National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration April 16, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces a public meeting of the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC) to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) on June 10, 2019. Meeting topics are provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application from the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. This permit would facilitate research on the impact of increasing water temperature on female lobster size at maturity and growth. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act require publication of this notice to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.

Notice is hereby given that Rachel Cartwright, Ph.D., Keiki Kohola Project, 1330 Sabal Lakes Road, Delray Beach, FL 33445, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on marine mammals.

Notice is hereby given that the National Marine Fisheries Service is extending the public comment period associated with the notice of receipt for an application for a permit to import bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) submitted by the Chicago Zoological Society.

Notice is hereby given that Sea to Sea Productions Ltd., 477 Island View Drive, Boutiliers Point, Nova Scotia, Canada B3Z1R3 (Responsible Party: David Kent Nason), has applied in due form for a permit to conduct commercial or educational photography on gray seals (Halichoerus grypus).

This action closes the Witch Flounder Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area to Northeast multispecies common pool vessels fishing with trawl gear through April 30, 2019. The closure is required because the common pool fishery is projected to have caught over 90 percent of its Trimester 3 quota for witch flounder. This closure is intended to prevent an overage of the common pool's quota for this stock.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement catch handling and monitoring requirements to allow Pacific halibut (halibut) bycatch to be sorted on the deck of trawl catcher/processors and motherships participating in the non-pollock groundfish fisheries off Alaska. Halibut bycatch is required to be discarded and returned to the sea with a minimum of injury in the directed groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) management areas. This action includes additional minor regulatory changes that will improve consistency and clarity of existing regulations, remove unnecessary and outdated regulations, and update cross references to reflect these proposed regulations. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the GOA (GOA FMP), the FMP for Groundfish of the BSAI Management Area (BSAI FMP), and other applicable law.