National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The SEDAR 31 assessment of the Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper fishery will consist of a series of workshops and supplemental webinars. This notice is for a webinar in the Assessment Workshop portion of the SEDAR process. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of the Standing, Special Mackerel and Ecosystem Scientific and Statistical Committees.

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 regulations to implement management measures described in Regulatory Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (FMP), as prepared by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council). If implemented, this rule would establish minimum size limits for parrotfish in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The intent of this proposed rule is to provide additional protection from harvest to maturing parrotfish and to assist the stock in achieving optimum yield (OY).

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amounts of the Aleut Corporation's pollock directed fishing allowance and the Community Development Quota from the Aleutian Islands subarea to the Bering Sea subarea directed fisheries. These actions are necessary to provide opportunity for harvest of the 2013 total allowable catch of pollock, consistent with the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Scallop Committee to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene scoping meetings to discuss a For-Hire Red Snapper Days-at-Sea Pilot Program.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council will hold a public hearing to obtain input from fishers, the general public, and the local agencies representatives on the Draft Regulatory Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan for Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: Compatible Trip and Bag Limits for the U.S. Caribbean Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Dolphin Wahoo Advisory Panel (AP) in North Charleston, SC.

NMFS proposes regulations under authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act) to implement limits on fishing effort by U.S. purse seine vessels in the U.S. exclusive economic zone and on the high seas, restrictions on the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs), and requirements for U.S. purse seine vessels to carry observers. This action is necessary for the United States to implement provisions of a conservation and management measure (CMM) adopted by the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) and to satisfy the international obligations of the United States under the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention), to which it is a Contracting Party.

On November 13, 2012, we published a notice inviting qualified commercial shark permit holders to submit applications to participate in the 2013 shark research fishery. The shark research fishery allows for the collection of fishery-dependent data for future stock assessments and cooperative research with commercial fishermen to meet the shark research objectives of the Agency. Every year, the permit terms and permitted activities (e.g., number of hooks and trips, retention limits) specifically authorized for selected participants in the shark research fishery are designated depending on the scientific and research needs of the Agency, as well as the number of NMFS- approved observers available. In order to inform selected participants of this year's specific permit requirements and ensure all terms and conditions of the permit are met, we are holding a mandatory permit holder meeting for selected participants. In this notice, we announce the date and time of that meeting.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 94 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP), which would amend certain sablefish provisions of the Individual Fishing Quota Program for the Fixed-Gear Commercial Fisheries for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in Waters in and off Alaska (IFQ Program). Amendment 94 and its proposed implementing regulations would revise the vessel use caps applicable to sablefish quota share (QS) held by Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Community Quota Entities (CQEs). NMFS is proposing the same regulatory revisions to the vessel use caps applicable to halibut QS held by GOA CQEs. In this action, NMFS is also proposing to revise the IFQ Program regulations to add three eligible communities to the CQE Program; to allow CQEs in International Pacific Halibut Commission regulatory area 3A (Area 3A) to purchase vessel category D halibut QS; to revise CQE annual reporting requirements, including specifying requirements for the charter halibut program; to clarify the CQE floating processor landing reporting requirements; and to consolidate CQE Program eligibility by community in a single table in the regulations.

NMFS is changing the butterfish mortality cap on the longfin squid fishery from a catch cap to a discard cap as a result of its approval of Framework Adjustment 7 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. This action also reduces the butterfish mortality cap for the 2013 fishing year by 13 percent (from 4,477 mt to 3,884 mt) to exclude butterfish landings that were previously included in the butterfish mortality cap allocation. The adjustment will maintain the intended function of the butterfish mortality cap by continuing to limit butterfish discards in the longfin squid fishery while accommodating a potential directed butterfish fishery during the 2013 fishing year.

This action expands on a previously approved sector exemption by allowing groundfish sector trawl vessels to harvest redfish using nets with codend mesh as small as 4.5 inches (11.4 cm). In addition, this action allows sectors to develop an industry-funded at-sea monitoring program for sector trips targeting redfish with trawl nets with mesh sizes that are less than the regulated mesh size requirement. This action is necessary to expand an exemption from current regulations and is intended to allow sector vessels the opportunity to increase redfish harvest and subsequent profitability, above what is already being harvested.

NMFS issues this proposed rule for the 2013 Pacific whiting fishery under the authority of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), and the Pacific Whiting Act of 2006. This proposed rule would establish a formula, specifically [17.5 percent * (U.S. Total Allowable Catch)] plus 16,000 metric tons (mt), for determining the Pacific whiting tribal allocation for 2013 for Pacific Coast Indian tribes that have a Treaty right to harvest groundfish.

NMFS publishes the standard ex-vessel prices and fee percentage for cost recovery under the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program. This action is intended to provide participants in a rockfish cooperative with the standard prices and fee percentage for the 2012 fishing year, which was authorized from May 1 through November 15. The fee percentage is 1.4 percent. The fee liability payments were due from each rockfish cooperative by February 15, 2013.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (CFMC) Outreach and Education Advisory Panel (OEAP) will hold a meeting.

We announce the availability of public comments received regarding our intent to issue Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs), Scientific Research Permits (SRPs), Display Permits, Letters of Acknowledgment (LOAs), and Chartering Permits for the collection of Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) in 2013. On November 20, 2012, we published a Notice of Intent (NOI) announcing our intent to issue these permits in 2013. In general, EFPs and related permits would authorize collection of a limited number of tunas, swordfish, billfishes, and sharks from Federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico for the purposes of scientific data collection and public display. Comments were accepted on the NOI until December 20, 2012.

NMFS is opening directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels (CVs) using trawl gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) for 48 hours. This action is necessary to fully use the A season allowance of the 2013 Pacific cod total allowable catch apportioned to CVs using trawl gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued one-year LOAs to take marine mammals incidental to the explosive removal of offshore oil and gas structures (EROS) in the Gulf of Mexico.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Ecosystem Committee will meet by teleconference in Anchorage, AK.

Notice is hereby given that the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Hawaiian monk seal Research Program (Responsible Party, Frank Parrish), has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on and enhancement of Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi).

We (NMFS) announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) as threatened or endangered and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. Accordingly, we will conduct a review of the status of this species to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, for 60 days we are soliciting information pertaining to this species from any interested party.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for commercial greater amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish fishery for the 2013 fishing year through this temporary final rule. This rule reduces the Gulf greater amberjack 2013 commercial annual catch target (ACT) (equal to the commercial quota) to 338,157 lb (153,385 kg) and reduces the 2013 commercial annual catch limit (ACL) to 410,157 lb (186,044 kg), based on the 2012 commercial ACL overage. These actions are necessary to reduce overfishing of the Gulf greater amberjack resource.

NMFS notifies the public of the aboriginal subsistence whaling quota for bowhead whales that it has assigned to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC), and of limitations on the use of the quota deriving from regulations of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). For 2013, the quota is 75 bowhead whales struck. This quota and other applicable limitations govern the harvest of bowhead whales by members of the AEWC.