National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

This action approves and implements regulations submitted by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils in Framework Adjustment 10 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan. This action sets monkfish specifications for fishing years 2017-2019 (May 1, 2017 through April 30, 2020). It also increases current days-at-sea allocations and trip limits. This action is intended to allow the fishery to more effectively harvest its optimum yield.

Notice is hereby given that National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, [Responsible Party: Lisa Ballance, Ph.D.], has applied in due form for a permit to take leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) for purposes of scientific research.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amounts of the Aleut Corporation pollock directed fishing allowance from the Aleutian Islands subarea to the Bering Sea subarea. Also, NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to provide opportunity for harvest of the 2017 total allowable catch of pollock, consistent with the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish (FMP) of the BSAI.

NMFS has requested the Center for Independent Experts (CIE) to conduct a peer review of the agency's stock assessment of eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi). The CIE is a group affiliated with the University of Miami that provides independent peer reviews of NMFS science nationwide, including reviews of stock assessments for fish, shellfish and marine mammals. The eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab stock assessment is reviewed annually by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) Crab Plan Team, and the NPFMC Scientific and Statistical Committee. The CIE review will examine whether the assessment incorporates the best scientific information available for making management decisions and provides a reasonable approach to understanding the population dynamics and stock status of eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab. The public is invited to attend and observe the presentations and discussions between the CIE panel and the NMFS scientists who collected and processed the data, and designed the underlying model.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of Wreckfish Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) shareholders in Daytona Beach, FL.

The SEDAR 50 assessment of the Atlantic stock of Blueline Tilefish will consist of a series of workshops and webinars: Stock Identification (ID) Work Group Meeting; Data Workshop; Assessment Workshop and Webinars; and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS will hold public meetings in the U.S. and abroad beginning in July 2017. The intent of the meetings is to discuss implementation of the U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program. All meetings are free of charge and open to the public.

Through this temporary rule, NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for species and species groups in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the U.S. Caribbean off Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico management area) for the 2017 fishing year. NMFS has determined that annual catch limits (ACLs) in the Puerto Rico management area were exceeded for spiny lobster; the commercial sectors of triggerfish and filefish (combined), and Snapper Unit 2; and the recreational sectors of triggerfish and filefish (combined), and jacks, based on average landings during the 2013-2015 fishing years. This temporary rule reduces the lengths of the 2017 fishing seasons for these species and species groups by the amounts necessary to ensure, to the extent practicable, that landings do not exceed the applicable ACLs in 2017. NMFS closes the applicable sectors for these species and species groups beginning on the dates specified in the DATES section and continuing until October 1, 2017. These AMs are necessary to protect the Caribbean reef fish and spiny lobster resources in the Puerto Rico management area.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC's) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee (MC) will hold a public meeting.

The SEDAR 51 assessment process of Gulf of Mexico gray snapper will consist of a Data Workshop, a series of Assessment webinars, and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The SEDAR Data Best Practices Panel will develop, review, and evaluate best practice recommendations for SEDAR Data Workshops. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Ocean Wind, LLC (Ocean Wind), to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during high-resolution geophysical (HRG) and geotechnical survey investigations associated with marine site characterization activities off the coast of New Jersey in the area of the Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A 0498) (Lease Area).

NMFS has received an application from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to Sand Point City Dock Replacement Project in Sand Point, Alaska. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to ADOT&PF to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Research Steering 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 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.

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.

On May 31, 2017, we, NMFS, published a notice of availability to revise the Recovery Plan Preparation and Implementation Priorities and Recovery Plans contained in the 1990 Listing and Recovery Priority Guidelines. We opened a public comment period that lasted through June 30, 2017. We received several requests to extend the public comment period. Thus, we are extending the period through August 28, 2017.

NMFS issues this rule to implement annual management measures and harvest specifications to establish the allowable catch levels (i.e., annual catch limit (ACL)/harvest guideline (HG)) for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine (hereafter, Pacific sardine), in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018. These specifications were determined according to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This action includes a prohibition on directed non-tribal Pacific sardine commercial fishing off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, which is required because the estimated 2017 biomass of Pacific sardine has dropped below the biomass threshold specified in the HG control rule. Under this action, Pacific sardine may still be harvested as part of either the live bait or tribal fishery, or as incidental catch in other fisheries; the incidental harvest of Pacific sardine would initially be limited to 40- percent by weight of all fish per trip when caught with other CPS or up to 2 metric tons (mt) when caught with non-CPS. The ACL for the 2017- 2018 Pacific sardine fishing year is 8,000 mt. This action is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific sardine stock off the U.S. West Coast.

The SEDAR 56 assessment of the South Atlantic stock of black seabass will consist of a series webinars. Due to changes to the schedule for the stock assessment, webinars scheduled for Thursday, July 20, 2017 and Wednesday, August 16, 2017 have been cancelled. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The Science and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Mid- Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) will hold a meeting.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the City of San Diego to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during construction and demolition activities associated with a public parking lot and sidewalk improvements project in La Jolla, California.

NMFS proposes regulations to allow an exemption to enable vessels with Federal Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota permits from the State of Maine and Commonwealth of Massachusetts to continue fishing in their respective state waters once NMFS has announced that the Federal Northern Gulf of Maine total allowable catch has been fully harvested in a given year. Additionally, Massachusetts has requested that Federal Limited Access General Category Northern Gulf of Maine permits also be included in its exemption. Both states have requested this exemption as part of the Scallop State Water Exemption Program. This proposed rule is necessary to solicit comments on the state requests and to inform the public that NMFS is considering granting the requests.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 6 to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. Amendment 6 was developed by the Mid- Atlantic Fishery Management Council to establish management measures and 2017 harvest limits for the blueline tilefish fishery north of the Virginia/North Carolina border. These changes are intended to propose permanent management measures for this fishery, consistent with requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.