Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Proposed Rules 71523 

some small, extremely steep microsites. 

Additional surveys are needed for this 

taxon before we can conclude it is 

extinct. Therefore, we are withdrawing 

our proposed rule to remove P. glabra 

var. lanaiensis from the List of 

Endangered and Threatened Plants. 

References Cited 

A complete list of references cited in 

this document is available on the 

internet at https://www.regulations.gov 

at Docket No. FWS–R1–ES–2020–0104 

and upon request from the Pacific 

Islands Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Authors 

The primary authors of this document 

are the staff members of the Branch of 

Delisting and Foreign Species, 

Ecological Services Program, and Pacific 

Islands Fish and Wildlife Office. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Martha Williams, 

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22376 Filed 10–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 223 

[Docket No. 230802–0182] 

RIN 0648–BL87 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Proposed Protective 

Regulations for the Threatened 

Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon 

Kauderni); Extension of Comment 

Period 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: We, NMFS, are extending the 

public comment period by 60 days for 

our proposed rule to promulgate 

protective regulations for the Banggai 

cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni). The 

end of the public comment period is 

extended from October 16, 2023, to 

December 15, 2023. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

proposed rule to promulgate protective 

regulations for the Banggai cardinalfish 

under the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA), published on August 15, 2023 

(88 FR 55431), is extended from October 

16, 2023, to December 15, 2023. 

Comments received after December 15, 

2023, may not be accepted. 

A virtual public hearing on the 

proposed rule will be held at a later date 

and notice of the date and time of any 

such hearing will be published in the 

Federal Register not less than 15 days 

before the hearing is held. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2023–0099, 

by Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal https://

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– 

NMFS–2023–0099 in the Search box. 

Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (e.g., name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

We will accept anonymous comments 

(enter N/A in the required fields if you 

wish to remain anonymous). 

Attachments to electronic comments 

will be accepted in Microsoft Word, 

Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Celeste Stout, NMFS, Office of Protected 

Resources, celeste.stout@noaa.gov, (301) 

427–8436; Erin Markin, NMFS, Office of 

Protected Resources, erin.markin@

noaa.gov, (301) 427–8416. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 

15, 2023, NMFS published a proposed 

rule to promulgate protective 

regulations for the Banggai cardinalfish 

under the ESA (88 FR 55431). In that 

proposed rule, we also announced a 60- 

day public comment period, and an 

option to request a public hearing. On 

September 27, 2023, we received a letter 

requesting a public hearing be held as 

well as a 90-day extension to the public 

comment period. In response, we are 

extending the public comment period 

by another 60 days, and are accepting 

public comments for the proposed rule 

through December 15, 2023. Public 

comments can be submitted as 

described under ADDRESSES. 

Additionally, the date and time of any 

public hearing will be published in the 

Federal Register not less than 15 days 

before the hearing is held. 

Authority: The authority for this action is 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Dated: October 11, 2023. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22821 Filed 10–12–23; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 231010–0243] 

RIN 0648–BL34 

Pacific Island Fisheries; Modification 

of Seabird Interaction Mitigation 

Measures in the Hawaii Deep-Set 

Longline Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to modify 

seabird interaction mitigation measures 

to require federally permitted Hawaii 

deep-set longline vessels that set fishing 

gear from the stern to use a tori line 

(bird scaring streamer) in place of the 

currently required thawed, blue-dyed 

bait and strategic offal (fish, fish parts, 

or spent bait) discharge when fishing 

above 23° N latitude. This action is 

expected to improve the overall efficacy 

and operational practicality of required 

seabird mitigation measures by reducing 

seabird bycatch and creating operational 

and administrative efficiency for 

fishermen and NMFS. 

DATES: NMFS must receive comments 

by November 16, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this proposed rule, identified by 

NOAA–NMFS–2022–0131, by either of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– 

NMFS–2022–0131 in the Search box, 

click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete the 

required fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
71524 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

• Mail: Send written comments to 

Sarah Malloy, Acting Regional 

Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Regional Office (PIRO), 1845 Wasp 

Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818. 

Instructions: NMFS may not consider 

comments sent by any other method, to 

any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period. All comments received are a 

part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential 

business information, or otherwise 

sensitive information submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

The Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council and NMFS 

prepared a draft environmental 

assessment and regulatory impact 

review that supports this proposed rule. 

The draft environmental assessment is 

available at www.regulations.gov, or 

from the Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 

1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, 808–522– 

8220, or www.wpcouncil.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lynn Rassel, PIRO Sustainable 

Fisheries, 808–725–5036. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and 

the Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) manage 

the Hawaii deep-set longline fishery 

under the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for 

Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific 

(FEP). The implementing Federal 

regulations for this fishery include a 

suite of conservation and management 

requirements. Since 1994, the NMFS 

Pacific Islands Regional Office Observer 

Program has monitored seabird 

interactions in the Hawaii longline 

fisheries. In response to large numbers 

of seabird interactions, NMFS 

implemented a suite of seabird 

mitigation requirements in 2001. The 

current seabird requirements, including 

the use of thawed, blue-dyed bait and 

strategic offal discharge, began in 2002 

(67 FR 34408, May 14, 2002) and were 

revised in 2005 (70 FR 75075, December 

19, 2005). These requirements resulted 

in the reduction of seabird interactions 

by 70–90 percent. However, seabird 

interactions in the Hawaii longline 

fisheries gradually increased in the 

subsequent years, with significant 

increases in black-footed albatross 

interactions in the deep-set fishery since 

2015. 

In 2017, the Council held a workshop 

to explore the cause of the increasing 

interactions with black-footed albatross. 

The workshop suggested that a positive 

(warm) Pacific Decadal Oscillation, with 

its cooler sea surface in the western 

Pacific and stronger westerly winds, 

may increase the overlap of fishing 

effort and black-footed albatross 

foraging grounds, leading to more 

seabird interactions in the fishery. In 

2018, the Council held a follow-up 

workshop to review seabird mitigation 

requirements and identify research 

needed to inform potential future 

requirements to reduce interactions 

with seabirds. That workshop identified 

certain mitigation measures, including 

tori lines, as a high priority for further 

research and development due to their 

potential to provide an effective 

alternative to blue-dyed bait. 

Resulting cooperative research by the 

Council, the Hawaii Longline 

Association (HLA), NMFS Pacific 

Islands Fisheries Science Center 

(PIFSC), and NMFS Pacific Islands 

Regional Office in 2019–2021 

demonstrated that when tori lines are 

employed in lieu of blue-dyed bait and 

strategic offal discharge on deep-set 

longline vessels that set from the stern, 

albatross attempts are 1.5 times less 

likely, contacts are 4 times less likely, 

and captures are 14 times less likely. 

Furthermore, there is inconclusive 

evidence that the existing strategic offal 

discharge requirements reduce seabird 

interaction risk, and the requirement is 

associated with heavy administrative 

burdens to the Pacific Islands Region 

Observer Program and NOAA Office of 

Law Enforcement. Similarly, use of 

blue-dyed bait is burdensome due to the 

amount of time required to thaw and 

dye the bait, thawed bait loss from 

hooks, vessel maintenance costs related 

to using vats of blue dye, and the 

administrative burden to monitor and 

enforce consistent application of blue 

dye. We note that this proposed action 

would only modify seabird mitigation 

requirements for the Hawaii deep-set 

fishery; however, research on mitigation 

measures is currently underway in the 

Hawaii shallow-set fishery. 

At its 189th meeting in December 

2021, the Council recommended 

replacing thawed, blue-dyed bait and 

strategic offal discharge requirements 

for stern-setting deep-set longline 

vessels with a new requirement to use 

a tori line that meets certain design and 

material specifications. In lieu of a 

regulatory requirement to strategically 

discharge offal, the Council 

recommended implementing best 

practices training on offal management 

as part of the required annual protected 

species workshop. 

Pursuant to the Council’s 

recommendations, NMFS proposes to 

require deep-set longline vessels that 

stern-set to employ a tori line system 

instead of using thawed, blue-dyed bait 

and strategic offal discharge when 

fishing north of 23° N latitude. These 

measures would modify the 

requirements implemented at 50 CFR 

665.815. NMFS also proposes to require 

that vessels deploy a tori line system 

that meets required material, length, and 

position specifications prior to the first 

hook being set. 

All Hawaii longline vessels would 

continue to be required to follow other 

existing seabird handling and release 

requirements at 50 CFR 665.815(b) and 

(c) to maximize the chances of postrelease survival of seabirds that are 

caught alive, and to be certified for the 

completion of an annual protected 

species workshop conducted by NMFS 

(50 CFR 665.814). All other measures 

applicable to longline fisheries under 

the FEP would remain unchanged. This 

proposed rule and any related tori line 

design guidelines would also be 

consistent with seabird mitigation 

requirements set forth by the Western 

and Central Pacific Fisheries 

Commission (WCPFC) and the InterAmerican Tropical Tuna Commission 

(IATTC) (see, https://www.iattc.org/ 

PDFFiles/Resolutions/IATTC/_English/ 

C-11-02-Active_Seabirds.pdf and 

www.wcpfc.int/doc/wcpfc15-2018-dp16/ 

seabird-interaction-mitigationamendment-cmm-2017-06). 

The proposed rule would also make 

housekeeping changes at 50 CFR 

665.802 to clarify prohibitions for 

vessels with Hawaii longline limited 

access permits. Specifically, the 

proposed rule would improve 

descriptions of which vessels the 

prohibitions apply to. The proposed 

rule would also correct the omission of 

a prohibition for side-setting (setting the 

mainline from the port or starboard side 

of the vessel at least one meter from the 

stern) without a bird curtain and 

weighted branch lines. 

NMFS will consider public comments 

on this proposed rule and will 

announce the final rule in the Federal 

Register. NMFS must receive comments 

on this proposed action by the date 

provided in the DATES heading. NMFS 

may not consider comments postmarked 

or otherwise transmitted after that date. 

Regardless of the final rule, all other 

existing management measures would 

continue to apply in the longline 

fisheries. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Proposed Rules 71525 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the FEP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

Certification of Finding of No 

Significant Impact on Substantial 

Number of Small Entities 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation for 

the Department of Commerce has 

certified to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration that this proposed rule, 

if adopted, would not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

The proposed rule would modify 

seabird interaction mitigation measures 

to require Hawaii deep-set longline 

fishing vessels that set fishing gear from 

the stern to use a tori line (bird scaring 

streamer) with associated tori line 

design and material specifications in 

place of the current thawed, blue-dyed 

bait and strategic offal (fish, fish parts, 

or spent bait) discharge requirements 

when fishing north of 23° N latitude. In 

lieu of the existing strategic offal 

discharge requirement, best practices on 

offal management would become part of 

the already required annual protected 

species workshop conducted by NMFS 

for longline vessel owners and 

operators. In this workshop, vessel 

owners and operators receive training 

on interaction mitigation techniques for 

sea turtles, seabirds, marine mammals, 

and other protected species. Such best 

practices for offal management include, 

among others, discharging offal from the 

opposite side of the vessel from where 

gear is being hauled while seabirds are 

actively pursuing the baited hooks. This 

action, together with best practices 

training, is expected to improve the 

overall efficacy and operational 

practicality of required seabird 

mitigation measures while reducing 

seabird bycatch. 

Under the proposed action, fishery 

participants who currently use bluedyed bait while stern-setting when 

fishing north of 23° N latitude would be 

required to either use tori lines or 

switch to side-setting. Many deep-set 

longline fishery participants perceive 

meeting the current blue-dyed bait 

requirement as burdensome and have 

expressed interest in using tori lines 

instead. A small portion of participants 

may initially favor blue-dyed bait over 

tori lines due to its familiarity and 

perceived uncertainty associated with a 

new measure. Hawaii longline vessel 

design does not allow a vessel to easily 

convert between stern-setting and sidesetting without considerable and costly 

modifications. Vessels that side-set 

fishing gear make up a small proportion 

of the Hawaii longline fisheries and are 

already required by regulations at 50 

CFR 665.815(a)(1)(vii) to, among other 

mitigation measures, deploy a bird 

curtain with streamers that operate 

similarly to a tori line used in sternsetting. For all of these reasons, NMFS 

expects that most of the stern-setting 

vessels will switch to tori lines if they 

have not already, rather than continuing 

to use blue-dyed bait or convert to sidesetting. 

Each tori line is expected to cost 

roughly $350 (inclusive of materials and 

labor), and a tori pole constructed of 

marine-grade stainless steel is expected 

to cost approximately $375 (inclusive of 

materials and labor). Tori lines meeting 

the required design specifications are 

not currently sold commercially but can 

be assembled by vessel operators and 

crew using materials available for 

purchase from local retailers or online. 

Although NMFS expects that tori lines 

may need to be replaced once every few 

years, the tori pole would likely last 

longer, given its construction using 

marine grade stainless steel and the use 

of a break-away point for the tori line 

that should also protect the pole from 

breaking. Deep-set longline vessels 

would be required to have two tori lines 

onboard at the start of every trip, so the 

initial cost per vessel would be $1,075 

(one tori pole and two tori lines), with 

a recurring cost of $375 to replace a tori 

line once every few years. Using 2021 

cost and revenue information, the initial 

cost of outfitting a deep-set longline 

vessel with tori lines represents 

approximately 0.1 percent of the annual 

revenue, and approximately 3.5 percent 

of gear cost. However, compliance costs 

associated with tori line requirements 

would be partially offset by the removal 

of the blue-dyed bait requirement at an 

estimated $334 per year per vessel. 

Removing the offal discharge 

requirement would alleviate fishery 

participants’ burden of retaining offal 

from the haul to discharge during the 

set. The recommended best practice of 

discharging offal from the opposite side 

of the vessel from where gear is being 

hauled while seabirds are actively 

pursuing the baited hooks, rather than 

when they are simply present, removes 

fishery participants’ burden of 

strategically discharging at unnecessary 

times. These best practices are closely in 

line with current fishing operations, as 

well as how they would occur in the 

absence of the current discharge 

requirement. 

For Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

purposes only, NMFS has established a 

small business size standard for 

businesses, including their affiliates, 

whose primary industry is commercial 

fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business 

primarily engaged in commercial finfish 

fishing (NAICS code 114111) is 

classified as a small business if it is 

independently owned and operated, is 

not dominant in its field of operation, 

and has combined annual receipts not 

in excess of $11 million for all its 

affiliated operations worldwide. The 

proposed action would apply to the 

Hawaii deep-set longline fishermen who 

stern-set when fishing north of 23° N 

latitude. Based on available information 

and using individual vessels as proxies 

for individual businesses, NMFS has 

determined that all affected entities are 

small entities (i.e., they are engaged in 

the business of fish harvesting, are 

independently-owned or operated, and 

are not dominant in their field of 

operation). In 2021, active deep-set 

longline vessels averaged $743,151 in 

revenue and gross receipts did not 

exceed $11 million. There would be no 

disproportionate economic impacts 

between large and small entities. 

Furthermore, there would be no 

disproportionate economic impacts on 

the relevant vessels based on gear, home 

port, or vessel length. The Hawaii-based 

longline fisheries are managed under a 

single limited access fishery with a 

maximum of 164 vessel permits; it 

consists of a deep-set component that 

targets bigeye tuna and a shallow-set 

component that targets swordfish. The 

number of vessels participating in the 

deep-set longline fishery each year from 

2019–2021 varied from 146 to 149. In 

2021, 146 of these vessels made about 

1,679 deep-set trips and almost 22,074 

sets during these trips. 

For the reasons above, the proposed 

action is not expected to have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, 

either through a significant loss in 

landings or expenses incurred. As such, 

an initial regulatory flexibility analysis 

is not required and none has been 

prepared. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

This proposed rule does not contain 

a collection-of-information requirement 

and thus requires no review under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665 

Fisheries, Fishing, Hawaii, Longline, 

seabird mitigation, Pacific Islands, 

Western Pacific. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
71526 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

Dated: October 11, 2023. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 665 as follows: 

PART 665—FISHERIES IN THE 

WESTERN PACIFIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for 50 CFR 

part 665 continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. Amend § 665.802 by revising 

paragraph (z), adding paragraph (ll), and 

revising paragraphs (mm) through (qq) 

to read as follows: 

§ 665.802 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(z) Fail to fish in accordance with the 

seabird take mitigation techniques set 

forth at §§ 665.815(a) when operating a 

vessel registered for use under a Hawaii 

longline limited access permit. 

* * * * * 

(ll) Fail to use weighted branch lines 

or a bird curtain that meets the 

specifications of 50 CFR 665.815(a)(1)(i) 

through(vii) when operating a sidesetting vessel that is registered for use 

under a Hawaii longline limited access 

permit, when making deep-sets or 

shallow-sets north of 23° N lat., or 

shallow-sets south of 23° N lat. in 

violation of § 665.815(a)(1). 

(mm) Fail to use a line shooter with 

weighted branch lines to set the main 

longline, and fail to use a tori line 

system prior to the first hook being set 

that meets the specifications of 50 CFR 

665.815(a)(3)(i)(A) through (E) when 

operating a stern-setting vessel that is 

registered for use under a Hawaii 

longline limited access permit and 

equipped with monofilament main 

longline, when making deep-sets north 

of 23° N lat. in violation of 

§ 665.815(a)(3). 

(nn) Fail to employ basket-style 

longline gear such that the mainline is 

deployed slack when operating a vessel 

registered for use under a Hawaii 

longline limited access permit north of 

23° N lat., in violation of § 665.815(a)(4). 

(oo) Fail to maintain and use blue dye 

to prepare thawed bait when operating 

a stern-setting vessel registered for use 

under a Hawaii longline limited access 

permit when making shallow-sets, in 

violation of § 665.815(a)(2)(vi) through 

(vii). 

(pp) Fail to retain, handle, and 

discharge fish, fish parts, and spent bait, 

strategically when operating a sternsetting vessel registered for use under a 

Hawaii longline limited access permit 

when making shallow-sets, in violation 

of § 665.815(a)(2)(i) through (iv). 

(qq) Fail to begin the deployment of 

longline gear at least 1 hour after local 

sunset or fail to complete the setting 

process before local sunrise from a 

stern-setting vessel registered for use 

under a Hawaii longline limited access 

permit while shallow-setting, in 

violation of § 665.815(a)(2)(v). 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 665.815 by revising (a) 

introductory text; (a)(2) introductory 

paragraph, paragraphs (a)(2)(v) and 

(viii); and (a)(3), to read as follows: 

§ 665.815 Pelagic longline seabird 

mitigation measures. 

(a) Seabird mitigation techniques. 

When deep-setting or shallow-setting 

north of 23° N lat. or shallow-setting 

south of 23° N lat., owners and 

operators of vessels registered for use 

under a Hawaii longline limited access 

permit, must either side-set according to 

paragraph (a)(1) of this section, or fish 

in accordance with paragraphs (a)(2) 

through (4), as applicable, of this 

section. 

* * * * * 

(2) Alternative to side-setting when 

shallow-setting. Owners and operators 

of vessels engaged in shallow-setting 

that do not side-set must do the 

following: 

* * * * * 

(v) Begin the deployment of longline 

gear at least 1 hour after local sunset 

and complete the deployment no later 

than local sunrise, using only the 

minimum vessel lights to conform with 

navigation rules and best safety 

practices; 

* * * * * 

(viii) Follow the requirements in 

paragraphs (a)(4) of this section, as 

applicable. 

(3) Alternative to side-setting when 

deep-setting. Owners and operators of 

vessels engaged in deep-setting using a 

monofilament main longline north of 

23° N lat. that do not side-set must do 

the following: 

(i) Employ a tori line system, prior to 

the first hook being set, that meets the 

following specifications: 

(A) Length and material. The tori line 

must have an aerial section with a 

minimum length of 50 m (164 ft) and be 

made of ultra-high molecular weight 

polyethylene, or other NMFS-approved 

material that is light-weight, water 

resistant, low stretch, and floats in 

water. The tori line must have a drag 

section made of a 6 millimeters or larger 

braided material that is water resistant 

and floats in water. Monofilament nylon 

is prohibited for use in the aerial or drag 

sections of the tori line. The tori line 

must have a minimum total length of 

100 m (328 ft). 

(B) Streamer configuration. The aerial 

section of the tori line must have lightweight material (hereafter referred to as 

(streamers) that are attached to the aerial 

section at intervals less than 1 m (3.3 ft) 

apart. Each streamer must have a length 

of at least 30 cm (11.8 in) from its 

attachment point to the tori line so that 

it hangs and moves freely/flutters in the 

wind. Where a single streamer is either 

threaded through or tied to the tori line, 

each length must measure at least 30 cm 

(11. in). Streamers are not required for 

the last 20 m (65.6 ft) of the aerial 

section to minimize entanglements with 

buoys and fishing gear. 

(C) Number. Two tori lines meeting 

the specifications in paragraphs 

(a)(3)(i)(A) and (a)(3)(i)(B) of this section 

must be present on the vessel at the start 

of every trip. 

(D) Attachment point and material. 

The aerial section of the tori line must 

be attached to the vessel or a fixed 

structure on the vessel made of rigid 

material. A weak link must be placed 

between the tori line and the point of 

attachment so that the tori line will 

break away from the point of attachment 

if gear entanglement creates tension on 

the tori line. The attachment point must 

have a minimum height of 5 m (16.4 ft) 

above the water when the attachment 

point is located within 2 m (6.6 ft) of the 

vessel stern. When the attachment point 

is more than 2 m (6.6 ft) from the stern, 

the attachment point height must be 

increased by 0.5 m (1.6 ft) for every 5 

m (16.4 ft) distance from the stern. 

(E) Attachment point height 

exemption. If the structure used to 

attach the tori line breaks during a trip, 

the operator may use an alternative 

attachment point at the highest possible 

point on the vessel that is lower than 

the height specified in paragraph 

(a)(3)(i)(D) of this section to continue 

fishing north of 23° N lat. The 

exemption is only valid during the trip 

in which the structure broke. 

(ii) Employ a line shooter; and 

(iii) Attach a weight of at least 45 g 

(1.6 oz) to each branch line within 1 m 

(3.3 ft) of the hook. 

(4) Basket-style longline gear 

requirement. When using basket-style 

longline gear north of 23° N lat., owners 

and operators of vessels that do not 

side-set must ensure that the main 

longline is deployed slack to maximize 

its sink rate. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–22799 Filed 10–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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