14506 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 48 / Monday, March 12, 2012 / Notices 

SUMMARY: This action reopens the 

comment period of a notice published 

on December 21, 2011. The original 

comment period on the notice closed at 

5 p.m., E.S.T., March 1, 2012; however, 

the Council’s Executive Committee 

voted to reopen the comment period an 

additional 60 days. This notice reopens 

the comment period to 5 p.m., E.S.T., 

April 30, 2012. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before 5 p.m., E.S.T., on 

April 30, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Travis Ford, Fishery Management 

Specialist, 978–281–9233. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

published a NOI to prepare an EIS and 

announced public scoping meetings for 

the Council’s Amendment 18 to the 

Northeast Multispeces Fishery 

Management Plan on December 21, 2011 

(76 FR 79153). The comment period for 

the subject document closed on March 

1, 2012. The Council’s Executive 

Committee voted to reopen the 

comment period an additional 60 days. 

The closing date for comments has been 

extended to 5 p.m., E.S.T., April 30, 

2012. 

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

Dated: March 6, 2012. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5919 Filed 3–9–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB066 

Marine Recreational Fisheries of the 

United States; Southeast Data, 

Assessment, and Review (SEDAR); 

Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Marine Recreational 

Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS)/ 

Marine Recreational Information 

Program (MRIP) Calibration Workshop. 

SUMMARY: SEDAR and NOAA Fisheries 

Service will convene a workshop to 

consider calibration methods for the 

MRFSS and MRIP estimates of marine 

recreational fisheries harvest. 

DATES: The workshop will be held 

March 27–29, 2012. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for specific dates and 

times. 

ADDRESSES: The MRFSS/MRIP 

Calibration Workshop will be held at 

the Doubletree by Hilton Raleigh 

Brownstone—University, 1707 

Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27605; 

telephone: (800) 331–7919 or (919) 828– 

0811. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Carmichael, Science and Statistics 

Program Manager, 4055 Faber Place 

Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 

29405; telephone: (843) 571–4366. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Changes 

in estimated recreational catch resulting 

from the revised estimation process 

developed through MRIP may have 

consequences to assessment and 

management of many fish stocks. 

Managers and scientists need to 

consider how revised marine 

recreational catch values will affect 

stock assessments and management 

actions, and how to best incorporate 

revised values into assessment and 

management systems. SEDAR and 

NOAA Fisheries are working 

cooperatively to address these 

recreational catch issues through the 

planned workshop. Workshop 

objectives are to review a range of 

studies that may provide insight for 

potential MRIP-MRFSS calibrations, 

develop possible calibration methods, 

and develop guidance for incorporating 

revised estimates into stock 

assessments. 

Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 1 p.m.–6 

p.m.: Review of calibration 

methodologies applied in other 

monitoring programs and MRFSS/MRIP 

calibration studies. 

Wednesday, March 28, 2012: 8:30 

a.m.–6 p.m.: Overview of catch 

estimates, impacts of re-estimates on 

stock assessments, discussion of 

calibration methods. 

Thursday, March 29, 2012, 8:30 a.m.– 

12 p.m.: Discussion of calibration 

procedures and recommendations. 

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 South Atlantic 

Council office (4055 Faber Place Drive, 

Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405; 

(843) 571–4366) at least 5 business days 

prior to the workshop. 

Dated: March 6, 2012. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5810 Filed 3–9–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA999 

Taking and Importing of Marine 

Mammals 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; affirmative finding 

renewal. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Administrator 

for Fisheries, NMFS, (Assistant 

Administrator) has granted an 

affirmative finding 2-year renewal to the 

Government of Ecuador under the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA). This affirmative finding 

renewal will allow yellowfin tuna 

harvested in the eastern tropical Pacific 

Ocean (ETP) in compliance with the 

International Dolphin Conservation 

Program (IDCP) by Ecuadorian-flag 

purse seine vessels or purse seine 

vessels operating under Ecuadorian 

jurisdiction to be imported into the 

United States. The affirmative finding 

renewal was based on review of 

documentary evidence submitted by the 

Government of Ecuador and obtained 

from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna 

Commission (IATTC). 

DATES: The affirmative finding renewal 

is effective from April 1, 2011, through 

March 31, 2013 (retroactive). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Regional Administrator, Southwest 

Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean 

Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 

90802–4213; phone 562–980–4000; fax 

562–980–4018. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

MMPA, 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq., allows 

the entry into the United States of 

yellowfin tuna harvested by purse seine 

vessels in the ETP under certain 

conditions. If requested by the 

harvesting nation, the Assistant 

Administrator will determine whether 

to make an affirmative finding based 

upon documentary evidence provided 

by the government of the harvesting 

nation, the IATTC, or the Department of 

State. 

The affirmative finding process 

requires that the harvesting nation is 

meeting its obligations under the IDCP 

and obligations of membership in the 

IATTC. Every 5 years, the government of 

the harvesting nation must request an 

affirmative finding and submit the 

required documentary evidence directly 

to the Assistant Administrator. NMFS 


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