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

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 the Office of Management and Budget.

NMFS announces approval of a Marine Conservation Plan (MCP) for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

NMFS closes the General category fishery for large medium and giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork length or greater) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the remainder of the December time period. This action applies to Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and highly migratory species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT. Fishermen aboard General category permitted vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may tag and release BFT of all sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch- and-release and tag-and-release programs. On January 1, 2024, the fishery will reopen automatically.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office for Coastal Management, will hold an in-person public meeting to solicit input on the performance evaluation of the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve. NOAA also invites the public to submit written comments.

We, NMFS, announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) on the Washington Coast (WC) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) or, alternatively, list the existing WC Chinook salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) as currently defined (inclusive of all run types) as threatened or endangered under the ESA. The petition also requests that we designate critical habitat concurrently with the listing. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating the petitioned action to list may be warranted. We will conduct an ESU analysis and status review to determine whether the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial data, including traditional ecological knowledge pertaining to Chinook salmon that spawn north of the Columbia River and west of the Elwha River from any interested party.

NMFS publishes revisions to the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications for the 2024 groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) that are required by the final rule implementing Amendment 122 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). This action is necessary to revise the 2024 trawl catcher vessel sector's Pacific cod allocation of the total allowable catch and associated halibut and crab prohibited species catch (PSC) limits in the BSAI. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act).

This final rule announces allocation carryover from fishing year 2022 into fishing year 2023 for the Northeast Multispecies sectors program. This action is necessary to distribute carryover quota to sectors. The carryover adjustments in this rule are routine and formulaic, and industry expects them each year.

NMFS will convene the Research Track Assessment Peer Review Meeting for the purpose of reviewing Black Sea Bass. The Research Track Assessment Peer Review is a formal scientific peer-review process for evaluating and presenting stock assessment results to managers for fish stocks in the offshore U.S. waters of the northwest Atlantic. Assessments are prepared by the research track working group and reviewed by an independent panel of stock assessment experts from the Center of Independent Experts (CIE). The public is invited to attend the presentations and discussions between the review panel and the scientists who have participated in the stock assessment process.

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

We are proposing specifications for the 2024 Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery, including an annual catch limit and total allowable landings limit, and projecting quotas for the 2025-2027 Atlantic deep- sea red crab fishery. The proposed action is intended to establish the allowable 2024 harvest levels, consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery Management Plan. This action is necessary to establish allowable red crab harvest levels that will prevent overfishing.

This final rule implements regulations for Amendment 32 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. The regulations include a suite of changes to non-trawl sector area management measures seaward of California and Oregon. The purpose of Amendment 32 is to provide fishing access to healthy groundfish stocks for non-trawl groundfish fisheries and the directed commercial Pacific halibut fishery while still meeting the conservation objectives of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. In addition, this final rule implements minor administrative revisions to the regulations to correct the name of the Cordell Bank Groundfish Conservation Area, amend the description of the Cordell Bank Groundfish Conservation Area, add new regulatory definitions for different types of fishing bait, and add new exemptions to Vessel Monitoring System reporting requirements.