Notice of Availability of Proposed Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for Washington Department of Natural Resources' Commercial Geoduck Fishery, 52860-52862 [E7-18305]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 179 / Monday, September 17, 2007 / Notices
performance appraisals, agreements,
and recommended actions pertaining to
employees in the Senior Executive
Service and reviews performancerelated pay increases for ST–3104
employees. The Board makes
recommendations to the appropriate
appointing authority concerning such
matters so as to ensure the fair and
equitable treatment of these individuals.
This notice lists the membership of
the NIST PRB and supersedes the list
published in Federal Register Vol. 71,
No. 157, pages 46894–46895, on August
15, 2006.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Bruce Borzino (C), Deputy Director,
National Technical Information
Service, Springfield, VA 22161.
Appointment Expires: 12/31/2008.
General.
Paul Doremus (C), Director of Strategic
Planning, Program Planning and
Integration, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Silver
Spring, MD 20910. Appointment
Expires: 12/31/07. Limited.
Cita Furlani (C), Director, Information
Technology Laboratory, National
Institute of Standards & Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
Appointment Expires: 12/31/07.
Limited.
Patrick Gallagher (C) (Alternate),
Director, NIST Center for Neutron
Research, Materials Science and
Engineering Laboratory, National
Institute of Standards and
Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
Appointment Expires: 12/31/07.
Limited.
Howard Harary (C), Deputy Director,
Manufacturing Engineering
Laboratory, National Institute of
Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
Appointment Expires: 12/31/07.
Limited.
Patricia Sefcik (C), Senior Director to the
Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Manufacturing, Manufacturing and
Services, International Trade
Administration, Washington, DC
20230. Appointment Expires: 12/31/
07. General.
James M. Turner (G), Deputy Director,
National Institute of Standards and
Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
Appointment Expires: 12/31/2009.
General.
Dated: August 9, 2007.
William Jeffrey,
Director, National Institute of Standards and
Technology, Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. E7–18166 Filed 9–14–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–JE–P
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XC68
Endangered Species; File No. 1576
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for
modification.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
NMFS, Northeast Fisheries Science
Center (NEFSC), 166 Water Street,
Woods Hole, MA 02543–1026, has
requested a modification to scientific
research Permit No. 1576.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail
comments must be received on or before
October 17, 2007.
ADDRESSES: The modification request
and related documents are available for
review upon written request or by
appointment in the following office(s):
Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone
(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521; and
Northeast Region, NMFS, One
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930–2298; phone (978)281–9300; fax
(978)281–9394.
Written comments or requests for a
public hearing on this request should be
submitted to the Chief, Permits,
Conservation and Education Division,
F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those
individuals requesting a hearing should
set forth the specific reasons why a
hearing on this particular modification
request would be appropriate.
Comments may also be submitted by
facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided
the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy
submitted by mail and postmarked no
later than the closing date of the
comment period.
Comments may also be submitted by
e-mail. The mailbox address for
providing e-mail comments is
NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include
in the subject line of the e-mail
comment the following document
identifier: File No. 1576.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick Opay or Amy Hapeman,
(301)713–2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
subject modification to Permit No. 1576,
issued on November 8, 2006 (71 FR
65471) is requested under the authority
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of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and
the regulations governing the taking,
importing, and exporting of endangered
and threatened species (50 CFR 222–
226).
Permit No. 1576 authorizes the permit
holder to test modifications to scallop
dredge gear that may reduce the
probability of turtle injuries due to gear
interactions. They may also
opportunistically collect biological
information from sea turtles captured in
other projects or fisheries to improve
NMFS’s ability to assess stocks and the
impact of anthropogenic activities. The
permit holder requests authorization to
capture, hold, transport, measure,
weigh, flipper and passive integrated
transponder tag, satellite tag, collect
tissue biopsy, photograph, salvage and
necropsy up to 50 loggerhead (Caretta
caretta) and 50 Kemp’s ridley
(Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles
annually through October 31, 2011.
Researchers request up to one accidental
mortality of each species annually.
Research would take place in the
Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the
eastern United States. The main purpose
of the research is to use satellite-linked
tags to obtain high-resolution
information on the depth, temperature,
and movement of these sea turtle
species in areas coincident with
Northeast fisheries.
Dated: September 12, 2007.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7–18303 Filed 9–14–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XA20
Notice of Availability of Proposed Low
Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for
Washington Department of Natural
Resources’ Commercial Geoduck
Fishery
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of
application.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS advises interested
parties of Washington Department of
Natural Resources’ (WDNR) application
for an incidental take permit (ITP),
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 179 / Monday, September 17, 2007 / Notices
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA). The requested 50–year
permit would authorize the incidental
take of covered species associated with
WDNR’s management of the State’s
Commercial Geoduck Fishery in Puget
Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
NMFS is requesting comments on the
permit application and on whether the
proposed Geoduck Fishery Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP) qualifies as a
‘‘low-effect’’ HCP. The HCP is available
for public review.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before October 17, 2007.
ADDRESSES: All comments concerning
the preparation of the HCP should be
addressed to: Laura Hamilton, National
Marine Fisheries Service, Washington
State Habitat Office, 510 Desmond Drive
SE, Suite 103, Lacey WA 98503, fscimile
number 360–753–9517. Comments may
be submitted by e-mail to the following
address: geoduckHCP.nwt@noaa.gov. In
the subject line of the e-mail, include
the document indentifier: Geoduck
HCP.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laura Hamilton, NMFS (360)753–5820.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Availability of Documents
Individuals wishing copies of the
application or proposed HCP should
contact NMFS by telephone (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) or by
letter (see ADDRESSES). Copies of the
subject documents also are available for
public inspection during regular
business hours at NMFS’ Washington
State Habitat Office (see ADDRESSES) and
are available at the following website:
www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Habitat/
Habitat-Conservation-Plans/Index.cfm.
Statutory Authority
Section 9 of the Endangered Species
Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1538) and
implementing regulations prohibit the
taking of animal species listed as
endangered or threatened. The term
‘‘take’’ is defined under the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1532(19)) as to harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or to attempt to
engage in any such conduct. NMFS’
definition of ‘‘harm’’ includes
significant habitat modification or
degradation where it actually kills or
injures fish or wildlife by significantly
impairing essential behavioral patterns,
including breeding, feeding, spawning,
migrating, rearing, and sheltering (64 FR
60727, November 8, 1999).
Section 10 of the ESA and
implementing regulations specify
requirements for the issuance of
incidental take permits (ITPs) to non-
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Federal entities for the take of
endangered and threatened species.
Regulations governing permits for
threatened species and endangered
species, respectively, are at 50 CFR
17.32 and 50 CFR 17.22. Any proposed
take must be incidental to otherwise
lawful activities, not appreciably reduce
the likelihood of the survival and
recovery of the species in the wild, and
minimize and mitigate the impacts of
such take to the maximum extent
practicable. In addition, the applicant
must prepare a habitat conservation
plan (HCP) describing the impact that
will likely result from such taking, the
strategy for minimizing and mitigating
the take, the funding available to
implement such steps, alternatives to
such taking, and the reason such
alternatives are not being implemented.
Background
WDNR is seeking an ITP from NMFS
for the incidental take of species that are
listed as either threatened or
endangered under the ESA, and certain
species should they become listed
during the 50–year term of the permit.
The species under consideration for
NMFS coverage include Chinook
salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha),
Chum salmon (O. keta), coho salmon (O.
kisutch), pink salmon (O. gorbuscha),
Pacific herring (Clupea harengus
pallasi), steelhead (O. mykiss), southern
resident orca (Orcinus orca), pinto
abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana), and
Olympia oyster (Ostrea conchaphila).
The ITP would provide ESA regulatory
certainty for Washington State’s
commercial geoduck fishery. Proposed
covered activities under the HCP
include the sub-tidal harvest of wild
stock geoduck clams on state-owned
aquatic lands for commercial, research
and health sampling purposes.
The majority of subtidal land in the
state, and the resources embedded in
them, are owned by Washington State
and managed by the WDNR. The
geoduck clam is among the most
commercially valuable of these
resources.
The wild geoduck fishery in the state
is jointly managed by WDNR,
Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife (WDFW), and the Puget Sound
Treaty Indian Tribes (Tribes). The state
and the Tribes each have a right to 50
percent of the allowable geoduck catch.
The state and the Tribes are jointly
responsible for estimating geoduck
population size, determining
sustainable yield, and protecting the
health of the geoduck stock and the
habitat they depend upon. WDNR offers
the state’s half of the geoduck harvest at
auctions for the right of private
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companies and individuals to harvest
specific quantities of geoducks in
specific areas. As the state’s comanagers of the geoduck resource,
WDNR and WDFW enforce civil and
criminal Washington State laws,
regulations and contract conditions that
apply to the state’s fishery.
Washington’s commercial geoduck
fishery is divided into six geoduck
management regions. Commercial
harvest occurs within one management
region at a time, and usually on one
tract at a time. There are currently 192
commercial geoduck tracts comprising
approximately 29,908 acres of subtidal
bedlands. Ten to fourteen harvest quotas
are offered at each WDNR geoduck
harvest auction, resulting in 30 to 40
individual harvest agreements annually.
Typically, one or two tracts are open for
harvest at any given time. The tract
boundaries are defined by a water depth
of -18 feet (5.49 meters) mean lower low
water (MLLW) to the outer edge of the
harvest area depth of -70 feet (21.37
meters) MLLW. Most of the subtidal
tracts range in size from 18 acres to 459
acres. A small number of tracts are
larger. Harvest limits are based on the
annual harvest level Total Allowable
Catch (TAC). The TAC for a
management region is the total weight of
geoduck that may be harvested during
the year in each management region.
The number is calculated annually and
is the product of the regional
commercial biomass estimate multiplied
by the equilibrium harvest rate.
Harvesting is done by divers in
shallow waters relatively close to shore.
A water-jet is used which consists of a
nozzle about 18 inches (0.6 meters) long
with a 5/8 inch diameter (0.02 meters)
tip at the digging end. The harvester
simultaneously inserts the nozzle next
to a geoduck siphon and grasps the
siphon. A short burst of ambient water
drawn from the surface at between 77–
89 gallons per minute with a pressure of
about 80 pounds per square inch,
liquefies the sediment allowing for
removal of the geoduck. The divers
operate from medium sized 25 to 60 feet
(7.62 to 18.29 meters) anchored boats,
equipped with pumps and compressors
to provide the divers with air through
hoses, as well as to pressurize the water
for the jets. In addition to one to two
divers, each boat has a tender onboard
to monitor the pumps and compressors
and to haul harvested geoduck aboard.
The tender and divers are in constant
contact via telemetry (communications)
through the diver’s umbilical.
The proposed minimization and
mitigation measures include, but are not
limited to: limiting the number of acres
open to harvest in each management
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 179 / Monday, September 17, 2007 / Notices
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
region per year; permitting harvest only
from tracts designated through contract
by WDNR; clearly marking tracts with
easily identifiable stakes and/or buoys,
and recording latitude and longitude
positions on all markers; limiting
surface noise levels; applying harvest
boundaries and buffers to protect
eelgrass beds, forage fish spawning areas
and other sensitive nearshore habitats
and providing direct oversight of the
fishery by maintaining compliance staff
aboard vessels on harvest tracts each
day that commercial geoduck harvest
occurs.
Approval of the HCP may qualify as
a ‘‘low-effect’’ plan as defined by the
Habitat Conservation Planning
Handbook (NMFS and USFWS,
November, 1996). Determination of low
effect HCPs is based upon the plan
having: minor or negligible effects on
federally-listed, proposed, or candidate
species and their habitats; minor or
negligible effects on other
environmental values or resources; and,
impacts that considered together with
the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated
projects would not result, over time, in
cumulative effects to the environmental
values or resources which would be
considered significant. If the plan is
found to qualify as a low-effect HCP,
further NEPA documentation beyond a
categorical exclusion review would not
be required by NMFS.
Request for Comments
If you wish to comment on the permit
application or the proposed HCP, you
may submit your comments to the
address listed in the ADDRESSES section
of this document. NMFS requests that
comments be specific. In particular, we
request information regarding: direct,
indirect, and cumulative impacts that
implementation of the proposed HCP or
other alternatives could have on
endangered and threatened and other
covered species, and their communities
and habitats; potential adaptive
management and/or monitoring
provisions; funding issues; existing
environmental conditions in the plan
area; other plans or projects that might
be relevant to this proposed project;
permit duration; maximum acreage that
should be covered; specific species that
should or should not be covered; and
minimization and mitigation efforts. We
will evaluate this permit application,
associated documents, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether
the permit application meets the
requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA
and NEPA regulations.
Individual respondents may request
that we withhold their home address
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17:00 Sep 14, 2007
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from the record, which we will honor to
the extent allowable by law. There also
may be circumstances in which we
would withhold from the record a
respondent’s identity, as allowable by
law. If you wish us to withhold your
name and/or address, you must state
this prominently at the beginning of
your comment. Anonymous comments
will not be considered. All submissions
from organizations or businesses, and
from individuals identifying themselves
as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, are
available for public inspection in their
entirety.
If we determine that the requirements
are met, we will issue an incidental take
permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
ESA to the Applicant for take of the
proposed covered species, incidental to
otherwise lawful activities in
accordance with the terms of the permit.
We will not make our final decision
until after the end of the 30–day
comment period and will fully consider
all comments received during the
comment period.
NMFS provides this notice pursuant
to section 10(c) of the ESA and pursuant
to implementing regulations for NEPA
(40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: September 11, 2007.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7–18305 Filed 9–14–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XC58
Marine Mammals; File No. 1039–1916
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
Ann Zoidis, Cetos Research
Organization, 11 Des Isle Avenue, Bar
Harbor, Maine, has applied in due form
for a permit to conduct research on
marine mammals in Hawaii and the
Gulf of Maine.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail
comments must be received on or before
October 17, 2007.
ADDRESSES: The application and related
documents are available for review
upon written request or by appointment
in the following office(s):
PO 00000
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Sfmt 4703
Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone
(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521;
Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601
Kapiolani Blvd., Rm 1110, Honolulu, HI
96814–4700; phone (808)973–2935; fax
(808)973–2941; and
Northeast Region, NMFS, One
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930–2298; phone (978)281–9300; fax
(978)281–9394.
Written comments or requests for a
public hearing on this application
should be mailed to the Chief, Permits,
Conservation and Education Division,
F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those
individuals requesting a hearing should
set forth the specific reasons why a
hearing on this particular request would
be appropriate.
Comments may also be submitted by
facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided
the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy
submitted by mail and postmarked no
later than the closing date of the
comment period.
Comments may also be submitted by
e-mail. The mailbox address for
providing e-mail comments is
NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include
in the subject line of the e-mail
comment the following document
identifier: File No. 1039–1916.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jaclyn Daly or Carrie Hubard, (301)713–
2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
subject permit is requested under the
authority of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act of 1972, as amended
(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the
regulations governing the taking and
importing of marine mammals (50 CFR
part 216), the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.), and the regulations governing
the taking, importing, and exporting of
endangered and threatened species (50
CFR 222–226).
The applicant is requesting to study
17 species of cetaceans in Hawaii and
10 species in the Gulf of Maine. The
purpose of the research is to expand
ESA and non-ESA listed species
abundance, distribution, and acoustic
data. More specifically, this research
would provide information on diving
and foraging behavior of cetaceans
while acoustic studies would contribute
to data investigating the relationship
between repertoire, pod composition,
and behavior. Research activities would
include vessel surveys, photo-ID,
passive acoustic recording, and
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 179 (Monday, September 17, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52860-52862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18305]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA20
Notice of Availability of Proposed Low Effect Habitat
Conservation Plan for Washington Department of Natural Resources'
Commercial Geoduck Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of application.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS advises interested parties of Washington Department of
Natural Resources' (WDNR) application for an incidental take permit
(ITP), pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
[[Page 52861]]
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The requested 50-year
permit would authorize the incidental take of covered species
associated with WDNR's management of the State's Commercial Geoduck
Fishery in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
NMFS is requesting comments on the permit application and on
whether the proposed Geoduck Fishery Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)
qualifies as a ``low-effect'' HCP. The HCP is available for public
review.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before October 17,
2007.
ADDRESSES: All comments concerning the preparation of the HCP should be
addressed to: Laura Hamilton, National Marine Fisheries Service,
Washington State Habitat Office, 510 Desmond Drive SE, Suite 103, Lacey
WA 98503, fscimile number 360-753-9517. Comments may be submitted by e-
mail to the following address: geoduckHCP.nwt@noaa.gov. In the subject
line of the e-mail, include the document indentifier: Geoduck HCP.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hamilton, NMFS (360)753-5820.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
Individuals wishing copies of the application or proposed HCP
should contact NMFS by telephone (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT)
or by letter (see ADDRESSES). Copies of the subject documents also are
available for public inspection during regular business hours at NMFS'
Washington State Habitat Office (see ADDRESSES) and are available at
the following website: www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Habitat/Habitat-
Conservation-Plans/Index.cfm.
Statutory Authority
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1538) and
implementing regulations prohibit the taking of animal species listed
as endangered or threatened. The term ``take'' is defined under the ESA
(16 U.S.C. 1532(19)) as to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound,
kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
conduct. NMFS' definition of ``harm'' includes significant habitat
modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures fish or
wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns,
including breeding, feeding, spawning, migrating, rearing, and
sheltering (64 FR 60727, November 8, 1999).
Section 10 of the ESA and implementing regulations specify
requirements for the issuance of incidental take permits (ITPs) to non-
Federal entities for the take of endangered and threatened species.
Regulations governing permits for threatened species and endangered
species, respectively, are at 50 CFR 17.32 and 50 CFR 17.22. Any
proposed take must be incidental to otherwise lawful activities, not
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the
species in the wild, and minimize and mitigate the impacts of such take
to the maximum extent practicable. In addition, the applicant must
prepare a habitat conservation plan (HCP) describing the impact that
will likely result from such taking, the strategy for minimizing and
mitigating the take, the funding available to implement such steps,
alternatives to such taking, and the reason such alternatives are not
being implemented.
Background
WDNR is seeking an ITP from NMFS for the incidental take of species
that are listed as either threatened or endangered under the ESA, and
certain species should they become listed during the 50-year term of
the permit. The species under consideration for NMFS coverage include
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), Chum salmon (O. keta), coho
salmon (O. kisutch), pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), Pacific herring
(Clupea harengus pallasi), steelhead (O. mykiss), southern resident
orca (Orcinus orca), pinto abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana), and
Olympia oyster (Ostrea conchaphila). The ITP would provide ESA
regulatory certainty for Washington State's commercial geoduck fishery.
Proposed covered activities under the HCP include the sub-tidal harvest
of wild stock geoduck clams on state-owned aquatic lands for
commercial, research and health sampling purposes.
The majority of subtidal land in the state, and the resources
embedded in them, are owned by Washington State and managed by the
WDNR. The geoduck clam is among the most commercially valuable of these
resources.
The wild geoduck fishery in the state is jointly managed by WDNR,
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the Puget Sound
Treaty Indian Tribes (Tribes). The state and the Tribes each have a
right to 50 percent of the allowable geoduck catch. The state and the
Tribes are jointly responsible for estimating geoduck population size,
determining sustainable yield, and protecting the health of the geoduck
stock and the habitat they depend upon. WDNR offers the state's half of
the geoduck harvest at auctions for the right of private companies and
individuals to harvest specific quantities of geoducks in specific
areas. As the state's co-managers of the geoduck resource, WDNR and
WDFW enforce civil and criminal Washington State laws, regulations and
contract conditions that apply to the state's fishery.
Washington's commercial geoduck fishery is divided into six geoduck
management regions. Commercial harvest occurs within one management
region at a time, and usually on one tract at a time. There are
currently 192 commercial geoduck tracts comprising approximately 29,908
acres of subtidal bedlands. Ten to fourteen harvest quotas are offered
at each WDNR geoduck harvest auction, resulting in 30 to 40 individual
harvest agreements annually. Typically, one or two tracts are open for
harvest at any given time. The tract boundaries are defined by a water
depth of -18 feet (5.49 meters) mean lower low water (MLLW) to the
outer edge of the harvest area depth of -70 feet (21.37 meters) MLLW.
Most of the subtidal tracts range in size from 18 acres to 459 acres. A
small number of tracts are larger. Harvest limits are based on the
annual harvest level Total Allowable Catch (TAC). The TAC for a
management region is the total weight of geoduck that may be harvested
during the year in each management region. The number is calculated
annually and is the product of the regional commercial biomass estimate
multiplied by the equilibrium harvest rate.
Harvesting is done by divers in shallow waters relatively close to
shore. A water-jet is used which consists of a nozzle about 18 inches
(0.6 meters) long with a 5/8 inch diameter (0.02 meters) tip at the
digging end. The harvester simultaneously inserts the nozzle next to a
geoduck siphon and grasps the siphon. A short burst of ambient water
drawn from the surface at between 77-89 gallons per minute with a
pressure of about 80 pounds per square inch, liquefies the sediment
allowing for removal of the geoduck. The divers operate from medium
sized 25 to 60 feet (7.62 to 18.29 meters) anchored boats, equipped
with pumps and compressors to provide the divers with air through
hoses, as well as to pressurize the water for the jets. In addition to
one to two divers, each boat has a tender onboard to monitor the pumps
and compressors and to haul harvested geoduck aboard. The tender and
divers are in constant contact via telemetry (communications) through
the diver's umbilical.
The proposed minimization and mitigation measures include, but are
not limited to: limiting the number of acres open to harvest in each
management
[[Page 52862]]
region per year; permitting harvest only from tracts designated through
contract by WDNR; clearly marking tracts with easily identifiable
stakes and/or buoys, and recording latitude and longitude positions on
all markers; limiting surface noise levels; applying harvest boundaries
and buffers to protect eelgrass beds, forage fish spawning areas and
other sensitive nearshore habitats and providing direct oversight of
the fishery by maintaining compliance staff aboard vessels on harvest
tracts each day that commercial geoduck harvest occurs.
Approval of the HCP may qualify as a ``low-effect'' plan as defined
by the Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (NMFS and USFWS,
November, 1996). Determination of low effect HCPs is based upon the
plan having: minor or negligible effects on federally-listed, proposed,
or candidate species and their habitats; minor or negligible effects on
other environmental values or resources; and, impacts that considered
together with the impacts of other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable similarly situated projects would not result, over time, in
cumulative effects to the environmental values or resources which would
be considered significant. If the plan is found to qualify as a low-
effect HCP, further NEPA documentation beyond a categorical exclusion
review would not be required by NMFS.
Request for Comments
If you wish to comment on the permit application or the proposed
HCP, you may submit your comments to the address listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this document. NMFS requests that comments be
specific. In particular, we request information regarding: direct,
indirect, and cumulative impacts that implementation of the proposed
HCP or other alternatives could have on endangered and threatened and
other covered species, and their communities and habitats; potential
adaptive management and/or monitoring provisions; funding issues;
existing environmental conditions in the plan area; other plans or
projects that might be relevant to this proposed project; permit
duration; maximum acreage that should be covered; specific species that
should or should not be covered; and minimization and mitigation
efforts. We will evaluate this permit application, associated
documents, and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the
permit application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA
and NEPA regulations.
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home
address from the record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by
law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from
the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us
to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently
at the beginning of your comment. Anonymous comments will not be
considered. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, are available for public inspection in
their entirety.
If we determine that the requirements are met, we will issue an
incidental take permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the
Applicant for take of the proposed covered species, incidental to
otherwise lawful activities in accordance with the terms of the permit.
We will not make our final decision until after the end of the 30-day
comment period and will fully consider all comments received during the
comment period.
NMFS provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA and
pursuant to implementing regulations for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: September 11, 2007.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-18305 Filed 9-14-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
