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

Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to NMFS National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Seattle, WA, to conduct research on marine mammals.

NMFS issues this final rule to implement the annual harvest guideline (HG) and seasonal allocations for Pacific sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011. These specifications have been determined according to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The 2011 maximum HG for Pacific sardine is 50,526 metric tons (mt), of which 4,200 mt is initially set aside for potential use under Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs). The remaining 46,326 mt, constituting the initial commercial fishing HG, has been divided across the seasonal allocation periods in the following way: January 1-June 3015,214 mt is allocated for directed harvest with an incidental set-aside of 1,000 mt; July 1- September 1417,530 mt is allocated for directed harvest with an incidental set-aside of 1,000 mt; September 15-December 318,582 mt is allocated for directed harvest with an incidental set-aside of 1,000 mt, plus an additional 2,000 mt set aside to buffer against reaching the total HG. This rule is intended to conserve and manage Pacific sardine off the West Coast.

This final rule implements measures that were approved in Amendment 5 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (Councils) developed Amendment 5 to bring the FMP into compliance with the annual catch limit (ACL) and accountability measure (AM) requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act). This rule establishes the mechanisms for specifying ACLs and AMs and sets the annual catch target (ACT) and associated measures for days-at-sea (DAS) and trip limits for the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA). NMFS disapproved the proposed ACT, and associated measures, for the Northern Fishery Management Area (NFMA) on the grounds that they are not consistent with the most recent scientific advice. This final rule implements three additional Amendment 5 management measures to promote efficiency and reduce waste, brings the biological and management reference points in the Monkfish FMP into compliance with recently revised National Standard 1 (NS1) Guidelines, and makes one correction to the monkfish weight conversion factors.

Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation, Juneau, AK, to conduct research on marine mammals.

The Pacific Council and its advisory entities will hold public meetings.