Department of Commerce January 23, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the NOAA Science Advisory Board. The members will discuss and provide advice on issues outlined in the section on Matters to be considered.

On November 18, 2016, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, changes to the collection-of-information under Control Number 0648-0335 necessary to require observer statements to support shipments of tuna harvested in fisheries with regular and significant mortality and serious injury of marine mammals. With notice of this approval, the new requirements for observer statements described in the Federal Register notice published on September 28, 2016, are hereby effective.

The National Weather Service on behalf of the National Science and Technology Council; Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability; Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation Subcommittee announces the availability of and requests public comments on the draft 2017 Space Weather Phase 1 Benchmarks (Draft Benchmarks).

We, NMFS, are issuing a final rule to remove the Puget Sound/ Georgia Basin canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) Distinct Population Segment (DPS) from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species and remove its critical habitat designation. We proposed these actions based on newly obtained samples and genetic analysis that demonstrates that the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin canary rockfish population does not meet the DPS criteria and therefore does not qualify for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Following public and peer review of the proposed rule and supporting scientific information, this final rule implements the changes to the listing and critical habitat for canary rockfish. We also update and amend the listing description for the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus) DPS based on a geographic description to include fish within specified boundaries. Further, although the current listing description is not based on boundaries, with this final rule we are also correcting a descriptive boundary for the DPS depicted on maps to include an area in the northern Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Channel in waters of Canada consistent with newly obtained genetic information on yelloweye rockfish population grouping. We also update and amend the listing description for the bocaccio DPS based on a geographic description and to include fish within specified boundaries.