National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration February 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is adjusting the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Purse Seine and Reserve category quotas for 2019, as it has done annually since 2015. NMFS also is transferring 25 metric tons (mt) of BFT quota from the Reserve category to the General category January 2019 period (from January 1 through March 31, 2019, or until the available subquota for this period is reached, whichever comes first). The transfer to the General category 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.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using trawl gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2019 Pacific cod total allowable catch apportioned to trawl catcher vessels in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

This notice sets forth the proposed schedule and agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee's (MAFAC's) Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force (CBP Task Force). The CBP Task Force will discuss the issues outlined in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

NMFS' Office of Protected Resources has received a request from NMFS' Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in the Atlantic Ocean along the southeastern U.S. coast and select estuaries, the Gulf of Mexico and select estuaries, and the Caribbean Sea over the course of five years from the date of issuance. We have also received a request from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to fisheries research in Texas bay systems. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue regulations to the SEFSC and, separately, TPWD, to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorizations and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) to close the hook-and-line component of the commercial sector for king mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) southern zone. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

NMFS Alaska Groundfish and Halibut Seabird Working Group will meet to discuss use of leading indicators as tool to assess inseason seabird bycatch risk, vessel-specific seabird bycatch mortality, and an update on studies examining seabird bycatch in the trawl fisheries.

NMFS establishes the annual harvest guideline for the commercial lobster fishery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) for calendar year 2019 at zero lobsters.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Fishery Monitoring Advisory Committee Subgroup will hold a teleconference on March 27, 2019.

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

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a public hearing via webinar to discuss Shrimp Amendment 18Evaluation of Shrimp Effort Threshold Reduction in the Area Monitored for Juvenile Red Snapper Bycatch.

NMFS is amending the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) based on the results of the 2017 stock assessment and a subsequent binding recommendation by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) for North Atlantic shortfin mako sharks. The North Atlantic shortfin mako shark stock is overfished and is experiencing overfishing. Consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), NMFS is implementing management measures that will reduce fishing mortality on shortfin mako sharks and establish the foundation for rebuilding the shortfin mako shark population consistent with legal requirements. The final measures could affect U.S. commercial and recreational fishermen who target and harvest shortfin mako sharks in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, by increasing live releases and reducing landings. NMFS is also clarifying the definition of fork length (FL) in the definitions section of the HMS regulations.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) and its advisory entities will hold public meetings.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council announces its intent to prepare, in cooperation with NMFS, an amendment to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. An environmental impact statement may be necessary for the amendment to analyze the impacts of potential management measures in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The Council has initiated this amendment to review and consider modifications to both the permitting system for Illex squid and the fishery management plan goals and objectives. This notice announces a public process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed, and for identifying the significant issues related to this action. This notice alerts the interested public of the scoping process, the potential development of a draft environmental impact statement, and to provide for public participation in that process.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) published a document on February 11, 2019, announcing the agenda for upcoming meetings of the Council and its advisory committees. The announcement omitted an item from the agenda.

NMFS proposes to implement management measures described in Abbreviated Framework Amendment 2 (Abbreviated Framework 2) to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region, as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). If implemented, this proposed rule would revise the commercial and recreational annual catch limits (ACLs) for vermilion snapper and black sea bass in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. The purpose of this proposed rule is to respond to the results of the latest stock assessments for the species and to help achieve optimum yield (OY) for vermilion snapper and black sea bass.

On December 27, 2018, NMFS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to implement annual limits on commercial catch of Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) for 2019 and 2020. Comments were due by January 16, 2019. However, due to a lapse in appropriations, the link to the public comment portal provided in the proposed rule was not active. Consequently, NMFS is reopening the public comment period for an additional 15 calendar days.

The Acting Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an exempted fishing permit application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. This permit would allow Coonamessett Farm Foundation to test the selectivity of alternate gillnet configurations to target haddock while reducing catch of other groundfish species. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed exempted fishing permits.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) requires the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to establish and maintain an inventory of marine mammals in zoos and aquariums. The Office of Protected Resources maintains the inventory for marine mammals under NMFS' jurisdiction including cetaceans and pinnipeds [excluding walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)]. The MMPA requires that the holders of marine mammals in human care provide the inventory data. We propose to make our current database, the National Inventory of Marine Mammals (NIMM), accessible to holders of marine mammals for inventory reporting and to the public for access to the inventory data, which is regularly requested through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). NMFS is requesting public comment on proposed policies and procedures for the administration and maintenance of the online inventory database, NIMM, including maintenance of historical information, reporting births and stillbirths, reporting cause of death, and other administrative procedures for NIMM.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) has begun its annual preseason management process for the 2019 ocean salmon fisheries off the U.S. West Coast. This notice informs the public of opportunities to provide comments on the development of 2019 ocean salmon management measures.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold a one- day meeting of its Shrimp Advisory Panel (AP).

The SEDAR 59 assessment of the South Atlantic stock of Greater Amberjack will consist of a series of webinars. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 meters (m)) length overall (LOA) using jig or hook-and-line gear in the Bogoslof Pacific cod exemption area of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the limit of Pacific cod for catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA using jig or hook-and-line gear in the Bogoslof Pacific cod exemption area in the BSAI.

NMFS transfers 26 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the General category January 2019 period (from January 1 through March 31, 2019, or until the available subquota for this period is reached, whichever comes first). 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 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold a meeting.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a four-day meeting to consider actions affecting the Gulf of Mexico fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).