National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration September 15, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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Initiation of Review of Management Plan/Regulations of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary; Intent To Prepare Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Management Plan; Scoping Meetings
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS or sanctuary) was designated in May 1994. It spans 3,310 square miles of marine waters off the rugged Olympic Peninsula coast, covering much of the continental shelf and the heads of several major submarine canyons. The present management plan was written as part of the sanctuary designation process and published in the Final Environmental Impact Statement in 1993. In accordance with Section 304(e) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is initiating a review of the OCNMS management plan, to evaluate substantive progress toward implementing the goals for the Sanctuary, and to make revisions to the plan and regulations as necessary to fulfill the purposes and policies of the NMSA. NOAA will conduct public scoping meetings to gather information and other comments from individuals, organizations, tribes, and government agencies on the scope, types and significance of issues related to the Sanctuary's management plan and regulations. The scoping meetings are scheduled as detailed below.
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Inseason Action to allow use of the Ruhle Trawl in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area
NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast (NE) Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) has authorized the use of an additional type of fishing gear for use by vessels fishing under a Northeast (NE) multispecies Category A Day-at-Sea (DAS) in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area. This action is authorized by the regulations implementing Amendment 13 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and is intended to prevent under-harvesting of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Eastern Georges Bank (GB) haddock while ensuring that the TAC of Eastern GB cod and GB yellowtail flounder will not be exceeded during the 2008 fishing year (FY). This action is being taken to provide additional opportunities for vessels to fully harvest the Eastern GB haddock TAC under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico
This document contains a correction to the final rule governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to the explosive removal of offshore structures in the Gulf of Mexico that was published in the Federal Register on Thursday June 19, 2008.
Membership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Performance Review Board
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(4), NOAA announces the appointment of four new members to serve with the current membership on the NOAA Performance Review Board (PRB). The NOAA PRB is responsible for reviewing performance appraisals and ratings of Senior Executive Service and Senior Professional members and making written recommendations to the appointing authority on retention and compensation matters, including performance-based pay adjustments, awarding of bonuses and reviewing recommendations for potential Presidential Rank Award nominees. The appointment of members to the NOAA PRB will be for a period of 12 months.
Fisheries of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; SEDAR; Public Meetings
The Council-Federal cooperative SEDAR process provides stock assessments for fisheries resources of the Southeast Region. Assessment priorities are typically established by management need or perceptions of management or population problems, and often do not consider data availability. As a result, despite several attempts by SEDAR, no acceptable quantitative assessments have been developed for Caribbean stocks because data to support traditional stock assessment methods simply do not exist. It is clear that alternative methods need to be developed that will allow assessing Caribbean fisheries resources in a manner that will withstand independent peer review. Identifying and evaluating available data sources across all managed species is a strong first step that is consistent with peer review and assessment report recommendations. SEDAR will convene a workshop including representatives from Federal agencies, territorial governments, non-governmental organizations, Council technical and constituent advisors, and university researchers. Participants will catalog and evaluate basic data, address alternative assessment methods that will accommodate the available data, and recommend assessment priorities that are consistent with available data and methods.
Fisheries of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; SEDAR; Public Meetings
Due to a paucity of fishery-independent monitoring information, stock assessments of Southeastern fisheries resources conducted through SEDAR rely heavily on evaluating fishery-dependent data sources to detect population abundance signals. Recently, assessment methods were developed that allowed for relaxation of the constant catchability assumption typically used when analyzing fishery dependent catch per unit effort information. While both assessment scientists and participating constituent representatives agree it is highly unlikely that catchability has remained constant, agreeing on the specifics that allow incorporating catchability changes remains a challenge. SEDAR will convene a workshop including representatives from Federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, Council technical and constituent advisors, and university researchers to evaluate catchability issues. Participants will review information addressing catchability changes, develop recommendations for incorporating catchability changes in SEDAR assessments, and recommend criteria for consideration when developing catchability profiles for individual species or fisheries. Participants will prepare a SEDAR procedures document addressing their recommendations that will be used to guide future SEDAR assessments.
Fisheries of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; SEDAR; Public Meetings
Measures of population abundance are critical to developing adequate and reliable quantitative stock assessments. Given the complexity of developing indices of abundance and determining which indices may be useful for use in stock assessments, a 4 day workshop will be convened to gather key members of the SEDAR assessment community to prepare a guide to index development and evaluation. Topics of discussion will include: methods for indices development, review of criteria used in determining usefulness of indices in past SEDARs, meta-analysis of indices presented in past SEDARs (examining factors such as duration, coefficients of variation, and spatial coverage), and possible criteria for indices selection. Participants will produce summaries and/or documents of various issues to be discussed prior to the workshop and participant in the development of the final report during and after the meeting.
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Deep-Water Species Fishery by Vessels Using Trawl Gear in the Gulf of Alaska
NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the deep-water species fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the 2008 Pacific halibut bycatch allowance specified for the deep-water species fishery in the GOA has been reached.
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene the 99th meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) in Honolulu, HI.
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings
This notice advises the public that the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a meeting of its Social Science Research Planning Committee in Honolulu, HI.
New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Habitat/MPA/Ecosystem Committee, in October, 2008, to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Crab Socioeconomic Data Collection Committee will meet in Anchorage, AK.
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