National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration December 8, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS received an application from the U.S. Department of the Air Force, Headquarters 96th Air Base Wing (Air Force), Eglin Air Force Base (Eglin AFB), requesting an Incidental Harassment Authorization (Authorization) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to a Maritime Weapon Systems Evaluation Program (Maritime WSEP) within the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range in the Gulf of Mexico. Eglin AFB's activities are military readiness activities per the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004. Per the MMPA, NMFS requests comments on its proposal to issue an Authorization to Eglin AFB to take, by harassment, two species of marine mammals during the specified activity for a period of one year.

Notice is hereby given that a major amendment to Permit No. 15324 has been issued to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Division of Wildlife Conservation, Juneau, AK (Responsible Party: Robert Small, Ph.D.).

NMFS proposes 2015 and 2016 harvest specifications, apportionments, and prohibited species catch allowances for the groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2015 and 2016 fishing years, and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

This final rule implements regulations governing transshipment and international port inspection for vessels with Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) permits to fulfill recent recommendations adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The final rule expands the current prohibition on transfer at sea to include any tuna, tuna-like species, or other Atlantic HMS both at sea and in port inside the Atlantic Ocean, and prohibits the transfer of Atlantic HMS by U.S. vessels outside of the Atlantic Ocean and its surrounding seas. However, Atlantic tuna purse seine category vessels are still allowed to transfer Atlantic bluefin tuna from the catcher vessel to the receiving vessel in certain limited circumstances. Additionally, this final rule revises current regulations for U.S.-permitted vessels landing tuna, tuna-like species, or other HMS in foreign ports or making port calls in foreign ports by updating information and reporting procedures. Finally, NMFS is notifying commercial HMS permit holders with vessels 20 meters or larger of an ICCAT requirement that they provide an International Maritime Organization (IMO)/Lloyd's Registry (LR) number on their permit application by no later than January 1, 2016. The purpose of this rule is to ensure U.S. compliance with ICCAT recommendations and to facilitate implementation of international monitoring, control, and surveillance measures for Atlantic HMS fisheries.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 29 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) (Amendment 29), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). If implemented, Amendment 29 and this rule would revise annual catch limits (ACLs) and recreational annual catch targets (ACTs) for four unassessed snapper- grouper species and three snapper-grouper species complexes based on an update to the acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule and revised ABCs for 14 snapper-grouper stocks. Additionally, this proposed rule would revise management measures for gray triggerfish in Federal waters in the South Atlantic region, including modifying minimum size limits, establishing a split commercial season, and establishing a commercial trip limit. The purpose of this rule is to revise ACLs and recreational ACTs for select snapper-grouper species using the best scientific information available, and to address concerns about inconsistent minimum size limits among states, and early harvest closures in the commercial sector for gray triggerfish.