Sea Turtle Interactions with Fishing Gear in the Atlantic An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) has been published to request comments on potential regulatory changes to further reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality of sea turtles in the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery. NOAA Fisheries announced the availability of a Final Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement concerning the reduction of sea turtle bycatch and bycatch mortality in the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery on June 25, 2004, and subsequently published a final rule on July 6, 2004 to implement management measures to reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality of Atlantic sea turtles. That rulemaking was based on the results of the 3-year Northeast Distant Closed Area research experiment involving interactions of pelagic longline fishing gear and Atlantic sea turtles, other available studies and information on circle hook and bait treatments, and public comments. A 2004 Biological Opinion issued for the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery found that the measures that subsequently were included in the final rule were not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of loggerhead, green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, or olive ridley sea turtles, but were likely to jeopardize the continued existence of leatherback sea turtles. The 2004 BiOp advises consideration of a framework mechanism to facilitate timelier implementation of corrective actions and to provide greater certainty on potential management responses. Thus, in this ANPR, NOAA Fisheries is exploring a potential mechanism and/or individual corrective actions that might be necessary if any turtle excedance occurs. The ANPR and related documents, including the 2004 BiOp, are available on the HMS Management Division’s web page at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms. For additional information, contact
Ru**********@no**.gov
. Written comments on the ANPR must be received no later than October 12, 2004. You may submit comments by Email to :
ID*******@no**.gov
. Include in the subject line the following identifier: I.D. 070804B.
Sea Turtle Interactions with Fishing Gear in the Atlantic
An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) has been published to request comments on potential regulatory changes to further reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality of sea turtles in the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery. NOAA Fisheries announced the availability of a Final Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement concerning the reduction of sea turtle bycatch and bycatch mortality in the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery on June 25, 2004, and subsequently published a final rule on July 6, 2004 to implement management measures to reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality of Atlantic sea turtles. That rulemaking was based on the results of the 3-year Northeast Distant Closed Area research experiment involving interactions of pelagic longline fishing gear and Atlantic sea turtles, other available studies and information on circle hook and bait treatments, and public comments.
A 2004 Biological Opinion issued for the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery found that the measures that subsequently were included in the final rule were not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of loggerhead, green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, or olive ridley sea turtles, but were likely to jeopardize the continued existence of leatherback sea turtles. The 2004 BiOp advises consideration of a framework mechanism to facilitate timelier implementation of corrective actions and to provide greater certainty on potential management responses. Thus, in this ANPR, NOAA Fisheries is exploring a potential mechanism and/or individual corrective actions that might be necessary if any turtle excedance occurs.
The ANPR and related documents, including the 2004 BiOp, are available on the HMS Management Division’s web page at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms. For additional information, contact
Ru**********@no**.gov
. Written comments on the ANPR must be received no later than October 12, 2004. You may submit comments by Email to :
ID*******@no**.gov
. Include in the subject line the following identifier: I.D. 070804B.