[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 185 (Monday, September 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58813-58814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23487]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC138


Western Pacific Fisheries; Approval of a Marine Conservation Plan 
for American Samoa

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

ACTION: Notice of agency decision.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval of a marine conservation plan for 
American Samoa.

DATES: This agency decision is effective from August 11, 2012, through 
August 10, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the marine conservation plan, identified by NOAA-
NMFS-2012-0155, are available from www.regulations.gov, or the Western 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 1164 Bishop St., Suite 
1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-522-8220.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jarad Makaiau, Sustainable Fisheries, 
NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office, 808-944-2108.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 204(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) 
authorizes the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) and in consultation with the Council, 
to negotiate and enter into a Pacific Insular Area fishery agreement 
(PIAFA). A PIAFA would allow foreign fishing within the U.S. Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ) adjacent to American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern 
Mariana Islands with the concurrence of, and in consultation with, the 
Governor of the Pacific Insular Area to which the PIAFA applies. Before 
entering into a PIAFA, the appropriate Governor, with the concurrence 
of the Council, must develop a 3-year Marine Conservation Plan (MCP) 
providing details on uses for any funds collected by the Secretary 
under the PIAFA.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires payments received under a PIAFA 
to be deposited into the United States Treasury and then covered over 
to the Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area for which funds were 
collected. In the case of violations by foreign fishing vessels 
occurring within the EEZ off any Pacific Insular Area, amounts received 
by the Secretary attributable to fines and penalties imposed under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, including sums collected from the forfeiture and 
disposition or sale of property seized subject to its authority, shall 
be deposited into the Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area adjacent to 
the EEZ in which the violation occurred, after direct costs of the 
enforcement action are subtracted. Any funds deposited into the 
Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area may be used by the jurisdiction 
for fisheries enforcement and for implementation of an MCP.
    An MCP must be consistent with the Council's fishery ecosystem 
plans, must identify conservation and management objectives (including 
criteria for determining when such objectives have been met), and must 
prioritize planned marine conservation projects. Although no foreign 
fishing is being considered at this time, the Council, at its 154th 
meeting held June 26-28, 2012, reviewed and approved the American Samoa 
MCP and recommended its submission to the Secretary for approval. On 
July 12, 2011, the Lt. Governor of American Samoa submitted the MCP to 
NMFS, the designee of the Secretary, for review and approval.
    The MCP contains seven conservation and management objectives under 
which 48 planned projects and activities designed to meet the objective 
are identified and described, as follows:
    Objective 1. The people of American Samoa enjoy the highest level 
of social and economic benefits through sustainable fisheries 
development of fishery resources. Projects to support this objective 
include:
    1. Development of a new multi-platform fishing vessel design to 
replace the alia;
    2. Boat building and fishing vessel construction training;
    3. Fishermen training programs;
    4. Fishermen financial lending programs;
    5. Manua Islands fishing vessel acquisition project;
    6. Construction of new dock and landing space for commercial 
vessels;
    7. Construction of cold storage and fish processing facility;
    8. Purchase of ice making equipment;
    9. Development of fish marketing plan;
    10. Training for fish handling procedures and development of Hazard 
Analysis Critical Control Point plans;
    11. Support the organization of American Samoa fishermen's 
cooperatives;
    12. Technology and safety upgrades for the American Samoa 
bottomfish fleet;
    13. Promoting American Samoa as a premier sport fishing destination 
by holding annual sport fishing tournaments;
    14. Enhancing fishing opportunities by deploying fish aggregation 
devices (FAD) dedicated to small non-longline pelagic fishing vessels;
    15. Deepwater bathymetric surveys to support FAD deployment 
location in Tutuila and Manua; and
    16. Development of brood stocks of giant clam and sea urchins for 
population restoration and enhancement.
    Objective 2. Support quality research and obtain the most complete 
scientific information available to assess and manage fisheries. 
Projects to support this objective include:
    17. Understanding movement patterns of target species in no-take 
marine protected areas;
    18. Understanding local-scale current patterns around Tutuila;
    19. Improving data collection and analysis in Ofu, Olosega, and 
Tau;
    20. Determining genetic connectivity of coral reef ecosystems in 
the Samoa archipelago;
    21. Surveying fish spawning aggregations in American Samoa;
    22. Developing size limits to manage fish stocks in American Samoa;
    23. Estimating spawning period by conducting juvenile abundance 
surveys in Pala lagoon;
    24. Assessing the health and quality of juvenile reef fish habitat;
    25. Assessing the health and quality of mangrove habitat in Nuuuli 
and Leone; and
    26. Enhancing fisheries GIS capacity.

[[Page 58814]]

    Objective 3. Promote an ecosystem approach in fisheries management, 
reduce waste in fisheries and minimize interactions between fisheries 
and protected species. Projects to support this objective include:
    27. Assessing bycatch and interactions in local fisheries;
    28. Assessing distribution and population abundance of marine 
mammals;
    29. Assessing spatial-temporal patters in abundance, distribution 
and movement of green and hawksbill turtles;
    30. Determining reef carrying capacity through modeling;
    31. Determining the extent and quality of deep reef habitat through 
use of drop cameras;
    32. Coral recruitment survey and monitoring;
    33. Assessing reef resilience to microalgae phase shift;
    34. Removing marine debris from the marine environment;
    35. Supporting coastal trash removal through community based 
groups; and
    36. Developing a community-based coral rehabilitation program.
    Objective 4. Foster broad and direct public participation in the 
Council's decision making process. There are no projects to support 
this objective at this time.
    Objective 5. Recognize the importance of island cultures and 
traditional fishing in managing fishery resources and foster 
opportunities for participation. Projects to support this objective 
include:
    37. Enhancing enforcement capabilities of village by deputizing 
community members;
    38. Promoting traditional fishing practices; and
    39. Review of American Samoa fishing regulations.
    Objective 6. Promote education and outreach activities, as well as 
regional cooperation regarding fishery conservation issues. Projects to 
support this objective include:
    40. High school marine fisheries resource management course;
    41. Developing and testing a local marine science integrated 
curriculum;
    42. Developing education tools to educate public on conservation;
    43. Enhancing research training capabilities of local staff;
    44. Enhancing regional cooperation by collaborative meetings and 
cross site visits with other South Pacific Territories;
    45. Improving scientific awareness of junior biologist; and
    46. Monitoring of coral reefs in Independent Samoa.
    Objective 7. Encourage development of technologies and methods to 
achieve the most effective level of enforcement and to ensure safety at 
sea;
    47. Installation of radar to monitor vessel movement within the 
Territory of American Samoa; and
    48. Surveillance and enforcement of marine protected area.
    This notice announces that NMFS has determined that the American 
Samoa MCP satisfies the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and 
has approved the MCP for the 3-year period from August 11, 2012, 
through August 10, 2015.

    Dated: September 19, 2012.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-23487 Filed 9-21-12; 8:45 am]
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