[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 98 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29482-29483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-2580]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 051805A]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Comprehensive Amendment for the Fishery Ecosystem Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement (DEIS); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) 
intends to prepare a DEIS to assess the impacts on the natural and 
human environment of the management measures proposed in its draft 
Fishery Ecosystem Plan Comprehensive Amendment.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
preliminary DEIS will be accepted through June 30, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for copies of the scoping document 
should be sent to Robert K. Mahood, Executive Director, South Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, 
Charleston, SC 29407-4699, PHONE: 1-866-SAFMC-10; FAX: 843-769-4520; 
email: [email protected].

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There has been recent interest in using 
ecosystem-based management principles to complement the current fishery 
management regime. It is believed that the incorporation of ecosystem-
based principles will improve upon a system that has largely been based 
on single-species stock assessment and management. Ecosystem principles 
include the consideration of information that has not been available in 
the past when managing fish stocks, including predator-prey 
interactions, the influence of weather and climate on the biological 
environment, the condition of the habitat/environment, and the role of 
species diversity to ecosystem functions.
    With the Habitat Plan as a cornerstone, the South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (Council) is developing an ecosystem-based approach 
to resource management. In doing so, the Council is initiating 
development of a comprehensive resource document that will present 
fishery and resource information for fisheries in the South Atlantic 
Bight ecosystem. This document, here referred to as the Fishery 
Ecosystem Plan (FEP), will build upon the detailed habitat information 
described in the Council's 1998 Habitat Plan for the South Atlantic. 
The FEP will describe the detailed ecological and socioeconomic 
information regarding southeast fisheries from an ecosystem 
perspective. Information will include the delineation of the 
geographical extent of the ecosystems, descriptions of species life 
histories, and the development of a conceptual model of the food web.
    Based upon the information developed in the FEP, the Council plans 
to establish a process to incorporate ecosystem information obtained 
through the FEP (and future FEP updates) into the current policy-making 
and management process. The proposed system calls for the initial 
development of a FEP as described above, in addition to the 
implementation of a 5-year system-wide evaluation cycle. The FEP will 
be reviewed, amended, and updated every five years with new scientific 
knowledge about ecosystem interactions. Concurrent with the development 
of the FEP will be a determination if new regulations should be 
incorporated into the current management system. If needed, existing 
fishery management plans (FMPs) will be amended through a FEP 
Comprehensive Amendment and in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act.
    In determining the actions to be taken in the initial FEP 
Comprehensive Amendment, the Council is adopting several 
recommendations from an Ecosystem Principles Advisory Panel 1999 report 
to Congress. The report outlined eight basic principles that should be 
contained in a FEP. Included in these are delineation of geographical 
extents of ecosystems that occur within the Council's authority, 
development of a conceptual model of the food web, and calculation of 
total removals from an ecosystem as a function of fishery-related 
actions. Using these eight principles as guidance, the Council is 
considering the following actions in the initial FEP Comprehensive 
Amendment/DEIS:
    1. In order to calculate and characterize total removals from the 
ecosystem as a consequence of fishery-related actions (i.e., landings, 
discards, bycatch), the Council is considering requiring a permit to 
fish for, harvest, or possess any resource in the EEZ for all 
recreational and commercial fishermen. Other alternatives to calculate 
and characterize total removals being considered include: Replace the 
current Snapper/Grouper and Mackerel paper logbook programs by 
implementing the use of electronic logbooks and implement the Atlantic 
Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program's (ACCSP) modules. These modules 
provide the minimum data elements to be collected by all ACCSP partners 
conducting data collection programs.
    2. The following three actions are being considered in order to 
comply with the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) final rule (published at 
67 FR 2343, January 17, 2002):
    a. Refine existing EFH and Essential Fish Habitat-Habitat Areas of 
Particular Concern (EFH-HAPCs) as necessary;
    b. Identify new EFH and/or EFH-HAPCs as necessary;
    c. Implement measures to reduce impacts of fishing and non-fishing 
impacts on EFH and EFH-HAPCs as necessary.
    3. Establishment of deep water coral HAPCs, with possible gear 
limitations in the newly protected areas, is being considered.
    4. For enforcement and data collection purposes, requiring Vessel 
Monitoring Systems (VMS) on commercial, for-hire, and/or private 
recreational vessels is being considered.
    5. The Council is considering amending the Mackerel FMP (as part of 
the Comprehensive FEP Amendment) with the following ten actions:
    a. Add little tunny, bonita, false albacore, greater barracuda, and 
blackfin tuna to the fishery management unit;
    b. Revert to utilizing a control rule in place of a quota-based 
management system;
    c. Modifications to the mackerel framework;
    d. Implement a permit to include all fisheries with an endorsement 
for mackerel;
    e. Add new qualifications for king mackerel.
    f. Prohibit the sale of recreationally caught coastal migratory 
pelagics;
    g. Implement a standardized bycatch reporting protocol;
    h. Modify the current bag, size, and trip limits;
    i. Implement a moratorium and limited-entry for Spanish mackerel; 
and
    j. Modify the king mackerel management boundaries.

[[Page 29483]]

    6. The Council is considering amending the Shrimp FMP with the 
following two actions:
    a. Investigate ways to reduce turtle mortality in the South 
Atlantic EEZ as a result of shrimp trawling (i.e., prohibition of 
shrimping during the night-time and gear adjustments); and
    b. Implement a limited-entry program for the penaeid shrimp 
fishery.
    7. In order to maintain the optimum size, age, and genetic 
structure of slow growing, long-lived, deepwater snapper and grouper 
species (e.g., snowy grouper, speckled hind, and yellowedge grouper) 
the Council is considering the use of marine protected areas (MPAs) in 
the South Atlantic EEZ. A total of nine proposed sites are currently 
being considered.
    8. Any other actions that the Council feels are necessary to 
implement ecosystem-based fishery management in the South Atlantic 
following the scoping process.
    In an effort to use the technical expertise in the region to 
develop the FEP, the Council has conducted a series of technical 
workshops during 2003 and 2004, while more are planned for 2005. In 
addition, the Council has been accepting public input on ecosystem-
based fisheries management at each of its Advisory Panel and Council 
meetings.
    Following publication of this Notice of Intent, the Council will 
conduct a public scoping period that will end on June 30, 2005, where 
comments will be accepted through electronic mail, mail, or fax. A 
scoping meeting to determine the scope of significant issues to be 
addressed in the DEIS will be conducted on June 13, 2005. The meeting 
will begin at 6 p.m. Following consideration of public comments, the 
Council plans to prepare and distribute the draft FEP Comprehensive 
Amendment/DEIS in late 2005. A comment period on the DEIS is planned, 
which will include public hearings to receive comments. Availability of 
the DEIS, the dates of the public comment period, and information about 
the public hearings will be announced in the Federal Register and in 
local news media.

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

    Dated: May 18, 2005.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-2580 Filed 5-20-05; 8:45 am]
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