[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11810-11811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5902]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 030503B]


South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Essential Fish 
Habitat/Fishery Ecosystem Plan Technical Workshops

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

ACTION: Notice of Workshops 1 and 2, Coral, Coral 
Reef and Live hard Bottom Habitat and Artificial Reef Workshops.

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

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
hold two technical workshops in St. Petersburg, FL involving its 
Habitat & Environmental Protection Advisory Panel, Coral Advisory Panel 
and invited scientists with background in specific habitat type or 
species utilization patterns. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

DATES: The workshops will take place on March 26 and 27, 2003. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times.

ADDRESSES: The workshops will be held at the Florida Marine Research 
Institute, 100 Eighth Ave. SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5095; 
telephone: 727/896-8626.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson, Public Information 
Officer, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, One Southpark 
Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, S.C., 29407; telephone: 843/571-4366 or 
866/SAFMC-10; fax: 843/769-4520.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Workshop participants will meet from 9 a.m. 
until 5 p.m. on March 26, 2003 and again from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on 
March 27, 2003. This workshop process will initiate development of a 
South Atlantic Council Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) which presents 
fishery and resource information for fisheries in the South Atlantic 
Bight ecosystem in context. The workshop processes will integrate two 
directives in the Final Rule for Essential Fish Habitat: 1) Review and 
update Essential Fish Habitat information, and 2) Consider ecosystem-
based management through development of a Fishery Ecosystem Plan for 
the South Atlantic Region.
    The Council recognizes the scope of the significant task necessary 
to meet the new essential fish habitat mandates and directive to begin 
evaluating ecosystem-based management through the development of an FEP 
and is again calling upon the Habitat Advisory Panel members and other 
technical experts involved in the previous Habitat Plan development 
process to serve as or identify appropriate experts to function on a 
quasi-plan development team for this task. The Habitat and Coral 
Advisory Panel are scheduled to meet this fall and will provide 
additional guidance on the workshop process and ecosystem management.
    A Final essential fish habitat (EFH) Rule was published on January 
17, 2002 replacing the interim Final Rule of December 19, 1997 on which 
the original EFH and EFH-Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) 
designations were made. The Councils have, pursuant to the Final EFH 
Rule, been directed to update EFH and EFH-HAPC information and 
designations; in addition, pursuant to revisions to NOAA General 
Council interpretation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
the Councils will be required to update all Environmental Impact 
Statements for all Federal Fishery Management Plans under their 
jurisdiction. Information compiled during this process will further 
facilitate meeting both the EFH and the NEPA mandate. As was done with 
the original Habitat Plan, a series of technical workshops will be 
conducted by Council habitat staff, in cooperation with NMFS/National 
Ocean Service (NOS) Beaufort Laboratory, NMFS Southeast Fishery Science 
Center (SEFSC) Miami Laboratory, NMFS Southeast Regional Office (SERO) 
personnel and invited participants. Workshops are intended to build on 
a review of existing information presented in the Habitat Plan, and 
focus on updating information pursuant to the new EFH Rule. This effort 
will begin the integration of comprehensive details of habitat 
distribution and characterization, the biology of managed species 
including their biological and the characteristics of the food web in 
which they exist.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to 
those issues specifically identified in this notice and any issues 
arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action 
under

[[Page 11811]]

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's 
intent to take final action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES) 
by March 24, 2003.

    Dated: March 5, 2003.
Theophilus R. Brainerd,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-5902 Filed 3-11-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S