FR Doc E6-15066

[Federal Register: September 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 176)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 53605-53608]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12se06-15]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 060606149-6234-02; I.D. 052506A]
RIN 0648-AT95

Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Omnibus Amendment for the
Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries, Crustacean Fisheries, and
Precious Coral Fisheries

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to amend three fishery management
plans (FMPs) to include fisheries and waters around the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Pacific Remote Island Areas
(PRIA). These amendments affect United States domestic fisheries that
offload or operate in Federal waters around the CNMI and the PRIA.
These amendments establish new permitting and reporting requirements
for vessel operators targeting bottomfish species around the PRIA to
improve understanding of the ecology of these species and the
activities and harvests of the vessel operators that target them. They
also establish new permitting and reporting requirements for vessel
operators targeting crustacean species and precious corals around the
CNMI and PRIA.

DATES: This final rule is effective October 12, 2006, except for
amendments to Sec. Sec. 665.14, 665.41, and 665.61, which require
approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). When OMB approval is received, the
effective date will be announced in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the FMP amendments and Environmental Assessment
(EA) may be obtained from Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director, Western
Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC), 1164 Bishop Street, Suite
1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, or from the web site http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.wpcouncil.org.

Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other aspects
of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this rule
may be submitted to William L. Robinson, Regional Administrator,
Pacific Islands Region (PIR), NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd. 1110,
Honolulu, HI 96814, or to David Rostker, OMB, by e-mail
David_Rostker@omb.eop.gov, or by fax to 202-395-7285.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Harman, NMFS PIR, 808-944-2271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

This Federal Register document is also accessible via the Internet
at the web site of the Office of the Federal Register:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.

[[Page 53606]]

Background

The NMFS Pacific Islands Region encompasses Federal waters, i.e.,
the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), around the Territories of Guam
and American Samoa, the State of Hawaii, the CNMI, and the PRIA. The
EEZ extends from the inner boundary of the EEZ, i.e., the seaward limit
of each coastal state, commonwealth, territory, and possession, to 200
nautical miles (nm) offshore. For the CNMI and PRIA, the inner boundary
of the EEZ is the shoreline, and for Guam, American Samoa, and Hawaii,
the inner boundary of the EEZ is 3 nm from the shoreline.
The Federal waters surrounding the CNMI are currently not included
in the Fishery Management Plans for the Bottomfish, Crustaceans, or
Precious Corals Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (Bottomfish
FMP, Crustaceans FMP, and Precious Corals FMP). Similarly, Federal
waters surrounding the PRIA are not included in the Bottomfish or
Crustaceans FMPs. Vessels have been known to fish for bottomfish and
crustaceans in the Federal waters around the CNMI and PRIA, although on
a small scale. While there are currently no known fisheries operating
in the PRIA, and no precious corals fisheries operating in the CNMI,
interest may arise in the future. This rule amends the FMPs to include
fisheries operating in these areas under the FMPs. This rule is
designed to establish monitoring systems and management mechanisms to
implement specific regulatory controls should the need arise; specific
management measures (such as time and area closures, or effort and
landing limits) are not included.
Additional background information on this final rule may be found
in the preamble to the proposed rule (71 FR 36049) published on June
23, 2005, and is not repeated here.

Comments and Responses

On June 7, 2006, NMFS published in the Federal Register a notice of
availability of the subject FMP amendments (71 FR 32911), and on June
23, 2006, NMFS published the proposed rule that would implement the
amendments (71 FR 36049). The public comment period ended on August 7,
2006. NMFS received one comment on the proposed rule, as follows:
Comment. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recommended the
addition of regulatory text to clarify the management authority over
commercial fisheries in refuge waters within the PRIA.
Response. The preamble to the proposed rule states that the USFWS
governs fishing activities within refuges, including those in the
western Pacific, pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act (NWRSAA) of 1966, as amended by the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, and other authorities.
Refuge waters are closed to all uses until they are specifically opened
for such uses, and that the USFWS determines whether to open refuge
waters for any use that is compatible with the refuges' primary
purpose(s) and mission. While commercial fishing is generally
prohibited in refuge waters, specific regulations are absent. Including
refuge areas under the Bottomfish, Crustaceans, and Precious Corals
FMPs will add specific regulations to these areas, but these
regulations will not supersede any valid existing Federal regulations
that are more restrictive to fishing operations. NMFS believes that the
preamble language recognizes the authority of the USFWS, and adequately
addresses the USFWS comments.

Changes to the Proposed Rule

In the proposed rule, instruction 5 would have added at Sec.
665.42 a paragraph to make it unlawful for any person to refuse to make
available, to an authorized officer or employee of NMFS designated by
the Regional Administrator for inspection and copying, any records that
must be made available in accordance with Sec. 665.14(f)(2). This
proposed addition would have duplicated an existing prohibition at
Sec. 665.15(e), and was deemed unnecessary. Accordingly, that
instruction was removed from the final rule.
In the proposed rule, instruction 7 would have revised Sec.
665.69, paragraph (b), to define the inner boundary of each new fishery
management area. Although the inner boundary of the PRIA was described
in the preamble to the proposed rule as being the shoreline, this
definition was inadvertently omitted in the regulatory instructions.
Accordingly, instruction 7 was edited to include the inner boundary of
the PRIA in Sec. 665.69(b).

Classification

The Assistant Administrator, NMFS, determined that the three FMP
amendments are necessary for the conservation and management of the
affected fisheries, and that the amendments are consistent with the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other
applicable laws.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received
regarding this certification, or on the economic impact of the rule. As
a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not required and none
was prepared.
This final rule contains amendments to collection-of-information
requirements subject to the PRA under OMB control numbers 0648-0214 and
0648-0490. The amendments to these collection of information
requirements have not yet been approved by OMB, but OMB approval is
expected no later than November 13, 2006. NMFS will publish a notice
when these requirements are cleared by OMB and are, therefore,
effective (see DATES). The public reporting burden for the permit
application process is 30 min per application. In the crustaceans
fishery, it is estimated that two permit applications will be submitted
annually for the permit area, resulting in a paperwork burden of 1 hr/
yr. In the bottomfish fishery, it is estimated that no more than five
permit applications will be received annually for the permit area,
resulting in a paperwork burden of 2.5 hr/yr. In the precious corals
fishery, it is estimated that one permit will be applied for annually
for the permit area, resulting in 30 min/yr in paperwork burden.
Therefore, the total paperwork burden of these collections of
information will be no more than four hours annually. The public burden
for the proposed reporting requirements is 5 min per daily logsheet. It
is estimated that up to eight vessels will be subject to the reporting
requirement at any given time, and that each vessel will fish, on
average, no more than 50 days/yr, resulting in a total paperwork burden
of approximately 35 hr/yr. These estimates include the time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information.
Send comments regarding these burden estimates or any other aspect
of this data collection, including suggestions for reducing the burden,
to William L. Robinson, NMFS PIR (see ADDRESSES), or by e-mail to
David_Rostker@omb.eop.gov, or fax to 202-395-7285.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to

[[Page 53607]]

respond to, and no person shall be subject to penalty for failure to
comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of
the PRA, unless that collection of information displays a currently
valid OMB control number.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665

Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries,
Fishing, Guam, Hawaii, Hawaiian natives, Northern Mariana Islands,
Pacific Remote Island Areas, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: September 7, 2006.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 665 is amended as
follows:

PART 665--FISHERIES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 665 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

0
2. In Sec. 665.12, the definitions for ``Crustaceans management
area'', ``Crustaceans permit area 3'', and ``Crustaceans receiving
vessel'' are revised, the definitions of ``Crustaceans permit area 4'',
``Pacific Remote Island Areas bottomfish fishing permit'', and
``Pacific Remote Island Areas crustacean fishing permit'' are added,
and under the definition of ``Precious coral permit area'' paragraph
(4)(v) is added to read as follows:

Sec. 665.12 Definitions.

* * * * *
Crustaceans management area means the EEZ waters around American
Samoa, the CNMI, Guam, Hawaii, and the PRIA.
* * * * *
Crustaceans Permit Area 3 (Permit Area 3) means the EEZ around Guam
and American Samoa, and the EEZ seaward of points 3 nautical miles from
the shoreline of the CNMI.
Crustaceans Permit Area 4 (Permit Area 4) means the EEZ around the
PRIA, with the exception of EEZ waters around Midway Atoll.
* * * * *
Crustaceans receiving vessel means a vessel of the United States to
which lobsters taken in the crustaceans management area are transferred
from another vessel.
* * * * *
Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) bottomfish fishing permit means
the permit required by Sec. 665.61 to use a vessel to fish for
bottomfish management unit species (MUS) in the EEZ around the PRIA, or
to land bottomfish MUS shoreward of the outer boundary of the EEZ
around the PRIA, with the exception of EEZ waters around Midway Atoll.
Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) crustacean fishing permit means
the permit required by Sec. 665.41 to use a vessel to fish for
crustacean management unit species (MUS) in the EEZ around the PRIA, or
to land crustacean MUS shoreward of the outer boundary of the EEZ
around the PRIA, with the exception of EEZ waters around Midway Atoll.
* * * * *
Precious coral permit area * * *
(4) * * *
(v) Permit Area X-P-CNMI includes all coral beds, other than
established beds, conditional beds, or refugia, in the EEZ seaward of
points 3 nautical miles from the shoreline of the CNMI.
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec. 665.14, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 665.14 Reporting and recordkeeping.

(a) Fishing record forms. The operator of any fishing vessel
subject to the requirements of Sec. Sec. 665.21, 665.41, 665.81, or
665.602 must maintain on board the vessel an accurate and complete
record of catch, effort, and other data on report forms provided by the
Regional Administrator. All information specified on the forms must be
recorded on the forms within 24 hr after the completion of each fishing
day. Each form must be signed and dated by the fishing vessel operator.
For the fisheries managed under Sec. 665.21, 665.41, and 665.81, the
original logbook form for each day of the fishing trip must be
submitted to the Regional Administrator within 72 hr of each landing of
MUS, unless the fishing was authorized under a PRIA troll and handline
permit, a PRIA crustaceans fishing permit, or a PRIA precious corals
fishing permit, in which case the original logbook form for each day of
fishing within the PRIA EEZ waters must be submitted to the Regional
Administrator within 30 days of each landing of MUS. For fisheries
managed under Sec. 665.602, the original logbook form for each day of
the fishing trip must be submitted to the Regional Administrator within
30 days of each landing of MUS.
* * * * *

0
4. In Sec. 665.41, paragraph (a)(2) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 665.41 Permits.

(a) * * *
(2) The owner of any vessel used to fish for lobster in Permit Area
2, Permit Area 3, or Permit Area 4, must have a permit issued for that
vessel.
* * * * *

0
5. In Sec. 665.61, paragraph (a)(1) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 665.61 Permits.

(a) * * *
(1) The owner of any vessel used to fish for bottomfish management
unit species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Subarea or Pacific
Remote Island Areas Subarea must have a permit issued under this
section and the permit must be registered for use with that vessel.
* * * * *

0
6. In Sec. 665.62 paragraph (b) is revised, and paragraph (f) is added
to read as follows:

Sec. 665.62 Prohibitions.

* * * * *
(b) Fish for, or retain on board a vessel, bottomfish management
unit species in the Ho'omalu Zone, the Mau Zone, or the Pacific Remote
Island Areas without the appropriate permit registered for use with
that vessel issued under Sec. 665.13.
* * * * *
(f) Falsify or fail to make or file all reports of bottomfish
management unit species landings taken in the Pacific Remote Island
Areas, containing all data in the exact manner, as specified in Sec.
665.14(a).

0
7. In Sec. 665.69, paragraphs (a) introductory text, (b), and (c) are
revised, and paragraphs (a)(6), (a)(7), and (a)(8) are added, to read
as follows:

Sec. 665.69 Management subareas.

(a) The bottomfish fishery management area is divided into eight
subareas with the following designations and boundaries:
* * * * *
(6) CNMI Inshore Area means that portion of the EEZ shoreward of 3
nautical miles of the shoreline of the CNMI.
(7) CNMI Offshore Area means that portion of the EEZ seaward of 3
nautical miles from the shoreline of the CNMI.
(8) Pacific Remote Island Areas means that portion of the EEZ
seaward of the Pacific Remote Island Areas, with the exception of
Midway Atoll.
(b) The inner boundary of each fishery management area is a line
coterminous with the seaward boundaries of the State of Hawaii, the
Territory of American Samoa, the Territory of Guam, the CNMI, and the
PRIA.

[[Page 53608]]

(c) The outer boundary of each fishery management area is a line
drawn in such a manner that each point on it is 200 nautical miles from
the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured, or is
coterminous with adjacent international maritime boundaries. The
boundary between the fishery management areas of Guam and the CNMI
extends to those points which are equidistant between Guam and the
island of Rota in the CNMI.
[FR Doc. E6-15066 Filed 9-11-06; 8:45 am]

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