81 FR 4021 - Pacific Island Fisheries; Special Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishing Permit for Offshore Aquaculture

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 15 (January 25, 2016)

NMFS proposes to issue a Special Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishing Permit that would authorize Kampachi Farms, LLC, to stock, culture, and harvest fish that are part of the coral reef ecosystem management unit in a submerged net pen moored in Federal waters about 5.5 nm (10.2 km) off the west coast of the Island of Hawaii. This notice informs the public that NMFS prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) of the potential impacts of the proposed activity.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4021-4022]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01343]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD961


Pacific Island Fisheries; Special Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishing 
Permit for Offshore Aquaculture

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft environmental assessment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to issue a Special Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishing 
Permit that would authorize Kampachi Farms, LLC, to stock, culture, and 
harvest fish that are part of the coral reef ecosystem management unit 
in a submerged net pen moored in Federal waters about 5.5 nm (10.2 km) 
off the west coast of the Island of Hawaii. This notice informs the 
public that NMFS prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) of the 
potential impacts of the proposed activity.

DATES: NMFS must receive comments on the draft EA by February 16, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the draft EA, identified by NOAA-
NMFS-2015-0137, by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0137, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Send written comments to Michael D. Tosatto, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp 
Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
    Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments sent by any other 
method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end 
of the comment period. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

[[Page 4022]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Brown, Sustainable Fisheries, 
NMFS PIR, 808-725-5171.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS proposes to issue a Special Coral Reef 
Ecosystem Fishing Permit to Kampachi Farms, LLC (applicant), consistent 
with Federal regulations for Hawaii coral reef ecosystem fisheries 
management at Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 665.224, and 
the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Hawaiian Archipelago (FEP). NMFS 
would authorize the applicant to stock, culture, and harvest kampachi, 
a native coral reef ecosystem management unit fish (Seriola rivoliana, 
Almaco jack, marketed as Kona Kampachi[supreg]). NMFS would authorize 
the activity for 2 years.
    The applicant would use a floating, submerged, cylindrical net pen 
with an area of 1,083 m \3\ (38,246 ft \3\) net pen, suspended from a 
30-m (98-ft) diameter float ring. The applicant would tether the net 
pen, made of brass and synthetic meshes, to a 60-ft (18-m) feed vessel. 
The net pen, float ring, and feed vessel are collectively called the 
Velella Delta Array. The applicant would secure the array to a single-
point mooring in Federal waters approximately 6,000 ft (1,830 m) deep, 
5.5 nm (10.2 km) west of Keauhou Bay, Hawaii. The exact position of the 
Velella Delta Array would depend on wind and currents and would 
approach no closer than 3 nm (5.6 km) from shore.
    The proposed activity requires a special permit because the FEP and 
Federal regulations do not identify the Velella Delta Array as an 
approved gear type to fish for coral reef ecosystem management unit 
species. If NMFS authorizes the activity, the applicant would use the 
Velella Delta Array to grow and harvest 30,000 kampachi from 
fingerlings in two 15,000-fish cohorts. The applicant would stock the 
net pen with first-generation offspring from wild fish.
    NMFS anticipates that the low density of cultured fish, the 
procedures proposed to minimize feed waste, and the flushing by ocean 
currents, would minimally affect water quality. The net materials 
resist both biofouling and leaching. The net pen design includes a 
single mesh entry panel on the top that Kampachi Farms staff would use 
only after raising the pen to the surface. The project design and 
operating procedures would prevent fish escapes.
    The applicant would equip the array's float ring and feed vessel 
with GPS navigation units to provide constant location information on 
the array, simplifying retrieval operations if the array were to break 
free from the mooring. In the unlikely case of the array separating 
from the mooring, the applicant would notify the U.S. Coast Guard and 
immediately recover any lost gear. In addition to requiring the 
applicant to monitor the array, NMFS would require the applicant to 
avoid interactions with protected species (i.e., marine mammals, 
seabirds, sea turtles, and reef corals), prevent fish escapes, dispose 
of dead fish on land, maintain harvest and transshipment reports, and, 
if needed, accommodate a scientific observer.
    NMFS expects that the array would aggregate pelagic fish, and 
fishermen would be able to continue fishing near the array. The small 
size of the array would not adversely affect fish catches in the ocean 
west of the Island of Hawaii.
    The applicant must also obtain a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (USACE) to use the mooring, and NMFS prepared the draft EA in 
collaboration with the USACE. When finalized, NMFS will use the EA to 
determine whether or not the activity would be a major Federal action 
with the potential for significant environmental impacts. If NMFS 
determines that the proposed activity would have significant impacts, 
we would need to prepare an environmental impact statement. The EA will 
also inform our decision whether or not to issue the permit. 
Additionally, the EA will inform the USACE preparation of their own 
environmental evaluations in accordance with USACE procedures for the 
mooring permit.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: January 20, 2016.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-01343 Filed 1-22-16; 8:45 am]
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