23122 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

§ 217.8 Renewals and modifications of 

Letters of Authorization. 

(a) An LOA issued under §§ 216.106 

of this chapter and 217.7 for the activity 

identified in § 217.1(a) shall be renewed 

or modified upon request by the 

applicant, provided that: 

(1) The proposed specified activity 

and mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting measures, as well as the 

anticipated impacts, are the same as 

those described and analyzed for these 

regulations (excluding changes made 

pursuant to the adaptive management 

provision in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section), and 

(2) NMFS determines that the 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

measures required by the previous LOA 

under these regulations were 

implemented. 

(b) For an LOA modification or 

renewal requests by the applicant that 

include changes to the activity or the 

mitigation, monitoring, or reporting 

(excluding changes made pursuant to 

the adaptive management provision in 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section) that do 

not change the findings made for the 

regulations or result in no more than a 

minor change in the total estimated 

number of takes (or distribution by 

species or years), NMFS may publish a 

notice of proposed LOA in the Federal 

Register, including the associated 

analysis of the change, and solicit 

public comment before issuing the LOA. 

(c) An LOA issued under §§ 216.106 

of this chapter and 217.7 for the activity 

identified in § 217.1(a) may be modified 

by NMFS under the following 

circumstances: 

(1) Adaptive Management—NMFS 

may modify (including augment) the 

existing mitigation, monitoring, or 

reporting measures (after consulting 

with SCWA regarding the practicability 

of the modifications) if doing so creates 

a reasonable likelihood of more 

effectively accomplishing the goals of 

the mitigation and monitoring set forth 

in the preamble for these regulations. 

(i) Possible sources of data that could 

contribute to the decision to modify the 

mitigation, monitoring, or reporting 

measures in an LOA: 

(A) Results from SCWA’s monitoring 

from the previous year(s). 

(B) Results from other marine 

mammal and/or sound research or 

studies. 

(C) Any information that reveals 

marine mammals may have been taken 

in a manner, extent or number not 

authorized by these regulations or 

subsequent LOAs. 

(ii) If, through adaptive management, 

the modifications to the mitigation, 

monitoring, or reporting measures are 

substantial, NMFS will publish a notice 

of proposed LOA in the Federal 

Register and solicit public comment. 

(2) Emergencies—If NMFS determines 

that an emergency exists that poses a 

significant risk to the well-being of the 

species or stocks of marine mammals 

specified in LOAs issued pursuant to 

§§ 216.106 of this chapter and 217.7, an 

LOA may be modified without prior 

notice or opportunity for public 

comment. Notice would be published in 

the Federal Register within thirty days 

of the action. 

§ 217.9 [Reserved] 

§ 217.10 [Reserved] 

[FR Doc. 2022–08346 Filed 4–18–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 229 

[Docket No. 220412–0093] 

RIN 0648–BK40 

List of Fisheries for 2022 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its 

final List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2022, as 

required by the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA). The LOF for 

2022 reflects new information on 

interactions between commercial 

fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS 

must classify each commercial fishery 

on the LOF into one of three categories 

under the MMPA based upon the level 

of mortality and serious injury of marine 

mammals that occurs incidental to each 

fishery. The classification of a fishery on 

the LOF determines whether 

participants in that fishery are subject to 

certain provisions of the MMPA, such as 

registration, observer coverage, and take 

reduction plan (TRP) requirements. 

DATES: The effective date of this final 

rule is May 19, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Chief, Marine Mammal and 

Sea Turtle Conservation Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jaclyn Taylor, Office of Protected 

Resources, 301–427–8402; Allison 

Rosner, Greater Atlantic Region, 978– 

281–9328; Jessica Powell, Southeast 

Region, 727–824–5312; Dan Lawson, 

West Coast Region, 206–526–4740; 

Suzie Teerlink, Alaska Region, 907– 

586–7240; Diana Kramer, Pacific Islands 

Region, 808–725–5167. Individuals who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

hearing impaired may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service at 1–800– 

877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. 

Eastern time, Monday through Friday, 

excluding Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

What is the List of Fisheries? 

Section 118 of the MMPA requires 

NMFS to place all U.S. commercial 

fisheries into one of three categories 

based on the level of incidental 

mortality and serious injury of marine 

mammals occurring in each fishery (16 

U.S.C. 1387(c)(1)). The classification of 

a fishery on the LOF determines 

whether participants in that fishery may 

be required to comply with certain 

provisions of the MMPA, such as 

registration, observer coverage, and take 

reduction plan requirements. NMFS 

must reexamine the LOF annually, 

considering new information in the 

Marine Mammal Stock Assessment 

Reports (SARs) and other relevant 

sources, and publish in the Federal 

Register any necessary changes to the 

LOF after notice and opportunity for 

public comment (16 U.S.C. 1387 

(c)(1)(C)). 

How does NMFS determine in which 

category a fishery is placed? 

The definitions for the fishery 

classification criteria can be found in 

the implementing regulations for section 

118 of the MMPA (50 CFR 229.2). The 

criteria are also summarized here. 

Fishery Classification Criteria 

The fishery classification criteria 

consist of a two-tiered, stock-specific 

approach that first addresses the total 

impact of all fisheries on each marine 

mammal stock and then addresses the 

impact of individual fisheries on each 

stock. This approach is based on 

consideration of the rate, in numbers of 

animals per year, of incidental 

mortalities and serious injuries of 

marine mammals due to commercial 

fishing operations relative to the 

potential biological removal (PBR) level 

for each marine mammal stock. The 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1362 (20)) defines the 

PBR level 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. This 


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definition can also be found in the 

implementing regulations for section 

118 of the MMPA (50 CFR 229.2). 

Tier 1: Tier 1 considers the 

cumulative fishery mortality and serious 

injury for a particular stock. If the total 

annual mortality and serious injury of a 

marine mammal stock, across all 

fisheries, is less than or equal to 10 

percent of the PBR level of the stock, all 

fisheries interacting with the stock will 

be placed in Category III (unless those 

fisheries interact with other stock(s) for 

which total annual mortality and 

serious injury is greater than 10 percent 

of PBR). Otherwise, these fisheries are 

subject to the next tier (Tier 2) of 

analysis to determine their 

classification. 

Tier 2: Tier 2 considers fisheryspecific mortality and serious injury for 

a particular stock. 

Category I: Annual mortality and 

serious injury of a stock in a given 

fishery is greater than or equal to 50 

percent of the PBR level (i.e., frequent 

incidental mortality and serious injury 

of marine mammals). 

Category II: Annual mortality and 

serious injury of a stock in a given 

fishery is greater than 1 percent and less 

than 50 percent of the PBR level (i.e., 

occasional incidental mortality and 

serious injury of marine mammals). 

Category III: Annual mortality and 

serious injury of a stock in a given 

fishery is less than or equal to 1 percent 

of the PBR level (i.e., a remote 

likelihood of or no known incidental 

mortality and serious injury of marine 

mammals). 

Additional details regarding how the 

categories were determined are 

provided in the preamble to the final 

rule implementing section 118 of the 

MMPA (60 FR 45086; August 30, 1995). 

Because fisheries are classified on a 

per-stock basis, a fishery may qualify as 

one category for one marine mammal 

stock and another category for a 

different marine mammal stock. A 

fishery is typically classified on the LOF 

at its highest level of classification (e.g., 

a fishery qualifying for Category III for 

one marine mammal stock and for 

Category II for another marine mammal 

stock will be listed under Category II). 

Stocks driving a fishery’s classification 

are denoted with a superscript ‘‘1’’ in 

Tables 1 and 2. 

Other Criteria That May Be Considered 

The tier analysis requires a minimum 

amount of data, and NMFS does not 

have sufficient data to perform a tier 

analysis on certain fisheries. Therefore, 

NMFS has classified certain fisheries by 

analogy to other fisheries that use 

similar fishing techniques or gear that 

are known to cause mortality or serious 

injury of marine mammals, or according 

to factors discussed in the final LOF for 

1996 (60 FR 67063; December 28, 1995) 

and listed in the regulatory definition of 

a Category II fishery. In the absence of 

reliable information indicating the 

frequency of incidental mortality and 

serious injury of marine mammals by a 

commercial fishery, NMFS will 

determine whether the incidental 

mortality or serious injury is 

‘‘occasional’’ by evaluating other factors 

such as fishing techniques, gear used, 

methods used to deter marine mammals, 

target species, seasons and areas fished, 

qualitative data from logbooks or 

fishermen reports, stranding data, and 

the species and distribution of marine 

mammals in the area, or at the 

discretion of the Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries (50 CFR 

229.2). 

Further, eligible commercial fisheries 

not specifically identified on the LOF 

are deemed to be Category II fisheries 

until the next LOF is published (50 CFR 

229.2). 

How does NMFS determine which 

species or stocks are included as 

incidentally killed or injured in a 

fishery? 

The LOF includes a list of marine 

mammal species and/or stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in each 

commercial fishery. The list of species 

and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured includes ‘‘serious’’ and ‘‘nonserious’’ documented injuries as 

described later in the List of Species 

and/or Stocks Incidentally Killed or 

Injured in the Pacific Ocean and List of 

Species and/or Stocks Incidentally 

Killed or Injured in the Atlantic Ocean, 

Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean sections. 

To determine which species or stocks 

are included as incidentally killed or 

injured in a fishery, NMFS annually 

reviews the information presented in 

the current SARs and injury 

determination reports. SARs are brief 

reports summarizing the status of each 

stock of marine mammals occurring in 

waters under U.S. jurisdiction, 

including information on the identity 

and geographic range of the stock, 

population statistics related to 

abundance, trend, and annual 

productivity, notable habitat concerns, 

and estimates of human-caused 

mortality and serious injury (M/SI) by 

source. The SARs are based upon the 

best available scientific information and 

provide the most current and inclusive 

information on each stock’s PBR level 

and level of interaction with 

commercial fishing operations. The best 

available scientific information used in 

the SARs and reviewed for the 2022 

LOF generally summarizes data from 

2014–2018. NMFS also reviews other 

sources of new information, including 

injury determination reports, bycatch 

estimation reports, observer data, 

logbook data, stranding data, 

disentanglement network data, 

fishermen self-reports (i.e., MMPA 

mortality/injury reports), and anecdotal 

reports from that time period. In some 

cases, more recent information may be 

available and used in the LOF. 

For fisheries with observer coverage, 

species or stocks are generally removed 

from the list of marine mammal species 

and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured if no interactions are 

documented in the 5-year timeframe 

summarized in that year’s LOF. For 

fisheries with no observer coverage and 

for observed fisheries with evidence 

indicating that undocumented 

interactions may be occurring (e.g., 

fishery has low observer coverage and 

stranding network data include 

evidence of fisheries interactions that 

cannot be attributed to a specific 

fishery) species and stocks may be 

retained for longer than 5 years. For 

these fisheries, NMFS will review the 

other sources of information listed 

above and use its discretion to decide 

when it is appropriate to remove a 

species or stock. 

Where does NMFS obtain information 

on the level of observer coverage in a 

fishery on the LOF? 

The best available information on the 

level of observer coverage and the 

spatial and temporal distribution of 

observed marine mammal interactions is 

presented in the SARs. Data obtained 

from the observer program and observer 

coverage levels are important tools in 

estimating the level of marine mammal 

mortality and serious injury in 

commercial fishing operations. Starting 

with the 2005 SARs, each Pacific and 

Alaska SAR includes an appendix with 

detailed descriptions of each Category I 

and II fishery on the LOF, including the 

observer coverage in those fisheries. For 

Atlantic fisheries, this information can 

be found in the LOF Fishery Fact 

Sheets. The SARs do not provide 

detailed information on observer 

coverage in Category III fisheries 

because, under the MMPA, Category III 

fisheries are not required to 

accommodate observers aboard vessels 

due to the remote likelihood of 

mortality and serious injury of marine 

mammals. Fishery information 

presented in the SARs’ appendices and 

other resources referenced during the 

tier analysis may include: Level of 

observer coverage; target species; levels 


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of fishing effort; spatial and temporal 

distribution of fishing effort; 

characteristics of fishing gear and 

operations; management and 

regulations; and interactions with 

marine mammals. Copies of the SARs 

are available on the NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources website at: https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-stock-assessment-reportsregion. Information on observer 

coverage levels in Category I, II, and III 

fisheries can be found in the fishery fact 

sheets on the NMFS Office of Protected 

Resources’ website: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/listfisheries-summary-tables. Additional 

information on observer programs in 

commercial fisheries can be found on 

the NMFS National Observer Program’s 

website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

national/fisheries-observers/nationalobserver-program. 

How do I find out if a specific fishery 

is in Category I, II, or III? 

The LOF includes three tables that list 

all U.S. commercial fisheries by 

Category. Table 1 lists all of the 

commercial fisheries in the Pacific 

Ocean (including Alaska); Table 2 lists 

all of the commercial fisheries in the 

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and 

Caribbean; and Table 3 lists all U.S. 

authorized commercial fisheries on the 

high seas. A fourth table, Table 4, lists 

all commercial fisheries managed under 

applicable TRPs or take reduction teams 

(TRT). 

Are high seas fisheries included on the 

LOF? 

Beginning with the 2009 LOF, NMFS 

includes high seas fisheries in Table 3 

of the LOF, along with the number of 

valid High Seas Fishing Compliance Act 

(HSFCA) permits in each fishery. As of 

2004, NMFS issues HSFCA permits only 

for high seas fisheries analyzed in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The 

authorized high seas fisheries are broad 

in scope and encompass multiple 

specific fisheries identified by gear type. 

For the purposes of the LOF, the high 

seas fisheries are subdivided based on 

gear type (e.g., trawl, longline, purse 

seine, gillnet, troll, etc.) to provide more 

detail on composition of effort within 

these fisheries. Many fisheries operate 

in both U.S. waters and on the high 

seas, creating some overlap between the 

fisheries listed in Tables 1 and 2 and 

those in Table 3. In these cases, the high 

seas component of the fishery is not 

considered a separate fishery, but an 

extension of a fishery operating within 

U.S. waters (listed in Table 1 or 2). 

NMFS designates those fisheries in 

Tables 1, 2, and 3 with an asterisk (*) 

after the fishery’s name. The number of 

HSFCA permits listed in Table 3 for the 

high seas components of these fisheries 

operating in U.S. waters does not 

necessarily represent additional effort 

that is not accounted for in Tables 1 and 

2. Many vessels/participants holding 

HSFCA permits also fish within U.S. 

waters and are included in the number 

of vessels and participants operating 

within those fisheries in Tables 1 and 2. 

HSFCA permits are valid for 5 years, 

during which time Fishery Management 

Plans (FMPs) can change. Therefore, 

some vessels/participants may possess 

valid HSFCA permits without the ability 

to fish under the permit because it was 

issued for a gear type that is no longer 

authorized under the most current FMP. 

For this reason, the number of HSFCA 

permits displayed in Table 3 is likely 

higher than the actual U.S. fishing effort 

on the high seas. For more information 

on how NMFS classifies high seas 

fisheries on the LOF, see the preamble 

text in the final 2009 LOF (73 FR 73032; 

December 1, 2008). Additional 

information about HSFCA permits can 

be found at https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/permit/high-seas-fishingpermits. 

Where can I find specific information 

on fisheries listed on the LOF? 

Starting with the 2010 LOF, NMFS 

developed summary documents, or 

fishery fact sheets, for each Category I 

and II fishery on the LOF. These fishery 

fact sheets provide the full history of 

each Category I and II fishery, including: 

When the fishery was added to the LOF; 

the basis for the fishery’s initial 

classification; classification changes to 

the fishery; changes to the list of species 

and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the fishery; fishery gear and 

methods used; observer coverage levels; 

fishery management and regulation; and 

applicable TRPs or TRTs, if any. These 

fishery fact sheets are updated after each 

final LOF and can be found under ‘‘How 

Do I Find Out if a Specific Fishery is in 

Category I, II, or III?’’ on the NMFS 

Office of Protected Resources’ website: 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

marine-mammal-protection-act-listfisheries, linked to the ‘‘List of Fisheries 

Summary’’ table. NMFS is developing 

similar fishery fact sheets for each 

Category III fishery on the LOF. 

However, due to the large number of 

Category III fisheries on the LOF and the 

lack of accessible and detailed 

information on many of these fisheries, 

the development of these fishery fact 

sheets is taking significant time to 

complete. NMFS began posting Category 

III fishery fact sheets online with the 

LOF for 2016. 

Am I required to register under the 

MMPA? 

Owners of vessels or gear engaging in 

a Category I or II fishery are required 

under the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1387(c)(2)), 

as described in 50 CFR 229.4, to register 

with NMFS and obtain a marine 

mammal authorization to lawfully take 

non-endangered and non-threatened 

marine mammals incidental to 

commercial fishing operations. Owners 

of vessels or gear engaged in a Category 

III fishery are not required to register 

with NMFS or obtain a marine mammal 

authorization. 

How do I register, renew and receive 

my Marine Mammal Authorization 

Program authorization certificate? 

NMFS has integrated the MMPA 

registration process, implemented 

through the Marine Mammal 

Authorization Program (MMAP), with 

existing state and Federal fishery 

license, registration, or permit systems 

for Category I and II fisheries on the 

LOF. Participants in these fisheries are 

automatically registered under the 

MMAP and are not required to submit 

registration or renewal materials. 

In the Pacific Islands, West Coast, and 

Alaska regions, NMFS will issue vessel 

or gear owners an authorization 

certificate via U.S. mail or with their 

state or Federal license or permit at the 

time of issuance or renewal. In the 

Greater Atlantic and Southeast Regions, 

NMFS will issue vessel or gear owners 

an authorization certificate via U.S. mail 

automatically at the beginning of each 

calendar year. 

Vessel or gear owners who participate 

in fisheries in these regions and have 

not received authorization certificates 

by the beginning of the calendar year, or 

with renewed fishing licenses, must 

contact the appropriate NMFS Regional 

Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT). Authorization certificates 

may also be obtained by visiting the 

MMAP website https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/national/marine-mammalprotection/marine-mammalauthorization-program#obtaining-amarine-mammal-authorizationcertificate. 

The authorization certificate, or a 

copy, must be on board the vessel while 

it is operating in a Category I or II 

fishery, or for non-vessel fisheries, in 

the possession of the person in charge 

of the fishing operation (50 CFR 

229.4(e)). Although efforts are made to 


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limit the issuance of authorization 

certificates to only those vessel or gear 

owners that participate in Category I or 

II fisheries, not all state and Federal 

license or permit systems distinguish 

between fisheries as classified by the 

LOF. Therefore, some vessel or gear 

owners in Category III fisheries may 

receive authorization certificates even 

though they are not required for 

Category III fisheries. 

Individuals fishing in Category I and 

II fisheries for which no state or Federal 

license or permit is required must 

register with NMFS by contacting their 

appropriate Regional Office (see 

ADDRESSES). 

In recognition of logistical challenges 

with certificate issuance related to the 

ongoing COVID–19 pandemic, the 

MMAP certificate issued in 2020 

remains in effect, valid through 

December 31, 2022, for vessel or gear 

owners participating in all Category I 

and II fisheries as of the final 2022 LOF. 

2020 certificates may be retained or 

replacements downloaded from https:// 

go.usa.gov/xArUW. 

Am I required to submit reports when 

I kill or injure a marine mammal 

during the course of commercial fishing 

operations? 

In accordance with the MMPA (16 

U.S.C. 1387(e)) and 50 CFR 229.6, any 

vessel owner or operator, or gear owner 

or operator (in the case of non-vessel 

fisheries), participating in a fishery 

listed on the LOF must report to NMFS 

all incidental mortalities and injuries of 

marine mammals that occur during 

commercial fishing operations, 

regardless of the category in which the 

fishery is placed (I, II, or III) within 48 

hours of the end of the fishing trip or, 

in the case of non-vessel fisheries, 

fishing activity. ‘‘Injury’’ is defined in 

50 CFR 229.2 as a wound or other 

physical harm. In addition, any animal 

that ingests fishing gear or any animal 

that is released with fishing gear 

entangling, trailing, or perforating any 

part of the body is considered injured, 

regardless of the presence of any wound 

or other evidence of injury, and must be 

reported. 

Mortality/injury reporting forms and 

instructions for submitting forms to 

NMFS can be found at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-authorizationprogram#reporting-a-death-or-injury-ofa-marine-mammal-during-commercialfishing-operations or by contacting the 

appropriate regional office (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Forms 

may be submitted via any of the 

following means: (1) Online using the 

electronic form; (2) emailed as an 

attachment to nmfs.mireport@noaa.gov; 

(3) faxed to the NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources at 301–713–0376; 

or (4) mailed to the NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources (mailing address is 

provided on the postage-paid form that 

can be printed from the web address 

listed above). Reporting requirements 

and procedures are found in 50 CFR 

229.6. 

Am I required to take an observer 

aboard my vessel? 

Individuals participating in a 

Category I or II fishery are required to 

accommodate an observer aboard their 

vessel(s) upon request from NMFS. 

MMPA section 118 states that the 

Secretary is not required to place an 

observer on a vessel if the facilities for 

quartering an observer or performing 

observer functions are so inadequate or 

unsafe that the health or safety of the 

observer or the safe operation of the 

vessel would be jeopardized; thereby 

authorizing the exemption of vessels too 

small to safely accommodate an 

observer from this requirement. 

However, U.S. Atlantic Ocean, 

Caribbean, or Gulf of Mexico large 

pelagics longline vessels operating in 

special areas designated by the Pelagic 

Longline Take Reduction Plan 

implementing regulations (50 CFR 

229.36(d)) will not be exempted from 

observer requirements, regardless of 

their size. Observer requirements are 

found in 50 CFR 229.7. 

Am I required to comply with any 

marine mammal TRP regulations? 

Table 4 provides a list of fisheries 

affected by TRPs and TRTs. TRP 

regulations are found at 50 CFR 229.30 

through 229.37. A description of each 

TRT and copies of each TRP can be 

found at: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/national/marine-mammalprotection/marine-mammal-takereduction-plans-and-teams. It is the 

responsibility of fishery participants to 

comply with applicable take reduction 

regulations. 

Where can I find more information 

about the LOF and the MMAP? 

Information regarding the LOF and 

the MMAP, including registration 

procedures and forms; current and past 

LOFs; descriptions of each Category I 

and II fishery and some Category III 

fisheries; observer requirements; and 

marine mammal mortality/injury 

reporting forms and submittal 

procedures; may be obtained at: https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-protection-act-list-fisheries, or 

from any NMFS Regional Office at the 

addresses listed below: 

NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional 

Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930–2298, 

Attn: Allison Rosner; 

NMFS, Southeast Region, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, 

Attn: Jessica Powell; 

NMFS, West Coast Region, Long 

Beach Office, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 

4200, Long Beach, CA 90802–4213, 

Attn: Dan Lawson; 

NMFS, Alaska Region, Protected 

Resources, P.O. Box 22668, 709 West 

9th Street, Juneau, AK 99802, Attn: 

Suzie Teerlink; or 

NMFS, Pacific Islands Regional 

Office, Protected Resources Division, 

1845 Wasp Blvd., Building 176, 

Honolulu, HI 96818, Attn: Diana 

Kramer. 

Sources of Information Reviewed for 

the 2022 LOF 

NMFS reviewed the marine mammal 

incidental mortality and serious injury 

information presented in the SARs for 

all fisheries to determine whether 

changes in fishery classification are 

warranted. The SARs are based on the 

best scientific information available at 

the time of preparation, including the 

level of mortality and serious injury of 

marine mammals that occurs incidental 

to commercial fishery operations and 

the PBR levels of marine mammal 

stocks. The information contained in the 

SARs is reviewed by regional Scientific 

Review Groups (SRGs) representing 

Alaska, the Pacific (including Hawaii), 

and the U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, 

and Caribbean. The SRGs were 

established by the MMPA to review the 

science that informs the SARs, and to 

advise NMFS on marine mammal 

population status, trends, and stock 

structure, uncertainties in the science, 

research needs, and other issues. 

NMFS also reviewed other sources of 

new information, including marine 

mammal stranding and entanglement 

data, observer program data, fishermen 

self-reports, reports to the SRGs, 

conference papers, FMPs, and ESA 

documents. 

The LOF for 2022 was based on, 

among other things, stranding data; 

fishermen self-reports; and SARs, 

primarily the 2020 SARs, which are 

based on data from 2014–2018. The 

SARs referenced in this LOF include: 

2018 (84 FR 28489; June 19, 2019), 2019 

(84 FR 65353; November 27, 2019), and 

2020 (86 FR 38991; July 23, 2021). The 

SARs are available at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

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mammal-stock-assessment-reportsregion. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS received eight comment letters 

on the proposed LOF for 2022 (86 FR 

43491; August 9, 2021). Comments were 

received from a member of the public; 

Center for Biological Diversity (CBD); 

Maine Department of Marine Resources 

(ME DMR), Maine Lobstermen’s 

Association (MLA); Marine Mammal 

Commission (Commission); 

Massachusetts Lobstermen’s 

Association; New England Aquarium; 

and a joint letter from Conservation Law 

Foundation, CBD, Defenders of Wildlife, 

and Whale and Dolphin Conservation 

(CLF et al.). Responses to substantive 

comments are below. Comments on 

actions not related to the LOF are not 

included. 

General Comments 

Comment 1: The New England 

Aquarium recommends NMFS classify 

aquaculture operations on the LOF by 

gear, similar to how capture fisheries are 

included on the LOF. They note that 

shellfish aquaculture includes a range of 

operations from seed collection lines to 

grow-out systems. All aquaculture 

operations and their associated gear 

have varying degrees of risk to marine 

mammals and should be considered 

separately on the LOF. 

Response: NMFS thanks the 

commenter for providing this 

information on various aquaculture 

operations. NMFS will review the 

information provided and consider it in 

future LOFs. For fishery classification 

changes related to aquaculture on the 

LOF, NMFS would provide notice and 

the opportunity for public comment. 

Comment 2: The New England 

Aquarium recommends that NMFS 

classify by analogy aquaculture 

operations that use gear with static lines 

in the water. They state that these 

operations are similar to gear used in 

fixed-gear fisheries known to result in 

the M/SI of North Atlantic right whales. 

They also note that NMFS has classified 

several fisheries as Category II by 

analogy that have no documented 

marine mammal M/SI. Therefore, the 

New England Aquarium requests NMFS 

classify aquaculture operations with 

static lines that are analogous to 

Category I and II fixed-gear fisheries as 

Category II fisheries on the LOF. 

Response: NMFS has classified 

fisheries by analogy on the LOF that use 

similar fishing techniques or gear that 

are known to cause M/SI of marine 

mammals. Fishery classification by 

analogy was discussed in the final LOF 

for 1996 (60 FR 67063; December 28, 

1995), and the factors for classifying by 

analogy are listed in the regulatory 

definition of a ‘‘Category II fishery’’ in 

50 CFR 229.2. NMFS will review the 

information provided by the New 

England Aquarium and consider it in a 

future LOF. For fishery classification 

changes related to aquaculture on the 

LOF, NMFS would provide notice and 

the opportunity for public comment. 

Comments on Commercial Fisheries in 

the Pacific Ocean 

Comment 3: CBD recommends NMFS 

reclassify the Category III AK Bering 

Sea, Aleutian Islands (BSAI) sablefish 

pot fishery as Category II fishery. They 

note that NMFS proposed to add the 

North Pacific stock of sperm whale to 

the list of species/stocks incidentally 

killed or injured based on the 2018 

observed mortality. PBR for this stock is 

0.5, and the annual estimated M/SI for 

the AK BSAI sablefish pot fishery is 0.2. 

This fishery should be reclassified as a 

Category II fishery. 

Response: NMFS evaluated the 2018 

sperm whale mortality in the Category 

III AK BSAI sablefish pot fishery and 

retains the Category III classification for 

this fishery. The Nmin is for only a 

small portion of the stock’s range and 

does not account for females and 

juveniles in tropical and subtropical 

waters, so the calculated PBR is not a 

reliable index for the entire stock. 

Furthermore, incidental take of sperm 

whales in fisheries is generally 

associated with sperm whales 

depredating from fishing gear. 

Depredation occurs less often with pot 

gear, which has been a major factor in 

sablefish fishers switching from longline 

to pot fishing. NMFS will continue to 

closely monitor the M/SI of this stock in 

the Category III AK BSAI sablefish pot 

fishery and other fisheries. 

Comment 4: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS retain several 

species/stocks on the LOF that were 

proposed to be removed from the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in fisheries in Tables 1, 2 and 3. 

They state that list of species/stocks is 

intended to identify all species and 

stocks that are known to have been 

incidentally killed or injured in a 

fishery, and data from more than the 

most recent 5-year time period should 

be used. The Commission continues to 

note that the list should not just be 

limited to species or stocks with 

observed M/SI, since observers are 

unable to detect all marine mammal 

mortalities and injuries. The 

Commissions recommends NMFS retain 

on the following species and stocks 

LOF: 

• Five stocks in the Category I HI 

deep-set longline fishery: (1) Pelagic 

stock of bottlenose dolphin, (2) Hawaii 

stock of Kogia spp., (3) Hawaii stock of 

pygmy killer whale, (4) Hawaii stock of 

Risso’s dolphin and (5) Hawaii stock of 

striped dolphin. 

• Six stocks in the Category II HI 

shallow-set longline fishery: (1) Hawaii 

stock of Blainville’s beaked whale, (2) 

Hawaii pelagic stock of bottlenose 

dolphin, (3) Central North Pacific stock 

of humpback whale, (4) Hawaii stock of 

Risso’s dolphin, (5) Hawaii stock of 

rough-toothed dolphin and (6) Hawaii 

stock of striped dolphin. 

• Six stocks in the Category II AK 

Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands pollock 

trawl fishery: (1) Alaska stock of 

bearded seal, (2), Bristol Bay stock of 

beluga whale, (3) Eastern Bering Sea 

stock of beluga whale, (4) Eastern 

Chukchi Sea stock of beluga whale, (5) 

Eastern Pacific stock of Northern fur 

seal and (6) Alaska stock of spotted seal. 

• Alaska resident stock of killer 

whale in the Category III AK Bering Sea, 

Aleutian Islands Greenland turbot 

longline fishery. 

• Alaska stock of spotted seal in the 

Category III AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands Pacific cod longline fishery. 

• Alaska stock of bearded seal in the 

Category III AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands Atka mackerel trawl fishery. 

• Both the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian 

Islands, Bering Sea transient stock and 

Eastern North Pacific Alaska resident 

stock of killer in the Category III AK 

Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands rockfish 

trawl fishery. 

• North Pacific stock of Northern 

elephant in the Category III AK Gulf of 

Alaska flatfish trawl fishery. 

• Alaska stock of harbor seal in the 

Category III AK Gulf of Alaska Pacific 

cod trawl fishery. 

• Three stocks in the Category III AK 

Gulf of Alaska pollock trawl fishery: (1) 

Alaska stock of Dall’s porpoise, (2) 

Northeast Pacific stock of fin whale and 

(3) North Pacific stock of Northern 

elephant seal. 

• Gulf of Alaska stock of harbor seal 

in the Category III AK Gulf of Alaska 

Pacific cod pot fishery. 

• Northeast Pacific stock of fin whale 

in the Category III AK Gulf of Alaska 

groundfish jig fishery. 

• Central North Pacific stock of 

humpback whale and Hawaii stock of 

pygmy killer whale in the Category I 

Western Pacific Pelagic longline fishery 

(HI deep-set component). 

• Three stocks in the Category II 

Western Pacific Pelagic longline fishery 

(HI shallow-set component): (1) Hawaii 

stock of Blainville’s beaked whale, (2) 

unknown stock of Mesoplodon species, 


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and (3) Hawaii stock of rough-toothed 

dolphin. 

Response: For fisheries with observer 

coverage, species or stocks are generally 

removed from the list of marine 

mammal species and/or stocks 

incidentally killed or injured if no 

mortalities or injuries are documented 

in the 5-year timeframe summarized in 

that year’s LOF. For fisheries with no 

observer coverage and for observed 

fisheries with evidence indicating that 

undocumented mortalities or injuries 

may be occurring (e.g., fishery has low 

observer coverage and stranding 

network data include evidence of 

fisheries interactions that cannot be 

attributed to a specific fishery) species 

and stocks may be retained for longer 

than 5 years. For these fisheries, NMFS 

reviews the other sources of information 

to determine when it is appropriate to 

remove a species or stock. 

NMFS disagrees with the 

Commission’s recommendation to retain 

species/stocks in the Alaska fisheries 

noted above. All the named Alaska 

fisheries except for the AK Gulf of 

Alaska groundfish jig fishery are 

observed. As proposed in the 2022 LOF 

(86 FR 43491; August 9, 2021), NMFS 

removes the species/stocks from the list 

of species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in each Alaska fishery noted in 

the above comment by the Commission. 

The Hawaii shallow-set and deep-set 

longline fisheries are observed with 100 

percent and 20 percent observer 

coverage, respectively. Therefore, unless 

evidence suggested additional M/SI, 

NMFS removes species with no 

documented mortality or injuries in the 

5-year timeframe considered for the 

2022 LOF. 

NMFS disagrees with the Commission 

and removes the following species/ 

stocks from the list of species/stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in 

fisheries noted below. 

NMFS removes the Hawaii stock of 

pygmy killer whale from the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category I HI deep-set 

longline fishery and Category I Western 

Pacific Pelagic (HI deep-set component) 

fishery, as no reported or observed 

mortalities or injuries have occurred 

since 2013. 

NMFS removes the Hawaii stocks of 

Blainville’s beaked whale and roughtoothed dolphin from the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category II HI shallow-set longline 

fishery and Category II Western Pacific 

Pelagic (HI shallow-set component) 

fishery. The shallow-set longline fishery 

is observed at 100 percent, and there 

have been no observed M/SI either 

species since 2011 (Blainville’s beaked 

whale) and 2013 (rough-toothed 

dolphin). 

NMFS also removes the unknown 

stock of Mesoplodon species from the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the Category II Western 

Pacific Pelagic (HI shallow-set 

component) fishery. There have been no 

observed M/SI of this stock since 2013. 

NMFS agrees with the Commission’s 

recommendations and retains the 

following the species/stocks on the list 

of species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in fisheries noted below. 

NMFS retains the following four 

stocks on the list of species/stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in the 

Category I HI deep-set longline fishery: 

(1) Pelagic stock of bottlenose dolphin, 

(2) Hawaii stock of Kogia spp., (3) 

Hawaii stock of Risso’s dolphin and (4) 

Hawaii stock of striped dolphin. These 

stocks are included on the list of species 

and/or stocks killed or injured in the 

high seas component (Category I 

Western Pacific Pelagic (HI deep-set 

component) fishery) and are retained on 

Category I HI deep-set longline fishery. 

NMFS also retains the Central North 

Pacific stock of humpback whale on the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the Category I Western 

Pacific Pelagic (HI deep-set component) 

fishery. This stock is included on the 

list of species and/or stocks killed or 

injured Category I HI deep-set longline 

fishery and therefore retained in the 

high seas component (Category I 

Western Pacific Pelagic (HI deep-set 

component) fishery). 

NMFS retains four stocks on the list 

of species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category II HI shallow-set 

longline fishery: (1) Hawaii pelagic 

stock of bottlenose dolphin, (2) Central 

North Pacific stock of humpback whale, 

(3) Hawaii stock of Risso’s dolphin and 

(4) Hawaii stock of striped dolphin. 

These stocks are included on the list of 

species and/or stocks killed or injured 

in the high seas component (Category II 

Western Pacific Pelagic (HI shallow-set 

component)) fishery and therefore 

retained on Category II HI shallow-set 

longline fishery. 

Comment 5: The New England 

Aquarium states that the LOF does not 

include any marine mammal species/ 

stocks in the list of species/stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in the 

Category III Hawaii offshore pen culture 

fishery. They note the 2020 Hawaiian 

monk seal SAR reports a mortality in an 

offshore net pen in 2017. The New 

England Aquarium recommends NMFS 

add Hawaiian monk seal to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III Hawaii 

offshore pen culture fishery based on 

this mortality. 

Response: NMFS agrees with the New 

England Aquarium’s comment. The 

2020 SAR includes a Hawaiian monk 

seal mortality in an offshore net pen in 

2017 (Carretta et al., 2021). NMFS adds 

Hawaiian monk seal to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III HI offshore 

pen culture fishery. 

Comment 6: CBD recommends that 

Hawaiian monk seals be added to the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the following Category III 

Hawaii nearshore gillnet and hook and 

line fisheries: (1) HI inshore gillnet, (2) 

HI lift net, (3) HI inshore purse seine, (4) 

HI throw net/cast net, (5) HI troll, (6) HI 

rod and reel, (7) HI kaka line, (8) HI 

vertical line, (9) HI aku boat, pole and 

line, (10) HI inshore handline and (11) 

HI pelagic handline. They note that the 

2020 SAR includes an annual estimated 

average M/SI of 7.2 in Hawaii nearshore 

fisheries and PBR is 4.8 seals. However, 

the LOF does not include documented 

Hawaiian monk seal M/SI in the Hawaii 

nearshore fisheries. 

Response: In the 2020 SAR, although 

monk seals M/SI are identified from 

nearshore fishing gear, including hook 

and line and net fishing gear, this gear 

has not been identified as commercial 

fisheries gear. It is unknown as to 

whether the gear is commercial, 

recreational, or illegally set gear. In 

some cases of M/SI from entanglement 

in fishing nets, the nets were identified 

or suspected to be illegally set nets, and 

none have been specifically identified 

as commercial fishing nets. Because 

cases of monk seal M/SI from hookings 

and entanglements in nearshore fishing 

gear cannot be attributed to specific 

commercial nearshore fisheries, 

Hawaiian monk seals are not included 

as species incidentally killed or injured 

in these nearshore fisheries. Hawaiian 

monk seals have been added to the list 

of species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III HI offshore 

pen culture fishery. 

Comment 7: The Commission restates 

a previous comment, recommending 

NMFS reclassify the Category III Hawaii 

troll fishery as a Category II fishery 

based on documented spotted dolphin 

hooking and entanglement serious 

injuries. They note they disagree with 

NMFS’ conclusion to not reclassify the 

Category III Hawaii troll fishery on the 

2021 LOF (86 FR 3028; January 14, 

2021). The Commission considers the 

information presented in Baird and 

Webster (2020), coupled with anecdotal 

reports of dolphins being entangled or 

hooked in gear used in this fishery, to 

be sufficient to reclassify the fishery. 


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The Commission recommends NMFS 

reclassify the Category III Hawaii troll 

fishery as a Category II fishery, based on 

observations that troll fishermen are 

intentionally setting hook and line gear 

in and around groups of spotted 

dolphins as a means for targeting tuna, 

resulting in, M/SI occurring at an 

occasional level. They continue to 

recommend that if NMFS determines 

reclassification is not warranted, that 

NMFS quantify the marine mammal M/ 

SI in the Hawaii troll fishery through a 

dedicated observer program or 

alternative monitoring such as 

electronic monitoring or remote 

observers. 

Response: This comment has been 

addressed previously (see 86 FR 3028; 

January 14, 2021). A fishery is classified 

as Category II when the annual M/SI of 

a stock in the fishery is greater than 1 

percent and less than 50 percent of PBR. 

For the Hawaii stock complex of 

pantropical spotted dolphins, as the 

Commission notes, Baird and Webster 

2020 documents troll fishing occurring 

in and around groups of spotted 

dolphins, particularly around Hawaii 

Island. However, there are no reliable 

estimates of how frequently this type of 

troll fishing results in M/SI of spotted 

dolphins. Baird and Webster 2020 itself 

notes major data gaps, including 

abundance estimates of the stocks, and 

frequency of hookings and 

entanglements, which need to be 

addressed to understand whether 

hooking and/or entanglements occur to 

the level that warrant reclassification of 

the fishery. 

The most recent SAR (2020) for the 

Hawaii stock complex of pantropical 

spotted dolphins notes two cases of 

observed entanglements of spotted 

dolphins in fishing line, but the 

responsible fishery is not known in 

either case (Carretta et al., 2021). No M/ 

SI estimates are available for pantropical 

spotted dolphins. 

In addition to the SAR, NMFS also 

considered other sources of data in 

evaluating the Hawaii troll fishery on 

the annual LOF. Regardless of 

classification of a particular fishery, all 

commercial fishers are required to 

submit reports of any marine mammal 

mortality or injury incidental to fishing 

operations through the marine mammal 

authorization program mortality/injury 

reporting form. NMFS has received no 

reports through this program of 

pantropical spotted dolphins injured or 

killed in the Hawaii troll fishery. 

However, recognizing that self-reporting 

may be limited, NMFS also considered 

other sources of information. Baird 2016 

discusses propeller injuries of spotted 

dolphins, but the level and type of 

vessel causing such injuries are not 

known. Baird 2016 also presents photos 

of at least one spotted dolphin hooked 

with trailing fishing line, but the fishery 

and frequency of such hookings and/or 

entanglements are unknown. 

The Hawaii troll fishery is a statemanaged fishery, and NMFS has 

encouraged the State of Hawaii to 

implement additional commercial 

fishing reporting and monitoring 

mechanisms for state-managed fisheries. 

In addition, NMFS will consider the 

Commission’s recommendation to 

pursue quantitative means to evaluate 

mortality and serious injury of 

pantropical spotted dolphins. 

The information does not provide 

sufficient evidence to conclude that 

spotted dolphins are being seriously 

injured or killed on an ‘‘occasional 

basis’’ as necessary for a Category II 

fishery classification. Therefore, NMFS 

retains the Category III classification of 

the Hawaii troll fishery. 

Comment 8: CBD recommends that 

the newly proposed Category III WA/ 

OR/CA other groundfish pot fishery be 

classified as a Category II fishery. CBD 

states that the fishing gear used by the 

newly proposed fishery is known to 

entangle humpback whales in Alaska, 

Washington, Oregon and California. 

CBD notes the proposed 2022 LOF states 

there has been no marine mammal M/ 

SI incidental to the newly proposed 

fishery. However, there have been 

humpback whales entangled in the West 

Coast groundfish fishery from 2002 to 

2019. CBD recommends NMFS classify 

the newly proposed WA/OR/CA other 

groundfish pot fishery as a Category II 

fishery based on the same frequency of 

M/SI as the Category II WA/OR/CA 

sablefish pot fishery. 

Response: NMFS thanks CBD for the 

comment and does not finalize adding 

the proposed Category III WA/OR/CA 

other groundfish pot fishery on the 2022 

LOF. In the 2022 LOF (86 FR 43491; 

August 9, 2021), NMFS proposed 

adding the WA/OR/CA other groundfish 

pot fishery as a new Category III fishery. 

As proposed, the new Category III 

fishery would include pot fishing effort 

from the previously named Category III 

CA nearshore finfish live trap/hook-andline fishery (state fisheries) and other 

groundfish pot fishing effort (federal 

fisheries separate from the sablefish pot 

fishery). NMFS retains the previously 

named Category III CA nearshore finfish 

trap fishery. 

For the 2022 LOF, NMFS reviewed 

fishery data for all West Coast fisheries 

including data from PacFIN. The data 

used in the analysis for proposing the 

new WA/OR/CA other groundfish pot 

fishery included the total landings of 

groundfish species in pot gear along the 

West Coast. These data indicated that 

there were landings of groundfish 

species other than sablefish with pot 

gear that were not associated with 

landings of sablefish. However, the data 

did not identify the fishing effort that 

led to these landings (e.g., whether the 

effort was occurring within State 

nearshore fisheries, within federal 

fisheries, or what species were targeted 

versus which species are incidentally 

caught). Because the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

and associated regulations allow the 

targeting and landing of species other 

than sablefish, in drafting the proposed 

2022 LOF, NMFS conservatively 

assumed at least some of the nonsablefish landings could be effort 

occurring outside the state nearshore 

fisheries and could be effort directly 

targeted groundfish species other than 

sablefish. 

Following publication of the proposed 

2022 LOF, NMFS further analyzed the 

data that were used to support the 

proposed WA/OR/CA other groundfish 

pot fishery. After discussions with 

federal fishery managers and scientists, 

NMFS identified that the analysis in the 

proposed 2022 LOF incorrectly stated 

that there are federal pot gear fisheries 

targeting groundfish species other than 

sablefish. All pot gear fishing effort in 

the West Coast federal groundfish 

fisheries is targeting sablefish, and any 

landings of other groundfish species 

occurs incidental to the fishing effort 

targeted at sablefish. There is no fishing 

effort in the state nearshore fisheries 

directly targeting sablefish with pot 

gear. 

Therefore, there is no separate federal 

groundfish pot gear fishery targeting 

species other than sablefish and the 

proposed WA/OR/CA other groundfish 

pot fishery is duplicative of the fishing 

effort already captured in the Category 

II WA/OR/CA sablefish pot fishery. 

Based on this information, NMFS does 

not finalize adding the proposed 

Category III WA/OR/CA other 

groundfish pot fishery on the 2022 LOF. 

NMFS will continue to evaluate the 

existing data and consider all relevant 

information for the West Coast 

groundfish pot gear fisheries in future 

LOFs. 

Comment 9: CBD recommends that 

the newly proposed Category III CA 

other crab/shellfish pot fishery be 

classified as a Category II fishery 

because of its similarity to the 

Dungeness crab and spiny lobster pot 

fisheries. They note that even with 

partial observer coverage for the fishery, 

most marine mammal entanglements on 

the West Coast cannot be identified to 


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a specific fishery. The absence of a 

confirmed entanglement in this pot gear 

is not sufficient to classify the CA other 

crab/shellfish pot fishery as a Category 

III fishery. 

Response: In the 2022 LOF (86 FR 

43491; August 9, 2021), NMFS proposed 

adding the CA other crab/shellfish pot 

fishery as a new Category III fishery. 

Following publication of the proposed 

2022 LOF, NMFS re-examined the 

available data surrounding pot fishing 

effort for crabs and other shellfish in 

California. NMFS identified that the 

only pot fishery targeting crab/shellfish 

that was not included on the 2021 LOF 

was the Tanner crab fishery. As a result, 

NMFS modifies the name of the new 

Category III fishery from the CA other 

crab/shellfish fishery to the CA Tanner 

crab fishery in the final 2022 LOF. 

NMFS recognizes that any line in the 

water presents a risk of marine mammal 

entanglement. When classifying 

fisheries, in addition to the general 

consideration of the risk of 

entanglements that could be associated 

with almost any fishery that uses line, 

NMFS also relies upon information 

gathered and confirmed through 

rigorous evaluation of entanglement 

reports to identify the origins of 

entanglements as the basis of 

classification of fixed gear fisheries on 

the LOF. 

To date, the CA Tanner crab fishery 

has not been associated with or 

implicated as being involved in the M/ 

SI of any marine mammal species. 

Although the permit and associated 

regulations outlined in the fishery 

description (86 FR 43491; August 9, 

2021) have been in place since 2006, the 

CA Tanner crab fishery is small, with 

very few participants over its history. As 

described in the fishery description, the 

gear is different and fished differently 

than other Category II CA/West Coast 

pot fisheries. Unlike many other 

Category II state-managed fixed gear 

fisheries, CA state fishery observers 

monitor this fishery. The gear is also 

marked in ways that can help facilitate 

identification, if involved in future 

entanglements. As a result, the available 

information is sufficient to support 

classification of the CA Tanner crab pot 

fishery as Category III fishery. 

Comments on Commercial Fisheries in 

the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and 

Caribbean 

Comment 9: The Massachusetts 

Lobstermen’s Association and Maine 

Lobstermen’s Association support 

removing the Massachusetts state waters 

trap/pot fisheries from the broader 

Category I Northeast/Mid-Atlantic 

American lobster trap/pot and Category 

II Atlantic mixed species trap/pot 

fisheries and adding the new Category II 

MA mixed species trap/pot fishery. 

Response: NMFS thanks the 

Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association 

and Maine Lobstermen’s Association for 

their comments and has added the new 

Category II MA mixed species trap/pot 

fishery. 

Comment 10: Both the Commission 

and CLF et al. oppose both separating 

out the Massachusetts state waters trap/ 

pot fishery from the broader Category I 

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic American 

lobster trap/pot and the Category II 

Atlantic mixed species trap/pot fisheries 

and adding the new Category II MA 

mixed species trap/pot fishery on the 

LOF. They note that trap/pot fisheries in 

New England, including Massachusetts, 

have documented M/SI of North 

Atlantic right whales, humpback whales 

and minke whales. Both commenters 

cite that there is a lack of available data 

to adequately determine if the state of 

Massachusetts new fishery regulations 

will sufficiently reduce entanglement 

risk to North Atlantic right whales. The 

Commission and CLF et al. recommend 

NMFS retain the Massachusetts mixed 

species trap/pot fishery as part of the 

broader Category I Northeast/MidAtlantic American lobster trap/pot and 

the Category II Atlantic mixed species 

trap/pot fisheries until the new 

management measures are determined 

to be effective in reducing M/SI. 

Response: As stated in the proposed 

rule (86 FR 43491; August 9, 2021), the 

state of Massachusetts has made 

significant changes to their trap/pot 

regulations including gear modifications 

and changes to seasonal closures that 

differentiate the Massachusetts state 

waters trap/pot fishery from the 

Category I Northeast/Mid-Atlantic 

American lobster trap/pot and Category 

II Atlantic mixed species trap/pot 

fisheries. The new fishery determination 

is based on considering several 

characteristics of the Massachusetts 

mixed species trap/pot fishery as 

modified by these new state regulations, 

which will be implemented for the 2022 

fishing season including: (1) All 

commercial trap fishermen in 

Massachusetts state waters will be 

required to fish buoy lines that break 

when exposed to 1,700 pounds (771kg) 

of tension through the use of weak rope 

or weak insertions at 60 ft (18 m) 

intervals along the top 75 percent of the 

buoy line; (2) all commercial trap 

fishermen will be required to fish buoy 

lines with a maximum diameter of 3⁄8

inch (9.5 mm); and (3) state-specific gear 

marks will be required to be no more 

than 60 feet (18 m) apart on all vertical 

lines, distinguishing the gear from other 

states that will use different colors and 

fewer marks. Massachusetts is the only 

state to require these gear modifications 

by regulation, creating a consistent 

standard across the state’s waters for all 

commercial trap/pot fishermen and one 

that is visibly distinguishable from 

adjacent gear. 

Along with required gear 

modifications, Massachusetts is 

implementing extensive seasonal time/ 

area closures that expand current 

restricted areas in time and space to 

significantly reduce co-occurrence of 

the fishery and North Atlantic right 

whales. As noted in the proposed rule 

(86 FR 43491; August 9, 2021), these 

combined management measures are 

supported by extensive monitoring of 

North Atlantic right whale populations 

through state and Federal aerial survey 

efforts over Massachusetts’ waters and 

enhanced by additional sighting and 

entanglement reporting. 

To separate a Category I fishery into 

a new fishery due to new regulatory 

measures, NMFS requires at a minimum 

that the new fishery significantly reduce 

the risk of entanglement of the stock 

driving the Category I classification, and 

that the new fishery requires gear marks 

to distinguish the fishery from its former 

fishery on the LOF. Massachusetts 

fulfills these threshold requirements. In 

addition, the new fishery’s classification 

and status as a separate fishery will be 

reevaluated annually. 

NMFS classifies the new Category II 

MA mixed species trap/pot fishery 

based on the regulatory definition (50 

CFR 229.2) of a Category II fishery. As 

described above, this is a newly 

identified fishery and, as a new fishery, 

there is no information on incidental 

mortality and serious injury of marine 

mammals in this fishery as currently 

prosecuted. Based on this absence of 

incidental mortality and serious injury 

information, no marine mammal 

species/stocks are included on the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in Table 2 for this new fishery. 

Species/stocks will be added to the list 

if mortalities or injuries are documented 

in the fishery. Using the information 

from the extensive monitoring programs 

in Massachusetts state waters, NMFS 

will annually evaluate the classification 

of this newly identified fishery for the 

LOF. 

Comment 11: Both ME DMR and MLA 

comment that, based on the criteria used 

for classifying the new Category II MA 

mixed species trap/pot fishery, the 

Maine state waters lobster trap/pot 

fishery also meets the definition of a 

new Category II fishery under the 

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction 

Plan (ALWTRP) regulations. They state 


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that the Maine state waters trap/pot 

fishery should be separated out from the 

broader Category I Northeast/MidAtlantic American lobster trap/pot and 

classified as a separate and independent 

Category II fishery. Both ME DMR and 

MLA cite the lack of attributed right 

whale entanglements in the Maine 

lobster fishery in over fifteen years, the 

implementation of additional risk 

reduction measures via the recent final 

rule amending the ALWTRP, and the 

ability to differentiate gear in Maine 

state waters area from the broader 

Category Northeast/Mid-Atlantic 

American lobster trap/pot fishery. 

Response: NMFS acknowledges that 

all lobster and Jonah crab trap/pot 

fisheries are being required to 

implement regulatory measures to 

reduce risk of entanglement to North 

Atlantic right whales under the new 

ALWTRP regulations finalized in 2021 

(86 FR 51970; September 17, 2021). 

However, the requirements 

implemented in Maine state waters are 

not significantly different from other 

areas where the fishery exists. Maine 

weak insertion requirements vary by 

Maine lobster management area and are 

not unique to Maine state waters. For 

comparison, all trap/pot fisheries in 

Massachusetts state waters are required 

to either use weak rope in the top 75 

percent of the buoy line or include weak 

inserts every 60 feet within their buoy 

lines. Maine’s gear modifications meet 

the standards under the ALWTRP 

throughout federal Lobster Management 

Area 1. Additionally, the gear marking 

for Maine state waters is not exclusive 

to those areas given that dual federal 

and state lobster permit holders are 

allowed to use federal marking when 

fishing in Maine state waters; whereas, 

the gear modifications combined with 

markings will allow for Massachusetts 

trap/pot gear to be identified 

specifically for state waters. 

As previously stated in the final LOF 

for 2020 (85 FR 21079; April 16, 2020) 

and 2021 (86 FR 3028; January 14, 

2021), most mortalities incidental to 

trap/pot fisheries are never observed, 

and Maine state waters cannot be ruled 

out for several cases of the subset of 

entanglements where gear has been 

recovered. Recovered gear has been 

found with red tracers, indicative of the 

gear marking scheme that was required 

for the ALWTRP Northern Inshore Trap/ 

Pot fishery management area, a 

management area that overlaps Maine, 

New Hampshire, and Massachusetts 

state waters. For example, a case from 

2011, previously noted in our 2020 and 

2021 LOF comment responses, also 

included recovered gear with these red 

tracers, though the location of that 

entanglement remains unknown (E11– 

11/RW 4040). Therefore, lobster trap/pot 

fisheries in Maine state waters cannot be 

ruled out as the potential origin for 

entanglements with undetermined 

origins. As stated in the preamble of the 

2022 proposed LOF (86 FR 43491; 

August 9, 2021), ‘‘For fisheries with no 

observer coverage and for observed 

fisheries with evidence indicating that 

undocumented interactions may be 

occurring (e.g., fishery has low observer 

coverage and stranding network data 

include evidence of fisheries 

interactions that cannot be attributed to 

a specific fishery) species and stocks 

may be retained for longer than 5 years. 

For these fisheries, NMFS will review 

the other sources of information listed 

above and use its discretion to decide 

when it is appropriate to remove a 

species or stock.’’ In the case of stateonly Maine permitted lobster fisheries, 

given there is no observer coverage to 

reference, NMFS retains species and 

stocks on the list of species/stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in the 

fishery outside of the 5-year summary 

time frame. 

In the 2020 final LOF (85 FR 21079; 

April 16, 2020), NMFS noted that whale 

sighting information from this area is 

limited in part due to the lack of 

directed survey effort and that 

additional resources were being 

allocated towards broader surveys to 

provide further insight into the habitat 

use and distribution of these whales. 

While information is limited at this 

time, sightings and new acoustic data 

indicate that right whales are using 

these areas and that the risk of 

entanglement exists. 

Comment 12: A member of the public 

commented that NMFS based its 

decision to add the new Category II MA 

mixed species trap/pot fishery on 

inaccurate information provided by the 

Massachusetts Division of Marine 

Fisheries in comments on the 2021 LOF 

(86 FR 3028; January 14, 2021). The 

commenter states the proposed new 

Category II fishery was based on the 

state of Massachusetts proposed 

regulations for trap/pot fisheries, several 

of which were not finalized, such as 

changes in the geographic scope of the 

closed area, banning the use of singles 

traps on commercial vessels greater 29 

feet in length and shortening the haul 

out periods for recreational fishers. 

Response: As described in the 2022 

proposed rule (86 FR 43491; August 9, 

2021), on January 28, 2021, the 

Massachusetts Marine Fisheries 

Advisory Commission approved several 

new regulatory measures affecting 

protected species and fixed gear fishing 

in Massachusetts. The suite of 

regulations include gear modifications 

and changes to seasonal closures that 

differentiate the Massachusetts trap/pot 

fishery from the Category I Northeast/ 

Mid-Atlantic American lobster trap/pot 

and Category II Atlantic mixed species 

trap/pot fisheries. The Massachusetts 

Division of Marine Fisheries has begun 

implementing these regulations, as 

described above in response to 

Comment #10, and all measures will be 

in place for the 2022 fishing season. 

Based on these new regulations, the 

Massachusetts Division of Marine 

Fisheries commented on the 2021 LOF 

and asked NMFS to consider separating 

out the trap/pot fixed gear fishery 

operating in Massachusetts state waters 

from the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic 

American lobster trap/pot and Atlantic 

mixed species trap/pot fisheries. In the 

2021 LOF final rule (86 FR 3028; 

January 14, 2021), NMFS agreed to 

reevaluate the fishery in the 2022 LOF. 

NMFS determined that these gear 

modifications and time/area restrictions 

sufficiently differentiate the risk posed 

by the Massachusetts mixed species 

trap/pot fishery from the surrounding 

trap/pot fisheries, warranting a separate 

fishery on the LOF. 

Comment 13: A member of the public 

commented that NMFS’ proposed new 

Category II MA mixed species trap/pot 

fishery conflicts with the statutory 

definition of a fishery under the MMPA. 

The commenter states that the MMPA 

incorporates the definition of fishery as 

it is defined in the Magnuson Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (MSA), noting the management of 

endangered species under the MMPA 

should occur by fishery as defined 

under MSA (e.g. fisheries managed by 

the various species they target) not by 

how a fishery may protect marine 

mammals. Therefore, the MMPA 

prohibits separating out a part of the 

MSA managed lobster fishery on the 

LOF. 

Response: NMFS disagrees. As stated 

in the 1995 proposed LOF (60 FR 31668, 

16 June 1995): NMFS defined fisheries 

by gear type, geographical area, and 

target species, in accordance with 

existing state or Federal management 

designations. However, for some 

fisheries this information is only 

partially available or unavailable. In the 

proposed LOF, NMFS suggested that 

fisheries could be partitioned as 

necessary to reflect concentrations of 

marine mammals in certain areas within 

a fishery, or at certain times of the year 

in order to address management actions. 

Gear type (e.g., mesh size) could also be 

used to define a fishery to allow 

flexibility. The proposed LOF would 

define fisheries based on state or 


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Federal management designations 

where these designations exist and 

where practicable. As stated in the 1994 

LOF (59 FR 45263; September 1, 1994), 

NMFS bases fishery definitions on the 

location of the fishery, the gear type 

used, and sometimes the target fish 

species. A fishery may be grouped with 

other fisheries if the general location 

and gear type are similar and if the rates 

of incidental marine mammal M/SI are 

known or similar. For instance, the U.S. 

mid-Atlantic coastal gillnet fishery in 

the 1994 LOF is composed of many 

small fisheries that target different fish 

species seasonally but use the same 

general type or gear, fish in the same 

general location, and have similar 

incidental M/SI. When additional 

information on either incidental M/SI or 

on the fishery are available, fisheries 

may be grouped together or split apart 

in order to better manage the incidental 

M/SI in those fisheries. New fisheries 

were defined based on general location, 

gear type, and, when applicable, target 

species. 

Comment 14: A member of the public 

states that separating the Massachusetts 

trap/pot fisheries from the Category I 

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic American 

lobster trap/pot and Category II Atlantic 

mixed species trap/pot fisheries is 

inconsistent with NMFS June 2020 

negligible impact policy statement. The 

commenter notes NMFS 2020 policy 

states that fisheries should not be 

redefined or split on the LOF solely for 

purposes of making a negligible impact 

determination under the MMPA. 

Response: On June 17, 2020, NMFS 

finalized Procedure 02–204–02 (Criteria 

for Determining Negligible Impact under 

MMPA section 101(a)(5)(E)) (NMFS 

2020). Determining negligible impact 

under the MMPA is separate from the 

annual LOF process. As noted in our 

proposed 2022 LOF rule (86 FR 43491; 

August 9, 2021) and responses to 

comments above, NMFS has determined 

that, in order for a trap/pot fishery to be 

separated from the Category I fishery 

and designated as a new fishery, at a 

minimum the new fishery significantly 

reduces the risk of entanglement of the 

stock driving the Category I 

classification and the new fishery 

requires gear marks to distinguish the 

fishery from its former fishery on the 

LOF. Massachusetts fulfills these 

threshold requirements. 

Comment 15: A member of the public 

states that there is no scientific evidence 

to show that the regulatory changes to 

the Massachusetts trap/pot fishery will 

reduce the risk to North Atlantic right 

whales. The commenter asserts there 

was no scientific basis for the 

conclusion in the proposed rule because 

(1) public hearings were not conducted 

for the proposed rule, and (2) there is no 

evidence to show the Massachusetts 

regulations will reduce North Atlantic 

right whale M/SI. 

Response: As stated in the proposed 

rule (86 FR 43491; August 9, 2021) and 

reiterated in the responses to comments 

above about separating this fishery, 

NMFS considers the suite of changes to 

the fishery gear and operation to be 

significant enough to distinguish it from 

other trap/pot fisheries (in particular, 

see response to Comment #11). NMFS 

will continue to evaluate information 

received from the extensive monitoring 

programs in Massachusetts state waters, 

as well as throughout the range of North 

Atlantic right whales, to annually 

evaluate the classification of this newly 

identified fishery for the LOF. 

Summary of Changes From the 

Proposed Rule 

In this final rule, NMFS adds the CA 

Tanner crab pot fishery as a Category III 

fishery. This fishery was proposed in 

the 2022 LOF (86 FR 43491; August 9, 

2021) as the Category III CA other crab/ 

shellfish pot fishery. Based on public 

comment, NMFS modified the name of 

this new fishery to the CA Tanner crab 

pot fishery, as it is the only crab/ 

shellfish pot fishery that is not currently 

named on the LOF. There is currently 

one participant in this fishery. 

In this final rule, NMFS does not add 

the WA/OR/CA other groundfish pot 

fishery as a new Category III fishery as 

proposed. Upon further review, NMFS 

concludes that there is no separate 

federal groundfish pot gear fishery 

targeting species other than sablefish, 

and the proposed WA/OR/CA other 

groundfish pot fishery would have been 

duplicative of the current Category II 

WA/OR/CA sablefish pot fishery. Based 

on not adding the proposed WA/OR/CA 

other groundfish pot fishery, NMFS 

retains the previously named Category 

III CA nearshore finfish trap fishery. 

This fishery was proposed to be 

combined with the new WA/OR/CA 

other groundfish pot fishery. 

Based on public comment, NMFS 

retains the following four stocks on the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the Category I HI deep-set 

longline fishery: (1) Pelagic stock of 

bottlenose dolphin, (2) Hawaii stock of 

Kogia spp., (3) Hawaii stock of Risso’s 

dolphin and (4) Hawaii stock of striped 

dolphin. 

Based on public comment, NMFS 

retains the Central North Pacific stock of 

humpback whale on the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category I Western Pacific Pelagic 

(HI deep-set component) fishery. 

Based on public comment, NMFS 

retains four stocks on the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category II HI shallow-set longline 

fishery: (1) Hawaii pelagic stock of 

bottlenose dolphin, (2) Central North 

Pacific stock of humpback whale, (3) 

Hawaii stock of Risso’s dolphin and (4) 

Hawaii stock of striped dolphin. 

Based on public comment, NMFS 

adds Hawaiian monk seal to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III HI offshore 

pen culture fishery. 

In this final rule, NMFS corrects an 

error on the list of stocks incidentally 

killed or injured in the Category III AK 

Prince William Sound salmon set gillnet 

fishery. On the 2019 LOF (84 FR 22051; 

May 16, 2019), NMFS incorrectly added 

the Central North Pacific stock of 

humpback whale to the list of stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in the 

Category III AK Prince William Sound 

salmon set gillnet fishery based on 

stranding reports of two injuries in 

2015. The 2020 SAR correctly attributes 

the 2015 humpback whale stranding 

reports to the Category II AK Prince 

William Sound salmon drift gillnet 

fishery, not the Category III Prince 

William Sound salmon set gillnet 

fishery (Muto et al., 2021). NMFS 

removes the Central North Pacific stock 

of humpback whale from the list of 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category III AK Prince William 

Sound salmon set gillnet fishery. NMFS 

adds the Central North Pacific stock of 

humpback to the list of stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in the 

Category II AK Prince William Sound 

salmon drift gillnet fishery. This 

correction does not change the 

classification of the Category II AK 

Prince William Sound salmon drift 

gillnet fishery or the Category III AK 

Prince William Sound salmon set gillnet 

fishery. 

NMFS updates the MMAP certificate 

process for calendar year 2022. MMAP 

certificates issued in 2020 remain in 

effect, valid through December 31, 2022, 

for vessel or gear owners participating 

in all Category I and II fisheries as of the 

final 2022 LOF. 

Summary of Changes to the LOF for 

2022 

The following summarizes changes to 

the LOF for 2022, including the 

classification of fisheries, fisheries 

listed, the estimated number of vessels/ 

persons in a particular fishery, and the 

species and/or stocks that are 

incidentally killed or injured in a 

particular fishery. NMFS re-classifies 

one fishery in the LOF for 2022. 

Additionally, NMFS adds three fisheries 


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to the LOF. NMFS also makes changes 

to the estimated number of vessels/ 

persons and list of species and/or stocks 

killed or injured in certain fisheries. The 

classifications and definitions of U.S. 

commercial fisheries for 2022 are 

identical to those provided in the LOF 

for 2021 with the changes discussed 

below. State and regional abbreviations 

used in the following paragraphs 

include: AK (Alaska), BSAI (Bering Sea, 

Aleutian Island), CA (California), Gulf of 

Alaska (GOA), HI (Hawaii), Maine 

Hawaiian Islands (MHI), OR (Oregon), 

WA (Washington), and WNA (Western 

North Atlantic). 

Commercial Fisheries in the Pacific 

Ocean 

Classification of Fisheries 

NMFS reclassifies the Category II AK 

Bering Sea, Aleutian Island (BSAI) 

rockfish trawl fishery from a Category II 

to a Category III fishery. 

Addition of Fisheries 

NMFS adds the CA Tanner crab pot 

fishery as a Category III fishery. 

NMFS adds the CA/OR/WA nonalbacore Highly Migratory Species 

(HMS) hook and line fishery as a 

Category III fishery. 

Fishery Name and Organizational 

Changes and Clarification 

NMFS removes the superscript ‘‘1’’ 

from the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) 

insular stock of false killer whale to 

indicate the stock is no longer driving 

the Category I classification of the HI 

deep-set longline fishery. 

NMFS corrects an administrative error 

in Table 1. NMFS adds the superscript 

‘‘1’’ CA/OR/WA stock of humpback 

whales to indicate the stock is driving 

the Category II classification of the CA 

coonstripe shrimp pot fishery. 

NMFS renames the Category III WA/ 

OR herring, smelt, squid purse seine or 

lampara fishery to the WA/OR herring, 

anchovy, smelt, squid purse seine or 

lampara fishery. 

NMFS renames the Category III WA 

salmon purse seine fishery to the WA 

salmon seine fishery. 

NMFS combines the Category III CA 

halibut hook and line/handline fishery 

and Category III CA white seabass hook 

and line/handline fishery, and names it 

the Category III CA halibut, white 

seabass, and yellowtail hook and line/ 

handline fishery. 

NMFS renames the Category III WA/ 

OR Pacific halibut longline fishery to 

the WA/OR/CA Pacific halibut longline 

fishery. 

NMFS renames the Category III WA/ 

CA kelp fishery to the CA/WA kelp, 

seaweed, and algae fishery. 

NMFS combines the Category III WA 

groundfish, bottomfish jig fishery and 

the hook and line component of the 

Category III CA nearshore finfish live 

trap/hook-and-line fishery, and names it 

the Category III WA/OR/CA groundfish/ 

finfish hook and line fishery. 

NMFS combines and renames the 

Category III WA/OR bait shrimp, clam, 

hand, dive, or mechanical collection 

fishery and the Category III OR/CA sea 

urchin, sea cucumber hand, dive, or 

mechanical collection fishery into two 

distinct gear-based Category III fisheries: 

(1) The CA/OR/WA dive collection 

fishery and (2) the WA/OR/CA hand/ 

mechanical collection fishery. 

Number of Vessels/Persons 

NMFS updates the estimated number 

of vessels/persons in the Pacific Ocean 

(Table 1) as follows: 

Category II 

• CA thresher shark/swordfish drift 

gillnet (≥14 in mesh) fishery from 14 to 

21 vessels/persons; 

• CA halibut/white seabass and other 

species set gillnet (≤3.5 in mesh) fishery 

from 37 to 39 vessels/persons; 

• CA yellowtail, barracuda, and white 

seabass drift gillnet (mesh size ≥3.5 in 

and <14 in) fishery from 22 to 20 

vessels/persons; 

• WA Puget Sound Region salmon 

drift gillnet fishery from 154 to 136 

vessels/persons; 

• CA coonstripe shrimp pot fishery 

from 14 to 9 vessels/persons; 

• CA spiny lobster fishery from 186 to 

189 vessels/persons; 

• CA spot prawn pot fishery from 23 

to 22 vessels/persons; 

• CA Dungeness crab pot fishery from 

501 to 471 vessels/persons; 

• OR Dungeness crab pot fishery from 

342 to 323 vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR/CA sablefish pot fishery 

from 155 to 144 vessels/persons; 

• WA coastal Dungeness crab pot 

fishery from 197 to 204 vessels/persons; 

• HI shortline fishery from 9 to 5 

vessels/persons; 

Category III 

• CA set gillnet (mesh size <3.5 in) 

fishery from 296 to 11 vessels/persons; 

• HI inshore gillnet fishery from 36 to 

29 vessels/persons; 

• WA Grays Harbor salmon drift 

gillnet fishery from 24 to 19 vessels/ 

persons; 

• WA/OR Mainstem Columbia River 

eulachon gillnet fishery from 5 to 10 

vessels/persons; 

• WA Willapa Bay drift gillnet fishery 

from 82 to 57 vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR sardine purse seine fishery 

from 42 to 6 vessels/persons; 

• CA anchovy, mackerel, sardine 

purse seine fishery from 65 to 53 

vessels/persons; 

• CA squid purse seine fishery from 

80 to 68 persons/vessels; 

• CA tuna purse seine fishery from 10 

to 14 vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR Lower Columbia River 

salmon seine fishery from 10 to 1 

person/vessel; 

• WA/OR herring, anchovy, smelt, 

squid purse seine or lampara fishery 

from 130 to 41 vessels/persons; 

• WA salmon seine fishery from 75 to 

81 vessels/persons; 

• HI lift net fishery from 17 to 15 

vessels/persons; 

• HI inshore purse seine fishery from 

<3 to none recorded vessels/persons; 

• HI throw net, cast net fishery from 

23 to 15 vessels/persons; 

• HI seine net fishery from 24 to 17 

vessels/persons; 

• CA squid dip net fishery from 115 

to 19 vessels/persons; 

• HI offshore pen culture fishery from 

2 to 1 vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR/CA albacore surface hook 

and line/troll fishery from 705 to 556 

vessels/persons; 

• CA/OR/WA salmon troll fishery 

from 4,300 to 1,030 vessels/persons; 

• HI troll fishery from 2,117 to 1,380 

vessels/persons; 

• HI rod and reel fishery from 322 to 

237 vessels/persons; 

• Guam tuna troll fishery from 432 to 

398 vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR/CA groundfish, bottomfish 

longline/set line fishery from 367 to 314 

vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR/CA Pacific halibut longline 

fishery from 350 to 130 vessels/persons; 

• CA pelagic longline fishery from 1 

to 4 vessels/persons; 

• HI kaka line fishery from 15 to 5 

vessels/persons; 

• HI vertical line fishery from 3 to 

none recorded vessels/persons; 

• CA halibut bottom trawl fishery 

from 47 to 23 vessels/persons; 

• CA sea cucumber trawl fishery from 

16 to 11 vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR/CA shrimp trawl fishery 

from 300 to 130 vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR/CA groundfish trawl 

fishery from 160–180 to 118 vessels/ 

persons; 

• CA rock crab pot fishery from 124 

to 113 vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR/CA hagfish pot fishery 

from 54 to 63 vessels/persons; 

• WA/OR shrimp pot/trap fishery 

from 54 to 28 vessels/persons; 

• WA Puget Sound Dungeness crab 

pot/trap fishery from 249 to 145 vessels/ 

persons; 

• HI crab trap fishery from 5 to 4 

vessels/persons; 


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• HI fish trap fishery from 9 to 4 

vessels/persons; 

• HI lobster trap fishery from <3 to 

none recorded vessels/persons; 

• HI shrimp trap fishery from 10 to 3 

vessels/persons; 

• HI crab net fishery from 4 to none 

recorded vessels/persons; 

• HI kona crab loop net fishery from 

33 to 20 vessels/persons; 

• American Samoa bottomfish 

handline fishery from fewer than 20 to 

9 vessels/persons; 

• Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands bottomfish fishery from 

28 to 11 vessels/persons; 

• Guam bottomfish fishery from >300 

to 67 vessels/persons; 

• HI aku boat, pole and line fishery 

from <3 to none recorded vessels/ 

persons; 

• HI bottomfish handline fishery from 

578 to 385 vessels/persons; 

• HI inshore handline fishery from 

357 to 206 vessels/persons; 

• HI pelagic handline fishery from 

534 to 300 vessels/persons; 

• CA swordfish harpoon fishery from 

6 to 21 vessels/persons; 

• HI bullpen trap fishery from 3 to 

none recorded vessels/persons; 

• HI black coral diving fishery from 

<3 to none recorded vessels/persons; 

• HI fish pond fishery from 5 to none 

recorded vessels/persons; 

• HI handpick fishery from 46 to 25 

vessels/persons; 

• HI lobster diving fishery from 19 to 

12 vessels/persons; 

• HI spearfishing fishery from 163 to 

82 vessels/persons; and 

• HI aquarium collecting fishery from 

90 to 34 vessels/persons. 

List of Species and/or Stocks 

Incidentally Killed or Injured in the 

Pacific Ocean 

NMFS adds the Eastern North Pacific 

stock of gray whale and the Central 

North Pacific stock of humpback to the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the Category II AK Prince 

William Sound salmon drift gillnet 

fishery. 

NMFS adds three stocks to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category II AK Bering 

Sea, Aleutian Islands pollock trawl 

fishery: (1) Arctic stock of ringed seal, 

(2) Central North Pacific stock of 

humpback whale and (3) Western North 

Pacific stock of humpback whale. 

NMFS adds the U.S. stock of 

California sea lion to the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category II CA spiny lobster fishery. 

NMFS adds the California stock of 

Northern elephant seal to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category II AK Gulf of 

Alaska sablefish longline fishery. 

NMFS adds both the Western U.S. 

stock of Steller sea lion and North 

Kodiak stock of harbor seal to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK Kodiak 

salmon purse seine fishery. 

NMFS adds the Gulf of Alaska, 

Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea transient 

stock of killer whale to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK Bering 

Sea, Aleutian Greenland turbot longline 

fishery. 

NMFS adds the Clarence Strait stock 

of harbor seal to the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category III AK Gulf of Alaska 

halibut longline fishery. 

NMFS adds the Cook Inlet/Shelikof 

Strait stock of harbor seal to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK Gulf of 

Alaska Pacific cod longline fishery. 

NMFS adds the California stock of 

Northern elephant seal to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK Bering 

Sea, Aleutian Islands Atka mackerel 

trawl fishery. 

NMFS adds three stocks to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK Gulf of 

Alaska flatfish trawl fishery. The three 

stocks are: (1) Cook Inlet/Shelikof Strait 

stock of harbor seal, (2) North Kodiak 

stock of harbor seal, and (3) South 

Kodiak stock of harbor seal. 

NMFS adds the North Pacific stock of 

sperm whale to the list of species/stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in the 

Category III AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands sablefish pot fishery. 

NMFS adds the U.S. stock of 

California sea lion to the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category III WA/OR/CA groundfish/ 

finfish hook and line fishery. 

NMFS adds the Central North Pacific 

stock of humpback whale to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK/WA/OR/ 

CA commercial passenger fishing vessel 

fishery. 

NMFS retains the following four 

stocks on the list of species/stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in the 

Category I HI deep-set longline fishery: 

(1) Pelagic stock of bottlenose dolphin, 

(2) Hawaii stock of Kogia spp., (3) 

Hawaii stock of Risso’s dolphin and (4) 

Hawaii stock of striped dolphin. 

NMFS retains four stocks on the list 

of species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category II HI shallow-set 

longline fishery: (1) Hawaii pelagic 

stock of bottlenose dolphin, (2) Central 

North Pacific stock of humpback whale, 

(3) Hawaii stock of Risso’s dolphin and 

(4) Hawaii stock of striped dolphin. 

NMFS adds the unknown stock of 

striped dolphin to the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category II American Samoa 

longline fishery. 

NMFS adds Hawaiian monk seal to 

the list of species/stocks incidentally 

killed or injured in the Category III HI 

offshore pen culture fishery. 

NMFS removes the Central North 

Pacific stock of humpback whale from 

the list of stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK Prince 

William Sound salmon set gillnet 

fishery. 

NMFS removes the Alaska resident 

stock of killer whale from the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK Bering 

Sea, Aleutian Islands Greenland turbot 

longline fishery. 

NMFS removes the Alaska stock of 

spotted seal from the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category III AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands Pacific cod longline fishery. 

NMFS removes six stocks from the list 

of species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category II AK Bering 

Sea, Aleutian Islands pollock trawl 

fishery: (1) Alaska stock of bearded seal, 

(2), Bristol Bay stock of beluga whale, 

(3) Eastern Bering Sea stock of beluga 

whale, (4) Eastern Chukchi Sea stock of 

beluga whale, (5) Eastern Pacific stock 

of Northern fur seal and (6) Alaska stock 

of spotted seal. 

NMFS removes the Alaska stock of 

bearded seal from the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category III AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands Atka mackerel trawl fishery. 

NMFS removes both the Gulf of 

Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea 

transient stock and Eastern North 

Pacific Alaska resident stock of killer 

whale from the list of species/stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in the 

Category III AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands rockfish trawl fishery. 

NMFS removes the North Pacific 

stock of Northern elephant seal from the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the Category III AK Gulf of 

Alaska flatfish trawl fishery. 

NMFS removes the Alaska stock of 

harbor seal from the list of species/ 

stocks incidentally killed or injured in 

the Category III AK Gulf of Alaska 

Pacific cod trawl fishery. 

NMFS removes three stocks from the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the Category III AK Gulf of 

Alaska pollock trawl fishery: (1) Alaska 

stock of Dall’s porpoise, (2) Northeast 

Pacific stock of fin whale and (3) North 

Pacific stock of Northern elephant seal. 


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NMFS removes the Gulf of Alaska 

stock of harbor seal from the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK Gulf of 

Alaska Pacific cod pot fishery. 

NMFS removes the Northeast Pacific 

stock of fin whale from the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category III AK Gulf of 

Alaska groundfish jig fishery. 

NMFS removes the Hawaii stock of 

pygmy killer whale from the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category I HI deep-set 

longline fishery. 

NMFS removes the Hawaii stock of 

Blainville’s beaked whale and Hawaii 

stock of rough-toothed dolphin from the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the Category II HI shallowset longline fishery. 

NMFS revises marine mammal stock 

names on the list of species/stocks 

incidentally killed or injured for 

consistency with the current stock 

names in the SARs as follows: 

Category II AK Cook Inlet Salmon Set 

Gillnet Fishery 

• Harbor seal, GOA to harbor seal, 

Cook Inlet/Shelikof Strait; 

Category II AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands Flatfish Ttrawl Fishery 

• Bearded seal, AK to bearded seal, 

Beringia; 

• Harbor seal, Bering Sea to harbor 

seal, Bristol Bay; 

• Killer whale, AK resident to killer 

whale, Eastern North Pacific Alaska 

resident; 

• Killer whale, GOA, AI, BS transient 

to killer whale, Eastern North Pacific 

GOA, AI, BS transient; 

• Ringed seal, AK to ringed seal, 

Arctic; 

• Ribbon seal, AK to ribbon seal; 

• Spotted seal, AK to spotted seal, 

Bering; 

Category II AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands Pollock Trawl Fishery 

• Harbor seal, AK to harbor seal, 

Bristol Bay; 

• Ribbon seal, AK to ribbon seal; 

Category II AK Prince William Sound 

Salmon Set Gillnet Fishery 

• Harbor seal, GOA to harbor seal, 

Prince William Sound; 

Category III AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands Rockfish Trawl Fishery 

• Ribbon seal, AK to ribbon seal; and 

Category III AK Bering Sea, Aleutian 

Islands Pacific Cod Trawl Fishery 

• Ribbon seal, AK to ribbon seal. 

Commercial Fisheries in the Atlantic 

Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean 

Fishery Name and Organizational 

Changes and Clarification 

NMFS adds a new fishery, MA mixed 

species trap/pot fishery, as a Category II 

fishery that encompasses all trap/pot 

fishing that occurs in state waters of 

Massachusetts. We remove 

Massachusetts state waters trap/pot 

fisheries from the broader Category I 

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic American 

lobster trap/pot and Category II Atlantic 

mixed species trap/pot fisheries. NMFS 

adds the fishery to the list of affected 

fisheries for the ALWTRP in Table 4. 

List of Species and/or Stocks 

Incidentally Killed or Injured in the 

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and 

Caribbean 

NMFS adds the Northern migratory 

coastal stock of bottlenose dolphin to 

the list of species/stocks incidentally 

killed or injured in the Category I 

Northeast sink gillnet fishery. 

NMFS adds both the Pensacola Bay, 

East Bay stock and Perdido Bay stocks 

of bottlenose dolphin to the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category II Southeastern 

U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico shrimp 

trawl fishery. 

Commercial Fisheries on the High Seas 

Fishery Name and Organizational 

Changes and Clarification 

NMFS renames the Category II South 

Pacific tuna purse seine fishery to the 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean tuna 

purse seine fishery. 

NMFS clarifies the fishery description 

for the renamed Category II Western and 

Central Pacific Ocean tuna purse seine 

fishery. NMFS clarifies that the only 

gear type used in this fishery is purse 

seine. Based on this clarification, NMFS 

also removes the Category II South 

Pacific tuna longline fishery from the 

LOF. 

Number of Vessels/Persons 

NMFS updates the estimated number 

of HSFCA permits for high seas fisheries 

(Table 3) as follows: 

Category I 

• Atlantic highly migratory species 

longline fishery from 45 to 39 HSFCA 

permits; 

Category II 

• Western and Central Pacific Ocean 

tuna purse seine fishery from 26 to 20 

HSFCA permits; 

• Pacific highly migratory species 

handline/pole and line fishery from 43 

to 44 HSFCA permits; 

• South Pacific albacore troll 

handline/pole and line fishery from 10 

to 9 HSFCA permits; 

• South Pacific albacore troll fishery 

from 18 to 20 HSFCA permits; South 

Pacific tuna troll fishery from 1 to 0 

HSFCA permits; 

• Western Pacific pelagic troll fishery 

from 4 to 6 HSFCA permits; 

Category III 

• Pacific highly migratory species 

longline fishery from 105 to 111 HSFCA 

permits; and 

• Pacific highly migratory species 

troll fishery from 111 to 107 HSFCA 

permits. 

List of Species and/or Stocks 

Incidentally Killed or Injured on the 

High Seas 

NMFS retains the Central North 

Pacific stock of humpback whale on the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the Category I Western 

Pacific Pelagic (HI deep-set component) 

fishery. 

NMFS adds the following 18 stocks to 

the list of species/stocks incidentally 

killed or injured in the Category II 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean tuna 

purse seine fishery: (1) Hawaii pelagic 

stock of bottlenose dolphin, (2) 

unknown stock of blue whale, (3) 

Hawaii stock of Bryde’s whale, (4) 

Hawaii pelagic stock of false killer 

whale, (5) Hawaii stock of fin whale, (6) 

unknown stock of humpback whale, (7) 

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, (8) 

California stock of long-beaked common 

dolphin, (9) unknown stock of melonheaded whale, (10) Hawaii stock of 

minke whale, (11) unknown stock of 

pantropical spotted dolphin, (12) 

Hawaii stock of pygmy killer whale, (13) 

unknown stock of Risso’s dolphin, (14) 

unknown stock of rough-toothed 

dolphin, (15) Hawaii stock of sei whale, 

(16) unknown stock of short-finned pilot 

whale, (17) Hawaii stock of sperm 

whale, and (18) unknown stock of 

spinner dolphin. 

NMFS adds Ginkgo-toothed beaked 

whale to the list of species/stocks 

incidentally killed or injured in the 

Category II Western Pacific Pelagic 

longline fishery (HI shallow-set 

component). 

NMFS removes the Hawaii stock of 

pygmy killer whale from the list of 

species/stocks incidentally killed or 

injured in the Category I Western Pacific 

Pelagic longline fishery (HI deep-set 

component). 

NMFS removes three stocks from the 

list of species/stocks incidentally killed 

or injured in the Category II Western 

Pacific Pelagic longline fishery (HI 

shallow-set component). The three 


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stocks are: (1) Hawaii stock of 

Blainville’s beaked whale, (2) unknown 

stock of Mesoplodon species, and (3) 

Hawaii stock of rough-toothed dolphin. 

List of Fisheries 

The following tables set forth the list 

of U.S. commercial fisheries according 

to their classification under section 118 

of the MMPA. Table 1 lists commercial 

fisheries in the Pacific Ocean (including 

Alaska), Table 2 lists commercial 

fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and Caribbean, Table 3 lists 

commercial fisheries on the high seas, 

and Table 4 lists fisheries affected by 

TRPs or TRTs. 

In Tables 1 and 2, the estimated 

number of vessels or persons 

participating in fisheries operating 

within U.S. waters is expressed in terms 

of the number of active participants in 

the fishery, when possible. If this 

information is not available, the 

estimated number of vessels or persons 

licensed for a particular fishery is 

provided. If no recent information is 

available on the number of participants, 

vessels, or persons licensed in a fishery, 

then the number from the most recent 

LOF is used for the estimated number of 

vessels or persons in the fishery. NMFS 

acknowledges that, in some cases, these 

estimates may be inflations of actual 

effort. For example, the State of Hawaii 

does not issue fishery-specific licenses, 

and the number of participants reported 

in the LOF represents the number of 

commercial marine license holders who 

reported using a particular fishing gear 

type/method at least once in a given 

year, without considering how many 

times the gear was used. For these 

fisheries, effort by a single participant is 

counted the same whether the 

fisherman used the gear only once or 

every day. In the Mid-Atlantic and New 

England fisheries, the numbers 

represent the potential effort for each 

fishery, given the multiple gear types for 

which several state permits may allow. 

Changes made to Mid-Atlantic and New 

England fishery participants will not 

affect observer coverage or bycatch 

estimates, as observer coverage and 

bycatch estimates are based on vessel 

trip reports and landings data. Tables 1 

and 2 serve to provide a description of 

the fishery’s potential effort (state and 

Federal). If NMFS is able to gather more 

accurate information on the gear types 

used by state permit holders in the 

future, the numbers will be updated to 

reflect this change. For additional 

information on fishing effort in fisheries 

found on Table 1 or 2, contact the 

relevant regional office (contact 

information included above in Where 

can I find more information about the 

LOF and the MMAP? section). 

For high seas fisheries, Table 3 lists 

the number of valid HSFCA permits 

currently held. Although this likely 

overestimates the number of active 

participants in many of these fisheries, 

the number of valid HSFCA permits is 

the most reliable data on the potential 

effort in high seas fisheries at this time. 

As noted previously, the number of 

HSFCA permits listed in Table 3 for the 

high seas components of fisheries that 

also operate within U.S. waters does not 

necessarily represent additional effort 

that is not accounted for in Tables 1 and 

2. Many vessels holding HSFCA permits 

also fish within U.S. waters and are 

included in the number of vessels and 

participants operating within those 

fisheries in Tables 1 and 2. 

Tables 1, 2, and 3 also list the marine 

mammal species and/or stocks 

incidentally killed or injured (seriously 

or non-seriously) in each fishery based 

on SARs, injury determination reports, 

bycatch estimation reports, observer 

data, logbook data, stranding data, 

disentanglement network data, 

fishermen self-reports (i.e., MMAP 

reports), and anecdotal reports. The best 

available scientific information 

included in these reports is based on 

data through 2018. This list includes all 

species and/or stocks known to be killed 

or injured in a given fishery, but also 

includes species and/or stocks for 

which there are anecdotal records of a 

mortality or injury. Additionally, 

species identified by logbook entries, 

stranding data, or fishermen self-reports 

(i.e., MMAP reports) may not be 

verified. In Tables 1 and 2, NMFS has 

designated those species/stocks driving 

a fishery’s classification (i.e., the fishery 

is classified based on mortalities and 

serious injuries of a marine mammal 

stock that are greater than or equal to 50 

percent (Category I), or greater than 1 

percent and less than 50 percent 

(Category II), of a stock’s PBR) by a ‘‘1’’ 

after the stock’s name. 

In Tables 1 and 2, there are several 

fisheries classified as Category II that 

have no recent documented mortalities 

or serious injuries of marine mammals, 

or fisheries that did not result in a 

mortality or serious injury rate greater 

than 1 percent of a stock’s PBR level 

based on known interactions. NMFS has 

classified these fisheries by analogy to 

other Category I or II fisheries that use 

similar fishing techniques or gear that 

are known to cause mortality or serious 

injury of marine mammals, as discussed 

in the final LOF for 1996 (60 FR 67063; 

December 28, 1995), and according to 

factors listed in the definition of a 

‘‘Category II fishery’’ in 50 CFR 229.2 

(i.e., fishing techniques, gear types, 

methods used to deter marine mammals, 

target species, seasons and areas fished, 

qualitative data from logbooks or 

fishermen reports, stranding data, and 

the species and distribution of marine 

mammals in the area). NMFS has 

designated those fisheries listed by 

analogy in Tables 1 and 2 by adding a 

‘‘2’’ after the fishery’s name. 

There are several fisheries in Tables 1, 

2, and 3 in which a portion of the 

fishing vessels cross the EEZ boundary 

and therefore operate both within U.S. 

waters and on the high seas. These 

fisheries, though listed separately on 

Table 1 or 2 and Table 3, are considered 

the same fisheries on either side of the 

EEZ boundary. NMFS has designated 

those fisheries in each table with an 

asterisk (*) after the fishery’s name. 

TABLE 1—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Category I 

Longline/Set Line Fisheries: 

HI deep-set longline * ∧ ........................................................ 143 Bottlenose dolphin, HI Pelagic. 

False killer whale, HI Pelagic 1. 

False killer whale, MHI Insular. 

False killer whale, NWHI. 

Humpback whale. Central North Pacific. 

Kogia spp. (Pygmy or dwarf sperm whale), HI. 


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TABLE 1—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN—Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Risso’s dolphin, HI. 

Rough-toothed dolphin, HI. 

Short-finned pilot whale, HI. 

Striped dolphin, HI. 

Category II 

Gillnet Fisheries: 

CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet (≥14 in mesh) * .... 21 Bottlenose dolphin, CA/OR/WA offshore. 

California sea lion, U.S. 

Dall’s porpoise, CA/OR/WA. 

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA. 

Long-beaked common dolphin, CA. 

Minke whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

Northern elephant seal, CA breeding. 

Northern right-whale dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Pacific white-sided dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Risso’s dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Short-beaked common dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Short-finned pilot whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

Sperm Whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

CA halibut/white seabass and other species set gillnet 

(>3.5 in mesh).

39 California sea lion, U.S. 

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Harbor seal, CA. 

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

Long-beaked common dolphin, CA. 

Northern elephant seal, CA breeding. 

Sea otter, CA. 

Short-beaked common dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

CA yellowtail, barracuda, and white seabass drift gillnet 

(mesh size ≥3.5 in and <14 in) 2.

20 California sea lion, U.S. 

Long-beaked common dolphin, CA. 

Short-beaked common dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

AK Bristol Bay salmon drift gillnet 2 ..................................... 1,862 Beluga whale, Bristol Bay. 

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Harbor seal, Bering Sea. 

Northern fur seal, Eastern Pacific. 

Pacific white-sided dolphin, North Pacific. 

Spotted seal, AK. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Bristol Bay salmon set gillnet 2 ...................................... 979 Beluga whale, Bristol Bay. 

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Harbor seal, Bering Sea. 

Northern fur seal, Eastern Pacific. 

Spotted seal, AK. 

AK Kodiak salmon set gillnet ............................................... 188 Harbor porpoise, GOA1. 

Harbor seal, GOA. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, Western North Pacific. 

Sea otter, Southwest AK. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Cook Inlet salmon set gillnet ......................................... 736 Beluga whale, Cook Inlet. 

Dall’s porpoise, AK. 

Harbor porpoise, GOA. 

Harbor seal, Cook Inlet/Shelikof Strait. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific 1. 

Sea otter, South central AK. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Cook Inlet salmon drift gillnet ........................................ 569 Beluga whale, Cook Inlet. 

Dall’s porpoise, AK. 

Harbor porpoise, GOA1. 

Harbor seal, GOA. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Peninsula/Aleutian Islands salmon drift gillnet 2 ............ 162 Dall’s porpoise, AK. 

Harbor porpoise, GOA. 

Harbor seal, GOA. 

Northern fur seal, Eastern Pacific. 

AK Peninsula/Aleutian Islands salmon set gillnet 2 ............. 113 Harbor porpoise, Bering Sea. 

Northern sea otter, Southwest AK. 


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TABLE 1—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN—Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Prince William Sound salmon drift gillnet ...................... 537 Dall’s porpoise, AK. 

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Harbor porpoise, GOA1. 

Harbor seal, Prince William Sound. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

Northern fur seal, Eastern Pacific. 

Pacific white-sided dolphin, North Pacific. 

Sea otter, South central AK. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S.1

AK Southeast salmon drift gillnet ........................................ 474 Dall’s porpoise, AK. 

Harbor porpoise, Southeast AK. 

Harbor seal, Southeast AK. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific 1. 

Pacific white-sided dolphin, North Pacific. 

Steller sea lion, Eastern U.S. 

AK Yakutat salmon set gillnet 2 ........................................... 168 Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Harbor Porpoise, Southeastern AK. 

Harbor seal, Southeast AK. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific (Southeast AK). 

WA Puget Sound Region salmon drift gillnet (includes all 

inland waters south of US-Canada border and eastward 

of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line-Treaty Indian fishing is excluded).

136 Dall’s porpoise, CA/OR/WA. 

Harbor porpoise, inland WA1. 

Harbor seal, WA inland. 

Trawl Fisheries: 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands flatfish trawl ..................... 32 Bearded seal, Beringia. 

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Harbor porpoise, Bering Sea. 

Harbor seal, Bristol Bay. 

Humpback whale, Western North Pacific 1. 

Killer whale, Eastern North Pacific Alaska resident 1. 

Killer whale, Eastern North Pacific GOA, AI, BS transient 1. 

Northern fur seal, Eastern Pacific. 

Ringed seal, Arctic. 

Ribbon seal. 

Spotted seal, Bering. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S.1

Walrus, AK. 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands pollock trawl .................... 102 Harbor seal, Bristol Bay. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, Western North Pacific. 

Ribbon seal. 

Ringed seal, Arctic. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S.1

Pot, Ring Net, and Trap Fisheries: 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Pacific cod pot ................ 59 Harbor seal, Bristol Bay. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, Western North Pacific. 

CA coonstripe shrimp pot .................................................... 9 Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Harbor seal, CA. 

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

CA spiny lobster .................................................................. 189 Bottlenose dolphin, CA/OR/WA offshore. 

California sea lion, U.S. 

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Southern sea otter. 

CA spot prawn pot ............................................................... 22 Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

Long-beaked common dolphin, CA. 

CA Dungeness crab pot ...................................................... 471 Blue whale, Eastern North Pacific 1. 

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

Killer whale, Eastern North Pacific GOA, BSAI transient. 

Killer whale, West Coast transient. 

OR Dungeness crab pot ...................................................... 323 Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

WA/OR/CA sablefish pot ..................................................... 144 Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA1. 

WA coastal Dungeness crab pot ......................................... 204 Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA1. 


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TABLE 1—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN—Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Longline/Set Line Fisheries: 

AK Gulf of Alaska sablefish longline ................................... 295 Northern elephant seal, California. 

Sperm whale, North Pacific. 

Steller sea lion, Eastern U.S. 

HI shallow-set longline * ∧ .................................................... 11 Bottlenose dolphin, HI Pelagic. 

False killer whale, HI Pelagic 1. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

Risso’s dolphin, HI. 

Striped dolphin, HI. 

American Samoa longline 2 .................................................. 13 False killer whale, American Samoa. 

Rough-toothed dolphin, American Samoa. 

Short-finned pilot whale, unknown. 

Striped dolphin, unknown. 

HI shortline 2 ......................................................................... 5 None documented. 

Category III 

Gillnet Fisheries: 

AK Kuskokwim, Yukon, Norton Sound, Kotzebue salmon gillnet 1,778 Harbor porpoise, Bering Sea. 

AK Prince William Sound salmon set gillnet ....................... 29 Harbor seal, GOA. 

Sea otter, South central AK. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK roe herring and food/bait herring gillnet ........................ 920 None documented. 

CA set gillnet (mesh size <3.5 in) ....................................... 11 None documented. 

HI inshore gillnet .................................................................. 29 Bottlenose dolphin, HI. 

Spinner dolphin, HI. 

WA Grays Harbor salmon drift gillnet (excluding treaty 

Tribal fishing).

19 Harbor seal, OR/WA coast. 

WA/OR Mainstem Columbia River eulachon gillnet ............ 10 None documented. 

WA/OR lower Columbia River (includes tributaries) drift 

gillnet.

244 California sea lion, U.S. 

Harbor seal, OR/WA coast. 

WA Willapa Bay drift gillnet ................................................. 57 Harbor seal, OR/WA coast. 

Northern elephant seal, CA breeding. 

Miscellaneous Net Fisheries: 

AK Cook Inlet salmon purse seine ...................................... 83 Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

AK Kodiak salmon purse seine ........................................... 376 Dall’s porpoise, AK. 

Harbor seal, North Kodiak. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, Western North Pacific. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Southeast salmon purse seine ...................................... 315 Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

AK roe herring and food/bait herring beach seine .............. 10 None documented. 

AK roe herring and food/bait herring purse seine ............... 356 None documented. 

AK salmon beach seine ....................................................... 31 None documented. 

AK salmon purse seine (Prince William Sound, Chignik, 

Alaska Peninsula).

936 Harbor seal, GOA. 

Harbor seal, Prince William Sound. 

WA/OR sardine purse seine ................................................ 6 None documented. 

CA anchovy, mackerel, sardine purse seine ....................... 53 California sea lion, U.S. 

Harbor seal, CA. 

CA squid purse seine .......................................................... 68 California sea lion, U.S. 

Long-beaked common dolphin, CA. 

Risso’s dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Short-beaked common dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

CA tuna purse seine * .......................................................... 14 None documented. 

WA/OR Lower Columbia River salmon seine ..................... 1 None documented. 

WA/OR herring, anchovy, smelt, squid purse seine or 

lampara.

41 None documented. 

WA salmon seine ................................................................. 81 None documented. 

WA salmon reef net ............................................................. 11 None documented. 

HI lift net .............................................................................. 15 None documented. 

HI inshore purse seine ........................................................ None recorded None documented. 

HI throw net, cast net .......................................................... 15 None documented. 

HI seine net ......................................................................... 17 None documented. 

Dip Net Fisheries: 

CA squid dip net .................................................................. 19 None documented. 

Marine Aquaculture Fisheries: 

CA marine shellfish aquaculture .......................................... unknown None documented. 

CA salmon enhancement rearing pen ................................. >1 None documented. 

CA white seabass enhancement net pens .......................... 13 California sea lion, U.S. 


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TABLE 1—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN—Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

HI offshore pen culture ........................................................ 1 Hawaiian monk seal. 

WA salmon net pens ........................................................... 14 California sea lion, U.S. 

Harbor seal, WA inland waters. 

WA/OR shellfish aquaculture ............................................... 23 None documented. 

Troll Fisheries: 

WA/OR/CA albacore surface hook and line/troll ................. 556 None documented. 

CA halibut, white seabass, and yellowtail hook and line/ 

handline.

388 None documented. 

CA/OR/WA non-albacore HMS hook and line .................... 124 None documented. 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands groundfish hand troll and 

dinglebar troll.

unknown None documented. 

AK Gulf of Alaska groundfish hand troll and dinglebar troll unknown None documented. 

AK salmon troll ............................................................................ 1,908 Steller sea lion, Eastern U.S.

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

American Samoa tuna troll .................................................. 13 None documented. 

CA/OR/WA salmon troll ....................................................... 1,030 None documented. 

HI troll .................................................................................. 1,380 Pantropical spotted dolphin, HI. 

HI rod and reel ..................................................................... 237 None documented. 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands tuna troll 40 None documented. 

Guam tuna troll .................................................................... 398 None documented. 

Longline/Set Line Fisheries: 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Greenland turbot longline 4 Killer whale, GOA, AI, BS transient. 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Pacific cod longline ......... 45 Northern fur seal, Eastern Pacific. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands sablefish longline ............ 22 None documented. 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands halibut longline ................ 127 Northern fur seal, Eastern Pacific. 

Sperm whale, North Pacific. 

AK Gulf of Alaska halibut longline ....................................... 855 Harbor seal, Clarence Strait. 

Harbor seal, Cook Inlet. 

Steller sea lion, Eastern U.S. 

AK Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod longline ................................ 92 Harbor seal, Cook Inlet/Shelikof Strait. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK octopus/squid longline ................................................... 3 None documented. 

AK state-managed waters longline/setline (including sablefish, rockfish, lingcod, and miscellaneous finfish).464 None documented. 

WA/OR/CA groundfish, bottomfish longline/set line ............ 314 Bottlenose dolphin, CA/OR/WA offshore. 

California sea lion, U.S. 

Northern elephant seal, California breeding. 

Sperm whale, CA/OR/WA. 

Steller sea lion, Eastern U.S. 

WA/OR/CA Pacific halibut longline ...................................... 130 None documented. 

CA pelagic longline .............................................................. 4 None documented in the most recent 5 years of data. 

HI kaka line .......................................................................... 5 None documented. 

HI vertical line ...................................................................... None recorded None documented. 

Trawl Fisheries: 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Atka mackerel trawl ........ 13 Harbor seal, Aleutian Islands. 

Northern elephant seal, California. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Pacific cod trawl .............. 72 Bearded seal, AK. 

Ribbon seal. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands rockfish trawl ................... 17 Harbor seal, Aleutian Islands. 

Ribbon seal. 

AK Gulf of Alaska flatfish trawl ............................................ 36 Harbor seal, Cook Inlet/Shelikof Strait. 

Harbor seal, North Kodiak. 

Harbor seal, South Kodiak. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod trawl ..................................... 55 Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Gulf of Alaska pollock trawl ........................................... 67 Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Gulf of Alaska rockfish trawl .......................................... 43 Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

AK Kodiak food/bait herring otter trawl ............................... 4 None documented. 

AK shrimp otter trawl and beam trawl ................................. 38 None documented. 

AK state-managed waters of Prince William Sound 

groundfish trawl.

2 None documented. 

CA halibut bottom trawl ....................................................... 23 California sea lion, U.S. 

Harbor porpoise, unknown. 

Harbor seal, unknown. 

Northern elephant seal, CA breeding. 

Steller sea lion, unknown. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
23140 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 1—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN—Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

CA sea cucumber trawl ....................................................... 11 None documented. 

WA/OR/CA shrimp trawl ...................................................... 130 California sea lion, U.S. 

WA/OR/CA groundfish trawl ................................................ 118 California sea lion, U.S. 

Dall’s porpoise, CA/OR/WA. 

Harbor seal, OR/WA coast. 

Northern elephant seal, CA breeding. 

Northern fur seal, Eastern Pacific. 

Northern right whale dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Pacific white-sided dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Steller sea lion, Eastern U.S. 

Pot, Ring Net, and Trap Fisheries: 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands sablefish pot .................... 6 Sperm whale, North Pacific. 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands crab pot ........................... 540 Bowhead whale, Western Arctic. 

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

AK Gulf of Alaska crab pot .................................................. 271 None documented. 

AK Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod pot ....................................... 116 None documented in most recent 5 years of data. 

AK Gulf of Alaska sablefish pot ........................................... 248 None documented. 

AK Southeast Alaska crab pot ............................................ 375 Humpback whale, Central North Pacific (Southeast AK). 

AK Southeast Alaska shrimp pot ......................................... 99 Humpback whale, Central North Pacific (Southeast AK).

AK shrimp pot, except Southeast ........................................ 141 None documented. 

AK octopus/squid pot ........................................................... 15 None documented. 

CA rock crab pot .................................................................. 113 Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific. 

Harbor seal, CA. 

CA Tanner crab pot fishery ................................................. 1 None documented. 

WA/OR/CA hagfish pot ........................................................ 63 None documented. 

WA/OR shrimp pot/trap ....................................................... 28 None documented. 

WA Puget Sound Dungeness crab pot/trap ........................ 145 None documented. 

HI crab trap .......................................................................... 4 Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

HI fish trap ........................................................................... 4 None documented. 

HI lobster trap ...................................................................... None recorded None documented in recent years. 

HI shrimp trap ...................................................................... 3 None documented. 

HI crab net ........................................................................... None recorded None documented. 

HI Kona crab loop net ......................................................... 20 None documented. 

Hook and Line, Handline, and Jig Fisheries: 

AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands groundfish jig .................. 2 None documented. 

AK Gulf of Alaska groundfish jig ......................................... 214 None documented in most recent 5 years of data. 

AK halibut jig ........................................................................ 71 None documented. 

American Samoa bottomfish ............................................... 9 None documented. 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 

bottomfish.

11 None documented. 

Guam bottomfish ................................................................. 67 None documented. 

HI aku boat, pole, and line .................................................. None recorded None documented. 

HI bottomfish handline ......................................................... 385 None documented in recent years. 

HI inshore handline .............................................................. 206 None documented. 

HI pelagic handline .............................................................. 300 None documented. 

WA/OR/CA groundfish/finfish hook and line ....................... 689 California sea lion, U.S. 

Western Pacific squid jig ..................................................... 0 None documented. 

Harpoon Fisheries: 

CA swordfish harpoon ......................................................... 21 None documented. 

Pound Net/Weir Fisheries: 

AK herring spawn on kelp pound net .................................. 291 None documented. 

AK Southeast herring roe/food/bait pound net .................... 2 None documented. 

HI bullpen trap ..................................................................... None recorded None documented. 

Bait Pens: 

WA/OR/CA bait pens ........................................................... 13 California sea lion, U.S. 

Dredge Fisheries: 

AK scallop dredge ............................................................... 108 (5 AK) None documented. 

Dive, Hand/Mechanical Collection Fisheries: 

AK clam ............................................................................... 130 None documented. 

AK Dungeness crab ............................................................. 2 None documented. 

AK herring spawn on kelp ................................................... 266 None documented. 

AK miscellaneous invertebrates handpick ........................... 214 None documented. 

CA/OR/WA dive collection ................................................... 186 None documented. 

CA/WA kelp, seaweed and algae ........................................ 4 None documented. 

HI black coral diving ............................................................ None recorded None documented. 

HI fish pond ......................................................................... None recorded None documented. 

HI handpick .......................................................................... 25 None documented. 

HI lobster diving ................................................................... 12 None documented. 

HI spearfishing ..................................................................... 82 None documented. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 23141 

TABLE 1—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN—Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

WA/OR/CA hand/mechanical collection .............................. 320 None documented. 

Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (Charter Boat) Fisheries: 

AK/WA/OR/CA commercial passenger fishing vessel ......... >7,000 (1,006 

AK) 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

Humpback whale, Western North Pacific. 

Killer whale, unknown. 

Steller sea lion, Eastern U.S. 

Steller sea lion, Western U.S. 

Live Finfish/Shellfish Fisheries: 

CA nearshore finfish trap ..................................................... 93 None documented. 

HI aquarium collecting ......................................................... 34 None documented. 

List of Abbreviations and Symbols Used in Table 1: 

AI—Aleutian Islands; AK—Alaska; BS—Bering Sea; CA—California; ENP—Eastern North Pacific; GOA—Gulf of Alaska; HI—Hawaii; MHI— 

Main Hawaiian Islands; OR—Oregon; WA—Washington; 1Fishery classified based on mortalities and serious injuries of this stock, which are greater than or equal to 50 percent (Category I) or greater 

than 1 percent and less than 50 percent (Category II) of the stock’s PBR; 2Fishery classified by analogy; 

* Fishery has an associated high seas component listed in Table 3; and 

∧The list of marine mammal species and/or stocks killed or injured in this fishery is identical to the list of species and/or stocks killed or injured 

in high seas component of the fishery, minus species and/or stocks that have geographic ranges exclusively on the high seas. The species and/ 

or stocks are found, and the fishery remains the same, on both sides of the EEZ boundary. Therefore, the EEZ components of these fisheries 

pose the same risk to marine mammals as the components operating on the high seas. 

TABLE 2—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND CARIBBEAN

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Category I 

Gillnet Fisheries: 

Mid-Atlantic gillnet ................................................................ 4,020 Bottlenose dolphin, Northern Migratory coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern Migratory coastal.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern NC estuarine system.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern NC estuarine system.1

Bottlenose dolphin, WNA offshore. 

Common dolphin, WNA. 

Gray seal, WNA. 

Harbor porpoise, GME/BF. 

Harbor seal, WNA. 

Hooded seal, WNA. 

Humpback whale, Gulf of Maine. 

Minke whale, Canadian east coast. 

Northeast sink gillnet ........................................................... 4,072 Bottlenose dolphin, Northern Migratory coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, WNA offshore. 

Common dolphin, WNA. 

Fin whale, WNA. 

Gray seal, WNA.1

Harbor porpoise, GME/BF. 

Harbor seal, WNA. 

Harp seal, WNA. 

Humpback whale, Gulf of Maine. 

Minke whale, Canadian east coast. 

North Atlantic right whale, WNA. 

Risso’s dolphin, WNA. 

White-sided dolphin, WNA. 

Trap/Pot Fisheries: 

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic American lobster trap/pot ................ 8,485 Humpback whale, Gulf of Maine. 

Minke whale, Canadian east coast. 

North Atlantic right whale, WNA.1

Longline Fisheries: 

Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico large pelagics 

longline *.

201 Atlantic spotted dolphin, Northern GMX. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX oceanic. 

Bottlenose dolphin, WNA offshore. 

Common dolphin, WNA. 

Cuvier’s beaked whale, WNA. 

False killer whale, WNA. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
23142 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 2—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND CARIBBEAN— 

Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Harbor porpoise, GME, BF. 

Kogia spp. (Pygmy or dwarf sperm whale), WNA. 

Long-finned pilot whale, WNA. 

Mesoplodon beaked whale, WNA. 

Minke whale, Canadian East coast. 

Pantropical spotted dolphin, Northern GMX. 

Pygmy sperm whale, GMX. 

Risso’s dolphin, Northern GMX. 

Risso’s dolphin, WNA. 

Rough-toothed dolphin, Northern GMX. 

Short-finned pilot whale, Northern GMX. 

Short-finned pilot whale, WNA.1

Sperm whale, Northern GMX. 

Category II 

Gillnet Fisheries: 

Chesapeake Bay inshore gillnet 2 ........................................ 265 Bottlenose dolphin, unknown (Northern migratory coastal or 

Southern migratory coastal). 

Gulf of Mexico gillnet 2 ......................................................... 248 Bottlenose dolphin, Eastern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, GMX bay, sound, and estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Mobile Bay, Bonsecour Bay. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Western GMX coastal. 

NC inshore gillnet ................................................................ 2,676 Bottlenose dolphin, Northern NC estuarine system.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern NC estuarine system.1

Northeast anchored float gillnet 2 ......................................... 852 Harbor seal, WNA. 

Humpback whale, Gulf of Maine. 

White-sided dolphin, WNA. 

Northeast drift gillnet 2 .......................................................... 1,036 None documented. 

Southeast Atlantic gillnet 2 ................................................... 273 Bottlenose dolphin, Central FL coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern FL coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, SC/GA coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern migratory coastal. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic shark gillnet .............................. 21 Bottlenose dolphin, unknown (Central FL, Northern FL, SC/GA 

coastal, or Southern migratory coastal). 

North Atlantic right whale, WNA. 

Trawl Fisheries: 

Mid-Atlantic mid-water trawl (including pair trawl) ............... 320 Bottlenose dolphin, WNA offshore. 

Harbor seal, WNA. 

Mid-Atlantic bottom trawl ..................................................... 633 Bottlenose dolphin, WNA offshore.1

Common dolphin, WNA.1

Gray seal, WNA.1

Harbor seal, WNA. 

Risso’s dolphin, WNA.1

White-sided dolphin, WNA. 

Northeast mid-water trawl (including pair trawl) .................. 542 Common dolphin, WNA. 

Gray seal, WNA. 

Harbor seal, WNA. 

Long-finned pilot whale, WNA.1

Northeast bottom trawl ........................................................ 968 Bottlenose dolphin, WNA offshore.1

Common dolphin, WNA. 

Gray seal, WNA.1

Harbor porpoise, GME/BF. 

Harbor seal, WNA. 

Harp seal, WNA. 

Long-finned pilot whale, WNA.1

Risso’s dolphin, WNA.1

White-sided dolphin, WNA.1

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawl .... 10,824 Atlantic spotted dolphin, Northern Gulf of Mexico. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Charleston estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Eastern GMX coastal.1

Bottlenose dolphin, GMX bay, sound, estuarine.1

Bottlenose dolphin, GMX continental shelf. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Mississippi River Delta. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Mobile Bay, Bonsecour Bay. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX coastal.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Pensacola Bay, East Bay. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 23143 

TABLE 2—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND CARIBBEAN— 

Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Bottlenose dolphin, Perdido Bay. 

Bottlenose dolphin, SC/GA coastal.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern migratory coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Western GMX coastal.1

Trap/Pot Fisheries: 

MA mixed species trap/pot .................................................. 1,240 None documented. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico stone crab trap/ 

pot 2.

1,101 Bottlenose dolphin, Biscayne Bay estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Central FL coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Eastern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, FL Bay. 

Bottlenose dolphin, GMX bay, sound, estuarine (FL west 

coast portion). 

Bottlenose dolphin, Indian River Lagoon estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Jacksonville estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Sarasota Bay, Little Sarasota Bay. 

Atlantic mixed species trap/pot 2 .......................................... 3,493 Fin whale, WNA. 

Humpback whale, Gulf of Maine. 

Atlantic blue crab trap/pot .................................................... 6,679 Bottlenose dolphin, Central FL coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Central GA estuarine system.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Charleston estuarine system.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Indian River Lagoon estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Jacksonville estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern FL coastal.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GA/Southern SC estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern Migratory coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern NC estuarine system.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern SC estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, SC/GA coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern GA estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern Migratory coastal.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern NC estuarine system. 

West Indian manatee, FL. 

Purse Seine Fisheries: 

Gulf of Mexico menhaden purse seine ............................... 40–42 Bottlenose dolphin, GMX bay, sound, estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Mississippi River Delta. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Mississippi Sound, Lake Borgne, Bay 

Boudreau. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX coastal.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Western GMX coastal.1

Mid-Atlantic menhaden purse seine 2 .................................. 17 Bottlenose dolphin, Northern Migratory coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern Migratory coastal. 

Haul/Beach Seine Fisheries: 

Mid-Atlantic haul/beach seine .............................................. 359 Bottlenose dolphin, Northern Migratory coastal.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern NC estuarine system.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern Migratory coastal.1

NC long haul seine .............................................................. 22 Bottlenose dolphin, Northern NC estuarine system.1

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern NC estuarine system. 

Stop Net Fisheries: 

NC roe mullet stop net ........................................................ 1 Bottlenose dolphin, Northern NC estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, unknown (Southern migratory coastal or 

Southern NC estuarine system). 

Pound Net Fisheries: 

VA pound net ....................................................................... 20 Bottlenose dolphin, Northern migratory coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern NC estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern Migratory coastal.1

Category III 

Gillnet Fisheries: 

Caribbean gillnet .................................................................. 127 None documented in the most recent 5 years of data. 

DE River inshore gillnet ....................................................... unknown None documented in the most recent 5 years of data. 

Long Island Sound inshore gillnet ....................................... unknown None documented in the most recent 5 years of data. 

RI, southern MA (to Monomoy Island), and NY Bight (Raritan and Lower NY Bays) inshore gillnet.unknown None documented in the most recent 5 years of data. 

Southeast Atlantic inshore gillnet ........................................ unknown Bottlenose dolphin, Northern SC estuarine system. 

Trawl Fisheries: 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
23144 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 2—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND CARIBBEAN— 

Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Atlantic shellfish bottom trawl .............................................. >58 None documented. 

Gulf of Mexico butterfish trawl ............................................. 2 Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX oceanic. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX continental shelf. 

Gulf of Mexico mixed species trawl ..................................... 20 None documented. 

GA cannonball jellyfish trawl ............................................... 1 Bottlenose dolphin, SC/GA coastal. 

Marine Aquaculture Fisheries: 

Finfish aquaculture .............................................................. 48 Harbor seal, WNA. 

Shellfish aquaculture ........................................................... unknown None documented. 

Purse Seine Fisheries: 

Gulf of Maine Atlantic herring purse seine .......................... >7 Harbor seal, WNA. 

Gulf of Maine menhaden purse seine ................................. >2 None documented. 

FL West Coast sardine purse seine .................................... 10 Bottlenose dolphin, Eastern GMX coastal. 

U.S. Atlantic tuna purse seine * ........................................... 5 None documented in most recent 5 years of data. 

Longline/Hook and Line Fisheries: 

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic bottom longline/hook-and-line ......... >1,207 None documented. 

Gulf of Maine, U.S. Mid-Atlantic tuna, shark, swordfish 

hook-and-line/harpoon.

2,846 Humpback whale, Gulf of Maine. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean 

snapper-grouper and other reef fish bottom longline/ 

hook-and-line.

>5,000 Bottlenose dolphin, GMX continental shelf. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico shark bottom 

longline/hook-and-line.

39 Bottlenose dolphin, Eastern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX continental shelf. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean 

pelagic hook-and-line/harpoon.

680 None documented. 

U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico trotline ................................... unknown None documented. 

Trap/Pot Fisheries: 

Caribbean mixed species trap/pot ....................................... 154 Bottlenose dolphin, Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands. 

Caribbean spiny lobster trap/pot ......................................... 40 None documented. 

FL spiny lobster trap/pot ...................................................... 1,268 Bottlenose dolphin, Biscayne Bay estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Central FL coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Eastern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, FL Bay estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, FL Keys. 

Gulf of Mexico blue crab trap/pot ........................................ 4,113 Bottlenose dolphin, Barataria Bay. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Eastern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, GMX bay, sound, estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Mississippi Sound, Lake Borgne, Bay 

Boudreau. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Mobile Bay, Bonsecour Bay. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Western GMX coastal. 

West Indian manatee, FL. 

Gulf of Mexico mixed species trap/pot ................................ unknown None documented. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico golden crab 

trap/pot.

10 None documented. 

U.S. Mid-Atlantic eel trap/pot ............................................... unknown None documented. 

Stop Seine/Weir/Pound Net/Floating Trap/Fyke Net Fisheries: 

Gulf of Maine herring and Atlantic mackerel stop seine/ 

weir.

>1 Harbor porpoise, GME/BF. 

Harbor seal, WNA. 

Minke whale, Canadian east coast. 

Atlantic white-sided dolphin, WNA. 

U.S. Mid-Atlantic crab stop seine/weir ................................ 2,600 None documented. 

U.S. Mid-Atlantic mixed species stop seine/weir/pound net 

(except the NC roe mullet stop net).

unknown Bottlenose dolphin, Northern NC estuarine system. 

RI floating trap ..................................................................... 9 None documented. 

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic fyke net .................................... unknown None documented. 

Dredge Fisheries: 

Gulf of Maine sea urchin dredge ......................................... unknown None documented. 

Gulf of Maine mussel dredge .............................................. unknown None documented. 

Gulf of Maine, U.S. Mid-Atlantic sea scallop dredge .......... >403 None documented. 

Mid-Atlantic blue crab dredge .............................................. unknown None documented. 

Mid-Atlantic soft-shell clam dredge ..................................... unknown None documented. 

Mid-Atlantic whelk dredge ................................................... unknown None documented. 

U.S. Mid-Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico oyster dredge .................. 7,000 None documented. 

New England and Mid-Atlantic offshore surf clam/quahog 

dredge.

unknown None documented. 

Haul/Beach Seine Fisheries: 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 23145 

TABLE 2—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND CARIBBEAN— 

Continued 

Fishery description 

Estimated 

number of 

vessels/ 

persons 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Caribbean haul/beach seine ................................................ 38 West Indian manatee, Puerto Rico. 

Gulf of Mexico haul/beach seine ......................................... unknown None documented. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic haul/beach seine ...................... 25 None documented. 

Dive, Hand/Mechanical Collection Fisheries: 

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean shellfish dive, 

hand/mechanical collection.

20,000 None documented. 

Gulf of Maine urchin dive, hand/mechanical collection ....... unknown None documented. 

Gulf of Mexico, Southeast Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, and Caribbean cast net.unknown None documented. 

Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (Charter Boat) Fisheries: 

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean commercial 

passenger fishing vessel.

4,000 Bottlenose dolphin, Barataria Bay estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Biscayne Bay estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Central FL coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Choctawhatchee Bay. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Eastern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, FL Bay. 

Bottlenose dolphin, GMX bay, sound, estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Indian River Lagoon estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Jacksonville estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Mississippi Sound, Lake Borgne, Bay 

Boudreau. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern FL coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GA/Southern SC estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern migratory coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern NC estuarine. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern migratory coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Southern NC estuarine system. 

Bottlenose dolphin, SC/GA coastal. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Western GMX coastal. 

Short-finned pilot whale, WNA. 

List of Abbreviations and Symbols Used in Table 2: 

DE—Delaware; FL—Florida; GA—Georgia; GME/BF—Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy; GMX—Gulf of Mexico; MA—Massachusetts; NC—North 

Carolina; NY—New York; RI—Rhode Island; SC—South Carolina; VA—Virginia; WNA—Western North Atlantic; 1Fishery classified based on mortalities and serious injuries of this stock, which are greater than or equal to 50 percent (Category I) or greater 

than 1 percent and less than 50 percent (Category II) of the stock’s PBR; 2Fishery classified by analogy; and 

* Fishery has an associated high seas component listed in Table 3. 

TABLE 3—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES ON THE HIGH SEAS

Fishery description 

Number of 

HSFCA 

permits 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Category I 

Longline Fisheries: 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species * ...................................... 39 Atlantic spotted dolphin, WNA. 

Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX oceanic. 

Bottlenose dolphin, WNA offshore. 

Common dolphin, WNA. 

Cuvier’s beaked whale, WNA. 

False killer whale, WNA. 

Killer whale, GMX oceanic. 

Kogia spp. whale (Pygmy or dwarf sperm whale), WNA. 

Long-finned pilot whale, WNA. 

Mesoplodon beaked whale, WNA. 

Minke whale, Canadian East coast. 

Pantropical spotted dolphin, WNA. 

Risso’s dolphin, GMX. 

Risso’s dolphin, WNA. 

Short-finned pilot whale, WNA. 

Western Pacific Pelagic (HI Deep-set component) * ∧ ......... 143 Bottlenose dolphin, HI Pelagic. 

False killer whale, HI Pelagic. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

Kogia spp. (Pygmy or dwarf sperm whale), HI. 


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23146 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 3—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES ON THE HIGH SEAS—Continued 

Fishery description 

Number of 

HSFCA 

permits 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Risso’s dolphin, HI. 

Short-finned pilot whale, HI. 

Striped dolphin, HI. 

Category II 

Drift Gillnet Fisheries: 

Pacific Highly Migratory Species * ∧ ..................................... 5 Long-beaked common dolphin, CA. 

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA. 

Northern right-whale dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Pacific white-sided dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Risso’s dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Short-beaked common dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Trawl Fisheries: 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species ** .................................... 1 No information. 

CCAMLR .............................................................................. 0 Antarctic fur seal. 

Purse Seine Fisheries: 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean Tuna Purse Seine ...... 20 Bottlenose dolphin, HI Pelagic. 

Blue whale, unknown. 

Bryde’s whale, HI. 

False killer whale, HI Pelagic. 

Fin whale, HI. 

Humpback whale, unknown. 

Indo-Pacific dolphin. 

Long-beaked common dolphin, CA. 

Melon-headed whale, unknown. 

Minke whale, HI. 

Pantropical spotted dolphin, unknown. 

Pygmy killer whale, HI. 

Risso’s dolphin, unknown. 

Rough-toothed dolphin, unknown. 

Sei whale, HI. 

Short-finned pilot whale, unknown. 

Sperm whale, HI. 

Spinner dolphin, unknown. 

Western Pacific Pelagic ....................................................... 1 No information. 

Longline Fisheries: 

CCAMLR .............................................................................. 0 None documented. 

South Pacific Albacore Troll ................................................ 6 No information. 

Western Pacific Pelagic (HI Shallow-set component) * ∧ ..... 11 Bottlenose dolphin, HI Pelagic. 

False killer whale, HI Pelagic. 

Fin whale, HI. 

Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale. 

Guadalupe fur seal. 

Humpback whale, Central North Pacific. 

Northern elephant seal, CA breeding. 

Risso’s dolphin, HI. 

Short-beaked common dolphin, CA/OR/WA. 

Striped dolphin, HI. 

Handline/Pole and Line Fisheries: 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species ........................................ 1 No information. 

Pacific Highly Migratory Species ......................................... 44 No information. 

South Pacific Albacore Troll ................................................ 9 No information. 

Western Pacific Pelagic ....................................................... 5 No information. 

Troll Fisheries: 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species ........................................ 0 No information. 

South Pacific Albacore Troll ................................................ 20 No information. 

South Pacific Tuna Fisheries ** ........................................... 0 No information. 

Western Pacific Pelagic ....................................................... 6 No information. 

Category III 

Longline Fisheries: 

Northwest Atlantic Bottom Longline .................................... 2 None documented. 

Pacific Highly Migratory Species ......................................... 111 None documented in the most recent 5 years of data. 

Purse Seine Fisheries: 

Pacific Highly Migratory Species * ∧ ..................................... 5 None documented. 

Trawl Fisheries: 

Northwest Atlantic ................................................................ 4 None documented. 

Troll Fisheries: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 23147 

TABLE 3—LIST OF FISHERIES—COMMERCIAL FISHERIES ON THE HIGH SEAS—Continued 

Fishery description 

Number of 

HSFCA 

permits 

Marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or 

injured 

Pacific Highly Migratory Species * ....................................... 107 None documented. 

List of Terms, Abbreviations, and Symbols Used in Table 3: 

CA—California; GMX—Gulf of Mexico; HI—Hawaii; OR—Oregon; WA—Washington; WNA—Western North Atlantic; 

* Fishery is an extension/component of an existing fishery operating within U.S. waters listed in Table 1 or 2. The number of permits listed in 

Table 3 represents only the number of permits for the high seas component of the fishery; 

** These gear types are not authorized under the Pacific HMS FMP (2004), the Atlantic HMS FMP (2006), or without a South Pacific Tuna 

Treaty license (in the case of the South Pacific Tuna fisheries). Because HSFCA permits are valid for 5 years, permits obtained in past years 

exist in the HSFCA permit database for gear types that are now unauthorized. Therefore, while HSFCA permits exist for these gear types, it 

does not represent effort. In order to land fish species, fishers must be using an authorized gear type. Once these permits for unauthorized gear 

types expire, the permit-holder will be required to obtain a permit for an authorized gear type; and ∧The list of marine mammal species and/or stocks killed or injured in this fishery is identical to the list of marine mammal species and/or 

stocks killed or injured in U.S. waters component of the fishery, minus species and/or stocks that have geographic ranges exclusively in coastal 

waters, because the marine mammal species and/or stocks are also found on the high seas and the fishery remains the same on both sides of 

the EEZ boundary. Therefore, the high seas components of these fisheries pose the same risk to marine mammals as the components of these 

fisheries operating in U.S. waters. 

TABLE 4—FISHERIES AFFECTED BY TAKE REDUCTION TEAMS AND PLANS

Take reduction plans Affected fisheries 

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP)—50 CFR 229.32 Category I 

Mid-Atlantic gillnet. 

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic American lobster trap/pot. 

Northeast sink gillnet. 

Category II 

Atlantic blue crab trap/pot. 

Atlantic mixed species trap/pot. 

MA mixed species trap/pot. 

Northeast anchored float gillnet. 

Northeast drift gillnet. 

Southeast Atlantic gillnet. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic shark gillnet.* 

Southeastern, U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico stone crab trap/pot.∧

Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Plan (BDTRP)—50 CFR 229.35 .... Category I 

Mid-Atlantic gillnet. 

Category II 

Atlantic blue crab trap/pot. 

Chesapeake Bay inshore gillnet fishery. 

Mid-Atlantic haul/beach seine. 

Mid-Atlantic menhaden purse seine. 

NC inshore gillnet. 

NC long haul seine. 

NC roe mullet stop net. 

Southeast Atlantic gillnet. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic shark gillnet. 

Southeastern U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawl.∧

Southeastern, U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico stone crab trap/pot.∧

VA pound net. 

False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan (FKWTRP)—50 CFR 229.37 .. Category I 

HI deep-set longline. 

Category II 

HI shallow-set longline. 

Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan (HPTRP)—50 CFR 229.33 (New 

England) and 229.34 (Mid-Atlantic).

Category I 

Mid-Atlantic gillnet. 

Northeast sink gillnet. 

Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan (PLTRP)—50 CFR 229.36 ......... Category I 

Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico large pelagics longline. 

Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Plan (POCTRP)—50 CFR 

229.31.

Category II 

CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet (≥14 in mesh). 

Atlantic Trawl Gear Take Reduction Team (ATGTRT) ............................ Category II 

Mid-Atlantic bottom trawl. 

Mid-Atlantic mid-water trawl (including pair trawl). 

Northeast bottom trawl. 

Northeast mid-water trawl (including pair trawl). 

List of Symbols Used in Table 4: 

* Only applicable to the portion of the fishery operating in U.S. waters; and 

∧Only applicable to the portion of the fishery operating in the Atlantic Ocean. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
23148 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

Classification 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce has 

certified to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) that this rule 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. No comments were received on 

that certification, and no new 

information has been discovered to 

change that conclusion. Accordingly, no 

regulatory flexibility analysis is 

required, and none has been prepared. 

This rule contains existing collectionof-information (COI) requirements 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

and would not impose additional or 

new COI requirements. The COI for the 

registration of individuals under the 

MMPA has been approved by the OMB 

under OMB Control Number 0648–0293 

(0.15 hours per report for new 

registrants). The requirement for 

reporting marine mammal mortalities or 

injuries has been approved by OMB 

under OMB Control Number 0648–0292 

(0.15 hours per report). These estimates 

include the time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering and maintaining the 

data needed, and completing and 

reviewing the COI. Send comments 

regarding these reporting burden 

estimates or any other aspect of the COI, 

including suggestions for reducing 

burden, to NMFS (see ADDRESSES). You 

may also submit comments on these or 

any other aspects of the collection of 

information at www.reginfo.gov/public/ 

do/PRAMain. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, no person is required to respond 

to, nor shall a person be subject to a 

penalty for failure to comply with a COI, 

subject to the requirements of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that 

COI displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

This rule has been determined to be 

not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563. 

In accordance with the Companion 

Manual for NOAA Administrative Order 

(NAO) 216–6A, NMFS determined that 

publishing this LOF qualifies to be 

categorically excluded from further 

NEPA review, consistent with categories 

of activities identified in Categorical 

Exclusion G7 (‘‘Preparation of policy 

directives, rules, regulations, and 

guidelines of an administrative, 

financial, legal, technical, or procedural 

nature, or for which the environmental 

effects are too broad, speculative or 

conjectural to lend themselves to 

meaningful analysis and will be subject 

later to the NEPA process, either 

collectively or on a case-by-case basis’’) 

of the Companion Manual and we have 

not identified any extraordinary 

circumstances listed in Chapter 4 of the 

Companion Manual for NAO 216–6A 

that would preclude application of this 

categorical exclusion. If NMFS takes a 

management action, for example, 

through the development of a TRP, 

NMFS would first prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement or 

Environmental Assessment, as required 

under NEPA, specific to that action. 

This rule would not affect species 

listed as threatened or endangered 

under the ESA or their associated 

critical habitat. The impacts of 

numerous fisheries have been analyzed 

in various biological opinions, and this 

rule will not affect the conclusions of 

those opinions. The classification of 

fisheries on the LOF is not considered 

to be a management action that would 

adversely affect threatened or 

endangered species. If NMFS takes a 

management action, for example, 

through the development of a TRP, 

NMFS would consult under ESA section 

7 on that action. 

This rule would have no adverse 

impacts on marine mammals and may 

have a positive impact on marine 

mammals by improving knowledge of 

marine mammals and the fisheries 

interacting with marine mammals 

through information collected from 

observer programs, stranding and 

sighting data, or take reduction teams. 

This rule would not affect the land or 

water uses or natural resources of the 

coastal zone, as specified under section 

307 of the Coastal Zone Management 

Act. 

References 

Baird, R.W. 2016. The lives of Hawai‘i’s 

dolphins and whales: natural history and 

conservation. University of Hawai‘i 

Press, Honolulu. 

Baird, R.W., and D.L. Webster. 2020. Using 

dolphins to catch tuna: Assessment of 

associations between pantropical spotted 

dolphins and yellowfin tuna hook and 

line fisheries in Hawai‘i. Fisheries 

Research. 230. (2020):105652. 

Carretta, J.V., E. Oleson, K.A. Forney, J. 

Baker, J.E. Moore, D.W. Weller, A.R. 

Lang, M.M. Muto, B. Hanson, A.J. Orr, H. 

Huber, M.S. Lowry, J. Barlow, D. Lynch, 

L. Carswell, and R.L. Brownell Jr. 2021. 

U.S. Pacific Marine Mammal Stock 

Assessments: 2020. U.S. Department of 

Commerce, NOAA Technical 

Memorandum NMFS–SWFSC–646. 394 

p. 

Muto, M.M., V.T. Helker, B.J. Delean, N.C. 

Young, J.C. Freed R.P. Angliss, P.L. 

Boveng, J.M. Breiwick, B.M. Brost, M.F. 

Cameron, P.J. Clapham, J.L. Crance, S.P. 

Dahle, M.E. Dahlheim, B.S. Fadely, M.C. 

Ferguson, L.W. Fritz, K.T. Goetz, R.C. 

Hobbs, Y.V. Ivashchenko, A.S. Kennedy, 

J.M. London, S.A. Mizroch, R.R. Ream, 

E.L. Richmond, K.E.W. Shelden, K.L. 

Sweeney, R.G. Towell, P.R. Wade, J.M. 

Waite, and Alexandre N. Zerbini. 2021. 

Alaska Marine Mammal Stock 

Assessments 2020. U.S. Department of 

Commerce, NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS– 

AFSC–421. 398 p. 

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 

2020. National Marine Fisheries Service 

Procedure 02–204–02: Criteria for 

Determining Negligible Impact under 

MMPA Section 101(a)(5)(E). 20 p. 

Available online: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/national/laws-and-policies/ 

protected-resources-policy-directives. 

Dated: April 12, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08210 Filed 4–18–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 220411–0092] 

RIN 0648–BL39 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; 

Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based 

Amendment 2 for the South Atlantic 

Region; Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; correcting 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS corrects the final rule 

that implemented management 

measures described in the 

Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based 

Amendment 2 (CE–BA 2) to multiple 

fishery management plans (FMPs) of the 

South Atlantic Region, which published 

in the Federal Register on December 30, 

2011. Among other measures, that final 

rule modified management in special 

management zones (SMZs) off South 

Carolina in the South Atlantic exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ). In that final rule, 

NMFS inadvertently applied 

recreational harvest and possession 

restrictions for certain species to the Ft. 

Pierce Offshore Reef SMZ, a pre-existing 

SMZ off the Florida east coast. The 

purpose of this correcting amendment is 

to fix that error. 

DATES: This correction is effective on 

April 19, 2022. 


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