National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration June 21, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils (Councils) will hold a public meeting of their joint Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Advisory Panel will hold a public webinar meeting. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for agenda details.

NMFS proposes to implement annual harvest specifications and management measures for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine (hereafter, Pacific sardine), for the fishing year from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This proposed rule would prohibit most directed commercial fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Pacific sardine harvest would be allowed only for use as live bait, in minor directed fisheries, as incidental catch in other fisheries, or as authorized under exempted fishing permits. The proposed harvest specifications for 2024-2025 include an overfishing limit of 8,312 metric tons (mt), an annual catch limit of 6,005 mt, and an annual catch target of 5,500 mt. This proposed rule is intended to conserve, manage, and rebuild the Pacific sardine stock off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, NMFS hereby promulgates regulations to govern the incidental taking of marine mammals by Avangrid Renewables, LLC, (Avangrid), the parent company of the original applicant, Park City Wind, LLC (Park City Wind), during the construction of the New England Wind Project (the Project), an offshore wind energy project, developed in two phases, known as Park City Wind (phase 1) and Commonwealth Wind (phase 2), in Federal and State waters off of Massachusetts, specifically within 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 0534 and OCS-A 0561) and the southwest (SW) portion of Lease Area OCS-A 0501 (collectively referred to as the Lease Area), and along an export cable routes to sea-to-shore transition points (collectively, the Project Area), over the course of 5 years (March 27, 2025, through March 26, 2030). The proposed rule for this action concerned only Lease Areas OCS-A 0534 and the SW portion of Lease Area OCS-A 0501. However, after publication of the proposed rule, Lease Area OCS-A 0534 was segregated into two portions: OCS-A 0534 and OCS-A 0561. Phase 1 remained with Park City Wind (OCS-A 0534) while phase 2 (OCS-A 0561) was assigned to a sister company named Commonwealth Wind, LLC (subsidiary of Avangrid). As a result of this, Park City Wind requested that the Letter of Authorization (LOA), if issued, be issued to Avangrid, who would oversee the construction of the both phases of the Project by its two subsidiaries. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of a LOA for the incidental take of marine mammals during construction-related activities within the Project Area during the effective dates of the regulations, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.