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

NMFS solicits nominations for the Advisory Panel (AP) and the Joint Management Committee (JMC) on Pacific Whiting called for in the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada on Pacific Hake/Whiting. Nominations are being sought for at least 6, but not more than 12 individuals on the AP and 1 individual on the JMC to serve as United States representatives.

The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) VMS/ Enforcement Committee and Advisory Panel will meet to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

This notice announces the dates, times, and locations of the public meetings being held prior to the 63rd annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and its Research Set-Aside (RSA) Committee, its Ecosystems and Ocean Planning Committee, its Executive Committee, its Surfclam, Ocean Quahog, Tilefish Committee, its Visioning Committee, and its Squid, Mackerel, Butterfish (SMB) Committee will hold public meetings.

In June 2009, pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS issued two 5-year final regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to Navy training activities conducted in the Virginia Capes (VACAPES) and Jacksonville (JAX) range complexes off the East Coast of the U.S. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of ``Letters of Authorization'' (LOAs) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the specified activities and described timeframes, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking. These rules quantify the specific amounts of training activities involving underwater detonations that will occur over the course of the 5-year rules, and indicate that marine mammal take may only be authorized in an LOA incidental to the types and amounts of training activities and explosives described. No language was included expressly allowing for deviation from those precise levels of training activities and amounts of explosives even if the total number of takes remain within the analyzed and authorized limits. Since the issuance of these rules, the Navy realized that their evolving training programs, which are linked to real world events, necessitate greater flexibility in the types and amounts of training events and explosives that they conduct and use. In response to this need, NMFS has, through this interim final rule, amended the VACAPES and JAX regulations to explicitly allow for greater flexibility in the types and amount of training activities that they conduct and explosives that they use.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a permit and two permit modifications to conduct research on marine mammals or sea turtles.

On April 21, 2011, NMFS published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to request public comment on potential revisions to the National Standard 10 (NS10) Guidelines and announced a public meeting to be held on May 19, 2011 in Silver Spring, Maryland. In this notice, NMFS announces several additional meetings where presentations will be given on the National Standard 10 ANPR. The public will be allowed to comment at the meetings.

NMFS has received an application from PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO), for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting proposed seabird and pinniped research activities on Southeast Farallon Island, A[ntilde]o Nuevo Island, and Point Reyes National Seashore in central California. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to PRBO to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, four species of marine mammals during the specified activity from July, 2011 through June, 2012.

The Stock Assessment Review Panel (STAR Panel) for the Pacific ocean perch and petrale sole stock assessments will hold a work session that is open to the public.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee on June 14-15, 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 announces the receipt of an application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Mr. Don DeMaria. If granted, the EFP would authorize the applicant, with certain conditions, to collect and retain limited numbers of gorgonian corals from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), off Port Canaveral, FL, north to the North Carolina/Virginia border. The specimens would be used to support research efforts towards a grant awarded to the National Cancer Institute to screen marine invertebrates for possible anti-cancer compounds.

NMFS reopens commercial penaeid shrimp trawling, i.e., for brown, pink, and white shrimp, in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off South Carolina in the South Atlantic. NMFS previously closed commercial penaeid shrimp trawling in the EEZ off South Carolina on March 22, 2011. The reopening is intended to maximize harvest benefits while protecting the penaeid shrimp resource.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of its 107th Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and its 151st Council meeting to take actions on fishery management issues in the Western Pacific Region.

NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted an omnibus amendment containing the following amendments to implement annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) for Council managed resources: Amendment 13 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squids, and Butterfish FMP; Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Bluefish FMP; Amendment 2 to the Spiny Dogfish FMP; Amendment 15 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP; Amendment 16 to the Surfclam and Ocean Quahog FMP, and Amendment 3 to the Tilefish FMP. These amendments, hereafter referred to as the Omnibus Amendment, have been submitted for review by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for conformance with the FMPs, FMP amendments, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act), and other applicable laws. In turn, as part of the Secretarial review process, NMFS is requesting comments on the Omnibus Amendment from the public.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of Pacific cod from vessels using trawl gear to catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 meters) length overall using hook-and-line or pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. This action is necessary to allow the 2011 total allowable catch of Pacific cod to be harvested.

NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) proposes to amend the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FEP). If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 5 would establish gear configuration requirements for the U.S. pelagic longline fishery based in American Samoa. The proposed action is intended to reduce interactions between the fishery and Pacific green sea turtles, which will enable American Samoa longline fishing vessels to continue operations, while providing for the long-term survival, recovery, and sustainability of Pacific green sea turtle populations.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a public meeting.

The High Sea Fishing Compliance Act (HSFCA) requires the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to publish from time to time in the Federal Register a list of international conservation and management measures recognized by the United States. To fulfill this requirement, a list of agreements resulting in international conservation and management measures was first published in the Federal Register in 1996. This notice provides an updated list of such agreements. The HSFCA and its implementing regulations prohibit the use of a fishing vessel on the high seas in contravention of international conservation and management measures, as well as specify the permitting and vessel identification requirements for fishing vessels of the United States operating on the high seas.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), propose to designate the Middle Columbia River (MCR) steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), recently reintroduced into the upper Deschutes River basin in central Oregon, as a nonessential experimental population (NEP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This NEP designation would expire 12 years after the first generation of adults return to the NEP area. A draft environmental assessment (EA) has been prepared on this proposed action and is available for comment (see ADDRESSES and INSTRUCTIONS section below).

NMFS has received an application from the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria (Trinidad Rancheria) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to pile-driving and renovation operations for the Trinidad Pier Reconstruction Project in Trinidad, California. NMFS has reviewed the application, including all supporting documents, and determined that it is adequate and complete. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to the Trinidad Rancheria to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, three species of marine mammals during the specified activities.

Notice is hereby given that Paul E. Nachtigall, PhD, Marine Mammal Research Program Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, P.O. Box 1106, Kailua, Hawaii 96734, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct scientific research on cetaceans stranded or in rehabilitation facilities in the U.S.

Notice is hereby given that The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (Julie Stein, Responsible Party), University of Washington, Box 353010, 17th Ave., NE at NE 45th Street, Seattle, WA 98195, has been issued a permit to import, export, receive, possess, analyze, and archive marine mammal parts for scientific research.

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 New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Monkfish Oversight Committee meeting 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.

On May 4, 2011, a final rule was published in the Federal Register announcing that NMFS had issued regulations to govern the unintentional take of marine mammals incidental to Navy training activities conducted in the Gulf of Alaska Temporary Maritime Training Activities Area. That document inadvertently omitted the MK-39 Expendable Mobile ASW Training Target (EMATT) from Table 1. In addition, Table 5 inadvertently omitted a column displaying the total number of takes authorized over the course of the 5-year rule. This document corrects those oversights. All other information is unchanged.