National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces the availability of the "Draft Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment (SPEA) for Fisheries Research Conducted and Funded by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center." Publication of this notice begins the official public comment period for this SPEA. The purpose of this Draft SPEA is to evaluate potential direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of changes in research that were not analyzed in the 2019 Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA), or new research activities in the North Pacific Ocean and marine waters off of Alaska. Where necessary, updates to certain information on species, stock status or other components of the affected environment that may result in different conclusions from the 2019 PEA are presented in this analysis.

The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Program Office will hold an organizational meeting of the NIDIS Executive Council on April 25, 2024.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda for a meeting of the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board (OEAB). OEAB members will discuss and provide advice on the Federal ocean exploration program, with a particular emphasis on the topics identified in the section on Matters to Be Considered.

NMFS proposes 2024 harvest specifications for the salmon fishery of the Cook Inlet exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Area. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for salmon during the 2024 fishing year and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Salmon Fisheries in the EEZ off Alaska (Salmon FMP). The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the salmon resources in Cook Inlet EEZ Area in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act).

The Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) announces its annual spring meeting, to be held April 30-May 1, 2024 in Miami, Florida.

NMFS received a request from Chevron Products Company (Chevron) for the renewal of their currently active incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals incidental to the Long Wharf Maintenance and Efficiency Project (LWMEP) in San Francisco Bay, California. Chevron's activities will not be completed prior to the IHA's expiration. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), prior to issuing the currently active IHA, NMFS requested comments on both the proposed IHA and the potential for renewing the initial authorization if certain requirements were satisfied. The renewal requirements have been satisfied, and NMFS is now providing an additional 15-day comment period to allow for any additional comments on the proposed renewal not previously provided during the initial 30- day comment period.

The SEDAR 84 assessment process of U.S. Caribbean yellowtail snapper and stoplight parrotfish will consist of a Data Workshop, and a series of assessment webinars, and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

Pursuant to the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Columbia Gulf, LLC (Columbia Gulf) to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during pile driving activities associated with the East Lateral XPRESS construction project (the Project) in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. There are no changes from the proposed authorization in this final authorization.

NMFS, in response to the request of the U.S. Space Force (USSF), hereby issues regulations and a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to launches and supporting activities at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in Vandenberg, California, from April 2024 to April 2029. Missile launches conducted at VSFB, which comprise a portion of the activities, are considered military readiness activities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (2004 NDAA). These regulations, which allow for the issuance of LOAs for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC) Bluefish Advisory Panel will hold a public meeting, jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Bluefish Advisory Panel.

NMFS has received a request from Ag Processing Inc. (AGP) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Terminal 4 (T4) Expansion and Redevelopment Project (Project) at the Port of Grays Harbor (Port) in both the City of Aberdeen and City of Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County, Washington. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-time, 1-year renewal that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2024 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 610 in the GOA.

NMFS announces the receipt of two applications for exempted fishing permits (EFPs) from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). If granted, the EFPs would authorize limited recreational harvest of red snapper outside of any Federal recreational season in South Atlantic Federal waters and exempt that harvest from the red snapper recreational bag and possession limits, recreational annual catch limits (ACLs), and accountability measures (AMs). FWC's projects are intended to test alternative recreational management strategies that could be used by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) to reduce the numbers of discards of red snapper and other federally managed snapper-grouper species, create additional opportunities to participate in sustainable recreational harvest, and improve angler satisfaction.

This final rule allocates Northeast multispecies annual catch entitlements to approved groundfish sectors and permit banks for fishing year 2024 based on 2024 annual catch limits set in Framework Adjustment 65 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan or default specifications. This action is intended to allow limited access permit holders to continue to operate sectors, as authorized under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

NMFS establishes the annual harvest guideline for the commercial lobster fishery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) for calendar year 2024 at zero lobsters.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS; collectively, the "Services"), finalize revisions to portions of our regulations that implement section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The revisions to the regulations clarify, interpret, and implement portions of the Act concerning the procedures and criteria used for listing, reclassifying, and delisting species on the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (Lists) and designating critical habitat.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) will hold the 184th public hybrid meeting to address the items contained in the tentative agenda included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad- Hoc Klamath River Fall Chinook Workgroup will hold an online meeting.

This final rule approves changes to the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan for the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC)'s regulatory Area 2A off of Washington, Oregon, and California. In addition, this final rule implements management measures governing the 2024 recreational fisheries that are not implemented through the IPHC. These management measures include the recreational fishery seasons and subarea allocations for Area 2A. This rule also adds a new inseason management provision to transfer anticipated uncaught recreational fishery allocation between the Area 2A states. Additionally, the rule establishes a new management line at Point Arena, CA, creating two subareas with separate allocations off California. These actions are intended to conserve Pacific halibut and provide angler opportunity where available.

On February 5, 2024, NMFS received a request from the Municipality of Skagway (MOS) to modify an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) that was issued to MOS on August 29, 2023 to take small numbers of eight species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to the Skagway Ore Terminal redevelopment project. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to modify the IHA. This modification includes changes to the amount of authorized take by Level B harassment for Steller sea lions and the addition of take by Level A and Level B harassment for the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus). There are no changes to the activity, mitigation and monitoring, NMFS' findings, the effective dates of the issued IHA, or any other aspect of the IHA. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the requested modification of the authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.