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

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene its Law Enforcement Advisory Panel.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a web based meeting of the ABC Control Rule Working Group (Group).

NMFS closes the commercial hook-and-line fishery for king mackerel in the southern Florida west coast subzone. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher/processors using hook-and-line gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2010 Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to catcher/processors using hook-and- line gear in the BSAI.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Scallop Plan Team will meet March 3 and 4th, 2010 in Juneau, AK.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council submitted Amendment 91 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) to NMFS for review. 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.

NMFS is exempting, through this emergency rule, individual fishing quota (IFQ) issued for the Western Aleutian Islands golden king crab fishery from the West regional designation and individual processing quota (IPQ) issued for this fishery from the West regional designation. Under the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program, golden king crab harvested with IFQ with a West regional designation must be delivered to a processor with West designated IPQ in the West region of the Aleutian Islands. An emergency exists, because Federal regulations require that a portion of crab taken in this fishery be delivered and processed in the West region, but due to a recent unforeseen event, no processing facility is open in the West region. This emergency rule is necessary to relieve a restriction and allow fishermen to deliver crab harvested with West designated IFQ to processors outside the West region and allow processors with West designated IPQ to process that crab outside the West region. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs, and other applicable law.

This notice is a call for nominees for the U.S. Delegation to the March 2010 Small Working Group and intersessional meetings of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The non-federal representative(s) selected as a result of this nomination process is(are) responsible for providing input and recommendations to the U.S. IWC Commissioner representing the positions of non-governmental organizations. Generally, only one non- governmental position is selected for the U.S. Delegation, but as these meetings may be quite technical in nature, an additional representative may be chosen as a technical advisor.

Through this emergency rule NMFS is implementing increases to the 2010 black sea bass specifications (i.e., commercial fishing quota, recreational harvest limit (RHL), and research set-aside (RSA)). This action is necessary to mitigate potential foregone economic yield associated with the current lower specifications and to ensure the specifications are consistent with the best available scientific information. This action is also necessary to increase specifications consistent with the recently revised catch level recommendation from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and its scientific advisors, the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC).

We (NMFS) announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list 83 species of corals as threatened or endangered under the ESA. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted for 82 species; we find that the petition fails to present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted for Oculina varicosa. Therefore, we initiate status reviews of 82 species of corals to determine if listing under the ESA is warranted. To ensure these status reviews are comprehensive, we solicit scientific and commercial information regarding these coral species.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock by American Fisheries Act (AFA) trawl catcher vessels participating in the inshore open access fishery in the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2010 pollock total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to the inshore open access fishery in the BSAI.

NMFS reduces the trip limit in the commercial hook-and-line fishery for king mackerel in the southern Florida west coast subzone to 500 lb (227 kg) of king mackerel per day in or from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This trip limit reduction is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

Notice is hereby given that Isaac Wirgin, PhD, New York University School of Medicine, Department of Environmental Medicine, Tuxedo, NY 10987, has applied in due form for a permit to import and take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) early life stages (ELS) for purposes of scientific research.

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) by vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2010 A season allocation of Atka mackerel in these areas allocated to vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery.

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 announces the receipt of an application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Mr. Thomas Haugen. If granted, the EFP would authorize the applicant, with certain conditions, to harvest legal- sized fish with unauthorized fishing gear under his commercial reef fish permit and individual fishing quota allocation for one year when testing his size-selective fishing gear called an excluding fishing device (EFD). This study is intended to provide detailed information and disposition of reef fish caught by Mr. Haugen's size-selective fishing device and its affect on minimizing bycatch.

NMFS proposes to approve and implement changes to the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan (Plan) for the International Pacific Halibut Commission's (IPHC or Commission) regulatory Area 2A off Washington, Oregon, and California (Area 2A). NMFS proposes to implement the portions of the Plan and management measures that are not implemented through the IPHC. This includes tribal regulations and the sport fishery allocations and management measures for Area 2A. These actions are intended to enhance the conservation of Pacific halibut, to provide greater angler opportunity where available, and to protect overfished groundfish species from being incidentally caught in the halibut fisheries.

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.

On November 13, 2009, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) published a notice of availability of funds to establish three new NOAA cooperative institutes (CIs): (1) A CI To Support NOAA Research Facilities in the Pacific Northwest, (2) A CI for Southwestern U.S. Marine Ecosystems, Climate and Ocean Studies, and (3) A Southeastern Regional CI for Atmospheric and Marine Studies. OAR publishes this notice to announce an extension to the application solicitation period. The date when applications must be received at NOAA is being extended from February 10, 2010 until February 12, 2010.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Navy (Navy) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to military readiness training activities to be conducted in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) for the period beginning December 2010 and ending December 2015. Pursuant to the implementing regulations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing our receipt of the Navy's request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and inviting information, suggestions, and comments on the Navy's application and request.

This action implements 2010 specifications and management measures for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish (MSB). Specifically, this action maintains quotas for Atlantic mackerel (mackerel), Illex squid (Illex), Loligo squid (Loligo), and butterfish at the same levels as 2009. This action also modifies accounting procedures for underages of Trimester 1 quotas in the Loligo fishery so that Trimester 1 quota underages that are greater than 25 percent of the Trimester 1 quota will be allocated equally to Trimesters 2 and 3, and underages that are less than 25 percent of the Trimester 1 quota will be allocated to Trimester 3. Additionally, this action will increase the minimum mesh size requirement for codend covers in the Loligo fishery from 4.5 inches (11.43 cm) to 5 inches (12.7 cm). These specifications and management measures promote the utilization and conservation of the MSB resource.

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 of a meeting of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC). This will be the first meeting to be held in the calendar year 2010. Agenda topics are provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice. All full Committee sessions will be open to the public.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting of its Shrimp Review Panel via conference call.

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 Navy training, maintenance, and research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) activities to be conducted within the Atlantic Fleet Active Sonar Training (AFAST) Study Area, which extends east from the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. to 45[deg] W. long. and south from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Coasts to approximately 23[deg] N. lat., but not encompassing the Bahamas (see Figure 1-1 in the Navy's Application), from January 22, 2010 through January 21, 2011.