[Federal Register: August 21, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 161)]
[Notices]
[Page 46608-46610]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21au07-45]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC10
Western Pacific Pelagic Fisheries, Hawaii-based Longline
Swordfish Fishery; Scoping Process
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact
statement and notice of initiation of scoping process; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) and
NMFS announce their intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (SEIS) in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) on the federal management of the Hawaii-based
shallow-set pelagic longline fishery in the western Pacific. The SEIS
will supplement the March 30, 2001, Final EIS on the Fishery Management
Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region as well as the
March 5, 2004, Final SEIS on Management Measures to Implement New
Technologies for the Western Pacific Longline Fisheries.
DATES: The WPFMC and NMFS will discuss alternatives and take scoping
comments at a public meeting on August 30, 2007, from 6-9 p.m.
Written scoping comments must be received by September 20, 2007.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Ala Moana Hotel, 410
Atkinson Dr., Honolulu, HI 96815.
Written comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Mail: William L. Robinson, Regional Administrator, Pacific
Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI
96814. Please write on the envelope: ``Scoping Comments on HI Swordfish
SEIS''; or
E-mail: HILonglineScoping@noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kitty Simonds, Executive Director,
WPFMC, (808) 522-8220, or William L. Robinson, Regional Administrator,
NMFS, (808) 944-2200.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SEIS will consider alternatives for
modifying the current regulatory structure for the Hawaii-based
shallow-set pelagic longline fishery (``the fishery'') to provide
increased opportunities to harvest swordfish while continuing to avoid,
to the extent practicable, the incidental catch of seabirds, marine
mammals, and threatened and endangered sea turtles. Potential
regulatory changes to be analyzed in the SEIS include: modifying or
eliminating the existing limit on fishing effort; maintaining or
eliminating longline ``set certificates'' that limit the amount of
fishing effort in the fishery; retaining or eliminating hard ``caps''
(limits) on the incidental take of sea turtles which, if reached, close
the fishery for the remainder of the year; the use of time and/or area
restrictions in combination with caps on interactions with loggerhead
and leatherback sea turtles; modifications to assessment methodologies;
changes in observer coverage; and other management alternatives
designed to increase incentives to avoid interactions with sea turtles
and other protected resources. The SEIS will analyze the impacts of the
range of reasonable alternatives on the affected human environment,
including the No Action alternative, and the potential impacts on
affected populations of sea turtles. The SEIS will include an update on
the status of the biological and economic factors affecting the
fishery, analysis of the impacts of regulatory measures currently in
effect in the shallow-set fishery since 2004, summary of information on
international conservation efforts, and a discussion of the potential
transferred effects on both target- and incidentally-caught species to
other national fishing fleets from regulatory restrictions in the
domestic fishery.
Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the United States has exclusive management
authority over all living marine resources found within the Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ). Management of these marine resources, with the
exception of seabirds and some marine mammals, is vested in the
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). Eight Regional Fishery Management
Councils prepare fishery
[[Page 46609]]
management plans which are reviewed for approval and implementation by
the Secretary. The WPFMC has the responsibility to prepare fishery
management plans for fishery resources in the EEZ of the western
Pacific.
Pelagic fisheries in the EEZ and on the high seas of the western
Pacific have been managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the
Pelagics Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP) and its
amendments since 1986. Managed resources include both marketable
(primarily billfishes and tunas), and non-marketable (primarily sharks)
species. Fisheries managed under the FMP include pelagic longline,
troll, handline, pole-and-line (bait boat), and charter-boat fisheries.
Management measures include gear restrictions, vessel size limitations,
time and area closures, access limitations, and other measures.
Longline fisheries of the western Pacific are further regulated
under two classifications: (1) The ``shallow-set'' component that
targets swordfish, and (2) the ``deep-set'' component that targets that
targets tuna. The shallow-set component of the Hawaii-based longline
fishery currently operates under the following regulations: an annual
set limit of 2,120 shallow-sets (half of the 1994-99 historical
average); mandatory night setting; the required use of 18/0 circle
hooks or larger (with a 10 degree offset) and blue-dyed mackerel-type
bait; closure of the fishery if sea turtle interaction limits are
reached for loggerhead (17) or leatherback (16) sea turtles; and other
measures. The sea turtle interaction limits were established based on a
biological opinion issued by NMFS on February 23, 2004, associated with
management measures to implement new technologies for the western
Pacific longline fisheries. The biological opinion also requires 100
percent federal observer coverage in the shallow-set fishery.
In February 2007, the WPFMC and NMFS received a proposal from the
Hawaii Longline Association (HLA) requesting an amendment to the
Pelagics FMP and related MSA regulations concerning the Hawaii-based
shallow-set longline fishery. The proposal requests that the WPFMC
consider amending the Pelagics FMP to eliminate the existing annual
fishing effort limit of 2,120 sets. The HLA proposal is premised on new
information obtained since the implementation of the existing shallow-
set fishery regime in early 2004 (Gilman and Kobayashi \1\). The new
information pertains primarily to sea turtle interaction and mortality
rates. The analysis done by Gilman and Kobayashi indicate a reduction
in sea turtle capture rates and in the type of incidental hookings
(lightly hooked vs. deeply hooked in the mouth or swallowed) observed
during sea turtle interactions with longline gear. Combined sea turtle
capture rates have declined by 89 percent in comparison to historical
capture rates in the shallow-set fishery. Deep hooking (thought to
result in sea turtle mortality) rates have also declined to 15 percent
of all loggerhead sea turtle captures and zero percent of leatherback
sea turtle captures. Prior to requiring the use of circle hooks and
mackerel-type bait in the Hawaii-based longline shallow-set fishery, 51
percent of the sea turtles were believed to have been deeply hooked. No
green or olive ridley sea turtles have been incidentally caught in the
current shallow-set fishery.
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\1\ Gilman, E., and D. Kobayashi. In press. Sea turtle
interactions in the Hawaii-based swordfish fishery first quarter
2007 and comparison to previous periods.
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The WPFMC and NMFS will consider a range of alternatives that may
modify the current regulatory structure for the Hawaii-based pelagic
longline shallow-set fishery. Preliminary alternatives that may be
analyzed in the SEIS and considered by the WPFMC and NMFS include the
following:
Longline Fishing Effort:
1. No action - keep 2120 set limit;
2. Allow 3,000 sets;
3. Allow 4,000 sets; and
4. Do not limit sets.
Time-Area Closures:
1. No action - no time-area closures;
2. Implement pre-season monthly closure of waters in designated sea
turtle ``hot spots'' based on historical and contemporary sea surface
temperature data; and
3. Implement in-season closure of waters based on analysis of sea
surface temperature data.
Interaction Hard Cap for Loggerhead and Leatherback Sea Turtles:
1. No action - continue limitations of sea turtle interactions using
caps set by NMFS; and
2. Discontinue limitations of sea turtle interactions using caps set by
NMFS.
Fishery Participation:
1. No action - keep set certificates; and
2. Remove set certificates.
Assessment Methodology:
1. No action - annual (1 year) cap on interactions with loggerhead and
leatherback turtles (numbers of sea turtle interactions to be
determined by NMFS); and
2. Multi-year cap on interactions with loggerhead and leatherback
turtles (numbers of sea turtle interactions to be determined by NMFS).
Sea Turtle Avoidance Incentives:
1. No action - do not implement individual vessel sea turtle
interaction ``limits'';
2. Individual vessel ``limits'' for loggerhead and leatherback turtles
will be available on an annual basis (calendar or fishing year) to
individual vessels. These ``limits'' will be transferable among
vessels; and
3. Any shallow-set vessel in the fleet that interacts with a certain
(unspecified at this time) number of sea turtles during the calendar
year or fishing year will be precluded from shallow-set fishing for a
certain period (unspecified at this time).
Observer Coverage:
1. No action - 100 percent coverage;
2. A reduced level of observer coverage that achieves an appropriate
extrapolation of interactions between sea turtles and the fishery;
3. NMFS covers costs for 100 percent coverage at current effort limit
(2,120 longline sets), and fishing industry pays for observer costs for
additional shallow-set effort beyond current limit; and
4. Fishing industry pays all on-board observer costs associated with
monitoring of the Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery.
Public Involvement
Public scoping is an early and open process for determining the
scope of issues to be addressed. A principal objective of the scoping
and public involvement process is to identify a reasonable range of
management alternatives that, with adequate analysis, will delineate
critical issues and provide a clear basis for distinguishing between
those alternatives and selecting a preferred alternative.
In addition to the public meeting (see DATES and ADDRESSES), other
opportunities for public involvement will be available at WPFMC's
Science and Statistical Committee meeting on September 25-27, 2007, at
the WPFMC office, 1164 Bishop St, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, and
at the 139th WPFMC meeting on October 9-12, 2007, at the Ala Moana
Hotel, 410 Atkinson Dr., Honolulu, HI 96815.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Kitty M. Simonds, (808) 522-8220
(voice) or (808) 522-
[[Page 46610]]
8226 (fax), at least five days prior to the meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 15, 2007.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-16358 Filed 8-20-07; 8:45 am]
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