2144 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2018 / Notices 

considered during this period. Speakers 

who wish to expand upon their oral 

statements, those who had wished to 

speak but could not be accommodated 

on the agenda, and those who were 

unable to attend in person are invited to 

submit written statements to VCAT, 

NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, MS 1060, 

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, via fax at 

301–216–0529 or electronically by email 

to stephanie.shaw@nist.gov. 

All visitors to the NIST site are 

required to pre-register to be admitted. 

Please submit your name, time of 

arrival, email address and phone 

number to Stephanie Shaw by 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern Time, Monday, January 29, 

2018. Non-U.S. citizens must submit 

additional information; please contact 

Ms. Shaw. Ms. Shaw’s email address is 

stephanie.shaw@nist.gov and her phone 

number is 301–975–2667. For 

participants attending in person, please 

note that federal agencies, including 

NIST, can only accept a state-issued 

driver’s license or identification card for 

access to federal facilities if such license 

or identification card is issued by a state 

that is compliant with the REAL ID Act 

of 2005 (Pub. L. 109–13), or by a state 

that has an extension for REAL ID 

compliance. NIST currently accepts 

other forms of federal-issued 

identification in lieu of a state-issued 

driver’s license. For detailed 

information please contact Ms. Shaw at 

301–975–2667 or visit: http://nist.gov/ 

public_affairs/visitor/. 

Kevin Kimball, 

Chief of Staff. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00566 Filed 1–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF946 

New England 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 New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council, NEFMC) 

will hold a two-day meeting to consider 

actions affecting New England fisheries 

in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Tuesday, January 30, and Wednesday, 

January 31, 2018, beginning at 10 a.m. 

on January 30 and 9 a.m. on January 31. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Sheraton Harborside, 250 Market 

Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; 

telephone: (603) 431–2300; online at 

www.sheratonportsmouth.com. 

Council Address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492; 

www.nefmc.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 

New England Fishery Management 

Council; telephone: (978) 465–0492, ext. 

113. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Agenda 

Tuesday, January 30, 2018 

After introductions and brief 

announcements, the meeting will begin 

with reports from the Council Chairman 

and Executive Director, NMFS’s 

Regional Administrator for the Greater 

Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office 

(GARFO), liaisons from the Northeast 

Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and 

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council, representatives from NOAA 

General Counsel and the Office of Law 

Enforcement, and staff from the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission 

(ASMFC) and U.S. Coast Guard. Next, 

the Council will receive an industryfunded monitoring briefing from 

GARFO that includes: (1) An update 

with preliminary results on the agency’s 

electronic monitoring project aboard 

midwater trawl vessels participating in 

the Atlantic herring and mackerel 

fisheries; and (2) information on 

industry-funded monitoring service 

providers. The Skate Committee will 

report next. The Council is expected to 

initiate Framework Adjustment 6 to the 

Northeast Skate Complex Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) to consider 

adjustments to the skate wing 

possession limit. 

After a lunch break, members of the 

public will have the opportunity to 

speak during an open comment period 

on issues that relate to Council business 

but are not included on the published 

agenda for this meeting. The Council 

asks the public to limit remarks to 3–5 

minutes. The Habitat Committee will 

report after the public comment period. 

The Council is scheduled to take final 

action on coral protection measures for 

the continental slope and canyons south 

of Georges Bank in its Omnibus DeepSea Coral Amendment. The Council 

took final action on coral protection 

measures for the Gulf of Maine in June 

of 2017. In other habitat-related 

business, the Council will: (1) Review 

NMFS’s decision on Omnibus Habitat 

Amendment 2 and discuss how it 

relates to the Council’s 2018 habitat 

priorities; and (2) review comments on 

offshore wind projects. The Council 

then will hear from its Research 

Steering Committee and first review and 

possibly approve the committee’s 

recommendations for potential 

improvements to the Council’s research 

priority-setting process. The Council 

also will receive an update on issues 

related to the Northeast Cooperative 

Research Program and be briefed on 

management reviews of completed 

research projects. Following these 

actions, the Council will adjourn for the 

day. 

Wednesday, January 31, 2018 

The second day of the meeting will 

begin with a closed session in order for 

the Council to consult on Scientific and 

Statistical Committee appointments for 

2018–20. The first item of business in 

the open session will be an update on 

the ongoing external review of Council 

operations, known as the Council 

Program Review. Next, the Council will 

receive a report on the latest meeting of 

the Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel and 

discuss several issues related to the 

workings of the panel, including NEFSC 

engagement and previous/future studies 

and projects. This discussion will be 

followed by a National Fish and 

Wildlife Foundation-funded report on 

implementing electronic monitoring in 

New England’s groundfish fishery. The 

Council then will receive a presentation 

on the NEFSC’s ‘‘2007–2015 Final 

Report on the Performance of the 

Northeast Multispecies Fishery,’’ 

followed by the Scientific and Statistical 

Committee’s report, which is centered 

on providing overfishing limit and 

acceptable biological catch 

recommendations for Atlantic halibut to 

the Council. 

Following a lunch break, the Council 

will begin its Groundfish Committee 

report, which will cover recreational 

fishery measures and the Council’s 

Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23. 

On the recreational end, the Council 

will: (1) Provide recommendations to 

GARFO on fishing year 2018 

recreational measures for Gulf of Maine 

cod and haddock; (2) possibly consult 

with GARFO on fishing year 2018 

recreational measures for Georges Bank 

cod; and (3) consider recommending a 

new control date for the party/charter 

fishery. Regarding Amendment 23 to the 

Northeast Multispecies Fishery 

Management Plan, which is focused on 

monitoring in the groundfish fishery, 

the Council will: (1) Receive a progress 

report on the amendment’s 

development; and (2) discuss the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2018 / Notices 2145 

possibility of holding a groundfish 

workshop or establishing a working 

group dedicated to monitoring issues. 

Finally, the Council will close out the 

meeting with ‘‘other business.’’ 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained on this agenda may come 

before the Council for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

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 MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act, provided the public 

has been notified of the Council’s intent 

to take final action to address the 

emergency. The public also should be 

aware that the meeting will be recorded. 

Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy 

of the recording is available upon 

request. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to 

Thomas A. Nies (see ADDRESSES) at least 

5 days prior to the meeting date. 

Dated: January 10, 2018. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00567 Filed 1–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF945 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Take of Anadromous Fish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; applications for one new 

scientific research permit and five 

scientific research permit renewals. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS has received six scientific 

research permit application requests 

relating to Pacific salmon and steelhead. 

The proposed research is intended to 

increase knowledge of species listed 

under the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA) and to help guide management 

and conservation efforts. The 

applications may be viewed online at: 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/ 

preview_open_for_comment.cfm. 

DATES: Comments or requests for a 

public hearing on the applications must 

be received at the appropriate address or 

fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later 

than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on 

February 15, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

applications should be sent to the 

Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 

1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100, 

Portland, OR 97232–1274. Comments 

may also be sent via fax to 503–230– 

5441 or by email to nmfs.nwr.apps@

noaa.gov (include the permit number in 

the subject line of the fax or email). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob 

Clapp, Portland, OR (ph.: 503–231– 

2314), Fax: 503–230–5441, email: 

Robert.Clapp@noaa.gov). Permit 

application instructions are available 

from the address above, or online at 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Species Covered in This Notice 

The following listed species are 

covered in this notice: 

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 

tshawytscha): Endangered upper 

Columbia River (UCR); threatened 

Snake River (SR) spring/summer (spr/ 

sum), threatened SR fall-run. 

Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened 

UCR; threatened SR; threatened middle 

Columbia River (MCR). 

Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): 

Endangered SR. 

Authority 

Scientific research permits are issued 

in accordance with section 10(a)(1)(A) 

of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and 

regulations governing listed fish and 

wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222–226). 

NMFS issues permits based on findings 

that such permits: (1) Are applied for in 

good faith; (2) if granted and exercised, 

would not operate to the disadvantage 

of the listed species that are the subject 

of the permit; and (3) are consistent 

with the purposes and policy of section 

2 of the ESA. The authority to take 

listed species is subject to conditions set 

forth in the permits. 

Anyone requesting a hearing on an 

application listed in this notice should 

set out the specific reasons why a 

hearing on that application would be 

appropriate (see ADDRESSES). Such 

hearings are held at the discretion of the 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

NMFS. 

Applications Received 

Permit 1124–6R 

The IDFG is seeking to renew for five 

years a permit under which they have 

been conducting six research projects in 

the Snake River basin for nearly 20 

years. The permit would continue to 

cover the following actions: One general 

fish population inventory; one project 

designed to monitor fish health 

throughout the state; two projects 

looking at natural and hatchery Chinook 

salmon production (in which sockeye 

may rarely be captured); one project 

monitoring natural steelhead; and one 

project centering on monitoring sockeye 

salmon recovery in Idaho. Much of the 

work being conducted under these 

projects is covered by other ESA 

authorizations; the work contemplated 

here is only the work that portion of the 

research that may affect sockeye salmon. 

The purposes of the research are 

therefore to monitor listed salmonid 

health, help guide sockeye salmon 

recovery operations, and to rescue 

sockeye salmon in need imperiled by 

circumstances such as being trapped by 

low flows. The benefits to the salmon 

would come in the form of information 

to help guide resource managers in 

restoring the listed fish and, as stated, 

in directly rescuing them from peril. 

The fish would be captured by various 

methods—screw traps, electrofishing, 

hook-and-line-angling, mid-water 

trawl—and most captured fish would 

immediately be released. The 

researchers do not intend to kill any of 

the captured fish, but a few may die as 

an inadvertent result of the research. 

Permit 1134–7R 

The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish 

Commission (CRITFC) is seeking to 

renew for five years a permit under 

which they have been conducting 

research for nearly 20 years. The permit 

would continue covering five study 

projects that, among them, would 

annually take adult and juvenile 

threatened SR spring/summer Chinook 

salmon and adult and juvenile 

threatened SR steelhead in the Snake 

River basin. There have been some 

changes in the research over the last ten 

years; nonetheless, the projects 

proposed are largely continuations of 

ongoing research. They are: Project 1— 

Adult Spring/summer and Fall Chinook 

Salmon and Summer Steelhead Ground 

and Aerial Spawning Ground Surveys; 

Project 2—Cryopreservation of Spring/ 

summer Chinook Salmon and Summer 

Steelhead Gametes; Project 3—Adult 

Chinook Salmon Abundance Monitoring 

Using Video Weirs, Acoustic Imaging, 

and passive integrated transponder (PIT) 

tag Detectors in the South Fork Salmon 

River; Project 4—Snorkel, Seine, fyke 

net, Minnow Trap, and Electrofishing 

Surveys and Collection of Juvenile 

Chinook Salmon and Steelhead; and 

Project 5—Juvenile Anadromous 


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