[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 146 (Wednesday, July 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44745-44747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19376]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 071703A]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Coastal Migratory Pelagic 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Exempted Fishing 
Permit

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. Jody Symons on behalf of Florida Offshore 
Aquaculture, Inc. of Madeira Beach, FL. If granted, the EFP would 
authorize a feasibility study for 24 months of net cage culture of 
cobia, mahi-mahi, greater amberjack, Florida pompano, red snapper and 
cubera snapper at a site approximately 33 statute miles (53 km) WSW. of 
John's Pass, FL. According to the applicant, the purpose of the 
proposed study is to determine the feasibility to grow commercial 
quantities of native fish species in the offshore environment of the 
eastern Gulf of Mexico using mariculture techniques. The applicant 
proposes to place hatchery-raised juvenile fish in net cages, feed 
them, allow them to grow for approximately 4 months, harvest each cage 
three times annually, land them in Florida, and sell them. No wild-
caught fish will be involved in this study.

DATES:  Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern time, 
on August 29, 2003.

ADDRESSES:  Comments on the application must be mailed to Peter 
Eldridge, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive 
N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702. Comments also may be sent via fax to 727-
570-5583. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or 
Internet. The application and related documents are available for 
review upon written request to the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Peter Eldridge, 727-570-5305; fax: 
727-570-5583; e-mail: [email protected].

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(b), concerning 
scientific research activity, exempted fishing permits, and exempted 
educational activity.
    Florida Offshore Aquaculture, Inc., of Madeira Beach, FL intends to 
conduct a feasibility study for 24 months to determine if it is 
practical to raise commercial quantities of cobia, mahi-mahi, greater 
amberjack, red snapper and cubera snapper in nets at a site 
approximately 33 statute miles (53 km) WSW. of John's Pass, FL 
(27[deg]34.79' N. lat., 83[deg]16.11' W. long.; depth 109 ft (33.2 m)). 
An important objective of the project is to determine environmentally 
responsible procedures that should be employed to ensure minimal 
environmental impacts on native species as well as the habitat 
surrounding the project, which will be approximately 1 square mile in 
area. The proposed site is over sandy bottom and is not in a 
traditional fishing area for recreational and commercial fisheries. 
Thus, there should be minimal interaction between the mariculture site 
and fishermen.
    Four to eight Sea Station TM cages will be deployed. These cages 
have a central steel support spar within a steel tubular ring with 
spoke lines radiating from the top and bottom of the spar to the ring 
and a net stretched over the outside of this spar and cable frame. This 
design is self-supporting and provides total encasement of the fish; 
each cage is 53 ft (16 m) tall and 83 ft (25 m) in diameter and will 
contain a maximum fish biomass of 165,000 lb (75,000 kg). The cages 
utilize a net made out of spectra fiber and are stretched tightly over 
the entire structure, which greatly reduces the possibility of 
entanglement by sea turtles and marine mammals. The cages will be 
submerged except during harvesting and should pose no foreseeable 
threat to sea birds. Each cage will be attached to four 2,000-kg 
Danforth anchors to prevent movement from the site.
    The stocking schedule is as follows: Cobia will be the first 
species stocked. There will be four 6-month stocking phases. During the 
first phase, four cages will be deployed, stocked and harvested; during 
the second phase stocking and harvesting of the initial four cages will 
continue; during the third phase four additional cages will be deployed 
with cobia, mahi-mahi, greater amberjack, Florida pompano, red snapper 
and cubera snapper. During the fourth phase stocking and harvesting of 
all species will occur.
    Disease-free fingerlings will be obtained from the Aquaculture 
Center of the Florida Keys (59300 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL, phone 
305-743-6135) and the Marine Science Institute of the University of 
Texas (750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, TX, phone 361-749-6795). 
In the event that the fish in the cages develop diseases or parasites 
from wild sources and treatments are indicated, they will be treated 
with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved vaccines, drugs 
or antibiotics only. This will be done in their feed or, in the extreme 
case, the cage(s) will be enclosed with material and will be treated 
with U.S. FDA-approved vaccines, drugs or antibiotics in solution. If 
any fish are found to have commutable virus, the entire population of 
the affected cage will be immediately removed and destroyed. The brood 
stock and their spawn will be genetically tagged using the satellite 
DNA method. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 
(FFWCC) facility at Port Manatee, FL, will conduct this phase of the 
research.
    Feeds for this project will be commercially manufactured diets 
formulated for the species being fed from established aquaculture feed 
companies. The pelletized feeds will contain essential feed ingredients 
only and will minimize introduction of

[[Page 44746]]

materials not utilized in the digestive process of the grow out 
species. No bycatch from any fisheries will be used as a source of food 
for this project.
    There will be a comprehensive environmental monitoring program for 
the project developed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The 
monitoring program is described in Appendix 2 of the environmental 
assessment prepared for granting of an EFP for the project, should the 
project be approved. A copy of the environmental assessment can be 
obtained from Peter J. Eldridge (see ADDRESSES).
    The monitoring program will utilize a transect approach to 
sampling. Benthic and water quality samples will be collected at 
intervals on two transects passing through the center of the cluster of 
cages. Each transect will be 2 km in length, and the transects 
intersect at the center of the cage cluster. The first transect lies 
parallel to the predominate current direction, and the second transect 
lies perpendicular to the first, or the predominate current. Control 
samples, water and benthos unaffected by cage operations, will be 
collected at the end of each transect. Prior to sampling, a description 
of the bathymetric and topographic characteristics of the mariculture 
site will be conducted.
    During each sampling event, at the beginning and end of the period 
of active sampling, sea surface conditions (wind, wave amplitude and 
frequency, rain, cloud cover, and air temperature) will be recorded. 
Also, current stocking density, feeding rate reported on a per-cage and 
total-farm basis, and an analysis of feed contents (feed label 
information) will be noted.
    Physical and chemical water quality parameters will include 
dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, turbidity, total suspended 
solids, chlorophyll, ammonia-N, nitrite-N, nitrate-N and total 
phosphate. The above water quality parameters will be assessed at mid-
water and a meter from the bottom at each of the water quality sampling 
sites. Current speed and direction will be measured at each sampling 
event. The results of each monthly monitoring event will be submitted 
to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within 60 working days of 
sample collection. Specifications in the monitoring program are subject 
to modification.
    NMFS intends to add the following conditions to any issuance of the 
EFP to ensure that there are no significant impacts on the environment 
or on our enforcement efforts regarding existing prohibitions on the 
taking of these species.

Proposed Conditions

    1. Applicant must notify NMFS of any changes to the list of 
hatcheries to be used.
    2. All fingerlings must be certified by the hatchery to be disease-
free prior to placement in the cages.
    3. Only chemotherapeutants approved by FDA or prescribed by a 
qualified veterinarian may be used.
    4. Use of toxic chemicals as defined in 50 CFR 622.2 to control 
fouling of nets is prohibited.
    5. Immediate notification must be provided to NMFS if any of the 
following events occur:
    a. damage to cages or malfunction of supporting structures;
    b. large-scale escapement, i.e., loss of more than 20 percent of a 
cage population;
    c. Major disease outbreak resulting in mortalities exceeding 10 
percent; or
    d. entanglements of marine mammals or endangered or threatened sea 
turtles.
    6. Quarterly reports are required beginning 90 days after anchoring 
cages in site on:
    a. any disease occurrence;
    b. any use of chemotherapeutants approved by FDA or prescribed by a 
qualified veterinarian;
    c. outcome of any events requiring immediate notification (see 5 
above);
    d. changes in faunal composition of the area around the 
experimental site;
    e. substrate and water quality monitoring;
    f. harvests of maricultured fish species.
    7. The following samples/records must be maintained a minimum of at 
least one year after the termination of the EFP and made available for 
inspection:
    a. sources of feed including batch codes;
    b. sources of each group of fish stocked including:
    1. total number of fish by species;
    2. estimated size of fish;
    3. date of each introduction/stocking;
    4. name, address and phone number of suppliers(s);
    5. disease status of supplier's facility including, name, address, 
and phone number of analytical facilities assessing disease status;
    6. samples of frozen specimens of each group of fish including fish 
harvested from cages, and during any unusual morbidity or mortality 
events as per USDA standards; and,
    7. phase one fry will be satellite DNA documented by FFWCC 
geneticists at Port of Manatee Hatchery.
    8. Fish must be maintained intact through offloading ashore. Fish 
will be placed in live haul containers located on the harvest vessels, 
brought to shore, and loaded on live haul trucks for sale to 
traditional live markets. Any fish over the capacity of the live market 
will be processed at Double D Seafood in St. Petersburg, FL and sold. 
Once harvested, the maricultured fish must be reported in accordance 
with state and Federal reporting requirements. Sale is allowed only to 
dealers licensed by Florida to sell maricultured fishery products 
landed in Florida.
    9. Not less than 24 hours prior to harvest, provide the following 
information to the NMFS Law Enforcement Office, Southeast Region, St. 
Petersburg, FL, (727-570-5344): date, port, and facility at which 
maricultured product will be landed and name(s) and phone number(s) of 
licensed dealer(s) receiving the fish.
    10. NMFS retains the authority to make periodic inspections of 
mariculture operations and records. If the applicant becomes a 
certified Florida aquaculturist, the applicant must notify NMFS Law 
Enforcement of the annual unique serial number required on all 
mariculture records, including sales, and the records must be made 
available for inspection by authorized officers and maintained for the 
duration of the EFP plus 1 year.
    11. NMFS has the authority to suspend or revoke the EFP if: the 
application is found to contain false, incomplete, or inaccurate 
information; the applicant fails to comply with its terms and 
conditions; significant new information becomes available indicating 
that one of the conditions for denial of the EFP application applies 
(See 50 CFR 600.745(b)(8)). Revocation will require a General Counsel 
enforcement action per 600.745(b)(8) and 15 CFR 904 regulations.
    12. Issuance of the EFP does not eliminate the need for the 
applicant to obtain any other Federal, state, or local authorizations 
required by law.
    Based on a preliminary review, NMFS finds that this application 
warrants further consideration and is considering issuing 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 Florida, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental 
Protection Agency. The applicant requests a 24-month effective period 
for the EFP.


[[Page 44747]]


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

    Dated: July 25, 2003.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-19376 Filed 7-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S