National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration October 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, NMFS, will hold five public hearings related to our proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the Western North Pacific distinct population segment (DPS), the Central America DPS, and the Mexico DPS of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We will also hold three public hearings related to our proposed rule to revise the critical habitat designation for the Southern Resident killer whale DPS (Orcinus orca) under the ESA. Three of the public hearings will be joint hearings that address both of these proposed rules.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP) is announcing new indirect cost rates on the recovery of indirect costs for its component organizations involved in natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities for fiscal years (FY) 2016 and 2017. The indirect cost rates for this fiscal year and date of implementation are provided in this notice. More information on these rates and the DARRP policy can be found at the DARRP website at www.darrp.noaa.gov.

The NMFS Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection intends to revise regulations at 50 CFR parts 260 and 261 to improve the uniformity and reliability of voluntary seafood inspection services by adopting recognized best practices for inspection. The existing regulations have not been significantly revised or updated since NMFS first issued them in 1971. It is anticipated that the revisions will benefit the seafood industry by reducing the costs of obtaining seafood inspection services and providing improved, more accurate inspection results. Prior to drafting a proposed rule, NMFS is issuing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking requesting input from stakeholders and interested parties on focused areas of the Seafood Inspection Program regulations. Based on comments received and NMFS' overall assessment, NMFS expects to comprehensively overhaul the regulations.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of Pacific cod by vessels using trawl gear and not participating in the cooperative fishery of the Rockfish Program in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the 2019 total allowable catch of Pacific cod allocated to vessels using trawl gear and not participating in the cooperative fishery of the Rockfish Program in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA has been reached.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold scoping meetings via webinar pertaining to Amendment 11 to the Shrimp Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the South Atlantic Region. The amendment addresses cold-weather transit provisions for shrimp trawlers crossing areas closed due to cold weather.

The SEDAR 60 assessment of the South Atlantic stock of Red Porgy will consist of a data webinar, an in-person workshop, and a series assessment webinars.

NMFS issues regulations to implement catch handling and monitoring requirements to allow Pacific halibut (halibut) bycatch to be sorted on the deck of trawl catcher/processors (C/Ps) and motherships participating in the non-pollock groundfish fisheries off Alaska. Halibut bycatch must be discarded and returned to the sea with a minimum of injury in the directed groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) management areas. This final action includes additional minor regulatory changes that improve consistency and clarity of existing regulations, removes unnecessary and outdated regulations, and updates cross references to reflect these new regulations. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the GOA (GOA FMP), the FMP for Groundfish of the BSAI Management Area (BSAI FMP), and other applicable law.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock by vessels using trawl gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2019 Chinook salmon prohibited species catch limit established for vessels using trawl gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) Workgroup (Workgroup) will host a webinar that is open to the public.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a series of public hearings via webinar pertaining to Framework Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region. The amendment addresses commercial trip limits in the Atlantic southern zone for commercial king mackerel.

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 Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) to incidentally harass, by Level A and Level B harassment, marine mammals during a low-energy marine geophysical survey in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean.

NMFS has received a request from Carnival Corporation & PLC (Carnival) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Port of Long Beach Cruise Terminal Improvement Project in Port of Long Beach, 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. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-year renewal that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorizations and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

Notice is hereby given of an in person meeting of the Climate Observing Systems Council (COSC) for the Ocean Observing and Monitoring Division on November 15, 2019. This meeting will focus on strategic direction for the office and new potential research ideas.

NMFS proposes revisions to reporting and monitoring provisions for vessels participating in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. This proposed action would: Increase the position transmission rate for certain vessels using NMFS type-approved vessel monitoring system units, including limited entry groundfish vessels, open access vessels using non-groundfish trawl gear (ridgeback prawn, California halibut, and sea cucumber trawl), and any vessels that use open access gear targeting groundfish or that have groundfish bycatch (salmon troll, prawn trap, Dungeness crab, halibut longline, California halibut line gear, and sheephead trap); allow midwater trawl vessels participating in the Pacific whiting fishery to change their landing declarations while at sea; exempt groundfish trawl vessels from observer coverage while testing authorized fishing gear; and allow shorebased Individual Fishing Quota fixed gear vessels to deploy pot gear in one management area while retrieving gear from another management area on a single trip. The proposed action will increase monitoring efficiency and effectiveness, improve enforcement of restricted areas, and increase operational flexibility for groundfish fishery participants.

NMFS proposes this measure to enact a range of Follow-on Actions identified in the course of conducting the Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program 5-Year Review. These actions are intended to complete outstanding elements of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program, respond to problems identified after implementing the program, and modify outdated regulations. This action proposes regulations in accordance with Amendment 21-4 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, and would revise elements in four areas of the Catch Share Program.

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.

Notice is hereby given that permits or permit amendments have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.

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 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.

NMFS announces 2020 specifications for the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries and projects 2021 summer flounder specifications. The implementing regulations for these species' management requires us to publish specifications for the upcoming fishing year for each of these species. This action is intended to inform the public of the specifications for the start of the 2020 fishing year for these four species and announces the projected 2021 summer flounder specifications.

We, the NMFS, propose to designate critical habitat for the endangered Western North Pacific distinct population segment (DPS), the endangered Central America DPS, and the threatened Mexico DPS of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Areas proposed as critical habitat include specific marine areas located off the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Based on consideration of national security and economic impacts, we also propose to exclude multiple areas from the designation for each DPS. We are soliciting comments on all aspects of the proposed critical habitat designations and will consider information received prior to making final designations.

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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Corps) to incidentally harass, by Level A and Level B harassment only, marine mammals during the King Pile Markers Project on the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Charter Halibut Management Committee will meet October 29, 2019.

The Council will hold a joint meeting of the following Advisory panels: Coral, Dolphin Wahoo, Mackerel Cobia, Shrimp, and Spiny Lobster via webinar followed by an independent meeting of the advisory panels via webinar.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of the 2019 Atka mackerel incidental catch allowance (ICA) for the Bering Sea subarea and Eastern Aleutian district (BS/EAI) to the Amendment 80 cooperative allocation in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the 2019 total allowable catch of Atka mackerel in the BSAI to be fully harvested.