Department of Commerce February 20, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (Councils) announce their intent to prepare an amendment (Amendment 5) to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Monkfish (Lophius americanus) and to prepare an EIS to analyze the impacts of any proposed management measures. In general, the goals of the amendment are to bring the FMP into compliance with the new requirements of the reauthorized Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Stevens Act), specifically to establish annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs), and to manage the fishery at long-term sustainable levels. The Councils are initiating a public process to determine the scope of alternatives to be addressed in the amendment and EIS. The purpose of this notification is to alert the interested public of the commencement of the scoping process and to provide for public participation in compliance with environmental documentation requirements.

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA), NOAA, announces temporary restrictions consistent with the requirements of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan's (ALWTRP) implementing regulations. These regulations apply to lobster trap/pot and anchored gillnet fishermen for 15 days in an area totaling approximately 1,920 nm\2\ (6,586 km\2\) east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The purpose of this action is to provide protection to an aggregation of North Atlantic right whales (right whales).

The American Petroleum Institute (API), with the assistance of other interested parties, continues to develop standards, both national and international, in several areas. This notice lists the standardization efforts currently being conducted by API committees. The publication of this notice by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on behalf of API is being undertaken as a public service. NIST does not necessarily endorse, approve, or recommend the standards referenced.

This exempted fishing permit (EFP) application is a continuation of a collaborative project involving the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Durham, New Hampshire (NH); the Lobster Conservancy, Friendship, Maine; the New England Aquarium, Boston, Massachusetts; and the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen=s Association, Candia, NH. The EFP proposes to continue monitoring legal sized egg bearing female lobsters (berried lobsters) carrying early-stage eggs. This project will allow participating Federal lobster permit holders, fishing in designated study areas, to preserve a maximum of ten eggs from each berried lobster captured in commercial lobster gear, to allow researchers to determine what percentage of eggs are fertilized, and estimate the egg developmental stage and time to maturity. The berried lobsters will then be released unharmed. This project would not involve the authorization of any additional trap gear, and all trap gear would conform to existing Federal lobster regulations. There would be no anticipated adverse effects on protected resources or habitat as a result of this research. The EFP would waive the prohibition on removal of eggs specified at 50 CFR 697.7(c)(1)(iv) for a maximum of three participating vessels. The Director, State, Federal and Constituent Programs Office, Northeast Region, NMFS (Office Director) has made a preliminary determination that the subject EFP application contains all the required information and warrants further consideration. The Office Director has also made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under the EFPs would be consistent with the goals and objectives of Federal management of the American lobster resource. However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to issue EFPs. NMFS announces that the Office Director proposes to issue EFPs and, therefore, invites comments on the issuance of EFPs for this research.

NMFS announces that it is establishing a new control date to control future access to the commercial golden tilefish fishery operating in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. If changes to the management regime are developed and implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act), a control date could be used to limit the number of participants in the fishery. This announcement is intended, in part, to promote awareness of the potential eligibility criteria for future access so as to discourage speculative entry into the fishery while the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and NMFS consider whether and how access to the golden tilefish fishery should be controlled.

NMFS issues this final rule to implement the annual harvest guideline (HG) and management measures for Pacific sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2009. This HG has been determined according to the regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest levels for Pacific sardine off the Pacific coast. This rule also announces that the directed fishing harvest total for the first allocation period (January 1 - June 30) has been reached and therefore directed fishing for Pacific sardine is now closed until July 1, 2009.