Department of Commerce February 12, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule provides interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed sector operations plan and supplemental environmental assessment (EA) prior to final approval or disapproval of the sector operations plan and allocation of a Georges Bank (GB) cod total allowable catch (TAC) to the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector (Fixed Gear Sector) for fishing year (FY) 2009. Framework Adjustment (FW) 42 to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) implemented the Fixed Gear Sector and authorized allocation of up to 20 percent of the annual GB cod TAC to the Fixed Gear Sector. Pursuant to that authorization, a representative of the Fixed Gear Sector has submitted an operations plan and sector agreement (contract), and requested an allocation of GB cod to the Fixed Gear Sector for FY 2009.

NMFS specifies a total allowable catch (TAC) for the 2008-09 fishing year of 241,000 lb (109,316 kg) of Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI).

NMFS has determined that 4,000 metric tons (mt) of the shore- based sector allocation and 6,000 mt of the mothership sector allocation would not be used by December 31, 2008. Therefore, NMFS has reapportioned the surplus whiting to the catcher/processor sector of the fishery.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher processors using hook-and-line gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2009 Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to catcher processors using hook-and- line gear in the BSAI.

At its Twenty-Seventh Meeting in Hobart, Tasmania, from October 27 to November 7, 2008, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), of which the United States is a member, adopted conservation and management measures and resolutions, pending countries' approval, pertaining to fishing in the CCAMLR Convention Area. All the measures were agreed upon in accordance with Article IX of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (Convention). Measures adopted restrict overall catches of certain species of finfish, squid, krill and crabs, restrict fishing in certain areas, restrict use of certain fishing gear, specify implementation and inspection obligations supporting the Catch Documentation Scheme of Contracting Parties, promote compliance with CCAMLR measures by non-Contracting Party vessels, and require vessels engaged in bottom fishing to report data on benthic organisms recovered by their gear. This notice includes the full text of the new and revised conservation measures adopted at the Twenty-Seventh meeting of CCAMLR. This notice also includes a listing of conservation measures that carry over from last year without change. The full text of these measures was published in the Federal Register on January 29, 2007, except for Conservation Measures 10-04, 23-06, and 31-02 for which full text was published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2007. NMFS suggests that the public view these measures along with the measures contained in this Federal Register notice for a complete listing of all the measures adopted by CCAMLR at its recent meeting. The full text of all measures adopted by CCAMLR can be found on CCAMLR's Web site https://www.ccamlr.org. This notice, therefore, together with the U.S. regulations referenced under the Supplementary Information, provides a comprehensive register of all current U.S. obligations under CCAMLR.