[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8428-8429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4591]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 021897A]
Mid-Atlantic Take Reduction Team
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of establishment of team and public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Take Reduction Team to address bycatch of harbor porpoise
in U.S. mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries is established February 25, 1997
and will hold its first meeting to develop a Take Reduction Plan as
described in the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) focusing on
reducing bycatch in these fisheries.
DATES: The team is established as of February 25, 1997. The first
meeting of the team will be held on March 4-5, 1997, from 8:30 a.m. to
5:30 p.m. Future meetings are tentatively scheduled for April 23-24,
1997, and June 3-4, 1997.
ADDRESSES: The first meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn SunSpree
Resort, 3900 Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23451. Future meetings
are tentatively scheduled for Salisbury, MD, (April) and Washington,
D.C. (June).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Cornish, (301) 713-2322.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 30, 1994, the 1994 Amendments to
the MMPA were signed into law. Section 117 of the MMPA requires that
NMFS complete stock assessment reports for all marine mammal stocks
within U.S. waters. Each stock assessment report is required to
categorize the status of the stock as one that either has a level of
human-caused mortality and serious injury that is not likely to cause
the stock to be reduced below its optimum sustainable population; or is
a strategic stock, with a description of the reasons therefore; and
estimate the potential biological removal (PBR) level for the stock,
describing the information used to calculate it, including the recovery
factor. Stock Assessment Reports and the calculated PBR were published
by NMFS in July 1995.
The MMPA defines a ``strategic stock'' as a marine mammal stock for
which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds the PBR level;
which, based on the best available scientific information, is declining
and is likely to be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (ESA) within the foreseeable future; which is
listed as a threatened species or endangered species under the ESA, or
is designated as depleted under the MMPA. The MMPA further defines the
term ``potential biological removal,'' or PBR, as ``the maximum number
of animals, not including natural mortalities, that may be removed from
a marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to reach or maintain
its optimum sustainable population.''
Mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries interact with the Gulf of Maine/Bay
of Fundy stock of harbor porpoise (supporting documentation at 60 FR
67063, December 28, 1995). This stock is considered strategic under the
MMPA because the level of human-caused mortality is greater than its
PBR levels.
Section 118(f) of the MMPA requires NMFS to establish a Take
Reduction Team to prepare a draft Take Reduction Plan designed to
assist in the recovery or prevent the depletion of each strategic
marine mammal stock that interacts with certain fisheries. Section
118(f)(6)(C) requires that members of Take Reduction Teams have
expertise regarding the conservation or biology of the marine mammal
species that the plan will address, or the fishing practices that
result in the incidental mortality and serious injury of such species.
The MMPA further specifies that members of the team shall include
representatives of Federal agencies, each coastal state with fisheries
that interact with the species or stock, appropriate Regional Fishery
Management Councils, interstate fisheries commissions, academic and
scientific organizations, environmental groups, all commercial and
recreational fisheries groups and gear types which incidentally take
the species or stock, Alaska Native organizations, or Indian tribal
organizations, and others as deemed appropriate.
As a result of an extended interview process conducted by a NMFS-
contracted facilitator, NMFS has asked the following individuals to be
a member of the team, which will focus on reducing bycatch of harbor
porpoise taken as bycatch in U.S. mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries: Erik
Anderson, independent fisher, New Hampshire, and member of the New
England Fishery Management Council; Herb Austin, fishery scientist,
Virginia
[[Page 8429]]
Institute of Marine Science; Susan Barco, marine mammal scientist,
Virginia Science Museum; Charles Bergman, independent fisher, New
Jersey, and member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council;
Ernie Bowden, independent fisher, Virginia, and member of the Eastern
Shore Watermen's Association; David Bower, fishery manager, Virginia
Marine Resources Commission; Kevin Chu, fishery biologist, National
Marine Fisheries Service; Victoria Cornish, fishery biologist, National
Marine Fisheries Service; Gordon Elliott, independent fisher, North
Carolina; Bruce Halgren, fishery manager, New Jersey Division of Fish,
Game and Wildlife; Thomas Hoff, fishery scientist, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council; George LaPointe, fishery scientist, Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission; Matt Linnell, independent fisher,
Massachusetts; Richard Luedtke, independent fisher, New Jersey; Bridget
Mansfield, fishery biologist, National Marine Fisheries Service, Rick
Marks, fishery scientist, North Carolina Fisherman's Association; Dave
Martin, independent fisher, Martin Fish Company; William McLellan,
marine mammal scientist, University of North Carolina; Robert Munson,
independent fisher, New Jersey; Jeff Oden, independent fisher, North
Carolina; Bill Outten, fishery manager, Maryland Department of Natural
Resources; Andrew Read, marine mammal scientist, Duke University; Tom
Smith, independent fisher, Maryland; Michael Street, fishery manager,
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries; Leonard Voss, Jr.,
independent fisher, Delaware; Rob West, independent fisher, North
Carolina; Nina Young, conservationist, Center for Marine Conservation;
Sharon Young, conservationist, Humane Society of the United States.
Other individuals from NMFS, state and Federal agencies may be present
as observers or for their scientific expertise. The team will be
facilitated by RESOLVE Center for Environmental Dispute Resolution,
Washington, DC.
The team is officially established upon publication of the first
meeting notice in the Federal Register. NMFS fully intends to convene
the Take Reduction Team process in a way that provides for national
consistency yet accommodates the unique regional needs and
characteristics of the team. Take Reduction Teams are not subject to
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.). Meetings are open
to the public.
Dated: February 19, 1997.
Patricia A. Montanio
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-4591 Filed 2-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
