[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57859-57860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-19868]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 092705C]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 14 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of 
the Gulf of Mexico and Amendment 27 to the Fishery Management Plan for 
the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico; Scoping Meetings

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

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

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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) 
intends to prepare a draft supplemental environmental impact statement 
(DSEIS) to describe and analyze management alternatives to be included 
in a joint amendment to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 
Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Shrimp FMP) and the FMP for the 
Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP). These 
alternatives will consider measures to reduce red snapper fishing 
mortality and bycatch in the shrimp and reef fish fisheries. The 
purpose of this notice of intent is to solicit public comments on the 
scope of issues to be addressed in the DSEIS.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
DSEIS must be received by the Council by November 3, 2005. A series of 
scoping meetings will be held in October 2005. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for specific dates and times.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the DSEIS, and requests for 
additional information on the joint amendment, should be sent to the 
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 2203 North Lois Avenue, 
Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607; phone: 813-348-1630; fax: 813-348-1711. 
Comments may also be sent by e-mail to: [email protected].
    The locations of all scoping meetings are provided under the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Leard by phone: 813-348-1630, by 
fax: 813-348-1711, or by e-mail: [email protected].

[[Page 57860]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Shrimp and reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico 
are managed under their respective FMPs. Both fisheries contribute to 
fishing mortality of red snapper.
    Age 0 and Age 1 red snapper are taken by shrimp trawls, and Age 2 
and older red snapper are caught in the directed commercial and 
recreational red snapper fishery. Because red snapper are overfished 
and are undergoing overfishing, reducing fishing mortality on these 
younger age classes is needed to help rebuild the stock. Actions to 
reduce bycatch of red snapper are anticipated to reduce bycatch fishing 
mortality for other reef fish species as well.
    The Council will develop a DSEIS to describe and analyze management 
alternatives to reduce bycatch fishing mortality in the shrimp and reef 
fish fisheries. Those alternatives include, but are not limited to: (1) 
a ``no action'' alternative regarding each fishery; (2) alternatives to 
reduce bycatch in the directed reef fish fishery, such as changes to 
the size limits or bag limits, the use of circle hooks, or closed 
seasons; (3) alternatives to reduce reef fish bycatch in the shrimp 
fishery, such as season or area closures; and (4) alternatives to 
reduce and monitor effort in the shrimp fishery.
    In accordance with NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6, Section 
5.02(c), the Council has identified 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.
    The Council has scheduled the following eight scoping meetings to 
provide the opportunity for additional public input:
    1. Thursday, October 13, 2005, DoubleTree Grand Key Resort, 3990 
South Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, FL 33040, phone: 888-310-1540;
    2. Monday, October 17, 2005, National Marine Fisheries Service 
Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL 32408, phone: 850-
234-6541;
    3. Tuesday, October 18, 2005, Hilton Garden Inn Orange Beach, 23092 
Perdido Beach Boulevard, Orange Beach, AL 36561, phone: 251-974-1600;
    4. Wednesday, October 19, 2005, Tampa Marriott Westshore, 1001 
North Westshore Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33607, phone: 813-287-2555;
    5. Monday, October 24, 2005, Four Points by Sheraton, 3777 North 
Expressway, Brownsville, TX 78520, phone: 956-547-1500;
    6. Tuesday, October 25, 2005, University of Texas Marine Science 
Institute Auditorium, 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, TX 78373, 
phone: 361-749-6711;
    7. Wednesday, October 26, 2005, Holiday Inn Galveston, 5002 Seawall 
Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77550, phone: 409-740-3581; and
    8. Thursday, October 27, 2005, Louisiana State University 
Agricultural Center Office, 7101 Gulf Highway, Lake Charles, LA 70607, 
phone: 337-475-8812.
    Copies of the scoping document will be available at the meetings 
and are available prior to the meetings from the Council office (see 
ADDRESSES).
    All scoping meetings will begin at 6 p.m. The meetings will be 
physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign 
language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to 
Rick Leard at the Council (see ADDRESSES) by October 6, 2005.
    Once the Council completes the DSEIS associated with the joint 
amendment to the Shrimp and Reef Fish FMPs, it will submit the document 
to NMFS for filing with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The 
EPA will publish a notice of availability of the DSEIS for public 
comment in the Federal Register. The DSEIS will have a 45-day comment 
period. This procedure is pursuant to regulations issued by the Council 
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for implementing the procedural 
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 40 CFR parts 
1500-1508) and to NAO 216-6 regarding NOAA's compliance with NEPA and 
the CEQ regulations.
    The Council will consider public comments received on the DSEIS in 
developing the final supplemental environmental impact statement 
(FSEIS) and before adopting final management measures for the joint 
amendment. The Council will submit both the final amendment and the 
supporting FSEIS to NMFS for review by the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act.
    NMFS will announce, through a document published in the Federal 
Register, the availability of the final joint amendment for public 
review during the Secretarial review period. During Secretarial review, 
NMFS will also file the FSEIS with the EPA for a final 30-day public 
comment period. This comment period will be concurrent with the 
Secretarial review period and will end prior to final agency action to 
approve, disapprove, or partially approve the final joint amendment.
    NMFS will announce, through a document published in the Federal 
Register, all public comment periods on the final joint amendment, its 
proposed implementing regulations, and its associated FSEIS. NMFS will 
consider all public comments received during the Secretarial review 
period, whether they are on the final amendment, the proposed 
regulations, or the FSEIS, prior to final agency action.

    Dated: September 28, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-19868 Filed 10-3-05; 8:45 am]
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