13694 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / Notices 

permit holder must contact NOAA OLE 

by telephone. This information 

collection is revised to include a form 

for the non-electronic (manual) GAF 

landing report. This form will help 

streamline the submission of manual 

landing information for GAF permit 

holders and NOAA Office for Law 

Enforcement, and help ensure the 

correct information is submitted on 

time. The time and cost burden for the 

manual GAF landing report form 

remains the same as the previous 

estimates for the GAF landing report 

because the estimates allow for 

differences needed to complete and 

submit the report. 

This information collection includes 

the logbook reporting requirements for 

the charter halibut fishery. The charter 

halibut sector in Areas 2C and 3A is 

managed to charter catch limits 

established under the CSP. Charter 

operators are required to record all 

halibut caught and kept by charter 

vessel anglers in the ADF&G Saltwater 

Charter Logbook. Logbook reporting is 

the basis for estimating annual charter 

harvests of halibut relative to the charter 

catch limits. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; Business or other for-profit 

organizations. 

Frequency: Annually; As needed. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

Obtain or Retain Benefits, Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: The Northern Pacific 

Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773c); 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act (16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

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 0648–0575. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03747 Filed 2–22–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD698] 

Pacific Island Pelagic Fisheries; False 

Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan; New 

Trigger Value for Southern Exclusion 

Zone Closure 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA) of 1972, and the False Killer 

Whale Take Reduction Plan, NMFS is 

publishing a new trigger value for the 

Southern Exclusion Zone (SEZ) closure. 

The new trigger is three observed 

mortality or serious injuries of false 

killer whales incidental to the deep-set 

longline fishery within the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elena Duke, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Region, (808) 725–5134, elena.duke@

noaa.gov; or Kristy Long, NMFS Office 

of Protected Resources, (301) 427–8402, 

Kristy.Long@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Pursuant to section 118(f) of the 

MMPA, on December 31, 2012, NMFS 

implemented the False Killer Whale 

Take Reduction Plan (Plan). The Plan 

establishes a framework to reduce the 

level of incidental mortality and serious 

injury (M/SI) of the Hawaii pelagic and 

Hawaii insular stocks of false killer 

whales in the Hawaii longline fisheries 

(77 FR 71260; November 29, 2012). 

In accordance with the Plan, NMFS 

issued regulations to establish the SEZ 

(50 CFR 229.37(d)(2)). These regulations 

require NMFS to close the SEZ to deepset longline fishing when a certain 

number (trigger) of false killer whale M/ 

SI are observed in the deep-set longline 

fishery in the U.S. Exclusive Economic 

Zone (EEZ). As described in the Plan 

regulations, the SEZ is bounded on the 

east at 154°30′ W longitude, on the west 

at 165° W longitude, on the north by the 

boundaries of the Main Hawaiian 

Islands Longline Fishing Prohibited 

Area and Papaha ̄naumokua ̄kea Marine 

National Monument, and on the south 

by the EEZ boundary (see fig. 1). The 

SEZ trigger is defined in § 229.37(e)(2) 

as the larger of either of these 2 values: 

(i) 2 observed M/SI of false killer whales 

within the EEZ around Hawaii, or (ii) 

the smallest number of observed false 

killer whale M/SI that, when 

extrapolated based on the percentage 

observer coverage in the deep-set 

longline fishery for that year, exceeds 

the Hawaii pelagic false killer whale 

stock’s potential biological removal 

(PBR). For the first year of the Plan’s 

implementation, NMFS established the 

trigger value as 2 observed false killer 

whale M/SI by the deep-set longline 

fishery within the EEZ around Hawaii 

(77 FR 71259, November 29, 2012), 

based on the PBR level of 9.1 for the 

Hawaii pelagic stock of false killer 

whales, as calculated in the draft 2012 

Stock Assessment Report (SAR) 

(Carretta et al., 2012). The Plan specifies 

the trigger value (2) will remain valid 

until NMFS publishes a new trigger 

value in the Federal Register 

(§ 229.37(e)(1)). NMFS published a new 

trigger value on December 15, 2020 

following a change in the abundance 

estimate, which changed the trigger 

value from 2 to 4 observed M/SI of false 

killer whales (85 FR 81184, December 

15, 2020). 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / Notices 13695 

1At a March 2023 False Killer Whale Take 

Reduction Team meeting, NMFS introduced a False 

Killer Whale Management Area that included areas 

inside and outside the EEZ around Hawaii with a 

PBR calculated to be 33 pelagic false killer whales. 

The False Killer Whale Management Area and 

associated PBR are not yet available for current 

management use. NMFS is using the PBR (16) from 

the 2022 final SAR to revise the SEZ trigger. 

NMFS set the annual observer 

coverage rate in the Hawaii deep-set 

longline fishery for 2024 at 13.5 percent. 

Observer coverage was previously set at 

20 percent, but has been reduced due to 

increased program costs and available 

funding for the observer program. The 

abundance estimate for the Hawaii 

pelagic stock of false killer whales is 

2,086 (CV = 0.35) individuals in the 

Hawaii EEZ. The minimum population 

abundance (Nmin), used for calculating 

PBR, is 1,567 animals within the EEZ 

around Hawaii.1 The PBR published in 

the final 2022 SAR for this stock within 

the EEZ is calculated as 16 pelagic false 

killer whales (Carretta et al., 2023). 

Based on the current published PBR of 

16 whales for the Hawaii pelagic stock 

of false killer whales within the EEZ, 

and the 2024 annual observer coverage 

(13.5 percent), the trigger value is 

calculated as 3 observed M/SI of false 

killer whales. This value is smaller than 

the currently published trigger value 

because of the decrease in the observer 

coverage rate. Therefore, NMFS sets the 

trigger value for SEZ closure at three 

observed false killer whale M/SI in the 

deep-set longline fishery in the EEZ 

around Hawaii. 

Information on the Plan is available 

on the internet at the following address: 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

false-killer-whale-take-reduction. Copies 

of reference materials may also be 

obtained from the NMFS Pacific Islands 

Regional Office, Protected Resources 

Division, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Building 

176, Honolulu, HI 96818. 

This notice serves as a notification to 

fishermen, the fishing industry, and the 

general public that the SEZ closure 

trigger value is three observed false 

killer whale M/SI in the deep-set 

longline fishery in the EEZ around 

Hawaii. 

References 

Carretta, J.V., E. Oleson, D.W. Weller, A.R. 

Lang, K.A. Forney, J. Baker, B. Hanson, 

K Martien, M.M. Muto, M.S. Lowry, J. 

Barlow, D. Lynch, L. Carswell, R.L. 

Brownell Jr., D.K. Mattila, and M.C. Hill. 

2012. U.S. Pacific Marine Mammal Stock 

Assessments: 2012. NOAA Technical 

Memorandum NOAA–TM–NMFS– 

SWFSC–504. 378p. 

Carretta, J.W., E.M. Oleson, K.A. Forney, 

M.M. Muto, D.W. Weller, A.R. Lang, J. 

Baker, B. Hanson, A.J. Orr, J. Barlow, J.E. 

Moore, and R.L. Brownell. 2023. U.S. 

Pacific Marine Mammal Stock 

Assessments: 2022. U.S. Department of 

Commerce. NOAA Technical 

Memorandum NMFS–SWFSC–684. 409 

p. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. 

Dated: February 16, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03664 Filed 2–22–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Request for Public Comment on 

Interagency Marine Debris 

Coordinating Committee 

Recommendations 

AGENCY: National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NOAA’s Marine Debris 

Program, on behalf of the Interagency 

Marine Debris Coordinating Committee 

(IMDCC), is soliciting public comments 

regarding draft recommendations to 

address marine debris. The IMDCC is 

required to submit a biennial report to 

Congress that includes the status of 

implementation of any 

recommendations and strategies of the 

Committee. These recommendations 

will replace the recommendations first 

published by the IMDCC in 2008. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1EN23FE24.003</GPH>

15'0'!)"" 

---,,,,11:AHI Longline Fishing 

Prohibited Area 

Figure 1. Southern Exclusion Zone. 

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A