[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 48 (Monday, March 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10686-10688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04842]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF914


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Exempted Fishing Permit

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

ACTION: Notice of receipt of an application for an exempted fishing 
permit; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted 
fishing permit (EFP) from Clean Ocean Initiative, Inc. (Clean Ocean). 
If granted, the EFP would authorize Clean Ocean to fish for and retain 
Caribbean prohibited corals collected from 10 decommissioned submarine 
telecommunication cables being retrieved from U.S. exclusive economic 
zone (EEZ) waters in the Caribbean off of Puerto Rico.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than March 27, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the application by either of the 
following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject 
line of the email comment the following document identifier: ``CLEAN 
OCEAN_EFP 2018''.
     Mail: Sarah Stephenson, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 
263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
    The application and related documents are available for review upon 
written request to any of the above addresses. All comments received, 
including all voluntarily submitted personal identifying information 
(e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business information, or 
otherwise sensitive information, are part of the public record. NMFS 
will accept anonymous comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Stephenson, telephone: 727-824-
5305, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EFP is requested under the authority of 
the

[[Page 10687]]

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.), and regulations at 50 CFR 600.745(b) concerning exempted 
fishing.
    This action involves activity covered by regulations implementing 
the Fishery Management Plan for Corals and Reef Associated Plants and 
Invertebrates of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (FMP). The 
proposed application for exempted fishing involves activity that would 
otherwise be prohibited by regulations at 50 CFR part 622, as they 
pertain to coral and invertebrate FMP species managed by the Caribbean 
Fishery Management Council (Council). The EFP would exempt this 
activity from Federal regulations at Sec.  622.472(b) (Caribbean 
prohibited coral). See 50 CFR 622.2 defining Caribbean prohibited coral 
and Appendix A to part 622.
    Submarine telecommunication cables have been deployed throughout 
the U.S. EEZ in the Caribbean for many years and these cables may act 
as substrate for organisms to use as benthic habitat, such as corals 
and invertebrates. The applicant requests authorization to collect and 
retain prohibited coral, excluding Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed 
species, from 10 decommissioned submarine telecommunication cables as 
they are being retrieved from waters in the U.S. EEZ off Puerto Rico. 
The applicant has been permitted by the United States Army Corps of 
Engineers (USACE), Antilles Section, to retrieve these decommissioned 
submarine cables in territorial and U.S. EEZ off Puerto Rico waters. 
The EFP would only apply to coral collection and retention activities 
in Federal waters.
    As part of an overall effort to remove decommissioned submarine 
cables, Clean Ocean would identify additional submarine cables in the 
U.S. EEZ off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for possible 
future removal. If the applicant identifies any additional cables that 
could be removed, NMFS expects Clean Ocean will submit an additional 
application for an EFP authorizing coral collection and retention 
activities similar to those described herein.
    The 10 cables from which the applicant is proposing to collect 
corals and invertebrates in its EFP application were deployed between 
1874 and 1963 and have been inactive since 1986. Cable routes initiate 
in Puerto Rico and extend across the Caribbean basin, terminating in 
the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, Antigua, or Florida. 
Activities permitted under the EFP would initiate at the inner boundary 
of the U.S. EEZ off Puerto Rico and terminate at the outer boundary of 
the U.S. EEZ, with an estimated minimum starting depth of 1,000 ft (305 
m). Total lengths of the cables to be salvaged in territorial and 
Federal waters range from 41 nautical miles (nmi) to 172 nmi, and the 
total estimated length to be retrieved from all 10 decommissioned 
cables is 947 nmi. The portion of the cable retrieved in Federal 
waters, from which the applicant seeks to collect and retain prohibited 
corals under an EFP, is unknown, but represents a smaller portion of 
this total length. As described in the application, the proposed 
activities would be expected to take up to 18 months and any EFP would 
be valid for up to 18 months from date of issuance.
    Before cable retrieval activities commence, the applicant is 
proposing to conduct benthic surveys to identify and record the 
presence of coral species and other species (sponges, mollusks, 
anemones, etc.) along each cable corridor. These surveys would be 
conducted via a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operated from a 115-ft 
(35 m) survey vessel. The ROV would remove as many organisms as 
possible from the cable and transplant them to the surrounding area, 
ensuring adequate distance from the cable so they are not impacted 
during the cable recovery phase. The ROV would not bring organisms to 
the surface but would instead relocate those organisms at depth. If 
there are too many organisms on a particular section of cable to 
effectively relocate them by ROV, or if the organisms are too large or 
too small to relocate, the ROV would not remove and transplant them. 
Instead, for those sections of cable with large organisms or dense 
aggregations, the ROV would cut the submarine cable on either side of 
these organisms and that section would remain on the bottom with 
organisms attached. Sections of cable with organisms that are too small 
to be removed and transplanted would be retrieved during the cable 
recovery phase.
    Once the benthic surveys and any organism relocations are complete, 
the ROV would then locate the cable retrieval start point and prepare 
the cable for retrieval. The cables would be retrieved through the use 
of a 275-ft (84-m) pipe lay barge. As each cable is being retrieved, 
any attached coral and invertebrates remaining on the cable would be 
removed onboard the barge using a specialized funnel fitted around the 
cable. Resultant specimens would be deposited into a collection 
container monitored by Clean Ocean's marine biologist. Species 
information and measurements of all collected organisms would be 
recorded, and corals and invertebrates selected for further study would 
be identified. Those specimens selected for further study would be 
placed in a controlled aquatic storage area onboard the survey vessel 
and any remaining specimens would be returned to the water from the 
barge as soon as possible with as little harm practicable. Retained 
specimens would be transferred to Clean Ocean's Coral Research Center 
in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and made available to scientists and graduate 
students for the study of their taxonomy, growth, behavior, and 
genetics.
    The EFP would allow Clean Ocean to harvest and possess non-ESA-
listed corals from Federal waters for which harvest is otherwise 
prohibited. The majority of the operations under the EFP would occur at 
depths where there is little to no light penetration; thus, any corals 
anticipated to be encountered on the cables would be deep-water 
species. Cable diameters depend on the type of cable, fiber optic or 
coaxial, and range from 1.75 to 3 inches (4.4-7.6 cm). Deep-water 
corals tend to grow at a slow rate, but these submarine cables have 
been on the bottom for over 50 years, providing adequate time for early 
settlers to grow to a substantial size. Clean Ocean conducted 
preliminary benthic surveys of its cable retrieval operations, in 
territorial waters at depths from 100 to 250 ft (30.5 to 76.2 m), to 
evaluate organisms and habitats along the cable corridors. Based on 
those initial results, Clean Ocean expects that most of the cable 
lengths to be retrieved are submerged under the sand and have few, if 
any, organisms attached. Moreover, given the operating depths for the 
activities under the proposed EFP, which occur in deeper Federal 
waters, it is not expected that the applicant would encounter any ESA-
listed corals. Finally, the USACE conditioned the permits for the cable 
retrieval so that those activities, which start in shallower 
territorial waters, occur at depths where ESA-listed corals are not 
expected to occur.
    In addition to non-ESA listed corals, federally managed aquarium 
trade species, including sponges, anemones, polychaete worms, feather 
stars, and tunicates, could potentially be collected during the 
proposed activities. Aquarium trade species are managed in the U.S. 
Caribbean EEZ under an annual catch limit (ACL) of 8,155 lb (3,699 kg), 
round weight. The ROV would be expected to remove most organisms from 
the cable prior to cable retrieval commences, and it is unlikely that 
the amount of organism fragments

[[Page 10688]]

remaining attached to the cable, collected onboard the barge, and 
selected for further study would contribute substantially to the 
landings quota against which the aquarium trade species ACL is 
compared. As part of the permit conditions, NMFS intends to limit the 
amount of aquarium trade species to be retained by Clean Ocean during 
the proposed activities. Clean Ocean personnel will be trained and 
prepared to prevent damage to sensitive areas and a marine biologist 
will be onboard at all times to identify and report any sensitive 
environmental resources and to stop operations if necessary.
    NMFS finds this application warrants further consideration, based 
on a preliminary review. In addition to the above, possible conditions 
the agency may impose on this permit, if it is granted, include but are 
not limited to, requiring Clean Ocean to submit monthly reports on the 
amount of coral and aquarium trade species collected, and to announce 
at least daily the present and following week's anticipated start and 
stop locations via VHF channel 16 to allow fishers time to relocate 
their gear and avoid trap-cable interactions.
    A final decision on issuance of the EFP will depend on NMFS' review 
of public comments received on the application, consultations with the 
affected state(s), the Council, and the U.S. Coast Guard, and a 
determination that it is consistent with all applicable laws.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: March 6, 2018.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-04842 Filed 3-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P