National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration June 28, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) for the gag recreational sector in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) for the 2024 fishing year. NMFS has projected that the 2024 recreational annual catch target (ACT) for gag will be reached by September 16, 2024. Therefore, NMFS closes the recreational sector for Gulf gag on September 16, 2024, and it will remain closed through the end of the fishing year on December 31, 2024. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf gag resource.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public hybrid meeting of its On-Demand Gear Conflict Working Group 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.

This provides notice that on June 5, 2023, the NMFS Assistant Administrator (Assistant Administrator) completed an affirmative finding annual renewal for the Governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Spain (referred to hereafter as "The Nations") under the portions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) related to the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) tuna purse seine fishery and the importation of yellowfin tuna from nations participating in this fishery. These affirmative findings allowed for the importation into the United States of yellowfin tuna and yellowfin tuna products harvested in the ETP from April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024, in compliance with the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP), by purse seine vessels operating under The Nations' jurisdiction or exported from The Nations. NMFS based the affirmative finding annual renewals on reviews of documentary evidence submitted by the Governments of The Nations and of information obtained from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC). NMFS typically publishes notice of affirmative finding annual renewals shortly after the Assistant Administrator makes those findings; however, due to an oversight, this notice was not published in 2023, and is therefore being published now to provide the public with notice of the findings.

This provides notice that on June 5, 2023, the NMFS Assistant Administrator (Assistant Administrator) issued a new 5-year affirmative finding for the Government of El Salvador under the portions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) related to the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) tuna purse seine fishery and the importation of yellowfin tuna from nations participating in this fishery. This affirmative finding allows for the importation into the United States of yellowfin tuna and yellowfin tuna products harvested in the ETP, in compliance with the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP), by purse seine vessels operating under El Salvador's jurisdiction or exported from El Salvador. NMFS based the affirmative finding determination on reviews of documentary evidence submitted by the Government of El Salvador and of information obtained from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC). NMFS typically publishes notice of new affirmative findings shortly after the Assistant Administrator makes those findings; however, due to an oversight, this notice was not published in 2023, and is therefore being published now to provide the public with notice of the finding.

On June 14, 2024, a notice was published in the Federal Register announcing the proposed issuance of two incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) for take of marine mammals incidental to oil and gas activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska. That document inadvertently contained errors in tables 7 and 10. This document only corrects those errors; all other information is unchanged.