[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77657-77658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30694]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD023


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 40 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources 
of the Gulf of Mexico

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; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS, Southeast Region, in collaboration with the Gulf of 
Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) intends to prepare a DEIS 
to describe and analyze management alternatives to be included in 
Amendment 40 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 40). Amendment 40 will 
consider alternatives to define private and for-hire components of the 
recreational red snapper fishery and allocate red snapper resources 
between these components. The purpose of Amendment 40 is to increase 
the stability for the for-hire component, provide a basis for increased 
flexibility in future management of the recreational sector, and reduce 
the chance for recreational quota overruns which could affect 
rebuilding of the red snapper stock. The purpose of this NOI is to 
solicit public comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
DEIS, as specified in this notice. The Council will continue to take 
comments on this action as it develops Amendment 40. The next Council 
meeting where public comment is scheduled will be February 3-7, 2014, 
at the Westin Galleria Houston, 5060 W. Alabama Street, Houston, TX 
77056.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
DEIS must be received by NMFS by January 23, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on Amendment 40 identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2013-0178'' 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-2013-0178, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Peter Hood, 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: Peter Hood, Southeast Regional Office, 
telephone: (727) 824-5305; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The red snapper stock is currently 
overfished and under a rebuilding plan. The commercial sector is 
managed under an individual fishing quota program that keeps the sector 
from exceeding its quota. The recreational sector is managed under a 
quota and NMFS projects the season length based on the quota and recent 
years' harvest trends. Due to the uncertainty in estimating 
recreational catches, the recreational sector has experienced quota 
overages in the last several years. The Council and NMFS have 
determined that separating the recreational sector into more than one 
component and establishing separate red snapper recreational sub-quotas 
for the different components may be one method to improve the 
management of recreational red snapper harvest.
    The recreational sector for red snapper includes a private 
recreational component and a for-hire component. The for-hire component 
includes headboats and charter vessels. Current recreational management 
measures such as season length, daily bag limits, and size limits are 
applied to the recreational sector as a whole, without making a 
distinction between the private and for-hire components.
    The for-hire component includes vessels that have a Federal reef 
fish permit and may fish for reef fish in Federal waters and state 
waters, as well as vessels that do not have a Federal reef fish permit 
and may only fish for reef fish in state waters. Federal reef fish for-
hire permits were first issued in 1996. In 2004, a moratorium on the 
issuance of new permits was implemented (i.e., a cap was placed on the 
number of vessel permits issued) because of concern that this component 
of the fishery was expanding too fast. There is no limit to the number 
of state-permitted for-hire vessels.
    There is also no limit to the number of private angler vessels that 
may target reef fish species including red snapper. Over time, there 
has been an increase in the number of private recreational vessels, 
while the number of Federal for-hire vessels has decreased. This change 
in vessel demographics has resulted in private vessels landing 
proportionally more of the red snapper recreational quota than Federal 
for-hire vessels in recent years. For example, in 2004 when the reef 
fish for-hire permit moratorium was implemented, approximately 55 
percent of the recreational red snapper quota was landed by Federal 
for-hire vessels and 45 percent was landed by private vessels. In 2011, 
approximately 33 percent of the recreational red snapper quota was 
landed by Federal for-hire vessels and 67 percent was landed by private 
vessels.
    The Council and NMFS are currently considering four actions in 
Amendment 40. These actions would define the different components of 
the recreational sector, determine how the quota would be split among 
the components, determine whether participation in the for-hire 
component would be mandatory or voluntary, and determine quota closure 
options for the different recreational components. The Council

[[Page 77658]]

and NMFS may add actions in the future, such as landing reporting 
requirements, after the scoping process or from future discussions on 
this amendment.
    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 provide written 
comments on the preliminary issues, which are identified as actions in 
the Amendment 40 action guide. These preliminary issues may not 
represent the full range of issues that eventually will be evaluated in 
the DEIS. A copy of the Amendment 40 action guide is available at 
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/index.html.
    After the DEIS associated with Amendment 40 is completed, it will 
be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). After filing, 
the EPA will publish a notice of availability (NOA) 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. During Secretarial review, NMFS 
will also file the FEIS with the EPA and the EPA will publish an NOA 
for the FEIS in the Federal Register.
    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.

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

    Dated: December 18, 2013.
Sean F. Corson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-30694 Filed 12-23-13; 8:45 am]
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