[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 203 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56094-56095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28210]


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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 dates and locations of four additional 
workshops for longline vessel operators scheduled during 1998. NMFS 
held one workshop on October 9, 1998, in New Bedford, MA. Additional 
workshops will be held 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 workshop dates are:
    1. October 23, 1998, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Montauk, NY.
    2. November 19, 1998, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Nags Head Beach, NC.
    3. December 11, 1998, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Charleston, SC.
    4. December 17, 1998, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Barnegat Light, NJ.
    Workshop dates for 1999 will be announced in the Federal Register 
once they are scheduled.

ADDRESSES: The workshop locations are:
    1. Montauk--Firehouse, 12 Flamingo Avenue, Montauk, NY 11954.
    2. Nags Head Beach--Comfort Inn South, 8031 Old Oregon Inlet Road, 
Nags Head Beach, NC 27959.
    3. Charleston--NMFS Charleston Laboratories, 219 Fort Johnson Road, 
Charleston, SC 29412.
    4. Barnegat Light--Firehouse, West 10th Street (corner 
of West 10th Street and Central Avenue), Barnegat Light, NJ 
08006.
    Workshop locations for 1999 will be announced in the Federal 
Register once they are scheduled.

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

[[Page 56095]]

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 
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.

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: October 15, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-28210 Filed 10-16-98; 1:13 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F