NOAA Fisheries

Bowhead Whale

• 73 FR 22287, April 25, 2008. NMFS announces the aboriginal subsistence whaling quota it has assigned to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) for bowhead whales, and other limitations deriving from regulations adopted at the 59th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Effective April 25, 2008.

Community Development Quota (CDQ)

• 73 FR 28733, May 19, 2008. Final rule to modify the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program and the Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program to allow the use of longline pot fishing gear in the Bering Sea sablefish IFQ and sablefish CDQ fisheries in the month of June. Effective June 18, 2008, except the amendment to 679.24(c)(4), which is effective May 19, 2008.

Crab

• 73 FR 35084, June 20, 2008. Final rule to implement Amendment 26 to the FMP for BSAI King and Tanner Crabs. Effective July 21, 2008.
• 73 FR 33925, June 16, 2008. Final rule, approval of Amendment 24 to the FMP for BSAI King and Tanner Crabs. Effective June 6, 2008.
• 73 FR 30319, May 27, 2008. Correction to a final rule that was published on March 2, 2005 (70 FR 10174). This correction amends the regulations governing the BSAI crab fisheries. Effective June 26, 2008.
• 73 FR 29979, May 23, 2008. Final rule to implement Amendment 25 to the FMP for BSAI King and Tanner Crabs, and a provision of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 to amend the Crab Rationalization Program. Effective June 23, 2008.

Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)

• 73 FR 43362, July 25, 2008. Final rule to implement Amendment 89 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the BSAI Management Area to establish Bering Sea habitat conservation measures prohibiting nonpelagic trawling in certain waters of the Bering Sea subarea and establishing the Northern Bering Sea Research Area. Effective August 25, 2008.
• 73 FR 9035, February 19, 2008. Final rule to implement BSAI Amendment 88 and revise the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area boundary. Effective March 20, 2008.

Fur Seals

• 73 FR 49616, August 22, 2008. Notice of annual fur seal subsistence harvests on St. George and St. Paul Islands for 2005 to 2007, and the annual estimates for the fur seal subsistence needs for 2008 through 2010. Effective September 22, 2008.

Groundfish Harvest Specifications and Management

• 73 FR 50888, August 29, 2008. Final rule to implement Amendment 72 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. Amendment 72 amends the FMP to state that the Council will annually review information on the discard of shallow water flatfish in Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries.
• 73 FR 49963, August 25, 2008. Final approval of Amendment 79 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska for the specification of the "other species" total allowable catch, acceptable biological catch, and overfishing level. Effective on August 20, 2008.
• 73 FR 47559, August 14, 2008. Temporary rule; correction to revise Table 4 that reallocated Atka mackerel from the 2008 incidental catch allowance to the B season allowance for the Amendment 80 cooperative in the Eastern Aleutian District and the Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI. Effective August 14, 2008.
• 73 FR 44173, July 30, 2008. Temporary rule; reallocation of the projected unused amount of the 2008 incidental catch allowance (ICA) of Atka mackerel to the B season allowance of Atka mackerel for the Amendment 80 cooperative in the Eastern Aleutian District and the Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI. Effective July 29, 2008.
• 73 FR 43362, July 25, 2008. Final rule to implement Amendment 89 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the BSAI Management Area to establish Bering Sea habitat conservation measures prohibiting nonpelagic trawling in certain waters of the Bering Sea subarea and establishing the Northern Bering Sea Research Area. Effective August 25, 2008.
• 73 FR 40193, July 14, 2008. Temporary rule, apportionment of reserves of the non-specified reserve of groundfish to the Greenland turbot initial total allowable catch in the BSAI. Effective July 11, 2008.
• 73 FR 27768, May 14, 2008. Correction to a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on September 4, 2007. The final rule implemented Amendment 85 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area as partially approved by NMFS. In addition, NMFS is correcting another final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on September 14, 2007. This final rule implemented Amendment 80 to the FMP. Effective January 1, 2008
• 73 FR 14728, March 19, 2008. Final rule to adjust the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) amounts for sablefish in the West Yakutat and Southeast Outside Districts. This action is necessary because NMFS determined that these TACs were incorrectly specified in the Federal Register on February 27, 2008 (73 FR 10562). Effective March 14, 2008, through December 31, 2008. Comments must be received by March 31, 2008.
• 73 FR 12898, March 11, 2008. Final rule to repeal regulations providing for a groundfish vessel incentive program (VIP) that was designed to reduce the rate at which Pacific halibut and red king crab are taken as incidental catch in Alaska groundfish trawl fisheries. Effective April 10, 2008.
• 73 FR 11562, March 4, 2008. Temporary rule, reallocation of projected unused amounts of Pacific cod from vessels using jig gear to catcher vessels less than 60 feet LOA using pot or hook-and-line gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. Effective February 28, 2008.
• 73 FR 10562, February 27, 2008. Final 2008 and 2009 final harvest specifications, reserves and apportionments thereof, Pacific halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limits, and associated management measures for the groundfish fishery of the GOA. Effective February 27, 2008.
• 73 FR 10160, February 26, 2008. Final 2008 and 2009 harvest specifications and prohibited species catch allowances for the groundfish fishery of the BSAI. Effective at 1200 hrs, A.l.t., February 26, 2008, through 2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2009.
• 73 FR 9035, February 19, 2008. Final rule to implement BSAI Amendment 88 and revise the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area boundary. Effective March 20, 2008.
• 73 FR 8822, February 15, 2008. Final rule to modify the IFQ Program for the fixed-gear commercial Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries. Effective March 17, 2008.
• 73 FR 1831, January 10, 2008. Temporary rule to adjust the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) amounts for pollock in the GOA. Effective January 7, 2008.
• 73 FR 1555, January 9, 2008. NMFS rescinds the trawl closure in the Chiniak Gully Research Area to allow vessels using trawl gear to participate in directed fishing for groundfish in the Chiniak Gully Research Area. Effective August 1, 2008, through September 20, 2008.
• 73 FR 1554, January 9, 2008. Temporary rule to adjust the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) amounts for the GOA Pacific cod fishery. Effective January 4, 2008.
• 73 FR 823, January 4, 2008. Temporary rule, adjustment of pollock total allowable catch amounts in the Bering Sea. Effective December 31, 2007.

Halibut

• 73 FR 12280, March 7, 2008. Annual management measures for the Pacific halibut fishery and modifications to the Catch Sharing Plan for Area 2A.

Halibut Charter Harvest Levels

• 73 FR 52795, September 11, 2008. Final rule to withdraw regulations that placed limits on charter vessel anglers, including a one-halibut daily bag limit in International Pacific Halibut Commission Area 2C.
• 73 FR 30504, May 28, 2008. Final rule correcting the regulatory text that implemented guideline harvest levels (GHLs) for the guided sport charter vessel fishery in the IPHC Regulatory Areas 2C and 3A. Effective May 28, 2008.
• 73 FR 30504, May 28, 2008. Final rule implementing regulations to limit the harvest of Pacific halibut by guided sport charter vessel anglers in IPHC Area 2c of Southeast Alaska to the guideline harvest level (GHL) of 931,000 lb (422.3 mt). Effective June 1, 2008.

Individual Fishing Quota Program (IFQ)

• 73 FR 31646, June 3, 2008. Final rule to modify the IFQ Program for the fixed-gear commercial Pacific halibut fishery and sablefish fishery by revising regulations describing on-line access to IFQ account information specific to those fisheries. Effective July 3, 2008.
• 73 FR 28733, May 19, 2008. Final rule to modify the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program and the Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program to allow the use of longline pot fishing gear in the Bering Sea sablefish IFQ and sablefish CDQ fisheries in the month of June. Effective June 18, 2008, except the amendment to 679.24(c)(4), which is effective May 19, 2008.
• 73 FR 14728, March 19, 2008. Final rule to adjust the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) amounts for sablefish in the West Yakutat and Southeast Outside Districts. This action is necessary because NMFS determined that these TACs were incorrectly specified in the Federal Register on February 27, 2008 (73 FR 10562). Effective March 14, 2008, through December 31, 2008. Comments must be received by March 31, 2008.
• 73 FR 8822, February 15, 2008. Final rule to modify the IFQ Program for the fixed-gear commercial Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries. Effective March 17, 2008.

North Pacific Right Whales

• 73 FR 19000, April 8, 2008. Final rule to designate critical habitat for the North Pacific right whale. Effective May 8, 2008.
• 73 FR 12024, March 6, 2008. Final rule to list the currently endangered northern right whale (Eubalaena spp.) as two separate, endangered species, North Pacific right whale (E. japonica) and North Atlantic right whale (E. glacialis). Effective April 7, 2008.

Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures

• 73 FR 1555, January 9, 2008. NMFS rescinds the trawl closure in the Chiniak Gully Research Area to allow vessels using trawl gear to participate in directed fishing for groundfish in the Chiniak Gully Research Area. Effective August 1, 2008, through September 20, 2008.