NOAA NEPA Document Database

The restoration actions identified in the RP/EA will compensate the public for interim losses to coral reef resources at the LNG-C Matthew grounding sites that were not able to be recovered during Emergency Restoration.

EA for the operation of the Hood River Spring Chinook Salmon, Hood River Winter Steelhead, Touchet Endemic Summer Steelhead, Umatilla Summer Steelhead, Round Butte Hatchery Spring Chinook Salmon, and Round Butte Hatchery Summer Steelhead programs.

The proposed actions are NMFS’ Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 4(d) Limit 6 determination that steelhead hatchery operation in the Skykomish River Basin will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of affected threatened ESUs and the issuance of ESA section 10(a)(1)(A) permit for the Sunset Falls Trap and Haul operation. The action is likely to adversely affect ESA-listed salmonids in the Skykomish Basin, but the effect is not likely to rise to the level of significance.

In response to the Port of Alaska’s (POA) request, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NMFS proposes to issue an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA or Authorization) to the POA, under the MMPA. This Authorization would allow the POA to take, by Level B harassment and Level A harassment, small numbers of marine mammals, incidental to construction of the POA’s proposed Petroleum and Cement Terminal (PCT) for the Port of Alaska Modernization Program (PAMP) in Knik Arm, Cook Inlet, Alaska. NMFS has determined that the taking of marine mammals incidental to the proposed project would have a negligible impact on the affected species/stock, be of small numbers, and not have an unmitigable impact on subsistence use. No significant effects would occur from the proposed action (i.e., issuance of the IHAs).

This Environmental Assessment analyzes the environmental impacts of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources’ proposal to issue an Incidental Harassment Authorization, pursuant to section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, to the Port of Alaska for the take of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to construction of the Petroleum and Cement Terminal for the Port of Alaska Modernization Program in Cook Inlet, Alaska.

This Final Supplement amends the Final Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (DARP/EA) and selects Restoration Alternative 2, which includes the Oyster Reef Creation project described below, as preferred, in lieu of Restoration Alternative 1, which was previously selected for implementation by the Trustees and included the Long Branch Creek Marsh Restoration project.

NOAA is proposing to designate a national estuarine research reserve in coastal Connecticut.

The proposed actions are to 1) eliminate the 2020 annual catch target (ACT) for cowcod (Sebastes levis) south of 40°10’ N lat. with a potential adjustment to the set-aside or off-the-top deduction from the ACL, and 2) increase the 2020 annual catch limit (ACL) of shortbelly rockfish (S. jordani) to avoid negative socioeconomic impacts to the West Coast groundfish fishery.

Cowcod south of 40°10’ N lat. is one of two West Coast groundfish stocks currently managed under a rebuilding plan. Cowcod is also a quota species in the West Coast trawl catch share program with very small individual fishing quotas (IFQs) allocated to quota shareholders based on the sector’s allocation of the 2020 ACT of 6 metric ton (mt). As such, cowcod is a constraining species to California trawlers south of 40°10’ N lat. According to the 2019 stock assessment adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) at their September 2019 meeting, cowcod has now attained a healthy and rebuilt status. As the stock has increased in abundance, incidental bycatch of cowcod has been increasingly difficult to avoid. Some LE groundfish trawlers south of 40°10’ N lat. are prematurely approaching their vessel limits of cowcod threatening their ability to prosecute their fishery. The Council is interested in providing some economic relief by raising or eliminating the ACT, with a possible reduction to the yield set-aside. These actions would increase the annual cowcod vessel limit for affected LE trawl fishery participants south of 40°10’ N lat.

Shortbelly rockfish is one of the most abundant rockfish species in the California Current and is not targeted in any West Coast fishery (Field et al. 2008). While shortbelly rockfish are most abundant along the continental shelf break between the northern end of Monterey Bay and Point Reyes, California and around the Channel Islands in the Southern California Bight (Love et al. 2002; Moser et al. 2000; Pearson et al. 1991a; Phillips 1964), they have increasingly been encountered and incidentally caught in midwater trawl fisheries in waters north of 40°10’ N lat. as far north as northern Washington. The observed magnitude of encounters of shortbelly rockfish north of 40°10’ N lat. in recent years is unprecedented and may be the result of a climate change-driven distributional shift and/or the effect of large recruitments. It appears both explanations are contributing factors given evidence of continued high recruitment and abundance in the core habitats off southern and central California. The shortbelly ACL of 500 mt was exceeded in 2018 and has been exceeded this year according to catches to date. The Council is interested in specifying a higher shortbelly ACL in 2020 than the 500 mt ACL in regulations to avoid premature closure of groundfish fisheries that incidentally take shortbelly rockfish.

NMFS proposes to implement annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) for three fishing years (2019, 2020 and 2021) in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) for gray jobfish, or uku. The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) recommended the ACLs and AMs in accordance with requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and with the approved processes in the Hawaii Fishery Ecosystem Plan. The ACL for each fishing year (January through December) would be 127,205 lb of uku.

NMFS is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) to evaluate potential effects of this rule. The ACLs and AMs would not result in changes to the Hawaii uku fishery because it has not reached levels of the proposed ACLs since this management measure was first employed in 2012. We do not expect large or adverse environmental effects for the proposed action.

This Supplemental Environmental Assessment supplements the 2019 Environmental Assessment for Endangered Species Act Section 4(d) Approval and Section 10(a)(1)(A) Permit Issuance for Steelhead Hatchery Programs and Section 10(a)(1)(B) Permit Issuance for Summer/Fall and Fall Chinook Salmon Hatchery Programs in Upper Columbia River. NMFS is proposing to approve an additional 1,000,000 subyearling summer Chinook salmon from the Wells Hatchery under limit 5 of the 4(d) Rule of the Endangered Species Act. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Douglas County Public Utility District have submitted a Hatchery and Genetic Management Plan that outlines the supportive breeding, rearing, releasing, and associated monitoring and evaluation actions for the proposed hatchery program. The primary purpose of the proposed hatchery program is to augment the prey base of Southern Resident killer whale.

This Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review analyzes proposed management measures that would apply to the Central Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) Rockfish Program (RP) fisheries. The measures under consideration include reauthorizing the RP by either removing the sunset date or establishing a new sunset date within a range of 10 through 20 years. The action also includes other potential measures that would alter regulations associated with the reallocation of Pacific cod and rockfish, exempt crab program sideboard limits for vessels when fishing in the RP, establish regulations that require NMFS to provide annual cost recovery reports for the RP, and other regulatory changes.

This document evaluates the proposed action to revise and remove trawl gear regulations for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery’s trawl catch share program, including trawl gear configuration and gear use. Pre-trawl rationalization regulations applied to the entire fleet may no longer be appropriate for managing individuals operating under the incentives provided in the rationalized portion of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. Incentives of the catch share program include resources allocated to individuals (individual fishing quota [IFQ]) or to cooperatives, 100 percent at-sea and shoreside monitoring, and individuals or cooperatives held accountable for the consequences of their decisions.

Amendment 28 to the FMP intends to accomplish three goals: (1) revise the EFH components of the FMP; (2) make adjustment to the trawl RCAs; and (3) use the discretionary authorities in the MSA to protect deep-sea benthic habitats, including deep sea corals, from the adverse effects of fishing. In order to achieve these three goals, the PFMC, in coordination with the NMFS has identified multiple purposes and needs of the proposed action.

Restoration, creation, and protection of marsh and riverine habitats will compensate for the environmental injuries from the Kerr-McGee Site by providing an opportunity to generate additional fish and wildlife in the Cape Fear Basin.

The action involves four hatchery and genetic management plans (HGMPs) for salmon hatchery programs in the Stillaguamish river watershed in Puget Sound. The HGMPs have been jointly submitted to NMFS by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Stillaguamish Tribe for review and approval under Limit 6 of the ESA 4(d) Rule. NMFS' approval of the HGMPs is the Federal action requiring NEPA compliance. Potentially significant impacts may occur to Puget Sound Chinook Salmon ESU and Puget Sound Steelhead DPS that are listed as threatened under the ESA, and Southern Resident Killer Whales that are listed as endangered.

Estimated timeline - release of draft and final EA in 2018

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (hereafter, the Council) recommended that NMFS issue an exempted fishing permit (EFP) authorizing the applicants to fish with longline gear within the U.S. West Coast exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Pelagic longline fishing gear consists of a horizontally-strung main line up to 100 kilometers (km) in length, supported at regular intervals by vertical float-lines connected to surface floats. Descending from the main line are branch-lines, each ending in a single, baited hook. When soliciting requests for EFP proposals, the Council’s objective was to test gear types or methods that could serve as an alternative to using drift gillnet (DGN) gear to catch swordfish in the EEZ, or to test different approaches to contemporary DGN fishing practices. DGN and harpoon are the only two gear types currently authorized under the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP); of the two, DGN contributes the majority of the landings to the West Coast. Since 1985, U.S. West Coast swordfish catch has dramatically declined. Without other lawful, economically viable gear types, the U.S. West Coast swordfish fishery is unlikely to operate at optimum yield into the foreseeable future. Longline gear is used to target swordfish and other highly migratory species, like tuna. However, interactions with other non-target (e.g., blue sharks) and protected species (e.g., sea turtles) can also occur. NMFS will prepare an environmental impact statement to examine potential impacts of longline fishing in federal waters off the U.S. West Coast under EFPs, as well as a suite of mitigation measures intended to address potential gear conflicts and minimize protected species interactions.

The Proposed Action is a NMFS evaluation and determination that the Hoopa Valley Tribe (HVT) Tribal Resource Management Plan (TRMP) meets the requirements of the Tribal § 4(d) Rule. HVT is preparing a TRMP for consultation under the Tribal Rule. The TRMP describes the management of tribal fisheries with direct and incidental take of ESA-listed Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) in the Trinity River where it flows through the HVT reservation.

Every other year, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) makes recommendations to set biennial allowable harvest levels for Pacific Coast groundfish, and recommends management measures for commercial, recreational, and tribal fisheries that are designed to achieve those harvest levels consistent with the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan.

Regulations must be effective by January 1, 2019 for the start of the fishing year.

Meeting the January 1 deadline is always an issue.

The Issuance of a Letter of Authorization for the Intentional Take of Predatory California Sea Lions at Bonneville Dam Pursuant to Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

NMFS' approval of an application to intentionally take, by lethal methods, California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus: Eastern stock) that are located in the mainstem of the Columbia River between river mile 112 (I-205 bridge) and river mile 292 (McNary Dam), or in any tributary to the Columbia River that includes spawning habitat of threatened or endangered salmon or steelhead (Onchorynchus spp.). This action is intended to reduce or eliminate sea lion predation on species that are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and species of lamprey or sturgeon that are not listed as endangered or threatened but are listed as a species of concern. This authorization is pursuant to section 120(f) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).