[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34654-34656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14743]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RIN 0648-XA472]


Marine Mammals; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS); notice of public scoping meetings; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intention to amend the Atlantic Large Whale 
Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP). An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
will be prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA), to analyze impacts to the environment of the management 
alternatives under consideration. The purpose of this action is to 
notify the public of upcoming scoping meetings to solicit public 
comments on ways to reduce the risk of serious injury or mortality of 
right, humpback, and finback whales as a result of entanglement in 
vertical lines associated with commercial trap/pot and gillnet 
fisheries off the U.S. East Coast. NMFS requests comments on management 
options for this action. These options will form the basis of the 
alternatives that will later be analyzed through the EIS process.

DATES: Written comments must be postmarked or transmitted via facsimile 
(fax) at the appropriate address or number (see ADDRESSES section) no 
later than 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on September 12, 2011.
    The public scoping meetings will be held in July and August 2011. 
For specific dates, times, and locations see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    [cir] Fax: (978) 281-9394.
    [cir] Mail: Paper, disk, or CD-ROM comments should be sent to Mary

[[Page 34655]]

Colligan, Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, 
MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, ``Comments on the ALWTRP 
Scoping.''
    [cir] E-mail: [email protected].

Copies of the background documents provided to the Atlantic Large Whale 
Take Reduction Team (ALWTRT) in advance of the November 2010 and April 
2011 ALWTRT meeting and general information on the ALWTRP can be 
obtained from the ALWTRP Web site at: http://www.nero.nmfs.gov/whaletrp. Copies of the most recent marine mammal stock assessment 
reports may be obtained by writing to Gordan Waring, NMFS, 166 Water 
St., Woods Hole, MA 02543 or can be downloaded from the Internet at 
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/sars/. A document that summarizes major 
issues, legal requirements, and identifies potential management options 
will also be posted on the ALWTRP Web site on or about July 1, 2011, 
and made available to the public at scoping meetings. The above 
documents can also be obtained by contacting Kate Swails, 
[email protected] or (978) 282-8481.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Swails, NMFS, Northeast Region, 
978-282-8481; Barb Zoodsma, NMFS, Southeast Region, 904-321-2806; or 
Kristy Long, NMFS, Office of Protected Resources, 301-713-2322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Large whale entanglements and entanglements resulting in serious 
injuries and mortalities are still occurring; therefore, NMFS believes 
modifications to the ALWTRP are needed to meet the goals of the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Under the MMPA, NMFS is required to 
reduce the incidental mortality and serious injury to three strategic 
large whale stocks--the Western Stock of the North Atlantic right 
whales (Eubalaena glacialis), the Gulf of Maine stock of humpback 
whales (Megaptera novaeangliea), and the Western North Atlantic stock 
of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus)--incidentally taken in commercial 
fisheries to below the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) level for 
each stock.

ALWTRT

    At the 2003 ALWTRT meeting, the ALWTRT agreed to manage 
entanglement risk by first reducing the risk associated with 
groundlines and then reducing the risk associated with vertical lines 
in commercial trap/pot and gillnet gear. Risk reduction of groundline 
was addressed in October 2007 with the implementation of the sinking 
groundline requirement for all fisheries throughout the entire East 
coast (72 FR 57104, October 5, 2007).
    At the 2009 ALWTRT meeting, the Team agreed on a schedule to 
develop a management approach to reduce the risk of serious injury and 
mortality due to vertical line. As a result of this schedule NMFS 
committed to publishing a final rule to address vertical line 
entanglement by 2014. The approach for the vertical line rule will 
focus on reducing the risk of vertical line entanglements in high 
impact areas versus a wide-broad scale management scheme. Using fishing 
gear survey data and whale sightings per unit effort (SPUE) a model was 
developed to determine the co-occurrence of fishing gear density and 
whale density.
    The ALWTRT Northeast Subgroup met in November 2010 and the Mid-
Atlantic/Southeast Subgroup met in April 2011 to review the co-
occurrence model and consider its implications for an overall 
management strategy to address vertical line entanglements.
    The Team agreed NMFS should use the model to consider and develop 
possible options to address fishery interactions with large whales by 
reducing the potential for entanglements, minimizing adverse effects if 
entanglements occur, and mitigating the effects of any unavoidable 
entanglements.

Management Options

    This notice provides an opportunity for public involvement. NMFS 
requests comments on management options for this action. Additionally, 
NMFS is seeking information on the range of impacts that should be 
considered for the various options. Background documents provided to 
the ALWTRT and general public in advance of the November 2010 and April 
2011 meetings are available for review (see ADDRESSES section). A 
scoping document summarizing major issues, legal requirements, and 
identifying potential management options will be made available prior 
to the scoping meetings (see ADDRESSES section). Comments received on 
this action will assist NMFS in determining the alternatives for 
rulemaking to reduce interactions of right, humpback and fin whales 
with commercial fisheries as a result of vertical lines.
    The ALWTRP (50 CFR 229.32) is a multi-faceted plan that includes 
area closures, gear modification requirements in areas open to fixed 
gear fishing, gear research to develop new modifications to current 
practices and/or fishing techniques, a right whale Sighting Advisory 
System, and a disentanglement program to free whales incidentally 
caught in fishing gear. Within the comment period established by this 
notice (see DATES section), NMFS will hold 15 public scoping meetings 
to gather public comment on the development and implementation of new 
management measures for the ALWTRP.

Schedule of Public Scoping Meetings

    The dates, times, and locations of the meetings are scheduled as 
follows:

1. Monday, July 11, 2011--East Machias, ME 6-9 p.m.

    Washington Academy, 66 High Street, East Machias, ME 04630.

2. Tuesday, July 12, 2011--Ellsworth, ME 6-9 p.m.

    Ellsworth City Hall (Auditorium), 1 City Hall Plaza, Ellsworth, ME 
04605.

3. Wednesday, July 13, 2011--Rockland, ME 6-9 p.m.

    Rockland District High School (Auditorium), 400 Broadway, Rockland, 
ME 04841.

4. Thursday, July 14, 2011--Portland, ME 6-9 p.m.

    Portland City Hall (State of Maine Room), 389 Congress St., 
Portland, ME 04101.

5. Monday, July 18, 2011--Providence, RI 5:30-8:30 p.m.

    Providence Public Library, 150 Empire St., Providence, RI 02903.

6. Tuesday, July 19, 2011--Plymouth, MA 6-9 p.m.

    Plymouth Public Library (Fehlow Room), 132 South St., Plymouth, MA 
02360.

7. Wednesday, July 20, 2011--Chatham, MA 6-9 p.m.

    Chatham Community Center (Large Meeting Room), 702 Main St., 
Chatham, MA 02633.

8. Thursday, July 21, 2011--Gloucester, MA 6-9 p.m.

    NOAA Northeast Regional Office (Hearing Room A&B), 55 Great 
Republic Dr., Gloucester, MA 01930.

9. Tuesday, July 26, 2011--Morehead City, NC 6-9 p.m.

    NC Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office, 5285 
Highway 70 West, Morehead City, NC 28557.

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10. Wednesday, July 27, 2011--Virginia Beach, VA 6-9 p.m.

    Meyera E. Obendorf Central Library (Folio Room), 4100 Virginia 
Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23452.

11. Thursday, July 28, 2011--Ocean View DE 6-9 p.m.

    Ocean View Town Hall (John West Park), 32 West Ave., Ocean View, DE 
19970.

12. Friday, July 29, 2011--Manahawkin, NJ 6-9 p.m.

    Stafford Township (Council Meeting Room), 260 E. Bay Ave.. 
Manahawkin, NJ 08050.

13. Monday August 22, 2011--Cape Canaveral, FL 5-8 p.m.

    Cape Canaveral Public Library, 201 Polk Avenue, Cape Canaveral, FL 
32920.

14. Tuesday August 23, 2011--Jacksonville, FL 6-9 p.m.

    Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT), Board Room, 2831 Talleyrand 
Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32206.

15. Wednesday August 24, 2011--Garden City, GA 6-9 p.m.

    Garden City City Hall, 100 Central Avenue (at intersection of Dean 
Forest Rd. and Constantine Rd.), Garden City, GA 31405.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Kate Swails (978) 282-8481.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.

    Dated: June 8, 2011.
Helen M. Golde,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-14743 Filed 6-13-11; 8:45 am]
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