6934 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 31 / Friday, February 14, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Small. 1995. U.S. Pacific Marine

Mammal Stock Assessments. NOAA

Technical Memorandum NMFS, NOAATM-NMFS-SWFSC–219. 162 p.

Reeves, R.R., R.J. Hofman, G.K. Silber,

D. Wilkinson. 1996. Acoustic Deterrence

of Harmful Marine Mammal-Fishery

Interactions: Proceedings of a Workshop

held in Seattle, Washington, 20–22

March 1996. NOAA Technical

Memorandum, NMFS-OPR–10. 70 p.

PCTRP. 1996. Final Draft, Pacific

Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Plan.

Draft plan submitted to the National

Marine Fisheries Service and prepared

by the Pacific Cetacean Take Reduction

Team. 75 p.

Dated: February 10, 1997.

Nancy Foster,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 229 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 229—AUTHORIZATION FOR

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES UNDER THE

MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT

OF 1972

1. The authority citation for part 229,

subpart C continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.

2. In subpart C, sections 229.21 and

229.22 are added to read as follows:

§ 229.21 Basis.

Section 118(f)(9) of the Act authorizes

the Director, NMFS, to impose

regulations governing commercial

fishing operations where necessary to

implement a take reduction plan to

protect or restore a marine mammal

stock or species covered by such a plan.

§ 229.22 Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take

Reduction Plan.

(a) Purpose and scope. The purpose of

this section is to implement the Pacific

Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Plan.

Sections 229.22(a) through (d) apply to

all drift gillnet fishing vessels operating

out of California or Oregon.

(b) Extenders. Extenders (buoy lines)

of less than 6 fathoms (36 feet; 10.9

meters) may not be used by drift gillnet

vessels operating out of California or

Oregon.

(c) Acoustic deterrent devices. (1) For

the purposes of this subpart, a pinger is

defined as an acoustic deterrent device.

(2) NMFS-approved pingers must be

used on all vessels, during every set,

and during the entire drift gillnet fishing

season. A NMFS-approved pinger is an

acoustic deterrent device which, when

immersed in water, broadcasts a sound

frequency range of 10 to 80 kHz at 132

dB re 1 micropascal at 1 meter with a

pulse duration of 300 milliseconds and

a pulse rate of 4 seconds.

(3) Pingers must be attached to both

the floatline and leadline and spaced no

more than 300 feet (90.9 meters) apart.

Pingers on the floatline and leadline

must be staggered, such that the

horizontal distance between a pinger on

the floatline and a pinger on the

leadline is no more than 150 feet (45.5

meters).

(4) The pingers must be operational

and functioning at all times during

deployment.

(5) If requested, NMFS may authorize

the use of pingers with specifications

differing from those set forth in section

229.21(c)(2) for limited, experimental

purposes within a single fishing season.

(d) Skipper education workshops.

After notification from NMFS, vessel

operators must attend a Pacific Offshore

Cetacean skipper workshop before

commencing fishing each fishing

season. For purposes of this

requirement, the fishing season shall be

deemed to begin May 1 and end on

January 31 of the following year. NMFS

may waive the requirement to attend

these workshops by notice to all vessel

operators.

[FR Doc. 97–3808 Filed 2–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 424

[I.D. 010997C]

Endangered and Threatened Species

and Designation of Critical Habitat;

Petition To Designate Critical Habitat

for the Atlantic Green and Hawksbill

Turtles.

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of a petition

presenting substantial information and

request for additional information.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces receipt of a

petition to designate critical habitat for

the Atlantic green and hawksbill turtles

pursuant to the Endangered Species Act

of 1973 (ESA). NMFS is soliciting public

comment and information on the

petition to designate critical habitat.

DATES: Written comments will be

accepted through April 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this

announcement may be submitted to the

Chief, Endangered Species Division,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring,

MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Barbara Schroeder, 301–713–1401, or

Charles A. Oravetz, 813–570–5312.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On November 7, 1996, Ms. Cindy

Gines-Sanchez, Esq., on behalf of the

Misio ́n Industrial de Puerto Rico, Inc.

and Chelonia, The Puerto Rico

Herpetological Society, Inc., petitioned

NMFS to designate critical habitat for

the Atlantic green and hawksbill turtles

to include all coastal waters

surrounding the islands of the Culebra

archipelago, including Isla de Culebra,

Cayo Norte, Cayo Ballena, Cayos

Geniquı ́, Isla Culebrita, Arrecife

Culebrita, Cayo de Luis Pen ̃ a, Las

Hermanas, El Mono, Cayo Lobo, Cayo

Lobito, Cayo Botijuela, Alcarraza, Los

Gemelos, and Piedra Steven, from the

Mean High Water line out to 3 nautical

miles (nm)(4.2 km).

Section 4 of the Endangered Species

Act (ESA) and 50 CFR part 424 contain

provisions allowing interested parties to

petition for the designation of critical

habitat. Although the ESA does not

require that the time frames outlined in

section 4(b) of the ESA be followed for

designation of critical habitat for species

listed prior to 1982, NMFS will apply

those time frames to the referenced

petition, as a matter of policy, to the

greatest extent practicable.

NMFS has determined that the

petition presents substantial

information indicating that designation

may be warranted. A copy of the

information submitted with the petition

is available upon request (see

ADDRESSES).

NMFS will conduct a review to

determine if the petitioned action to

designate critical habitat is warranted.

The determination concerning critical

habitat will be made on the best

available scientific and commercial data

and the economic impacts of such

designation. NMFS will make a

determination by November 7, 1997, 12

months after receipt of the petition. A

notice of finding will be published in

the Federal Register and, if the action

is warranted, a proposed regulation to

implement the action will be included.

Unlike listing a species as endangered

or threatened, economic impacts must

be considered when designating critical

habitat. An area may be excluded from

the designation if it is determined that

the benefits of an exclusion outweigh

the benefits of including the area as

critical habitat, and the exclusion will

not result in the extinction of the

species.

NMFS is soliciting information and

comments concerning the petition to
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 31 / Friday, February 14, 1997 / Proposed Rules 6935

ensure that the review is complete and

is based on the best available

information. In addition, NMFS is

soliciting information and comments

concerning other areas in the U.S.

Caribbean where the designation of

critical habitat for listed sea turtles may

be warranted. We request that the

information and comments be

accompanied by (1) supporting

documentation such as maps, biological

references or reprints of pertinent

publications and (2) the person’s name,

address and association, institution, or

business that the person represents.

Dated: February 10, 1997.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–3806 Filed 2–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 697

[Docket No. 950605148–7018–04; I.D.

091696A]

RIN 0648–AH58

Atlantic Coast Weakfish Fishery;

Change in Regulations for the

Exclusive Economic Zone

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS requests public

comment on proposed regulations for

the exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

offshore from Maine through Florida

that would implement a minimum size

limit of 12 inches (30.5 cm) (total

length); minimum mesh sizes in the EEZ

of 3–1/4 inch (8.3 cm) square stretch

mesh or 3 3/4–inch (9.5 cm) diamond

stretch mesh for trawls, and 2 7/8–inch

(7.3 cm) stretch mesh for gill nets; a

bycatch possession limit of 150 lb for

fisheries using smaller mesh sizes for

any one day or trip, whichever is longer;

a prohibition on the use of flynets in the

EEZ south of Cape Hatteras; and a

requirement that weakfish harvested for

commercial purposes in the EEZ be

landed only in the following states:

Massachusetts, Rhode Island,

Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,

Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North

Carolina, or Florida. In addition,

weakfish fishing must be in accordance

with a state’s laws if the state’s

regulations are more restrictive than the

Federal regulations. The intent of the

proposed regulations is to provide

protection to the overfished stock of

weakfish, ensure the effectiveness of

state regulations, and aid in the

rebuilding of the stock.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before March 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed

rule should be sent to, and copies of

supporting documents, including a Draft

Supplemental Environmental Impact

Statement and Regulatory Impact

Review (DSEIS/RIR), are available from

Richard H. Schaefer, Chief, Staff Office

for Intergovernmental and Recreational

Fisheries, NMFS, 8484 Georgia Avenue,

Suite 425, Silver Spring, MD 20910–

3282. NMFS will hold public hearings

to receive comments from fishery

participants and other members of the

public regarding these proposed

regulations. The dates and locations of

public hearings will be announced by

notice in the Federal Register at least 2

weeks prior to the public hearing dates.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas Meyer/Paul Perra, 301–427–

2014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 804(b) of the Atlantic Coastal

Fisheries Cooperative Management Act

(Atlantic Coastal Act), 16 U.S.C. 5101 et

seq., states that, in the absence of an

approved and implemented Fishery

Management Plan (FMP) under the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act (16

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) (Magnuson-Stevens

Act), and after consultation with the

appropriate Fishery Management

Council(s), the Secretary of Commerce

(Secretary) may implement regulations

to govern fishing in the EEZ (i.e., from

3–200 nautical miles (5.6–370.6 km)).

These regulations must be (1)

compatible with the effective

implementation of an Interstate Fishery

Management Plan (ISFMP) developed

by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission (Commission), and (2)

consistent with the national standards

set forth in section 301 of the

Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1851).

The Commission adopted a weakfish

ISFMP in 1985 and amended the plan

in October 1991 and 1994. In 1995, the

Commission began development of

Amendment 3 to rebuild declining

stocks of weakfish. Amendment 3 was

adopted by the Commission in 1996.

Federal regulations were needed in the

EEZ to support the Commission’s effort

to protect weakfish.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council (MAFMC) is the

lead Council for developing weakfish

regulations in the EEZ. The MAFMC has

listed weakfish as a species in need of

management but has not, to date,

developed an FMP for the species. The

MAFMC has indicated that, because of

its heavy workload managing other

species, the development of a Federal

weakfish plan would not be possible

this year. Therefore, Federal actions

authorized by the Atlantic Coastal Act

remain the most effective means of

instituting management measures in the

EEZ that will support the Commission’s

ISFMP for weakfish (Weakfish Plan).

On November 27, 1995, the Secretary,

after consultations with the

Commission, the New England, MidAtlantic, and South Atlantic Fishery

Management Councils, and the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service implemented

a final rule (published at 60 FR 58246)

to impose a moratorium on fishing for

weakfish in the EEZ in accordance with

the Atlantic Coastal Act. However, the

rule was invalidated by the U.S. Federal

District Court, Norfolk, VA, on February

16, 1996. The basis for the court’s

decision was that Amendment 2 to the

Weakfish Plan did not contain

recommendations to the Secretary on

management in the EEZ and, therefore,

cannot be considered a valid FMP under

the Atlantic Coastal Act. The

moratorium was not enforced as of

February 16, 1996, and the regulations

implementing the moratorium were

formally suspended on July 3, 1996 (61

FR 34746). The Atlantic Coastal Act was

amended on October 11, 1996, by

section 404 of the Sustainable Fisheries

Act. The revision removed the

requirement that a Commission Coastal

Fishery Management Plan must contain

a recommendation to the Secretary on

management in the EEZ.

Amendment 3 to the Weakfish Plan

was adopted by the Commission in May

1996 and included the Commission’s

recommendation that the Secretary take

the following steps by October 1, 1996,

concerning management of weakfish in

the EEZ:

1. Require a minimum weakfish size

of 12 inches (30.5 cm) total length.

2. Require that weakfish harvested in

the EEZ be landed in accordance with

the landing laws of the state in which

they are landed, with the exception that

weakfish caught in the EEZ may not be

landed in a ‘‘de minimis’’ state (a state

where the landings are so low that the

Commission’s Weakfish Fisheries

Management Board has exempted that

state from some of its regulatory

responsibilities under the Weakfish

Plan).

3. Require minimum mesh sizes in the

EEZ, consistent with a 12–inch (30.5–

cm) minimum fish size. Non-directed

fisheries using smaller mesh sizes may

possess no more than 150 lb of weakfish