National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration February 12, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that permits or permit amendments or modifications have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of the following: Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management Committee; Mackerel Cobia Committee; Shrimp Committee; Dolphin Wahoo Committee; Statement of Organization Practices and Procedures (SOPPs) Committee (Closed Session); Executive Finance Committee; and Snapper Grouper Committee. The meeting week will also include a meeting of the Committee of the Whole, a formal public comment session, and a meeting of the Full Council.

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

NMFS has received a request from Vineyard Wind, LLC (Vineyard Wind) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to marine site characterization surveys of Massachusetts in the areas of the Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A 0501 and OCS-A 0522) and along potential submarine cable routes to a landfall location in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-year renewal that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. 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 establishes the annual harvest guideline for the commercial lobster fishery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) for calendar year 2020 at zero lobsters.