[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8428-8429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4591]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 021897A]


Mid-Atlantic Take Reduction Team

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

ACTION: Notice of establishment of team and public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Take Reduction Team to address bycatch of harbor porpoise 
in U.S. mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries is established February 25, 1997 
and will hold its first meeting to develop a Take Reduction Plan as 
described in the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) focusing on 
reducing bycatch in these fisheries.

DATES: The team is established as of February 25, 1997. The first 
meeting of the team will be held on March 4-5, 1997, from 8:30 a.m. to 
5:30 p.m. Future meetings are tentatively scheduled for April 23-24, 
1997, and June 3-4, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The first meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn SunSpree 
Resort, 3900 Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23451. Future meetings 
are tentatively scheduled for Salisbury, MD, (April) and Washington, 
D.C. (June).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Cornish, (301) 713-2322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 30, 1994, the 1994 Amendments to 
the MMPA were signed into law. Section 117 of the MMPA requires that 
NMFS complete stock assessment reports for all marine mammal stocks 
within U.S. waters. Each stock assessment report is required to 
categorize the status of the stock as one that either has a level of 
human-caused mortality and serious injury that is not likely to cause 
the stock to be reduced below its optimum sustainable population; or is 
a strategic stock, with a description of the reasons therefore; and 
estimate the potential biological removal (PBR) level for the stock, 
describing the information used to calculate it, including the recovery 
factor. Stock Assessment Reports and the calculated PBR were published 
by NMFS in July 1995.
    The MMPA defines a ``strategic stock'' as a marine mammal stock for 
which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds the PBR level; 
which, based on the best available scientific information, is declining 
and is likely to be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (ESA) within the foreseeable future; which is 
listed as a threatened species or endangered species under the ESA, or 
is designated as depleted under the MMPA. The MMPA further defines the 
term ``potential biological removal,'' or PBR, as ``the maximum number 
of animals, not including natural mortalities, that may be removed from 
a marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to reach or maintain 
its optimum sustainable population.''
    Mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries interact with the Gulf of Maine/Bay 
of Fundy stock of harbor porpoise (supporting documentation at 60 FR 
67063, December 28, 1995). This stock is considered strategic under the 
MMPA because the level of human-caused mortality is greater than its 
PBR levels.
    Section 118(f) of the MMPA requires NMFS to establish a Take 
Reduction Team to prepare a draft Take Reduction Plan designed to 
assist in the recovery or prevent the depletion of each strategic 
marine mammal stock that interacts with certain fisheries. Section 
118(f)(6)(C) requires that members of Take Reduction Teams have 
expertise regarding the conservation or biology of the marine mammal 
species that the plan will address, or the fishing practices that 
result in the incidental mortality and serious injury of such species. 
The MMPA further specifies that members of the team shall include 
representatives of Federal agencies, each coastal state with fisheries 
that interact with the species or stock, appropriate Regional Fishery 
Management Councils, interstate fisheries commissions, academic and 
scientific organizations, environmental groups, all commercial and 
recreational fisheries groups and gear types which incidentally take 
the species or stock, Alaska Native organizations, or Indian tribal 
organizations, and others as deemed appropriate.
    As a result of an extended interview process conducted by a NMFS-
contracted facilitator, NMFS has asked the following individuals to be 
a member of the team, which will focus on reducing bycatch of harbor 
porpoise taken as bycatch in U.S. mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries: Erik 
Anderson, independent fisher, New Hampshire, and member of the New 
England Fishery Management Council; Herb Austin, fishery scientist, 
Virginia

[[Page 8429]]

Institute of Marine Science; Susan Barco, marine mammal scientist, 
Virginia Science Museum; Charles Bergman, independent fisher, New 
Jersey, and member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; 
Ernie Bowden, independent fisher, Virginia, and member of the Eastern 
Shore Watermen's Association; David Bower, fishery manager, Virginia 
Marine Resources Commission; Kevin Chu, fishery biologist, National 
Marine Fisheries Service; Victoria Cornish, fishery biologist, National 
Marine Fisheries Service; Gordon Elliott, independent fisher, North 
Carolina; Bruce Halgren, fishery manager, New Jersey Division of Fish, 
Game and Wildlife; Thomas Hoff, fishery scientist, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council; George LaPointe, fishery scientist, Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission; Matt Linnell, independent fisher, 
Massachusetts; Richard Luedtke, independent fisher, New Jersey; Bridget 
Mansfield, fishery biologist, National Marine Fisheries Service, Rick 
Marks, fishery scientist, North Carolina Fisherman's Association; Dave 
Martin, independent fisher, Martin Fish Company; William McLellan, 
marine mammal scientist, University of North Carolina; Robert Munson, 
independent fisher, New Jersey; Jeff Oden, independent fisher, North 
Carolina; Bill Outten, fishery manager, Maryland Department of Natural 
Resources; Andrew Read, marine mammal scientist, Duke University; Tom 
Smith, independent fisher, Maryland; Michael Street, fishery manager, 
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries; Leonard Voss, Jr., 
independent fisher, Delaware; Rob West, independent fisher, North 
Carolina; Nina Young, conservationist, Center for Marine Conservation; 
Sharon Young, conservationist, Humane Society of the United States. 
Other individuals from NMFS, state and Federal agencies may be present 
as observers or for their scientific expertise. The team will be 
facilitated by RESOLVE Center for Environmental Dispute Resolution, 
Washington, DC.
    The team is officially established upon publication of the first 
meeting notice in the Federal Register. NMFS fully intends to convene 
the Take Reduction Team process in a way that provides for national 
consistency yet accommodates the unique regional needs and 
characteristics of the team. Take Reduction Teams are not subject to 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.). Meetings are open 
to the public.

    Dated: February 19, 1997.
Patricia A. Montanio
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-4591 Filed 2-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F