2020-02095: Pacific Island Fisheries; Sea Turtle Limits in the Hawaii Shallow-Set Longline Fishery
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NMFS proposes to revise measures that govern interactions between the Hawaii shallow-set pelagic longline fishery and sea turtles. Based on recommendations from the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), we would lower the annual fleet interaction limit ("hard cap") for leatherback sea turtles from 26 to 16, and remove the annual fleet hard cap for North Pacific loggerhead turtles (currently 17). NMFS would also create individual trip interaction limits of two leatherback and five North Pacific loggerhead turtle interactions, with accountability measures for reaching a limit. The proposed rule would provide managers and fishermen with the necessary tools to respond to and mitigate changes in North Pacific loggerhead and leatherback turtle interactions, to ensure a continued supply of fresh domestic swordfish to U.S. markets, consistent with the conservation needs of these sea turtles. The action also ensures that the Hawaii shallow-set longline fishery operates in compliance with the Reasonable and Prudent Measures (RPMs) and associated Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) of a biological opinion (BiOp) issued by NMFS on June 26, 2019.
The agency’s own summary, as published.
What this changes
Amends 1 part of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.
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