National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration April 25, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that NMFS, Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) (Jeremy Rusin, Principal Investigator), Protected Resources Division, 8604 La Jolla Shores Dr., La Jolla, CA 92037 has been issued an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 774-1714-06.

NOAA publishes this notice to announce the availability of the draft NOAA Hurricane Forecasting Improvement Project Plan for public comment. The Plan has been written to document NOAA's commitment to work with its partners in hurricane research and development to improve its capabilities to forecast hurricanes.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application submitted by David Beutel and Laura Skrobe of the University of Rhode Island (URI) contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The EFP would enable researchers to test an experimental net that uses very large mesh panels to increase escapement of cod relative to haddock by granting exemption from the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure Areas II and III. The Assistant Regional Administrator has made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under this EFP would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to issue an EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator proposes to recommend that an EFP be issued that would allow two commercial fishing vessels to conduct fishing operations that are otherwise restricted by the regulations governing the fisheries of the Northeastern United States. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

NMFS announces that the percentage of the tilefish annual total allowable landings (TAL) available to the tilefish Part-time permit category for the 2008 fishing year has been harvested. Therefore, commercial vessels fishing under the Part-time tilefish category may not harvest tilefish from within the Golden Tilefish Management Unit for the remainder of the 2008 fishing year (through October 31, 2008) as of April 25, 2008. Regulations governing the tilefish fishery require publication of this notification to advise the public of this closure.