[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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