[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 196 (Thursday, October 9, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58296-58298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25640]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[I.D. 091603E]


National Marine Fisheries Service, Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental assessment (EA); 
request for written comments; notice of public scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intent to prepare an EA and to hold scoping 
meetings to inform interested parties of the potential impacts on the 
human environment of the implementation of the regulatory changes 
resulting from the recently extended Treaty on Fisheries Between the 
Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the 
United States of America (Treaty). As part of this process, NMFS 
intends to conduct two scoping meetings to allow stakeholders the 
opportunity to express their views regarding information that NMFS 
should consider in preparing the EA for the implementation of the 
regulatory changes required under the recently re-negotiated Treaty.

DATES: The dates for the public scoping meetings are:
    1. October 24, 2003, in San Diego, California.
    2. November 13, 2003, in Pago Pago, American Samoa.

ADDRESSES: The scoping meeting locations are:
    1. Embassy Suites Hotel, San Diego Bay, 4 p.m. - 10 p.m.
    2. Utulei Convention Center, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
    Written comments on the issues, range of alternatives, impacts that 
should be discussed in the EA, and requests to be included on a mailing 
list of persons interested in the EA should be sent to Raymond Clarke, 
International Affairs Division, Pacific Islands Regional Office, NMFS, 
1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814. Comments may be 
sent to the Regional Office via facsimile (fax) at 808-973-2941 and 
must be received by December 8, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Karnella or Raymond Clarke, 
telephone (808) 973-2937.

[[Page 58297]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Treaty entered into force in 1988. The Treaty is between the 16 
members of the Pacific Islands Forum, an inter-governmental body that 
represents 16 sovereign Pacific Island Countries (PICs), and the United 
States of America. After an initial 5-year agreement, the Treaty was 
renewed in 1993 allowing access for up to 50 U.S. purse seiners (with 
an option for 5 more if agreed to by all parties) to the Exclusive 
Economic Zones (EEZs) of the following countries: Australia, Cook 
Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall 
Islands, New Zealand, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon 
Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Samoa. The Treaty Area is 
approximately 10 million square miles in the western and central 
Pacific Ocean.
    The Treaty sets out the terms and conditions associated with 
certain aspects of U.S. purse seine vessel operations and obtaining 
access to the PICs= EEZs. Treaty terms and conditions include, but are 
not limited to, various fees, area closures, reporting, and observer 
coverage requirements. Additionally, the United States Government has 
certain Treaty obligations that include, but are not limited to, 
administrative requirements, economic assistance fees, as well as the 
collection, compilation, and summarization of fishery related data.
    Commencing in 2000, the U.S. and the PICs entered into a series of 
negotiations that led to an agreement to amend and extend the Treaty 
for 10 years or until June 14, 2012. The agreement recognizes that all 
parties involved in the negotiations were required to obtain the 
consent of their various legislative and/or executive bodies before the 
Treaty entered into law. The parties agreed to abide by the negotiated 
terms and conditions of the extension of the Treaty after June 15, 2003 
B or when key provisions of the previous Treaty expired. This allowed 
the U.S. purse seine fleet to continue to operate and allowed the PICs 
to continue to benefit from the economic assistance associated with the 
Treaty. As of this writing all the parties have not ratified the re-
negotiated Treaty.
    Under the current agreement, the U.S. is obligated to pay an annual 
amount of $21 million. The U.S. Government annually provides $18 
million under a technical assistance agreement, and the U.S. purse 
seine tuna industry, provides the additional $3 million. These funds 
are paid to the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) located in Honiara, 
Solomon Islands. Under the current (re-negotiated) Treaty, the U.S. is 
now limited to 40 vessels (and up to 5 additional vessels operating 
under joint venture agreements with PICs).
    The changes to the operational requirements of the Treaty include: 
recognition of electronic media as an allowed method for meeting 
reporting requirements and information transmittal by the purse seine 
vessels, the use of electronic vessel monitoring systems while vessels 
operate in the Treaty Area, modifications by certain PICs to the areas 
in which fishing is permitted by U.S. purse seine vessels and 
correcting an unintended consequence of the drafting of the Treaty that 
prohibited pelagic longlining by U.S. vessels on the high seas areas 
(areas outside the 200- mile EEZ of any country) within the Treaty 
Area.

NEPA Process

    The authorization by NMFS to the FFA to provide U.S. purse seine 
vessels a license to fish in the Treaty Area, which includes access to 
the EEZs of PICs is a Federal action. Under the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), Federal agencies must insure that analysis of the 
environmental impacts of a range of alternative proposals is available 
to public officials and citizens before Federal decisions are made and 
before Federal actions are taken. The purpose is to promote management 
and policy decisions that will prevent or eliminate damage to the 
environment, stimulate the health and welfare of the public, and enrich 
the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources 
important to the nation. A key element of the NEPA process is the 
identification of the proposed action as well as a set of alternatives 
to the proposed action. The NEPA process, involving public review of 
the alternatives, is designed to provide the agency with information 
that enables identification of issues, concerns and reasonable 
alternatives. The proposed action now under consideration and the 
subject of this EA is the FFA's authorization of U.S. purse seine 
vessels to operate in the EEZs of certain PICs under the terms and 
conditions of the Treaty as amended and extended until June 2012.
    NMFS is accepting written comments on the range of actions, 
alternatives, and impacts it should consider in the EA. These comments 
will be part of the public record.

Alternatives

    At present the range of alternatives to be considered in the EA 
will probably include, but would not be limited to:
    NMFS does not propose a regulation to implement the changes 
proposed for the Third Extension of the Treaty (No Action Alternative). 
Under this alternative, the Treaty would continue in the manner it has 
since June 15, 2003, pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 
signed on May 9, 2002. That non-legally binding document represents the 
political commitment of the signatories to apply the amendments to the 
Treaty and Annexes that were not in force by June 15, 2003.
    NMFS proposes a regulation to implement the changes proposed for 
the Third Extension of the Treaty. Under this alternative, the U.S. 
would implement the regulatory changes that have been agreed upon for 
the third extension of the Treaty. No new legislation would be required 
for the United States to implement such changes. Regulations would, 
however, have to be promulgated to require that U.S. tuna purse seine 
vessels licensed to fish under the Treaty comply with the prescribed 
vessel monitoring system (VMS) procedures and requirements. This action 
would implement VMS requirements that are consistent with FFA 
specifications and be applicable to persons and vessels subject to the 
Treaty and the jurisdiction of the United States. Operators wishing to 
fish under the Treaty would be required to install, carry, activate and 
operate, repair or replace a VMS unit while in the Treaty Area. This 
alternative also includes modifications to the regulations that would 
allow U.S. longline vessels to fish on the high seas within the Treaty 
Area, as well as modifications to the areas of fishing in the EEZs of 
the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
    NMFS recommends that the U.S. withdraw from the Treaty. In 
effecting withdrawal, the U.S. would first submit an instrument 
signifying withdrawal to the depositary, after which it would become 
effective 1 year later. The decision to withdraw from the Treaty could 
be taken if the U.S. believed it was no longer in the nation=s best 
interest to continue participation. There are several scenarios under 
which such a withdrawal might occur.
    The termination of U.S. Purse Seine industry participation in the 
Treaty. The organization of the Treaty provides the potential that the 
Treaty could continue without the participation of the U.S. purse seine 
industry. For instance, the United States Government could continue to 
provide economic assistance to the PICs called for under the Treaty. 
This economic assistance is now the only significant source of U.S. 
economic

[[Page 58298]]

support to the region (outside payments made to the Compact States of 
the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of 
Micronesia and the Republic of Palau).
    Other alternatives that may be explored may address non-target, 
associated and dependent species related to purse seine fishing. 
Comments on these alternatives, as well as issues and concerns are 
invited.

Additional Information Available

    Information on the text of the Treaty, the authorizing legislation 
or the implementing regulations are available from the NOAA Fisheries 
Pacific Islands Regional Office.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are accessible to people with disabilities. Requests 
for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be 
directed to Raymond Clarke, telephone 808-973-2937, fax 808-973-2941 at 
least 5 days before the scheduled meeting date.

    Authority: 973-973r. et seq.

    Dated: October 3, 2003.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-25640 Filed 10-8-03; 8:45 am]
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