[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38307-38308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-18310]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 070695C]


Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region; Intent to Prepare a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact 
statement (SEIS); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the intent of the South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (Council) to prepare an SEIS for proposed Amendment 
2 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the South 
Atlantic Region (FMP) to address the issue of bycatch in the shrimp 
trawl fishery. The SEIS will examine the environmental effects of 
shrimp trawling on the human environment, as well as other fisheries 
and protected species (endangered or threatened). The FMP was prepared 
by the Council and approved and implemented by NMFS under provisions of 
the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act).

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the SEIS must be submitted by 
August 25, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for copies of the SEIS should be sent 
to Robert K. Mahood, Executive Director, South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 
29407-4699 (FAX: 803-769-4520).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon Coste, Public Information 
Officer, 803-571-4366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council held scoping meetings on bycatch 
in the shrimp fishery to determine the scope of significant issues to 
be addressed in the SEIS and associated Amendment 2. The scoping 
meetings were held in conjunction with the following Council meetings: 
February 7, 1995, in
    St. Augustine, FL, April 11, 1995, in Savannah, GA, and June 20, 
1995, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Additional scoping meetings were held 
on May 22, 1995, in Wilmington, NC, and May 23, 1995, in Charleston, 
SC. Minutes of the scoping meetings are available from the Council 
office.
    The Council prepared the FMP in 1992 and NMFS approved and 
implemented it in 1993. At the time the Shrimp FMP was implemented, the 
Council was concerned about bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery, and 
intended to begin developing management measures that would reduce 
bycatch through an FMP amendment.
    The Council's goal of bycatch reduction was delayed by the 1990 
amendments to the Magnuson Act, which prohibited the Gulf and South 
Atlantic Councils from implementing regulations for bycatch reduction 
in the southeast shrimp fisheries. These amendments also mandated that 
NMFS conduct a 3-year research program to assess the impact on fishery 
resources of incidental harvest by the shrimp trawl fishery within the 
authority of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Councils. The results of this research program have been summarized 
recently in a NMFS report to Congress entitled ``A Report to Congress--
Cooperative Research Program Addressing Finfish Bycatch in the Gulf of 
Mexico and South Atlantic Shrimp Fisheries--April 1995.''
    The Council is considering these research results as an important 
basis for any specific management action. Recent advances in gear 
development through cooperative efforts between Federal and state 
governments and the shrimp industry have produced Bycatch Reduction 
Devices (BRDs) that successfully exclude fish from shrimp trawls with a 
minimum of shrimp loss. Both the Council and the South Atlantic States 
have requested that NMFS proceed as rapidly as possible to obtain the 
research information needed to identify and assess options for 
requiring the use of BRDs under the FMP and under coastal fishery 
management plans (CFMPs) developed by the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission (Commission), pursuant to provisions of the 
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act of 1993 (Atlantic 
Coastal Act).
    The Council still is concerned about the impacts of shrimp bycatch 
on the Spanish and king mackerel resources. In addition, under the 
current amendment to the CFMP for Weakfish, prepared by the Commission 
under the Atlantic Coastal Act, all South Atlantic states must 
implement measures to reduce the bycatch of weakfish in the shrimp 
trawl fisheries by 50 percent for the 1996 fishing season. Bycatch 
reduction plans must be submitted to the Commission's Weakfish 
Technical Committee by October 1, 1995.
    As a result of the scoping process, the Council has determined that 
the following principal issues need to be addressed in the SEIS for 
Amendment 2: Reducing the bycatch of non-target finfish and 
invertebrates in the shrimp trawl fishery, and coordinating the 
development of State and Federal measures for reducing bycatch to 
enhance enforceability.
    The Council is considering the following management measures for 
this amendment: Developing specific bycatch reduction measures for all 
penaeid shrimp fisheries in the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone 
(EEZ), including possibly requiring the use of NMFS-approved BRDs in 
all penaeid shrimp trawls in the South Atlantic EEZ, and reducing the 
bycatch component of weakfish and Spanish mackerel fishing mortality by 
50 percent. The Council may consider seasonal and areal restrictions to 
reduce bycatch. Also, regarding the bycatch issue, the SEIS would 
evaluate the effects of taking no management action. The Council is 
also considering adding brown and pink shrimp to the management unit.
    The Council intends to approve draft Amendment 2 to the FMP and the 
draft SEIS for public hearings at its August 1995 meeting. These 
documents are expected to be released for public comment in early 
September. The draft SEIS would be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency for a 

[[Page 38308]]
45-day public comment period in September 1995.

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

    Dated: July 20, 1995.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-18310 Filed 7-25-95; 8:45 am]
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