NMFS adjusts the coastwide General category quota for the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery by transferring 15.0 metric tons (mt) from the Longline North subcategory quota, 12 mt from the Longline South subcategory quota and 3 mt from the Trap category to the coastwide General category for a revised quota of approximately 564.4 mt. NMFS reopens

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS) is seeking applicants for the following vacant seats on its Sanctuary Advisory Council (Council): Maui County Alternate, Kaua'i County Alternate, Education Alternate, Fishing Alternate, Native Hawaiian Member, and Native Hawaiian Alternate. Applicants are chosen based upon

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will hold a work planning session which is open to the public.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The SEDAR process for stock assessments consists of a series of three workshops, a Data Review Workshop, an Assessment Workshop, and a Review Workshop. As part of this series, an Assessment Workshop is being held for Goliath grouper and hogfish.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) is announcing the establishment of indirect cost rates and a policy on the recovery of indirect costs for its involvement in natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities. These rates and the NMSP policy will be applied to all damage assessment and restoration case costs as of October

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Notice is hereby given that Lawrence D. Wood, Marinelife Center of Juno Beach, 14200 U.S. Hwy. 1, Juno Beach, FL, 33408, has been issued a permit to take hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) for purposes of scientific research.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Notice is hereby given that Sea World, Inc., 7007 Sea World Drive, Orlando, Florida 328218097 (Principal Investigator: Dudley Wigdahl, Sea World of Texas) has been issued an amendment to Permit No. 116147701 to take Hawaiian monk seals, Monachus schauinslandi, for scientific research and enhancement purposes.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Notice is hereby given that Ronald Schusterman, Ph.D., Long Marine Laboratory, University of California Santa Cruz, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, California 95060 has been issued an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 259148101.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Notice is hereby given that the Texas A&M University, Department of Marine Biology, P.O. Box 1675, Galveston, Texas 77551 (Principal Investigator: Dr. Randall W. Davis) has been issued an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 82158801.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Community Development Quota (CDQ) reserve amounts of shortraker/rougheye rockfish and northern rockfish in the Bering Sea subarea and ``other species'' in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2004 interim CDQ reserve amounts of

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS issues this proposed rule to provide information about the schedule, procedures, and eligibility requirements for participating in referendums to determine whether an individual fishing quota (IFQ) program for the Gulf of Mexico commercial red snapper fishery should be prepared and, if so, whether it should subsequently be submitted to the

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling public meetings of its Habitat, Groundfish and Scallop Oversight Committees and Scallop Advisory Panel in, January, 2004 to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from these groups will be brought to the full Council

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a 3day Council meeting on January 2729, 2004, to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Due to public request for an extension of the public comment period, NMFS is reopening the comment period for the notice of intent to issue Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) and Scientific Research Permits (SRPs) for the collection of Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS), previously published in the Federal Register on December 9, 2003.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 13, incorporating the Draft Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Secretarial review and is requesting comments from the public. Amendment 13 was developed by the Council to end

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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, Public Law 10413 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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, Public Law 10413 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring 357,867 lb (162,326 kg) of commercial summer flounder quota to the Commonwealth of Virginia from its 2003 quota. By this action, NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the revised commercial quota for each state involved.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NOAA Fisheries (Assistant Regional Administrator), has determined that an application for EFPs contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The Assistant
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Regional Administrator is considering the

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) announces its intent to evaluate the performance of the Texas Coastal Management Program; the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve; the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi; and the Guana/Tolomato/Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve,

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Notice is hereby given that the following Permits have been amended to extend the expiration dates:

774143706 The National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, P.O. Box 271, La Jolla, CA 92038, (Dr. Robert L. Brownell, Jr., Principal Investigator);

914147002 University of Southern Mississippi, Department of

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Under the framework provisions of the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks (HMS FMP) governing the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery, NMFS amends the regulations regarding the opening date of the Purse seine category, closure dates of the Harpoon and General categories, and size tolerances of large medium BFT for the

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that the summer flounder commercial quota available to New Jersey has been harvested. Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in New Jersey for the remainder of calendar year 2003, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer. Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces the approval and certification of the Boatracs FMCT/G (Fisheries Mobile Communications Transceiver/Global Positioning System (GPS) based) VMS unit for use in all fisheries in the northeastern United States in which VMS units are required.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that it has disapproved the request for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Florida Offshore Aquaculture, Inc., of Madeira Beach, FL. The EFP would have authorized a 24month feasibility study for net cage culture of cobia, mahimahi, greater amberjack, Florida pompano, red snapper and cubera snapper at a site approximately 33

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration