4944 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices 

include public hearings to receive 

comments. A Federal Register notice 

will announce the availability of the 

DEIS associated with this amendment, 

as well as a 45-day public comment 

period, pursuant to regulations issued 

by the Council on Environmental 

Quality for implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act and to 

NOAA’s Administrative Order 216–6. 

The Council will consider public 

comments received on the DEIS in 

developing the final environmental 

impact statement (FEIS), and before 

voting to submit the final amendment to 

NMFS for Secretarial review, approval, 

and implementation. NMFS will 

announce in the Federal Register the 

availability of the final amendment and 

FEIS for public review during the 

Secretarial review period, and will 

consider all public comments prior to 

final agency action to approve, 

disapprove, or partially approve the 

final amendment. 

Scoping Meetings, Times, and Locations 

All meetings will begin at 3 p.m. In 

addition to the Comprehensive ACL 

Amendment, the Council intends to 

scope additional amendments at this 

series of meetings, for which separate 

notices have been prepared. The 

meetings will be physically accessible to 

people with disabilities. Requests for 

information packets or for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to the Council (see 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Monday, January 26, 2009—Hilton 

Garden Inn, 5265 International Blvd., 

North Charleston, SC 29418; phone: 

843–308–9330. 

Tuesday, January 27, 2009—Bridge 

Pointe Hotel, 101 Howell Rd., New 

Bern, NC 28582; phone: 252–636–3637. 

Tuesday, February 3, 2009—Key 

Largo Grande, 97000 Overseas Hwy., 

Key Largo, FL 33037; phone: 305–852– 

5553. 

Wednesday, February 4, 2009— 

Doubletree Hotel, 2080 N. Atlantic Ave., 

Cocoa Beach, FL 32931; phone: 321– 

783–9222. 

Thursday, February 5, 2009—Mighty 

Eighth Air Force Museum, 175 Bourne 

Ave., Pooler, GA 31322; phone: 912– 

748–8888. 

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

Dated: January 22, 2009. 

Alan D. Risenhoover 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–1728 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XM54 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper– 

Grouper Fishery off the Southern 

Atlantic States; Amendment 18 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare 

a draft environmental impact statement 

(DEIS); notice of scoping meetings; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) intends 

to prepare a DEIS to assess the impacts 

on the natural and human environment 

of the management measures proposed 

in its draft Amendment 18 to the 

Fishery Management Plan for the 

Snapper–Grouper Fishery of the South 

Atlantic Region (FMP). 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of the issues to be addressed in the DEIS 

will be accepted until February 27, 

2009, at 5 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent by 

any of the following methods: 

• E–mail: 0648–XM54@noaa.gov. 

• Fax: 727–824–5308; Attn: Nikhil 

Mehta. 

• Mail: Nikhil Mehta, NMFS, 

Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

Scoping documents are available from 

the Council’s Web site at 

www.safmc.net. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim 

Iverson, Public Information Officer, 

South Atlantic Fisheries Management 

Council, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 

201, North Charleston, SC 29405; 

phone: 843–571–4366, toll free 1–866– 

SAFMC–10; fax: 843–769–4520; e–mail: 

kim.iverson@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

snapper–grouper fishery of the South 

Atlantic region in the exclusive 

economic zone is managed under the 

FMP. The FMP was prepared by the 

Council and implemented by NMFS 

under the authority of the Magnuson– 

Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson Stevens 

Act) by regulations at 50 CFR part 622. 

Of the 98 species managed by the 

Council, 73 of these are included in the 

snapper–grouper management complex. 

A NOI for Amendment 18 was 

published on January 22, 2008 (73 FR 

3701), and contained notice of 

consideration of developing a limited 

access privilege (LAP) program for the 

commercial snapper–grouper fishery in 

the South Atlantic. However, the 

Council has postponed consideration of 

a LAP program for the entire snapper– 

grouper fishery. A second NOI for 

Amendment 18 was published on April 

7, 2008 (73 FR 18782) to announce the 

development of an amendment to 

establish a rebuilding plan for the red 

snapper stock and various management 

measures to end its overfishing. The 

Council subsequently moved these 

items to Amendment 17. 

This NOI is intended to inform the 

public of the preparation of a DEIS in 

support of the new Amendment 18 to 

the FMP. During its December 2008 

meeting, the Council decided to transfer 

the following items from Amendment 

17 to Amendment 18: 

Actions to extend the management 

range of snapper–grouper north of the 

Council’s current jurisdiction; designate 

essential fish habitat for snapper– 

grouper species in the extended 

management range (New England and 

Mid–Atlantic); change the golden 

tilefish fishing year; separate snowy 

grouper quota into regions; and improve 

data reporting. The Council is 

considering extending the range of the 

snapper–grouper fishery management 

plan for some species northward in 

order to conserve and manage these 

species. The current boundaries would 

not be changed for golden tilefish, black 

sea bass, and scup since they are 

considered separate stocks north and 

south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, 

and are managed by the Mid–Atlantic 

Council. The Council is considering 

modifying the start date of the golden 

tilefish fishing year to ensure that the 

regulations for golden tilefish do not 

impact select fishermen 

disproportionately. The Council is 

considering regional quotas for snowy 

grouper to offer a fair opportunity to 

fishermen in both southern and 

northern areas. The Council is also 

considering actions to improve the 

accuracy, timing, and quantity of 

fisheries statistics collected by the 

current data collection programs for 

fisheries the Council manages. 

In addition to actions listed above, the 

Council may consider in Amendment 18 

limits on participation and effort in the 

golden tilefish and black sea bass 

fisheries, and state or regional Annual 

Catch Limits (ACL) and Annual Catch 

Targets (ACTs) for the recreational 

harvest of gag. The Council is concerned 

that increased restrictions imposed 

through Amendments 13C and 16 will 

increase the incentive to target: 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices 4945 

1. Golden tilefish in the bottom 

longline and hook–and–line fisheries. 

2. Black sea bass in the pot fishery. 

Currently, there is no limit to the 

number of pot tags issued to fishermen 

who target black sea bass or the number 

of pots that can be fished. Fishermen 

may be leaving large numbers of pots 

fishing for multiple days due to vessel 

or weather problems, and these pots 

could unnecessarily kill many black sea 

bass. The Council is further concerned 

that in the gag recreational fishery, 

fishermen in some areas could have an 

advantage and catch part of the 

allowable catch sooner than those in 

other areas. 

Additionally, in Amendment 18 the 

Council may consider modifying the 

individual transferable quota (ITQ) 

program currently in place for the South 

Atlantic wreckfish fishery to conform 

with the Magnuson–Stevens Act 

requirements on holding excessive 

shares in a LAP program. Furthermore, 

the Maguson–Stevens Act requires 

periodic reviews of LAP programs, and 

if needed, allows for modifications to 

meet the goals of the program. 

Following publication of this NOI, the 

Council will conduct public scoping 

meetings to determine the range of 

issues to be addressed in the DEIS and 

the associated Amendment 18. A 

Federal Register notice will announce 

the availability of the DEIS associated 

with this amendment, as well as a 45- 

day public comment period, pursuant to 

regulations issued by the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act and to 

NOAA’s Administrative Order 216–6. 

The Council will consider public 

comments received on the DEIS in 

developing the final environmental 

impact statement (FEIS), and before 

voting to submit the final amendment to 

NMFS for Secretarial review, approval, 

and implementation. NMFS will 

announce in the Federal Register the 

availability of the final amendment and 

FEIS for public review during the 

Secretarial review period, and will 

consider all public comments prior to 

final agency action to approve, 

disapprove, or partially approve the 

final amendment. 

Scoping Meetings, Times, and Locations 

All meetings will begin at 3 p.m. In 

addition to Amendment 18, the Council 

intends to scope additional amendments 

at this series of meetings. Separate NOIs 

will be prepared for each amendment. 

The meetings will be physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for information packets or for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to the 

Council (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT). 

Monday, January 26, 2009 —Hilton 

Garden Inn, 5265 International Blvd., 

North Charleston, SC 29418; phone: 

843–308–9330. 

Tuesday, January 27, 2009—Bridge 

Point Hotel, 101 Howell Road, New 

Bern, NC 28582; phone: 252–636–3637. 

Tuesday, February 3, 2009—Key 

Largo Grande, 97000 Overseas Highway, 

Key Largo, FL 33037; phone: 305–852– 

5553. 

Wednesday, February 4, 2009— 

Doubletree Hotel, 2080 N. Atlantic 

Avenue, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931; phone: 

321–783–9222. 

Thursday, February 5, 2009—Mighty 

Eight Air Force Museum, 175 Bourne 

Avenue, Pooler, GA 31322; phone: 912– 

748–8888. 

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

Dated: January 22, 2009. 

Alan D. Risenhoover 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–1730 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XM82 

Marine Mammals; File No. 14142 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Niladri Basu, Ph.D., Department of 

Environmental Health Sciences, 

University of Michigan, 109 South 

Observatory Road, Ann Arbor, MI 

48109–2029, has applied in due form for 

a permit to import marine mammal 

parts for scientific research. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

February 27, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the Features box on the 

Applications and Permits for Protected 

Species (APPS) home page, https:// 

apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/index.cfm, and 

then selecting File No. 14142 from the 

list of available applications. 

These documents are also available 

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 

Northeast Region, NMFS, 55 Great 

Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930; 

phone (978)281–9300; fax (978)281– 

9333. 

Written comments or requests for a 

public hearing on this application 

should be mailed to the Chief, Permits, 

Conservation and Education Division, 

F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those 

individuals requesting a hearing should 

set forth the specific reasons why a 

hearing on this particular request would 

be appropriate. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: File No. 14142. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Skidmore or Amy Sloan, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended 

(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the 

regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216). 

The applicant is requesting a permit 

to authorize the importation of samples 

opportunistically obtained from 

colleagues at the National 

Environmental Research Institute (NERI) 

of Denmark (Roskilde, Denmark). The 

applicant is requesting authorization to 

import tissues (brain, liver, muscle, 

kidney, skin) from up to 100 individuals 

(hunter-killed, stranded) from each of 

the following species from Greenland, 

Faroe Islands, and Denmark: ringed 

seals (Phoca hispida), pilot whale 

(Globicephala melas), hooded seal 

(Cystopora cristata), harp seal 

(Pagophilus groenlandicus), narwhal 

(Monodon monoceros), beluga 

(Delphinapterus leucas), harbour 

porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), harbour 

seal (Phoca vitulina), grey seal 

(Haliocherus grypus). No takes of live 

animals would be authorized under this 

permit and there would be no non-target 

species taken incidentally under this 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES