[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 156 (Friday, August 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50183-50184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20594]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA579


Western Pacific Fisheries; Approval of a Marine Conservation Plan 
for the Northern Mariana Islands

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

ACTION: Notice of agency decision.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval of a marine conservation plan for the 
Northern Mariana Islands.

DATES: This agency decision is effective from August 4, 2011, through 
August 3, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the MCP are available from http://www.regulations.gov, or the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council), 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-
522-8220.

[[Page 50184]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jarad Makaiau, Sustainable Fisheries, 
NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office, 808-944-2108.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 204(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) 
authorizes the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) and in consultation with the Council, 
to negotiate and enter into a Pacific Insular Area fishery agreement 
(PIAFA). A PIAFA would allow foreign fishing within the U.S. Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ) adjacent to American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern 
Mariana Islands with the concurrence of, and in consultation with, the 
Governor of the Pacific Insular Area to which the PIAFA applies. Before 
entering into a PIAFA, the appropriate Governor, with the concurrence 
of the Council, must develop a 3-year marine conservation plan (MCP) 
providing details on uses for any funds collected by the Secretary 
under the PIAFA.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires payments received under a PIAFA 
to be deposited into the United States Treasury and then conveyed to 
the Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area for which funds were 
collected. In the case of violations by foreign fishing vessels 
occurring within the EEZ off any Pacific Insular Area, amounts received 
by the Secretary attributable to fines and penalties imposed under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, including sums collected from the forfeiture and 
disposition or sale of property seized subject to its authority, shall 
be deposited into the Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area adjacent to 
the EEZ in which the violation occurred, after direct costs of the 
enforcement action are subtracted. Any funds deposited into the 
Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area may be used by the jurisdiction 
for fisheries enforcement and for implementation of an MCP.
    An MCP must be consistent with the Council's fishery ecosystem 
plans, must identify conservation and management objectives (including 
criteria for determining when such objectives have been met), and must 
prioritize planned marine conservation projects. Although no foreign 
fishing is being considered at this time, the Council, at its 151st 
meeting held June 15-18, 2011, reviewed and approved the Northern 
Mariana Islands MCP and recommended its submission to the Secretary for 
approval. On June 29, 2011, the Governor of the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) submitted the MCP to NMFS, the designee 
of the Secretary, for review and approval.
    The CNMI MCP contains 10 conservation and management objectives 
under which planned projects and activities designed to meet the 
objective are identified and described, as follows:
    Objective 1. Data collection and reporting through a commercial 
harvest monitoring program.
    Objective 2. Resource assessment and monitoring through analysis of 
data on pelagic fisheries resources.
    Objective 3. Habitat assessment and monitoring.
    Objective 4. Management procedures through the development of 
management zones for the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
    Objective 5. Surveillance and enforcement through an EEZ 
enforcement program.
    Objective 6. Promote responsible domestic fisheries development to 
provide long term economic growth and stability and local food 
production. This objective would be supported through the following 
projects:
    (a) Construction of cold storage, fish processing, and fish market 
facilities.
    (b) Longline permit, reporting, and quota utilization program to 
facilitate responsible fisheries.
    (c) Development of a fish marketing plan that includes market 
identification, transportation, fish products, branding and 
ecolabeling, and other marketing issues.
    (d) Enhance fishing opportunities by deploying community fish 
aggregation devices.
    (e) Fisheries technology and education program.
    (f) Recreational and subsistence fishing economic impact and use 
study.
    (g) Charter fishing economic impact study.
    (h) CNMI commercial fisheries baseline assessment.
    Objective 7. Public participation.
    Objective 8. Regional cooperation through participation in regional 
fisheries meetings and conferences.
    Objective 9. Western Pacific demonstration projects, including the 
following:
    (a) Village-based aquaculture project.
    (b) Northern Islands remote fishing station project.
    Objective 10. Performance evaluation.
    This notice announces that NMFS has determined that the CNMI MCP 
satisfies the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and approves the 
MCP for the 3-year period from August 4, 2011, through August 3, 2014. 
The current MCP supersedes the amended CNMI MCP approved for the period 
October 6, 2009, through October 6, 2011 (74 FR 25710, May 29, 2009).

    Dated: August 8, 2011.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-20594 Filed 8-11-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P