National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration May 27, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of the following: Information and Education Committee; Dolphin Wahoo Committee; Snapper Grouper Committee; Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) Committee; Citizen Science Committee; Executive Committee; and Mackerel Cobia Committee. The meeting week will also include a formal public comment session and meeting of the Full Council (partially Closed Session). Due to public health concerns associated with COVID-19 and current travel restrictions, the meeting originally planned for Key West, FL will be held via webinar.

NMFS announces one inseason action in the 2020 ocean salmon fisheries. This inseason action modified the commercial salmon fishery in the area from the U.S./Canada border to Leadbetter Point, WA.

NMFS proposes to implement annual harvest specifications and management measures for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine (hereafter, Pacific sardine), for the fishing year from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. The proposed action would prohibit most directed commercial fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Pacific sardine harvest would be allowed only in the live bait fishery, minor directed fisheries, as incidental catch in other fisheries, or as authorized under exempted fishing permits. The incidental harvest of Pacific sardine would be limited to 20 percent by weight of all fish per trip when caught with other stocks managed under the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan or up to 2 metric tons per trip when caught with non-Coastal Pelagic Species stocks. The proposed annual catch limit for the 2020-2021 Pacific sardine fishing year is 4,288 metric tons. This proposed rule is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific sardine stock off the U.S. West Coast.

NMFS has received a request from Mayflower Wind Energy LLC (Mayflower) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to site characterization surveys off the coast of Massachusetts in the area of the Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A 0521) and along a potential submarine cable route to landfall at Falmouth, Massachusetts. 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.