[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54834-54836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27966]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 101497B]


American Lobster; Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement

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

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS); request for written comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intent to prepare an EIS to assess the 
impact on the natural and human environment of possible measures to 
manage fishing for American lobster in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone 
(EEZ). This NOI requests public input in the form of written comments 
on issues that NMFS should consider in preparing the EIS. Specifically, 
the EIS will examine alternatives available to NMFS in addressing the 
overfishing of American lobsters in the EEZ as well as state waters, 
including specific recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) 
in its proposed Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan 
for Lobster. Public hearings for the EIS will be scheduled at a later 
date.

DATES: Written comments on the intent to prepare the EIS must be 
received on or before November 20, 1997. Public hearings will be 
announced in the Federal Register at a later date.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Andrew A. Rosenberg, Ph.D., 
Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930-3799.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul H. Jones, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
978-281-9273.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On March 27, 1996 (61 FR 13478), NMFS published a proposed rule 
requesting comments on its initial determination to withdraw approval 
of the American Lobster Fishery Management Plan (FMP) under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

[[Page 54835]]

Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act)(16 U.S.C. 1801 
et seq.), and its implementing regulations (50 CFR part 649), and 
develop regulations under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 
Management Act (ACFCMA)(Pub. L. 103-206). The stated reason for the 
proposed withdrawal of this FMP, as more fully discussed in the 
proposed rule, was to transfer the lead for lobster management to the 
states and the ASMFC. In establishing the need for the transfer of 
management authority, NMFS pointed to the fact that most of the lobster 
resource resides within state waters and, therefore, without full state 
cooperation, NMFS could not ensure that it could address overfishing 
concerns as required under the Magnuson Act (now called the Magnuson-
Stevens Act). At that time, NMFS determined that ACFCMA would be a 
better vehicle for addressing conservation needs in the American 
lobster fishery, particularly since ACFCMA provides a mechanism for 
state compliance with any coastal management plans adopted by ASMFC. 
Nevertheless, NMFS made the promulgation of a final rule to withdraw 
the FMP contingent upon appropriate action by the ASMFC and the states 
to address lobster conservation that would allow NMFS to issue 
effective compatible Federal regulations under ACFCMA, as necessary.
    At the time, withdrawal of the American lobster FMP, subject to 
this contingency, was supported in formal comments submitted by the New 
England Fishery Management Council (Council), the ASMFC, and Maine's 
Department of Marine Resources.
    Since the issuance of this proposed rule, the Magnuson Act was 
significantly amended (including a name change to the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act) by the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA)(Pub. L. 104-297) on October 
11, 1996. Most notably for purposes of American lobster management, the 
SFA required that NMFS identify annually all overfished fisheries 
within the jurisdictions of fishery management councils, and that 
fishery management councils submit FMPs or amendments to FMPs to end 
overfishing and to rebuild overfished stocks by September 30, 1998. The 
SFA further required that, if a council does not submit a required FMP 
or amendment to end overfishing by the deadline, the Secretary shall 
prepare the FMP or amendment to stop the overfishing and to rebuild the 
overfished stocks 9 months after September 30, 1998. On September 30, 
1997, NMFS issued its list of overfished fisheries, which includes the 
American lobster fishery.
    The SFA also amended the ACFCMA by adding section 810 which 
provides that, if no regulations have been issued under section 804(b) 
of ACFCMA by December 31, 1997, to implement a coastal fishery 
management plan (CFMP) for American lobster, the Secretary shall issue 
interim regulations before March 1, 1998, that will prohibit any vessel 
that takes lobsters in the EEZ by a method other than pots or traps 
from landing lobsters (or any parts thereof) at any location within the 
United States in excess of:
    (1) 100 lobsters (or parts thereof) for each fishing trip of a 24-
hour or less duration (up to a maximum of 500 lobsters, or parts 
thereof, during any 5-day period); or
    (2) 500 lobsters (or parts thereof) for a fishing trip of 5 days or 
longer.
    Section 804(b) of the ACFCMA states that, in the absence of an 
approved and implemented FMP under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Councils, the Secretary may implement 
regulations to govern fishing in the EEZ that are--
    1. Compatible with the effective implementation of an ASMFC CFMP; 
and
    2. Consistent with the national standards set forth in section 301 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    Meanwhile, the lobster board of the ASMFC has developed the final 
draft of Amendment 3 to the ASMFC lobster FMP. The draft amendment 
includes the following specific recommendations for Secretarial action 
in the EEZ to support the Commission's FMP:
    1. Keep the moratorium on new Federal permits;
    2. Continue the Federal regulation currently in place;
    3. Require that fishermen comply with the landing laws of the state 
in which they land lobsters, regardless of where they were caught; and
    4. Implement any further measures that will be required on a 
coastwide basis in this plan including--
    Specifications of the Management Unit; Definition of Overfishing; 
Stock Rebuilding Schedule; Implementation Schedule; Minimum Size; 
Possession of V-notched Female Lobsters; Permits and Licensing; Maximum 
Trap Size; Escape Vents on Traps; Area-specific Trap Proposals; 
Moratorium on Entry; License Limitations; Measures That May Be 
Optionally Implemented in Various Areas; Management Measures Applicable 
to Mobile Gear Fisheries; and Monitoring and Reporting.
    ASMFC must decide whether to adopt the lobster board's draft 
Amendment 3 at its next meeting on October 21, 1997. If Amendment 3 is 
adopted by ASMFC with substantially the same measures as currently 
proposed, it is not certain whether overfishing will be adequately 
addressed, even if NMFS were to withdraw the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
lobster FMP and adopt compatible Federal regulations for the EEZ 
portion of the lobster fishery. If NMFS determines that overfishing 
will not be adequately addressed by the ASMFC amendment, the 
contingency for withdrawing the Magnuson-Stevens Act FMP will not have 
been met.
    Therefore, NMFS is facing a difficult dilemma given the new 
requirements in the Magnuson-Stevens Act to address overfishing in the 
lobster fishery by a time certain as opposed to NMFS' stated intent to 
withdraw the lobster FMP and transfer the lead for lobster conservation 
management to the ASMFC and the states. Complicating this scenario is 
the new ACFCMA provision that mandates a possession limit on lobsters 
by non-trap vessels if the Magnuson-Stevens Act FMP is not withdrawn 
and replaced by Federal regulations under ACFCMA.
    Although NMFS has not yet determined under which regulatory 
authority to proceed to implement conservation measures in the lobster 
fishery because ASMFC has not made a final determination on its 
Amendment 3, NMFS has decided that it must move forward with the 
process of implementing significant conservation measures to address 
overfishing in the lobster fishery. Accordingly, NMFS is issuing this 
NOI to prepare an EIS and soliciting public comments on the impacts of 
possible lobster conservation measures. This step is necessary to 
implement such measures, whether they are promulgated under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act or ACFCMA. In addition to the possible measures 
recommended by ASMFC draft Amendment 3, described in this document, 
NMFS is also considering other measures, including, but not limited to 
the following: (1) Effort caps based on an historic number of traps or 
a flat cap of traps for all Federal limited access lobster permitted 
vessels that take lobsters in the EEZ by a method of traps, with 
possible consideration of the areas fished; (2) a trap reduction 
program to 1991 fishing levels; (3) a percent cap on landings based on 
the total reported catch of previous years allowable catch of lobster, 
or 100 lobsters (or parts thereof) for each fishing trip of a 24-hour 
or less duration (up to a maximum of 500 lobsters, or parts thereof, 
during any 5-day period), or 500 lobsters (or parts thereof) for a 
fishing trip of 5 days or longer, for all Federal limited access

[[Page 54836]]

lobster permitted vessels that take lobsters in the EEZ by a method 
other than traps, (4) a prohibition on the taking or possession of 
lobster in the EEZ; (5) the application of current Federal regulations 
(50 CFR part 649) to the EEZ under ACFCMA; and (6) status quo or no 
action taken. NMFS also requests comments on the appropriate regulatory 
authority under which it should proceed with lobster conservation 
measures.
    NMFS has determined that the preparation of an EIS is appropriate, 
because of the potentially significant impact of EEZ regulations on the 
human environment. All of the Federal EEZ measures recommended in draft 
Amendment 3 to the ASMFC FMP will be assessed also during the EIS 
process. Participants in this fishery will be affected and may face 
more restricted harvests of lobster while the natural stocks of lobster 
are allowed to recover.

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

    Dated: October 17, 1997.
Gary Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-27966 Filed 10-21-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F