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

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Pacific Northwest Crab Industry Advisory Committee (PNCIAC) will hold a meeting.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ecosystem Workgroup (EWG) will hold an online meeting, which is open to the public.

The SEDAR 84 assessment process of U.S. Caribbean yellowtail snapper and stoplight parrotfish will consist of a Data Workshop, and a series of assessment webinars, and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

Notice is hereby given that North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management (Taqulik Hepa, Responsible Party), P.O. Box 69, Barrow, AK 99723, has applied for an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 26667-01.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Crab Plan Team will hold a meeting.

The SEDAR 79 assessment process of Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic mutton snapper will consist of a Data Workshop, and a series of assessment webinars, and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS solicits nominations for the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel (AP). NMFS consults with and considers the comments and views of the HMS AP when preparing and implementing Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) or FMP amendments for Atlantic tunas, swordfish, sharks, and billfish. Nominations are being sought to fill approximately one-third (10) of the seats on the HMS AP for 3-year appointments. Individuals with definable interests in the recreational and commercial fishing and related industries, environmental community, academia, and non-governmental organizations are considered for membership on the HMS AP.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of Pacific cod from catcher vessels using trawl gear and vessels using pot gear to catcher vessels using hook-and-line gear and catcher/processors using hook-and-line gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to allow the 2023 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod to be harvested.

This action serves as a notice that NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), has found that summer flounder is now subject to overfishing and thorny skate remains overfished. NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary, is required to provide this notice whenever it determines that a stock or stock complex is subject to overfishing, overfished, or approaching an overfished condition.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general 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.

On September 6, 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a final temporary rule establishing a special use area of a 0.07 square mile area approximately five miles southeast of the community of Tavernier, on the island of Key Largo, within Federal waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) from September 6, 2023, through November 6, 2023. This document extends the temporary special use area an additional 60 days. The special use area prohibits all entry except for restoration activities under a valid Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) permit, continuous transit without interruption, and for law enforcement purposes from November 6, 2023, to January 5, 2024. This temporary extension is necessary to prevent or minimize destruction of, loss of, or injury to sanctuary resources, specifically to facilitate restoration activities to improve or repair living habitats through protecting coral nursery stock at this site from potential impacts caused by anchor damage and/or fishing gear. This extension is necessary to protect the corals in the temporary special use area until all of the corals are moved back to the original in-shore permitted nursery site. This temporary special use area will expire within 120 days from the date it was established.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Portland District (Corps), for the re-issuance of a previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the only change being to the effective dates. The initial IHA authorized take of five species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to construction associated with the Tillamook South Jetty Repairs in Tillamook Bay, Oregon. The project has been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been conducted. 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.