58034 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules

(i) Incidental take of the Chiricahua

leopard frog will not be considered a

violation of section 9 of the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act),

if it results from livestock use of, or

maintenance activities at, livestock

tanks located on any non-Federal lands.

A livestock tank is defined as an

existing or future impoundment in an

ephemeral drainage or upland site

constructed primarily as a watering site

for livestock.

Comments Solicited

Pursuant to 50 CFR 424.16(c)(2), we

may extend or reopen a comment period

upon finding that there is good cause to

do so. Full participation of the affected

public in the species listing process,

allowing us to consider the best

scientific and commercial data available

in making a final determination on the

proposed action, is deemed as sufficient

cause. Additionally, this reopened

comment period will allow the public to

consider and comment on the

clarification of the special rule provided

in this notice.

Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act, as

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),

requires that a public hearing be held if

it is requested within 45 days of the

publication of a proposed rule. In

response to 11 such requests, we will

hold two public hearings (see DATES and

ADDRESSES).

Anyone wishing to make an oral

statement for the record is encouraged

to provide a written copy of their

statement and present it at the start of

the hearing. In the event there is a large

attendance, the time allotted for oral

statements may have to be limited. Oral

and written statements receive equal

consideration. There are no limits to the

length of written comments presented at

the hearings or mailed to the Fish and

Wildlife Service.

The current comment period on this

proposal closes on September 12, 2000.

In order to accommodate public

hearings, the Service reopened the

public comment period. Written

comments may now be submitted until

October 27, 2000, to our office in the

ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is

James Rorabaugh (see ADDRESSES).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.

1531–1544).

Dated: September 14, 2000.

Nancy M. Kaufman,

Regional Director, Region 2, Fish and Wildlife

Service.

[FR Doc. 00–24757 Filed 9–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 091800I]

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

General Provisions for Domestic

Fisheries; Applications for Exempted

Fishing Permits (EFPs)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of a proposal for

EFPs to conduct experimental fishing;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

(Regional Administrator), has made a

preliminary determination to issue EFPs

to conduct experimental fishing

operations otherwise restricted by the

regulations governing the fisheries of

the Northeastern United States. The

New England Aquarium Conservation

Department (NEACD) requested an EFP

to conduct a Juvenile Lobster Trap

Survey in the Gulf of Maine (Juvenile

Lobster Trap Survey). This recruitment

survey could, if geographically

comprehensive, serve as an indicator for

stock status and could provide stock

size estimates for subsequent years.

Regulations under Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act provisions require publication of

this notification to provide interested

parties the opportunity to comment on

the proposed experimental fisheries.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by October 12, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast

Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside

of the envelope ‘‘Comments on the EFP

Proposal.’’ Comments may also be sent

via facisimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bonnie Van Pelt, Fishery Management

Specialist, 978-281-9244.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission has identified the need for

regional baseline information on the

American lobster (Homarus americanus)

resource as a priority item in its most

recent list of research needs for the

lobster fishery. Data on juvenile lobster

abundance is critical for effective and

pro-active management of this valuable

species.

The framework of this survey was

developed by the Canadian Department

of Fisheries and Oceans Science Branch

for its Gulf of St. Lawrence Fisheries

Management Region. Its program has

been implemented and can be readily

adapted to the Gulf of Maine (GOM).

Canadian response to this survey has

been extremely supportive since this

could lead to transboundary sampling

projects in the future, where Canadian

and U.S. fishermen would conduct a

survey throughout the entire GOM.

Existing survey programs, whether

they be fishery-dependent or

independent, are limited and prevent

resource managers from obtaining a

holistic view of growth and recruitment

throughout the dynamic GOM

ecosystem. In addition, the data are

housed at various institutions and

entered in a variety of formats,

impeding accessibility and/or

transferability to resource managers or

interest groups in the region.

These gaps in data collection were

identified at the 1999 U.S./Canadian

Lobster Summit III in Rockland, ME,

where over 200 fishermen, scientists,

and resource managers met to define a

strategy to increase the understanding of

lobster stock status through enhanced

industry involvement. The forum

participants agreed that there is a need

to improve the current assessment and

management process through

collaboration between industry and

scientists. The recommendations

emerging from Lobster Summit III fell

into five general categories: (1) Build

trust between scientists and the fishing

industry, (2) Increase collaboration

between scientists and fishermen to

improve data collection and the

dissemination of information, (3)

Expand the scope and breadth of the

models used to assess the health of

lobster stocks, (4) Identify specific data

needs, and (5) Improve management

decisions. Expanded industry

participation in data collection was

considered a cost-effective strategy to

implement some of these

recommendations.

The proposed Juvenile Lobster Trap

Survey is a cooperative effort among the

NEACD, Maine Department of Marine

Resources, the Massachusetts Division

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules 58035

of Marine Fisheries, the New Hampshire

Department of Fish and Game, NMFS,

the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the

DownEast Lobstermen’s Association, the

Massachusetts Lobstermen’s

Association, the South Shore Lobster

Fishermen’s Association, the Boston

Harbor Lobstermen’s Cooperative, and

the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s

Association to more regularly involve

fishermen in the data collection process

and to create a regional picture of the

lobster resource with the ultimate goal

of helping to improve lobster stock

assessment models.

The Juvenile Lobster Trap Survey is a

pilot project that will take place from

the fall 2000 through the fall 2001

lobster fishing season. The number of

participants coordinated by the NEACD

will be limited to approximately 25

fishermen from Massachusetts and New

Hampshire. The survey’s co-principal

investigators will monitor the quality of

the data collection by making site visits

and maintaining open communication

among all of the participants. If

successful, the collaboration will seek

funding and EFPs to continue the

survey on an annual basis to increase

both fishermen’s participation and the

geographical scope of the survey.

Fishermen collecting data under this

exemption will be subject to the

following guidelines:

1. A minimum of two and a maximum

of six experimental traps per participant

will have disabled escape vents.

2. The test traps (both experimental

and control) are included in the

participant’s normal set and will not

exceed trap number limits.

3. The survey will be limited in scope

by requiring participants to collect data

only in their declared management

areas.

4. The survey will be limited in

duration, ranging from late summer

2000 to exactly 12 months from the start

date.

5. The experimental traps are

standard lobster traps with the escape

vent blocked by the following methods:

Standard lobster wire mesh attached by

biodegradable hog rings, a wooden lath

tied over the vents, or twine laced to

obscure the vents. The use of these

biodegradable materials ensures that, if

the escape vent opening is also the

escape panel, it will allow lobsters to get

out of ghost traps.

6. Each test trap (including the

experimental and control traps) will be

marked with a unique tag depicting its

scientific purpose.

7. Following data collection, all

sublegal-sized and illegal (egg-bearing,

v-notched) lobsters caught in any test

trap will be released immediately.

8. All incidental catch will be

handled carefully and immediately

returned to sea to decrease mortality.

9. Participants shall not have prior

lobster violations/convictions for short

lobsters or for possession of berried

(lobster-carrying eggs) or scrubbed (i.e.,

illegal removal of eggs) females.

Any infraction of these conditions or

any violation of any marine resources

laws would be grounds for the

immediate revocation of the EFP.

At the end of each month,

participating fishermen will send their

data in a postage-paid, return-addressed

envelope to the NEACD. Upon the first

data mailing, fishermen will also fill out

an information card providing a detailed

description of their traps, including trap

type, dimensions, twine type, hoop

sizes, entry hoop diameter, and number

of escape vents.

The data will be entered by university

interns at the NEACD into a

transferable, user-friendly database. A

steering committee consisting of leading

lobster stock assessment scientists,

including NMFS’ Northeast Fisheries

Science Center scientists and fishermen

from the United States and Canada, will

work with the co-principal investigators

to monitor how the data are stored, to

decide on the format of the summary

reports that will be made available to

the public, and to evaluate the survey.

The NEACD and the steering committee

will be responsible only for housing the

data, and not for data analysis. This

survey is to supply baseline data to

fishing associations and resource

managers so that they can analyze the

data.

This survey would target both legal

and sub-legal sized lobsters. Bycatch of

Jonah crab, red crab, rock crab, black sea

bass and conger eel is anticipated. The

proposal projects low incidence of

bycatch and low mortality rates for each

specified bycatch species.

EFPs would be issued to all Federal

fishery permit holders who use the

experimental traps, whether in state or

Federal waters, and will exempt them

from the requirement under §

697.21(c)(1)(i) and (ii) that all lobster

traps must contain at least one escape

vent with a minimum size of 1-15/16

inches (4.9 cm) by 5-3/4 inches (14.6

cm) or two circular vents that must be

at least 2-7/16 inches (6.2 cm) in

diameter.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: September 21, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–24855 Filed 9–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 091800K]

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management

Council; Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Public hearings, request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council (Council) and the

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission (ASMFC) will hold public

hearings to allow for input on the public

hearing draft of Amendment 13 to the

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea

Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

This amendment will detail the fishing

impacts to summer flounder, scup, and

black sea bass essential fish habitat

(EFH) to bring the FMP into compliance

with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), as amended by

the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA).

This amendment will also provide the

information and analyses necessary to

implement a state system of

conservation equivalency for the

recreational fishery of summer flounder

to achieve the annual recreational

harvest limit.

DATES: Written comments will be

accepted until October 30, 2000. The

hearings will be held in October. For

specific dates and times, see

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Daniel T.

Furlong, Executive Director, MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council,

300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 19904, or

John Dunnigan, Executive Director,

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission, 1444 Eye Street, NW, Suite

304, Washington, DC 20005.

The hearings will be held in

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York,

New Jersey, Maryland, and North

Carolina. For specific locations, see

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director,

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management

Council, 302-674-2331, ext. 19, or John

Dunnigan, Executive Director, Atlantic

States Marine Fisheries Commission,

202-289-6400, ext. 304.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: