[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4696-4697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2405]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 012502A]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 14

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 the management measure proposed in its draft 
Amendment 14 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,

[[Page 4697]]

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 14 and a DSEIS as an integrated part of the 
Amendment. The DSEIS will discuss the proposed Amendment 14 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.
    The Council is considering the use of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) 
as a management tool to protect overfished stocks and maintain the 
sustained existence of healthy stocks in the snapper grouper complex. 
MPAs serve as geographical areas with various degrees of protection 
from harvest including prohibition of specific gear types, seasonal 
spawning area closures, complete closure from fishing, and combinations 
of the aforementioned. Anticipated benefits from the MPAs include the 
protection of critical life stages, physical habitats, age structure, 
genetic diversity of the stock, and biodiversity. In addition to 
ensuring the long-term ecological viability of the fish stock and 
introducing a provision of insurance against uncertainty, MPAs have the 
potential to provide opportunities for education and research.
    In Amendment 14, the Council is considering using MPAs as an 
additional management tool to supplement traditional management 
measures and promote its ultimate goal of conservation and management 
of fish stocks in the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone. The high 
species diversity and complex life history of fish within the snapper 
grouper management group supports a greater ecosystem approach to 
resource management of the stock. The Council intends that Amendment 14 
center on establishing MPAs in critical habitat for overfished 
deepwater species including speckled hind, warsaw grouper, misty 
grouper, yellowedge grouper, snowy grouper, golden tilefish, sand 
tilefish, and blueline tilefish.
    A scoping meeting to determine the scope of significant issues to 
be addressed in the DSEIS and the associated Amendment 14 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 14 to the FMP and the DSEIS for 
two rounds of public hearings, one in 2002 and one early in 2003. These 
documents are expected to be released for public comment and filed with 
the Environmental Protection Agency following the June 2003 Council 
meeting.

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

    Dated: January 25, 2002.
Jonathan Kurlund,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-2405 Filed 1-30-02; 8:45 am]
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