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

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application submitted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in support of the 2021 Study Fleet Program contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. This Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt participating vessels from minimum fish sizes and possession limits for species of interest, for sampling purposes only. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notice to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on Exempted Fishing Permit applications.

NMFS announces approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of revisions to collection-of-information requirements published in a final rule on June 22, 2020 (June 2020 Final Rule). The June 2020 Final Rule revised the management regime for U.S. fishing vessels that target tunas and other highly migratory species (HMS) in the area of overlapping jurisdiction in the Pacific Ocean between the Inter- American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) and revised the reporting and recordkeeping requirements applicable in that area. The June 2020 Final Rule did not include an effective date for those changes because OMB had not yet approved the collection-of-information revisions. This final rule announces OMB approval of the revisions to the collection- of-information requirements under OMB Control Numbers 0648-0649 and 0648-0218 and an effective date for the revisions to reporting requirements included in the June 2020 Final Rule.

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.

NMFS hereby extends the information request period on the notice of initiation of a 5-year review of the Beringia and Okhotsk distinct population segments (DPSs) of the Pacific bearded seal subspecies Erignathus barbatus nauticus under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and a Consent Decree with BP Exploration & Production Inc. (BP),\1\ the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Federal natural resource trustee agencies for the Regionwide Trustee Implementation Group (Regionwide TIG) have prepared a Draft Restoration Plan #1/Environmental Assessment: Birds, Marine Mammals, Oysters, and Sea Turtles (Draft RP/EA). The Draft RP/EA describes and proposes restoration project alternatives considered by the Regionwide TIG to partially restore natural resources and ecological services injured or lost as a result of the DWH oil spill. The Regionwide TIG evaluated these alternatives under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) regulations. In accordance with NEPA the environmental consequences of the restoration alternatives are evaluated in the integrated Environmental Assessment to which the Regionwide TIG Federal Trustees are cooperating agencies. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the Draft RP/EA and to seek public comments on the document.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory committees will meet from April 5, 2021, through April 17, 2021.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) and its advisory entities will hold online public meetings.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the National Sea Grant Advisory Board (Board), a Federal Advisory Committee. Board members will discuss and provide advice on the National Sea Grant College Program (Sea Grant) in the areas of program evaluation, strategic planning, education and extension, science and technology programs, and other matters as described in the agenda found on the Sea Grant website. For more information on this Federal Advisory Committee please visit the Federal Advisory Committee database: https:/ /www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/FACAPublicPage.

NMFS issues an emergency rule to modify the fishing season start date for fishing vessels participating in a rockfish cooperative as part of the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program) for the 2021 fishing year. This emergency rule is intended to provide flexibility to Rockfish Program participants by moving the fishing season start date from May 1, 2021 to April 1, 2021. This emergency rule does not modify other provisions of the Rockfish Program. This emergency rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska Management Area (GOA FMP) and other applicable laws.

This action corrects the regulations governing the West Coast Sablefish Primary fishery after the expiration of the emergency rule to temporarily extend the 2020 season for the Sablefish Primary fishery. The amendatory instructions for the temporary rule were written incorrectly so that when the temporary rule expired, important regulations were removed and reserved rather than reinstated correctly. These corrections are necessary so the regulations accurately implement the Pacific Fishery Management Council's intent.

NMFS has received a request from Halibut Point Marine Services, LLC (HPMS) for an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) that would cover a subset of the take authorized in an IHA previously issued HPMS to incidentally take marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment only, during construction activities associated with the Old Sitka Dock North Dolphins Expansion Project in Sitka, Alaska. Some changes have occurred during this year's evaluation of the project. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-year renewal IHA that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorizations and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued a renewal incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the U.S. Navy (Navy) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Dry Dock 1 modification and expansion in Kittery, Maine.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit renewal application from the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act require publication of this notice to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.

NMFS announces the re-opening of the commercial longline component for golden tilefish in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic through this temporary rule. NMFS closed the commercial longline component on February 10, 2021; however, subsequent commercial longline landings data for golden tilefish indicate the commercial longline annual catch limit (ACL) for the 2021 fishing year has not yet been reached. Therefore, NMFS re-opens the commercial longline component for golden tilefish in the South Atlantic EEZ for 11 days beginning on March 20, 2021, to allow the commercial longline ACL to be harvested. After the 11 days, NMFS closes the commercial longline component to protect the golden tilefish resource.

The U.S. Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) Program, which is managed by NOAA and assisted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard, requests input from all interested persons on the U.S. authorization of Return Link Service (RLS) acknowledgment Type 1 capable Cospas-Sarsat 406 MHz distress beacons. Through this Request for Information (RFI), the SARSAT Program seeks the public's views on the inclusion of this optional feature on U.S. country-coded beacons.

Notice is hereby given that the NMFS Office of Protected Resources, Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (Responsible Party: Teri Rowles, D.V.M., Ph.D.), 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 has applied for an amendment to Scientific Research Permit No. 18786-05.

We, NMFS, announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list Southern Oregon and Northern California Coastal (SONCC) spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as a threatened or endangered Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to designate critical habitat concurrently with the listing. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating the petitioned action may be warranted. We will conduct a status review of SONCC spring-run Chinook salmon to determine whether the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial information pertaining to this species from any interested party.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a four-day meeting via webinar of its Standing, Reef Fish, and Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC).

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold three regional public webinar workshops to solicit input on future management of the recreational summer flounder fishery and strategies to minimize discards.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is considering a request to expand the boundary of the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (Narragansett Bay NERR or the Reserve) and is soliciting comments from the public on the proposed boundary expansion. The public is also invited to comment on the draft environmental assessment for the proposed boundary expansion.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2021 total allowable catch of pollock in the West Yakutat District of the GOA.

We are implementing specifications for the 2021 monkfish fishery. This action is necessary to ensure allowable monkfish harvest levels that will prevent overfishing and allow harvesting of optimum yield. This action is intended to establish the allowable 2021 harvest levels, consistent with the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan and previously announced multi-year specifications.

This action increases the possession and trip limits of Georges Bank cod, Gulf of Maine cod, Gulf of Maine haddock, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder, American plaice, and witch flounder for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the remainder of the 2020 fishing year. This action will provide the common pool fishery greater opportunity to harvest, but not exceed, the annual quotas for these stocks.

Notice is hereby given that permits and permit amendments have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.