Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2024 / Notices 907 

right (Eubalaena japonica), sei 

(Balaenoptera borealis), Southern 

Resident killer (Orcinus orca), and 

sperm (Physeter macrocephalus) 

whales. Surveys are authorized for a 

suite of methods: observations, counts, 

photography/videography (underwater, 

topside, and aerial), photogrammetry, 

photo-identification, biological 

sampling (exhaled air, feces, blubber 

and skin, sloughed skin, environmental 

DNA, and prey remains), invasive and 

non-invasive tagging, and active 

acoustics. Researchers may attach up to 

two tags on a whale at a time. Biological 

samples collected on the high seas may 

be imported to the United States. Up to 

nine species of pinnipeds may be 

unintentionally harassed during 

surveys. See the take tables for specific 

numbers and life stages authorized for 

each species. 

The permit holder is requesting the 

permit be amended to include 

authorization for blue, fin, gray, and 

humpback whales (adult and juvenile 

life stages) to receive up to three tags 

(suction-cup, dart/barb tag, and deep 

implant) at the same time. Deployment 

of three tags at a time will allow 

researchers to better understand whale 

movements and habitat use and to 

validate new sensors. The number of 

takes authorized for each species would 

not change. The amendment would be 

valid for the duration of the permit, 

which is set to expire October 31, 2026. 

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: January 3, 2024. 

Julia M. Harrison, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00139 Filed 1–5–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Alaska Pacific Halibut: 

Subsistence 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

comment on proposed, and continuing 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on August 11, 

2023, during a 60-day comment period 

(88 FR 54574). This notice allows for an 

additional 30 days for public comments. 

Agency: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

Title: Alaska Pacific Halibut: 

Subsistence. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0512. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular submission. 

Extension of a current information 

collection. 

Number of Respondents: 4,783. 

Average Hours per Response: 

Application for SHARC Rural Resident: 

10 minutes; Application for SHARC 

Alaska Native Tribal Member: 10 

minutes; Application for SHARC Alaska 

Native Tribe: 30 minutes; Subsistence 

Halibut Special Permits Application: 30 

minutes; Harvest logs: 30 minutes; 

Appeal for permit denial: 4 hours; Gear 

marking: 30 minutes. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,673 

hours. 

Needs and Uses: The National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska 

Regional Office, is requesting extension 

of a currently approved information 

collection for the Alaska Subsistence 

Halibut Program. 

The International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC) promulgates 

regulations governing the North Pacific 

halibut fishery under the Convention 

between the United States and Canada 

for the Preservation of the Halibut 

Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean 

and Bering Sea (Convention). The 

IPHC’s regulations are subject to 

approval by the Secretary of State with 

the concurrence of the Secretary of 

Commerce. The Northern Pacific 

Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act; 16 

U.S.C. 773c(a)–(b)), provides the 

Secretary of Commerce with general 

responsibility for carrying out the 

Convention and the Halibut Act, 

including the authority to adopt 

regulations necessary to carry out the 

purposes and objectives of the 

Convention. The Halibut Act, 16 U.S.C. 

773c(c), also provides the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

with authority to develop regulations, 

including limited access regulations, 

that are in addition to, and not in 

conflict with, IPHC regulations. 

Regulations the Council recommends 

may be implemented by NMFS only 

after approval by the Secretary of 

Commerce. The Council has exercised 

this authority in the development of 

subsistence halibut fishery management 

measures. NMFS has responsibility for 

managing the subsistence halibut 

fishery according to regulations 

approved by the Secretary. Regulations 

governing the subsistence halibut 

fishery are at 50 CFR 300.2, 300.4, and 

subpart E, and in the annual 

management measures published in the 

Federal Register pursuant to 50 CFR 

300.62. 

This information collection is 

necessary for NMFS to manage the 

Alaska Subsistence Halibut Program. 

Subsistence halibut means halibut 

caught by a rural resident or a member 

of an Alaska Native tribe for direct 

personal or family consumption as food, 

sharing for personal or family 

consumption as food, or customary 

trade. The Alaska Subsistence Halibut 

Program is intended to allow eligible 

persons to practice the long-term 

customary and traditional harvest of 

Pacific halibut for food in a noncommercial manner. This program 

provides NMFS the opportunity to 

enhance estimates of subsistence 

removals for stock assessment purposes. 

Before fishing under subsistence 

halibut regulations, a Subsistence 

Halibut Registration Certificate (SHARC) 

must be obtained. This information 

collection contains the forms used by 

participants in the subsistence halibut 

fishery to apply for SHARCs, apply for 

special use permits, and submit harvest 

information for special use permits. 

This information collection contains 

two collections for which no forms are 

used: the appeals process for denied 

permits and marking subsistence setline 

fishing gear. 

Information collected by the permit 

applications includes applicant 

information and depending on the 


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908 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2024 / Notices 

permit type may include information on 

the educational program or a 

description of the cultural or ceremonial 

occasion the permit will be used for. 

NMFS uses this information to 

determine the eligibility of applicants to 

receive or renew permits. 

The permit coordinators submit the 

harvest logs for Community Harvest 

Permits, Ceremonial Permits, and 

Educational Permits. Harvest logs 

collect identification information and 

harvest information for the subsistence 

fishermen fishing under that permit. 

An appeals process is provided for an 

applicant who receives an adverse 

initial administrative determination 

related to their permit application. 

Subsistence setline gear buoys must 

be marked with identification 

information that consists of the 

participant’s name and address and an 

‘‘S’’ to indicate subsistence halibut gear. 

This information is used by NMFS to 

link fishing gear to the vessel owner or 

operator and facilitate enforcement of 

regulations. 

The time and cost burden to mark 

buoys has been increased based on 

recent comment received for other 

fisheries off Alaska (OMB Control 

Number 0648–0353, Alaska Region Gear 

Identification Requirements). The time 

estimate to mark a buoy has been 

increased from 15 minutes to 30 

minutes and the cost has been increased 

from $15 to $100 per respondent. 

Minor editorial changes to the forms 

were made to increase clarity and 

consistency with other NMFS Alaska 

Regional Office forms. 

Affected Public: Not-for-profit 

institutions; Business or other for-profit 

organizations. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

Obtain or Retain Benefits, Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0648–0512. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00095 Filed 1–5–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD630] 

Pacific Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Pacific Council) 

Ad Hoc Marine Planning Committee 

(MPC) will hold an online public 

meeting. 

DATES: The online meeting will be held 

Tuesday, January 23, 2024, from 10 a.m. 

to 4 p.m., Pacific standard time or until 

business for the day has been 

completed. 

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held 

online. Specific meeting information, 

including a proposed agenda and 

directions on how to attend the meeting 

and system requirements, will be 

provided in the meeting announcement 

on the Pacific Council’s website (see 

www.pcouncil.org). You may send an 

email to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt 

(kris.kleinschmidt@noaa.gov) or contact 

him at (503) 820–2412 for technical 

assistance. 

Council address: Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kerry Griffin, Staff Officer, Pacific 

Council; telephone: (503) 820–2409. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this online meeting is for the 

MPC to consider current offshore wind 

(OSW) energy issues and to provide 

information and advice to the Pacific 

Council for consideration at its March 

2024 meeting. Meeting topics may 

include the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management’s Notice of Intent (NOI) to 

Prepare a Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement for the five California 

OSW leases. The NOI was issued 

December 20, 2023, with a 60-day 

comment period. The MPC may also 

discuss the status of the Draft Wind 

Energy Areas off the Oregon Coast. 

Other OSW or aquaculture topics may 

be considered, as appropriate. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in the meeting agenda may be 

discussed, those issues may not be the 

subject of formal action during this 

meeting. Action will be restricted to 

those issues specifically listed in this 

document and any issues arising after 

publication of this document that 

require emergency action under section 

305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 

provided the public has been notified of 

the intent to take final action to address 

the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Mr. Kris 

Kleinschmidt (kris.kleinschmidt@

noaa.gov; (503) 820–2412) at least 10 

days prior to the meeting date. 

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

Dated: January 3, 2024. 

Diane M. DeJames-Daly, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00146 Filed 1–5–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

COMMISSION OF FINE ARTS 

Notice of Meeting 

Per 45 CFR chapter XXI section 

2102.3, the next meeting of the U.S. 

Commission of Fine Arts is scheduled 

for January 18, 2024, at 9 a.m. and will 

be held via online videoconference. 

Items of discussion may include 

buildings, infrastructure, parks, 

memorials, and public art. 

Draft agendas, the link to register for 

the online public meeting, and 

additional information regarding the 

Commission are available on our 

website: www.cfa.gov. Inquiries 

regarding the agenda, as well as any 

public testimony, should be addressed 

to Thomas Luebke, Secretary, U.S. 

Commission of Fine Arts, at the above 

address; by emailing cfastaff@cfa.gov; or 

by calling 202–504–2200. Individuals 

requiring sign language interpretation 

for the hearing impaired should contact 

the Secretary at least 10 days before the 

meeting date. 

Dated January 3, 2024 in Washington, DC. 

Susan M. Raposa, 

Technical Information Specialist. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00119 Filed 1–5–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6330–01–P 


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