[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52133-52135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20523]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC806


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 (Council) 
announce their intent to prepare an EIS in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 to analyze the long-term 
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, and implementing harvest 
specifications and management measures in Federal regulations for 2015 
and 2016, 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 2014 meeting (see http://www.pcouncil.org/council-operations/council-meetings/future-meetings/). Written, faxed or 
emailed comments must be received by 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight time on 
September 23, 2013 (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION).

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues and alternatives, 
identified by 0648-XC806 by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include RIN 0648-
XC806 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.

[[Page 52134]]

    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: 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

    Using the ``best available scientific information,'' the proposed 
action is to establish harvest specifications every 2 years, including 
the overfishing limits (OFLs), acceptable biological catches (ABCs), 
and annual catch limits (ACLs) for each management unit, consistent 
with the policies and procedures the Council has established for these 
actions and the requirements of the Groundfish FMP; the Magnuson-
Stevens Act (MSA)--particularly the 10 National Standards enumerated in 
Sec.  301(a) of the MSA; and other applicable law.
    Estimates of harvest specification values for a long-term period 
are used to evaluate environmental impacts into the future. Because 
harvest specifications must be based on the best available scientific 
information, and one or more new or updated stock assessments become 
available every 2 years, NMFS has determined that harvest 
specifications will be published in Federal regulations every 2 years 
for the subsequent 2-year period. However, the evaluation of the long-
term impacts of setting harvest specifications and related management 
measures for the foreseeable future is intended to encompass the range 
of likely impacts that could occur over more than just the next 
biennial management period (2015-16).
    Seven Pacific Coast groundfish species are currently ``overfished'' 
and managed under rebuilding plans implemented by secretarial 
amendment. Within the rebuilding plans, TTARGET is the key 
rebuilding parameter. TTARGET is the projected year by which 
an overfished species will be rebuilt. Any change to TTARGET 
must be demonstrated by the need to rebuild the stock in as short a 
time as possible, taking into account the status and biology of the 
stock, the needs of fishing communities, and the interaction of the 
stock within the marine ecosystem.
    Every 2 years the Council will consider the best available 
scientific information (principally new or updated stock assessments) 
and determine whether it is necessary to adjust any of the existing 
harvest specifications or management measures necessary to achieve but 
not exceed ACLs. Adjustments to harvest specifications may involve 
changing the underlying harvest control rule. These adjustments must be 
consistent with the MSA and the Groundfish FMP.
    In the absence of explicit Council action, harvest specification 
values based on default harvest control rules for one or more stocks 
may be published in Federal regulations. The Council is considering the 
establishment of criteria for determining these default rules through 
Amendment 24 to the Pacific Groundfish FMP, and these default rules may 
be part of this proposed action. During any biennial decision-making 
process, the Council may depart from these default values by deciding 
to modify the harvest control rule for one or more management unit.

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 1-6, 2013, 
meeting. Alternatives use other methods to determine default harvest 
specifications. Related management measures, including allocation of 
fishing opportunity among various fishery participants, are also part 
of each alternative. In addition to choosing a preferred method for 
determining default harvest control rules, the Council may choose to 
modify the underlying harvest control rules for one or more stocks, 
resulting in an ACL different from the default value. Routine 
management measures, as defined in the Groundfish FMP, will be used 
unless a conservation need requires the adoption of a new management 
measure not previously described in Federal regulations. The 
alternatives may also include changes to current rebuilding plans if 
the best available scientific information shows that the objective of 
rebuilding the stock by TTARGET cannot be met with the 
current harvest control rule. The Council is scheduled to confirm its 
choice of a preferred alternative at its June 20-25, 2014, 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. Council meetings that offer opportunities for 
public involvement include: the September 12-17, 2013, meeting in 
Boise, Idaho (The Riverside Hotel--Boise, 2900 Chinden Blvd., Boise, ID 
83714); the November 1-6, 2013 meeting in Costa Mesa, California 
(Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa, 3050 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA 
92626); the April 5-10, 2014, meeting in Vancouver, Washington (Hilton 
Vancouver Washington, 301 W. Sixth Street, Vancouver, WA 98660); and 
the

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June 20-25, 2014, meeting in Garden Grove, California (Hyatt Regency 
Orange County, 11999 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove, CA 92840). 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 Kleinschmidt [email protected] 
(503)820-2280 at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

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

    Dated: August 19, 2013.
Emily H. Menashes,
Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-20523 Filed 8-21-13; 8:45 am]
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