Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 6, 2024 / Notices 8171 

this notice by 5 p.m. on the Tuesday, 

February 20, 2024 to allow distribution 

of written comments to IoT Advisory 

Board members prior to the meeting. 

Each IoT Advisory Board meeting 

agenda will include a period, not to 

exceed sixty minutes, for oral 

presentation of comments from the 

public. Oral presentation of comments 

from the public during this sixty-minute 

period will be accommodated on a firstcome, first-served basis and limited to 

five minutes per person for oral 

presentation if requested by the 

commenter. Members of the public who 

wish to expand upon their submitted 

comments, those who had wished to 

present comments orally but could not 

be accommodated on the agenda, and 

those who were unable to attend the 

meeting via webinar, are invited to 

submit written statements. In addition, 

written statements are invited and may 

be submitted to the IoT Advisory Board 

at any time. All written statements 

should be directed to the IoT Advisory 

Board Secretariat, Information 

Technology Laboratory by email to: 

Barbara.Cuthill@nist.gov. 

Admittance Instructions: Participants 

planning to attend via webinar must 

register via the instructions found on 

the IoT Advisory Board’s web page at 

https://www.nist.gov/itl/appliedcybersecurity/nist-cybersecurity-iotprogram/internet-things-advisory-board. 

Tamiko Ford, 

NIST Executive Secretariat. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02289 Filed 2–5–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD710] 

Marine Mammals; File Nos. 27408, 

27499, and 27503 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Alaska Sea Life Center (ASLC), P.O. 

Box 1329, 301 Railway Avenue, Seward, 

AK 99664 (Responsible Party: Tara 

Reimer, Ph.D.); Alaska Fisheries Science 

Center’s Marine Mammal Laboratory 

(MML), 7600 Sand Point Way NE, 

Seattle, WA 98115 (Responsible Party: 

John Bengston); and the Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), 

P.O. Box 25526, Juneau, AK 99802 

(Responsible Party: Michael Rehberg), 

have applied in due form for permits to 

conduct research on Steller sea lions 

(Eumetopias jubatus). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before March 7, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The applications 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 

the File No. 27408 (ASLC), 27499 

(MML), or 27503 (ADF&G) from the list 

of available applications. These 

documents are also available upon 

written request via email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted via email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include the File Nos. in the subject line 

of the email comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

via email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@

noaa.gov. The request should set forth 

the specific reasons why a hearing on 

this application would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara 

Young, Shasta McClenahan, Ph.D., or 

Jennifer Skidmore at (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permits are requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended 

(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the 

regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), the regulations governing the 

taking, importing, and exporting of 

endangered and threatened species (50 

CFR parts 222–226), and the Fur Seal 

Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 

et seq.). 

For File No. 27408: ASLC proposes to 

conduct research to monitor population 

vital rates of the endangered western 

distinct population segment (wDPS) of 

Steller sea lions and determine what 

factors most affect vital rates and the 

potential for population recovery, 

focusing on population dynamics, 

health, diet, and behavior. Individuals 

may be taken in the Gulf of Alaska by 

the following means: disturbance 

associated with capture, observational 

studies, and material/scat/carcass 

collection; capture, restraint, and 

sampling; and remote biopsy. Captured 

sea lions will undergo morphometrics, 

digital imaging, hot-branding, biological 

sampling, temporary marking, and 

ultrasound exams. ASLC requests four 

unintentional mortalities from the 

wDPS over the duration of the permit. 

California sea lions (Zalophus 

californianus) may be disturbed during 

the research. See the application for 

complete numbers of animals requested 

by species and procedure. The 

requested duration of this permit is 5 

years. 

For File No. 27499: MML proposes to 

conduct research to measure population 

status, vital rates, foraging ecology, 

habitat requirements, and effects of 

natural and anthropogenic factors 

impacting Steller sea lion populations 

pursuant to fulfilling the NMFS legal 

requirements under the MMPA and 

ESA, and to test hypotheses of 

mechanisms underlying population 

trends in Alaska. Proposed activities 

include surveys (aerial, vessel, and 

land) including unmanned aircraft 

systems (UAS), capture and handling, 

marking, hot branding, sampling 

(including but not limited to blood, 

blubber, swabs of all mucus membranes 

and lesions, skin samples, vibrissae, 

feces, urine, hair, and nail), tagging, and 

unintentional disturbance. Animals may 

be disturbed by surveys, captured, 

sampled and released for vital rates, 

foraging ecology and/or health studies 

multiple times per year. MML requests 

four unintentional mortalities from the 

wDPS annually, not to exceed eight over 

the duration of the permit. Non-target 

species that may be disturbed 

unintentionally to these studies include 

northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), 

harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), and 

California sea lions. Collected samples 

may be exported for analysis. See the 

application for complete numbers of 

animals requested by species and 

procedure. The requested duration of 

this permit is 5 years. 

For File No. 27503: ADF&G proposes 

to continue their long-term Steller sea 

lion research program, to investigate 

recovery trends, collecting survival and 

reproduction data, investigating 

movement between and within the 

populations, and monitoring threats. 

Proposed activities include: aerial 

(including UAS), vessel and groundbased surveys including counts, 

photography, and observations; remote 

biopsy sampling; captures including 

morphometrics, marking, external 

instrument attachment, biological 

sampling, ultrasound, and hot branding; 

and collection, import, export, and 

receipt of pinniped parts. ADF&G 

requests four unintentional mortalities 

annually from each the wDPS and 

eastern DPS, not to exceed eight per 

DPS over the duration of the permit. 

Non-target species that may be 

disturbed during these studies include 

northern fur seals, and harbor, spotted 


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8172 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 6, 2024 / Notices 

(Phoca largha), ribbon (Histriophoca 

fasciata), ringed (Pusa hispida), and 

bearded (Erignathus barbatus) seals. See 

the application for complete numbers of 

animals requested by species and 

procedure. The requested duration of 

this permit is 5 years. 

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 

activities proposed are consistent with 

the Preferred Alternative in the Final 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement for Steller Sea Lion and 

Northern Fur Seal Research (NMFS 

2007) and a supplemental 

environmental assessment (NMFS 2014) 

prepared for the addition of unmanned 

aerial surveys to the suite of Steller sea 

lion research activities analyzed under 

the EIS that concluded that issuance of 

the permits would not have a significant 

adverse impact on the human 

environment. An environmental review 

memo is being prepared to summarize 

these findings. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of the 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: January 31, 2024. 

Amy Sloan, 

Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02278 Filed 2–5–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD657] 

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 (Pacific Council) 

will convene two webinar meetings of 

its Groundfish Management Team 

(GMT) and one meeting of its 

Groundfish Advisory Subpanel (GAP). 

The first meetings held by the GAP and 

the meeting of the GMT will discuss 

items on the Pacific Council’s March 

2024 meeting agenda. The second 

meeting of the GMT is to discuss items 

on the Pacific Council’s April 2024 

meeting agenda. These meetings are 

open to the public. 

DATES: The GAP online meeting will be 

held on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, 

from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Pacific Time. The 

first GMT online meeting will be held 

on Thursday, February 22, 2024, from 9 

a.m. to 12 p.m., Pacific Time. The

second GMT online meeting will be

held on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, from

9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Pacific Time. The

scheduled ending times for these

meetings are an estimate. Each meeting

will adjourn when business for the day

is completed.

ADDRESSES: Both meetings will be held

online. Specific meeting information,

including 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: 

Todd Phillips, Staff Officer, Pacific 

Council; todd.phillips@noaa.gov; 

telephone: (503) 820–2426. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

primary purpose of the GAP webinar 

held on February 21, 2024 and the GMT 

webinar held on February 22, 2024 is to 

prepare for the Pacific Council’s March 

2024 meeting agenda items. The 

advisory bodies are expected to 

primarily discuss groundfish related 

matters during this webinar. As time 

allows, they may potentially discuss 

ecosystem and administrative matters 

on the Pacific Council agenda as well. 

The primary purpose of the GMT 

webinar held on March 26, 2024 is to 

prepare for the Pacific Council’s April 

2024 meeting agenda items. The GMT 

will discuss items related to 2025–26 

groundfish harvest specifications and 

management measures, and inseason 

management on the Pacific Council 

agenda. 

Detailed agendas for the webinars will 

be available on the Pacific Council’s 

website prior to the meetings. The GAP 

and GMT may also address other 

assignments relating to groundfish 

management. No management actions 

will be decided by the GMT and GAP. 

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 31, 2024. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02277 Filed 2–5–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD588] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental 

To Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to U.S. Navy 2024 

Ice Exercise Activities in the Arctic 

Ocean 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of an incidental 

harassment authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as 

amended, notification is hereby given 

that NMFS has issued an incidental 

harassment authorization (IHA) to the 

U.S. Navy (Navy) to incidentally harass 

marine mammals during submarine 

training and testing activities associated 

with a 2024 Ice Exercise (ICEX24) 

Activities in the Arctic Ocean. 

DATES: This authorization is effective 

from February 1, 2024 through April 30, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the 

application and supporting documents, 

as well as a list of the references cited 

in this document, may be obtained 

online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-military-readinessactivities. In case of problems accessing 

these documents, please call the contact 

listed below. 


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