National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – 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 OMB.

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.

Upon application from Hilcorp Alaska, LLC (Hilcorp) and Eni US Operating Co. Inc. (Eni), NMFS is issuing regulations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) for the taking of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to ice road and ice trail construction, maintenance, and operation in Alaska's North Slope, over the course of 5 years (2020-2025). These regulations allow NMFS to issue Letters of Authorization (LOA) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the specified construction and maintenance activities carried out during the rule's period of effectiveness, set forth the permissible methods of taking, set forth other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat, and set forth requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of the incidental take.

The SEDAR 73 assessment of the South Atlantic stock of red snapper will consist of a data scoping webinar, a workshop, and a series of assessment webinars. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS announces final specifications for the 2021 commercial golden tilefish fishery and projected specifications for 2022. This action also implements temporary emergency measures for the golden tilefish fishery at the request of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. This action establishes allowable harvest levels and other management measures to prevent overfishing while allowing optimum yield, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. The emergency measures allow a limited one-time carryover of up to 5 percent of unharvested fishing quota from the 2020 fishing year into the 2021 fishing year.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Navy (Navy) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to construction activities including marine structure maintenance, pile replacement, and select waterfront improvements at Naval Station Norfolk (NAVSTA Norfolk) over the course of five years (2021-2026). As required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is proposing regulations to govern that take, and requests comments on the proposed regulations. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Ecosystem Workgroup (EWG) will hold an online meeting, which is open to the public.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a 3-day meeting via webinar of its Standing, Reef Fish, Mackerel, Socioeconomic and Ecosystem Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC)

NMFS publishes the individual fishing quota (IFQ) standard prices and fee percentage for cost recovery for the IFQ Program for the halibut and sablefish fisheries of the North Pacific (IFQ Program). The fee percentage for 2020 is 3.0 percent. This action is intended to provide holders of halibut and sablefish IFQ permits with the 2020 standard prices and fee percentage to calculate the required payment for IFQ cost recovery fees due by January 31, 2021.

NMFS closes the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General category fishery for the December subquota period, and thus for the remainder of 2020. The intent of this closure is to prevent further overharvest of the adjusted December subquota, and the overall adjusted General category quota.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued a modified incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Dominion Energy Virginia (Dominion) to incidentally harass marine mammals incidental to marine site characterization surveys conducted in the areas of the Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore Virginia (Lease No. OCS-A-0483) as well as in coastal waters where an export cable corridor will be established in support of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial (CVOW Commercial) Project.

NMFS is seeking public comments on the Work Plan of the Interagency Working Group on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing. This Interagency Working Group was established under the Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement Act.

NMFS has received a request from the Carnival Corporation & PLC (Carnival) for the re-issuance of a previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the only change being effective dates. The initial IHA authorized take of five species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to construction associated with the Port of Long Beach Cruise Terminal Improvement Project in Port of Long Beach, California. The project has been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been conducted. The initial IHA was effective from November 19, 2019, through November 18, 2020. Carnival has requested re-issuance with new effective dates of December 10, 2020 through December 9, 2021. The scope of the activities and anticipated effects remain the same, authorized take numbers are not changed, and the required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting remains the same as included in the initial IHA. NMFS is, therefore, issuing a second identical IHA to cover the incidental take analyzed and authorized in the initial IHA.

NMFS issues final specifications for the 2021 Atlantic bluefish fishery. This action is necessary to establish allowable harvest levels to prevent overfishing, consistent with the most recent scientific information, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan. This rule also informs the public of the final fishery specifications for the 2021 fishing year.

NMFS approves and implements changes to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's Risk Policy. This action is intended to adjust the Council's risk policy by accepting a higher level of risk for stocks at or above biomass targets. These adjustments could lead to increases in catch limits for healthy fisheries managed by the Council.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan, NMFS is publishing a new trigger value for the Southern Exclusion Zone closure. The new trigger is four observed mortality or serious injuries of false killer whales incidental to the deep-set longline fishery within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of Pacific cod from vessels using jig gear and trawl catcher vessels (CVs) to CVs less than 60 feet (18.3 m) length overall (LOA) using hook-and-line or pot gear and American Fisheries Act (AFA) catcher/processors (CPs) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. This action is necessary to allow the 2020 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod to be harvested.

NMFS announces that the date for the Atlantic Shark Identification workshop originally scheduled for November 12, 2020, in Largo, FL, has been changed. The new date is January 7, 2021. The workshop time and location remain unchanged: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on January 7, 2021, in Largo, FL. Atlantic Shark Identification workshops are mandatory for Atlantic shark dealers. Additional free workshops will be conducted during 2021.

Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in January, February, and March of 2021. 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 during 2021 and will be announced in a future notice.

The federal government ceased printing of paper nautical charts in April 2014. Since then, the Office of Coast Survey has successfully transitioned the printing of paper nautical charts to the private sector and, since the Federal Register Notice of January 2, 2014, has certified more than three dozen companies to print and sell NOAA nautical charts and the United States Coast Pilot[supreg]. This transition has resulted in a broad market providing product differentiation with optional value-added features. However, Coast Survey is in the process of reducing the amount of traditional NOAA paper nautical products that it maintains as it moves to facilitating a method from which paper charts can be derived from the NOAA's electronic navigational charts (NOAA ENC[supreg]) found on website: https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/charts/ noaa-enc.html. Within the next five years, the number of unique charts that will be available for vendors to print will be reduced by roughly 60%. Coast Survey recognized that a hold on accepting new applications must be put in place until the final number of traditional paper charts that NOAA will maintain is determined. The plan for transitioning away from the traditional NOAA paper charts is available in the ``Sunsetting Traditional NOAA Paper Charts'' document found on the following website: https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/publications/docs/raster- sunset.pdf. To maintain a healthy market that meets the needs of recreational and commercial mariners, Coast Survey is suspending the certifications for new, non-certified printers of charts while continuing to maintain certification of printers who continue to meet standards as provided under their current agreements. There are currently eight certified printers of the Coast Pilot. Coast Survey feels the market can bear no more that 10 of these printers. Once there are 10 certified printers of the Coast Pilot, Coast Survey will suspend the certifications for new, non-certified printers of the Coast Pilot.

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 the U. S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during activities associated with the Base Los Angeles/Long Beach Wharf Expansion Project in Los Angeles, California.

In this final rule, NMFS implements an annual catch limit (ACL) of 30,802 lb (13,972 kg), and an annual catch target (ACT) of 25,491 lb (11,563 kg), of Hawaii Kona crab for fishing years 2020-2023. This rule also implements, as accountability measures (AM), an in- season closure of the fishery if catch is projected to reach the ACT, and a post-season adjustment if catch exceeds the ACL. This action support the long-term sustainability of the Hawaii Kona crab fishery.

This action provides participants in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program with the 2021 cost recovery fee percentages and the average mothership (MS) price per pound to be used in the catcher/processor (C/P) coop program to calculate the fee amount for the upcoming calendar year. For the 2021 calendar year, NMFS announces the following fee percentages by sector specific program: 2.5 percent for the Shorebased Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program; 1.3 percent for the MS Co-op Program; and 0.2 percent for the C/P Co-op Program. For 2021, the MS pricing to be used as a proxy by the C/P Co- op Program is $0.09/lb for Pacific whiting.