[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 237 (Friday, December 10, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69227-69228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32091]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 112699E]


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 human environment of possible management measures for the 
American lobster fishery 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. The document 
will evaluate recommendations made by the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission (Commission) for lobster management actions in 
Federal waters that complement management measures being taken by the 
states under the provisions of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries 
Cooperative Management Act (ACFCMA). These recommendations include the 
evaluation of historical participation as a basis for restricting trap 
harvest of lobsters in the offshore EEZ, as well as in nearshore EEZ 
areas between New York and North Carolina. Additional action 
recommended by the Commission includes the implementation of vessel 
upgrade restrictions in the offshore EEZ fishery and a ban on lobster 
possession in certain Federal waters off the coast of New York. The 
purpose of these measures, in combination with other management actions 
already taken under the ACFCMA, is to end overfishing and to rebuild 
stocks of American lobster throughout their range. Public hearings for 
the EIS will be announced in the Federal Register at a later date.

DATES: Written comments on the intent to prepare the EIS must be 
received no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on or before 
January 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to: Harold C. Mears, 
Director, State, Federal, and Constituent Programs Office, Northeast 
Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Comments may 
also be sent via fax to (978) 281-9117. Comments submitted via e-mail 
or Internet will not be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Ross, (978) 281-9234, fax (978) 
281-9117.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The New England Fishery Management Council's Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) for American Lobster was implemented in Federal waters for 
vessels with Federal fishing permits in 1983. Since approximately 80 
percent of the fishery for American lobster occurs in state waters, the 
FMP objectives of maintaining a sustainable fishery and preventing 
overfishing of the resource could not effectively be achieved by 
Federal action alone. NMFS could no longer ensure that the FMP, which 
covered only Federal waters, was consistent with national standard 1 of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), which requires implementation of conservation and 
management measures to prevent overfishing. Therefore, a proposed rule 
was published in 1996 (61 FR 13478) to withdraw the Council FMP upon

[[Page 69228]]

completion of an effective interstate management program.
    The ACFCMA, enacted in 1993, includes provisions to ensure state 
compliance with interstate fishery management plans (ISFMPs) developed 
by the Commission. That legislation also provides authority for the 
implementation of management measures in Federal waters that are 
compatible with an ISFMP and consistent with the national standards 
specified in Section 301 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. In December 1997, 
the Commission approved Amendment 3 to the American lobster ISFMP, 
which contained measures to end overfishing of the resource.
    In March 1998, NMFS prepared a Draft EIS (63 FR 14922) that 
evaluated various management options in Federal waters to meet 
Magnuson-Stevens Act requirements regarding overfishing and the 
rebuilding of American lobster stocks in cooperation with the 
Commission under the ACFCMA. A proposed rule was then prepared on 
January 15, 1999 (63 FR 2708) that affirmatively responded to the 
overwhelming public comments urging NMFS to implement the Commission's 
plan in Federal waters. It also acknowledged that the preponderance of 
the fishery occurs in state waters and that, once the lobster FMP under 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act was withdrawn, state regulatory actions will 
be the key factor in rebuilding the lobster resource.
    Subsequently, a Final EIS and a final rule were published in the 
Federal Register on May 28, 1999 (64 FR 29026), and on December 6, 1999 
(64 FR 68228), respectively. The final rule transfers regulations for 
management of the lobster fishery under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (50 
CFR part 649) to the ACFCMA (50 CFR part 697) and implements new 
measures consistent with the Commission's ISFMP. These new measures 
include the following: Extension of the current moratorium on new 
entrants into the EEZ fishery, designation of lobster management areas, 
near-shore and off-shore area trap limits, a 5-inch maximum carapace 
size in the Gulf of Maine, trap size restrictions, a trap escape vent 
size increase, trap tag allocations, and annual specification of 
additional management measures necessary to end overfishing and rebuild 
American lobster stocks. In addition, the NMFS' final rule restricts 
fishing effort in the EEZ based on fixed trap limits. This rule meets 
the Commission's request for NMFS to implement EEZ regulations 
compatible with the ISFMP for lobster and is consistent with the 
national standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which must be met when 
implementing Federal regulations under the ACFCMA.
    The Commission, on August 3, 1999, approved Addendum 1 to Amendment 
3 of the ISFMP for the determination of trap limits based upon 
historical participation, rather than fixed trap limits, in Lobster 
Management Area 3 (offshore EEZ), and Areas 4 and 5 (nearshore EEZ 
areas south of New York). As a result of the Commission's Addendum 1 
and its recommendations for NMFS to implement compatible measures in 
Federal waters, an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) was 
published in the Federal Register on September 1, 1999 (64 FR 47756), 
to seek public comment on whether there is a need under the ACFCMA to 
restrict access of Federal permit holders in the lobster EEZ fishery on 
the basis of historical participation. The ANPR also notified the 
public that NMFS was considering September 1, 1999, the publication 
date of the ANPR, as a potential control date.
    Thirty-two comments were received in response to the ANPR. 
Responses were received from both the trap and non-trap sectors of the 
lobster industry. A majority (68 percent) of the respondents stated 
that participation in and access to the fishery should be restricted, 
with most of these individuals in favor of using a control date to 
substantiate historical participation. A majority of respondents who 
were in favor of establishing a control date recommended dates that 
were identified through the Lobster Conservation Management Team 
process, rather than the September 1, 1999, control date proposed by 
NMFS in the ANPR.
    The respondents who were opposed to access restrictions included 
(1) relatively new entrants into the trap sector of the fishery, (2) 
limited access permit holders who had not actively participated in the 
trap fishery, (3) two commercial lobstermen's associations, and (4) the 
State of Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). Specifically, DMR 
commented that use of a control date to determine historical 
participation in the Federal waters of certain lobster fishery 
management areas should be considered a part of a comprehensive Federal 
action plan and not a stand-alone management measure. In response to 
these comments, NMFS intends to evaluate such action as part of a 
comprehensive management approach in both state and Federal waters.
    Federal lobster permit holders will be affected by actions 
resulting from the subsequent EIS. Specifically, current Federal 
lobster permit holders may be found ineligible to fish for lobster in 
certain lobster management areas, and/or their capacity to fish for 
lobster may be diminished. Additional Commission recommendations under 
the ISFMP may also be addressed by NMFS in the EIS in an effort to 
develop Federal regulations that are compatible with Addendum 1. These 
include the following: Vessel length and horsepower upgrade 
restrictions during the years 2000 and 2001; a prohibition on the 
possession of lobsters in certain areas, including Fire Island, 
Moriches, Shinnecock, and Montauk, New York; consideration of 
conservation equivalency measures proposed by the State of New 
Hampshire; and adjustments to closed area boundaries in Cape Cod Bay, 
Nantucket Sound, and the Cape Cod Canal. Accordingly, NMFS requests 
public input on these proposed management measures to assist in 
assessing the impact of these and other associated measures on the 
human environment.

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

    Dated: December 6, 1999.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-32091 Filed 12-9-99; 8:45 am]
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