[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 48 (Monday, March 12, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14352-14354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-6041]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 18

RIN 1018-AH86


Marine Mammals: Incidental Take During Specified Activities

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act we, the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, intend to develop a rule that would allow 
authorization for the incidental, unintentional take of small numbers 
of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) that results from 
government activities related to watercraft and watercraft access 
facilities within the geographic area of the species' range in Florida 
for a period of not more than 5 years.
    Under provisions of the MMPA, it is unlawful for any person to take 
a Florida manatee in waters or on lands under the jurisdiction of the 
United States. Nonetheless, incidental take shall be allowed if we 
find, based on the best available scientific information, that the 
total taking during the specified time period will have a negligible 
impact on the species and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact 
on the availability of the species for subsistence uses. In making 
these findings, we would establish specific regulations for the 
activities that set forth permissible methods of taking and means of 
effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the species and their 
habitat; and requirements for monitoring and reporting.

[[Page 14353]]

    The rule-making process will determine if watercraft-related 
incidental, unintentional take by us and other entities that choose to 
seek coverage will have a negligible impact on manatees, and allow 
authorization of take caused by activities permitted, funded, or 
carried out by participants in the rule-making process that has no more 
than a negligible impact on manatees.

DATES: You must submit comments to us by April 11, 2001.

ADDRESSES: You should submit written comments by mail to Field 
Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
6620 Southpoint Drive, South, Suite 310, Jacksonville, Florida 32216. 
You may also submit written comments by FACSIMILE MAIL to (904) 232-
2404 (Attn: Peter Benjamin), or INTERNET to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Benjamin, Jacksonville Field 
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6620 Southpoint Drive, South, 
Suite 310, Jacksonville, Florida 32216, Telephone: (904) 232-2580 
extension 106; Facsimile Mail to (904) 232-2404, or Internet to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1361-1421h), sets a general moratorium on the taking and 
importation of marine mammals. Section 102 of the MMPA makes it 
unlawful for any person to take, possess, transport, purchase, sell, 
export, or offer to purchase, sell, or export any marine mammal or 
marine mammal product unless otherwise allowed. ``Take,'' as defined by 
section 3(13) of the MMPA ``means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or 
attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal.'' Our 
implementing regulations at 50 CFR 18.3 further define take as follows: 
To harass, hunt, capture, collect, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, 
capture, collect, or kill any marine mammal, including, without 
limitation, any of the following: The collection of dead animals or 
parts thereof; the restraint or detention of a marine mammal, no matter 
how temporary; tagging a marine mammal; or the negligent or intentional 
operation of an aircraft or vessel, or the doing of any other negligent 
or intentional act which results in the disturbing or molesting of a 
marine mammal.
    ``Harassment'' is defined under the MMPA as any act of pursuit, 
torment, or annoyance which--(i) has the potential to injure a marine 
mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild; or (ii) has the potential to 
disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing 
disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to 
migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering. You 
can find other definitions relevant to our proposed action at 50 CFR 
18.27(c).
    Nonetheless, the MMPA contains exceptions to the moratorium, 
including section 101(a)(5)(A) which allows us, on request, to 
authorize for a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) in a 
specified geographical region the incidental, but not intentional, take 
of small numbers of a species or stock of marine mammal if certain 
findings are made and regulations prescribed. We must find that the 
total of such taking during the specified time period (of up to five 
years) will have a negligible impact on the species or stock and will 
not have an unmitigable impact on the availability of such species or 
stock for subsistence uses.
    If we make these findings, we must set forth permissible methods of 
taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse 
impact on the species and its habitat, and requirements pertaining to 
the monitoring and reporting of such taking. The subsistence provision 
requiring that the total taking not have an unmitigable impact on the 
availability of the species or stock for subsistence uses is not 
applicable to Florida manatees.
    Following promulgation of incidental take regulations, a Letter of 
Authorization, which may be issued by us to U.S. Citizens (including 
government agencies), would authorize incidental take associated with 
an applicant's activities. Procedures for obtaining a Letter of 
Authorization are described at 50 CFR 18.27(f).
    The manatee is protected under the MMPA and is also listed as an 
endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The largest known 
human-related cause of manatee deaths is collisions with watercraft. 
Between 1976 and 1999, watercraft-related deaths increased at an 
average of 7.2 percent per year. From 1996 to 2000, watercraft-related 
deaths have been the highest on record, ranging from 54 to 82.
    In the State of Florida, County, State, and Federal agencies engage 
in a variety of activities that may result in the incidental, 
unintentional take of manatees by watercraft. Many of these activities 
relate to the use and regulation of watercraft operated in Florida 
waters accessible to manatees, including: (1) Regulating boater 
behavior on the water (e.g., speed zones and vessel registration); (2) 
permitting construction of watercraft access facilities (marinas, 
docks, boat ramps); (3) funding construction of watercraft access 
facilities; (4) operating watercraft access facilities; and (5) 
operating watercraft. To date, there is no authorization for the 
incidental, unintentional death, injury, or harassment of manatees 
caused by these otherwise legal activities.
    We engage in, or have the authority to engage in, each of the above 
five categories of activities; therefore, Service activities could 
result in the incidental, unintentional take of manatees. As such, we 
will request development of incidental take regulations for our own 
activities and initiate promulgating such regulations to allow 
authorization of take associated with government activities related to 
watercraft in Florida. Through this rulemaking we will determine 
whether take associated with watercraft use and regulation in Florida 
will have a negligible impact on manatees, after taking into account 
mitigating measures that would render the impact negligible when it may 
not otherwise meet that standard.
    Other Federal, State, and local agencies involved in these same 
types of activities are encouraged to join us in this rulemaking effort 
in order to gain authorization and liability coverage for take that is 
otherwise prohibited under the MMPA. Persons wishing to provide 
relevant information and comments regarding this activity should submit 
these to the above address. For information, please contact the 
individual identified above in the section entitled FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

Public Comments Solicited

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments relating to our 
projected development of incidental take regulations for manatees in 
Florida. We request suggestions, materials, and recommendations to 
assist and guide us in this endeavor.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular 
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their name and home address from the rulemaking record, which we will 
honor to the extent allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your 
name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning 
of your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We 
will make all submissions from organizations or

[[Page 14354]]

business, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available 
for public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: March 6, 2001.
Joseph E. Doddridge,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 01-6041 Filed 3-9-01; 8:45 am]
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