[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 198 (Monday, October 15, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58259-58261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20228]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 0612242929-7490-02]
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: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Black coral resources in the Au'au Channel, Hawaii, have 
declined, possibly due to fishing pressure and an alien invasive soft 
coral. Current fishing regulations require minimum sizes 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 smaller \3/4\ inch (1.91 cm) stem 
diameter by anyone who had reported black coral harvests to the State 
of Hawaii within

[[Page 58260]]

the five years prior to April 17, 2002. This final rule removes that 
exemption to reduce the impacts of fishing on Au'Au Channel black coral 
resources.

DATES: This final rule is effective November 14, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the fishery management plan (FMP) and the 
regulatory amendment may be obtained from Kitty M. Simonds, Executive 
Director, Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 1164 
Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, or via the World Wide 
Web at www.wpcouncil.org.

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

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 currently 
permitted by the State of Hawaii. Nonetheless, landings of black coral 
have increased over the past two decades, and landings from 1999-2005 
were about 55,000 lb (25,000 kg), which is about 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 final rule is to reduce the impacts 
of fishing on black coral resources in Federal waters of the Au'Au 
Channel. Surveys in 2006 suggest that the impact of C. riisei has 
stabilized or even improved, and monitoring will continue.
    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 recommended that NMFS amend the regulations governing the 
minimum size requirements for the black coral fishery in Hawaii to 
remove the stem diameter exemption. The Council prepared a regulatory 
amendment that contains background information on the issue, biological 
and economic impact analyses, and proposed regulatory changes. The 
revised regulations 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).

Comments and Responses

    On August 8, 2007, NMFS published in the Federal Register a 
proposed rule (72 FR 44074). The public comment period ended on 
September 6, 2007. NMFS received two public comments generally 
supporting the proposed rule.

Changes to the Proposed Rule

    No changes to the proposed rule were made in this final rule.

Classification

    The Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region, determined 
that this regulatory amendment is necessary for the conservation and 
management of the precious coral fishery and that it is consistent with 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other 
applicable laws.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    There are no recordkeeping or reporting requirements associated 
with this final rule.
    Consistent with section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, NMFS 
prepared a final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) for the 
regulatory amendment, as described below.
    NMFS prepared this FRFA for the final rule. This FRFA incorporates 
the initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA). The Classification 
section in the proposed rule included a detailed summary of the 
analysis contained in the IRFA, and that discussion is not repeated in 
its entirety here. The need for and the objectives of the action are 
explained in the preambles to the proposed rule and final rule, and are 
not repeated here. No comments were received on the IRFA, or on the 
economic impacts of the proposed rule.
    There are three permitted vessels in the fishery, but only two have 
reported landings in Hawaii. These vessels are considered to be small 
entities under the Small Business Administration's 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 their field of operation, and have average annual gross receipts not 
in excess of $4 million. There are no disproportionate impacts between 
vessels participating in the fishery based on home port, vessel size, 
or gear type. 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 under the current management 
regime, thus potentially limiting their landings.
    Because Federal waters account for approximately 15 percent of 
total landings, black coral harvesters would be impacted by an 
estimated reduction of approximately 15 percent gross receipts under 
Alternative 6, and could

[[Page 58261]]

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. Excluding the no-action 
Alternative 1, which represents no change in net benefits to the 
affected small entities, all other alternatives considered (and 
described in detail in the IRFA accompanying the proposed rule) could 
yield potential beneficial impacts to the fishery because they 
eliminate certain size requirements for black coral harvest. 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.

Small Business Compliance Guide

    Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for 
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish 
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule, 
and shall designate such publications as ``small entity compliance 
guides.'' The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is 
required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of 
this rulemaking process, a letter to permit holders was prepared that 
also serves as a small entity compliance guide, which will be sent to 
all holders of permits for the precious coral fishery. Copies of the 
small business compliance guide are available from William L. Robinson, 
NMFS Pacific Islands Region, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, 
Honolulu, HI 96814, or from the NMFS PIRO web site www.fpir.noaa.gov.

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: October 9, 2007.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 665 is amended as 
follows:

PART 665--FISHERIES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 665 continues to read as follows:

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

0
2. In Sec.  665.86, paragraph (b) is revised 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. E7-20228 Filed 10-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S