[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 1, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31411-31412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15552]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XP04


Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
Sea Turtle Conservation and Recovery in Relation to the Atlantic Ocean 
and Gulf of Mexico Trawl Fisheries and to Conduct Public Scoping 
Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice; Extension of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: In response to requests from members of the public, NMFS 
extends the public comment period on the notice of intent to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to comply with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by assessing potential impacts 
resulting from the proposed implementation of new sea turtle 
regulations in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico trawl fisheries. The 
comment period is now extended for an additional 30 days until August 
10, 2009.

DATES: Comments will be accepted until August 10, 2009. Comments 
received or postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent 
practicable.

ADDRESSES:  Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to 
[email protected], 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 
20910; 301-713-2322 or fax 301-713-4060. Additional information, 
including the Scoping document, can be found at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/strategy.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Dennis Klemm (ph. 727-824-5312, fax 
727-824-5309, email [email protected]), Pasquale Scida (ph. 978-
281-9208, fax 978-281-9394, email [email protected]), Alexis 
Gutierrez (ph. 301-713-2322, fax 301-713-4060, email 
[email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 8, 2009, NMFS published a Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Sea Turtle Conservation and 
Recovery in Relation to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico Trawl 
Fisheries and to Conduct Public Scoping Meetings (74 FR 21627). The 
Notice announced that NMFS is developing rulemaking to address sea 
turtle bycatch in state and Federal trawl fisheries under the 
Endangered Species Act. The notice also announced that NMFS would 
conduct five public scoping meetings. NMFS has now conducted those 
scoping meetings and has been asked to extend the comment period for an 
additional 30 days.
    NMFS is asking for public comment on the alternatives outlined in 
the scoping document. NMFS will evaluate a range of alternatives in the 
Draft EIS for implementing phase one of the Strategy to reduce sea 
turtle bycatch and mortality in trawl fisheries along the Atlantic 
Coast. In addition to evaluating the status quo, NMFS will evaluate a 
range of alternatives including which Atlantic trawl fisheries will be 
regulated, the temporal and spatial aspects of the regulation and the 
potential changes to the operation of Atlantic trawl fisheries. These 
alternatives could include time and area closures, requiring the use of 
TEDs in the summer flounder, whelk, croaker and weakfish flynet and 
calico scallop trawls for the entire Atlantic Coast, as well as 
combination of spatial and temporal options. In terms of spatial 
options, sea turtles in U.S. waters range as far North as Georges Bank 
and the Gulf of Maine, but may be less likely to interact with a 
fishery towards the northern extent of this range. NMFSwill likely 
evaluate several alternatives related to the northern/northeastern 
extent of any required gear modification or other regulation. 
Similarly, several alternatives will likely be evaluated for the 
temporal extent of when a regulation would be in effect, as sea turtles 
migrate north along the Atlantic coast as waters warm each year, and 
are only present in more northern areas during the warmer months. The 
public scoping document, the powerpoint presentation and the Notice of 
Intent can be found at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/strategy.htm. The public comment period is now extended 30 days and 
will close on August 10, 2009.


[[Page 31412]]


    Dated: June 24, 2009.
James H. Lecky,
Office Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-15552 Filed 6-30-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S