[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 216 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 60234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29506]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 102497B]


Coral, Golden Crab, Shrimp, Spiny Lobster, Red Drum, Coastal 
Migratory Pelagic Resources, and Snapper-Grouper Fisheries of the South 
Atlantic

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of an application for an exempted fishing 
permit; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted 
fishing permit (EFP) from Mr. Bruce Hecker, Director of Husbandry & 
Operations, South Carolina Aquarium (applicant). If granted, the EFP 
would authorize, over a period of 2 years, a collection for public 
display of an average of 25 specimens each of 76 species of marine 
invertebrates and 221 species of marine fish from Federal waters off 
South Carolina.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 8, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the application must be mailed to the Southeast 
Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, 
FL 33702.
    The application and related documents are available for review upon 
written request to the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Georgia Cranmore, 813-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EFP is requested under the authority of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.) and regulations at 50 CFR 600.745 concerning ``Scientific 
research activity, exempted fishing permits, and exempted educational 
activity.''
    The South Carolina Aquarium (SCA), located in Charleston, is 
scheduled to open to the public in 1999. According to the applicant, 
SCA is a public, non-profit, self-supporting institution devoted to the 
understanding and conservation of South Carolina's natural aquatic 
habitats and will become a major educational and conservation 
institution with free admission to school children in groups and 
extensive field study and outreach programs. While the SCA is being 
built, specimens will be maintained in an off-site warehouse.
    The applicant intends, over a period of 2 years, to collect for 
public display an average of 25 specimens each of 76 species of marine 
invertebrates and 221 species of marine fish from Federal waters off 
South Carolina, using a variety of fishing gears and the immobilizing 
chemical, quinaldine. A total of 25 specimens per species would be an 
average, and it may differ from species to species.
    The proposed collection for public display involves activities 
otherwise prohibited by regulations implementing the Fishery Management 
Plans for Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hard Bottom Habitats, Golden 
Crab, Shrimp, Spiny Lobster, Red Drum, Coastal Migratory Pelagics, and 
Snapper-Grouper Fisheries of the South Atlantic region. The applicant 
requires authorization to harvest and possess corals, live rock, golden 
crab, rock shrimp, red drum, wreckfish, Nassau grouper, and jewfish 
taken from Federal waters off South Carolina. In addition, 
authorization is required to use quinaldine in a coral area and to 
posses spiny lobster, bluefish, cobia, king and Spanish mackerel, 
groupers and snappers, greater amberjack, hogfish, and red porgy below 
the minimum size limit, in excess of established bag limits, or taken 
with prohibited gear.
    The applicant also intends to collect a large number of species 
that either are not subject to Federal fishery management in the South 
Atlantic region or are included under a fishery management plan that 
contains no management measures restricting possession or harvest.
    The applicant is also applying to NMFS for a separate authorization 
to collect highly migratory species, such as sharks and tunas, for 
public display purposes.
    Based on a preliminary review, NMFS finds that this application 
warrants further consideration and intends to issue an EFP. A final 
decision on issuance of the EFP will depend on a NMFS review of public 
comments received on the application, conclusions of environmental 
analyses conducted pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, 
and consultations with South Carolina, the South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: November 3, 1997.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-29506 Filed 11-6-97; 8:45 am]
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