[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42490-42491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18132]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG003


Pacific Island Fisheries; Marine Conservation Plan for American 
Samoa; Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund

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

ACTION: Notice of agency decision.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval of a marine conservation plan (MCP) 
for American Samoa.

DATES: This agency decision is effective from July 25, 2018, through 
July 24, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the MCP, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2018-0014, from the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal, http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0014, or from the 
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 1164 Bishop St., 
Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-522-8200, http://www.wpcouncil.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gabriel Forrester, Sustainable 
Fisheries, NMFS Pacific Island Regional Office, 808-725-5179.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 204(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) 
authorizes the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) and in consultation with the Council, 
to negotiate and enter into a Pacific Insular Area fishery agreement 
(PIAFA). A PIAFA would allow foreign fishing within the U.S. Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ) adjacent to American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern 
Mariana Islands. The Governor of the Pacific Insular Area to which the 
PIAFA applies must request the PIAFA. The Secretary of State may 
negotiate and enter the PIAFA after consultation with, and concurrence 
of, the applicable Governor.
    Before entering the PIAFA, the applicable Governor, with 
concurrence of the Council, must develop and submit to the Secretary a 
3-year MCP providing details on uses for and funds collected by the 
Secretary for MCP review and approval. NMFS is the designee of the 
Secretary for MCP review and approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 
requires payments received under a PIAFA to be deposited into the 
United States Treasury and then conveyed to the Treasury of the Pacific 
Insular Area for which funds were collected.
    In the case of violations by foreign fishing vessels in the EEZ 
around any Pacific Insular Area, amounts received by the Secretary 
attributable to fines and penalties imposed under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, including sums collected from the forfeiture and disposition or 
sale of property seized subject to its authority, shall be deposited 
into the Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area adjacent to the EEZ in 
which the violation occurred, after direct costs of the enforcement 
action are subtracted. The Pacific Insular Area government may use 
funds deposited into the treasury of the Pacific Insular Area for 
fisheries enforcement and for implementation of an MCP.
    Federal regulations at 50 CFR 665.819 authorize NMFS to specify 
catch limits of longline-caught bigeye tuna for U.S. territories. NMFS 
may also authorize each territory to allocate a portion of that limit 
to U.S. longline fishing vessels that are permitted to fish under the 
Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific 
(FEP). Payments collected under specified fishing agreements are 
deposited into the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund, and any 
funds attributable to a particular Fisheries Fund, and any funds 
attributable to a particular territory may be used only for 
implementation of that territory's MCP.

[[Page 42491]]

    An MCP must be consistent with the Council's fishery ecosystem 
plans, must identify conservation and management objectives (including 
criteria for determining when such objectives are met), and must 
prioritize planned marine conservation projects.
    The Council reviewed and concurred with the American Samoa MCP in 
June 2018. On July 9, 2018, the Governor of American Samoa submitted 
the MCP to NMFS for review and approval. The following briefly 
describes the objectives of the MCP. Please refer to the MCP for 
planned projects and activities designed to meet each objective, the 
evaluative criteria, and priority ranking. The MCP contains six 
conservation and management objectives, listed below.
    1. Maximize social and economic benefits through sustainable 
fisheries;
    2. Support quality scientific research to assess and manage 
fisheries;
    3. Promote an ecosystem approach in fisheries management;
    4. Recognize the importance of island culture and traditional 
fishing in managing fishery resources and foster opportunities for 
participation;
    5. Promote education and outreach activities and regional 
collaboration regarding fisheries conservation;
    6. Encourage development of technologies and methods to achieve the 
most effective level of enforcement and to ensure safety at sea.
    This notice announces that NMFS has reviewed the MCP, and has 
determined that it satisfies the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act. Accordingly, NMFS has approved the MCP for the 3-year period from 
July 25, 2018, through July 24, 2021. This MCP supersedes the MCP 
previously approved for the period April 1, 2015, through March 31, 
2018 (80 FR 18820, April 8, 2015).

    Dated: August 17, 2018.
 Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-18132 Filed 8-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P