Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Team Meeting, 36120-36121 [05-12342]
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36120
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2005 / Notices
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
Dated: June 16, 2005.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 05–12263 Filed 6–21–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[I.D. 060805C]
Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take
Reduction Team Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of establishment of an
Atlantic Longline Take Reduction Team
and meeting.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS is establishing a Take
Reduction Team (TRT) and convening a
TRT meeting to address the incidental
mortality and serious injury of longfinned pilot whales (Globicephala
melas) and short-finned pilot whales
(Globicephala macrorhynchus) in the
Atlantic region of the Atlantic pelagic
longline fishery. The TRT will develop
a Take Reduction Plan (TRP) as required
in the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA). NMFS will seek input from
the Atlantic Pelagic Longline TRT on all
scientific data related to stock structure,
abundance, and human-caused
mortality and serious injury of pilot
whales. The TRT will focus on
developing a plan to reduce incidental
catch of pilot whales in the Atlantic
pelagic longline fishery to a level
approaching a zero mortality and
serious injury rate within 5 years of
implementation of the plan.
DATES: The meeting will be held on June
29, 2005, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and on
June 30, 2005, from 8:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The PLTRT meeting will be
held at the Hyatt Regency, 7400
Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD
20814. Phone: (301) 657–1234, Fax:
(301) 657–6453.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Victoria Cornish: (727) 824–5312 or
Kristy Long: (301) 713–2322.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
MMPA defines the Potential Biological
Removal (PBR) level of a marine
mammal stock as the maximum number
of animals, not including natural
mortalities, that may be removed from a
VerDate jul<14>2003
21:12 Jun 21, 2005
Jkt 205001
marine mammal stock while allowing
that stock to reach or maintain its
optimum sustainable population. The
PBR level is the product of the following
factors: the minimum population
estimate of the stock; one-half the
maximum theoretical or estimated net
productivity rate of the stock at a small
population size; and a recovery factor of
between 0.1 and 1.0.
The Western North Atlantic stocksof
short-finned and long-finned pilot
whales (Globicephala sp.) were
designated as strategic in the 2003
marine mammal stock assessment
report. However, NMFS has revised the
abundance estimates for pilot whales
based on recent surveys conducted
throughout their range. The 2005 draft
stock assessment report now indicates
that the PBR for the combined stock of
long-finned and short-finned pilot
whales (Globicephala sp.) is 247, and
that total fishery-related mortality and
serious injury is 201. Therefore, the
status of this combined stock in the
2005 draft stock assessment report will
change from strategic to non-strategic
because fishery-related serious injuries
and mortalities are less than PBR.
For a non-strategic stock, a take
reduction plan shall be completed
within 11 months of the establishment
of the team, and shall focus on reducing
incidental mortalities and serious
injuries of pilot whales to a level
approaching a zero mortality and
serious injury rate within 5 years of
implementation of the plan.
Both species of pilot whales are
known to interact with the pelagic
longline fishery, which is classified on
the MMPA List of Fisheries as a
Category I fishery, or one that has
frequent incidental mortalities or
serious injuries of marine mammals.
Most of the observed interactions of
pilot whales with the pelagic longline
fishery have occurred in the MidAtlantic Bight, where the ranges of the
two species overlap. Other commercial
fisheries known to occasionally cause
incidental mortality and serious injury
of short-finned and long-finned pilot
whales include the southern New
England and mid-Atlantic midwater and
bottom trawl fisheries targeting squid,
mackerel, butterfish, and herring. These
fisheries are identified in the 2004 List
of Fisheries (69 FR 48407, August 10,
2004).
As required under section 118 (f)(8) of
the MMPA, the TRT shall develop a
draft TRP by consensus, and shall
submit this draft TRP to NMFS not later
than 11 months after the date of the
establishment of the TRT. The Secretary
shall then consider the TRP, and no
later than 60 days after the submission
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
of the draft TRP, NMFS shall publish in
the Federal Register the TRP and any
implementing regulations proposed by
the team for a public comment period
not to exceed 90 days. Within 60 days
of the close of the comment period,
NMFS shall issue a final TRP and any
implementing regulations.
List of invited participants: MMPA
section 118 (f)(6)(C) requires that
members of TRTs have expertise
regarding the conservation or biology of
the marine mammal species that the
TRP will address, or the fishing
practices that result in the incidental
mortality or serious injury of such
species. The MMPA further specifies
that TRTs shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, consist of an equitable
balance among representatives of
resource user and non-user interests.
NMFS has asked the following
individuals to serve as members of the
TRT, which will focus on reducing
bycatch of long-finned and short-finned
pilot whales in the Atlantic pelagic
longline fishery:
Nelson Beidman, Blue Water
Fishermen’s Association; Jim Budi,
Shoreside; Vicki Cornish, NMFS; Jean
Cramer, Thunder Mountain Consulting;
Brendan Cummings, Center for
Biological Diversity; Damon Gannon,
Mote Marine Laboratory; Charlotte
Hudson Gray, Oceana; Gail Johnson,
Fishing Vessel Seneca; David Kerstetter,
Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Bill
McLellan, University of North Carolina
at Wilmington; Dan Mears, Fishing
Vessel Monica; Tim Ragen, Marine
Mammal Commission; Scott Rucky,
Fishing Vessel Dakota; Rick Seagraves,
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council; and Sharon Young, Humane
Society of the United States.
Other individuals from NMFS and
state and Federal agencies may be
present as observers or for their
scientific expertise. Members of TRTs
serve without compensation, but may be
reimbursed by NMFS, upon request, for
reasonable travel costs and expenses
incurred in performing their duties as
members of the team. The TRT process
will be facilitated by Scott McCreary
and Eric Poncelet, CONCUR, Inc.,
Berkeley, California. The TRT will hold
its first meeting from June 29–30, 2005
in Bethesda, Maryland (see DATES and
ADDRESSES).
NMFS fully intends to conduct the
TRT process in a way that provides for
national consistency yet accommodates
the unique regional characteristics of
the fishery and marine mammal stocks
involved. Take Reduction Teams are not
subject to the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.).
Meetings are open to the public.
E:\FR\FM\22JNN1.SGM
22JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2005 / Notices
Dated: June 16, 2005.
P. Michael Payne,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05–12342 Filed 6–21–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Background
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[I.D. 060804F]
Endangered Fish and Wildlife; National
Environmental Policy Act; Right Whale
Ship Strike Reduction Strategy Notice
of Intent to Prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement and Conduct Public
Scoping
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent; request for
written comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
to analyze the potential impacts of
implementing the operational measures
in NOAA’s Right Whale Ship Strike
Reduction Strategy (Strategy). This
notice describes the proposed action
and possible alternatives intended to
reduce the likelihood and threat of right
whale deaths as a result of collisions
with vessels.
DATES: Written or electronic comments
must be received no later than 5 p.m.,
eastern standard time, on July 22, 2005.
At this time there are no scheduled
scoping meetings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments, or
requests to be added to the mailing list
for this project, should be submitted to:
P. Michael Payne, Chief, Marine
Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation
Division, Attn: Right Whale Ship Strike
EIS, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910. Comments may also
be submitted via fax to (301) 427–2522,
Attn: Right Whale Ship Strike EIS, or by
e-mail to:
Shipstrike.comments@noaa.gov. Include
in the subject line the following
identifier: I.D. 060804F.
Additional information including the
Environmental Assessment (EA) and the
economic analysis report used in the
preparation of the EA are available on
the NMFS website at https://
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/shipstrike/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg
Silber, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver
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21:12 Jun 21, 2005
Jkt 205001
Spring, MD 20910; telephone (301) 713–
2322, e-mail greg.silber@noaa.gov; or
Barb Zoodsma, Southeast Regional
Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South,
St. Petersburg, FL 33701; telephone
(904) 321–2806, e-mail
barb.zoodsma@noaa.gov.
The abundance of North Atlantic right
whales is believed to be fewer than 300
individuals despite protection for half a
century. The North Atlantic right whale
is also considered one of the most
endangered large whale populations in
the world. Recent modeling exercises
suggest that the loss of even an
individual animal has measurable
effects that may contribute to the
extinction of the species (Caswell et al.,
1999). The models also suggests that
preventing the mortality of one adult
female a year significantly alters the
projected outcome.
The two most significant humancaused threats and sources of mortality
to right whales are entanglements in
fishing gear and collisions with ships
(Knowlton and Kraus, 2001; Jensen and
Silber, 2003). Collisions with ships
(referred to as ship strikes) account for
more confirmed right whale mortalities
than any other human-related activity.
Ship strikes are responsible for over 50
percent of known human-related right
whale mortalities and are considered
one of the principal causes for the lack
of recovery in this population. Right
whales are located in, or adjacent to,
several major shipping corridors on the
eastern U.S. and southeastern Canadian
coasts.
NMFS has implemented conservation
measures to reduce the likelihood of
mortalities as a result of ship strikes.
These activities include the use of aerial
surveys to notify mariners of right whale
sighting locations, interagency
collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG) which issues periodic notices to
mariners regarding ship strikes, joint
operation with the USCG of Mandatory
Ship Reporting (MSR) systems to
provide information to mariners
entering right whale habitat, support of
regional Right Whale Recovery Plan
Implementation Teams, support of
shipping industry liaisons, and
consultations with other Federal
agencies regarding the effects of their
activities on right whales (under section
7 of the Endangered Species Act).
However, right whales continue to
sustain mortalities as a result of
collisions with vessels despite the
efforts of these programs.
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
36121
NMFS recognizes that this complex
problem requires the implementation of
additional proactive measures to reduce
or eliminate the threat of ship strikes to
right whales. The goal of the Strategy is
to reduce, to the extent practicable, the
distributional overlap between ships
and right whales. The Strategy allows
for regional implementation and
accommodates differences in
oceanography, commercial ship traffic
patterns, navigational concerns, and
right whale use. Implementation of the
Strategy will require proposed and final
rulemaking to be taken.
Purpose of this Action
NEPA requires Federal agencies to
conduct an environmental analysis of
their proposed actions to determine if
the actions may significantly affect the
human environment. NMFS is
considering a variety of measures,
including regulatory and non-regulatory
initiatives. NMFS may implement the
operational measures of the Strategy
through its rulemaking authority
pursuant to the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA). Under MMPA
section 112(a) (16 U.S.C. 1382(a)),
NMFS has authority, in consultation
with other Federal agencies to the extent
other agencies may be affected, to
‘‘prescribe such regulations as are
necessary and appropriate to carry out
the purposes of [the MMPA].’’ In
addition, NMFS has authority under the
Endangered Species Act to promote
conservation, implement recovery
measures, and enhance enforcement to
protect right whales. NMFS is seeking
public input on the scope of the
required National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) analysis, including the
range of reasonable alternatives,
associated impacts of any alternatives,
and suitable mitigation measures.
On June 1, 2004, NMFS published an
Advanced Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPR) (69 FR 30857) and
announced its intent to prepare a draft
EA to address the potential impacts of
implementing the Strategy. The EA
considered the context and intensity of
the factors identified in NOAA’s NEPA
guidelines and regulations, along with
short- and long-term, and cumulative
effects of a No Action Alternative and
the proposed action (see ADDRESSES).
The analysis concluded that the effects
of the proposed action on the human
environment are likely to be highly
controversial. This finding was based on
the controversial nature of the Strategy
on the human environment and the
possible cumulative effects of the
proposed action on certain sectors
within the maritime industry. The major
controversy concerns the potential
E:\FR\FM\22JNN1.SGM
22JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36120-36121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12342]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 060805C]
Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Team Meeting
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of establishment of an Atlantic Longline Take Reduction
Team and meeting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS is establishing a Take Reduction Team (TRT) and convening
a TRT meeting to address the incidental mortality and serious injury of
long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) and short-finned pilot
whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) in the Atlantic region of the
Atlantic pelagic longline fishery. The TRT will develop a Take
Reduction Plan (TRP) as required in the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA). NMFS will seek input from the Atlantic Pelagic Longline TRT on
all scientific data related to stock structure, abundance, and human-
caused mortality and serious injury of pilot whales. The TRT will focus
on developing a plan to reduce incidental catch of pilot whales in the
Atlantic pelagic longline fishery to a level approaching a zero
mortality and serious injury rate within 5 years of implementation of
the plan.
DATES: The meeting will be held on June 29, 2005, from 1 p.m. to 5
p.m., and on June 30, 2005, from 8:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The PLTRT meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency, 7400
Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. Phone: (301) 657-1234, Fax: (301)
657-6453.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Cornish: (727) 824-5312 or
Kristy Long: (301) 713-2322.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MMPA defines the Potential Biological
Removal (PBR) level of a marine mammal stock as the maximum number of
animals, not including natural mortalities, that may be removed from a
marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to reach or maintain its
optimum sustainable population. The PBR level is the product of the
following factors: the minimum population estimate of the stock; one-
half the maximum theoretical or estimated net productivity rate of the
stock at a small population size; and a recovery factor of between 0.1
and 1.0.
The Western North Atlantic stocksof short-finned and long-finned
pilot whales (Globicephala sp.) were designated as strategic in the
2003 marine mammal stock assessment report. However, NMFS has revised
the abundance estimates for pilot whales based on recent surveys
conducted throughout their range. The 2005 draft stock assessment
report now indicates that the PBR for the combined stock of long-finned
and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala sp.) is 247, and that total
fishery-related mortality and serious injury is 201. Therefore, the
status of this combined stock in the 2005 draft stock assessment report
will change from strategic to non-strategic because fishery-related
serious injuries and mortalities are less than PBR.
For a non-strategic stock, a take reduction plan shall be completed
within 11 months of the establishment of the team, and shall focus on
reducing incidental mortalities and serious injuries of pilot whales to
a level approaching a zero mortality and serious injury rate within 5
years of implementation of the plan.
Both species of pilot whales are known to interact with the pelagic
longline fishery, which is classified on the MMPA List of Fisheries as
a Category I fishery, or one that has frequent incidental mortalities
or serious injuries of marine mammals. Most of the observed
interactions of pilot whales with the pelagic longline fishery have
occurred in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, where the ranges of the two species
overlap. Other commercial fisheries known to occasionally cause
incidental mortality and serious injury of short-finned and long-finned
pilot whales include the southern New England and mid-Atlantic midwater
and bottom trawl fisheries targeting squid, mackerel, butterfish, and
herring. These fisheries are identified in the 2004 List of Fisheries
(69 FR 48407, August 10, 2004).
As required under section 118 (f)(8) of the MMPA, the TRT shall
develop a draft TRP by consensus, and shall submit this draft TRP to
NMFS not later than 11 months after the date of the establishment of
the TRT. The Secretary shall then consider the TRP, and no later than
60 days after the submission of the draft TRP, NMFS shall publish in
the Federal Register the TRP and any implementing regulations proposed
by the team for a public comment period not to exceed 90 days. Within
60 days of the close of the comment period, NMFS shall issue a final
TRP and any implementing regulations.
List of invited participants: MMPA section 118 (f)(6)(C) requires
that members of TRTs have expertise regarding the conservation or
biology of the marine mammal species that the TRP will address, or the
fishing practices that result in the incidental mortality or serious
injury of such species. The MMPA further specifies that TRTs shall, to
the maximum extent practicable, consist of an equitable balance among
representatives of resource user and non-user interests.
NMFS has asked the following individuals to serve as members of the
TRT, which will focus on reducing bycatch of long-finned and short-
finned pilot whales in the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery:
Nelson Beidman, Blue Water Fishermen's Association; Jim Budi,
Shoreside; Vicki Cornish, NMFS; Jean Cramer, Thunder Mountain
Consulting; Brendan Cummings, Center for Biological Diversity; Damon
Gannon, Mote Marine Laboratory; Charlotte Hudson Gray, Oceana; Gail
Johnson, Fishing Vessel Seneca; David Kerstetter, Virginia Institute of
Marine Science; Bill McLellan, University of North Carolina at
Wilmington; Dan Mears, Fishing Vessel Monica; Tim Ragen, Marine Mammal
Commission; Scott Rucky, Fishing Vessel Dakota; Rick Seagraves, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council; and Sharon Young, Humane Society
of the United States.
Other individuals from NMFS and state and Federal agencies may be
present as observers or for their scientific expertise. Members of TRTs
serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed by NMFS, upon
request, for reasonable travel costs and expenses incurred in
performing their duties as members of the team. The TRT process will be
facilitated by Scott McCreary and Eric Poncelet, CONCUR, Inc.,
Berkeley, California. The TRT will hold its first meeting from June 29-
30, 2005 in Bethesda, Maryland (see DATES and ADDRESSES).
NMFS fully intends to conduct the TRT process in a way that
provides for national consistency yet accommodates the unique regional
characteristics of the fishery and marine mammal stocks involved. Take
Reduction Teams are not subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(5 App. U.S.C.). Meetings are open to the public.
[[Page 36121]]
Dated: June 16, 2005.
P. Michael Payne,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-12342 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
