Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices 88735 

to, a request for the following 

information: 

• Type of commercial shark permit 

possessed; 

• Past participation and availability 

in the commercial shark fishery (not 

including sharks caught for display); 

• Past and present availability to 

participate in the shark research fishery 

year-round; 

• Ability to fish in the regions and 

seasons requested; 

• Ability to attend necessary meetings 

regarding the objectives and research 

protocols of the shark research fishery; 

and 

• Ability to carry out the 2025 shark 

research fishery objectives of the 

Agency. 

NMFS will give preference to those 

applicants who are willing and available 

to fish year-round and who affirmatively 

state that they intend to do so, to ensure 

the timely and accurate data collection 

NMFS needs to meet this year’s shark 

research fishery objectives. NMFS will 

not consider an applicant who has been 

charged criminally or civilly (e.g., 

issued a Notice of Violation and 

Assessment (NOVA) or Notice of Permit 

Sanction) for any HMS-related violation 

for participation in the shark research 

fishery. In addition, NMFS will not 

consider applicants who were selected 

to carry an observer in the previous 2 

years for any HMS fishery but failed to 

contact NMFS to arrange the placement 

of an observer or failed to comply with 

any other observer regulations per 

§ 635.7. NMFS will make exceptions for 

vessels that were selected for HMS 

observer coverage but did not fish in the 

quarter when selected and thus did not 

require an observer. NMFS will not 

consider applicants who do not possess 

a valid U.S. Coast Guard safety 

inspection decal when they submit their 

application. Applicants who have been 

non-compliant with any of the HMS 

observer program regulations in the 

previous 2 years, as described above, 

may be eligible for future participation 

in the shark research fishery by 

demonstrating 2 subsequent years of 

compliance with observer regulations at 

§ 635.7. 

Selection Process 

The HMS Management Division will 

review all applications received by the 

deadline (see DATES) and develop a list 

of qualified applicants (i.e., the 

application is complete and the 

applicant meets the selection criteria 

listed above) for participation in the 

2025 shark research fishery. The HMS 

Management Division will provide the 

list of qualified applicants, without 

identifying information, to the SEFSC. 

The SEFSC will then evaluate the list of 

applicants and, based on the temporal 

and spatial needs of the objectives, the 

availability of observers, the availability 

of applicants, and the available quota 

for a given year, will select applicants 

to conduct the prescribed research as 

part of the shark research fishery. If 

NMFS determines that a public meeting 

is necessary, NMFS will announce 

details of a public selection meeting in 

a subsequent Federal Register notice. 

Once the selection process is 

complete, NMFS will notify the selected 

applicants and issue the shark research 

fishery permits. The shark research 

fishery permits will be valid through 

December 31, 2025, unless otherwise 

specified. If needed, NMFS will arrange 

a captain’s meeting with the shark 

research fishery participants to discuss 

the objectives and protocols. In the past, 

NMFS has often held mandatory 

captain’s meetings before placing 

observers on vessels, particularly if 

there are participants who have not 

participated in recent years or if there 

are changes in the permit terms and 

conditions from previous years; NMFS 

may hold one for the 2025 shark 

research fishery in early 2025. Once the 

fishery starts, shark research fishery 

participants must contact NMFS or the 

NMFS-designee to arrange the 

placement of a NMFS-approved 

observer for each shark research trip, 

and in the beginning, if needed, to 

arrange the installation of the specific 

EM sensor on the vessel. Selected 

applicants must allow observers the 

opportunity to perform their duties and 

assist observers as necessary. At the end 

of the shark fishery, if applicable, shark 

research fishery participants must 

contact NMFS or a NMFS-designee to 

have the EM sensors removed from the 

vessel. 

A shark research fishery permit will 

only be valid for the vessel, owner(s), 

and terms and conditions listed on the 

permit, and, thus, cannot be transferred 

to another vessel or owner(s). Shark 

research fishery participants must carry 

a NMFS-approved observer on shark 

research fishery trips. However, 

issuance of a shark research fishery 

permit does not guarantee that the 

permit holder will be assigned a NMFSapproved observer on any particular 

trip. Rather, issuance indicates that a 

vessel may be issued a NMFS-approved 

observer for a particular trip, and on 

such trips, may be allowed to harvest 

Atlantic sharks, including sandbar 

sharks, in excess of the retention limits 

described in § 635.24(a). Applicable 

retention limits will be based on 

available quota, number of vessels 

participating in the 2025 shark research 

fishery, NMFS’ shark research fishery 

objectives, the extent of other 

restrictions placed on the vessel, and 

may vary by vessel and/or location. 

When not operating under the auspices 

of the shark research fishery, the vessel 

would still be able to land other shark 

species subject to existing retention 

limits on trips without a NMFSapproved observer. Additionally, during 

those times, the vessel would not need 

to operate the EM sensors. 

NMFS annually invites commercial 

shark limited access permit holders 

(Directed and Incidental) to submit an 

application to participate in the shark 

research fishery (see ADDRESSES). Final 

decisions on the issuance of a shark 

research fishery permit will depend on 

the submission of all required 

information by the deadline (see DATES), 

and NMFS’ review of applicant 

information as outlined above. The 2025 

shark research fishery will start after the 

commercial shark fishery opens on 

January 1, 2025 under base quotas and 

default retention limits, unless 

otherwise published in the Federal 

Register. 

Dated: November 5, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26050 Filed 11–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE050] 

Conservation Plan for the Eastern 

Pacific Stock of Northern Fur Seal 

(Laaquda) 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), NMFS has finalized the 

Conservation Plan for the Eastern 

Pacific Stock of Northern Fur Seal 

(Laaquda) based on public comments 

received. The goal of the Conservation 

Plan is to conserve and restore the stock 

to its optimum sustainable population. 

The Final Conservation Plan (Plan) for 

this stock is now available. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the 

Plan are available at the NMFS Alaska 

Region website: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/ 


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88736 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices 

northern-fur-seal#conservationmanagement. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Williams, NMFS Alaska 

Region, 907–271–5117, 

michael.williams@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Eastern Pacific (formerly Pribilof) 

stock of northern fur seals was 

designated as depleted under the 

MMPA on June 17, 1988, because the 

population had declined by over 50 

percent from the highest population 

levels estimated in the 1950s (53 FR 

17888, May 18, 1988). Consistent with 

the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1383b(b)), NMFS 

developed a Conservation Plan to 

conserve and restore the stock to its 

optimum sustainable population, which 

is defined as a population size within a 

range of population sizes from the 

largest supportable within the 

ecosystem (i.e., carrying capacity) to a 

level that results in maximum net 

productivity (50 CFR 216.3). NMFS first 

published a Conservation Plan in 1993, 

followed by a revised version in 2007. 

In 2023, NMFS published a revised draft 

Conservation Plan and invited public 

comment (88 FR 38010, June 12, 2023). 

The 2024 revised Conservation Plan 

includes updated knowledge of threats, 

trends, and ecology of the Eastern 

Pacific stock of northern fur seals. 

Specifically, it summarizes advances in 

our understanding of pup production, 

pup mortality, pup mass, diet 

estimation, diving characterization, and 

use of Bering Sea marine foraging areas 

and foraging trip duration by the five 

rookery complexes on the Pribilof 

Islands. The Plan discusses critical 

information gaps, conservation actions 

and initiatives completed since the 2007 

Conservation Plan as well as those that 

are ongoing or should be prioritized in 

future, and research and management 

actions intended to promote the 

conservation and restoration of the 

stock. The shared resources and 

cooperative involvement of Federal, 

State, and Tribal governments, Alaska 

Native people and Alaska Native 

Organizations, industry, academia, and 

non-governmental organizations will be 

needed throughout the period necessary 

to restore the stock. 

Overall, the stock has continued to 

decline about 2 percent per year since 

the depleted designation, and 

differences exist in trends in abundance 

and habitat use for St. Paul, St. George, 

and Bogoslof islands and their 

associated rookery complexes. 

Preliminary estimates of age class 

survival rates since 2010 are similar for 

both St. Paul and St. George islands; 

however, since trends in abundance are 

significantly different (i.e., declining on 

St. Paul and increasing on St. George) 

our assumptions regarding site fidelity, 

emigration, and detection appear biased, 

and we are investigating whether rates 

of emigration are higher than previously 

assumed. Improved estimates of fur seal 

consumption of commercially important 

prey like pollock, and age-specific 

growth and bioenergetics of northern fur 

seals have increased the ability of 

ecosystem models to improve our 

understanding of fur seal population 

dynamics and how changes in prey 

abundance and distribution may be 

affecting population trends. Based on 

these recent model results, it is 

estimated that the northern fur seal 

population is one of the top four natural 

predators of pollock biomass and 

consumes both 0–2 year old and 3+ year 

old pollock. The new information 

presented regarding the separation of 

marine foraging habitat in the Bering 

Sea by fur seals and the differential 

consumption of pollock, squid, and 

other species based on this separation 

suggests there are opportunities to 

further investigate the indirect effects of 

fisheries on northern fur seals from the 

five rookery complexes identified on the 

Pribilof Islands. The extent of 

competition with the pollock fisheries is 

uncertain due to the spatial segregation 

of foraging fur seals among the five 

rookery complexes and in-season 

changes in the distribution of various 

segments of the commercial pollock 

fleet. NMFS intends to work with other 

interested parties to evaluate existing 

northern fur seal foraging and life 

history data as well as existing 

information on fisheries to assess 

observed variation in population trends 

among foraging complexes and guide 

decisions about new research related to 

the indirect effects of fishing. New 

ecosystem models are being developed 

to advance ecosystem-based fisheries 

management and are expected to 

include consumption of important 

commercial fish species by northern fur 

seals. 

Another notable revision to this Plan 

is the reflection of recent subsistence 

use regulation changes and the 

evolution of co-management 

relationships between NMFS and Tribes 

in the Pribilofs. The Plan revision 

includes valuable input and 

contributions from the Aleut 

Community of St. Paul Island, and 

recognizes Unanga contributions to 

management and research. As fur seal 

subsistence use is paramount to 

Pribilovian Unanga cultural identity, 

Unangam tunuu (i.e., Aleut language) 

words have been incorporated into the 

Plan. 

The Notice of Availability of the draft 

revised Plan was published on June 12, 

2023, and the public comment period 

closed on August 11, 2023 (88 FR 

38010). Six public comment letters 

containing 28 unique substantive 

comments were received during the 

comment period, on the topics of direct 

fishery effects, indirect fishery effects, 

ecology and life history, Indigenous 

Knowledge, co-management, optimum 

sustainable population, disturbance, 

funding, threats, and effectiveness of the 

Conservation Plan. In response to these 

comments, the final version of the Plan 

contains many clarifications, and 

significant revisions were made to the 

indirect fishery effects and optimum 

sustainable population sections. Also in 

response to these comments, additional 

information has been incorporated 

regarding migration patterns, pup 

mortality, vital rates, pup health, and 

foraging trip duration. Finally, a new 

appendix containing migration and 

performance measure analyses has been 

added. A summary of substantive 

comments and responses to those 

comments, including whether and how 

the draft Conservation Plan was revised 

in response, has been created and is on 

file with the NMFS Alaska Region, 

Protected Resources Division. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25969 Filed 11–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE454] 

Marine Mammals; File No. 27552 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS’ Pacific Islands Fisheries Science 

Center, 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building 

176, Honolulu, HI 96818 (Responsible 

Party: Charles Littnan, Ph.D.), has 

applied in due form for a permit to 

conduct research and enhancement 

activities on Hawaiian monk seals 

(Neomonachus schauinslandi). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before December 9, 2024. 


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