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

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is publishing its final List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2008, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The final LOF for 2008 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS must categorize each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of serious injury and mortality of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. The categorization of a fishery in the LOF determines whether participants in that fishery are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan requirements.

NMFS announces that the 2007 summer flounder commercial quota allocated to the State of New Jersey has been harvested. Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in New Jersey for the remainder of calendar year 2007, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer from another state. Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery require publication of this notification to advise New Jersey 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 New Jersey.

This temporary rule republishes interim measures to reduce overfishing of Gulf red snapper that were previously implemented via a temporary rule published by NMFS on April 2, 2007, and extended through March 28, 2008, by a temporary rule published by NMFS on September 24, 2007. The interim measures reduce the commercial and recreational quotas for red snapper, reduce the commercial minimum size limit for red snapper, reduce the recreational bag limit for Gulf red snapper, prohibit the retention of red snapper under the bag limit for captain and crew of a vessel operating as a charter vessel or headboat, and establish a target level of reduction of shrimp trawl bycatch mortality of red snapper. The intended effect of this temporary rule is to reinstate the text of the interim measures in the Code of Federal Regulations that was inadvertently removed.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), its Mid-Atlantic section of the Monkfish Committee, its Squid, Mackerel, and Butterfish Committee, its Bycatch/Limited Access Committee, and its Executive Committee will hold public meetings.

NMFS announces that the State of Delaware is transferring commercial bluefish quota to the State of Rhode Island from its 2007 quota. By this action, NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the revised commercial quota for each state involved.