[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 106 (Thursday, June 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31421-31422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13313]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XW53


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:  The Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 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 Acting 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 Acting 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 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 
June 18, 2010.

ADDRESSES:  Written comments should be sent to Emily Menashes, Acting 
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 ext. 173.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Limuli Laboratories submitted an application for an EFP on May 14, 
2010, 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 2001-2009. The current EFP 
application specifies that: (1) the same methods would be used in 2010 
that were used in years 2001-2009, (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 tag 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 2009 EFP

    No horseshoe crabs were collected from the Reserve by the applicant 
during the 2009 season. Thus, no results were submitted. The last year 
in which the applicant actually collected horseshoe crabs authorized 
under an EFP was 2007. Results from 2007 were published in the Federal 
Register on June 2, 2008 (73 FR 31434), and thus are not repeated here. 
Data collected under previous EFPs were supplied to NMFS, the 
Commission, and the State of New Jersey.

Proposed 2010 EFP

    Limuli Laboratories proposes to conduct an exempted fishery 
operation using the same means, methods, and seasons proposed/utilized 
during the EFPs in 2001-2009. 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 be met 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);

[[Page 31422]]

    3. Requiring that a 5[frac1s2] 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 697.23(f) which prohibit the harvest 
and possession of horseshoe crabs from the Reserve on a vessel with a 
trawl or dredge gear aboard.

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

    Dated: May 26, 2010.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-13313 Filed 6-2-10; 8:45 am]
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