National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration October 5, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is prohibiting retention of Pacific cod by catcher/ processors using trawl gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the 2020 total allowable catch of Pacific cod allocated to catcher/processors using trawl gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA has been reached.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have taken collaborative action to provide national uniformity in the measurement of length. This notice announces the final decision to deprecate use of the ``U.S. survey foot'' on December 31, 2022. Beginning on January 1, 2023, the U.S. survey foot should not be used and will be superseded by the ``international foot'' definition (i.e., 1 foot = 0.3048 meter exactly) in all applications. The international foot is currently used throughout the U.S. for a large majority of applications and is typically referred to as simply the ``foot.'' Over time this terminology will become more prevalent in land surveying and mapping communities. Either the term ``foot'' or ``international foot'' may be used, as required for clarity in technical applications. This notice describes public comments received, along with the plan, resources, training, and other activities provided by NIST and NOAA to assist those affected by this transition.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council initiated development of Amendment 7 to the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan in late 2017. A notice of intent to develop an environmental impact statement for this action was published in June 2018. However, following a second round of scoping meetings in February and March 2020, it has been determined that the range of proposed alternatives included in this amendment are not expected to have significant impacts on the fishery or affected environment. Therefore, NMFS is withdrawing the notice of intent and will continue development of an environmental assessment instead.