[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 92 (Friday, May 12, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25663-25665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-11580]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 217, 222, and 227
[Docket No. 950427117-5118-02; I.D.042095B]
RIN 0648-AH97
Sea Turtle Conservation; Restrictions Applicable to Shrimp Trawl
Activities; Leatherback Conservation Zone
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to adopt as final the interim rule published
elsewhere in this issue which establishes all inshore and offshore
waters from Cape Canaveral, FL (28 deg.24.6' N. lat.) to the North
Carolina-Virginia border (36 deg.30.5' N. lat.) as the leatherback
conservation zone and provides for short-term closures of areas in that
zone when high abundance levels of leatherback turtles are documented.
Upon such documentation, NMFS would prohibit, in the closed areas,
fishing by any shrimp trawler required to have a turtle excluder device
(TED) installed in each net that is rigged for fishing, unless the TED
installed is specified in the regulations as having an escape opening
large enough to exclude leatherback turtles. This proposed rule is
necessary to reduce mortality of endangered leatherback sea turtles
incidentally captured in shrimp trawls.
DATES: Comments on this rule must be submitted by June 12, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the environmental assessment (EA) or
the contingency plan, and comments on this proposed rule should be
addressed to the Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of
Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD
20910. Comments on the collection-of-information requirement subject to
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) should be directed to the Chief,
Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, and to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for NOAA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles A. Oravetz, (813) 570-5312, or
Russell J. Bellmer, (301) 713-1401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
All sea turtles that occur in U.S. waters are listed as either
endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of
1973. The Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), leatherback (Dermochelys
coriacea), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) are listed as
endangered. Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas)
turtles are listed as threatened, except for breeding populations of
green turtles in Florida and on the Pacific coast of Mexico, which are
listed as endangered. The incidental take and mortality of these
species, as a result of fishing activities, have been documented in the
Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic seaboard.
Under the ESA and its implementing regulations, it is prohibited to
take sea turtles. The incidental taking of turtles during shrimp
fishing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the southeastern United
States and in the Gulf of Mexico is excepted from the taking
prohibition pursuant to sea turtle conservation regulations at 50 CFR
227.72, which include a requirement that shrimp trawlers have a NMFS-
approved TED installed in each net rigged for fishing throughout the
year. The use of TEDs significantly reduces mortalities of loggerhead,
green, Kemp's ridley, and hawksbill sea turtles. Because leatherback
turtles are larger than the [[Page 25664]] escape openings of most
NMFS-approved TEDs, use of these TEDs is not an effective means of
protecting leatherback turtles.
As a result of their primarily pelagic existence, leatherbacks
normally occur outside of areas where they would be subject to taking
by shrimp trawlers. During most months of the year, leatherbacks are
not abundant in shrimping areas, and only isolated incidents of taking
by trawlers occur. However, the coastal waters of northern Florida,
Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina experience relatively high
abundance levels of leatherbacks as a periodic winter and spring
phenomenon. When leatherback abundance is high and shrimp trawlers are
fishing, leatherback stranding pulses have been documented on adjacent
beaches. A NMFS Biological Opinion prepared for a revision to the sea
turtle conservation regulations, published in the Federal Register on
December 4, 1992, (57 FR 57348), specifically addressed episodic
stranding events from Florida through North Carolina, and required NMFS
to develop and implement a contingency plan to solve this problem.
A contingency plan for protection of leatherback turtles on the
Atlantic seaboard that can be implemented, if necessary, was prepared
in cooperation with State officials from Florida, Georgia, and South
Carolina. The necessity for implementation of protective measures for
leatherback turtles is expected to be on an annual basis but only for
short periods of time in relatively small, specific areas at any one
time. The plan considers several options to provide protection, and any
or all of them may be implemented, if necessary. These options include:
Closure of areas to all fishing, use of restricted tow times in lieu of
TEDs, mandatory observers, and use of NMFS-approved TEDs with escape
openings large enough to exclude leatherback turtles.
Aerial surveys have been conducted for sea turtles off the Florida
and Georgia coasts since 1988 and off the coast of South Carolina since
1993. Beginning in December or January each year, concentrations of
leatherback turtles occur in northeastern Florida waters. During the
month of March, leatherbacks begin moving north and usually enter
Georgia waters in late March or early April. Peak concentrations occur
in Georgia waters during April and May and by mid-June the
concentrations have left Georgia. Leatherback concentrations occur in
waters off South Carolina from late April generally through the first
part of June.
Shrimping occurs year round in northeastern Florida waters, but the
activity levels during any given month may vary from year to year.
Shrimp fishing is closed in the State waters of Georgia until June 1 of
each year, but shrimping begins in Federal waters off Georgia generally
in April or early May. The State of South Carolina opens its waters to
shrimping between May 15 and June 30, depending upon the presence of
shrimp. Shrimping in Federal waters off South Carolina generally begins
in early May. Based upon leatherback turtle concentration information
and normal shrimp fishing activities, the most likely period for shrimp
vessel interactions with leatherbacks in the leatherback conservation
zone is January through June each year.
Each spring for the last 2 years, NMFS has issued temporary 30-day
restrictions establishing a leatherback conservation zone (58 FR 28790,
May 17, 1993; 59 FR 23169, May 5, 1994; 59 FR 29545, June 8, 1994). The
only comment received in response to those rules is addressed below:
Comment: A mechanism for imposing immediate, short-term gear
modifications, closures, and observer requirements in areas of
potential high conflict between commercial fisheries and endangered
species should be implemented on a systematic basis as part of NMFS
fisheries management and protected species programs. A permanent
solution should be adopted.
Response: NMFS agrees. Accordingly, NMFS is proposing the permanent
establishment of the leatherback conservation zone and a procedure for
imposing short-term restrictions based on specified criteria. However
elsewhere in this Federal Register volume, an interim rule is being
promulgated to address the immediate need to protect leatherbacks this
season, and will be superseded upon promulgation of a final rule as a
result of comments received upon this rule.
Proposed Rule
This rule would establish a framework whereby short-term closures
may be instituted on an expedited basis in order to protect
leatherbacks. Specifically, the rule would establish all inshore and
offshore waters of the Atlantic area from Cape Canaveral, FL
(28 deg.24.6' N lat.), to the North Carolina-Virginia border
(36 deg.30.5' N lat.) as the ``leatherback conservation zone.''
During the months of January through June, NMFS would conduct
weekly aerial surveys of the leatherback conservation zone. If
sightings of leatherback turtles during such surveys exceed 10 animals
per 50 nautical miles (nm) (92.6 km) of trackline, the survey would be
replicated within 24 hours, or as soon as practicable thereafter, to
ensure that leatherback turtle presence is persistent in the area. If
surveys demonstrate the continued presence of large concentrations of
leatherbacks, NMFS would prohibit shrimp fishing in these specific
areas by any shrimp trawler required to have a NMFS-approved TED
installed in each net rigged for fishing, unless the TED installed is
one of the NMFS-approved TEDs described below. Those TEDs have been
determined to have escape openings large enough to exclude
leatherbacks. In addition, owners and operators of vessels operating in
closed areas with an allowed TED, as described below, would be required
to register with the Director, Southeast Region, NMFS (Regional
Director) in accordance with 50 CFR 227.72(e)(6)(iv) (A) through (F).
Upon written request by the Regional Director, they would be required
to carry a NMFS-approved observer aboard such vessel(s). A shrimp
trawler in the leatherback conservation zone would be required to
comply with the terms and conditions specified in such written request,
as well as provide information on trawling hours, gear modifications
and turtle captures.
Notice of specific area closures would be published in the Federal
Register and would be effective upon filing of such notice for public
inspection at the Office of the Federal Register. Closures would be
announced immediately on the NOAA weather channel, in newspapers, and
other media. Areas with high leatherback abundance, as documented by
the aerial surveys, would be closed for a period of 2 weeks. A closed
area would include all, or a portion of, inshore and offshore waters 10
nm (18.5 km) seaward of the COLREGS demarcation line, bounded by 1 deg.
lat. coinciding with the trackline. Shrimp trawlers in the leatherback
conservation zone would be responsible for monitoring the NOAA weather
channel for closure announcements. Shrimp trawlers may also call (813)
570-5312 for updated area closure information.
NMFS-Approved TEDs With Escape Openings Large Enough for Leatherback
Sea Turtles
NMFS has approved modifications to the Taylor and the Morrison
TEDs, as well as a modification to the single-grid hard TED, that will
allow leatherback turtles to escape the trawl. Descriptions
[[Page 25665]] of the Taylor and Morrison TED modifications are found
at 50 CFR 227.72(e)(4)(iii)(E), and the modified single-grid hard TED
is described at 50 CFR 227.72(e)(4)(i)(G)(2)(ii).
Classification
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
This proposed rule would establish a registration program that
contains a collection-of-information requirement subject to the PRA,
namely, registration by vessels fishing in the leatherback conservation
zone from Cape Canaveral, FL, to the Virginia-North Carolina border.
This collection has been approved by OMB under control number 0648-
0267. The public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to average 7 minutes per response, including the time needed
for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering
and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information. Comments regarding this burden estimate or
any other aspect of this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing this burden, should be sent to NMFS and OMB
(see ADDRESSES).
The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of
the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule would not
have significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities because closures would occur for only short periods of time in
relatively small, specific areas where leatherback abundance is
determined to be high, while the rest of the leatherback conservation
zone would remain open. Further, TEDs modified to allow the escape of
leatherbacks can be made at minimal cost.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA,(AA) prepared an EA
for the interim rule published elsewhere in this Federal Register
volume and concluded that, with specified mitigation measures, that
action will have no significant impact on the human environment. The AA
has determined that the EA prepared for the interim rule is applicable
to this proposed rule.
The provisions of this proposed rule will have already been in
effect pursuant to an interim rule issued by NMFS elsewhere in this
Federal Register volume.
Dated: May 5, 1995
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, the interim rule amending
50 CFR parts 217, 222, and 227, published elsewhere in this issue, is
proposed to be adopted as final.
[FR Doc. 95-11580 Filed 5-9-95; 11:46 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P