[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 101 (Thursday, May 24, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28725-28726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13072]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 051501D]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery off 
the Southern Atlantic States

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

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

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) 
intends to prepare a DSEIS to assess the impacts on the natural and 
human environment of management measures proposed in its draft 
Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of 
the South Atlantic Region (FMP). The purpose of this document is to 
solicit public comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed in 
the DSEIS and to provide information on the Council's intended schedule 
for completing the DSEIS and submitting it to NMFS for filing and for 
further public comment.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed by 
the DSEIS for draft Amendment 5 must be received by the Council by June 
25, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the DSEIS and requests for 
additional information on the management measures proposed in draft 
Amendment 5 should be sent to the South Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 29407-4699; 
phone: 843-571-4366; fax: 843-769-4520; e-mail: [email protected]or 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson, 843-571-4366, or Dr. 
Peter Eldridge, NMFS, 727-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Management measures for rock shrimp under 
the FMP apply in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South 
Atlantic. For the purposes of the FMP and its implementing regulations, 
the South Atlantic consists of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern 
Atlantic states (i.e., from the Virginia/North Carolina border through 
the Florida Keys). The FMP currently establishes the following 
management measures for rock shrimp: Federal fishing vessel permits 
necessary to fish for, sell, transfer, or possess rock shrimp in or 
from the South Atlantic EEZ; Federal dealer permits to receive rock 
shrimp harvested in the South Atlantic EEZ; requirement for selected 
dealers to report receipts and prices of rock shrimp harvested from the 
South Atlantic EEZ; and a prohibition on fishing for or possessing rock 
shrimp in or from the Oculina Bank habitat area of particular concern.
    The Council is preparing draft Amendment 5 to the FMP. Amendment 5 
will address the following issues: (1) The implementation of a limited 
entry program for the rock shrimp fishery to remove speculative 
interests from the fishery and ensure the economic viability of the 
rock shrimp industry; (2) the establishment of mesh size restrictions 
to reduce the harvest of small rock shrimp; (3) the requirement for 
vessel operator permits and vessel monitoring systems to ensure better 
compliance with the FMP's management measures and implementing 
regulations; and (4) the specification of geographic areas within which 
these aforementioned management measures would apply.
    The Council is preparing a DSEIS as an integrated part of Amendment 
5. The DSEIS will describe the amendment's proposed management measures 
and their reasonable alternatives and will assess the environmental 
impacts of these proposed and alternative measures. The Council is 
requesting written comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed 
in the DSEIS.
    Based on input to be received during 7 public hearings that the 
Council is conducting from May 3, 2001, through June 19, 2001 (see 
notice of these hearings at 66 FR 22144) on a preliminary draft of 
Amendment 5 and associated DSEIS, the Council intends to revise draft 
Amendment 5, as appropriate, and to finalize the DSEIS. The Council 
intends that the current public hearings on its preliminary draft 
Amendment 5 and DSEIS supplement, for scoping purposes, the three 
scoping meetings it held in 1994 to invite initial public input on the 
scope of the issues to be addressed by Amendment 5 and the types of 
environmental impacts associated with alternative management measures, 
including those proposed measures listed here. With the exception of 
the requirement for operator permits, which was disapproved by NMFS as 
contained in a previous FMP amendment, these management measures have 
not been

[[Page 28726]]

included in a previous FMP amendment.
    Once the Council completes the DSEIS, it will submit it to NMFS for 
filing with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA will publish 
in the Federal Registera notice of availability of the DSEIS for public 
comment. This procedure is pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and 
to NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6 regarding NOAA's compliance with 
NEPA and the CEQ regulations.
    The Council intends to consider public comments received on the 
DSEIS before adopting final management measures for a final Amendment 
5. The Council intends to prepare a final supplemental environmental 
impact statement (FSEIS) in support of its final Amendment 5. The 
Council would then submit the final Amendment 5 and supporting FSEIS to 
NMFS for Secretarial review, approval, and implementation under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. NMFS will 
announce availability of Amendment 5 for public review during the 
Secretarial review period though notice published in the Federal 
Register. During Secretarial review, NMFS will also file the FSEIS with 
EPA for a final public comment period on the FSEIS. This comment period 
will be concurrent with the Secretarial review period and will end 
prior to final agency action to approve, disapprove, or partially 
approve Amendment 5. All public comment periods on Amendment 5, its 
proposed implementing regulations, and on its associated FSEIS will be 
announced through notice published in the Federal Register. NMFS will 
consider all public comments received during the Secretarial review 
period for Amendment 5 (60-day period), whether they are on the 
amendment, the FSEIS, or the proposed regulations, prior to final 
agency action.
    Copies of the preliminary draft Amendment 5/DSEIS may be obtained 
by contacting the Council (see ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated: May 17, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-13072 Filed 5-18-01; 3:57 pm]
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