[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 109 (Thursday, June 6, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34042-34044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13433]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-BD34


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Comprehensive Fishery Management Plan for the Exclusive Economic Zone 
of St. Thomas/St. John

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

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

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SUMMARY: NMFS, Southeast Region, in collaboration with the Caribbean 
Fishery Management Council (Council), intends to prepare a DEIS to 
describe and analyze a range of management alternatives for management 
actions to be considered when developing and establishing a 
Comprehensive Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the exclusive economic 
zone (EEZ) of St. Thomas/St. John. The purpose of this NOI is to inform 
the public of upcoming opportunities to provide comments on the actions 
to be addressed in the DEIS, as specified in this notice.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
DEIS must be received by NMFS by July 8, 2013. The scoping meetings 
will be held in July 2013. For specific dates and times, see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, under the heading, ``Scoping Meetings''.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the DEIS, identified by ``NOAA-
NMFS-2013-0094'', by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the

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Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0094, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Miguel Lugo, Southeast 
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, 
or to the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 270 Mu[ntilde]oz Rivera 
Avenue, Suite 401, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Electronic copies of the scoping document may be obtained from the 
Southeast Regional Office Web site at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/caribbean/island_based/index.html.
    The scoping meetings will be held in Puerto Rico and in the U.S. 
Virgin Islands. For specific locations, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, 
under the heading, ``Scoping Meetings''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miguel Lugo, phone 727-824-5305, email 
[email protected]; or Graciela Garcia-Moliner, phone 787-766-5927, 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Currently, the Council manages Federal 
fisheries in the U.S. Caribbean under four species-based FMPs: the 
Spiny Lobster FMP of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Spiny 
Lobster FMP), the Reef Fish FMP of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands (Reef Fish FMP), the Corals and Reef Associated Plants and 
Invertebrates FMP of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Coral 
FMP), and the FMP for the Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the 
U.S. Virgin Islands (Queen Conch FMP). The fishers, fishing community 
representatives, and the local governments of Puerto Rico and the U.S. 
Virgin Islands (USVI) have frequently requested the Council consider 
the differences between the islands or island groups when addressing 
fisheries management in the U.S. Caribbean to recognize the unique 
attributes of each U.S. Caribbean island. By developing island-based 
FMPs, NMFS and the Council would better account for differences among 
the U.S. Caribbean islands with respect to culture, markets, gear, 
seafood preferences, and the ecological impacts that result from these 
differences.
    At its 145th meeting, held on March 26-27, 2013, the Council 
decided to transition from species-based fisheries management to 
island-based fisheries management. If approved, a comprehensive FMP for 
fisheries management off St. Thomas/St. John, in conjunction with 
similar comprehensive FMPs for fisheries management off Puerto Rico and 
off St. Croix, would replace the existing species-based FMPs.
    Also at its March meeting, the Council voted to hold scoping 
meetings in July 2013 to receive public feedback on possible actions 
and alternatives to consider during the development of the St. Thomas/
St. John FMP, the Puerto Rico FMP, and the St. Croix FMP. The Council 
could develop the comprehensive FMPs without significant changes to 
current Federal fisheries management. For example, the 2010 Caribbean 
Annual Catch Limit (ACL) Amendment (76 FR 82404, December 30, 2011) and 
the 2011 Caribbean ACL Amendment (76 FR 82414, December 30, 2011) 
established ACLs by island or island group with specific ACLs for the 
St. Thomas/St. John EEZ. The spatial and species-based attributes of 
these St. Thomas/St. John ACLs, more than likely, would not change when 
developing the new FMP.
    However, a re-arrangement from species-based FMPs to island-based 
FMPs also provides an opportunity for the Council to update management 
regulations that are outdated or do not reflect the current state of 
issues in the St. Thomas/St. John EEZ. In the comprehensive St. Thomas/
St. John FMP, the Council is considering management measures to modify 
the composition of the fishery management units (FMUs) by adding or 
removing species, establishing management reference points for any new 
species added into the FMUs, and modifying or establishing additional 
management measures. If regulations are to be changed, additional 
analyses to assess the impacts to the social, biological, economic, 
ecological, and administrative environments will be required.
    To implement the proposed provisions of this new FMP, the Council 
will develop a DEIS for the comprehensive St. Thomas/St. John FMP that 
describes and analyzes the proposed management alternatives. The new 
FMP will provide the best available scientific information regarding 
the management of St. Thomas/St. John EEZ fisheries, within the context 
of Federal fisheries management in the U.S. Caribbean. Those 
alternatives will include, but are not limited to, a ``no action'' 
alternative regarding the continuation of species-based Federal fishery 
management in St. Thomas/St. John, as well as alternatives to revise 
the management of U.S. Caribbean fisheries when developing the 
comprehensive St. Thomas/St. John FMP. In addition, there will be 
alternatives to modify the current FMUs including, but not limited to, 
the ``no action'' alternative. Other actions could be included in the 
DEIS in response to public feedback during the scoping process.
    In accordance with NOAA's Administrative Order NAO 216-6, Section 
5.02(c), the Council and NMFS have 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.
    After the DEIS associated with the development of the Comprehensive 
St. Thomas/St. John FMP is completed, it will be filed with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). After filing, 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 voting to submit the FMP to NMFS for Secretarial review, 
approval, and implementation.
    NMFS will announce in the Federal Register the availability of the 
FMP 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

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review period and will end prior to final agency action to approve, 
disapprove, or partially approve the FMP.
    NMFS will announce in the Federal Register, all public comment 
periods on the FMP, its proposed implementing regulations, and the 
associated FEIS. NMFS will consider all public comments received during 
the Secretarial review period, whether they are on the FMP, the 
proposed regulations, or the FEIS, prior to final agency action.

Scoping Meetings

    All scoping meetings are scheduled for the week of July 8, 2013 
(start times and locations are specified below). Participants at the 
scoping meetings may comment on any of the island-based FMPs (the 
Puerto Rico FMP, the St. Croix FMP, and the St. Thomas/St. John FMP) 
during any of the scoping meetings. 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).

Island-Based Scoping Hearings in Puerto Rico (Monday-Friday)

July 8, 2013 7 p.m.--at the Centro de Usos Multiples de Vieques, Calle 
Antonio G. Mellado, Vieques, Puerto Rico.
July 9, 2013 7 p.m.--at the Double Tree by Hilton San Juan, De Diego 
Avenue, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
July 10, 2013 2 p.m.--at the Holiday Inn Ponce & Tropical Casino, 3315 
Ponce By Pass, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
July 10, 2013 7 p.m.--at the Holiday Inn, 2701 Hostos Avenue, Mayaguez, 
Puerto Rico.
July 11, 2013 7 p.m.--at the Asociacion de Pescadores Unidos de Playa 
Hucares in Naguabo, Puerto Rico.
July 12, 2013 6 p.m.--at the Club Nautico de Arecibo, Carr, 681 Km. 
1.4, Barrio Islote, Sector Vigia, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

Island-Based Scoping Hearings in the USVI (Tuesday-Wednesday)

July 9, 2013 7 p.m.--at the Buccaneer Hotel, Estate Shoys, 
Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
July 10, 2013 7 p.m.--at the Holiday Inn (Windward Passage Hotel) 
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

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

    Dated: June 3, 2013.
Kara Meckley,
Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-13433 Filed 6-5-13; 8:45 am]
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