National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration October 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 serves as a notice that NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), has found that the following stocks are subject to overfishingHood Canal coho salmon and Pribilof Islands blue king crab; the following salmon stocks are approaching an overfished conditionQuillayute Fall coho and Snohomish coho; and the following stocks are still both overfished and subject to overfishing Western and Central North Pacific striped marlin and Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico dusky shark. NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary, notifies the appropriate fishery management council (Council) whenever it determines that overfishing is occurring, a stock is in an overfished condition, a stock is approaching an overfished condition, or when a rebuilding plan has not resulted in adequate progress toward ending overfishing and rebuilding affected fish stocks.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, offers the general public and other Federal agencies this opportunity to comment on proposed and/ or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Groundfish Plan Team will meet in November in Seattle, WA.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a three-day meeting to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) has cancelled the public meeting of its Herring Committee that was scheduled for Wednesday, November 9, 2016, at 9 a.m.

We, NMFS, announce that the Proposed Endangered Species Act (ESA) Recovery Plan for Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon and Snake River Steelhead (Proposed Plan) is available for public review and comment. The Proposed Plan addresses the Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon (Onchorhynchus tshawytscha) evolutionarily significant unit (ESU), which is listed as threatened under the ESA, and the Snake River Steelhead (Onchorhynchus mykiss) distinct population segment (DPS), which is listed as threatened under the ESA. The geographic area covered by the Proposed Plan is the lower mainstem Snake River and its tributaries, as well as the mainstem Columbia River below its confluence with the Snake River. As required under the ESA, the Proposed Plan contains objective, measurable delisting criteria, site- specific management actions necessary to achieve the Proposed Plan's goals, and estimates of the time and cost required to implement recovery actions. We are soliciting review and comment from the public and all interested parties on the Proposed Plan.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) Devil's Hole Research Planning Group will meet to coordinate research in the proposed Devil's Hole Spawning Special Management Zone.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for groundfish by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), except for directed fishing for pollock by vessels using pelagic trawl gear in those portions of the GOA open to directed fishing for pollock. This closure also does not apply to fishing by vessels participating in the cooperative fishery in the Rockfish Program for the Central GOA. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2016 Pacific halibut prohibited species catch limit specified for vessels using trawl gear in the GOA.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of a Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) II Managed Species Section Writing Team in St. Petersburg, FL.

The SEDAR 50 assessment of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico stock of Blueline Tilefish will consist of a series of workshops and webinars: Stock Identification (ID) Work Group Meeting; Data Workshop; Assessment Workshop and Webinars; and a Review Workshop.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold three public hearings in November 2016 to solicit public input on a request by the State of New Jersey to designate 13 of its artificial reef sites located in federal waters as Special Management Zones (SMZ). The Council is also soliciting written comments on the NJ SMZ request through 11:59 p.m. on Friday November 25, 2016.

NMFS is implementing annual catch limits (ACL) and, where necessary, other annual reference points (overfishing limits (OFL) and acceptable biological catches (ABC)) for certain stocks in the monitored and prohibited harvest species categories under the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The ACLs are: Jack mackerel, 31,000 metric tons (mt); northern subpopulation of northern anchovy, 9,750 mt; central subpopulation of northern anchovy, 25,000 mt; and krill, zero. Additionally, an OFL of 39,000 mt, an ABC of 9,750 mt and an annual catch target (ACT) of 1,500 mt are being implemented for the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy. This rule is intended to conserve and manage these stocks off the U.S. West Coast. If the ACL for any one of these stocks is reached, then fishing for that stock will be closed until it reopens at the start of the next fishing season.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (Council) Outreach and Education Advisory Panel (OEAP) will meet in Puerto Rico.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC's) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel will hold a public meeting via Webinar, jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC's) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel.

The intent of this notice is to inform the U.S. purse seine fleet fishing for tuna or tuna-like species in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) about Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) Resolution C-15-02 (Resolution on the Deadline Applicable to Revisions of Well Volume in Paragraph 6 of Resolution C-02-03).

NMFS is opening directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. This action is necessary to fully use the 2016 total allowable catch of Pacific ocean perch specified for the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area.

NMFS announces the availability of the ``Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Effects of Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic Ocean.'' The purpose of the FEIS is to evaluate, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of implementing the alternative approaches for authorizing take of marine mammals incidental to oil and gas activities in the Arctic Ocean pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) was a cooperating agency on this FEIS, and as such, this FEIS also evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of implementing the alternative approaches for authorizing geological and geophysical (G&G) surveys and concurring on ancillary activities under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) in the Arctic Ocean. The North Slope Borough (NSB) was also a cooperating agency on this FEIS. The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service were consulting agencies, and NMFS coordinated with the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission pursuant to our co-management agreement under the MMPA.

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, NMFS, announce proposed revisions to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to update the descriptions of Pacific salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus spp.) species currently listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Revisions include the addition or removal of specific hatchery programs, as well as clarifying changes to the names of specific hatchery programs included as part of the listings of certain Pacific salmon and steelhead species. These proposed changes are informed by our recently completed 5-year reviews under ESA. We do not propose to change the ESA-listing status of any species under NMFS' jurisdiction, or modify any critical habitat designation.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability of the Southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) Draft Recovery Plan (Plan) for public review. NMFS is soliciting review and comment from the public and all interested parties on the draft Plan, and will consider all substantive comments received during the review period before submitting the Plan for final approval.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Herring Advisory Panel 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 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 is adjusting the commercial aggregated large coastal shark (LCS) and hammerhead shark management group retention limit for directed shark limited access permit holders in the Atlantic region from 45 LCS other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip to 25 LCS other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip. This action is based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments. The retention limit will remain at 25 LCS other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip in the Atlantic region through the rest of the 2016 fishing season or until NMFS announces via a notice in the Federal Register a fishery closure is warranted. This retention limit adjustment will affect directed shark limited access permit holders fishing for LCS in the Atlantic region.