National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration August 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold its 157th meeting.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendment 101 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. Amendment 101 to the FMP would authorize the use of longline pot gear in the sablefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) fishery in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Amendment 101 is necessary to improve efficiency and provide economic benefits for the sablefish IFQ fleet and minimize potential fishery interactions with whales and seabirds. Amendment 101 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

We announce the reduction of the commercial possession limit for northern red hake for the remainder of the 2016 fishing year. This action is required to prevent the northern red hake total allowable landing limit from being exceeded. This announcement informs the public that the northern red hake possession limit is reduced.

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) for the recreational sector for the other jacks complex (lesser amberjack, almaco jack, and banded rudderfish) in the South Atlantic for the 2016 fishing year through this temporary rule. NMFS projects that recreational landings of the other jacks complex will reach their combined recreational annual catch limit (ACL) by August 9, 2016. Therefore, NMFS closes the recreational sector for this complex on August 9, 2016, through the remainder of the fishing year in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. This closure is necessary to protect the lesser amberjack, almaco jack, and banded rudderfish resources.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Herring Advisory Panel on Tuesday, August 16, 2016 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.

NMFS closes the northern area Angling category fishery for large medium and giant (``trophy'' (i.e., measuring 73 inches curved fork length or greater)) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT). This action is being taken to prevent any further overharvest of the Angling category northern area trophy BFT subquota.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for northern rockfish in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2016 total allowable catch of northern rockfish in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires that NMFS periodically review existing regulations that have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, such as small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. This plan describes how NMFS will perform this review and describes the regulations that are being proposed for review during the current review cycle.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability of its final Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal HearingUnderwater Acoustic Thresholds for Onset of Permanent and Temporary Threshold Shifts (Technical Guidance or Guidance) that provides updated received levels, or acoustic thresholds, above which individual marine mammals under NMFS' jurisdiction are predicted to experience changes in their hearing sensitivity (either temporary or permanent) for all underwater anthropogenic sound sources.

This final rule sets forth regulations to revise procedures and requirements for filing import, export, and re-export documentation for certain fishery products to meet requirements for the SAFE Port Act of 2006, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), other applicable statutes, and obligations that arise from U.S. participation in regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) and other arrangements to which the United States is a member or contracting party. Specifically, NMFS sets forth regulations to integrate the collection of trade documentation within the government- wide International Trade Data System (ITDS) and require electronic information collection through the automated portal maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Under this integration, NMFS will require annually renewable International Fisheries Trade Permits (IFTP) for the import, export, and re-export of certain regulated seafood commodities that are subject to trade monitoring programs of RFMOs and/or subject to trade documentation requirements under domestic law. These trade monitoring programs enable the United States to exclude products that do not meet the criteria for admissibility to U.S. markets, including products resulting from illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing activities. This final rule consolidates existing international trade permits for regulated seafood products under the Antarctic Marine Living Resources (AMLR) and Highly Migratory Species International Trade Permit (HMS ITP) programs and expands the scope of the permit requirement to include regulated seafood products under the Tuna Tracking and Verification Program (TTVP). This final rule also stipulates data and trade documentation for the above programs which must be provided electronically to CBP and addresses recordkeeping requirements for these programs in light of these changes. Trade documentation excludes any programmatic documents that are not required at the time of entry/ export (e.g., biweekly dealer reports).

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold a Post Council Meeting Briefing for the public via Webinar.

Notice is hereby given that Heather E. Liwanag, Ph.D. (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407- 0401), has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) near McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) for the commercial sector for the lesser amberjack, almaco jack, and banded rudderfish complex (other jacks complex) in the South Atlantic for the 2016 fishing year through this temporary rule. NMFS projects that commercial landings of the other jacks complex will reach their combined commercial annual catch limit (ACL) by August 9, 2016. Therefore, NMFS closes the commercial sector for this complex on August 9, 2016, through the remainder of the fishing year in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. This closure is necessary to protect the lesser amberjack, almaco jack, and banded rudderfish resources.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a four-day meeting to consider actions affecting the Gulf of Mexico fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

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 is prohibiting directed fishing for dusky rockfish in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2016 total allowable catch of dusky rockfish in the West Yakutat District of the GOA.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service, have completed a comprehensive status review under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) in response to petitions to list this species. Based on the best scientific and commercial information available, including the status review report (Curtis et al., 2016), and taking into account ongoing efforts to protect these species, we have determined that porbeagle sharks do not warrant listing at this time. This review identified two Distinct Population Segments (DPS) North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphereof porbeagle sharks. We conclude that neither is currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range or likely to become so in the foreseeable future. We also conclude that the species itself is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range or likely to become so in the foreseeable future.

We, NMFS, issue a final rule to list three foreign marine angelshark species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We considered comments submitted on the proposed listing rule and have determined that the sawback angelshark (Squatina aculeata), smoothback angelshark (Squatina oculata), and common angelshark (Squatina squatina) warrant listing as endangered species. We will not designate critical habitat for any of these species because the geographical areas occupied by these species are entirely outside U.S. jurisdiction, and we have not identified any unoccupied areas within U.S. jurisdiction that are currently essential to the conservation of any of these species.