[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 99 (Monday, May 23, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29718-29719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12648]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 665
RIN 0648-AY27
Western Pacific Pelagic Fisheries; American Samoa Longline Gear
Modifications To Reduce Turtle Interactions
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery ecosystem plan amendment;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) proposes to amend the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for
Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FEP). If approved by
the Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 5 would establish gear
configuration requirements for the U.S. pelagic longline fishery based
in American Samoa. The proposed action is intended to reduce
interactions between the fishery and Pacific green sea turtles, which
will enable American Samoa longline fishing vessels to continue
operations, while providing for the long-term survival, recovery, and
sustainability of Pacific green sea turtle populations.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 5, including an environmental assessment,
must be received by July 22, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 5, including an environmental
assessment, identified by 0648-AY27, are available from http://www.regulations.gov, or the Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400,
Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-522-8220, fax 808-522-8226, http://www.wpcouncil.org. Comments on the amendment, including the
environmental assessment, may be sent to either of the following
addresses:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov; or
Mail: Mail written comments to Michael D. Tosatto,
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1601
Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted to one of the above two
addresses to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and
considered by NMFS. Comments sent to any other address or individual,
or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered.
All comments received are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the
required name and organization fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word
or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Bailey, NMFS PIR Sustainable
Fisheries Division, 808-944-2248.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pelagic fisheries in the U.S. western
Pacific are managed under the FEP, developed by the Council, and
approved and implemented by NMFS. The Council prepared Amendment 5 to
address pelagic fishing concerns in American Samoa, and submitted the
amendment to NMFS for review under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act.
The pelagic longline fishery based in American Samoa is
predominantly composed of longline vessels over 40 ft (12 m) in length.
Longline vessels set 30-50 miles (48-80 km) of monofilament main line
and around 3,000 hooks per day. In 2010, 26 vessels made a total of
4,328 sets, and landed about 222,400 albacore (most destined for the
Pago Pago cannery), and smaller amounts of skipjack, yellowfin and
bigeye tunas. The fishery also takes wahoo, oilfish, blue marlin, blue
sharks, and other pelagic fish.
The American Samoa longline fishery occasionally interacts with
(hooks or entangles) Pacific green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), which
are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Most of the
interactions occur in near-surface waters, that is, shallower than 100
m, and most injuries to green sea turtles are fatal. To reduce these
interactions, the Council proposes to amend the FEP to require longline
fishermen to use a suite of gear configurations designed to ensure that
longline hooks are set to fish at a depth of 100 meters or deeper, away
from the primary turtle habitat.
This action would require fishermen on the large vessels (Classes
B, C, and D) to use float lines that are at least 30 meters long, and
maintain a distance of
[[Page 29719]]
70 m between floats and adjacent branch lines with hooks. Fishermen on
these large vessels would be required to deploy at least 15 branch
lines with hooks between floats. The possession or landing of more than
10 swordfish, which tend to inhabit near-surface waters, would also be
prohibited to help ensure that shallower longline fishing does not
occur.
While green sea turtles are expected to benefit from the proposed
gear modifications, the action is not expected to change the conduct of
the fishery in terms of the number of vessels, areas fished, and fish
targeted. Thus, there would not likely be adverse impacts on target and
non-target species. No negative impacts are expected on seabirds,
marine mammals, essential fish habitat, habitat areas of particular
concern, marine protected areas, fishing communities, or safety at sea.
Comments on Amendment 5 must be received by July 22, 2011 to be
considered by NMFS in the decision to approve, partially approve, or
disapprove the amendment. NMFS soon expects to publish and request
public comment on a proposed rule that would implement the measures
recommended in Amendment 5.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 17, 2011.
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-12648 Filed 5-20-11; 8:45 am]
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