Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 4, 2005 / Notices 57859 

experience or knowledge regarding 

Native Hawaiian subsistence, cultural, 

religious, or other activities in the 

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (Native 

Hawaiian). 

Current Reserve Council 

Representatives and Alternates may reapply for these vacant seats. 

The Council consists of 25 members, 

14 of which are non-government voting 

members (the State of Hawaii 

representative is a voting member) and 

10 of which are government non-voting 

members. The voting members are 

representatives of the following 

constituencies: Conservation, CitizenAt-Large, Ocean-Related Tourism, 

Recreational Fishing, Research, 

Commercial Fishing, Education, State of 

Hawaii and Native Hawaiian. The 

government non-voting seats are 

represented by the following agencies: 

Department of Defense, Department of 

the Interior, Department of State, Marine 

Mammal Commission, NOAA’s 

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale 

National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA’s 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 

National Science Foundation, U.S. Coast 

Guard, Western Pacific Regional Fishery 

Management Council, and NOAA’s 

National Ocean Service. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. Sections 1431, et seq. 

(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog 

Number 11.429 Marine Sanctuary Program) 

Daniel J. Basta, 

Director, National Marine Sanctuary Program, 

National Ocean Service, National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. 05–19764 Filed 10–3–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 092805D] 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Take of Anadromous Fish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit 1517. 

SUMMARY: On July 7, 2005, NMFS’

Northwest Region issued permit 1517 

under authority of the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA), allowing the take of 

threatened species for enhancement of 

survival actions. 

ADDRESSES: The applications and 

related documents are available for 

review during business hours by 

appointment at NMFS’ Washington 

State Branch Office, Habitat 

Conservation Division, 510 Desmond 

Drive SE, Suite 103, Lacy, WA 98503 

(phone: 360–753–9530) 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephanie Ehinger, Lacey, WA (phone: 

360–534–9341, fax: 360–753–9517, email: stephanie.ehinger@noaa.gov); or 

Dan Guy at the same office (phone: 360–

534–9342, email: dan.guy@noaa.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority 

Issuance of permits and permit 

modifications, as required by the ESA of 

1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531–1543), is based on 

a finding that such permits/ 

modifications: (1) are applied for in 

good faith; (2) would not operate to the 

disadvantage of the listed species which 

are the subject of the permits; and (3) 

are consistent with the purposes and 

policies set forth in section 2 of the 

ESA. Scientific research and/or 

enhancement permits are issued under 

Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA are 

issued in accordance with and are 

subject to the ESA and NMFS 

regulations governing listed fish and 

wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222–226). 

Authority to take listed species is 

subject to conditions set forth in the 

permits. 

Species Covered in This Notice 

The following ESA-listed species and 

evolutionary significant units (ESUs) are 

covered in this notice: 

Threatened Lower Columbia River 

(LCR) Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 

tshawytscha) 

Threatened LCR Steelhead (O. mykiss) 

Threatened LCR coho salmon (O. 

kisutch) 

Notice was published on December 

28, 2004 (69 FR 77730) that the Lower 

Columbia Fisheries Enhancement 

Group, a non-profit organization based 

in southwest Washington State, applied 

for an enhancement of survival permit 

under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA. 

NMFS issued permit 1517 on July 7, 

2005, authorizing annual takes of the 

threatened salmonids listed above in 

freshwater areas in Southwest 

Washington. Permit 1517 expires on 

July 10, 2010. 

Dated: September 28, 2005. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–19870 Filed 10–3–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 092705C] 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; 

Amendment 14 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Shrimp 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and 

Amendment 27 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Scoping Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

draft supplemental environmental 

impact statement; notice of scoping 

meetings; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) intends 

to prepare a draft supplemental 

environmental impact statement 

(DSEIS) to describe and analyze 

management alternatives to be included 

in a joint amendment to the Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) for the Shrimp 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Shrimp 

FMP) and the FMP for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Reef 

Fish FMP). These alternatives will 

consider measures to reduce red 

snapper fishing mortality and bycatch in 

the shrimp and reef fish fisheries. The 

purpose of this notice of intent is to 

solicit public comments on the scope of 

issues to be addressed in the DSEIS. 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of issues to be addressed in the DSEIS 

must be received by the Council by 

November 3, 2005. A series of scoping 

meetings will be held in October 2005. 

See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 

specific dates and times. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

scope of the DSEIS, and requests for 

additional information on the joint 

amendment, should be sent to the Gulf 

of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 

2203 North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, 

Tampa, FL 33607; phone: 813–348–

1630; fax: 813–348–1711. Comments 

may also be sent by e-mail to: 

rick.leard@gulfcouncil.org. 

The locations of all scoping meetings 

are provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick 

Leard by phone: 813–348–1630, by fax: 

813–348–1711, or by e-mail: 

rick.leard@gulfcouncil.org. 

57860 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 4, 2005 / Notices 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Shrimp 

and reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico are 

managed under their respective FMPs. 

Both fisheries contribute to fishing 

mortality of red snapper. 

Age 0 and Age 1 red snapper are taken 

by shrimp trawls, and Age 2 and older 

red snapper are caught in the directed 

commercial and recreational red 

snapper fishery. Because red snapper 

are overfished and are undergoing 

overfishing, reducing fishing mortality 

on these younger age classes is needed 

to help rebuild the stock. Actions to 

reduce bycatch of red snapper are 

anticipated to reduce bycatch fishing 

mortality for other reef fish species as 

well. 

The Council will develop a DSEIS to 

describe and analyze management 

alternatives to reduce bycatch fishing 

mortality in the shrimp and reef fish 

fisheries. Those alternatives include, but 

are not limited to: (1) a ‘‘no action’’

alternative regarding each fishery; (2) 

alternatives to reduce bycatch in the 

directed reef fish fishery, such as 

changes to the size limits or bag limits, 

the use of circle hooks, or closed 

seasons; (3) alternatives to reduce reef 

fish bycatch in the shrimp fishery, such 

as season or area closures; and (4) 

alternatives to reduce and monitor effort 

in the shrimp fishery. 

In accordance with NOAA 

Administrative Order (NAO) 216–6, 

Section 5.02(c), the Council has 

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. 

The Council has scheduled the 

following eight scoping meetings to 

provide the opportunity for additional 

public input: 

1. Thursday, October 13, 2005, 

DoubleTree Grand Key Resort, 3990 

South Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, 

FL 33040, phone: 888–310–1540; 

2. Monday, October 17, 2005, 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, 

Panama City, FL 32408, phone: 850–

234–6541; 

3. Tuesday, October 18, 2005, Hilton 

Garden Inn Orange Beach, 23092 

Perdido Beach Boulevard, Orange 

Beach, AL 36561, phone: 251–974–

1600; 

4. Wednesday, October 19, 2005, 

Tampa Marriott Westshore, 1001 North 

Westshore Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33607, 

phone: 813–287–2555; 

5. Monday, October 24, 2005, Four 

Points by Sheraton, 3777 North 

Expressway, Brownsville, TX 78520, 

phone: 956–547–1500; 

6. Tuesday, October 25, 2005, 

University of Texas Marine Science 

Institute Auditorium, 750 Channel View 

Drive, Port Aransas, TX 78373, phone: 

361–749–6711; 

7. Wednesday, October 26, 2005, 

Holiday Inn Galveston, 5002 Seawall 

Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77550, phone: 

409–740–3581; and 

8. Thursday, October 27, 2005, 

Louisiana State University Agricultural 

Center Office, 7101 Gulf Highway, Lake 

Charles, LA 70607, phone: 337–475–

8812. 

Copies of the scoping document will 

be available at the meetings and are 

available prior to the meetings from the 

Council office (see ADDRESSES). 

All scoping meetings will begin at 6 

p.m. The meetings will be physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Rick Leard at the 

Council (see ADDRESSES) by October 6, 

2005. 

Once the Council completes the 

DSEIS associated with the joint 

amendment to the Shrimp and Reef Fish 

FMPs, it will submit the document to 

NMFS for filing with the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA will 

publish a notice of availability of the 

DSEIS for public comment in the 

Federal Register. The DSEIS 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 NAO 216–

6 regarding NOAA’s compliance with 

NEPA and the CEQ regulations. 

The Council will consider public 

comments received on the DSEIS in 

developing the final supplemental 

environmental impact statement (FSEIS) 

and before adopting final management 

measures for the joint amendment. The 

Council will submit both the final 

amendment and the supporting FSEIS to 

NMFS for review by the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. 

NMFS will announce, through a 

document 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 FSEIS 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 

document published in the Federal 

Register, all public comment periods on 

the final joint amendment, its proposed 

implementing regulations, and its 

associated FSEIS. NMFS will consider 

all public comments received during the 

Secretarial review period, whether they 

are on the final amendment, the 

proposed regulations, or the FSEIS, 

prior to final agency action. 

Dated: September 28, 2005. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–19868 Filed 10–3–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 092805F] 

Notice of Additional Public Scoping 

Meeting Related to the Makah Tribe’s 

Continuation of Treaty Right Hunting 

of Gray Whales 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; scoping meeting. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intent to 

conduct an additional public scoping 

meeting to gather information to prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 

related to the Makah Tribe’s request that 

NMFS waive the take moratorium of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA) to allow for treaty right 

hunting of eastern North Pacific gray 

whales in usual and accustomed 

grounds off the coast of Washington 

State. This notice briefly describes the 

background of the Makah’s request for 

waiver; gives the date, time, and 

location of the additional public scoping 

meeting; and identifies a set of 

preliminary alternatives. 

DATES: The additional public scoping 

meeting is scheduled in the 

Washington, D.C. area (Silver Spring, 

MD) for October 18, 2005, 10 am - 1 pm. 

Prospective attendees must register for 

the scoping meeting not later than 4 pm 

EDT, October 14, 2005. 

In addition to the meeting, written or 

electronic comments from all interested 

parties are encouraged and must be 

received no later than 5 p.m. PDT 

October 24, 2005.