[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 73 (Friday, April 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17818-17819]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8888]



[[Page 17818]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-AX82


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Queen Conch Fishery 
of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and Amendment 5 to the Reef 
Fish Fishery Management Plan of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

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

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

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SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) and NMFS 
intend to prepare a DEIS to describe and analyze management 
alternatives to be included in an amendment to the Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) for the Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. 
Virgin Islands and the FMP for the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands. These alternatives will consider measures to 
implement annual catch limits (ACLs), accountability measures (AMs), 
permits, and recordkeeping and reporting requirements. 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 the Council by May 18, 2009. A series of 
scoping meetings will be held in April 2009. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION below for the specific dates, times, and locations of the 
scoping meetings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the DEIS and requests for 
additional information on the amendments should be sent to NMFS, 263 
13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, Florida 33701; telephone 727-824-
5350; fax 727-825-5308; or to the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 
268 Mu[ntilde]oz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108, San Juan, Puerto Rico 
00918; telephone 787-766-5927; fax 787-766-6239. Comments may also be 
sent by e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Rueter, phone 727-824-5305; fax 
727-824-5308; email [email protected]; or Graciela Garcia-Moliner, 
phone 787-766-5927; fax 787-766-6239; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 12, 2007, Congress amended the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) with 
passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Reauthorization Act (MSRA). While maintaining the requirement that 
``conservation and management measures shall prevent overfishing while 
achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery 
for the United States fishing industry,'' the MSRA added new 
requirements to end and prevent overfishing. The new requirement is the 
use of ACLs, including ``measures to ensure accountability.''
    Specifically, the MSRA requires that FMPs ``establish a mechanism 
for specifying annual catch limits in the plan (including a multiyear 
plan), implementing regulations, or annual specifications, at a level 
such that overfishing does not occur in the fishery, including measures 
to ensure accountability'' (MSRA Section 303(a)(15)). Further, the MSRA 
requires such measures be implemented by 2010 for fisheries determined 
by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to be subject to overfishing 
and by 2011 for all other fisheries.
    Currently, there are five species or species groups undergoing 
overfishing in the U.S. Caribbean. These groups are: Queen Conch 
(Strombus gigas), Parrotfish, Grouper Unit 1 (Nassau grouper), Grouper 
Unit 4 (tiger, yellowfin, red, misty, and yellowedge grouper), and 
Snapper Unit 1 (black, blackfin, silk, and vermilion snapper). These 
determinations were made during development of the Council's 
Sustainable Fisheries Act Amendment (SFA), as no stock assessments had 
yet been able to determine stock status in the U.S. Caribbean. These 
determinations were based on the informed judgment of those involved in 
the SFA working group, which included Federal, state, and local 
managers, scientists, and constituents.
    In an effort to set ACLs for these species and species groups, the 
Council, based on advice from its Scientific and Statistical Committee 
(SSC), convened a Technical Monitoring and Compliance Team (TMCT), 
whose task was to identify available data in the U.S. Caribbean and to 
recommend the appropriate data set to a second group, the Annual Catch 
Limit Group (ACLG). The ACLG, which was similar to the SFA working 
group, consisted of Federal, state, and local managers, scientists, and 
constituents. The ACLG was tasked to analyze the available data and 
make recommendations for required provisions of the National Standard 1 
(NS1) Guidelines to the SSC.
    Concurrent with the work of these groups, the Southeast Data, 
Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) process convened to evaluate all 
available data in the U.S. Caribbean in support of ACL development. The 
SEDAR findings, along with those of the ACLG were presented to the SSC 
for development of overfishing limits (OFL) and allowable biological 
catch (ABC) limits, as required by the NS1 guidelines (74 FR 3178). The 
SSC accepted eight scenarios for evaluation of available data developed 
by the ACLG. Each species or species group was examined via the 
scenario process and appropriate scientific advice was provided based 
on the outcome of the scenario. For the species and species groups 
listed above, the SSC determined no OFL or ABC could be provided. 
Therefore, the SSC could not refute the catch level recommendations of 
the ACLG which were derived from average annual landings in recent 
years (NOTE: use of the appropriate ``recent years'' was based on a 
case-by-case basis for each of the species and species groups).
    In addition to providing advice on the provisions of the NS1 
guidelines, the ACLG and SEDAR groups recommended modifications to 
stock complexes within the Council's fishery management units. These 
recommendations were developed based on the empirical landings data, 
biological characteristics of the species involved, and discussion with 
fishermen. The SSC agreed with these recommendations and also developed 
their own recommendation to divide the Parrotfish group into two 
separate units. Specific reorganization recommendations will be 
evaluated in the management alternatives section.
    The Council will develop a DEIS to describe and analyze management 
alternatives to implement ACLs, AMs, permits, and recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements. The amendment will provide updates to the best 
available scientific information regarding the species and species 
groups listed, and based on the information, the Councils will 
determine what actions and alternatives are necessary to meet the 
statutory requirements for these stocks by 2010. Those alternatives may 
include, but are not limited to: a ``no action'' alternative regarding 
the fishery; alternatives to implement ACLs based on varying 
approaches; alternatives to establish a permitting system; and

[[Page 17819]]

alternatives to establish new recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
    In accordance with NOAA's Administrative Order NAO 216-6, Section 
5.02(c), the Council and NMFS have identified this preliminary range of 
alternatives as a means to initiate discussion for scoping purposes 
only. This may not represent the full range of alternatives that 
eventually will be evaluated by the Council and NMFS.
    Once the Council and NMFS complete the DEIS associated with the 
Amendments to the FMP for the Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands and the FMP for the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto 
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, it must be approved by a majority of 
the voting members, present and voting, of the Council. After the 
Council approves this document, the DEIS and associated amendments will 
be submitted to NMFS for filing with the Environmental Protection 
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.
    The Council and 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. The 
Council will submit both the final joint amendment and the supporting 
FEIS to NMFS for review by the Secretary under the MSA.
    NMFS will announce, through a notice published in the Federal 
Register, the availability of the final joint amendment for public 
review during the Secretarial review period. During Secretarial review, 
NMFS will also file the FEIS with the EPA for a final 30-day public 
comment period. 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 final joint amendment.
    NMFS will announce, through a notice published in the Federal 
Register, all public comment periods on the final joint amendment, its 
proposed implementing regulations, and 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.

Scoping Meeting Dates, Times, and Locations

    All scoping meetings are scheduled to be held from 7 p.m. to 10 
p.m. The meetings will be physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Request for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council (see ADDRESSES).
    April 27-Doubletree by Hilton San Juan, De Diego Avenue, San Juan, 
Puerto Rico.
    April 28-Holiday Inn and Tropical Casino Ponce, 3315 Ponce By Pass, 
Ponce, Puerto Rico.
    April 29-Salon B, Centro de Usos Multiples, Doctor Lopez and Celis 
Aguilera Street, Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
    May 4-Mayaguez Resort and Casino, Road 104, Km. 0.3, Mayaguez, 
Puerto Rico.
    May 6-Community Center, Frenchtown, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin 
Islands.
    May 7-The Florence Williams Public Library, 1122 King Street, 
Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

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

    Dated: April 10, 2009
Kristen C. Koch,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-8888 Filed 4-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S