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

This action increases the Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder trip limit to 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) for NE multispecies days-at- sea (DAS) vessels fishing in the U.S./Canada Management Area. This action is authorized by the regulations implementing Amendment 13 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and is intended to increase the likelihood of harvesting the total allowable catch (TAC) for GB yellowtail flounder without exceeding it during the 2009 fishing year. This action is being taken to allow vessels to fully harvest the TACs for transboundary stocks of GB cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement the Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based Amendment 1 (CE-BA1) to the following South Atlantic fishery management plans (FMPs): The FMP for Coral, Coral reefs, and Live/Hard Bottom Habitats of the South Atlantic Region (Coral FMP); the FMP for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery off the Atlantic States (Dolphin and Wahoo FMP); the FMP for Golden Crab of the South Atlantic Region (Golden Crab FMP); the FMP for the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Shrimp FMP); and the FMP for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Snapper-Grouper FMP), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council); as well as the FMP for Coastal Migratory Pelagic (CMP) Resources (CMP FMP); and the FMP for the Spiny Lobster Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic (Spiny Lobster FMP), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils. This proposed rule would establish Deepwater Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (Deepwater Coral HAPCs) off the coast of the southern Atlantic States in which the use of specified fishing gear and methods and the possession of coral would be prohibited. Within the Deepwater Coral HAPCs, fishing zones would be created that would allow continued fishing on the historical grounds for golden crab and deepwater shrimp. In addition, CE-BA1 would update existing Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) information in the area off the southern Atlantic States, thus,

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock in the West Yakutat District of the GOA.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene public meetings.

Notice is hereby given that the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC), 301 Railway Avenue, PO Box 1329, Seward, AK 99664-1329 (Dr. Ian Dutton, Responsible Party) has been issued a permit to receive, import, and export marine mammal parts for purposes of scientific research.

Notice is hereby given that Daniel P. Costa, Ph.D., Long Marine Laboratory, University of California at Santa Cruz, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, California 95060, has been issued an amendment to Scientific Research Permit No. 87-1743-05.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and its Squid, Mackerel, and Butterfish (SMB), Joint Dogfish, Research Set- Aside (RSA), and Executive Committees will hold public meetings.

NOAA announces the availability of Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Funding (PCSRF), as authorized in the Northern Boundary and Transboundary Rivers Restoration and Enhancement Fund and Southern Boundary Restoration and Enhancement Fund, to support the restoration and conservation of Pacific salmon and steelhead populations and their habitat. The program makes funding available to the States of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Nevada and Federally- recognized tribes of the Columbia River and Pacific Coast for projects necessary for conservation of salmon and steelhead populations that are listed as threatened or endangered, or identified by a State as at-risk or to be so-listed; for maintaining populations necessary for exercise of tribal treaty fishing rights or native subsistence fishing; or for conservation of Pacific coastal salmon and steelhead habitat. This announcement outlines the guidelines that will be used to distribute funding to eligible entities.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received applications for permits for scientific research from National Resource Scientists, Inc. (NRSI) in Red Bluff, CA (14685, 14688), and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), North Central Region 2, in Rancho Cordova, CA (14808). This notice is relevant to federally endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), threatened Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), threatened Central Valley steelhead (O. mykiss), and threatened Southern Distinct Population Segment of North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris). This document serves to notify the public of the availability of the permit applications for review and comment.

The Pacific Council and its advisory entities will hold public meetings.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 91 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). If approved, Amendment 91 would be a novel approach to managing Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery that combines a limit on the amount of Chinook salmon that may be caught incidentally with an incentive plan agreement and performance standard designed to minimize bycatch to the extent practicable in all years and prevent bycatch from reaching the limit in most years. This action is necessary to minimize Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery to the extent practicable while maximizing the potential for the full harvest of the pollock total allowable catch within specified prohibited species catch limits. Amendment 91 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

Notice is hereby given that Carlos Diez, Bureau of Fisheries and Wildlife, San Juan, PR 00906-6600, has applied in due form for a permit to take hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

NMFS has received an application from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to construction and demolition activities related to the replacement of the Manette Bridge in Bremerton, Washington. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to WSDOT to incidentally harass, by Level B Harassment only, three species of marine mammals during the specified activity.

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.

Notice is hereby given that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Maryland Fishery Resources Office, 177 Admiral Cochrane Drive, Annapolis, MD 21401 (Michael Mangold, Responsible Party), has applied in due form for a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific research.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the B season allowance of the 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 620 in the GOA.

We, the NMFS, issue a final determination to list the southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of Pacific eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus; hereafter ``eulachon'') as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We intend to consider protective regulations and critical habitat for this DPS in separate rulemaking.

This rule amends the procedures governing NOAA's administrative proceedings for the assessment of civil penalties; suspension, revocation, modification, or denial of permits; issuance and use of written warnings; and release or forfeiture of seized property. The principal change removes the requirement that an Administrative Law Judge state good reason(s) for departing from the civil penalty or permit sanction assessed by NOAA in its charging document. This revision eliminates any presumption in favor of the civil penalty or permit sanction assessed by NOAA. The other change corrects a clerical error in a citation to rules pertaining to protective orders issued by Administrative Law Judges.

NMFS announces a workshop to solicit feedback from owners and managers of shoreside processors that intend to take delivery of trawl- caught groundfish under the proposed Trawl Rationalization Program. We are interested in feedback concerning proposed regulations to improve catch monitoring and accounting in the trawl fisheries. Specifically, we seek feedback into proposed requirements for catch weighing, and the development of Catch Monitoring and Control Plans (CMCPs) that shoreside processors would be required to submit and conduct operations under. The workshop is open to the public, but NMFS is particularly seeking participation by people who are knowledgeable about the operations of shoreside processors that intend to participate in the rationalized trawl fishery.

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA AA), on behalf of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), publishes annual management measures promulgated as regulations by the IPHC and approved by the Secretary of State governing the Pacific halibut fishery. The AA also announces modifications to the Catch Sharing Plan (CSP) for Area 2A (waters off the U.S. West Coast) and implementing regulations for 2010, and announces approval of the Area 2A CSP. These actions are intended to enhance the conservation of Pacific halibut and further the goals and objectives of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) (Councils).

Notice is hereby given that Niladri Basu, Ph.D., Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, 109 South Observatory Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, has been issued a scientific research permit to import marine mammal specimens for scientific research.

NMFS has received a request from BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. (BP) for authorization for the take of marine mammals incidental to operation of offshore oil and gas facilities in the U.S. Beaufort Sea, AK, for the period April 2011 - April 2016. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of BP's request for the development and implementation of new 5-year regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and inviting information, suggestions, and comments on BP's application and request.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting to receive public input on longline fishery issues and the future of longline fisheries in the Western Pacific Region.

Through this final rule, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) delays the effective date of new seasonal pinger requirements for the New England component of the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan (HPTRP). Specifically, NMFS will delay implementation of new seasonal pinger requirements within the Stellwagen Bank and Southern New England Management Areas from March 22, 2010, to September 15, 2010.

The SEDAR assessments of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico stocks of goliath grouper will consist of a series of three workshops: a Data Workshop, an Assessment Workshop, and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.