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

NMFS is reducing the Atlantic mackerel possession limit for Federal limited access Atlantic mackerel permitted vessels based on a projection that the 2019 river herring and shad catch cap for that fishery has been reached. This action is necessary to comply with the regulations implementing the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan and is intended to limit the harvest of river herring and shad in the Greater Atlantic Region.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Groundfish 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.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Social Science Planning Committee (SSPC) by teleconference.

The SEDAR 58 assessment(s) of the Atlantic stock of Cobia will consist of a series of workshops and webinars: Stock ID Workshop; Stock ID Review Workshop; Stock ID Joint Cooperator Technical Review; Data Workshop; Assessment Webinars; and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will hold a webinar meeting to review the 2019 update stock assessment for Pacific sardine. This webinar is open to the public.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will convene a webinar meeting of its Groundfish Management Team (GMT) to discuss items on the Pacific Council's April 2019 meeting agenda. The meeting is open to the public.

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 the Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce is announcing a thirty-day public comment period for the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision. The revision of the existing management plan is necessitated by the applicable requirements of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. The Hudson River Reserve revised plan will replace the plan approved in 2009.

NMFS issues final specifications for the 2019 Atlantic bluefish fishery. This action establishes allowable harvest levels for the bluefish stock, to prevent overfishing while allowing optimum yield, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan. This rule is also intended to inform the public of these specifications for the 2019 fishing year.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the B season allowance of the 2019 total allowable catch of pollock for Statistical Area 630 in the GOA.

Under applicable Federal regulations, notice is hereby given that the Stewardship Division, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce approves the revised Management Plan for San Francisco Bay, California National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan. In accordance with applicable Federal regulations, the San Francisco Bay Reserve revised its Management Plan, which will replace the plan previously approved in 2011.

This proposed rule would establish an annual catch limit (ACL) of 492,000 lb for Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) for each of the three fishing years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. If NMFS projects that the fishery will reach the ACL in any given fishing year, NMFS would close the commercial and non-commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish in Federal waters for the remainder of the fishing year as an accountability measure (AM). This proposed rule would also make housekeeping changes to the Federal bottomfish fishing regulations. The proposed rule supports the long-term sustainability of Deep 7 bottomfish.

Effective on March 9, 2019, NMFS is closing the directed fishery for Herring Management Area 2, based on a projection that a threshold catch amount for that management area has been reached. Beginning March 9, 2019, through December 31, 2019, no person may, or attempt to fish for, possess, transfer, receive, land, or sell more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic herring per trip or calendar day in or from Management Area 2 from a vessel issued and holding a valid herring permit. For the duration of this action, federally permitted dealers may not possess or receive, or attempt to possess or receive, more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring from Management Area 2 per trip or calendar day from vessels issued and holding a valid herring permit. This action is necessary to comply with the regulations implementing the Atlantic herring Fishery Management Plan and is intended to prevent overharvest of herring in Management Area 2.

Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in April, May, and June of 2019. 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 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 2019 and will be announced in a future notice.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a public meeting of its Advisory Panels (AP) for management plans requiring commercial permits.

The SEDAR 61 stock assessment process for Gulf of Mexico red grouper will consist of an In-person Workshop, and a series of data and assessment webinars. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by hook- and-line catcher/processors in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2019 Pacific cod total allowable catch apportioned to hook-and-line catcher/processors in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

On May 19, 2015, Line 901, a 24-inch diameter underground oil pipeline owned by Plains All-American Pipeline Company (``Plains'') ruptured, releasing what has been estimated to be at least 2,940 barrels of crude oil. Much of the heavy crude oil flowed into the Pacific Ocean near Refugio Beach State Park in Santa Barbara County, California. The oil spread southward and eastward impacting adjoining shorelines in Santa Barbara county and downcoast. The discharge affected natural resources in the general area. All of the foregoing is referred to as the ``Incident.'' Pursuant to section 1006 of the Oil Pollution Act (``OPA''), 33 U.S.C. 2701, et seq., federal and state trustees for natural resources are authorized to (1) assess natural resource injuries resulting from a discharge of oil or the substantial threat of a discharge and response activities, and (2) develop and implement a plan for restoration of such injured resources. The federal trustees are designated pursuant to the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR Section 300.600 and Executive Order 12777. State trustees for California are designated pursuant to the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR Section 300.605 and the Governor's Designation of State Natural Resource Trustees under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and California Health and Safety Code section 25352(c), dated October 5, 2007. The natural resources trustees (``Trustees'') under OPA for this Incident are the United States Department of Commerce, acting through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (``NOAA''); the United States Department of the Interior (``DOI''), acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (``FWS''); the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (``CDFW''); and the California Department of Parks and Recreation (``CDPR''). The California State Lands Commission (``CSLC'') is participating as a Trustee for the Incident pursuant to its jurisdiction under California state law over all state sovereign lands, including un-granted tidelands and submerged lands. The Regents of the University of California (``UC'') is participating as a Trustee for the Incident pursuant to its jurisdiction under California state law over lands within the Natural Land and Water Reserves System. Plains is the Responsible Party (``RP'') for this Incident. The Trustees have coordinated with representatives of the RP on Natural Resource Damage Assessment (``NRDA'') activities. The Trustees began the Preassessment Phase of the NRDA in accordance with 15 CFR 990.40, to determine if they had jurisdiction to pursue restoration under OPA, and, if so, whether it was appropriate to do so. During the Preassessment Phase, the Trustees collected and analyzed the following: (1) Data reasonably expected to be necessary to make a determination of jurisdiction or a determination to conduct restoration planning, (2) ephemeral data (i.e., environmental data collected in the immediate aftermath of the spill), and/or (3) information needed to design or implement anticipated emergency restoration and/or assessment activities as part of the Restoration Planning Phase. The NRDA Regulations under OPA, 15 CFR part 990 (``NRDA regulations''), provide that the Trustees are to prepare a Notice of Intent to Conduct Restoration Planning (Notice) if they determine certain conditions have been met, and if they decide to quantify the injuries to natural resources and to develop a restoration plan. This Notice is to announce, pursuant to 15 CFR 990.44, that the Trustees, having collected and analyzed data, intend to proceed with restoration planning actions to address injuries to natural resources resulting from the Incident. The purpose of this restoration planning effort is to further evaluate injuries to natural resources and services and to use that information to determine the need for, type of, and scale of restoration actions. Opportunity to comment: Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.14(d), the Trustees seek public involvement in restoration planning for this Incident through public review of, and comment on, documents contained in the Record. The Trustees also intend to seek public comment on a draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan. Comments should be sent to the following email address: refugiorestoration@fws.gov.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received four scientific research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon, steelhead, and eulachon. The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/ preview_open_for_comment.cfm.

NMFS has received a request from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) that would cover a subset of the take authorized in an IHA previously issued to FAA to incidentally take marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, during construction activities associated with the Biorka dock replacement project in Symonds Bay, Alaska. The applicant was unable to complete the work before the expiration date of the 2018 IHA and NMFS is proposing to issue, an IHA authorizing incidental take for the remaining activities. 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, upon request from the National Park Service (NPS), hereby issues regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to research and monitoring activities in southern Alaska over the course of five years (2019-2024). 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. In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby additionally given that two LOAs have been issued to NPS to take marine mammals incidental to research and monitoring activities in southern Alaska national parks.

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 received a request from the St. George Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society (Society) for the renewal of their currently- active, incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals incidental to aircraft operations, lighthouse renovations, and tour operations associated with preservation of the St. George Reef Lighthouse Station (Station) on Northwest Seal Rock (NWSR) in the northeast Pacific Ocean. These activities are identical to those covered in the current authorization. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Prior to issuing the currently-active IHA, NMFS requested comments on both the proposed IHA and the potential for renewing the initial authorization if certain requirements were satisfied. The renewal requirements have been satisfied, and NMFS is now providing an additional 15-day comment period to allow for any additional comments on the proposed renewal not previously provided during the initial 30-day comment period. Any comments received on the potential renewal, along with relevant comments on the initial IHA, have been considered in the development of this proposed IHA renewal, and a summary of agency responses to applicable comments is included in this notice. NMFS will consider any additional public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested renewal, and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

Notice is hereby given that the Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce is announcing a thirty-day public comment period for the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision. The revision of the existing management plan is necessitated by the applicable requirements of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. The Hudson River Reserve revised plan will replace the plan approved in 2009.

NMFS has received a request from the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Juneau Dock and Harbor waterfront improvement project in Juneau, Alaska. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an 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.