Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 2014 / Notices 78065 

fishery that account for herring’s role as 

forage in the ecosystem (Amendment 8). 

They will also discuss possible 

cooperative research priorities for any 

research set-aside that may be allocated 

in 2016–18 during the Atlantic herring 

fishery specifications process and 

develop recommendations. The Panel 

plans to review/discuss a draft scoping 

document for an amendment to the 

Herring FMP to consider control rules 

for the Atlantic herring fishery that 

account for herring’s role as forage in 

the ecosystem and develop 

recommendations; They will also 

review/discuss options under 

consideration in the NMFS-led omnibus 

Industry-Funded Monitoring 

Amendment to address observer 

coverage on Atlantic herring vessels and 

develop recommendations. The panel 

will discuss other business as necessary. 

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 

listed in this notice and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the Council’s intent to take 

final action to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

The meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to 

Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, at 

(978) 465–0492, at least 5 days prior to 

the meeting date. 

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

Dated: December 22, 2014. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30305 Filed 12–24–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD663 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Fisheries Research 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

letter of authorization; request for 

comments and information. 

SUMMARY: NMFS’ Office of Protected 

Resources has received a request from 

the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science 

Center (NEFSC) for authorization to take 

small numbers of marine mammals 

incidental to conducting fisheries 

research, over the course of five years 

from the date of issuance. Pursuant to 

regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS 

is announcing receipt of the NEFSC’s 

request under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the 

MMPA for the development and 

implementation of regulations 

governing the incidental taking of 

marine mammals. NMFS invites the 

public to provide information, 

suggestions, and comments on the 

NEFSC’s application and request. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than January 28, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the 

application should be addressed to Jolie 

Harrison, Chief, Permits and 

Conservation Division, Office of 

Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West 

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910– 

3225. The mailbox address for providing 

email comments is ITP.Cody@noaa.gov. 

You must include 0648–XD663 in the 

subject line. NMFS is not responsible 

for email comments sent to addresses 

other than the one provided here. 

Comments sent via email, including all 

attachments, must not exceed a 25- 

megabyte file size. 

Instructions: All submitted comments 

are a part of the public record and 

NMFS will post them to http://

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/

incidental/research.htm without 

change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (for example, name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter may be publicly 

accessible. Do not submit confidential 

business information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeannine Cody, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability 

An electronic copy of the NEFSC’s 

application may be obtained by visiting 

the Internet at: http://

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/

incidental/research.htm. The NEFSC is 

concurrently releasing a draft 

Environmental Assessment, prepared 

pursuant to requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act, for 

the conduct of their fisheries research. 

A copy of the draft EA, which would 

also support our proposed rulemaking 

under the MMPA, is also available at: 

http://nefsc.noaa.gov/rcb/dpea/. 

Background 

Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs the Secretary 

of Commerce (Secretary) to allow, upon 

request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who 

engage in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) if certain findings 

are made and regulations are issued. 

Incidental taking shall be allowed if 

NMFS finds that the taking will have a 

negligible impact on the species or 

stock(s) affected and will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

taking for subsistence uses, and if the 

permissible methods of taking and 

requirements pertaining to the 

mitigation, monitoring and reporting of 

such taking are set forth. 

NMFS has defined ‘‘negligible 

impact’’ in 50 CFR 216.103 as ‘‘an 

impact resulting from the specified 

activity that cannot be reasonably 

expected to, and is not reasonably likely 

to, adversely affect the species or stock 

through effects on annual rates of 

recruitment or survival.’’ Except with 

respect to certain activities not pertinent 

here, the MMPA defines ‘‘harassment’’ 

as: ‘‘Any act of pursuit, torment, or 

annoyance which (i) has the potential to 

injure a marine mammal or marine 

mammal stock in the wild [Level A 

harassment]; or (ii) has the potential to 

disturb a marine mammal or marine 

mammal stock in the wild by causing 

disruption of behavioral patterns, 

including, but not limited to, migration, 

breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or 

sheltering [Level B harassment].’’ 

Summary of Request 

On December 17, 2014, NMFS 

received an application from the NEFSC 

requesting authorization for take of 

marine mammals incidental to fisheries 

research conducted by the NEFSC. The 

requested regulations would be valid for 

five years from the date of issuance. The 

NEFSC plans to conduct fisheries 

research surveys in the Atlantic Ocean 

from the U.S.-Canada border to Florida. 

It is possible that marine mammals may 

interact with fishing gear (e.g., bottom 

and pelagic trawls, dredges, video 

cameras, long lines, and gillnets) used 

in NEFSC’s fisheries research and 

cooperative research projects, resulting 

in injury, serious injury, or mortality. In 

addition, the NEFSC operates active 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
78066 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 2014 / Notices 

acoustic devices that have the potential 

to disturb marine mammals. Because the 

specified activities have the potential to 

take marine mammals present within 

these action areas, the NEFSC requests 

authorization to take multiple species of 

marine mammal that may occur in these 

areas. 

Specified Activities 

The Federal Government has a 

responsibility to conserve and protect 

living marine resources in U.S. federal 

waters and has also entered into a 

number of international agreements and 

treaties related to the management of 

living marine resources in international 

waters outside the United States. NOAA 

has the primary responsibility for 

managing marine fin and shellfish 

species and their habitats, with that 

responsibility delegated within NOAA 

to NMFS. 

In order to direct and coordinate the 

collection of scientific information 

needed to make informed management 

decisions, Congress created six Regional 

Fisheries Science Centers, each a 

distinct organizational entity and the 

scientific focal point within NMFS for 

region-based federal fisheries-related 

research. This research is aimed at 

monitoring fish stock recruitment, 

abundance, survival and biological 

rates, geographic distribution of species 

and stocks, ecosystem process changes, 

and marine ecological research. The 

NEFSC is the research arm of NMFS in 

the Greater Atlantic Region. The NEFSC 

conducts research and provides 

scientific advice to manage fisheries and 

conserve protected species in two 

geographic research areas: Occurs in the 

Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf LME 

but also occurs in the Southeast U.S. 

Continental Shelf LME and Adjacent 

Offshore Areas 

Research is aimed at monitoring fish 

stock recruitment, survival and 

biological rates, abundance and 

geographic distribution of species and 

stocks, and providing other scientific 

information needed to improve our 

understanding of complex marine 

ecological processes. Primary research 

activities include: Bottom trawl surveys 

to support assessments of multiple 

groundfish and shrimp species as well 

as the status of benthic habitats, pelagic 

trawl surveys to assess Atlantic herring 

and Atlantic salmon stocks, dredge and 

video camera surveys to assess scallop 

stocks and habitat recovery, longline 

and gillnet surveys to research life 

history parameters and abundance of 

numerous shark species, and extensive 

cooperative research projects designed 

to address current or emerging 

information needs of the commercial 

fishing industry such as bycatch 

reduction efforts and development of 

new fisheries. Many research activities 

also include active acoustic systems, 

plankton nets, and other oceanographic 

equipment that provide important data 

on the status and trends of marine 

ecosystems important for various 

fisheries and natural resource 

management processes. The NEFSC 

proposes to administer and conduct 

these survey programs over the five-year 

period. Several of these surveys also use 

active acoustic devices. 

A more detailed description of the 

fisheries research conducted by the 

NEFSC may be found in their 

application, which is available at: 

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/

incidental/research.htm. 

Information Solicited 

Interested persons may submit 

information, suggestions, and comments 

concerning the NEFSC’s request (see 

ADDRESSES). NMFS will consider all 

information, suggestions, and comments 

related to the request during the 

development of proposed regulations 

governing the incidental taking of 

marine mammals by the NEFSC, if 

appropriate. 

Dated: December 22, 2014. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30349 Filed 12–22–14; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

COMMITTEE FOR THE 

IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE 

AGREEMENTS 

Determination Under the Textile and 

Apparel Commercial Availability 

Provision of the Dominican RepublicCentral America-United States Free 

Trade Agreement (‘‘CAFTA–DR 

Agreement’’) 

AGENCY: The Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements. 

ACTION: Determination to add a product 

in unrestricted quantities to Annex 3.25 

of the CAFTA–DR Agreement. 

DATES: Effective Date: December 29, 

2014. 

SUMMARY: The Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements 

(‘‘CITA’’) has determined that certain 

100% polyester composite laminated 

fabric, as specified below, is not 

available in commercial quantities in a 

timely manner in the CAFTA–DR 

countries. The product will be added to 

the list in Annex 3.25 of the CAFTA– 

DR Agreement in unrestricted 

quantities. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laurie Mease, Office of Textiles and 

Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

(202) 482–2043. 

For Further Information On-Line: 

http://web.ita.doc.gov/tacgi/ 

CaftaReqTrack.nsf. under ‘‘Approved 

Requests,’’ Reference number: 

194.2014.11.18.Fabric.ST&RforVFCorp 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: The CAFTA–DR Agreement; 

Section 203(o)(4) of the Dominican RepublicCentral America-United States Free Trade 

Agreement Implementation Act (‘‘CAFTA– 

DR Implementation Act’’), Public Law 109– 

53; the Statement of Administrative Action, 

accompanying the CAFTA–DR 

Implementation Act; and Presidential 

Proclamations 7987 (February 28, 2006) and 

7996 (March 31, 2006). 

Background 

The CAFTA–DR Agreement provides 

a list in Annex 3.25 for fabrics, yarns, 

and fibers that the Parties to the 

CAFTA–DR Agreement have 

determined are not available in 

commercial quantities in a timely 

manner in the territory of any Party. The 

CAFTA–DR Agreement provides that 

this list may be modified pursuant to 

Article 3.25(4)-(5), when the President 

of the United States determines that a 

fabric, yarn, or fiber is not available in 

commercial quantities in a timely 

manner in the territory of any Party. See 

Annex 3.25 of the CAFTA–DR 

Agreement; see also section 203(o)(4)(C) 

of the CAFTA–DR Implementation Act. 

The CAFTA–DR Implementation Act 

requires the President to establish 

procedures governing the submission of 

a request and providing opportunity for 

interested entities to submit comments 

and supporting evidence before a 

commercial availability determination is 

made. In Presidential Proclamations 

7987 and 7996, the President delegated 

to CITA the authority under section 

203(o)(4) of CAFTA–DR Implementation 

Act for modifying the Annex 3.25 list. 

Pursuant to this authority, on September 

15, 2008, CITA published modified 

procedures it would follow in 

considering requests to modify the 

Annex 3.25 list of products determined 

to be not commercially available in the 

territory of any Party to CAFTA–DR 

(Modifications to Procedures for 

Considering Requests Under the 

Commercial Availability Provision of 

the Dominican Republic-Central 

America-United States Free Trade 

Agreement, 73 FR 53200) (‘‘CITA’s 

procedures’’). 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES