[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 23, 2001)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7395-7397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-2214]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 15 / Tuesday, January 23, 2001 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 7395]]


                Executive Order 13196 of January 18, 2001

                
Final Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef 
                Ecosystem Reserve

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, including the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, 
                (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), and the National Marine 
                Sanctuaries Amendments Act of 2000, Public Law 106-513, 
                and in furtherance of the purposes of the Magnuson-
                Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
                U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), Marine Protection, Research, and 
                Sanctuaries Act (33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), Coastal Zone 
                Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), Endangered 
                Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), Marine Mammal 
                Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1362 et seq.), Clean Water 
                Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), National Historic 
                Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), National 
                Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (16 U.S.C. 
                668dd-e.e.), and other pertinent statutes, it is 
                ordered as follows:

                Sec. 1. Preamble. On December 4, 2000, I issued 
                Executive Order 13178 establishing the Northwestern 
                Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve (Reserve) 
                pursuant to my authority under the National Marine 
                Sanctuaries Act, as amended by the National Marine 
                Sanctuary Amendments Act of 2000 (Act). In establishing 
                the Reserve, I set forth a number of conservation 
                measures and created specific Reserve Preservation 
                Areas to protect the coral reef ecosystem and related 
                marine resources and species (resources) of the 
                Reserve. The Act provides that no closure areas can 
                become permanent without adequate notice and comment. 
                Accordingly, I proposed to make permanent the Reserve 
                Preservation Areas and initiated a 30-day comment 
                period on this proposal. I also sought comment on the 
                conservation measures for the Reserve. On my behalf, 
                the Secretary of Commerce received the public comments 
                and held seven public hearings,including six throughout 
                Hawaii. After considering the comments expressed at the 
                hearings and received in writing, I have determined to 
                make permanent the Reserve Preservation Areas with 
                certain modifications set forth below. Further, I have 
                modified certain conservation measures to address 
                concerns raised, particularly regarding commercial and 
                recreational fishing within the Reserve. With this 
                action, the establishment of the Reserve under the Act, 
                including the conservation measures and permanent 
                Reserve Preservation Areas, is complete. The Secretary 
                of Commerce will manage the Reserve pursuant to 
                Executive Order 13178, as modified by this order, under 
                the Act. The Secretary shall also initiate the process 
                to designate the Reserve as a National Marine 
                Sanctuary, as required by the Act.

                Sec. 2. Purpose. The purpose of this order is to amend 
                Executive Order 13178, and to make permanent Reserve 
                Preservation Areas, as modified below, to ensure the 
                comprehensive, strong, and lasting protection of the 
                resources of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

                Sec. 3. Amendments to Sections 7 of Executive Order 
                13178.

                1. Section 7(a)(1) of Executive Order 13178 is hereby 
                amended by revising the first sentence to read as 
                follows:

                ``Commercial Fishing. All currently existing commercial 
                Federal fishing permits and current levels of fishing 
                effort and take, which also includes the non-permitted 
                level of trolling for pelagic species by currently 
                permitted bottom fishers, as determined by the 
                Secretary and pursuant to regulations in effect on 
                December 4, 2000, shall be capped as follows:''

[[Page 7396]]

                2. Section 7(a)(1)(C) of Executive Order 13178 is 
                hereby revised to read as follows:

                ``(C) The annual level of aggregate take under all 
                permits of any particular type of fishing may not 
                exceed the aggregate level of take under all permits of 
                that type of fishing as follows:

                 (1) Bottomfishing--the annual aggregate level for each 
                permitted bottomfisher shall be that permittee's 
                individual average taken over the 5 years preceding 
                December 4, 2000, as determined by the Secretary, 
                provided that the Secretary, in furtherance of the 
                principles of the reserve, may make a one-time 
                reasonable increase to the total aggregate to allow for 
                the use of two Native Hawaiian bottomfishing permits;

                 (2) All other commercial fishing--the annual aggregate 
                level shall be the permittee's individual take in the 
                year preceding December 4, 2000, as determined by the 
                Secretary.''

                3. A new section 7(a)(1)(F) is hereby added to 
                Executive Order 13178 and reads as follows:

                ``(F) Trolling for pelagic species shall be capped 
                based on reported landings for the year preceding 
                December 4, 2000.''

                4. Section 7(b)(4) is revised to read as follows:

                ``(4) Discharging or depositing any material or other 
                matter into the Reserve, or discharging or depositing 
                any material or other matter outside the Reserve that 
                subsequently enters the Reserve and injures any 
                resource of the Reserve, except:

                    (A) fish parts (i.e., chumming materia or bait) 
                used in and during fishing operations authorized under 
                this order;
                    (B) biodegradable effluent incident to vessel use 
                and generated by a marine sanitation device in 
                accordance with section 312 of the Federal Water 
                Pollution Control Act, as amended;
                    (C) water generated by routine vessel operations 
                (e.g., deck wash down and graywater as defined in 
                section 312 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
                Act), excluding oily wastes from bilge pumping; or
                    (D) cooling water from vessels or engine exhaust; 
                and''.

                Sec. 4. Amendments to Sections 8 of Executive Order 
                13178.

                1. Section 8 of Executive Order 13178 is modified by 
                substituting ``provided that commercial bottomfishing 
                and commercial and recreational trolling for pelagic 
                species in accordance with the requirements of sections 
                7(a)(1) and 7(a)(2) of this order, respectively,'' for 
                ``provided that bottomfishing in accordance with the 
                requirements of section 7(a)(1)'' everywhere the latter 
                phrase appears in section 8.

                2. Section 8(a)(1)(A) is modified by substituting ``a 
                mean depth of 25 fm'' for ``a mean depth of 10fm.''

                3. Section 8(a)(1)(B) is modified by substituting ``a 
                mean depth of 25 fm'' for ``a mean depth of 20fm.''

                4. Section 8(a)(1)(D) is modified by substituting ``a 
                mean depth of 25 fm'' for ``a mean depth of 10fm.''

                5. Section 8(a)(1)(E) is modified by substituting ``a 
                mean depth of 25 fm'' for ``a mean depth of 20fm.''

                6. Section 8(a)(1)(G) is modified by substituting ``a 
                mean depth of 25 fm'' for ``a mean depth of 50fm.''

                7. Section 8(a)(1)(I) is revised to read ``Kure 
                Atoll.''

                8. Sections 8(a)(2)(D) and (E) are hereby deleted and a 
                new section 8(a)(3) is hereby substituted as follows:

                 ``(3) Twelve nautical miles around the approximate 
                geographical centers of

[[Page 7397]]

                    (A) The first bank west of St. Rogation Bank, east 
                of Gardner Pinnacles, provided that commercial 
                bottomfishing and commercial and recreational trolling 
                for pelagic species in accordance with the requirements 
                of sections 7(a)(1) and 7(a)(2) of this order, shall be 
                allowed to continue for a period of 5 years from the 
                date of this order; and
                    (B) Raita Bank, provided that commercial 
                bottomfishing and commercial and recreational trolling 
                for pelagic species in accordance with the requirements 
                of sections 7(a)(1) and 7(a)(2) of this order, shall be 
                allowed to continue for a period of 5 years from the 
                date of this order; and
                    (C) Provided that both banks described above in 
                (3)(A) and (3)(B) shall only continue to allow 
                commercial bottomfishing and commercial and 
                recreational trolling for pelagic species after the 5-
                year time period if it is determined that continuation 
                of such activities will have no adverse impact on the 
                resources of these banks.''

                Sec. 5. Reserve Preservation Areas. The Reserve 
                Preservation Areas, as modified in sections 3 and 4 of 
                this order, are hereby made permanent in accordance 
                with the Act.

                Sec. 6. Judicial Review. This order does not create any 
                right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable in law or equity by a party against the 
                United States, its agencies, its officers, or any 
                person.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                     January 18, 2001.

[FR Doc. 01-2214
Filed 1-22-01; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P