[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 183 (Monday, September 21, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59198-59199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18054]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 223

[Docket No. 200812-0216]
RIN 0648-BJ99


Sea Turtle Conservation; Shrimp Trawling Requirements

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

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal 
Register on December 20, 2019, that requires all skimmer trawl vessels 
40 feet and greater in length to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) 
designed to exclude small sea turtles in their nets. There is an error 
in the description of the small turtle TED flap. This correction is 
necessary to prevent sea turtle bycatch and mortality.

DATES: Effective April 1, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Barnette, 727-551-5794, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Need for Correction

    NMFS published a final rule requiring all skimmer trawl vessels 40 
feet and greater in length to use TEDs designed to exclude small 
turtles in their nets on December 20, 2019 (84 FR 70048). The final 
rule becomes effective on April 1, 2021. While the specifications of 
the small turtle TED escape opening flap were intended to apply to all 
TEDs based on NMFS TED testing results, an error in the description on 
page 70064 inadvertently limited the specifications to only the bent 
bar TEDs. As a result, other TEDs, such as the straight bar TED, could 
be fished with an escape opening flap that would impair the effective 
release of small sea turtles from the net. NMFS is correcting the error 
through this action.

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good 
cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity 
for public comment pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(B), as such requirement is unnecessary and contrary to the 
public interest. While the skimmer TED requirements will not become 
effective until April 1, 2021, the lengthy delay in effectiveness was 
provided explicitly to allow sufficient time for construction of the 
many new small turtle TEDs that will be required once the rule takes 
effect. Given the time that has passed since publication of the final 
rule, NMFS expects that some new TED construction has already 
commenced, and that the rate of TED construction will increase in the 
coming months. The TED configurations that will be allowable under the 
erroneous text are known to be widely used by otter trawl vessels, 
which are already required to employ TEDs. Consequently, NMFS expects 
that the same configurations with the narrow grid spacing would be 
popular among skimmer vessels, if the configurations are identified in 
the regulations as approved TED configurations. Further delay in 
correcting the error in the regulatory text will allow for the 
continued construction of TED configurations that do not achieve the 
necessary conservation benefit, and which will no longer be allowable 
configurations after the error has been corrected. That delay would be 
expected to result in considerable needless expense by industry in 
constructing TEDs consistent with the erroneous text, and that needless 
expense is contrary to the public interest. This correcting action is 
consistent with NMFS' testing of various TED designs for turtle 
exclusion and other findings in the administrative record. The Draft 
and Final Environmental Impact Statements prepared for the rule discuss 
the different TED configurations, their expected conservation benefit, 
and the catch losses associated with their use, and these issues are 
addressed more generally in the preamble for the proposed rule and 
final rule. Consequently, the public has already been provided prior 
notice and opportunity to comment generally on this aspect of the rule, 
rendering further opportunity to comment unnecessary. Therefore, in 
order to avoid the negative consequences that are expected to result 
from unnecessary delay in making this correction, the AA finds good 
cause to waive the requirement to provide prior

[[Page 59199]]

notice and opportunity for public comment.

Correction

    In FR Doc. 19-27398, appearing on page 70048, the following 
correction is made:


Sec.  223.207  [Corrected]

0
1. On page 70064, in the first column, correct paragraph (d)(3)(v) to 
read as follows:
    (v) Small turtle TED flap. If the angle of the deflector bars of a 
TED used by a skimmer trawl exceeds 45[deg], or if a double cover 
opening straight bar TED (at any allowable angle) is used by a skimmer 
trawl, the flap must consist of twine size not greater than number 15 
(1.32-mm thick) on webbing flaps described in paragraphs (d)(3)(i), 
(d)(3)(ii), (d)(3)(iii), or (d)(3)(iv) of this section.

    Dated: April 13, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-18054 Filed 9-18-20; 8:45 am]
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