[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 2, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49495-49496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21349]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 180810748-8814-01]
RIN 0648-BI43


Pacific Island Fisheries; Hawaii Shallow-Set Pelagic Longline 
Fishery; Court Order

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule revises from 34 to 17 the annual number of 
allowable incidental interactions that may occur between the Hawaii 
shallow-set pelagic longline fishery and North Pacific loggerhead sea 
turtles, in compliance with an order of the U.S. District Court, 
District of Hawaii.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Harman, NMFS Pacific Islands 
Regional Office, 808-725-5170.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 30, 2012, NMFS completed a 
biological opinion (2012 BiOp) on the effects of the Hawaii shallow-set 
longline fishery on marine species listed as threatened or endangered 
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The 2012 BiOp superseded a 
February 23, 2004, BiOp on the effects of Pacific Island pelagic 
fisheries, including shallow-set longline fishing, on ESA-listed marine 
species (2004 BiOp). In the 2012 BiOp, NMFS concluded that the 
continued operation of the Hawaii shallow-set fishery, as managed under 
the regulatory framework of the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic 
Fisheries of the Western Pacific (FEP), was not likely to jeopardize 
the continued existence of any ESA-listed species or result in 
destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat.
    The 2012 BiOp established an annual incidental take statement 
authorizing the fishery to interact with up to 26 leatherback sea 
turtles and 34 North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles. Consistent with 
the 2012 BiOp, NMFS revised the annual limits on allowable incidental 
interactions between the fishery and leatherback and North Pacific 
loggerhead sea turtles (77 FR 60637, October 4, 2012, codified at 50 
CFR 665.813). If the fishery reaches either of the interaction limits 
in a given year, the regulations require NMFS to close the fishery for 
the remainder of the calendar year.
    In the U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii, several plaintiffs 
challenged the NMFS final rule that revised the annual sea turtle 
interaction limits, among other things, and the Court ruled in favor of 
NMFS on all claims (see Turtle Island Restoration Network, et al. v. 
U.S. Dept. of Commerce, et al., (U.S.D.C. 2013), Civil No. 12-00594). 
Plaintiffs appealed the Court's decision and, on December 27, 2017, a 
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel issued a split decision 
affirming the 2012 BiOp regarding leatherback sea turtles, but holding 
that NMFS was arbitrary and capricious in its no-jeopardy determination 
for North Pacific loggerhead turtles (see Turtle Island Restoration 
Network, et al. v. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, et al., 878 F.3d 725 (9th 
Cir. 2017)).
    All parties agreed to settle the case pursuant to the terms 
outlined in a May 4, 2018, Stipulated Settlement Agreement and Court 
Order (Court Order). As part of the agreement, the U.S. District Court, 
District of Hawaii, ordered NMFS to close the fishery for the remainder 
of the 2018 fishing year. On May 11, 2018, NMFS published a temporary 
rule closing the shallow-set longline fishery until December 31, 2018 
(83 FR 21939).
    The Court Order also required NMFS to implement a new regulation 
that establishes the annual interaction limit for North Pacific 
loggerhead sea turtle at 17, effective on January 1, 2019. The revised 
limit is consistent with the incidental take statement from the 
previous 2004 BiOp. This rule implements the Court Order by revising 
the annual limit for North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles from 34 to 
17. In addition, as accounted for in the Court Order, NMFS is 
consulting on the potential effects of the fishery on sea turtles, and 
may issue a revised regulation in the future that adopts different 
interaction limits or takes a different approach to interactions after 
that consultation is concluded.
    If the fishery reaches the interaction limit for either leatherback 
sea turtles or North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles, NMFS will close 
the fishery for the remainder of the calendar year. All other 
provisions applicable to the fishery remain unchanged.

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined 
that this final rule is consistent with the Court order, the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Endangered Species 
Act, and other applicable laws.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    NMFS has good cause to waive the prior notice and comment 
requirement under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA, 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(B)). The Court Order, in relevant parts, vacates the portion of 
the 2012 Biological Opinion that relates to North Pacific loggerhead 
sea turtles, and requires NMFS to revise the interaction limit for 
those turtles to 17. Under the ESA, NMFS may not continue to authorize 
the shallow-set longline fishery until the consultation requirements of 
ESA section 7(a)(2) have been satisfied, and a new biological opinion 
and incidental take statement are prepared. Because NMFS has no 
discretion to revise and implement the loggerhead sea turtle 
interaction limit under the Court Order, no meaningful purpose will be 
served by public comment, and so providing prior notice and comment of 
this rule would be impracticable and contrary to public interest. The 
30-day delayed effective date requirement under the APA (5 U.S.C. 
553(d)) is not waived.
    Additionally, the regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 603-605) do not apply to this 
rule. Furthermore, because the changes identified in this rule are 
required by the Court Order and are not discretionary, the National 
Environmental Policy Act does not apply to this rule.

[[Page 49496]]

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665

    Administrative practice and procedure, Fisheries, Fishing, Hawaii, 
Sea turtles.

    Dated: September 26, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 665 is amended 
as follows:

PART 665--FISHERIES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

0
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 665 continues to read as 
follows:

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


0
2. In Sec.  665.813, revise paragraph (b)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  665.813  Western Pacific longline fishing restrictions.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) Maximum annual limits are established on the number of physical 
interactions that occur each calendar year between leatherback and 
North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles and vessels registered for use 
under Hawaii longline limited access permits while shallow-set fishing. 
The annual limit for leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) is 
26, and the annual limit for North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles 
(Caretta caretta) is 17.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2018-21349 Filed 10-1-18; 8:45 am]
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