[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 1 (Monday, January 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 101-103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-33100]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-BA53


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 22 to the Fishery Management Plan for Snapper-Grouper 
Resources of the South Atlantic

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact 
statement

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(EIS); notice of scoping meetings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS, Southeast Region, in collaboration with the South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), intends to prepare an 
EIS to describe and analyze a range of alternatives for management 
actions to be included in an amendment to the Fishery Management Plan 
for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). 
These alternatives will consider measures to establish a long-term red 
snapper fishery management program in the South Atlantic to optimize 
yield and rebuild the stock, while minimizing socioeconomic impacts. 
More specifically, these alternatives will consider the elimination of 
harvest restrictions on red snapper as the stock increases in biomass. 
The purpose of this NOI is to solicit public comments on the scope of 
issues to be addressed in the EIS.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
EIS will be accepted from January 12 to February 14, 5 p.m., eastern 
time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-BA53, by any 
one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Rick DeVictor, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 
13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
    Instructions: No comments will be posted for public viewing until 
after the comment period is over. All comments received are a part of 
the public record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All Personal Identifying 
Information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential 
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    To submit comments through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2010-0264'' in the keyword 
search, then select ``Send a Comment or Submission''. NMFS will accept 
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required fields if you wish to 
remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to electronic comments in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson; phone: (843) 571-4366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The red snapper stock in the South Atlantic 
was assessed through the Southeast, Data, Assessment, and Review 
(SEDAR) process in 2008 and 2010. The assessments indicate that the 
stock is experiencing overfishing and is overfished. Overfishing is a 
condition when fishing pressure is beyond the allowable level. 
Overfishing may lead to an overfished condition. A stock is overfished 
when the biomass is below an identified minimum stock size threshold. 
Due to low biomass levels, an overfished stock has increased 
vulnerability to environmental variables and cannot produce the Maximum 
Sustainable Yield.
    As a result of the 2008 assessment, fishing for red snapper was 
prohibited temporarily through an interim rule from January 4, 2010, to 
December 5, 2010, to enable the Council to develop measures to end 
overfishing in Amendment 17A to the Fishery Management Plan for the 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic region (Amendment 17A). 
Prior regulations included a recreational bag limit of 2 fish per 
person per day and a 20 inch total length minimum size limit for both 
commercial and recreational fishermen. Amendment 17A was submitted to 
the Secretary of Commerce on July 20, 2010, and approved on October 27, 
2010. Measures in Amendment 17A included the continuation of the red 
snapper closure harvest prohibition established through the interim 
rule.
    NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, is considering 
alternatives to eliminate harvest restrictions on red snapper as the 
stock increases in biomass. Examples of measures under consideration 
include the implementation of red snapper trip limits, bag limits, a 
catch share program, tag program, temporal and spatial closures 
including those to protect spawning stocks, and gear prohibitions. 
These preliminary measures may not represent the full range of 
alternatives that eventually will be evaluated in the EIS.
    NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, will develop an EIS to 
describe and analyze alternatives to address the management needs 
described above. Those alternatives will include a ``no action'' 
alternative for each action.
    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 EIS.
    Copies of an information packet will be available from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES).
    Following publication of this NOI, the Council will conduct public 
scoping meetings to determine the range of issues to be addressed in 
the draft EIS (DEIS) and the associated Amendment 22. After the DEIS 
associated with Amendment 22 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.
    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 Amendment 22, the 
Council intends to scope additional amendments at this series of 
meetings. Separate NOIs will be prepared for each amendment. 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 24, 2011--Hilton New Bern/Riverfront, 100 Middle 
Street, New Bern, NC 28560; phone 252-638-3585.
    Wednesday, January 26, 2011--Crowne Plaza Charleston Airport, 4831 
Tanger Outlet Boulevard, North Charleston, SC 29418; phone 843-744-
4422.
    Thursday, January 27, 2011--Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, 175 
Bourne Avenue, Pooler, GA 31322; phone 912-748-8888.
    Monday, January 31, 2011--Jacksonville Marriott, 4670 Salisbury

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Road, Jacksonville, FL 32256; phone 904-296-2222.
    Tuesday, February 1, 2011--International Palms Resort, 1300 N. 
Atlantic Avenue, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931; phone 321-783-2271.
    Thursday, February 3, 2011--Key Largo Grande Resort, 97000 Overseas 
Resort, Key Largo, FL 33037; phone 305-852-5553.

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

    Dated: December 28, 2010.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-33100 Filed 12-30-10; 8:45 am]
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