Department of Commerce September 22, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), in order to assess the impacts of issuing annual quotas for the subsistence harvest of bowhead whales by Alaska Natives from 2013 through 2017. Publication of this document begins the official scoping period that will help identify issues and alternatives to be considered in the EIS. The scoping process will end October 31, 2011.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. This action is necessary because the directed harvest allocation total for the third seasonal period (September 15-December 31) is projected to be reached by the effective date of this rule. From the effective date of this rule until January 1, 2012, Pacific sardine may be harvested only as part of the live bait fishery or incidental to other fisheries; the incidental harvest of Pacific sardine is limited to 30-percent by weight of all fish per trip. Fishing vessels must be at shore and in the process of offloading at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, on the date of closure.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), its Research Set-Aside (RSA) Committee, its Squid, Mackerel, Butterfish (SMB) Committee, its Executive Committee, and its Spiny Dogfish Committee will hold public meetings.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of the Standing, Special Shrimp and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC).

We (NMFS and USFWS; also collectively referred to as the Services) have determined that the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is composed of nine distinct population segments (DPSs) that constitute ``species'' that may be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In this final rule, we are listing four DPSs as threatened and five as endangered under the ESA. We will propose to designate critical habitat for the two loggerhead sea turtle DPSs occurring within the United States in a future rulemaking. We encourage interested parties to provide any information related to the identification of critical habitat and essential physical or biological features for this species, as well as economic or other relevant impacts of designation of critical habitat, to assist us with this effort.