43124 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 155 / Tuesday, August 12, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

and adding Channel 279C1at Jal, and

adding Tatum, Channel 296C.

Federal Communications Commission.

John A. Karousos,

Chief, Allocations Branch, Policy and Rules

Division, Mass Media Bureau.

[FR Doc. 97–20658 Filed 8–11–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 217 and 227

[I.D. 080497A]

RIN 0648–AH97

Sea Turtle Conservation; Shrimp

Trawling Requirements

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of exemption and request

for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this document

to allow use of 55-minute tow times by

shrimp trawlers in inshore waters in

Alabama as an alternative to the

requirement to use Turtle Excluder

Devices (TEDs). This area was affected

by Hurricane Danny on and about July

19, 1997. NMFS has been notified by the

Director of the Marine Resources

Division of the Alabama Department of

Conservation and Natural Resources

that large amounts of debris in

Alabama’s bays as a result of the

hurricane are causing extraordinary

difficulty with the performance of TEDs.

NMFS will monitor the situation to

ensure that there is adequate protection

for sea turtles in this area and to

determine whether impacts from the

hurricane continue to make TED use

impracticable.

DATES: This action is effective from

August 6, 1997 through September 5,

1997. Comments on this action are

requested, and must be received by

September 5, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this action

should be addressed to the Chief,

Endangered Species Division, Office of

Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD

20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles A. Oravetz, 813–570–5312, or

Barbara A. Schroeder, 301–713–1401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

All sea turtles that occur in U.S.

waters are listed as either endangered or

threatened under the Endangered

Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The Kemp’s

ridley (Lepidochelys kempii),

leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and

hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) are

listed as endangered. Loggerhead

(Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia

mydas) turtles are listed as threatened,

except for breeding populations of green

turtles in Florida and on the Pacific

coast of Mexico, which are listed as

endangered.

The incidental take and mortality of

these species, as a result of shrimp

trawling activities, have been

documented in the Gulf of Mexico and

along the Atlantic seaboard. Under the

ESA and its implementing regulations,

taking sea turtles is prohibited, with

exceptions identified in 50 CFR 227.72.

Existing sea turtle conservation

regulations (50 CFR part 227, subpart D)

require most shrimp trawlers operating

in the Gulf and Atlantic areas to have a

NMFS-approved TED installed in each

net rigged for fishing, year round.

The sea turtle conservation

regulations provide for the use of

limited tow times as an alternative to

the use of TEDs for vessels with certain

specified characteristics or under

certain special circumstances. The

provisions of 50 CFR 227.72 (e)(3)(ii)

specify that the Assistant Administrator

for Fisheries, NOAA (Assistant

Administrator), may authorize

‘‘compliance with tow time restrictions

as an alternative to the TED

requirement, if [he] determines that the

presence of algae, seaweed, debris or

other special environmental conditions

in a particular area makes trawling with

TED-equipped nets impracticable.’’ The

provisions of 50 CFR 227.72(e)(3)(i)

specify the maximum tow times that

may be used when authorized as an

alternative to use of TEDs. The tow

times may be no more than 55 minutes

from April 1 through October 31 and no

more than 75 minutes from November 1

through March 31. NMFS has selected

these tow time limits to minimize the

level of mortality of sea turtles that are

captured by trawl nets that are not

equipped with TEDs.

Recent Events

On July 19, 1997, Hurricane Danny hit

the Alabama coast. The hurricane

remained stationary over Mobile Bay

and the south Alabama coast for an

entire day and deposited record

amounts of rain on the area. The

Director of the Marine Resources

Division of the Alabama Department of

Conservation and Natural Resources

(Alabama Director) stated in a July 28

letter to the NMFS Southeast Regional

Administrator that ‘‘[t]he aftermath of

the destructive wind and seas left a

tremendous amount of debris in

Alabama’s bays.’’ He further stated that

the ‘‘inordinate amount of debris is

causing extraordinary difficulty with the

performance of [TEDs] in these areas’’

and that ‘‘TEDs are being rendered

inoperable by the debris that is being

picked up.’’ His letter requested that

NMFS use its authority to allow the use

of 55-minute tow times as an alternative

to TEDs for a 30-day period in

Alabama’s inshore waters that are open

to shrimping.

Special Environmental Conditions

The Assistant Administrator finds

that the impacts of Hurricane Danny

may have created special environmental

conditions that may make trawling with

TED-equipped nets impracticable.

Therefore, the Assistant Administrator

issues this document to authorize the

use of restricted tow times as an

alternative to the use of TEDs in the

inshore waters of Alabama. The State of

Alabama is continuing to investigate the

situation and is cooperating with NMFS

in determining the ongoing extent and

nature of the debris problem in Alabama

inshore waters. Moreover, the Alabama

Director has stated that Alabama’s

enforcement officers would assist with

the enforcement of the restricted tow

times. Ensuring compliance with tow

time restrictions is critical to effective

sea turtle protection, and the

commitment from the Alabama Director

to provide additional enforcement of the

tow time restrictions is an important

factor enabling NMFS to issue this

authorization.

Continued Use of TEDs

NMFS encourages shrimp trawlers in

Alabama inshore waters to continue to

use TEDs if possible, even though they

may be authorized under this notice to

use restricted tow times. NMFS studies

have shown that the problem of

clogging, either by seagrass, algae, or

other debris is not unique to TEDequipped nets. When fishermen trawl in

problem areas, they may experience

clogging with or without TEDs. A

particular concern of fishermen,

however, is that clogging in a TEDequipped net may hold open the turtle

escape opening and increase the risk of

shrimp loss. On the other hand, TEDs

also help exclude certain types of debris

and allow shrimpers to conduct longer

tows.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 155 / Tuesday, August 12, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 43125

NMFS gear experts provide several

operational recommendations to

fishermen to maximize the debris

exclusion ability of TEDs that may allow

some fishermen to continue using TEDs

without resorting to restricted tow

times. NMFS has had good experience

with hard TEDs made of either solid rod

or hollow pipe that incorporate a bent

angle at the escape opening and

recommends use of this type of TED, in

a bottom-opening configuration, to help

exclude debris. In addition, the

installation angle of a hard TED in the

trawl extension is an important

performance element in excluding

debris from the trawl. High installation

angles can result in debris clogging the

bars of the TED; NMFS recommends an

installation angle of 45°, relative to the

normal horizontal flow of water through

the trawl, to optimize the TED’s ability

to exclude turtles and debris.

Furthermore, the use of accelerator

funnels, which are allowable

modifications to hard TEDs, is not

recommended in areas with heavy

amounts of debris or vegetation. Lastly,

the webbing flap that is usually

installed to cover the turtle escape

opening may be modified to help

exclude debris quickly: The webbing

flap can either be cut horizontally to

shorten it so that it does not overlap the

frame of the TED or it may be slit in a

fore-and-aft direction to facilitate the

exclusion of debris.

All of the above-listed

recommendations represent legal

configurations of TEDs for shrimpers in

the inshore areas of Alabama (not

subject to special requirements effective

in the Gulf Shrimp Fishery-Sea Turtle

Conservation area). This notice

authorizes the use of restricted tow

times as an alternative to the required

use of TEDs. This document does not

authorize any other departure from the

TED requirements, including any illegal

modifications to TEDs. In particular, if

TEDs are installed in trawl nets, they

may not be sewn shut.

Alternative to Required Use of TEDs

The authorization provided by this

document applies to all shrimp trawlers

that would otherwise be required to use

TEDs in accordance with the

requirements of 50 CFR 227.72(e)(2)

who are operating in inshore waters of

the State of Alabama, in areas which the

State has opened to shrimping. ‘‘Inshore

waters,’’ as defined at 50 CFR 217.12,

means the marine and tidal waters

landward of the 72 COLREGS

demarcation line (International

Regulations for Preventing Collisions at

Sea, 1972), as depicted or noted on

nautical charts published by NOAA

(Coast Charts, 1:80,000 scale) and as

described in 33 CFR part 80. Instead of

the required use of TEDs, shrimp

trawlers may opt to comply with the sea

turtle conservation regulations by using

restricted tow times. A shrimp trawler

using this authorization must limit tow

times to no more than 55 minutes,

measured from the time trawl doors

enter the water, until they are retrieved

from the water.

Additional Conditions

NMFS expects that shrimper trawlers

operating in Alabama inshore waters

without TEDs in accordance with this

authorization will retrieve debris that is

caught in their nets and return it to

shore for disposal, or to other locations

defined by the Alabama Director, rather

than simply disposing of the debris at

sea. Proper disposal of debris should

help the restoration of the shrimping

grounds in the wake of the hurricane.

Shrimp trawlers are reminded that

regulations under 33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.

(Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships)

may apply to disposal at sea.

Alternative to Required Use of TEDs;

Termination

The Assistant Administrator, at any

time, may modify the alternative

conservation measures through notice in

the Federal Register, if necessary to

ensure adequate protection of

endangered and threatened sea turtles.

Under this procedure, the Assistant

Administrator may modify the affected

area or impose any necessary additional

or more stringent measures, including

more restrictive tow times or

synchronized tow times, if the Assistant

Administrator determines that the

alternative authorized by this document

is not sufficiently protecting turtles, as

evidenced by observed lethal takes of

turtles aboard shrimp trawlers, elevated

sea turtle strandings, or insufficient

compliance with the authorized

alternative. The Assistant Administrator

may also terminate this authorization

for these same reasons, or if compliance

cannot be monitored effectively, or if

conditions do not make trawling with

TEDs impracticable. The Assistant

Administrator may modify or terminate

this authorization, as appropriate, at any

time. A notice will be published in the

Federal Register announcing any

additional sea turtle conservation

measures or the termination of the tow

time option in Alabama inshore waters.

This authorization will expire on

September 5, 1997, unless it is explicitly

extended through another document

published in the Federal Register.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

227.72 and is exempt from review under

E.O. 12866.

Pursuant to section 553(b)(B) of the

Administrative Procedures Act (APA),

the Assistant Administrator finds that

there is good cause to waive prior notice

and opportunity to comment on this

action. It is impracticable, unnecessary,

and contrary to the public interest to

provide prior notice and opportunity for

comment. The Assistant Administrator

finds that an unusually large amount of

debris exists in the aftermath of

Hurricane Danny, creating special

environmental conditions that may

make trawling with TED-equipped nets

impracticable. The Assistant

Administrator has determined that the

use of limited tow times for the

described area and time would not

result in a significant impact to sea

turtles. Notice and comment are

contrary to the public interest in this

instance because providing notice and

comment would prevent the agency

from providing relief within the

necessary time frame. Furthermore, the

public had notice and an opportunity to

comment on 50 CFR 227.72(e)(3)(ii)

when that regulation was finalized.

Pursuant to section 553(d)(1) of the

APA, for the reasons cited above, and

because this action relieves a restriction,

this action is effective immediately. As

prior notice and an opportunity for

public comment are not required to be

provided for this action by 5 U.S.C. 553,

or any other law, the analytical

requirements of 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., are

inapplicable.

The Assistant Administrator prepared

an Environmental Assessment (EA) for

the final rule (57 FR 57348, December

4, 1992) requiring TED use in shrimp

trawls and creating the regulatory

framework for the issuance of notices

such as this. Copies of the EA are

available (see ADDRESSES).

Dated: August 6, 1997.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service..

[FR Doc. 97–21170 Filed 8–6–97; 4:11 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P