Federal Register Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 49 / Monday, March 14, 2016 / Notices
c. Rare events bycatch workshop plan
iv. Discussion and synthesis
6. Public Comment
9 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday, April 8, 2016
7. FEP Annual Report Review Part II
A. Pelagic Non-longline Fishery
Sections
i. Summary of relevant fishery data
ii. Protected species section
iii. Discussion and synthesis
B. Insular Fishery Sections
i. Summary of relevant fishery data
ii. Protected species section
iii. Discussion and synthesis
C. Discussion on Monitoring Protected
Species Interactions under the FEP
Annual Reports
D. Discussion on Data Gaps and
Research Needs
8. Council’s Research Priorities
A. Five-year Research Priorities
B. Cooperative Research Priorities
C. Discussion
8. Public Comment
9. Committee Discussion and
Recommendations
10. Other Business & Next Meeting
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 5 days prior to the
meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 9, 2016.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016–05637 Filed 3–11–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Basic
Requirements for Special Exemption
Permits and Authorizations To Take,
Import, and Export Marine Mammals,
Threatened and Endangered Species,
and for Maintaining a Captive Marine
Mammal Inventory Under the Marine
Mammal Protection, the Fur Seal, and
the Endangered Species Acts
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The Department of
Commerce, as part of its continuing

SUMMARY:

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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 May 13, 2016.
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 [email protected]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Amy Sloan, NOAA Fisheries
Office of Protected Resources, 1315
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD
20910 ((301) 427–84010), Amy.Sloan@
noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract
This request is for a revision and
extension of a currently approved
information collection.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act
(16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.; MMPA), Fur
Seal Act (16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.; FSA),
and Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.; ESA) prohibit certain
activities affecting marine mammals and
endangered and threatened species,
with exceptions. Pursuant to section 104
of the MMPA and Section 10(a)(1)(A) of
the ESA, special exception permits may
be obtained for scientific research and
enhancing the survival or recovery of a
species or stock of marine mammals or
threatened or endangered species.
Section 104 of the MMPA also includes
permits for commercial and educational
photography of marine mammals;
import and capture of marine mammals
for public display; and, Letters of
Confirmation under the General
Authorization for scientific research that
involves minimal disturbance to marine
mammals. The regulations
implementing permits and reporting
requirements under the MMPA and FSA
are at 50 CFR part 216; the regulations
for permit requirements under the ESA
are at 50 CFR part 222. The required
information in this collection is used to
make the determinations required by the
MMPA, ESA and their implementing
regulations prior to issuing a permit; to
establish appropriate permit conditions;
and to evaluate the impacts of the
proposed activity on protected species.
Inventory reporting pertaining to marine

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mammals in public display facilities is
required by the MMPA.
This information collection applies to
certain protected species for which
NMFS is responsible, including
cetaceans (whales, dolphins and
porpoises), pinnipeds (seals and sea
lions), sawfish (largetooth and
smalltooth), sea turtles (in water), and
sturgeon (Atlantic and shortnose). The
information collection may be used for
future listed species.
The currently approved application
and reporting requirements will be
revised to (1) create separate sections for
marine mammals versus non-mammal
species where doing so will result in
less burden to the applicant (e.g., for
scientific methods); (2) clarify to
applicants why the information is
required and what level of detail is
needed for our analyses; (3) create
‘enhanced help’ features (e.g., pop-up
windows) in the online application
system, Authorizations and Permits for
Protected Species (APPS; https://
apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/) to make the
instructions more accessible; (4) create a
streamlined application and online
module in APPS for scientific research
permits involving only import, export,
or receipt of biological samples (i.e.,
where no animals in the wild are
affected); (5) make photography permit
applications accessible via APPS.
II. Method of Collection
Permit applications, permit reports,
and inventory reports are available in
paper or electronic versions (online or
via email). Respondents may submit all
applications and forms by email,
facsimile, or mail. Respondents may
also submit scientific research and
enhancement permit applications and
Letters of Intent under the General
Authorization online via APPS.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0084.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular (revision and
extension of a currently approved
collection).
Affected Public: Individuals; business
or other for-profit organizations; not-forprofit institutions; state, local, or tribal
government; Federal government.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
536.
Estimated Time per Response:
Scientific research permit applications,
50 hours; public display permit
applications, 30 hours; photography
permit applications, 10 hours; General
Authorization applications, 10 hours;
major permit modification requests, 35
hours; minor permit modification
requests, 3 hours; scientific research

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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 49 / Monday, March 14, 2016 / Notices

permit reports, 12 hours; public display
permit reports, 2 hours; photography
permit reports, 2 hours; General
Authorization reports, 8 hours; public
display inventory reporting, 2 hours;
and record keeping, 2 hours per permit
or authorization type (including permits
for scientific research, public display,
photography, General Authorization;
and retention or transfer of rehabilitated
animals).
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 7,455.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $1,000 in recordkeeping/
reporting costs.
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
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
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: March 8, 2016.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016–05612 Filed 3–11–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
New England Fishery Management
Council; Public Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; public meeting.

jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

AGENCY:

The New England Fishery
Management Council (Council) is
scheduling a public meeting of its
Herring Committee to consider actions
affecting New England fisheries in the
exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Recommendations from this group will

SUMMARY:

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be brought to the full Council for formal
consideration and action, if appropriate.
This meeting will be held on
Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 9 a.m.

DATES:

ADDRESSES:

Dated: March 9, 2016.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016–05636 Filed 3–11–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

Meeting address: The meeting will be
held at the Holiday Inn, 300 Woodbury
Avenue, Portsmouth, NH 03801; phone:
(603) 431–8000; fax: (603) 431–2065.
Council address: New England
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XE075

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Marine Mammals; File No. 18636

Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management
Council; telephone: (978) 465–0492.

AGENCY:

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Agenda
The Committee plans to discuss the
Atlantic Herring Fishery Management
Plan in regards to plans for a public
workshop on the Management Strategy
Evaluation of Atlantic Herring
Acceptable Biological Catch control
rules, Plan Development Team (PDT)
analyses related to localized depletion
in inshore waters and potentially
develop a definition of localized
depletion, a problem statement and
related measures, and/or task PDT with
additional analyses. The Committee also
plans to discuss Georges Bank haddock
catch cap accountability measures
(AMs), specifically, plans to potentially
develop a framework adjustment in
2016 to consider revising the AMs.
Other business will be discussed as
necessary.
Although non-emergency issues not
contained in this agenda may come
before this group for discussion, those
issues may not be the subject of formal
action during these meetings. Action
will be restricted to those issues
specifically listed in this notice and any
issues arising after publication of this
notice that require emergency action
under section 305(c) of the MagnusonStevens Act, provided the public has
been notified of the Council’s intent to
take final action to address the
emergency.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for
sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, at
(978) 465–0492, at least 5 days prior to
the meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

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National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.
Notice is hereby given that a
permit has been issued to Iain Kerr,
D.H.L., Ocean Alliance, 32 Horton
Street, Gloucester, MA 01930 to conduct
research on 15 species of whales,
including endangered sperm (Physeter
macrocephalus), southern right
(Eubalaena australis), blue
(Balaenoptera musculus), fin (B.
physalus), humpback (Megaptera
novaeangliae), and sei (B. borealis)
whales.

SUMMARY:

The permit and related
documents are available for review
upon written request or by appointment
in the Permits and Conservation
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone
(301) 427–8401; fax (301) 713–0376.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Hapeman or Amy Sloan, (301)
427–8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August
27, 2015, notice was published in the
Federal Register (80 FR 52035) that a
request for a permit to conduct research
on the species identified above had been
submitted by the above-named
applicant. 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.), the
regulations governing the taking and
importing of marine mammals (50 CFR
part 216), the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.), and the regulations governing
the taking, importing, and exporting of
endangered and threatened species (50
CFR parts 222–226).
Mr. Kerr has been issued a permit to
conduct research on cetaceans in U.S.
waters and the high seas of the Pacific,
Atlantic and Indian Oceans to
determine how environmental toxicants
ADDRESSES:

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