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

NMFS will hold five public meetings in September 2006 in order to obtain recommendations from swordfish fishery participants and other members of the public regarding potential management measures for the U.S. Atlantic swordfish fishery so as to fully harvest the quota allocated to the United States by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the shallow-water species fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), effective 2400 hrs, Alaska local time, September 1, 2006. This adjustment is necessary to allow a 12-hour fishery for species that comprise the shallow-water species fishery without exceeding the fourth seasonal apportionment of the 2006 Pacific halibut bycatch allowance specified for the shallow-water species fishery in the GOA.

NMFS has determined that the daily Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) retention limits for the Atlantic tunas General category should be adjusted to allow for a reasonable opportunity to harvest the General category September time-period subquota. Therefore, NMFS increases the daily BFT retention limits to provide enhanced commercial General category fishing opportunities in all areas while minimizing the risk of an overharvest of the General category BFT quota.

NMFS announces that the summer flounder commercial quota available to Maine has been harvested. Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in Maine for the remainder of calendar year 2006, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer. Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery require publication of this notification to advise Maine that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in Maine.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold its Crustaceans Plan Team (CPT) meeting, in Honolulu, HI.

The NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) announces its intent to evaluate the performance of the Oregon Coastal Management Program. The Coastal Zone Management Program evaluation will be conducted pursuant to section 312 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended (CZMA) and regulations at 15 CFR Part 923, Subpart L. The CZMA requires continuing review of the performance of states with respect to coastal program implementation. Evaluation of a Coastal Management Program requires findings concerning the extent to which a state has met the national objectives, adhered to its Coastal Management Program document approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and adhered to the terms of financial assistance awards funded under the CZMA. The evaluation will include a site visit, consideration of public comments, and consultations with interested Federal, state, and local agencies and members of the public. A public meeting will be held as part of the site visit. Notice is hereby given of the date of the site visit for the listed evaluation, and the date, local time, and location of the public meeting during the site visit. Date and Time: The Oregon Coastal Management Program evaluation site visit will be held October 2-6, 2006. One public meeting will be held during the week. The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 4, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. at the City of Newport Public Library, 35 NW Nye Street, Newport, Oregon. Copies of a state's most recent performance reports, as well as OCRM's evaluation notification and supplemental information request letters to the state, are available upon request from OCRM. Written comments from interested parties regarding this Program are encouraged and will be accepted until 15 days after the public meeting. Please direct written comments to Ralph Cantral, Chief, National Policy and Evaluation Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, NOS/NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, 10th Floor, N/ORM7, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. When the evaluation is completed, OCRM will place a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Final Evaluation Findings.

NMFS will hold a two-day Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel (AP) meeting in October 2006. The intent of the meeting is to consider options for the conservation and management of HMS.

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

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BS/AI) groundfish plan teams will meet in Seattle, WA.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a joint meeting of the South Atlantic Council and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils' King and Spanish Mackerel Committees. The Council will also hold a joint meeting of its Executive and Finance Committees, Personnel Committee (CLOSED SESSION), King and Spanish Mackerel Committee, Snapper Grouper Committee, Advisory Panel Selection Committee (CLOSED SESSION), and a meeting of the full Council. In addition, the Council will hold a public hearing on Amendment 14 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan (FMP), a public hearing regarding a regulatory amendment to the Coastal Migratory Pelagics FMP, and a public input session.

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

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Salmon Advisory Subpanel (SAS) will hold a work session by telephone conference, which is open to the public, to develop recommendations for the September Council meeting.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Crab Plan Team will meet in Anchorage, AK.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Scallop Committee in September, 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.

NMFS issues this proposed rule that would implement Amendment 26 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). Amendment 26 would establish an individual fishing quota (IFQ) program for the commercial red snapper sector of the reef fish fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. Initial participants in the IFQ program would receive percentage shares of the commercial quota of red snapper based on specified historical landings criteria. The percentage shares of the commercial quota would equate to annual IFQ allocations. Both shares and IFQ allocations would be transferable. The intended effect of this rule is to manage the commercial red snapper sector of the reef fish fishery to preserve its long-term economic viability and to achieve optimum yield from the fishery.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability for public review of the draft updated Recovery Plan (Plan) for the U.S. Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). NMFS is soliciting review and comments from the public and all interested parties on the draft Plan, and will consider all substantive comments received during the review period before submitting the Plan for final approval.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel (CPSAS) and Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) will hold a joint work session via conference call, which is open to the public.

In accordance with regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting marine geophysical seismic surveys, on oil and gas lease blocks located on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) waters in the Chukchi Sea. has been issued to GX Technology of Houston, Texas (GXT).

This action extends a temporary rule, now in effect, that establishes the 2006 optimum yield (OY) for darkblotched rockfish caught in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. This action, which is authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act), is intended to protect darkblotched rockfish, an overfished groundfish species.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Atka mackerel with gears other than jig gear in the Eastern Aleutian District and the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2006 total allowable catch (TAC) of Atka mackerel in these areas. NMFS is also announcing the opening and closing dates of the first and second directed fisheries within the harvest limit area (HLA) in Statistical Areas 542 and 543. These actions are necessary to prevent exceeding the HLA limits established for the Central (area 542) and Western (area 543) Aleutian Districts pursuant to the 2006 Atka mackerel TAC.

This notice retracts the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze a range of alternatives for the annual allocation of the Pacific sardine harvest guideline proposed action published on July 19, 2004. Further scoping subsequent to the publication of the NOI revealed additional information indicating that it was unlikely the proposed action would result in significant environmental impacts. An Environmental Assessment (EA) was completed and a subsequent Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed.

This document contains a correction to the final regulations which were published Wednesday, August 9, 2006. Those regulations established a number of requirements to improve enforceability and monitoring in the reef fish fishery in the Gulf of Mexico.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the Sea Grant Review Panel. The meeting will have several purposes. Panel members will discuss and provide advice on the National Sea Grant College Program in the areas of program evaluation, strategic planning, education and extension, science and technology programs, and other matters as described below:

Notice is hereby given that Amanda Southwood, Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 has been issued a permit to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), and Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

The Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) has made a preliminary determination that the subject Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) proposal contains all the required information and warrants further consideration. The Regional Administrator has also made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under the EFP would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to issue the EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that the Regional Administrator proposes to issue an EFP that would allow vessels to conduct fishing operations that are otherwise restricted by the regulations governing the fisheries of the Northeastern United States. The EFP would allow for exemptions from Atlantic sea scallop open area days-at-sea (DAS), in the event that there is an insufficient number of trips in the scallop access area made available to compensate research authorized under the Sea Scallop Research Set-aside Program (RSA Program).