National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration July 27, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS has received a request from the PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO) for an authorization to take California sea lions, Pacific harbor seals, northern elephant seals and Steller sea lions, by harassment, incidental to central California seabird research operations on Southeast Farallon Island, Ano Nuevo Island, and Point Reyes National Seashore (NS). Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an authorization to PRBO to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of these species of pinnipeds during the next 12 months.

NMFS announces the availability of the draft Amendment 2 to the Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and its accompanying proposed rule. Amendment 2 examines different management alternatives available to rebuild sandbar, dusky, and porbeagle sharks, consistent with the 2006 shark stock assessments, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act), and other applicable law. The proposed rule to implement Amendment 2 would, among other things, allow for a limited shark research fishery for sandbar sharks, establish a trip limit for commercial harvest of non-sandbar large coastal sharks (LCS), prohibit the landing and possession of porbeagle sharks, require all sharks landed to have fins attached through landing, eliminate the regions and trimester seasons, and modify the species that can be landed by recreational fishermen. These changes could affect all fishermen who fish for sharks in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.