National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Ecosystem and Ocean Planning (EOP) Committee will hold a meeting.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold a meeting.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Ecosystem and Ocean Planning (EOP) Committee will hold a meeting.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Scallop 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 SEDAR 57 stock assessment process for Caribbean spiny lobster will consist of a Data Workshop, a series of data and assessment webinars, and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in October, November, and December of 2018. Certain fishermen and shark dealers are required to attend a workshop to meet regulatory requirements and to maintain valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop is mandatory for all federally permitted Atlantic shark dealers. The Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshop is mandatory for vessel owners and operators who use bottom longline, pelagic longline, or gillnet gear, and who have also been issued shark or swordfish limited access permits. Additional free workshops will be conducted during 2019 and will be announced in a future notice.

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 announces a meeting of the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC) to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) on October 11-12, 2018. Meeting topics are provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

NMFS is adjusting the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General category daily retention limit from three large medium or giant BFT per vessel per day/trip to one large medium or giant BFT per vessel per day/trip for the remainder of the June through August 2018 subquota period. 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 with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT.

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.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) has cancelled its Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Advisory Panel (AP) meeting that was scheduled on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

NMFS announces approval of a marine conservation plan (MCP) for American Samoa.

This interim final rule reduces the sub-annual catch limits for the four Atlantic Herring Management Areas (including Area 1A, 1B, 2, and 3). This action is necessary to address Atlantic herring population decline due to poor recruitment into the population. The reduction is intended to mitigate herring population declines and lead to more available herring biomass and higher catch limits in 2019 and beyond.

This rule extends the measures in an emergency interim final rule for the North Atlantic shortfin mako shark fishery published on March 2, 2018. This extension is necessary to maintain measures that address overfishing of shortfin mako sharks while long-term measures are developed and to meet requirements of a recommendation of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The rule is expected to reduce fishing mortality to address overfishing, consistent with ICCAT Recommendation 17-08, by continuing to reduce landings and increase live releases in the recreational and commercial HMS fisheries, but is not expected to result in significant economic impacts.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) from vessels using jig gear and catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet (18.3 meters (m)) length overall (LOA) using hook-and-line gear to catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. This action is necessary to allow the 2018 TAC of Pacific cod to be harvested.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of sablefish by vessels using trawl gear in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the 2018 total allowable catch of sablefish allocated to vessels using trawl gear in the West Yakutat District of the GOA will be reached.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission's) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board (Board), will hold 10 public hearings, including one webinar hearing, to solicit public comments on the Draft Summer Flounder Commercial Issues and Goals and Objectives Amendment to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Science and Statistical Committee Subgroup (SSC Subgroup) will hold a public meeting.

Notice is hereby given that Tamara McGuire, 310 W 123rd Ave., Anchorage, AK 99515, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales.

Notice is hereby given that the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 33149 (Responsible Party: Theophilus Brainerd, Ph.D.), has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on up to 33 species of cetaceans.

This notice sets forth the proposed schedule and agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC). The members will discuss and approve work plans for their Commerce and Recreational Fisheries Subcommittees.

NMFS announces that the 2018 summer flounder commercial quota allocated to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been harvested. Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in Massachusetts for the remainder of calendar year 2018, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer from another state. Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery require publication of this notification to advise Massachusetts that the quota has been harvested, and to advise vessel and dealer permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available to land summer flounder in Massachusetts.

NMFS proposes regulations to modify management of the American Fisheries Act (AFA) Program and Crab Rationalization (CR) Program. This proposed rule has two related actions. The first action would modify regulations for AFA Program and CR Program vessels subject to limits on the catch of specific species (sideboard limits) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Management Area and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Management Area. The second action would remove the requirement for the designated representatives of AFA inshore cooperatives to submit a weekly catch report. This proposed rule is intended to reduce administrative burdens associated with managing sideboard limits through annual harvest specifications, although it would not change NMFS's inseason management of sideboard limits and reduce reporting burdens for the designated representatives and members of AFA inshore cooperatives.

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.

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.