57010 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 1, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

[FR Doc. E8–23119 Filed 9–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1505–01–D 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Parts 222 and 223 

[Docket No. 0809241260–81267–01] 

RIN 0648–XK78 

Sea Turtle Conservation; Shrimp 

Trawling Requirements 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this temporary 

rule for a period of 30 days, to allow 

shrimp fishermen to use limited tow 

times as an alternative to Turtle 

Excluder Devices (TEDs) in state and 

Federal waters offshore of Louisiana 

(from the Mississippi/Louisiana 

boundary to the Texas/Louisiana 

boundary) extending offshore 20 

nautical miles. This action is necessary 

because environmental conditions 

resulting from Hurricanes Gustav and 

Ike are preventing some fishermen from 

using TEDs effectively. 

DATES: Effective from September 26, 

2008 through October 27, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the 

Environmental Assessment on this 

action should be addressed to the 

Assistant Regional Administrator, 

Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 

263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, 

FL 33701. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Barnette, 727–551–5794. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

All sea turtles that occur in U.S. 

waters are listed as either endangered or 

threatened under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The Kemp’s 

ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), 

leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and 

hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) 

turtles are listed as endangered. The 

loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green 

(Chelonia mydas) turtles are listed as 

threatened, except for breeding 

populations of green turtles in Florida 

and on the Pacific coast of Mexico, 

which are listed as endangered. 

Sea turtles are incidentally taken, and 

some are killed, as a result of numerous 

activities, including fishery-related 

trawling activities in the Gulf of Mexico 

and along the Atlantic seaboard. Under 

the ESA and its implementing 

regulations, the taking of sea turtles is 

prohibited, with exceptions identified 

in 50 CFR 223.206(d), or according to 

the terms and conditions of a biological 

opinion issued under section 7 of the 

ESA, or according to an incidental take 

permit issued under section 10 of the 

ESA. The incidental taking of turtles 

during shrimp or summer flounder 

trawling is exempted from the taking 

prohibition of section 9 of the ESA if the 

conservation measures specified in the 

sea turtle conservation regulations (50 

CFR 223) are followed. The regulations 

require most shrimp trawlers and 

summer flounder trawlers operating in 

the southeastern United States (Atlantic 

area, Gulf area, and summer flounder 

sea turtle protection area, see 50 CFR 

223.206) to have a NMFS-approved TED 

installed in each net that is rigged for 

fishing to allow sea turtles to escape. 

TEDs currently approved by NMFS 

include single-grid hard TEDs and 

hooped hard TEDs conforming to a 

generic description, the flounder TED, 

and one type of soft TED the Parker soft 

TED (see 50 CFR 223.207). 

TEDs incorporate an escape opening, 

usually covered by a webbing flap, 

which allows sea turtles to escape from 

trawl nets. To be approved by NMFS, a 

TED design must be shown to be 97 

percent effective in excluding sea turtles 

during testing based upon specific 

testing protocols (50 CFR 223.207(e)(1)). 

Most approved hard TEDs are described 

in the regulations (50 CFR 223.207(a)) 

according to generic criteria based upon 

certain parameters of TED design, 

configuration, and installation, 

including height and width dimensions 

of the TED opening through which the 

turtles escape. 

The regulations governing sea turtle 

take prohibitions and exemptions 

provide for the use of limited tow times 

as an alternative to the use of TEDs for 

vessels with certain specified 

characteristics or under certain special 

circumstances. The provisions of 50 

CFR 223.206(d)(3)(ii) specify that the 

NOAA Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries (AA) may authorize 

compliance with tow time restrictions 

as an alternative to the TED requirement 

if the AA determines that the presence 

of algae, seaweed, debris, or other 

special environmental conditions in a 

particular area makes trawling with 

TED-equipped nets impracticable. The 

provisions of 50 CFR 223.206(d)(3)(i) 

specify the maximum tow times that 

may be used when tow time limits are 

authorized as an alternative to the use 

of TEDs. Each tow may be no more than 

55 minutes from April 1 through 

October 31 and no more than 75 

minutes from November 1 through 

March 31, as measured from the time 

that the trawl doors enter the water until 

they are removed from the water. These 

tow time limits are designed to 

minimize the level of mortality of sea 

turtles that are captured by trawl nets 

not equipped with TEDs. 

Recent Events 

On September 5 and 15, 2008, the 

NMFS Southeast Regional 

Administrator received requests from 

the Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries (LDWF) and the 

Mississippi Department of Marine 

Resources (MDMR), respectively, to 

allow the use of tow times as an 

alternative to turtle excluder devices 

(TEDs) in state and Federal waters 

because of excessive storm-related 

debris on the fishing grounds as a result 

of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. When a 

TED is clogged with debris, it can no 

longer catch shrimp effectively nor can 

it effectively exclude turtles. Phone 

conversations between NMFS Southeast 

Region’s Protected Resources staff, 

fishermen, and the states’ resource 

agency staffs confirm there are problems 

with debris in state and Federal waters 

off Louisiana (from the Mississippi/ 

Louisiana boundary to the Texas/ 

Louisiana boundary) extending offshore 

20 nautical miles, which are likely to 

affect the effectiveness of TEDs; 

discussions between NMFS Southeast 

Region’s Protected Resources staff, 

fishermen, and the states’ resource 

agency staffs, and a survey of 

Mississippi waters found no significant 

remaining issues stemming from stormrelated debris on the shrimp fishing 

grounds. Louisiana has stated that their 

marine enforcement agents will enforce 

the tow time restrictions. 

Special Environmental Conditions 

The AA finds that debris washed into 

hurricane-affected state and Federal 

waters off of Louisiana (from the 

Mississippi/Louisiana boundary to the 

Texas/Louisiana boundary), extending 

offshore 20 nautical miles, has created 

special environmental conditions that 

make trawling with TED-equipped nets 

impracticable. Therefore, the AA issues 

this notification to authorize the use of 

restricted tow times as an alternative to 

the use of TEDs in state and Federal 

waters off of Louisiana (from the 

Mississippi/Louisiana boundary to the 

Texas/Louisiana boundary) extending 

offshore 20 nautical miles, for a period 

of 30 days. Tow times must be limited 

to no more than 55 minutes measured 

from the time trawl doors enter the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 1, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 57011 

water until they are retrieved from the 

water. 

A survey of Mississippi waters found 

no significant remaining issues 

stemming from storm-related debris in 

the shrimp fishery. Therefore, the 

MDMR request for an exemption was 

not granted. 

Continued Use of TEDs 

NMFS encourages shrimp trawlers in 

the affected areas to continue to use 

TEDs if possible, even though they are 

authorized under this action to use 

restricted tow times. 

NMFS’ gear experts have provided 

several general operational 

recommendations to fishermen to 

maximize the debris exclusion ability of 

TEDs that may allow some fishermen to 

continue using TEDs without resorting 

to restricted tow times. To exclude 

debris, NMFS recommends the use of 

hard TEDs made of either solid rod or 

of hollow pipe that incorporate a bent 

angle at the escape opening, in a 

bottom-opening configuration. In 

addition, the installation angle of a hard 

TED in the trawl extension is an 

important performance element in 

excluding debris from the trawl. High 

installation angles can trap debris either 

on or in front of the bars of the TED; 

NMFS recommends an installation 

angle of 45 , relative to the normal 

horizontal flow of water through the 

trawl, to optimize the TED’s ability to 

exclude turtles and debris. Furthermore, 

the use of accelerator funnels, which are 

allowable modifications to hard TEDs, is 

not recommended in areas with heavy 

amounts of debris or vegetation. Lastly, 

the webbing flap that is usually 

installed to cover the turtle escape 

opening may be modified to help 

exclude debris quickly: the webbing flap 

can either be cut horizontally to shorten 

it so that it does not overlap the frame 

of the TED or be slit in a fore-and-aft 

direction to facilitate the exclusion of 

debris. The use of the double cover flap 

TED will also aid in debris exclusion. 

All of these recommendations 

represent legal configurations of TEDs 

for shrimpers fishing in the affected 

areas. This action does not authorize 

any other departure from the TED 

requirements, including any illegal 

modifications to TEDs. In particular, if 

TEDs are installed in trawl nets, they 

may not be sewn shut. 

Alternative to Required Use of TEDs 

The authorization provided by this 

temporary rule applies to all shrimp 

trawlers that would otherwise be 

required to use TEDs in accordance with 

the requirements of 50 CFR 

223.206(d)(2) who are operating in 

hurricane-affected state and Federal 

waters off Louisiana (from the 

Mississippi/Louisiana boundary to the 

Texas/Louisiana boundary), extending 

offshore 20 nautical miles, for a period 

of 30 days. Through this temporary rule, 

shrimp trawlers may choose either 

restricted tow times or TEDs to comply 

with the sea turtle conservation 

regulations, as prescribed above. 

Alternative to Required Use of TEDs; 

Termination 

The AA, at any time, may withdraw 

or modify this temporary authorization 

to use tow time restrictions in lieu of 

TEDs through publication of a notice in 

the Federal Register, if necessary to 

ensure adequate protection of 

endangered and threatened sea turtles. 

Under this procedure, the AA may 

modify the affected area or impose any 

necessary additional or more stringent 

measures, including more restrictive 

tow times, synchronized tow times, or 

withdrawal of the authorization if the 

AA determines that the alternative 

authorized by this rule is not 

sufficiently protecting turtles or no 

longer needed. The AA may also 

terminate this authorization if 

information from enforcement, state 

authorities, or NMFS indicates 

compliance cannot be monitored 

effectively. This authorization will 

expire automatically on October 27, 

2008, unless it is explicitly extended 

through another notification published 

in the Federal Register. 

Classification 

This action has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

The AA has determined that this 

action is necessary to respond to an 

environmental situation to allow more 

efficient fishing for shrimp, while 

providing effective protection for 

endangered and threatened sea turtles 

pursuant to the ESA and applicable 

regulations. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the AA 

finds that there is good cause to waive 

prior notice and opportunity to 

comment on this temporary rule. The 

AA finds that unusually high amounts 

of post-hurricane debris are creating 

special environmental conditions that 

make trawling with TED-equipped nets 

impractical. Prior notice and the 

opportunity to receive public comment 

are impracticable and contrary to the 

public interest in this instance because 

providing notice and comment would 

prevent the agency from providing the 

affected industry timely relief from the 

effects of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, 

while providing effective protection for 

sea turtles. 

Many shrimp fishermen in Louisiana 

may be unable to operate under the 

special environmental conditions 

created by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike 

without an alternative to the use of 

TEDs. Therefore, The AA finds that 

there is good cause to waive the 30–day 

delay in effective date pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to provide alternatives 

to comply with the sea turtle regulations 

in a timely manner. For the reasons 

above, the AA finds that this temporary 

rule should not be subject to a 30–day 

delay in effective date, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(1). 

Since prior notice and an opportunity 

for public comment are not required to 

be provided for this action by 5 U.S.C. 

553, or by any other law, the analytical 

requirements of 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. are 

inapplicable. 

The AA prepared an Environmental 

Assessment (EA) for this rule. Copies of 

the EA are available (see ADDRESSES). 

Dated: September 26, 2008. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–23117 Filed 9–26–08; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 071106671–8010–02] 

RIN 0648–XK79 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by NonAmerican Fisheries Act Crab Vessels 

Catching Pacific Cod for Processing 

by the Inshore Component in the 

Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of 

Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by non-American 

Fisheries Act (AFA) crab vessels that are 

subject to sideboard limits catching 

Pacific cod for processing by the inshore 

component in the Central Regulatory 

Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This 

action is necessary to prevent exceeding 

the 2008 Pacific cod sideboard limit 

established for non-AFA crab vessels 

catching Pacific cod for processing by 


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