National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration January 27, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

At the request of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, this notice announces a control date that may be applicable, but not limited to, limiting the number of permits or traps a business entity may own in Lobster Conservation Management Area 3 or in any of the Lobster Conservation Management Areas. NMFS intends this notice to promote awareness of possible rulemaking, alert interested parties of potential eligibility criteria for future access, and discourage speculative entry into and/or investment in the American lobster fishery while the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and NMFS consider if and how participation in the American lobster fishery should be controlled.

In response to a petition submitted by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Foundation to include the killer whale ``Lolita'' as a protected member of the endangered Southern Resident killer whale Distinct Population Segment (DPS), we, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), have completed a status review and propose to amend the regulatory language of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing of the DPS by removing the exclusion for captive members of the population. The current regulatory language excluded Lolita, the sole member of the Southern Resident killer whale DPS held in captivity, from the endangered listing. With removal of the exclusion, Lolita, a female killer whale captured from the Southern Resident population in 1970 who resides at the Miami Seaquarium in Miami, Florida, would be included in the Southern Resident killer whale DPS. The Southern Resident killer whale DPS was listed as endangered under the ESA in 2005. We accepted the petition to include Lolita in the Southern Resident killer whale DPS on April 29, 2013, initiating a public comment period and a status review. Based on our review of the petition, public comments, and the best available scientific information, we find that amending the regulatory language to remove the exclusion for captive whales from the Southern Resident Killer whale DPS is warranted. We are soliciting scientific and commercial information pertaining to the proposed rule.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amounts of the Aleut Corporation's and the Community Development Quota pollock directed fishing allowances from the Aleutian Islands subarea to the Bering Sea subarea directed fisheries. These actions are necessary to provide opportunity for harvest of the 2014 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 Oculina Experimental Closed Area Evaluation Team will discuss the Oculina Experimental Closed Area via webinar and a series of breakout sessions. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.