17818 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 73 / Friday, April 17, 2009 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–AX82 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; 

Amendment 2 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Queen Conch 

Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands and Amendment 5 to the 

Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan of 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

draft environmental impact statement 

(DEIS); scoping meetings; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery 

Management Council (Council) and 

NMFS intend to prepare a DEIS to 

describe and analyze management 

alternatives to be included in an 

amendment to the Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) for the Queen Conch Fishery 

of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands and the FMP for the Reef Fish 

Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands. These alternatives will 

consider measures to implement annual 

catch limits (ACLs), accountability 

measures (AMs), permits, and 

recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements. The purpose of this notice 

of intent is to solicit public comments 

on the scope of issues to be addressed 

in the DEIS. 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of issues to be addressed in the DEIS 

must be received by the Council by May 

18, 2009. A series of scoping meetings 

will be held in April 2009. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below for 

the specific dates, times, and locations 

of the scoping meetings. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

scope of the DEIS and requests for 

additional information on the 

amendments should be sent to NMFS, 

263 13th Avenue South, Saint 

Petersburg, Florida 33701; telephone 

727–824–5350; fax 727–825–5308; or to 

the Caribbean Fishery Management 

Council, 268 Mun ̃ oz Rivera Avenue, 

Suite 1108, San Juan, Puerto Rico 

00918; telephone 787–766–5927; fax 

787–766–6239. Comments may also be 

sent by e-mail to Jason.Rueter@noaa.gov 

or Graciela.Garcia-Moliner@noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason Rueter, phone 727–824–5305; fax 

727–824–5308; email 

Jason.Rueter@noaa.gov; or Graciela 

Garcia-Moliner, phone 787–766–5927; 

fax 787–766–6239; e-mail 

Graciela.Garcia-Moliner@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 12, 2007, Congress amended the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(MSA) with passage of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Reauthorization Act 

(MSRA). While maintaining the 

requirement that ‘‘conservation and 

management measures shall prevent 

overfishing while achieving, on a 

continuing basis, the optimum yield 

from each fishery for the United States 

fishing industry,’’ the MSRA added new 

requirements to end and prevent 

overfishing. The new requirement is the 

use of ACLs, including ‘‘measures to 

ensure accountability.’’ 

Specifically, the MSRA requires that 

FMPs ‘‘establish a mechanism for 

specifying annual catch limits in the 

plan (including a multiyear plan), 

implementing regulations, or annual 

specifications, at a level such that 

overfishing does not occur in the 

fishery, including measures to ensure 

accountability’’ (MSRA Section 

303(a)(15)). Further, the MSRA requires 

such measures be implemented by 2010 

for fisheries determined by the Secretary 

of Commerce (Secretary) to be subject to 

overfishing and by 2011 for all other 

fisheries. 

Currently, there are five species or 

species groups undergoing overfishing 

in the U.S. Caribbean. These groups are: 

Queen Conch (Strombus gigas), 

Parrotfish, Grouper Unit 1 (Nassau 

grouper), Grouper Unit 4 (tiger, 

yellowfin, red, misty, and yellowedge 

grouper), and Snapper Unit 1 (black, 

blackfin, silk, and vermilion snapper). 

These determinations were made during 

development of the Council’s 

Sustainable Fisheries Act Amendment 

(SFA), as no stock assessments had yet 

been able to determine stock status in 

the U.S. Caribbean. These 

determinations were based on the 

informed judgment of those involved in 

the SFA working group, which included 

Federal, state, and local managers, 

scientists, and constituents. 

In an effort to set ACLs for these 

species and species groups, the Council, 

based on advice from its Scientific and 

Statistical Committee (SSC), convened a 

Technical Monitoring and Compliance 

Team (TMCT), whose task was to 

identify available data in the U.S. 

Caribbean and to recommend the 

appropriate data set to a second group, 

the Annual Catch Limit Group (ACLG). 

The ACLG, which was similar to the 

SFA working group, consisted of 

Federal, state, and local managers, 

scientists, and constituents. The ACLG 

was tasked to analyze the available data 

and make recommendations for required 

provisions of the National Standard 1 

(NS1) Guidelines to the SSC. 

Concurrent with the work of these 

groups, the Southeast Data, Assessment, 

and Review (SEDAR) process convened 

to evaluate all available data in the U.S. 

Caribbean in support of ACL 

development. The SEDAR findings, 

along with those of the ACLG were 

presented to the SSC for development of 

overfishing limits (OFL) and allowable 

biological catch (ABC) limits, as 

required by the NS1 guidelines (74 FR 

3178). The SSC accepted eight scenarios 

for evaluation of available data 

developed by the ACLG. Each species or 

species group was examined via the 

scenario process and appropriate 

scientific advice was provided based on 

the outcome of the scenario. For the 

species and species groups listed above, 

the SSC determined no OFL or ABC 

could be provided. Therefore, the SSC 

could not refute the catch level 

recommendations of the ACLG which 

were derived from average annual 

landings in recent years (NOTE: use of 

the appropriate ‘‘recent years’’ was 

based on a case-by-case basis for each of 

the species and species groups). 

In addition to providing advice on the 

provisions of the NS1 guidelines, the 

ACLG and SEDAR groups recommended 

modifications to stock complexes within 

the Council’s fishery management units. 

These recommendations were 

developed based on the empirical 

landings data, biological characteristics 

of the species involved, and discussion 

with fishermen. The SSC agreed with 

these recommendations and also 

developed their own recommendation 

to divide the Parrotfish group into two 

separate units. Specific reorganization 

recommendations will be evaluated in 

the management alternatives section. 

The Council will develop a DEIS to 

describe and analyze management 

alternatives to implement ACLs, AMs, 

permits, and recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. The amendment 

will provide updates to the best 

available scientific information 

regarding the species and species groups 

listed, and based on the information, the 

Councils will determine what actions 

and alternatives are necessary to meet 

the statutory requirements for these 

stocks by 2010. Those alternatives may 

include, but are not limited to: a ‘‘no 

action’’ alternative regarding the fishery; 

alternatives to implement ACLs based 

on varying approaches; alternatives to 

establish a permitting system; and 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 73 / Friday, April 17, 2009 / Notices 17819 

alternatives to establish new 

recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements. 

In accordance with NOAA’s 

Administrative Order NAO 216–6, 

Section 5.02(c), the Council and NMFS 

have identified this preliminary range of 

alternatives as a means to initiate 

discussion for scoping purposes only. 

This may not represent the full range of 

alternatives that eventually will be 

evaluated by the Council and NMFS. 

Once the Council and NMFS 

complete the DEIS associated with the 

Amendments to the FMP for the Queen 

Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands and the FMP for the 

Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands, it must be approved 

by a majority of the voting members, 

present and voting, of the Council. After 

the Council approves this document, the 

DEIS and associated amendments will 

be submitted to NMFS for filing with 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA). The EPA will publish a notice of 

availability of the DEIS for public 

comment in the Federal Register. The 

DEIS will have a 45-day comment 

period. This procedure is pursuant to 

regulations issued by the Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA; 40 CFR parts 1500–1508) 

and to NOAA’s Administrative Order 

216–6 regarding NOAA’s compliance 

with NEPA and the CEQ regulations. 

The Council and NMFS will consider 

public comments received on the DEIS 

in developing the final environmental 

impact statement (FEIS) and before 

adopting final management measures for 

the amendment. The Council will 

submit both the final joint amendment 

and the supporting FEIS to NMFS for 

review by the Secretary under the MSA. 

NMFS will announce, through a 

notice published in the Federal 

Register, the availability of the final 

joint amendment for public review 

during the Secretarial review period. 

During Secretarial review, NMFS will 

also file the FEIS with the EPA for a 

final 30-day public comment period. 

This comment period will be concurrent 

with the Secretarial review period and 

will end prior to final agency action to 

approve, disapprove, or partially 

approve the final joint amendment. 

NMFS will announce, through a 

notice published in the Federal 

Register, all public comment periods on 

the final joint amendment, its proposed 

implementing regulations, and its 

associated FEIS. NMFS will consider all 

public comments received during the 

Secretarial review period, whether they 

are on the final amendment, the 

proposed regulations, or the FEIS, prior 

to final agency action. 

Scoping Meeting Dates, Times, and 

Locations 

All scoping meetings are scheduled to 

be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The 

meetings will be physically accessible to 

people with disabilities. Request for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to the 

Council (see ADDRESSES). 

April 27–Doubletree by Hilton San 

Juan, De Diego Avenue, San Juan, 

Puerto Rico. 

April 28–Holiday Inn and Tropical 

Casino Ponce, 3315 Ponce By Pass, 

Ponce, Puerto Rico. 

April 29–Salon B, Centro de Usos 

Multiples, Doctor Lopez and Celis 

Aguilera Street, Fajardo, Puerto Rico. 

May 4–Mayaguez Resort and Casino, 

Road 104, Km. 0.3, Mayaguez, Puerto 

Rico. 

May 6–Community Center, 

Frenchtown, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin 

Islands. 

May 7–The Florence Williams Public 

Library, 1122 King Street, Christiansted, 

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. 

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

Dated: April 10, 2009 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–8888 Filed 4–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

Notice of Inventions Available for 

Licensing 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of inventions available 

for licensing. 

SUMMARY: The inventions listed below 

are owned in whole or in part by the 

U.S. Government, as represented by the 

Secretary of Commerce. The U.S. 

Government’s interest in these 

inventions is available for licensing in 

accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 and 37 

CFR part 404 to achieve expeditious 

commercialization of results of federally 

funded research and development. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Technical and licensing information on 

these inventions may be obtained by 

writing to: National Institute of 

Standards and Technology, Office of 

Technology Partnerships, Attn: Mary 

Clague, Building 222, Room A240, 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Information is 

also available via telephone: 301–975– 

4188, fax 301–975–3482, or e-mail: 

mary.clague@nist.gov. Any request for 

information should include the NIST 

Docket number and title for the 

invention as indicated below. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NIST may 

enter into a Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreement (‘‘CRADA’’) 

with the licensee to perform further 

research on the invention for purposes 

of commercialization. The inventions 

available for licensing are: 

[NIST Docket Number: 06–003] 

Title: Zeroeth Order Imaging. 

Abstract: The invention provides a 

method of imaging critical dimensions 

by measuring the zeroeth order of 

diffracted light. The method involves 

providing a target, directing light onto 

the target so as to cause the target to 

diffract the light. The zeroeth order of 

the diffracted light is collected and 

analyzed to determine structural 

features of the target. The target can be 

an article of manufacture, such as a 

semiconductor device, or a separate 

target that is provided or fabricated on 

an article of manufacture. One of at least 

the wavelength and the angle at which 

the light is directed onto the target can 

be scanned. The target can fill all or 

only a portion of the field of view. 

[NIST Docket Number: 08–013] 

Title: The Microfluidic Palette: 

Generation of Multiple Chemical 

Gradients Within a Microfluidic 

Chamber. 

Abstract: This invention is jointly 

owned with KT Consulting, Inc. The 

invention is a microfluidic device, 

capable of generating multiple spatial 

chemical gradients simultaneously 

inside a microfluidic chamber. The 

chemical gradients are generated by 

diffusion, without convection, and can 

either be maintained constant over long 

time periods, or modified dynamically. 

A representative device is described 

with a circular chamber in which 

diffusion occurs, with three access ports 

for the delivery and removal of solutes. 

A gradient typically forms in minutes, 

and can be maintained constant 

indefinitely. The device can also be 

used to evaluate chemotactic responses 

of bacteria or other microorganisms in 

the absence of convective flow. 

[NIST Docket Number: 08–033] 

Title: A New Technique for 

Combinational Circuit Optimization and 

a New Circuit for the S-box of AES. 

Abstract: This invention is jointly 

owned with the University of Southern 

Denmark. The invention provides a new 

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