National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration June 29, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is prohibitingbeginning June 27, 2016, and ending August 31, 2016Federal longfin squid vessel permit holders from fishing for, catching, possessing, transferring, or landing more than 2,500 lb (907.2 kg) of longfin squid per trip and landing such squid more than once per calendar day. This prohibition is required by regulation because NMFS projects that 90 percent of the 2016 annual Trimester II seasonal catch limit will have been caught by the effective date. In addition, based on this determination, other restrictions regarding catch of longfin squid by federally permitted Illex squid vessels and buying longfin squid by federally permit dealers go into place. This action is intended to prevent over harvest of longfin squid during Trimester II.

The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Mid- Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will meet July 20, 2016, through July 21, 2016.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published a document in the Federal Register of June 3, 2016, entitled Interagency Working Group on the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act. The information concerning the submission date has been updated. Other Information: The updated information for when stakeholders are invited to provide input related to concerns and successes pertaining to HABs and hypoxia in the Great Lakes region follows: Stakeholders are invited to submit questions and provide input related to concerns and successes pertaining to HABs and hypoxia in the Great Lakes region. The IWG-HABHRCA continues to seek general and technical feedback on topics including: Regional, Great Lakes-specific priorities for: [cir] Ecological, economic, and social research on the causes and impacts of HABs and hypoxia; [cir] Approaches to improving monitoring and early warnings, scientific understanding, prediction and modeling, and socioeconomics of these events; and [cir] Mitigating the causes and impacts of HABs and hypoxia. Communication and information dissemination methods that state, tribal, local, and international governments and organizations may undertake to educate and inform the public concerning HABs and hypoxia in the Great Lakes; and Perceived needs for handling Great Lakes HAB and hypoxia events, as well as an action strategy for managing future situations. Inquiries and comments may be submitted via email (IWG- HABHRCA@noaa.gov) or via U.S. mail to Caitlin Gould at NOAA, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, SSMC-4, #8237, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Technical feedback in the form of brief annotated bibliographic entries would be welcome. The Interagency Working Group will gladly accept public input at any time; however, only those that are received on or before August 19, 2016, may be considered when the Interagency Working Group finalizes the plan.

In January 2011, NMFS implemented the trawl rationalization program, a type of catch share program, for the Pacific coast groundfish fishery's limited entry trawl fleet, which includes an individual fishing quota program for limited entry trawl participants. At the time of implementation, the widow rockfish stock was overfished and quota shares were allocated to quota share permit owners in the individual fishing quota program using an overfished species formula. Now that the widow rockfish stock has been rebuilt, NMFS proposes to reallocate quota shares to initial recipients based on a target species formula that will more closely represent the fishing history of permit owners when widow rockfish was a targeted species. Through this rule, NMFS also proposes to allow the trading of widow rockfish quota shares, set a deadline for divestiture in case the reallocation of widow rockfish puts any QS permit owner over an accumulation limit, and remove the daily vessel limit for widow rockfish since it is no longer an overfished species.