National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration May 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The NOAA, USFWS, and NPS collectively announce the availability of their Records of Decision (RODs) for the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program Natural Resource Restoration Plan. NOAA, USFWS, and NPS are members of the natural resource trustee council planning and implementing natural resource restoration under the terms of the final settlement of litigation against the Montrose Chemical Corporation and other defendants. NOAA is the lead Federal agency, and USFWS and NPS are cooperating Federal agencies. The final EIS was released to the public for 30 days after the publication of a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register on November 11, 2005. The ROD documents the selection of Alternative 2 (the preferred alternative) in the final EIS.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a public meeting of the Ad Hoc Grouper Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Advisory Panel (AHGIFQAP).

Notice is hereby given that Alden Research Laboratory, Inc. (Edward P. Taft, Responsible Party), 30 Shrewsbury Street, Holden, MA, 01520, has applied in due form for a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific research.

Notice is hereby given that Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Christine M. Gabriele, Principal Investigator) P.O. Box 140, Gustavus, AK 99826, (File No. 945-1776) has been issued a permit to conduct scientific research.

In a document published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2006, NMFS announced its intention to re-open the scoping process and accept further comments on the recommendations contained in Amendment 6 to Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass (Amendment 6). NMFS originally conducted scoping on the matter in 2003, but decided to re- open the scoping process and accept further comments due to the passage of significant time and the availability of new information. The intent of this document is to announce the extension of the public comment period from May 26, 2006, to June 26, 2006.

This document contains an extension to the comment period for a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed issuance of an incidental take and scoping meetings. The original notice was published May 17, 2006.

Notice is hereby given that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, has designated certain lands and waters of the Mission Aransas estuary in Texas as the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve On May 3, 2006, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. USN (Ret.), signed a record of decision and a findings of designation for the Mission- Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve in Texas pursuant to section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1461, and its implementing regulations at 15 CFR part 921. The Reserve duly received certification from the State of Texas Coastal Coordination Council that Reserve designation is consistent to the maximum extent practicable with its program. A copy of the official Record of Decision is available for public review from NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management at the address below.

The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) published a notice in the Federal Register on April 10, 2006 announcing availability of funds to establish a Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Cooperative Institute (CI). That notice contained an error in the description of how proposals on cost-sharing would be evaluated. This notice corrects the error.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold its 133rd meeting to consider and take actions on fishery management issues in the Western Pacific Region.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory entities will hold public meetings.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Habitat/MPA/Ecosystem Committee Meeting in June, 2006 to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory committees will hold public meetings/hearing in Kodiak, AK.

NMFS issues this final rule to implement recreational management measures for the 2006 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. The intent of these measures is to prevent overfishing of the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass resources.

NMFS amends the regulations governing the North and South Atlantic swordfish fisheries to modify the North and South Atlantic Swordfish quotas for the 2005 fishing year (Junej 1, 2005, through May 31, 2006) to account for updated landings information from the 2003 and 2004 fishing years. This action is necessary to ensure that current quotas are based on the most recent landings information and account for any underharvest from previous fishing years, consistent with the regulations at 50 CFR part 635. Additionally, this action implements a subsequent recommendation by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT)(Recommendation 04-02) to extend the 2005 North Atlantic swordfish management measures.

NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 18A to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 18A) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This proposed rule would prohibit vessels from retaining reef fish caught under the recreational size and bag/ possession limits when commercial quantities of Gulf reef fish are on board; adjust the number of persons allowed onboard when a vessel with both commercial and charter vessel/headboat reef fish permits and a Certificate of Inspection (COI) is fishing commercially; prohibit use of Gulf reef fish, except sand perch or dwarf sand perch, as bait in any commercial or recreational fishery in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico, with a limited exception for crustacean trap fisheries; require a NMFS-approved vessel monitoring system (VMS) on board vessels with Federal commercial permits for Gulf reef fish, including charter vessels/headboats with such commercial permits; and require owners and operators of vessels with Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permits for Gulf reef fish to comply with sea turtle and smalltooth sawfish release protocols, possess on board specific gear to ensure proper release of such species, and comply with guidelines for proper care and release of incidentally caught sawfish and sea turtles. NMFS is also proposing to require annual permit application rather than application every 2 years (biennial). In addition, Amendment 18A would revise the total allowable catch (TAC) framework procedure to reflect current practices and terminology. The intended effects of this proposed rule are to improve enforceability and monitoring in the reef fish fishery in the Gulf of Mexico and to reduce mortality of incidentally caught sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish.

This document contains an extension to the comment period and revisions to the time for the first of two meetings for a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed issuance of an incidental take and scoping meetings. The original notice was published March 27, 2006.

NMFS published a final rule on April 24, 2006, to implement the Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Plan (BDTRP) and amend the Mid- Atlantic large mesh gillnet rule. NMFS is announcing workshops on these new regulations. The purpose of the workshops is to provide opportunities for commercial fishermen who are affected by the new regulations to learn about and understand any new requirements. The workshops will consist of presentations on the components of the final rule and gear research related to the BDTRP, as well as an opportunity to ask questions. Eleven workshops are planned from New Jersey through the east coast of Florida, which is the geographic scope of the BDTRP.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council's (Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold its 92nd meeting.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Steller Sea Lion Mitigation Committee (SSLMC) Impact Evaluation Tool Development Subcommittee will meet in Seattle, WA.

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.

NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve of groundfish to the Alaska plaice initial total allowable catch (ITAC) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the fishery to continue operating. It is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan for the BSAI.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) announces its intent to prepare, in cooperation with NMFS, an SEIS to assess the potential effects on the human environment of alternative measures for managing the small-mesh multispecies fishery pursuant to the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This notice announces a public process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying the significant issues relating to management of the small-mesh multispecies fishery. The Council will use the scoping process and the SEIS to develop Amendment 14 to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Small-Mesh Multispecies.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS, National Marine Mammal Laboratory (Principle Investigator: Dr. Robert DeLong), Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA has been issued a permit to conduct research on California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), and northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) on the southern California Channel Islands, surrounding waters, and at haul-out sites along the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meetings of its Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) Committee in June, 2006 to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.