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

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory committees will meet April 3, 2017 through April 11, 2017.

This action adjusts the previously established 2017 Atlantic bluefish sector transfer amount from the recreational fishery to the commercial fishery. Updated information from 2016 catch estimates indicate that the 2017 transfer amount may be increased, which adjusts the 2017 bluefish recreational harvest limit and commercial quota values. This action notifies the public of these adjustments.

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 North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Electronic Monitoring Workgroup (EMWG) will hold a public meeting on March 28 through March 29, 2017.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council submitted 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 (collectively referred to as the FMPs) to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review. If approved, Amendments 114/104 would integrate electronic monitoring into the North Pacific Observer Program. This action is necessary to improve the collection of data necessary 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, the FMPs, and other applicable laws.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using trawl gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2017 Pacific cod total allowable catch apportioned to trawl catcher vessels in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from the South Carolina Aquarium. If granted, the EFP would authorize the South Carolina Aquarium to collect, with certain conditions, various species of snapper-grouper, dolphin, wahoo, cobia, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, golden crab, shrimp, and spiny lobster in the Federal waters off South Carolina and North Carolina in the South Atlantic. The specimens would be used in educational exhibits displaying native marine species at the South Carolina Aquarium located in Charleston, SC.

NMFS has received an application from the National Park Service (NPS) at Glacier Bay National Park (Glacier Bay NP) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting proposed gull monitoring and research activities within Glacier Bay NP from May through September, 2017. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to the NPS at Glacier Bay NP to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities.

NMFS is transferring 40 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the General category January 2017 subquota period (which lasts from January 1 through March 31, 2017, or until the available subquota for this period is reached, whichever comes first). This transfer results in an adjusted subquota of 81 mt for the January 2017 subquota period and 78 mt for the Reserve category quota. NMFS also is adjusting the Atlantic tunas General category BFT daily retention limit for the January 2017 subquota period to one large medium or giant BFT from the current retention limit of three. This action is based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments and applies to Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels when fishing commercially for BFT.

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on behalf of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), publishes as regulations the 2017 annual management measures governing the Pacific halibut fishery that have been recommended by the IPHC and accepted by the Secretary of State. This action is intended to enhance the conservation of Pacific halibut and further the goals and objectives of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC).

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.

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 Partnership for Interdisciplinary Study of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) at the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during rocky intertidal monitoring surveys.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will convene a pre-assessment workshop to review proposed data and modeling approaches for groundfish stock assessments scheduled for assessment this year. The pre-assessment workshop is open to the public. The workshop will also be streamed online via Webinar to facilitate remote participation.

Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in April, May, and June of 2017. Certain fishermen and shark dealers are required to attend a workshop to meet regulatory requirements and to maintain valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop is mandatory for all federally permitted Atlantic shark dealers. The Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshop is mandatory for vessel owners and operators who use bottom longline, pelagic longline, or gillnet gear, and who have also been issued shark or swordfish limited access permits. Additional free workshops will be conducted during 2017 and will be announced in a future notice.

On November 16, 2016, NMFS published a Notice of Intent (NOI) announcing our intent to issue exempted fishing permits (EFPs), scientific research permits (SRPs), letters of acknowledgement (LOAs), and display permits for research regarding highly migratory species (HMS) in 2017. In the NOI, NMFS requested comments regarding the issuance of EFPs and LOAs for HMS research. In general, EFPs and related permits would authorize collection of a limited number of tunas, swordfish, billfishes, and sharks from Federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico for the purposes of scientific data collection and public display. Comments were accepted on the NOI until December 16, 2016, and many of the comments received were related to white shark research and the need to provide additional opportunity for public review of such research before permits are issued. In this notice, NMFS summarizes public comments received on the initial NOI, and announces the receipt of applications for permits under the EFP program to conduct research on white sharks during 2017. NMFS invites additional public comment on these requests.

NMFS proposes to implement management measures described in Framework Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region (FMP) as prepared and submitted jointly by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Councils). If implemented, this proposed rule would remove the restriction on fishing for, or retaining the recreational bag and possession limits of, king and Spanish mackerel on a vessel with a Federal commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel when the vessel is on a private recreational fishing trip and commercial harvest of king or Spanish mackerel in a zone or region is closed. The purpose of this proposed rule is to remove Federal permit restrictions unique to commercially permitted king and Spanish mackerel vessels and to standardize vessel permit restrictions applicable after a commercial quota closure of king or Spanish mackerel.

The Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP) will hold a meeting that will be open to the public and public comments are requested in advance or during the meeting. Information about the HSRP meeting, agenda, presentations, webinar and background documents will be posted online at: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/ocs/hsrp/ meetings_seattle2017.htm.

This notice sets forth the proposed schedule and agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC). The members will discuss and provide advice on issues outlined under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using trawl gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season apportionment of the 2017 Pacific cod total allowable catch allocated to catcher vessels using trawl gear in the BSAI.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT) will hold a meeting, which is open to the public.

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) to close the hook-and-line component of the commercial sector for king mackerel in the Florida west coast southern subzone. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) king mackerel resource.

NMFS announces final 2017 and 2018 harvest specifications, apportionments, and Pacific halibut prohibited species catch limits for the groundfish fishery of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2017 and 2018 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the GOA in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.