National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration July 24, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is reapportioning the seasonal apportionments of the 2018 Pacific halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limits for the trawl deep-water and shallow-water species fishery categories in the Gulf of Alaska. This action is necessary to account for the actual halibut PSC use by the trawl deep-water and shallow-water species fishery categories from May 15, 2018 through June 30, 2018. This action is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska.

We, NMFS, issue a final rule to designate critical habitat for the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) insular false killer whale (IFKW) (Pseudorca crassidens) distinct population segment (DPS) by designating waters from the 45-meter (m) depth contour to the 3,200-m depth contour around the main Hawaiian Islands from Niihau east to Hawaii, pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have excluded 14 areas (one area, with two sites, for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and 13 areas requested by the Navy) from the critical habitat designation because we have determined that the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion, and exclusion will not result in extinction of the species. Additionally, the Ewa Training Minefield and the Naval Defensive Sea Area are precluded from designation under section 4(a)(3) ofthe ESA because they are managed under the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan that we find provides a benefit to the MHI IFKW.