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

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will hold a meeting to review the methodology of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife/California Wetfish Producers Association aerial survey. The meeting is open to the public.

This action increases the Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod trip limit for Northeast multispecies common pool small vessel category vessels for the remainder of the 2016 fishing year. This increase corrects a previous action that did not raise the small vessel category trip limit. Increasing the possession and trip limits is intended to provide the common pool fishery with additional fishing opportunities through the end of the fishing year.

NMFS announces that the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area will close for the remainder of the 2017 fishing year. No vessel issued a Federal scallop permit, with the exception of Northern Gulf of Maine permit holders also holding a Maine state scallop permit and fishing under the state waters exemption program in Maine state waters, may fish for, possess, or land scallops from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area. Regulations require this action once NMFS projects that 100 percent of the 2017 default total allowable catch for the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area will be harvested.

NMFS has received an application from Chevron for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to pile driving and removal associated with the Long Wharf Maintenance and Efficiency Project (WMEP). Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to Chevron to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activity.

NMFS, upon request from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC), hereby issues regulations to govern the incidental taking of marine mammals incidental to space vehicle and missile launch operations at the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska (PSCA) on Kodiak Island, Alaska, over the course of five years (2017-2022). These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization (LOA) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat, and establish requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold public meetings of the Council and its Committees.

The River Herring and Shad Advisory Panel of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 114 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area and Amendment 104 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), (collectively referred to as the FMPs). If approved, Amendments 114/104 and this proposed rule would integrate electronic monitoring (EM) into the North Pacific Observer Program. The proposed rule would establish a process for owners or operators of vessels using nontrawl gear to request to participate in the EM selection pool and the requirements for vessel owners or operators while in the EM selection pool. This action is necessary to improve the collection of data needed for the conservation, management, and scientific understanding of managed fisheries. Amendments 114/104 are intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the FMPs, and other applicable laws.

The Council will hold meetings of its Snapper Grouper AP, Mackerel Cobia and Cobia Subpanel AP and Dolphin Wahoo AP from April 17-21, 2017 in Charleston, SC. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS[supreg]) Advisory Committee (Committee) in Washington, DC.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council announces its intent to prepare, in cooperation with NMFS, an environmental impact statement in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. An environmental impact statement may be necessary to assess potential effects on the human environment of an amendment to manage Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) as a stock in the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. This notice announces a public process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying significant issues related to Council management of Atlantic chub mackerel, including setting annual catch limits, accountability measures, and other conservation and management measures required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act for stocks in the fishery.

This action increases the possession and trip limit for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the remainder of the 2016 fishing year. The most recent catch data indicate that the common pool is not expected to fully harvest its annual quota for these stocks at the current trip limits. Increasing the possession and trip limits is intended to provide the common pool fishery with additional fishing opportunities through the end of the fishing year.

NMFS is opening directed fishing for northern rockfish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). This action is necessary to fully use the 2016 total allowable catch (TAC) of northern rockfish in the BSAI.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) and its advisory entities will hold public meetings.

NMFS closes the southern 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 overharvest of the Angling category southern area trophy BFT subquota.

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 New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Skate Advisory Panel on Monday, April 3, 2017 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 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office for Coastal Management will hold a public meeting to solicit comments on the performance evaluation of the Maine Coastal Management Program. Written comments on the performance evaluation will also be accepted.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary determination that an exempted fishing permit application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. This permit would allow a commercial fishing vessel to test the economic viability of using electric jigging machines to target pollock in the Western Gulf of Maine Closure Area, and to temporarily retain undersized catch for measurement and data collection. 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.

Notice is hereby given that Karina Amaral, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Zoology Department, Avenida Bento Goncalves, 9500 Build 43435, Room 206, Porto Alegre, MI, 91.501-970, Brazil, has applied in due form for a permit to import specimens of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) for scientific research.

NMFS announces a public meeting of the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC) to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) on April 13, 2017. Meeting topics are provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice. The meeting will be held via conference call.

NMFS, in coordination with the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), intends to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to analyze the environmental impacts of the continued authorization and management of U.S. Pacific Island deep-set tuna longline fisheries under the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific (FEP) and other applicable laws. The analysis would include certain longline fisheries based in Hawaii, the U.S. west coast, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The PEIS is intended to support management of U.S. pelagic longline fisheries.

This action transfers unused quota of Georges Bank and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder from the Atlantic scallop fishery to the Northeast multispecies fishery for the remainder of the 2016 fishing year, which ends on April 30, 2017. This quota transfer is justified when the scallop fishery is not expected to catch its entire allocations of yellowtail flounder. The quota transfer is intended to provide additional fishing opportunities for groundfish vessels to help achieve the optimum yield for these stocks while ensuring sufficient amounts of yellowtail flounder are available for the scallop fishery.

We are adjusting the commercial per-trip possession limits for the skate wing and skate bait fisheries for the remainder of the 2016 fishing year, through April 30, 2017, based on revised projection. These possession limit adjustments are necessary to allow fishermen the opportunity to fully harvest the remaining skate wing and skate bait annual commercial quotas. This announcement informs the public that the skate wing and skate bait possession limits have been increased.