National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration September 27, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS publishes changes to the regulations that address the operations and administration of the Regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils). The regulatory changes implement the 2006 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) that, among other things, establish the Council Coordinating Committee (CCC), require that the Councils' science and statistical committee (SSC) members disclose their financial interests, and provide for training of Council members and staff. Additionally, this final rule clarifies the Council documents that should be available to the public; the restrictions on lobbying; the procedures for Council member nomination, including timing for submission of nominations; and also requires Councils to provide procedures for deeming regulations necessary and or appropriate for implementing fishery management plans and plan amendments. These regulations also set forth additional financial disclosure requirements for Council members, and revise the security assurance procedures for nominees to and members of the Councils. Finally, this rule makes technical and minor corrections to the regulations unrelated to the most recent Magnuson-Stevens Act amendments.

NMFS publishes this final rule to implement international conservation and management measures that pertain to vessels that have been identified by any one of several regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs), identified below, as having engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities and added to IUU vessel lists. The United States is a member of, and obligated to implement measures adopted by, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), and the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP). This rule provides the NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (Assistant Administrator) with authority to restrict entry into any port or place of the United States of, and access to port services by, foreign vessels on the IUU vessel lists of the aforementioned RFMOs. It also gives the Assistant Administrator authority to prohibit such vessels from engaging in commercial transactions, including, but not limited to, landing and transshipping products. Furthermore, the rule prohibits persons and business entities subject to U.S. jurisdiction from providing certain services to, or engaging in commercial transactions with, such vessels.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. This action is necessary because the directed harvest allocation total for the third seasonal period (September 15 December 31) is projected to be reached by the effective date of this rule. From the effective date of this rule until January 1, 2011, Pacific sardine can only be harvested as part of the live bait fishery or incidental to other fisheries; the incidental harvest of Pacific sardine is limited to 30-percent by weight of all fish per trip. Fishing vessels must be at shore and in the process of offloading at 12:01 am Pacific Daylight Time on date of closure.

NMFS is reopening the comment period for the proposed rule to Implement Addenda to 17 Fishing Year (FY) 2010 Northeast Multispecies Sector Operations Plans and Contracts. The comment period is being reopened and extended to provide additional opportunity for public comment.