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

This action decreases the possession and trip limits for Georges Bank cod for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the remainder of the 2017 fishing year, through April 30, 2018. Recent catch data reported through September 19, 2017, indicates that the common pool fishery has already caught 2.4 metric tons, or 65.7 percent, of the Trimester 2 Georges Bank cod Total Allowable Catch since the second trimester began on September 1, 2017. We project that, at its current trajectory, the common pool will catch its Trimester 2 TAC well before the end of the second trimester, and is also at risk of exceeding its annual 2017 quota. This possession and trip limit decrease is intended to prevent the common pool fishery from exceeding its allocation for this stock prior to the end of the fishing year.

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 is transferring 156.4 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the General category for the remainder of the 2017 fishing year, to account for overharvests of the January, June through August, and September subquotas. This action is intended to preserve the opportunity for General category fishermen to participate in the October through November and December General category fisheries to the extent that transferrable quota is available and is based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments and applies to Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels when fishing commercially for BFT.

NMFS issues a proposed rule that would authorize formation of a recreational quota entity (RQE) that could participate in the Pacific Halibut and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota Program in International Pacific Halibut Commission Regulatory Areas 2C and 3A in the Gulf of Alaska. The RQE would be authorized to purchase and hold a limited amount of commercial halibut quota share that would yield additional pounds of recreational fishing quota on an annual basis to augment the amount of halibut available for harvest in the charter halibut fishery. The RQE would provide a mechanism for a compensated reallocation of a portion of commercial halibut quota share to the charter halibut fishery. This proposed rule is necessary to promote social and economic flexibility in the charter halibut fishery, and is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, and other applicable laws.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Navy (Navy) for authorization to take, by harassment, of marine mammals incidental to conducting pier construction at the Navy Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, beginning October 2018 and ending March 2022. Pursuant to the implementing regulations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing our receipt of the Navy's request for regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and inviting information, suggestions, and comments on the Navy's application and request.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of the 2017 Atka mackerel incidental catch allowance (ICA) for the Bering Sea subarea and Eastern Aleutian district (BS/EAI) to the Amendment 80 cooperative allocations in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the 2017 total allowable catch of Atka mackerel in the BSAI to be fully harvested.

NMFS is issuing regulations under the Tuna Conventions Act to implement amendments to Resolution C-17-01 (Conservation of Tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean During 2017) per Resolution C-17-02 (Conservation Measures for Tropical Tunas in the Eastern Pacific Ocean During 2018- 2020 and Amendment to Resolution C-17-01) which was adopted by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC or Commission) in July 2017. Applicable to the purse seine fleet fishing for tropical tunas (bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna) in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) and only for the remainder of the 2017 calendar year, the amendments to Resolution C-17-01 remove the total allowable catches (TACs) for bigeye tuna (BET) and yellowfin tuna (YFT), and replace them with an extension in the purse seine closure period from 62 days to 72 days. Additionally, to ensure that the time/area closure, known as the corralito, does not overlap with the extended closure periods, the amendments also shift the dates for the corralito closure. This rule is necessary for the conservation of tropical tuna stocks in the EPO and for the United States to satisfy its obligations as a member of the IATTC.

NMFS has received a request from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DEO) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to a WHEN OU marine geophysical survey in the southwest Pacific Ocean. 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 will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the notice of our final decision.

This action serves as a notice that NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), has found that the following stocks are, or remain, subject to overfishing or overfished: South Atlantic red grouper, Gulf of Mexico greater amberjack, and Northwestern Atlantic witch flounder. NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary, notifies the appropriate fishery management council (Council) whenever it determines that overfishing is occurring, a stock is in an overfished condition, or a stock is approaching an overfished condition.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (South Atlantic Council) has submitted Amendment 41 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Snapper-Grouper FMP) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 41 would revise management reference points, annual catch limits (ACLs), optimum yield (OY), and management measures for mutton snapper in the South Atlantic based on the results of the most recent stock assessment. The purpose of Amendment 41 is to ensure that mutton snapper is managed based on the best scientific information available to achieve OY and to prevent overfishing, while minimizing adverse social and economic effects to the extent practicable.

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.

The Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 44 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 44 would revise minimum stock size thresholds (MSST) for seven stocks in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish fishery management unit. The MSST would be revised for the gag, red grouper, red snapper, vermilion snapper, gray triggerfish, greater amberjack, and hogfish stocks. The need for Amendment 44 is to provide a sufficient buffer between spawning stock biomass at maximum sustainable yield (BMSY) and MSST to reduce the likelihood that stock status changes frequently between overfished and not overfished as a result of scientific uncertainty or naturalfluctuations in biomass levels.

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 University of Hawaii (UH) to incidentally take, by Level A and Level B harassment only, marine mammals during a marine geophysical survey in the Central Pacific Ocean.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold its 127th Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) meeting, American Samoa Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan Advisory Panel (AP), American Samoa Regional Ecosystem Advisory Committee (REAC), Executive and Budget Standing Committee, Pelagic and International Standing Committee and its 171st Council meeting to take actions on fishery management issues in the Western Pacific Region.

The Council's Information and Education AP will meet to address outreach efforts and communication needs. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

This notice announces receipt of an exempted fishing permit (EFP) application from the Alaska Seafood Cooperative (AKSC). If granted, this EFP would allow non-pelagic trawl catcher/processor operators targeting groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) to remove halibut from a trawl codend on the deck, and release those halibut back to the water in a timely manner to increase survivability. The proposed project would build on work conducted by the applicant under EFPs in 2009, 2012, and 2015 through 2017 to test methods for sorting halibut on deck of non-pelagic trawl catcher/processor vessels in the BSAI including methods to increase halibut survivability and ensure reliable catch accounting and personnel safety. The objective of the proposed project is to refine the few, remaining operational issues to yield robust methods which could be implemented to allow sorting of halibut on the deck of non- pelagic trawl vessels as a standard practice in the BSAI and GOA in the future. The specific objectives of the proposed project are to (1) continue the proven methods used in 2017 EFP operations in 2018 and 2019; (2) develop individual-vessel deck sorting safety protocols; (3) test methods for moving fish on deck to ensure a single flow of fish, which is essential for proper catch monitoring; and (4) expand the project to the GOA to standardize operations between the BSAI and GOA and evaluate the potential for increasing halibut survivability in the GOA. This experiment has the potential to promote the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that we have issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to Mukilteo Multimodal Construction Project in Washington State.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of its Citizen Science Advisory Panel Projects/Topics Management; Volunteers; Communication/Outreach/Education Action Teams via webinar. The meetings via webinar were originally scheduled for Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 1 p.m. (Projects/Topics Management); Thursday, September 21, 2017 at 1 p.m. (Volunteers); Friday, September 22, 2017 at 10 a.m. (Communication/Outreach/Education) but have been rescheduled as a result of wide-spread impacts due to Hurricane Irma [See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION].

In this final rule, NMFS removes a regulatory exemption that allowed certain large U.S. longline vessels to fish in portions of the American Samoa Large Vessel Prohibited Area (LVPA). The intent is to comply with a U.S. District Court Final Judgment and Order that vacated and set aside that rule.

Notice is hereby given that the following entities have applied in due form for a permit to receive, import, and/or export marine mammal parts for scientific research: File No. 21217: Aaron Roberts, Ph.D., University of North Texas, Biological Sciences, 1155 Union Circle, #310559, Denton, TX 76203; File No. 21397: Burke Museum, Mammalogy [Julie Stein, Responsible Party], University of Washington, Box 353010, Seattle, WA 98195.

NMFS proposes to implement the measures described in Regulatory Amendment 6 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI)(FMP), as prepared and submitted by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council). This proposed rule would revise the method used to trigger the application of accountability measures (AM) for Council-managed reef fish species or species groups in the Puerto Rico exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The purpose of this proposed rule is to increase the likelihood that optimum yield (OY) is achieved on a continuing basis and to minimize, to the extent practicable, adverse socio- economic effects of AM-based closures.

NMFS announces that the 25-mt quota available for Atlantic bluefin tuna bycatch (including landings and dead discards) by the Longline category in the Northeast Distant gear restricted area (NED) was filled on September 12, 2017. NMFS informs vessels fishing in the NED that they now must account for any bluefin tuna bycatch retained or discarded dead using Individual Bluefin Quota (IBQ) allocation available to the vessel.

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 closes the General category fishery for large medium and giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches curved fork length or greater) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) until the General category reopens on October 1, 2017. This action is being taken to prevent overharvest of the General category September 2017 BFT subquota and help ensure reasonable fishing opportunities in each of the remaining subquota time periods.