National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration September 5, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mid-Atlantic Council's Squid, Mackerel, and Butterfish Committee will hold a public meeting on Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan and if time allows, also on Amendment 11.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), propose to designate critical habitat for the Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment (GOM DPS) of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). We previously determined that naturally spawned and several hatchery populations of Atlantic salmon which constituted the GOM DPS warrant listing as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). We are required to designate critical habitat for the GOM DPS as a result of this listing. We propose to designate as critical habitat 45 specific areas occupied by Atlantic salmon at the time of listing that comprise approximately 203,781 km of perennial river, stream, and estuary habitat and 868 square km of lake habitat within the range of the GOM DPS and on which are found those physical and biological features essential to the conservation of the species. The entire occupied range of the GOM DPS in which critical habitat is being proposed is within the State of Maine. We propose to exclude approximately 1,463 km of river, stream, and estuary habitat and 115 square km of lake habitat from critical habitat pursuant to section 4(b)(2) of the ESA.