National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration September 8, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS has received a request from the Moss Landing Harbor District (MLHD) to take small numbers of Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions by harassment incidental to the harbor redevelopment project in Moss Landing Harbor, California. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an authorization to MLHD to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of these two species of pinnipeds during the next 12 months.

NMFS announces the closure of the Closed Area II Scallop Access Area (CAII) to scallop vessels until February 28, 2007. This closure, effective 0001 hours on September 6, 2006, is based on a determination by the Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (RA), that scallop vessels are projected to catch the yellowtail flounder (YT) bycatch total allowable catch (TAC) for CAII by September 6, 2006. Upon closure, scallop vessels are prohibited from being in CAII until February 28, 2007. This action is being taken to prevent the scallop fleet from exceeding the YT TAC allocated to CAII during the 2006 fishing year in accordance with the regulations implemented under the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP), Northeast (NE) Multispecies FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.