[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5282-5283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2161]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-AY56


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 32 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources 
of the Gulf of Mexico

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

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

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SUMMARY: NMFS, Southeast Region, in collaboration with the Gulf of 
Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) intends to prepare a DEIS 
to describe and analyze management alternatives to be included in an 
amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of 
the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). These alternatives will consider measures to 
end overfishing of gag; create a rebuilding plan for the gag stock that 
will restore the stock to its maximum sustainable yield level (MSY); 
adjust gag and red grouper annual catch limits (ACLs), annual catch 
targets (ACTs), and other management measures; and revise shallow-water 
grouper accountability measures (AMs). In addition, the DEIS will 
consider separating the recreational sector of the grouper component of 
the reef fish fishery, revising multi-use individual fishing quota 
(IFQ) shares, methods to reduce gag bycatch, and improving data 
collection and monitoring of the recreational sector. The purpose of 
this notice of intent (NOI) 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 NMFS by March 4, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Requests for information packets, written comments on the 
scope of the DEIS, suggested alternatives and potential impacts, and 
requests for additional information on the amendment should be sent to 
Peter Hood, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional 
Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5505; telephone 
(727) 824-5305; fax (727) 824-5308. Comments may also be sent by email 
to [email protected].

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Based on the results of the 2009 stock 
assessment update, NMFS notified the Council on August 11, 2009, that 
the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) gag stock was both overfished and undergoing 
overfishing. The gag stock has shown declines in indices of abundance 
since 2005. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), within two years of notifying 
the Council of a stock's condition, a plan must be developed and 
implemented to end overfishing and rebuild the stock.
    For Gulf gag and red grouper, ACLs must be reexamined in light of 
new information on the stocks. To rebuild the gag stock, an ACL, and 
optionally an ACT, must be set at levels that will prevent overfishing 
from occurring while allowing the gag stock to rebuild to a biomass 
level capable of producing MSY in 10 years or less. Although the 2009 
stock assessment update of the red grouper stock in the Gulf of Mexico 
indicated the stock continues to be neither overfished or undergoing 
overfishing, the stock has declined since 2005. The ACT currently in 
effect exceeds the optimum yield level for 2010 and the acceptable 
biological catch level set by the Scientific and Statistical Committee 
for 2010.
    In Amendment 30B, the AMs implemented for gag and red grouper were 
established under a quota system and do not reflect changes that 
occurred in the commercial sector when the IFQ system was implemented 
in January of 2010, including the incorporation of tilefish into the 
IFQ program. In addition, the AMs do not contain the overage adjustment 
for overfished stocks recommended by the National Standard 1 
Guidelines. Therefore, the AMs for gag and red grouper should be 
revisited.
    Private recreational fishing vessels and for-hire (charter and 
headboat) vessels are currently combined for management purposes into a 
single recreational sector. However, if each sector had its own ACL and 
ACT, managers would have greater flexibility in managing the sectors. 
The for-hire and private recreational sectors could potentially be 
given different fishing seasons, bag limits, or other management 
measures, and could improve the net benefits of the recreational 
grouper component of the reef fish fishery.
    The IFQ system implemented for the commercial grouper and tilefish 
components of the Gulf reef fish fishery in 2010 allowed for 
flexibility in gag and red grouper harvest by allowing for multi-use 
shares (valid for harvesting either red or gag grouper). However, under 
the reduced red grouper and gag annual catch limits expected to be 
implemented through Amendment 32, it is possible that the use of multi-
use shares could result in commercial harvest of red grouper or gag 
exceeding the sector allocation. To prevent this from happening, 
adjustments need to be made to the provision for multi-use shares in 
the grouper individual fishing quota system.
    The reduced gag catch limits under the initial years of the 
rebuilding plan require substantial reductions in both commercial and 
recreational harvest. The commercial harvest can be reduced through an 
adjustment to the commercial quota, but the recreational sector has no 
quota. Recreational catch levels are managed primarily through a 
combination of bag limits, minimum size limits and closed seasons. A 
combination of management measures need to be adopted that will achieve 
the needed reductions in the recreational fishery.
    Bycatch issues need to be addressed in both the commercial and 
recreational grouper fisheries. With the large difference between the 
red grouper and gag commercial quotas, this could result in large 
numbers of gag discards as fishermen direct effort to catch red 
grouper. Specifically, ways to reduce gag bycatch are needed in both 
sectors of the fishery. Proposed measures have

[[Page 5283]]

included time and area closures to protect gag, the use of gear that 
does not target gag, and changes in gag size and bag limits.
    Data collection and monitoring of the recreational fishery could be 
improved in terms of both accuracy and timeliness to enhance management 
of the recreational sector and application of AMs. The Council is 
evaluating methods such as fish tags or a fish stamp, and several 
proposals have been directed toward the Council to improve the 
monitoring and management of the recreational fishery. These 
recommendations could improve the quality and timeliness of information 
needed to assess the different reef fish fisheries.
    NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, will develop a DEIS to 
describe and analyze management alternatives to address the management 
needs described above. Those alternatives include, but are not limited 
to, a ``no action'' alternative regarding each action; alternatives to 
end overfishing of gag and rebuild the stock to its MSY level; 
alternatives to adjust gag and red grouper ACLs, ACTs, management 
measures, and AMs; alternatives to consider recreational sector 
separation; alternatives to revise how multi-use IFQ shares are 
allocated; alternatives to reduce gag bycatch; and alternatives to 
improve data collection and monitoring of the recreational sector.
    In accordance with NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6, Section 
5.02(c), Scoping Process, NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, has 
identified preliminary environmental issues as a means to initiate 
discussion for scoping purposes only. These preliminary issues may not 
represent the full range of issues that eventually will be evaluated in 
the DEIS.
    Copies of an information packet will be available from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES).
    After the DEIS associated with Amendment 32 is completed, it will 
be filed 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.
    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. NMFS will submit 
both the final amendment and the supporting FEIS to the Secretary of 
Commerce (Secretary) for review as per the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    NMFS will announce, through a notice published in the Federal 
Register, the availability of the final amendment for public review 
during the Department of Commerce Secretarial review period. During 
Secretarial review, NMFS will also file the FEIS with the EPA and the 
EPA will publish a notice of availability for the FEIS in the Federal 
Register. 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 amendment.
    NMFS will announce, through a notice published in the Federal 
Register, all public comment periods on the final amendment, its 
proposed implementing regulations, and the availability of 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.

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

    Dated: January 27, 2010
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-2161 Filed 2-1-10; 8:45 am]
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