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Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Crustacean Fisheries; Deepwater Shrimp 

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[Federal Register: August 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 158)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 47577-47578]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14au08-18]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

RIN 0648-AV29


Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Crustacean Fisheries; Deepwater
Shrimp

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment;
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council proposes to amend the Fishery Management Plan for Crustacean
Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (Crustaceans FMP). If approved
by the Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 13 to the Crustaceans FMP would
designate deepwater shrimp of the genus Heterocarpus as management unit
species, and require Federal permits and data reporting for deepwater
shrimp fishing in Federal waters of the western Pacific. Amendment 13
is intended to improve information on deepwater shrimp fisheries and
their ecosystem impacts, and to provide a basis for future management
of the fisheries, if needed.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 13, which includes an environmental
assessment, must be received by October 14, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the amendment, identified by 0648-AV29, may be
sent to either of the following addresses:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov; or
     Mail: Mail written comments to William L. Robinson,
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1601
Kapiolani Blvd, Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to www.regulations.gov without change. All
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive or protected
information. 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 or Excel,
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Copies of Amendment 13, including an environmental assessment, are
available from the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council), 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-
522-8220, fax 808-522-8226, www.wpcouncil.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brett Wiedoff, NMFS PIR, 808-944-2272.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Federal Register document is accessible
at the Office of the Federal Register website: www.gpoaccess.gov/fr.
    Crustacean fisheries in the western Pacific are federally-managed
within the waters of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
(CNMI), Guam, Hawaii, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA,
including Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef, Jarvis Island, Baker Island,
Howland Island, Johnston Atoll, Wake Island, and Midway Atoll). The EEZ
around the CNMI and PRIA extends from the shoreline seaward to 200
nautical miles (nm), and the EEZ around the other islands extends from
three to 200 nm offshore. Crustaceans FMP management unit species now
include spiny lobsters, Panulirus marginatus and P. penicillatus,
slipper lobsters of the family Scyllaridae, and Kona (spanner) crab,
Ranina ranina.
    Eight species of Heterocarpus have been reported throughout the
tropical Pacific. These shrimp are generally found at depths of 200 to
1,200 meters on the outer reef slopes that surround islands and
deepwater banks. Species distribution tends to be stratified by depth
with some overlap. The deepwater trap fisheries have primarily targeted
Heterocarpus ensifer and H. laevigatus.
    Western Pacific commercial trap fisheries for deepwater shrimp are
intermittent. There have been sporadic operations in Hawaii since the
1960s, small-scale fisheries in Guam during the 1970s, and some
activity in the CNMI during the mid-1990s. The fisheries have been
unregulated, and there has been no comprehensive collection of
information about the fisheries. Most of these fishing ventures have
been short-lived, probably as a result of sometimes-frequent loss of
traps, a shrimp product with a short shelf life and history of
inconsistent quality, and the rapid localized depletion of deepwater
shrimp stocks leading to low catch rates. Despite these hurdles,
interest in deepwater shrimp fisheries continues.
    Amendment 13 would designate deepwater shrimp of the genus
Heterocarpus as management unit species under the FMP, and would
require Federal permits and reporting for deepwater shrimp fishing in
the EEZ. The proposed monitoring program (permits and logbooks) is
intended to improve understanding of these fisheries and their impact
on marine ecosystems. Although currently there are no resource concerns
regarding western Pacific deepwater shrimp, the proposed designation of
these shrimp as management unit species would provide a basis for
management of the fisheries, if warranted in the future. Amendment 13
designates Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for the complete assemblage of
adult and juvenile Heterocarpus spp. as the outer reef slopes between
300 and 700 meters surrounding every island and submerged banks in the
western Pacific, and includes all eight species of deepwater shrimp in
the region: Heterocarpus ensifer, H. laevigatus, H. sibogae, H.
gibbosus, H. Lepidus, H. dorsalis, H. tricarinatus and H. longirostris,
as required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act.
    Public comments on proposed Amendment 13 must be received by
October 14, 2008 to be considered by NMFS in the decision to approve,
partially approve, or disapprove the amendment. A proposed rule to
implement the amendment has been prepared for Secretarial review and

[[Page 47578]]

approval, and NMFS expects to publish and request public comment on the
proposed regulation in the near future.

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

    Dated: August 8, 2008.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. E8-18854 Filed 8-13-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-S

 
 

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