[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 177 (Friday, September 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53712-53714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23203]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 090203B]


Pacific Fishery Management Council; Notice of Intent

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

[[Page 53713]]

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS); request for written comments; notice of public scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: NMFS and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
intend to prepare an EIS in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 analyzing the adoption of rebuilding plans for four 
overfished groundfish species: cowcod (Sebastes levis), bocaccio (S. 
paucispinis), widow rockfish (S. entomelas), and yelloweye rockfish (S. 
ruberrimus). The proposed action is to adopt these rebuilding plans as 
Amendment 16-3 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 
(Groundfish FMP) and adds key rebuilding targets to Federal groundfish 
regulations. This approach is consistent with the framework for 
rebuilding overfished species established in Amendment 16-1, which is 
currently under Secretarial review.

DATES: A public scoping meeting for the Amendment 16-3 EIS is scheduled 
for Sunday, November 2, 2003, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in conjunction with 
the Council's November 3-7, 2003, meeting (see SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION). Written comments will be accepted at the Council office 
through November 10, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on issues and alternatives to be addressed 
in the Amendment 16-3 EIS should be sent to Dr. Donald McIsaac, Pacific 
Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Pl., Suite 200, Portland 
OR, 97220.
    Comments also may be sent via email to [email protected] 
(enter ``Amendment 16-3 EIS scoping'' in the subject line) or facsimile 
(fax) to 503-820-2299.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Harrington, NMFS, Northwest 
Region; telephone: 206-526-4742, fax: 206-526-6426 and e-mail: 
[email protected]; or Kit Dahl, Pacific Fishery Management 
Council; telephone: 503-820-8220 or 866-806-7204 (toll free), fax: 503-
820-2299 and email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and the Council published a notice of 
intent to prepare an EIS evaluating rebuilding plans for overfished 
groundfish at 67 FR 18576 on April 16, 2002. Rebuilding measures apply 
to groundfish species that have been declared overfished by the U.S. 
Secretary of Commerce pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), and these 
measures must be consistent with the provisions of Section 304(e) of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. At that time, NMFS and the Council planned to 
prepare a single EIS evaluating both the framework for adopting 
rebuilding plans and the adopted rebuilding plans themselves. A 
subsequent notice of intent, published in the Federal Register on March 
18, 2003, (68 FR 12888) announced that separate analyses would be 
prepared: an environmental assessment (EA) for the framework portion of 
the action and one or more EISs for the rebuilding plans themselves. 
This approach facilitates rebuilding plan adoption for two reasons. 
First, the framework, which establishes procedures and standards, was 
not anticipated to result in significant impacts to the human 
environment. Therefore, the proposed action could be evaluated in an 
EA. Completing Council decision-making on this framework would provide 
greater certitude about the process and standards to be subsequently 
used in adopting rebuilding plans. Second, not all the scientific 
analyses needed to prepare rebuilding plans were completed 
simultaneously. Rather than waiting and delaying adoption of rebuilding 
plans, several amendments were planned based on the availability of 
stock assessments and scientific analyses. The framework is established 
in Amendment 16-1, which is currently under Secretarial review 
published in the Federal Register on August 18, 2003, at (68 FR 49415). 
The Council prepared an EIS for Amendment 16-2, that adopts rebuilding 
plans for four species: canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger), 
darkblotched rockfish (S. crameri), Pacific ocean perch (S. alutus), 
and lingcod (Ophidon elongatus). The Amendment 16-2 draft EIS (DEIS) is 
scheduled to be available for a 45-day public comment period beginning 
on September 19, 2003.
    Amendment 16-3 will adopt rebuilding plans for four overfished 
groundfish species: cowcod (Sebastes levis), bocaccio (S. paucispinis), 
widow rockfish (S. entomelas), and yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus). 
The rebuilding plan for Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus), the 
final groundfish species to be declared overfished to date, will be 
adopted in a subsequent FMP amendment.

Alternatives

    According to the rebuilding plan framework, certain elements of 
rebuilding plans must be incorporated into the Groundfish FMP and 
Federal groundfish regulations. These include strategic rebuilding 
parameters, which are subject to policy decisions made by the Council. 
These parameters reflect the tradeoff between rebuilding the stock in 
as short a time period as possible and the needs of fishing communities 
and the interaction of the stock with the marine ecosystem. Rebuilding 
means returning a fish stock to a size and structure capable of 
supporting maximum sustainable yield (or the highest level of harvest 
that can occur on a continuing basis). There are three such strategic 
rebuilding parameters. The first is the harvest control rule, which 
expresses a given fishing mortality rate over the course of rebuilding 
the stock. The second is, for a given fishing mortality rate, the 
probability that the stock will be rebuilt in the maximum time period 
allowed under National Standard 1 guidelines (50 CFR 
600.310(e)(4)(ii)), or the ``rebuilding probability.'' The third is a 
``target year,'' which is defined as the year in which there is a 50 
percent likelihood that the stock will have been rebuilt, for a given 
fishing mortality rate. For any given fishing mortality rate, there is 
a unique value for the rebuilding probability and the related target 
year. However, in developing their strategy, policymakers can choose 
any one of the three strategic parameters, recognizing that choosing 
one parameter will determine the value of the other two parameters.
    The alternatives in the Amendment 16-2 EIS present the choice of 
rebuilding strategies in terms of rebuilding probabilities for each of 
the overfished species. It is likely that the alternatives in Amendment 
16-3 will be similarly structured. Once the strategic parameters are 
chosen, they will be used to determine annual harvest levels, or 
optimum yield (OY) values for overfished species. A rebuilding strategy 
also includes the management measures necessary to constrain fishing 
mortality to the OY. However, new management measures will not be 
incorporated into the FMP through Amendment 16-3. Instead, existing 
management measures, which are part of the Groundfish FMP management 
framework, will be used to manage total fishing mortality. These 
measures are implemented periodically, through a harvest specification 
process. (To date, this harvest specification process has occurred 
annually. Beginning in 2005, it will switch to a biennial cycle.) This 
approach is considered more adaptive, because management measures can 
be regularly adjusted in response to new information about the status 
of stocks.

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Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

    A principal objective of the scoping and public input process is to 
identify potentially significant impacts to the human environment that 
should be analyzed in depth in the EIS. Council and NMFS staff 
conducted initial screening to identify potentially significant impacts 
resulting from the proposed action. These impacts relate to the 
likelihood that overfished stocks will rebuild and, generally, effects 
stemming from the need to constrain fishing in order to rebuild 
overfished groundfish stocks. Impacts to the following components of 
the biological and physical environment may be evaluated: (1) essential 
fish habitat and ecosystem; (2) protected species listed under the 
Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act and their 
critical habitat; and (3) the fishery management unit, including target 
and non-target fish stocks, and especially overfished groundfish 
stocks. Socioeconomic impacts are also considered in terms of the 
effect changes in projected harvests will have on the following groups 
of individuals: (1) those who participate in harvesting the fishery 
resources and other living marine resources; (2) those who process and 
market fish and fish products; (3) those who are involved in allied 
support industries; (4) those who consume fish products; (5) those who 
rely on living marine resources in the management area, either for 
subsistence needs or for recreational benefits; (6) those who benefit 
from non-consumptive uses of living marine resources; (7) those 
involved in managing and monitoring fisheries; and (8) fishing 
communities.

Scoping

    A public scoping meeting is scheduled for Sunday, November 2, 2003, 
from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. This scoping session will coincide with the 
Council meeting and will occur at the same location, the Hilton San 
Diego/Del Mar, 15575 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar, CA 92014-1901 (858-
792-5200). The primary purpose of the scoping meeting is to focus the 
analysis on the real issues and concerns of the public (see 40 CFR 
1500.5(d) and 40 CFR 1501.7). Public comment also may be made during 
the November Council meeting (November 3-7, 2003), under the agendum 
when the Council will consider the proposed action. The agenda for this 
meeting will be available from the Council website or by request from 
Council offices in advance of the meeting (see ADDRESSES). The agenda 
will also identify the room in which the Sunday scoping meeting will 
occur. Written comments on the scope of issues and alternatives may be 
submitted as described under ADDRESSES.
    NMFS invites comments and suggestions on the scope of the analysis 
to be included in the environmental impact statement for Amendment 16-
3. The scope includes the range of alternatives to be considered and 
potentially significant impacts to the human environment that should be 
evaluated in the EIS. In addition, NMFS is notifying the public that, 
in conjunction with the Council, it is beginning a full environmental 
analysis and decision-making process for this proposal so that 
interested or affected people may know how they can participate in the 
environmental analysis and contribute to the final decision.
    A draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) will be prepared for 
comment later on in the process. The comment period on the DEIS will be 
45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of 
availability appears in the Federal Register. It is very important that 
those interested in this proposed action participate at that time.
    To be the most helpful, comments on the DEIS should be as specific 
as possible. Comments received during the scoping process, including 
the names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part 
of the public record on this proposal and will be available for public 
inspection.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are accessible to people with physical disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Carolyn Porter at 503-820-2280 at least five days 
prior to the scheduled meeting date.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: September 5, 2003.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-23203 Filed 9-11-03; 8:45 am]
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