[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 158 (Thursday, August 14, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47577-47578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18854]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

RIN 0648-AV29


Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Crustacean Fisheries; Deepwater 
Shrimp

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management 
Council proposes to amend the Fishery Management Plan for Crustacean 
Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (Crustaceans FMP). If approved 
by the Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 13 to the Crustaceans FMP would 
designate deepwater shrimp of the genus Heterocarpus as management unit 
species, and require Federal permits and data reporting for deepwater 
shrimp fishing in Federal waters of the western Pacific. Amendment 13 
is intended to improve information on deepwater shrimp fisheries and 
their ecosystem impacts, and to provide a basis for future management 
of the fisheries, if needed.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 13, which includes an environmental 
assessment, must be received by October 14, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the amendment, identified by 0648-AV29, may be 
sent to either of the following addresses:
    <bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov; or
    <bullet> Mail: Mail written comments to William L. Robinson, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1601 
Kapiolani Blvd, Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to www.regulations.gov without change. All 
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted 
voluntarily by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit 
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the 
required fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to 
electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel, 
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Copies of Amendment 13, including an environmental assessment, are 
available from the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council), 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-
522-8220, fax 808-522-8226, www.wpcouncil.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brett Wiedoff, NMFS PIR, 808-944-2272.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Federal Register document is accessible 
at the Office of the Federal Register website: www.gpoaccess.gov/fr.
    Crustacean fisheries in the western Pacific are federally-managed 
within the waters of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around 
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
(CNMI), Guam, Hawaii, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA, 
including Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef, Jarvis Island, Baker Island, 
Howland Island, Johnston Atoll, Wake Island, and Midway Atoll). The EEZ 
around the CNMI and PRIA extends from the shoreline seaward to 200 
nautical miles (nm), and the EEZ around the other islands extends from 
three to 200 nm offshore. Crustaceans FMP management unit species now 
include spiny lobsters, Panulirus marginatus and P. penicillatus, 
slipper lobsters of the family Scyllaridae, and Kona (spanner) crab, 
Ranina ranina.
    Eight species of Heterocarpus have been reported throughout the 
tropical Pacific. These shrimp are generally found at depths of 200 to 
1,200 meters on the outer reef slopes that surround islands and 
deepwater banks. Species distribution tends to be stratified by depth 
with some overlap. The deepwater trap fisheries have primarily targeted 
Heterocarpus ensifer and H. laevigatus.
    Western Pacific commercial trap fisheries for deepwater shrimp are 
intermittent. There have been sporadic operations in Hawaii since the 
1960s, small-scale fisheries in Guam during the 1970s, and some 
activity in the CNMI during the mid-1990s. The fisheries have been 
unregulated, and there has been no comprehensive collection of 
information about the fisheries. Most of these fishing ventures have 
been short-lived, probably as a result of sometimes-frequent loss of 
traps, a shrimp product with a short shelf life and history of 
inconsistent quality, and the rapid localized depletion of deepwater 
shrimp stocks leading to low catch rates. Despite these hurdles, 
interest in deepwater shrimp fisheries continues.
    Amendment 13 would designate deepwater shrimp of the genus 
Heterocarpus as management unit species under the FMP, and would 
require Federal permits and reporting for deepwater shrimp fishing in 
the EEZ. The proposed monitoring program (permits and logbooks) is 
intended to improve understanding of these fisheries and their impact 
on marine ecosystems. Although currently there are no resource concerns 
regarding western Pacific deepwater shrimp, the proposed designation of 
these shrimp as management unit species would provide a basis for 
management of the fisheries, if warranted in the future. Amendment 13 
designates Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for the complete assemblage of 
adult and juvenile Heterocarpus spp. as the outer reef slopes between 
300 and 700 meters surrounding every island and submerged banks in the 
western Pacific, and includes all eight species of deepwater shrimp in 
the region: Heterocarpus ensifer, H. laevigatus, H. sibogae, H. 
gibbosus, H. Lepidus, H. dorsalis, H. tricarinatus and H. longirostris, 
as required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act.
    Public comments on proposed Amendment 13 must be received by 
October 14, 2008 to be considered by NMFS in the decision to approve, 
partially approve, or disapprove the amendment. A proposed rule to 
implement the amendment has been prepared for Secretarial review and

[[Page 47578]]

approval, and NMFS expects to publish and request public comment on the 
proposed regulation in the near future.

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

    Dated: August 8, 2008.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E8-18854 Filed 8-13-08; 8:45 am]
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