[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 32 (Friday, February 15, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7123-7124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3817]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 012902A]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Coastal Migratory Pelagic 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Public Hearings/
Scoping Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft supplemental impact 
statement (DSEIS) and notice of public hearings/scoping meetings; 
request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) 
intends to prepare a DSEIS to assess the impacts on the natural and 
human environments of the proposed measures in the Draft Secretarial 
Amendment to the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan (Draft red grouper 
Amendment) which is being prepared by the Council and NMFS. The Draft 
red grouper Amendment would establish a rebuilding plan for red grouper 
in the Gulf of Mexico. The Council will convene public hearings to 
receive comments on the proposed measures of the Draft red grouper 
Amendment and to serve as scoping hearings to solicit public comments 
on the scope of issues to be addressed in the DSEIS. In conjunction 
with each public hearing on the Draft red grouper Amendment, a scoping 
meeting will also be held to obtain comments on whether the Council 
should begin to develop a regulatory amendment under the Coastal 
Migratory Pelagics Fishery Management Plan to address prohibitions on 
the use of pelagic longlines to harvest dolphin (fish) in the Gulf of 
Mexico. This scoping meeting is being held by the Council under its 
internal scoping process to receive public comments on whether 
development of a management action should proceed.

DATES: The public hearings/scoping meetings will be held in February. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times of the 
public hearings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to, and copies of the Draft 
red grouper Amendment and options for the CMP scoping meetings are 
available from, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 
U.S. Highway 301, North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619, telephone: (813) 
228-2815. Public Hearings will be held in Florida, Mississippi, 
Louisiana, and Texas. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific 
hearing locations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Steven Atran, Population Dynamics 
Statistician, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: 
(813) 228-2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The public hearings will be convened to 
receive comments on the Draft red grouper Amendment, which would 
establish a rebuilding plan for red grouper in the Gulf of Mexico, and 
to serve as scoping hearings to solicit public comments on the scope of 
issues to be addressed in the DSEIS. Red grouper were declared to be 
overfished and undergoing overfishing by the Acting Southeast Regional 
Administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service in October 
2000. The Council originally began developing a red grouper rebuilding 
plan as part of Draft Reef Fish Amendment 18, which addressed a number 
of other reef fish issues. However, due to delays in the development of 
Draft Reef Fish Amendment 18, the Council chose to separate out the red 
grouper rebuilding plan and proceed with it through a separate action.
    At each scoping hearing on the Draft red grouper Amendment, the 
Council will solicit public comments on the scope of issues to be 
addressed in the DSEIS. A scoping meeting under the Council's internal 
policy will also be held to obtain comments on whether the Council 
should begin to develop a regulatory amendment under the Coastal 
Migratory Pelagics (CMP) Fishery Management Plan to address 
prohibitions on the use of pelagic longlines to harvest dolphin (fish) 
in the Gulf of Mexico.
    The Draft red grouper Amendment proposal contains alternatives for 
determining the sustainable fishing parameters on which a rebuilding 
plan is based. These include maximum sustainable yield (MSY), the 
fishing mortality rate that produces MSY (FMSY), the biomass 
or biomass proxy that supports MSY (BMSY), the minimum stock 
size threshold below which a stock is considered to be overfished, the 
maximum fishing mortality threshold above which a stock is considered 
to be undergoing overfishing, and optimum yield. The Draft red grouper 
Amendment also contains alternatives for selecting a rebuilding 
strategy and rebuilding scenarios (combinations of management measures) 
to achieve rebuilding. In addition to the pre-constructed scenarios, 
the Draft red grouper Amendment contains individual alternatives to 
adjust the shallow-water grouper quota, implement or adjust closed 
seasons, implement commercial trip limits, adjust recreational bag 
limits, establish closed areas, move the longline/buoy gear boundary, 
and phase out the use of longlines and buoy gear for reef fish fishing.
    The public hearings/scoping meetings will meet from 6:30 p.m. to 10 
p.m. at the following locations and dates.
    1. Monday, February 18, 2002: Edison Community College, Lee County 
Campus, Corbin Auditorium, Building J-103, 8099 College Parkway, Fort 
Myers, FL 33919, telephone: 941-489-9300. Use Shoreline Blvd entrance. 
Park in 1st lot on right [Lot 8]. For Map

[[Page 7124]]

directions see: http://www.edison.edu/aboutecc/lee_campus.htm;
    2. Tuesday, February 19, 2002: Tampa Airport Hilton, 2225 Lois 
Avenue, Tampa, FL 33607, telephone: 813-877-6688;
    3. Tuesday, February 19, 2002: Mississippi Department of Marine 
Resources, 1141 Bayview Drive, Biloxi, MS 39530, telephone: 228-374-
5000;
    4. Wednesday, February 20, 2002: Plantation Inn, 9301 West Fort 
Island Trail, Crystal River, FL 34429, telephone: 352-795-4211;
    5. Wednesday, February 20, 2002: New Orleans Airport Hilton, 901 
Airline Drive, Kenner, LA, telephone: 504-469-5000;
    6. Thursday, February 21, 2002: National Marine Fisheries Service, 
3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL 32408, telephone: 850-234-
6541; and
    7. Thursday, February 21, 2002: Texas A&M University, 200 Seawolf 
Parkway, Galveston, TX 77553, telephone: 409-740-4416.
    In addition to the above hearings, public testimony will be 
accepted on the Draft red grouper Amendment at the Gulf Council meeting 
where final action will be taken, in Sarasota, FL, on July 10, 2002. 
Written comments on the scope of the DSEIS for the Red Grouper 
rebuilding plan will be accepted if received at the Council office by 
April 1, 2002. Written comments on the Red Grouper rebuilding plan will 
be accepted if received at the Council office by June 13, 2002.
    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Anne Alford at the Council (see 
ADDRESSES).

    Dated: February 11, 2002.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-3817 Filed 2-14-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S