National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration December 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains technical corrections for errors in a rule related to Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for distinct population segments (DPSs) of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). The ``Final Rule to Revise the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for Species Under the Jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service'' revised the CFR tables that list threatened and endangered species under the ESA. During that process, we incorrectly revised the descriptions of listed entities for the DPSs of the loggerhead sea turtle in a manner that differs from the original listing descriptions. In this document, we correct the descriptions of the DPSs in the CFR tables. We also add cross-references to recently designated critical habitat of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean DPS of the loggerhead sea turtle.

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.

This action corrects the amendatory instruction to a final rule published on December 12, 2014, which incorrectly instructed deletion of the U.S. Distinct Population Segment of smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) from the list of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. This correction removes the incorrect language from the instruction.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will receive an overview from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) about their geological and geophysical (G&G) permitting process in the Atlantic, focusing on regulations and the permitted activities for G&G surveys.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) has begun its annual preseason management process for the 2015 ocean salmon fisheries. This document announces the availability of Pacific Council documents as well as the dates and locations of Pacific Council meetings and public hearings comprising the Pacific Council's complete schedule of events for determining the annual proposed and final modifications to ocean salmon fishery management measures. The agendas for the March and April 2015 Pacific Council meetings will be published in subsequent Federal Register documents prior to the actual meetings.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to the Northeast Gateway[supreg] Energy BridgeTM, L.P. (Northeast Gateway or NEG) and Algonquin Gas Transmission, L.L.C. (Algonquin) to take, by harassment, small numbers of 14 species of marine mammals incidental to operating, maintaining, and repairing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) port and the Algonquin Pipeline Lateral (Pipeline Lateral) facilities by NEG and Algonquin, in Massachusetts Bay, between December 22, 2014, through December 21, 2015.

NMFS is announcing revised commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits for the 2015 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries, as well as the commercial summer flounder state quotas for fishing year 2015. This is necessary to incorporate adjustments to the quotas due to the suspension of the Research Set-Aside program, implement an accountability measure for the commercial black sea bass fishery, and, for summer flounder state quotas, account for any previously unaccounted for overages from fishing year 2013 and any known overages to date from fishing year 2014. The intent of this action is to modify the established harvest levels to ensure that these species are not overfished or subject to overfishing in 2015.

The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Notice is hereby given that individuals and institutions have been issued Letters of Confirmation for activities conducted under the General Authorization for Scientific Research on marine mammals. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for a list of names and addresses of recipients.

The SEDAR 39 assessment of HMS Smoothhound Sharks will consist of a series of webinars. This notice is for a webinar associated with the Assessment portion of the SEDAR process. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its final List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2015, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The final LOF for 2015 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS must classify each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of mortality and serious injury of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. The classification of a fishery on the LOF determines whether participants in that fishery are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan (TRP) requirements.

NMFS announces the availability of the ``Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (DPEA) for Fisheries Research Conducted and Funded by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC).'' Publication of this notice begins the official public comment period for this DPEA. The purpose of the DPEA is to evaluate, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of conducting and funding fisheries and ecosystem research along the U.S. East Coast, including of the Northeast Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) and the Southeast Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (LME).

NMFS is transferring 21 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the General category December 2015 subquota period to the January 2015 subquota period (from January 1 through March 31, 2015, or until the available subquota for this period is reached, whichever comes first). NMFS also is adjusting the Atlantic tunas General category BFT daily retention limit for the January 2015 subquota period to three large medium or giant BFT from the default retention limit of one. This action is based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments and applies to Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels when fishing commercially for BFT.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Fixed Gear Electronic Monitoring (EM) workgroup will meet in Anchorage, AK.

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

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Pacific Northwest Crab Industry Advisory Committee (PNCIAC) will meet in Seattle, WA. The meeting is open to the public.

NMFS published in the Federal Register of December 2, 2014, with an effective date of January 1, 2015, a final rule to establish restrictions on the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) by U.S. purse seine vessels in the western and central Pacific Ocean (``International Fisheries; Western and Central Pacific Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species; Restrictions on the Use of Fish Aggregating Devices in Purse Seine Fisheries for 2015''). The final rule also included a requirement for the owners and operators of such vessels to submit ``daily FAD reports'' to NMFS. As indicated in the December 2, 2014, final rule, some of the FAD restrictions are to go into effect only if NMFS publishes a notice in the Federal Register announcing that they are in effect. NMFS intended to make the requirement to submit daily FAD reports also contingent on issuance of a Federal Register notice, but inadvertently wrote the final rule such that the reporting requirement would go into effect on January 1, 2015, irrespective of issuance by NMFS of a Federal Register notice. This document corrects that error in the final rule by making the requirement to submit daily FAD reports contingent on NMFS issuing a Federal Register notice announcing that it is in effect.

NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 14 to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for review by the Secretary of Commerce. The purpose of Amendment 14 is to specify an estimate of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy in the CPS FMP.

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.

NMFS issues a proposed rule that would implement Amendment 31 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (FMP). The proposed rule would make several changes to regulations governing the acquisition, use, and retention of quota share established for captains and crew, known as crew quota share or C shares, under the Crab Rationalization Program (CR Program). To implement Amendment 31, the proposed rule would: Temporarily expand the eligibility requirements for individuals wishing to acquire C share Quota Share (QS) by transfer; establish minimum participation requirements for C share QS holders to be eligible to receive an annual allocation of Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ); establish minimum participation requirements for C share QS holders to be eligible to retain their C share QS and establish an administrative process for revocation of an individual's C share QS, if he or she fails to satisfy the minimum participation requirements; establish a regulatory mechanism to ensure that three percent of the total allowable catch (TAC) for each CR Program crab fishery is allocated as IFQ to holders of C share QS; and remove the prohibition on leasing C share IFQ. In addition, the proposed rule would implement a regulatory amendment to the CR Program that adjusts certain CR Program application deadlines. Specifically, the proposed rule would: Establish an earlier deadline for filing annual IFQ, individual processing quota (IPQ), and crab harvesting cooperative IFQ applications, which would increase the amount of time during which NMFS would suspend the processing of IFQ and IPQ transfer applications; shorten the amount of time in which to appeal an initial administrative determination to withhold issuance of IFQ or IPQ; and provide in the regulations that an applicant's proof of timely filing for IFQ, IPQ, or cooperative IFQ would create a presumption of timely filing. Finally, the proposed rule would revise the reporting period and due date for CR Program registered crab receiver (RCR) Ex-vessel Volume and Value Reports. This action is necessary to ensure that individuals who hold C shares are active in the CR Program fisheries and to ensure that application deadlines provide adequate time to resolve disputes. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable law.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of the Standing, Special Reef Fish and Special Mackerel Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC).

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 32 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper- Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 32 proposes actions to remove blueline tilefish from the deep-water complex; revise definitions of management thresholds for blueline tilefish; establish blueline tilefish commercial and recreational sector annual catch limits (ACLs), accountability measures (AMs), and recreational annual catch targets (ACTs); establish a blueline tilefish commercial trip limit; revise the blueline tilefish recreational bag limit; and revise the deep-water complex ACLs, AMs, and recreational ACT. The purpose of Amendment 32 is to specify ACLs and AMs for blueline tilefish to end overfishing of the stock and maintain catch levels consistent with achieving optimum yield (OY) for the blueline tilefish and deep-water complex resource.

NMFS issues a final rule under authority of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to implement Amendment 18 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan for Commercial and Recreational Salmon Fisheries off the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California (FMP). Amendment 18 revises the description and identification of essential fish habitat (EFH) for Pacific salmon managed under the FMP, designates habitat areas of particular concern (HAPCs), updates information on fishing activities, and updates the list of non-fishing related activities that may adversely affect EFH and potential conservation and enhancement measures to minimize those effects. NMFS approved Amendment 18 on September 12, 2014.

NMFS is closing fishing for the commercial porbeagle shark quota until further notice. This action is necessary because, as of December 10, 2014, the commercial landings of porbeagle sharks during the 2014 fishing season exceeded the available 2014 adjusted commercial quota and to an extent that makes 2015 commercial quota unavailable.

NMFS will host two public webinars to provide the opportunity to explain management measures and effective dates in the final rule for Amendment 7 to the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 7), which published December 2, 2014. The measures in the final rule took action to reduce and account for bluefin dead discards in all categories; optimize fishing opportunities in all categories within the U.S. quota; enhance reporting and monitoring; and adjust other management measures as necessary