[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 191 (Friday, October 2, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52984-52985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26356]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 216, 227, and 600
[I.D. 091498A]
Atlantic Pelagic Fishery; Marine Mammals; Endangered and
Threatened Fish and Wildlife; Public Workshops
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public workshops.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the first of the workshops for longline vessel
operators, scheduled from October 1998 through February 1999, to meet
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Endangered Species Act
(ESA), and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The purpose of the
workshops is to educate longliners on avoidance, handling, and release
techniques for marine mammals and sea turtles and to provide
information and receive feedback on different management options in the
pelagic longline fishery.
DATES: The first workshop is scheduled for October 9, 1998. Other
workshop dates will be announced in the Federal Register once they are
scheduled.
ADDRESSES: The first workshop will be held at the Days Inn, 500
Hathaway Road, New Bedford, MA 02740; (508)997-1231. Other workshops
during 1998 will be held in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, North
Carolina and South Carolina. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for workshop
addresses.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Lent, 301-713-2347, Cathy
Eisele, 301-713-2322, or Therese Conant, 301-713-1401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
NMFS will conduct workshops with owners/operators in the pelagic
longline fishery throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The purpose
of the workshop is threefold: To supplement information gathered in a
survey of fishery participants to evaluate alternatives for a
comprehensive management system for pelagic longline fishery; to
implement the recommendations of the NMFS Biological Opinion to hold
workshops for vessel operators in order to reduce mortality of
incidentally caught sea turtles; and to meet the requirements of the
Atlantic Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Team to hold workshops to
educate pelagic longline vessel operators on marine mammal release and
avoidance techniques.
Background
1. Section 304 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires NMFS to
evaluate the feasibility of implementing changes to the management
system for the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery. These requirements
include (1) forming a pelagic longline advisory panel (Longline AP) to
assist in the collection and evaluation of information relevant to
future management of the fishery; (2) preparing a report evaluating the
feasibility of implementing a comprehensive management system for the
pelagic longline fishery, including consideration of limited access and
individual fishing quota systems; and (3) conducting a survey and
holding workshops with affected fishery participants to gather input on
future management of the fishery.
NMFS formed the Longline AP in April 1997 and, with the assistance
of the Longline AP, prepared a report to Congress outlining the
feasibility of implementing several types of comprehensive management
systems (``Study of the Feasibility of Implementing a Comprehensive
Management System for the Pelagic Longline Fishery for Atlantic HMS,''
December 30, 1997). NMFS hereby gives notice of the first of a series
of workshops that will be held with pelagic longline fishery
participants to gather input on the feasibility of implementing a
comprehensive management system for the fishery. The portion of the
workshop dealing with endangered species and marine mammals will be
conducted by NMFS personnel. The portion of the workshop evaluating
alternatives for a comprehensive management system will be conducted by
non-NMFS staff from the University of Hawaii and the University of
Maryland.
The Longline AP identified the following seven areas of concern
that should be considered in evaluating a future management system for
the pelagic longline fishery: Overfished stocks; effects of
international fisheries; effort control; bycatch reduction; the need to
evaluate discrete gear harvests on a range of species; the need to
improve communication among managers, the public, and the fishery; and
reliance on historical data that may be inadequate. Management systems
considered in the report to Congress are as follows: Open access;
limited access to the shark and swordfish and bigeye, albacore,
yellowfin, and skipjack tunas fisheries; and individual quota programs.
One purpose of the workshops is to solicit input from fishery
participants regarding the areas of concern and management systems
outlined in the report to Congress.
2. Section 118 of the MMPA requires NMFS to convene Take Reduction
Teams (TRT) to develop plans for reducing the mortality and serious
injury of marine mammals incidental to commercial fisheries. NMFS
established the Atlantic Offshore Cetacean TRT in 1996, and the TRT
developed a draft plan to reduce bycatch of the strategic marine mammal
stocks taken in the U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline and driftnet
[[Page 52985]]
fisheries. The TRT recommended that workshops be conducted to educate
vessel owner/operators and crew members about strategies for reducing
incidental harvest of marine mammals, guidelines for releasing
entangled animals, and the MMPA and its implementing regulations.
Another purpose of these workshops is to provide a forum for
information exchange regarding successful strategies for reducing
incidental takes of marine mammals. Although participation is not
mandatory under the MMPA, it is likely that attendance at these
workshops will be a requirement of NMFS' proposed Atlantic Offshore
Cetacean Take Reduction Plan.
3. Section 7 of the ESA requires all Federal agencies to ensure
that any action, funded, authorized, or carried out, is not likely to
jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species. If such
action adversely affects a listed marine species under NMFS
jurisdiction, a consultation must be conducted, and NMFS must provide a
written biological opinion on the effects. A consultation was conducted
on the Atlantic Pelagic Fishery, and NMFS concluded in the biological
opinion (May 29, 1997; amended July 10, 1998) that the longline
component of the Atlantic Pelagic Fishery was likely to adversely
affect, but not jeopardize, the continued existence of listed sea
turtles. The opinion requires NMFS to develop a schedule of workshops
throughout the geographical range of the fishery to educate vessel
operators on appropriate sea turtle resuscitation, and handling and
release techniques. All vessel operators must attend a workshop before
commencing fishing operation in September 2000. Thus, for purposes of
the ESA, participation in at least one workshop is mandatory.
Workshops
This announcement is for the workshop scheduled for New Bedford,
MA, on October 9, 1998, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The workshop will be held
at the Days Inn, 500 Hathaway Road, New Bedford, MA 02740; (508)997-
1231.
Because specific locations and times are unknown for the later
workshops, they will be published separately in the Federal Register.
However, locations by area have been set for 1998 for the following
workshops: Montauk, NY; Barnegat Light, NJ; Wanchese, NC; and
Charleston, SC. Additional workshop meeting locations and dates for
1999 will be announced separately in the Federal Register.
Special Accommodations
These hearings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Rebecca Lent (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 28, 1998.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-26356 Filed 9-29-98; 1:21 pm]
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