National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration March 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS issues final specifications for the 2011 Atlantic bluefish fishery, including total allowable landings (TAL), a commercial quota and recreational harvest limit (RHL), and a recreational possession limit. The intent of this action is to establish the allowable 2011 harvest levels and other management measures to achieve the target fishing mortality rate (F), consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The final rule also amends the bluefish regulations that specify the process for setting the annual TAL and target F to more clearly reflect the intent of the FMP.

NMFS announces that the spiny dogfish commercial quota available to the coastal states from Maine through Florida for the 2010 fishing year (FY), May 1, 2010-April 30, 2011, has been harvested. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, April 1, 2011, federally permitted spiny dogfish vessels may not fish for, possess, transfer, or land spiny dogfish until May 1, 2011, when the quota for FY 2011 becomes available. Regulations governing the spiny dogfish fishery require publication of this notification to advise the coastal states from Maine through Florida that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available for landing spiny dogfish in these states. This action is necessary to prevent the fishery from exceeding its annual quota and to allow for effective management of this stock.

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 is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using trawl gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2011 Pacific cod allowable catch (TAC) specified for catcher vessels using trawl gear in the BSAI.

The SEDAR Steering Committee will meet to discuss the SEDAR assessment schedule, budget, and the SEDAR process. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

This notice announces a change in the start time and provides the location of the meeting of the National Climate Assessment Development and Advisory Committee (NCADAC). The start time of the meeting on April 4, 2011, is changed from 9 a.m. to 8 a.m. Please see the notice published in the Federal Register on March 2, 2011 (76 FR 4562, March 2, 2011) for background information on the meeting. The full details of the meeting times and location are provided below. The National Climate Assessment Development and Advisory Committee meeting on Monday, April 4Wednesday, April 6 will be held at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Ballrooms C and D, 480 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Washington, DC 20024. The meeting will be held at the following times: April 4, 2011, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; April 5, 2011, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and April 6, 2011, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The meeting may have limited seating capacity; seats are available on a first come-first served basis. For more information about the meeting agenda, see http:/ /www.globalchange.gov. During this public meeting, the NCADAC will discuss initial plans for development of a first draft of the NCADAC's Report to Congress and the President, as well as advising on the development of the Assessment process. Public Comment Deadline: Public comments are being accepted in advance of the meeting and must be received by the NCADAC Designated Federal Official (DFO) by 12 p.m. (EDT) on March 31, 2011, to provide sufficient time for distribution to the members prior to the meeting. Written comments received after 12 p.m. (EDT) on March 31, 2011, will be distributed to the NCADAC, but may not be reviewed prior to the meeting date. Special Accommodations: These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for special accommodations may be directed no later than 12 p.m. on March 30, 2011, to Dr. Cynthia Decker, NCADAC Designated Federal Official (DFO), SSMC3, Room 11230, 1315 East-West Hwy., Silver Spring, MD 20910.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Tule Chinook Workgroup (TCW) will hold a meeting to review initial work products and revise future work plans relative to developing an abundance-based harvest management approach for Columbia River natural tule Chinook. This meeting of the TCW is open to the public.

NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve to the initial total allowable catch of octopus in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the fisheries to continue operating. It is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan for the BSAI.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Research Steering Committee (Committee), in April, 2011, 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.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 34 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs. Amendment 34 would amend the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program to exempt additional recipients of crab quota share from Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod and pollock harvest limits, called sideboards, which apply to some vessels and license limitation program licenses that are used to participate in these fisheries. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council determined that these recipients demonstrated a sufficient level of historical participation in Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod or pollock fisheries and should be exempt from the Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod and pollock sideboards. This action is necessary to give these recipients an opportunity to participate in the Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod and pollock fisheries at historical levels. To implement Amendment 34, NMFS would revise regulations governing exemptions from and calculations of sideboard harvest limits in the Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod and pollock fisheries, and reissue Federal fisheries permits and license limitation program licenses to all participants that are affected by the proposed action. 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.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is correcting a final rule that published on March 1, 2011, implementing the final 2011 and 2012 harvest specifications and prohibited species catch allowances for the groundfish fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). Two tables within the document contained errors.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that the subject exempted fishing permit (EFP) application contains all the required information and warrants further consideration. This EFP extension would exempt four commercial fishing vessels from the restriction on fishing for, catching, possessing, landing, and selling female red crabs in excess of one standard tote for the purpose of research on an experimental female red crab fishery that is being conducted in conjunction with the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

The ONMS is seeking applications for the following vacant seats on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council: Diving, Education (alternate), Research (alternate), Tourism (alternate) and Agriculture (alternate). Applicants are chosen based upon their particular expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying; community and professional affiliations; philosophy regarding the protection and management of marine resources; and possibly the length of residence in the area affected by the sanctuary. Applicants who are chosen should expect to serve until February 2014. The Research alternate and Agriculture alternate should expect to serve until February 2013 because the seats were vacated prematurely.

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 2011 total allowable catch of pollock for Statistical Area 620 in the GOA.

This notice responds to Section 209 of the Sea Grant Program Improvement Act of 1976 (Pub. L. 94-461, 33 U.S.C. 1128), which requires the Secretary of Commerce to solicit nominations at least once a year for membership on the National Sea Grant Advisory Board, an advisory committee that provides advice on the implementation of the National Sea Grant College Program.

NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 15 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 15), incorporating the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), for review by the Secretary of Commerce. NMFS is requesting comments from the public on Amendment 15, which was developed primarily to implement annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) to bring the Scallop FMP into compliance with new requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Amendment 15 includes additional measures recommended by the Council, including an adjustment to the overfishing definition, modification of the essential fish habitat (EFH) closed areas under the Scallop FMP, adjustments to measures for the Limited Access General Category fishery, adjustments to the scallop research set aside program, and additions to the list of measures that can be adjusted by framework adjustments.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration, and that the activities authorized under this EFP would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to issue an EFP. This would grant exemptions from monkfish days-at-sea (DAS) possession limits. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The EFP would exempt participating vessels from the following types of fishery regulations: Minimum fish size restrictions; fish possession limits; species quota closures; prohibited fish species, not including species protected under the Endangered Species Act; and gear-specific fish possession restrictions for the purpose of collecting fishery dependent catch data and biological samples that is being conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's (NEFSC) Study Fleet Program. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on EFP applications.

NMFS is seeking information regarding nations whose vessels are engaged in fishing in waters beyond any national jurisdiction that target or incidentally catch sharks. Such information will be reviewed for the purposes of the identification of nations pursuant to the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (Moratorium Protection Act).

The Social and Economic Sub-Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet with the Council's Squid, Mackerel, and Butterfish (SMB) Advisory Panel (AP).

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.

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 Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce is announcing a thirty-day comment period for the revised management plans and boundary amendments of the ACE Basin, SC National Estuarine Research Reserve and Old Woman Creek, OH National Estuarine Research Reserve. The revised management plan for the ACE Basin, SC National Estuarine Research Reserve outlines the administrative structure; the education, training, stewardship, and research programs of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support reserve operations. The objectives described in this plan address the most critical coastal issues in ACE Basin related to habitat conservation, water quality, community resilience, and public access. Since the last approved management plan in 1992, the reserve has become fully staffed; added a Coastal Training Program that delivers science-based information to key decisionmakers; and added significant monitoring of emergent marsh vegetation, water quality, and invasive species. In addition to programmatic and staffing advances, the reserve has constructed an interpretive center that houses educational exhibits, classrooms, offices, conference space, trails and dock with public access. A field station with lab facilities, research dock, and accommodations for visiting researchers has also been constructed. This management plan amends the boundary to include 4,687 acres of the Botany Bay Plantation located adjacent to the northeastern corner of Edisto Island in lower Charleston County, SC. The undeveloped coastal habitats of the plantation include maritime forest, coastal shrub, wetlands, tidal marshes and sand beaches. The property provides important habitat for numerous wildlife species, including critical nesting habitat for the Federally threatened loggerhead sea turtle and the State threatened least tern. The lands contain significant cultural resources and list several sites on the National Register of Historic Places. This management plan amends the boundary by also removing 40,089 acres of private lands previously counted in error. In total, the ACE Basin Reserve includes 99,308 acres designated for long term research, education and stewardship. This plan can be accessed for review at https://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/NERR/. The revised management plan for the Old Woman Creek, OH National Estuarine Research Reserve contains the collective vision, mission, goals, and objectives of the reserve; updates the reserve boundary; as well as outlines plans for facility use and development to support reserve operations. The objectives described in this plan address the most critical coastal issues of the reserve related to water quality (non-point source pollution), invasive species, habitat loss and regional ecosystem impacts of climate change. Since the last approved management plan in 2000, the reserve has become fully staffed; added a Coastal Training Program that delivers science-based information to key decisionmakers; and developed partnerships to continue to restore and protect land and waters in the Old Woman Creek watershed. In addition to programmatic and staffing advances, the reserve has completed construction of a new dormitory, boathouse, and administrative spaces. This management plan includes a boundary expansion of 2.2 acres. This land was incorporated with the State nature preserve in 2004 and is subject to all protection afforded by Ohio laws governing State nature preserves. The additional parcel is adjacent to the reserve's southwestern boundary and consists of early successional habitat (e.g., various Cornus sp.) and will become an area dominated by mixed hardwoods. Incorporating these lands increases the size of the reserve to 573 acres. This plan can be accessed for review at: https:// www.oldwomancreek.org.

NMFS, upon application from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC), is issuing regulations to govern the unintentional taking of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to rocket launches from the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) on Kodiak Island, AK. Issuance of regulations is required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) when the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), after notice and opportunity for comment, finds, as here, that such takes will have a negligible impact on the species and stocks of marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on their availability for subsistence uses. These regulations do not authorize the AAC's rocket launch activities; such authorization is not within the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Rather, these regulations govern the issuance of Letters of Authorization (LOAs) for the unintentional and incidental take of marine mammals in connection with this activity and prescribe methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species and their habitat, and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses. In addition, NMFS incorporates reporting and monitoring requirements on these activities.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act authorizes the Secretary of Commerce through NOAA to pay certain enforcement related costs from sums received as fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property for violations of any marine resource law enforced by the Secretary. Fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property received by NOAA are deposited in an enforcement asset forfeiture fund. NOAA finalized its policy on March 16, 2011, to clearly articulate prohibited and approved uses of these funds to ensure no conflict of interesteither real or perceivedassociated with its use while continuing to promote a sound enforcement program dedicated to conserving and protecting our nation's marine resources.