[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 69 (Friday, April 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18875-18876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-8116]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 040104B]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the 
Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Limited Access; Scoping Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft supplemental environmental 
impact statement (DSEIS); notice of scoping meetings; and request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) 
intends to prepare a DSEIS that describes and analyzes management 
alternatives associated with limiting access in the king mackerel 
fishery. The purpose of this notice is to solicit public comments on 
the scope of issues to be addressed in the DSEIS, which will be 
submitted to NMFS for filing with the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA)

[[Page 18876]]

for publication of a Notice of Availability for public comment.

DATES: Written comments must be received by the Council by 5 p.m. on 
May 7, 2004 (See ADDRESSES). A series of scoping meetings will be held 
in April 2004. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates, 
location and times.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the DSEIS should be sent to 
the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, One Southpark Circle, 
Suite 306, Charleston, SC 29407- 4699; telephone: 843-571-4366 or toll 
free 1-866-SAFMC-10; FAX 843-769-4520; email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson, Public Information 
Officer; telephone: 843-571-4366 or toll free 1-866-SAFMC-10; fax: 843-
769-4520; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: King mackerel in the South Atlantic are 
managed jointly with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council 
under the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic 
Resources (Mackerel FMP). The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 
cooperates with the South Atlantic Council in developing management 
measures in the Atlantic. The king mackerel fishery currently operates 
under a moratorium on the issuance of new commercial vessel permits. 
The moratorium on new king mackerel permits was established by 
Amendment 8 to the Mackerel FMP in March 1998 (63 FR 10561; March 4, 
1998) and was extended with the implementation of Amendment 12 to the 
Mackerel FMP (65 FR 52955; August 31, 2000). It is scheduled to expire 
on October 15, 2005.
    The Council intends to develop a DSEIS that describes and analyzes 
management alternatives to limit entry in the king mackerel fishery. 
Those alternatives include, but are not limited to the following: (1) A 
``no action'' alternative that would allow the moratorium to expire; 
(2) an extension of the current moratorium for a designated time frame; 
or (3) The establishment of some form of license limitation system, 
including individual fishing quotas. If a license limitation system is 
chosen, the Council may also consider alternatives for different 
classes of licenses, initial qualification, initial allocations by 
license classes, transferability, and appeals regarding eligibility. 
Also included in the scoping document are alternatives for possible 
changes to the fishing year for Atlantic group king and Spanish 
mackerel.
    In accordance with NOAA Administrative Order 216-6, Section 
5.02(c), the Council has developed this preliminary range of 
alternatives as a means to initiate discussion for scoping purposes 
only. This may not represent the full range of alternatives that 
eventually will be evaluated by the Council. Copies of the scoping 
document will be available at the meetings and are available prior to 
the meetings from the Council office (see ADDRESSES).

Time and Location for Scoping Meetings

    Mackerel scoping will be held at the following dates and locations. 
All meetings are scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM.
    1. Tuesday, April 20, 2004, North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke 
Island, 374 Airport Road, Manteo, NC 27954; telephone: 252-473-3494;
    2. Wednesday, April 21, 2004, Blockade Runner Beach Resort, 530 
Causeway Drive, Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480; telephone: 910-256-0125;
    3. Thursday, April 22, 2004, Holiday Inn West on the Waterway, 101 
Outlet Boulevard, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579; telephone: 843-236-1000;
    4. Monday, April 26, 2004, Hyatt Regency Savannah, Two West Bay 
Street, Savannah, GA 31401; telephone: 912-238-1234;
    5. Tuesday, April 27, 2004, Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, 1617 North 
First Street, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250; telephone: 904- 249-9071;
    6. Wednesday, April 28, 2004, Radisson Beach Resort, North 
Hutchinson Island, 2600 North A1A, Fort Pierce, FL 34949; telephone: 
772-465-5544; and
    7. Thursday, April 29, 2004, Holiday Inn Key Largo, 99701 Overseas 
Highway, Key Largo, FL 33037; telephone: 305-451-2121.
    In addition, the Mid-Atlantic Council will hold a scoping meeting 
during its May 4-6, 2004, meeting at the Crown Plaza Meadowlands, 2 
Harmon Plaza, Secaucus, NJ 07094; telephone: 202 210-7231. The Mid-
Atlantic Council will include the exact time of the scoping meeting in 
its Federal Register notice for the Council meeting.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES) 
by April 15, 2004.

    Dated: April 6, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-8116 Filed 4-8-04; 8:45 am]
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