National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration November 3, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council's) Ad Hoc Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Review Committee (EFHRC) will hold a work session, which is open to the public, to plan the periodic 5-year review of groundfish Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).

NOAA publishes this notice to extend the final application solicitation period for the Fiscal Year 2011 CRCP International Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements. The original solicitation, which was announced in the Federal Register on July 16, 2010, gave an incorrect final application due date of February 21, 2011. This notice corrects that error by extending the final application period for this program until February 22, 2011. As the original announcement states, final applications will be accepted ONLY from those pre-applicants who are invited to submit a final application.

This proposed action would establish the 2011-2012 harvest specifications and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP). This action revises the collection of management measures in the groundfish fishery regulations that are intended to keep the total catch of each groundfish species or species complex within the harvest specifications. This action also includes regulations to implement Amendments 16-5 and 23 to the PCGFMP. Amendment 16-5 would revise existing rebuilding plans, create a new rebuilding plan for Petrale sole, which was declared overfished on February 9, 2010, and revise status determination criteria and a harvest control rule for flatfish. This action is consistent with and partially implements Amendment 23 to the PCGFMP. Amendment 23 would make the PCGFMP consistent with the revised National Standard 1 Guidelines (74 FR 3178, January 16, 2009).