[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 219 (Monday, November 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70418-70419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29323]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-BB57


Pacific Fishery Management Council; Notice of Intent

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS); request for comments; notice of public scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: NMFS and the Pacific Fishery Management Council announce their 
intent to prepare an EIS in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 to analyze the impacts on the human 
(biological, physical, social, and economic) environment of setting 
harvest specifications (including Overfishing Limits (OFLs), Acceptable 
Biological Catches (ABCs), and Annual Catch Limits (ACLs)) and 
management measures for 2013 and 2014, pursuant to the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan.

DATES: Public scoping will be conducted through regular meetings of the 
Pacific Fishery Management Council and its advisory bodies continuing 
through the June 2012 meeting (see http://www.pcouncil.org/council-operations/council-meetings/future-meetings/). Written comments on the 
scope of the analysis will be accepted through December 14, 2011 (see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION). Written, faxed or emailed comments must be 
received by 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight time on December 14, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, on issues and alternatives, 
identified by

[[Page 70419]]

0648-BB57 by any of the following methods:
     Email [email protected]. Include RIN 0648-
BB57 and enter Scoping Comments in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (503) 820-2299, Attention Kit Dahl.
     Mail: Dr. Donald McIsaac, Pacific Fishery Management 
Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Pl., Suite 101, Portland, OR 97220, 
Attention Kit Dahl.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. You may submit attachments to 
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF 
file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kit Dahl, Pacific Fishery Management 
Council, phone: (503) 820-2280, fax: (503) 820-2299 and Email: 
[email protected]; or Sarah Biegel, NMFS Northwest Region NEPA; email: 
[email protected].

Electronic Access

    This Federal Register document is available on the Government 
Printing Office's Web site at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index/html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background for Agency Action

    There are more than 90 species managed under the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (Groundfish FMP). These groundfish 
stocks support an array of commercial, recreational, and Indian tribal 
fishing interests in state and Federal waters off the coasts of 
Washington, Oregon, and California. In addition, groundfish are also 
harvested incidentally in non-groundfish fisheries, most notably, the 
trawl fisheries for pink shrimp and California halibut.
    The amount of each Pacific Coast groundfish species or species 
complex that is available for harvest in a specific year is referred to 
as an Annual Catch Limit (ACL). The groundfish fishery regulations also 
include a collection of management measures intended to keep the total 
catch of each groundfish species or species complex at or below the 
ACL. The Groundfish harvest specifications and management measures are 
set at least biennially.

The Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to use the ``best available scientific 
information,'' to implement harvest specifications (including OFLs, 
ABCs, and ACLs) for calendar years 2013 and 2014 for species and 
species' complexes managed under the Groundfish FMP, and to implement 
new management measures to address conservation concerns and other 
objectives identified in the FMP. The intent is that 2014 harvest 
specifications will remain in place until replaced by the 2015 
specifications and management measures. The specifications must be 
consistent with requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (MSA), particularly the 10 National 
Standards enumerated in section 301(a) of the MSA, the Groundfish FMP, 
and other applicable law. Eight Pacific Coast groundfish species are 
currently ``overfished'' and managed under rebuilding plans. Rebuilding 
plans must rebuild the stock in a time period that is as short as 
possible, taking into account the status and biology of the stock, the 
needs of fishing communities, recommendations by international 
organizations in which the United States participates, and the 
interaction of the overfished stock within the marine ecosystem.
    The Council will also establish 2-year allocations of catch 
opportunity for stocks or stock complexes in cases where fixed 
allocations are not specified in the Groundfish FMP. The proposed 
action includes management measures designed to keep total catch at or 
below ACLs. Management measures may be established for each year of the 
2-year period or shorter periods, and the types of measures usually 
differ among groundfish fishery sectors. Management measures intended 
to control the rate at which different groundfish species or species 
groups are taken in the fisheries include trip limits, bag limits, size 
limits, time/area closures, and gear restrictions. Under Amendment 20 
to the Groundfish FMP, Individual Fishing Quotas and allocations 
replace cumulative trip limits as the primary catch control tool for 
limited entry trawl vessels targeting groundfish species and delivering 
to shoreside processors and for the at-sea whiting sector respectively.

Alternatives

    NEPA requires that agencies evaluate reasonable alternatives to the 
proposed action in an EIS, which address the purpose and need for 
agency action. The Council is scheduled to adopt a preliminary range of 
alternatives for analysis and public review at its November 1-7, 2011, 
meeting. Alternatives include different ACLs for appropriate fishery 
management units, allocation of fishing opportunity among various 
fishery participants, and associated management measures. ACLs may 
reflect modifications to current rebuilding plans for one or more 
overfished species if necessary. The Council is scheduled to choose a 
preferred alternative at its June 21-26, 2012, meeting.

Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

    A principal objective of the scoping and public input process is to 
identify potentially significant impacts to the human environment that 
should be analyzed in depth in the EIS. If, during the preparation of 
this EIS, NMFS determines that a finding of no significant impact can 
be supported, it may prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) and issue 
a retraction of this notice. Alternatively, NMFS may still continue 
with the preparation of an EIS. Information and analysis prepared for 
this action also may be used when scoping future groundfish harvest 
specifications and management measure actions to help decide whether to 
prepare an EA or EIS.

Public Scoping Process

    Public scoping will occur throughout the Council's decision-making 
process. All decisions during the Council process benefit from written 
and oral public comments delivered prior to or during the Council 
meeting. These public comments are considered integral to scoping for 
developing this EIS. The Council began considering the proposed action 
at their September and November 2011 meetings. Council meetings in 2012 
that offer additional opportunities for public involvement include: The 
April 1-6 meeting in Seattle Washington (Sheraton Seattle Hotel, 1400 
Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101), and the June 21-26 meeting in San 
Mateo California (San Mateo Marriott, 1770 South Amphlett Boulevard, 
San Mateo, CA 94402). For further information on these meetings, visit 
the Council's Web site, http://www.pcouncil.org/council-operations/council-meetings/future-meetings/.

Special Accommodations

    The meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Kris Klienshmidt [email protected] (503) 
820-2280 at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

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

    Dated: November 7, 2011.
Steven Thur,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-29323 Filed 11-10-11; 8:45 am]
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