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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 28, 2021 / Proposed Rules
encounters may occur. All are believed to be small entities. Dolphin-watch tour operators involve taking clients out specifically to view wild dolphins.
These companies tend to operate smaller boats than the more generalized commercial boat tours described below and are more likely to view dolphins at a closer range. Revenue information for this specific business category is not available. The 2018 report did not provide estimated number of businesses that primarily focused on dolphin viewing, but NMFS had previously estimated the number of dolphin watch tour businesses to be as follows in 2015:
Hawaii 3, Maui 21, Oahu 3, and Kauai 11 NOAA Fisheries, PIRO.
More generalized commercial boat tours offer a range of ocean activities, which may include sightseeing, snorkeling, diving, viewing various forms of sea life from a vantage point in and/or above the water, or just generally spending time on the ocean. The majority of the general tour boats derive revenue from whale watching and sightseeing operations, while a number of the dive/snorkel vessels offer snorkeling or diving trips. The 2018
report provided economic or operational information from 28 generalized commercial boat tour businesses Hawaii Island: 5, Oahu: 2, Maui: 16, and Kauai: 15, although there are likely more businesses that fall in this category. NMFS believes that most, but not all, would be considered small entities.
Non-motorized vessel ocean wildlife viewing tour operators, specifically kayak tour businesses around the MHI, provide a general wildlife viewing experience, with very few, if any, operators advertising direct or intentional interactions with dolphins.
The 2018 report indicated that these operations were designed to provide clients with a variety of recreational and sightseeing experiences that typically did not include dolphin interactions.
The 2018 report did not provide estimated number of businesses in this category, but NMFS had previously estimated that in 2015, the numbers of companies that either operate kayak tours or rent out kayaks was as follows:
Hawaii 6, Maui 9, Oahu 6, and Kauai 13 NOAA Fisheries, PIRO.
Based on the information from the 2018
report and/or obtained by NMFS for 2015, the estimated numbers of small entities directly affected by the proposed rulemaking, by industry, on the MHI are as follows: At least 60 or 70 swim-with-wild-dolphins tour operators including health and/or spiritual retreats enabling opportunities to swim with wild dolphins, and at
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least 38 generalized commercial boat tour operators one or more of which are likely to be considered large entities.
Because information on these entities was collected in 2017, these numbers might differ currently and in the near term, as these are businesses whose customer base are often comprised of tourists and visitors to the State of Hawaii or interisland travelers.
Restrictions resulting from the COVID
pandemic have significantly impacted the tourism industry in Hawaii.
Following the onset of the COVID
pandemic and restrictions that began in March 2020 to slow the spread of COVID19 in the state, a total of 4,564
visitors arrived in Hawaii in April 2020, representing a 99.5 percent decrease from the previous year in which there were 856,250 visitors in April 2019
https www.hawaiitourism authority.org/media/4635/april-2020visitor-statistics-press-release-final.pdf.
The number of tourists visiting Hawaii has increased steadily throughout the first half of 2021. In December 2020
visitor arrivals in Hawaii were down 75.2 percent compared to the number of visitors in December 2019; however, June 2021 showed an approximate 16.5
percent decrease compared to June 2019
https www.hawaiitourism authority.org/media/7582/june-2021visitor-statistics-press-release.pdf. With the steady increase in arrivals to Hawaii during the first half of 2021, we expect tourism to continue to increase to reach pre-COVID levels.
Economic Impacts to Small Entities Resulting From the Proposed Action Mandatory Time-Area Closures in Five Selected Essential Daytime Habitats This proposed rule would prohibit people from using areas closed in five selected essential daytime resting habitats during specific times. NMFS
believes that this restriction is needed within established resting areas because research has indicated that Hawaiian spinner dolphins show high site fidelity, returning from offshore feeding grounds to the same protected bays and shallow, sandy-bottomed habitats to rest. Spinner dolphins appear to select these specific locations because they are located close to the feeding grounds while also offering protection from predators. Yet, the consistency in which spinner dolphins return to these resting sites has also encouraged tour operators to visit these same locations in order to increase the opportunity for clientele to view or otherwise interact with spinner dolphins. Because of constant reliance that spinner dolphins have shown for these locations, NMFS has decided to
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propose the mandatory time-area closures within these resting areas.
Businesses that rely on providing activities within locations potentially subject to time-area closures, would potentially see a reduction in revenue in the short term and potentially in the long term. The decrease in revenue could come from the reduction in the number of customers, specifically those who seek the experience of viewing spinner dolphins at these locations where dolphins can regularly be seen.
The loss in overall revenue to individual businesses and the industry as a whole that rely on providing access to these bays for revenue is uncertain.
For generalized tour boat operators with a clientele base that does not have a specific goal of viewing spinner dolphins, the direct economic impact of the proposed action is likely to be minimal. Individuals or companies that conduct kayak tours or other nonmotorized vessel tours in or near timearea closures may see a slight reduction in revenues relative to their dependence on dolphin-directed customers.
Additionally, due to the closed areas, these tour companies may choose to offer alternative tour locations that set fewer viewing restrictions.
The time area closures are expected to affect tour operators that typically operate within or nearby areas subject to these restrictions. Dolphin-viewing tour operators using these areas may choose to view dolphins from outside the closures or otherwise experience increased costs to travel to alternative sites not subject to closure to allow more flexibility in viewing the dolphins from the required 50 yard minimum distance. Similarly, generalized commercial boat tour operators may continue to use areas or times outside of the closures for their tours or choose alternative locations that allow greater viewing flexibility. Those individuals or companies that conduct kayak tours or other motorized or non-motorized vessel tours in or near time-area closures may see a slight reduction in revenues if their customer base is comprised of individuals who wish to view dolphins within those areas. For those operators who operate within or nearby the bays subject to time-area closures, the economic impact on generalized commercial tour boat operators is likely to be minimal while non-motorized vessel tour operators may see a slight reduction in revenue, and there should be little to no impact on these operators that primarily operate outside of the time-area closures.
NMFS concludes that there would be disproportionate impacts to the operators with dolphin-directed
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