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

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC) Atlantic Bluefish Advisory Panel will hold a public meeting, jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Atlantic Bluefish Advisory Panel.

NMFS announces that the Elephant Trunk Flex Scallop Access Area will close to Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2017 fishing year as of the effective date below. After the effective date, no vessel issued a Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops from the Elephant Trunk Flex Scallop Access Area. Regulations require this action once it is projected that 100 percent of trips allocated to the Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for the Elephant Trunk Flex Scallop Access Area will be taken.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Salmon Technical Team (STT) will hold a webinar, which is open to the public, to develop a plan and timeline to review inquiries to change the commercial salmon troll fishery boundary in two different areas.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) withdraws a proposed rule proposing to establish strict limits, termed ``hard caps,'' for the California/Oregon large-mesh drift gillnet (DGN) fishery on interactions with certain protected species under Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act authority. NMFS published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on October 13, 2016. After careful consideration, NMFS has decided that the proposed changes discussed in the proposed rule are not warranted at this time.

NMFS closes the Gulf of Mexico 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 Gulf of Mexico trophy BFT subquota.

NMFS announces the existing rules that it is reviewing, as required, under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which had, or will have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities, such as small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. The intended effect of this document is to inform the public of the rules under review, to outline NMFS' review process, and to provide an opportunity to comment. In addition, information compiled through this routine action will be relevant to the regulatory reviews required under Executive Order 13771, ``Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,'' and Executive Order 13777, ``Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda.''

This final rule revises the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) red snapper commercial and recreational sector allocations of the stock annual catch limit (ACL), the commercial and recreational quotas, and the recreational annual catch targets (ACTs), including ACTs for the private angling and for-hire (charter vessels and headboats) components of the recreational sector. A court order directs NMFS to reinstate the previous red snapper sector allocations, and the corresponding sector quotas (which are equivalent to the ACLs), to 51 percent commercial and 49 percent recreational. The intent of this final rule is to ensure that the regulations reflect the sector allocations and corresponding catch levels as required by the court order.

Notice is hereby given that the National Museum of Natural History [Kirk Johnson, Ph.D., Responsible Party] P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013, has applied in due form for a permit to receive, import, and export marine mammal parts for scientific research.

NMFS has received a request from the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) for an incidental take authorization to take small numbers of six species of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to the dismantling of the original East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (SFOBB) in the San Francisco Bay (SFB), California. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities.

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 New England Fishery Management Council (Council) has cancelled the public meeting of its Whiting Committee and Advisory Panel that was scheduled for Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at 9:30 a.m.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a three-day meeting to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's Ad Hoc Ecosystem Workgroup will hold a webinar, which is open to the public.

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 Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Hawaii Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) Advisory Panel (AP) to discuss and make recommendations on fishery management issues in the Western Pacific Region.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold its 126th Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) meeting, Fishery Data Collection and Research Committee (FDCRC) and its 170th Council meeting to take actions on fishery management issues in the Western Pacific Region.

NMFS announces that the Nantucket Lightship Scallop Access Area will close to Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2017 fishing year as of the effective date below. No vessel issued a Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops from the Nantucket Lightship Scallop Access Area. Regulations require this action once it is projected that 100 percent of trips allocated to the Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for the Nantucket Lightship Scallop Access Area will be taken.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office for Coastal Management is soliciting comments on the performance evaluation of the Washington Coastal Management Program. The Office for Coastal Management will hold a public meeting to solicit comments, and will also accept written comments as part of the evaluation of the Washington Coastal Management Plan.

NMFS hereby amends the Capital Construction Fund (CCF) regulations to eliminate provisions that no longer meet the needs of CCF participants, and to simplify and clarify the regulations to better implement the purposes of the underlying statute. These amendments eliminate the minimum cost for reconstruction projects, requirements for minimum annual deposits and the requirement that any vessel acquired with CCF funds must be reconstructed, regardless of vessel condition. The new regulations also prohibit withdrawals of funds under the CCF program (program) for projects that increase harvesting capacity, unless the project is subject to a limited access system in which the fisheries management authority establishes harvesting limits.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, and implementing regulations, notice is hereby given that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to the U.S. Navy (Navy) to take marine mammals incidental to Navy training activities conducted in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Temporary Maritime Activities Area (Study Area). These activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004 (NDAA).

NMFS proposes 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. This rule is proposed according to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The proposed action would prohibit directed non- tribal Pacific sardine commercial fishing for Pacific sardine 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 the proposed 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 proposed annual catch limit (ACL) for the 2017-2018 Pacific sardine fishing year is 8,000 mt. This proposed rule is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific sardine stock off the U.S. West Coast.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received six scientific research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon and steelhead. The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/ preview_open_for_comment.cfm.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of two meetings of the Science Advisory Board (SAB). The members will discuss issues outlined in the section on Matters to be considered.

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