[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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