[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 247 (Monday, December 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68576-68577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30690]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RINs 0648-AW75 and 0648-AY47


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring 
Fishery

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

ACTION: Supplemental Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental 
assessment (EA) for Amendment 4 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) and environmental impact statement (EIS) for 
Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring FMP; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On May 8, 2008, the New England Fishery Management Council 
(Council), in cooperation with NMFS, announced its intent to prepare an 
EIS for Amendment 4 to the Atlantic Herring FMP to analyze the impacts 
of proposed management measures, which included measures to bring the 
FMP into compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (MSA) requirements to specify annual catch limits (ACLs) 
and accountability measures (AMs). NMFS hereby notifies the public that 
only the ACL/AM components will move

[[Page 68577]]

forward as Amendment 4, and that the Council intends to prepare an EA 
for the action. All other proposed measures formerly included in 
Amendment 4, including the catch monitoring program for the herring 
fishery, measures to address river herring bycatch, criteria for 
midwater trawl access to groundfish closed areas, and measures to 
address interactions with the mackerel fishery, will now be considered 
in Amendment 5. These measures will be analyzed in an EIS. Because 
comments submitted during the scoping process for Amendment 4 
referenced all measures now under consideration in Amendments 4 and 5, 
the Council is not seeking additional scoping comments from the public 
at this time.

DATES: Public comments on the supplementary NOI for Amendments 4 and 5 
must be received no later than 5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on 
January 12, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents used by the Council are 
available from Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery 
Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950, 
(978) 465-0492, or online at http://www.nefmc.org.
    Written comments on the supplementary notice of intent for 
Amendments 4 and 5 may be sent by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov;
     Mail to Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England 
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 
01950. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on Herring 
Amendments 4 and 5;'' or
     Fax to Paul J. Howard, (978) 465-3116.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council initiated Amendment 4 to the 
Herring FMP for several reasons. The Council determined it was 
necessary to consider taking action to 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 high level of interest in managing this 
fishery by New England's commercial and recreational fishermen, eco-
tourism and shoreside businesses, and the general public.
    In addition, the MSA was reauthorized in 2007 and requires that 
NMFS and the Councils establish ACLs and AMs by the year 2011 for every 
federally managed fishery that is not subject to overfishing. The MSA 
also includes new provisions for the formation of Limited Access 
Privilege Programs (LAPPs). The former Amendment 4 was also intended to 
update the Herring FMP in a manner that is consistent with the new 
requirements of the MSA.
    On May 8, 2008 (73 FR 26082), the Council published a NOI to 
prepare an EIS for an amendment that might include proposed measures 
to: improve long-term monitoring of catch (landing and bycatch) in the 
herring fishery, implement ACLs and AMs consistent with the MSA, and 
develop a sector allocation process or other LAPP for the herring 
fishery. The Council subsequently conducted three scoping meetings to 
discuss and take comments on alternatives to these measures. The first 
and second meetings were held in Portland, ME, on May 22, 2008, and 
June 2, 2008. The third meeting was held on June 10, 2008, in Atlantic 
City, NJ.
    After considering the complexity of the issues under consideration 
in Amendment 4, the Council voted on June 23, 2009, to split the action 
into two amendments to ensure the statutory requirements for complying 
with provisions for ACLs and AMs will be met by the 2011 deadline. The 
ACL and AM component will move forward as Amendment 4. Because the 
establishment of ACLs and AMs is primarily a process-oriented change, 
rather than substantive change, the Council now intends to prepare an 
EA to analyze the impacts of these proposed measures.
    The range of alternatives under consideration for ACLs include 
modifications to the current fishery management specification process 
for Atlantic herring to ensure the herring FMP's compliance with the 
MSA, as well as a No Action alternative. Modifications to the 
specifications process feature new terms and definitions for 
specifications, changes to the administrative process for setting 
specifications, and options to either maintain or eliminate 
specifications for joint venture processing (JVP), internal waters 
processing (IWP), total allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF), and 
reserve total allowable catches (TACs). The range of alternatives for 
AMs include the No Action alternative, which uses inseason TAC 
adjustments and management area closures as AMs, and an alternative 
with options to add ACL overage deductions and a haddock catch cap as 
additional AMs.
    All other measures formerly under consideration in Amendment 4 will 
now be considered in Amendment 5, and impacts associated with these 
proposed measures will be analyzed in an EIS. Measures considered under 
Amendment 5 include:
    1. Catch-monitoring program;
    2. Measures to address river herring bycatch;
    3. Criteria for midwater trawl access to groundfish closed areas; 
and
    4. Measures to address interactions with the Atlantic mackerel 
fishery.

Alternatives related to these measures are still under development.
    The public will have the opportunity to comment on the measures and 
alternatives being considered by the Council for both amendments 
through public meetings and public comment periods required by the 
National Environmental Policy Act, the MSA, and the Administrative 
Procedure Act. The Council anticipates completing the EA for Amendment 
4 in mid-2010, and the EIS for Amendment 5 by late 2011.

Public Hearing Schedule

    The Council is conducting the following public hearings to solicit 
public comments on Amendment 4:
    1. Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Massachusetts 
Department of Marine Fisheries Annisquam River Station, 30 Emerson 
Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930; (978) 282-0308.
    2. Thursday, January 7, 2010, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Hampton Inn, One 
Hampton Way, Fairhaven, MA 02719; (978) 990-8500.
    3. Monday, January 11, 2010, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Holiday Inn by the 
Bay, 88 Spring Street, Portland, ME 04101; (207) 775-2311.

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 the meeting date.

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

    Dated: December 18, 2009.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-30690 Filed 12-24-09; 8:45 am]
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