[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 7, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32911-32912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8860]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[I.D. 052506A]
RIN 0648-AT95


Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Omnibus Amendment for the 
Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries, Crustacean Fisheries, and 
Precious Coral Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region

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

ACTION:  Notice of availability of FMP amendments; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (WPFMC) proposes to amend three fishery management plans 
(western Pacific omnibus amendment) to include fisheries in waters 
around the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and 
Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA). These amendments would establish 
new permitting and reporting requirements for vessel operators 
targeting bottomfish species around the PRIA to improve understanding 
of the ecology of these species and the activities and harvests of the 
vessel operators that target them. It would also establish new 
permitting and reporting requirements for vessel operators targeting 
crustacean species and precious coral around the CNMI and PRIA.

DATES:  Comments on the amendment must be received by August 7, 2006.

ADDRESSES:  Comments on the western Pacific omnibus amendment, 
identified by 0648-AT95, should be sent to any of the following 
addresses:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
of the e-mail comment the following document identifier ``AT95 
Omnibus.'' Comments sent via e-mail, including all attachments, must 
not exceed a 5 megabyte file size.
     Federal e-Rulemaking portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: William L. Robinson, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani Boulevard, Suite 1110, 
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700.
    Copies of the western Pacific omnibus amendment, the Environmental 
Assessment, and related analyses may be obtained from Kitty M. Simonds, 
Executive Director, WPFMC, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 
96813, or on the internet at www.wpcouncil.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Robert Harman, NMFS PIR, 808-944-
2271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The western Pacific omnibus amendment, 
developed by the WPFMC, has been submitted to NMFS for review under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This document 
announces that the amendment is available for public review and comment 
for 60 days. NMFS will consider public comments received during the 
comment period described above in determining whether to approve, 
partially approve, or disapprove the western Pacific omnibus amendment.

[[Page 32912]]

    The Pacific Islands region encompasses Federal waters, i.e., the 
U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), around the Territories of Guam and 
American Samoa, the State of Hawaii, the CNMI, and the PRIA. The inner 
boundary of the EEZ is the seaward limit of each coastal state, 
commonwealth, territory and possession. The EEZ extends from this inner 
boundary to 200 nautical miles (nm) offshore.
    The WPFMC has developed, and NMFS has approved and implemented, 
five fishery management plans covering pelagic species, crustaceans, 
bottomfish and seamount groundfish, precious corals, and coral reef 
ecosystems fisheries. Federal waters around the CNMI are currently not 
included in the Fishery Management Plans for the Bottomfish, 
Crustaceans, or Precious Corals Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region 
(Bottomfish FMP), Crustaceans FMP), and (Precious Corals FMP). Federal 
waters around the PRIAs are not included in the Bottomfish or 
Crustaceans FMP, except for Midway Atoll. Therefore, Federal fisheries 
management, including data collection, is limited for these areas. New 
fishery developments suggest to the WPFMC that the preliminary step of 
including these waters under the FMPs is necessary to facilitate 
further steps to monitor fish catches, and to implement other 
management measures if needed in the future. Amendment 8 to the 
Bottomfish FMP, Amendment 12 to the Crustaceans FMP, and Amendment 6 to 
the Precious Corals FMP would include the fisheries operating in these 
areas under the FMPs.
    The omnibus amendment has the following objectives:
    1. To improve the database for future bottomfish management 
decisions through data reporting requirements (Bottomfish FMP);
    2. To collect and analyze biological and economic information about 
lobster fisheries and improve the statistical base for conservation and 
management in the future (Crustaceans FMP); and
    3. To encourage the acquisition and analysis of new information 
concerning the distribution, abundance and ecology of precious corals 
(Precious Corals FMP).
    After considering a wide range of management options, including 
many options suggested by the public during a public scoping process, 
the WPFMC recommended the following management measures.

CNMI Management Measures

    1. Include the CNMI EEZ as a management area in the Bottomfish FMP, 
with regulations applied only to the offshore area (3 to 200 nm, again 
the EEZ around the CNMI extends from the shoreline to 200 nm, but the 
WPFMC recommends deferring regulatory control for fishing by CMNI 
citizens in waters 0 to 3 nm of the EEZ around CNMI; however, the FMP 
amendments do not confer authority to CNMI over EEZ resources), and 
with no new Federal permitting or reporting requirements;
    2. Include the CNMI EEZ under the Crustaceans FMP, with regulations 
applied to the offshore area (3 to 200 nm), and include existing permit 
and reporting requirements; and
    3. Include the CNMI EEZ in the Precious Corals FMP, with 
regulations applied to the offshore area (3 to 200 nm), and include 
existing exploratory area permit and reporting and quota requirements.

PRIA Management Measures

    1. Include the PRIA EEZ (0-200 nm) in the Bottomfish FMP, and 
implement new Federal permitting and reporting requirements for all 
vessels targeting bottomfish management unit species; and
    2. Include the PRIA EEZ under the Crustaceans FMP, and include 
existing Federal permitting and reporting requirements.
    This action is designed to establish mechanisms to implement 
specific regulatory controls should the need arise; specific management 
measures (such as time and area closures, or effort and landing limits) 
are not included.
    Public comments on the western Pacific omnibus amendment must be 
received by August 7, 2006, to be considered by NMFS in the decision to 
approve, partially approve, or disapprove the amendment. A proposed 
rule to implement the amendment has been submitted for Secretarial 
review and approval.
    NMFS expects to publish and request public comment on the proposed 
regulation in the near future.

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

    Dated: June 1, 2006.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-8860 Filed 6-6-06; 8:45 am]
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