[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 50, Volume 7]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 50CFR229.31]

[Page 608-609]
 
                    TITLE 50--WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES
 
  CHAPTER II--NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 
           ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 
PART 229_AUTHORIZATION FOR COMMERCIAL FISHERIES UNDER THE MARINE 
 
   Subpart C_Take Reduction Plan Regulations and Emergency Regulations
 
Sec. 229.31  Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Plan.

    (a) Purpose and scope. The purpose of this section is to implement 
the Pacific Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Plan. Paragraphs (b) 
through (d) of this section apply to all U.S. drift gillnet fishing 
vessels operating in waters seaward of the coast of California or 
Oregon, including adjacent high seas waters. For purposes of this 
section, the fishing season is defined as beginning May 1 and ending on 
January 31 of the following year.
    (b) Extenders. An extender is a line that attaches a buoy (float) to 
a drift gillnet's floatline. The floatline is attached to the top of the 
drift gillnet. All extenders (buoy lines) must be at least 6 fathoms (36 
ft; 10.9 m) in length during all sets. Accordingly, all floatlines must 
be fished at a minimum of 36 feet (10.9 m) below the surface of the 
water.
    (c) Pingers. (1) For the purposes of this paragraph (c), a pinger is 
an acoustic deterrent device which, when immersed in water, broadcasts a 
10 kHz (2 kHz) sound at 132 dB (4 dB) re 1 micropascal at 1 m, lasting 300 milliseconds 
(+15 milliseconds), and repeating every 4 seconds (+ .2 seconds); and 
remains operational to a water depth of at least 100 fathoms (600 ft or 
182.88 m).
    (2) While at sea, operators of drift gillnet vessels with gillnets 
onboard must carry enough pingers on the vessel to meet the requirements 
set forth under paragraphs (c)(3) through(6) of this section.
    (3) Floatline. Pingers shall be attached within 30 ft (9.14 m) of 
the floatline and spaced no more than 300 ft (91.44 m) apart.
    (4) Leadline. Pingers shall be attached within 36 ft (10.97 m) of 
the leadline and spaced no more than 300 ft (91.44 m) apart.
    (5) Staggered Configuration. Pingers attached within 30 ft (9.14 m) 
of the floatline and within 36 ft (10.97 m) of the leadline shall be 
staggered such that the horizontal distance between them is no more than 
150 ft (45.5 m).
    (6) Any materials used to weight pingers must not change its 
specifications set forth under paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

[[Page 609]]

    (7) The pingers must be operational and functioning at all times 
during deployment.
    (8) If requested, NMFS may authorize the use of pingers with 
specifications or pinger configurations differing from those set forth 
in paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(3) of this section for limited, 
experimental purposes within a single fishing season.
    (d) Skipper education workshops. After notification from NMFS, 
vessel operators must attend a skipper education workshop before 
commencing fishing each fishing season. For the 1997/1998 fishing 
season, all vessel operators must have attended one skipper education 
workshop by October 30, 1997. NMFS may waive the requirement to attend 
these workshops by notice to all vessel operators.

[62 FR 51813, Oct. 3, 1997, as amended at 63 FR 27861, May 21, 1998; 64 
FR 3432, Jan. 22, 1999]