Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 89 / Monday, May 11, 2009 / Notices 21785 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Paul J. Howard 

(see ADDRESSES), at least 5 working days 

prior to the meeting date. 

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

Dated: May 5, 2009. 

William D. Chappell, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–10838 Filed 5–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN: 0648–XP09 

New England Fishery Management 

Council; Public Hearings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public hearings. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold five public hearings to solicit 

Public comments on Draft Amendment 

16 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP). 

DATES: Written public comments must 

be received on or before 5 p.m. EST, 

June 8, 2009. The meetings will be held 

in May and June, 2009. For specific 

dates and times, see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: The Public document can 

be obtained by contacting the New 

England Fishery Management Council, 

50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, 

MA 01950. 

Meeting addresses: The meetings will 

be held in Wakefield, MA, Portsmouth, 

NH, Portland, ME, New London, CT, 

and So. Kingstown, RI. For specific 

locations, see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

Public comments: Mail to Patricia A. 

Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 

Northeast Regional Office,55 Great 

Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Mark the outside of the envelope ‘‘DEIS 

for Amendment 16 to the Northeast 

Multispecies FMP’’. Comments may also 

be sent via fax to (978) 281–9207 or 

submitted via e-mail to 

multsamendment16@noaa.gov with 

‘‘DIES for Amendment 16 to the 

Northeast Multispecies FMP’’ in the 

subject line. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

agendas for the following six hearings 

are as follows: New England Fishery 

Management Council staff will brief the 

public on the herring amendments and 

the contents of the draft environmental 

impact statement (DEIS) prior to 

opening the hearing for public 

comments and the schedules are as 

follows: 

Public Hearings: Locations, Schedules, 

and Agendas 

1. Tuesday, May 26, 2009, from 5:30– 

9 p.m.; Sheraton Colonial, One 

Audubon Road, Wakefield, MA 01880; 

telephone: (781) 245–9300. 

2. Wednesday, May 27, 2009, from 6– 

9 p.m.; Sheraton Harborside, 250 Market 

Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; 

telephone: (603) 431–2300. 

3. Thursday, May 28, 2009, from 5–8 

p.m.; Holiday Inn By the Bay, 88 Spring 

Street, Portland, ME 04101; telephone: 

(207) 775–2311. 

4. Monday, June 1, 2009, from 1–3:30 

p.m.; Radisson, 35 Governor Winthrop 

Blvd., New London, CT 06320; 

telephone: (860) 443–7000. 

5. Monday, June 1, 2009 from 6–9 

p.m.; Holiday Inn, 3009 Tower Hill 

Road, So. Kingstown, RI 02674; 

telephone: (401) 789–1051. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Paul J. Howard 

(see ADDRESSES), at least 5 working days 

prior to the meeting date. 

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

Dated: May 5, 2009. 

William D. Chappell, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–10837 Filed 5–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN: 0648–XP08 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; Public Hearings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public hearings. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

convene public hearings on Reef Fish 

Amendment 31. 

DATES: The public hearings will be held 

on May 26, 2009 through June 8, 2009 

at six locations throughout the Gulf of 

Mexico. For specific dates, times and 

subjects, see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: The public hearings will be 

held in the following locations: Madeira 

Beach, Marathon and Panama City, FL, 

Biloxi, MS, LaMarque, TX, Galliano, LA. 

For specific locations, SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

Council address: Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council, 2203 

North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, 

FL 33607. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Carrie Simmons, Fishery Biologist; Gulf 

of Mexico Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (813) 348–1630. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

of Mexico Fishery Management Council 

(Council) has scheduled six public 

hearings on Amendment 31 to the Reef 

Fish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 

that addresses bycatch of hardshell sea 

turtles in the Gulf of Mexico bottom 

longline reef fish fishery. The Council 

operates under mandates to minimize 

bycatch to the extent practicable and to 

protect endangered and threatened 

species. National Standard 9 of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), requires that 

conservation and management measures 

shall, to the extent practicable, (A) 

minimize bycatch and (B) to the extent 

bycatch cannot be avoided, minimize 

the morality of such bycatch. The 

bycatch reduction and monitoring 

requirements in the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act apply to a broad range of living 

marine species, including sea turtles. 

Observer data from the Southeast 

Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) 

indicated a high level of bycatch in the 

bottom longline component of the 

fishery, which exceed the anticipated 

take in the 2005 Biological Opinion. In 

September 2008, NMFS released an 

observer report that examined sea turtle 

takes by the bottom longline reef fish 

fishery from July 2006 through 2007. In 

April 2009 an updated report from the 

SEFSC was published with information 

collected in 2008 based on revised effort 

and observer data. 

The Council is considering a range of 

actions and alternatives outlined in 

Public Hearing draft of Amendment 31 

to the Reef Fish FMP to mitigate 

21786 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 89 / Monday, May 11, 2009 / Notices 

hardshell sea turtle interactions with 

bottom longline gear. The Council 

selected Preferred Actions and 

Alternatives at their April 2009 Council 

meeting. The public is encouraged to 

attend and provide suggestions and 

input, which will be relayed back to the 

Council before final action. The Council 

is holding six public hearings at the 

following locations throughout the Gulf 

coast. 

These public hearings will begin at 6 

p.m. and conclude at the end of public 

testimony or no later than 9 p.m. at the 

following location: 

•Tuesday, May 26, 2009, Travelodge, 

5201 Gulf Freeway, LaMarque, TX 

77568, telephone: (409) 986–9777; 

•Wednesday, May 27, 2009, Hilton 

Garden Inn, 1101 US Highway 231, 

Panama City, FL 32405, telephone: (850) 

392–1093; 

•Wednesday, May 27, 2009, South 

Lafourche Levee District, 17904 Hwy 

3235, Galliano, LA 70354, telephone: 

(985) 632–7554; 

•Thursday, May 28, 2009, Wingate 

Inn, 12009 Indian River Road, Biloxi, 

MS 39540, telephone: (228) 396–0036; 

•Monday, June 8, 2009, Banana Bay 

Resort, 4590 Overseas Highway, 

Marathon, FL 33050, telephone: (305) 

743–3500. 

This public hearing will begin at 6:30 

p.m. and conclude at the end of public 

testimony or no later than 9:30 p.m. at 

the following location: 

•Thursday, June 4, 2009, City of 

Madeira Beach, 300 Municipal Drive, 

Madeira Beach, FL 33708, telephone: 

(727) 391–9951. 

Copies of the Amendment can be 

obtained by calling the Council office at 

(813) 348–1630. 

Special Accommodations 

These hearings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Tina O’Hern at the 

Council (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 

working days prior to the meeting. 

Dated: May 5, 2009. 

William D. Chappell, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–10836 Filed 5–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN: 0648–XP11 

New England Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) is 

scheduling a public meeting of its 

Monkfish Committee on May 27, 2009, 

to consider actions affecting New 

England fisheries in the exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ). 

Recommendations from this group will 

be brought to the full Council for formal 

consideration and action, if appropriate. 

DATES: This meeting will be held on 

Wednesday, May 27, 2009, at 9 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Radisson Hotel Providence Airport, 

2081 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886; 

telephone: (401) 739–3000; fax: (401) 

732–9309. 

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Monkfish Committee will develop 

recommendations to the New England 

and Mid-Atlantic Councils for measures 

to be considered in the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

for Amendment 5, including, but not 

limited to: biological and management 

reference points; specifications of catch 

target and management measures to 

achieve the targets (DAS, trip limits and 

other measures); modifications, 

additions or deletions to the 

management measures currently in the 

plan; and, if time allows, catch share 

programs (ITQs and/or sectors). The 

Advisory Panel will be meeting on June 

2 and the Committee will meet again on 

June 3 to finalize their 

recommendations which will be 

considered by the Mid-Atlantic Council 

at their June 9–11 meeting and by the 

New England Council at their June 23– 

25 meeting. 

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 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, at (978) 

465–0492, at least 5 days prior to the 

meeting date. 

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

Dated: May 5, 2009. 

William D. Chappell, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–10839 Filed 5–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN: 0648–XP14 

Pacific Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Council) Habitat 

Committee (HC) will hold a meeting that 

is open to the public. 

DATES: The HC meeting will be held 

Friday, June 5, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. 

until business for the day is completed. 

ADDRESSES: The HC meeting will be 

held at the RiverPlace Hotel, Eliot/ 

Marquam Room, 1510 SW Harbor Way, 

Portland, OR 97201; telephone: (503) 

228–3233. 

Council address: Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Jennifer Gilden, Habitat Coordinator; 

telephone: (503) 820–2280. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the HC meeting is to discuss 

habitat-related issues relevant to 

upcoming Council meetings. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, in 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens