Sea Turtle Conservation; Restrictions Applicable to Shrimp Trawl Activities; Leatherback Conservation Zone

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 217, 222, and 227

[Docket No. 950427117-5118-02; I.D.042095B]

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: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to adopt as final the interim rule published

elsewhere in this issue which 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 would 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 proposed rule is

necessary to reduce mortality of endangered leatherback sea turtles

incidentally captured in shrimp trawls.

DATES: Comments on this rule must be submitted by June 12, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the environmental assessment (EA) or

the contingency plan, and comments on this proposed rule should be

addressed to the Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of

Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD

20910. Comments on the collection-of-information requirement subject to

the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) should be directed to the Chief,

Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, and to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget

(OMB), Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for NOAA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles A. Oravetz, (813) 570-5312, or

Russell J. Bellmer, (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 leatherback

turtles are larger than the [[Page 25664]] 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). The

only comment received in response to those rules is addressed below:

Comment: A mechanism for imposing immediate, short-term gear

modifications, closures, and observer requirements in areas of

potential high conflict between commercial fisheries and endangered

species should be implemented on a systematic basis as part of NMFS

fisheries management and protected species programs. A permanent

solution should be adopted.

Response: NMFS agrees. Accordingly, NMFS is proposing the permanent

establishment of the leatherback conservation zone and a procedure for

imposing short-term restrictions based on specified criteria. However

elsewhere in this Federal Register volume, an interim rule is being

promulgated to address the immediate need to protect leatherbacks this

season, and will be superseded upon promulgation of a final rule as a

result of comments received upon this rule.

Proposed Rule

This rule would establish a framework whereby short-term closures

may be instituted on an expedited basis in order to protect

leatherbacks. Specifically, the rule would establish 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 would 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 would 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 would 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, would 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 would be required

to carry a NMFS-approved observer aboard such vessel(s). A shrimp

trawler in the leatherback conservation zone would 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 would be published in the Federal

Register and would be effective upon filing of such notice for public

inspection at the Office of the Federal Register. Closures would be

announced immediately on the NOAA weather channel, in newspapers, and

other media. Areas with high leatherback abundance, as documented by

the aerial surveys, would be closed for a period of 2 weeks. A closed

area would 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 would 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

[[Page 25665]] 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 proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for

purposes of E.O. 12866.

This proposed rule would establish a registration program that

contains a collection-of-information requirement subject to the PRA,

namely, registration by vessels fishing in the leatherback conservation

zone from Cape Canaveral, FL, to the Virginia-North Carolina border.

This collection has been approved by OMB 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. Comments regarding this burden estimate or

any other aspect of this collection of information, including

suggestions for reducing this burden, should be sent to NMFS and OMB

(see ADDRESSES).

The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the

Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of

the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule would not

have significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities because closures would occur for only short periods of time in

relatively small, specific areas where leatherback abundance is

determined to be high, while the rest of the leatherback conservation

zone would remain open. Further, TEDs modified to allow the escape of

leatherbacks can be made at minimal cost.

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA,(AA) prepared an EA

for the interim rule published elsewhere in this Federal Register

volume and concluded that, with specified mitigation measures, that

action 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 proposed rule.

The provisions of this proposed rule will have already been in

effect pursuant to an interim rule issued by NMFS elsewhere in this

Federal Register volume.

Dated: May 5, 1995

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, the interim rule amending

50 CFR parts 217, 222, and 227, published elsewhere in this issue, is

proposed to be adopted as final.

[FR Doc. 95-11580 Filed 5-9-95; 11:46 am]

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