[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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