2742 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

percent for the commercial sector and 

40.3 percent for the recreational sector, 

and resulted in an OFL, ABC, total ACL, 

commercial ACL, and recreational ACL 

of 4.67 million lb (2.12 million kg), 4.28 

million lb (1.94 million kg), 4.28 million 

lb (1.94 million kg), 2.56 million lb (1.16 

million kg), and 1.72 million lb (0.78 

million kg) in MRIP–FES units, 

respectively. The fourth and fifth 

alternatives were not selected because 

they did not use the same time series of 

years as the original sector allocation 

and therefore would not as accurately 

reflect the historical participation of the 

recreational and commercial sectors in 

the fishery, which is contrary to the 

Council’s objectives. These alternatives 

were also not selected as they resulted 

in slightly lower net economic benefits 

to the Nation compared to the proposed 

action. 

Two alternatives, including the status 

quo, were considered for the proposed 

action to maintain the buffer between 

the commercial ACL and commercial 

ACT of 5 percent and increase the buffer 

between the recreational ACL and 

recreational ACT from 8 percent to 9 

percent. The status quo alternative 

would have maintained the buffer 

between the commercial ACL and 

commercial ACT of 5 percent and 

maintained the buffer between the 

recreational ACL and recreational ACT 

of 8 percent. The status quo alternative 

was not selected because the current 

recreational buffer is based on MRFSS 

data, which are no longer used for quota 

monitoring because they are no longer 

the best scientific information available. 

The second alternative would have 

reduced the commercial buffer from 5 

percent to 0 percent and increased the 

recreational buffer from 8 percent to 9 

percent. Both the red grouper and gag 

share categories in the commercial 

grouper-tilefish IFQ program have a 

multi-use provision that allows a 

portion of the red grouper quota to be 

harvested under the gag allocation, and 

a portion of the gag quota to be 

harvested under the red grouper 

allocation. Each year, the program 

assigns a portion of each shareholder’s 

red grouper and gag’s allocations to the 

multi-use allocation category. The intent 

of the multi-use provision is to provide 

for allocation if either gag or red grouper 

are landed as incidental catch. The 

second alternative was not selected 

because, based on recent data, the gag 

multi-use allocation would be zero. As 

a result, red grouper could not be 

landed with gag allocation, which is 

contrary to the purpose of the multi-use 

provision in the grouper-tilefish IFQ 

program. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Annual catch limit, Fisheries, Fishing, 

Gulf, Red grouper, Reef fish. 

Dated: January 10, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE 

CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND 

SOUTH ATLANTIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 622 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 622.39, revise paragraph 

(a)(1)(iii)(C) to read as follows: 

§ 622.39 Quotas. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iii) * * * 

(C) Red grouper—2.40 million lb (1.09 

million kg). 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 622.41, revise the last sentence 

of paragraph (e)(1) and revise paragraph 

(e)(2)(iv) to read as follows: 

§ 622.41 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(1) * * * The commercial ACL for red 

grouper, in gutted weight, is 2.53 

million lb (1.15 million kg). 

(2) * * * 

(iv) The recreational ACL for red 

grouper, in gutted weight, is 1.73 

million lb (0.78 million kg). The 

recreational ACT for red grouper, in 

gutted weight, is 1.57 million lb (0.71 

million kg). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–00646 Filed 1–18–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 220111–0010] 

RIN 0648–BK74 

Pacific Island Fisheries; Pelagic 

Longline Gear and Operational 

Requirements 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to prohibit 

the use of wire leaders in the Hawaii 

deep-set longline fishery, and require 

the removal of fishing gear from any 

oceanic whitetip shark caught in all of 

the region’s domestic longline fisheries. 

The proposed action is intended to 

increase post-hooking survival of 

oceanic whitetip sharks. 

DATES: NMFS must receive comments 

by February 18, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this proposed rule, identified by 

NOAA–NMFS–2021–0099, by either of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– 

NMFS–2021–0099 in the Search box, 

click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete the 

required fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 

• Mail: Send written comments to 

Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Regional Office (PIRO), 1845 Wasp 

Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818. 

Instructions: NMFS may not consider 

comments sent by any other method, to 

any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period. All comments received are a 

part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential 

business information, or otherwise 

sensitive information submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

The Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) and 

NMFS prepared a draft environmental 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2022 / Proposed Rules 2743 

assessment (EA) and regulatory impact 

review that supports this proposed rule. 

The draft EA is available at 

www.regulations.gov, or from the 

Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, 

Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808–522–8220, 

or www.wpcouncil.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David O’Brien, PIRO Sustainable 

Fisheries, 808–725–5038. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and 

the Council manage the Hawaii 

(shallow-set and deep-set), America 

Samoa, and general western Pacific 

longline fisheries under the Fishery 

Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of 

the Western Pacific (FEP) and 

implementing Federal regulations. 

These fisheries occasionally catch 

oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus 

longimanus), which NMFS listed as 

threatened under the Endangered 

Species Act on January 30, 2018 (83 FR 

4153). To improve the survival of 

oceanic whitetip sharks caught 

unintentionally in the Hawaii deep-set 

fishery, this proposed rule would 

prohibit the use of steel wire line, 

known as wire leaders, within 1 meter 

of the hook. To improve the survival of 

oceanic whitetip sharks caught 

unintentionally in all of the region’s 

longline fisheries, this proposed rule 

would also require fishermen to remove 

fishing gear from any oceanic whitetip 

shark caught, with limited exceptions 

related to safety and data collection. 

Prohibiting wire leaders may also result 

in reductions in adverse effects to other 

protected species. 

Prior to 2021, most vessels in the 

Hawaii deep-set fishery used wire 

leaders in the terminal portion of the 

fishing line between the hook and a 

weight that must be placed within 1 

meter of the hook (see 50 CFR 

665.815(a)(1)). The weight is typically in 

the form of a swivel, and helps to sink 

the hook quickly to reduce interactions 

with seabirds. 

The wire leader also reduces the risk 

of crew injuries resulting from ‘‘fly 

backs.’’ Fly backs may occur when 

retrieving fishing gear (hauling) if the 

line under tension parts, either by 

breaking or being bitten through, 

between the hook and the weighted 

swivel or is thrown from a fish. In these 

cases, the weighted swivel flies back 

toward the vessel at high speed and 

there have been documented severe 

injuries and deaths of crewmembers. 

The use of wire leaders between the 

hook and the weight reduces the chance 

that the leader would part and fly back 

toward the vessel when crew are 

hauling the gear. 

Although they reduce fly backs, wire 

leaders reduce the chances that sharks 

may bite off the line and release 

themselves before the crew retrieve the 

gear. We expect sharks that release 

themselves before the gear is retrieved 

to have reduced mortality relative to 

sharks that are released after being 

brought to the vessel. In addition, wire 

leaders make it difficult to remove 

fishing gear from sharks or other 

protected species that are too large to 

bring on board the vessel to remove the 

gear. Because it is difficult to cut the 

wire leader from deck height, fishermen 

typically cut the line closer to the vessel 

than the weighted swivel. This practice 

leaves the hook, wire leader, weighted 

swivel, and some amount of 

monofilament fishing line (collectively, 

trailing gear) attached to a released 

animal. Long trailing gear reduces 

survivorship of sharks and other 

released animals. Because monofilament 

nylon leaders are easier to cut from deck 

height, they can facilitate removal of 

trailing gear below the weighted swivel 

and close to the hook when releasing 

animals that are too large to bring on 

board. 

To reduce impacts on oceanic 

whitetip sharks in the Hawaii deep-set 

fishery, the Hawaii Longline 

Association (HLA) announced in late 

2020 that its members, comprising more 

than 90 percent of the Hawaii deep-set 

longline fleet of approximately 146 

active vessels, would voluntarily switch 

from wire to monofilament leaders. At 

its June 2021 meeting, the Council 

recommended that wire leaders be 

prohibited in the Hawaii deep-set 

fishery, along with the recommendation 

to remove trailing gear. These 

recommendations were intended to 

ensure that all fishermen in the fleet 

stop using wire leaders and minimize 

the amount of trailing gear on oceanic 

whitetip sharks. NMFS estimates that 

these proposed requirements would 

reduce mortality of oceanic whitetip 

sharks hooked in the Hawaii deep-set 

fishery by approximately 30 percent due 

to a combination of higher post-hooking 

survival via bite-offs and reductions in 

trailing gear remaining on released 

animals. This proposed action would be 

implemented in conjunction with HLA 

outreach to fishery participants and 

NMFS protected species workshops to 

address safety concerns associated with 

gear fly back. 

Pursuant to the Council’s 

recommendations, NMFS proposes to 

prohibit wire leaders within 1 meter of 

each hook on Hawaii deep-set vessels. 

NMFS also proposes to require vessel 

owners, operators and crew on vessels 

registered for use under any of the 

region’s longline permits to release 

oceanic whitetip sharks with minimal 

trailing gear, with limited exceptions for 

safety and data collection. This 

proposed rule and any related handling 

guidelines would be consistent with 

Western and Central Pacific Fisheries 

Commission best handling practices for 

these sharks (see https://www.wcpfc.int/ 

doc/supplcmm-2010-07/best-handlingpractices-safe-release-sharks-otherwhale-sharks-and), and NMFS 

regulations at 50 CFR 300.226. 

NMFS will consider public comments 

on this proposed rule and will 

announce the final rule in the Federal 

Register. NMFS must receive comments 

on this proposed action by the date 

provided in the DATES heading. NMFS 

may not consider comments postmarked 

or otherwise transmitted after that date. 

Regardless of the final rule, all other 

existing management measures would 

continue to apply in the longline 

fisheries. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the FEP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

Certification of Finding of No 

Significant Impact on Substantial 

Number of Small Entities 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation for 

the Department of Commerce has 

certified to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration that this proposed rule, 

if adopted, would not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

The proposed action would prohibit 

the use of wire leaders in the Hawaii 

deep-set longline fishery, and would 

require the removal of fishing gear from 

any oceanic whitetip shark caught in all 

of the region’s domestic longline 

fisheries (Hawaii deep-set and shallowset, American Samoa, and others). 

The action would apply to vessels 

with Hawaii longline limited entry 

permits (164) and American Samoa 

limited entry permits (60). There has 

been no longline fishing in Guam or the 

Northern Mariana Islands since 2011. In 

2020, 146 vessels participated in the 

Hawaii deep-set longline fishery, with 

annual fleet revenues of $71.5 million 

and average annual per-vessel revenues 

of $489,730. In 2020, 14 vessels 

participated in the Hawaii shallow-set 


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2744 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

fishery, with annual fleet revenues of 

$1.3 million and average annual pervessel revenues of $92,357. In 2020, 11 

vessels participated in the American 

Samoa fishery, with annual fleet 

revenues of $2.1 million, and average 

per-vessel revenues of $191,000. 

NMFS listed oceanic whitetip sharks 

as threatened under the Endangered 

Species Act on January 30, 2018 (83 FR 

4153). The proposed management 

measures are designed to improve posthooking survival of oceanic whitetip 

sharks in the longline fisheries. In 

December 2020, the HLA announced 

that its members, comprising most of 

the Hawaii deep-set longline fleet, 

would voluntarily switch from wire 

leaders to monofilament leaders in 

2021. This proposed action would 

encourage the entire Hawaii deep-set 

longline fleet to transition to 

monofilament leaders, currently the 

only viable alternative to wire. It would 

also require that all longline fishermen 

operating vessels under the FEP follow 

specific steps in removing trailing gear, 

as practicable, to further enhance posthooking survival of oceanic whitetip 

sharks. These proposed requirements 

are expected to reduce mortality of 

oceanic whitetip sharks due to a 

combination of higher post-hooking 

survival via bite-offs and reductions in 

the length of trailing gear remaining on 

released animals. 

Most vessels in the Hawaii deep-set 

longline fishery had, until recently, 

used wire leaders to prevent potential 

gear fly backs and associated injury 

from weighted branch lines required for 

this fishery as a seabird mitigation 

measure. With the prohibition on the 

use of wire leaders under the proposed 

action, longline vessels are most likely 

to transition to monofilament nylon as 

it is the most common alternative leader 

material in pelagic longline fisheries, 

although other non-metal leaders may 

be used. Some, if not most, vessels in 

the Hawaii deep-set longline fishery are 

anticipated to voluntarily transition 

from wire leaders to monofilament 

leaders in advance of the regulatory 

requirement, following HLA’s 

announcement. As of November 2021, 

most Hawaii deep-set longline fishing 

vessels had transitioned to 

monofilament leaders with many more 

transitioning to its use when existing 

wire leaders need to be replaced in the 

normal course of operations. 

Under the proposed action, Hawaii 

deep-set longline fishery participants 

will incur upfront costs associated with 

changing wire leaders to monofilament 

nylon. The estimated range in the initial 

costs of replacing an entire set of wire 

leaders with monofilament leaders can 

be found by multiplying the price of 

each monofilament leader ($0.06–$0.17, 

depending on brand) by the average 

number of hooks. This results in an 

estimated average one-time material cost 

(averaging 2,876 hooks per vessel in 

2020) for a full set of monofilament 

nylon leaders of $173–$489 per vessel, 

or a total of $25,194 to $71,382 for the 

entire fleet. Many deep-set longline 

vessels have already transitioned to 

monofilament nylon leaders, and more 

have begun to transition to 

monofilament nylon leaders as part of 

their routine replacement of leader 

lines. As a result, the upfront costs of 

transitioning to monofilament leaders 

upon the implementation of proposed 

action will not be as high for many 

fishermen as presented here. 

The proposed action may also 

influence ongoing costs for maintenance 

and repair of fishing gear. Monofilament 

leaders are more susceptible to damage, 

abrasion, breaking, and bite-offs, which 

would result in more frequent repairs 

and replacement of longline gear. 

However, monofilament nylon is less 

expensive than wire, which may help 

offset the immediate costs of 

implementing the proposed action over 

the longer term. The EA used 2020 effort 

data and results from a research study 

that estimated branch line repair rates to 

be higher for monofilament nylon 

leaders (19.8 percent) compared to wire 

leaders (14.4 percent) to estimate 

differential maintenance and repair 

costs. In 2020, the number of hooks 

deployed per trip averaged 36,314 and 

the number of hooks deployed 

throughout the year averaged 408,904 

across all vessels. Based on these hook 

numbers, the cost of repairing 

monofilament leaders would average 

from $431–$1,222 per vessel per trip, 

compared to an average of $2,144– 

$2,719 per vessel per trip to repair wire 

leaders. Thus, the proposed action 

could result in an overall decrease in 

leader repair material costs ranging from 

$922 to $2,288 per trip, or an annual 

decrease in leader replacement costs 

ranging from $1,515,186 to $3,761,100 

fleetwide (based on 1,644 deep-set trips 

in 2020). 

Most vessels in the deep-set fishery 

had used wire leaders to prevent 

potential gear fly backs and associated 

injuries from the weighted branch lines 

(required to prevent seabird 

interactions). This proposed action 

would be implemented in conjunction 

with HLA outreach to fishery 

participants and NMFS protected 

species workshops to address safety 

concerns associated with gear fly back. 

One initiative involves the use of a 

simple reusable fly back prevention 

device. The cost of the materials for 

making one device is approximately 

$13, with one to two of these devices 

needed on board a vessel during any 

given fishing trip. 

The proposed rule also would require 

fishermen to remove trailing gear from 

captured oceanic whitetip sharks. HLA 

will continue to work with NMFS and 

the Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council to disseminate 

handling guidelines applicable to 

oceanic whitetip sharks (and other 

protected species) for safe release with 

as little trailing gear attached as 

possible. 

While fishermen in all three fisheries 

remove trailing gear when they catch 

sharks as part of their normal 

operations, these additional handling 

requirements may slightly increase the 

time it takes to release these sharks. 

However, the rarity of interactions with 

these sharks suggests that any increase 

in handling time should have negligible 

impact on fishing operations. 

The prohibition of wire leaders, and 

the resulting switch to monofilament 

leaders, could change the catch rates of 

some target and non-target species in 

the Hawaii deep-set fishery. We expect 

minor increases in bigeye tuna catch 

rates, and slightly lower catch rates for 

albacore, mahimahi, and skipjack tuna. 

These changes are likely to be minor, 

however, and may result in an overall 

net increase in revenues for the deep-set 

fishery. 

NMFS has established a small 

business size standard for businesses, 

including their affiliates, whose primary 

industry is commercial fishing (see 50 

CFR 200.2). A business primarily 

engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS 

code 11411) is classified as a small 

business if it is independently owned 

and operated, is not dominant in its 

field of operation (including its 

affiliates), and has combined annual 

receipts not in excess of $11 million for 

all its affiliated operations worldwide. 

Based on available information, NMFS 

has determined that all vessels 

permitted federally under the FEP are 

small entities, i.e., they are engaged in 

the business of fish harvesting (NAICS 

114111), are independently owned or 

operated, are not dominant in their field 

of operation, and have annual gross 

receipts not in excess of $11 million. 

Even though this proposed action would 

apply to a substantial number of vessels, 

the implementation of this action would 

not result in significant adverse 

economic impact to individual vessels. 

The proposed action would potentially 

reduce adverse effects on threatened 

oceanic whitetip sharks and other 

protected species, as well as potentially 


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Hawaii deep-set longline fishermen 

with minor increases in catch rate for 

target bigeye tuna. 

Under the proposed action, we do not 

expect the region’s domestic longline 

fisheries to change substantially (i.e., 

area fished, number of vessels and trips, 

number and depth of hooks, or 

deployment techniques). The proposed 

action does not duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with other Federal rules and is 

not expected to have significant impact 

on small organizations or government 

jurisdictions. Furthermore, there would 

be little, if any, disproportionate adverse 

economic impacts from the proposed 

action based on gear type or relative 

vessel size. The proposed action also 

will not place a substantial number of 

small entities, or any segment of small 

entities, at a significant competitive 

disadvantage to large entities. 

For the reasons above, NMFS does not 

expect the proposed action to have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. As 

such, an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required and none has 

been prepared. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

This proposed rule does not contain 

a collection-of-information requirement 

and thus requires no review under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665 

American Samoa, Endangered and 

threatened species, Fisheries, Fishing, 

Hawaii, Longline, Oceanic whitetip 

shark, Pacific Islands, Release 

requirements, Western Pacific. 

Dated: January 12, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, Deputy Assistant 

Administrator for Regulatory 

Programs, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 665 as follows: 

PART 665—FISHERIES IN THE 

WESTERN PACIFIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for 50 CFR 

part 665 continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 665.800, revise the definition of 

‘‘Deep-set or Deep-setting’’ to read as 

follows: 

§ 665.800 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Deep-set or Deep-setting means the 

deployment of longline gear in a manner 

consistent with all the following 

criteria: All float lines are at least 20 

meters in length; a minimum of 15 

branch lines are attached between any 

two floats (except basket-style longline 

gear which may have as few as 10 

branch lines between any two floats); no 

metal wire line within 1 meter of the 

hook; and no light sticks are used. As 

used in this definition, ‘‘float line’’ 

means a line used to suspend the main 

longline beneath a float, and ‘‘light 

stick’’ means any type of light emitting 

device, including any fluorescent ‘‘glow 

bead,’’ chemical, or electrically-powered 

light that is affixed underwater to the 

longline gear. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 665.802, add paragraphs (gg) 

and (hh) to read as follows: 

§ 665.802 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(gg) Use or have on board longline 

gear with metal wire line within 1 meter 

of the hook when operating a vessel 

registered for use under a longline 

permit issued under § 665.801(b) at any 

time during a trip for which notification 

to NMFS under § 665.803(a) indicated 

that deep-setting would be done, in 

violation of § 665.813(d). 

(hh) Fail to handle and release an 

oceanic whitetip shark in accordance 

with the requirements set forth at 

§ 665.811(a) when operating a vessel 

registered for use under any longline 

permit issued under § 665.801, in 

violation of § 665.811. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Add § 665.811 to read as follows: 

§ 665.811 Handling and release of oceanic 

whitetip sharks. 

(a) The owner and operator of a vessel 

registered for use under any longline 

permit issued under § 665.801 must 

release any oceanic whitetip shark as 

soon as possible after the shark is caught 

and brought alongside the vessel, in 

accordance with § 300.226 of this title, 

and must take the following actions: 

(1) Leave the animal in the water. 

(2) Use a dehooker as defined in 

§ 665.812(a)(7), or line clippers as 

defined in § 665.812(a)(5), to remove 

trailing gear from the animal. 

(3) When using line clippers, cut the 

branch line as close to the hook as 

possible. 

(b) Paragraph (a) of this section shall 

not apply if doing so would compromise 

the safety of any person, or if a NMFS 

observer collects, or requests assistance 

collecting, samples of oceanic whitetip 

shark, or if a WCPFC observer collects, 

or requests assistance collecting, 

samples of oceanic whitetip shark in the 

Convention Area, as defined in 

§ 300.211 of this title and in accordance 

with § 300.226 of this title. 

■ 5. In § 665.813, revise paragraph (d) to 

read as follows: 

§ 665.813 Western Pacific longline fishing 

restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(d) A vessel registered for use under 

a Hawaii longline limited access permit 

may not have on board at any time 

during a trip for which notification to 

NMFS under § 665.803(a) indicated that 

deep-setting would be done, any float 

line less than 20 meters in length, 

longline gear with metal wire line 

within 1 meter of the hook, or any light 

stick. As used in this paragraph (d), 

‘‘float line’’ means a line used to 

suspend the main longline beneath a 

float, and ‘‘light stick’’ means any type 

of light emitting device, including any 

fluorescent ‘‘glow bead,’’ chemical, or 

electrically powered light that is affixed 

underwater to the longline gear. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–00910 Filed 1–18–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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