National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration July 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is prohibiting retention of Greenland turbot in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2020 Greenland turbot total allowable catch (TAC) in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the BSAI has been reached.

NMFS, upon request from the U.S. Navy (Navy), issues these regulations pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to govern the taking of marine mammals incidental to the training and testing activities conducted in the Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT) Study Area. The Navy's activities qualify as military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (2004 NDAA). These regulations, which allow for the issuance of a Letter of Authorization (LOA) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and timeframes, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species and their habitat, and establish requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of ``other rockfish'' in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2020 ``other rockfish'' total allowable catch (TAC) in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the BSAI has been reached.

This action approves and implements Framework Adjustment 59 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. This rule sets or adjusts catch limits for 19 of the 20 multispecies (groundfish) stocks and makes minor changes to groundfish management measures. This action is necessary to respond to updated scientific information and to achieve the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan. The final measures are intended to help prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished stocks, achieve optimum yield, and ensure that management measures are based on the best scientific information available.

Additional free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in August and September of 2020. 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. More free workshops will be conducted during 2020 and will be announced in a future notice.

NMFS is reapportioning the seasonal apportionments of the 2020 Pacific halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limits for the trawl deep-water and shallow-water species fishery categories in the Gulf of Alaska. This action is necessary to account for the actual halibut PSC use by the trawl deep-water and shallow-water species fishery categories from May 15, 2020 through June 30, 2020. This action is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska.

We, NMFS, announce a 12-month finding and listing determination on a petition to list the dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have completed a status review of the dwarf seahorse in response to a petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity. After reviewing the best scientific and commercial data available, including the Status Review Report, we have determined the species does not warrant listing at this time. While the species has declined in abundance, it still occupies its historical range, and population trends indicate subpopulations are stable or increasing in most locations. We conclude that the dwarf seahorse is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range and is not likely to become so within the foreseeable future.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted Amendment 111 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP) Management Area (Amendment 111) to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review. If approved, Amendment 111 would remove the expiration date for the Central GOA Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program) and make minor administrative changes to the program. Amendment 111 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the FMP, and other applicable laws.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) will hold the 170th public meeting (virtual) to address the items contained in the tentative agenda included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received 20 scientific research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon and steelhead, eulachon, and green sturgeon. The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications may be viewed online at: https:// apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office for Coastal Management will hold a public meeting to solicit comments on the performance evaluation of the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve.

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is in the process of modernizing the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) and plans to replace all three North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) frames and all vertical datums, including the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), with four new terrestrial reference frames and one new geopotential datum to which all geodetic coordinates and derived coordinates within the NSRS will be referenced. The new reference frames will rely primarily on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), as well as on a gravimetric geoid model resulting from the Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) Project. The modernized NSRS will be easier to access and maintain than the existing NSRS, which relies on physical survey marks that deteriorate over time and will result in new, more accurate, time-tagged geodetic coordinates (i.e., latitude, longitude, ellipsoid height, orthometric height, acceleration of gravity, deflections of the vertical, and others) at all geodetic control points within the NSRS. Additionally, coordinates will be estimated within these frames and datum at five-year reference epochs from the time-tagged coordinates, beginning with 2020.00. Initial completion and rollout of the NSRS modernization is expected to occur between 2022 and 2025, with additional support tools and services rolled out in subsequent years.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold public meetings of the Council.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) for commercial Spanish mackerel in the northern zone of the Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ). NMFS projects that the commercial quota for Spanish mackerel in the northern zone of the Atlantic EEZ will be reached by July 22, 2020. Therefore, NMFS closes the northern zone in the Atlantic EEZ to commercial harvest of Spanish mackerel on July 22, 2020. This closure is necessary to protect the Spanish mackerel resource in the Atlantic.

This action removes regulations that implement the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program. The Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2 eliminated the year-round Closed Area I, rendering the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program unnecessary. Eliminating the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program will reduce confusion and inconsistency with other regulations.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Executive Committee via webinar.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) coho Workgroup (Workgroup) will host an online meeting over a two-day period that is open to the public.

This final rule implements regulations for a ``fish up'' provision in the halibut and sablefish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program to allow Community Quota Entities (CQEs) located in IFQ regulatory Area 3A (Southcentral Alaska) holding Area 3A category D halibut quota share (QS) (i.e., for use on catcher vessel less than or equal to 35 ft (10.7 m) length overall) to have the associated IFQ harvested on category C vessels (catcher vessels less than or equal to 60 ft (18.3 m) length overall) beginning August 15 of each IFQ fishing season. This action also makes a minor change to regulations implementing the IFQ Program to consolidate temporary IFQ transfer forms. This final rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the City and County of San Francisco, CA (San Francisco) to incidentally harass, by Level A and Level B harassment only, marine mammals during construction activities associated with the Treasure Island Ferry Dock Project in San Francisco, California.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.