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

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is providing notification that the agency will not identify additional fisheries to observe on the Annual Determination (AD) for 2017, pursuant to its authority under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Through the AD, NMFS identifies U.S. fisheries operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Ocean that will be required to take observers upon NMFS' request. The purpose of observing identified fisheries is to learn more about sea turtle interactions in a given fishery, evaluate measures to prevent or reduce sea turtle takes, and implement the prohibition against sea turtle takes. Fisheries identified on the 2015 AD (see Table 1) remain on the AD for a 5-year period and are required to carry observers upon NMFS' request until December 31, 2019.

This final rule implements regulations in Amendment 16 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. Amendment 16 protects deep-sea corals from the effects of commercial fishing gear in the Mid-Atlantic. The management measures implemented in this rule are intended to protect deep-sea coral and deep-sea coral habitat while promoting the sustainable utilization and conservation of several different marine resources managed under the authority of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

NMFS announces the re-opening of the commercial sector for vermilion snapper in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic through this temporary rule. The most recent commercial landing data for vermilion snapper indicate the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) for the July through December 2016 fishing season has not yet been reached. Therefore, NMFS re-opens the commercial sector for vermilion snapper in the South Atlantic EEZ for 2 days to allow the commercial ACL to be caught, while minimizing the risk of the commercial ACL being exceeded.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management is requesting comments on the preliminary findings and draft environmental assessment for a request from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for approval of amendments to the Puerto Rico Coastal Zone Management Program (PRCZMP). NOAA has determined that the amendments to the PRCZMP do not meet the requirements for approval. This determination is subject to change depending on public comments and further information that may be submitted by the Commonwealth. As part of its review of the amendments, NOAA developed a draft environmental assessment pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act for which comments are also requested.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an IHA to the Port of Kalama (POK) for an IHA to take small numbers of marine mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to in-water construction activities associated with the Port of Kalama Expansion Project.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

NMFS has approved five companies to provide at-sea monitoring services to Northeast multispecies sectors in fishing years 2017 and 2018. Regulations implementing the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan require at-sea monitoring companies to apply to, and be approved by, NMFS in order to be eligible to provide at-sea monitoring services to sectors. This action will allow sectors to contract at-sea monitoring services with any of the approver providers for fishing years 2017 and 2018.

NMFS announces that the State of New Jersey is transferring a portion of its 2016 commercial summer flounder quota to the Commonwealth of Virginia. These quota adjustments are necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provision. This announcement informs the public of the revised commercial quotas for New Jersey and Virginia.

Pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), this final rule establishes permitting, reporting and recordkeeping procedures relating to the importation of certain fish and fish products, identified as being at particular risk of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing or seafood fraud, in order to implement the MSA's prohibition on the import and trade, in interstate or foreign commerce, of fish taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of any foreign law or regulation or in contravention of a treaty or a binding conservation measure of a regional fishery organization to which the United States is a party. Collection of catch and landing documentation for certain fish and fish products will be accomplished through the government-wide International Trade Data System (ITDS) by electronic submission of data through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The information will be collected through the ITDS electronic single window consistent with the Safety and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006 and other applicable statutes. Specifically, this rule revises an existing NMFS requirement for the importer of record to file electronically through ACE data prescribed under certain existing NMFS programs (and to retain records supporting such filings) to also cover the data required to be reported under this rule. This rule requires data to be reported on the harvest of fish and fish products. In addition, this rule requires retention of additional supply chain data by the importer of record and extends an existing NMFS requirement to obtain an annually renewable International Fisheries Trade Permit (IFTP) to the fish and fish products regulated under this rule. The information to be reported and retained, as applicable, under this rule will help authorities verify that the fish or fish products were lawfully acquired by providing information to trace each import shipment back to the initial harvest event(s). The rule will also decrease the incidence of seafood fraud by requiring the reporting of this information to the U.S. Government at import and requiring retention of documentation so that the information reported (e.g., regarding species and harvest location) can be verified.

We, NMFS, announce a 12-month finding and listing determination on a petition to list the Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have completed a Status Review report of the Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whale in response to a petition submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council. After reviewing the best scientific and commercial data available, including the Status Review report, and consulting with the Society for Marine Mammology's Committee on Taxonomy, we have determined that the Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whale is taxonomically a subspecies of the Bryde's whale thus meeting the ESA's definition of a species. Based on the Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whale's small population (likely fewer than 100 individuals), its life history characteristics, its extremely limited distribution, and its vulnerability to existing threats, we believe that the species faces a high risk of extinction. Based on these considerations, described in more detail within this action, we conclude that the Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whale is in danger of extinction throughout all of its range and meets the definition of an endangered species. We are soliciting information that may be relevant to inform both our final listing determination and designation of critical habitat.

This notice corrects the SUMMARY section to a notice published on November 25, 2016, which contained incorrect information about what will be discussed at the forthcoming meeting of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC). This correction sets out the SUMMARY in full to make it clear that the members will discuss and finalize recommendations on issues and priorities that should be addressed by the incoming Administration.

NMFS proposes 2017 and 2018 harvest specifications, apportionments, and prohibited species catch allowances for the groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2017 and 2018 fishing years, and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

NMFS announces that the 2016 commercial Atlantic bluefish quota allocated to the State of New York has been harvested. Vessels issued a commercial Federal permit for this fishery may not land bluefish in New York for the remainder of calendar year 2016, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer from another state. Regulations governing these fisheries require publication of this notice to advise New York that the quota has been harvested, and to advise Federal vessel and dealer permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available to land bluefish in New York.

NMFS has evaluated ten Hatchery and Genetics Management Plans (HGMPs) submitted to NMFS pursuant to the limitation on take prohibitions for actions conducted under Limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule for salmon and steelhead promulgated under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The HGMPs specify the propagation of Chinook, coho, pink, and fall chum salmon and steelhead in the Hood Canal watershed of Washington State. This document serves to notify the public that NMFS, by delegated authority from the Secretary of Commerce, has determined pursuant to Limit 6 of the ESA 4(d) Rule for salmon and steelhead that implementing and enforcing the plans will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of Puget Sound Chinook salmon, Hood Canal summer chum, and Puget Sound steelhead.

NMFS is issuing regulations under the Tuna Conventions Act to implement certain provisions of two Resolutions adopted by the Inter- American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) in 2016: Resolution C-16-01 (Collection and Analyses of Data On Fish-Aggregating Devices) and Resolution C-16-06 (Conservation Measures for Shark Species, with Special Emphasis on the Silky Shark (Carcharhinus Falciformis) for the Years 2017, 2018, and 2019). Per Resolution C-16-01, these regulations require the owner or operator of a U.S. purse seine vessel to ensure characters of a unique code be marked indelibly on each fish aggregating device (FAD) deployed or modified on or after January 1, 2017, in the IATTC Convention Area. The vessel owner or operator must record and submit information about the FAD, as described in Annex I of Resolution C-16-01. Per Resolution C-16-06, these regulations prohibit the owner or operator of a U.S. purse seine vessel from retaining on board, transshipping, landing, or storing, in part or whole, carcasses of silky sharks caught by purse-seine vessels in the IATTC Convention Area. These regulations also provide limits on the retained catch of silky sharks caught in the IATTC Convention Area. This rule is necessary for the United States to satisfy its obligations as a member of the IATTC.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will host a webinar meeting of the Area 2A Pacific halibut governmental management entities, which will be open to the public.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for Atlantic migratory group cobia that are sold (commercial) and harvested from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Atlantic. NMFS projects that commercial landings of Atlantic migratory group cobia have reached the commercial quota. Therefore, NMFS closes the commercial sector for Atlantic migratory group cobia on December 6, 2016, and it will remain closed until the start of the next fishing year on January 1, 2017. This closure is necessary to protect the resource of Atlantic migratory group cobia.

We are proposing specifications for the 2017Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery, including an annual catch limit and total allowable landings limit. We are also proposing projected quotas for 2018-2019. This action is necessary to establish allowable red crab harvest levels that will prevent overfishing and allow harvesting of optimum yield. The proposed action is intended to establish the allowable 2017 harvest levels, consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery Management Plan.

The NMFS Assistant Administrator (Assistant Administrator) has issued affirmative finding annual renewals for the Governments of Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Spain (Hereafter known as ``The Nations'') under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). These affirmative finding annual renewals will allow yellowfin tuna and yellowfin tuna products harvested in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) in compliance with the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP) by The Nations' flagged purse seine vessels or purse seine vessels operating under The Nations' jurisdiction to be imported into the United States. The affirmative finding annual renewals were based on reviews of documentary evidence submitted by the Governments of The Nations and by information obtained from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

Notice is hereby given that a document entitled, ``Draft Environmental Assessment for the Bluefield Holdings, Inc. Site 2 Shoreline Restoration Project Credits Purchase'' (Draft EA) is available for public review and comment. This document has been prepared by the state, tribal, and Federal natural resource trustee agencies (the ``Trustees'')NOAA, United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Washington Department of Ecology (as lead State trustee), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and the Suquamish Tribeto evaluate potential impacts to the environment from purchasing 30 credits in the Bluefield Holdings, Inc. Site 2 Shoreline Restoration Project (Site 2). The proposed credits purchase in the Site 2 project is a component of the overall effort to restore natural resources and resource services that have been injured and lost resulting from releases of hazardous substances into the Lower Duwamish River (LDR). This draft EA is tiered from the June 2013 Final LDR NRDA Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (RP/EIS). The EA describes the Trustees' proposed plan to purchase 30 credits in the Site 2 project. The purchase would utilize a portion of the funds provided to the Trustees from the Pacific Sound Resources settlement (United States et al. v. Pacific Sound Resources et al., Civ. No. C94-687 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 29, 1994)). The Trustees may only use these funds for restoration purposes. The Trustees will consider comments received during the public comment period before finalizing this EA.

OAR publishes this notice to solicit applications to fill a single membership vacancy on the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board (OEAB) with an individual demonstrating expertise in data science and management and one other area of expertise relevant to ocean exploration, such as seafloor mapping. The new OEAB member will serve an initial three-year term, renewable once. The purpose of the OEAB is to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on matters pertaining to ocean exploration including: The identification of priority areas that warrant exploration; the development and enhancement of technologies for exploring the oceans; managing the data and information; and disseminating the results. The OEAB also provides advice on the relevance of the program with regard to the NOAA Strategic Plan, the National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan, and other appropriate guidance documents.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for the recreational sector of greater amberjack in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic for the current fishing year through this temporary rule. NMFS estimates that recreational landings have reached the recreational annual catch limit (ACL) for greater amberjack in the South Atlantic. Therefore, NMFS closes the recreational sector for greater amberjack in the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ) through the remainder of the current fishing year (see DATES). This closure is necessary to protect the greater amberjack resource in the South Atlantic.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold public meetings of the Council and its Committees.