Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 63 / Monday, April 2, 2012 / Notices 19647 

East-West Highway, SSMC3 Room 

10876.2, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melissa Andersen at 

Melissa.Andersen@noaa.gov or 301– 

427–8385. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Secretary of Commerce is charged with 

the responsibility of discharging the 

domestic obligations of the United 

States under the International 

Convention for the Regulation of 

Whaling, 1946. The U.S. IWC 

Commissioner has responsibility for the 

preparation and negotiation of U.S. 

positions on international issues 

concerning whaling and for all matters 

involving the IWC. The U.S. IWC 

Commissioner is staffed by the 

Department of Commerce and assisted 

by the Department of State, the 

Department of the Interior, the Marine 

Mammal Commission, and by other 

agencies. The non-federal 

representative(s) selected as a result of 

this nomination process is(are) 

responsible for providing input and 

recommendations to the U.S. IWC 

Commissioner representing the 

positions of non-governmental 

organizations. Generally, only one nongovernmental position is selected for the 

U.S. Delegation. 

Dated: March 28, 2012. 

Rebecca Lent, 

Director, Office of International Affairs, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7852 Filed 3–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB128 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) is 

hosting the Council Coordination 

Committee (CCC) meeting on Tuesday 

May 1, 2012 through Thursday May 3, 

2012, in Hawaii. The purpose of the 

meeting is to enable NMFS and NOAA 

officials and others to exchange 

information with the Regional Fishery 

Council Chairs and Executive Directors. 

DATES: The CCC general meeting session 

will be held on May 1, 2012, from 

1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., May 2, 2012 from 

8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on May 3, 2012 

from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For specific times 

and agendas, see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: The CCC meeting will be 

held at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel 

Ballroom, 68–1400 Mauna Lani Drive, 

Big Island, HI 96743; telephone: (808) 

885–6622. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director; 

Council office, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 

1400, Honolulu, HI 96813; telephone: 

(808) 522–8220. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

agenda for the CCC general session 

meeting will include the items listed 

here. The order in which agenda items 

are addressed may change. The CCC 

will meet as late as necessary to 

complete scheduled business. 

Schedule and Agenda for the CCC 

Meeting 

1:30 p.m.– 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 1, 

2012 

1. Welcome and Introductions. 

2. Opening Remarks. 

3. Remarks from the Governor. 

4. Council Reports on Status of 

Implementing Magnuson-Stevens Act 

(MSA) Provisions and Other Current 

Activities of Interest. 

8 a.m.–4 p.m., Wednesday, May 2, 2012 

5. Panel Presentation and Discussion 

on Endangered Species Act Jeopardy 

Determination in Fisheries 

Management—Past, Present and Future. 

6. Panel Discussion. 

7. Litigation. 

a. Regional Fishery Management 

Council Counsel Representation. 

b. Update on Lawsuits. 

8. Stock Assessments. 

a. Next Generation Stock 

Assessments and Priorities. 

b. Fisheries and the Environment 

(FATE). 

c. Advanced Technology. 

d. National Scientific and Statistical 

Committee (SSC) IV Recommendations. 

e. Use (or lack thereof) of Best 

Available Science. 

f. Allocating Resources to Support 

Assessments. 

9. Bycatch, Cooperative Research, 

Habitat, 5-year Council Research Plan— 

Funding Opportunities for These 

Programs. 

10. Report on the Success of MPAs for 

Fisheries. 

11. President Obama’s Executive 

Order on Improving Regulations and 

Regulatory Review (E.O. 13563). 

8 a.m.–6 p.m., Thursday, May 3, 2012 

12. Report on Legislation. 

13. Administration’s Activities on 

Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning 

and the National Ocean Council. 

14. Marginalization of Fisheries 

Through Competing Acts/Authorities. 

15. Communities and Indigenous 

Issues. 

16. International Fisheries 

Management. 

a. Leveling the Playing Field for 

Domestic Fisheries. 

b. Increasing Domestic Production 

to Reduce Trade Deficits. 

c. Bilateral Agreements (Mexico, 

Canada, Others). 

17. Budgets. 

a. FY2012 Status of Council 

Funding. 

b. FY2013 Update. 

18. Communications. 

a. NOAA Fisheries Activities. 

b. Regional Fishery Management 

Council Coordination Committee 

Recommendations. 

c. Managing Our Nations Fisheries 

3. 

19. Program Review. 

a. Department of Commerce 

Inspector General Review of NOAA 

Fisheries and Fishery Management 

Councils in Fishery Rule Making 

Process and Transparency of Rule 

Making Process under MSA. 

b. Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council Visioning Project. 

20. Administrative Matters. 

a. Freedom of Information Act 

Requests. 

b. Technology—Virtual Public 

Hearings/Scoping versus Travel. 

c. Professional Liability. 

d. Other Business and Next Annual 

CCC Meeting. 

21. Adjourn Meeting. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, in 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during these meetings. Actions 

will be restricted to those issues 

specifically identified 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. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign 

language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to 

Kitty M. Simonds, (808) 522–8220 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

19648 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 63 / Monday, April 2, 2012 / Notices 

(voice) or (808) 522–8226 (fax), at least 

5 days prior to the meeting date. 

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

Dated: March 28, 2012. 

William D. Chappell, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7858 Filed 3–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA599 

Marine Mammals; File No. 16094 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

permit amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Alaska Department of Fish and 

Game, Juneau, AK, has applied for an 

amendment to Scientific Research 

Permit No. 16094. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email 

comments must be received on or before 

May 2, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the Features box on the 

Applications and Permits for Protected 

Species home page, https:// 

apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting 

File No. 16094 from the list of available 

applications. 

These documents are also available 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following offices: 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301)427–8401; fax (301)713–0376; and 

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668; phone 

(907)586–7221; fax (907)586–7249. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted to the Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, at 

the address listed above. Comments may 

also be submitted by facsimile to 

(301)713–0376, or by email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include the File No. in the subject line 

of the email comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

to the Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division at the address listed above. The 

request should set forth the specific 

reasons why a hearing on this 

application would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy Adams or Joselyd Garcia-Reyes, 

(301)427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject amendment to Permit No. 16094 

is requested under the authority of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 

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

the regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216). 

Permit No. 16094, issued on 

September 20, 2011 (76 FR 61345), 

authorizes the permit holder to take 

harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) during 

aerial surveys for population census and 

radio tracking; ground surveys for 

photo-identification, counts and 

behavioral observations; vessel 

approaches of animals equipped with 

telemetry equipment; vessel surveys for 

radio tracking; and capture by 

entanglement in a net in the water or by 

hoop net or dip net on land. Captured 

animals will: be restrained (chemical or 

physical); be weighed and measured; 

have biological samples collected 

(blood, milk (lactating females), blubber, 

skin, muscle, hair, mucus membrane 

swabs, stomach lavage, tooth and 

vibrissae); be administered deuterated 

water; have measurement of blubber via 

ultrasound; be marked with flipper 

identification tags; and have internal 

(PIT tags) or external scientific 

instruments attached. Tissue samples 

will be collected from subsistence 

harvested animals and other mortalities 

and some samples will be exported to 

Canada for analysis. The permit also 

includes incidental harassment and 

accidental mortality of harbor porpoises 

(Phocoena phocoena) during seal 

capture activities. The permit is valid 

through December 31, 2016. 

The permit holder is requesting the 

permit be amended to include 

authorization for takes related to a 

whisker growth and replacement study 

aimed at improving utility of dietary 

stable isotope information derived from 

whiskers. The amendment would 

increase the number of whiskers that 

may be collected from seals captured 

during field work from 1 per animal to 

2 per animal, and add photogrammetry 

for these seals. There would be no 

increase in the numbers of seals 

captured or sampled in the wild. The 

amendment would also add a noninvasive study using captive seals held 

at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, 

AK. For that study, researchers would 

use hair dye to mark the seals’ whiskers 

and photo document whisker growth 

over time. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of this 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: March 27, 2012. 

Tammy C. Adams, 

Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7847 Filed 3–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB144 

[Endangered Species; File No. 13330] 

Receipt of Application for a Permit 

Modification 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

a permit modification. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS Southeast Fisheries Center 

(SEFSC) (hereinafter ‘‘Permit Holder’’); 

75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 

33149 [Responsible Party: Bonnie 

Ponwith, Ph.D.], has requested a 

modification to scientific research 

Permit No. 13330–01. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email 

comments must be received on or before 

May 2, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The modification request 

and related documents are available for 

review by selecting ‘‘Records Open for 

Public Comment’’ from the Features box 

on the Applications and Permits for 

Protected Species (APPS) home page, 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/, and then 

selecting File No. 13330 from the list of 

available applications. These documents 

are also available upon written request 

or by appointment in the following 

offices: 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 

1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES