[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 226 (Friday, November 21, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70603-70605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27773]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 070719388-81445-03]
RIN 0648-AV29


Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Crustacean Fisheries; Deepwater 
Shrimp

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule implements Amendment 13 to the Fishery 
Management Plan for Crustacean Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region 
(Crustacean FMP). The rule designates deepwater shrimp of the genus 
Heterocarpus as management unit species (MUS), and requires Federal 
permits and data reporting for deepwater shrimp fishing in Federal 
waters of the western Pacific. The final rule is intended to improve 
information on deepwater shrimp fisheries and their ecosystem impacts, 
and to provide a basis for future management of the fisheries, if 
needed.

DATES: This final rule is effective December 22, 2008, except for the 
amendments to Sec. Sec.  665.13, 665.41, and 665.42, which require 
approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). When OMB approval is received, the 
effective date will be announced in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: The Fishery Management Plan for Crustacean Fisheries of the 
Western Pacific Region and Amendment 13 are available from the Western 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 1164 Bishop St., Suite 
1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-522-8220, fax 808-522-8226, or 
www.wpcouncil.org.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this 
final rule may be submitted to William L. Robinson, Regional 
Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani Blvd, 
Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700, and by e-mail to [email protected], or fax to 202-395-7285.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brett Wiedoff, NMFS PIR Sustainable 
Fisheries Division, 808-944-2272.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is accessible at the Office 
of the Federal Register's web site: www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/.
    Crustacean fisheries in the western Pacific are Federally-managed 
within the waters of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around 
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
(CNMI), Guam, Hawaii, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA, 
comprising Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef, Jarvis Island, Baker Island, 
Howland Island, Johnston Atoll, Wake Island, and Midway Atoll). The EEZ 
around the CNMI and PRIA extends from the shoreline seaward to 200 
nautical miles (nm), and the EEZ around the other islands extends from 
three to 200 nm offshore. Currently, the crustaceans FMP management 
unit species include the spiny lobsters Panulirus marginatus and P. 
penicillatus, slipper lobsters of the family Scyllaridae, and Kona 
(spanner) crab, Ranina ranina.
    Western Pacific commercial trap fisheries for deepwater shrimp are 
intermittent. There have been sporadic operations in Hawaii since the 
1960s, small-scale fisheries in Guam during the 1970s, and some 
activity in the CNMI during the mid-1990s. The fisheries have been 
unregulated, and there has been no comprehensive collection of 
information about the fisheries. Most of these fishing ventures have 
been short-lived, probably as a result of sometimes-frequent loss of 
traps, a shrimp product with a short shelf life and history of 
inconsistent quality, and the rapid localized depletion of deepwater 
shrimp stocks leading to low catch rates. Despite these hurdles, 
interest in deepwater shrimp fisheries continues.
    Amendment 13 designates deepwater shrimp of the genus Heterocarpus 
as management unit species under the FMP, and requires Federal permits 
and reporting for deepwater shrimp fishing in the U.S. EEZ. The species 
complex includes all eight species of deepwater shrimp in the western 
Pacific (Heterocarpus ensifer, H. laevigatus, H. sibogae, H. gibbosus, 
H. lepidus, H. dorsalis, H. tricarinatus and H. longirostris). The 
monitoring program (permits and logbooks) is intended to improve 
understanding of these fisheries and their impact on marine ecosystems. 
Although currently there are no resource concerns regarding western 
Pacific deepwater shrimp, the designation of these shrimp as management 
unit species provides a basis for management of the fisheries, if 
warranted in the future.
    In addition to the final rule, Amendment 13 designates Essential 
Fish Habitat (EFH) for Heterocarpus spp., as required under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act. EFH was designated for the complete assemblage of 
adult and juvenile Heterocarpus as the outer reef slopes between 300 
and 700 meters surrounding all islands and submerged banks in EEZ 
waters of the western Pacific.
    In addition to adding deepwater shrimp to the management unit, this 
final rule reorganizes some existing regulations relating to the 
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) lobster limited access permit 
program. These regulations, now in paragraphs Sec.  665.41(a)(1), 
(a)(3), (a)(4), and 665.41(d), are consolidated into paragraph Sec.  
665.41(d). The regulations also clarify that the harvest of

[[Page 70604]]

crustacean management unit species within the NWHI Marine National 
Monument is subject to the requirements of 50 CFR part 404.
    Additional background information on this final rule may be found 
in the preamble to the proposed rule published on August 22, 2008 (73 
FR 49638), and is not repeated here.

Comments and Responses

    On August 14, 2008, NMFS published a notice of availability and 
request for public comment on Amendment 13, including a Draft 
Environmental Assessment (73 FR 47577). The amendment comment period 
ended on October 14, 2008. On August 28, 2008, NMFS published a 
proposed rule (73 FR 50751) that would implement the management 
measures recommended by the Council in Amendment 13. The proposed rule 
comment period ended on October 6, 2008. NMFS received comments from 
the public, and responds as follows:
    Comment 1: ``Ghost fishing,'' or harvesting by traps that are lost 
and left on the fishing grounds, can be a problem when traps are lost, 
and modifications to trap design can lessen or eliminate the problem of 
ghost fishing by lost traps. Is trap design considered in this rule?
    Response: The final rule does not specify trap design or fishing 
operations to reduce the potential for ghost fishing. The rule 
establishes deepwater shrimp as a management unit species, and 
implements permitting and data collection programs. These measures will 
ensure that quality information is collected about the fishery, 
including gear loss, and will establish a foundation for regulating the 
fishery, if needed in the future. If the information indicates that 
gear loss and resulting ghost fishing are significant problems, the 
Council and NMFS could consider measures to mitigate the problem, as 
necessary.
    Comment 2: If these deepwater shrimp are found as deep as 800 m, 
and if the highest catches of deepwater shrimp in the NWHI were made at 
500-800 m, why is Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) being established by 
Amendment 13 only to a lower depth limit of 700 m?
    Response: Certain habitat is being designated as ``essential'' for 
the complete assemblage of adults and juveniles of all eight species; 
there may be individuals or species that are found and harvested 
shallower or deeper. As new information about these species and the 
fishery that targets them becomes available, the Council and NMFS may 
reconsider the EFH designations.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    There are no changes from the proposed rule.

Classification

    The Regional Administrator, Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 
determined that Crustaceans FMP Amendment 13 is necessary for the 
conservation and management of the deepwater shrimp 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.
    The Chief Council for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Council for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the 
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received 
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not required and none was prepared.
    This final rule contains collection-of-information requirements 
subject to the PRA. These requirements have not yet been approved by 
OMB, but such approval is expected in the near future. NMFS will 
publish a notice when these requirements are cleared by OMB and are, 
therefore, effective (see DATES).
    NMFS anticipates that initial permit applications would require 0.5 
hours per applicant, with renewals requiring an additional 0.5 hours 
annually. It is estimated that NMFS may receive and process up to 10 
permit applications each year. Thus, the total collection-of-
information burden to fishermen for permit applications is estimated at 
five (5) hours per year. The cost for individual Federal permits has 
not been determined, but would represent only the administrative cost 
and is anticipated to be approximately $30 per permit.
    NMFS anticipates the time requirement to complete Federal catch 
reports to be approximately 10 minutes per vessel per fishing day. 
Assuming that 10 vessels fish up to 100 days per year, the total 
collection-of-information burden estimate for fishing data reporting is 
estimated at 167 hours per year. Send comments regarding these burden 
estimates or any other aspect of this data collection, including 
suggestions for reducing the burden, to William L. Robinson (see 
ADDRESSES), and by e-mail to [email protected] or fax to 202-
395-7285.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, and no person shall be subject to penalty for 
failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.
    List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665
    Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries, 
Fishing, Guam, Hawaii, Hawaiian Natives, Northern Mariana Islands, 
Pacific remote island areas, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: November 17, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, 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 50 CFR part 665 continues to read as 
follows:

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

0
2. In Sec.  665.12, revise the definition of ``Crustaceans management 
unit species'' to read as follows:


Sec.  665.12  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Crustaceans management unit species means the following 
crustaceans:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Common Name                        Scientific Name
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Spiny lobsters                     Panulirus marginatus
                                                        P. penicillatus
               Slipper lobsters                      family Scyllaridae
                   Kona crab                              Ranina ranina
               Deepwater shrimp                       Heterocarpus spp.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  665.13, revise paragraphs (f)(2)(i) through (f)(2)(v), and 
add a new paragraph (f)(2)(vi) to read as follows:


Sec.  665.13  Permits and fees.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (i) Hawaii longline limited access permit.
    (ii) Mau Zone limited access permit.
    (iii) Coral reef ecosystem special permit.
    (iv) American Samoa longline limited access permit.
    (v) Main Hawaiian Islands non-commercial bottomfish permit.
    (vi) Crustaceans permit.
* * * * *

[[Page 70605]]


0
4. In Sec.  665.41, revise paragraphs (a) and (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  665.41  Permits.

    (a) Applicability. (1) The owner of any vessel used to fish for 
lobster in Crustaceans Permit Area 1 must have a lobster limited access 
permit issued for such vessel.
    (2) The owner of any vessel used to fish for lobster in Crustaceans 
Permit Areas 2, 3, or 4 must have a permit issued for that vessel.
    (3) The owner of any vessel used to fish for deepwater shrimp in 
Crustaceans Permit Areas 1, 2, 3, or 4 must have a permit issued for 
that vessel.
    (4) Harvest of crustacean management unit species within the 
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument is subject to 
the requirements of 50 CFR part 404.
* * * * *
    (d) Lobster Limited Access Permit Requirements.
    (1) A lobster limited access permit is valid for fishing only in 
Crustaceans Permit Area 1.
    (2) Only one permit will be assigned to any vessel.
    (3) No vessel owner will have permits for a single vessel to 
harvest lobsters in Permit Areas 1 and 2 at the same time.
    (4) A maximum of 15 limited access permits can be valid at any 
time.
* * * * *

0
5. In Sec.  665.42, add a new paragraph (c) to read as follows.


Sec.  665.42  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (c) In any Crustaceans Permit Area, it is unlawful for any person 
to:
    (1) Fish for, take, or retain deepwater shrimp without a permit 
issued under Sec.  665.41.
    (2) Falsify or fail to make, keep, maintain, or submit Federal 
reports and records of harvests of deepwater shrimp as required under 
Sec.  665.14.
[FR Doc. E8-27773 Filed 11-20-08; 8:45 am]
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