[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 41 (Friday, March 2, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 9500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3702]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 070215037-7037-01; I.D. 020907A]
RIN 0648-AV26


Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Western Pacific Precious Corals 
Fisheries; Control Date

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; notification of control 
date; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that persons who enter the black coral fishery 
in the Au'au Channel, Hawaii, after December 21, 2006, (the ``control 
date'') are not guaranteed future participation in the fishery if the 
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) recommends, and 
NMFS approves, a program that limits entry into the fishery or fishing 
effort. This action does not commit the Council or NMFS to limit entry, 
or prevent any other date from being selected for use when limiting 
eligibility to participate in the Au'au Channel black coral fishery. 
The Council or NMFS may also use other criteria to limit fishing effort 
or participation in a limited entry program that is developed in the 
future.

DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing by May 1, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this action identified by 0648-
AV26 by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include 0648-AV26 in the 
subject line of the e-mail comment following document identifier: Black 
coral. Comments sent via e-mail, including all attachments, must not 
exceed a 10 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 Blvd., Suite 1110, 
Honolulu, HI 96814.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At its 136\th\ meeting in December, 2006, 
the Council adopted a control date of December 21, 2006, applicable to 
persons who are contemplating entering the fishery for black corals in 
the Au'au Channel, Hawaii (south of Maui). The Council requested that 
this control date be published in the Federal Register to provide 
timely notice to fishermen and the general public. Anyone entering the 
fishery after December 21, 2006, will not be guaranteed future access, 
if a management regime that limits the number of participants in the 
fishery is prepared and implemented.
    Recent research has indicated that the biomass of the Au'au Channel 
black coral population has decreased by at least 25 percent in the last 
30 years. Data collected in late 2001, during submersible dives, showed 
a decline in recruitment, as well as a decrease in the relative 
abundance of legal-sized coral colonies. The decline in recruitment may 
be related to an increase in abundance of the alien snowflake coral 
Carijoa riisei. This highly-invasive soft coral was found to be 
overgrowing large areas of black coral habitat and black coral 
colonies, especially at depths of 80-110 meters (beyond the normal 
working depth of black coral harvesters). Directed fishing pressure on 
black corals in shallower areas of the Au'au Channel bed is also 
considered to be an important factor in the observed population and 
recruitment declines.
    Control dates are intended to discourage speculative entry into 
fisheries, as new participants entering the fisheries after the control 
date are forewarned that they are not guaranteed future participation 
in the fisheries. Establishment of this control date does not commit 
the Council or NMFS to any particular management regime or criteria for 
entry into the Au'au Channel black coral fishery. Fishermen are not 
guaranteed future participation in the fishery, regardless of their 
level of participation before or after the control date. The Council 
may choose a different control date, or it may choose a management 
regime that does not involve a control date. Other criteria, such as 
documentation of commercial landings and sales, may be used to 
determine eligibility for participation in a limited access fishery. 
The Council also may choose to take no further action to control entry 
or access to the fishery, in which case the control date may be 
rescinded.

Classification

    This advance notice of proposed rulemaking has been determined to 
be not significant for the purposes of Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: February 26, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-3702 Filed 3-1-07; 8:45 am]
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