Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 40 / Wednesday, February 28, 2001 / Notices 12763

Algorithm (‘‘Triple DES’’), which is

specified in FIPS 46–3.

NIST invites public comments on the

Draft FIPS for the AES. After the

comment period closes, NIST will

analyze the comments, make changes to

the document, as appropriate, and then

propose the draft standard to the

Secretary of Commerce for approval as

a FIPS.

DATES: Comments on the Draft FIPS for

the AES must be received on or before

May 29, 2001.

Specifications: Specifications for the

Draft FIPS for the AES are available

through the AES home page: http://

www.nist.gov/aes/.

ADDRESSES: Official comments on the

Draft FIPS for the AES may either be

sent electronically to

AEScomments@nist.gov or by regular

mail to: Chief, Computer Security

Division, Information Technology

Laboratory, ATTN: Comments on Draft

FIPS for the AES, 100 Bureau Drive,

Stop 8930, National Institute of

Standards and Technology,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899–8930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

James Foti (301) 975–5237,

jfoti@nist.gov, National Institute of

Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau

Drive, STOP 8930, Gaithersburg, MD

20899–8930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January

1997, NIST initiated an effort to develop

the Advanced Encryption Standard

(AES), which would provide

cryptographic security well into the

twenty-first century. In August 1999,

NIST announced five publicly

submitted candidate algorithms as

finalists for the AES, and invited public

review, comment, and analysis in order

to make a selection for the Draft FIPS for

the AES. During the Round 2 technical

evaluation period, these five finalists

were subjected to extensive analysis and

testing by the cryptographic community.

After much careful study and

consideration of the finalists and Round

2 public comments, NIST made its

selection for the Draft FIPS for the AES,

and issued a report explaining that

selection. The report is available at

http://www.nist.gov/aes/.

NIST strongly encourages the public

to continue performing analyses of the

security of the AES, and to submit those

analyses as official comments in

response to this request. Such analyses

and other comments received will be

considered by NIST in preparing the

final version of the FIPS for the AES.

NIST seeks detailed comments

regarding any intellectual property that

may be infringed by the practice of the

algorithm(s) in the Draft FIPS for the

AES. This includes comments from all

parties regarding specific claims that the

practice of a finalists algorithm infringes

on their patent(s). Claims regarding

infringement of copyrighted software

are also particularly solicited. NIST

views this input as a critical factor in

the eventual widespread adoption and

implementation of the Draft FIPS for the

AES.

NIST reminds all interested parties

that the AES development effort is being

conducted as an open standards-setting

activity. Specifically, NIST has

requested that all interested parties

identify to NIST any patents or

inventions that may be required for the

use of AES. Public comments received

in response to this request will be

posted periodically during the comment

period at http://csrc.nist.gov/cryptval/

aes/draftfips/.

To encourage on-going discussions

related to the AES, NIST will continue

to maintain its AES electronic

discussion forum at http://aes.nist.gov/

aes/. Please note that comments posted

at that site will NOT be considered

‘‘official’’ comments.

No additional conferences are

planned for the Draft FIPS for the AES

at this time.

NIST intends to develop a Draft FIPS

for AES Modes of Operation. Given the

need for further public discussion and

study of suggested modes of operation,

NIST will hold a public workshop to

discuss the Draft FIPS. Details on this

effort are located at http://www.nist.gov/

modes/.

Authority: Federal Information Processing

Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS) are

issued by the National Institute of Standards

and Technology after approval by the

Secretary of Commerce pursuant to section

5131 of the Information Technology

Management Reform Act of 1996 and the

Computer Security Act of 1987, Public Law

100–235.

E.O. 12866: This notice has been

determined to be significant for purposes of

E.O. 12866.

Dated: February 20, 2001.

Karen Brown,

Acting Director, NIST.

[FR Doc. 01–4886 Filed 2–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–CN–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 121200J]

Marine Mammals; File No. 87-1593-00

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr.

Daniel Costa (Principal Investigator),

Institute of Marine Sciences, Earth &

Marine Sciences Bldg. A316, University

of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064,

has been issued a permit to take

California sea lions (Zalophus

californianus) and Antarctic pinnipeds

for purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments

must be received on or before March 30,

2001.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related

documents are available for review

upon written request or by appointment

in the following office(s):

Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13130,

Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713–

2289); and

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach,

CA 90802-4213; phone (562)980–4001;

fax (562)980–4018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ruth Johnson, 301/713–2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August

15, 2000, and on November 15, 2000,

notices were published in the Federal

Register (65 FR 49786 and 68983) that

a request for a scientific research permit

to take California sea lions and

Antarctic pinnipeds had been submitted

by the above-named individual.

Project I - The Holder is studying the

foraging ecology and energetics of

California sea lions of all age and sex

classes in southern and central

California, including San Nicolas, Ano

Nuevo and San Miguel Islands. The

Permit authorizes, annually, for 5 years,

40 adult sea lions and 100 pup sea lions

will be captured, tagged, bleach marked,

instrumented with satellite linked

TDRs, blood sampled, and measured. In

addition the Holder is authorized to

incidentally harass up to 6,650 animals

annually and is allowed up to five

accidental mortalities over the five-year

period.

Project II - The Holder is studying

Crabeater seals (Lobodon

carcinophagus). The Permit authorizes

annually, for up to 5 years, 25 L.

carcinophagus and 10 each for leopard

seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), Weddell seal

(Leptonychotes weddellii), and Ross seal

(Ommatophoca rossii). Animals will be

captured, immobilized, weighed/

measured, sampled [blood and biopsy,

whisker], administered tritiated saline

water, flipper tagged, marked, lavaged

for stomach contents, and instrumented

12764 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 40 / Wednesday, February 28, 2001 / Notices

with VHF/satellite transmitters. The

project will determine the distribution

and foraging behavior of adult Crabeater

seals and simultaneously assess the

impact that oceanographic features and

prey aggregations have on foraging

strategies employed. Equivalent data

will be obtained for other species.

Research will occur in Marguerite Bay,

West Antarctic Peninsula. Opportunistic

samples will be collected from dead

beach cast seals for deposit in the

natural history collection at the

University.

The requested permit has been issued

under the authority of the Marine

Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as

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

the Regulations Governing the Taking

and Importing of Marine Mammals (50

CFR part 216).

Dated: February 21, 2001.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–4892 Filed 2–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 022000C]

National Plan of Action for the

Reduction of Incidental Catch of

Seabirds in Longline Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; response

to public comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the

availability of the National Plan of

Action for the Reduction of Incidental

Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries

(NPOA-S). NMFS also responds to

public comments received on the draft

NPOA-S.

DATES: The final version of the NPOAS is now in effect and available on the

NMFS web site (http://www.nmfs.gov).

Hard copies of the document are

available upon request (see ADDRESSES).

ADDRESSES: Requests for hard copies of

the NPOA-S should be sent to Steve

Leathery, NOAA-Fisheries/SF3, Room

14434, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steve Leathery, 301–713–2341, or fax

301–713–1193.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

United States developed an NPOA-S

through a collaborative effort between

NMFS, the U.S. Department of State

(DOS), and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife

Service (FWS), pursuant to the

International Plan of Action for the

Reduction of Incidental Catch of

Seabirds in Longline Fisheries (IPOA-S)

that was adopted by the United Nations

Food and Agriculture Organization

Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in

February 1999. The United States will

report to COFI by February, 2001, on

NPOA-S development and

implementation.

An outline describing the proposed

structure of the draft NPOA-S was

published in the Federal Register on

September 9, 1999 (64 FR 48987). The

draft NPOA-S was released for public

review and comment on December 29,

1999 (64 FR 73017), and the public

comment period was subsequently

extended through February 7, 2000.

Comments and Responses

NMFS received 10 written public

comments and held one public meeting

during the development of the NPOA-S.

NMFS considered all comments

received on the draft NPOA-S when

drafting the final version of the NPOAS.

Comment 1: The draft NPOA-S does

not fulfill the responsibilities outlined

in the IPOA-S and compromises U.S.

leadership in international negotiations

on reducing seabird bycatch in longline

fisheries.

Response: The IPOA-S is a voluntary

measure that calls on member states to

assess their longline fisheries and, if a

seabird bycatch problem is determined

to exist, to develop an NPOA-S to

reduce seabird bycatch within 2 years.

NMFS has conducted a preliminary

review of seabird bycatch in U.S.

longline fisheries and has determined

that a seabird bycatch problem exists in

several U.S. longline fisheries, including

Hawaii-based pelagic longline fisheries

and Alaska halibut and groundfish

demersal longline fisheries. Consistent

with this NPOA-S, seabird bycatch

regulations are in place for Alaska

longline fisheries and under

development for Hawaii longline

fisheries, and research is underway in

Alaska and Hawaii longline fisheries to

determine the effectiveness of seabird

bycatch measures and to improve those

measures.

NMFS, FWS, and DOS developed this

NPOA-S to provide policy guidance to

reduce seabird bycatch in those longline

fisheries where a problem is already

known to exist and to assess all other

U.S. longline fisheries within 2 years to

determine whether a seabird bycatch

problem exists. If a seabird bycatch

problem is found to exist, a fisheryspecific plan should be developed

within 1 year that would implement

seabird bycatch mitigation measures in

that fishery within 2 years.

Although incidental (i.e., unintended)

catch of seabirds in longline fisheries is

often termed ‘‘bycatch,’’ the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens

Act), which is the primary law covering

management of marine fishery resources

in U.S. waters, specifically excludes

seabirds from the definition of ‘‘fish’’

and, therefore, bycatch. Unless certain

requirements under the Endangered

Species Act are involved, the

Magnuson-Stevens Act does not require

implementation of measures to reduce

incidental catch of seabirds. However,

the Magnuson-Stevens Act authorizes

implementation of fishery management

measures designed to protect the marine

environment from the effects of fishing

activities.

In order to strengthen NMFS’ ability

to effectively implement seabird

conservation measures in U.S. fisheries,

NMFS is supporting an amendment to

the Magnuson-Stevens Act that would

change the definition of bycatch to

include seabirds and would require

fishery management plans to

specifically address seabird bycatch. For

the purpose of the NPOA-S, the term

‘‘bycatch’’ is used for incidental seabird

catch, and the term ‘‘seabird’’ refers to

those bird species that habitually obtain

their food from the sea below the low

water mark.

NMFS believes that the final NPOAS demonstrates strong U.S. leadership

on this important international seabird

conservation issue. The United States

already has seabird bycatch mitigation

regulations in place for all Alaska

longline fisheries and under

consideration for implementation in

Hawaii longline fisheries. Additionally,

the United States is likely to be one of

the first COFI members to complete an

NPOA-S, which calls on the United

States to further advance the IPOA-S at

future international fisheries

management fora.

Comment 2: The draft NPOA-S does

not contain any seabird bycatch

reduction guidelines or performance

standards.

Response: The final NPOA-S provides

policy guidance to the Regional Fishery

Management Councils (Councils) and

the NMFS Regions to assess all U.S.

longline fisheries within the next 2

years to determine if a seabird bycatch

problem exists beyond what was

determined in the preliminary