[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 106 (Monday, June 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31434-31435]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12261]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-X103


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

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

ACTION: Notification of a proposal to conduct exempted fishing; request 
for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Director, Office of Sustainable 
Fisheries (Director), has made a preliminary determination that the 
subject exempted fishing permit (EFP) application submitted by Limuli 
Laboratories of Cape May Court House, New Jersey, contains all the 
required information and warrants further consideration. The proposed 
EFP would allow the harvest of up to 10,000 horseshoe crabs from the 
Carl N. Shuster Jr. Horseshoe Crab Reserve 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. The Director has also 
made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under 
the EFP would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (Commission) Horseshoe 
Crab Interstate Fisheries Management Plan (FMP). However, further 
review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination 
is made to issue the EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that the Director 
proposes to recommend that an EFP be issued that would allow up to 3 
commercial fishing vessels to conduct fishing operations that are 
otherwise restricted by the

[[Page 31435]]

regulations promulgated under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries 
Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic Coastal Act). The EFP would allow 
for an exemption from the Carl N. Shuster Jr. Horseshoe Crab Reserve 
(Reserve).
    Regulations under the Atlantic Coastal Act require publication of 
this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

DATES: Written comments on this action must be received on or before 
[July 2, 2008.

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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Hooker, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (301) 713-2334 x173.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Limuli Laboratories submitted an application for an EFP on April 
25, 2008 to collect up to 10,000 horseshoe crabs for biomedical and 
data collection purposes from the Reserve. The applicant has applied 
for, and received, a similar EFP every year from 2001 - 2007. The EFP 
application specified that: (1) the same methods would be used in 2008 
that were used in years 2001-2007, (2) at least 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. The project submitted by Limuli Laboratories would 
provide morphological data on horseshoe crab catch, would participate 
in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Cooperative Tagging Program by 
tagging caught horseshoe crabs, and would use the blood from the caught 
horseshoe crabs to manufacture Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), an 
important health and safety product used for the detection of 
endotoxins. The LAL assay is used by medical professionals, drug 
companies, and pharmacies to detect endotoxins in intravenous 
pharmaceuticals and medical devices that come into contact with human 
blood or spinal fluid.

Results of 2007 EFP

    During the 2007 season the applicant collected 3,748 horseshoe 
crabs during 15 days between September and November, transported to the 
laboratory and inspected for sex, size, injuries and responsiveness 
prior to the bleeding operation. Injured horseshoe crabs accounted for 
6.51-percent (a slight decrease from 6.99-percent in 2006) of the total 
while 0.91-percent (a decrease from 2.1-percent last year) were 
unresponsive due to collecting, transporting and handing (presumed 
dead). In addition, 7 horseshoe crabs were rejected due to small size 
and not utilized in the manufacturing process. Therefore, 3,463 
healthy, uninjured crabs were available for LAL processing. Since large 
horseshoe crabs, which are generally females, are used for LAL 
processing, most were females. Of those 3,463 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 returned to the water. An additional 375 animals that 
were bled were tagged for a total of 575 animals. The average 
measurements for the female horseshoe crabs were 163.90 mm for the 
inter-ocular distance (a slight decrease from the 2006 measurement of 
167.69 mm); 267.56 mm for the prosoma width (a slight decrease in width 
from 2006 measurement of 268.74 mm); and 2.58 kg for the weight (a 
slight increase in weight from 2006 value of 2.51 kg). Age 
determination according to an aging technique developed by Carl N. 
Shuster Jr., showed that the majority of female horseshoe crabs were 
medium (147 or 73-percent), followed by young (40-percent), old (10-
percent), and virgin (3-percent). This finding supports the basis for 
the Reserve, which was established to protect young horseshoe crabs. 
Encrusting organisms were found on 121 of the female animals examined. 
The most prevalent epibionts on the females was the slipper shell. Data 
collected under the EFP were supplied to NMFS, the Commission, and the 
State of New Jersey.

Proposed 2008 EFP

    Limuli Laboratories proposes to conduct an exempted fishery 
operation using the same means, methods, and seasons utilized during 
the EFPs in 2001-2007. Limuli proposes to continue to tag at least 15 
percent of the bled horseshoe crabs as they did in 2007. NMFS would 
require that the following terms and conditions for issuance of 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;
    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, Northeast 
Region Assistant Regional Administrator of Protected Resources Division 
within 24 hours of returning from the trip in which the incidental take 
occurred.
    As part of the terms and conditions of the EFP, for all horseshoe 
crabs bled for LAL, NMFS would require that the EFP holder provide data 
on sex ratio and daily harvest. Also, the EFP holder would be required 
to examine at least 200 horseshoe crabs for morphometric data. Terms 
and conditions may be added or amended prior to the issuance of the 
EFP.
    The proposed EFP would exempt three commercial vessels from 
regulations at 50 CFR 697.7(e) and Sec.  697.23(f) which prohibit the 
harvest and possession of horseshoe crabs on a vessel with a trawl or 
dredge gear aboard from the Reserve.

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

    Dated: May 23, 2008.
Emily Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-12261 Filed 5-30-08; 8:45 am]
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