69736 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 111500E]

NOAA’s Teacher-At-Sea Program

AGENCY: National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

ACTION: Proposed information

collection; comment request.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other Federal agencies to

take this opportunity to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before January 19, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Madeleine Clayton, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 6086, 14th and

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington

DC 20230 (or via the Internet at

MClayton@doc.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument(s) and instructions should

be directed to Judy Sohl, OMAO, MOP1,

1801 Fairview Ave East, Seattle WA

98102-3767 (phone 206–553–2633).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

NOAA provides educators an

opportunity to gain first-hand

experience with field research activities

by allowing them to spend up to three

weeks at sea on a NOAA research

vessel. Applications are necessary to

select participants, and educators

participating on a cruise must submit a

report detailing their experiences and

resulting ideas for classroom activities.

II. Method of Collection

Paper forms or reports are submitted.

The forms are available over the

Internet.

III. Data

OMB Number: 0648–0283.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: Individuals (teachers,

educators).

Estimated Number of Respondents:

375.

Estimated Time Per Response: 1.25

hours for an application; 15 minutes for

a recommendation; and 2 hours for a

follow-up report.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 309.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to

Public: $536.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden

(including hours and cost) of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval of this information collection;

they also will become a matter of public

record.

Dated: November 14, 2000

Gwellnar Banks,

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief

Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–29641 Filed 11–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-12-S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 111300D]

Gulf of Mexico 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 Gulf of Mexico Fishery

Management Council will convene a

public meeting of the Reef Fish Stock

Assessment Panel (RFSAP).

DATES: The meeting will begin on

Monday, December 4, 2000, at 9 a.m.

through Friday, December 8, 2000,

concluding at 12 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the National Marine Fisheries Service

Southeast Fisheries Science Center

(SEFSC), 75 Virginia Beach Drive,

Miami, Florida.

Council address: Gulf of Mexico

Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S.

Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa,

FL 33619; telephone 813–228–2815.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven Atran, Population Dynamics

Statistician, Gulf of Mexico Fishery

Management Council, telephone: 813–

228–2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

RFSAP is composed of biologists who

are trained in the specialized field of

population dynamics. They advise the

Council on the status of stocks and,

when necessary, recommend a level of

allowable biological catch (ABC) needed

to prevent overfishing, or to effect a

recovery of an overfished stock. They

may also recommend catch restrictions

needed to attain management goals.

The RFSAP will convene to review

sensitivity analyses of the 1999 red

grouper stock assessment which was

conducted by the NMFS at the request

of the RFSAP, and recommend a range

of ABC for 2001. The analyses were

requested by the RFSAP at its previous

meeting in August 2000 to examine the

sensitivity of stock assessment results to

the inclusion or exclusion of older, and

possibly questionable, landings data

provided by Cuba for years prior to

1976; the assumed level of release

mortality of undersized fish; and the

shape of the red grouper stockrecruitment relationship. NMFS has

completed the analyses and declared the

Gulf of Mexico stock of red grouper to

be overfished, based on the 1999 stock

assessment, and the results of the

additional analyses. However, a peer

review of the analyses has not yet been

conducted by the RFSAP. The severity

of the overfished condition, and the

ABC range needed to effect a recovery

also have yet to be determined.

Pending completion by NMFS of

additional analyses requested by the

RFSAP of the 1998 vermilion snapper

assessment and 2000 assessment

update, the RFSAP will review these

analyses and may recommend a range of

ABC for 2001 to stop overfishing from

occurring in the vermilion snapper

fishery. Some model scenarios from the

1998 stock assessment suggested that

the stock was being fished at a rate that

could result in it becoming overfished.

It was, therefore, classified by NMFS as

not overfished butapproaching an

overfished condition. The analyses

requested by the RFSAP were to

examine the robustness and relationship

of the vermilion snapper assessment

tuning indices to changes in the

directed fishery for red snapper.

The RFSAP may also review the

results of additional red snapper

recovery projections conducted by

NMFS at the request of the Council.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Notices 69737

These additional projections are based

on assumptions of juvenile red snapper

shrimp trawl bycatch mortality and

natural mortality suggested by an

outside biologist which differ from the

assumptions used by NMFS. The

outside biologist has proposed that the

shrimp trawl bycatch mortality is lower,

and the natural mortality is higher, than

those used in the NMFS red snapper

stock assessments. The results of these

analyses will initially be presented by

NMFS at the November 13–17, 2000,

Council meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi,

and may subsequently be reviewed by

the RFSAP if requested by the Council.

The analyses must be peer reviewed by

the RFSAP before they can be used as

a basis for changing the red snapper

total allowable catch.

Although non-emergency issues not

on the agendas may come before the

RFSAP 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 of the

RFSAP will be restricted to those issues

specifically identified in theagendas 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 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

Anne Alford (see ADDRESSES) at least 5

days prior to the meeting dates.

Dated: November 14, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–29637 Filed 11–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 111500A]

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management

Council (MAFMC); Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council and the New

England Fishery Management Council’s

Joint Dogfish Committee will hold a

public meeting.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

Thursday, December 7, 2000, from 10

a.m. – 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Sheraton International Hotel, BWI

Airport, 7032 Elm Road, Baltimore, MD;

telephone 410–859–3300.

Council Address: Mid-Atlantic

Fishery Management Council, Room

2115, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE

19904. New England Fishery

Management Council, 50 Water Street,

The Tannery — Mill 2, Newburyport,

MA 01950.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director,

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management

Council; telephone 302–674–2331, ext.

19, or Paul Howard, Executive Director,

New England Fishery Management

Council; telephone 978–465–0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of this meeting is to develop

recommendations to the Mid-Atlantic

and New England Fishery Management

Councils for management measures for

the spiny dogfish fishery for the 2001–

2002 fishing year based on

recommendations of the Spiny Dogfish

Monitoring Committee.

Although non-emergency issues not

contained in this notice may come

before these Councils for discussion,

those issues may not be the subject of

formal Council 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 Magnuson Stevens

Act, provided 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

Joanna Davis at 302–674–2331 at least 5

days prior to the meeting date.

Dated: November 15, 2000

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–29640 Filed 11–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 103000C]

Marine Mammals; File No. 821–1588

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of application.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

Texas A&M University, Department of

Marine Biology, 5007 Avenue U,

Galveston, TX 776551, (Principal

Investigator: Dr. Randall W. Davis), has

applied in due form for a permit to take

marine mammals for purposes of

scientific research.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments

must be received on or before December

20, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The application and related

documents are available for review

upon written request or by appointment

in the following office(s):

Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13130,

Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713–

2289);

Regional Administrator, Southeast

Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center

Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702–

2432 (813/570–5312);and

Regional Administrator, Southwest

Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd.,

Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802–4213

(562/980–4001).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ruth Johnson and Simona Roberts, 301/

713–2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

subject permit is 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.), and the regulations governing

the taking, importing, and exporting of

endangered and threatened species (50

CFR 222–227).

The application has three different

projects: PROJECT I. — Hunting

Behavior and Energics of Weddell Seals:

Up to 40 Weddell seals (Leptonychotes

weddellii) will be captured, tagged,

handled, annually. The study will

investigate the behavioral and energetic

adaptations that enable Weddell seals to

forage in the Antarctic fast-ice

environment. Hypotheses on general