44384 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2017 / Notices 

1. IATTC 

2. WCPFC 

a. Science Committee Meeting 

b. Intersessional Meeting on Tropical 

Tuna Measures 

c. Northern Committee Meeting 

d. Technical and Compliance 

Committee Meeting 

e. Permanent Advisory Committee 

Issues 

f. U.S. Proposals for WCPFC 14 

3. North Pacific Fisheries Commission 

Meeting 

4. South Pacific Regional Fisheries 

Management Organization 

F. Advisory Group Report and 

Recommendations 

1. Advisory Panel 

2. American Samoa Regional 

Ecosystem Advisory Committee 

3. Scientific & Statistical Committee 

G. Standing Committee 

Recommendations 

H. Public Comment 

I. Council Discussion and Action 

9. Protected Species 

A. Updates on Endangered Species 

Act 

1. Turtles 

2. Corals 

3. Other Actions 

B. Advisory Group Report and 

Recommendations 

1. Advisory Panel 

2. Scientific & Statistical Committee 

C. Public Comment 

D. Council Discussion and Action 

10. Program Planning and Research 

A. Alternatives for Aquaculture 

Management (Initial Action Item) 

B. Options for Designating 

Management Unit Species Into 

Ecosystem Components (Initial 

Action Item) 

C. Precious Corals Management Issues 

1. Refining Precious Coral Essential 

Fish Habitat 

2. Gold Coral Moratorium (Initial 

Action Item) 

D. Territory Science Initiative Project 

Updates 

E. Report on Coral Reef Regulation 

Review 

F. Social Science Planning Committee 

Strategic Plan and Priorities 

G. Report on the Climate Change 

Training Workshop 

H. Regional, National and 

International Outreach & Education 

I. Advisory Group Report and 

Recommendations 

1. Advisory Panel 

2. Regional Ecosystem Advisory 

Committee 

3. Scientific & Statistical Committee 

J. Standing Committee 

Recommendations 

K. Public Comment 

L. Council Discussion and Action 

11. Hawaii Archipelago & PRIA 

A. Moku Pepa 

B. Legislative Report 

C. Enforcement Issues 

D. Fishing Year 2018 Annual Catch 

Limit Specification for the Main 

Hawaiian Island Coral Reef Fish 

(Final Action Item) 

E. Education and Outreach Initiatives 

F. Advisory Group Report and 

Recommendations 

1. Advisory Panel 

2. Scientific & Statistical Committee 

G. Public Comment 

H. Council Discussion and Action 

12. Public Comment on Non-agenda 

Items 

Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 6 p.m. to 

9 p.m. 

Fishers Forum—Fishing: Food. Life. 

Future. 

Thursday, October 19, 2017, 8:30 a.m. to 

3 p.m. 

13. Mariana Archipelago 

A. Guam 

1. Isla Informe 

2. Legislative Report 

3. Enforcement Issues 

4. Community Activities and Issues 

a. Report on Indigenous Fishing 

Rights Initiatives 

b. Report on Malesso CBMP 

c. Report on the Yigo CBMP 

5. Education and Outreach Initiatives 

B. Commonwealth of Northern 

Mariana Islands 

1. Arongol Falu ́

2. Legislative Report 

3. Enforcement Issues 

4. Community Activities and Issues 

a. Report on Northern Islands CBMP 

5. Education and Outreach Initiatives 

C. Advisory Group Report and 

Recommendations 

1. Advisory Panel 

2. Scientific & Statistical Committee 

D. Public Comment 

E. Council Discussion and Action 

13. Administrative Matters 

A. Financial Reports 

B. Administrative Reports 

C. Council Family Changes 

1. Education Committee 

D. Meetings and Workshops 

E. Other Business 

F. Standing Committee 

Recommendations 

G. Public Comment 

H. Council Discussion and Action 

14. Election of Officers 

15. Other Business 

Non-emergency issues not contained 

in this agenda may come before the 

Council for discussion and formal 

Council action during its 171st meeting. 

However, Council action on regulatory 

issues will be restricted to those issues 

specifically listed in this document and 

any regulatory issue arising after 

publication of this document that 

requires emergency action under section 

305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 

provided the public has been notified of 

the Council’s intent to take 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 Kitty M. Simonds, 

(808) 522–8220 (voice) or (808) 522– 

8226 (fax), at least five days prior to the 

meeting date. 

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

Dated: September 19, 2017. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–20280 Filed 9–21–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF705 

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council (MAFMC); Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold public meetings of the Council and 

its Committees. 

DATES: The meetings will be held 

Tuesday, October 10, 2017 through 

Thursday, October 12, 2017. For agenda 

details, see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at: 

Hyatt Long Island East End, 451 East 

Main St., Riverhead, NY 11901, 

telephone: (631) 208–0002. 

Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, 800 N. State St., 

Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: 

(302) 674–2331. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D. Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council; telephone: (302) 

526–5255. The Council’s Web site, 

www.mafmc.org also has details on the 

meeting location, proposed agenda, 

webinar listen-in access, and briefing 

materials. 

Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2017 / Notices 44385 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following items are on the agenda, 

though agenda items may be addressed 

out of order (changes will be noted on 

the Council’s Web site when possible.) 

Tuesday, October 10, 2017 

Executive Committee 

Review 2017 and Proposed 2018 

Implementation Plan; discuss 

recommendations on 2018 priorities. 

Swearing In of New and Reappointed 

Council Members 

Election of Officers 

Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Goals and 

Objectives Workshop 

Review results from Fisheries Forum 

project; review Fishery Management 

Action Team recommendations; identify 

and approve revised goals and 

objectives for public hearing document. 

Golden Tilefish Individual Transferable 

Quota Program Review 

Review and approve final report. 

Regional Planning Body Ecologically 

Rich Areas Presentation 

Wednesday, October 11, 2017 

Lobster Standardized Bycatch Reporting 

Methodology Framework—Meeting 2 

Final action on preferred alternatives 

Spiny Dogfish Specifications 

Review previously set specifications 

for 2018 and consider any modifications 

Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries 

Management Risk Assessment 

Finalize and adopt EAFM Based Risk 

Assessment. 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Commercial Accountability 

Measure Framework—Meeting 1 

Review background, issues, and draft 

alternatives. 

2018 Recreational Black Sea Bass Wave 

1 Fishery 

Consider a potential February 2018 

opening of the recreational Wave 1 

fishery. 

Law Enforcement Reports 

Reports will be received from the 

NOAA Office of Law Enforcement and 

the U.S. Coast Guard. 

2019–23 Strategic Plan 

Review plan for the development of 

the Strategic Plan. 

Thursday, October 12, 2017 

• Business Session Committee 

Reports; Executive Director’s Report; 

Science Report; Organization Reports; 

and Liaison Reports. 

• Continuing and New Business. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group 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 aid 

should be directed to M. Jan Saunders, 

(302) 526–5251, at least 5 days prior to 

the meeting date. 

Dated: September 19, 2017. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–20238 Filed 9–21–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF678 

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 Alaska Seafood 

Cooperative (AKSC). If granted, this EFP 

would allow non-pelagic trawl catcher/ 

processor operators targeting groundfish 

in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) to 

remove halibut from a trawl codend on 

the deck, and release those halibut back 

to the water in a timely manner to 

increase survivability. The proposed 

project would build on work conducted 

by the applicant under EFPs in 2009, 

2012, and 2015 through 2017 to test 

methods for sorting halibut on deck of 

non-pelagic trawl catcher/processor 

vessels in the BSAI including methods 

to increase halibut survivability and 

ensure reliable catch accounting and 

personnel safety. The objective of the 

proposed project is to refine the few, 

remaining operational issues to yield 

robust methods which could be 

implemented to allow sorting of halibut 

on the deck of non-pelagic trawl vessels 

as a standard practice in the BSAI and 

GOA in the future. The specific 

objectives of the proposed project are to 

(1) continue the proven methods used in 

2017 EFP operations in 2018 and 2019; 

(2) develop individual-vessel deck 

sorting safety protocols; (3) test methods 

for moving fish on deck to ensure a 

single flow of fish, which is essential for 

proper catch monitoring; and (4) expand 

the project to the GOA to standardize 

operations between the BSAI and GOA 

and evaluate the potential for increasing 

halibut survivability in the GOA. This 

experiment has the potential to promote 

the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut 

Act. 

DATES: Comments on this EFP 

application must be submitted to NMFS 

on or before October 10, 2017. The 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) will consider the 

application at its meeting from October 

2, 2017, through October 10, 2017, in 

Anchorage, AK. 

ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be 

held at the Hilton Hotel, 500 W 3rd 

Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501. The agenda 

for the Council meeting is available at 

http://www.npfmc.org. You may submit 

comments on this document, identified 

by NOAA–NMFS–2017–0112, by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017- 

0112, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. 

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered. All comments received are 

a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change.