National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration August 19, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and the False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan, NMFS hereby reopens the Southern Exclusion Zone to deep-set longline fishing for all vessels registered under the Hawaii longline limited access program. At least one of the Southern Exclusion Zone reopening criteria defined in the False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan regulations has been met.

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 to assess the impact of 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 specifies a 2020 limit of 2,000 metric tons (t) of longline-caught bigeye tuna for each U.S. Pacific territory (American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)). NMFS will allow each territory to allocate up to 1,500 t each year to U.S. longline fishing vessels in a specified fishing agreement that meets established criteria, but the overall allocation limit among all territories may not exceed 3,000 t. As an accountability measure, NMFS will monitor, attribute, and restrict (if necessary) catches of longline-caught bigeye tuna, including catches made under a specified fishing agreement. These catch limits and accountability measures support the long-term sustainability of fishery resources of the U.S. Pacific Islands.