National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration September 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council submitted Amendment 99 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) to NMFS for review. If approved, Amendment 99 would enable the holders of license limitation program (LLP) licenses authorizing a designated vessel to catch and process Pacific cod in the BSAI hook-and-line fisheries to use newly built or existing vessels that are not eligible under current vessel length and capacity restrictions. This action is necessary to promote safety-at-sea by encouraging the replacement of older vessels with newer and more efficient vessels that are able to meet modern vessel safety standards. This action is intended to facilitate the increased retention and utilization of groundfish by allowing sector participants to use larger vessels with increased processing and hold capabilities. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), and other applicable laws.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) will hold a meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC). See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS is reopening the comment period for its Proposed Rule to Designate Critical Habitat for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Loggerhead Sea Turtle Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and Proposed Determination Regarding Critical Habitat for the North Pacific Ocean Loggerhead DPS. The comment period is being reopened to provide additional opportunity for public comment.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Law Enforcement Advisory Panel in conjunction with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission's Law Enforcement Committee.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will hold a work session for the Groundfish Electronic Monitoring Policy Advisory Committee and Groundfish Electronic Monitoring Technical Advisory Committee (GEM Committees), which is open to the public.

Notice is hereby given that Kristen Hart, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey, 3205 College Ave., Davie, Florida, 33314 has been issued a permit to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 27 (Amendment 27) to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (South Atlantic Council). If implemented, Amendment 27 and this rule would extend the South Atlantic Council's management responsibility for Nassau grouper into the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ); increase the number of allowable crew members to four on dual-permitted snapper-grouper vessels (i.e., vessels holding a South Atlantic Charter Vessel/Headboat Permit for Snapper-Grouper and a South Atlantic Unlimited or a 225- Pound Trip Limit Snapper-Grouper Permit) that are fishing commercially; remove the prohibition on retaining any fish under the aggregate bag limit for grouper and tilefish or the vermilion snapper bag limit by captain and crew of federally permitted for-hire vessels; modify the snapper-grouper framework procedures to allow acceptable biological catch levels (ABCs), annual catch limits (ACLs), and annual catch targets (ACTs) to be adjusted via an abbreviated framework process; and remove blue runner from the FMP. The purpose of this rule is to streamline management of Nassau grouper, improve vessel safety for dual-permitted vessels, implement consistent regulations regarding captain and crew retention limits for snapper-grouper species, expedite adjustments to snapper-grouper catch limits when new scientific information becomes available, and minimize socio-economic impacts to fishermen who harvest and sell blue runner.

Since 1912, a series of nautical charts of the Intracoastal Waterways, produced by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and, subsequently, NOAA, have depicted an Intracoastal Waterway Route, a ``recommended route'' known to recreational boaters and commercial mariners as ``the magenta line.'' Coast Survey originally added the line to the charts to show the best route through the Intracoastal Waterway but it has not been consistently maintained since its last comprehensive update in 1936. Aware of safety concerns, NOAA's Office of Coast Survey is removing the ``recommended route'' from NOAA nautical charts. We are also issuing a Local Notice to Mariners, advising caution in using the line in charts where it has not been removed. The Office of Coast Survey invites written comments about whether NOAA nautical charts should depict a recommended route through the Intracoastal Waterways.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received four scientific research and enhancement permit applications and one permit modification request relating to anadromous species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposed research activities are intended to increase knowledge of the species and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications and related documents may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/ previewopenforcomment.cfm. These documents are also available upon written request or by appointment by contacting NMFS by phone (916) 930-3706 or fax (916) 930-3629.

The SEDAR 35 assessment of Caribbean Red Hind will consist of: a Data Workshop; a series of Assessment Webinars; and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS issues regulations under authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act) to establish a catch limit of 3,763 metric tons (mt) of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) for vessels in the U.S. pelagic longline fisheries operating in the western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) for each of the calendar years 2013 and 2014. The limit does not apply to vessels in the longline fisheries of American Samoa, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Once the limit of 3,763 mt is reached in 2013 or 2014, retaining, transshipping, or landing bigeye tuna caught in the area of application of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention), which comprises the majority of the WCPO, will be prohibited for the remainder of the calendar year, with certain exceptions. This action is necessary for the United States to satisfy its obligations under the Convention, to which it is a Contracting Party.

This announcement provides notice that the Department of Commerce (Department) has received a ``Notice of Appeal'' filed by Mark Smolinski (Appellant) requesting that the Secretary override an objection by the New York Department of State to a consistency certification for a proposed project in Sterling, New York. Addresses and Dates: You may submit written comments concerning this appeal or requests for a public hearing to NOAA, Office of General Counsel, Oceans and Coasts Section, Attn. Gladys Miles, 1305 East-West Highway, Room 6111, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or via email to gcos.comments@noaa.gov. Comments or requests for a public hearing must be sent in writing postmarked or emailed no later than October 23, 2013.

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.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), published on December 7, 2012, a proposed rule to list 66 species of reef-building corals (59 in the Pacific and seven in the Caribbean) and to re- classify two species already listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) from threatened to endangered and requesting information related to the proposed action. We are announcing a 6-month extension of the deadline for final determinations for all of the 68 proposed corals. Based on comments received during the public comment period, we find that substantial disagreement exists regarding the sufficiency and accuracy of the data and analyses relevant to the 68 proposed listing determinations. Accordingly, we are extending the deadline for the final listing decisions for 6 months to solicit additional data. We believe that allowing an additional 6 months to evaluate and assess the best scientific and commercial data available would better inform our final listing determinations.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of the ABC Control Working Group (SSC) and Standing and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC).

NMFS is prohibiting retention of shortraker rockfish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2013 total allowable catch (TAC) of shortraker rockfish in the BSAI has been reached.

NMFS adopts as final with some changes an interim final rule published April 17, 2013, which reorganized the regulations implementing the fishery management plans (FMPs) for the Southeast Region, NMFS, and amended references to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) information-collection requirements. The new part 622 contains regulations implementing management measures contained in the FMPs for the following domestic fisheries in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic: Caribbean coral, Caribbean reef fish, Caribbean spiny lobster, Caribbean queen conch, Gulf red drum, Gulf reef fish, Gulf shrimp, Gulf coral, Gulf and South Atlantic coastal migratory pelagics, Gulf and South Atlantic spiny lobster, South Atlantic coral, South Atlantic snapper-grouper, South Atlantic shrimp, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, South Atlantic golden crab, and South Atlantic pelagic sargassum. The intended effect of this final rule is to improve the organization of these regulations and simplify their use.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is amending the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP to address bluefin tuna management due to recent trends and characteristics of the bluefin fishery. This action is necessary to meet domestic management objectives of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act including preventing overfishing, achieving optimal yield, and minimizing bycatch to the extent practicable, as well as the objectives of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA) and obligations pursuant to binding recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). NMFS takes these actions to reduce bluefin dead discards and account for dead discards in all categories; optimize fishing opportunities in all categories; enhance reporting and monitoring; and adjust other aspects of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP as necessary. The proposed measures include Allocation measures, Area- Based measures, Bluefin Quota Controls, Enhanced Reporting measures, and other measures with respect to how the various quota categories utilize quota. In the proposed rule that published on August 21, 2013, NMFS announced the end of the comment period as October 23, 2013, which allowed an approximately 60-day comment period. Given the length and complexity of the rule, and to provide additional time for constituents to consider the proposed rule in light of any new recommendations adopted by ICCAT at its November 2013 meeting, NMFS is extending the comment period for this action until December 10, 2013, to provide additional opportunities for public comment.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 27 (Amendment 27) to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 27 would extend the South Atlantic Council's jurisdiction for management of Nassau grouper into the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ); increase the number of allowable crew members to four on dual-permitted snapper-grouper vessels (i.e., vessels holding a South Atlantic Charter Vessel/Headboat Permit for Snapper-Grouper and a commercial South Atlantic Unlimited or a 225-Pound Trip Limit Snapper-Grouper Permit) that are fishing commercially; remove the prohibition on retaining any fish under the aggregate bag limit for grouper and tilefish or the vermilion snapper bag limit by captain and crew of federally-permitted for-hire vessels; modify the snapper-grouper framework procedures to allow acceptable biological catch levels (ABCs), annual catch limits (ACLs), and annual catch targets (ACTs) to be adjusted via an abbreviated framework process; and remove blue runner from the FMP.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the C season allowance of the 2013 total allowable catch of pollock for Statistical Area 630 in the GOA.

In accordance with regulations issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as amended, we hereby give notification that we, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), have issued four 1-year Letters of Authorization (Authorizations) to the U.S. Navy (Navy) to take marine mammals by harassment incidental to their military readiness activities associated with the routine training, testing, and military operations of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) sonar within the northwest Pacific Ocean and the north-central Pacific Ocean.

Notice is hereby given that Blair Witherington, Ph.D., Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 9700 South A1A, Melbourne Beach, FL, 32951, has requested a modification to scientific research Permit No. 14726-01.

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 C season allowance of the 2013 total allowable catch of pollock for Statistical Area 620 in the GOA.

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

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.