[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 3, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36427-36429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12879]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB06


Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; 
Application for Exempted Fishing Permit Related to Horseshoe Crabs

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces that the Director, Office of Sustainable 
Fisheries, is considering issuing an Exempted Fishing Permit to Limuli 
Laboratories of Cape May Court House, NJ, to conduct the seventh year 
of an exempted fishing operation otherwise restricted by regulations 
prohibiting the harvest of horseshoe crabs in the Carl N. Schuster Jr. 
Horseshoe Crab Reserve (Reserve) located 3 nautical miles (nm) seaward 
from the mouth of the Delaware Bay. If granted, the EFP would allow the 
harvest of up to 10,000 horseshoe crabs for biomedical purposes and 
require, as a condition of the EFP, the collection of data related to 
the status of horseshoe crabs within the Reserve. This notice also 
invites comments on the issuance of the EFP to Limuli Laboratories.

DATES: Written comments on this action must be received on or before 
July 18, 2007.

ADDRESSES:  Written comments should be sent to Alan Risenhoover, 
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Room 13362, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Mark the outside of the 
envelope ``Comments on Horseshoe Crab EFP Proposal.'' Comments may also 
be sent via fax to (301) 713-0596. Comments on this notice may also be 
submitted by e-mail to: [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: 
Horseshoe Crab EFP Proposal.

[[Page 36428]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Meyer, Fishery Management 
Biologist, (301) 713-2334 x173.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations that govern exempted fishing, at 50 CFR 600.745(b) 
and 50 CFR 697.22, allow a Regional Administrator or the Director of 
the Office of Sustainable Fisheries to authorize for limited testing, 
public display, data collection, exploration, health and safety, 
environmental clean-up and/or hazardous removal purposes, the targeting 
or incidental harvest of managed species that would otherwise be 
prohibited. Accordingly, an EFP to authorize such activity may be 
issued, provided: there is adequate opportunity for the public to 
comment on the EFP application, the conservation goals and objectives 
of the fishery management plan are not compromised, and issuance of the 
EFP is beneficial to the management of the species.
    The Reserve was established on March 7, 2001, to protect the 
Atlantic coast stock of horseshoe crabs and to support the 
effectiveness of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's 
(Commission) Interstate Fishery Management Plan (ISFMP) for horseshoe 
crabs. The final rule (66 FR 8906; February 5, 2001) prohibited fishing 
for and possession of horseshoe crabs in the Reserve on a vessel with a 
trawl or dredge gear aboard while in the Reserve. While the rule did 
not allow for any biomedical harvest or the collection of fishery 
dependent data, NMFS stated in the comments and responses section that 
it would consider issuing EFPs for the biomedical harvest of horseshoe 
crabs in the Reserve.
    The biomedical industry collects horseshoe crabs, removes 
approximately 30 percent of their blood, and returns them alive to the 
water. Approximately 10 percent do not survive the bleeding process. 
The blood contains a reagent called Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) that 
is used to test injectable drugs and medical devices for bacteria and 
bacterial by-products. Presently, there is no alternative to the LAL 
derived from horseshoe crabs.
    NMFS manages horseshoe crabs in the exclusive economic zone in 
close cooperation with the Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service. The Commission's Horseshoe Crab Management Board met on April 
21, 2000, and again on December 16, 2003, and recommended to NMFS that 
biomedical companies with a history of collecting horseshoe crabs in 
the Reserve be given an exemption to continue their historic levels of 
collection not to exceed a combined harvest total of 10,000 crabs 
annually. In 2000, the Commission's Horseshoe Crab Plan Review Team 
reported that biomedical harvest of up to 10,000 horseshoe crabs should 
be allowed to continue in the Reserve given that the resulting 
mortality should be only about 1,000 horseshoe crabs (10 percent 
mortality during bleeding process). Also in 2000, the Commission's 
Horseshoe Crab Stock Assessment Committee Chairman recommended that, in 
order to protect the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population from over-
harvest or excessive collection mortality, no more than a maximum of 
20,000 horseshoe crabs should be collected for biomedical purposes from 
the Reserve. In addition to the direct mortality of horseshoe crabs 
that are bled, it can be expected that more than 20,000 horseshoe crabs 
will be trawled up and examined for LAL processing. This is because 
horseshoe crab trawl catches usually include varied sizes and sexes of 
horseshoe crabs and large female horseshoe crabs are the ones usually 
selected for LAL processing. The remaining horseshoe crabs are released 
at sea with some unknown amount of mortality. Although unknown, this 
mortality is expected to be negligible.
    Collection of horseshoe crabs for biomedical purposes from the 
Reserve is necessary because of the low numbers of horseshoe crabs 
found in other areas along the New Jersey Coast from July through early 
November and because of the critical role horseshoe crab blood plays in 
health care. In conjunction with the biomedical harvest, NMFS is 
considering requiring that scientific data be collected from the 
horseshoe crabs taken in the Reserve as a condition of receiving an 
EFP. Since the Reserve was first established, the only fishery data 
from the Reserve were under EFPs issued to Limuli Laboratories for the 
past five years, and under Scientific Research Activity Letter of 
Acknowledgment issued Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State 
University's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Science on September 
4, 2001 (or collections from September 1-October 31, 200l), on 
September 24, 2002 (for collections from September 24-November 15, 
2002), on August 14, 2003 (for collections from September 1-October 31, 
2003), on September 15, 2004 (for collections from September 15-October 
31, 2004), on September 9, 2005 (for collections from September 9-
October 30, 2005), and on May 3, 2006 (for collections from June 1-
November 30, 2006). Further data are needed to improve the 
understanding of the horseshoe crab population in the Delaware Bay area 
and to better manage the horseshoe crab resource under the cooperative 
state/Federal management program. The data collected through the EFP 
will be provided to NMFS, the Commission, and to the State of New 
Jersey.

Results From 2006 EFP

    Limuli Laboratories applied for an EFP to collect horseshoe crabs 
for biomedical and data collection purposes from the Reserve in 2006. 
The EFP application specified that: (1) the same methods would be used 
in 2006 that were used in years 2001-2005, (2) 15 percent of the bled 
horseshoe crabs would be tagged, and (3) there had not been any 
sighting or capture of marine mammals or endangered species in the 
trawling nets of fishing vessels engaged in the collection of horseshoe 
crabs since 1993. In 2005, a Supplemental Environmental Assessment was 
completed and found that there was no significant impacts in conducting 
the EFP.
    An EFP was issued to Limuli Laboratories on August 4, 2006, which 
allowed them to collect horseshoe crabs in the Reserve until November 
30, 2006. A total of 2,720 horseshoe crabs were collected in the 
Reserve in late September and October of 2006. Of these, 2,460 animals 
were used for the manufacture of LAL. Female horseshoe crab activity 
levels were active and very active; no males were used for the 
manufacture of LAL. The remaining 260 animals were rejected; 190 crabs 
(6.99 percent) were injured horseshoe crabs (a slight decrease from 7.8 
percent last year), and 57 crabs (2.1 percent) were unresponsive and 
presumed dead due to collecting, transporting and handing (a decrease 
from 6.81 percent last year). In addition, 13 horseshoe crabs (0.48 
percent) were rejected due to small size and not utilized in the 
manufacturing process. Horseshoe crabs were collected during 11 days in 
late September and October of 2006 (2 days in September and 9 days in 
October), and were transported to the laboratory for the bleeding 
operation and inspected for sex, size, injuries and responsiveness. 
Three to four tows were conducted during each fishing trip with the 
tows lasting no more than 30 minutes to avoid impacting loggerhead 
turtles. Horseshoe crabs were unloaded at Two Mile Dock, Wildwood 
Crest, New Jersey and at County Dock, Ocean City, Maryland and 
transported to the laboratory by truck. Since large horseshoe crabs, 
which are generally females, are used for LAL processing, all of the 
crabs transported to the laboratory

[[Page 36429]]

were females. Of those 2,460 processed for LAL, 200 female crabs were 
measured (inter-ocular distances and prosoma widths), weighed, aged, 
and tagged to establish baseline morphometrics and ages, prior to being 
released. An additional 225 female bled animals were tagged for a total 
of 425 animals or 17.3 percent. The average measurements for the female 
horseshoe crabs were 167.69 mm for the inter-ocular distance (161.64 mm 
in 2005); 268.74 mm for the prosoma width (260.4 mm in 2005); and 2.51 
kg for the weight (2.08 kg in 2005). The most common encrusting 
organism observed this year was the slipper shell. Sand tube worms were 
also noted on many of the animals. Only one crab had a barnacle and 
bryozoans were not found on any of the shells. It should be noted that 
many organisms may be removed during the washing/cleaning process prior 
to blood collection.
    Horseshoe crabs were aged in 2006 using Dr. Carl N. Schuster Jr.'s 
criteria of aging by appearance: female horseshoe crabs - virgin (1.5 
percent), young (7.0 percent), young-medium (11.5 percent), medium (75 
percent); medium-old (4.5 percent); and old (0.5 percent). Last year's 
percentages showed the majority of crabs were virgins (65 percent), 
while this year the majority were medium age (75 percent). This may 
have occurred because the horseshoe crab specimens were trawled off the 
coast of Sea Isle City, New Jersey and later in the season than in 
2005. The specimens studied last year were trawled in deeper waters off 
Ocean City, Maryland in August and early September.
    In 2006, a total of 425 horseshoe crabs from the Reserve were 
tagged and released at the water's edge on Highs Beach, New Jersey. The 
beach was checked frequently, following release, to ensure the crabs 
had returned to the water. Sixteen live recoveries occurred; two 
animals from 2003 releases, two from 2004 and 12 from the 2005 
releases. Thirteen of the recaptures were observed along the shores of 
Delaware Bay. Three horseshoe crabs migrated to the Atlantic Ocean. One 
was observed on the beach in Avalon, New Jersey, another within the 
Great Bay Inlet, New Jersey and the third crab was found in deep water 
off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland.
    Data collected under the EFP were supplied to NMFS, the Commission, 
and the State of New Jersey.

Proposed 2006 EFP

    Limuli Laboratories proposes to conduct an exempted fishery 
operation using the same means, methods, and seasons utilized during 
the EFPs in 2001-2006, as described below under terms and conditions. 
Limuli proposes to continue to tag 15 percent of the bled horseshoe 
crabs as they did in 2006.
    The proposed EFP would exempt three commercial vessels from 
regulations at 50 CFR 697.7(e), which prohibit fishing for horseshoe 
crabs in the Reserve under Sec.  697.23(f)(1) and prohibit possession 
of horseshoe crabs on a vessel with a trawl or dredge gear aboard in 
the same Reserve.
    Limuli Laboratories, in cooperation with the State of New Jersey's 
Division of Fish and Wildlife, submitted an application for an EFP on 
June 16, 2007. NMFS has made a preliminary determination that the 
subject EFP contains all the required information and warrants further 
consideration. NMFS has also made a preliminary determination that the 
activities authorized under the EFP would be consistent with the goals 
and objectives of the Federal horseshoe crab regulations and the 
Commission's Horseshoe Crab ISFMP.
    Regulations at 50 CFR 600.745(b)(3)(v) authorize NMFS to attach 
terms and conditions to the EFP consistent with: the purpose of the 
exempted fishery, the objectives of horseshoe crab regulations and 
fisheries management plan, and other applicable law. NMFS is 
considering adding the following terms and conditions to the EFP:
    1. Limiting the number of horseshoe crabs collected in the Reserve 
to no more than 500 crabs per day and to a total of no more than 10,000 
crabs per year;
    2. Requiring collections to take place over a total of 
approximately 20 days during the months of July, August, September, 
October, and November. Horseshoe crabs are readily available in 
harvestable concentrations nearshore earlier in the year, and offshore 
in the Reserve from July through November;
    3. Requiring that a 5 1/2 inch (14.0 cm) flounder net be used by 
the vessel to collect the horseshoe crabs. This condition would allow 
for continuation of traditional harvest gear and adds to the 
consistency in the way horseshoe crabs are harvested for data 
collection;
    4. Limiting trawl tow times to 30 minutes as a conservation measure 
to protect sea turtles, which are expected to be migrating through the 
area during the collection period, and are vulnerable to bottom 
trawling;
    5. Restricting the hours of fishing to daylight hours only, 
approximately from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to aid law enforcement. NMFS 
also is considering a requirement that the State of New Jersey Law 
Enforcement be notified daily as to when and where the collection will 
take place;
    6. Requiring that the collected horseshoe crabs be picked up from 
the fishing vessels at docks in the Cape May Area and transported to 
local laboratories, bled for LAL, and released alive the following 
morning into the Lower Delaware Bay; and
    7. Requiring that any turtle take be reported to NMFS, NERO 
Assistant Regional Administrator of Protected Resources Division 
(phone, (978) 281-9328) within 24 hours of returning from the trip in 
which the incidental take occurred.
    Also as part of the terms and conditions of the EFP, for all 
horseshoe crabs bled for LAL, NMFS is considering a requirement that 
the EFP holder provide data on sex ratio and daily numbers, and tag 15 
percent of the horseshoe crabs harvested. Also, the EFP holder may be 
required to examine at least 200 horseshoe crabs for: morphometric 
data, by sex (e.g., interocular (I/O) distance and weight), and level 
of activity, as measured by a response or by distance traveled after 
release on a beach.

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

    Dated: June 27, 2007.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E7-12879 Filed 7-2-07; 8:45 am]
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