[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72867-72868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29024]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-BD77
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the South Atlantic States; Regulatory
Amendment 17
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); request for comments; notice of scoping meetings.
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SUMMARY: NMFS, Southeast Region, in collaboration with the South
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), intends to prepare a
DEIS to describe and analyze a range of alternatives for management
actions to be included in Regulatory Amendment 17 to the Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South
Atlantic Region (Regulatory Amendment 17). Regulatory Amendment 17 will
consider alternatives to modify existing marine protected areas (MPAs)
and establish new MPAs. The purpose of this NOI is to solicit public
comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the DEIS and to
announce scoping meetings.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the
DEIS will be accepted until January 3, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the amendment identified by
``NOAA-NMFS-2013-0164'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic submissions: Submit electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0164, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Rick DeVictor, Southeast
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick DeVictor, Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, or email: [email protected]. Kim
Iverson, Public Information Officer, South Atlantic Fisheries
Management Council, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, North
Charleston, SC 29405; telephone: 843-571-4366, or email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council and NMFS have implemented annual
catch limits, accountability measures, harvest prohibitions, and
management measures for deep-water snapper-grouper species managed by
the Council. Deep-water snapper-grouper species include speckled hind,
warsaw grouper, snowy grouper, blueline tilefish, yellowedge grouper,
misty grouper, queen snapper, and silk snapper. The intent of these
measures is to prevent overfishing, rebuild the overfished stock of
snowy grouper, and minimize bycatch to the extent practicable.
To reduce the anticipated bycatch mortality of speckled hind and
warsaw grouper, Amendment 17B to the FMP prohibited all fishing for and
possession of six deep-water snapper-grouper species (snowy grouper,
blueline tilefish, yellowedge grouper, misty grouper, queen snapper,
and silk snapper) beyond a depth of 240 ft (73 m) (75 FR 82280,
December 30, 2010). Following the implementation of the deep-water
fishing prohibition, the Council and NMFS were presented with a new
analysis of catch data (June 1, 2011, SERO-LAPP-2011-06 Report) and the
results of a study conducted by the state of North Carolina through an
exempted fishing permit study. Based on that new information, the
Council and NMFS, through Regulatory Amendment 11 to the FMP, removed
the 240-ft (73-m) harvest prohibition on six deep-water snapper-grouper
species (77 FR 27374, May 10, 2012) and concluded that other management
measures would be more effective in reducing discard mortality of
speckled hind and warsaw grouper and minimizing the socio-economic
effects to deep-water snapper-grouper fishers.
The DEIS for Regulatory Amendment 17 would consider alternatives to
modify existing MPAs and establish new MPAs. In 2009, through Amendment
14 to the FMP, the Council and NMFS implemented eight MPAs in the South
Atlantic, where possession, retention, and fishing for all snapper-
grouper species in the FMP is prohibited (74 FR 1621, January 13,
2009). The intent of the eight MPAs is to protect long-lived, deep-
water snapper-grouper species, including speckled hind and warsaw
grouper. Through Regulatory Amendment 17, the Council intends to
further reduce bycatch mortality of speckled hind and warsaw grouper
and increase protection to their deep-water habitat.
An NOI to prepare a DEIS for the Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based
Amendment 3 (CE-BA 3) was published on May 23, 2012 (77 FR 30506). One
proposed action in CE-BA 3 was to modify existing MPAs or to establish
new ones; however, that action has since been moved to Regulatory
Amendment 17. Since the publication of the CE-BA 3 NOI, the Council has
held five public workshops in the spring and summer of 2012 to allow
the public an opportunity to provide locations of catch and habitat for
speckled hind and warsaw grouper. In addition, the Council convened
meetings of an MPA Expert Workgroup in May 2012 and February 2013. The
workgroup, comprised of fishermen and scientists, developed potential
sites for MPA designation to further protect speckled hind and warsaw
grouper based on available data. The workgroup presented their
recommendations to the Council at the June 2012 and March 2013 Council
meetings.
[[Page 72868]]
NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, will develop a DEIS to
describe and analyze alternatives to address the management needs
described above including the ``no action'' alternative. In accordance
with NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6, Section 5.02(c), Scoping
Process, NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, has identified
preliminary environmental issues as a means to initiate discussion for
scoping purposes only. The public is invited to attend scoping meetings
(dates and addresses below) and provide written comments on the
preliminary issues, which are identified as actions and alternatives in
the Regulatory Amendment 17 scoping document. These preliminary issues
may not represent the full range of issues that eventually will be
evaluated in the DEIS. A copy of the Regulatory Amendment 17 scoping
document is available at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/s_atl/sg/index.html.
After the DEIS associated with Regulatory Amendment 17 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 final amendment to NMFS for Secretarial
review, approval, and implementation. NMFS will announce in the Federal
Register the availability of the final amendment and FEIS for public
review during the Secretarial review period, and will consider all
public comments prior to final agency action to approve, disapprove, or
partially approve the final amendment.
NMFS will announce, through a document published in the Federal
Register, all public comment periods on the final amendment, its
proposed implementing regulations, and the availability of its
associated FEIS. NMFS will consider all public comments received during
the Secretarial review period, whether they are on the final amendment,
the proposed regulations, or the FEIS, prior to final agency action.
Scoping Meetings, Times, and Locations
All meetings will begin at 4 p.m. These meetings are physically
accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for information
packets or for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to the Council office 3 days prior to the start of
each meeting (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Tuesday, January 21, 2014--Bay Watch Resort and Conference Center,
2701 South Ocean Boulevard, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582, telephone:
843-272-4600.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014--DoubleTree by Hilton Atlantic Beach
Oceanfront, 2717 West Fort Macon Road, Atlantic Beach, NC 28512,
telephone: 252-240-1155.
Monday, January 27, 2014--Key West Marriott Beachside, 3841 North
Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, FL 33040, telephone: 305-296-8100.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014--Doubletree by Hilton Oceanfront, 2080
North Atlantic Avenue, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931, telephone: 321-783-9222.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014--Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk, 1515
Prudential Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32207, telephone: 904-396-5100.
Thursday, January 30, 2014--Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, 175
Bourne Avenue, Pooler, GA 31322, telephone: 912-743-8888.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 29, 2013.
Karen Abrams,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-29024 Filed 12-3-13; 8:45 am]
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