Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 202 / Friday, October 18, 2024 / Notices 83839 

Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; 

telephone: (302) 674–2331; website: 

https://www.mafmc.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, telephone: (302) 

526–5255. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: During 

this meeting, the EOP Committee and 

AP will review a completed draft of the 

Council’s Ecosystem Approach to 

Fisheries Management (EAFM) risk 

assessment report. In 2023, the Council 

conducted a comprehensive review of 

the risk assessment and recommended a 

number of changes and updates to be 

included in a revised EAFM risk 

assessment. The draft report has been 

updated to reflect the approved changes 

to the risk assessment, incorporates the 

latest data and scientific information, 

and recent feedback from the EOP 

Committee and AP on an earlier draft. 

The EOP Committee and AP will 

provide any additional feedback before 

the 2024 EAFM risk assessment report 

is finalized and presented to the Council 

in December. 

A detailed agenda and background 

documents will be made available on 

the Council’s website (https://

www.mafmc.org) prior to the meeting. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aid 

should be directed to Shelley Spedden, 

(302) 526–5251, at least 5 days prior to 

the meeting date. 

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

Dated: October 15, 2024. 

Alyssa Weigers, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24152 Filed 10–17–24; 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; Reporting of Sea Turtle 

Incidental Takes in Virginia 

Chesapeake Bay Pound Net 

Operations 

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 7, 

2024 during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

Title: Reporting of Sea Turtle 

Incidental Takes in Virginia Chesapeake 

Bay Pound Net Operations. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0470. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

(extension of a current information 

collection). 

Number of Respondents: 33. 

Average Hours per Response: 10 

minutes. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 167 

hours. 

Needs and Uses: This is a request for 

renewal of an approved information 

collection. 

Since 2002, the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) has promulgated several rules 

restricting the use of large mesh and 

stringer pound net leaders in certain 

Virginia Chesapeake Bay waters during 

the late spring/early summer each year. 

On June 17, 2002, an interim final rule 

was published (67 FR 41196) restricting 

leader use, which also required yearround reporting of sea turtle takes. In 

2004, NMFS issued a final rule further 

restricting pound net leader use in 

Virginia (69 FR 24997). The 2004 rule 

retained the reporting requirement from 

the 2002 rule. These regulations 

(modifications to 50 CFR parts 222 and 

223) were implemented as a result of 

high sea turtle strandings each spring in 

Virginia and the documented take of sea 

turtles in pound net leaders. On March 

31, 2018, a revised Biological Opinion 

on NMFS gear regulations in the 

Virginia pound net fishery was 

completed pursuant to section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (ESA). An Incidental Take 

Statement was included in this 

Biological Opinion, exempting the 

incidental take of a certain number of 

loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, green and 

leatherback sea turtles in pound net 

operations. 

A non-discretionary term and 

condition of the Incidental Take 

Statement involved the reporting to 

NMFS of live or dead sea turtles taken 

in pound net operations (reflected in 50 

CFR 223.206). The collection of this 

information on the incidental take of sea 

turtles in the Virginia pound net fishery 

is necessary to ensure sea turtles are 

being conserved and protected, as 

mandated by the ESA. Documenting the 

accurate occurrence of sea turtle 

incidental take in pound net operations 

will help to determine if additional 

regulatory actions or management 

measures are necessary to protect sea 

turtles caught in pound net operations. 

This information will help NMFS better 

assess the Virginia pound net fishery 

and its impacts (or lack thereof) on sea 

turtle populations in the Virginia 

Chesapeake Bay. The collection of this 

information is also imperative to ensure 

that the Incidental Take Statement is not 

being exceeded, the anticipated take 

levels are appropriate, and the effects 

analysis in the Biological Opinion is 

accurate. Further, reporting the take of 

live, injured sea turtles caught in pound 

net gear will ensure these turtles are 

transferred immediately to a stranding 

and rehabilitation center for appropriate 

medical treatment. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Frequency: Reporting occurs when sea 

turtles are encountered in Virginia 

pound net gear, which could occur 

occasionally from May through 

November. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Endangered Species 

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 0648–0470. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office 

of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24162 Filed 10–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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