[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 178 (Thursday, September 14, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47713-47715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22828]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 217, 222, and 227
[Docket No. 950427117-5220-03; I.D. 042095E]
RIN 0648-AH97
Sea Turtle Conservation; Restrictions Applicable to Shrimp Trawl
Activities; Leatherback Conservation Zone
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule establishes all inshore and offshore waters
from Cape Canaveral, FL (28 deg.24.6' N. lat.) to the North Carolina-
Virginia border (36 deg.30.5' N. lat.) as the leatherback conservation
zone and provides for short-term closures of areas in that zone when
high abundance levels of leatherback turtles are documented. Upon such
documentation, NMFS will prohibit, in the closed areas, fishing by any
shrimp trawler required to have a turtle excluder device (TED)
installed in each net that is rigged for fishing, unless the TED
installed is specified in the regulations as having an escape opening
large enough to exclude leatherback turtles. This rule is necessary to
reduce mortality of endangered leatherback sea turtles incidentally
captured in shrimp trawls.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 16, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the environmental assessment (EA) or
the contingency plan, prepared for this rule should be addressed to the
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles A. Oravetz, (813) 570-5312, or
Phil Williams, (301) 713-1401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
All sea turtles that occur in U.S. waters are listed as either
endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of
1973. The Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), leatherback (Dermochelys
coriacea), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) are listed as
endangered. Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas)
turtles are listed as threatened, except for breeding populations of
green turtles in Florida and on the Pacific coast of Mexico, which are
listed as endangered. The incidental take and mortality of these
species, as a result of fishing activities, have been documented in the
Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic seaboard.
Under the ESA and its implementing regulations, it is prohibited to
take sea turtles. The incidental taking of turtles during shrimp
fishing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the southeastern United
States and in the Gulf of Mexico is excepted from the taking
prohibition pursuant to sea turtle conservation regulations at 50 CFR
227.72, which include a requirement that shrimp trawlers have a NMFS-
approved TED installed in each net rigged for fishing throughout the
year. The use of TEDs significantly reduces mortalities of loggerhead,
green, Kemp's ridley, and hawksbill sea turtles. Because
[[Page 47714]]
leatherback turtles are larger than the escape openings of most NMFS-
approved TEDs, use of these TEDs is not an effective means of
protecting leatherback turtles.
As a result of their primarily pelagic existence, leatherbacks
normally occur outside of areas where they would be subject to taking
by shrimp trawlers. During most months of the year, leatherbacks are
not abundant in shrimping areas, and only isolated incidents of taking
by trawlers occur. However, the coastal waters of northern Florida,
Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina experience relatively high
abundance levels of leatherbacks as a periodic winter and spring
phenomenon. When leatherback abundance is high and shrimp trawlers are
fishing, leatherback stranding pulses have been documented on adjacent
beaches. A NMFS Biological Opinion prepared for a revision to the sea
turtle conservation regulations, published in the Federal Register on
December 4, 1992, (57 FR 57348), specifically addressed episodic
stranding events from Florida through North Carolina, and required NMFS
to develop and implement a contingency plan to solve this problem.
A contingency plan for protection of leatherback turtles on the
Atlantic seaboard that can be implemented, if necessary, was prepared
in cooperation with State officials from Florida, Georgia, and South
Carolina. The necessity for implementation of protective measures for
leatherback turtles is expected to be on an annual basis but only for
short periods of time in relatively small, specific areas at any one
time. The plan considers several options to provide protection, and any
or all of them may be implemented, if necessary. These options include:
Closure of areas to all fishing, use of restricted tow times in lieu of
TEDs, mandatory observers, and use of NMFS-approved TEDs with escape
openings large enough to exclude leatherback turtles.
Aerial surveys have been conducted for sea turtles off the Florida
and Georgia coasts since 1988 and off the coast of South Carolina since
1993. Beginning in December or January each year, concentrations of
leatherback turtles occur in northeastern Florida waters. During the
month of March, leatherbacks begin moving north and usually enter
Georgia waters in late March or early April. Peak concentrations occur
in Georgia waters during April and May and by mid-June the
concentrations have left Georgia. Leatherback concentrations occur in
waters off South Carolina from late April generally through the first
part of June.
Shrimping occurs year round in northeastern Florida waters, but the
activity levels during any given month may vary from year to year.
Shrimp fishing is closed in the State waters of Georgia until June 1 of
each year, but shrimping begins in Federal waters off Georgia generally
in April or early May. The State of South Carolina opens its waters to
shrimping between May 15 and June 30, depending upon the presence of
shrimp. Shrimping in Federal waters off South Carolina generally begins
in early May. Based upon leatherback turtle concentration information
and normal shrimp fishing activities, the most likely period for shrimp
vessel interactions with leatherbacks in the leatherback conservation
zone is January through June each year.
Each spring for the last 2 years, NMFS has issued temporary 30-day
restrictions establishing a leatherback conservation zone (58 FR 28790,
May 17, 1993; 59 FR 23169, May 5, 1994; 59 FR 29545, June 8, 1994). An
interim rule (60 FR 25620, May 12, 1995) was issued this past year to
provide a mechanism for short-term protection, and NMFS published a
proposed rule (60 FR 25663, May 12, 1995) to provide for a permanent
framework to protect leatherback sea turtles.
Comments and Responses on the Proposed Rule
No comments were received on the proposed rule.
Requirements
This rule establishes a framework whereby short-term closures may
be instituted on an expedited basis in order to protect leatherbacks.
Specifically, the rule establishes all inshore and offshore waters of
the Atlantic area from Cape Canaveral, FL (28 deg.24.6' N. lat.), to
the North Carolina-Virginia border (36 deg.30.5' N. lat.) as the
``leatherback conservation zone.''
During the months of January through June, NMFS will conduct weekly
aerial surveys of the leatherback conservation zone. If sightings of
leatherback turtles during such surveys exceed 10 animals per 50
nautical miles (nm) (92.6 km) of trackline, the survey will be
replicated within 24 hours, or as soon as practicable thereafter, to
ensure that leatherback turtle presence is persistent in the area. If
surveys demonstrate the continued presence of large concentrations of
leatherbacks, NMFS will prohibit shrimp fishing in these specific areas
by any shrimp trawler required to have a NMFS-approved TED installed in
each net rigged for fishing, unless the TED installed is one of the
NMFS-approved TEDs described below. Those TEDs have been determined to
have escape openings large enough to exclude leatherbacks. In addition,
owners and operators of vessels operating in closed areas with an
allowed TED, as described below, will be required to register with the
Director, Southeast Region, NMFS (Regional Director) in accordance with
50 CFR 227.72(e)(6)(iv)(A) through (F). Upon written request by the
Regional Director, they will be required to carry a NMFS-approved
observer aboard such vessel(s). A shrimp trawler in the leatherback
conservation zone will be required to comply with the terms and
conditions specified in such written request, as well as provide
information on trawling hours, gear modifications and turtle captures.
Notice of specific area closures will be published in the Federal
Register and will be effective upon filing of such notice for public
inspection at the Office of the Federal Register. Closures will be
announced immediately on the NOAA weather channel, in newspapers, and
other media. Areas with high leatherback abundance, as documented by
the aerial surveys, will be closed for a period of 2 weeks. A closed
area will include all, or a portion of, inshore and offshore waters 10
nm (18.5 km) seaward of the COLREGS demarcation line, bounded by 1 deg.
lat. coinciding with the trackline. Shrimp trawlers in the leatherback
conservation zone will be responsible for monitoring the NOAA weather
channel for closure announcements. Shrimp trawlers may also call (813)
570-5312 for updated area closure information.
NMFS-Approved TEDs With Escape Openings Large Enough for
Leatherback Sea Turtles
NMFS has approved modifications to the Taylor and the Morrison
TEDs, as well as a modification to the single-grid hard TED, that will
allow leatherback turtles to escape the trawl. Descriptions of the
Taylor and Morrison TED modifications are found at 50 CFR
227.72(e)(4)(iii)(E), and the modified single-grid hard TED is
described at 50 CFR 227.72(e)(4)(i)(G)(2)(ii).
Classification
This rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of
E.O. 12866.
This rule establishes a registration program that contains a
collection-of-information requirement subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act, namely, registration by vessels fishing in the
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leatherback conservation zone from Cape Canaveral, FL, to the Virginia-
North Carolina border. This collection has been approved by Office of
Management and Budget under control number 0648-0267. The public
reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to
average 7 minutes per response, including the time needed for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA,(AA) prepared an EA
for the interim rule (60 FR 25620, May 12, 1995) and concluded that,
with specified mitigation measures, it will have no significant impact
on the human environment. The AA has determined that the EA prepared
for the interim rule is applicable to this final rule. Copies of the EA
are available (see ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; and 16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.,
unless otherwise noted; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1543; and 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.
Dated: September 7, 1995.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, the interim rule amending
50 CFR parts 217, 222, and 227, which was published at 60 FR 25620 on
May 12, 1995, is adopted as a final rule without change.
[FR Doc. 95-22828 Filed 9-13-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
