National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration January 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Marine Planning Committee (MPC) will hold an online public meeting.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet (18.3 meters (m)) length overall (LOA) using pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season apportionment of the 2023 Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA using pot gear in the BSAI.

NMFS is implementing a 2,000-lb (907.2-kg) possession limit for Atlantic herring for Management Area 1B. This is required because NMFS projects that herring catch from Area 1B will reach 92 percent of the Area's current sub-annual catch limit before the end of the fishing year. This action is intended to prevent overharvest of herring in Area 1B, which would result in additional catch limit reductions in a subsequent year.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of Pacific cod from vessels using jig gear to catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 meters) length overall using hook-and-line or pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. This action is necessary to allow the A season apportionment of the 2023 total allowable catch of Pacific cod to be harvested.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Groundfish Plan Teams will meet February 2, 2023.

Notice is hereby given that permits have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the 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 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Advisory Panel and Species Separation Requirements AmendmentFishery Management Action Team will hold a public webinar meeting. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for agenda details.

We, NMFS, announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the Oregon Coast (OC) and Southern Oregon and Northern California Coastal (SONCC) Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) or, alternatively, list only the spring- run Chinook salmon components of the OC ESU and the SONCC ESU as threatened or endangered under the ESA. The Petitioners also requested that we designate critical habitat concurrently with the listing. With respect to the request to list the entire OC and SONCC ESUs, we find that the petition presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating the petitioned actions may be warranted. For the request to list only the spring-run components of those ESUs, we do not find that the petition presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating that the petitioned action is warranted. We will conduct status reviews of the OC and SONCC Chinook salmon ESUs to determine whether the petitioned actions are warranted. To ensure that the status reviews are comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial information pertaining to these species from any interested party.

The SEDAR 74 assessment of Gulf of Mexico red snapper will consist of a Data workshop, a series of assessment webinars, and a Review workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a three-day in-person meeting with an option for remote participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council continues to follow all public safety measures related to COVID-19 and intends to do so for this meeting.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) will hold a public meeting.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Groundfish Electronic Monitoring Policy Advisory and Technical Advisory Committees (GEMPAC/TAC) will hold an online meeting, which is open to the public.

NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce, is seeking nominations for the advisory committee established under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act. The Permanent Advisory Committee, composed of individuals from groups concerned with the fisheries covered by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention (Convention), provides recommendations to the U.S. Commissioners to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (Commission) regarding the deliberations and decisions of the Commission.

NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 6 to the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP) for review by the Secretary of Commerce. The intent of Amendment 6 is to authorize deep-set buoy gear (DSBG) as a legal gear type for targeting highly migratory species (HMS) off the U.S. West Coast, and to establish management measures, a permitting program, and a standardized bycatch reporting methodology (SBRM) for this fishery. The amendment is expected to affect harvest levels of swordfish by authorizing an additional gear type for commercial harvest of HMS in Federal waters off the U.S. West Coast. The Council transmitted the draft Amendment to NMFS on December 21, 2022.

NMFS is proposing to modify the Letter of Authorization (LOA) that was issued to the United States Navy (Navy) on January 26, 2022 in association with construction activities related to bulkhead replacement and repairs at Naval Station Newport (NAVSTA Newport) over the course of five years (2022-2027). Necessary additions to the Navy's construction plan include vibratory driving of 30-inch (in) steel pipe piles and Down-The-Hole (DTH) driving when technically required for repairs to the S45 bulkhead facility. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is proposing to modify the Navy's LOA to increase authorized take by Level B harassment for harbor seal, gray seal, and harp seals. NMFS is also proposing to include appropriate, additional shutdown mitigation provisions for all species in the modified LOA. The monitoring and reporting measures remain the same as prescribed in the initial LOA. NMFS will also consider public comments on the requested modification prior to making any final decision and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.