2021 Annual Determination To Implement the Sea Turtle Observer Requirement, 60963-60964 [2020-21468]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 189 / Tuesday, September 29, 2020 / Notices
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: September 23, 2020.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020–21402 Filed 9–28–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XA417]
2021 Annual Determination To
Implement the Sea Turtle Observer
Requirement
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) is providing
notification that the agency will not
identify additional fisheries to observe
on the 2021 Annual Determination
(AD), pursuant to its authority under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA or Act).
Through the AD, NMFS identifies U.S.
fisheries operating in the Atlantic
Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific
Ocean that will be required to take
observers upon NMFS’ request. The
purpose of observing identified fisheries
is to learn more about sea turtle bycatch
in a given fishery, evaluate measures to
prevent or reduce sea turtle bycatch,
and implement the prohibition against
sea turtle takes. Fisheries identified on
the 2018 and 2020 ADs (see Table 1)
remain on the AD for a 5-year period
and are required to carry observers upon
NMFS’ request until December 31, 2022,
and September 29, 2025 respectively.
ADDRESSES: Chief, Marine Mammal and
Sea Turtle Conservation Division, Office
of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD
20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jaclyn Taylor, Office of Protected
Resources, 301–427–8402; Ellen Keane,
Greater Atlantic Region, 978–282–8476;
Dennis Klemm, Southeast Region, 727–
824–5312; Dan Lawson, West Coast
Region, 206–526–4740; Irene Kelly,
Pacific Islands Region, 808–725–5141.
Individuals who use a
telecommunications device for the
hearing impaired may call the Federal
Information Relay Service at 800–877–
8339 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern
time, Monday through Friday, excluding
Federal holidays.
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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Purpose of the Sea Turtle Observer
Requirement
Under the ESA, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.,
NMFS has the responsibility to
implement programs to conserve marine
life listed as endangered or threatened.
All sea turtles found in U.S. waters are
listed as either endangered or
threatened under the ESA. Kemp’s
ridley (Lepidochelys kempii),
loggerhead (Caretta caretta; North
Pacific distinct population segment),
leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea),
green (Chelonia mydas; Central West
Pacific and Central South Pacific
distinct population segments), and
hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea
turtles are listed as endangered.
Loggerhead (Caretta caretta; Northwest
Atlantic Ocean distinct population
segment), green (Chelonia mydas; North
Atlantic, South Atlantic, Central North
Pacific, and East Pacific distinct
population segments), and olive ridley
(Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles are
listed as threatened, except for breeding
colony populations of olive ridleys on
the Pacific coast of Mexico, which are
listed as endangered. Due to the
inability to distinguish between
populations of olive ridley turtles away
from the nesting beach, NMFS considers
these turtles endangered wherever they
occur in U.S. waters. While some sea
turtle populations have shown signs of
recovery, many populations continue to
decline.
Bycatch in fishing gear is the primary
anthropogenic source of sea turtle injury
and mortality in U.S. waters. Section 9
of the ESA prohibits the take (defined to
include harassing, harming, pursuing,
hunting, shooting, wounding, killing,
trapping, capturing, or collecting or
attempting to engage in any such
conduct), including incidental take, of
endangered sea turtles. Pursuant to
section 4(d) of the ESA, NMFS has
issued regulations extending the
prohibition of take, with exceptions, to
threatened sea turtles (50 CFR 223.205
and 223.206). Section 11 of the ESA
provides for civil and criminal penalties
for anyone who violates the Act or a
regulation issued to implement the Act.
NMFS may grant exceptions to the take
prohibitions with an incidental take
statement or an incidental take permit
issued pursuant to ESA section 7 or 10,
respectively. To do so, NMFS must
determine that the activity that will
result in incidental take is not likely to
jeopardize the continued existence of
the affected listed species. For some
Federal fisheries and most state
fisheries, NMFS has not granted an
exception for incidental takes of sea
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
60963
turtles primarily because we lack
information about fishery-sea turtle
interactions.
The most effective way for NMFS to
learn more about bycatch in order to
implement the take prohibitions and
prevent or minimize take is to place
observers aboard fishing vessels. In
2007, NMFS issued a regulation (50 CFR
222.402) establishing procedures to
annually identify, pursuant to specified
criteria and after notice and opportunity
for comment, those fisheries in which
the agency intends to place observers
(72 FR 43176; August 3, 2007). These
regulations specify that NMFS may
place observers on U.S. fishing vessels,
commercial or recreational, operating in
U.S. territorial waters, the U.S.
exclusive economic zone, or on the high
seas, or on vessels that are otherwise
subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States. Failure to comply with the
requirements under this regulation may
result in civil or criminal penalties
under the ESA.
NMFS will pay the direct costs for
vessels to carry the required observers.
These include observer salary and
insurance costs. NMFS may also
evaluate other potential direct costs,
should they arise. Once selected, a
fishery will be required to carry
observers, if requested, for a period of 5
years without further action by NMFS.
This will enable NMFS to develop
appropriate observer coverage and
sampling protocol to investigate
whether, how, when, where, and under
what conditions sea turtle bycatch is
occurring; to evaluate whether existing
measures are minimizing or preventing
bycatch; and to implement ESA take
prohibitions and conserve and recover
turtles.
2021 Annual Determination
Pursuant to 50 CFR 222.402(a),
NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, in consultation with Regional
Administrators and Fisheries Science
Center Directors, annually identifies
fisheries for inclusion on the AD based
on the extent to which:
(1) The fishery operates in the same
waters and at the same time as sea
turtles are present;
(2) The fishery operates at the same
time or prior to elevated sea turtle
strandings; or
(3) The fishery uses a gear or
technique that is known or likely to
result in incidental take of sea turtles
based on documented or reported takes
in the same or similar fisheries; and
(4) NMFS intends to monitor the
fishery and anticipates that it will have
the funds to do so.
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60964
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 189 / Tuesday, September 29, 2020 / Notices
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
NMFS is providing notification that
the agency is not identifying additional
fisheries to observe on the 2021 AD,
pursuant to its authority under the ESA.
NMFS is not identifying additional
fisheries at this time given lack of
dedicated resources to implement new
observer programs or expand existing
observer programs to focus on sea
turtles. The two fisheries identified on
the 2018 AD (see Table 1) will remain
on the AD for a 5-year period and are
therefore required to carry observers
upon NMFS’ request until December 31,
2022. The four fisheries identified on
the 2020 AD (see Table 1) will remain
on the AD for a 5-year period and are
therefore required to carry observers
upon NMFS’ request until September
29, 2025.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; International Design
Applications (Hague Agreement)
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of an information
collection; request for comment.
AGENCY:
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO), in
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, invites
comments on the extension and revision
of an existing information collection:
TABLE 1—STATE AND FEDERAL COM- 0651–0075 (International Design
MERCIAL FISHERIES INCLUDED ON Applications (Hague Agreement)). The
THE 2018 AND 2020 ANNUAL DE- purpose of this notice is to allow 60
days for public comment preceding
TERMINATIONS
submission of the information collection
Years eligible to OMB.
Fishery
to carry
DATES: To ensure consideration,
observers
comments regarding this information
collection must be received on or before
Trawl Fisheries
November 30, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
Southeastern U.S. Atlantic,
Gulf of Mexico shrimp
invited to submit written comments by
trawl ...................................
2020–2025 any of the following methods. Do not
Gulf of Mexico mixed spesubmit Confidential Business
cies fish trawl ....................
2020–2025 Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
Gillnet Fisheries
• Email: InformationCollection@
uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0075
Mid-Atlantic gillnet ................
2018–2022
comment’’ in the subject line of the
Chesapeake Bay inshore
gillnet .................................
2020–2025 message.
• Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://
Long Island inshore gillnet ...
2020–2025
www.regulations.gov.
• Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the
Pound Net/Weir/Seine Fisheries
Chief Administrative Officer, United
States Patent and Trademark Office,
Gulf of Mexico menhaden
purse seine .......................
2018–2022 P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–
1450.
FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dated: September 23, 2020.
Requests
for additional information
Donna S. Wieting,
should be directed to Rafael Bacares,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent
National Marine Fisheries Service.
Legal Administration, United States
[FR Doc. 2020–21468 Filed 9–28–20; 8:45 am]
Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by
telephone at 571–272–3276; or by email
to Rafael.Bacares@uspto.gov with
‘‘0651–0075 comment’’ in the subject
line. Additional information about this
information collection is also available
at https://www.reginfo.gov under
‘‘Information Collection Review.’’
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. Abstract
The Patent Law Treaties
Implementation Act of 2012 (PLTIA)
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18:14 Sep 28, 2020
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Frm 00010
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amends the patent laws to implement
the provisions of the Geneva Act of the
Hague Agreement Concerning
International Registration of Industrial
Designs (hereinafter ‘‘Hague
Agreement’’) in title 1, and the Patent
Law Treaty (PLT) in title 2. The Hague
Agreement is an international agreement
that enables an applicant to file a single
international design application which
may have the effect of an application for
protection for the design(s) in countries
and/or intergovernmental organizations
that are Parties to the Hague Agreement
(the ‘‘Contracting Parties’’) designated in
the applications. The United States is a
Contracting Party to the Hague
Agreement, which took effect with
respect to the United States on May 13,
2015. The Hague Agreeement is
administered by the International
Bureau (IB) of World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) located in
Geneva, Switzerland.
This collection covers information
filed by U.S. applicants for the
prosecution of international design
applications ‘‘indirectly’’ through the
United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO), which will forward the
applications to the IB or ‘‘directly’’ with
the IB. The IB ascertains whether the
international design application
complies with formal requirements,
registers the international design in the
International register, and publishes the
international registration in the
International Designs Bulletin. The
international registration contains all of
the data of the international application,
any reproduction of the industrial
design, date of the international
registration, number of the international
registration, and relevant class of the
International Classification.
The IB will provide a copy of the
publication of the international
registration to each Contracting party
designated by the applicant. A
designated Contracting Party may
perform a substantive examination of
the design application. The USPTO will
perform a substantive examination for
patentability of the international design
application, as in the case of regular
U.S. design applications. The industrial
design or designs will be eligible for
protection in all the Contracting Parties
designated by applicants.
In addition, this collection covers the
various fees related to the processing of
International design applications, such
as the: (1) Basic fee; (2) standard
designation fee(s); (3) individual
designation fee(s); and (4) publication
fee. Also, an additional fee is required
where the applications contain a
description that exceeds 100 words, and
a transmittal fee is required for
E:\FR\FM\29SEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60963-60964]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21468]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XA417]
2021 Annual Determination To Implement the Sea Turtle Observer
Requirement
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is providing
notification that the agency will not identify additional fisheries to
observe on the 2021 Annual Determination (AD), pursuant to its
authority under the Endangered Species Act (ESA or Act). Through the
AD, NMFS identifies U.S. fisheries operating in the Atlantic Ocean,
Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Ocean that will be required to take
observers upon NMFS' request. The purpose of observing identified
fisheries is to learn more about sea turtle bycatch in a given fishery,
evaluate measures to prevent or reduce sea turtle bycatch, and
implement the prohibition against sea turtle takes. Fisheries
identified on the 2018 and 2020 ADs (see Table 1) remain on the AD for
a 5-year period and are required to carry observers upon NMFS' request
until December 31, 2022, and September 29, 2025 respectively.
ADDRESSES: Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division,
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jaclyn Taylor, Office of Protected
Resources, 301-427-8402; Ellen Keane, Greater Atlantic Region, 978-282-
8476; Dennis Klemm, Southeast Region, 727-824-5312; Dan Lawson, West
Coast Region, 206-526-4740; Irene Kelly, Pacific Islands Region, 808-
725-5141. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the
hearing impaired may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 800-
877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday,
excluding Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of the Sea Turtle Observer Requirement
Under the ESA, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., NMFS has the responsibility
to implement programs to conserve marine life listed as endangered or
threatened. All sea turtles found in U.S. waters are listed as either
endangered or threatened under the ESA. Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys
kempii), loggerhead (Caretta caretta; North Pacific distinct population
segment), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), green (Chelonia mydas;
Central West Pacific and Central South Pacific distinct population
segments), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles are
listed as endangered. Loggerhead (Caretta caretta; Northwest Atlantic
Ocean distinct population segment), green (Chelonia mydas; North
Atlantic, South Atlantic, Central North Pacific, and East Pacific
distinct population segments), and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
sea turtles are listed as threatened, except for breeding colony
populations of olive ridleys on the Pacific coast of Mexico, which are
listed as endangered. Due to the inability to distinguish between
populations of olive ridley turtles away from the nesting beach, NMFS
considers these turtles endangered wherever they occur in U.S. waters.
While some sea turtle populations have shown signs of recovery, many
populations continue to decline.
Bycatch in fishing gear is the primary anthropogenic source of sea
turtle injury and mortality in U.S. waters. Section 9 of the ESA
prohibits the take (defined to include harassing, harming, pursuing,
hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, or
collecting or attempting to engage in any such conduct), including
incidental take, of endangered sea turtles. Pursuant to section 4(d) of
the ESA, NMFS has issued regulations extending the prohibition of take,
with exceptions, to threatened sea turtles (50 CFR 223.205 and
223.206). Section 11 of the ESA provides for civil and criminal
penalties for anyone who violates the Act or a regulation issued to
implement the Act. NMFS may grant exceptions to the take prohibitions
with an incidental take statement or an incidental take permit issued
pursuant to ESA section 7 or 10, respectively. To do so, NMFS must
determine that the activity that will result in incidental take is not
likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the affected listed
species. For some Federal fisheries and most state fisheries, NMFS has
not granted an exception for incidental takes of sea turtles primarily
because we lack information about fishery-sea turtle interactions.
The most effective way for NMFS to learn more about bycatch in
order to implement the take prohibitions and prevent or minimize take
is to place observers aboard fishing vessels. In 2007, NMFS issued a
regulation (50 CFR 222.402) establishing procedures to annually
identify, pursuant to specified criteria and after notice and
opportunity for comment, those fisheries in which the agency intends to
place observers (72 FR 43176; August 3, 2007). These regulations
specify that NMFS may place observers on U.S. fishing vessels,
commercial or recreational, operating in U.S. territorial waters, the
U.S. exclusive economic zone, or on the high seas, or on vessels that
are otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Failure
to comply with the requirements under this regulation may result in
civil or criminal penalties under the ESA.
NMFS will pay the direct costs for vessels to carry the required
observers. These include observer salary and insurance costs. NMFS may
also evaluate other potential direct costs, should they arise. Once
selected, a fishery will be required to carry observers, if requested,
for a period of 5 years without further action by NMFS. This will
enable NMFS to develop appropriate observer coverage and sampling
protocol to investigate whether, how, when, where, and under what
conditions sea turtle bycatch is occurring; to evaluate whether
existing measures are minimizing or preventing bycatch; and to
implement ESA take prohibitions and conserve and recover turtles.
2021 Annual Determination
Pursuant to 50 CFR 222.402(a), NOAA's Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, in consultation with Regional Administrators and Fisheries
Science Center Directors, annually identifies fisheries for inclusion
on the AD based on the extent to which:
(1) The fishery operates in the same waters and at the same time as
sea turtles are present;
(2) The fishery operates at the same time or prior to elevated sea
turtle strandings; or
(3) The fishery uses a gear or technique that is known or likely to
result in incidental take of sea turtles based on documented or
reported takes in the same or similar fisheries; and
(4) NMFS intends to monitor the fishery and anticipates that it
will have the funds to do so.
[[Page 60964]]
NMFS is providing notification that the agency is not identifying
additional fisheries to observe on the 2021 AD, pursuant to its
authority under the ESA. NMFS is not identifying additional fisheries
at this time given lack of dedicated resources to implement new
observer programs or expand existing observer programs to focus on sea
turtles. The two fisheries identified on the 2018 AD (see Table 1) will
remain on the AD for a 5-year period and are therefore required to
carry observers upon NMFS' request until December 31, 2022. The four
fisheries identified on the 2020 AD (see Table 1) will remain on the AD
for a 5-year period and are therefore required to carry observers upon
NMFS' request until September 29, 2025.
Table 1--State and Federal Commercial Fisheries Included on the 2018 and
2020 Annual Determinations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Years eligible
Fishery to carry
observers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trawl Fisheries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southeastern U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawl. 2020-2025
Gulf of Mexico mixed species fish trawl................. 2020-2025
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gillnet Fisheries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mid-Atlantic gillnet.................................... 2018-2022
Chesapeake Bay inshore gillnet.......................... 2020-2025
Long Island inshore gillnet............................. 2020-2025
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pound Net/Weir/Seine Fisheries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gulf of Mexico menhaden purse seine..................... 2018-2022
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated: September 23, 2020.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-21468 Filed 9-28-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
