60802 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 195 / Wednesday, October 8, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

number of FAD sets using vessel 

logbooks, and/or other information 

sources that it deems most appropriate 

and reliable for the purposes of this 

section. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2014–23950 Filed 10–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

RIN 0648–XD287 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Skates Management 

in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area; Habitat Areas of 

Particular Concern 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of availability of 

fishery management plan amendment; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) has 

submitted Amendment 104 to the 

Fishery Management Plan for 

Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP). If approved, Amendment 104 to 

the FMP would designate six areas of 

skate egg concentration as Habitat Areas 

of Particular Concern (HAPC). 

Designating the six areas of skate egg 

concentration as HAPC in the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands Management 

Area (BSAI) would highlight the 

importance of this essential fish habitat 

for conservation. This action is intended 

to promote the goals and objectives of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

FMP, and other applicable laws. 

DATES: Written comments on 

Amendment 104 to the FMP must be 

received on or before 5 p.m., Alaska 

local time, on December 8, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2014–0059, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014- 

0059, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. 

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (for example, name, 

address), confidential business 

information, or otherwise sensitive 

information submitted voluntarily by 

the sender will be publicly accessible. 

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, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats 

only. 

Electronic copies of Amendment 104 

to the FMP and the Environmental 

Assessment (EA) prepared for this 

action are available from the Alaska 

Region NMFS Web site at http://

www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/regs/

summary.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

V. Olson, 907–271–1508. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that 

each regional fishery management 

council submit proposed amendments 

to a fishery management plan to NMFS 

for review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval by the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary). The MagnusonStevens Act also requires that, upon 

receiving an FMP amendment, NMFS 

immediately publish in the Federal 

Register a notice that the amendment is 

available for public review and 

comment. This notice announces that 

proposed Amendment 104 to the FMP is 

available for public review and 

comment. This proposed amendment 

does not include regulatory language. 

Amendment 104 to the FMP was 

unanimously adopted by the Council in 

February 2013. If approved by the 

Secretary, Amendment 104 to the FMP 

would amend: (1) Section 4.2.3.2 of the 

FMP to add six areas of skate egg 

concentration as HAPC; (2) section 

3.5.2.4.2 of the FMP to note that fishing 

would not be prohibited within the 

HAPC; and (3) Appendix B of the FMP 

to include coordinates and maps that 

designate the HAPC. 

Background 

HAPC are geographic sites that fall 

within the distribution of EFH for 

federally managed species. HAPC are 

areas of special importance that may 

require additional protection from the 

adverse effects of fishing. Regulations 

implementing EFH provisions provide a 

means for the Council to identify HAPC 

in FMPs (50 CFR 600.815(a)(8)). The 

designation of HAPC does not require 

the implementation of regulations to 

limit fishing within HAPC unless such 

measures are determined to be 

necessary. Regulations implementing 

EFH provisions require that a Council 

and NMFS act to prevent, mitigate, or 

minimize any adverse effects from 

fishing, to the extent practicable, if there 

is evidence that a fishing activity 

adversely affects EFH in a manner that 

is more than minimal and not temporary 

in nature (50 CFR 600.815(a)(2)(ii)). 

Because HAPC is a type of EFH, these 

regulatory provisions also apply to 

HAPC. 

In 2007, the Council defined criteria 

to designate a specific type of EFH as 

HAPC. The Council determined that 

HAPC must be specific geographic sites 

that are rare (defined as uncommon 

habitat that occurs in discrete areas), 

and must meet at least one of three other 

considerations: Provide an important 

ecological function; be sensitive to 

human-induced degradation; or be 

stressed by development activities. 

These criteria are described in Section 

4.2.3 of the FMP and are consistent with 

regulations that define the factors a 

Council should consider in designating 

HAPC (50 CFR 600.815(a)(8)). Based on 

these criteria, the Council defined a 

specific habitat type, areas of skate egg 

concentration, more commonly known 

as ‘‘skate nurseries’’, as an appropriate 

habitat type for possible designation as 

HAPC. 

In 2010, the Council received a 

proposal from NMFS’s Alaska Fisheries 

Science Center to designate several 

areas of skate egg concentration as 

HAPC in the BSAI. Skates are longlived, slow to mature, and produce 

relatively few young (like other 

elasmobranch fish such as sharks). 

During each reproductive season, a 

reproducing skate deposits several egg 

cases. Depending on the species, a 

single egg case can hold from one to 

four individual skate embryos, and 

development can take up to 3 years. At 

sites where skate eggs are deposited, 

several year classes and species of 

skates can be present. Because the egg 

cases are deposited on the sea floor in 

soft substrates in small distinct sites, 

they may be vulnerable to impacts from 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 195 / Wednesday, October 8, 2014 / Proposed Rules 60803 

fishing activities that disturb the sea 

floor (e.g., non-pelagic trawl gear). 

In 2011 and 2012, the Council 

reviewed geographic areas where skate 

egg concentrations occur for possible 

designation as HAPC. The Council also 

considered possible management 

measures that would limit fishing 

activities within these proposed HAPC. 

Sections 2.2, 2.4, and 2.5 of the EA 

describe the process the Council uses to 

designate HAPC, the proposed skate 

HAPC, and the methods used to defined 

the geographic boundaries of the skate 

HAPC considered by the Council (see 

ADDRESSES). 

In February 2013, the Council 

unanimously adopted Amendment 104 

to the FMP (Alternative 2 in the EA). 

Amendment 104 to the FMP would 

designate as HAPC six areas where 

relatively high concentrations of skate 

eggs occur in the eastern Bering Sea for 

several skate species (family Rajidae). 

The Council and NMFS determined that 

these areas of skate egg concentration 

met the definition of HAPC because 

they are rare and provide an important 

ecological function. 

The six areas of skate egg 

concentration proposed as HAPC are 

rare, encompassing approximately 82 

square nautical miles of habitat, or less 

than 0.1 percent of the total area of the 

BSAI. These proposed HAPC are 

discrete areas near the shelf/slope break 

with unique abiotic features (e.g., 

substrate composition) that serve as 

important spawning and embryonic 

development areas for skate species. At 

each of these six proposed HAPC, 

scientists repeatedly observed a 

relatively high occurrence of skate egg 

cases during stock assessment surveys 

and from fishery observer samples 

collected from vessels deploying fishing 

gear that contacted the sea floor (e.g., 

non-pelagic trawl gear). Section 3.4 of 

the EA provides additional detail on 

skate biology and the rarity of areas of 

skate egg concentrations. Section 3.4 of 

the EA describes the important 

ecological functions skates perform 

primarily as predators for a wide range 

of fish species, but also as prey for a 

variety of marine mammal and fish 

species. 

Section 3.5.4 of the EA indicates areas 

of skate egg concentrations that may 

also be sensitive to human-induced 

degradation through the impact of 

fishing gear. However, the best available 

scientific information does not indicate 

that human-induced degradation (e.g., 

adverse effects from fishing) is 

occurring. Because human-induced 

degradation from fishing or other 

activities is not observed currently, the 

Council did not consider this HAPC 

designation criterion as having been 

met. 

Amendment 104 would amend the 

FMP to designate six areas of skate egg 

concentration as HAPC without any 

additional associated regulatory 

measures. The Council considered an 

alternative (Alternative 3) that would 

limit fishing within the proposed HAPC 

before adopting Amendment 104. 

Section 2.3 of the EA summarizes the 

factors the Council considered in 

making its recommendation to adopt 

Amendment 104 to the FMP. The 

Council determined that Amendment 

104 to the FMP would designate all six 

areas of skate egg concentrations that 

meet the Council’s HAPC criteria. The 

Council also determined that 

designating these HAPC would provide 

additional focus for the review and 

consultation on proposed activities (e.g, 

drilling, laying cables, seismic 

exploration, as well as fishing activities) 

that occur within these HAPC and could 

potentially affect these important areas 

of skate habitat. 

The Council did not recommend 

regulations to limit fishing in the 

proposed HAPC because there is no 

evidence of adverse effects from fishing 

on skate populations within these HAPC 

that would need to be addressed 

through regulation. Section 3.5 of the 

EA provides additional information 

supporting this recommendation. 

Section 3.5 of the EA explains that the 

type of fishing gear used in the 

proposed HAPC is expected to have a 

minimal and temporary impact on skate 

habitat. Section 3.5 of the EA explains 

that fishing effort is limited or does not 

occur in four of the six HAPC, 

continued commercial fishing at the 

current rate and intensity would not be 

expected to alter the capacity of EFH 

within these HAPC to support healthy 

populations of skates over the long term, 

and no new information exists that 

indicates that fishing activities are 

adversely affecting skate egg deposition 

within these HAPC. 

The Council also recommended that 

NMFS monitor the HAPC sites for 

changes in skate egg density and other 

potential effects of fishing, and 

incorporate the research and monitoring 

of skate species into the Council’s 

annual research priority list. These 

recommendations can be considered 

and adopted by NMFS without 

amending the FMP or implementing 

regulations. These Council’s 

recommendations are noted here to 

notify the public and to describe how 

NMFS intends to address the Council’s 

recommendations. 

NMFS intends to monitor the 

proposed HAPC sites by analyzing data 

collected through existing data sources 

such as from stock assessment surveys 

and fishery observers. This monitoring 

would inform the Council and NMFS 

when there are major changes in fishing 

effort in the HAPC and if there are any 

potential impacts to skate habitat within 

these HAPC. The results from this 

monitoring could be reported in the 

annual Ecosystem Stock Assessment 

and Fishery Evaluation report and as 

part of the EFH 5-Year review process. 

If through this monitoring NMFS and 

the Council learn that skate recruitment 

or overall biomass of a species has 

changed due to fishing impacts within 

the HAPC, the Council could initiate 

further action to restrict fishing 

activities within the HAPC. 

Incorporating the research and 

monitoring of skate species into the 

Council’s annual research priority list 

would provide additional research focus 

on these HAPC. The Council noted that 

this research could help improve the 

understanding of skate populations, the 

importance of areas of skate egg 

concentration, and skate ecology and 

habitat. Section 3.3.2 of the EA provides 

additional information on how NMFS 

intends to address the Council’s 

monitoring and research 

recommendations. 

Public comments are being solicited 

on proposed Amendment 104 to the 

FMP through the end of the comment 

period stated (see DATES). Public 

comments on the proposed amendment 

must be received by the end of the 

comment period on Amendment 104 to 

the FMP in order to be considered in the 

approval/disapproval decision on the 

amendment. All comments received by 

the end of the comment period on 

Amendment 104 to the FMP will be 

considered in the approval/disapproval 

decision on the amendment. To be 

considered, comments must be received, 

not just postmarked or otherwise 

transmitted, by close of business on the 

last day of the comment period. 

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

Dated: October 3, 2014. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–23996 Filed 10–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS