[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 7, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44074-44075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15209]



[[Page 44074]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 0612242929-7038-01]
RIN 0648-AT93


Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Precious Corals Fisheries

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Black coral resources in the Au'au Channel, Hawaii, have 
declined, possibly due to fishing pressure and alien invasive species. 
Current fishing regulations impose size requirements for the harvest of 
living black coral colonies of 48 inches (122 cm) in height or one inch 
(2.54 cm) in stem diameter. Current regulations also exempt certain 
fishermen from the minimum stem diameter requirement, allowing the 
harvest of black coral with a 3/4 inch (1.91 cm) stem diameter by 
anyone who reported black coral harvests to the State of Hawaii within 
the five years prior to April 17, 2002. This proposed rule would remove 
that exemption, and is intended to reduce the impacts of fishing on 
Au'au Channel black coral resources.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received by September 6, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``AT93BlackCoral'', 
by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``AT93'' in the 
subject line of the message. Comments sent via e-mail, including all 
attachments, must not exceed a file size of 10 megabytes.
     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. 1110, Honolulu, HI 
96814.
    The regulatory amendment is available from Kitty M. Simonds, 
Executive Director, Western Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council), 1164 Bishop St. 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karla Gore, NMFS PIR, 808-944-2273.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This Federal Register document is also accessible via the World 
Wide Web at the Office of the Federal Register:
    www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.

Background

    The fishery for black coral in Federal waters around Hawaii is 
managed under the Fishery Management Plan for Precious Corals of the 
Western Pacific Region (FMP). The FMP was developed by the Council 
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (MSA). Regulations implementing the FMP appear at 
Subpart F of 50 CFR part 665 and subpart H of 50 CFR part 600.
    Black corals are slow-growing and have low rates of natural 
mortality and recruitment. Natural populations are relatively stable 
and a wide range of age classes is generally present. These life-
history characteristics (longevity and many year classes) have two 
important consequences with respect to exploitation: the response of 
the population to over-harvesting is drawn out over many years, and, 
because of the longevity of individuals and the associated slow rates 
of turnover in the populations, a long period of reduced fishing effort 
is required to restore the ability of the stock to produce at the 
maximum sustainable yield (MSY) if a stock has been over-exploited for 
several years.
    Since the harvesting of Hawaii black coral began in the late 1950s, 
generally fewer than 10 fishermen have been active in the fishery at 
any time. Participation has probably been limited by the relatively 
small market for black coral in Hawaii, and by the dangers of fishing 
operations--harvesting is done by hand using scuba at depths as great 
as 230 ft (70 m). Most of the catch comes from the Au'au Channel, south 
of Maui. Three commercial black coral harvesters are permitted by the 
State of Hawaii, and one is Federally-permitted. Nonetheless, landings 
of black coral have increased over the past two decades, and landings 
in the last seven years have comprised 58 percent of the total catch 
since 1985.
    Black coral biomass in the Au'au Channel decreased almost 25 
percent between 1976 and 2001. The causes of the reduction in biomass 
appear to be a combination of fishing pressure and the invasion of 
Carijoa riisei, an alien species of snowflake coral that smothers black 
coral colonies. The purpose of this proposed rule is to reduce the 
impacts of fishing on black coral resources in Federal waters of the 
Au'au Channel.
    Current regulations at 50 CFR 665.86(b)(1) contain minimum size 
requirements for the harvest of black coral colonies in the Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ) around Hawaii. Colonies must be 48 inches (122 cm) 
tall or one inch (2.54 cm) in stem diameter. The stem measurement must 
be made no closer than one inch (2.54 cm) from the top of the living 
holdfast. Current regulations also contain a provision at 50 CFR 
665.86(b)(2) that exempts certain fishermen from the minimum stem 
diameter requirement, allowing the harvest of black coral with a 3/4 
inch (1.91 cm) stem diameter by anyone who reported harvests to the 
State of Hawaii within the five years prior to April 17, 2002. In 
response to concerns about the declining black coral resource, the 
Council examined a range of alternatives and has recommended removing 
that exemption, limiting all further harvests of live black corals to 
those colonies that are at least 48 inches (122 cm) tall or one inch 
(2.54 cm) in stem diameter.
    At its 129th Meeting on October 18, 2005, the Council voted to 
recommend that NMFS amend the regulations governing the minimum size 
requirements for the black coral fishery in Hawaii to remove the stem 
diameter exemption. The revised regulations would require that all 
harvested living black coral have a stem diameter of one inch (2.54 cm) 
or a height of 48 inches (122 cm). The Council prepared a regulatory 
amendment that contains background information on the issue, biological 
and economic impact analyses, and proposed regulatory changes.

Classification

    NMFS has determined that the proposed rule is consistent with the 
FMP, and has preliminarily determined that the rule is consistent with 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and 
other applicable laws.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    NMFS, based on the Council's analysis, prepared the following 
initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), as required by section 
603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The IRFA describes the economic 
impact this proposed rule, if adopted, would have on small entities. A 
description of the action, why it is being considered, and the legal 
basis for this action are contained at the beginning of this section in 
the preamble and in the SUMMARY section of the preamble.
    There are three permitted vessels in the fishery, but only two have 
reported landings in Hawaii. Both vessels are

[[Page 44075]]

considered to be small entities under the Small Business Administration 
definition of a small entity, i.e., they are engaged in the business of 
fish harvesting, are not independently-owned or operated, are not 
dominant in its field of operation, and have annual gross receipts not 
in excess of $4 million. Specific net revenues by individual vessels 
cannot be presented in this IRFA due to confidentiality restraints, but 
the potential economic impacts are discussed below. There are no 
disproportionate impacts between vessels participating in the fishery 
based on home port, vessel size, or gear type.

Description of Alternatives

    Six alternatives were considered by the Council. Preferred 
Alternative 3 would remove the minimum size exemption provision; the 
minimum stem diameter requirement of one inch (2.54 cm) and minimum 
height of 48 inches (122 cm) would be in effect for all participants 
fishing in EEZ waters of the Au'au Channel. Under Alternative 1, the 
no-action alternative, the black coral fishery would continue to be 
conducted according to existing regulations. Alternative 2 would modify 
existing regulations to remove the black coral minimum height 
requirement. Alternative 4 would modify existing regulations to remove 
the black coral minimum base diameter requirement and the exemption. 
Alternative 5 would modify existing regulations to remove the minimum 
height requirement, and remove the base diameter exemption. Alternative 
6 would modify existing regulations to establish a moratorium for black 
coral harvest in the Au'au Channel for five years, during which time 
scientific research would be conducted on recruitment and stock 
recovery.

Economic Impacts of Alternatives

    The preferred Alternative 3, which would remove the exemption from 
minimum size requirements, and Alternative 6, which would implement a 
5-year moratorium on black coral landings, would cause adverse economic 
impacts to the three entities that comprise the current fishery because 
they would not be allowed to harvest black coral in the way they are 
now allowed to under the current management regime, thus potentially 
limiting their landings. It is estimated that black coral harvesters 
would be impacted by a reduction of approximately 15 percent gross 
receipts under Alternative 6, and could be impacted by as much as a 15 
percent reduction in gross receipts under the preferred Alternative 3. 
A 15 percent reduction would occur only if all corals currently 
harvested in Federal waters are harvested under the base requirement 
exemption. Otherwise, gross receipt reductions of 0 to 15 percent would 
occur under the preferred alternative depending upon the relative 
contribution of currently exempted products to the overall harvest. All 
other alternatives described above, excluding the no-action Alternative 
1, which represents no change in net benefits to the affected small 
entities, could yield potential beneficial impacts to the fishery 
participants relative to the proposed alternative. However, these 
alternatives were not chosen since they would not be consistent with 
the objectives of the FMP and the MSA in that they would weaken the 
regulatory protection to black corals resources by removing size 
restrictions.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665

    Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries, 
Fishing, Guam, Hawaii, Hawaiian Natives, Northern Mariana Islands, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 31, 2007.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 665 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 665--FISHERIES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

    l. The authority citation for part 665 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
    2. In Sec.  665.86, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  665.86  Size restrictions.

* * * * *
    (b) Black Coral. Live black coral harvested from any precious coral 
permit area must have attained either a minimum stem diameter of 1 inch 
(2.54 cm), or a minimum height of 48 inches (122 cm).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E7-15209 Filed 8-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S