National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration September 23, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision. The revised management plan outlines 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 Waquoit Bay Reserve Management Plan revision will replace the plan approved in 2006. The Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts National Estuarine Research Reserve takes an integrated approach to management, linking research, education, training, and stewardship functions to address high-priority issues, including the impact of climate change on estuarine ecosystems; connections between watershed land use and water quality; assessment of ecosystem response to natural variability and human impacts; and understanding and enhancing ecosystem services of coastal habitats. Since the last management plan, the reserve implemented its core programs, expanded its monitoring infrastructure to establish a groundwater monitoring program and a Salt Marsh Observatory; enhanced its facilities with energy efficiency installations, campus building improvements, and updated educational exhibits; and furthered land conservation in the reserve's watershed. This management plan includes a boundary expansion of 23 acres. The lands consist of the 11.4-acre Caleb Pond parcel on the northeast corner of Waquoit Bay as well as the addition of 12.4 acres to the Quashnet River lands. The Caleb Pond parcel is the largest single undeveloped parcel on Waquoit Bay and contains an upland coastal pine- oak forest habitat with fringing salt marsh and a connecting stream that contains diadromous fish runs of American eel and has historically supported an anadromous river herring run. The parcel is especially suitable for educational purposes and creates 40 acres of contiguous protected lands across the head of Waquoit Bay. The Quashnet River land parcel expands important contiguous and unfragmented habitat that is valuable as wildlife habitat and corridor, as well as increases protection of terrestrial, groundwater, and aquatic systems. This parcel is appropriate for education, recreation, and upland research purposes. The revised management plan will serve as the guiding document for the 2,804 acre Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve for the next five years. The Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision can be viewed at https:// www.waquoitbayreserve.org/about/management-plan/. Comments can be provided to the reserve manager at waquoit.bay@state.ma.us.

Through this action NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. This action is necessary because the adjusted non-tribal directed harvest allocation of approximately 7,274 metric tons (mt) for the second harvest allocation period from September 15, 2014, through December 31, 2014, has been projected to have been reached. The allocation for the second period increased from the initial assigned allocation primarily as a result of the release to the non-treaty sector of 2,500 mt by the Quinault Indian Nation and the coastal treaty tribes from overall the treaty set-aside of 4,000 mt. From the effective date of this rule until December 31, 2014, Pacific sardine may be harvested only as part of either the live bait or tribal fishery or incidental to other fisheries; the incidental harvest of Pacific sardine is limited to 45-percent by weight of all fish per trip. Fishing vessels must cease fishing (be at shore and in the process of offloading) at or before the effective date of this closure.

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.