Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Exempted Fishing Permits, 11503-11504 [2021-03889]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices
Dated: February 18, 2021.
Christian Marsh,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement
and Compliance.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[FR Doc. 2021–03902 Filed 2–24–21; 8:45 am]
[RTID 0648–XA853]
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; Exempted
Fishing Permits
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of an
application for exempted fishing permit;
request for comments.
AGENCY:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XA844]
Fisheries of the U.S. Caribbean;
Southeast Data, Assessment, and
Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting;
Cancellation
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
AGENCY:
Notice of cancellation of SEDAR
80 Life History Topical Working Group
Webinar I for U.S. Caribbean Queen
Triggerfish.
ACTION:
The SEDAR 80 stock
assessment of U.S. Caribbean queen
triggerfish will consist of a series of data
webinars. See SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
SUMMARY:
The SEDAR 80 Life History
Topical Working Group Webinar I was
scheduled for March 10, 2021.
DATES:
ADDRESSES:
Meeting address: The meeting was to
be held via webinar.
SEDAR address: 4055 Faber Place
Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC
29405.
Julie
A. Neer, SEDAR Coordinator; (843) 571–
4366; Email: Julie.neer@safmc.net.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
The
meeting notice published on February 3,
2021 (86 FR 8003). This notice
announces that the meeting is cancelled.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)
Dated: February 19, 2021.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–03856 Filed 2–24–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:04 Feb 24, 2021
Jkt 253001
NMFS announces the receipt
of an application for an exempted
fishing permit (EFP) from Dr. David
Portnoy, Texas A&M University, Corpus
Christi. If granted, the EFP would allow
a limited harvest of speckled hind in
South Atlantic Federal waters by select
commercial fishermen. The samples
collected would be used to assess the
speckled hind population structure,
genetic diversity, and life history in the
South Atlantic.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before March 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on the application, identified by
‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2021–0007’’ by any of
the following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and enter
‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2021–0007’’ in the
Search box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’
icon, complete the required fields, and
enter or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Frank Helies, Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, 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 the EFP
application may be obtained from the
Southeast Regional Office website at
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
11503
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/
southeast/about-us/south-atlanticspeckled-hind-exempted-fishing-permitapplication/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Frank Helies, 727–824–5305; email:
frank.helies@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EFP is
requested under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C 1801
et seq.), and regulations at 50 CFR
600.745(b) concerning exempted
fishing.
Currently, Federal regulations at 50
CFR 622.181 (b)(3) prohibit the harvest
and possession of speckled hind in or
from South Atlantic Federal waters.
Speckled hind are sedentary, long-lived,
deep-water groupers and are considered
to be undergoing overfishing in the U.S.
South Atlantic. There are no known
data regarding the stock structure of
speckled hind in South Atlantic waters
and little is known about their biology;
consequently, there are not enough data
to accurately determine whether the
species is overfished.
Dr. Portnoy was awarded a Marine
Fisheries Initiative grant to assess the
population structure, genetic diversity,
and life history of speckled hind in the
U.S. South Atlantic. Beginning in 2018,
Dr. Portnoy has already acquired some
of his project’s needed speckled hind
samples from fishery independent
surveys conducted by NMFS and the
South Carolina Department of Natural
Resources. However, as a result of low
encounter rates with the species since
2018, and reduced fishery independent
survey effort in 2020, additional
samples will need to be collected
through this EFP to obtain a sufficient
number of samples for the project.
If granted, the EFP would be valid
through August 31, 2022, and would
allow a limited harvest of up to 40
speckled hind per calendar year (up to
80 total for the duration of the EFP) in
the Federal waters of the South Atlantic.
The EFP would exempt select
commercial fishermen from Federal
regulations prohibiting the harvest and
possession of speckled hind in Federal
waters of the South Atlantic at 50 CFR
622.181(b)(3). Because speckled hind
would be harvested incidentally during
routine commercial fishing trips, NMFS
does not expect that any additional
environmental impacts would occur
through the issuance of the EFP.
Dr. Portnoy proposes to collect
speckled hind from select commercial
fishermen who occasionally encounter
speckled hind in South Atlantic Federal
waters during routine commercial
E:\FR\FM\25FEN1.SGM
25FEN1
11504
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices
fishing operations. Currently, two
commercial fishermen have volunteered
to participate in the EFP while using
hook-and-line gear fishing in South
Atlantic Federal waters in depths
ranging from 70 ft (21 m) to 600 ft (183
m). If the fishermen encounter a
speckled hind, a fin clip would be taken
from the harvested speckled hind and
shipped to the Marine Genomics
Laboratory at Texas A&M University,
Corpus Christi, Texas. The sampled fin
clip would be used for genetic studies.
All sampled speckled hind carcasses
would be shipped to the NMFS
Southeast Fisheries Science Center for
otolith extraction to determine age and
growth parameters. The results of the
EFP are expected to contribute to
improved understanding of speckled
hind population structure, genetic
diversity, and life history in the U.S.
South Atlantic. The EFP results could
help support future scientific and
management decisions for the speckled
hind stock in the South Atlantic.
NMFS finds the application warrants
further consideration based on a
preliminary review. Possible conditions
the agency may impose on the permit,
if granted, include but are not limited
to, a prohibition on fishing within
marine protected areas, marine
sanctuaries, or special management
zones without additional authorization.
A final decision on issuance of the EFP
will depend on NMFS’ review of public
comments received on the application,
consultations with the appropriate
fishery management agencies of the
affected states, the South Atlantic
Fishery Management Council, and the
U.S. Coast Guard, and a determination
that the activities to be taken under the
EFP are consistent with all other
applicable laws.
Authority: 16 U.S.C 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 22, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–03889 Filed 2–24–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XA884]
Endangered and Threatened Species;
Initiation of 5-Year Review for Cook
Inlet Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus
leucas) Distinct Population Segment
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:04 Feb 24, 2021
Jkt 253001
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of initiation of 5-year
review; request for information.
NMFS announces its intent to
conduct a 5-year review of the
endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale
(Delphinapterus leucas) distinct
population segment (DPS). NMFS is
required by the Endangered Species Act
(ESA) to conduct 5-year reviews to
ensure that listing classifications of
species are accurate. The 5-year review
must be based on the best scientific and
commercial data available at the time of
the review. We request submission of
any such information on the Cook Inlet
beluga whale DPS, particularly
information on its status, threats, and
recovery, that has become available
since the previous 5-year review was
issued in February 2017.
DATES: To allow us adequate time to
conduct this review, we must receive
your information no later than April 26,
2021. However, we will continue to
accept new information about any listed
species at any time.
ADDRESSES: Submit your information,
identified by docket number NOAA–
NMFS–2021–0010, by either of the
following methods:
• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to
www.regulations.gov. In the Search box,
enter the above docket number for this
notice. Then, click on the Search icon.
On the resulting web page, click the
‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the
required fields, and enter or attach your
comments.
• Mail: Submit written information to
Jon Kurland, Assistant Regional
Administrator for Protected Resources,
Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Records
Office. Mail comments to P.O. Box
21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668.
Instructions: NMFS may not consider
comments or other information if sent
by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after
the comment period ends. All
comments and information received are
a part of the public record and NMFS
will post the comments 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 is
publicly accessible. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in
the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill
Seymour, NMFS Alaska Region,
jill.seymour@noaa.gov.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Section
4(c)(2)(A) of the ESA requires that the
Secretary, through NMFS, conduct a
review of listed species at least once
every 5 years. The regulations in 50 CFR
424.21 require that we publish a notice
in the Federal Register announcing
species currently under active review.
Based on such reviews, we determine
whether a listed species should be
delisted, or be reclassified from
endangered to threatened or from
threatened to endangered (16 U.S.C.
1533(c)(2)(B)). As described by the
regulations in 50 CFR 424.11(e), the
Secretary shall delist a species if the
Secretary finds that, after conducting a
status review based on the best
scientific and commercial data
available: (1) the species is extinct; (2)
the species does not meet the definition
of an endangered species or a threatened
species; or (3) the listed entity does not
meet the statutory definition of a
species. Any change in Federal
classification would require a separate
rulemaking process.
The Cook Inlet beluga whale DPS was
listed as endangered under the ESA on
October 22, 2008 (73 FR 62919).
Background information on the DPS is
available on the NMFS website at:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/
beluga-whale.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Determining if a Species Is Threatened
or Endangered
Section 4(a)(1) of the ESA requires
that we determine whether a species is
endangered or threatened based on one
or more of the five following factors: (1)
The present or threatened destruction,
modification, or curtailment of its
habitat or range; (2) overutilization for
commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes; (3) disease or
predation; (4) the inadequacy of existing
regulatory mechanisms; or (5) other
natural or manmade factors affecting its
continued existence. Section 4(b) also
requires that our determination be made
on the basis of the best scientific and
commercial data available after
conducting a review of the status of the
species and after taking into account
those efforts, if any, being made by any
State or foreign nation to protect such
species.
Public Solicitation of New Relevant
Information
To ensure that the 5-year review is
complete and based on the best
scientific and commercial data
available, we are soliciting new
information from the public,
governmental agencies, Tribes, the
scientific community, industry,
environmental entities, and any other
E:\FR\FM\25FEN1.SGM
25FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 36 (Thursday, February 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11503-11504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03889]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XA853]
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Exempted Fishing Permits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of an application for exempted fishing
permit; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted
fishing permit (EFP) from Dr. David Portnoy, Texas A&M University,
Corpus Christi. If granted, the EFP would allow a limited harvest of
speckled hind in South Atlantic Federal waters by select commercial
fishermen. The samples collected would be used to assess the speckled
hind population structure, genetic diversity, and life history in the
South Atlantic.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the application, identified by
``NOAA-NMFS-2021-0007'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2021-0007'' in the Search
box. Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and
enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Frank Helies, Southeast
Regional Office, NMFS, 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 the EFP application may be obtained from the
Southeast Regional Office website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/about-us/south-atlantic-speckled-hind-exempted-fishing-permit-application/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Helies, 727-824-5305; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EFP is requested under the authority of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C 1801 et seq.), and regulations at 50 CFR
600.745(b) concerning exempted fishing.
Currently, Federal regulations at 50 CFR 622.181 (b)(3) prohibit
the harvest and possession of speckled hind in or from South Atlantic
Federal waters. Speckled hind are sedentary, long-lived, deep-water
groupers and are considered to be undergoing overfishing in the U.S.
South Atlantic. There are no known data regarding the stock structure
of speckled hind in South Atlantic waters and little is known about
their biology; consequently, there are not enough data to accurately
determine whether the species is overfished.
Dr. Portnoy was awarded a Marine Fisheries Initiative grant to
assess the population structure, genetic diversity, and life history of
speckled hind in the U.S. South Atlantic. Beginning in 2018, Dr.
Portnoy has already acquired some of his project's needed speckled hind
samples from fishery independent surveys conducted by NMFS and the
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. However, as a result of
low encounter rates with the species since 2018, and reduced fishery
independent survey effort in 2020, additional samples will need to be
collected through this EFP to obtain a sufficient number of samples for
the project.
If granted, the EFP would be valid through August 31, 2022, and
would allow a limited harvest of up to 40 speckled hind per calendar
year (up to 80 total for the duration of the EFP) in the Federal waters
of the South Atlantic. The EFP would exempt select commercial fishermen
from Federal regulations prohibiting the harvest and possession of
speckled hind in Federal waters of the South Atlantic at 50 CFR
622.181(b)(3). Because speckled hind would be harvested incidentally
during routine commercial fishing trips, NMFS does not expect that any
additional environmental impacts would occur through the issuance of
the EFP.
Dr. Portnoy proposes to collect speckled hind from select
commercial fishermen who occasionally encounter speckled hind in South
Atlantic Federal waters during routine commercial
[[Page 11504]]
fishing operations. Currently, two commercial fishermen have
volunteered to participate in the EFP while using hook-and-line gear
fishing in South Atlantic Federal waters in depths ranging from 70 ft
(21 m) to 600 ft (183 m). If the fishermen encounter a speckled hind, a
fin clip would be taken from the harvested speckled hind and shipped to
the Marine Genomics Laboratory at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi,
Texas. The sampled fin clip would be used for genetic studies. All
sampled speckled hind carcasses would be shipped to the NMFS Southeast
Fisheries Science Center for otolith extraction to determine age and
growth parameters. The results of the EFP are expected to contribute to
improved understanding of speckled hind population structure, genetic
diversity, and life history in the U.S. South Atlantic. The EFP results
could help support future scientific and management decisions for the
speckled hind stock in the South Atlantic.
NMFS finds the application warrants further consideration based on
a preliminary review. Possible conditions the agency may impose on the
permit, if granted, include but are not limited to, a prohibition on
fishing within marine protected areas, marine sanctuaries, or special
management zones without additional authorization. A final decision on
issuance of the EFP will depend on NMFS' review of public comments
received on the application, consultations with the appropriate fishery
management agencies of the affected states, the South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, and the U.S. Coast Guard, and a determination that
the activities to be taken under the EFP are consistent with all other
applicable laws.
Authority: 16 U.S.C 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 22, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-03889 Filed 2-24-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
