9438 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 35 / Monday, February 23, 2015 / Notices 

to broad-based applicants with 

experience in coral reef conservation to 

conduct activities to protect and 

conserve coral reef ecosystems. The 

information submitted by applicants is 

used to determine if a proposed project 

is consistent with the NOAA coral reef 

conservation priorities and the priorities 

of authorities with jurisdiction over the 

area where the project will be carried 

out. As part of the application, NOAA 

requires a Data and Information Sharing 

Plan in addition to the standard 

required application materials. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; not-for-profit 

institutions; state, local, or tribal 

government. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at reginfo.gov. Follow 

the instructions to view Department of 

Commerce collections currently under 

review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to OIRA_Submission@

omb.eop.gov or fax to (202) 395–5806. 

Dated: February 17, 2015. 

Sarah Brabson, 

NOAA PRA Clearance Offcer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03535 Filed 2–20–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–JE–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Aleutian Islands 

Pollock Fishery 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before April 24, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at JJessup@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Patsy A. Bearden, (907) 586– 

7008 or patsy.bearden@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This request is for extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Amendment 82 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Groundfish 

Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian 

Islands Management Area (FMP) 

established a framework for the 

management of the Aleutian Islands 

subarea (AI) directed pollock fishery. 

The Aleutian Islands pollock fishery 

was allocated to the Aleut Corporation, 

Adak, Alaska, for the purpose of 

economic development in Adak, Alaska. 

The Aleut Corporation is identified in 

Public Law 108–199 as a business 

incorporated pursuant to the Alaska 

Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

1601 et seq.). Regulations implementing 

the FMP appear at 50 CFR part 679. 

Participants are identified and 

approved through a letter from the Aleut 

Corporation which is approved by 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS). This letter includes a list of 

approved participants. A copy of the 

letter must be on each participating 

vessel. 

II. Method of Collection 

Mail and retention of document on 

participating vessels. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0513. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofits organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 1. 

Estimated Time per Response: Annual 

AI Pollock Fishery Participant Letter, 16 

hours; process, 4 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 36. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $3 in recordkeeping/reporting 

costs. 

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: February 18, 2015. 

Sarah Brabson, 

NOAA PIA Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03543 Filed 2–20–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD775 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

General Provisions for Domestic 

Fisheries; Application for Fishing Year 

2014 Sector Exemption 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: Several groundfish sectors 

have requested regulatory exemptions 

from two recently implemented Gulf of 

Maine cod interim management 

measures. The Regional Administrator, 

Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has 

determined that the request warrants 

further consideration. We are seeking 

public comment on these exemption 

requests. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by the following methods: 

• Email: william.whitmore@noaa.gov. 

Include in the subject line ‘‘Comments 

on Gulf of Maine Cod Sector Exemption 

Request.’’ 

• Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, NE Regional 

Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside 

of the envelope ‘‘Comments on Gulf of 

Maine Cod Sector Exemption Request.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Whitmore, Fisheries Policy 


Rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 35 / Monday, February 23, 2015 / Notices 9439 

Analyst, 978–281–9182, 

william.whitmore@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 13, 2014, NMFS published a 

temporary rule to enhance protections 

for Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod (79 FR 

67362) in response to an updated GOM 

cod stock assessment that indicated the 

health of the stock is worsening. The 

GOM cod interim rule implemented a 

GOM cod trip limit of 200 lb (90.7 kg) 

for sector and common pool groundfish 

vessels fishing within the GOM broad 

stock area (BSA) and restricted 

commercial limited access groundfish 

vessels that fish in the GOM BSA to 

fishing only in that BSA for the duration 

of the declared trip. Additional 

information on the GOM cod interim 

rule can be found online at 

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/

stories/2014/GOM_cod_interim_

management_measures.html. 

On February 9, 2015, we received an 

exemption request from several sectors. 

These sectors worked together to 

assemble 30 mt of GOM cod annual 

catch entitlement (ACE), which was 

traded to Northeast Fishery Sector IV, a 

lease-only sector with no active fishing 

effort. That sector has proposed to 

withhold and render unusable that 

GOM cod ACE, including preventing its 

use for potential carryover to the next 

fishing year, if sectors are granted 

regulatory exemptions from the GOM 

cod trip limit and GOM BSA restriction. 

The 200-lb (90.7-kg) trip limit was 

intended to reduce the incentive to 

target GOM cod in areas that would 

remain open under the interim action to 

ensure that open-area catch would not 

result in excessive GOM cod fishing 

mortality. The 2014 GOM Cod Interim 

Rule environmental assessment (EA) 

estimated that implementing the 200-lb 

(90.7-kg) trip limit would likely reduce 

GOM cod mortality by 20 mt. The 

sectors’ request would reduce the GOM 

cod catch limit by 30 mt. Economic 

modeling and simulations included in 

the EA suggest that there is a substantial 

amount of uncertainty regarding the 20- 

mt estimated mortality reduction. It 

should also be noted that most of the 

public comments submitted in response 

to the GOM cod interim rule opposed 

the implementation of a trip limit 

because trip limits can result in high 

discards of GOM cod and are counter to 

the sector system, which limits the 

fishery based on an annual quota. The 

requesting sectors propose that a 

definite 30-mt reduction in the catch 

limit resulting from the sector 

exemption would provide a greater 

biological benefit to GOM cod than the 

probable reduction in mortality from the 

200-lb (90.7-kg) trip limit. Removing the 

trip limit, as requested by the sectors, 

would provide a clear limit on overall 

catch of GOM cod and should minimize 

regulatory discarding. 

The requested exemption would also 

remove the restriction preventing 

vessels from fishing both inside and 

outside of the GOM BSA on the same 

trip. The sectors requesting the 

exemption have argued that the single 

BSA restriction has severely impacted 

fishing operations of vessels that 

traditionally fish on Georges Bank and 

in the GOM on the same trip. Although 

recognizing that the single BSA 

restriction impedes flexibility to fish in 

multiple stock areas on a trip, we 

previously determined that the shortterm benefits of this measure were 

necessary to achieve the interim rule’s 

objective of reducing mortality and 

ensuring the effectiveness of other 

measures in the interim rule. 

Specifically, the single GOM BSA 

restriction was intended to facilitate 

more effective shore-side enforcement of 

the 200-lb (90.7 kg) trip limit. It was also 

intended to help reduce the opportunity 

for vessels to misreport their catch to 

ensure that GOM cod catch would be 

properly accounted for between stock 

areas. 

Reducing the overall catch limit by 30 

mt and removing the trip limit more 

effectively achieves the interim rule’s 

objective of reducing potential cod 

mortality and, along with additional 

reporting measures, outweighs the 

short-term benefit of retaining the single 

BSA restriction. If the trip limit is no 

longer in effect, there is less of a need 

for the GOM BSA restriction to facilitate 

dockside enforcement. 

In consideration of the sectors’ 

request to be exempt from the BSA 

restriction, we are proposing to replace 

this requirement with daily catch 

reporting requirements should we 

approve the sectors’ request. We would 

still require that sector vessels that 

declare their intent to fish inside and 

outside of the GOM BSA on the same 

trip submit daily vessel monitoring 

system (VMS) catch reports. Vessels 

would also be required to submit a VMS 

catch report prior to moving fishing 

operations from one BSA to another. 

This additional reporting requirement 

would help ensure that catch is properly 

accounted for. The removal of any 

incentive to misreport trip catches in 

relation to the trip limit along with 

additional reporting requirements to 

help ensure proper apportioning of 

catch between BSAs replaces or 

mitigates the loss of the short-term 

benefits expected from the single BSA 

restriction. 

When NMFS implemented the 

interim rule in November 2014, it did 

not take any action to reduce the GOM 

cod ACL or ACE allocated to sectors. 

During public discussion at the 

September Council meeting at which 

the Council requested the agency to 

develop emergency measures for GOM 

cod, it was clear that any unilateral 

action to reduce the ACE available to 

sectors in the middle of the fishing year 

could have substantial economic 

impacts to much of the industry. 

However, in terms of effecting mortality 

reductions, a change to the ACE 

available for harvest by the sectors is 

generally the most effective and direct 

means to reduce total potential catch. 

Instead, NMFS imposed a trip limit to 

reduce the incentive to target GOM cod 

within the ACE available, recognizing 

that if the industry continued to 

encounter GOM cod, mortality would 

continue largely through regulatory 

discarding, potentially up to the full 

allocated ACE level. Although the 

analysis supporting the interim 

measures suggested the trip limit could 

reduce mortality by approximately 20 

mt, there was considerable uncertainty 

around this estimate, primarily due to 

uncertainty with the amount of 

discarding that would occur. 

In this request for a sector exemption, 

the sectors are proposing to implement 

what NMFS did not: A reduction to the 

ACE available to those sectors for the 

remainder of the fishing year. Because 

the fishing industry will continue to fish 

through the end of the fishing year, and 

will continue to encounter GOM cod, 

the sectors’ proposed exemption would 

establish a firm upper limit on total cod 

mortality and is more likely to be lower 

than would otherwise be achieved 

through the interim measures. In 

addition to an actual reduction in the 

total potential cod catch, the sectors’ 

proposed exemption would improve the 

catch yield and reduce the uncertainty 

of that cod catch. 

This exemption would apply only for 

the remainder of the 2014 fishing year. 

It is our intent to continue reviewing 

sector exemption requests included in 

annual sector operations plans through 

a proposed and final rulemaking 

process. However, future mid-year 

exemption requests, or modifications to 

existing exemptions, may be considered, 

and granted or denied, through a 

shortened notice and comment process 

similar to this action. 

If we can conclude that the exemption 

request is at least conversation neutral, 

and if this request is granted, this 

exemption will apply to all sectors who 

request it, and sector operations plans 

and letters of authorizations will be 


Rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
9440 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 35 / Monday, February 23, 2015 / Notices 

modified to include these regulatory 

exemptions. Minor sector exemption 

modifications may be granted without 

further notice if they are deemed 

essential to facilitate these exemptions 

and have minimal impacts that do not 

change the scope or impact of the 

initially approved sector exemption 

request. 

A supplemental information report 

analyzing the environmental impacts of 

this exemption request has been 

developed and is available online for 

review at http://

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/

regs/. 

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

Dated: February 13, 2015. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03539 Filed 2–18–15; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD781 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings and 

hearings. 

SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold meetings of its 118th Scientific and 

Statistical Committee (SSC), SSC subworking group and its 162nd Council 

meeting to take actions on fishery 

management issues in the Western 

Pacific Region. The Council will also 

convene meetings of the Pelagic and 

International Standing Committee and 

Executive and Budget Standing 

Committee. 

DATES: The SSC sub-working group will 

be held on Monday, March 9, between 

1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The SSC meeting will 

be held between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on 

March 10–12, 2015. The Council’s 

Pelagic and International Standing 

Committee meeting will be held 

between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on March 14, 

2015; Executive and Budget Standing 

Committee meeting will be held 

between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on March 14, 

2015; and the 162nd Council meeting 

will be held between 8:30 a.m. and 5 

p.m. on March 16–18, 2015. In addition, 

the Council will host a Fishers Forum 

on March 17, 2015, between 6 p.m. and 

9 p.m. For specific times and agendas, 

see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: The SSC Sub-working group 

on March 9, 2015, 118th SSC on March 

10–12, 2015, Pelagic and International 

Standing Committee and Executive and 

Budget Standing Committee on March 

14, 2015 will be held at the Council 

office, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400, 

Honolulu, HI 96813, telephone: (808) 

522–8220; 

The 162nd Council meeting on March 

16–18, 2015 will be held at the Laniakea 

YWCA-Fuller Hall, 1040 Richards 

Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, telephone: 

(808) 538–7061; and 

The Fishers Forum on March 17, 2015 

will be held at the Harbor View Center, 

Pier 38, 1129 North Nimitz Highway, 

Honolulu, HI 96817, telephone: (808) 

983–1200. 

Background documents will be 

available from, and written comments 

should be sent to, Mr. Edwin Ebisui, 

Chair, Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 1164 Bishop 

Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, 

telephone: (808) 522–8220 or fax: (808) 

522–8226. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director; 

telephone: (808) 522–8220. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

addition to the agenda items listed here, 

the SSC and Council will hear 

recommendations from Council 

advisory groups. Public comment 

periods will be provided throughout the 

agendas. The order in which agenda 

items are addressed may change. The 

meetings will run as late as necessary to 

complete scheduled business. 

Schedule and Agenda for the SSC SubWorking Group 

1. Welcome and Introductions 

2. Approval of the Agenda 

3. Main Hawaiian Island Deep 7 

Bottomfish 

A. Review of the Center for 

Independent Experts (CIE) review 

reports 

B. Current status of stock assessments 

and Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) 

specification 

C. ABC specification for fishing year 

2015–16 

5. Public Comments 

6. Discussion and Recommendations 

Schedule and Agenda for 118th SSC 

Meeting 

8:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 10, 2015 

1. Introductions 

2. Approval of Draft Agenda and 

Assignment of Rapporteurs 

3. Status of the 117th SSC Meeting 

Recommendations 

4. Report from the Pacific Islands 

Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) 

Director 

5. Insular Fisheries 

A. Coral reef ecosystem stock 

assessments 

1. Hawaii kumu 

2. Hawaii parrotfish 

B. Report on the Main Hawaiian 

Island (MHI) Deep 7 Bottomfish public 

scoping meeting 

C. Report on PIFSC meeting with the 

Hawaii bottomfish fishermen 

D. 2nd Bottomfish Research 

Coordination Workshop 

E. Report on the Center for 

Independent Experts (CIE) review of the 

2014 MHI Deep 7 Bottomfish Stock 

Assessment 

F. NMFS actions on the MHI 

Bottomfish Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) 

G. Public Comment 

H. SSC Discussion and 

Recommendations 

6. Program Planning 

A. National Standards (NS) 

Guidelines Proposed Rule 

B. NOAA Fisheries Draft Climate 

Science Strategy 

C. Report on the National SSC 

Workshop V 

D. Public Comment 

E. SSC Discussion and 

Recommendations 

8:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 11, 2015 

7. Pelagic Fisheries 

A. Hawaii Yellowfin and Bigeye 

Commercial Minimum Size Limit 

1. Public Meetings 

2. Socio-economic studies 

3. Yield per Recruit Analyses 

B. American Samoa Large Vessel 

Prohibited Area (LVPA) changes (Action 

Item) 

C. Territorial Bigeye Specification 

(Action Item) 

D. American Samoa longline U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 

albacore catch limit (Action Item) 

E. Social Capital, Ethnic Diversity, 

and Economic Outcome in Hawaii’s 

Longline Fishery 

E. International Fisheries 

1. WCPFC 11th Regular Session 

F. Public Comment 

G. SSC Discussion and 

Recommendations 

8. Protected Species 

A. Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

Section 7 Consultations for Coral 

Species 

B. Effectiveness of Management 

Measures Implemented under the False 

Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan 

C. Draft 2014 Marine Mammal Stock 

Assessment Reports 

D. False Killer Whale Stock Boundary 

Revision 


Rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES