National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration February 27, 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS issues a final rule to implement Amendment 124 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) and Amendment 112 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP). First, this final rule amends regulations for the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) and Community Development Quota (CDQ) Programs for pot gear configurations, pot gear tending and retrieval requirements, pot limits, and associated recordkeeping and reporting requirements. These changes increase operational efficiency and flexibility for IFQ holders and CDQ groups. Second, this final rule authorizes jig gear as a legal gear type for harvesting sablefish IFQ and CDQ, increasing opportunities for entry-level participants. Third, this final rule temporarily removes the Adak community quota entity (CQE) residency requirement for a period of five years. These actions are intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act), the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the BSAI FMP, GOA FMP, and other applicable laws.

NMFS has received a request from the City of Santa Cruz for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to 2 years of construction activities associated with the Murray St. Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project in Santa Cruz, California. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue two consecutive 1-year incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-time, 1-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 authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.