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

NMFS is prohibiting retention of non-Community Development Quota (CDQ) sablefish by vessels using trawl gear in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2020 non-CDQ sablefish initial total allowable catch (ITAC) in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the BSAI will be reached.

The New England Fishery Management Council is convening public hearings of Draft Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery via webinar to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office for Coastal Management has prepared a final programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), for its Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), which is managed by NOAA's National Ocean Service in Silver Spring, MD. The CRCP is implemented in coastal areas and marine waters of Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands, and targeted international regions including the wider Caribbean, the Coral Triangle, the South Pacific, and Micronesia.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (Council) Outreach and Education Advisory Panel (OEAP) will hold a two-day public virtual meeting to address the items contained in the tentative agenda included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS has received a request from the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to construction of the Alaska LNG Project in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. 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.

This action establishes permitting and reporting requirements for privately owned and operated recreational vessels fishing for tilefish north of the Virginia/North Carolina border. This action is necessary to implement technical measures for the conceptual permitting and reporting requirements previously approved as part of Amendment 6 to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. The intended effect of this action is to monitor recreational tilefish effort and catch for this periodic offshore fishery.

The SEDAR 65 assessment of the Atlantic stock of blacktip shark will consist of a series of workshops and webinars: Data Workshop; Assessment Webinars; and a Review workshop.

NMFS received a request from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the Renewal of their currently active incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals incidental to conducting biological research, monitoring, and maintenance at the Eastern Massachusetts (MA) National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Complex). These activities are identical to those covered in the current authorization. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), prior to issuing the currently active IHA, NMFS requested comments on both the proposed IHA and the potential for renewing the initial authorization if certain requirements were satisfied. The Renewal requirements have been satisfied, and NMFS is now providing an additional 15-day comment period to allow for any additional comments on the proposed Renewal not previously provided during the initial 30-day comment period.

NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. If granted, the EFP would authorize the applicant to deploy modified black sea bass pots with Acoustic Subsea Buoy Retrieval Systems (ASBRS) in Federal waters off Georgia. The project would examine the potential usefulness of the ASBRSs for use in the black sea bass pot component for the commercial sector of the snapper-grouper fishery while minimizing impacts to protected species.

Notice is hereby given that Christopher Cilfone, Be Blue, 193a Fleming Rd., Lahaina, HI 96761, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct commercial or educational photography on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) (No. 23148) to Exelon Generating Company, LLC, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, for the incidental take of shortnose (Acipenser brevirostrum) and Atlantic (Acipenser oxyrinchus) sturgeon associated with the otherwise lawful operation of the Eddystone Generating Station in Eddystone, PA. The permit is issued for a duration of 10 years.

NMFS has received a request from Vineyard Wind, LLC (Vineyard Wind) for the re-issuance of a previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the only change being effective dates. The initial IHA authorized take of 14 species of marine mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to incidental to marine site characterization survey activities off the coast 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. The project has been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been conducted. The initial IHA was effective from June 1, 2020 through May 31, 2021. Due to delays, Vineyard Wind has requested re-issuance with new effective dates of June 21, 2020 through June 20, 2021. The scope of the activities and anticipated effects remain the same, authorized take numbers are not changed, and the required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting remains the same as included in the initial IHA. NMFS is, therefore, issuing a second identical IHA to cover the incidental take analyzed and authorized in the initial IHA.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that two Letters of Authorization (LOA) have been issued to the U.S. Navy (Navy) for the take of marine mammals incidental to maintenance construction activities at facilities in Washington.

The New England Fishery Management Council's is convening several Public Hearings of Draft Amendment 23 to Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan via webinar to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

On May 7, 2020, the White House issued an Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth. As part of this effort, the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) are co-chairing the Interagency Seafood Trade Task Force (Seafood Trade Task Force), which will develop recommendations to provide to USTR for the development of a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy. On behalf of the Seafood Trade Task Force co-chairs, NOAA requests written input from interested parties on how best to achieve the objectives of the Seafood Trade Task Force as described in the Executive Order, including improving access to foreign markets for U.S. seafood exports through trade policy and negotiations; resolving technical barriers to U.S. seafood exports; and otherwise supporting fair market access for U.S. seafood products. In addition, interested parties are requested to respond to the questions listed below in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section as appropriate. The public input provided in response to this request for information (RFI) will inform the Seafood Trade Task Force as it works with Federal agencies and other stakeholders to develop recommendations to USTR in the preparation of a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy.

With this notice, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) seeks public comment on the proposed themes and framework of the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) as indicated by the draft prospectus presented here. Based on input received from this notice, USGCRP will develop an annotated outline, which will be released for public comment at a later date. A call for author nominations and technical inputs will also be posted in one or more subsequent Federal Register Notices. In addition to the proposed themes and framework, this Federal Register Notice requests public comment on ways to make the assessment information accessible and useful to multiple audiences; specific types of detailed information on regional scales that would be most useful to stakeholders; how to best describe risks and impacts, as well as potential opportunities to reduce those risks and impacts on sectors of the economy and natural and social systems; new approaches to topics addressed in previous assessments; overarching themes that NCA5 should consider addressing; and other relevant topics.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT) will hold an online meeting, which is open to the public.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 11 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Shrimp FMP) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 11 to the Shrimp FMP (Amendment 11) would modify the transit provisions for shrimp trawl vessels with brown, pink, and white shrimp on board in Federal waters of the South Atlantic that have been closed to shrimp trawling to protect white shrimp as a result of cold weather events. The purpose of Amendment 11 is to update the regulations to more closely align with current fishing practices, reduce the socio-economic impacts for fishermen who transit these closed areas, and improve safety at sea while maintaining protection for overwintering white shrimp.

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 Hawaii-Southern California Training and Testing (HSTT) Study Area over the course of seven years, effectively extending the time period from December 20, 2023, to December 20, 2025. In August 2018, the MMPA was amended by the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 to allow for seven-year authorizations for military readiness activities, as compared to the previously allowed five years. The Navy's activities qualify as military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA as amended by the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2004. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization (LOAs) 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 or stocks and their habitat, and establish requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

NMFS issues this final rule to revise regulations for the commercial individual fishing quota (IFQ) Pacific halibut (halibut) fisheries for the 2020 IFQ fishing year. This final rule removes limits on the maximum amount of halibut IFQ that may be harvested by a vessel, commonly known as vessel use caps, in IFQ regulatory areas 4B (Aleutian Islands), 4C (Central Bering Sea), and 4D (Eastern Bering Sea). This final rule is necessary because immediate action is needed to ensure allocations of halibut IFQ can be harvested by the limited number of vessels operating in these areas due to travel restrictions and health mandates. This action is within the authority of the Secretary of Commerce to establish additional regulations governing the taking of halibut which are in addition to, and not in conflict with, those adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). This emergency rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the IFQ Program, the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, and other applicable laws.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee will hold a public webinar meeting.

NMFS proposes 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 would 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 would monitor, attribute, and restrict (if necessary) catches of longline-caught bigeye tuna, including catches made under a specified fishing agreement. The proposed catch limits and accountability measures would support the long-term sustainability of fishery resources of the U.S. Pacific Islands.