Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 83 /Thursday, April 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules 23711

Critical habitat is defined as the

specific areas within the geographical

area occupied by the species, on which

are found those physical and biological

features essential to the conservation of

the species and which may require

special management considerations or

protections (ESA section 3(5)(A)(i)).

Critical habitat shall not include the

entire geographical area occupied by the

species unless failure to designate such

areas would result in the extinction of

the species.

Proposed critical habitat for the

Central California Coast ESU

encompasses accessible reaches of all

rivers (including estuarine areas and

tributaries) between Punta Gorda and

the San Lorenzo River (inclusive) in

California. Also included are two rivers

entering San Francisco Bay: Mill Valley

Creek and Corte Madera Creek.

Proposed critical habitat for the

Southern Oregon/Northern California

Coast ESU encompasses accessible

reaches of all rivers (including estuarine

areas and tributaries) between the

Mattole River in California and the Elk

River in Oregon, inclusive.

The areas described in the proposed

rule represent the current freshwater

and estuarine range of the listed species.

Marine habitats are also vital to the

species and ocean conditions are

believed to have a major influence on

coho salmon survival. However, there

does not appear to be a need for special

management consideration or protection

of this habitat. Therefore, NMFS is not

proposing to designate critical habitat in

marine areas at this time. For both

ESUs, critical habitat includes all

waterways, substrate, and adjacent

riparian zones below longstanding,

naturally impassable barriers (i.e.,

natural waterfalls in existence for at

least several hundred years). NMFS has

identified twelve dams in the range of

these ESUs (see proposed rule) that

currently block access to habitats

historically occupied by coho salmon.

However, NMFS has not designated

these inaccessible areas as critical

habitat because areas downstream are

believed to be sufficient for the

conservation of the ESUs. The economic

and other impacts resulting from this

critical habitat designation are expected

to be minimal.

NMFS is soliciting information,

comments and/or recommendations on

any aspect of this proposal from all

concerned parties (see ADDRESSES);

comments must be received by June 10,

1998. In particular, NMFS is requesting

any data, maps, or reports describing

areas that currently or historically

supported coho salmon populations and

that may require special management

considerations. NMFS will consider all

information received before reaching a

final decision.

Date: April 24, 1998.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–11427 Filed 4–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 227 and 622

[I.D. 042298A]

Fisheries of the South Atlantic; Shrimp

Fishery of the South Atlantic;

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Request for information; notice

of public hearings.

SUMMARY: NMFS has received comments

from numerous fishermen, fishery

organizations, and the states of Georgia

and South Carolina recommending

consideration of a closure of Federal

waters offshore of Georgia and South

Carolina to shrimping at night. State

waters are currently closed at night, and

commenters believed that a nighttime

closure of Federal waters would reduce

the concentration and total amount of

fishing effort, and consequently would

reduce lethal sea turtle captures. NMFS

is requesting comments regarding the

fishery management and/or sea turtle

conservation benefits of closing all or

some portion of Federal and state

waters, off some or all of the South

Atlantic states (North Carolina, South

Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) to

shrimp trawling at night.

DATES: Written comments will be

accepted through June 29, 1998.

Hearings will be held in May (see

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION).

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be

submitted to the Chief, Endangered

Species Division, Office of Protected

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD. 20910.

Hearings will be held in North Carolina,

South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida

(see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles A. Oravetz, 813–570–5312, or

Barbara Schroeder, 301–713–1401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

NMFS amended the Sea Turtle

Conservation Measures through

rulemaking in 1996 to reduce sea turtle

mortalities associated with shrimping

by maximizing the effectiveness of

Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in

commercial use. During the comment

period associated with that rulemaking

effort, NMFS received comments

recommending various alternative

management measures to reduce shrimp

fishing effort, including prohibitions of

nighttime trawling. Although the final

rule did not incorporate measures

specifically intended to reduce shrimp

fishing effort, NMFS stated in the

responses to comments on the 1995

Advance Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking:

Prohibiting nighttime shrimping is a means

to reduce shrimp trawling effort and enhance

sea turtle protection, but NMFS does not

believe that it should be employed at this

time [April 1996]. In the Gulf of Mexico, the

major fisheries for pink and brown shrimp

are conducted mainly at night in deeper

waters, when the target species are active,

and nighttime closures would be

incompatible with these fisheries. Trawling

for white shrimp, on the other hand, is

mainly done during the day in nearshore

waters. Therefore, where white shrimp are

the primary target species, nighttime closures

may be compatible with operation of the

fishery. Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina

already have nighttime closures for

management of shrimp stocks in some

nearshore waters. A specific proposal was

received, which recommended that NMFS

coordinate with the States of Georgia and

South Carolina to implement nighttime

closures in Federal waters, concurrent with

nighttime closures in State waters.

Enforcement of closed areas would be greatly

enhanced by cooperating Federal action.

Coordinated state-Federal closures may also

be a boon to local, primarily daytime

shrimpers, by reducing the pressure to fish

round the clock. This proposal may provide

additional protection for sea turtles, and

NMFS will investigate further whether

closures in Federal waters offshore of Georgia

and South Carolina would be consistent with

State management goals and the interests of

local shrimpers.

The regulatory situation is different in

each South Atlantic state with respect to

nighttime closures. In Georgia’s

territorial waters, trawling is prohibited

from 8 p.m. eastern standard time to 5

a.m. eastern standard time. By

convention, the same times of the

closure also apply during Daylight

Time. In South Carolina, state waters are

closed to shrimp trawling between 9

p.m. and 5 a.m., from opening day

(usually around May 15) to September

15, and between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., from

September 16 to closing day (usually

around December 31). In Florida,
23712 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 83 /Thursday, April 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules

offshore waters are closed at night

between one half-hour after official

sunset to one half-hour before official

sunrise, except in June, July, and August

when the offshore waters do not close.

North Carolina does not presently have

any nighttime closure of its ocean

waters, although the Director of the

Division of Marine Fisheries has the

authority to set the hours of day for the

shrimping season by proclamation,

appropriate to the management of the

fishery.

Request for Comments

NMFS is inviting public comment and

seeking information to help determine

what, if any, nighttime closures should

be implemented under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act and/or Endangered

Species Act as a fishery management

tool, and/or to provide enhanced

protection to sea turtles. In particular,

NMFS wishes to receive quantitative

data, or other information, on the extent

of fishery effort reduction that would be

achieved under various closure

schemes. Information on the impacts,

positive and negative, on affected

fishermen as well as the conservation of

marine turtles is also specifically

requested. NMFS will conduct four

public hearings in the South Atlantic

states to solicit additional information.

The hearings are scheduled as

follows:

1. May 11, 1998, at 7 p.m., Bolivia, NC

2. May 12, 1998, at 7 p.m., Charleston,

SC

3. May 13, 1998, at 7 p.m., Brunswick,

GA

4. May 14, 1998, at 7 p.m., Atlantic

Beach, FL

The hearings will be held at the

following locations:

1. North Carolina Cooperative

Extension Service, Brunswick County

Government Center, Agriculture

Building, (Meeting Room), 25

Referendum Drive, Bolivia, NC 28422;

2. South Carolina Marine Resources

Research Institute, (Auditorium), 217

Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC

29412;

3. University of Georgia Marine

Extension Service Office, (Conference

room), 715 Bay Street, Brunswick, GA

31520; and

4. Mayport Elementary School,

(Cafeteria), 2753 Shangri-La Drive,

Atlantic Beach, FL 32233.

Special Accommodations

These hearings are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Charles A. Oravetz

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Dated: April 24, 1998.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–11426 Filed 4–28–98; 8:57 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 980331079–8079–01; I.D.

031198D]

RIN 0648–AK71

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish of the

Gulf of Alaska; Seasonal

Apportionments of Pollock

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; proposed

amendment to change seasonal

apportionments of pollock; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to change the

seasonal apportionment of the pollock

total allowable catch amount (TAC) in

the combined Western and Central (W/

C) Regulatory Areas of the Gulf of

Alaska (GOA) by moving 10 percent of

the TAC from the third fishing season,

which starts on September 1, to the

second fishing season, which starts on

June 1. This seasonal TAC shift is a

precautionary measure intended to

reduce the potential impacts on Steller

sea lions of pollock fishing under an

increased 1998 TAC by reducing the

percentage of the pollock TAC that is

available to the commercial fishery

during the fall and winter months, a

period that is critical to Steller sea lions.

This action is intended to promote the

conservation and management

objectives of the Fishery Management

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of

Alaska (FMP).

DATES: Comments must be received by

May 15, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed

rule must be sent to Sue Salveson,

Assistant Regional Administrator for

Sustainable Fisheries, Alaska Region,

NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK

99802, Attn: Lori J. Gravel. Copies of the

Environmental Assessment/Regulatory

Impact Review (EA/RIR) prepared for

this action may be obtained from the

same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent

Lind, 907–586–7228 or

kent.lind@noaa.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

groundfish fisheries in the exclusive

economic zone of the GOA are managed

by NMFS under the FMP. The FMP was

prepared by the North Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council) under

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). Regulations

governing the groundfish fisheries of the

GOA appear at 50 CFR part 600 and 50

CFR part 679.

Current groundfish regulations

apportion the pollock TAC in the W/C

Regulatory Areas among three statistical

areas—610 (Shumagin), 620 (Chirikof),

and 630 (Kodiak)—and divide the TAC

apportioned to each statistical area into

three seasonal allowances of 25 percent,

25 percent, and 50 percent of the TAC,

which become available on January 1,

June 1, and September 1, respectively.

The proposed rule would shift 10

percent of the TAC from the third to the

second season resulting in seasonal

allowances of 25 percent, 35 percent,

and 40 percent, respectively.

In December 1997, the Council

approved a 1998 pollock TAC of

119,150 metric tons (mt) for the W/C

Regulatory Areas of the GOA. This TAC

represents a 60 percent increase from

the 1997 pollock TAC of 74,400 mt. The

GOA Plan Team and the Council’s

Scientific and Statistical Committee

recommended the increased TAC based

on survey and fishery data indicating

increasing abundance and the presence

of a large 1994 year class. Despite the

projected increase in the pollock

biomass available in the GOA, NMFS

marine mammal biologists believe that

precautionary action is warranted to

shift increases in pollock fishing away

from the fall and winter months, which

are a critical feeding period for Steller

sea lions particularly juveniles and

adult females. Without action, 50

percent of the increased TAC would

become available to commercial fishing

during the September fishing season,

substantially increasing the amount of

fish that could be harvested in that

season and extending the fishery further

into that season, a time period

considered particularly critical to Steller

sea lions.

Current Status of Steller Sea Lions

NMFS has the authority to implement

regulations necessary to protect Steller

sea lions under the Endangered Species

Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal