50 C.F.R. Subpart F—Precious Corals Fisheries
Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries
Source: 61 FR 34572, July 2, 1996, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 71 FR 17989, Apr. 10, 2006.
(a) Any vessel of the United States fishing for, taking, or retaining precious coral in any precious coral permit area must have a permit issued under §665.13. (b) Each permit will be valid for fishing only in the permit area specified on the permit. Precious Coral Permit Areas are defined in §665.12. (c) No more than one permit will be valid for any one vessel at any one time. (d) No more than one permit will be valid for any one person at any one time. (e) The holder of a valid permit to fish one permit area may obtain a permit to fish another permit area only upon surrendering to the Regional Administrator any current permit for the precious corals fishery issued under §665.13. (f) General requirements governing application information, issuance, fees, expiration, replacement, transfer, alteration, display, sanctions, and appeals for permits for the precious corals fishery are contained in §665.13. In addition to the general prohibitions specified in §600.725 of this chapter and in §665.15, it is unlawful for any person to: (a) Use any vessel to fish for, take, retain, possess or land precious coral in any precious coral permit area, unless a permit has been issued for that vessel and area as specified in §665.13 and that permit is on board the vessel. (b) Fish for, take, or retain any species of precious coral in any precious coral permit area: (1) By means of gear or methods prohibited by §665.88. (2) In refugia specified in §665.12. (3) In a bed for which the quota specified in §665.84 has been attained. (4) In violation of any permit issued under §665.13 or §665.17. (c) Take and retain, possess, or land any live pink coral or live black coral from any precious coral permit area that is less than the minimum height specified in §665.86 unless: (1) A valid EFP was issued under §665.17 for the vessel and the vessel was operating under the terms of the permit; or (2) The coral originated outside coral beds listed in this paragraph, and this can be demonstrated through receipts of purchase, invoices, or other documentation. [61 FR 34572, July 2, 1996, as amended at 67 FR 11945, Mar. 18, 2002] The fishing year for precious coral begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 the following year, except at the Makapuu Bed, which has a 2-year fishing period that begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2 years later. (a) General. The quotas limiting the amount of precious coral that may be taken in any precious coral permit area during the fishing year are listed in Table 1 of this part. Only live coral is counted toward the quota. The accounting period for all quotas begins July 1, 1983. (b) Conditional bed closure. A conditional bed will be closed to all nonselective coral harvesting after the quota for one species of coral has been taken. (c) Reserves and reserve release. The quotas for exploratory areas will be held in reserve for harvest by vessels of the United States in the following manner: (1) At the start of the fishing year, the reserve for each of the three exploratory areas will equal the quota minus the estimated domestic annual harvest for that year. (2) As soon as practicable after December 31 each year, the Regional Administrator will determine the amount harvested by vessels of the United States between July 1 and December 31 of that year. (3) NMFS will release to TALFF an amount of precious coral for each exploratory area equal to the quota minus two times the amount harvested by vessels of the United States in that July 1 through December 31 period. (4) NMFS will publish in the (a) If the Regional Administrator determines that the harvest quota for any coral bed will be reached prior to the end of the fishing year, or the end of the 2-year fishing period at Makapuu Bed, NMFS will issue a field order closing the bed involved by publication of an action in the (b) A closure is also effective for a permit holder upon the permit holder's actual harvest of the applicable quota. The height of a live coral specimen shall be determined by a straight line measurement taken from its base to its most distal extremity. The stem diameter of a living coral specimen shall be determined by measuring the greatest diameter of the stem at a point no less than 1 inch (2.54 cm) from the top surface of the living holdfast. (a) Live pink coral harvested from any precious coral permit area must have attained a minimum height of 10 inches (25.4 cm). (b) Black coral. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, live black coral harvested from any precious coral permit area must have attained either a minimum stem diameter of 1 inch (2.54 cm), or a minimum height of 48 inches (122 cm). (2) The NMFS PIRO will issue an exemption permitting hand-harvesting of live black coral that has attained a minimum base diameter of 3/4 inches (1.91 cm), measured on the widest portion of the skeleton at a location just above the holdfast, to any person who reported a landing of black coral to the State of Hawaii within 5 years before April 17, 2002. [67 FR 11945, Mar. 18, 2002, as amended at 70 FR 29657, May 24, 2005] Fishing for coral on the WestPac Bed is not allowed. The specific area closed to fishing is all waters within a 2-nm radius of the midpoint of 23°18.0' N. lat., 162°35.0' W. long. Only selective gear may be used to harvest coral from any precious coral permit area. [67 FR 11945, Mar. 18, 2002] (a) Introduction. Established management measures may be revised and new management measures may be established and/or revised through rulemaking if new information demonstrates that there are biological, social, or economic concerns in a precious coral permit area. The following framework process authorizes the implementation of measures that may affect the operation of the fisheries, gear, quotas, season, or levels of catch and/or in effort. (b) Annual report. By June 30 of each year, the Council-appointed Precious Coral Team will prepare an annual report on the fisheries in the management area. The report will contain, among other things, recommendations for Council action and an assessment of the urgency and effects of such action(s). (c) Procedure for established measures. (1) Established measures are management measures that, at some time, have been included in regulations implementing the FMP, and for which the impacts have been evaluated in Council/NMFS documents in the context of current conditions. (2) According to the framework procedures of Amendment 3 to the FMP, the Council may recommend to the Regional Administrator that established measures be modified, removed, or re-instituted. Such recommendation will include supporting rationale and analysis and will be made after advance public notice, public discussion, and consideration of public comment. NMFS may implement the Council's recommendation by rulemaking if approved by the Regional Administrator. (d) Procedure for new measures. (1) New measures are management measures that have not been included in regulations implementing the FMP, or for which the impacts have not been evaluated in Council/NMFS documents in the context of current conditions. (2) Following the framework procedures of Amendment 3 to the FMP, the Council will publicize, including by a [63 FR 55810, Oct. 19, 1998]
Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries
PART 665—FISHERIES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC
Subpart F—Precious Corals Fisheries
§ 665.81 Permits.
§ 665.82 Prohibitions.
§ 665.83 Seasons.
§ 665.84 Quotas.
§ 665.85 Closures.
§ 665.86 Size restrictions.
§ 665.87 Area restrictions.
§ 665.88 Gear restrictions.
§ 665.89 Framework procedures.
