Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 57 / Monday, March 26, 2007 / Proposed Rules 14069 

b. Redesignating paragraphs (b), (c), 

and (d) as paragraphs (b) (1), (b)(2), and 

(c) and adding a heading to new 

paragraph (b); 

c. Adding a new heading to new 

paragraph (c); and 

d. Adding a new paragraph (d), to 

read as set forth below. 

§ 21.12 General exceptions to permit 

requirements. 

The following persons or entities 

under the following conditions are 

exempt from the permit requirements: 

(a) Employees of the Department of 

the Interior (DOI): DOI employees 

authorized to enforce the provisions of 

the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of July 3, 

1918, as amended (40 Stat. 755; 16 

U.S.C. 703–711), may, without a permit, 

take or otherwise acquire, hold in 

custody, transport, and dispose of 

migratory birds or their parts, nests, or 

eggs as necessary in performing their 

official duties. 

(b) Employees of certain public and 

private institutions: 

(1) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(c) Licensed veterinarians: 

* * * * * 

(d) General public: Any person may 

remove a migratory bird from the 

interior of a building or structure under 

the following conditions. If you need 

advice on dealing with a trapped bird, 

you should contact your closest Fish 

and Wildlife Service office or your State 

wildlife agency. 

(1) You may humanely remove a 

trapped migratory bird from the interior 

of a residence or a commercial or 

government building without a Federal 

permit if the migratory bird: 

(i) Poses a health threat (for example, 

through damage to foodstuffs); 

(ii) Is attacking humans, or poses a 

threat to human safety because of its 

activities (such as opening and closing 

automatic doors); 

(iii) Poses a threat to commercial 

interests, such as through damage to 

products for sale; or 

(iv) May injure itself because it is 

trapped. 

(2) You must use a humane method to 

capture the bird or birds. You may not 

use adhesive traps to which birds may 

adhere (such as glue traps) or any other 

method of capture likely to harm the 

bird. 

(3) After capture, you must promptly 

release the bird or birds to the wild in 

habitat suitable for the species. 

(4) If a bird is injured or orphaned 

during the removal, the property owner 

is responsible for promptly transferring 

it to a federally permitted migratory bird 

rehabilitator. 

(5) You may not lethally take a 

migratory bird for these purposes. If 

your actions to remove the trapped 

migratory bird are likely to result in its 

lethal take, you must possess a Federal 

Migratory Bird Permit. However, if a 

bird you are trying to remove dies, you 

must dispose of the carcass unless you 

have reason to believe that a museum or 

scientific institution might be able to 

use it. In that case, you should contact 

your nearest Fish and Wildlife Service 

office or your State wildlife agency 

about donating the carcass. 

(6) For birds of species on the Federal 

List of Threatened or Endangered 

Wildlife, provided at 50 CFR 17.11(h), 

you may need a Federal threatened or 

endangered species permit before 

removing the birds (see 50 CFR 17.21 

and 50 CFR 17.31). 

(7) You will need a permit from your 

regional migratory bird permits office to 

remove a bald eagle or a golden eagle 

from a building (see 50 CFR Part 22). 

(8) Your action must comply with 

State and local regulations and 

ordinances. You may need a State, 

tribal, or territorial permit before you 

can legally remove the bird or birds. 

(9) If a nest, eggs, or nestlings are 

present, you must seek the assistance of 

a federally-permitted migratory bird 

rehabilitator in removing them. The 

rehabilitator is then responsible for 

handling them properly. 

Dated: March 2, 2007. 

David M. Verhey, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and 

Wildlife and Parks. 

[FR Doc. E7–5120 Filed 3–23–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[I.D. 031407A] 

RIN 0648–AU03 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Salmon Bycatch 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) has 

submitted Amendment 84 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (FMP). If approved, 

Amendment 84 would exempt vessels 

participating in an inter-cooperative 

agreement (ICA) to reduce salmon 

bycatch from Chinook and chum salmon 

savings area closures, and exempt 

vessels participating in non-pollock 

trawl fisheries from the chum salmon 

savings area. This action is intended to 

promote the goals and objectives of the 

FMP and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). This action is 

necessary to reduce salmon bycatch in 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

management area (BSAI). 

DATES: Comments on Amendment 84 

must be received on or before May 25, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue 

Salveson, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian, Records Officer. 

Comments may be submitted by: 

• Mail to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802; 

• Hand delivery to the Federal 

Building, 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, AK; 

• FAX to 907–586–7557; 

• E-mail to BSA84–A-NOA@noaa.gov 

and include in the subject line of the Email comment the document identifier: 

Amendment 84. E-mail comments, with 

or without attachments, are limited to 5 

megabytes; or 

• Webform at the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions at that site for submitting 

comments. 

Copies of Amendment 84 and the 

Environmental Assessment/Regulatory 

Impact Review/Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) 

prepared for this action may be obtained 

from the NMFS Alaska Region at the 

address above, from the Alaska Region 

website at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov or 

by calling the Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, at (907) 

586–7228. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason Anderson, 907–586–7228, or 

jason.anderson@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that 

each regional fishery management 

council submit any FMP or FMP 

amendment it prepares to NMFS for 

review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens 

Act also requires that NMFS, upon 

receiving an FMP amendment, 

immediately publish a notice in the 

Federal Register that the FMP or 

amendment is available for public 


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14070 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 57 / Monday, March 26, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

review and comment. This requirement 

is satisfied by this notice of availability 

for Amendment 84. 

Pacific salmon are caught incidentally 

in the BSAI trawl fisheries, especially in 

the pollock fishery. Of the five species 

of Pacific salmon, Chinook salmon 

(Onchorynchus tshawytscha) and chum 

salmon (O. keta) are most often 

incidentally caught in the pollock 

fishery. Pacific salmon are placed into 

two categories for purposes of salmon 

bycatch management: Chinook and nonChinook. The non-Chinook category is 

comprised of chum, sockeye (O. nerka), 

pink (O. gorbuscha), and coho (O. 

kisutch) salmon. However, from 2001 

through 2004, chum salmon represented 

about 98 percent of non-Chinook 

salmon harvested incidentally in the 

pollock trawl fisheries. For 

convenience, all non-Chinook salmon 

are referred to as chum salmon. 

To address Chinook salmon bycatch 

concerns, the Council adopted several 

management measures designed to 

reduce overall Chinook salmon bycatch 

in the BSAI trawl fisheries. In 1995, the 

Council adopted, and NMFS approved, 

Amendment 21b to the FMP. Based on 

historic information on salmon bycatch, 

Amendment 21b established a Chinook 

salmon savings area (60 FR 31215, 

November 29, 1995). Under Amendment 

21b, the Chinook salmon savings area 

closed when the incidental catch of 

Chinook salmon in BSAI trawl fisheries 

reached 48,000 fish. Amendment 58 to 

the FMP revised the Chinook salmon 

savings area measures (65 FR 60587, 

October 12, 2000). Amendment 58 

reduced the Chinook salmon bycatch 

limit from 48,000 fish to 29,000 fish, 

mandated year-round accounting of 

Chinook bycatch in the directed pollock 

fishery, revised the boundaries of the 

Chinook salmon savings area closure, 

and implemented new closure dates. 

The timing of the closure depends on 

when the limit is reached. If the limit is 

reached: 

• Before April 15, the area closes 

immediately through April 15. After 

April 15, the area re-opens, but closes 

again from September 1 through 

December 31. 

• Between April 15 and September 1, 

the area would close from September 1 

through the end of the year. 

• After September 1, the area closes 

immediately through the end of the 

year. 

The Chinook salmon savings area was 

further modified by Amendment 82 to 

the FMP (70 FR 9856, March 1, 2005). 

Amendment 82 established a separate 

Aleutian Islands subarea bycatch limit 

that, when reached, closes the existing 

Chinook salmon savings area located in 

the Aleutian Islands subarea (Area 1). 

The Chinook salmon savings area 

located in the Bering Sea subarea 

remained unchanged, but was 

designated as Area 2. 

The Council also adopted a time-area 

closure designed to reduce overall chum 

salmon bycatch in the BSAI trawl 

fisheries. In 1995, Amendment 35 to the 

FMP established the chum salmon 

savings area (60 FR 34904, July 5, 1995). 

This area is closed to all trawling from 

August 1 through August 31 of each 

year. Additionally, if 42,000 chum 

salmon are caught in the Catcher Vessel 

Operational Area (CVOA) during the 

period August 15 through October 14, 

the area remains closed for the 

remainder of the calendar year. 

Community development quota (CDQ) 

groups receive, along with allocations of 

groundfish CDQ, individual allocations 

of Chinook and non-Chinook annual 

bycatch amounts. Vessels groundfish 

CDQ fishing are not subject to the chum 

and Chinook salmon savings area 

closures that apply to the non-CDQ 

pollock fisheries. Rather, the Chinook 

salmon savings area closes to vessels 

directed fishing for pollock for a CDQ 

group once that CDQ group has reached 

its Chinook salmon bycatch limit. The 

chum salmon savings area closes to 

vessels using trawl gear to fish for 

groundfish CDQ once that CDQ group 

has reached its non-Chinook salmon 

bycatch limit. Thus, individual CDQ 

groups are subject to salmon savings 

area closures based on their respective 

catch of chum or Chinook salmon while 

groundfish CDQ fishing. 

The Chinook and chum salmon 

savings areas were adopted based on 

historic observed salmon bycatch rates 

and were designed to avoid high spatial 

and temporal levels of salmon bycatch. 

From 1990 through 2001, the BSAI 

salmon bycatch average was 37,819 

Chinook and 69,332 chum annually. 

Recently, however, salmon bycatch 

numbers have increased substantially. 

In 2003, 54,911 Chinook salmon and 

197,091 chum salmon were taken 

incidentally in the trawl fisheries. In 

2004, salmon bycatch increased 

substantially to 62,493 Chinook and 

465,650 chum salmon. Bycatch amounts 

remained high in 2005 and totaled 

67,541 Chinook and 116,999 chum 

salmon. 

Since its establishment in 1995, the 

Chinook salmon savings area closure 

only has been triggered since 2003. The 

Chinook salmon bycatch limit was not 

reached prior to 2003. In 2003, the 

Chinook salmon savings area closed to 

directed trawl fishing for non-CDQ 

pollock on September 1, with the 

closure remaining in effect until the end 

of the calendar year. In 2004, the 

Chinook salmon savings area closed to 

directed trawl fishing for non-CDQ 

pollock on September 5 through the end 

of the year. In 2005, the Chinook salmon 

savings area in the Bering Sea subarea 

was closed to directed trawl fishing for 

non-CDQ pollock on September 1 

through the end of the year. 

Since establishment of the chum 

salmon savings area in 1995, the 

bycatch of non-Chinook salmon 

triggered closures in 2002, 2003, 2004, 

and 2005. In these years, the chum 

salmon savings area closed to non-CDQ 

trawl fisheries in September and 

October. 

Anecdotal information from 

participants in the BSAI trawl fisheries 

indicated that salmon bycatch rates may 

be higher outside the Chinook and 

chum salmon savings area. In February 

2005, the Council initiated an EA/RIR/ 

IRFA to explore alternatives to the 

current salmon bycatch measures. 

Spatial and temporal comparisons of 

non-CDQ vessels fishing outside of the 

salmon savings areas with CDQ vessels 

fishing inside of the salmon savings 

areas indicated that bycatch rates were 

much higher outside of the savings 

areas. 

In October 2005, the Council adopted 

Amendment 84 to the FMP. 

Amendment 84 would exempt non-CDQ 

and CDQ pollock vessels participating 

in a salmon bycatch reduction ICA from 

closures of the Chinook and chum 

salmon savings areas in the Bering Sea. 

Additionally, vessels participating in 

trawl fisheries for species other than 

pollock would be exempt from chum 

salmon savings area closures. The 

Council intends to use NMFS salmon 

bycatch information to assess the 

effectiveness of regulations 

implementing Amendment 84 at 

reducing salmon bycatch in the directed 

pollock fisheries. The Council also 

asked for participants in the salmon 

bycatch reduction ICA to report 

annually on how effective the ICA 

appears to be at reducing salmon 

bycatch. The Council also will gather 

additional information to assess the 

effectiveness of the ICA in coordinating 

voluntary salmon bycatch reduction 

efforts by participants in the Bering Sea 

pollock fisheries. Additionally, this 

information could be used to further 

assess whether participants fishing in 

the current salmon savings areas 

continue to encounter lower salmon 

bycatch rates than participants fishing 

outside of salmon savings areas. 

The Council is also developing a 

separate FMP amendment that could 

result in additional management 

measures to reduce salmon bycatch. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 57 / Monday, March 26, 2007 / Proposed Rules 14071 

These measures could include altering 

the geographic coordinates of the 

Chinook and chum salmon savings areas 

based on recent bycatch rates, and 

implementing an individual salmon 

bycatch accountability program. 

However, the Council determined that 

consideration of these management 

measures would require additional time 

and chose to expedite Amendment 84 

while the Council develops the second 

amendment. 

Public comments are being solicited 

on proposed Amendment 84 through 

the end of the comment period stated 

(see DATES). A proposed rule that would 

implement Amendment 84 may be 

published in the Federal Register for 

public comment, following NMFS’

evaluation under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act procedures. Public comments on the 

proposed rule must be received by the 

end of the comment period on 

Amendment 84 to be considered in the 

approval/disapproval decision of the 

amendment. All comments received by 

the end of the comment period on the 

amendment, whether specifically 

directed to the FMP amendment or the 

proposed rule, will be considered in the 

approval/disapproval decision. 

Comments received after that date will 

not be considered in that decision. To 

be considered, written comments must 

be received, not just postmarked or 

otherwise transmitted, by the close of 

business on the last day of the comment 

period. 

Dated: March 20, 2007. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–5474 Filed 3–23–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with PROPOSALS