[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 236 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63483-63485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26628]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG561
2019 Annual Determination To Implement the Sea Turtle Observer
Requirement
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is providing
notification that the agency will not identify additional fisheries to
observe on the 2019 Annual Determination (AD), pursuant to its
authority under the Endangered Species Act (ESA or Act). Through the
AD, NMFS identifies U.S. fisheries operating in the Atlantic Ocean,
Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Ocean that will be required to take
observers upon NMFS' request. The purpose of observing identified
fisheries
[[Page 63484]]
is to learn more about sea turtle interactions in a given fishery,
evaluate measures to prevent or reduce sea turtle takes, and implement
the prohibition against sea turtle takes. Fisheries identified on the
2015 and 2018 ADs (see Table 1) remain on the AD for a 5-year period
and are required to carry observers upon NMFS' request until December
31, 2019 and December 31, 2022, respectively.
ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for a listing of all Regional
Offices.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Wissmann, Office of Protected
Resources, (301) 427-8402; Ellen Keane, Greater Atlantic Region, (978)
282-8476; Dennis Klemm, Southeast Region, (727) 824-5312; Dan Lawson,
West Coast Region, (206) 526-4740; Irene Kelly, Pacific Islands Region,
(808) 725-5141. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the
hearing impaired may call the Federal Information Relay Service at
1(800) 877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through
Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Published Materials
Information regarding the Sea Turtle Observer Requirement for
Fisheries (72 FR 43176; August 3, 2007) may be obtained online at
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/regulations.htm or from any NMFS
Regional Office at the addresses listed below:
NMFS, Greater Atlantic Region, 55 Great Republic Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930;
NMFS, Southeast Region, 263 13th Avenue South, St.
Petersburg, FL 33701;
NMFS, West Coast Region, 501 W Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200,
Long Beach, CA 90802;
NMFS, Pacific Islands Region, Protected Resources, 1845
Wasp Blvd., Building 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
Purpose of the Sea Turtle Observer Requirement
Under the ESA, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., NMFS has the responsibility
to implement programs to conserve marine life listed as endangered or
threatened. All sea turtles found in U.S. waters are listed as either
endangered or threatened under the ESA. Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys
kempii), loggerhead (Caretta caretta; North Pacific distinct population
segment), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), green (Chelonia mydas;
Central West Pacific and Central South Pacific distinct population
segments), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles are
listed as endangered. Loggerhead (Caretta caretta; Northwest Atlantic
distinct population segment), green (Chelonia mydas; North Atlantic,
South Atlantic, Central North Pacific, and East Pacific distinct
population segments), and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea
turtles are listed as threatened, except for breeding colony
populations of olive ridleys on the Pacific coast of Mexico, which are
listed as endangered. Due to the inability to distinguish between
populations of olive ridley turtles away from the nesting beach, NMFS
considers these turtles endangered wherever they occur in U.S. waters.
While some sea turtle populations have shown signs of recovery, many
populations continue to decline.
Incidental take in fishing gear, or bycatch, is the primary
anthropogenic source of sea turtle injury and mortality in U.S. waters.
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the take (defined to include harassing,
harming, pursuing, hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping,
capturing, or collecting or attempting to engage in any such conduct),
including incidental take, of endangered sea turtles. Pursuant to
section 4(d) of the ESA, NMFS has issued regulations extending the
prohibition of take, with exceptions, to threatened sea turtles (50 CFR
223.205 and 223.206). Section 11 of the ESA provides for civil and
criminal penalties for anyone who violates the Act or a regulation
issued to implement the Act. NMFS may grant exceptions to the take
prohibitions with an incidental take statement or an incidental take
permit issued pursuant to ESA section 7 or 10, respectively. To do so,
NMFS must determine that the activity that will result in incidental
take is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the
affected listed species. For some Federal fisheries and most state
fisheries, NMFS has not granted an exception for incidental takes of
sea turtles primarily because we lack information about fishery-sea
turtle interactions.
The most effective way for NMFS to learn more about sea turtle-
fishery interactions in order to implement the take prohibitions and
prevent or minimize take is to place observers aboard fishing vessels.
In 2007, NMFS issued a regulation (50 CFR 222.402) establishing
procedures to annually identify, pursuant to specified criteria and
after notice and opportunity for comment, those fisheries in which the
agency intends to place observers (72 FR 43176; August 3, 2007). These
regulations specify that NMFS may place observers on U.S. fishing
vessels, commercial or recreational, operating in U.S. territorial
waters, the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ), or on the high seas, or
on vessels that are otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States. Failure to comply with the requirements under this rule may
result in enforcement action.
When observers are required, NMFS will pay the direct costs for
vessels to carry observers. These include observer salary and insurance
costs. NMFS may also evaluate other potential direct costs, should they
arise. Once selected, a fishery will be required to carry observers, if
requested, for a period of five years without further action by NMFS.
This will enable NMFS to develop appropriate observer coverage and
sampling protocol to investigate whether, how, when, where, and under
what conditions incidental takes are occurring; to evaluate whether
existing measures are minimizing or preventing takes; and to implement
ESA take prohibitions and conserve turtles.
2019 Annual Determination
Pursuant to 50 CFR 222.402(a), NOAA's Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, in consultation with Regional Administrators and Fisheries
Science Center Directors, annually identifies fisheries for inclusion
on the AD based on the extent to which:
(1) The fishery operates in the same waters and at the same time as
sea turtles are present;
(2) The fishery operates at the same time or prior to elevated sea
turtle strandings; or
(3) The fishery uses a gear or technique that is known or likely to
result in incidental take of sea turtles based on documented or
reported takes in the same or similar fisheries; and
(4) NMFS intends to monitor the fishery and anticipates that it
will have the funds to do so.
NMFS is providing notification that the agency is not identifying
additional fisheries to observe on the 2019 AD, pursuant to its
authority under the ESA. NMFS is not identifying additional fisheries
at this time given lack of dedicated resources to implement new
observer programs or expand existing observer programs to focus on sea
turtles. The 14 fisheries identified on the 2015 AD (see Table 1)
remain on the AD for a 5-year period and are therefore required to
carry observers upon NMFS' request until December 31, 2019. The two
fisheries identified on the 2018 AD (see Table 1) will remain on the AD
for a 5-year period and are therefore required to carry observers upon
NMFS' request until December 31, 2022.
[[Page 63485]]
Table 1--State and Federal Commercial Fisheries Included on the 2015 and
2018 Annual Determinations
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Years
eligible to
Fishery carry
observers
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Trawl Fisheries
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Southeastern U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawl. 2015-2019
Gulf of Mexico mixed species fish trawl................. 2015-2019
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Gillnet Fisheries
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California halibut, white seabass and other species set 2015-2019
gillnet (>3.5 in mesh).................................
California yellowtail, barracuda, and white seabass 2015-2019
drift gillnet (mesh size >3.5 in. and <14 in.).........
Chesapeake Bay inshore gillnet.......................... 2015-2019
Long Island inshore gillnet............................. 2015-2019
North Carolina inshore gillnet.......................... 2015-2019
Gulf of Mexico gillnet.................................. 2015-2019
Mid-Atlantic gillnet.................................... 2018-2022
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Trap/pot Fisheries
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Atlantic blue crab trap/pot............................. 2015-2019
Atlantic mixed species trap/pot......................... 2015-2019
Northeast/Mid-Atlantic American lobster trap/pot........ 2015-2019
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Pound Net/Weir/Seine Fisheries
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Mid-Atlantic haul/beach seine........................... 2015-2019
Mid-Atlantic menhaden purse seine....................... 2015-2019
Rhode Island floating trap.............................. 2015-2019
Gulf of Mexico menhaden purse seine..................... 2018-2022
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Dated: December 3, 2018.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-26628 Filed 12-7-18; 8:45 am]
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