National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration December 1, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce, announces its denial of a petition for rulemaking submitted by Oceana. Oceana failed to request specific and discrete actions that are properly within the scope of a rulemaking petition pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA); instead the petitioner challenged the agency's general pattern, practice, or policy. NMFS is denying the petition because the agency is already addressing aspects of the petition and has determined that additional regulations dictating the choice of method used to achieve agency goals are unwarranted at this time.

NMFS announces that 95 percent of the Atlantic herring total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to Management Area 1A (Area 1A) for 2005 is projected to be harvested by December 2, 2005. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, December 2, 2005, federally permitted vessels may not fish for, catch, possess, transfer or land more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic herring in or from Area 1A per trip or calendar day until January 1, 2006, when the 2006 TAC becomes available, except for transiting purposes as described in this document. Regulations governing the Atlantic herring fishery require publication of this notification to advise vessel and dealer permit holders that no TAC is available for the directed fishery for Atlantic herring harvested from Area 1A.