3992 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 13 / Thursday, January 22, 2009 / Notices 

Permit Issued 

A notice of the receipt of an 

application for a scientific research 

permit (10093 and 10094) was 

published in the Federal Register on 

January 16, 2008 (73 FR 2900). Permits 

10093 and 10094 were issued to CDFG 

Region 1 and Region 3 on September 23, 

2008. 

Permits 10093 and 10094 authorizes 

CDFG Region 1 and Region 3; 

respectively, intentional non-lethal take, 

and unintentional lethal take of the 

following ESA-listed salmonids: 

juvenile SONCC coho salmon, CCC coho 

salmon, CC Chinook salmon, NC 

steelhead, CCC steelhead, S-CCC 

steelhead, and SC steelhead; adult CCC 

coho salmon, CC Chinook salmon, NC 

steelhead, CCC steelhead, and S-CCC 

steelhead; and adult carcasses of 

SONCC coho salmon, CCC coho salmon, 

CC Chinook salmon, NC steelhead, CCC 

steelhead, and S-CCC steelhead. The 

take activities associated with juvenile 

and adult ESA-listed salmonid studies 

include; capture (backpack 

electrofishing, beach seine, rotary screw 

trap, fish ladder trap, resistance board 

weir, flume-type-raceway/finger-weirtrap, hook and line and funnel/fyke 

trap), anesthetizing (optional), handling 

(identify, measure, and weigh), tissue 

sampling (fin-clip), scale sampling, 

marking (fin-clips and/or opercularhole-punch), tagging (PIT and/or Floy 

tags) and release of fish. Take activities 

associated with adult ESA-listed 

salmonid carcass studies include; 

handling (identify, measure, and count), 

marking (opercular-hole-punch and/or 

cut-in-half), tagging (hog-ring), retaining 

(head; adipose clipped fish), scale 

sampling, tissue sampling (fin-clip), and 

release of fish. 

Permits 10093 and 10094 authorizes 

unintentional lethal take of juvenile 

SONCC coho salmon, CCC coho salmon, 

CC Chinook salmon, NC steelhead, CCC 

steelhead, S-CCC steelhead, and SC 

steelhead not to exceed 2.5 percent of 

fish captured. Permits 10093 and 10094 

authorizes unintentional lethal take of 

adult CCC coho salmon, CC Chinook 

salmon, NC steelhead, CCC steelhead, 

and S-CCC steelhead not to exceed 2 

percent of fish captured. 

Permits 10093 and 10094 are for 

research to be conducted in streams and 

estuaries throughout the State of 

California. The purpose of the research 

is to support conservation and recovery 

planning of ESA-listed salmonids, 

address information needs identified by 

CDFG Region 1 and Region 3, and 

contribute to the general body of 

scientific knowledge pertaining to ESAlisted salmonids. Permits 10093 and 

10094 expire on December 31, 2013. 

Dated: January 14, 2009. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–1121 Filed 1–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XM62 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone off Alaska; Application for an 

Exempted Fishing Permit 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

exempted fishing permit. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt 

of an exempted fishing permit (EFP) 

application from the North Pacific 

Fisheries Foundation. If granted, this 

permit would allow the applicant to 

collect approximately 100 Pacific 

halibut caught in the non–pelagic trawl 

gear fishery for flatfish to evaluate the 

accuracy of two models for predicting 

delayed mortality of individual trawl 

caught halibut. This activity has the 

potential to promote the objectives of 

the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, and 

the Pacific Halibut Act by assessing 

techniques for improving survival of 

halibut in non–pelagic trawl fisheries 

and improving the accuracy of estimates 

of halibut mortality. Comments will be 

accepted at the February 4–10, 2009, 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) meeting in Seattle, 

WA. 

DATES: Interested persons may comment 

on the EFP application during the 

Council’s February 4–10, 2009, meeting 

in Seattle, WA. 

ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be 

held at the Renaissance Hotel, 515 

Madison Street, Seattle, WA. 

Copies of the EFP application and the 

basis for a categorical exclusion under 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

are available by writing to the Alaska 

Region, NMFS, P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, 

AK 99802, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. The 

application also is available from the 

Alaska Region, NMFS website at http:// 

www.fakr.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff 

Hartman, 907–586–7442 or 

jeff.hartman@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the domestic groundfish 

fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian 

Islands (BSAI) under the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

BSAI (FMP), which the Council 

prepared under the Magnuson–Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. Regulations governing the 

groundfish fisheries of the BSAI appear 

at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. The FMP 

and the implementing regulations at 

§ 600.745(b) and § 679.6 allow the 

NMFS Regional Administrator to 

authorize, for limited experimental 

purposes, fishing that would otherwise 

be prohibited. Procedures for issuing 

EFPs are contained in the implementing 

regulations. 

The International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage 

fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus 

stenolepis) through regulations 

established under the authority of the 

Convention between the United States 

and Canada for the Preservation of the 

Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific 

Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention) and 

the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 

(Halibut Act). The IPHC promulgates 

regulations pursuant to the Convention. 

The IPHC’s regulations are subject to 

approval by the Secretary of State with 

concurrence from the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary). 

NMFS has received an application for 

an EFP from the North Pacific Fisheries 

Foundation (NPFF). Under this EFP, the 

NPFF would evaluate methods for 

projecting survival of released halibut, 

which could improve NMFS’s estimates 

of halibut mortality in the non–pelagic 

trawl gear fishery for flatfish and 

identify techniques for minimizing 

mortality of this species in trawl 

fisheries. 

Background 

Regulations implemented by the IPHC 

allow Pacific halibut to be commercially 

harvested by the directed North Pacific 

longline fishery only. Halibut caught 

incidentally in other fisheries, such as 

non–pelagic trawl fisheries, must be 

recorded and returned to the ocean as 

soon as possible. The North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council 

establishes a seasonal maximum 

biomass of halibut bycatch adjusted for 

the estimated halibut discard mortality 

factor for each non–halibut directed 

fishery. Fisheries close when they reach 

their seasonal mortality cap even if the 

catch of the target species is less than 

the seasonal quota for the directed 


rmajette on PRODPC74 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 13 / Thursday, January 22, 2009 / Notices 3993 

fishery. In the case of Bering Sea flatfish 

fisheries, seasons have been cut short by 

the halibut bycatch cap before the 

quotas have been reached. Accurately 

accounting for halibut in NMFS 

estimates of mortality and assuring that 

each halibut returned to the sea has the 

highest possible chance of survival are 

therefore high priorities for the IPHC’s, 

the Council’s, and NMFS’s management 

goals for both halibut and groundfish. 

Before halibut are discarded at–sea, 

the catch must first be estimated by at– 

sea observers. In order to credibly 

account for halibut catch and to ensure 

that the catch and discard of halibut is 

observed, NMFS prohibits any removal 

of halibut from a cod end, bin, or 

conveyance system prior to being 

observed and enumerated by an at–sea 

observer. 

With the implementation of 

Amendment 80 to the FMP on 

September 14, 2007 (72 FR 52668), 

allocation of halibut was modified for 

certain vessels, but halibut bycatch 

continued to limit fishing in some 

fisheries. The Amendment 80 sector 

received an initial allocation of 2,525 mt 

of halibut bycatch mortality, but that 

allocation will decrease by 50 mt per 

year until it reaches 2,325 mt in 2012 

and subsequent years. In certain years, 

this amount is less than the sector’s 

historic catch; therefore, finding ways to 

accurately estimate halibut survival is 

important for this sector. 

This application for an EFP from 

NPFF proposes to study two methods 

for predicting halibut survival. It would 

allow researchers onboard a catcher 

processor vessel to collect 

approximately 100 halibut caught with 

non–pelagic trawl gear and evaluate a 

reflex action mortality predictor (RAMP) 

for predicting delayed mortality in 

individual trawl–caught halibut. The 

RAMP method would be combined with 

and compared to the existing IPHC 

halibut mortality predictor currently 

used by observers. To assess and 

compare these two methods, halibut 

would be held in live tanks on a vessel 

and assessed by each method. The 

collection and holding of halibut in this 

manner requires an exemption from 

regulations that prohibit retention of 

halibut by trawl gear, and requiring that 

all halibut caught with this gear be 

released as soon as possible 

(§ 679.7(a)(12), and § 679.21(b)(2)(ii)). 

This EFP would apply for the period 

of time required to complete the 

experiment during 2009, in areas open 

to directed fishing for flatfish. It would 

be of limited scope and duration and 

would not be expected to change the 

nature or duration of the groundfish 

fishery, fishing practices or gear used by 

this vessel, or the amount or species of 

fish caught. 

The activities that would be 

conducted under this EFP are not 

expected to have a significant impact on 

the human environment as detailed in 

the categorical exclusion issued for this 

action (see ADDRESSES). 

In accordance with § 679.6, NMFS has 

determined that the proposal warrants 

further consideration and has forwarded 

the application to the Council to initiate 

consultation. The Council will consider 

the EFP application during its February 

4–10, 2009, meeting, which will be held 

at the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle, 

Washington. The applicant has been 

invited to appear in support of the 

application. 

Public Comments 

Interested persons may comment on 

the application at the February 2009 

Council meeting during public 

testimony. Information regarding the 

meeting is available at the Council’s 

website at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/

npfmc/council.htm. Copies of the 

application and categorical exclusion 

are available for review from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). 

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

Dated: January 15, 2009. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–1184 Filed 1–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[CPSC Docket No. 09–C0003] 

Lasko Products Inc., Provisional 

Acceptance of a Settlement Agreement 

and Order 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: It is the policy of the 

Commission to publish settlements 

which it provisionally accepts under the 

Consumer Product Safety Act in the 

Federal Register in accordance with the 

terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e). Published 

below is a provisionally accepted 

Settlement Agreement with Lasko 

Products Inc., containing a civil penalty 

of $500,000.00. 

DATES: Any interested person may ask 

the Commission not to accept this 

agreement or otherwise comment on its 

contents by filing a written request with 

the Office of the Secretary by February 

5, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to 

comment on this Settlement Agreement 

should send written comments to the 

Comment 09–C0003, Office of the 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Room 502, Bethesda, Maryland 20814– 

4408. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Belinda V. Bell, Trial Attorney, Division 

of Compliance, Office of the General 

Counsel, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 

Bethesda, Maryland 20814–4408; 

telephone (301) 504–7592. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of 

the Agreement and Order appears 

below. 

Dated: January 9, 2009. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

United States of America 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

In the Matter of Lasko Products Inc., 

a corporation 

[CPSC Docket No. 09–C0003] 

Settlement Agreement 

1. This Settlement Agreement 

(‘‘Agreement’’) is made by and between 

the staff (‘‘staff’’) of the U.S. Consumer 

Product Safety Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) and Lasko Products 

Inc. (‘‘Lasko’’), a corporation, in 

accordance with 16 CFR 1118.20 of the 

Commission’s Procedures for 

Investigations, Inspections, and 

Inquiries under the Consumer Product 

Safety Act (‘‘CPSA’’). This Agreement 

and the incorporated attached Order 

(‘‘Order’’) resolve the staffs allegations 

set forth below. 

The Parties 

2. The Commission is an independent 

federal regulatory agency established 

pursuant to, and responsible for the 

enforcement of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 

2051–2089. 

3. Lasko is a corporation organized 

and existing under the laws of the 

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with 

its principal corporate office located in 

West Chester, Pennsylvania. 

4. At all times relevant herein, Lasko 

designed, manufactured and sold 

portable electric fans, including those 

that are the subject of the Agreement 

and Order. 

Staff Allegations 

5. Between 1999 and 2001, Lasko 

manufactured and distributed 

approximately 5.6 million of the subject 

portable electric fans under the 

following brand names and model 

numbers: Lasko 2135, 3300, 3400, 3410, 

3510, 3515, 3521,3550, 3700, 3723, 


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