[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 9, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37198-37199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16797]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF517


Pacific Island Fisheries; Marine Conservation Plan for the 
Pacific Insular Area for the Northern Mariana Islands; Western Pacific 
Sustainable Fisheries Fund

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 (MCP) 
for the Northern Mariana Islands.

DATES: This agency decision is valid from August 4, 2017, through 
August 3, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the MCP, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2017-0076, from the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal, http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0076, or from the 
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 1164 Bishop St., 
Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-522-8220, www.wpcouncil.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Brown, Sustainable Fisheries, 
NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office, 808-725-5171.

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. The Governor of the Pacific Insular Area to 
which the PIAFA applies must request the PIAFA. The Secretary of State 
may negotiate and enter the PIAFA after consultation with, and 
concurrence of, the applicable Governor.
    Before entering into a PIAFA, the applicable Governor, with 
concurrence of the Council, must develop and submit to the Secretary a 
3-year MCP providing details on uses for any funds collected by the 
Secretary under the PIAFA. NMFS is the designee of the Secretary for 
MCP review and approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires payments 
received under a PIAFA to be deposited into the United States Treasury 
and then conveyed to the Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area for which 
funds were collected.
    In the case of violations by foreign fishing vessels in the EEZ 
around 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. The Pacific Insular Area government may use 
funds deposited into the Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area for 
fisheries enforcement and for implementation of an MCP.
    Federal regulations at 50 CFR 665.819 authorize NMFS to specify 
catch limits for longline-caught bigeye tuna for U.S. territories. NMFS 
may also authorize each territory to allocate a portion of that limit 
to U.S. longline fishing vessels that are permitted to fish under the 
Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific 
(FEP). Payments collected under specified fishing agreements are 
deposited into the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund, and any 
funds attributable to a particular territory may be used only for 
implementation of that territory's MCP.
    An MCP must be consistent with the Council's FEPs, must identify 
conservation and management objectives (including criteria for 
determining when such objectives have been met), and must prioritize 
planned marine conservation projects.
    The Council reviewed and concurred with the Northern Marian Islands 
MCP in June 2017. On July 6, 2017, the Governor of the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands submitted the Northern Mariana Islands MCP 
to NMFS for review and approval. The following describes the objectives 
of the MCP. Please refer to the MCP for planned projects and activities 
designed to meet each objective, the evaluative criteria, and priority 
rankings. The MCP contains seven conservation and management 
objectives, listed below.
    1. Improve fisheries data collection and reporting.
    2. Conduct resource assessment, monitoring, and research to gain a 
better understanding of marine resources and fisheries.
    3. Conduct enforcement training and monitoring activities to 
promote compliance with federal and local mandates.
    4. Promote responsible domestic fisheries development to provide 
long-term economic growth, stability, and local food production.
    5. Conduct education and outreach, enhance public participation, 
and build local capacity.
    6. Promote an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, climate 
change adaptation and mitigation, and regional cooperation.
    7. Recognize the importance of island cultures and traditional 
fishing practices in managing fishery resources, and foster 
opportunities for participation.

[[Page 37199]]

    This notice announces that NMFS has reviewed the MCP, and has 
determined that it satisfies the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act. Accordingly, NMFS has approved the MCP for the 3-year period from 
August 4, 2017, through August 3, 2020. This MCP supersedes the MCP 
previously approved for the period August 4, 2014, through August 3, 
2017 (79 FR 43399, July 25, 2014).

    Dated: August 4, 2017.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-16797 Filed 8-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P