Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2018 / Notices 2963 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF964 

Fisheries of the South Atlantic; South 

Atlantic Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Announcement of meetings of 

the South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council’s Citizen Science Advisory 

Panel Finance and Infrastructure Action 

Team. 

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold a series of meetings of its Citizen 

Science Advisory Panel Finance and 

Infrastructure Action Team via webinar. 

DATES: The meeting via webinar will be 

held every other week on Wednesday at 

1 p.m. starting February 7, 2018. The 

schedule of meetings is Wednesday, 

February 7; February 21; March 7; 

March 21; April 4; April 18; May 2; May 

16; and May 30, 2018. All of the 

meetings will start at 1 p.m. and are 

scheduled to last approximately 90 

minutes each. Additional Action Team 

meetings and plenary webinar dates and 

times will publish in a subsequent issue 

in the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: 

Meeting address: The meetings will be 

held via webinar and are open to 

members of the public. Webinar 

registration is required and registration 

links will be posted to the Citizen 

Science program page of the Council’s 

website at www.safmc.net. 

Council address: South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, 4055 

Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N 

Charleston, SC 29405. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amber Von Harten, Citizen Science 

Program Manager, SAFMC; phone: (843) 

302–8433 or toll free: (866) SAFMC–10; 

fax: (843) 769–4520; email: 

amber.vonharten@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Council’s Citizen Science Finance and 

Infrastructure Action Team will meet 

every other week on Wednesday at 1 

p.m. 

The South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) created 

a Citizen Science Advisory Panel Pool 

in June 2017. The Council appointed 

members of the Citizen Science 

Advisory Panel Pool to five Action 

Teams in the areas of Volunteers, Data 

Management, Projects/Topics 

Management, Finance and 

Infrastructure, and Communication/ 

Outreach/Education to develop program 

policies and operations for the Council’s 

Citizen Science Program. 

The Finance and Infrastructure Action 

Team will meet to continue work on 

developing recommendations on 

program policies and operations to be 

reviewed by the Council’s Citizen 

Science Committee. Public comment 

will be accepted at the beginning of the 

meeting. 

Items to be addressed during these 

meetings: 

1. Discuss work on tasks in the Terms 

of Reference 

2. Other Business 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for auxiliary aids should be 

directed to the Council office (see 

ADDRESSES) 3 days prior to the meeting. 

Note: The times and sequence specified in 

this agenda are subject to change. 

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

Dated: January 17, 2018. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–01003 Filed 1–19–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF911 

Fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Southeast Data, Assessment and 

Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of SEDAR 51 Review 

Workshop for Gulf of Mexico Gray 

Snapper. 

SUMMARY: The SEDAR 51 assessment of 

the Gulf of Mexico Gray Snapper will 

consist of: A Data Workshop; an 

assessment workshop and series of 

Assessment webinars; and a Review 

Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

DATES: The SEDAR 51 Review 

Workshop will be held from 9 a.m. on 

February 13, 2018 until 5 p.m. on 

February 15, 2018. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: 

Meeting address: The SEDAR 51 

Review Workshop will be held at the 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council Office, 2203 N. Lois Ave., Suite 

1100, Tampa, FL 33607. 

SEDAR address: 4055 Faber Place 

Drive, Suite 201, N Charleston, SC 

29405. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie 

Neer, SEDAR Coordinator; phone: (843) 

571–4366 or toll free (866) SAFMC–10; 

fax: (843) 769–4520; email: Julie.neer@

safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

of Mexico, South Atlantic, and 

Caribbean Fishery Management 

Councils, in conjunction with NOAA 

Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf 

States Marine Fisheries Commissions 

have implemented the Southeast Data, 

Assessment and Review (SEDAR) 

process, a multi-step method for 

determining the status of fish stocks in 

the Southeast Region. SEDAR is a threestep process including: (1) Data 

Workshop; (2) Assessment Process 

utilizing workshops and webinars; and 

(3) Review Workshop. The product of 

the Data Workshop is a data report, 

which compiles and evaluates potential 

datasets and recommends which 

datasets are appropriate for assessment 

analyses. The product of the Assessment 

Process is a stock assessment report, 

which describes the fisheries, evaluates 

the status of the stock, estimates 

biological benchmarks, projects future 

population conditions, and recommends 

research and monitoring needs. The 

assessment is independently peer 

reviewed at the Review Workshop. The 

product of the Review Workshop is a 

Summary documenting panel opinions 

regarding the strengths and weaknesses 

of the stock assessment and input data. 

Participants for SEDAR Workshops are 

appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South 

Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery 

Management Councils and NOAA 

Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, 

HMS Management Division, and 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center. 

Participants include: Data collectors and 

database managers; stock assessment 

scientists, biologists, and researchers; 

constituency representatives including 

fishermen, environmentalists, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); 

international experts; and staff of 

Councils, Commissions, and state and 

federal agencies. 

The items of discussion in the Review 

Workshop agenda are as follows: 

The Review Panel participants will 

review the stock assessment reports to 

determine if they are scientifically 

sound. 


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2964 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2018 / Notices 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during this meeting. Action will 

be restricted to those issues specifically 

identified in this notice and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the intent to take final action 

to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for auxiliary aids should be 

directed to the council office (see 

ADDRESSES) at least 10 days prior to the 

meeting. 

Note: The times and sequence specified in 

this agenda are subject to change. 

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

Dated: January 17, 2018. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–01001 Filed 1–19–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF878 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish of the 

Gulf of Alaska; Central Gulf of Alaska 

Rockfish Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of standard prices 

and fee percentage. 

SUMMARY: NMFS publishes the standard 

ex-vessel prices and fee percentage for 

cost recovery under the Central Gulf of 

Alaska Rockfish Program. This action is 

intended to provide participants in a 

rockfish cooperative with the standard 

prices and fee percentage for the 2017 

fishing year, which was authorized from 

May 1 through November 15. The fee 

percentage is 2.04 percent. The fee 

payments are due from each rockfish 

cooperative on or before February 15, 

2018. 

DATES: Valid on: January 22, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl 

Greene, 907–586–7105. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The rockfish fisheries are conducted 

in Federal waters near Kodiak, AK, by 

trawl and longline vessels. Regulations 

implementing the Central Gulf of Alaska 

(GOA) Rockfish Program (Rockfish 

Program) are set forth at 50 CFR part 

679. Exclusive harvesting privileges are 

allocated as quota share under the 

Rockfish Program for rockfish primary 

and secondary species. Each year, 

NMFS issues rockfish primary and 

secondary species cooperative quota 

(CQ) to rockfish quota share holders to 

authorize harvest of these species. The 

rockfish primary species are northern 

rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and dusky 

rockfish. In 2012, dusky rockfish 

replaced the pelagic shelf rockfish 

species group in the GOA Groundfish 

Harvest Specifications (77 FR 15194, 

March 14, 2012). The rockfish 

secondary species include Pacific cod, 

rougheye rockfish, shortraker rockfish, 

sablefish, and thornyhead rockfish. 

Rockfish cooperatives began fishing 

under the Rockfish Program on May 1, 

2012. 

The Rockfish Program is a limited 

access privilege program established 

under the provisions of section 303A of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). Sections 303A 

and 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

require NMFS to collect fees to recover 

the actual costs directly related to the 

management, data collection and 

analysis, and enforcement of any 

limited access privilege program. 

Therefore, NMFS is required to collect 

fees for the Rockfish Program under 

sections 303A and 304(d)(2) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. Section 

304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

also limits the cost recovery fee so that 

it may not exceed 3 percent of the exvessel value of the fish harvested under 

the Rockfish Program. 

Standard Prices 

NMFS calculates cost recovery fees 

based on standard ex-vessel value 

prices, rather than actual price data 

provided by each rockfish CQ holder. 

Use of standard ex-vessel prices is 

allowed under sections 303A and 

304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

NMFS generates a standard ex-vessel 

price for each rockfish primary and 

secondary species on a monthly basis to 

determine the average price paid per 

pound for all shoreside processors 

receiving rockfish primary and 

secondary species CQ. 

Regulations at § 679.85(b)(2) require 

the Regional Administrator to publish 

rockfish standard ex-vessel values 

during the first quarter of each calendar 

year. The standard prices are described 

in U.S. dollars per pound for rockfish 

primary and secondary species CQ 

landings made during the previous year. 

Fee Percentage 

NMFS assesses a fee on the standard 

ex-vessel value of rockfish primary 

species and rockfish secondary species 

CQ harvested by rockfish cooperatives 

in the Central GOA and waters adjacent 

to the Central GOA when rockfish 

primary species caught by a cooperative 

are deducted from the Federal total 

allowable catch. The rockfish entry level 

longline fishery and trawl vessels that 

opt out of joining a cooperative are not 

subject to cost recovery fees because 

those participants do not receive 

rockfish CQ. Specific details on the 

Rockfish Program’s cost recovery 

provision may be found in the 

implementing regulations set forth at 

§ 679.85. 

NMFS informs—by letter—each 

rockfish cooperative of the fee 

percentage applied to the previous 

year’s landings and the total amount 

due. Fees are due on or before February 

15 of each year. Failure to pay on time 

will result in the permit holder’s 

rockfish quota share becoming nontransferable, and the person will be 

ineligible to receive any additional 

rockfish quota share by transfer. In 

addition, cooperative members will not 

receive any rockfish CQ the following 

year until full payment of the fee is 

received by NMFS. 

NMFS calculates and publishes in the 

Federal Register the fee percentage in 

the first quarter of each year according 

to the factors and methods described in 

Federal regulations at § 679.85(c)(2). 

NMFS determines the fee percentage 

that applies to landings made in the 

previous year by dividing the total 

Rockfish Program management, data 

collection and analysis, and 

enforcement costs (direct program costs) 

during the previous year by the total 

standard ex-vessel value of the rockfish 

primary species and rockfish secondary 

species for all rockfish CQ landings 

made during the previous year (fishery 

value). NMFS captures the direct 

program costs through an established 

accounting system that allows staff to 

track labor, travel, contracts, rent, and 

procurement. Fee collections in any 

given year may be less than, or greater 

than, the direct program costs and 

fishery value for that year, because, by 

regulation, the fee percentage is 

established in the first quarter of the 

calendar year based on the program 


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