[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 18 (Thursday, January 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4868-4870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1842]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-BA62


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Comprehensive Annual Catch Limit Amendment for the U.S. Caribbean

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 Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands (Amendment 6), an amendment to the FMP for Corals and Reef 
Associated Plants and Invertebrates of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands (Amendment 3), an amendment to the FMP for the Spiny Lobster 
Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Amendment 5), and 
an amendment to the FMP for the Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands (Amendment 3). These alternatives will consider 
measures to revise management reference points and status determination 
criteria, implement annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability 
measures (AMs) to prevent overfishing in both the commercial and 
recreational sectors, revise management of aquarium trade

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species, establish recreational bag limits, establish exclusive 
economic zone sub-boundaries for purposes of applying accountability 
measures, and establish frameworks to adjust management measures as 
needed to constrain harvest to specified ACLs. 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 February 28, 2011. A series of 
scoping meetings will be held in February 2011. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION 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-
5305; 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: Dr. William Arnold, phone 727-824-
5305; fax 727-824-5308; e-mail [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 and Conservation Management Act (MSA) with 
passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and 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 via the application of ACLs 
and AMs.
    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'' (MSA Section 303(a)(15)). Further, the MSRA 
requires such measures be implemented in 2010 for fisheries determined 
by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to be subject to overfishing 
and in 2011 for all other fisheries.
    Currently, there are five species or species groups that have been 
identified as undergoing overfishing in the U.S. Caribbean. These 
species or species groups are: queen conch, 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. Establishment of ACLs 
and AMs for each of those species or species groups is addressed in 
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. However, species not designated as undergoing overfishing in 
the Reef Fish, Queen Conch, Spiny Lobster, and Corals and Associated 
Plants and Invertebrates FMPs must have ACLs and AMs established by 
2011.
    The Council will develop a DEIS to describe and analyze management 
alternatives to implement the proposed provisions of these amendments. 
The amendments will provide updates to the best available scientific 
information regarding the species and species groups listed, and based 
on the information, the Council will determine what actions and 
alternatives are necessary to meet the statutory requirements for these 
stocks in 2011. Those alternatives may include, but are not limited to, 
a ``no action'' alternative regarding the fishery as well as 
alternatives to revise management reference points and status 
determination criteria, implement annual catch limits (ACLs) and 
accountability measures (AMs) to prevent overfishing in both the 
commercial and recreational sectors, revise management of aquarium 
trade species, establish recreational bag limits, establish exclusive 
economic zone sub-boundaries for purposes of applying accountability 
measures, and establish frameworks to adjust management measures as 
needed to constrain harvest to specified ACLs.
    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 Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the 
U.S. Virgin Islands, the FMP for Corals and Reef Associated Plants and 
Invertebrates for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the FMP for 
the Spiny Lobster Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, 
and the FMP for the Queen Conch 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 amendments. The 
Council will submit both the final version of the combined amendments, 
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 version of the combined 
amendments 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 amendments.
    NMFS will announce, through a notice published in the Federal 
Register, all public comment periods on the final version of the 
combined amendments, their proposed

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implementing regulations, and the associated FEIS. NMFS will consider 
all public comments received during the Secretarial review period, 
whether they are on the final amendments, 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).
    February 7, 2011, DoubleTree by Hilton San Juan, DeDiego Avenue, 
San Juan, Puerto Rico.
    February 9, 2011, Mayag[uuml]ez Holiday Inn, 2701 Hostos Avenue, 
Mayag[uuml]ez, Puerto Rico.
    February 10, 2011, Holiday Inn Ponce & Tropical Casino, 3315 Ponce 
ByPass, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
    February 16, 2011, The Buccaneer Hotel, Estate Shoys, 
Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
    February 17, 2011, Holiday Inn (Windward Passage Hotel), Charlotte 
Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

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

    Dated: January 21, 2011.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-1842 Filed 1-26-11; 8:45 am]
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