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DOC/NOAA RIN: 0648-BF90 Publication ID: Spring 2016 
Title: ●Amendment and Updates to the Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan (50 CFR 229.36) 
Abstract:

Serious injury and mortality of the Western North Atlantic short-finned pilot whale stock (Globicephala macrorhynchus) incidental to the Category I Atlantic pelagic longline fishery continues at levels exceeding their Potential Biological Removal (PBR). At its December 2015 meeting, the Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Team (PLTRT) developed consensus recommendations to amend and update the Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan (PLTRP- 50 CFR 229.36) to reduce the incidental mortality and serious injury of short-finned pilot whales taken in the Atlantic Pelagic Longline fishery. These recommendations include changes to the current limitations on mainline length, new requirements to use weak hooks (hooks with reduced breaking strength), and non-regulatory measures relating to determining the best procedures for safe handling and release of marine mammals. Therefore, the proposed action will examine a number of management measures to amend the PLTRP to reduce the incidental mortality and serious injury of short-finned pilot whales taken in the Atlantic Pelagic Longline fishery to below PBR. The need for the proposed action is to ensure the PLTRP meets its Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) mandated short- and long-term goals.

 
Agency: Department of Commerce(DOC)  Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant 
RIN Status: First time published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage 
Major: No  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: 50 CFR 229   
Legal Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.   
Legal Deadline:  None
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
NPRM  12/00/2016 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No  Government Levels Affected: None 
Small Entities Affected: No  Federalism: No 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
Donna Wieting
Director, Office of Protected Resources
Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone:301 427-8400