National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration July 17, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS issues a final rule to increase the number of times per year that a stationary floating processor (SFP) that is qualified under the American Fisheries Act (AFA) may move within State of Alaska waters in the Bering Sea (BS) subarea to process pollock harvested in the BS subarea directed pollock fishery. This action also requires AFA SFPs to process all Gulf of Alaska (GOA) pollock and GOA Pacific cod where they processed these species in 2002. This action is necessary to increase operational flexibility for AFA SFPs that process pollock caught in the BS subarea directed fishery while continuing to limit the competitive advantage of AFA SFPs in the GOA pollock and GOA Pacific cod fisheries. This final rule also is notification to the public of the approval of Amendment 62 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) and the approval of Amendment 62 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP). Amendments 62/62 revise the BSAI FMP description of the Catcher Vessel Operational Area and remove the obsolete sunset date for inshore/offshore sector allocations of pollock and Pacific cod in the GOA FMP. These actions are intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the GOA FMP, the BSAI FMP, and other applicable laws.

NMFS proposes to revise identification requirements for U.S. vessels that fish for pelagic management unit species on the high seas of the central and western Pacific. The new measures would require vessels to display their International Telecommunication Union Radio Call Sign (IRCS). If an IRCS has not been assigned to the vessel, the vessel would be required to display its official number, preceded by the characters ``USA ''. The intent of this proposed rule is to make existing Federal vessel identification requirements conform with other regulations being proposed to implement international requirements.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), a part of the University of California San Diego (UCSD), for the take of small numbers of marine mammals, by Level B harassment only, incidental to conducting a marine seismic survey in the Northeast Pacific Ocean during July 2009.