[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 44 (Friday, March 5, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 10428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5019]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 021704B]


Groundfish Fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
(BSAI) Area and the Gulf of Alaska, King and Tanner Crab Fisheries in 
the BSAI, Scallop and Salmon Fisheries Off the Coast of Alaska

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

ACTION: Notice of public meetings for the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Identification and 
Conservation in Alaska.

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SUMMARY: NMFS and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) have completed a DEIS for EFH in Alaska. The DEIS evaluates 
alternatives and environmental consequences for the following three 
actions: describing and identifying EFH for fisheries managed by the 
Council; adopting an approach for the Council to identify Habitat Areas 
of Particular Concern (HAPCs) within EFH; and minimizing to the extent 
practicable the adverse effects of Council-managed fishing on EFH. NMFS 
and the Council will hold three public meetings during the DEIS' 
comment period.

DATES: Public meetings will be held in March and April 2004. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION under the heading ``Meeting Dates, Times, and 
Locations'' for specific dates and times of the public meetings.

ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION under the heading ``Meeting 
Dates, Times, and Locations'' for specific locations of the public 
meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary B. Goode, (907) 586-7636.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires NMFS and the Council to describe and 
identify EFH in fishery management plans (FMPs), minimize to the extent 
practicable the adverse effects of fishing on EFH, and identify other 
actions to encourage the conservation and enhancement of EFH. Federal 
agencies that authorize, fund, or undertake actions that may adversely 
affect EFH must consult with NMFS, and NMFS must provide conservation 
recommendations to Federal and state agencies regarding actions that 
would adversely affect EFH. The Council also has authority to comment 
on Federal or state agency actions that would adversely affect the 
habitat, including EFH, of managed species.
    The Council amended its FMPs for the groundfish, crab, scallop, and 
salmon fisheries in 1998 to address the EFH requirements. The Secretary 
of Commerce, acting through NMFS, approved the Council's EFH FMP 
amendments in January 1999 (64 FR 20216; April 26, 1999). In the spring 
of 1999, a coalition of seven environmental groups and two fishermen's 
associations filed suit in the United States District Court for the 
District of Columbia to challenge NMFS' approval of EFH FMP amendments 
prepared by the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, New England, North Pacific, 
and Pacific Fishery Management Councils. The focus of the litigation 
was whether NMFS and the Council had adequately evaluated the effects 
of fishing on EFH and taken appropriate measures to mitigate adverse 
effects. In September 2000, the court upheld NMFS' approval of the EFH 
amendments under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, but ruled that the 
environmental assessment (EA) prepared for the amendments violated the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The court ordered NMFS to 
complete new and thorough NEPA analyses for each EFH amendment in 
question. The DEIS for EFH Identification and Conservation in Alaska is 
the curative NEPA analysis for the North Pacific Council's FMPs. A 
notice of availability for the DEIS was published in the Federal 
Register on January 16, 2004 (69 FR 2593) and is available on the 
internet at www.fakr.noaa.gov/habitat/seis/efheis.htm. NMFS is 
accepting public comments through April 15, 2004.
    Most of the controversy surrounding the necessary level of 
protection needed for EFH concerns the effects of fishing activities on 
sea floor habitats. Substantial differences of opinion exist as to the 
extent and significance of habitat alteration caused by bottom trawling 
and other fishing activities. The DEIS reexamines the effects of 
fishing on EFH, presents a wider range of alternatives, and provides a 
more thorough analysis of potential impacts than the EA approved in 
1999. Because the court did not limit its criticism of the 1999 
analysis solely to the section that considered the effects of fishing 
on EFH, the DEIS also reexamines options for identifying EFH and HAPCs.
    The actions the Council and NMFS take in association with the DEIS 
may result in new FMP amendments to modify the existing EFH and/or HAPC 
designations and/or to implement additional measures to reduce the 
effects of fishing on EFH.

Meeting Dates, Times, and Locations

    NMFS and the Council will hold public meetings as follows:
    1. Friday, March 19, 2004, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Alaska local time (ALT) 
- NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Jim Traynor Conference Room, 
Building 4, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA.
    2. Wednesday, March 31, 2004, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. ALT - Anchorage 
Hilton, Katmai/Dillingham Room, 500 West Third Avenue, Anchorage, AK.
    3. Thursday, April 8, 2004, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. ALT - NMFS Alaska 
Regional Office, 709 West 9\th\ Street, Room 445, Juneau, AK.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for special accommodations should be directed to 
Mary B. Goode (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least five 
working days before the meeting date.

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

    Dated: March 1, 2004.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-5019 Filed 3-4-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S