[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 150 (Friday, August 4, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44260-44261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12650]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 072806B]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
South Atlantic Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 15

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

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

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) is 
preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to assess the 
environmental impacts of a range of management actions proposed in its 
draft Amendment 15 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan of 
the South Atlantic (FMP). This notice is intended to supplement notices 
published in January 2002, September 2003, and July 2005, announcing 
the preparations of DEISs for FMP Amendments 13, 13B, and 13C, 
respectively.

DATES: Comments on the scope of the DEIS will be accepted through 
September 5, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Jack McGovern, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Avenue South, 
St. Petersburg, FL 33701; Phone: 727-824-5311; Fax: 727-824-5308; 
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: The snapper grouper fishery operating in the 
South Atlantic exclusive economic zone is managed under the FMP. 
Following Council preparation, this FMP was approved and implemented by 
NMFS in March 1983, under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
    The actions proposed in FMP Amendment 15 originated from the

[[Page 44261]]

Council's work on Amendment 13, which contained a broad range of 
actions to define management reference points, end overfishing and 
rebuild overfished stocks, consider a multispecies approach to 
management, address bycatch, modify permit renewal and transferability 
requirements, and address the scheduled sunset of regulations 
protecting the Oculina Experimental Closed Area. NMFS published a 
notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS in association with Amendment 
13 in the Federal Register on January 31, 2002 (67 FR 4696), then later 
supplemented that notice on September 12, 2003 (68 FR 53706) and, 
again, on July 26, 2005 (70 FR 46126).
    The first NOI supplement announced the Council's intent to transfer 
the Oculina Experimental Closed Area action from Amendment 13 to 
Snapper Grouper FMP Amendment 13A, and the remaining actions in 
Amendment 13 to Snapper Grouper FMP Amendment 13B. This decision was 
intended to ensure the Council adequate time to fully evaluate a range 
of actions to address overfishing, rebuilding, and other issues in the 
snapper grouper fishery without compromising the Council's ability to 
act on the Oculina Experimental Closed Area before its scheduled sunset 
date of June 27, 2004.
    The second NOI supplement announced the Council's intent to address 
overfishing and a few other priority actions in a regulatory amendment, 
which later became Amendment 13C. This decision was intended to ensure 
extended debate about multispecies management and other actions in 
Amendment 13B did not delay Council action to effectively address 
overfishing of snowy grouper, golden tilefish, vermilion snapper, and 
black sea bass.
    During its December 2005 meeting, the Council decided to transfer 
from Amendment 13B to Amendment 15 actions to define management 
reference points and rebuilding plans, as needed, for the select stocks 
addressed in Amendment 13C. This action is intended to ensure the 
timely implementation of biological reference points, status 
determination criteria, and rebuilding schedules and strategies for 
these stocks before the Southeast Data Assessment and Review 
assessments describing their status become outdated.
    The Council also will consider in Amendment 15: establishing a 
strategy to ensure stock rebuilding stays on schedule should the total 
allowable catch levels specified in rebuilding plans be exceeded; 
adjusting the golden tilefish fishing year and trip limit strategy; 
eliminating the 12-inch (30.5-cm) total length minimum size limit 
regulation for the queen snapper and silk snapper; requiring a Federal 
commercial snapper grouper permit to sell snapper grouper species 
harvested in Federal waters of the South Atlantic and limiting sales to 
only those fish captured on commercial trips; establishing a deep-water 
grouper unit to further minimize bycatch of deep-water grouper species; 
implementing measures to minimize bycatch mortality of sea turtles and 
smalltooth sawfish; establishing a method to monitor and assess bycatch 
in the snapper grouper fishery; and modifying commercial snapper 
grouper permit renewal and transferability requirements. All other 
actions referenced above and not evaluated in Amendments 13A, 13B, 13C, 
or 15 continue to remain in Amendment 13B.
    This NOI supplement announces the Council's intent to prepare a 
DEIS in association with Amendment 15. A Federal Register notice will 
announce the availability of the DEIS, as well as a 45-day public 
comment period, pursuant to regulations issued by the Council on 
Environmental Quality for implementing the National Environmental 
Policy Act and to NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6. The Council will 
consider public comments received on the DEIS in developing the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), and before voting to submit the 
final amendment to NMFS for Secretarial consideration. NMFS will 
announce in the Federal Register the availability of the final 
amendment and FEIS during the Secretarial review period, and will 
consider all public comments prior to agency action to approve, 
disapprove, or partially approve the final amendment.

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

    Dated: July 31, 2006.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-12650 Filed 8-3-06; 8:45 am]
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