National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration January 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publishes this notice to announce the withdrawal of the solicitation of applications for the NOAA Marine Aquaculture Initiative 2010, which was published in the NOAA ``Availability of Grant Funds for Fiscal Year 2010'' on January 19, 2010. A new funding opportunity with revised requirements and goals is under development and will be published in the Federal Register.

NMFS closes the commercial fishery for king mackerel in the Florida east coast subzone. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

NMFS, the Alaska Region, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the International Pacific Halibut Commission will present a technical workshop to instruct customers how to use the eLandings Extensible Markup Language interface.

NMFS is required by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), to develop plans for the conservation and survival of federally listed species, i.e., recovery plans. NMFS is announcing its intent to prepare a recovery plan for the Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) and requests information from the public.

NMFS is opening directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the Eastern Aleutian District and the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) for vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery. This action is necessary to fully use the 2010 A season total allowable catch (TAC) of Atka mackerel in these areas specified for vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery.

NMFS closes the commercial run-around gillnet fishery for king mackerel in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the southern Florida west coast subzone. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) will hold public hearings in February 2010 to allow for input on Amendment 11 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (MSB) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below for times and locations.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, and implementing regulations, notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a letter of authorization (LOA) to the U.S. Navy (Navy) to take marine mammals incidental to training and research activities conducted within the Hawaii Range Complex (HRC) for the period of January 15, 2010 through January 14, 2011.

Notice is hereby given the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control-Division of Fish and Wildlife, Dover, DE, has been issued a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific research.

NMFS announces that the spiny dogfish commercial quota available to the coastal states from Maine through Florida for the second semi-annual quota period, November 1, 2009 April 30, 2010, has been harvested. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, January 26, 2010, federally permitted spiny dogfish vessels may not fish for, possess, transfer, or land spiny dogfish until May 1, 2010, when the Period 1 quota becomes available. Regulations governing the spiny dogfish fishery require publication of this notification to advise the coastal states from Maine through Florida that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available for landing spiny dogfish in these states. This action is necessary to prevent the fishery from exceeding its Period 2 quota and to allow for effective management of this stock.

On January 15, 2010, a notice was published in the Federal Register (75 FR 2482) on the proposed information collection, Fisheries Certificate of Origin.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by non- American Fisheries Act (AFA) crab vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2010 Pacific cod sideboard limits apportioned to non-AFA crab vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the Eastern Aleutian District and the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) for vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2010 A season total allowable catch (TAC) of Atka mackerel in these areas for vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery. NMFS is also announcing the opening and closing dates of the first and second directed fisheries within the harvest limit area (HLA) in Statistical Areas 542 and 543. These actions are necessary to conduct directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the HLA in areas 542 and 543.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), announce our 12-month determination on how to proceed with a petition to revise the critical habitat designation for elkhorn (Acropora palmata) and staghorn (A. cervicornis) corals pursuant to section 4(b)(3)(D)(ii) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. Elkhorn and staghorn corals are listed as threatened throughout their ranges and have designated critical habitat consisting of substrate of suitable quality and availability to support successful larval settlement and recruitment, and successful reattachment and recruitment of asexual fragments in water depths shallower than 30 meters in four areas in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The petition seeks to extend the northern boundary of designated critical habitat in the Florida area to the Lake Worth Inlet, which is approximately 15.5 miles (25 km) north of the current boundary at Boynton Beach Inlet, based on the discovery of staghorn corals north of the existing critical habitat boundary. We have evaluated the available scientific information and have decided, based on the adequacy of the existing, recent designation to meet the corals' conservation needs, the relatively low benefit the requested revision would provide, the protections afforded to the species from the recent ESA section 4(d) regulations, and our need to complete higher priority conservation activities for these and other coral species, to deny the petitioned action.

On or about November 7, 2007, the privately owned cargo carrier MlV CASCO BUSAN struck a portion of the fendering system for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge's Delta Tower. This ruptured one or more of the vessel's fuel tanks, allowing a portion of the vessel's bunker oil to be discharged into the San Francisco Bay. The estimated discharge amounted to approximately 53,000 gallons of IFO 380, a heavy fuel oil used primarily to propel ships. This discharge affected natural resources in the area. All of the foregoing is referred to as the ``Incident.''

NMFS issues regulations under authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act), which authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate regulations needed to carry out the obligations of the United States under the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention), including implementing the decisions of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC). The regulations include requirements related to permitting, vessel monitoring systems, vessel observers, vessel markings, reporting and recordkeeping, at-sea transshipment, and boarding and inspection on the high seas, among others. NMFS has determined that this action is necessary for the United States to satisfy its international obligations under the Convention, to which it is a Contracting Party. It will have the effect of requiring that all relevant U.S. fishing vessels are operated in conformance with the provisions of the Convention.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement measures in Amendment 3 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (Skate FMP). Amendment 3 was developed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) to rebuild overfished skate stocks and implement annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) consistent with the requirements of the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). Amendment 3 would implement a rebuilding plan for smooth skate and establish an ACL and annual catch target (ACT) for the skate complex, total allowable landings (TAL) for the skate wing and bait fisheries, seasonal quotas for the bait fishery, reduced possession limits, in-season possession limit triggers, and other measures to improve management of the skate fisheries. This proposed rule also includes skate fishery specifications for fishing years (FY) 2010 and 2011.

On December 2, 2009, NMFS published a proposal to designate critical habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale as required by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended. As part of that proposal, NMFS announced a public comment period to end on February 1, 2010, which was extended to March 3, 2010. NMFS has received requests for public hearings on this issue. In response, NMFS is announcing that hearings will be held at four locations in Alaska to provide additional opportunities and formats to receive public input.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT) will hold a work session, which is open to the public.

NMFS announces the Limited Access General Category (LAGC) Scallop Fishery is closed to individual fishing quota (IFQ) scallop vessels as of 0001 hr local time, January 18, 2010. This fishery will re-open on March 1, 2010. This action is based on the determination that the annual scallop total allowable catch (TAC) for LAGC IFQ scallop vessels (including vessels issued an IFQ letter of authorization (LOA) to fish under appeal) is projected to be landed. This action is being taken to prevent IFQ scallop vessels from exceeding the 2009 fishing year annual TAC, in accordance with the regulations implementing Amendment 11 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP), enacted by Framework 19 to the FMP, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

NMFS is establishing a Take Reduction Team (TRT) and convening

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publishes this noticeto provide the general public with a consolidated source of program and application information related to its competitive grant and cooperative agreement (CA) award offerings for fiscal year (FY) 2010. This Omnibus notice is designed to replace the multiple Federal Register notices that traditionally advertised the availability of NOAA's discretionary funds for its various programs. It should be noted that additional program initiatives unanticipated at the time of the publication of this notice may be announced through subsequent Federal Register notices. All announcements will also be available through the Grants.gov Web site. In addition, this notice solicits comments on Proposed Implementation Guidelines for the Coral Reef Conservation Program.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 31 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This proposed rule would implement restrictions applicable to the bottom longline component of the reef fish fishery in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the eastern Gulf of Mexico (Gulf). The proposed restrictions would include a bottom longline endorsement requirement, a seasonal closed area, and a limitation on the number of hooks that could be possessed and fished. The intent of the proposed rule is to balance the continued operation of the bottom longline component of the reef fish fishery in the eastern Gulf while maintaining adequate protective measures for sea turtles.

The SEDAR Steering Committee will meet via conference call to discuss timing of assessment projects for 2010, progress on procedural modifications, and the need for conflict of interest policies. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.