[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 134 (Friday, July 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39950-39951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15802]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-AV80


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Environmental Impact Statement 
for Amendment 30B

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

ACTION: Notice announcing the preparation of an environmental impact 
statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: NMFS, in cooperation with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council (Council), is preparing an EIS in accordance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Amendment 30B to the 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf 
of Mexico. This notice is intended to inform the public of the 
reconsideration from preparing an environmental assessment (EA) to 
preparing a draft EIS for Amendment 30B.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 5, 2007 (72 FR 9734), NMFS and the 
Council published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to prepare 
a draft EIS and to announce scoping meetings regarding the actions 
proposed in Amendment 30. Amendment 30 was being developed to describe 
and analyze management alternatives to manage fishing mortality and to 
establish status criteria for greater amberjack, gray triggerfish, gag, 
and red grouper in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act. Recent stock assessments completed 
under the Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review program indicated that 
management changes were warranted for these stocks.
    Based on comments received during the scoping process and further 
analyses needed for the gag and red grouper stock assessments, 
Amendment 30 was split into Amendments 30A and 30B. This allowed 
proposed actions to revise the greater amberjack rebuilding plan, end 
overfishing of gray triggerfish, and rebuild the gray triggerfish stock 
to proceed in Amendment 30A while the status of the gag and red grouper 
stocks were resolved. A supplemental EIS was prepared for Amendment 
30A, in part, due to significant increases in the stock biomass of 
greater amberjack and gray triggerfish as the two species recover from 
their respective overfished states. A Notice of Availability for the 
final supplemental EIS analyzing impacts on the human environment for 
Amendment 30A was published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2008 
(73 FR 21124).
    Actions to be described and analyzed in Amendment 30B include: 
setting gag thresholds and benchmarks; establishing gag and red grouper 
total allowable catch (TAC), interim

[[Page 39951]]

allocations, and accountability measures; ending overfishing of gag; 
managing gag and red grouper commercial and recreational harvests 
consistent with TAC; reducing grouper discard mortality; establishing 
seasonal-area closures; and requiring compliance with Federal fishery 
management regulations by federally permitted reef fish vessels when 
fishing in state waters. Based on further analysis of the environmental 
impacts of actions proposed in Amendment 30B, NMFS and the Council did 
not anticipate any significant impacts on the human environment and 
published a notice on March 7, 2008 (73 FR 12393) announcing an EA 
would be the appropriate NEPA document. Subsequent to this evaluation, 
the Council wished to examine a more extensive seasonal area closure to 
protect spawning aggregations of gag and other reef fish species. As a 
result of this and other changes, NMFS and the Council determined 
actions in Amendment 30B could be significant to the human environment 
and determined an EIS was required to further evaluate the impacts of 
Amendment 30B.

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

    Dated: July 7, 2008.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E8-15802 Filed 7-10-08; 8:45 am]
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