Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 71327 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 140710571–4977–02] 

RIN 0648–BE36 

International Fisheries; Western and 

Central Pacific Fisheries for Highly 

Migratory Species; Restrictions on the 

Use of Fish Aggregating Devices in 

Purse Seine Fisheries for 2015 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations 

under authority of the Western and 

Central Pacific Fisheries Convention 

Implementation Act (WCPFC 

Implementation Act) to establish 

restrictions on the use of fish 

aggregating devices (FADs) by U.S. 

purse seine vessels in the western and 

central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). The 

restrictions include a prohibition on 

setting on FADs and other specific uses 

of FADs during January and February, 

and July through September of 2015, 

and a limit of 3,061 sets that may be 

made on FADs in 2015. This action is 

necessary for the United States to 

implement provisions of a conservation 

and management measure (CMM) 

adopted by the Commission for the 

Conservation and Management of 

Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean 

(WCPFC or Commission) and to satisfy 

the obligations of the United States 

under the Convention on the 

Conservation and Management of 

Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean 

(Convention), to which it is a 

Contracting Party. 

DATES: This rule is effective January 1, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting 

documents prepared for this final rule, 

including the regulatory impact review 

(RIR) and the Supplemental 

Environmental Assessment (SEA) 

prepared for National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) purposes, as well as 

the proposed rule, are available via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal, at 

www.regulations.gov (search for Docket 

ID NOAA–NMFS–2014–0115). Those 

documents, and the small entity 

compliance guide prepared for this final 

rule, are also available from NMFS at 

the following address: Michael D. 

Tosatto, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 

Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO), 

1845 Wasp Blvd., Building 176, 

Honolulu, HI 96818. The initial 

regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) 

and final regulatory flexibility analysis 

(FRFA) prepared under the authority of 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) are 

included in the proposed rule and this 

final rule, respectively. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in this final rule 

may be submitted to Michael D. Tosatto, 

Regional Administrator, NMFS PIRO 

(see ADDRESSES), and by email to OIRA_

Submission@omb.eop.gov, or fax to 

(202) 395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom 

Graham, NMFS PIRO, 808–725–5032. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On October 8, 2014, NMFS published 

a proposed rule in the Federal Register 

(79 FR 60796) to revise regulations at 50 

CFR part 300, subpart O, to implement 

a decision of the Commission. The 

proposed rule was open for public 

comment through October 28, 2014. 

This final rule is issued under the 

authority of the WCPFC Implementation 

Act (16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), which 

authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, 

in consultation with the Secretary of 

State and the Secretary of the 

Department in which the United States 

Coast Guard is operating (currently the 

Department of Homeland Security), to 

promulgate such regulations as may be 

necessary to carry out the obligations of 

the United States under the Convention, 

including the decisions of the 

Commission. The authority to 

promulgate regulations has been 

delegated to NMFS. 

This final rule implements for U.S. 

fishing vessels some of the purse seinerelated provisions of the Commission’s 

Conservation and Management Measure 

(CMM) 2013–01, ‘‘Conservation and 

Management Measure for Bigeye, 

Yellowfin and Skipjack Tuna in the 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean.’’ 

The preamble to the proposed rule 

includes detailed background 

information, including on the 

Convention and the Commission, the 

provisions of CMM 2013–01 being 

implemented in this rule, and the bases 

for the proposed regulations, which are 

not repeated here. 

New Requirements 

This final rule establishes restrictions 

on the use of FADs and reporting 

requirements related to the use of FADs 

that apply to U.S. purse seine vessels in 

the area of application of the 

Convention (Convention Area), in all 

exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and on 

the high seas between the latitudes of 

20° North and 20° South. 

1. FAD Restrictions 

The FAD restrictions established in 

this final rule include a prohibition on 

setting on FADs (‘‘FAD sets’’) and other 

specific uses of FADs in January and 

February and July through September of 

2015, as well as a limit of 3,061 FAD 

sets that may be made in 2015. 

However, for the reason described 

below, the FAD prohibitions during 

January and February and the limit of 

3,061 FAD sets are contingent on NMFS 

issuing a subsequent notice in the 

Federal Register, announcing that the 

WCPFC has affirmed its decision with 

respect to restrictions on the use of 

FADs in 2015. 

Paragraph 15 of CMM 2013–01 states 

that the FAD-related requirements 

starting in 2015 (apart from the July– 

September FAD closure) shall only take 

effect when the Commission has 

adopted, at its Eleventh Regular Session, 

‘‘. . . arrangements to ensure that this 

CMM, consistent with the Convention 

Article 30 2(c), does not result in 

transferring, directly or indirectly, a 

disproportionate burden of conservation 

action onto SIDS [small island 

developing States].’’ Thus, upon 

completion of the Eleventh Regular 

Session of the WCPFC, which is 

scheduled to occur in December 2014, 

NMFS will determine whether this 

criterion has been met, and if it finds 

that it has, NMFS will issue a Federal 

Register notice announcing that these 

elements of this final rule are in effect. 

Again, the prohibitions on FAD sets and 

other uses of FADs from July through 

September of 2015 will not be 

contingent on NMFS issuing a 

subsequent Federal Register notice. 

Under this final rule, the definition of 

a FAD for the purpose of the FAD 

restrictions remains as it is in existing 

regulations (50 CFR 300.211). It means 

‘‘any artificial or natural floating object, 

whether anchored or not and whether 

situated at the water surface or not, that 

is capable of aggregating fish, as well as 

any object used for that purpose that is 

situated on board a vessel or otherwise 

out of the water. The definition of FAD 

does not include a vessel.’’ Although the 

definition of a FAD does not include a 

vessel, some of the prohibitions apply to 

setting on fish that have aggregated in 

association with a vessel, as described 

further below. 

If NMFS determines that the limit of 

3,061 FAD sets is expected to be 

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71328 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

reached by a specific future date in 

2015, NMFS will issue a notice in the 

Federal Register announcing that FAD 

sets and other specific uses of FADs in 

the Convention Area between the 

latitudes of 20° North and 20° South 

will be prohibited starting on that 

specific future date and ending at the 

end of December 31, 2015. NMFS will 

issue the notice at least seven calendar 

days before the effective date of the FAD 

closure to provide fishermen advance 

notice of the closure. 

The specific activities that will be 

prohibited during the FAD closure 

periods (i.e., January and February and 

July through September, as well as any 

period after which the FAD set limit has 

been reached, through December 31, 

2015) will remain as they are in existing 

regulations (50 CFR 300.223(b)). It will 

be prohibited to: 

(1) Set a purse seine around a FAD or 

within one nautical mile of a FAD; 

(2) Set a purse seine in a manner 

intended to capture fish that have 

aggregated in association with a FAD or 

a vessel, such as by setting the purse 

seine in an area from which a FAD or 

a vessel has been moved or removed 

within the previous eight hours, or 

setting the purse seine in an area in 

which a FAD has been inspected or 

handled within the previous eight 

hours, or setting the purse seine in an 

area into which fish were drawn by a 

vessel from the vicinity of a FAD or a 

vessel; 

(3) Deploy a FAD into the water; 

(4) Repair, clean, maintain, or 

otherwise service a FAD, including any 

electronic equipment used in 

association with a FAD, in the water or 

on a vessel while at sea, except that a 

FAD may be inspected and handled as 

needed to identify the FAD, identify and 

release incidentally captured animals, 

un-foul fishing gear, or prevent damage 

to property or risk to human safety, and 

a FAD may be removed from the water 

and if removed may be cleaned, 

provided that it is not returned to the 

water; and 

(5) From a purse seine vessel or any 

associated skiffs, other watercraft or 

equipment, do any of the following, 

except in emergencies as needed to 

prevent human injury or the loss of 

human life, the loss of the purse seine 

vessel, skiffs, watercraft or aircraft, or 

environmental damage: Submerge lights 

under water; suspend or hang lights 

over the side of the purse seine vessel, 

skiff, watercraft or equipment; or direct 

or use lights in a manner other than as 

needed to illuminate the deck of the 

purse seine vessel or associated skiffs, 

watercraft or equipment, to comply with 

navigational requirements, and to 

ensure the health and safety of the crew. 

2. Daily FAD Reporting Requirement 

For the purpose of estimating and 

projecting FAD sets with respect to the 

limit of 3,061 FAD sets, NMFS will 

count FAD sets using the best 

information available. This final rule 

establishes a new reporting requirement 

for U.S. purse seine vessel owners and 

operators. Within 24 hours of the end of 

each day while the vessel is at sea in the 

Convention Area, the owner or operator 

must report to NMFS how many sets 

were made on FADs during that day. 

The format of the reports and the 

manner of reporting must follow the 

instructions provided by the NMFS 

Pacific Islands Regional Administrator. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS received 2 sets of comments on 

the proposed rule. The comments are 

summarized below, followed by 

responses from NMFS. 

Comment 1: The proposed action is 

important, powerful, and will prove 

beneficial, and will help keep the catch 

of highly migratory species sustainable. 

The 24-hour FAD reporting requirement 

is a good idea. One question/concern is 

whether fishermen should be given 

more than 7 days’ notice before the use 

of FADs is prohibited. Would more 

advance notice help reduce the use of 

FADs because fishermen could come up 

with alternative fishing methods? Or 

would the additional time to think 

about alternative methods increase 

fishing rates on HMS to an unacceptable 

level? 

Response: NMFS acknowledges the 

supportive comments. With respect to 

the Federal Register notice that NMFS 

would issue in advance of prohibiting 

FAD sets and other uses of FADs in the 

event the FAD set limit is expected to 

be reached, the primary intent of the 

notice is to give fishermen sufficient 

time to prepare for the impending 

prohibitions, to help ensure they are 

able to fully comply with them. Because 

affected fishermen will have received 

advance notice of the limit through the 

rulemaking process, including a 

compliance guide, NMFS expects that 

they will think about and plan for 

alternative fishing methods and 

activities before the notice is issued. 

Consequently, NMFS does not expect 

that providing more than 7 days’ 

advance notice would have a marked 

influence on fishermen’s behavior, such 

as the extent of fishing on FADs or 

fishing rates more generally. 

Additionally, the briefer the interval 

between the date the projection is made 

(and the notice is issued) and the date 

the limit is expected to be reached, the 

more accurate the projection is likely to 

be. Therefore, the longer the advance 

notice given to fishermen, the more the 

actual number of FAD sets in 2015 is 

likely to deviate from the limit. For 

these reasons, NMFS has maintained in 

this final rule an advance notice period 

of ‘‘at least 7 days’’, as in the proposed 

rule. 

Comment 2: The proposed regulations 

will be insufficient to return the 

population of bigeye tuna from its 

overfished condition (smaller than 20 

percent of the spawning stock biomass 

that would exist in the absence of 

fishing) if current exemptions to the 

WCPFC measure and lack of 

enforcement remain unchanged. 

More needs to be done than only 

requiring U.S. vessels to implement 

WCPFC measures. NOAA has an 

obligation to be more aggressive in its 

efforts to bring about more assured 

sustainability in the WCPO tuna fishery, 

and this would help create a more even 

playing field for the U.S. tuna industry. 

Before additional FAD regulations are 

established, resources should be 

invested in enforcement of current 

WCPFC measures with aggressive 

consequences for those nations that 

operate outside of the agreed-upon 

sustainability guidelines necessary for a 

healthy fishery. Other legal authorities, 

including the Pelly Amendment, should 

be utilized to bolster the effectiveness of 

the Commission’s conservation and 

management measures. 

Response: With respect to the 

expected effects of the rule on the stock 

of WCPO bigeye tuna, NMFS recognizes 

that this regulatory action alone, which 

applies only to U.S. fishing vessels, will 

have relatively small effects on the 

stock, as described in the SEA prepared 

for the rule. NMFS recognizes that 

effective management of the tuna 

resources and fisheries in the WCPO 

requires cooperation among the WCPFC 

members. 

Furthermore, with respect to 

enforcement of current WCPFC 

measures and consequences for nations 

that operate outside agreed 

sustainability guidelines, NMFS agrees 

that achieving a high level of 

compliance with Commission decisions 

by all WCPFC members is important to 

achieve the objectives of the Convention 

and of Commission decisions like CMM 

2013–01, as well as to achieve a more 

level playing field for the U.S. tuna 

industry. NMFS notes that the United 

States, as a member of the WCPFC, is 

contributing to and has prioritized the 

development of the Commission’s 

compliance monitoring scheme, with 

the aim of improving compliance with 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 71329 

Commission decisions by all its 

members. NMFS recognizes that there 

are additional laws pertaining to 

conservation and management measures 

for tuna stocks and the enforcement of 

such measures, including the Pelly 

Amendment. However, the purpose of 

this rulemaking is limited to satisfying 

the obligations of the United States to 

implement the applicable provisions of 

CMM 2013–01 for U.S. purse seine 

vessels, including the FAD restrictions. 

In addition to comments on the 

proposed rule, the commenter cited 

problems with the timeliness and 

efficacy of the conservation measures 

adopted by the WCPFC and with the 

implementation and enforcement of 

WCPFC decisions, including restrictions 

on the use of FADs, by other WCPFC 

members. The commenter stated that 

the United States should take specific 

actions to address these problems and to 

make the WCPFC more successful. 

These comments are outside the scope 

of the proposed rule, so NMFS does not 

respond to them here. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

No changes from the proposed rule 

have been made in this final rule. 

Classification 

The Administrator, Pacific Islands 

Region, NMFS, has determined that this 

final rule is consistent with the WCPFC 

Implementation Act and other 

applicable laws. 

Executive Order 12866 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

A FRFA was prepared. The FRFA 

incorporates the IRFA prepared for the 

proposed rule. The analysis in the IRFA 

is not repeated here in its entirety. 

A description of the action, why it is 

being considered, and the legal basis for 

this action are contained in the 

preamble of the proposed rule and in 

the SUMMARY and SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION sections of this final rule, 

above. The analysis follows. 

Significant Issues Raised by Public 

Comments in Response to the IRFA 

NMFS did not receive any comments 

on the IRFA. 

Description of Small Entities to Which 

the Rule Will Apply 

Small entities include ‘‘small 

businesses,’’ ‘‘small organizations,’’ and 

‘‘small governmental jurisdictions.’’ The 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

has established size standards for all 

major industry sectors in the United 

States, including commercial finfish 

harvesters (NAICS code 114111). A 

business primarily involved in finfish 

harvesting is classified as a small 

business if it is independently owned 

and operated, is not dominant in its 

field of operation (including its 

affiliates), and has combined annual 

receipts not in excess of $20.5 million 

for all its affiliated operations 

worldwide. 

The final rule will apply to owners 

and operators of U.S. purse seine vessels 

used for fishing in the Convention Area. 

The number of affected vessels is the 

number licensed under the Treaty on 

Fisheries between the Governments of 

Certain Pacific Island States and the 

Government of the United States of 

America (South Pacific Tuna Treaty, or 

SPTT). The current number of licensed 

vessels is 40, the maximum number of 

licenses available under the SPTT 

(excluding joint-venture licenses, of 

which there are five available under the 

SPTT, none of which have ever been 

applied for or issued). 

Based on (limited) available financial 

information about the affected fishing 

vessels and the SBA’s small entity size 

standards for commercial finfish 

harvesters, and using individual vessels 

as proxies for individual businesses, 

NMFS believes that all the affected fish 

harvesting businesses are small entities. 

As stated above, there are currently 40 

purse seine vessels in the affected purse 

seine fishery. Neither gross receipts nor 

ex-vessel price information specific to 

the 40 vessels are available to NMFS. 

Average annual receipts for each of the 

40 vessels during the last 3 years for 

which reasonably complete data are 

available (2010–2012) were estimated as 

follows. The vessel’s reported retained 

catches of skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna, 

and bigeye tuna in each year were each 

multiplied by an indicative Asia-Pacific 

regional cannery price for that species 

and year (developed by the Pacific 

Islands Forum Fisheries Agency and 

available at https://www.ffa.int/node/

425#attachments); the products were 

summed across species for each year; 

and the sums were averaged across the 

3 years. The estimated average annual 

receipts for each of the 40 vessels were 

less than the $20.5 million threshold 

used to classify businesses as small 

entities under the SBA size standard for 

finfish harvesting businesses. 

Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Other 

Compliance Requirements 

The final rule will establish one new 

reporting requirement within the 

meaning of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act, as well as additional requirements, 

as described in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this final rule, 

above. The classes of small entities 

subject to the requirements and the 

types of professional skills necessary to 

fulfill each of the requirements are 

described in the IRFA. 

Disproportionate Impacts 

There would be no disproportionate 

economic impacts between small and 

large entities operating purse seine 

vessels as a result of this final rule. 

Furthermore, there would be no 

disproportionate economic impacts 

based on vessel size, gear, or homeport. 

Steps Taken to Minimize the Significant 

Economic Impacts on Small Entities 

NMFS considered two alternatives to 

the proposed FAD restrictions, and one 

alternative to the proposed daily FAD 

reporting requirement. 

The first alternative for the FAD 

restrictions would establish a threemonth FAD closure period (instead of 

five months) and a FAD set limit of 

2,202 (instead of 3,061) for 2015. The 

months of the FAD closure period 

would be July through September. This 

alternative is based on the second of the 

two options available to the United 

States under CMM 2013–01, as 

described in the proposed rule. The 

compliance burden associated with this 

alternative would depend, like that of 

the proposed action, on the amount of 

fishing effort that will be available to the 

fleet in 2015. If the amount of available 

fishing effort is relatively high, this 

alternative would likely bring greater 

economic impacts than the proposed 

action, and the reverse would be the 

case for relatively low levels of total 

available fishing effort. For example, if 

the fleet makes 51 percent of its sets on 

FADs during periods when FAD sets are 

allowed, as it did in 2010–2011, and if 

fishing effort is evenly distributed 

through the year, the ‘‘breakeven’’ point, 

in terms of which of the two actions— 

the proposed action or a three-month 

FAD closure in combination with a FAD 

set limit of 2,202—would bring greater 

economic impacts to fishing businesses 

would be approximately 7,402 total sets. 

In other words, under those 

assumptions, if more than 7,402 total 

sets are available to the fleet in 2015, the 

alternative of a three-month FAD 

closure in combination with a FAD set 

limit of 2,202 would likely bring greater 

economic impacts to fishing businesses 

than would the proposed action. The 

reverse would be the case if fewer than 

7,402 total sets are available to the fleet 

in 2015. Although the amount of fishing 

effort available to the fleet in 2015 

cannot be predicted with much 

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71330 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

certainty, an interim arrangement for 

2015 recently reached among the parties 

to the SPTT is informative. Under the 

arrangement, U.S. purse seine vessels 

will have access to 8,301 fishing days in 

the waters of the members of the Pacific 

Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) 

in 2015. The fleet also will be able to 

fish on the high seas, and vessels with 

fishery endorsements will have access 

to the U.S. EEZ, although the number of 

allowable fishing days on the high seas 

and in the U.S. EEZ in 2015 is likely to 

be limited (a limit has not yet been set 

for 2015, but for reference, the limit for 

2014 is 1,828 fishing days). Thus, the 

fleet is likely to have access to at least 

8,301 fishing days, and probably closer 

to 10,000 days, in 2015. In 2010 and 

2011, the fleet made approximately 0.93 

sets per fishing day, on average (NMFS 

unpublished data). Thus, the number of 

sets effectively available to the fleet in 

2015 is expected to be more than the 

estimated ‘‘breakeven’’ point of 7,402 

sets identified above. However, the 

interim arrangement negotiated under 

the SPTT for 2015 includes limitations 

on the number of fishing days that may 

be used in some locations that have 

been important fishing grounds for the 

fleet. Consequently, it is conceivable 

that the number of ‘‘effective’’ or 

‘‘useable’’ fishing days available to the 

fleet in 2015 will be less than the 

‘‘breakeven’’ point identified above. 

NMFS does not have the information 

that would be needed to conclude 

whether that will be the case. Thus, 

because NMFS has not identified any 

reasons that make the alternative of a 

three-month FAD closure period and a 

FAD set limit of 2,202 preferable to the 

proposed action, NMFS rejects that 

alternative. 

The second alternative for the FAD 

restrictions would be the same as the 

proposed restrictions except that it 

would not be prohibited to set on fish 

that have aggregated in association with 

a vessel, provided that the vessel is not 

used in a manner to aggregate fish 

(versus a FAD, which by definition does 

not include a vessel). This would be less 

restrictive and thus presumably less 

costly to affected purse seine fishing 

businesses than the proposed 

requirements. The number of such sets 

made historically has been relatively 

small, averaging about four per year for 

the entire fleet from 1997 through 2010, 

according to data recorded by vessel 

operators in logbooks (examination by 

NMFS of observer data from selected 

years indicates a somewhat higher 

number than the number reported by 

vessel operators, so vessel logbook data 

might underestimate the actual number, 

but the number is still small in 

comparison to FAD sets). Therefore, the 

degree of relief in compliance costs of 

allowing such sets during the FAD 

closure periods would be expected to be 

relatively small. NMFS believes that this 

alternative would not serve CMM 2013– 

01’s objective of reducing the fishing 

mortality rates of bigeye tuna and young 

tunas through seasonal prohibitions on 

the use of FADs as well as would the 

proposed rule. For that reason, this 

alternative is rejected. 

The alternative for the daily FAD 

reporting requirement would be the 

same as the proposed requirement 

except that it would apply only 

whenever a vessel is on a fishing trip in 

the Convention Area, rather than 

whenever a vessel is at sea (whether it 

be fishing or transiting) in the 

Convention Area. This alternative 

would relieve vessel owners and 

operators of the reporting requirement 

when the vessel is transiting without 

fishing, which would presumably result 

in lesser compliance costs. However, 

NMFS does not have information that 

allows it to readily discern on a near 

real-time basis whether a given vessel, 

when at sea, is on a fishing trip or not. 

Thus, NMFS would have less ability to 

estimate and project FAD sets in a 

timely and reliable manner than it 

would under the proposed rule, and for 

that reason, this alternative is rejected. 

The alternative of taking no action at 

all is rejected because it would fail to 

accomplish the objective of the WCPFC 

Implementation Act or satisfy the 

international obligations of the United 

States as a Contracting Party to the 

Convention. 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity 

compliance guides.’’ The agency shall 

explain the actions a small entity is 

required to take to comply with a rule 

or group of rules. As part of this 

rulemaking process, a small entity 

compliance guide has been prepared. 

The guide will be sent to permit and 

license holders in the affected fishery. 

The guide and this final rule will also 

be available at www.fpir.noaa.gov and 

by request from NMFS PIRO (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final rule contains a collectionof-information requirement subject to 

the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and 

which has been approved by the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

under control number 0648–0649. 

Public reporting burden for the daily 

FAD report is estimated to average 10 

minutes per response, including the 

time for reviewing instructions, 

searching existing data sources, 

gathering and maintaining the data 

needed, and completing and reviewing 

the collection of information. The only 

comment received by NMFS on this 

collection-of-information requirement in 

response to the proposed rule was that 

the daily FAD report is a good idea. 

Send comments regarding these burden 

estimates or any other aspect of this data 

collection, including suggestions for 

reducing the burden, to Michael D. 

Tosatto, Regional Administrator, NMFS 

PIRO (see ADDRESSES), and by email to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax 

to 202–395–7285. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, and no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, 

Marine resources, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Treaties. 

Dated: November 20, 2014 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 300 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 300—INTERNATIONAL 

FISHERIES REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 50 CFR 

part 300, subpart O, continues to read as 

follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq. 

■ 2. In § 300.218, paragraph (g) is added 

to read as follows: 

§ 300.218 Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(g) Daily FAD reports. The owner or 

operator of any fishing vessel of the 

United States equipped with purse seine 

gear must, within 24 hours of the end 

of each day that the vessel is at sea in 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 71331 

the Convention Area, report to NMFS, 

in the format and manner directed by 

the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator, how many purse seine 

sets were made on FADs during that 

day. 

■ 3. In § 300.222, paragraph (rr) is added 

to read as follows: 

§ 300.222 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(rr) Fail to submit, or ensure 

submission of, a daily FAD report as 

required in § 300.218(g). 

■ 4. In § 300.223, paragraph (b) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 300.223 Purse seine fishing restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(b) Use of fish aggregating devices. 

(1) During the periods specified in 

paragraph (b)(2) of this section, owners, 

operators, and crew of fishing vessels of 

the United States shall not do any of the 

activities described below in the 

Convention Area in the area between 

20° N. latitude and 20° S. latitude: 

(i) Set a purse seine around a FAD or 

within one nautical mile of a FAD. 

(ii) Set a purse seine in a manner 

intended to capture fish that have 

aggregated in association with a FAD or 

a vessel, such as by setting the purse 

seine in an area from which a FAD or 

a vessel has been moved or removed 

within the previous eight hours, or 

setting the purse seine in an area in 

which a FAD has been inspected or 

handled within the previous eight 

hours, or setting the purse seine in an 

area into which fish were drawn by a 

vessel from the vicinity of a FAD or a 

vessel. 

(iii) Deploy a FAD into the water. 

(iv) Repair, clean, maintain, or 

otherwise service a FAD, including any 

electronic equipment used in 

association with a FAD, in the water or 

on a vessel while at sea, except that: 

(A) A FAD may be inspected and 

handled as needed to identify the FAD, 

identify and release incidentally 

captured animals, un-foul fishing gear, 

or prevent damage to property or risk to 

human safety; and 

(B) A FAD may be removed from the 

water and if removed may be cleaned, 

provided that it is not returned to the 

water. 

(v) From a purse seine vessel or any 

associated skiffs, other watercraft or 

equipment, do any of the following, 

except in emergencies as needed to 

prevent human injury or the loss of 

human life, the loss of the purse seine 

vessel, skiffs, watercraft or aircraft, or 

environmental damage: 

(A) Submerge lights under water; 

(B) Suspend or hang lights over the 

side of the purse seine vessel, skiff, 

watercraft or equipment, or; 

(C) Direct or use lights in a manner 

other than as needed to illuminate the 

deck of the purse seine vessel or 

associated skiffs, watercraft or 

equipment, to comply with navigational 

requirements, and to ensure the health 

and safety of the crew. 

(2) The requirements of paragraph 

(b)(1) of this section shall apply: 

(i) From July 1 through September 30, 

2015; and 

(ii) During each of the periods 

described below, but only after NMFS 

has issued a notice in the Federal 

Register announcing that the 

requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section are effective during the 

following periods: 

(A) From January 1 through February 

28, 2015; and 

(B) During any period specified in a 

Federal Register notice issued by NMFS 

announcing that NMFS has determined 

that U.S. purse seine vessels have 

collectively made, or are projected to 

make, 3,061 FAD sets in the Convention 

Area in the area between 20° N. latitude 

and 20° S. latitude in 2015. The Federal 

Register notice will be published at 

least seven days in advance of the start 

of the period announced in the notice. 

NMFS will estimate and project the 

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. 2014–28105 Filed 12–1–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 140429387–4971–02] 

RIN 0648–XD276 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

2015 Atlantic Shark Commercial 

Fishing Seasons 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; fishing season 

notification. 

SUMMARY: This final rule establishes 

opening dates and adjusts quotas for the 

2015 fishing seasons for the Atlantic 

commercial shark fisheries. The quota 

adjustments are based on over- and/or 

underharvests experienced during 2014 

and previous fishing seasons. In 

addition, NMFS establishes season 

opening dates based on adaptive 

management measures to provide, to the 

extent practicable, fishing opportunities 

for commercial shark fishermen in all 

regions and areas. These actions could 

affect fishing opportunities for 

commercial shark fishermen in the 

northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including 

the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. 

DATES: This rule is effective on January 

1, 2015. The 2015 Atlantic commercial 

shark fishing season opening dates and 

quotas are provided in Table 1 under 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: Highly Migratory Species 

Management Division, 1315 East-West 

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy ́

DuBeck or Karyl Brewster-Geisz at 301– 

427–8503. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Atlantic commercial shark 

fisheries are managed under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The 2006 

Consolidated Highly Migratory Species 

(HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 

and its amendments are implemented 

by regulations at 50 CFR part 635. For 

the Atlantic commercial shark fisheries, 

the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 

its amendments established, among 

other things, commercial quotas for 

species and management groups, 

accounting measures for under- and 

overharvests for the shark fisheries, and 

adaptive management measures, such as 

flexible opening dates for the fishing 

seasons and inseason adjustments to 

shark trip limits, which provide 

management flexibility in furtherance of 

equitable fishing opportunities, to the 

extent practicable, for commercial shark 

fishermen in all regions and areas. 

On September 11, 2014 (79 FR 54252), 

NMFS published a rule proposing the 

2015 opening dates for the Atlantic 

commercial shark fisheries and quotas, 

based on shark landings information as 

of August 15, 2014. The September 2014 

proposed rule contains details regarding 

the proposal and how the quotas were 

calculated that are not repeated here. 

The comment period on the proposed 

rule ended on October 14, 2014. 

During the comment period, NMFS 

received more than 50 written and oral 

comments on the proposed rule. Those 

comments, along with the Agency’s 

responses, are summarized below. As 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES