[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 7, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32911-32912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8860]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 665
[I.D. 052506A]
RIN 0648-AT95
Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Omnibus Amendment for the
Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries, Crustacean Fisheries, and
Precious Coral Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of FMP amendments; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council (WPFMC) proposes to amend three fishery management plans
(western Pacific omnibus amendment) to include fisheries in waters
around the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and
Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA). These amendments would establish
new permitting and reporting requirements for vessel operators
targeting bottomfish species around the PRIA to improve understanding
of the ecology of these species and the activities and harvests of the
vessel operators that target them. It would also establish new
permitting and reporting requirements for vessel operators targeting
crustacean species and precious coral around the CNMI and PRIA.
DATES: Comments on the amendment must be received by August 7, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the western Pacific omnibus amendment,
identified by 0648-AT95, should be sent to any of the following
addresses:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the subject line
of the e-mail comment the following document identifier ``AT95
Omnibus.'' Comments sent via e-mail, including all attachments, must
not exceed a 5 megabyte file size.
Federal e-Rulemaking portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: William L. Robinson, Regional Administrator, NMFS,
Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani Boulevard, Suite 1110,
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700.
Copies of the western Pacific omnibus amendment, the Environmental
Assessment, and related analyses may be obtained from Kitty M. Simonds,
Executive Director, WPFMC, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI
96813, or on the internet at www.wpcouncil.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Harman, NMFS PIR, 808-944-
2271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The western Pacific omnibus amendment,
developed by the WPFMC, has been submitted to NMFS for review under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This document
announces that the amendment is available for public review and comment
for 60 days. NMFS will consider public comments received during the
comment period described above in determining whether to approve,
partially approve, or disapprove the western Pacific omnibus amendment.
[[Page 32912]]
The Pacific Islands region encompasses Federal waters, i.e., the
U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), around the Territories of Guam and
American Samoa, the State of Hawaii, the CNMI, and the PRIA. The inner
boundary of the EEZ is the seaward limit of each coastal state,
commonwealth, territory and possession. The EEZ extends from this inner
boundary to 200 nautical miles (nm) offshore.
The WPFMC has developed, and NMFS has approved and implemented,
five fishery management plans covering pelagic species, crustaceans,
bottomfish and seamount groundfish, precious corals, and coral reef
ecosystems fisheries. Federal waters around the CNMI are currently not
included in the Fishery Management Plans for the Bottomfish,
Crustaceans, or Precious Corals Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region
(Bottomfish FMP), Crustaceans FMP), and (Precious Corals FMP). Federal
waters around the PRIAs are not included in the Bottomfish or
Crustaceans FMP, except for Midway Atoll. Therefore, Federal fisheries
management, including data collection, is limited for these areas. New
fishery developments suggest to the WPFMC that the preliminary step of
including these waters under the FMPs is necessary to facilitate
further steps to monitor fish catches, and to implement other
management measures if needed in the future. Amendment 8 to the
Bottomfish FMP, Amendment 12 to the Crustaceans FMP, and Amendment 6 to
the Precious Corals FMP would include the fisheries operating in these
areas under the FMPs.
The omnibus amendment has the following objectives:
1. To improve the database for future bottomfish management
decisions through data reporting requirements (Bottomfish FMP);
2. To collect and analyze biological and economic information about
lobster fisheries and improve the statistical base for conservation and
management in the future (Crustaceans FMP); and
3. To encourage the acquisition and analysis of new information
concerning the distribution, abundance and ecology of precious corals
(Precious Corals FMP).
After considering a wide range of management options, including
many options suggested by the public during a public scoping process,
the WPFMC recommended the following management measures.
CNMI Management Measures
1. Include the CNMI EEZ as a management area in the Bottomfish FMP,
with regulations applied only to the offshore area (3 to 200 nm, again
the EEZ around the CNMI extends from the shoreline to 200 nm, but the
WPFMC recommends deferring regulatory control for fishing by CMNI
citizens in waters 0 to 3 nm of the EEZ around CNMI; however, the FMP
amendments do not confer authority to CNMI over EEZ resources), and
with no new Federal permitting or reporting requirements;
2. Include the CNMI EEZ under the Crustaceans FMP, with regulations
applied to the offshore area (3 to 200 nm), and include existing permit
and reporting requirements; and
3. Include the CNMI EEZ in the Precious Corals FMP, with
regulations applied to the offshore area (3 to 200 nm), and include
existing exploratory area permit and reporting and quota requirements.
PRIA Management Measures
1. Include the PRIA EEZ (0-200 nm) in the Bottomfish FMP, and
implement new Federal permitting and reporting requirements for all
vessels targeting bottomfish management unit species; and
2. Include the PRIA EEZ under the Crustaceans FMP, and include
existing Federal permitting and reporting requirements.
This action is designed to establish mechanisms to implement
specific regulatory controls should the need arise; specific management
measures (such as time and area closures, or effort and landing limits)
are not included.
Public comments on the western Pacific omnibus amendment must be
received by August 7, 2006, to be considered by NMFS in the decision to
approve, partially approve, or disapprove the amendment. A proposed
rule to implement the amendment has been submitted for Secretarial
review and approval.
NMFS expects to publish and request public comment on the proposed
regulation in the near future.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 1, 2006.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-8860 Filed 6-6-06; 8:45 am]
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