[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 192 (Friday, October 3, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 57400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25147]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 092403I]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan; Red Grouper Fishery of the Gulf of 
Mexico; Environmental Assessment for Secretarial Amendment 1

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

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

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SUMMARY: NOAA Fisheries is preparing an EA, in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for Secretarial Amendment 1 
to the Reef Fish FMP.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phil Steele, telephone: 727-570-5305, 
fax: 727-570-5583, e-mail: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Red grouper in the Gulf of Mexico were 
declared to be overfished and undergoing overfishing by NOAA Fisheries 
in October 2000. Secretarial Amendment 1 was developed to establish a 
rebuilding plan. As the actions being considered were likely to have 
significant social and economic impacts under NEPA, a Draft 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) was planned instead 
of initially preparing a less comprehensive EA. A Notice of Intent to 
prepare this DSEIS was published in the Federal Register on February 
15, 2002 (32 FR 7123).
    In September 2002, the Council's Reef Fish Stock Assessment Panel 
reviewed a new red grouper stock assessment prepared by the Southeast 
Fishery Science Center. The 2002 assessment confirmed the previous 
conclusion that red grouper were overfished in 1997, but found that the 
stock was in an improved condition by 2001. However, it had not yet 
reached the level needed to produce maximum sustainable yield on a 
continuing basis (BMSY). Therefore, a rebuilding plan is 
still needed. Because the current (2001) stock biomass is closer to 
BMSY than the biomass in 1997, a less restrictive rebuilding 
plan is needed to attain BMSY within 10 years or less. The 
original version of this Secretarial Amendment proposed a rebuilding 
plan divided into 3-year intervals. For the first 3-year interval, the 
original plan called for a 45-percent reduction from the 1990-2001 
average harvest, with harvest levels in subsequent years to be 
determined by future stock assessments. In the current version, a 9.5-
percent reduction from the 1999-2001 average harvest is the first 3-
year target.
    The proposed actions in Secretarial Amendment 1 are not presently 
expected to have a significant impact on the human environment. 
Consequently, NOAA Fisheries is initially preparing an EA, rather than 
proceeding directly to a DSEIS, in support of Secretarial Amendment 1 
to the Reef Fish FMP. If the EA results in a Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FONSI), the EA and FONSI will be the final environmental 
documents required by NEPA. If the EA reveals that significant 
environmental impacts may be reasonably expected to result from the 
proposed actions, NOAA Fisheries will prepare a DSEIS to further 
evaluate those impacts.
    This announcement is intended to inform the public of the change 
from preparation of a DSEIS to preparation of an EA for Secretarial 
Amendment 1 to the Reef Fish FMP.

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

    Dated: September 29, 2003.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-25147 Filed 10-2-03; 8:45 am]
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