[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 208 (Tuesday, October 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64212-64213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25583]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-SERO-BISC-16338; PPSESEROC3, PMP00UP05.YP0000]
Record of Decision for the Fishery Management Plan, Biscayne
National Park, FL
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of
the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) for the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Biscayne
National Park (Park). On July 10, 2014, the Regional Director,
Southeast Region, approved the ROD for the project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent Brian Carlstrom,
Biscayne National Park, 9700 SW 328th St, Homestead, FL 33033;
telephone (305) 230-1144.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Increases in South Florida's boating and
fishing population combined with improved fishing and boating
technology pose a threat to the long-term sustainability of fishery-
related resources and numerous scientific studies suggest that many of
the Park's fisheries resources are in decline. An FMP was therefore
deemed necessary to guide sustainable use of the Park's fishery-related
resources. The Park's FMP will guide fishery
[[Page 64213]]
management decisions in the park for the next five to ten years.
Biscayne National Park's FMP is the result of a cooperative effort
between the Park and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC). This partnership is a necessary part of fishery
management because the Park's enabling legislation states that fishing
within the Park must be in accordance with the laws of the State of
Florida.
The FMP FEIS presented a range of five alternatives. The
development of the alternatives and the identification of the preferred
alternative were based on a combination of public input (derived from
three public comment periods and three series of public meetings, and
the input of the FMP Working Group), inter-agency meetings, and
environmental and socioeconomic analyses. The NPS, in coordination with
the FWC, has decided to implement Alternative 4, Rebuild and Conserve
Park Fisheries Resources for its Fishery Management Plan. The NPS and
FWC determined that Alternative 4 best balances resource protection and
visitor use. Factors considered during the decision-making process
included: (A) Assessment of the direction and degree of environmental
impacts to the Park's fisheries resources, given their current status,
(B) the ability of an alternative to equitably balance conservation,
enjoyment and extractive uses of the Park's fisheries resources, (C)
impacts on recreational and commercial fishing, (D) feasibility of
successfully implementing regulations to achieve alternative goals, and
(E) socioeconomic impacts. Factors A and B were weighted more heavily
than the remaining factors.
Under Alternative 4, a considerable change from current management
strategies would be required to achieve a substantial improvement in
Park fisheries resources status and a reduction in fishing-related
habitat impacts. Specific regulatory changes proposed under this
alternative include:
Developing park-specific fishing regulations (in
conjunction with the FWC) to increase the abundance and average size of
targeted fish and invertebrate species within the Park by at least 20%
over current conditions and over conditions in similar habitat outside
the park.
Elimination of the two-day lobster sport season.
Prohibition of the use of an air supply or gear with a
trigger mechanism while spearfishing.
Phasing out of commercial fishing via the requirement that
all commercial fishers must purchase a limited-entry, Special Use
Permit from the park Superintendent. The permit would be permanently
non-transferable, would require annual renewal, and would be ``use or
lose'' such that a permit could not be renewed if (1) it was not
renewed the previous year, or (2) no catch was reported in the previous
year.
Establishment (by FWC) of coral reef protection areas
(CRPAs) to delineate coral reef habitat on which lobster and crab traps
could not be deployed. Traps within the CRPAs could be moved outside
CRPA boundaries by authorized FWC or Park staff, or other authorized
personnel. Additionally, the trap number from traps observed within
CRPAs would be recorded, and traps with three or more recorded
violations could be confiscated from Park waters.
Proposal of a no-trawl zone within the Bay, in which
commercial shrimp trawling would be prohibited. This zone would serve
to protect juvenile fish and invertebrates commonly caught as bycatch
in trawls, as well as protect essential fish habitat.
New regulations will be implemented through the federal rulemaking
process (for federal rules) and through the FWC's rulemaking process
(for park-specific state rules). The public will have the opportunity
to comment on all proposed regulatory changes. Regulatory changes that
would be implemented are expected to improve fisheries and habitat
resources. The FEIS and National Marine Fishery Service Biological
Opinion can be obtained in its entirety by (1) downloading the report
from the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/bisc, (2) Visiting Biscayne National Park
at 9700 SW 328th St, Homestead, FL 33033 to request a copy, or (3)
Calling Biscayne National Park at 305-230-1144 to request a copy.
Dated: October 1, 2014.
Stan Austin,
Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-25583 Filed 10-27-14; 8:45 am]
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