Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 189 / Monday, September 29, 2008 / Notices 56555 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XH30 

Characterization of the West Coast 

Deep-set Longline Fishery Operating 

Outside of the U.S. Exclusive 

Economic Zone 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) announces its intent to issue an 

environmental assessment (EA) which 

analyzes the management options for 

the west-coast-based deep-set longline 

(DSLL) pelagic tuna fishery operating on 

the high seas. The preferred alternative 

is to allow for the continued operation 

and possible minor expansion of the 

west-coast-based DSLL pelagic tuna 

fishery operating on the high seas. 

Impacts to the human environment (e.g., 

effects of the proposed action on 

protected species, finfish, seabirds, and 

socioeconomics) were found to be 

insignificant for both alternatives being 

considered. In 2005 a single commercial 

vessel began participating in the DSLL 

fishery on the high seas; therefore, this 

EA will provide the needed analysis to 

manage the fishery based on the best 

available science to ensure that the 

fishery is consistent with all Federal 

statutes and management objectives. 

DATES: Written, faxed or emailed 

comments must be received no later 

than 5 p.m. pacific standard time on 

October 29, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The public is encouraged to 

submit comments on the draft 

environmental assessment, identified by 

RIN: 0648–XH30 by any of the following 

methods: 

• E-mail: 0648–XH30.SWR@noaa.gov. 

Include the RIN number in the subject 

line of the message. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 

Sustainable Fisheries Division, 501 W. 

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, 

CA 90802–4213. 

• Fax: (562) 980–4047, Attention: 

Mark Helvey. 

The Draft Environmental Assessment 

for the West Coast Deep-set Longline 

Fishery Operating Outside of the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone is available 

for review from the NMFS Southwest 

Region website (http:// 

swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/). Copies of the 

Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West 

Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory 

Species and the accompanying 

Environmental Impact Statement are 

available on the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s website 

(www.pcouncil.org). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Helvey, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Southwest Region, NMFS, 

(562) 980–4040. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The HMS FMP prohibits all longline 

fishing within the Exclusive Economic 

Zone (EEZ) off Washington, Oregon, and 

California. In addition, shallow-set 

longline fishing for swordfish on the 

high seas north of the equator is 

prohibited except for vessels operating 

under a Hawaii longline limited entry 

permit. The HMS FMP and associated 

environmental impact statement neither 

prohibits nor explicitly analyzes DSLL 

fishing on the high seas because at the 

time the documents were developed by 

the Pacific Fishery Management Council 

and NMFS, shallow-set and DSLL 

fishing were not considered separate 

fisheries and the analysis in the HMS 

FMP was primarily focused on shallowset longline fishing. At the time, most of 

the west-coast-based pelagic longline 

fishing on the high seas consisted of 

shallow-set longline fishing for 

swordfish. In addition, there was no 

distinct DSLL fishery for tuna and it was 

presumed that the DSLL fishery would 

not develop primarily due to economic 

and operational constraints. Thus only a 

limited analysis of historic DSLL fishing 

was provided in the HMS FMP and 

accompanying environmental impact 

statement. 

However, in 2005 a single commercial 

vessel began making deep-sets with 

longline gear targeting tuna on an 

exploratory basis and has continued 

seasonally operating on the high seas. 

The vessel has operated with close to 

100 percent observer coverage, provided 

by NMFS, adhering to fisheries 

management regulations under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq., the HMS FMP, and 

the High Seas Fishing Compliance Act, 

16 U.S. C. chapter 75. NMFS 

determined that the HMS FMP and 

accompanying environmental impact 

statement did not adequately address 

DSLL fishing, or the potential impacts of 

the High Seas Fishery Compliance Act 

permits; therefore, NMFS is now doing 

a more thorough analysis based on the 

best available science. 

Potential expansion of the fishery is 

estimated to be minimal due to the high 

operational costs (e.g., fuel and labor 

costs) and vessel constraints associated 

with fishing on the high seas. Fishing on 

the high seas requires larger vessels than 

those used for coastal or near-shore 

fishing because the trips are longer, 

require greater ice and fish hold 

capacity, and the sea conditions can be 

more challenging. Due to these logistical 

challenges of fishing on the high seas 

from west coast ports coupled with the 

current experimental nature of the 

fishery, NMFS does not anticipate that 

additional vessels will participate in 

this fishery; however, up to five 

additional vessels could enter the 

fishery as soon as the next three years 

if regulations and/or poor catches in 

other west-coast-based fisheries force 

eligible vessels to seek alternate openaccess fishing options available to them. 

This estimate originated from 

discussions with the U.S. west coast 

fishing industry and the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s HMS Advisory 

Subpanel to determine who had the 

capacity and would be interested in 

entering the fishery over the next three 

years. 

The proposed action area analyzed in 

this EA is the high seas off the West 

Coast of the United States. The HMS 

FMP defines the high seas as all waters 

beyond the EEZ of the United States and 

beyond any foreign nation’s EEZ, to the 

extent that such EEZ is recognized by 

the United States. The fishery is 

expected to operate in a relatively small 

subset of the eastern Pacific Ocean; 

more specifically, in the area east of 140 

W. longitude, north of the equator, 

south of 35 N. latitude, and outside the 

U.S. and Mexico EEZ’s (beyond 200 

nautical miles offshore). Most, if not all, 

future DSLL fishing is expected to occur 

in this small subset of the eastern 

Pacific Ocean; however, this analysis 

defines the action area as the high seas 

in order to be consistent with the 

description of the DSLL fishery in the 

HMS FMP, and to take into account the 

possibility of fishing occurring in any 

area on the high seas. 

Alternatives 

For this proposed action, there are 

only two alternatives are being analyzed 

due to the fact that NMFS has 

determined that the regulations that are 

currently in place are sufficient to meet 

the need to regulate the current and any 

reasonably foreseeable fishery. 

However, NMFS may consider 

additional regulations and do additional 

NEPA analysis in the future should the 

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56556 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 189 / Monday, September 29, 2008 / Notices 

fishery develop beyond the scope of this 

analysis. Alternative 1 would close the 

current west-coast-based DSLL fishery 

operating on the high seas, which 

currently consists of one vessel. To 

implement this alternative the HMS 

FMP would need to be amended and the 

implementing regulations published. 

There could be some minor positive 

impacts on protected species and fish 

populations; however, many of these 

species are highly migratory with a 

Pacific-wide distribution. Thus, they 

would not necessarily benefit from the 

reduction of effort associated with 

closing the west-coast-based DSLL 

fishery because the effort may be shifted 

to other fisheries to continue meeting 

domestic demand for fish. Tuna 

formerly caught in the west-coast-based 

DSLL fishery are likely to be caught by 

other nations and imported back into 

the nation with the closed fishery. There 

may also be some negative impacts on 

the socio-economics of the participant, 

fishing communities and the fishing 

industry in general if this alternative 

was implemented. 

Alternative 2, the preferred 

alternative, would allow the west-coastbased DSLL fishery to continue 

operating on the high seas and expand 

to a maximum of six vessels. At six 

vessels, there could be some minor 

negative impacts to protected resource 

and finfish populations and some 

positive socioeconomic impacts for the 

participants and the fishing industry in 

general if this alternative was 

implemented. However, as discussed 

previously, this may just result in a shift 

in effort from one fishery to another, if 

demand for tuna remains the same. All 

U.S. longline vessels operating on the 

high seas outside of the U.S. EEZ are 

currently subject to the same controls 

that applied to Hawaii-based longline 

fishing vessels holding longline permits 

in 2003. The limitations and 

specifications for the fishing area, gear 

configurations, sea turtle and seabird 

mitigation measures, skipper 

workshops, etc. are consistent with 

current Federal regulations applicable to 

longline vessels targeting tuna under the 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council’s Pelagics FMP (implemented at 

50 CFR part 665) and the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s HMS FMP 

(implemented at 50 CFR part 660). 

Other Documents 

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

Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), NMFS is engaged in formal 

consultations with NMFS’s Protected 

Resource 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. 

Request for Comments 

NMFS requests public comment on 

the draft environmental assessment of 

the West Coast Deep-set Longline 

Fishery Operating Outside of the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone. 

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

Dated: September 23, 2008. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–22818 Filed 9–26–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XK76 

Pacific Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Council) 

Salmon Technical Team (STT), 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) Salmon Subcommittee, and 

Model Evaluation Workgroup (MEW) 

will review proposed salmon 

methodology changes in a joint work 

session, which is open to the public. 

DATES: The work session will be held 

Wednesday, October 15, 2008, from 9 

a.m. to 4 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The work session will be 

held at the Marriott Courtyard Portland 

Airport, Columbia Ballroom, 11550 NE 

Airport Way, Portland, OR 97220; 

telephone: (503) 252–3200. 

Council address: Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Chuck Tracy, Salmon Management Staff 

Officer, Pacific Fishery Management 

Council, (503) 820–2280. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the work session is to brief 

the STT and SSC Salmon Subcommittee 

on proposed changes to methods and 

standards used to manage ocean salmon 

fisheries. The work session will include 

review of proposed changes to the 

Sacramento River fall Chinook 

abundance forecast and harvest model, 

and a preliminary sensitivity analysis of 

the Chinook and Coho Fishery 

Regulation Assessment Models (FRAM). 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in the meeting agenda may 

come before the STT, SSC Salmon 

Subcommittee, and MEW for 

discussion, those issues may not be the 

subject of formal action during this 

meeting. Action will be restricted to 

those issues specifically listed in this 

notice and any issues arising after 

publication of this notice that require 

emergency action under Section 305(c) 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 

provided the public has been notified of 

the intent to take final action to address 

the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Ms. 

Carolyn Porter at (503) 820–2280 at least 

5 days prior to the meeting date. 

Dated: September 24, 2008. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–22751 Filed 9–26–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XK31 

Small Takes of Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Specified Activities; 

Seabird and Pinniped Research 

Activities in Central California 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; proposed incidental 

harassment authorization; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request 

from PRBO Conservation Science 

(PRBO) for a one-year authorization to 

take small numbers of marine mammals 

by harassment incidental to conducting 

seabird and pinniped research activities 

on Southeast Farallon Island, An ̃ o 

Nuevo Island, and Point Reyes National 

Seashore in central California. Pursuant 

to the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), NMFS requests comments on 

its proposal to authorize PRBO to take, 

by Level B harassment, small numbers 

of several species of pinnipeds at 

Southeast Farallon Island, An ̃ o Nuevo 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES