[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4943-4944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1728]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XM50


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Comprehensive 
Annual Catch Limit Amendment

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

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

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) 
intends to prepare a DEIS to assess the impacts on the natural and 
human environment of the management measures proposed in its draft 
Comprehensive Annual Catch Limit Amendment (Comprehensive ACL 
Amendment) for the South Atlantic Region.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed in 
the DEIS will be accepted until February 27, 2009, at 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent by any of the following methods, mail: 
Kate Michie, NMFS, Southeast Regional Office, 263 13\th\ Avenue South, 
St. Petersburg, FL 33701; phone: 727-824-5305; fax: 727-824-5308; e-
mail: [email protected]. Scoping documents are available from the 
Council's Web site at www.safmc.net.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson, Public Information 
Officer, South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council, 4055 Faber Place 
Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405; phone: 843-571-4366, toll 
free 1-866-SAFMC-10; fax: 843-769-4520; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Revisions to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) in 2007 require 
that by 2010, fishery management plans (FMPs), for fisheries determined 
by the Secretary of Commerce to be subject to overfishing, must 
establish a mechanism for specifying annual catch limits (ACLs) at a 
level that prevents overfishing and does not exceed the recommendations 
of the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee or other 
established peer review processes. These FMPs are also required to 
establish, by 2010, accountability measures for fisheries subject to 
overfishing. ACLs and accountability measures for species undergoing 
overfishing in the FMP for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South 
Atlantic Region are being addressed in Amendment 17 to that FMP.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires the Council to establish, by 
2011, ACLs and accountability measures for all other fisheries, except 
fisheries for species with annual life cycles. ACL specifications 
intended to fulfill this 2011 requirement would be included in the 
subject Comprehensive ACL Amendment.
    In addition to ACLs and accountability measures, the Magnuson-
Stevens Act requires that the Council's Scientific and Statistical 
Committee specify overfishing levels and acceptable biological catch 
(ABC) levels for all species undergoing overfishing. The Comprehensive 
ACL Amendment may specify an ABC control rule that would describe how 
the ABC is to be calculated.
    The Council is also considering an action to remove some species 
from South Atlantic fishery management units (FMU)for respective FMPs, 
particularly those species that have a low occurrence in federal 
waters. The purpose of this action would be to ensure that fishery 
managers focus their attention and resources on species that are in 
need of conservation and management. Additionally, the Council is 
considering designating some species as Ecosystem Component species 
that are not part of a fishery but are in an FMP. Species may be 
included as Ecosystem Components in FMPs for data collection purposes; 
for ecosystem considerations related to optimum yield; and as 
considerations in the development of conservation and management 
measures for the associated fishery.
    The amendment may also limit total mortality of federally managed 
species in the South Atlantic to the annual catch targets (ACTs). To 
achieve this goal, the amendment may include measures such as 
commercial quotas, trip limits, vessel limits, size limits, bag limits, 
closed areas, closed seasons, and permit endorsements. Additionally, 
the Comprehensive ACL Amendment may address several issues concerning 
the spiny lobster fishery such as, trap impacts on staghorn and elkhorn 
corals, tailing permits, and the Federal 50-short rule that allows 
retention of undersized spiny lobster to be used as live attractants.
    This NOI is intended to inform the public of the preparation of a 
DEIS in support of the Comprehensive ACL Amendment. The DEIS may 
include: ACLs; ACTs; ecosystem component species; removing some species 
from South Atlantic FMUs; ABC control rule; and accountability 
measures; allocations among the commercial, recreational, and for-hire 
sectors for species not undergoing overfishing; limit total mortality 
for federally managed species to the ACTs; and address spiny lobster 
fishery issues. Following publication of this NOI, the Council will 
conduct public scoping meetings to determine the range of issues to be 
addressed in the DEIS and the associated Comprehensive ACL Amendment.
    Following consideration of public scoping comments, the Council 
plans to begin preparation of the draft Comprehensive ACL Amendment/
DEIS. The Council and its Scientific and Statistical Committee will 
review the draft Comprehensive ACL Amendment/DEIS in 2009. If the 
Council approves the document, public review may take place in late 
2009. A comment period on the DEIS is planned, which will

[[Page 4944]]

include public hearings to receive comments. A Federal Register notice 
will announce the availability of the DEIS associated with this 
amendment, 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 review, approval, and implementation. NMFS will 
announce in the Federal Register the availability of the final 
amendment and FEIS for public review during the Secretarial review 
period, and will consider all public comments prior to final agency 
action to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the final 
amendment.

Scoping Meetings, Times, and Locations

    All meetings will begin at 3 p.m. In addition to the Comprehensive 
ACL Amendment, the Council intends to scope additional amendments at 
this series of meetings, for which separate notices have been prepared. 
The meetings will be physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for information packets or for sign language interpretation or 
other auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Monday, January 26, 2009--Hilton Garden Inn, 5265 International 
Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29418; phone: 843-308-9330.
    Tuesday, January 27, 2009--Bridge Pointe Hotel, 101 Howell Rd., New 
Bern, NC 28582; phone: 252-636-3637.
    Tuesday, February 3, 2009--Key Largo Grande, 97000 Overseas Hwy., 
Key Largo, FL 33037; phone: 305-852-5553.
    Wednesday, February 4, 2009--Doubletree Hotel, 2080 N. Atlantic 
Ave., Cocoa Beach, FL 32931; phone: 321-783-9222.
    Thursday, February 5, 2009--Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, 175 
Bourne Ave., Pooler, GA 31322; phone: 912-748-8888.

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

    Dated: January 22, 2009.
Alan D. Risenhoover
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E9-1728 Filed 1-27-09; 8:45 am]
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