[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 226 (Friday, November 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70018-70020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28101]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC934
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management
Measures; 2014 Research Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent; request for applications.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its request for applications for the 2014 shark
research fishery from commercial shark fishermen with directed or
incidental shark limited access permits. The shark research fishery
allows for the collection of fishery-dependent and biological data for
future stock assessments to meet NMFS's shark research objectives. The
only commercial vessels authorized to land sandbar sharks are those
participating in the shark research fishery. Shark research fishery
permittees may also land other large coastal sharks (LCS), small
coastal sharks (SCS), and pelagic sharks. Commercial shark fishermen
who are interested in participating in the shark research fishery need
to submit a completed Shark Research Fishery Permit Application in
order to be considered.
DATES: Shark Research Fishery Applications must be received no later
than 5 p.m., local time, on December 23, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Please submit completed applications to the Highly Migratory
Species (HMS) Management Division at:
Mail: Attn: Delisse Ortiz, HMS Management Division (F/
SF1), NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Fax: (301) 713-1917.
For copies of the Shark Research Fishery Permit Application, please
write to the HMS Management Division at the address listed above, call
(301) 427-8503 (phone), or fax a request to (301) 713-1917. Copies of
the Shark Research Fishery Application are also available at the HMS
Web site at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/index.htm. Additionally,
please be advised that your application may be released under the
Freedom of Information Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karyl Brewster-Geisz or Delisse Ortiz,
at (301) 427-8503 (phone) or (301) 713-1917 (fax).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic shark fisheries are managed
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The 2006 Consolidated HMS
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is implemented by regulations at 50 CFR
part 635.
The final rule for Amendment 2 to the Consolidated HMS FMP
(Amendment 2) (73 FR 35778, June 24, 2008, corrected at 73 FR 40658,
July 15, 2008) established, among other things, a shark research
fishery to maintain time series data for stock assessments and to meet
NMFS' research objectives. Since the shark research fishery was
established in 2008, the research fishery has allowed for: the
collection of fishery dependent data for current and future stock
assessments; the operation of
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cooperative research to meet NMFS' ongoing research objectives; the
collection of updated life history information used in the sandbar
shark (and other species) stock assessment; the collection of data on
habitat preferences that might help reduce fishery interactions through
bycatch mitigation; and the evaluation of the utility of the mid-
Atlantic closed area on the recovery of dusky sharks and collection of
hook timer and pop-up satellite tag information to determine at-vessel
and post-release mortality of dusky sharks.
The shark research fishery also allows selected commercial
fishermen the opportunity to earn revenue from selling additional
sharks, including sandbar sharks. Only the commercial shark fishermen
selected to participate in the shark research fishery are authorized to
land sandbar sharks subject to the sandbar quota available each year.
The base quota is 116 mt dw per year, although this number may be
reduced in the event of overharvests, if any. The selected shark
research fishery permittees will also be allowed to land other LCS,
SCS, and pelagic sharks as specifically authorized on their shark
research fishery permit. The shark research fishery permits are valid
only for the calendar year for which they are issued.
Specific 2014 trip limits and number of trips permitted per month
will depend on the number of selected vessels, the availability of
observers, the available quota, and the objectives of the research
fishery and will be included in the permit terms at the time of
issuance. The number of participants in the research fishery change
each year. In 2013, six fishermen were chosen to participate. From 2008
through 2013, an average of eight participants each year were selected
for permits, with a range from five to eleven annually. The trip limits
and the number of trips taken per month have changed each year the
research fishery has been active. Participants may also be limited on
the amount of gear they can deploy on a given set (e.g., number of
hooks and sets, soak times, length of longline). In 2013, we split the
sandbar and LCS research fishery quotas equally among selected
participants, with each vessel allocated 15.5 metric tons (mt) dressed
weight (dw) of sandbar shark research fishery quota and 6.7 mt dw of
other LCS research fishery quota. NMFS also established a dusky bycatch
cap in six designated regions, which required that once vessels in a
region had interacted with five dusky sharks, the region was closed to
any fishing by shark research fishery participants for the rest of the
year. Participants were also required to keep any dead sharks, unless
they were a prohibited species, in which case the permittees were
required to release them, and were restricted to a certain number of
longline sets as well as the number of hooks they could deploy and have
on board the vessel. The vessels participating in the shark research
fishery fished an average of one trip per month.
In order to participate in the shark research fishery, commercial
shark fishermen need to submit a completed Shark Research Fishery
Application by the deadline noted above (see DATES) showing that the
vessel and owner(s) meet the specific criteria outlined below.
Research Objectives
Each year, the research objectives are developed by a shark board,
which is comprised of representatives within NMFS, including
representatives from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC)
Panama City Laboratory, Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
Narragansett Laboratory, the Southeast Regional Office, Protected
Resources Division (SERO\PRD), and the HMS Management Division. The
research objectives for 2014 are based on various documents including
the 2012 Biological Opinion for the Continued Authorization of the
Atlantic Shark Fisheries and the Federal Authorization of a Smoothhound
Fishery; 2010/2011 U.S. South Atlantic blacknose, U.S Gulf of Mexico
blacknose, sandbar, and dusky sharks stock assessments; and the SEDAR
29, 2012 U.S. Gulf of Mexico blacktip shark stock assessment. The 2014
research objectives are:
Collect reproductive, length, sex, and age data from
sandbar and other sharks throughout the calendar year for species-
specific stock assessments;
Monitor the size distribution of sandbar sharks and other
species captured in the fishery;
Continue on-going shark tagging programs for
identification of migration corridors and stock structure using dart
and/or spaghetti tags;
Maintain time-series of abundance from previously derived
indices for the shark bottom longline observer program;
Acquire fin-clip samples of all shark and other species
for genetic analysis;
Attach satellite archival tags to endangered smalltooth
sawfish to provide information on critical habitat and preferred depth,
consistent with ESA requirements for such tagging under the SEFSC
observer program take permit obtained through the 2008 Section 7
Consultation and Biological Opinion for the Continued Authorization of
Shark Fisheries (Commercial Shark Bottom Longline, Commercial Shark
Gillnet and Recreational Shark Handgear Fisheries) as Managed under the
Consolidated Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and
Sharks (Consolidated HMS FMP), including Amendment 2 to the
Consolidated HMS FMP (F/SER/2007/05044)
Attach satellite archival tags to prohibited dusky and
other sharks, as needed, to provide information on daily and seasonal
movement patterns, and preferred depth;
Evaluate hooking mortality and post-release survivorship
of dusky, hammerhead, blacktip, and other sharks using hook timers and
temperature-depth recorders;
Evaluate the effects of controlled gear experiments in
order to determine the effects of potential hook changes to prohibited
species interactions and fishery yields; and
Examine the size distribution of sandbar and other sharks
captured throughout the fishery including in the Mid-Atlantic shark
time/area closure off the coast of North Carolina from January 1
through July 31.
Selection Criteria
Shark Research Fishery Permit Applications will be accepted only
from commercial shark fishermen who hold a current directed or
incidental shark limited access permit. While incidental permit holders
are welcome to submit an application, to ensure that an appropriate
number of sharks are landed to meet the research objectives for this
year, NMFS will give priority to directed permit holders as recommended
by the shark board. As such, qualified incidental permit holders will
be selected only if there are not enough qualified directed permit
holders to meet research objectives.
The Shark Research Fishery Permit Application includes, but is not
limited to, a request for the following information: Type of commercial
shark permit possessed; past participation in the commercial shark
fishery (not including sharks caught for display); past involvement and
compliance with HMS observer programs per 50 CFR 635.7; past compliance
with HMS regulations at 50 CFR part 635; availability to participate in
the shark research fishery; ability to fish in the regions and season
requested; ability to attend necessary meetings regarding the
objectives and research protocols of the shark research fishery; and
ability to carry out the research objectives of the
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Agency. An applicant who has been charged criminally or civilly (e.g.,
issued a Notice of Violation and Assessment (NOVA) or Notice of Permit
Sanction) for any HMS-related violation will not be considered for
participation in the shark research fishery. In addition, applicants
who were selected to carry an observer in the previous 2 years for any
HMS fishery, but failed to contact NMFS to arrange the placement of an
observer as required per 50 CFR 635.7, will not be considered for
participation in the 2014 shark research fishery. Applicants who were
selected to carry an observer in the previous 2 years for any HMS
fishery and failed to comply with all the observer regulations per 50
CFR 635.7 will also not be considered. Exceptions will be made for
vessels that were selected for HMS observer coverage but did not fish
in the quarter when selected and thus did not require an observer.
Applicants who do not possess a valid USCG safety inspection decal when
the application is submitted will not be considered. Applicants who
have been non-compliant with any of the HMS observer program
regulations in the previous 2 years, as described above, may be
eligible for future participation in shark research fishery activities
by demonstrating 2 subsequent years of compliance with observer
regulations at 50 CFR 635.7.
Selection Process
The HMS Management Division will review all submitted applications
and develop a list of qualified applicants from those applications that
are deemed complete. A qualified applicant is an applicant that has
submitted a complete application by the deadline (see DATES) and has
met the selection criteria listed above. Qualified applicants are
eligible to be selected to participate in the shark research fishery
for 2014. The HMS Management Division will provide the list of
qualified applicants without identifying information to the SEFSC. The
SEFSC will then evaluate the list of qualified applicants and, based on
the temporal and spatial needs of the research objectives, the
availability of observers, the availability of qualified applicants,
and the available quota for a given year, will randomly select
qualified applicants to conduct the prescribed research. Where there
are multiple qualified applicants that meet the criteria, permittees
will be randomly selected through a lottery system. If a public meeting
is deemed necessary, NMFS will announce details of a public selection
meeting in a subsequent Federal Register notice.
Once the selection process is complete, NMFS will notify the
selected applicants and issue the shark research fishery permits. The
shark research fishery permits will be valid only in calendar year
2014. If needed, NMFS will communicate with the shark research fishery
permit holders to arrange a captain's meeting to discuss the research
objectives and protocols. The shark research fishery permit holders
must contact the NMFS observer coordinator to arrange the placement of
a NMFS-approved observer for each shark research trip.
A shark research fishery permit will only be valid for the vessel
and owner(s) and terms and conditions listed on the permit, and, thus,
cannot be transferred to another vessel or owner(s). Issuance of a
shark research permit does not guarantee that the permit holder will be
assigned a NMFS-approved observer on any particular trip. Rather,
issuance indicates that a vessel may be issued a NMFS-approved observer
for a particular trip, and on such trips, may be allowed to harvest
Atlantic sharks, including sandbar sharks, in excess of the retention
limits described in 50 CFR 635.24(a). These retention limits will be
based on available quota, number of vessels participating in the 2014
shark research fishery, the research objectives set forth by the shark
board, the extent of other restrictions placed on the vessel, and may
vary by vessel and/or location. When not operating under the auspices
of the shark research fishery, the vessel would still be able to land
LCS, SCS, and pelagic sharks subject to existing retention limits on
trips without a NMFS-approved observer. The shark research permit may
be revoked or modified at any time and does not confer the right to
engage in activities beyond those listed on the shark research fishery
permit.
NMFS annually invites commercial shark permit holders (directed and
incidental) to submit an application to participate in the shark
research fishery. Permit applications can be found on the HMS
Management Division's Web site at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/index.htm or by calling (301) 427-8503. Final decisions on the issuance
of a shark research fishery permit will depend on the submission of all
required information by the deadline (see DATES), and NMFS' review of
applicant information as outlined above. The 2014 shark research
fishery will start after the opening of the shark fishery and under
available quotas as published in a separate Federal Register final
rule.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 18, 2013.
Kelly Denit,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-28101 Filed 11-21-13; 8:45 am]
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