National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration July 23, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 86 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. This proposed action would add a Pacific cod endorsement on licenses issued under the License Limitation Program (LLP) in specific management areas if those licenses have been used on vessels that met minimum recent landing requirements using non-trawl gear, commonly known as fixed gear. This proposed action would exempt vessels that use jig gear from the requirement to hold an LLP license, modify the maximum length designation on a specific set of fixed gear licenses, and allow entities representing specific communities to receive a limited number of fixed-gear licenses with Pacific cod endorsements. This proposed action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Fishery Management Plan, and other applicable law.

NMFS is correcting a temporary rule to adjust the 2010 fishing year (FY) Trimester 2 and 3 Loligo squid quotas. The rule contained a numerical error in the metric value of the revised Trimester 3 quota. The correct value for the revised Trimester 3 quota of 23,743,619 lb is 10,770 mt.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Whiting Advisory Panel in August, 2010 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.

The NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) announces its intent to evaluate the performance of the North Inlet/Winyah Bay (South Carolina) National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Pennsylvania Coastal Resources Management Program.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of the Ad Hoc Data Collection Advisory Panel.