[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57132-57133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22592]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC289


Endangered Species; File No. 16230

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

ACTION: Notice of permit issuance.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a permit to the 
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) for the incidental 
take of sea turtles associated with the otherwise lawful commercial 
gillnet fishery in North Carolina inshore state waters.

ADDRESSES: The incidental take permit, final environmental assessment, 
and other related documents are available on the NMFS Office of 
Protected Resources Web site at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/esa_review.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristy Long (ph. 301-427-8402, email 
[email protected] or Sara McNulty (ph. 301-427-8402, email 
[email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 18, 2011, NCDMF submitted a 
revised application to NMFS for Permit No. 16230, requesting 
authorization for incidental take of sea turtles listed under the 
Endangered Species Act (ESA) associated with commercial and 
recreational gillnet fisheries in inshore state waters for three years. 
The application requests incidental take authorization for endangered 
Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), leatherback (Dermochelys 
coriacea), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles and 
threatened green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta 
caretta). NMFS published a notice of receipt of the August 2011 
application and a request for public comments on October 5, 2011 (76 FR 
61670). Based on comments received from the public, independent 
reviewers, and NMFS, NCDMF subsequently submitted a second revised 
application on September 6, 2012. NMFS has issued the requested permit 
under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the regulations governing the taking, 
importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 
parts 222-226).
    This permit authorizes the incidental take of specified numbers of 
sea turtles incidental to the continued commercial harvest of target 
fish species in gillnets subject to monitor, minimize, and mitigate 
incidental take in North Carolina inshore state waters as set forth in 
the conservation plan and the permit for a 10-year period.
    The conservation plan includes managing inshore gill net fisheries 
by dividing estuarine waters into six management units (i.e., A, B, C, 
D1, D2, E). Each of the management units will be monitored seasonally 
and by fishery. 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] 30.00' 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] 30.00' W. Management Unit D1 
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 D1 includes Southern Core 
Sound, Back Sound and North River. Management Unit D2 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 Highway 58 
bridge. Management Unit D2 includes Newport River and Bogue Sound. 
Management Unit E encompasses all estuarine waters south and west of 
the Highway 58 bridge to the North Carolina/South Carolina state line. 
This includes the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway and adjacent sounds, 
and the New, Cape Fear, Lockwood Folly, White Oak, and Shallotte 
rivers.
    Required management measures 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 and 
Management Area D2 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; (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); (5) 
closure of Management Area D1 to unattended large mesh gillnets from 
May 8-October 14 annually; (6) prohibition on large mesh gillnets in 
the deep water portions of the Pamlico Sound Gillnet Restricted Area 
(PSGNRA) and Oregon, Hatteras, and Ocracoke inlets from September 1-
December 15; (7) adaptive fishery management measures and restrictions 
through state proclamation authority (e.g., gear and/or area 
restrictions, attendance requirements, increased observer coverage and/
or enforcement); and (8) continuation of North Carolina's regulations 
for small mesh gillnet attendance requirements.
    NCDMF will maintain a monitoring program that consists of a 
combination of onboard and alternate platform observers, trip ticket 
program, and marine patrol officer activities (when needed). NCDMF will 
monitor six primary management units in inshore waters as described in 
the conservation plan. NCDMF will monitor at least 7% (with a goal of 
10%) of large mesh (>=4.0 ISM) gillnet trips in each area during each 
of 3 seasons (i.e., spring, summer, and fall) as defined in the 
conservation plan. NCDMF will monitor at least 1% (with a goal of 2%) 
of small mesh (<4.0 ISM) gillnet trips in each area during each of 
three seasons (i.e., spring, summer, fall) as defined in the 
conservation plan.
    The amount of annual incidental take of sea turtles authorized is 
expressed as either estimated or observed takes depending on the amount 
of data available for modeling predicted takes. Because reaching the 
estimated or observed level for any category of take for any species 
would end the incidental take authorization for all species, it is 
highly unlikely that all five species would be impacted at these 
levels. For areas B, D1, D2, and E, the annual incidental take 
authorized by species is 49 estimated dead, 98 estimated live, and 12 
observed (live or dead) Kemp's ridley turtles; 165 estimated dead, 330 
estimated live, and 18 observed (live or dead) green turtles; 24 
observed (live or dead) loggerhead turtles; eight observed (live or 
dead) leatherback turtles; and eight observed (live or dead) hawksbill 
turtles.

[[Page 57133]]

Additionally, eight observed (live or dead) of any of the five species 
are authorized for areas A and C.

    Dated: September 10, 2013.
Perry Gayaldo,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-22592 Filed 9-16-13; 8:45 am]
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