Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 10, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 1907

PART 18—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 18

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.

2. Amend § 18.30 by revising

paragraphs (a)(4)(i), (a)(4)(iii), (a)(4)(iv),

and (i)(1) introductory text to read as

follows:

§ 18.30 Polar Bear sport-hunted trophy

import permits.

(a) * * *

(4) * * *

(i) A copy of the Northwest Territories

(NWT) or Nunavut Territory hunting

license and tag number;

* * * * *

(iii) A copy of the NWT or Nunavut

Territory export permit; or

(iv) A certification from the

Department of Resources, Northwest

Territories, or the Department of

Sustainable Development, Nunavut

Territory,

* * * * *

(i) * * *

(1) We have determined that the

Northwest Territories and Nunavut

Territory, Canada, have a monitored and

enforced sport-hunting program that

meets issuance criteria of paragraphs (d)

(4) and (5) of this section for the

following populations: Southern

Beaufort Sea, Northern Beaufort Sea,

Viscount Melville Sound (subject to the

lifting of the moratorium in this

population), Western Hudson Bay,

M’Clintock Channel (only for polar

bears lawfully taken on or before May

31, 2000), Lancaster Sound, and

Norwegian Bay, and that:

* * * * *

Dated: January 4, 2001.

Kenneth L. Smith,

Assistant Secretary Fish and Wildlife and

Parks.

[FR Doc. 01–656 Filed 1–8–01; 11:37 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[I.D. 110800A]

RIN 0648-AJ67

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;

Pelagic Longline Fishery Vessel

Monitoring Systems

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule; stay of effectiveness;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: As ordered by the U.S.

District Court for the District of

Columbia on September 25, 2000,

NMFS is undertaking further

consideration of the scope of vessel

monitoring system (VMS) requirements

in the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery

in light of any relevant conservation

requirements. NMFS previously

provided notice of the Court’s ruling by

distribution on the Highly Migratory

Species Fax Network and in a mailing

to permit holders. NMFS requests

comments on options for implementing

VMS requirements in the Atlantic

pelagic longline fishery. As a result of

the Court’s order, NMFS delays the

effective date of regulations regarding

application of VMS requirements to the

Atlantic pelagic longline fishery

adopted as part of the Fishery

Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas,

Swordfish, and Sharks (HMS FMP),

pending further ruling of the Court on

the agency’s reconsideration of this

matter.

DATES: Effective October 1, 2000, 50

CFR 635.69 is stayed indefinitely.

Written comments must be received on

or before February 8, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the HMS FMP,

accompanying regulations and

supporting documents, and the Hawaii

VMS Pilot Project Report can be

obtained from Othel Freeman, 301-713-

2347; fax: 301-713-1917. Written

comments should be addressed to Jill

Stevenson, Highly Migratory Species

Division, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center

Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702 or

by fax. Comments submitted via e-mail

or on the Internet will not be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill

Stevenson or Buck Sutter, 727-570-5447;

fax: 727-570-5656; or e-mail at

jill.stevenson@noaa.gov or

buck.sutter@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

NMFS published final regulations

implementing the HMS FMP on May 28,

1999 (64 FR 29090). Those regulations

require all pelagic longline fishermen to

report hourly using a NOAA-approved

VMS. In June 1999, after the final

regulations were published, a coalition

of commercial pelagic longline

fishermen and dealers sued the

Secretary of Commerce, challenging,

among other measures, the VMS

requirements of the final rule. On

September 25, 2000, Judge Richard W.

Roberts, U.S. District Court for the

District of Columbia, issued an order

that found that there was inadequate

evidence in the record to support fleetwide application of the VMS

requirements under national standards 7

and 8 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act. The

Judge indicated that ‘‘the Secretary

failed to set forth a rational connection

between the factual record and the

choice to impose a blanket VMS

requirement on all pelagic longline

fishers, regardless of whether they are

geographically located near a time/area

closure....’’ Judge Roberts ordered that

the agency further consider the scope of

the VMS requirements in light of

potential conservation benefits

compared to costs.

In the biological and economic

analyses of the HMS FMP that

accompanied publication of the

regulations, NMFS included

information concerning fishery

conservation benefits and the potential

enforcement and communication

benefits of VMS to both fishery

managers and fishermen. Those benefits

include increased communications for

fishermen and real-time monitoring,

which significantly improves

enforcement of large offshore closed

areas. For example, NMFS and the U.S.

Coast Guard would be able to detect and

to document unlawful incursions into

closed areas. Without the VMS, such

violations could only be detected with

costly at-sea monitoring efforts.

Monitoring the Atlantic pelagic longline

fleet through the use of VMS would

require only a small percentage of the

cost of traditional surveillance methods.

Reconsideration of VMS Program

NMFS did not include in its original

analyses supporting the rulemaking all

of the background information that has

been used by NMFS and fishery

managers and enforcement agencies

world-wide as a standard for application

of VMS requirements. Pursuant to Judge

Roberts’ order, NMFS is now reviewing

that background information and the

results of VMS programs implemented

in other fisheries around the world.

In addition, new circumstances that

may influence NMFS’s consideration of

the scope of VMS requirements have

arisen since the final regulations were

published in 1999. Specifically, on

August 1, 2000, NMFS published

regulations establishing three new

closed areas to reduce bycatch and

incidental catch in the pelagic longline

fishery in the Gulf of Mexico and the

Southeast Atlantic Ocean off the coasts

of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

Also, on October 13, 2000 (65 FR

60889), NMFS established one more

closed area in the North Atlantic Ocean

1908 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 10, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

to reduce the serious injury and

mortality of threatened and endangered

sea turtles incidentally caught in this

fishery.

In addition to the fishing closures

implemented under the HMS FMP and

its Amendment 1, U.S. pelagic longline

fishermen are also subject to closures in

the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of

other nations unless contractual

arrangements have been made by vessel

operators. Pelagic longline vessels are

very mobile, with some vessels fishing

in the South Atlantic Ocean (e.g., off the

coasts of Namibia or Brazil). U.S.

Atlantic pelagic longline vessels

frequently traverse waters close to or

within the EEZs of Canada, Mexico, the

Bahamas, and other Caribbean nations

on the way to high seas fishing grounds.

The United States supports recent

international initiatives, including those

undertaken by the International

Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to eliminate

illegal, unregulated, and unreported

fishing activities. NMFS was recently

informed at the 2000 ICCAT meeting

that at least one U.S. longline vessel is

fishing in the Mediterranean Sea. The

fishing activities of that vessel have not

been reported by that vessel to NMFS.

Noting the obligation of every ICCAT

Contracting Party to monitor the fishing

activities of all vessels throughout the

ICCAT management unit in order to

comply with ICCAT conservation and

management measures, it is clear that

the United States must monitor pelagic

longline activities ocean-wide.

Costs to Fishermen

NMFS also notes that VMS operating

cost estimates have decreased by 25 to

almost 50 percent since the HMS FMP

economic analyses were completed.

Currently, the cost of the VMS is

approximately $1,800 to $3,800 per

vessel for the initial purchase of the

equipment, depending on which model

is chosen by the vessel owner.

Installation of the equipment could cost

up to $1,000, and communication

charges for required automated position

reports range $1.00-5.00 per day. Repair

and maintenance costs may approach

$1,000 per year.

NMFS has considered mitigating costs

to pelagic longline fishermen, but

alternatives such as low-interest loans

from the government and outright

purchase by the agency were not

adopted in the final regulations. The

western Pacific pelagic longline VMS

program was funded by the government

as a pilot program solely for the

purposes of testing the viability and

effectiveness of VMS technology when

utilized in longline fisheries. That study

has been completed, and the study

report is available from NMFS (See

ADDRESSES).

The VMS requirement is imposed

fleet-wide in the western Pacific pelagic

longline fishery due to the mobility of

that fleet. The program is successful and

meets the enforcement and monitoring

needs of NMFS and the United States

Coast Guard (USCG), such as near-real

time detection of unlawful incursions

into closed areas. Considering the

experience in the Western Pacific

pelagic longline pilot program, NMFS

has pursued the use of VMS in several

other U.S. fisheries. Installation of a

VMS unit is now required at the vessel

owners’ or operators’ expense in the

Western Pacific crustacean fishery, the

Atlantic sea scallop fishery, and the

Alaska Atka mackerel fishery.

The Atlantic pelagic longline VMS

program would allow NMFS and USCG

to monitor vessel position on a real-time

basis anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

This is particularly important for

enforcement of time/area closures due

to the mobility of this fleet. While some

pelagic longline vessels are small and

do not venture far from shore, many

vessels are large enough to follow the

migrations of swordfish and other HMS

up and down the east coast, through the

Caribbean, or even into the Eastern

Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean,

and Mediterranean Sea. In light of this

information and the Court’s concerns

regarding the necessity of a fleet-wide

VMS program, NMFS is reconsidering

the scope of the VMS program with

respect to costs and benefits to the

Atlantic pelagic longline fishery.

Request For Comments

NMFS requests comments on

alternatives for implementing VMS

requirements in the Atlantic pelagic

longline fishery. Specifically, NMFS

requests comments on the scope of the

program:

How can NMFS achieve the goal of

effectively monitoring, on a real-time

basis, the location of U.S. pelagic

longline vessels?

Should NMFS apply VMS

requirements fleet-wide in the Atlantic

pelagic longline fishery in order to

monitor all fishing activities?

Should NMFS impose VMS

requirements only on certain sectors of

the fleet based on geographic location of

home port or other criteria?

Additionally, NMFS seeks input on

the costs and benefits of a VMS

program:

Should NMFS consider other

alternatives for enforcing time/area

closures and monitoring the fleet other

than VMS and existing reporting

strategies?

NMFS will consider comments

received prior to the close of the

comment period when responding to

the Court. Send comments to NMFS at

the specified location (see ADDRESSES).

Delayed Effective Date

The VMS requirement specified at 50

CFR 635.69 initially was to be effective

September 1, 1999. On August 9, 1999,

NMFS delayed the effective date of this

final rule until January 1, 2000 (64 FR

43101). On October 14, 1999, NMFS

again delayed the effective date of this

final rule until June 1, 2000 (64 FR

55633). NMFS further delayed the

effective date of this final rule until

October 1, 2000 (65 FR 49941, August

16, 2000). NMFS now stays indefinitely

the effectiveness and implementation of

§635.69, the VMS regulations, pending

the Court’s ruling on the agency’s

reconsideration. NMFS will notify the

public at such time as the stay is

removed and an implementation date is

specified or the regulations are amended

pursuant to the direction of the Court.

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

Dated: December 29, 2000.

Valerie Chambers,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–448 Filed 1–9–01; 8:45 am]

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