National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration March 2, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule revises monitoring provisions that specify exemptions for non-groundfish trawl vessels participating in the Pacific coast pink shrimp fishery and for groundfish midwater trawl vessels. In a final rule on vessel movement, monitoring, and declaration management for the Pacific coast groundfish fishery published on June 11, 2020, vessels in the pink shrimp trawl fishery were incorrectly included with other open access non-groundfish trawl vessels that became subject to a higher position transmission rate on their NMFS type-approved vessel monitoring system (VMS) units. This final rule corrects the error and returns the required transmission rate for vessels in the pink shrimp trawl fishery to once every 60 minutes, as recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). This action also corrects a citation error in the VMS regulations with regards to exemptions for midwater trawl vessels, as well as a typographical error in the trawl fishery prohibitions.

NMFS announces final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications, apportionments, and prohibited species catch allowances for the groundfish fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the remainder of the 2022 and the start of the 2023 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). The 2022 harvest specifications supersede those previously set in the final 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications, and the 2023 harvest specifications will be superseded in early 2023 when the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications are published. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Navy (Navy) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to construction activities associated with the multifunctional expansion of Dry Dock 1 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. 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 will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

NMFS closes commercial harvest of king mackerel in the southern zone of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) using run-around gillnet gear. NMFS has determined that the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) for king mackerel harvested by run- around gillnet gear in the Gulf southern zone has been reached. Therefore, NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) and closes the southern zone to commercial king mackerel fishing using run-around gillnet gear in the Gulf EEZ on March 2, 2022. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

The U.S. Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (US SARSAT) Program, which is managed by NOAA and assisted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard, is announcing the authorization of the coding and use of Return Link Service equipped 406 MHz Satellite Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) and 406 MHz Satellite Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) within the United States Search and Rescue Region.

The Space Weather Advisory Group (SWAG) will meet for 2 half- days on March 17-18, 2022.