[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 193 (Wednesday, October 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61670-61672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25752]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA718


Receipt of an Application for Incidental Take Permit (16230)

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received an application for an incidental take permit 
(Permit) from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) 
pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). As 
required by the ESA, NCDMF's application includes a conservation plan 
designed to minimize and mitigate take of endangered or threatened 
species. The permit application is for the incidental take of ESA-
listed adult and juvenile sea turtles associated with otherwise lawful 
commercial gill net fisheries operating in inshore waters of North 
Carolina. The duration of the proposed permit is for 3 years. NMFS is 
providing this notice to allow other agencies and the public an 
opportunity to review and comment on the application and associated 
conservation plan. All comments received will become part of the public 
record and will be available for review.

DATES: Written comments from interested parties on the permit 
application and Plan must be received at the appropriate address or fax 
number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Eastern daylight time on 
December 5, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the permit application and 
conservation plan, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2011-0231, by any of the 
following methods during the 60-day comment period:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 
first click the ``submit a comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2011-
0231 in the keyword search. Locate the document you wish to comment on 
from the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on 
the right of that line.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Kristy Long, Office of 
Protected Resources, 1315 East West Highway, 13th Floor, Silver Spring, 
MD 20910.
     Fax: 301-713-0376; Attn: Kristy Long.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on http://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will 
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be 
accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 
formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristy Long (ph. 301-427-8402, e-mail 
[email protected]; Dennis Klemm (ph. 727-824-5312, e-mail 
[email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations 
prohibit the ``taking'' of a species listed as endangered or 
threatened. The term ``take'' is defined under the ESA to mean harass, 
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or 
to attempt to engage in any such conduct. NMFS may issue permits, under 
limited circumstances, to take listed species incidental to, and not 
the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 
ESA provides for authorizing incidental take of listed species. NMFS 
regulations governing permits for threatened and endangered species are 
published at 50 CFR 222.307.

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following species are included in the conservation plan and 
Permit application: Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia 
mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill (Eretmochelys 
imbricata), and Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles.

Background

    NMFS issued Permit No. 1259 to NCDMF (65 FR 65840, November 2, 
2000), Permit No. 1348 (66 FR 51023, October 5, 2001), Permit No. 1398 
(67 FR 67150, November 4, 2002), and Permit No. 1528 (70 FR 52984, 
September 6, 2005) authorizing the incidental take of the foregoing 
species in certain segments of the commercial fall gill net fisheries 
for flounder in Pamlico Sound subject to a series of mandatory sea 
turtle management and monitoring requirements and limits on the numbers 
of individuals that could be taken annually. On August 18, 2011, NCDMF 
submitted a revised application to NMFS for Permit No. 16230, 
authorizing incidental take of ESA-listed sea turtles associated with 
commercial and recreational gillnet fisheries in inshore state waters 
for 3 years. This application includes endangered Kemp's ridley, 
leatherback, and hawksbill sea turtles and threatened green and 
loggerhead sea turtles. This permit, if issued, and implementing the 
conservation plan would allow for the incidental take of specified 
numbers of sea turtles incidental to the continued commercial harvest 
of target fish species subject to conservation, management and 
monitoring requirements set forth in the plan and as permit conditions 
deemed necessary and appropriate by the NMFS.

Conservation Plan

    The conservation plan prepared by NCDMF describes measures designed 
to monitor, minimize, and mitigate the incidental take of ESA-listed 
sea turtles. The conservation plan includes managing inshore gill net 
fisheries by dividing estuarine waters into 5 management units (i.e., 
A-E). Each of the management units would be monitored seasonally and by 
fishery.
    Management Units were delineated on the basis of three primary 
factors: Similarity of fisheries and management; extent of known 
protected species interactions in commercial gill net fisheries; and 
unit size and the ability of

[[Page 61671]]

the NCDMF to monitor fishing effort. Management Unit A encompasses all 
estuarine waters north of 35[deg] 46.30' N to the North Carolina/
Virginia state line. This includes all of Albemarle, Currituck, 
Croatan, and Roanoke sounds as well as the contributing river systems 
in this area. Management Unit B encompasses all estuarine waters South 
of 35[deg] 46.30' N, East of 76[deg] 28.00' W and North of 34[deg] 
48.27' N. This Management Unit will include all of Pamlico Sound and 
the Northern portion of Core Sound. Management Unit C will include the 
Pamlico, Pungo and Neuse river drainages west of 76[deg] 28.00' W. 
Management Unit D is divided into two areas, D-1 and D-2, to allow the 
NCDMF to effectively address areas of high sea turtle abundance or 
``hot spots.'' Management Unit D-1 encompasses all estuarine waters 
South of 34[deg] 48.27' N. and east of a line running from 34[deg] 
40.70' N.-76[deg] 22.50' W. to 34[deg] 42.48' N.-76[deg] 36.70' W. 
Management Unit D-1 includes Southern Core Sound, Back Sound and North 
River. Management Unit D-2 encompasses all estuarine waters west of a 
line running from 34[deg] 40.70' N.-76[deg] 22.50' W. to 34[deg] 42.48' 
N.-76[deg] 36.70' W. to the Western side of White Oak River. Management 
Unit D-2 includes Newport River, Bogue Sound and White Oak River. 
Management Unit E encompasses all estuarine waters south and west of 
the Western side of the White Oak River to the North Carolina/South 
Carolina state line. This includes the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway 
and adjacent sounds, and the New, Cape Fear, Lockwood Folly and 
Shallotte rivers.
    The large mesh (>= 5 inch stretched mesh (12.7 cm)) gill net 
fisheries primarily target southern flounder (Paralicthys lethostigma), 
striped bass (Morone saxatilis), American shad (Alosa americana), 
hickory shad (Polomolobus mediocris), and catfishes (Ictalurus sp.). 
Large mesh gill net fisheries for flounder traditionally operate 
throughout the majority of the sounds and lower estuarine river systems 
with peaks in effort in the spring/summer months (April-June), and in 
the fall months (September-November). Fisheries for striped bass are 
more limited in time and space due to the anadromous migration pattern 
of this species. Striped bass gill net fisheries are prosecuted from 
late October through late April; fishermen are prohibited from 
targeting striped bass from May through early October. Consequently, 
the majority of striped bass effort occurs in Albemarle Sound with 
seasonal effort occurring in the Pamlico Sound and the Pamlico and 
Neuse River systems. American and hickory shad fishing operations occur 
almost exclusively from January 1 through April 14 due to their 
anadromous migration patterns and distribution. Catfish are harvested 
with large mesh gill nets in the river and Western Albemarle Sound with 
the majority of catches occurring during the winter to spring months. 
The most common mesh size for all large mesh gill net fisheries is 5\1/
2\ inch (13.97 cm) stretched mesh.
    The small mesh (<5 inch stretched mesh (12.7 cm)) gillnet fisheries 
primarily target spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), striped mullet (Mugil 
cephalus), bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion 
nebulosus), weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia 
tyrannus), Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculates), white perch 
(Morone americana), and kingfishes (Menticirrhus sp.). Peaks in spot 
landings occur in the spring/summer (April to June) and fall (October 
to November) months; spot are landed throughout the estuarine waters 
and river systems. Striped mullet are landed year round with peaks in 
the fall/winter months (October to January). Bluefish are also landed 
year round throughout the estuarine and river systems with most 
landings occurring in the spring during April and May. Spotted seatrout 
and weakfish are targeted by small mesh gillnet operations primarily in 
the fall/winter (September to January) months. Weakfish landings may 
also peak in the spring during April and May. Atlantic menhaden are 
mostly targeted during the spring (February to May) with another peak 
in landings occurring in October. Spanish mackerel are primarily 
targeted during the spring and fall months. White perch are almost 
exclusively targeted during the winter/spring months (December to 
April). Kingfishes are targeted primarily in the spring and the fall 
throughout the estuarine and river systems. Mesh sizes used in small 
mesh gill net operations vary more than those used in large mesh 
fisheries. However, the most commonly used small mesh sizes generally 
fall between 3 inch (7.62 cm) and 3\3/4\ inch (9.53 cm) stretched mesh.
    Management measures identified in the Conservation Plan include: 
(1) Restricted soak times for large mesh gillnets from one hour before 
sunset on Monday through Thursday and one hour after sunrise from 
Tuesday through Friday (i.e., fishing is prohibited from one hour after 
sunrise on Friday through one hour before sunset on Monday); (2) 
restrictions on the maximum net length per large mesh fishing operation 
(i.e., 2,000 yards (1.83 km, 6,000 ft) per operation except south of 
the NC Highway 58 bridge where 1,000 yards (0.91 km, 3,000 ft) is 
maximum; (3) restrictions on large mesh net-shot lengths to 100 yards 
(91.44 m, 300 ft) with a 25 yard (22.86 m, 75 ft) separation between 
each net-shot; and (4) requirement for large mesh nets to be low 
profile (e.g., maximum of 15 meshes in depth, tie-downs prohibited, 
floats or corks prohibited along float lines north of the NC Highway 58 
bridge). NCDMF proposes to monitor sea turtle interactions through 
reports from fishery observers (both traditional and alternative 
platform), fishermen, and NCDMF Marine Patrol at a minimum of 7% 
coverage annually for large mesh gillnet trips. The proposed 
conservation plan also includes a requirement for NCDMF to provide 
monthly reports of sea turtle interactions to NMFS with estimates of 
take by management unit, season, sea turtle species, and disposition.
    The annual incidental take of sea turtles, using a 90% confidence 
limit, is anticipated to be 295 lethal and 607 non-lethal. 
Specifically, the anticipated lethal and non-lethal take by species is 
55 lethal and 116 non-lethal Kemp's ridley, 216 lethal and 436 non-
lethal green, 23 lethal and 50 non-lethal loggerhead turtles, and 1 
lethal and 5 non-lethal hawksbill turtles. NCDMF is proposing to limit 
inshore gillnet fisheries such that the impacts on ESA-listed sea 
turtles will be minimized. NCDMF would use a variety of adaptive 
fishery management measures and restrictions through their state 
proclamation authority to reduce sea turtle mortality and prohibit 
fishing in Management Units or sub-units where incidental take 
thresholds are exceeded. NCDMF considered and rejected one other 
alternative, not applying for a permit and closing the fishery, when 
developing their conservation plan.

National Environmental Policy Act

    Issuing a permit would constitute a Federal action requiring NMFS 
to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.) as implemented by 40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and NOAA 
Administrative Order 216-6, Environmental Review Procedures for 
Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (1999). NMFS intends 
to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to consider a range of 
reasonable alternatives and fully evaluate the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative impacts likely to result from issuing a permit.

[[Page 61672]]

Next Steps

    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS 
will evaluate the application, associated documents, and comments 
submitted thereon to determine whether the application meets the 
requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA. If we determine that the 
requirements of section 10(a) and the procedural requirements of NEPA 
are met, NMFS will issue a permit for incidental takes of ESA-listed 
sea turtles under the jurisdiction of NMFS. The final NEPA and permit 
determinations will not be completed until after the end of the 60-day 
comment period. NMFS will fully consider all public comments received 
during the comment period. NMFS will publish a record of its final 
action in the Federal Register.

    Dated: September 29, 2011.
Helen Golde,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-25752 Filed 10-4-11; 8:45 am]
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