[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 90 (Thursday, May 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26082-26084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10275]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-AW75


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring 
Fishery; Scoping Process

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) and notice of initiation of scoping process; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) announces 
its intent to prepare an amendment (Amendment 4) to the Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Herring and to prepare an EIS to 
analyze the impacts of any proposed management measures. The goals of 
the amendment are to improve monitoring of catch in the Atlantic 
herring (herring) fishery and to manage the fishery at long-term 
sustainable levels, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The Council is initiating a 
public process to determine the scope of alternatives to be addressed 
in the amendment and EIS. NMFS is alerting the interested public of the 
commencement of the scoping process and providing for public 
participation in compliance with environmental documentation 
requirements.

DATES: Written and electronic scoping comments must be received on or 
before 5 p.m., local time, June 30, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on Amendment 4 may be sent by any of the 
following methods:
     E-mail to the following address: 
[email protected];
     Mail to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 
Mark the outside of the envelope ``Scoping Comments on Herring 
Amendment 4;'' or
     Fax to Patricia A. Kurkul, 978-281-9135.
    Requests for copies of the scoping document and other information 
should be directed to Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England 
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 
01950, telephone 978-465-0492. The scoping document is accessible 
electronically via the Internet at http://www.nefmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council, 978-465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The U.S. herring fishery is managed as one stock complex along the 
East Coast from Maine to Cape Hatteras, NC, although evidence suggests 
that separate spawning components exist within the stock complex. The 
Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) 
adopted management measures for the herring fishery in state and 
Federal waters in 1999, and NMFS approved most of the management 
measures in the Herring

[[Page 26083]]

FMP on October 27, 1999. The Herring FMP became effective on January 
10, 2001.
    The state and Federal management plans contain similar management 
measures. The state and Federal management plans for herring establish 
total allowable catches (TACs) levels in each of four management areas. 
Under ASFMC's management plan, there are spawning area restrictions and 
requirements for vessels to take specified days out of the fishery for 
state waters. Both plans include limits on the size of vessels that can 
take, catch, or harvest herring. Each plan includes administrative 
elements, such as requirements for vessel, dealer, and processor 
permits and reporting requirements.
    Amendment 1 to the Herring FMP was developed by the Council and 
became effective on June 1, 2007. It established elements of a limited 
access program for the herring fishery and a seasonal purse seine and 
fixed gear-only area in the inshore Gulf of Maine. Several additional 
management measures were also included which primarily addressed issues 
related to the herring fishery specifications, management area 
boundaries, fixed gear fisheries for herring, and the regulatory 
definition of midwater trawl gear.
    Amendment 2 to the Herring FMP was part of an omnibus amendment 
developed by NMFS to ensure that all FMPs of the Northeast Region 
comply with the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) 
requirements of the MSA. The purpose of the SBRM amendment was to: (1) 
Explain the methods and processes by which bycatch is currently 
monitored and assessed for Northeast Region fisheries; (2) determine 
whether these methods and processes need to be modified and/or 
supplemented; (3) establish standards of precision for bycatch 
estimation for all Northeast Region fisheries; and (4) document the 
SBRMs established for all fisheries managed through the FMPs of the 
Northeast Region.
    Amendment 3 to the Herring FMP is currently under development by 
the Council and represents an omnibus amendment to all Council FMPs to 
address Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consistent with the MSA. The 
amendment proposes to redefine, refine, or update the identification 
and description of all EFH for those species of finfish and mollusks 
managed by the Council, and identify and implement mechanisms to 
minimize to the extent practicable the adverse effects of fishing on 
the EFH.
    For Federal waters, the Council developed, and NMFS, approved 3-
year specifications (2007-2009) that specify an Allowable Biological 
Catch (ABC) of 194,000 mt and established an optimum yield (OY) of 
145,000 mt for the herring fishery. Based on data and analysis 
presented in the most recent stock assessment and at the 2006 
Transboundary Resource Assessment Committee (TRAC) Meeting, the Area 1A 
TAC was reduced from 60,000 mt to 50,000 mt for 2007, and 45,000 mt for 
2008 and 2009. The Area 3 TAC was set at 55,000 mt in 2007, and 
increased to 60,000 mt in 2008 and 2009. The Area 1B and Area 2 TACs 
were set at 10,000 mt and 30,000 mt, respectively, and remain constant 
during the 3-year specification period.
    Additional management measures are being considered in Amendment 4 
to the Herring FMP for several reasons. The original Herring FMP and 
Amendment 1 represent important milestones in the Council's efforts to 
maintain a sustainably managed herring fishery throughout the 
Northeast. Recently, concerns about the fishery have led the Council to 
determine that additional action is needed to further address issues 
related to the health of the herring resource throughout its range, how 
the resource is harvested, how catch/bycatch are accounted for, and the 
important role of herring as a forage fish in the Northeast region. 
These concerns are reflected in the unprecedented level of interest in 
managing this fishery by New England's commercial and recreational 
fishermen, eco-tourism and shoreside businesses, and the general 
public.
    Finally, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA) requires that NMFS and the Councils 
establish Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) and Accountability Measures (AMs) 
by the year 2011 for every federally managed fishery that is not 
subject to overfishing. The MSRA also includes new provisions for the 
formation of Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPPs). Amendment 4 is 
therefore necessary to update the Herring FMP in a manner that is 
consistent with the new requirements of the MSRA.

Measures Under Consideration

    The Herring Committee and the Council, through public meetings and 
after taking public comment, have identified a set of goals and 
objectives for this management action. In general, the goal of the 
amendment is to improve catch monitoring and ensure compliance with the 
MSRA. The management measures developed in this amendment may address 
one or more of the following objectives:
    1. To implement measures to improve the long-term monitoring of 
catch (landings and bycatch) in the herring fishery;
    2. To implement ACLs and AMs consistent with the MSRA;
    3. To implement other management measures as necessary to ensure 
compliance with the new provisions of the MSRA;
    4. To develop a sector allocation process or other LAPP for the 
herring fishery; and
    5. In the context of objectives 1-4 (above), to consider the health 
of the herring resource and the important role of herring as a forage 
fish and a predator fish throughout its range.
    The Council will develop conservation and management measures to 
address the issues identified above and meet the goals/objectives of 
the amendment. Any conservation and management measures developed in 
this amendment also must comply with all applicable laws.
    The Council is also considering measures in this amendment to 
address concerns about potential herring bycatch in the Atlantic 
mackerel fishery and is seeking scoping comments on this issue. The 
concerns relate to vessels that may be directing on mackerel without a 
limited access permit for herring, and consequently without the ability 
to retain the herring they may catch incidentally when targeting 
mackerel. The TAC in Areas 2 and 3 is not fully utilized at this time, 
so it may be appropriate to provide vessels in these areas an 
opportunity to retain the herring they may catch when fishing for 
mackerel. This may help to better achieve OY for the fishery, while 
minimizing bycatch.
    All persons affected by or otherwise interested in herring 
management are invited to participate in determining the scope and 
significance of issues to be analyzed in Amendment 4 by submitting 
written comments (see ADDRESSES) or by attending one of the meetings 
where scoping comments will be taken. Scoping consists of identifying 
the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts to be considered. 
Alternatives include the following: Not amending the FMP (taking no 
action); developing an amendment that addresses the goal and objectives 
discussed in this notice; or other reasonable courses of action. 
Impacts may be direct, individual, or cumulative. This scoping process 
will also identify and eliminate from detailed analysis issues that are 
not significant. When, after the scoping process is completed, the 
Council

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proceeds with the development of an amendment to the Herring FMP, the 
Council will prepare an EIS to analyze the impacts of a range of 
alternatives under consideration. The Council will hold public hearings 
to receive comments on the draft amendment and on the analysis of its 
impacts presented in the EIS.

Scoping Hearing Schedule

    The Council will discuss and take scoping comments at the following 
public meetings:
    1. Thursday, May 22, 2008, 9 a.m.; Clarion Hotel Portland, 1230 
Congress Street, Portland, ME 04102; telephone: (207) 774-5611.
    2. Monday, June 2, 2008, 5 p.m.; Holiday Inn By The Bay, 88 Spring 
Street, Portland, ME 04101; telephone: (207) 775-2311.
    3. Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 6 p.m.; Sheraton Atlantic City 
Convention Center Hotel, 2 Miss America Way, Atlantic City, NJ 08401; 
telephone: (609) 344-3535.

Special Accommodations

    The meetings are accessible to people with physical disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Paul J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days 
prior to this meeting date.

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

    Dated: May 1, 2008.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-10275 Filed 5-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S