National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration March 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS has received a request from the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to conducting fisheries and ecosystem research in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans over the course of 5 years from the date of issuance. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of AFSC's request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals. NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on the AFSC's application and request.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 50 feet (15.2 meters (m)) length overall using hook-and-line (HAL) gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2024 total allowable catch (TAC) apportioned to catcher vessels less than 50 feet (15.2 m) length overall using HAL gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of the Socio-Economic Panel (SEP) on April 15 and 16, 2024. The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet on April 16-18, 2024.

NMFS announces that the recreational fishing season for black sea bass in South Atlantic Federal waters will extend throughout the species' 2024-2025 fishing year. Announcing the length of recreational fishing season for black sea bass is one of the accountability measures (AMs) for the recreational sector. This announcement allows recreational fishers to maximize their opportunity to harvest the recreational annual catch limit (ACL) for black sea bass while NMFS manages harvest to protect the black sea bass resource.

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) for the commercial harvest of gag in South Atlantic Federal waters. NMFS has determined that commercial landings of gag exceeded the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) in 2023, and other triggers for the commercial AMs are met. Therefore, NMFS reduces the commercial ACL of gag in the 2024 fishing year by the amount of gag landings that exceeded the 2023 commercial ACL to protect the gag resource from overfishing and continue to allow the recovery of this overfished stock.

NMFS announces approval of a Marine Conservation Plan (MCP) for Guam.

NMFS announces that the Commonwealth of Virginia is transferring a portion of its 2024 commercial summer flounder quota to the State of North Carolina. This adjustment to the 2024 fishing year quota is necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised 2024 commercial quotas for Virginia and North Carolina.

NMFS notifies the public of the aboriginal subsistence whaling quota for bowhead whales assigned to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC), and of limitations on the use of the quota deriving from regulations of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). For 2024, the AEWC quota is 93 bowhead whales struck. This quota and other applicable limitations govern the harvest of bowhead whales by whaling captains of the AEWC.

NOAA is soliciting nominations for members of the NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB is the only Federal Advisory Committee with the responsibility to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans, Atmosphere, and NOAA Administrator on long- and short-range strategies for research, education, and application of science to resource management and environmental assessment and prediction. The SAB consists of approximately twenty members reflecting the full breadth of NOAA's areas of responsibility and assists NOAA in maintaining a complete and accurate understanding of scientific issues critical to the agency's missions.

The Space Weather Advisory Group (SWAG) will meet for a half day on April 12, 2024.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will host a presentation on Fish Acoustic Detection Algorithm Research to Identify Fish.

NMFS approves and implements the measures included in Framework Adjustment 38 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan as adopted and submitted by the New England Fishery Management Council. Framework 38 establishes scallop specifications and other measures for fishing years 2024 and 2025. Framework 35 implements measures to protect small scallops which would thereby support rotational access area trips to the fleet in future years. To promote uniformity in the fishery, this final rule also corrects and clarifies regulatory text that is unnecessary, outdated, or unclear. This action is necessary to prevent overfishing and improve both yield-per-recruit and the overall management of the Atlantic sea scallop resource.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC (Atlantic Shores) to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during marine site characterization surveys in waters off of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, including in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Areas OCS-A 0499, OCS-A 0541, OCS-A 0549, and associated export cable corridor (ECC) areas.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold a two-and-a-half- day public hybrid meeting to address the items contained in the tentative agenda included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company LLC (Transco), to incidentally harass marine mammals during construction activities associated with a natural gas pipeline stabilization project in Sandy Hook Channel, New Jersey (NJ).

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting via webinar of its Snapper Grouper Recreational Permitting and Reporting Technical Advisory Panel (AP) to discuss permitting and education alternatives for the private recreational component of the snapper grouper fishery.

Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in April, May, and June of 2024. Certain fishermen and shark dealers are required to attend a workshop to meet regulatory requirements and to maintain valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop is mandatory for all federally permitted Atlantic shark dealers. The Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshop is mandatory for vessel owners and operators who use bottom longline, pelagic longline, or gillnet gear, and who have also been issued shark or swordfish limited access permits. Additional free workshops will be conducted in 2024 and will be announced in a future notice. In addition, NMFS has implemented online recertification workshops for persons who have already taken an in-person training.

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.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet April 5-11, 2024 in Seattle, WA and via webinar. The Council meeting will be live streamed with the opportunity to provide public comment remotely. The following groups will meet in person in Seattle: Budget Committee, Salmon Technical Team, Salmon Advisory Subpanel, Enforcement Consultants, Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel, Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team, Groundfish Management Team, and Groundfish Advisory Subpanel. The Scientific and Statistical Committee will meet remotely.

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.

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) natural resource Trustees for the Alabama Trustee Implementation Group (Alabama TIG) have prepared the Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan II and Environmental Assessment: Marine Mammals (Supplemental RPII/EA). The Draft Supplemental RPII/EA proposes to use additional funds from the Marine Mammals Restoration Type to extend the implementation of one or more projects currently underway in the Alabama Restoration Area to continue the Alabama TIG's efforts to restore for injuries to marine mammals impacted by the DWH oil spill. The Draft Supplemental RPII/EA evaluates two restoration alternatives under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This evaluation includes consideration of the criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) regulations, and an analysis under NEPA's implementing regulations. A No Action Alternative is also evaluated pursuant to the NEPA. The total estimated cost to implement the Alabama TIG's Preferred Alternativean extension of the Enhancing Capacity for the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network Projectis $1,881,237. If selected for implementation, this action would allocate the Alabama TIG's remaining Marine Mammals restoration funds. The Alabama TIG invites the public to comment on the Draft Supplemental RPII/EA.

NMFS corrects an error in the final rule designating critical habitat for threatened Caribbean corals that published in the Federal Register on August 9, 2023. The final rule incorrectly identified the northern geographic extent of critical habitat designated for Orbicella franksi as St. Lucie Inlet, Martin County, Florida in the ``Table of the Locations of the Critical Habitat Units for Orbicella franksi, O. annularis, O. faveolata, Dendrogyra cylindrus, and Mycetophyllia ferox,'' codified at 50 CFR 266.230(b) and in Table 4 of the Critical Habitat Unit Descriptions in the preamble of the rule. This correcting amendment fixes that error by revising the description of the geographic extent of the OFRA-1 Unit to refer to Lake Worth Inlet, Palm Beach County, Florida.

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on behalf of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), publishes as regulations the 2024 annual management measures governing the Pacific halibut fishery that have been recommended by the IPHC and accepted by the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Commerce. These measures are intended to enhance the conservation of Pacific halibut and further the goals and objectives of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC).