National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration December 30, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On December 2, 2014, NMFS published the final rule for Amendment 7 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP (Amendment 7) to ensure sustainable management of bluefin tuna consistent with the 2006 HMS FMP and address ongoing challenges in the Atlantic bluefin tuna fisheries. The regulations implemented by the final rule require that an owner or operator of a commercial vessel permitted or required to be permitted in the Atlantic Tunas Longline category and that has pelagic longline gear on board that vessel, have installed, operate, and maintain an electronic monitoring (EM) system on the vessel. To enable vessels to comply with the EM requirements, NMFS is scheduling dates and locations for installation of, and training on the operation of, EM equipment on up to 135 vessels that were deemed eligible for initial bluefin tuna quota shares in Amendment 7. Although most Amendment 7 measures are effective as of January 1, 2015, the final rule specifies that EM installation must be completed by June 1, 2015, to fish with pelagic longline gear after that date. Therefore, in this notice NMFS is scheduling EM installations between January 1 and June 1, 2015. Pursuant to Amendment 7, NMFS is also providing information about the EM installation process.

This action provides participants in the Pacific coast groundfish trawl rationalization program with the 2015 fee percentages and MS pricing needed to calculate the required payments for cost recovery fees due in 2015. For calendar year 2015, NMFS announces the following fee percentages by sector: 3.0 percent for the Shorebased Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program, 1.2 percent for the MS Coop Program, 0.0 percent for the Catcher Processor (C/P) Coop Program. For 2015, the MS pricing to be used as a proxy by the C/P Coop Program is: $0.13/lb for Pacific whiting.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) will hold a Crab Modeling Workshop and a Crab Plan Team meeting. The workshop will be held January 13-15, 2015 with a Crab Plan Team meeting January 16, 2015.

Notice is hereby given that a major amendment to Permit No. 14097-04 has been issued to the National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) (Responsible Party: Lisa Ballance, Ph.D.), Protected Resources Division, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC) will hold a meeting of their Joint Council Committee on South Florida Management Issues (Committee).