44582 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2017 / Notices 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection; 

they also will become a matter of public 

record. 

Dated: September 20, 2017. 

Sarah Brabson, 

NOAA PRA Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2017–20398 Filed 9–22–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF539 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Amendment 44 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

has submitted Amendment 44 to the 

Fishery Management Plan for the Reef 

Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico 

(FMP) for review, approval, and 

implementation by NMFS. Amendment 

44 would revise minimum stock size 

thresholds (MSST) for seven stocks in 

the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish 

fishery management unit. The MSST 

would be revised for the gag, red 

grouper, red snapper, vermilion 

snapper, gray triggerfish, greater 

amberjack, and hogfish stocks. The need 

for Amendment 44 is to provide a 

sufficient buffer between spawning 

stock biomass at maximum sustainable 

yield (BMSY) and MSST to reduce the 

likelihood that stock status changes 

frequently between overfished and not 

overfished as a result of scientific 

uncertainty or naturalfluctuations in 

biomass levels. 

DATES: Written comments on 

Amendment 44 must be received by 

November 24, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on Amendment 44 identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2017–0101’’ by either 

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- 

0101, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Peter Hood, NMFS Southeast Regional 

Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. 

Petersburg, FL 33701. 

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 by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

Electronic copies of Amendment 44 

may be obtained from 

www.regulations.gov or the Southeast 

Regional Office Web site at http://

sero.nmfs.noaa.gov. Amendment 44 

includes an environmental assessment 

and a fishery impact statement. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter Hood, NMFS Southeast Regional 

Office, telephone: 727–824–5305, or 

email: peter.hood@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each 

regional fishery management council to 

submit any FMP or amendment to 

NMFS for review and approval, partial 

approval, or disapproval. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires 

that NMFS, upon receiving a plan or 

amendment, publish an announcement 

in the Federal Register notifying the 

public that the FMP or amendment is 

available for review and comment. 

Amendment 44 to the FMP was 

prepared by the Council and, if 

approved, would be incorporated into 

the management of Gulf reef fish 

through the FMP. 

Background 

In 1999, the Council submitted the 

Generic Sustainable Fisheries Act 

Amendment to comply with status 

determination criteria (SDC) 

requirements of the Sustainable 

Fisheries Act of 1996. NMFS approved 

most of the fishing mortality threshold 

(MFMT) criteria, but disapproved all of 

the definitions for maximum sustainable 

yield (MSY), optimum yield (OY), and 

MSST. The Council subsequently began 

establishing these reference points and 

SDC on a species-specific basis as stock 

assessments were later conducted, and 

is currently preparing a plan 

amendment to address all of the 

unassessed reef fish stocks. Amendment 

44 focuses on those assessed stocks with 

MSSTs, which are gag, red grouper, red 

snapper, vermilion snapper, gray 

triggerfish, greater amberjack, and 

hogfish. Red snapper, gray triggerfish, 

and greater amberjack are currently 

considered overfished and are under 

rebuilding plans. The other 4 stocks are 

not considered overfished (gag, red 

grouper, vermilion snapper, and 

hogfish). 

For most of the assessed federally 

managed reef fish stocks in the Gulf 

with defined MSSTs, the overfished 

status, when applied, has been 

evaluated using the formula: 

(1¥M) * BMSY (M is the natural 

mortality rate and B is a measure of 

stock biomass). For some stocks that 

have a very low natural mortality rate, 

the formula (1¥M) * BMSY results in an 

MSST that is very close to the BMSY. For 

example, red snapper is a moderately 

long-lived fish that has a natural 

mortality rate of about 0.1. The above 

formula results in an MSST of 90 

percent of BMSY. In such situations it 

can be difficult to determine if a stock 

is actually less than MSST due to the 

imprecision and accuracy of the data 

used in stock assessments. In addition, 

natural fluctuations in stock biomass 

levels around the BMSY level may 

temporarily reduce the stock biomass to 

be less than MSST. Setting a greater 

buffer between BMSY and MSST can 

reduce the risk of mistakenly declaring 

a stock overfished. 

In Amendment 44, the Council 

evaluated MSSTs ranging from 

0.85*BMSY (or proxy) to 0.50*BMSY (or 

proxy), and selected 0.50*BMSY (or 

proxy) as its preferred alternative. This 

is consistent with the National Standard 

1 guidelines and reduces the likelihood 

of a stock being declared overfished as 

a result of scientific uncertainty or 

natural fluctuations in biomass levels. 

Setting the MSST at this level could 

result in a very restrictive rebuilding 

plan if the biomass level of a stock 

drops below the MSST and NMFS 

declares that the stock is overfished. 

However, the Council determined that 

the requirements for overfishing limits, 

annual catch limits, and accountability 

measures, reduce the probability that 

sustained overfishing would occur and 

cause a stock to fall below the MSST. 

The MSST proposed in Amendment 

44 is used for at least some stocks 

managed by three of the other regional 

fishery management councils (New 

England, Mid-Atlantic, and North 

Pacific). If this MSST definition is 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2017 / Notices 44583 

approved, NMFS expects that the Gulf 

red snapper and gray triggerfish stocks 

would be reclassified as not overfished, 

but rebuilding, because the biomass for 

these two stocks is currently estimated 

to be greater than 50 percent of BMSY. 

The greater amberjack stock would 

remain classified as overfished. 

Procedural Aspects of Amendment 44 

The Council has submitted 

Amendment 44 for Secretarial review, 

approval, and implementation. NMFS’ 

decision to approve, partially approve, 

or disapprove Amendment 44 will be 

based, in part, on consideration of 

comments, recommendations, and 

information received during the 

comment period on this notice of 

availability. After consideration of these 

factors, and consistency with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and other 

applicable laws, NMFS will publish a 

notice of agency action in the Federal 

Register announcing the Agency’s 

decision to approve, partially approve, 

or disapprove Amendment 44. Because 

none of the measures included in the 

amendment involve regulatory changes, 

no proposed or final rule is required at 

this time. If approved, the provisions of 

Amendment 44 would not be specified 

in regulations but would be considered 

an amendment to the FMP. 

Consideration of Public Comments 

Comments on Amendment 44 must be 

received by November 24, 2017. 

Comments received during the comment 

period for this notice of availability will 

be considered by NMFS in its decision 

to approve, partially approve, or 

disapprove Amendment 44. Comments 

received after the comment period will 

not be considered by NMFS in this 

decision. All comments received by 

NMFS during the comment period will 

be addressed in the notice of agency 

action. 

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

Dated: September 19, 2017. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–20396 Filed 9–22–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Alaska Rockfish 

Program: Permits and Reports 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before November 24, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at pracomments@doc.gov). 

An electronic copy of the most recent 

supporting statement for this 

information collection is available from 

http://www.cio.noaa.gov/itmanagement/ 

pdfs/0545ext15.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Sally Bibb, (907) 586–7228 

or sally.bibb@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This request is an extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

The Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish 

Program (RP) was designed to enhance 

resource conservation and improve 

economic efficiency in the rockfish 

fisheries conducted in the Central Gulf 

of Alaska by establishing cooperatives 

that receive exclusive harvest privileges. 

Through the RP, National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) (1) assigns 

rockfish quota share (QS) and 

cooperative quota to participants for 

rockfish primary and secondary species; 

(2) allows a participant holding a 

License Limitation Program (LLP) 

license with rockfish QS to form a 

rockfish cooperative with other persons; 

(3) allows holders of catcher/processor 

LLP licenses to opt-out of rockfish 

cooperatives each year; (4) includes an 

entry level longline fishery; (5) 

establishes sideboard limits, which are 

limits designed to prevent participants 

in the RP from increasing their 

historical effort in other Gulf of Alaska 

groundfish fisheries; and (6) includes 

monitoring and enforcement provisions. 

The Rockfish Program is authorized for 

until December 31, 2021. 

II. Method of Collection 

Forms are available on the NMFS 

Alaska Region Web site at https://

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/ 

central-goa-rockfish-program. The 

Application for Rockfish Cooperative 

Fishing Quota (CQ) must be submitted 

by mail, hand delivery, or fax. The 

Application for Inter-Cooperative 

Transfer of Rockfish CQ, the Rockfish 

Vessel Check-in/Checkout Report, and 

the Termination of Fishing Declaration 

must be submitted to NMFS online 

through eFISH on the NMFS Alaska 

Region Web site at https://

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/webapps/efish/ 

login. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0545. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(extension of a current information 

collection). 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; Individuals or 

households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 9. 

Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours 

for Application for Rockfish Cooperative 

Fishing Quota (CQ); 10 minutes for 

Application for Inter-Cooperative 

Transfer of Rockfish CQ; and 10 minutes 

for Rockfish Vessel Check-in/Checkout 

Report with Termination of Fishing 

Declaration. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours and Equivalent Labor Costs to the 

Public: 34 hours and $1,300 per year 

($37 per hour). 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $47 in recordkeeping/reporting 

costs for photocopying, faxing, and 

postage for the annual Application for 

Rockfish CQ. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES