[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 42 (Monday, March 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9734-9735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3777]



[[Page 9734]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 022207C]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 30 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources 
of the Gulf of Mexico

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

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

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SUMMARY: NMFS, Southeast Region, in collaboration with the Gulf of 
Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) intends to prepare a DEIS 
to describe and analyze management alternatives to be included in an 
amendment to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico. These alternatives will consider 
measures to reduce gag, red grouper, greater amberjack, and gray 
triggerfish fishing mortality in the reef fish fishery, and to set 
status determination criteria for gag, greater amberjack, gray 
triggerfish, and other species in the fishery management unit. The 
purpose of this notice of intent is to solicit public comments on the 
scope of issues to be addressed in the DEIS.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
DEIS must be received by NMFS by April 4, 2007. Seven scoping meetings 
will be held in March 2007. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific 
dates and times.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the DEIS, suggested 
alternatives and potential impacts, and requests for additional 
information on the amendment should be sent to Peter Hood, NMFS, 
Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 
33701-5511; telephone (727) 824-5305; fax (727) 824-5308. Comments may 
also be sent by email to [email protected].
    Requests for information packets and for sign language 
interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to the Gulf 
of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 2203 North Lois Avenue, Suite 
1100, Tampa, FL 33607; telephone: 813-348-1630; fax: 813-348-1711. 
Requests may also be sent by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Hood; phone: (727) 824-5305; 
fax: (727) 824-5308; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Recent stock assessments of three reef fish 
stocks and ongoing assessment of the red grouper stock indicate 
revisions may be needed in these stocks' management. Gag were declared 
to be undergoing overfishing in October 2006 based on the results of a 
stock assessment; thus it is necessary for NMFS in collaboration with 
the Council to set a total allowable catch (TAC) and management 
measures to end overfishing, and to set some management thresholds and 
targets to ensure compliance with the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 
(SFA).
    Red grouper are under a rebuilding plan as a result of being 
overfished in 1997. In 2002, a stock assessment concluded that red 
grouper were still undergoing overfishing, though no longer in an 
overfished condition. A new stock assessment has been completed that 
re-evaluates the status of the red grouper stock and will be reviewed 
by NMFS and the Council soon.
    Greater amberjack have been under a rebuilding plan since 2003. 
However, a new stock assessment completed in 2006 concluded the stock 
is not recovering as projected. It remains overfished and is undergoing 
overfishing. Therefore, management measures are needed to end 
overfishing and realign harvest with the rebuilding plan to continue 
stock recovery.
    Gray triggerfish were declared to be undergoing overfishing in 
October 2006 based on the most recent stock assessment. The overfished 
status could not be determined due to uncertainty about the stock-
recruitment relationship; however, stock biomass trends in the 
assessment suggested the stock could be approaching an overfished 
condition. In addition, NMFS and the Council will set management 
thresholds and targets for gray triggerfish to ensure compliance with 
the SFA, including setting TAC and management measures to end 
overfishing.
    All reef fish species in the fishery management unit have 
overfishing definitions, which were developed in a generic amendment to 
the Council's FMPs. To ensure compliance with the SFA, NMFS and the 
Council will set optimum yield and overfished definitions where 
necessary for the remaining species in the management unit that do not 
have these definitions.
    NMFS in collaboration with the Council will develop a DEIS to 
describe and analyze management alternatives to reduce overfishing and 
to establish SFA status criteria for these four stocks. Those 
alternatives include, but are not limited to: a ``no action'' 
alternative regarding each fishery; alternatives to set TAC consistent 
with each species' stock status and rebuilding plan (if required); 
constraint of harvest to each stocks' TAC through measures such as size 
limits, bag limits, gear restrictions, season closures, and area 
closures; and establishment of status determination criteria for gag 
and gray triggerfish.
    In accordance with NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6, Section 
5.02(c), Scoping Process, NMFS in collaboration with the Council has 
identified preliminary environmental issues as a means to initiate 
discussion for scoping purposes only. These preliminary issues may not 
represent the full range of issues that eventually will be evaluated in 
the EIS.
    NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, has scheduled the 
following seven scoping meetings to provide the opportunity for 
additional public input:
    1. Monday, March 19, 2007, Imperial Palace Hotel, 850 Bayview 
Avenue, Biloxi, MS 39530, phone: 228-432-3216;
    2. Monday, March 19, 2007, City of Orange Beach Parks & Recreation, 
27235 Canal Road, Orange Beach, AL 36561, phone: 251-981-6028;
    3. Tuesday, March 20, 2007, Four Points Sheraton Hotel, New Orleans 
Airport, 6401 Veterans Memorial Boulevard, Metairie, LA 70003, phone: 
504-885-5700;
    4. Tuesday, March 20, 2007, Edgewater Beach Resort, 11212 Front 
Beach Road, Panama City, FL 32407, phone: 800-331-6338;
    5. Wednesday, March 21, 2007, Hilton Galveston Island Resort, 5400 
Seawall Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77550, phone: 409-744-1500;
    6. Wednesday, March 21, 2007, Best Western Hotel, 6400 Dudley 
Drive, Naples, FL 34105, phone: 239-643-6655;
    7. Thursday, March 22, 2007, City of Madeira Beach, 300 Municipal 
Drive, Madeira Beach, FL 33708, phone: 727-391-9951.
    Copies of an information packet will be available at the meetings 
and are available prior to the meetings from the Council (see 
ADDRESSES).
    All scoping meetings will begin at 7 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 
the Council (see ADDRESSES).
    Once the DEIS associated with Amendment 30 is completed, it will be 
filed with the Environmental Protection

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Agency (EPA). The EPA will publish a notice of availability of the DEIS 
for public comment in the Federal Register. The DEIS 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 NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6 regarding NOAA's 
compliance with NEPA and the CEQ regulations.
    NMFS will consider public comments received on the DEIS in 
developing the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) and before 
adopting final management measures for the amendment. NMFS will submit 
both the final amendment and the supporting FEIS to the Secretary of 
Commerce (Secretary) for review as per the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act.
    NMFS will announce, through a notice published in the Federal 
Register, the availability of the final amendment for public review 
during the Department of Commerce Secretarial review period. During 
Secretarial review, NMFS will also file the FEIS with the EPA, and the 
EPA will publish a notice of availability for the FEIS in the Federal 
Register. 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 amendment.
    NMFS will announce, through a notice published in the Federal 
Register, all public comment periods on the final amendment, its 
proposed implementing regulations, and the availability of its 
associated FEIS. NMFS will consider all public comments received during 
the Secretarial review period, whether they are on the final amendment, 
the proposed regulations, or the FEIS, prior to final agency action.

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

    Dated: February 27, 2007.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-3777 Filed 3-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S