[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41034-41035]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16355]



[[Page 41034]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC711


Endangered Species; File No. 18102

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the North Carolina Department of 
Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) 
has applied in due form for a permit pursuant to the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit application is for the 
incidental take of Atlantic sturgeon (A. oxyrinchus) associated with 
the otherwise lawful commercial and recreational fisheries operating in 
estuarine waters and deploying anchored gill nets (i.e., passive gill 
net sets deployed with an anchor or stake at one or both ends of the 
nets). The duration of the proposed permit is 10 years. NMFS is 
providing this notice in order to allow other agencies and the public 
an opportunity to review and comment on the application materials. All 
comments received will become part of the public record and will be 
available for review.

DATES: Written comments must be received at the appropriate address or 
fax number (see ADDRESSES) on or before August 8, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The application is available for download and review at 
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/esa_review.htm under the section 
heading ESA Section 10(a)(1)(B) Permits and Applications. The 
application is also available upon written request or by appointment in 
the following office: Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office 
of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13535, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301) 427-8403; fax (301) 713-4060.
    You may submit comments, identified by the following document 
number, NOAA-NMFS-2013-0104, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0104. Click the ``Comment Now'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Fax: (301)713-4060; Attn: Therese Conant or Angela Somma.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Endangered Species 
Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Room 13535, Silver Spring, MD 20910; Attn: Therese Conant 
or Angela Somma.
    Instructions: You must submit comments by one of the above methods 
to ensure that we receive, document, and consider them. 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.) 
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information 
submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. We 
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, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Therese Conant or Angela Somma, (301) 
427-8403.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations 
prohibit the `taking' of a species listed as endangered or threatened. 
The ESA defines ``take'' 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 governing permits 
for threatened and endangered species are promulgated at 50 CFR 
222.307.

Background

    NMFS received a draft permit application from NCDMF on April 5, 
2012. Based on our review of the draft application, we requested 
further information and clarification. On December 19, 2012, NCDMF 
submitted an updated draft application. Based on review of the updated 
draft, NMFS and NCDMF held further discussions on a monitoring program 
to gather improved estimates of Atlantic sturgeon bycatch and a better 
understanding of population impacts. On June 28, 2013, NCDMF submitted 
a revised complete application for the take of ESA-listed Atlantic 
sturgeon Gulf of Maine, New York Bight, Chesapeake, Carolina, and South 
Atlantic Distinct Population Segments that may be caught in gill net 
fisheries operating in estuarine waters and deploying anchored gill 
nets (i.e., passive gill net sets deployed with an anchor or stake at 
one or both ends of the nets).
    NCDMF is requesting a total annual incidental take of Atlantic 
sturgeon in gillnet fisheries as follows: Large mesh (= 5.0 
ISM) = 2,203 (of which 101 are lethal); small mesh (<= 5.0 ISM) = 724 
(of which 68 are lethal). NCDMF and NMFS agreed to enter an 
Implementing Agreement, which would allow for the first three-years of 
monitoring data collected under the permit to be analyzed to verify the 
requested total annual incidental take. As data are gathered and 
analyzed through the monitoring program, NMFS will amend the permit to 
reflect any changes in the take estimate, if appropriate.

Conservation Plan

    NCDMF's conservation plan describes measures to minimize, monitor, 
and mitigate the incidental take of ESA-listed Atlantic sturgeon. The 
conservation plan includes commercial and recreational gill net 
fisheries operating in estuarine waters and deploying anchored gill 
nets as regulated through fisheries rules adopted by the North Carolina 
Marine Fisheries Commission and proclamations issued by the NCDMF 
director. Regulations include mandatory attendance, yardage limits, 
mesh size restrictions, minimum distance between fishing operations, 
gear marking requirements, soak-time restrictions, net shot limits, net 
height tie down requirements, closed areas, and monitoring and 
reporting requirements. The conservation plan includes an adaptive 
management and monitoring program, fisheries reduction, extensive 
outreach, additional Atlantic sturgeon research, and timely response to 
``hotspots'' where Atlantic sturgeon interactions are unusually high. 
NCDMF's monitoring program largely is funded through state 
appropriations and is supplemented through other sources such as the 
Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program and the National Fish 
and Wildlife Foundation.
    NCDMF considered and rejected five other alternatives: (1) No 
change to anchored gill net operations; (2) statewide closure of 
fisheries; (3) statewide reduction in large mesh gill net operations; 
(4) statewide reduction in gill net effort through weekly closures; and 
(5) statewide reduction in small mesh gill net operations.

[[Page 41035]]

National Environmental Policy Act

    Issuing an ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit constitutes 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 Policy Act (1999). NMFS 
intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment to consider a range of 
reasonable alternatives and fully evaluate the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative impacts likely to result from issuing a permit.

Next Steps

    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS 
will evaluate the application, associated documents, and comments 
received during the comment period to determine whether the application 
meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA. If NMFS determines 
that the requirements are met, a permit will be issued for incidental 
takes of ESA-listed sturgeon. The final NEPA and permit determinations 
will not be made until after the end of the comment period. NMFS will 
publish a record of its final action in the Federal Register.

    Dated: July 2, 2013.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-16355 Filed 7-8-13; 8:45 am]
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