Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 113 / Monday, June 15, 2009 / Notices 28219 

Dated in Washington, DC, June 9, 2009. 

Christopher Byrnes, 

Chief, Regional Programs Coordination Unit. 

[FR Doc. E9–13931 Filed 6–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6335–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XP70 

Fisheries in the Western Pacific; 

Amended Marine Conservation Plan 

for Pacific Insular Areas; Western 

Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of agency decision. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval of 

an amended marine conservation plan 

(MCP) for Pacific Insular Areas other 

than American Samoa, Guam, and the 

Northern Mariana Islands. 

DATES: This agency decision is effective 

April 11, 2008, through April 10, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the MCP are 

available from the Western Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, 

HI 96813, tel 808–522–8220, fax 808– 

522–8226. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jarad Makaiau, Sustainable Fisheries, 

NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office, 

808–944–2108. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

Section 204(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the 

Secretary of State, with the concurrence 

of the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary) and in consultation with the 

Council, may negotiate and enter into a 

Pacific Insular Area fishery agreement 

(PIAFA) to allow foreign fishing within 

the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 

adjacent to any Pacific Insular Area 

other than American Samoa, Guam or 

the Northern Mariana Islands, which, by 

definition, does not include the State of 

Hawaii. Before entering into a PIAFA, 

the Council must develop a three-year 

Marine Conservation Plan (MCP) 

providing details on uses for any funds 

collected by the Secretary under the 

PIAFA. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act authorizes 

that any payments received under a 

PIAFA, in support of conservation and 

management objectives in an MCP, shall 

be deposited into the Western Pacific 

Sustainable Fisheries Fund (Fund) for 

use by the Council. Amounts received 

by the Secretary attributable to fines and 

penalties imposed under the MagnusonStevens Act for violations by foreign 

vessels occurring within the EEZ off any 

Pacific Insular Area (other than 

American Samoa, Guam or the Northern 

Mariana Islands) shall also be deposited 

into the Fund for use by the Council. 

An MCP must be consistent with the 

Council’s fishery management plans, 

must identify conservation and 

management objectives (including 

criteria for determining when such 

objectives have been met), and must 

prioritize planned marine conservation 

projects. Although no foreign fishing is 

contemplated at this time, the Council 

developed an MCP for the Pacific 

Insular Areas, here defined as the U.S. 

EEZ around Johnston and Palmyra 

Atoll, Kingman Reef and Jarvis, 

Howland, Baker, and Wake Islands. 

These areas are sometimes known as the 

Pacific remote island areas. 

In August 2007, the Council approved 

an MCP for the Pacific Insular Area and 

recommended its submission to the 

Secretary for approval. NMFS, as 

designee of the Secretary, received the 

MCP on November 6, 2007. That MCP, 

dated August 27, 2007, satisfied the 

requirements of Magnuson-Stevens Act 

Section 204(e), and was approved for 

the three-year period April 11, 2008, 

through April 10, 2011 (73 FR 21111; 

April 18, 2008). 

At its 144th meeting in March 2009, 

the Council approved amendments to 

the MCP. On April 3, 2009, the Council 

submitted to NMFS the amended MCP, 

dated March 2009, for approval. The 

amended MCP revises the previouslyapproved August 2007 MCP by 

streamlining the descriptions of the 

projects associated with the MCP’s 

conservation and management 

objectives, and also includes evaluative 

criteria for each program or project. 

The amended MCP contains seven 

conservation and management 

objectives, listed below. These 

objectives are based upon the Council’s 

guiding principles and five year 

Program Plan, and are consistent with 

the Council’s fishery management plans: 

1. Support quality research and obtain 

the most complete scientific information 

available to assess and manage fisheries; 

2. Promote an ecosystem approach in 

fisheries management, including 

reducing waste in fisheries and 

minimizing impacts on marine habitat 

and impacts on protected species; 

3. Conduct education and outreach to 

foster good stewardship principles and 

broad and direct public participation in 

the Council’s decision making process; 

4. Recognize the importance of island 

cultures and traditional fishing practices 

in managing fishery resources and foster 

opportunities for participation; 

5. Promote responsible domestic 

fisheries development to provided long 

term economic growth and stability and 

local food production; 

6. Promote regional cooperation to 

manage domestic and international 

fisheries; and 

7. Encourage development of 

technologies and methods to achieve the 

most effective level of monitoring, 

control and surveillance and to ensure 

safety at sea. 

The amended MCP identifies major 

task areas that include data collection 

and monitoring, fishery management, 

social economic research and 

assessment, policy development, 

protected species conservation, public 

outreach, media activities and products, 

meeting and event participation, 

workshops, plans and training, 

infrastructure development, etc. Projects 

are ranked in order of priority and 

would aid in fulfilling the Council’s 

conservation and management 

objectives. The MCP also outlines a 

process by which the Council’s 

Executive Committee could revisit the 

project ranking to adapt to changing 

management needs. 

This notice announces that NMFS has 

determined that the amended MCP for 

the Western Pacific Sustainable 

Fisheries Fund satisfies the 

requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and approves the amended MCP for 

the three-year period April 11, 2008, 

through April 10, 2011. 

Dated: June 9, 2009. 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–14032 Filed 6–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XP74 

Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; 

Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental 

to the Explosive Removal of Offshore 

Structures in the Gulf of Mexico 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of a letter of 

authorization. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
28220 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 113 / Monday, June 15, 2009 / Notices 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA) and implementing regulations, 

notification is hereby given that NMFS 

has issued a one-year Letter of 

Authorization (LOA) to take marine 

mammals incidental to the explosive 

removal of offshore oil and gas 

structures (EROS) in the Gulf of Mexico. 

DATES: This authorization is effective 

from June 17, 2009 through June 16, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: The application and LOA 

are available for review by writing to P. 

Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, 

Conservation, and Education Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910–3235 or by telephoning the 

contact listed here (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT), or online at: 

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

incidental.htm. Documents cited in this 

notice may be viewed, by appointment, 

during regular business hours, at the 

aforementioned address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Howard Goldstein or Ken Hollingshead, 

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 

301–713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 

1361 et seq.) directs the NMFS to allow, 

upon request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by United States 

citizens who engage in a specified 

activity (other than commercial fishing) 

within a specified geographical region, 

if certain findings are made by NMFS 

and regulations are issued. Under the 

MMPA, the term ‘‘taking’’ means to 

harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to 

attempt to harass, hunt capture, or kill 

marine mammals. 

Authorization for incidental taking, in 

the form of annual LOAs, may be 

granted by NMFS for periods up to five 

years if NMFS finds, after notification 

and opportunity for public comment, 

that the taking will have a negligible 

impact on the species or stock(s) of 

marine mammals, and will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

subsistence uses (where relevant). In 

addition, NMFS must prescribe 

regulations that include permissible 

methods of taking and other means 

effecting the least practicable adverse 

impact on the species and its habitat 

(i.e., mitigation), and on the availability 

of the species for subsistence uses, 

paying particular attention to rookeries, 

mating rounds, and areas of similar 

significance. The regulations also must 

include requirements pertaining to the 

monitoring and reporting of such taking. 

Regulations governing the taking 

incidental to EROS were published on 

June 19, 2008 (73 FR 34889), and remain 

in effect through July 19, 2013. For 

detailed information on this action, 

please refer to that Federal Register 

notice. The species that applicants may 

take in small numbers during EROS 

activities are bottlenose dolphins 

(Tursiops truncatus), Atlantic spotted 

dolphins (Stenella frontalis), 

pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella 

attenuata), Clymene dolphins (Stenella 

clymene), striped dolphins (Stenella 

coeruleoalba), spinner dolphins 

(Stenella longirostris), rough-toothed 

dolphins (Steno bredanensis), Risso’s 

dolphins (Grampus griseus), melonheaded whales (Peponocephala electra), 

short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala 

macrorhynchus), and sperm whales 

(Physeter macrocephalus). 

Pursuant to these regulations, NMFS 

has issued an LOA to SPN Resources, 

LLC. Issuance of the LOAs is based on 

a finding made in the preamble to the 

final rule that the total taking by these 

activities (with monitoring, mitigation, 

and reporting measures) will result in 

no more than a negligible impact on the 

affected species or stock(s) of marine 

mammals and will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on 

subsistence uses. NMFS also finds that 

the applicant will meet the 

requirements contained in the 

implementing regulations and LOA, 

including monitoring, mitigation, and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: June 9, 2009. 

James H. Lecky, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–14024 Filed 6–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[C–570–944] 

Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods 

from the People’s Republic of China: 

Postponement of Preliminary 

Determination in the Countervailing 

Duty Investigation 

AGENCY: Import Administration, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 15, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joseph Shuler or Nancy Decker, AD/ 

CVD Operations, Import 

Administration, International Trade 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution 

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; 

telephone: (202) 482–1293 and (202) 

482–0196, respectively. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background 

On May 5, 2009, the Department of 

Commerce (the ‘‘Department’’) initiated 

an investigation of certain oil country 

tubular goods from the People’s 

Republic of China (‘‘PRC’’). See Certain 

Oil Country Tubular Goods from the 

People’s Republic of China: Initiation of 

Countervailing Duty Investigation, 74 FR 

20678 (May 5, 2009). Currently, the 

preliminary determination is due no 

later than July 2, 2009. 

Postponement of Due Date for 

Preliminary Determination 

Under section 703(c)(1)(B) of the 

Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 

‘‘Act’’), the Department may extend the 

period for reaching a preliminary 

determination in a countervailing duty 

investigation until no later than the 

130th day after the date on which the 

administering authority initiates an 

investigation, if the administration 

determines that the parties are 

cooperating and the case is 

extraordinarily complicated. The 

Department finds that the instant case is 

extraordinarily complicated by reason of 

the number and complexity of the 

alleged countervailable subsidy 

practices, the need to determine the 

extent to which particular 

countervailable subsidies are used by 

individual manufacturers, producers, 

and exporters, and the number of firms 

whose activities must be investigated. 

Accordingly, we are fully extending the 

due date for the preliminary 

determination to no later than 130 days 

after the day on which the investigation 

was initiated (i.e., September 5, 2009). 

However, September 5, 2009, falls on a 

Saturday and it is the Department’s 

long–standing practice to issue a 

determination the next business day 

when the statutory deadline falls on a 

weekend, federal holiday, or any other 

day when the Department is closed. See 

Notice of Clarification: Application of 

‘‘Next Business Day’’ Rule for 

Administrative Determination Deadlines 

Pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930, As 

Amended, 70 FR 24533 (May 10, 2005). 

Accordingly, the deadline for 

completion of the preliminary 

determination is now no later than 

September 8, 2009. 

This notice is issued and published 

pursuant to section 703(c)(2) of the Act 

and 19 CFR 351.205(e). 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES