21752 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 70 / Wednesday, April 11, 2012 / Notices 

new regulations restrict fishing to the 

lower portions of the Savannah, 

Ogeechee, and Altamaha Rivers and 

close the fishery in the Satilla and St. 

Mary’s River. The Georgia shad fishery 

is open from January 1 to as late as April 

30 each year, but would typically end 

March 31. Georgia regulations require 

that sturgeon captured in shad nets 

must be released unharmed into the 

waters from which they were taken. GA 

DNR would use a combination of a trip 

ticket system (self-reporting by 

fishermen) and direct observations to 

monitor the number of sturgeon 

incidentally captured each month in the 

commercial shad fishery. 

GA DNR requests 3-year running 

averages for takes to account for the 

potential for a high-take year before or 

after low-take years. GA DNR estimates 

that incidental bycatch would not 

exceed 175 shortnose sturgeon per year 

(no more than 525 in a 3-year period) 

and 140 Atlantic sturgeon per year (no 

more than 420 in a 3-year period) in the 

Altamaha River, 75 shortnose sturgeon 

per year (no more than 225 in a 3-year 

period) and 50 Atlantic sturgeon per 

year (no more than 150 in a 3-year 

period) in the Savannah River, and 10 

shortnose sturgeon per year (no more 

than 30 in a 3-year period) and 10 

Atlantic sturgeon per year (no more than 

30 in a 3-year period) in the Ogeechee 

River. A mortality rate of approximately 

2.3 percent is anticipated based on 

recent research. 

Conservation Plan 

GA DNR’s conservation plan 

describes measures designed to 

minimize, monitor, and mitigate the 

incidental take of ESA-listed sturgeon. 

The conservation plan includes 

Georgia’s amended commercial fishing 

regulations for the Georgia shad fishery, 

which are expected to minimize the 

bycatch of sturgeon by closing to shad 

fishing sections of the rivers that 

previously had the highest bycatch 

rates. These closures would also protect 

known and suspected sturgeon 

spawning sites. Georgia regulations 

require that sturgeon captured in shad 

nets be released unharmed into the 

waters from which they were taken. GA 

DNR would use a combination of a trip 

ticket system (self-reporting by 

fishermen) and direct observations to 

monitor the incidental take of sturgeon 

in the commercial shad fishery. Other 

monitoring or mitigation actions will be 

undertaken as required. Monitoring 

would be funded by GA DNR’s Annual 

Operating Budget. 

GA DNR considered and rejected two 

other alternatives: (1) No change to 

commercial shad regulations, and (2) 

establishing new upper boundaries for 

commercial shad fishing on the 

Altamaha and Savannah rivers, while 

completely closing the Ogeechee, 

Satilla, and St. Mary’s rivers to 

commercial shad fishing. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Issuing a permit would constitute a 

Federal action requiring NMFS to 

comply with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) as implemented by 

40 CFR parts 1500–1508 and NOAA 

Administrative Order 216–6, 

Environmental Review Procedures for 

Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act (1999). NMFS 

intends to prepare an Environmental 

Assessment to consider a range of 

reasonable alternatives and fully 

evaluate the direct, indirect, and 

cumulative impacts likely to result from 

issuing a permit. 

Next Steps 

This notice is provided pursuant to 

section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS will 

evaluate the application, associated 

documents, and comments received 

during the comment period to 

determine whether the application 

meets the requirements of section 10(a) 

of the ESA. If NMFS determines that the 

requirements are met, a permit will be 

issued for incidental takes of ESA-listed 

sturgeon. The final NEPA and permit 

determinations will not be made until 

after the end of the comment period. 

NMFS will publish a record of its final 

action in the Federal Register. 

Dated: April 5, 2012. 

Lisa Manning, 

Acting Chief, Endangered Species 

Conservation Division, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8707 Filed 4–10–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB153 

New England Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold an evening public hearing on 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 to obtain 

public input on measures proposed for 

inclusion in Amendment 5 to the 

Atlantic Herring Fishery Management 

Plan. 

DATES: The hearing will be held on 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 6 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at 

the Hilton Hotel, 20 Coogan Boulevard, 

Mystic, CT 06355–1900; telephone: 

(860) 572–0731; fax: (860) 572–0328. 

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Tuesday, April 25, 2012 

Following the first day of the April 

24–26, 2012 New England Fishery 

Management Council meeting in Mystic, 

CT, the Council will host a public 

hearing, the last in a series of coastwide 

meetings, to obtain public comments on 

measures under consideration for 

inclusion in Amendment 5 to the 

Atlantic Herring Fishery Management 

Plan. Management measures could 

include adjustments to the fishery 

management program, reporting 

requirements and measures to address 

trip notification, carrier vessels and 

transfers of herring at-sea. A catch 

monitoring program also is being 

considered as well as measures to 

address river herring bycatch and 

criteria for midwater trawl vessel access 

to the year-round groundfish closed 

areas. 

Although other non-emergency issues 

not contained in this agenda may come 

before this Council for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subjects of formal 

action during this meeting. 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 MagnusonStevens Act, provided that the public 

has been notified of the Council’s intent 

to take final action to address the 

emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Paul 

J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 

days prior to the meeting date. 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 70 / Wednesday, April 11, 2012 / Notices 21753 

Dated: April 6, 2012. 

William D. Chappell, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8774 Filed 4–10–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA898 

Endangered Species; File Nos. 13599 

and 1614 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit 

modifications. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

National Ocean Service Marine Forensic 

Lab [Responsible Party: Julie Carter], 

219 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 

29412 [Permit No. 13599], and the 

NOAA Fisheries Northeast Region 

Protected Resources Division 

[Responsible Party: Mary Colligan], One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930 

[Permit No. 1614], have been issued 

modifications to their scientific research 

permits. 

ADDRESSES: The modifications and 

related documents are available for 

review 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; 

Northeast Region, NMFS, One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 

01930–2298; phone (978) 281–9300; fax 

(978) 281–9394; and 

Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th 

Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; 

phone (727) 824–5312; fax (727) 824– 

5309. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Skidmore or Colette Cairns, 

(301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 27, 2011, notice was 

published in the Federal Register (76 

FR 80890) that modifications of Permit 

Nos. 13599 and 1614, had been 

requested by the above-named 

organizations. The requested 

modifications have been granted under 

the authority of the Endangered Species 

Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the regulations 

governing the taking, importing, and 

exporting of endangered and threatened 

species (50 CFR 222–226). 

Permit No. 13599, issued December 

16, 2008 (73 FR 78724), authorizes the 

permit holder to receive, import, export, 

transfer, archive, and conduct analyses 

of marine mammal and endangered 

species parts. Permit No. 1614, issued 

February 28, 2008 (73 FR 11873), 

authorizes the permit holder to collect, 

receive and transport 100 dead 

shortnose sturgeon, or parts thereof, 

annually. Researchers are also 

authorized the receipt and transport of 

up to 350 captive bred, dead shortnose 

sturgeon annually from any U.S. facility 

authorized to hold captive sturgeon. 

The permit modifications add 

Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus 

oxyrinchus), an ESA-listed species not 

included in the previous permits, for the 

receipt, importation, exportation, and 

transfer of Atlantic sturgeon parts and 

carcasses. No live animal takes or 

incidental harassment of animals is 

authorized under these permits. The 

permit holders are authorized for 

Atlantic sturgeon parts and samples 

would be used to support law 

enforcement actions, research studies 

(primarily genetics), and outreach 

education. Atlantic sturgeon samples 

would be obtained from individuals 

authorized to collect them in the course 

of scientific research, salvage activities, 

or taken during other authorized 

activities. 

Issuance of these modifications, as 

required by the ESA, was based on a 

finding that such modifications (1) were 

applied for in good faith, (2) will not 

operate to the disadvantage of such 

endangered or threatened species, and 

(3) are consistent with the purposes and 

policies set forth in section 2 of the 

ESA. 

Dated: April 5, 2012. 

Tammy C. Adams, 

Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8773 Filed 4–10–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA936 

Marine Mammals; File No. 17011 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a 

permit has been issued to NHK 

Enterprises, Inc., Nature & Science 

Programs, 5–20 Kamiyama-cho, Ogawa 

Bldg., Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan to 

conduct commercial or educational 

photography. 

ADDRESSES: The permit and related 

documents are available for review 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joselyd Garcia-Reyes or Laura Morse, 

(301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 18, 2012, notice was published 

in the Federal Register (77 FR 2513) 

that a request for a permit to conduct 

commercial/educational photography of 

Eastern North Pacific gray whales 

(Eschrichtius robustus) and killer 

whales (Orcinus orca) had been 

submitted by the above-named 

applicant. The requested permit has 

been issued 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). 

NHK Enterprises, Inc. will film gray 

whale and killer whale interactions in 

the Aleutian Islands from Unimak Pass 

to Sand Point, Alaska using a 100ft boat, 

a 21ft aluminum skiff, and a helicopter. 

Up to 100 gray whales and 300 killer 

whales may be approached and filmed 

during the life of the permit. Species 

that may be incidentally harassed 

during filming activities include: 60 

White-sided dolphins (Lagenorhyncus 

obliquidens), 20 harbor porpoise 

(Phocoena phocoena), 60 harbor seals 

(Phoca vitulina), 40 northern fur seals 

(Callorhinus ursinus), and 40 Dall’s 

porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli). Footage 

would be used to create a film that 

would document the hunting behavior 

of transient killer whales and to 

document the food chain that develops 

from this predation. The permit will 

expire on March 31, 2017. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES