[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 4696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2301]



[[Page 4696]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 012302E]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 13

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

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic 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 13 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper 
Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP).

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
preliminary DSEIS will be accepted through March 4, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for copies of the DSEIS should be sent 
to Robert K. Mahood, Executive Director, South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 
29407-4699, FAX: 843-769-4520; email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson, Public Information 
Office; 843-571-4366 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The snapper grouper fishery off the South 
Atlantic States in the exclusive economic zone is managed under the 
FMP. Following Council preparation, the FMP was approved and 
implemented by NMFS under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) in March of 
1983. Currently, the Council is preparing draft FMP Amendment 13 and a 
DSEIS as an integrated part of the Amendment. The DSEIS will discuss 
the proposed Amendment 13 management measures in conjunction with 
reasonable alternatives. Each alternative will be assessed in relation 
to the environmental consequences with a no-action alternative 
considered as one of the options.
    In the snapper grouper complex, 12 species are currently 
overfished, six species are not approaching an overfished condition nor 
is overfishing occurring, and the status of the remaining species is 
unknown. Once it is determined that overfishing is occurring, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that the Council take action to develop a 
rebuilding plan. Amendment 13 proposes the establishment of rebuilding 
timeframes for the overfished species within the snapper-grouper 
management unit.
    To prevent overfishing, the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the subsequent 
Sustainable Fisheries Act amendments provide national standards that 
must be satisfied within the FMPs. The National Standards establish 
parameters, including maximum sustainable yield (MSY), optimum yield 
(OY), minimum stock size threshold (MSST), and maximum fishing 
mortality rate threshold (MFMT), which are used to avoid overfished 
situations. Currently, static spawning potential ratio proxies are used 
to define MSY, OY, and MFMT. In Amendment 13, the Council intends to 
establish values for MSY, OY, MFMT, and MSST for each of the species in 
the snapper-grouper management unit, contingent upon the availability 
of sufficient scientific information.
    Additionally, the Council is considering that the following 
management measures be included in Amendment 13: commercial permit 
transfers; adjusting the harvest and/or possession of all species in 
the deepwater grouper/tilefish fishery; prohibiting all possession and 
sale of red porgy, greater amberjack, and mutton snapper during 
spawning season closures for that species; extending the Oculina 
Experimental Closed Area for an additional time period; removing queen 
triggerfish from the snapper-grouper management unit; increasing the 
recreational size limit of greater amberjack; modifying the minimum 
mesh size regulations for black sea bass pots; modifying current red 
porgy regulations; establishing a program to collect fees from the 
wreckfish industry; establishing a program to collect data on snapper 
and grouper permits as they are sold; and establishing a protocol for 
the collection of data for Endangered Species Act/section 7 
consultation.
    A scoping meeting to determine the scope of significant issues to 
be addressed in the DSEIS and the associated Amendment 13 will be 
conducted at the Council's March 4-8, 2002, meeting in Savannah, GA.
    Following consideration of public comments, the Council intends to 
finalize and approve draft Amendment 13 to the FMP and the DSEIS for 
public hearings in 2002. These documents are expected to be released 
for public comment and filed with the Environmental Protection Agency 
in 2003.

    Authority: 6 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: January 25, 2002.
Jonathan Kerland,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-2301 Filed 1-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S