National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration October 2, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(4), NOAA announces the appointment of members who will serve on the NOAA Performance Review Board (PRB). The NOAA PRB is responsible for reviewing performance appraisals and ratings of Senior Executive Service Professional members and making written recommendations to the appointing authority on retention and compensation matters, including performance-based pay adjustments, awarding of bonuses, and reviewing recommendations for potential Presidential Rank Award nominees. The appointment of new members to the NOAA PRB will be for a period of two (2) years.

On August 8, 2012, NMFS published a final rule that will require, among other things, Federal Atlantic swordfish, shark, and tunas dealers (except for dealers reporting Atlantic bluefin tuna) to report receipt of Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and bigeye, albacore, yellowfin, and skipjack (BAYS) tunas through one centralized electronic reporting system starting on January 1, 2013. This electronic reporting system will allow dealers to submit Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and BAYS tuna data on a more real-time basis and more efficiently, and will reduce duplicative data submissions from different regions. This notice announces the dates and locations of several training workshops to introduce the new reporting system to HMS dealers. These workshops will be held in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic regions and are open to any interested parties.

Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce approves the Rookery Bay, Florida and the Kachemak Bay, Alaska National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan Revisions. The revised management plans outline the administrative structure; the research, education, training, and stewardship goals of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support reserve operations. The Rookery Bay Reserve takes an integrated approach to management, linking research, education, training and stewardship functions to address high priority issues within the 110,000 acre Reserve including land use changes affecting freshwater inflow, loss of native biodiversity, lack of public awareness and community involvement in stewardship, incompatible use by visitors, and ecological impacts of catastrophic change events. The Reserve's Environmental Learning Center provides excellent visitor education experiences and a connecting pedestrian bridge connects visitors to a boardwalk and interpretive trails. The Kachemak Bay Reserve takes an integrated approach to management by linking research, education, and training functions within the 372,000 acre Reserve to address high priority issues including climate change and harvested species, such as salmon and shellfish. The Reserve will continue research on coastal dynamics, monitoring of invasive species and harmful algal blooms, and will transfer information to coastal decision makers. The Rookery Bay, Florida Reserve Management Plan can be found at www.floridadep.org/rookery/management/plan.htm and the Kachemak Bay, Alaska Reserve Management Plan can be found at www.adfg.alaska.gov/ index.cfm?adfg=kbrr_resources.management.