. 

Include ‘‘0651–0041 copy request’’ in 

the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records 

Officer, Office of the Chief Information 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES