[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 177 (Friday, September 12, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53706-53707]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23310]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 082703B]


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

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

ACTION: Notification announcing preparation of an environmental 
assessment (EA).

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SUMMARY: NMFS and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (South 
Atlantic Council) intend to prepare a draft EA, in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for extension of the 
prohibition on fishing for and possessing snapper grouper species 
within the Oculina Experimental Closed Area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Weeder, telephone: 727-570-5305, 
fax: 727-570-5583, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action to continue fishing 
restrictions in the Oculina Experimental Closed Area was originally 
combined with multiple other actions the South Atlantic Council was 
evaluating in Amendment 13 to the Snapper-Grouper FMP. A Notice of 
Intent (NOI) to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement 
(supplemental EIS) to support that amendment was published in the 
Federal Register on January 31, 2002 (67 FR 4696).
    In March 2003, the South Atlantic Council voted to separate the 
actions in Amendment 13 into two amendments. The proposed action to 
extend the prohibition on fishing for and possessing snapper grouper 
species within the Oculina Experimental Closed Area is being evaluated 
in Amendment 13A to the Snapper-Grouper FMP. Most of the other actions 
in Amendment 13 are now being evaluated in Amendment 13B, for which a 
supplemental EIS is being prepared. The purpose of separating the 
actions was to ensure that the Council had the information it needed to 
make a decision on whether to extend the prohibition on fishing for and 
possessing snapper grouper species within the Oculina Experimental 
Closed Area before the regulations implementing that prohibition expire 
as scheduled in June 2004.
    This document is intended to inform the public of the change from 
preparation of a supplemental EIS for Amendment 13A to preparation of 
an EA. The purpose of an EA is to determine whether significant 
environmental impacts would result from a proposed action. If the 
action is determined not to be significant, the EA and resulting 
Finding of No Significant Impact will be the final environmental 
documents required by NEPA. If the EA indicates that significant 
environmental impacts may be reasonably expected to occur, then the 
agency will prepare a supplemental EIS and publish an NOI in the 
Federal Register. The preliminary environmental review of the proposed 
action in this amendment indicated that it would not likely have a 
significant impact on the quality of the human environment. 
Consequently, the South Atlantic Council and NMFS are jointly preparing 
an EA to decide whether to prepare a supplemental EIS.
    The Oculina Bank is a 90-mile (145-km) strip of coral reefs and 
limestone outcroppings located in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 
near the continental shelf edge, approximately 60 nautical miles (nm) 
off central eastern Florida. Its name derives from the presence of 
banks, thickets, and rubble zones of the delicate, slow-growing Oculina 
varicosa (ivory tree coral). The massive thickets formed by this coral 
support dense and diverse invertebrate and finfish communities.
    In recognition of the biological significance of this coral, in 
1984 the Council designated a 92-square nm portion of the Oculina Bank 
as the ``Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern (Oculina HAPC)''. 
This designation categorized it as an area of special biological 
significance worthy of stricter regulatory and enforcement activity. 
The Council prohibited the use of bottom trawls, bottom longlines, 
dredges, fish traps, and fish pots within the Oculina HAPC to mitigate 
the threat of fishing gear to Oculina coral. These actions were 
implemented through the FMP for Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of 
Mexico and the South Atlantic, which was prepared jointly by the Gulf 
of Mexico and South Atlantic Councils.
    In Amendment 6 to the Snapper-Grouper FMP, which was implemented in 
1994, the South Atlantic Council prohibited fishing for and retaining 
snapper grouper species within the Oculina HAPC, and prohibited 
anchoring by vessels fishing for snapper grouper species. The area to 
which these prohibitions applied became known as the Oculina 
Experimental Closed Area (OECA). The primary purpose of the OECA is to 
``enhance stock stability and increase recruitment by providing an area 
where deep-water species can grow and reproduce without being subjected 
to fishing mortality''(SAFMC 1993).
    In January of 1996, regulations implementing Amendment 3 to the FMP 
for Coral, Coral Reefs and Live/Hard Bottom Habitats of the South 
Atlantic Region (Coral FMP) became effective. These regulations 
prohibited all fishing vessels from anchoring within the Oculina HAPC. 
Also in 1996, in Amendment 1 to the FMP for the Shrimp Fishery of the 
South Atlantic Region, the Council prohibited trawling for rock shrimp 
east of 80[deg]W. long., between 27[deg]30' N. and 28[deg]30' N. lat., 
in depths less than 100 fathoms (183 m). These restrictions were 
adopted to minimize the impacts of the rock shrimp fishery on essential 
fish habitat including the fragile coral species existing in the 
Oculina bank. The area to which the prohibition applied became known as 
the rock shrimp closed area.
    In 1998, the Council expanded the Oculina HAPC to include the rock 
shrimp closed area. This action was accomplished through Amendment 4 to 
the Coral FMP. Within the expanded

[[Page 53707]]

Oculina HAPC, fishing with a bottom longline, bottom trawl, dredge, 
fish pot, or fish trap is prohibited, as is anchoring by a fishing 
vessel. The prohibition on fishing for and possessing snapper grouper 
species remains in effect only within the smaller OECA, which is 
scheduled to expire in June 2004 and is the subject of Amendment 13A to 
the Snapper Grouper FMP.
    The renewal of fishing restrictions in the OECA is intended to 
provide continued protection of snapper grouper populations and 
associated Oculina coral. This action is needed to provide a hedge 
against the high degree of scientific uncertainty associated with the 
status of these species and to reduce the possibility that these 
populations may fall below sustainable levels.

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

    Dated: September 8, 2003.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-23310 Filed 9-11-03; 8:45 am]
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