[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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Trap/pot Fisheries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atlantic blue crab trap/pot.............................       2015-2019
Atlantic mixed species trap/pot.........................       2015-2019
Northeast/Mid-Atlantic American lobster trap/pot........       2015-2019
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Pound Net/Weir/Seine Fisheries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P