Determination of Overfishing or an Overfished Condition, 65788-65789 [2019-25829]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2019 / Notices
recommendation to the Secretary and to
outline both the decision-making
process that will be used and potential
outcomes of the non-compliance review.
If the Secretary determines that Virginia
failed to carry out its responsibilities
under the Coastal Atlantic Menhaden
Interstate Fishery Management Plan,
and if the measures it failed to
implement are necessary for
conservation of the fishery, then,
according to the Atlantic Coastal
Fisheries Cooperative Management Act,
the Secretary must declare a moratorium
on fishing for Atlantic menhaden in
Virginia waters.
DATES: The Secretary intends to make a
determination on this matter on or about
December 17, 2019, and will publish its
finding in the Federal Register
immediately thereafter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Derek Orner, Fishery Management
Specialist, (301) 427–8567,
derek.orner@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (Commission) developed
Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Menhaden
Interstate Fishery Management Plan
(ISFMP) to pursue the development of
ecological reference points (which
consider the ecological role of
menhaden in regards to management of
the species) and to establish an
allocation method which provides fair
and equitable access to all participants
in the fishery. Amendment 3 contained
a management program designed to
account for the multiple roles
menhaden play, both in supporting
fisheries and the marine ecosystem.
Issues included in Amendment 3
included: Reference points; Allocation
methods and timeframes; Quota
transfers and rollovers; Incidental catch;
Episodic events programs; and
Chesapeake Bay total removals.
Specifically, the Commission required
Virginia to implement a total allowable
harvest from the Chesapeake Bay that
would not exceed 51,000 mt.
Amendment 3 was approved in the fall
2017, and was to be fully implemented
by the Commonwealth of Virginia for
the 2018 fishing season. Virginia,
however, did not implement the
Commission’s recommended 51,000 mt
cap and instead maintained its preexisting 87,216 mt cap. Atlantic
menhaden in Virginia are managed by
the legislature and not the Virginia
Marine Resources Commission, which
manages all other Virginia fishery
species. The Virginia delegation to the
Commission agreed it was out of
compliance and voted for a noncompliance finding at the Commission’s
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16:49 Nov 27, 2019
Jkt 250001
Atlantic Menhaden and Policy Boards
as well as the Commission’s Business
Section. On October 31, 2019, the
Commission found the Commonwealth
of Virginia out of compliance for not
fully and effectively implementing and
enforcing the Amendment 3 measures.
The Commission notified the Secretary
of its non-compliance finding by letter
on November 15, 2019.
Federal response to a Commission
non-compliance referral is governed by
the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries
Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic
Coastal Act). Under the Atlantic Coastal
Act, the Secretary must make two
findings within 30 days after receiving
the non-compliance referral. First, the
Secretary must determine whether the
state in question (in this case, the
Commonwealth of Virginia) has failed to
carry out its responsibilities under the
ISFMP. Second, the Secretary must
determine whether the measures that
the State has failed to implement or
enforce are necessary for the
conservation of the fishery in question.
If the Secretary determines that Virginia
has failed to carry out its
responsibilities under the ISFMP, and if
the measures it failed to implement are
necessary for conservation, then,
according to the Atlantic Coastal Act,
the Secretary must declare a moratorium
on Atlantic menhaden fishing in
Virginia waters. Further, the
moratorium must become effective
within six months of the date of the
Secretary’s non-compliance
determination. If Virginia is found out
of compliance by the Secretary and later
implements Amendment 3 measures,
the Atlantic Coastal Act allows the state
to petition the Commission that it has
come back into compliance. If the
Commission concurs that Virginia has
come into compliance, the Commission
will notify the Secretary. If the Secretary
concurs, the moratorium will be
withdrawn.
NMFS has notified Virginia, the
Commission, and the applicable Fishery
Management Councils in separate
letters, of its receipt of the
Commission’s non-compliance referral.
NMFS solicits comments from the
Commission and Councils to the extent
either is interested in providing
comments on the non-compliance
referral. NMFS also indicated to
Virginia that it is entitled to meet with
and present its comments directly to
NMFS, if so desired.
The Secretary intends to make its
non-compliance determination,
including supporting rationale, on or
about December 17, 2019, which is 30
days after receipt of the Commission’s
non-compliance referral. NMFS will
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announce its determination by Federal
Register notice immediately thereafter.
To the extent that the Secretary makes
an affirmative non-compliance finding,
NMFS will announce the effective date
of the moratorium in that Federal
Register notice.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 25, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–25927 Filed 11–27–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XV086]
Determination of Overfishing or an
Overfished Condition
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This action serves as a notice
that NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary), has found that
Oregon cabezon is now subject to
overfishing and Atlantic bluefish is now
overfished. NMFS, on behalf of the
Secretary, notifies the appropriate
regional fishery management council
(Council) whenever it determines that
overfishing is occurring, a stock is in an
overfished condition, or a stock is
approaching an overfished condition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Regina Spallone, (301) 427–8568.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant
to section 304(e)(2) of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens
Act), 16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(2), NMFS, on
behalf of the Secretary, must notify
Councils, and publish in the Federal
Register, whenever it determines that a
stock or stock complex is subject to
overfishing, overfished, or approaching
an overfished condition.
NMFS has determined that the
Oregon stock of cabezon is now subject
to overfishing. Catch data from 2017 for
Oregon cabezon, finalized in 2019,
supports a determination that the stock
is subject to overfishing because total
catch in 2017 slightly exceeded the
overfishing level. NMFS has informed
the Pacific Fishery Management Council
that it must set appropriate annual catch
limits to end and prevent overfishing for
this stock.
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2019 / Notices
NMFS has also determined that
Atlantic bluefish is now overfished. The
most recent assessment for bluefish,
finalized in 2019 and using data through
2018, indicates that the stock is
overfished because the spawning stock
biomass is less than the minimum stock
size threshold. This assessment
incorporated new data from the Marine
Recreational Information Program
which revised our understanding of the
level of recreational catch, spawning
stock biomass, fishing mortality, and
recruitment. The new data indicate that
bluefish spawning stock biomass has
been below the overfished threshold
since 2014. NMFS has informed the
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council that it must develop a
rebuilding plan for this stock.
Dated: November 22, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–25829 Filed 11–27–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
The Department of Commerce will
submit to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for clearance the
following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35).
Agency: National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Title: West Coast Region Groundfish
Electronic Fish Ticket Program.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0738.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission
(extension of a currently approved
collection).
Number of Respondents: 145.
Average Time per Response:
Electronic fish tickets/IFQ First Receiver
submissions: 10 minutes; Electronic fish
tickets/IFQ First Receiver Pacific
whiting disposition recordkeeping: 1
minute; Electronic fish ticket
submission: 2 minutes.
Burden Hours: 566 hours.
Needs and Uses: As part of its fishery
management responsibilities, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
collects information to determine the
amount and type of groundfish caught
by fishing vessels. Electronic fish tickets
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16:49 Nov 27, 2019
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are submissions of landings data from
the first receiver to the Pacific States
Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC)
and NMFS. This collection supports
requirements for participants of the
Pacific Coast shorebased commercial
groundfish fisheries, including the
shorebased Individual Fishing Quota
(IFQ) program, the limited entry fixed
gear fishery, and the open access fixed
gear fishery, to account for all landed
catch and to transmit electronic catch
data used to manage the catch
allocations and limits. NMFS may use
this data for general purpose statistics
and program evaluation.
Affected Public: Primary respondents
are businesses or other for-profit
organizations (e.g., groundfish
fishermen, fishing companies,
partnerships, and shorebased first
receivers), individuals or households,
and state fisheries agencies.
Frequency: Reporting occurs
concurrently with fishing landings,
which could range from occasionally to
daily depending on the frequency of
fishing throughout the season.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
This information collection request
may be viewed at reginfo.gov. Follow
the instructions to view Department of
Commerce collections currently under
review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to OIRA_Submission@
omb.eop.gov or fax to (202) 395–5806.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2019–25878 Filed 11–27–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC–2019–0033]
CPSC Forum on Crib Bumpers
Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
ACTION: Announcement of meeting.
AGENCY:
The Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) is announcing a
public forum on crib bumpers. We
invite interested parties to attend the
forum and make presentations.
DATES: The forum will begin at 10:00
a.m. on January 22, 2020. The
Commission forum also will be
available through webcast. However,
viewers will not be able to interact with
SUMMARY:
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65789
the panels and presenters through the
webcast. Individuals interested in
presenting information at the forum
should submit a summary of their
presentation, as well as a brief
biography, by January 6, 2020. Written
comments will be received until
February 25, 2020.
The forum will be held in
the Hearing Room at CPSC’s
headquarters at: 4330 East West
Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814. There is
no charge to attend the forum.
Requests to make oral presentations,
and the texts of oral presentations
should be captioned: ‘‘CPSC Forum on
Crib Bumpers,’’ and sent by email to
cpsc-os@cpsc.gov, or mailed or
delivered to the Division of the
Secretariat, Consumer Product Safety
Commission, 4330 East-West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814, no later than 5
p.m. on January 6, 2020.
You may submit written comments,
identified by Docket No. [CPSC–2019–
0033], by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit
electronic comments to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at:
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
The Commission does not accept
comments submitted by email, except
through www.regulations.gov. The
Commission encourages you to submit
electronic comments by using the
Federal eRulemaking Portal, as
described above.
Paper Submissions: Send paper
submissions by mail/hand delivery/
courier to: Division of the Secretariat,
Consumer Product Safety Commission,
Room 820, 4330 East-West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301)–
504–7923.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the agency name and
docket number for this notice. All
comments received may be posted
without change, including any personal
identifiers, contact information, or other
personal information provided, to:
www.regulations.gov. Do not submit
confidential business information, trade
secret information, or other sensitive or
protected information that you do not
want to be available to the public. If
furnished at all, such information
should be submitted in accordance with
the directions for paper submissions
above.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read comments received, go to:
www.regulations.gov, and insert the
docket number CPSC–2019–0033 into
the ‘‘Search’’ box, and follow the
prompts.
ADDRESSES:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 230 (Friday, November 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65788-65789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25829]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XV086]
Determination of Overfishing or an Overfished Condition
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This action serves as a notice that NMFS, on behalf of the
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), has found that Oregon cabezon is now
subject to overfishing and Atlantic bluefish is now overfished. NMFS,
on behalf of the Secretary, notifies the appropriate regional fishery
management council (Council) whenever it determines that overfishing is
occurring, a stock is in an overfished condition, or a stock is
approaching an overfished condition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina Spallone, (301) 427-8568.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 304(e)(2) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(2), NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary,
must notify Councils, and publish in the Federal Register, whenever it
determines that a stock or stock complex is subject to overfishing,
overfished, or approaching an overfished condition.
NMFS has determined that the Oregon stock of cabezon is now subject
to overfishing. Catch data from 2017 for Oregon cabezon, finalized in
2019, supports a determination that the stock is subject to overfishing
because total catch in 2017 slightly exceeded the overfishing level.
NMFS has informed the Pacific Fishery Management Council that it must
set appropriate annual catch limits to end and prevent overfishing for
this stock.
[[Page 65789]]
NMFS has also determined that Atlantic bluefish is now overfished.
The most recent assessment for bluefish, finalized in 2019 and using
data through 2018, indicates that the stock is overfished because the
spawning stock biomass is less than the minimum stock size threshold.
This assessment incorporated new data from the Marine Recreational
Information Program which revised our understanding of the level of
recreational catch, spawning stock biomass, fishing mortality, and
recruitment. The new data indicate that bluefish spawning stock biomass
has been below the overfished threshold since 2014. NMFS has informed
the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council that it must develop a
rebuilding plan for this stock.
Dated: November 22, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-25829 Filed 11-27-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
