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

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Sablefish Management and Trawl Allocation Attainment Committee (SaMTAAC) will hold a meeting, which will be open to the public.

This proposed rule would require commercial groundfish bottom longline vessels 26 feet length overall and longer managed under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan to deploy streamer lines or to set gear between civil dusk and civil dawn when fishing in Federal waters north of 36[deg] North latitude. The action is necessary to fulfill terms and conditions of a 2017 United States Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion to minimize incidental take of Endangered Species Act-listed short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) by vessels in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. This proposed rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, and other applicable laws, including the Endangered Species Act.

NMFS issues regulations to implement management measures described in Framework Amendment 6 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Coastal Migratory Pelagics (CMP) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule revises the Atlantic migratory group king mackerel commercial trip limits in the Atlantic southern zone during the March through September fishing season. The purpose of this final rule is to support increased fishing activity and economic opportunity while continuing to constrain harvest to the annual catch limit and providing for year-round access for the commercial sector.

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 Wildstar Films, South Parade Mansions, 71 Oakfield Road, Bristol BS8 2BB, U.K. (Responsible Party: Hugh Pearson), has applied in due form for a permit to conduct commercial photography on common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), northern right whale dolphins (Lissodelphis borealis), and California sea lions (Zalophus californianus).

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Citizen Science Program's Projects Advisory Committee via webinar.

NMFS adjusts the 2019 baseline quotas for U.S. North Atlantic albacore tuna (northern albacore), North and South Atlantic swordfish, and the Atlantic bluefin Reserve category based on available underharvest of the 2018 adjusted U.S. quotas. This action is necessary to implement binding recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as required by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and to achieve domestic management objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (MSB) Advisory Panel will hold a meeting.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a four-day meeting to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Fishery Monitoring Advisory Committee will meet September 23, 2019 through September 24, 2019.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel will hold a public webinar meeting, jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel.

NMFS announces its intent to conduct a 5-year review for the four distinct population segments (DPSs) of the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini): Eastern Atlantic DPS, Eastern Pacific DPS, Central & Southwest Atlantic DPS, and Indo-West Pacific DPS. NMFS is required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to conduct 5-year reviews to ensure that listing classifications of species are accurate. The 5- year review must be based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review. We request submission of any such information on these scalloped hammerhead shark DPSs, particularly information on the status, threats, and recovery of the DPSs that have become available since their listing on July 3, 2014 (79 FR 38214).

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod, except for the Community Development Quota program (CDQ), in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the non-CDQ allocation of the 2019 Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) in the Aleutian Islands subarea of the BSAI.

NMFS's Office of Protected Resources (OPR), upon request from NMFS's Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), hereby issues regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in multiple specified geographical regions over the course of five years. 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, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using trawl gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the annual allowance of the 2019 Pacific cod total allowable catch apportioned to trawl catcher vessels in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

NMFS announces the availability of a scoping document and its intent to initiate an amendment to the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Given recent revisions to the National Standard guidelines and recent NMFS policy directives, which aim to improve and streamline fishery management procedures to enhance their utility for managers and the public, NMFS has determined it is necessary to: Reassess current HMS FMP objectives to reflect the changing needs of the HMS fisheries, and potentially adopt revised FMP objectives; review stock status determination criteria (SDC) for internationally-managed HMS and adopt such criteria, rather than continue to apply domestic criteria, which at times differ; review the standardized bycatch reporting methodology (SBRM) for certain HMS fisheries and update, if necessary; consider triggers for initiating allocation reviews for quota-managed HMS stocks and adopt such triggers, if appropriate; and consider revising the publication date of the annual HMS Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report and adopt such revision. The goal of the scoping document is to examine potential options and modify domestic HMS fishery management measures to be consistent with the national standards guidelines and recent NMFS policy directives, and to request additional information and input from consulting parties and the public prior to development of Amendment 12 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic HMS FMP.

NMFS implements a closure for Atlantic migratory group cobia (Atlantic cobia) that are sold (commercial) and harvested from Atlantic Federal waters. NMFS projects that commercial landings of Atlantic cobia have reached the commercial quota. Therefore, NMFS closes the commercial sector for Atlantic cobia in Federal waters on September 4, 2019, and it will remain closed until the start of the next fishing year on January 1, 2020. This closure is necessary to protect the Atlantic cobia resource.

Notice is hereby given that BBC Worldwide Americas, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036 (Responsible Party: Orla Doherty), has applied in due form for a permit to conduct commercial or educational photography on Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii), minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and killer whales (Orcinus orca).

This is a virtual meeting. However, members of the public may also come to 1315 East-West Highway, SSMC3 Room 8836. This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a meeting of the NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB). The members will discuss issues outlined in the section on Matters to be considered.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of sablefish 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 sablefish 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.

NMFS reduces the commercial trip limit for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel (Atlantic king mackerel) in or from Federal waters in the Atlantic southern zone off the Florida east coast between the border of Flagler and Volusia Counties and the border of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties to 50 fish per day. This commercial trip limit reduction is necessary to protect the Atlantic king mackerel resource.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) to evaluate a range of alternatives for changes to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) to expand the boundary of the sanctuary, update sanctuary-wide regulations, update the individual marine zones and their associated regulations, and revise the sanctuary management plan. FKNMS protects 3,800 square miles of waters surrounding the Florida Keys, from south of Miami westward to the Dry Tortugas. Within the boundary of the sanctuary lie spectacular, unique, and nationally significant marine resources including North America's only coral barrier reef, extensive seagrass beds, mangrove-fringed islands, and more than 6,000 species of marine life. The sanctuary also protects pieces of our Nation's history such as shipwrecks and other archeological resources. The DEIS includes a proposed action and a range of alternatives that would help improve the condition of resources in the Florida Keys through a series of regulatory and management measures designed to reduce threats and, where appropriate, restore coral reefs, seagrasses, and other important habitats. NOAA is soliciting public comment on the DEIS, also referred to as the Restoration Blueprint.

On June 13, 2019, NMFS received an application from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, on behalf of their respective states; the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; and the Willamette Committee (hereafter called ``eligible entities''). The eligible entities are requesting authorization to intentionally take, by lethal methods, California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus: Eastern stock) that are located in the main stem of the Columbia River between river mile 112 and McNary Dam (river mile 292), or in any tributary to the Columbia River that includes spawning habitat of threatened or endangered salmon or steelhead (Onchorynchus spp.). This action is intended to reduce or eliminate sea lion predation on the fishery stocks that are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Monkfish Advisory 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 SEDAR Steering Committee will meet to discuss the SEDAR process and stock assessment schedule. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.