[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 174 (Friday, September 9, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53636-53637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17943]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 090105B]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Essential Fish 
Habitat Components of Certain Fishery Management Plans 5-year Review; 
Supplemental Scoping Process

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

ACTION: Supplemental Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); notice of supplemental scoping 
process; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On February 24, 2004, the New England Fishery Management 
Council (Council) in cooperation with NMFS announced its intent to 
prepare a programmatic EIS and Omnibus Amendment 2 to the Fishery 
Management Plans (FMPs) for Northeast Multispecies, Atlantic Sea 
Scallop, Monkfish, Atlantic Herring, Skates, Atlantic Salmon, and Red 
Crab. The purpose of this notification is to alert the interested 
public of the Council's intent to complete Omnibus Amendment 2 in a 
two-phased approach. Phase 1 (Volume 1 of the EIS) would include a 
review and update of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) designations and 
consideration of Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs) (not 
including consideration of management measures or restrictions), an 
update of the prey species list, an update of non-fishing impacts, and 
an update of research and information needs. Phase 2 (Volume 2 of the 
EIS) would include reviewing and updating a gear effects evaluation and 
optimizing management measures for minimizing the adverse effects of 
fishing on EFH across all FMPs, including the potential consideration 
of management measures for HAPCs designated in Phase 1. During this 
scoping period, the Council and NMFS are seeking comments on the phased 
approach only.

DATES: Written scoping comments must be received on or before 5 pm EST, 
October 11, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]
     Mail, Disk, or CD-Rom: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, 
MA 01950
     Fax: (978) 465-3116

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, New England Council, 
(978) 465-0492; Lou Chiarella, NMFS, (978) 281-9277.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Issues scoped under the NOI published 
February 24, 2004 (69 FR 8367) included: (1) the review and update of 
the description and identification of EFH; (2) the review and 
development of analytical tools used to analyze alternatives to 
minimize adverse effects of fishing on EFH; (3) the review and update 
of non-Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) fishery council management actions and fishing 
activities that may adversely affect EFH; (4) the review and update of 
non-fishing related activities that may adversely affect EFH; (5) the 
review and update of the cumulative impact analysis; (6) the review and 
update of conservation and enhancement recommendations; (7) the review 
and update of prey species information; the identification of new 
HAPCs; (8) the review and update of research and information needs 
including the consideration of Dedicated Habitat Research Areas (DHRA); 
and (9) the integration of alternatives to minimize any adverse effects 
of fishing on EFH across all FMPs principally managed by the

[[Page 53637]]

Council by developing a comprehensive EFH Management Plan. A complete 
description of the background and need for the Omnibus Amendment and a 
list of scoping hearings can be found in the original February 24, 
2004, NOI and are not repeated here.
    Due largely to public clarity and issues of complexity, the Council 
intends to complete the EFH Omnibus Amendment 2 action in two phases or 
volumes with one accompanying EIS and Magnuson-Stevens Act document. 
Separation of this large action into two phases (volumes) will allow 
for the continued sequential development of the Omnibus Amendment but 
avoids the creation of an extremely large and complex action that may 
not be decipherable from the public's perspective. Further, in order to 
meet the Sustainable Fisheries Act intention of the EFH mandate, it is 
prudent to take a step-wise approach. For instance, it is necessary to 
determine what is EFH prior to conducting an evaluation of the 
potential effects of fishing gear on EFH and to develop a range of 
alternatives to minimize, mitigate or avoid any impacts that are more 
than minimal and less than temporary in nature. As such, the Council 
would complete the Omnibus Amendment 2 in two phases. Phase 1 (Volume 1 
of the EIS) would include a review and update of EFH designations and 
consideration of HAPCs (not including consideration of management 
measures or restrictions), an update of prey species list, an update of 
non-fishing impacts, and an update of research and information needs. 
Phase 2 (Volume 2 of the EIS) would include reviewing and updating a 
gear effects evaluation and optimizing management measures for 
minimizing the adverse effects of fishing on EFH across all FMPs, 
including the potential consideration of management measures for HAPCs 
designated in Phase 1. The proposed sequence of events is described in 
Table 1.

            Table 1. Events or Milestones of Phased Approach.
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                     Step                           Event/Milestone
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1                                              Council files modified
                                                Notice of Intent to
                                                clearly explain to the
                                                public the new course of
                                                action.
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2                                              Council considers topics
                                                outlined in Phase 1 and
                                                develops a range of
                                                alternatives.
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3                                              Council prepares Draft
                                                Volume 1 of preliminary
                                                EIS to include
                                                components in Step 2.
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4                                              Public Hearings/Public
                                                Comment Period on Volume
                                                1.
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5                                              Council considers public
                                                comments and makes final
                                                decisions on Phase 1
                                                topics.
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6                                              Council completes Final
                                                Volume 1 containing
                                                analysis of Phase 1
                                                topics.
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7                                              Council considers topics
                                                outlined in Phase 2 and
                                                develops a range of
                                                alternatives.
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8                                              Council prepares Draft
                                                Volume 2 of EIS to
                                                include components in
                                                Step 7.
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9                                              Public Hearings / Public
                                                Comment Period on
                                                combined Volume 1 and
                                                Volume 2.
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10                                             Council considers public
                                                comments and makes final
                                                decisions on Phase 2
                                                topics.
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11                                             Council completes Final
                                                Volume 2 containing
                                                analysis of Phase 2
                                                topics.
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12                                             Council prepares and
                                                submits merged Volume 1
                                                and Volume 2 to NMFS as
                                                complete EIS/Magnuson-
                                                Stevens Act FMP
                                                Amendment documents.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
13                                             NMFS reviews EIS and
                                                issues a record of
                                                decision.
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    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: September 2, 2005.
Emily Menashes
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-17943 Filed 9-8-05; 8:45 am]
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