National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration July 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Atlantic Bluefish Advisory Panel will hold a public meeting.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this notice announces that NMFS intends to obtain information necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for five Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans (HGMPs) for early winter steelhead hatchery programs jointly submitted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), with the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, the Lummi Nation, the Nooksack Tribe, the Stillaguamish Tribes, and the Tulalip Tribes (referred to as the co-managers) for NMFS's evaluation and determination under Limit 6 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) 4(d) Rule for threatened salmon and steelhead. The HGMPs specify the propagation of early-returning (``early'') winter steelhead in the Dungeness, Nooksack, Stillaguamish, Skykomish, and Snoqualmie River watersheds in Washington State. NMFS provides this notice to advise other agencies and the public of its plans to analyze effects related to the action, and obtain suggestions and information that may be useful to the scope of issues and alternatives to include in the EIS. Two public workshops will be held in July 2015 for this action.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an IHA to the City of San Diego for an IHA to take small numbers of marine mammals, by Level B harassment, incidental to construction activities at the Children's Pool Lifeguard Station in La Jolla, California.

Notice is hereby given that Sea World LLC, 9205 South Park Center Loop, Suite 400, Orlando, FL 32819 [Brad Andrews, Responsible Party] has been issued a minor amendment to Enhancement Permit No. 14186.

Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to Adam White, BBC Natural History Unit, The Limes, Lea, Malmesbury Wiltshire, SN16 9PG United Kingdom, to conduct commercial or educational photography on four species of cetaceans and five species of pinnipeds.

Notice is hereby given that the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 (Responsible Party: William Karp, Ph.D.), has applied for an amendment to Scientific Research Permit No. 17670-02.

NMFS announces seven inseason actions in the ocean salmon fisheries. These inseason actions modified the commercial salmon fisheries in the area from the U.S./Canada border to the U.S./Mexico border.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App., and after consultation with the General Services Administration, the Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration has determined that renewal of the NOAA Science Advisory Board is in the public interest. The committee has been a successful undertaking and has provided advice to the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere on strategies for research, education, and application of science to operations and information services. The committee will continue to provide such advice and recommendations in the future. The structure and responsibilities of the Committee are unchanged from when it was originally established in September 1997. The Committee will continue to operate in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The Science Advisory Board (SAB) was established by a Decision Memorandum dated September 25, 1997, and is the only Federal Advisory Committee with responsibility to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on strategies for research, education, and application of science to operations and information services. SAB activities and advice provide necessary input to ensure that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) science programs are of the highest quality and provide optimal support to resource management. Time and Date: The meeting will be held Monday August 3 from 8:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. PDT and Tuesday August 4 from 8:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. PDT. These times and the agenda topics described below are subject to change. Please refer to the Web page https://www.sab.noaa.gov/Meetings/ meetings.html for the most up-to-date meeting times and agenda. Place: The meeting will be held at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, California, 92037. Please check the SAB Web site https://www.sab.noaa.gov/Meetings/ meetings.html for directions to the meeting location. Status: The meeting will be open to public participation with a 15- minute public comment period on August 3 from 5:30-5:45 p.m. PDT (check Web site to confirm time). The SAB expects that public statements presented at its meetings will not be repetitive of previously submitted verbal or written statements. In general, each individual or group making a verbal presentation will be limited to a total time of two (2) minutes. Individuals or groups planning to make a verbal presentation should contact the Acting SAB Executive Director by July 27, to schedule their presentation. Written comments should be received in the Acting SAB Executive Director's, Office Room 146 Gregg Hall, 35 Colovos Road, Durham, NH 03824 by July 27, 2015, to provide sufficient time for SAB review. Written comments received by the Acting SAB Executive Director after July 27, 2015, will be distributed to the SAB, but may not be reviewed prior to the meeting date. Seating at the meeting will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Special Accommodations: These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for special accommodations may be directed no later than 12:00 p.m. on July 27, 2015, to Dr. Elizabeth Turner, Acting SAB Executive Director, Room 146 Gregg Hall, 35 Colovos Road, Durham, NH 03824; Email: Elizabeth.Turner@noaa.gov. Matters To Be Considered: The meeting will include the following topics: (1) NOAA Response to the SAB Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management Report; (2) Review Report for the Cooperative Institute on Marine Resource Studies (CIMRS); (3) SAB strategy discussion; (4) Updates from the NOAA Administrator and Chief cientist; and (5) Working group updates.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposes to issue permits and permit amendments for take of protected species in the wild, pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended; the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and the Fur Seal Act of 1966, as amended, as applicable. This may impact multiple species and taxa groups of protected species (marine mammals and sea turtles) by authorizing the use of unmanned vehicle systems (UVS), mainly small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The objectives of using UVS for research and enhancement may include determining the abundance, distribution, movement patterns, behavior, health and fitness, and stock structure of protected species found in U.S. territorial and international waters and coastal areas.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to Hilcorp Alaska, LLC (Hilcorp) to take, by harassment, small numbers of marine mammals incidental to a shallow geohazard survey in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska, during the 2015 Arctic open-water season.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for the recreational sector for snowy grouper in the South Atlantic for the 2015 fishing year through this temporary rule. Average recreational landings from 2012-2014 exceeded the recreational annual catch limit (ACL) for snowy grouper. To account for this overage, this rule reduces the length of the 2015 recreational fishing season. Therefore, NMFS closes the recreational sector for snowy grouper in the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on July 6, 2015. This closure is necessary to protect the snowy grouper resource.

NMFS is closing the fisheries for commercial non-blacknose small coastal sharks (SCS) and blacknose sharks in the Gulf of Mexico region. This action is necessary because the commercial landings of Gulf of Mexico non-blacknose SCS for the 2015 fishing season have exceeded 80 percent of the available commercial quota as of June 26, 2015, and the blacknose shark and non-blacknose SCS fisheries are quota-linked under current regulations.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Ecosystem and Ocean Planning Advisory Panel (AP) will hold a public meeting.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. This Exempted Fishing Permit would allow eight commercial fishing vessels to fish outside of the limited access sea scallop regulations in support of a study on seasonal bycatch distribution and optimal scallop meat yield on Georges Bank. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.

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.