11844 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 49 / Thursday, March 13, 1997 / Notices

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[ID. 020497A]

Peer Review Panels; Gulf of Mexico

Red Snapper Research

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the U.S. Department of Commerce,

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, National Marine

Fisheries Service, is accepting

nominations from academic institutions,

state fishery management agencies, the

fishing industry, other interested nongovernmental organizations, and the

public for membership on three peer

review panels. The panels are being

convened under section 407(a) of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Act), to review the basis for

management of the red snapper stock in

the Gulf of Mexico.

Three panels of independent experts

will be established to conduct various

parts of the review as required by the

Act. The Statistics Review Panel will

review the accuracy, precision and

adequacy of the commercial,

recreational and charter boat red

snapper catch and effort statistics. The

Economics Review Panel will review

the costs and benefits analyses

conducted in preparation of

Amendment 8 to the Reef Fish Fishery

Management Plan; this will include a

review of all reasonable alternatives to

an individual fishing quota program for

the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of

Mexico. The Science and Management

Review Group will review the scientific

and management basis for managing the

red snapper stock in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Science and Management Review

Panel will be charged with evaluating

the existing scientific information and

management measures for red snapper

in the Gulf of Mexico in toto, and will

include the results from the statistics

and economic reviews. In addition, this

panel will review the results from the

1995 assessment and the independent

assessments currently being conducted,

the appropriateness of the scientific

methods, information, and models used

to assess the status and trends of the red

snapper stock, and the appropriateness

and adequacy of the management

measures in the fishery management

plan for red snapper for conserving and

managing the fishery. Each reviewer

will prepare a report of his/her findings

and recommendations.

DATES: Nominations must be received

by close of business on March 28, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Nominations along with a

listing of background, experience and

credentials are to be submitted to the

Director, Office of Science and

Technology, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

Director, Office of Science and

Technology, at (301) 713–2367.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Act

requires the Secretary of Commerce

(Secretary) to conduct a thorough and

independent evaluation of the scientific

and management basis for conserving

and managing the red snapper fishery in

the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically section

407(a) of the Act requires the Secretary

to, ‘‘initiate an independent peer review

to evaluate: (A) the accuracy and

adequacy of fishery statistics used by

the Secretary for the red snapper fishery

in the Gulf of Mexico to account for all

commercial, recreational, and charter

fishing harvests and fishing effort on the

stock; (B) the appropriateness of the

scientific methods, information, and

models used by the Secretary to assess

the status and trends of the Gulf of

Mexico red snapper stock and as the

basis for the fishery management plan

for the Gulf of Mexico red snapper

fishery; (C) the appropriateness and

adequacy of the management measures

in the fishery management plan for red

snapper in the Gulf of Mexico for

conserving and managing the red

snapper fishery under this Act; and (D)

the costs and benefits of all reasonable

alternatives to an individual fishing

quota program for the red snapper

fishery in the Gulf of Mexico.’’

Any person or organization may

submit nominations for any of the

panels. When submitting nominations,

include the submitting person or

organization’s name and affiliation

along with a detailed listing of each

nominee’s background, experience and

credentials. Nominees for any of the

review panels must have outstanding

scientific or management credentials

relevant to the charge to the panel.

Nominees may be made from

international as well as national

scientific bodies, fishery management

organizations, academia or similar

organizations. Members will be selected

by a panel of senior NMFS scientists in

consultation with appropriate interested

parties.

To avoid conflicts of interest,

nominees who have been directly

involved in the collection, evaluation

and interpretation of information used

in the management of the red snapper

or shrimp fishery in the Gulf of Mexico

or in the management of red the snapper

in the Gulf of Mexico during the last 4

years, who may gain financially from

the outcome of this review, or whose

immediate family, organization or

company may gain financially from the

outcome of these reviews will not be

accepted.

Each review panel will meet one or

two times. At least one of these

meetings will be for the presentation of

information to the panel by scientists,

fishery managers, and fishing industry

representatives; a second meeting may

be necessary to review results of

additional analyses, or to discuss

findings and recommendations. In

addition, the reviewers may caucus by

conference call to discuss review plans

or the result of particular analyses. Each

panel will have five or six members. A

NMFS scientist will serve as a

facilitator/coordinator for the panels.

Format of the Reviews

The reviews will require that each

panel meets for 5 days. The first 2 days

of the reviews will involve scientists

from NMFS, fishery management

agencies, academia and the fishing

industry that have been involved in

research or management of red snapper

in the Gulf of Mexico or as part of the

fishing industry. The final 3 days of the

review will be reserved for panel

deliberations and preliminary report

writing. Following the panel meeting,

the panel will work by correspondence.

A final report will be prepared by each

of the reviewers and submitted to the

Director of the Office of Science and

Technology. Additional meetings may

be necessary to discuss issues arising

during preparation of the panel report.

Statistics Review

The Statistics Review Panel will

consider the accuracy and adequacy of

fishery statistics for the red snapper

fishery in the Gulf of Mexico to account

for all commercial, recreational, and

charter fishing harvests and fishing

effort on the stock. In addition, the

Statistics Review Panel will consider

the collection of information on bycatch

in the shrimp trawl fishery in the Gulf

of Mexico and the estimation of total

bycatch for the shrimp fishery. The

Statistics Review Panel will consider

the current data collection programs

conducted by NMFS and states which

are used in the assessment process

including the cooperative commercial

fisheries statistics program, the Marine

Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey,

the headboat sampling program, the

observer program which collects
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 49 / Thursday, March 13, 1997 / Notices 11845

bycatch information for the shrimp

fishery, fishery independent surveys

and appropriate state sampling

programs such as those conducted by

Texas Parks and Wildlife. The goal of

this review is to examine the fishery

information collection programs in the

Gulf of Mexico which provide the

scientific data for managing the fishery,

setting regulations, determining

allocations and conducting stock

assessments. The report from this

review will be part of the information to

be considered during the Science and

Management Review.

Economics Review

The Economics Review Panel will

consider the data which are available to

conduct economic inquiries and will

review and evaluate the economic

analyses which are currently available

and which contribute to the

understanding of the economic

ramifications of alternative management

strategies for red snapper. The goal of

this review is to examine the analyses

conducted in support of establishing

and individual transferable quota

system for the red snapper fishery and

determine whether the analyses were

sufficient and whether additional

analyses of other alternatives are called

for.

Science and Management Review

The Science and Management Review

Panel will consider all aspects of the

scientific and management basis for

managing the red snapper stock in the

Gulf of Mexico. The review will

consider the appropriateness of the

scientific methods, information, and

models used to assess the status and

trends of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper

stock and their usefulness as the basis

for the fishery management plan for the

Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery, and

the appropriateness and adequacy of the

management measures in the fishery

management plan for red snapper in the

Gulf of Mexico for conserving and

managing the red snapper fishery under

the Act. The goal of this review is to

examine the available scientific data

relating to the status of U.S. Gulf of

Mexico red snapper and determine the

best scientific advice to be derived from

it and to determine whether the

preferred management options are

supported by the scientific advice.

Dated: March 7, 1997.

Charles Karnella,

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–6386 Filed 3–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

[I.D. 030497C]

Marine Mammals; California Sea Lion

Foraging and Predation on Salmonids

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability and

request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the

availability of an Environmental

Assessment (EA) that examines the

environmental consequences of

preventing California sea lion foraging

and predation on salmonids at the

Willamette Falls in Oregon. The

proposed non-lethal removal of

nuisance marine mammals is authorized

under the Marine Mammal Protection

Act (MMPA).

DATES: Comments on the EA must be

received by April 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the EA

should be addressed to William Stelle,

Jr., Administrator, Northwest Region,

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE,

Seattle, WA 98115. Copies of the EA

may be obtained by writing to this

address or by telephoning the contact

listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe

Scordino, 206–526–6143.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

109(h)(1)(C) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C.

1361 et seq.) provides Federal, state, and

local government officials with

authority to take marine mammals in

the course of their official duties. Under

this authority NMFS and Oregon

Department of Fish and Wildlife

(ODFW) may non-lethally remove

California sea lions to prevent them

from preying on salmonids at the

Willamette Falls fish passage facility in

Oregon City, OR.

NMFS has determined that California

sea lions at the Willamette Falls are a

‘‘nuisance’’ because of the vulnerability

of salmonids to predation at this

location, and because Willamette Falls

are 128 miles (205 km) from the lower

Columbia River estuary where

California sea lions normally occur.

Since 1990, California sea lions have

been observed in the lower Willamette

River (between the falls and the

confluence with the Columbia River)

during the winter/spring months from

February to May coinciding with the

spawning migrations of spring chinook

salmon and winter and summer

steelhead, and the downstream

migration of smolts. ODFW has

documented sea lions foraging near the

fishway entrances at the Willamette

Falls fishway in each of the last 4 years

and preying on adult spring chinook

salmon and steelhead. In recent years,

the spring chinook salmon and winter

steelhead populations, which are the

only native salmonid populations above

the falls, have declined, raising

concerns from the public about the

potential effects of sea lions foraging on

salmonids migrating through the

fishway at the Willamette Falls. A

preliminary assessment of this situation

indicates that a few California sea lions

are returning each year to the Falls and

that the number of sea lions involved

may be increasing.

In response to concerns over the

possible impacts of increasing predation

on returning salmonids, NMFS and

ODFW propose to implement a program

of non-lethal removal measures to

prevent sea lion predation at the

Willamette Falls while continuing to

monitor the resource conflict at this site.

The National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) requires that federal agencies

conduct an environmental analysis of

their actions to determine if the actions

may affect the environment.

Accordingly, NMFS jointly prepared

with ODFW an EA that explores the

environmental consequences of three

alternatives: (1) No action; (2) Nonlethal removal of California sea lions

(proposed action); and, (3) Lethal

removal of sea lions foraging at

Willamette Falls. The draft EA was

prepared in accordance with NEPA and

implementing regulations at 40 CFR

Parts 1500 through 1508 and NOAA

guidelines concerning implementation

of NEPA found in NOAA

Administrative Order 216–6.

Dated: March 7, 1997.

Hilda Diaz-Soltero,

Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–6385 Filed 3–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

[I.D. 030597F]

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 (Council) will

convene a public meeting of the

Mackerel Stock Assessment Panel.

DATES: This meeting will begin at 1:00

p.m. on March 31, 1997, and will

conclude by 5:00 p.m. on April 4, 1997.