National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publishes this notice to announce a 45-day public comment period for the draft report titled, U.S. Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.2``Thresholds of Change in Ecosystems.'' This draft report is being released solely for the purpose of pre- dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by NOAA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. After consideration of comments received on the draft report, a revised version along with the comments received will be published on the CCSP web site.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the Eastern Aleutian District and the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) by vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) of Atka mackerel in these areas by vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery. NMFS is also announcing the opening and closing dates of the first and second directed fisheries within the harvest limit area (HLA) in areas 542 and 543. These actions are necessary to conduct directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the HLA in areas 542 and 543.

NMFS has determined that the Atlantic tunas General category daily Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) retention limit should be adjusted for the September, October-November, and December time periods of the 2008 fishing year, based on consideration of the determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments.

NMFS announces the approval of Amendment 72 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. Amendment 72 amends the FMP to state that the Council will annually review information on the discard of shallow-water flatfish in Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries. After review of this annual information, the Council may recommend revisions to retention and utilization requirements if the discard rate for shallow-water flatfish falls above or below a specified threshold. This action is necessary to support the Council's initiatives to monitor and reduce bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resource in the Gulf of Alaska in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Pacific Northwest Crab Industry Advisory Committee (PNCIAC) will meet in Seattle, WA.

The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Groundfish Advisory Panel and Recreational Advisory Panel will hold two meetings to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

NMFS is providing notice that it is increasing the number of fisheries for which the Marine Mammal Authorization Program (MMAP) registration is integrated with existing state and Federal fishery licensing and permitting programs, beginning with the 2009 List of Fisheries (LOF). NMFS is integrating MMAP registration at this time only for specific Category I or II fisheries regulated under fishery management plans (FMPs) administered by the Southwest Regional Office, or fisheries under permits issued by the state of California. Fishermen who participate in a Category I or II fishery for which registration is not integrated with existing state or Federal permitting programs must continue to register directly with NMFS through the MMAP.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a joint meeting of its Executive and Finance Committees, a meeting of its Standard Operating, Policy and Procedure (SOPPs) Committee, Advisory Panel Selection Committee (Closed Session), Joint Ecosystem- based Management and Habitat Committees, Shrimp Committee, Spiny Lobster Committee, Snapper Grouper Committee, Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) Committee, Allocation Committee, Limited Access Privilege (LAP) Program Committee, Dolphin Wahoo Committee, a joint meeting of its Golden Crab Advisory Panel and Deepwater Shrimp Advisory Panel, and a meeting of the full Council. The Council will also hold a public comment session regarding: Amendment 7 to the Shrimp Fishery Management Plan (FMP) addressing rock shrimp endorsements and economic reporting for the shrimp fishery; a Generic Import Amendment for the Spiny Lobster FMP addressing requirements for imported spiny lobster; Amendment 16 to the Snapper Grouper FMP addressing measures to end overfishing for gag grouper and vermilion snapper and interim allocations of these two species for commercial and recreational fisheries; and Interim Rule measures to address overfishing of red snapper and other snapper grouper complex species. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional details.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Crab Plan Team (CPT) will meet in Seattle, WA.

NMFS withdraws a proposed rule for revisions to National Standard 1 (NS1) guidelines, which was published on June 22, 2005. Instead of going forward with a final rule directly resulting from the 2005 proposed rule, NMFS published a new proposed rule for the NS1 guidelines in the Federal Register on June 9, 2008, to address new provisions enacted in 2007 in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (MSRA). Because of new requirements for annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs), among other things, NMFS decided that it was better to proceed with a new proposed rule rather than try to revise a 3-year old action that preceded the MSRA. The new proposed rule provides guidance on ACLs and AMs and other requirements related to overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks in the National Standard 1 (NS1) guidelines.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Joint Protocol Committee of the Alaska Board of Fisheries and Council will meet in Anchorage, AK.

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) will meet October 7, 2008.

This announcement provides notice that the Secretary of Commerce has stayed, for a period of 60 days, closure of the decision record in an administrative appeal filed by Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency and its Board of Directors (TCA).

NMFS announces the Commerce Secretary's approval of Amendment 79 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP). Amendment 79 amends the FMP and requires the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to recommend an aggregate overfishing level and acceptable biological catch for the ``other species'' category in the Gulf of Alaska as part of the annual groundfish harvest specifications process. The ``other species'' category in the Gulf of Alaska consists of sharks, sculpins, squid, and octopus. Amendment 79 is necessary to allow the Council and NMFS to incorporate the best and most recent scientific and socioeconomic information for the specification of the ``other species'' total allowable catch, acceptable biological catch, and overfishing level. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of Greenland turbot in the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) of Greenland turbot in the Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI has been reached.

In accordance with the provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to United Launch Alliance (ULA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by Level B harassment only, incidental to harbor activities related to the Delta IV/Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) at south Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA (VAFB).

This proposed rule would designate deepwater shrimp of the genus Heterocarpus as management unit species (MUS), and require Federal permits and data reporting for deepwater shrimp fishing in Federal waters of the western Pacific. The proposed rule is intended to improve information on deepwater shrimp fisheries and their ecosystem impacts, and to provide a basis for future management of the fisheries, if needed.

This notice advises the public that the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), has submitted applications to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for incidental take permits (Permit(s)) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). As required by the ESA, ODF has also prepared a Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) designed to minimize and mitigate any such take of endangered or threatened species. The Permit applications are related to forest management and timber harvest activities on the Elliott State Forest in Coos and Douglas Counties, Oregon. The FWS and NMFS (together, the Services) are co-lead agencies in this effort. The Permit applications include the proposed Plan and a draft Implementation Agreement (IA). The Services also announce the availability of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed action. The Services are requesting comments from the public on the Permit applications, the Plan, the IA, and DEIS, all of which are available for review. The Services are furnishing this notice to allow other agencies and the public an opportunity to review and comment on these documents. All comments received will become part of the public record and will be available for review pursuant to the ESA. For locations to review the documents, please see the \SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION\ section below. A 90-day comment period, rather then a standard 60-day comment period, is being provided to allow the public sufficient time to comment on the draft documents.

In accordance with provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to conducting open water shallow hazard and site clearance surveys by ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. (CPAI) in the Chukchi Sea has been issued.

NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) proposes to amend the Fishery Management Plan for the Bottomfish & Seamount Groundfish Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 10 would establish Federal permitting and reporting requirements for all commercial bottomfish fishing in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The amendment would also close waters within 50 nm (80.5 km) of the southern CNMI and within 10 nm (18.5 km) of the northern island of Alamagan to bottomfish fishing by vessels over 40 ft (12.2 m) in length, which also would be required to carry and operate shipboard vessel monitoring system units, and whose operators would be required to submit bottomfish sales reports in addition to catch reports. The proposed amendment would ensure adequate collection of information about the CNMI bottomfish fishery, provide for sustained community participation in the CNMI bottomfish fishery, and encourage consistent availability of locally-caught bottomfish to CNMI consumers. Combined, these measures are intended to prevent the depletion of bottomfish stocks in the CNMI, and sustain the fisheries that depend on them.

NMFS proposes a regulation to implement the annual harvest guideline (HG) for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009. This HG has been calculated according to the regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest levels for Pacific mackerel off the Pacific coast.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a two-day Council meeting on September 3-4, 2008 to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Greenland turbot in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2008 Greenland turbot total allowable catch (TAC) in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the BSAI.

NOAA Research (OAR) publishes this notice on behalf of the NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB) to announce the availability of the preliminary draft report of the SAB Fire Weather Research Working Group's (here called the FWRWG) for public comment. The preliminary draft report of the FWRWG has been prepared pursuant to the request initiated from NOAA for an external panel of experts to carry out an independent review of current fire weather research being conducted by NOAA and other federal agencies, and in universities and elsewhere, and examine how the results of that research are being further developed and transitioned to operations by NOAA.

NOAA is seeking applicants for the following vacant seats on the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary advisory council (council): Fishing Seat. Applicants are chosen based upon their particular expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying; community and professional affiliations; philosophy regarding the protection and management of marine resources; and possibly the length of residence in the area affected by the sanctuary. Applicants who are chosen as members should expect to serve 2-year terms, pursuant to the council's Charter.