[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13694-13695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5556]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 022701H]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for Amendment 13 to the Surfclam and Ocean Quahog 
Fishery Management Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an EIS; scoping meeting; request 
for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) intends 
to prepare an EIS, or supplementary EIS (SEIS) under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess the potential effects on the 
human environment of its proposed action to initiate Amendment 13 to 
the Fishery Management Plan for Surfclams and Ocean Quahogs (FMP) under 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act). The amendment currently would incorporate a new surfclam 
overfishing definition, multi-year quotas, a reversal of the 
requirement for regulatory action to suspend the surfclam size limit, 
development of a vessel monitoring system (VMS), and analyses of 
fishing gear impacts on essential fish habitat (EFH) for both species. 
The Council will hold a public scoping meeting and accept written 
comments to determine the need for an EIS or SEIS and the scope of 
issues to be addressed.

DATES: The Council will accept written comments through April 6, 2001. 
A public scoping meeting will be held Wednesday, March 21, 2001 from 1-
3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 
19904. Comments may also be sent via facsimile (fax) to 302-674-5399. 
The Council will not accept comments via e-mail or the Internet.
    The scoping meeting will be held at the Golden Inn, Oceanfront at 
78th Street, Avalon, NJ, telephone 609-368-5155.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director 
of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 302-674-2331, ext. 19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council announces a public process for 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying the 
significant issues related to the development of Amendment 13 to the 
FMP. There are five issues currently to be addressed in this amendment: 
(1) A new surfclam overfishing definition, (2) multi-year quotas, (3) a 
reversal of the requirement for regulatory action to suspend the 
surfclam size limit, (4) development of a VMS, and (5) analyses of 
fishing gear impacts on EFH for both species. The analyses of fishing 
gear

[[Page 13695]]

impacts on EFH are necessary to remedy previously disapproved sections 
of the FMP. In addition, the EIS/SEIS would evaluate changes to the 
fishery and its effects on the human environment, since the last EIS 
for this FMP was prepared in 1990. The FMP amendment will be prepared 
by the Mid-Atlantic Council in cooperation with NMFS.

Public Scoping Meeting

    The public scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 21, 
2001, from 1-3 p.m., at the Golden Inn, Oceanfront at 78th Street, 
Avalon, NJ, telephone 609-368-5155. The meeting will be held in 
conjunction with a meeting of the Council at the same time and 
location.

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Joanna Davis at the Mid-Atlantic Council, 
telephone 302-674-2331, ext. 18, at least 5 days prior to the hearing 
date.

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

    Dated: March 2, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, national marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-5556 Filed 3-6-01; 8:45 am]
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