27020 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 107 / Friday, June 5, 2009 / Notices 

SEDAR 19 Workshop Schedule: 

June 22–26, 2009; SEDAR 19 Data 

Workshop 

June 22, 2009: 1 p.m.- 8 p.m.; June 23– 

25, 2009: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.; June 26, 2009: 

8 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

An assessment data set and associated 

documentation will be developed 

during the Data Workshop. Participants 

will evaluate all available data and 

select appropriate sources for providing 

information on life history 

characteristics, catch statistics, discard 

estimates, length and age composition, 

and fishery dependent and fishery 

independent measures of stock 

abundance. 

October 5–9, 2009; SEDAR 19 

Assessment Workshop 

October 5, 2009: 1 p.m.- 8 p.m.; October 

6–8, 2009: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.; October 9, 

2009: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

Using datasets provided by the Data 

Workshop, participants will develop 

population models to evaluate stock 

status, estimate population benchmarks 

and Sustainable Fisheries Act criteria, 

and project future conditions. 

Participants will recommend the most 

appropriate methods and configurations 

for determining stock status and 

estimating population parameters. 

Participants will prepare a workshop 

report, compare and contrast various 

assessment approaches, and determine 

whether the assessments are adequate 

for submission to the review panel. 

January 25–29, 2010; SEDAR 19 Review 

Workshop 

January 25, 2010: 1 p.m.- 8 p.m.; 

January 26–28, 2010: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.; 

January 29, 2010: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

The Review Workshop is an 

independent peer review of the 

assessment developed during the Data 

and Assessment Workshops. Workshop 

Panelists will review the assessment 

and document their comments and 

recommendations in a Consensus 

Summary. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before these groups for discussion, in 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during these meetings. Actions 

will be restricted to those issues 

specifically identified 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 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to the Council office 

(see ADDRESSES) at least 10 business 

days prior to each workshop. 

Dated: June 2, 2009. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–13127 Filed 6–4–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XP63 

Marine Mammals; File Nos. 14210 and 

782–1719 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit and 

permit amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

LGL Alaska Research Associates (Dr. 

Tamara McGuire, Principal 

Investigator), 1101 E. 76th Ave. Suite B, 

Anchorage, Alaska 99518 (File No. 

14210), and the National Marine 

Mammal Laboratory (NMML), Alaska 

Fisheries Science Center (Dr. Phillip J. 

Clapham, Principal Investigator), 7600 

Sand Point Way, NE., Seattle, 

Washington 98115 6349 (File No. 782 

1719) have been issued a permit and a 

permit amendment, respectively, to 

conduct research on the Cook Inlet stock 

of beluga whales (Delphinapterus 

leucas). 

ADDRESSES: The permits and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following office(s): 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521; and 

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668; phone 

(907)586–7221; fax (907)586–7249. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kristy Beard or Amy Hapeman, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

February 10, 2009, notice was published 

in the Federal Register (74 FR 6578) 

that a request for a scientific research 

permit and permit amendment to take 

Cook Inlet beluga whales had been 

submitted by the above-named 

organizations. The requested permit and 

permit amendment have been issued 

under the authority of the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the 

regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), and the regulations governing 

the taking, importing, and exporting of 

endangered and threatened species (50 

CFR parts 222–226). 

Permit No. 14210, issued to LGL 

Alaska Research Associates, authorizes 

harassment of up to 54 beluga whales 

three times annually in Cook Inlet, 

Alaska for vessel-based photoidentification annually between May 

and October. The permit expires on May 

30, 2014. 

Permit No. 782–1719–08 authorizes 

NMML to take species of cetaceans 

under NMFS jurisdiction during stock 

assessment activities throughout U.S. 

territorial waters and the high seas of 

the North Pacific Ocean, Southern 

Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. The permit 

authorizes Level B harassment during 

close approach for aerial surveys, 

vessel-based surveys, observations, and 

photo-identification and Level A 

harassment during biopsy sampling and 

attachment of scientific instruments. 

This permit amendment authorizes 

harassment of up to 585 Cook Inlet 

belugas 20 times annually during aerial 

surveys, and will be effective until the 

permit expires on June 30, 2009. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an environmental 

assessment was prepared analyzing the 

effects of the permitted activities. After 

a Finding of No Significant Impact, the 

determination was made that it was not 

necessary to prepare an environmental 

impact statement. 

Issuance of this permit and permit 

amendment, as required by the ESA, 

was based on a finding that such 

permits: (1) were applied for in good 

faith; (2) will not operate to the 

disadvantage of such endangered 

species; and (3) are consistent with the 

purposes and policies set forth in 

section 2 of the ESA. 


erowe on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 107 / Friday, June 5, 2009 / Notices 27021 

Dated: June 1, 2009. 

Tammy C. Adams, 

Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and 

Education Division, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–13176 Filed 6–4–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XP66 

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) will 

hold a four-day Council meeting, on 

June 22–25, 2009, to consider actions 

affecting New England fisheries in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

DATES: The meeting will begin on 

Monday, June 22, beginning at 1 p.m., 

and on Tuesday, Wednesday and 

Thursday, June 23–25, beginning at 8 

a.m. each day. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring 

Street, Portland, ME 04101; telephone: 

(207) 775–2311; fax: (207) 761–8244. 

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: 

Monday, June 22, 2009 

Following introductions and any 

announcements, the Council will 

receive a series of brief reports from the 

Council Chairman and Executive 

Director, the NOAA Fisheries Northeast 

Regional Administrator, Northeast 

Fisheries Science Center and MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council 

liaisons, NOAA General Counsel, 

representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard 

and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission, as well as NOAA 

Enforcement and the Council’s 

Enforcement Committee Chairman. 

These reports will be followed by a 

review of any experimental fishery 

permit applications that have been 

received since the last Council meeting. 

The Council will also receive a report 

from its Habitat Committee, with a focus 

on reviewing a model used to assess the 

adverse impacts of fishing on essential 

fish habitat and for the development of 

alternatives to minimize those effects. 

The committee also will present a letter 

for Council approval to be forwarded 

offshore energy proponents in MA about 

the potential adverse impacts of an 

offshore wind farm project on essential 

fish habitat. The day will conclude with 

a report from the Interspecies 

Committee about future work products 

and the presentation of a white paper on 

the use of Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) 

and Accountability Measures (AMs) in 

New England Council Fishery 

Management Plans (FMPs). 

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 

As the first agenda item of the day, 

the Chairman of the Council’s Scientific 

and Statistical Committee will review 

the committee’s recommendations to the 

Council on Acceptable Biological Catch 

(ABC) and ACLs to be used in the 

Monkfish FMP, and for proposed 

methods to be used for the calculations 

of ABC in the Herring and Groundfish 

FMPs. The remainder of the day will be 

spent on approving alternatives for 

inclusion in a Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement that will accompany 

Amendment 4 to the Council’s Herring 

FMP. Measures under consideration 

include, in addition to ACLs and AMs, 

a comprehensive catch monitoring 

program, measures to address river 

herring bycatch, possible criteria for 

midwater trawl vessel access to areas 

closed for the conservation of species in 

the groundfish stock complex and 

measures that would address 

interactions with the mackerel fishery. 

The Council also will discuss the 

timeline for completion of the 

amendment as well as a fishery 

specifications package. The day will 

conclude with a briefing by NMFS staff 

concerning an agency proposal to 

require the use of Turtle Excluder 

Devices in trawl gear, including several 

that are used in New England fisheries. 

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 

The entire third day of the Council 

meeting will be set aside for Council 

approval of Amendment 16 to the 

Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) 

FMP. Prior to discussion and decisionmaking, there will be a review of the 

public comments received regarding the 

proposed action and reports from the 

Council’s Groundfish and Recreational 

Advisory Panels. Amendment 16 

addresses several new requirements 

included in the reauthorized MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (MSRA), continues the 

stock rebuilding programs adopted in 

previous Council actions and may 

institute significant changes to the 

existing groundfish management 

program, including the implementation 

of ‘‘sectors’’, a catch share-based system. 

Thursday, June 25, 2009 

The morning will begin with the 

completion of any issues related to 

Council approval of Amendment 16 to 

the Groundfish FMP. A report by the 

Research Steering Committee Chairman 

will follow and will include 

recommendations developed concerning 

the allocation of cooperative research 

funds recently announced by NOAA’s 

leadership. The Council will then hold 

an open comment period during which 

any interested party may address the 

Council about fishery managementrelated issues that are otherwise not 

listed on the agenda. By late morning or 

early afternoon, the Monkfish 

Committee will review and ask for 

approval of alternatives to be included 

in a Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement that will accompany 

Amendment 5 to the Monkfish FMP. 

Amendment 5 will implement 

management reference points to bring 

the FMP into compliance with the 

MSRA. Amendment 5 will also 

implement management measures 

(days-at-sea and trip limits) for 2011–13 

to update current measures, and also 

modify other elements of the 

management system, such as, but not 

limited to gear restrictions, minimum 

fish size, vessel monitoring systems, 

measures to reduce discards, or any 

other component of the current plan. 

Although other non-emergency issues 

not contained in this agenda may come 

before this Council for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subjects of formal 

action during this meeting. Council 

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 MagnusonStevens Act, provided that 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 (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 

days prior to the meeting date. 


erowe on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES