Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 153 / Thursday, August 7, 2008 / Notices 45967 

There are several LE options for 

Alternative 2 to establish an initial pool 

of qualifiers; the criteria that may be 

involved include prior landings history 

for swordfish, years of fishing 

experience, recent participation in a 

swordfish fishery, and/or ownership of 

a drift gillnet permit. Two area closure 

options will also be considered under 

this alternative. The fishery would 

either be constrained to east of 150 W. 

longitude, or east of 140 W. longitude; 

analyses developed in conjunction with 

the HMS FMP suggested that loggerhead 

takes were lower the farther east fishing 

occurred up to the West Coast EEZ 

boundary. 

Alternative 3 would establish a 

management framework for a West 

Coast-based SSLL fishery seaward of the 

U.S. EEZ without a LE permit program. 

The management framework would 

contain the following provisions: (1) the 

fishery would be constrained to east of 

140° W. longitude; (2) owners of a 

Hawaii Pelagics LE permit would not 

qualify for the West Coast LE permit; 

and (3) sea turtle take mitigation 

measures (e.g., gear requirements, 100 

percent observer coverage, take caps) 

would be required. 

Protected Species Mitigation Measures 

Alternatives 2 and 3 would be subject 

to many of the same gear restrictions 

applicable to the Hawaii SSLL fishery, 

including the use of large circle hooks 

that are less likely to be deeply ingested 

by turtles as compared to traditional Jhooks, mackerel-type bait, and longer 

branch-lines to allow animals to surface 

and breathe after being hooked. In 

addition, U.S. fishermen would be 

required to have NMFS-approved safe 

handling gear on board to assist in 

boarding sea turtles, and de-hooking 

and releasing the gear from sea turtles, 

as well as training in resuscitation 

techniques to maximize the survival rate 

of sea turtles. Gear-related requirements 

would be harmonized with the Hawaii 

regulations as much as possible to ease 

compliance and minimize impacts to 

protected resources. In addition, any 

future West Coast-based SSLL fishery 

would be required to have 100 percent 

observer coverage. 

There would also be established take 

caps for ESA-listed loggerhead and 

leatherback sea turtles based on a formal 

ESA Section 7 consultation. The 

Council could recommend specific take 

caps as part of their preferred 

alternative, based on informal 

consultation with NMFS Protected 

Resources Division, or the Incidental 

Take Statement that would be part of 

the Biological Opinion produced as part 

of the formal Section 7 consultation. 

Take caps would be applied annually 

and the fishery would close 

immediately if they were reached. The 

fishery would reopen at the start of the 

next fishing year (April 1) with a new 

set of take caps in effect. 

To address potential resource 

concerns and/or fishery conflicts for 

species not designated and managed as 

protected species, additional 

management measures, such as 

maximum allowable harvest caps may 

be considered. This may include, but is 

not bound by or limited to, striped 

marlin, and commercially important 

tuna species that are HMS FMP 

management unit species (e.g., 

yellowfin, bigeye, bluefin, and albacore 

tuna) and which are being managed 

under the purview of conservation 

measures established by Regional 

Fishery Management Organizations. 

Other Documentation 

As required in Section 7(a)(2) of the 

ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), NMFS will 

initiate a formal consultation with 

NMFS Protected Resources Division to 

determine if the proposed action is 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence and recovery of any 

endangered or threatened species, or 

result in the destruction or adverse 

modification of critical habitat. NMFS 

also plans to consult with the National 

Marine Sanctuary Program in regards to 

potential impacts to Sanctuary 

resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service concerning potential impacts to 

endangered seabirds, and internally 

with the NMFS Habitat Conservation 

Division concerning essential fish 

habitat components. 

Additional Scoping Opportunities 

Public scoping has already occurred 

as part of the Council’s decision-making 

process and will continue through 

Council final action. All decisions 

during the Council process benefit from 

written and oral public comments 

delivered prior to or during the Council 

meetings. These public comments are 

considered integral to the scoping 

process and development of the SEIS. 

The Council is scheduled to choose a 

preliminary preferred alternative at their 

September 7–12, 2008 meeting in Boise, 

Idaho and take final action to select a 

preferred alternative at their March 7–

12, 2009 meeting in Seattle, 

Washington. Written comments 

submitted to the Council by August 20, 

2008 will be made available to the 

Council in advance briefing materials 

for their September meeting. 

Opportunities for oral public comment 

are also offered at Council meetings. For 

more information see the Council’s 

website (www.pcouncil.org). 

Request for Comments NMFS requests 

public comment on the Notice of Intent 

to prepare a Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Amendment 2 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for U.S. West Coast 

Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species. 

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

Dated: August 1, 2008. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–18106 Filed 8–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XJ40 

Endangered Species; File No. 13543 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the South Carolina Department of 

Natural Resources, 217 Ft. Johnson Rd., 

Charleston, SC 29412, has applied in 

due form for a permit to take loggerhead 

(Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia 

mydas), Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys 

kempii), leatherback (Dermochelys 

coriacea), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys 

imbricata) sea turtles for purposes of 

scientific research. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

September 8, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following offices: 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521; and 

Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; 

phone (727)824–5312; fax (727)824–

5309. 

Written comments or requests for a 

public hearing on this application 

should be mailed to the Chief, Permits, 

Conservation and Education Division, 

F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those 

individuals requesting a hearing should 

set forth the specific reasons why a 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
45968 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 153 / Thursday, August 7, 2008 / Notices 

hearing on this particular request would 

be appropriate. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: File No. 13543. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patrick Opay or Amy Hapeman, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested under the 

authority of the Endangered Species Act 

of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) and the regulations 

governing the taking, importing, and 

exporting of endangered and threatened 

species (50 CFR 222–226). 

The proposed research would further 

the understanding of the growth, 

distribution, and life history of sea 

turtles. The applicant requests a fiveyear permit to annually handle, 

measure, weigh, passive integrated 

transponder tag, flipper tag, and 

photograph up to 45 loggerhead, 6 

green, 15 Kemp’s ridley, 6 leatherback, 

and 2 hawksbill sea turtles. These 

animals would have already been 

captured by authorized coastal trawl 

surveys taking place in waters off of 

North Carolina to Florida. 

Dated: July 31, 2008. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–18105 Filed 8–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–Xl61 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization 

Cost Recovery Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of fee percentage. 

SUMMARY: NMFS publishes a 

notification of a one and five onehundredths (1.05) percent fee for cost 

recovery under the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization 

Program (Program). This action is 

intended to provide holders of crab 

allocations with the fee percentage for 

the 2008/2009 crab fishing year so they 

can calculate the required payment for 

cost recovery fees that must be 

submitted by July 31, 2009. 

DATES: The Crab Rationalization 

Program Registered Crab Receiver 

permit holder is responsible for 

submitting the fee liability payment to 

NMFS on or before July 31, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gretchen Harrington or Glenn Merrill, 

907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

NMFS Alaska Region administers the 

Crab Rationalization Program in the 

North Pacific. Fishing under the 

Program began in August 15, 2005. 

Regulations implementing the Program 

are set forth at 50 CFR part 680. 

The Program is a limited access 

system authorized by section 313(j) of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Program 

includes a cost recovery provision to 

collect fees to recover the actual costs 

directly related to the management and 

enforcement of the Program. NMFS 

developed the cost recovery provision to 

conform with statutory requirements 

and to partially compensate the agency 

for the unique added costs of 

management and enforcement of the 

Program. Section 313(j) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act provided 

supplementary authority to section 

304(d)(2)(A) and additional detail for 

cost recovery provisions specific to the 

Program. The cost recovery provision 

allows collection of 133 percent of the 

actual management, data collecting, and 

enforcement costs up to three percent of 

the ex-vessel value of crab harvested 

under the Program. Additionally, 

section 313(j) requires the harvesting 

and processing sectors to each pay half 

the cost recovery fees. Catcher/processor 

quota share holders are required to pay 

the full fee percentage. 

A crab allocation holder generally 

incurs a cost recovery fee liability for 

every pound of crab landed. The crab 

allocations include Individual Fishing 

Quota (IFQ), Crew IFQ, Individual 

Processing Quota, Community 

Development Quota, and the Adak 

community allocation. The Registered 

Crab Receiver (RCR) permit holder must 

collect the fee liability from the crab 

allocation holder who is landing crab. 

Additionally, the RCR permit holder 

must collect his or her own fee liability 

for all crab delivered to the RCR. The 

RCR permit holder is responsible for 

submitting this payment to NMFS on or 

before the due date of July 31, following 

the crab fishing year in which payment 

for the crab is made. 

The dollar amount of the fee due is 

determined by multiplying the fee 

percentage (not to exceed three percent) 

by the ex-vessel value of crab debited 

from the allocation. Specific details on 

the Program’s cost recovery provision 

may be found in the implementing 

regulations set forth at 50 CFR 680.44. 

Fee Percentage 

Each year, NMFS calculates and 

publishes in the Federal Register the fee 

percentage according to the factors and 

methodology described in Federal 

regulations at § 680.44(c)(2). The 

formula for determining the fee 

percentage is the ‘‘direct program costs’’

divided by ‘‘value of the fishery,’’ where 

‘‘direct program costs’’ are the direct 

program costs for the Crab 

Rationalization Program for the previous 

fiscal year, and ‘‘value of the fishery’’ is 

the ex-vessel value of the catch subject 

to the crab cost recovery fee liability for 

the current year. Using this fee 

percentage formula, the estimated 

percentage of costs to value for the 

2007/2008 crab fishing year was 1.05 

percent. Therefore, the fee percentage 

will be 1.05 percent for the 2008/2009 

crab fishing year. 

In all previous crab fishing years, the 

estimated percentage of costs to value 

have exceeded three percent. However, 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, at section 

304(d)(2)(B), prohibits NMFS from 

collecting fees greater than three percent 

of the ex-vessel value of the crab 

harvests under the Program. The fee 

percentage for the 2008/2009 crab 

fishing year is less than three percent 

due to a variety of factors including the 

increasing value of the fishery due to 

increased total allowable catch limits for 

various crab species such as Bristol Bay 

red king crab (Paralithodes 

camtshaticus) and Bering Sea Snow 

crab (Chionoecetes opilio), increased 

exvessel price per pound of crab relative 

to previous years, and decreased 

management costs relative to previous 

years primarily due to decreased staff 

and contract costs. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1862 et seq. 

Dated: August 1, 2008. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–18197 Filed 8–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES