[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 117 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34136-34137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13724]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 060704E]


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.

[[Page 34137]]


ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has requested the Center for Independent Experts (CIE) to 
conduct a peer review of the agency's evaluation of the effects of 
fishing on Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) in Alaska. CIE is a group 
affiliated with the University of Miami that provides independent peer 
reviews of NMFS science nationwide, including reviews of stock 
assessments for fish and marine mammals. The evaluation of the effects 
of fishing on EFH was completed in support of the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) for EFH Identification and Conservation in 
Alaska. The CIE review will examine whether the evaluation incorporates 
the best available scientific information and provides a reasonable 
approach to understanding the effects of fishing on habitat in Alaska. 
As part of this review, NMFS will hold a public meeting between the CIE 
panel and the NMFS scientists who designed the analysis and the 
underlying model.

DATES: The public meeting will be held June 29, 2004, from 9 a.m. - 5 
p.m. Pacific daylight time.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will convene at the NMFS Alaska Fisheries 
Science Center, Jim Traynor Conference Room, Building 4, 7600 Sand 
Point Way NE, Seattle, WA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jon Kurland, Assistant Regional 
Administrator for Habitat Conservation, 907-586-7638.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Steven Act) requires NMFS and Fishery Management Councils 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. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (North Pacific 
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 North Pacific 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 Councils had adequately 
evaluated the effects of fishing on EFH and had 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 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). The 
DEIS is available on the internet at www.fakr.noaa.gov/habitat/seis/efheis.htm. The public comment period closed April 15, 2004.
    The DEIS analysis of the effects of fishing on EFH has two 
components: (1) a quantitative mathematical model to show the expected 
long term effects of fishing on habitat, and (2) a qualitative 
assessment of how those changes affect fish stocks. After considering 
the available tools and methodologies for assessing effects of fishing 
on habitat, NMFS, the North Pacific Council, and the North Pacific 
Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee concluded that the model 
and analysis incorporate the best available scientific information and 
provide a good approach to understanding the impacts of fishing 
activities on habitat. Nevertheless, the model has not been subjected 
to a formal peer review. Given the newness of the model, the importance 
of this analysis for Alaska's fisheries, and the controversial nature 
of the subject matter, NMFS determined that an outside peer review is a 
prudent step that will strengthen the administrative record for the 
agency's decisions.
    The CIE panel will consist of five reviewers plus a chair. The 
panel will review materials related to the topic, participate in a 
workshop with the NMFS scientists who developed the model and the 
analytical approach, and produce a report. The final report is due in 
August 2004 and will consist of individual reports from each panelist 
plus a summary report. The chair will present the results of the review 
during the October 2004 North Pacific Council meeting. Further 
information, including the statement of work for the CIE review and all 
of the documents NMFS is asking the panel to review, is available on 
the internet at www.fakr.noaa.gov/habitat/cie/review.htm.

Special Accommodations

    The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for special accommodations should be directed to Mary B. 
Goode, (907) 586-7636, at least five working days before the meeting 
date.

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

    Dated: June 10, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-13724 Filed 6-14-04; 4:55 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S