Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Application for an Exempted Fishing Permit, 3992-3993 [E9-1184]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 13 / Thursday, January 22, 2009 / Notices
rmajette on PRODPC74 with NOTICES
Permit Issued
A notice of the receipt of an
application for a scientific research
permit (10093 and 10094) was
published in the Federal Register on
January 16, 2008 (73 FR 2900). Permits
10093 and 10094 were issued to CDFG
Region 1 and Region 3 on September 23,
2008.
Permits 10093 and 10094 authorizes
CDFG Region 1 and Region 3;
respectively, intentional non-lethal take,
and unintentional lethal take of the
following ESA-listed salmonids:
juvenile SONCC coho salmon, CCC coho
salmon, CC Chinook salmon, NC
steelhead, CCC steelhead, S-CCC
steelhead, and SC steelhead; adult CCC
coho salmon, CC Chinook salmon, NC
steelhead, CCC steelhead, and S-CCC
steelhead; and adult carcasses of
SONCC coho salmon, CCC coho salmon,
CC Chinook salmon, NC steelhead, CCC
steelhead, and S-CCC steelhead. The
take activities associated with juvenile
and adult ESA-listed salmonid studies
include; capture (backpack
electrofishing, beach seine, rotary screw
trap, fish ladder trap, resistance board
weir, flume-type-raceway/finger-weirtrap, hook and line and funnel/fyke
trap), anesthetizing (optional), handling
(identify, measure, and weigh), tissue
sampling (fin-clip), scale sampling,
marking (fin-clips and/or opercularhole-punch), tagging (PIT and/or Floy
tags) and release of fish. Take activities
associated with adult ESA-listed
salmonid carcass studies include;
handling (identify, measure, and count),
marking (opercular-hole-punch and/or
cut-in-half), tagging (hog-ring), retaining
(head; adipose clipped fish), scale
sampling, tissue sampling (fin-clip), and
release of fish.
Permits 10093 and 10094 authorizes
unintentional lethal take of juvenile
SONCC coho salmon, CCC coho salmon,
CC Chinook salmon, NC steelhead, CCC
steelhead, S-CCC steelhead, and SC
steelhead not to exceed 2.5 percent of
fish captured. Permits 10093 and 10094
authorizes unintentional lethal take of
adult CCC coho salmon, CC Chinook
salmon, NC steelhead, CCC steelhead,
and S-CCC steelhead not to exceed 2
percent of fish captured.
Permits 10093 and 10094 are for
research to be conducted in streams and
estuaries throughout the State of
California. The purpose of the research
is to support conservation and recovery
planning of ESA-listed salmonids,
address information needs identified by
CDFG Region 1 and Region 3, and
contribute to the general body of
scientific knowledge pertaining to ESA-
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:47 Jan 21, 2009
Jkt 217001
listed salmonids. Permits 10093 and
10094 expire on December 31, 2013.
Dated: January 14, 2009.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office
of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9–1121 Filed 1–21–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XM62
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 North Pacific
Fisheries Foundation. If granted, this
permit would allow the applicant to
collect approximately 100 Pacific
halibut caught in the non–pelagic trawl
gear fishery for flatfish to evaluate the
accuracy of two models for predicting
delayed mortality of individual trawl
caught halibut. This activity has the
potential to promote the objectives of
the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, and
the Pacific Halibut Act by assessing
techniques for improving survival of
halibut in non–pelagic trawl fisheries
and improving the accuracy of estimates
of halibut mortality. Comments will be
accepted at the February 4–10, 2009,
North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) meeting in Seattle,
WA.
Interested persons may comment
on the EFP application during the
Council’s February 4–10, 2009, meeting
in Seattle, WA.
ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be
held at the Renaissance Hotel, 515
Madison Street, Seattle, WA.
Copies of the EFP application and the
basis for a categorical exclusion under
the National Environmental Policy Act
are available by writing to the Alaska
Region, NMFS, P. O. Box 21668, Juneau,
AK 99802, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. The
application also is available from the
Alaska Region, NMFS website at https://
www.fakr.noaa.gov.
DATES:
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeff
Hartman, 907–586–7442 or
jeff.hartman@noaa.gov.
NMFS
manages the domestic groundfish
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands (BSAI) under the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the
BSAI (FMP), which the Council
prepared under the Magnuson–Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act. Regulations governing the
groundfish fisheries of the BSAI appear
at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. The FMP
and the implementing regulations at
§ 600.745(b) and § 679.6 allow the
NMFS Regional Administrator to
authorize, for limited experimental
purposes, fishing that would otherwise
be prohibited. Procedures for issuing
EFPs are contained in the implementing
regulations.
The International Pacific Halibut
Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage
fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus
stenolepis) through regulations
established under the authority of the
Convention between the United States
and Canada for the Preservation of the
Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific
Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention) and
the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982
(Halibut Act). The IPHC promulgates
regulations pursuant to the Convention.
The IPHC’s regulations are subject to
approval by the Secretary of State with
concurrence from the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary).
NMFS has received an application for
an EFP from the North Pacific Fisheries
Foundation (NPFF). Under this EFP, the
NPFF would evaluate methods for
projecting survival of released halibut,
which could improve NMFS’s estimates
of halibut mortality in the non–pelagic
trawl gear fishery for flatfish and
identify techniques for minimizing
mortality of this species in trawl
fisheries.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Regulations implemented by the IPHC
allow Pacific halibut to be commercially
harvested by the directed North Pacific
longline fishery only. Halibut caught
incidentally in other fisheries, such as
non–pelagic trawl fisheries, must be
recorded and returned to the ocean as
soon as possible. The North Pacific
Fishery Management Council
establishes a seasonal maximum
biomass of halibut bycatch adjusted for
the estimated halibut discard mortality
factor for each non–halibut directed
fishery. Fisheries close when they reach
their seasonal mortality cap even if the
catch of the target species is less than
the seasonal quota for the directed
E:\FR\FM\22JAN1.SGM
22JAN1
rmajette on PRODPC74 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 13 / Thursday, January 22, 2009 / Notices
fishery. In the case of Bering Sea flatfish
fisheries, seasons have been cut short by
the halibut bycatch cap before the
quotas have been reached. Accurately
accounting for halibut in NMFS
estimates of mortality and assuring that
each halibut returned to the sea has the
highest possible chance of survival are
therefore high priorities for the IPHC’s,
the Council’s, and NMFS’s management
goals for both halibut and groundfish.
Before halibut are discarded at–sea,
the catch must first be estimated by at–
sea observers. In order to credibly
account for halibut catch and to ensure
that the catch and discard of halibut is
observed, NMFS prohibits any removal
of halibut from a cod end, bin, or
conveyance system prior to being
observed and enumerated by an at–sea
observer.
With the implementation of
Amendment 80 to the FMP on
September 14, 2007 (72 FR 52668),
allocation of halibut was modified for
certain vessels, but halibut bycatch
continued to limit fishing in some
fisheries. The Amendment 80 sector
received an initial allocation of 2,525 mt
of halibut bycatch mortality, but that
allocation will decrease by 50 mt per
year until it reaches 2,325 mt in 2012
and subsequent years. In certain years,
this amount is less than the sector’s
historic catch; therefore, finding ways to
accurately estimate halibut survival is
important for this sector.
This application for an EFP from
NPFF proposes to study two methods
for predicting halibut survival. It would
allow researchers onboard a catcher
processor vessel to collect
approximately 100 halibut caught with
non–pelagic trawl gear and evaluate a
reflex action mortality predictor (RAMP)
for predicting delayed mortality in
individual trawl–caught halibut. The
RAMP method would be combined with
and compared to the existing IPHC
halibut mortality predictor currently
used by observers. To assess and
compare these two methods, halibut
would be held in live tanks on a vessel
and assessed by each method. The
collection and holding of halibut in this
manner requires an exemption from
regulations that prohibit retention of
halibut by trawl gear, and requiring that
all halibut caught with this gear be
released as soon as possible
(§ 679.7(a)(12), and § 679.21(b)(2)(ii)).
This EFP would apply for the period
of time required to complete the
experiment during 2009, in areas open
to directed fishing for flatfish. It would
be of limited scope and duration and
would not be expected to change the
nature or duration of the groundfish
fishery, fishing practices or gear used by
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:47 Jan 21, 2009
Jkt 217001
this vessel, or the amount or species of
fish caught.
The activities that would be
conducted under this EFP are not
expected to have a significant impact on
the human environment as detailed in
the categorical exclusion issued for this
action (see ADDRESSES).
In accordance with § 679.6, NMFS has
determined that the proposal warrants
further consideration and has forwarded
the application to the Council to initiate
consultation. The Council will consider
the EFP application during its February
4–10, 2009, meeting, which will be held
at the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle,
Washington. The applicant has been
invited to appear in support of the
application.
Public Comments
Interested persons may comment on
the application at the February 2009
Council meeting during public
testimony. Information regarding the
meeting is available at the Council’s
website at https://www.fakr.noaa.gov/
npfmc/council.htm. Copies of the
application and categorical exclusion
are available for review from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: January 15, 2009.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9–1184 Filed 1–21–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
COMMISSION
[CPSC Docket No. 09–C0003]
Lasko Products Inc., Provisional
Acceptance of a Settlement Agreement
and Order
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: It is the policy of the
Commission to publish settlements
which it provisionally accepts under the
Consumer Product Safety Act in the
Federal Register in accordance with the
terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e). Published
below is a provisionally accepted
Settlement Agreement with Lasko
Products Inc., containing a civil penalty
of $500,000.00.
DATES: Any interested person may ask
the Commission not to accept this
agreement or otherwise comment on its
contents by filing a written request with
the Office of the Secretary by February
5, 2009.
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
3993
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to
comment on this Settlement Agreement
should send written comments to the
Comment 09–C0003, Office of the
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety
Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Room 502, Bethesda, Maryland 20814–
4408.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Belinda V. Bell, Trial Attorney, Division
of Compliance, Office of the General
Counsel, Consumer Product Safety
Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, Maryland 20814–4408;
telephone (301) 504–7592.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of
the Agreement and Order appears
below.
Dated: January 9, 2009.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary.
United States of America
Consumer Product Safety Commission
In the Matter of Lasko Products Inc.,
a corporation
[CPSC Docket No. 09–C0003]
Settlement Agreement
1. This Settlement Agreement
(‘‘Agreement’’) is made by and between
the staff (‘‘staff’’) of the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) and Lasko Products
Inc. (‘‘Lasko’’), a corporation, in
accordance with 16 CFR 1118.20 of the
Commission’s Procedures for
Investigations, Inspections, and
Inquiries under the Consumer Product
Safety Act (‘‘CPSA’’). This Agreement
and the incorporated attached Order
(‘‘Order’’) resolve the staffs allegations
set forth below.
The Parties
2. The Commission is an independent
federal regulatory agency established
pursuant to, and responsible for the
enforcement of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C.
2051–2089.
3. Lasko is a corporation organized
and existing under the laws of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with
its principal corporate office located in
West Chester, Pennsylvania.
4. At all times relevant herein, Lasko
designed, manufactured and sold
portable electric fans, including those
that are the subject of the Agreement
and Order.
Staff Allegations
5. Between 1999 and 2001, Lasko
manufactured and distributed
approximately 5.6 million of the subject
portable electric fans under the
following brand names and model
numbers: Lasko 2135, 3300, 3400, 3410,
3510, 3515, 3521,3550, 3700, 3723,
E:\FR\FM\22JAN1.SGM
22JAN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 13 (Thursday, January 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3992-3993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1184]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XM62
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 North Pacific Fisheries Foundation. If
granted, this permit would allow the applicant to collect approximately
100 Pacific halibut caught in the non-pelagic trawl gear fishery for
flatfish to evaluate the accuracy of two models for predicting delayed
mortality of individual trawl caught halibut. This activity has the
potential to promote the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, and the Pacific Halibut Act by
assessing techniques for improving survival of halibut in non-pelagic
trawl fisheries and improving the accuracy of estimates of halibut
mortality. Comments will be accepted at the February 4-10, 2009, North
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) meeting in Seattle, WA.
DATES: Interested persons may comment on the EFP application during the
Council's February 4-10, 2009, meeting in Seattle, WA.
ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be held at the Renaissance Hotel,
515 Madison Street, Seattle, WA.
Copies of the EFP application and the basis for a categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act are available by
writing to the Alaska Region, NMFS, P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802,
Attn: Ellen Sebastian. The application also is available from the
Alaska Region, NMFS website at https://www.fakr.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Hartman, 907-586-7442 or
jeff.hartman@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the domestic groundfish
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) under the
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the BSAI (FMP), which the
Council prepared under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. Regulations governing the groundfish fisheries of the
BSAI appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. The FMP and the implementing
regulations at Sec. 600.745(b) and Sec. 679.6 allow the NMFS Regional
Administrator to authorize, for limited experimental purposes, fishing
that would otherwise be prohibited. Procedures for issuing EFPs are
contained in the implementing regulations.
The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage
fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) through
regulations established under the authority of the Convention between
the United States and Canada for the Preservation of the Halibut
Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention) and
the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act). The IPHC
promulgates regulations pursuant to the Convention. The IPHC's
regulations are subject to approval by the Secretary of State with
concurrence from the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary).
NMFS has received an application for an EFP from the North Pacific
Fisheries Foundation (NPFF). Under this EFP, the NPFF would evaluate
methods for projecting survival of released halibut, which could
improve NMFS's estimates of halibut mortality in the non-pelagic trawl
gear fishery for flatfish and identify techniques for minimizing
mortality of this species in trawl fisheries.
Background
Regulations implemented by the IPHC allow Pacific halibut to be
commercially harvested by the directed North Pacific longline fishery
only. Halibut caught incidentally in other fisheries, such as non-
pelagic trawl fisheries, must be recorded and returned to the ocean as
soon as possible. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council
establishes a seasonal maximum biomass of halibut bycatch adjusted for
the estimated halibut discard mortality factor for each non-halibut
directed fishery. Fisheries close when they reach their seasonal
mortality cap even if the catch of the target species is less than the
seasonal quota for the directed
[[Page 3993]]
fishery. In the case of Bering Sea flatfish fisheries, seasons have
been cut short by the halibut bycatch cap before the quotas have been
reached. Accurately accounting for halibut in NMFS estimates of
mortality and assuring that each halibut returned to the sea has the
highest possible chance of survival are therefore high priorities for
the IPHC's, the Council's, and NMFS's management goals for both halibut
and groundfish.
Before halibut are discarded at-sea, the catch must first be
estimated by at-sea observers. In order to credibly account for halibut
catch and to ensure that the catch and discard of halibut is observed,
NMFS prohibits any removal of halibut from a cod end, bin, or
conveyance system prior to being observed and enumerated by an at-sea
observer.
With the implementation of Amendment 80 to the FMP on September 14,
2007 (72 FR 52668), allocation of halibut was modified for certain
vessels, but halibut bycatch continued to limit fishing in some
fisheries. The Amendment 80 sector received an initial allocation of
2,525 mt of halibut bycatch mortality, but that allocation will
decrease by 50 mt per year until it reaches 2,325 mt in 2012 and
subsequent years. In certain years, this amount is less than the
sector's historic catch; therefore, finding ways to accurately estimate
halibut survival is important for this sector.
This application for an EFP from NPFF proposes to study two methods
for predicting halibut survival. It would allow researchers onboard a
catcher processor vessel to collect approximately 100 halibut caught
with non-pelagic trawl gear and evaluate a reflex action mortality
predictor (RAMP) for predicting delayed mortality in individual trawl-
caught halibut. The RAMP method would be combined with and compared to
the existing IPHC halibut mortality predictor currently used by
observers. To assess and compare these two methods, halibut would be
held in live tanks on a vessel and assessed by each method. The
collection and holding of halibut in this manner requires an exemption
from regulations that prohibit retention of halibut by trawl gear, and
requiring that all halibut caught with this gear be released as soon as
possible (Sec. 679.7(a)(12), and Sec. 679.21(b)(2)(ii)).
This EFP would apply for the period of time required to complete
the experiment during 2009, in areas open to directed fishing for
flatfish. It would be of limited scope and duration and would not be
expected to change the nature or duration of the groundfish fishery,
fishing practices or gear used by this vessel, or the amount or species
of fish caught.
The activities that would be conducted under this EFP are not
expected to have a significant impact on the human environment as
detailed in the categorical exclusion issued for this action (see
ADDRESSES).
In accordance with Sec. 679.6, NMFS has determined that the
proposal warrants further consideration and has forwarded the
application to the Council to initiate consultation. The Council will
consider the EFP application during its February 4-10, 2009, meeting,
which will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle, Washington. The
applicant has been invited to appear in support of the application.
Public Comments
Interested persons may comment on the application at the February
2009 Council meeting during public testimony. Information regarding the
meeting is available at the Council's website at https://
www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/council.htm. Copies of the application and
categorical exclusion are available for review from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: January 15, 2009.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-1184 Filed 1-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S