Department of Commerce March 25, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS closes the penaeid shrimp commercial sector to trawling, i.e., brown, pink, and white shrimp, in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off South Carolina in the South Atlantic. This closure is necessary to protect the spawning stock of white shrimp that has been severely depleted by unusually cold weather conditions.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a series of public hearings regarding Amendment 18 to Coastal Migratory Pelagic Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Region and Amendment 10 to the Spiny Lobster FMP for the Gulf and South Atlantic Region. Public hearings in Duck Key and Key West, Florida are joint hearings with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

In August 2010, NOAA and the Department of the Interior (DOI) invited Federal, State, commonwealth, and territorial MPA programs with potentially eligible existing MPAs to nominate their sites to the national system of MPAs (national system). A total of 39 nominations were received, including seven from the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and 32 from the California Department of Fish and Game. Following a 30-day public review period, no public comments were received by the National Marine Protected Areas Center (MPA Center). The American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and the California Department of Fish and Game, as the managing agencies, were asked to make a final determination of sites to nominate to the national system. Finding them to be eligible for the national system, the MPA Center has accepted the nominations for 39 sites and placed them on the List of National System MPAs. The national system and the nomination process are described in the Framework for the National System of Marine Protected Areas of the United States of America (Framework), developed in response to Executive Order 13158 on Marine Protected Areas. The final Framework was published on November 19, 2008, and provides guidance for collaborative efforts among Federal, State, commonwealth, territorial, tribal and local governments and stakeholders to develop an effective and well coordinated national system that includes existing MPAs meeting national system criteria as well as new sites that may be established by managing agencies to fill key conservation gaps in important ocean areas.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.