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

NMFS, upon request from the U.S. Navy (Navy), issues these regulations pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to govern the taking of marine mammals incidental to the training and testing activities conducted in the Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) Study Area. The Navy's activities qualify as military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (2004 NDAA). These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization (LOA) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and timeframes, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species and their habitat, and establish requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

Notice is hereby given that Colleen Reichmuth, Ph.D., Long Marine Laboratory, Institute of Marine Sciences Address at the University of California at Santa Cruz, 115 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on pinnipeds in captivity.

This final rule removes the swordfish retention limit in the American Samoa deep-set longline fishery. The intent of this rule is to eliminate wasteful regulatory discards of marketable seafood, increasing efficiency and benefits to the local community and the Nation.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. This Exempted Fishing Permit would allow commercial fishing vessels to participate in a sampling survey in the eastern Gulf of Maine targeting adult cod with rod and reel while on commercial lobster trips. 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 proposes a 2021 limit of 2,000 metric tons (t) of longline-caught bigeye tuna for each U.S. Pacific territory (American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) (the territories)). NMFS would allow each territory to allocate up to 1,500 t in 2021 to U.S. longline fishing vessels through specified fishing agreements that meet established criteria. However, the overall allocation limit among all territories may not exceed 3,000 t. As an accountability measure, NMFS would monitor, attribute, and restrict (if necessary) catches of longline-caught bigeye tuna, including catches made under a specified fishing agreement. The proposed catch limits and accountability measures would support the long-term sustainability of fishery resources of the U.S. Pacific Islands.

NOAA is soliciting applications to fill up to four membership vacancies on the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board (OEAB).

On October 8, 2020, a notice was published in the Federal Register announcing the issuance of an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) for take of marine mammals incidental to marine site characterization surveys in coastal waters from New York to Massachusetts. That document inadvertently omitted NMFS' response to a recommendation from the Marine Mammal Commission, and contained a grammatical error. This document corrects these errors; all other information is unchanged.

The New England Fishery Management Council's is convening its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) via webinar to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The SEDAR 74 assessment of Gulf of Mexico red snapper will consist of a Data Workshop, a series of assessment webinars, and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of the Pacific Pelagics Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) Plan Team (PT) to discuss fishery management issues and develop recommendations to the Council for future management of pelagic fisheries in the Western Pacific region.

Notice is hereby given that Plimsoll Productions, Whiteladies House, 51-55 Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LY, United Kingdom (Responsible Party: James Manisty), has applied in due form for a permit to conduct commercial or educational photography on northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris).

This action serves as a notice that NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), has found that Atlantic herring is now overfished, and Gulf of Maine thorny skate and Pacific sardine are both still overfished. NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary, notifies the appropriate regional fishery management council (Council) whenever it determines that overfishing is occurring, a stock is in an overfished condition, or a stock is approaching an overfished condition.

NMFS is exchanging allocations of Amendment 80 cooperative quota (CQ) for Amendment 80 acceptable biological catch (ABC) reserves. This action is necessary to allow the 2020 total allowable catch (TAC) of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) to be harvested.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a joint public meeting of its Whiting Joint Committee and Advisory Panel via webinar to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

A series of Economic Data Reporting (EDR) Stakeholder Discussions will be held on November 16, 2020, November 17, 2020, November 23, 2020, and November 24, 2020.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an application submitted by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to amend an existing Exempted Fishing Permit contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The amended Exempted Fishing Permit would provide one vessel participating in an electronic monitoring program with an exemption to conduct exploratory fishing using cod ends with smaller mesh than otherwise permitted. The Exempted Fishing Permit would test the effect of different codend mesh combinations on the catch of pollock and Gulf of Maine haddock while on trips targeting Acadian redfish. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed exempted fishing permits.

NMFS transfers 68.7 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the October through November 2020 General category subquota period and reopens the General category fishery for two days. This action is intended to provide a reasonable opportunity to harvest the full annual U.S. bluefin tuna quota without exceeding it, while maintaining an equitable distribution of fishing opportunities across time periods. This action applies to Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT.

This announcement provides notice that the deadline for issuing a decision has been extended by 15 days in the administrative appeal filed with the Department of Commerce by Electric Boat Corporation requesting that the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) override an objection by the New York State Department of State to a consistency certification for a proposed project to dispose of dredged material in the Eastern Long Island Sound Dredged Material Disposal Site.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the D season allowance of the 2020 total allowable catch of pollock for Statistical Area 620 in the GOA.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold a public hearing via webinar to discuss Reef Fish Amendment 48Amendment Reef Fish 48/Red Drum 5: Status Determination Criteria and Optimum Yield for Reef Fish and Red Drum.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold a one- day meeting via webinar of its Shrimp Advisory Panel (AP).

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) will hold a joint webinar meeting of their Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panels.

NMFS has received a request from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) 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 seven species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to construction associated with the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal Modifications and Improvements Project in Juneau, Alaska. The project has been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been conducted. The initial IHA was effective from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. ADOT&PF has requested re-issuance with new effective dates of November 1, 2020 through October 31, 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.