Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 22, 2017 / Proposed Rules 39733 

duties under section 101(a)(2) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(2)), to ‘‘ban 

the importation of commercial fish or 

products from fish’’ sourced in a 

manner that ‘‘results in the incidental 

kill or incidental serious injury’’ of 

vaquita ‘‘in excess of United States 

standards.’’ The petition requested that 

the relevant Secretary ban all fish and 

fish products originating from the 

vaquita’s range in the northern Gulf of 

California that were obtained using any 

kind of gillnet—the fishing gear solely 

responsible for the current decline of 

the vaquita. 

As support for the need for this 

action, the petition cites reports from 

the Comite ́ Internacional para la 

Recuperacio ́n de la Vaquita (CIRVA) 

documenting a 95 percent decline in the 

vaquita population over the last two 

decades. The petitioners also assert that 

for the vaquita, gillnet bycatch has 

driven the species from a population of 

more than 700 in 1990 to currently 

fewer than 30 vaquita. 

The petitioners maintain that any 

fishery using gillnets in the Upper Gulf 

of California violates U.S. standards 

under the MMPA. The petitioners 

provide a list of more than 30 fish 

species potentially harvested by gillnets 

including corvina and Pacific sierra, 

which are currently exempt from the 

Mexican regulations banning the use of 

gillnets. 

On June 30, 2017, Mexico adopted a 

permanent ban on the use of gillnets 

throughout the range of vaquita, with 

the exception of gillnet fisheries for 

corvina and Pacific sierra. The 

regulations also prohibit night fishing, 

establish sites for disembarkation, and 

require the use of vessel monitoring 

systems http://diariooficial.gob.mx/ 

DOFmobile/nota_detalle.php?codigo=

5488674&fecha=30/06/2017. 

NMFS will consider public comments 

in evaluating the request by the 

petitioners for an import ban. In 

addition to general comments on the 

petition, NMFS specifically requests 

comments on: 

• The adequacy of existing measures 

regulating commercial fishing 

throughout the range of the vaquita; 

• Whether such measures can be 

considered comparable in effectiveness 

to the U.S. regulatory program; 

• Whether the apparent decline in the 

vaquita population attributed to 

interaction with commercial fishing 

meets the standard of ‘‘immediate and 

significant adverse impact on a marine 

mammal stock’’ within the MMPA; and 

• Which specific fisheries are, or may 

be, directly associated with potential 

mortality of vaquita and therefore fall 

within the scope of the petition for 

emergency action. 

Dated: August 16, 2017. 

John Henderschedt, 

Director, Office of International Affairs and 

Seafood Inspection, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17717 Filed 8–21–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

RIN 0648–BG82 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Shrimp 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Amendment 17B 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

has submitted Amendment 17B to the 

Fishery Management Plan for the 

Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico 

U.S. Waters (FMP), for review, approval, 

and implementation by NMFS. 

Amendment 17B includes actions to 

define the aggregate maximum 

sustainable yield (MSY) and aggregate 

optimum yield (OY) for the Gulf shrimp 

fishery, determine a minimum number 

of Federal commercial vessel 

moratorium permits in the fishery, 

would allow for the creation of a 

Federal Gulf shrimp reserve pool permit 

when certain conditions are met, and 

would allow for non-federally permitted 

shrimping vessels to transit through the 

Gulf exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 

with shrimp on board the vessel. The 

purpose of Amendment 17B is to protect 

federally managed Gulf shrimp stocks 

while maintaining catch efficiency, 

economic efficiency, and stability in the 

fishery. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before October 23, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on Amendment 17B, identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2017-0040’’ by either of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017- 

0040, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Frank Helies, Southeast Regional Office, 

NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. 

Petersburg, FL 33701. 

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 (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

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). 

Electronic copies of Amendment 17B, 

which includes an environmental 

assessment, a Regulatory Flexibility Act 

analysis, and a regulatory impact 

review, may be obtained from the 

Southeast Regional Office Web site at 

http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_

fisheries/gulf_fisheries/shrimp/2017/ 

am17b/index.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Frank Helies, telephone: 727–824–5305, 

or email: Frank.Helies@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each 

regional fishery management council to 

submit any FMP or amendment to 

NMFS for review and approval, partial 

approval, or disapproval. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires 

that NMFS, upon receiving a plan or 

amendment, publish an announcement 

in the Federal Register notifying the 

public that the plan or amendment is 

available for review and comment. 

The FMP being revised by 

Amendment 17B was prepared by the 

Council and implemented through 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Background 

From 2003 to 2006, the Gulf shrimp 

fishery experienced significant 

economic losses, primarily as a result of 

high fuel costs and reduced prices 

caused by competition with imports. 

These economic losses contributed to a 

reduction in the number of vessels in 

the fishery, and consequently, a 

reduction of commercial effort. During 

that time, commercial vessels in the 

Gulf shrimp fishery were required to 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
39734 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 22, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

have an open-access permit. In 2006, to 

prevent overcapitalizing the fishery 

when it became profitable again, the 

Council established a 10-year freeze on 

the issuance of new shrimp permits and 

created a limited access Federal Gulf 

shrimp moratorium permit (moratorium 

permit)(71 FR 56039, September 26, 

2006). In 2016, the Council extended the 

duration of the Gulf shrimp moratorium 

permit program for another 10 years in 

Amendment 17A to the FMP (81 FR 

47733, July 22, 2016). 

During the development of 

Amendment 17A, the Council identified 

several other issues with the Gulf 

shrimp fishery that it wanted to address. 

First, MSY and OY (equal to MSY), are 

defined individually for the three 

penaeid shrimp species and for royal 

red shrimp. Second, the number of 

moratorium permits has continued to 

decline, and the Council is concerned 

that the decline in total permits will 

continue indefinitely. Finally, transit 

through Federal waters (Gulf EEZ) 

shrimp on board currently requires a 

moratorium permit, which limits the 

ability of a state-registered vessel to 

navigate in certain areas of the Gulf 

while engaged in shrimping. 

Amendment 17B addresses these issues 

through revisions to management 

reference points and the Gulf shrimp 

permit program. 

Actions Contained in Amendment 17B 

Amendment 17B includes actions to 

define the aggregate MSY and aggregate 

OY for Gulf shrimp, determine a 

minimum number of Federal 

commercial vessel moratorium permits 

in the fishery, allow for the creation of 

a Federal Gulf shrimp reserve pool 

permit when certain conditions are met, 

and allow non-federally permitted 

shrimping vessels to transit through the 

Gulf EEZ. 

Aggregate MSY and OY 

After extending the duration of the 

Gulf shrimp moratorium permit 

program for another 10 years, and 

recognizing that the moratorium results 

in a passive loss of permits from the 

fishery, the Council decided to 

determine an appropriate minimum 

number of moratorium permits. To 

facilitate this determination, the Council 

decided to establish an aggregate MSY 

and OY for the federal Gulf shrimp 

fishery. In Amendment 15 to the FMP, 

the Council established species specific 

MSYs and OYs for penaeid shrimp. 

MSY and OY were established for royal 

red shrimp in the original FMP (46 FR 

27489, May 20, 1981). Additionally, 

Amendment 13 to the FMP revised the 

MSY and OY for royal red shrimp (71 

FR 56039, September 26, 2006). 

However, the shrimp permit is not 

species specific and an aggregate MSY 

and OY for all federally managed 

shrimp species (penaeid and royal red) 

can be used as reference points for the 

shrimp fishery as whole. 

In March 2016, the Council convened 

a working group to determine the 

appropriate aggregate MSY and 

aggregate OY for the Gulf shrimp fishery 

in Federal waters. To determine the 

aggregate MSY, the working group used 

the same general approach established 

by a 2006 working group but included 

the most recent years of catch and effort 

data (1990–2014). The working group 

also determined that there were four 

important factors to consider when 

establishing aggregate OY: Landings, 

catch per unit effort (CPUE), sea turtle 

bycatch threshold, and juvenile red 

snapper bycatch. The working group 

concluded that the predicted effort and 

associated landings in 2009, balanced 

all of these criteria relative to observed 

levels in other years. 

Amendment 17B would establish an 

aggregate MSY for the Federal Gulf 

shrimp fishery using the method 

developed by the working group at 

112,531,374 lb (51,043,373 kg), tail 

weight. Amendment 17B would also 

establish an aggregate OY for the Gulf 

shrimp fishery equal to 85,761,596 lb 

(38,900,806 kg), tail weight, which is the 

aggregate MSY reduced by the 

ecological, social, and economic factors 

described above. 

Minimum Threshold Number of Gulf 

Shrimp Moratorium Permits and 

Federal Gulf Shrimp Reserve Pool 

Permit 

Currently, moratorium permits are 

valid for 1 year and are required to be 

renewed annually. If the permit is not 

renewed within 1 year of its expiration 

date, the permit is no longer renewable 

and is terminated. A terminated permit 

cannot be reissued by NMFS and is lost 

to the fishery. As of December 31, 2016, 

there were 1,441 moratorium permits 

that were valid or renewable. Since the 

start of the permit moratorium, a total of 

493 moratorium permits have been 

terminated because they were not 

renewed within the required renewal 

period. 

When the number of moratorium 

permits reaches 1,175 valid or 

renewable permits, the Council would 

form a panel to review details of a Gulf 

shrimp reserve permit pool and 

consider options regarding the reserve 

pool permits. The panel would consist 

of the Council’s Shrimp Advisory Panel 

members, Science and Statistical 

Committee members, NMFS, and 

Council staff. This panel could make 

recommendations about how to utilize a 

Gulf shrimp vessel permit reserve pool. 

As described in Amendment 17B, 

when the number of valid or renewable 

moratorium permits reaches 1,072, then 

any moratorium permits that are not 

renewed within 1 year of expiration 

would be converted to a Gulf shrimp 

reserve pool permit. This number is 

based on the predicted number of active 

permitted vessels needed to attain 

aggregate OY in the offshore fishery. As 

explained above, the aggregate OY 

accounts for relatively high CPUE and 

landings while reducing the risk of 

exceeding sea turtle and juvenile red 

snapper bycatch. As described in 

Amendment 17B, it is estimated that it 

could take up to 24 years to reach the 

threshold value of 1,072 valid or 

renewable moratorium permits. 

Therefore, any Gulf shrimp reserve pool 

permit that is created would not be 

issued until eligibility requirements are 

developed by the Council and 

implemented through subsequent 

rulemaking. Based on future Council 

action, Gulf shrimp reserve pool permits 

could be used as a method to allow new 

entrants into the fishery or allow 

persons who previously held a 

moratorium permit to re-enter the 

fishery. 

Amendment 17B does not actively 

removes any Gulf shrimp moratorium 

permits. The minimum threshold is 

only for purposes of monitoring changes 

in fishery participation and determining 

if additional management measures 

should be established. 

Transit Provisions for Shrimp Vessels 

Without a Federal Permit 

Currently, to possess Gulf shrimp in 

the Gulf EEZ, a vessel must have been 

issued a moratorium permit. In the Gulf, 

there are some areas where state-only 

licensed shrimpers would like to transit 

with shrimp on board from state waters 

through Federal waters to return to state 

waters and port. However, because these 

state-licensed shrimping vessels do not 

possess a moratorium permit, they 

cannot legally transit through the Gulf 

EEZ while possessing shrimp. This 

results in some of these vessels 

spending increased time at sea and 

incurring additional fuel costs because 

of longer transit times. 

Amendment 17B would allow a vessel 

possessing Gulf shrimp to transit the 

Gulf EEZ without a valid moratorium 

permit if fishing gear is appropriately 

stowed. Transit would be defined as 

non-stop progression through the area; 

fishing gear appropriately stowed would 

mean trawl doors and nets must be out 

of the water and the bag straps must be 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 22, 2017 / Proposed Rules 39735 

removed from the net. This transit 

exemption is expected to reduce the 

time at sea required for some shrimpers 

while still allowing enforcement to 

verify that they have not been fishing in 

the EEZ. 

A proposed rule that would 

implement measures outlined in 

Amendment 17B has been drafted. In 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, NMFS is evaluating the proposed 

rule to determine whether it is 

consistent with the FMP, the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law. 

If that determination is affirmative, 

NMFS will publish the proposed rule in 

the Federal Register for public review 

and comment. 

Consideration of Public Comments 

The Council has submitted 

Amendment 17B for Secretarial review, 

approval, and implementation. 

Comments on Amendment 17B must be 

received by October 23, 2017. 

Comments received during the 

respective comment periods, whether 

specifically directed to the amendment 

or the proposed rule, will be considered 

by NMFS in its decision to approve, 

disapprove, or partially approve the 

amendment and will be addressed in 

the final rule. 

All comments received by NMFS on 

the amendment or the proposed rule 

during their respective comment 

periods will be addressed in the final 

rule. 

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

Dated: August 16, 2017. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17635 Filed 8–21–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 170605543–7737–01] 

RIN 0648–XF486 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

2018 Atlantic Shark Commercial 

Fishing Season 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

establish quotas, opening dates, and 

retention limits for the 2018 fishing 

season for the Atlantic commercial 

shark fisheries. Quotas would be 

adjusted as required or allowable based 

on any over- and/or underharvests 

experienced during 2017 and previous 

fishing seasons. In addition, NMFS 

proposes season opening dates and 

commercial retention limits based on 

adaptive management measures to 

provide, to the extent practicable, 

fishing opportunities for commercial 

shark fishermen in all regions and areas. 

The proposed measures could affect 

fishing opportunities for commercial 

shark fishermen in the northwestern 

Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of 

Mexico and Caribbean Sea. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by September 21, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2017–0069, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017- 

0069, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Margo Schulze-Haugen, NMFS/SF1, 

1315 East-West Highway, National 

Marine Fisheries Service, SSMC3, Silver 

Spring, MD 20910. 

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 (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

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). 

Copies of this proposed rule and 

supporting documents are available 

from the HMS Management Division 

Web site at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/ 

hms/ or by contacting Guy ́ DuBeck by 

phone at 301–427–8503. 

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 shark retention 

limits, 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 season 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. 

2018 Proposed Quotas 

This proposed rule would adjust the 

quota levels for the different shark 

stocks and management groups for the 

2018 Atlantic commercial shark fishing 

season based on over- and 

underharvests that occurred during 

2017 and previous fishing seasons, 

consistent with existing regulations at 

50 CFR 635.27(b). Over- and 

underharvests are accounted for in the 

same region, sub-region, and/or fishery 

in which they occurred the following 

year, except that large overharvests may 

be spread over a number of subsequent 

fishing years up to a maximum of 5 

years. Shark stocks or management 

groups that contain one or more stocks 

that are overfished, have overfishing 

occurring, or have an unknown status, 

will not have underharvest carried over 

in the following year. Stocks that are not 

overfished and have no overfishing 

occurring may have any underharvest 

carried over in the following year, up to 

50 percent of the base quota. 

The quotas in this proposed rule are 

based on dealer reports received as of 

July 14, 2017. In the final rule, NMFS 

will adjust the quotas as needed based 

on dealer reports received as of a date 

in mid-October 2017. Thus, all of the 

2018 proposed quotas for the respective 

stocks and management groups will be 

subject to further adjustment after 

NMFS considers the dealer reports 

through mid-October. All dealer reports 

that are received after the October date 

will be used to adjust the 2019 quotas, 

as appropriate. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS