[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 7 (Thursday, January 10, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1323-1324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-645]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 121801H]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

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 Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) intends to 
prepare a DSEIS to assess the impacts on the natural and human 
environment of the management measure proposed in its draft Amendment 2 
to the Fishery Management Plan for the Queen Conch Resources of Puerto 
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (FMP). The purpose of this document is 
to solicit additional public comments on the scope of the issues to be 
addressed in the DSEIS, which will be submitted to NMFS for filing with 
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for publication of a notice-
of-availability for public comment.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
DSEIS will be accepted through February 11, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Miguel A. Rolon, 
Executive Director, Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 268 Munoz 
Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-1920, telephone: 
787-766-5926; fax: 787-766-6239; or you can send comments by e-mail to: 
[email protected] or [email protected]. Copies of 
the draft Amendment 2 and the preliminary DSEIS may be obtained by 
contacting the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 268 Munoz Rivera 
Avenue, Suite 1108, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-2577; phone: 787-766-
5926.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Graciela Garcia-Moliner; phone: 787-
766-5926; e-mail: [email protected] or Dr. Peter J. 
Eldridge; phone: 727-570-5305; fax: 727-570-5583; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The FMP was prepared by the Council and approved and implemented by 
NMFS under procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The FMP's management measures 
for queen conch apply in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the U.S. 
Caribbean. For the purposes of the FMP and its implementing 
regulations, the U.S. Caribbean consists of the Federal waters beyond 
the 9-nautical mile boundary in Puerto Rico and beyond the 3-nautical 
mile boundary in St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, U.S. Virgin 
Islands. The FMP currently establishes the following management 
measures for queen conch: (1) A 9-inch overall minimum size limit, or a 
3/8-inch shell-lip thickness limitation on the possession of queen 
conch; (2) a requirement that all species in the management unit be 
landed in the shell and that the sale of undersized queen conch and 
queen conch shells be prohibited; (3) a bag limit of three queen conch/
day for recreational fishers, not to exceed 12 per boat, and of 150 
queen conch/day for licensed commercial fishers; (4) the closure of the 
harvest season from July 1 through September 30 of each consecutive 
year; and (5) the prohibition of harvesting queen conch by HOOKAH gear 
(under-water breathing equipment composed of a compressor aboard the 
vessel and a long hose thus enabling a diver to work under water for 
long periods of time) in the EEZ.
    The Council is preparing draft FMP Amendment 2. The objectives of 
Amendment 2 are to address NMFS' determination that queen conch is 
overfished and is undergoing overfishing and to establish rebuilding 
measures. Amendment 2, in addressing these issues, proposes to prohibit 
the harvest and possession of queen conch in the Caribbean EEZ. The 
Council is preparing a DSEIS as an integrated part of Amendment 2. The 
DSEIS will describe the amendment's alternative management measures and 
will assess the environmental impacts of them. The Council is 
requesting written comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed 
in the DSEIS. Based on input received during 10 public hearings held in 
July 2000 (see notice of these hearings at 65 FR 40600) and in November 
2001 (see notice of these hearings at 66 FR 55910), the Council intends 
to revise draft Amendment 2, as appropriate, and to finalize the DSEIS. 
At the July 2000 hearings, the Council changed the number of the 
Amendment from Amendment 1 to Amendment 2.

[[Page 1324]]

 The proposed management measure has not been included in a previous 
FMP amendment. The Council invites the public to comment on the scope 
of the issues to be addressed by Amendment 2 and its DSEIS and on the 
types of environmental impacts associated with the various management 
measures, including the proposed measure discussed above.
    Once the Council completes the DSEIS, it will submit it to NMFS for 
filing with EPA. EPA will publish a notice of availability of the DSEIS 
for public comment in the Federal Register. The DSEIS will have a 45-
day comment period. This procedure is pursuant to regulations issued by 
the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 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 will consider public comments received on the DSEIS before 
adopting final management measures for a final Amendment 2 and to 
prepare a final supplemental environmental impact statement (FSEIS) in 
support of its final Amendment 2. The Council would then submit the 
final Amendment 2 and supporting FSEIS to NMFS for Secretarial review, 
approval, and implementation under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS will 
announce availability of Amendment 2 for public review during the 
Secretarial review period through notice published in the Federal 
Register. During Secretarial review, NMFS will also file the FSEIS with 
EPA for a final 30-day 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 2. All public comment periods on Amendment 2, its 
proposed implementing regulations, and 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 2 (60-day period), whether they are on the 
amendment, the FSEIS, or the proposed regulations, prior to final 
agency action.

    Dated: January 4, 2002.
Jonathan Kurland
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-645 Filed 1-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S