National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration February 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS proposes 2005 specifications for the Atlantic bluefish fishery, including state-by-state commercial quotas, a recreational harvest limit, and recreational possession limits for Atlantic bluefish off the East Coast of the United States. The intent of the specifications is to conserve and manage the bluefish resource and provide for sustainable fisheries.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a public meeting of the Socioeconomic Panel (SEP).

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Ad Hoc Groundfish Trawl Individual Quota Committee (TIQC) will hold a working meeting which is open to the public.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), are extending the comment period on proposed critical habitat designations for 20 Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) of Pacific salmon and O. mykiss (inclusive of anadromous steelhead and resident rainbow trout) listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The proposed designations include habitat areas in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. A recent court-approved Amendment to the Consent Decree, that established the schedule for completing these designations, extends the comment period until March 14, 2005, and the date to submit final rules until August 15, 2005. These extensions will allow the public additional time to provide information related to the proposed designations and will provide NMFS with the time needed to review, consider, and respond to comments. We are soliciting information and comments from the public on all aspects of the proposals, including information on the economic, national security, and other relevant impacts of the proposed designations.

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 take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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 take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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 take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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 take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

NMFS proposes to approve and implement changes to the International Pacific Halibut Commission's (IPHC) regulatory Area 2A off Washington, Oregon, and California (Area 2A) Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan (Plan) to: allow remaining quota from Washington's south coast subarea to be used to accommodate incidental catch in the south coast nearshore fishery; allow quota projected to be unused to be transferred from Oregon's central coast subarea to another subarea south of Leadbetter Point, WA; revise the season structure for Oregon's all-depth spring and summer sport fisheries; provide more flexibility for Oregon's inseason sport fishery management (triggers for additional fishery openings and bag limits in the all-depth summer fishery); revise the public announcement process for Oregon's all-depth summer sport fishery; revise the Columbia River subarea quota contributions from Oregon/California; remove the minimum length requirement in all subareas south of Leadbetter Point, WA; prohibit retention of all groundfish, except sablefish, in Oregon's and possibly Washington's Columbia River fishery on all days and in the Central Coast fisheries on ``all-depth'' days; implement a closed area off Oregon's coast; and revise all coordinates from degrees minutes seconds to degrees decimal minutes. NMFS also proposes to revise the coordinates for the closed area to Oregon's central coast recreational fishery and to non-treaty commercial halibut fishing in Area 2A. NMFS is also proposing to implement the portions of the Plan and management measures that are not implemented through the IPHC, which includes the sport fishery management measures for Area 2A, the flexible inseason management provisions in Area 2A, fishery election in Area 2A, and Area 2A non-treaty commercial fishery closed areas. These actions are intended to enhance the conservation of Pacific halibut, to protect yelloweye rockfish and other overfished groundfish species from incidental catch in the halibut fisheries, and to provide greater angler opportunity where available.

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 take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

NMFS reduces the commercial trip limit of Atlantic group Spanish mackerel in or from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the southern zone to 1,500 lb (680 kg) per day. This trip limit reduction is necessary to maximize the socioeconomic benefits of the quota.

NMFS announces the aboriginal subsistence whaling quota for bowhead whales, and other limitations deriving from regulations adopted at the 2002 Special Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). For 2005, the quota is 75 bowhead whales struck. This quota and other limitations will govern the harvest of bowhead whales by members of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announces a third availability of grant funds for Fiscal Year 2005. The purpose of this notice is to provide the general public with a consolidated source of program and application information related to the Agency's competitive grant offerings, and it contains the information about those programs required to be published in the Federal Register. This omnibus notice is designed to replace the multiple Federal Register notices that traditionally advertised the availability of NOAA's discretionary funds for its various programs. It should be noted that additional program initiatives unanticipated at the time of the publication of this notice may be announced later in the year.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 630 of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the first seasonal allowance of the pollock interim total allowable catch (TAC) for Statistical Area 630 of the GOA.