[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 112 (Monday, June 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34350-34352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14151]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC066


November 2010 Biological Opinion on the Effects of the Alaska 
Groundfish Fisheries on Steller Sea Lions and Other Endangered Species; 
Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for presentations.

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SUMMARY: NMFS will host a meeting to conduct a panel review by experts 
contracted through the Center for Independent Experts (CIE) related to 
NMFS's November 2010 Biological Opinion on the effects of the Alaska 
groundfish fisheries on Steller sea lions and other endangered species 
(Final Biop). The meeting will provide an opportunity for the CIE 
reviewers to receive presentations from NMFS, the State of Alaska, the 
State of Washington, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and 
the public concerning new and relevant scientific information that has 
become available since NMFS issued the Final Biop. NMFS requests that 
parties interested in presenting such information to the CIE reviewers 
submit a statement of interest including an abstract of the information 
to be presented.

DATES: The meeting will be held August 1-2, 2012, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 
Pacific Daylight Time. Statements of interest and abstracts must be 
received by 5 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time on July 2, 2012, to be 
considered for presentation during the meeting on August 2, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Send statements of interest in making a presentation and 
abstracts to Jon Kurland, Assistant Regional Administrator for 
Protected Resources, NMFS, by any one of the following methods:
     Fax: 907-586-7012.
     Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802.
     Email: [email protected]
     Hand delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9th 
Street, Room 420A, Juneau, Alaska.
    The meeting will be held at NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 
7600 Sand Point Way NE., Building 4, Seattle, WA, 98115, in the Jim 
Traynor conference room.
    The CIE contract statement of work (SOW) and terms of reference 
(TORs) and documents subject to the CIE review are available on the 
NMFS Alaska Region Web site at www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/stellers/esa/biop/final/cie/review.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jon Kurland, 907-586-7638.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    NMFS contracted with the CIE to conduct a peer review of the 
November 2010 Biological Opinion on the Alaska groundfish fisheries 
(Final Biop), which NMFS prepared under Section 7 of the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA). The CIE is a group affiliated with the University of 
Miami that provides independent peer reviews of the science upon which 
many of NMFS's management decisions are based, including reviews of 
stock assessments for fish and marine mammals. The structure and 
operation of the CIE are designed to ensure the quality, relevance, and 
independence of the reviews. Independence is maintained by eliminating 
any role for NMFS in selecting or paying the reviewers or in approving 
the content of reviewers' reports. Reviewers must adhere to a strict 
conflict of interest policy and the SOW and TORs contained in the 
review contract.
    The ESA requires each federal agency to insure than any action 
authorized, funded, or carried out by the agency is not likely to 
jeopardize the continued existence of any threatened or endangered 
species or adversely modify or destroy designated critical habitat.

[[Page 34351]]

Action agencies must consult with NMFS or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service regarding any action that may affect listed species. For 
fisheries managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, NMFS is the action agency and must complete the 
consultation internally, involving its Sustainable Fisheries Division 
(responsible for authorization of the fisheries) and Protected 
Resources Division (responsible for implementing the ESA).
    The subject of the CIE review is the scientific information used 
for, and analysis contained in, the Final Biop; and new scientific 
information relevant to Steller sea lions and fisheries since 
completion of the Final Biop. The review consists of two chapters: (1) 
A desk review of the Final Biop including information available to NMFS 
through September 3, 2010, and (2) a panel review of new information 
that became available subsequent to the Final Biop. NMFS expects to 
receive a final report from the CIE review on September 7, 2012.

Terms of Reference

    The following TORs provide the parameters for the CIE review. The 
CIE reviewers must address each of the items specified in the TORs and 
must not address other issues than those specifically enumerated.
    Tasks specific to developing Chapter 1 (desk review of Final Biop):
    1. Read the Final Biop (November 24, 2010) on the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries; and state 
waters parallel groundfish fisheries and related background documents 
(provided by NMFS) and the recovery plan (see ADDRESSES for a link to 
these documents).
    2. Provide a scientific peer review and comment on the Final Biop, 
including scientific information available to NMFS through the end of 
the public comment period (September 3, 2010) for the Draft Biop, 
evaluate the scientific information and its interpretation that 
developed the rationale and the subsequent findings regarding factors 
potentially affecting Steller sea lion population status, vital rates, 
critical habitat, risk of extinction, and recovery including in 
particular the findings regarding the effects of fisheries on Steller 
sea lion population status, vital rates, and critical habitat. Address 
the following:
    a. Does the Final Biop thoroughly and accurately (i.e. using the 
best available scientific information) describe what is known about the 
status of the listed species?
    b. Does the Final Biop thoroughly and accurately describe what is 
known about groundfish fishery practices and catch statistics under the 
current ongoing ``status quo'' action, as defined in the Final Biop?
    c. While the agency is directed to evaluate the effects of the 
action on listed species and critical habitat, does the Final Biop also 
adequately address alternative scientific explanations to the apparent 
population dynamics of the western distinct population segment (WDPS) 
of Steller sea lion, such as (but not limited to) predation, disease, 
ecosystem/carrying capacity, or emigration?
    d. Does the Final Biop thoroughly and accurately assess the effects 
(direct and indirect) of the action on the listed species and its 
critical habitat?
    e. Evaluate the scientific weight of the evidence presented in the 
Final Biop. Does the evidence provide strong, moderate or weak support 
for the discussion, findings and conclusions made in the document?
    3. Reviewers shall evaluate the quality and completeness of the 
scientific and commercial information used in the Final Biop analysis, 
and identify if the Final Biop analysis is comprehensive or if there 
are relevant scientific or commercial data or information that were not 
used in the Final Biop analysis.
    4. Reviewers are specifically asked to evaluate the scientific 
basis for the nutritional stress findings of the Final Biop. Reviewers 
shall evaluate and comment on the strength of the linkages among fish 
biomass estimates, fishery removals, Steller sea lion reproductive 
rates, and recovery of the WDPS. Does the Final Biop accurately 
evaluate the inter-relationships between Steller sea lion population 
status and trends, foraging ecology, and groundfish fisheries effects 
across broad geographic areas (ecosystems to highly localized regions) 
and temporal scales (years to seasons)?
    5. Reviewers will determine if there is any additional literature, 
assessments, or analyses that should have been considered in the Final 
Biop (as of the end of the public comment period for the Draft Biop, 
September 3, 2010).
    6. In making these evaluations, reviewers shall consider and 
address the following questions:
    a. Are the findings of the Final Biop contradicted by any 
scientific information available as of September 3, 2010 presented in, 
or omitted from, the Final Biop?
    b. As part of this consideration, reviewers shall also assess the 
scientific record to determine whether adequate consideration has been 
given to the likelihood that factors other than fishing are negatively 
affecting the population status, critical habitat or recovery of the 
WDPS including predation, changes in the ecosystem or carrying 
capacity, emigration, exposure to contaminants, or other factors.
    Tasks specific to Chapter 2 (panel review meeting):
    1. Reviewers will convene as a Panel and will conduct a scientific 
peer review during the panel review meeting in Seattle. In addition to 
scientific presentations regarding the Final Biop analysis and related 
scientific information, the meeting will include presentations by 
experts from environmental organizations, the fishing industry, 
affected communities, and other agencies and institutions. The Panel 
will conduct the peer review in accordance with the TORs for Chapter 2 
and consider all relevant scientific information available up to the 
date of the Panel meeting. Refer to Annex 3 of the CIE review contract 
for listing of report and background documents (see ADDRESSES).
    2. Following the same TORs identified for Chapter 1 of the CIE 
review, the reviewers will reexamine the Final Biop, its scientific 
record and any new information available subsequent to the issuance of 
the Final Biop and may provide additional commentary on the findings 
they made in Chapter 1 based on scientific information that arises 
through the panel presentations. This re-visitation of Chapter 1 shall 
be part of Chapter 2 of the report. As part of this commentary the 
reviewers are tasked to reevaluate the scientific basis for the 
conclusions of the Final Biop, that fisheries are causing nutritional 
stress in Steller sea lions, which in turn is adversely impacting the 
survival and recovery of the WDPS of the Steller sea lion. The 
reviewers shall evaluate and comment on the strength of the 
relationship between fishery removals and recovery of the WDPS.
    3. The Reasonable Prudent Alternative (RPA) presented in the Final 
Biop (Section 8.3.4 of the Final Biop) and as implemented through an 
Interim Final Rule (75 FR 77535, December 13, 2010) may present an 
opportunity for an adaptive management experiment to test the response 
of fisheries and Steller sea lions to the fisheries closures 
implemented by the interim final rule. Reviewers will be asked to (1) 
comment on the utility of this opportunity, (2) evaluate the metrics 
identified in the Final Biop (e.g., trends in Steller sea lion 
abundance, trends in biomass of Atka mackerel and other groundfish,

[[Page 34352]]

etc.), and (3) suggest other metrics not described in the Final Biop 
that could be used to evaluate the efficacy of the action in ensuring 
the groundfish fisheries are not likely to adversely affect the 
survival and recovery of WDPS of the Steller sea lion.

CIE Panel Review

    The CIE panel review will focus on Chapter 2 from the TORs. Persons 
or groups wishing to make a presentation to the CIE reviewers must 
submit a statement of interest with a brief (one page or less) abstract 
of the type of information to be presented. Presentations must address 
new scientific information germane to Steller sea lions and the 
groundfish fisheries that was not available before September 3, 2010. 
Persons or groups proposing to present information that does not fall 
within the TORs for the CIE review will not be invited to make 
presentations.
    Due to the limited time available for the panel review, NMFS 
encourages individuals or groups that may have similar perspectives on 
the pertinent scientific information to coordinate their proposed 
presentations into subject specific panels to present the information 
effectively and minimize redundancy. For example, a panel could be 
comprised of several fishing industry representatives or several 
representatives of non-governmental organizations, with each 
participant addressing a different facet of the relevant information.
    NMFS will review the statements of interest, abstracts, and 
proposed panels and, in consultation with the CIE reviewers, will 
schedule the presentations so as to focus on the most relevant 
scientific information of interest to the reviewers. The amount of time 
available per presenter or panel will depend on the number of persons 
and groups wishing to make presentations. NMFS will contact the 
proposed presenters in advance of the meeting to specify the amount of 
time available and the approximate schedule. During the meeting 
presenters may provide additional written information to the CIE 
reviewers for consideration, but the CIE reviewers are not obligated 
under the contract to review documents beyond those identified in the 
SOW.
    More information on the CIE review, including the full SOW and TORs 
and all written materials for review identified in the SOW, is 
available on the NMFS Alaska Region Web site (see ADDRESSES).

Arrangements for Foreign Nationals

    Individuals wishing to attend the meeting who are not citizens of 
the United States must make prior arrangements to be permitted entrance 
to the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (see ADDRESSES). Requests for 
such arrangements should be directed to Jennifer Ferdinand by email at 
[email protected] by July 23, 2012.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Jennifer Ferdinand, (206) 526-
4076, at least 5 working days prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: June 6, 2012.
Helen Golde,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-14151 Filed 6-8-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P