The National Marine Fisheries Service publishes IFQ standard prices and notification of adjustment of the IFQ fee percentage for the IFQ Cost Recovery Program in the halibut and sablefish fisheries of the North Pacific. This action is required by regulations and is intended to provide holders of halibut and sablefish IFQ permits information to

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS is required pursuant to 50 CFR 648.71 to specify annual catch quotas for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries. In order to meet this regulatory requirement, NMFS issues this rule to set final quotas for the Atlantic surfclam, ocean quahog, and Maine mahogany ocean quahog fisheries for 2004. These regulations specify allowable

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The regulations contained in the emergency rule published on June 27, 2003, in order to reduce overfishing and continue conservation measures, are continued for an additional 180 days, after which subsequent Secretarial action may be taken to ensure that sufficient measures to reduce overfishing remain in place, or until Amendment 13 to the NE

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold public hearings to solicit comments on Draft Amendment 22 to the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan of the Gulf of Mexico (Draft Amendment 22) that contains alternatives for red snapper to: Redefine the biological reference points of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and optimum yield

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS issues this notice to inform the public of persons who prospectively qualify to bid, vote, or both in the fishing capacity reduction program for the crab species covered by the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands king and tanner crabs.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene public meetings.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a public meeting of the Shrimp Advisory Panel (AP).

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene public meetings of the Red Snapper Advisory Panel (AP) and the Standing and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) from January 6 through January 7, 2004.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS proposes to apportion amounts of the reserve to certain target species in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to account for previous harvest of the total allowable catch (TAC). It is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the fishery management plan for the BSAI.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Science Advisory Board (SAB) was established by a Decision Memorandum dated September 25, 1997, and is the only Federal Advisory Committee with responsibility to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on long and shortrange strategies for research, education, and application of science to resource management. SAB

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Notice is hereby given that the NOAA Pribilof Islands Restoration Project Office, National Ocean Service, 7600 Sand Point Way, Seattle, WA 98115 [Principal Investigator: John Lindsay] has applied in due form for a permit to take Northern fur seal seals (Callorhinus ursinus) for purposes of commercial/educational photography.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Notice is hereby given that the following applicants have been issued permits to take marine mammals parts from species of marine mammals under NMFS jurisdiction for purposes of scientific research: (1) The University of Alaska Museum, 907 Yukon Drive, P.O. Box 756960, Fairbanks, AK 99775 (Dr. Gordon Jarrell, Principal Investigator (PI)); and (2) The

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted for Secretarial review
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Amendment 17 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (FMP). This amendment would implement a rebuilding plan for the overfished stock of Pribilof Islands blue king crab. This action is intended to

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS proposes to prohibit shallow longline sets of the type normally targeting swordfish on the high seas in the Pacific Ocean east of 150[deg] W. long. by vessels that are not already prohibited from making such sets under the current regulations for the Fishery Management Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (WesPac FMP).

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

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

Notice is hereby given that the Alaska SeaLife Center, 301 Railway Avenue, Seward, Alaska 99664, has applied in due form for a permit to import and export marine mammal parts for purposes of scientific research.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS issues a final rule to modify the management of the ``other species'' Community Development Quota (CDQ) reserve by eliminating specific allocations of ``other species'' CDQ to individual CDQ managing organizations (CDQ groups) and, instead, allowing NMFS to manage the ``other species'' CDQ reserve with the general limitations used to manage

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS has determined that the 2003 fishing year Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General category quota will be attained by December 10, 2002. Therefore, the General category fishery will be closed effective 11:30 p.m. on December 10, 2003. This action is being taken to prevent overharvest of the total adjusted General category quota of 534.4 metric

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS implements measures contained in Amendment 13 to the FMP (Amendment 13). Amendment 13 establishes: A new surfclam overfishing definition; multiyear fishing quotas; a mandatory vessel monitoring system (VMS), when such a system is economically viable; the ability to suspend or adjust the surfclam minimum size limit through a framework

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA), NOAA, announces temporary restrictions consistent with the requirements of the ALWTRP's implementing regulations. These regulations apply to lobster trap/pot and anchored gillnet fishermen in an area totaling approximately 1,356 square nautical miles (nm2) (4,651 km2), east of Portsmouth, NH for 15

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS is issuing a final rule to prohibit fishing with drift gillnets in the California/Oregon (CA/OR) thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery in U.S. waters off southern California in waters east of the 120[deg]W., for the months of June, July, and August, when the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA) publishes a notice that El Nino

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS has received an application from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), a part of Columbia University, for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting oceanographic surveys off the northern Yucatan Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico. Under the Marine Mammal

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Trawl Survey Advisory Committee, composed of representatives from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), and several independent scientific researchers, will hold a public meeting.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration