National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration March 2, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule implements approved measures in Amendment 4 to the Atlantic Herring (Herring) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Amendment 4 was developed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) to bring the FMP into compliance with new Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) requirements by: Revising definitions and the specifications-setting process, consistent with annual catch limit (ACL) requirements; and establishing fishery closure thresholds, a haddock incidental catch cap, and overage paybacks as accountability measures (AMs). In addition, the amendment designates herring as a ``stock in the fishery;'' establishes an interim acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule; and makes adjustments to the specification process by eliminating consideration of total foreign processing (JVPt), including joint venture processing (JVP) and internal waters processing (IWP), and reserve from the specification process, and eliminates the Council's consideration of total allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF).

NMFS is opening directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 630 of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) for 24 hours. This action is necessary to fully use the A season allowance of the 2011 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock in Statistical Area 630 of the GOA.

In a February 17, 2011, Federal Register notice, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced in a notice of intent that it, on behalf of the Trustee Council, will begin restoration scoping and preparation of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill that began on April 20, 2010, Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (``the Oil Spill''). The notice announced NOAA's intent to hold public scoping meetings in eleven (11) locations in the five Gulf of Mexico States and in Washington, DC, but it did not include meeting details. The meeting details for these locations are available now. The purpose of the Gulf Spill Restoration Planning PEIS is to identify restoration types and establish a programmatic framework and procedures that will enable the Trustees to expedite the selection and implementation of restoration projects to compensate the public and the environment for loss of natural resources and services from the Oil Spill.