National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration December 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, we hereby give notification that the National Marine Fisheries Service has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO), to take marine mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to conducting seabird and pinniped research activities on Southeast Farallon Island, A[ntilde]o Nuevo Island, and Point Reyes National Seashore in central California.

On November 26, 2012, NMFS published a proposed rule for Amendment 5 to the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) in response to several shark stock assessments that were completed from 2009 to 2012. As described in the proposed rule, NMFS is proposing measures that would reduce fishing mortality and effort in order to rebuild overfished Atlantic shark species while ensuring that a limited sustainable shark fishery can be maintained consistent with our legal obligations. The proposed measures include changes to commercial quotas and species groups, the creation of several time/area closures, a change to an existing time/area closure, an increase in the recreational minimum size restrictions, and the establishment of recreational reporting for certain species of sharks. Comments received by NMFS will be considered in the development and finalization of Amendment 5 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP. This notice announces public hearings, conference calls, and an HMS Advisory Panel meeting to discuss the proposed rule.

NMFS announces that the State of Maine is transferring a portion of its 2012 commercial summer flounder quota to the State of Connecticut. NMFS is adjusting the quotas and announcing the revised commercial quota for each state involved.

Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in January, February, and March of 2013. Certain fishermen and shark dealers are required to attend a workshop to meet regulatory requirements and to maintain valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop is mandatory for all federally permitted Atlantic shark dealers. The Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshop is mandatory for vessel owners and operators who use bottom longline, pelagic longline, or gillnet gear, and who have also been issued shark or swordfish limited access permits. Additional free workshops will be conducted during 2013 and will be announced in a future notice.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for the commercial sector for blue runner in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. Commercial landings for blue runner, as estimated by the Science and Research Director, have reached the commercial annual catch limit (ACL). Therefore, NMFS closes the commercial sector for blue runner on December 10, 2012, for the remainder of the 2012 fishing year, through December 31, 2012. This action is necessary to protect the blue runner resource in the South Atlantic.

NMFS issues this final rule to implement a revision of a disapproved action from Amendment 18A (the Resubmittal) to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 18A), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule allows black sea bass pot endorsements to be transferred under specific conditions. The intent of this rule is to implement the transferability action originally submitted in Amendment 18A, as clarified in the Resubmittal.

NMFS proposes to implement the annual catch limit (ACL), harvest guideline (HG), annual catch target (ACT) and associated annual reference points for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013. This rule is proposed according to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The proposed 2012-2013 ACL or maximum HG for Pacific mackerel is 40,514 metric tons (mt). The proposed ACT, which will be the directed fishing harvest target, is 30,386 mt. If the fishery attains the ACT, the directed fishery will close, reserving the difference between the ACL and ACT (10,128 mt) as a set aside for incidental landings in other CPS fisheries and other sources of mortality. This rule is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific mackerel stock off the U.S. West Coast.

This action is a technical amendment to a rule not yet in effect. It contains a correction to the final regulations regarding electronic dealer reporting, which published August 8, 2012, with an effective date of January 1, 2013.

We, NMFS, have completed comprehensive status reviews under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 82 reef-building coral species in response to a petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) to list the species as either threatened or endangered. We have determined, based on the best scientific and commercial data available and efforts being made to protect the species, that 12 of the petitioned coral species warrant listing as endangered (five Caribbean and seven Indo-Pacific), 54 coral species warrant listing as threatened (two Caribbean and 52 Indo-Pacific), and 16 coral species (all Indo- Pacific) do not warrant listing as threatened or endangered under the ESA. Additionally, we have determined, based on the best scientific and commercial information available and efforts undertaken to protect the species, two Caribbean coral species currently listed warrant reclassification from threatened to endangered. We are announcing that 18 public hearings will be held during the public comment period to provide additional opportunities and formats to receive public input. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for public hearing dates, times, and locations.

NMFS proposes 2013 and 2014 harvest specifications, apportionments, and prohibited species catch (PSC) allowances for the groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2013 and 2014 fishing years, and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to John P. Wise, Sr., Ph.D., Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic Toxicology, Maine Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, University of Southern Maine, 478 Science Building, 96 Falmouth Street, Portland, ME 04104-9300, to receive, import, and export marine mammal and sea turtle biological samples for scientific research purposes.

This temporary rule closes the White Hake Trimester Total Allowable Catch (TAC) Area to all common pool groundfish vessels fishing with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, or longline/hook gear for the remainder of Trimester 2, through December 31, 2012. This action is necessary to prevent the common pool fishery from exceeding its Trimester 2 TAC or its annual catch limit for white hake. This rule is expected to slow the catch rate of white hake in the common pool fishery for the remainder of Trimester 2.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Study of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) at the University of California (UC) Santa Cruz to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to rocky intertidal monitoring surveys.

NMFS proposes 2013 and 2014 harvest specifications, apportionments, and Pacific halibut prohibited species catch limits for the groundfish fishery of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2013 and 2014 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the GOA in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

NMFS publishes individual fishing quota (IFQ) standard prices and fee percentage for the IFQ cost recovery program in the halibut and sablefish fisheries of the North Pacific. The fee percentage for 2012 is 2.1%. This action is intended to provide holders of halibut and sablefish IFQ permits with the 2012 standard prices and fee percentage to calculate the required payment for IFQ cost recovery fees due by January 31, 2013.

NMFS issues regulations under the authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act) to implement requirements for U.S. fishing vessels used for commercial fishing that offload or receive transshipments of highly migratory species (HMS), U.S. fishing vessels used for commercial fishing that provide bunkering or other support services to fishing vessels, and U.S. fishing vessels used for commercial fishing that receive bunkering or engage in other support services, in the area of application of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention). Some of the requirements also apply to transshipments of fish caught in the area of application of the Convention (Convention Area) and transshipped elsewhere. NMFS also issues requirements regarding notification of entry into and exit from the ``Eastern High Seas Special Management Area'' (Eastern SMA) and requirements relating to discards from purse seine fishing vessels. This action is necessary for the United States to implement decisions of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Commission or WCPFC) and to satisfy its obligations under the Convention, to which it is a Contracting Party.