19226 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Notices 

North American green sturgeon, and 

southern eulachon. The Permit 

applications WDFW submitted to NMFS 

address the potential take these listed 

species. 

On April 27, 2010, NMFS listed the 

Puget Sound/Georgia Basin Distinct 

Population Segments (DPSs) of 

yelloweye rockfish, and canary rockfish, 

as threatened, and bocaccio as 

endangered species under the ESA (75 

FR 22276). Prior to the listing, WDFW 

initiated discussions with NMFS to 

pursue ESA compliance for state 

authorized fisheries and research 

activities that are likely to incidentally 

encounter ESA-listed rockfish within 

state waters of the DPSs. NMFS has 

provided assistance to the WDFW in 

development of a Conservation Plan and 

an application for an incidental take 

permit (ITP) for ESA-listed rockfish and 

other species likely to be affected by 

several state-authorized fisheries and 

state-conducted research efforts. 

The draft EA analyzes three 

alternatives. In the no-action alternative 

NMFS would not issue research permits 

or incidental take permit, and WDFW 

would close the the commercial shrimp 

trawl fishery and the recreational 

bottom fish fishery, and no longer 

conduct certain research. In the 

proposed alternative NMFS would issue 

all four research permits, and the 

fisheries permit. The fishery permit 

would be issued with additional 

protections to limit and track take of 

listed fish. In the third alternative 

NMFS would issue all four research 

permits and the fishery permit. The 

fishery permit would include less 

fisheries restrictions and would result in 

greater take numbers of ESA-listed 

rockfish. NMFS’s proposed action is to 

issue the four research permits and the 

fisheries permit that include protections 

to further reduce and track take of listed 

fish. 

NMFS will evaluate the applications, 

associated documents, and comments 

submitted to determine whether the 

applications meet requirements of the 

ESA and NEPA. We will then prepare 

the final EA. Our decisions of whether 

to issue an incidental take permit and 

scientific research permits will be made 

upon completion of the final EA and the 

ESA determination. 

Document Availability 

The documents are available 

electronically on the World Wide Web 

at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov. 

Dated: March 21, 2012. 

Larissa Plants, 

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7599 Filed 3–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB043 

Identification of Nations Whose 

Fishing Vessels Are Engaged in Illegal, 

Unreported, or Unregulated Fishing 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is seeking information 

regarding nations whose vessels are 

engaged in illegal, unreported, or 

unregulated (IUU) fishing, bycatch of 

protected living marine resources 

(PLMRs), and/or fishing activities in 

waters beyond any national jurisdiction 

that target or incidentally catch sharks. 

Such information will be reviewed for 

the purposes of the identification of 

nations pursuant to the High Seas 

Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection 

Act (Moratorium Protection Act). 

DATES: Information should be received 

on or before April 30, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Information should be 

submitted to NMFS Office of 

International Affairs, Attn.: MSRA 

Information, 1315 East-West Highway, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910. Email address: 

IUU.PLMR.Sharks@noaa.gov or fax 

(301) 713–2313. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kristin Rusello, 301–427–8376. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management 

Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA) 

amended the Moratorium Protection Act 

(16 U.S.C.1826d–k) to require actions be 

taken by the United States to strengthen 

international fishery management 

organizations and address IUU fishing 

and bycatch of PLMRs. The Shark 

Conservation Act of 2010 (S.850) further 

amended the Moratorium Protection Act 

by requiring that actions be taken by the 

United States to strengthen shark 

conservation. 

Specifically, the Moratorium 

Protection Act requires the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) to identify in a 

biennial report to Congress those 

nations whose fishing vessels are 

engaged, or have been engaged at any 

point during the preceding two years, in 

IUU fishing. In this context, IUU fishing 

is defined (16 U.S.C. 1826j; 50 CFR 

300.200–201) as: 

(1) Fishing activities that violate 

conservation and management measures 

required under an international fishery 

management agreement to which the 

United States is a party, including catch 

limits or quotas, capacity restrictions, 

and bycatch reduction requirements; 

(2) Overfishing of fish stocks shared 

by the United States, for which there are 

no applicable international conservation 

or management measures or in areas 

with no applicable international fishery 

management organization or agreement, 

that has adverse impacts on such stocks; 

and 

(3) Fishing activity that has an 

adverse impact on seamounts, 

hydrothermal vents, and cold water 

corals located beyond national 

jurisdiction, for which there are no 

applicable conservation or management 

measures or in areas with no applicable 

international fishery management 

organization or agreement. 

In addition, the Secretary must 

identify in the biennial report those 

nations whose fishing vessels are 

engaged, or have been engaged in the 

previous calendar year in fishing 

activities either (1) in waters beyond 

any national jurisdiction that result in 

bycatch of a PLMR, or (2) beyond the 

U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that 

result in bycatch of a PLMR shared by 

the United States. In this context, 

PLMRs are defined as non-target fish, 

sea turtles, sharks, or marine mammals 

that are protected under U.S. law or 

international agreement, including the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act, the 

Endangered Species Act, the Shark 

Finning Prohibition Act, and the 

Convention on International Trade in 

Endangered Species of Wild Flora and 

Fauna. PLMRs do not include species, 

except sharks, managed under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

Atlantic Tunas Convention Act, or any 

international fishery management 

agreement. A list of species considered 

as PLMRs for this purpose is available 

online at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ 

msa2007/docs/ 

list_of_protected_lmr_act_022610.pdf. 

Furthermore, the Shark Conservation 

Act requires that the Secretary of 

Commerce identify nations in a biennial 

report to Congress whose fishing vessels 

are engaged, or have been engaged 

during the calendar year previous to the 

biennial report in fishing activities or 

practices in waters beyond any national 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Notices 19227 

jurisdiction that target or incidentally 

catch sharks and the nation has not 

adopted a regulatory program to provide 

for the conservation of sharks, including 

measures to prohibit removal of any of 

the fins of a shark (including the tail) 

and discarding the carcass of the shark 

at sea, that is comparable to that of the 

United States, taking into account 

different conditions. 

The second biennial report to 

Congress was submitted in January 2011 

and is available online at http:// 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/msa2007/docs/ 

biennia_report_to_congress.pdf. The 

report identified six nations for IUU 

fishing. 

The Moratorium Protection Act also 

requires the Secretary to establish 

procedures to certify whether each 

nation identified in the biennial report 

is taking the necessary actions to 

address IUU fishing, bycatch of PLMRs, 

and/or shark catch. If an identified 

nation fails to take such action and 

therefore fails to receive a positive 

certification, the fishing vessels of that 

nation would be subject to trade 

restrictive measures under the High 

Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act 

(16 U.S.C. 1826a). Such measures could 

include denial of entry into U.S. ports 

and import prohibitions on certain 

fisheries products. On January 12, 2011, 

NMFS published a final rule (76 FR 

2011) to implement both the 

identification and certification 

procedures for IUU fishing and bycatch 

of PLMRs. That final rule is available 

online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/ 

FR-2011-01-12/pdf/2011-507.pdf. The 

rule provides information regarding the 

identification process and how the 

information received will be used in 

that process. 

In fulfillment of its requirements 

under the Moratorium Protection Act, 

NMFS is preparing the third biennial 

report to Congress, which will identify 

nations whose fishing vessels are 

engaged in IUU fishing or fishing 

practices that result in bycatch of 

PLMRs or shark catch in waters beyond 

any national jurisdiction without a 

regulatory program comparable to the 

United States. NMFS is soliciting 

information from the public that could 

assist in its identification of nations 

engaged in activities that meet the 

criteria described above for IUU fishing, 

PLMR bycatch, or shark catch in waters 

beyond any national jurisdiction. Some 

types of information that may prove 

useful to NMFS include: 

• Documentation (photographs, etc.) 

of IUU activity or fishing vessels 

engaged in PLMR bycatch or catch of 

sharks on the high seas; 

• Fishing vessel records; 

• Trade data supporting evidence that 

a nation’s vessels are engaged in shark 

catch; 

• Reports from off-loading facilities, 

port-side government officials, 

enforcement agents, military personnel, 

port inspectors, transshipment vessel 

workers and fish importers; 

• Sightings of vessels on RFMO IUU 

vessel lists; 

• RFMO catch documents and 

statistical document programs; 

• Nation’s domestic regulations for 

bycatch and shark conservation and 

management; 

• Appropriate certification programs; 

• Action or inaction at the national 

level, resulting in non-compliance with 

RFMO conservation and management 

measures, such as exceeding quotas or 

catch limits, or failing to report or 

misreporting data of the nation’s fishing 

activities; and 

• Reports from governments, 

international organizations, or 

nongovernmental organizations. 

NMFS will consider all available 

information, as appropriate, when 

making a determination whether or not 

to identify a particular nation in the 

biennial report to Congress. As stated 

previously, NMFS is limited in the data 

it may use as the basis of a nation’s 

identification. This information 

includes IUU fishing activity in 2011 

and 2012, bycatch of PLMRs in 2012, 

and shark fishing activity in waters 

beyond any national jurisdiction in 

2012. Information should be as specific 

as possible as this will assist NMFS in 

its review. NMFS will consider several 

criteria when determining whether 

information is appropriate for use in 

making identifications, including: 

• Corroboration of information; 

• Whether multiple sources have 

been able to provide information in 

support of an identification; 

• The methodology used to collect 

the information; 

• Specificity of the information 

provided; 

• Susceptibility of the information to 

falsification and alteration; and 

• Credibility of the individuals or 

organization providing the information. 

Dated: March 26, 2012. 

Cheri McCarty, 

Acting Director, Office of International 

Affairs, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7718 Filed 3–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB130 

Gulf of Mexico 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 Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

convene a public meeting. 

DATES: The meeting will be held April 

16–19, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Omni Bayfront Hotel, 900 N. 

Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi, TX 

78401; telephone: (361) 887–1600. 

Council address: Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council, 2203 

North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, 

FL 33607. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Stephen Bortone, Executive Director, 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; telephone: (813) 348–1630. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Committees 

Monday, April 16, 2012 

1 p.m.–2 p.m.—Scientific & Statistical 

Committee (SSC) Selection 

Committee will discuss duties and 

responsibilities of the SSC and 

receive a presentation on Detailed 

‘‘Option 3’’. 

2 p.m.–3 p.m.—Budget/Personnel 

Committee will review the 

Executive Director’s Evaluation 

Process, the 2012 Proposed Budget 

and an Overview of Future 

Funding. 

3 p.m.–4 p.m.—Outreach and Education 

Committee will review the Crisis 

Communication Plan and receive an 

update on the Stakeholder’s Survey. 

4 p.m.–4:30 p.m.—Artificial Reef 

Committee will discuss Artificial 

Reefs as Essential Fish Habitat. 

4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.—Budget/Personnel 

Committee—Full Council (CLOSED 

SESSION) 

—Recess— 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 

8:30 a.m.–12 noon and 1:30 p.m.—5:30 

p.m.—Reef Fish Management 

Committee will meet to discuss the 

Update of the Red Snapper 5-Year 

IFQ Review; review Scoping 

Documents for Amendment 28— 

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