National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration March 3, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Advisory Committee (Committee) to the U.S. Section to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) announces its spring meeting with its Species Working Group Technical Advisors on April 5-7, 2009. The Committee will meet to discuss matters relating to ICCAT, including the 2008 Commission meeting results; research and management activities; global and domestic initiatives related to ICCAT; the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act-required consultation on the identification of countries that are diminishing the effectiveness of ICCAT; the results of the meetings of the Committee's Species Working Groups; and other matters relating to the international management of ICCAT species.

NMFS proposes to implement Framework Adjustment 2 (Framework 2) to the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), developed by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils (Councils). Framework 2 would broaden the FMP stock status determination criteria for spiny dogfish, while maintaining objective and measurable criteria to identify when the stock is overfished or approaching an overfished condition. The framework action would also establish acceptable categories of peer review of new or revised stock status determination criteria for the Council to use in its specification-setting process for spiny dogfish. This action is necessary to ensure that changes or modification to the stock status determination criteria, constituting the best available, peer- reviewed scientific information, are accessible to the management process in a timely and efficient manner, consistent with National Standards 1 and 2 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

NMFS is opening directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet (18.3 m) length overall (LOA) using pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to fully use the A season allowance of the 2009 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod by catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA using pot gear in the BSAI.