[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 192 (Friday, October 3, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57400-57401]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25148]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 092403H]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Proposed Amendment 13 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 
Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Notice of Preparation of 
Environmental Assessment

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: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) 
intends to prepare an EA, in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), for Amendment 13 to the Shrimp FMP.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed actions in Amendment 13 would 
establish a bycatch reporting methodology, as well as status criteria 
and benchmarks such as maximum sustainable yield, optimum yield, 
minimum stock size threshold, and maximum fishing mortality threshold, 
for penaeid and Royal Red shrimp stocks in the Gulf of Mexico. These 
actions were originally combined with other actions the Council was 
evaluating in Amendment 13 to the Shrimp FMP. However, this earlier 
Amendment 13 had become very complicated with the addition of measures 
to reduce effort and alternatives for a bycatch quota. The highest 
priorities were the establishment of status criteria and

[[Page 57401]]

benchmarks, and development of a standardized bycatch reporting 
methodology. At the May 2003 meeting, the Council voted to move all 
other parts of Amendment 13 into Amendment 14. Amendment 14 includes 
alternatives for vessel permits, effort reduction, bycatch quotas and 
improvement of collection of effort data.
    As some of the requirements being considered in the original 
Amendment 13 were likely to have significant social and economic 
impacts under NEPA, a Notice of Intent to prepare a Draft Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) was published in the Federal 
Register on August 19, 2002 (67 FR 53769). Once Amendment 14 was 
created, however, these requirements were moved into the new amendment.
    The proposed actions remaining in Amendment 13 are not presently 
expected to have a significant impact on the human environment. 
Consequently, an EA will initially be prepared rather than proceeding 
directly with a DSEIS. 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, the Council will prepare a DSEIS to further evaluate 
those impacts.
    This document is intended to inform the public of the change from 
the direct preparation of a DSEIS to the initial preparation of an EA 
for Amendment 13 to the Shrimp 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. 03-25148 Filed 10-2-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S