[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 55 (Monday, March 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15189-15190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06438]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC); Fisheries of the 
Northeastern United States; Scoping Process

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold six 
scoping hearings in April 2015 for an Amendment to the Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish 
(MSB). The current focus of the amendment is to consider alternatives 
to reduce the capacities of the longfin squid and Illex squid fleets as 
defined by vessels with limited access permits. At the scoping hearings 
the Council will also take any general comments on MSB fishery 
management, which could inform future Council actions besides this 
Amendment. There will also be a separate written comment period for 
Amendment scoping, which will be described in an upcoming Federal 
Register announcement as a ``Notice of Intent (NOI)'' to potentially 
develop an EIS that accompanies the Amendment. That NOI will also 
contain information regarding these scoping hearings, but to provide 
the public with sufficient advance notice of the hearings, this notice 
is being published now since the NOI will likely publish shortly before 
the scoping hearings.

DATES: The meetings will be held over several weeks between April 6, 
2015 and April 21, 2015. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific 
dates and times.

ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific locations of the 
hearings.
    Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N. 
State St., Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: (302) 674-2331.
    Comments: Comments will be taken at all scoping hearings. A 
separate Federal Register announcement will be published soon that 
provides additional information on how to make written comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D. Executive 
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; telephone: (302) 
526-5255. The Council's Web site, www.mafmc.org also has details on the 
meeting locations, webinar access, and background materials. A scoping 
document will be posted to the Council Web site no later than March 24, 
2015.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There will be six scoping meetings (each 
lasting approximately 1-2 hours depending on attendance) with the 
following dates/times/locations:
    1. Monday, April 6, 2015, 4 p.m., Superior Trawl, 55 State Street, 
Narragansett, RI 02882; telephone: (401) 782-1171.
    2. Tuesday, April 7, 2015, 5 p.m., Montauk Library, 871 Montauk 
Highway, Montauk, NY 11954; telephone: (631) 668-3377.
    3. Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 5 p.m., Fairfield Inn, 185 MacArthur 
Dr., New Bedford, MA 02740; telephone: (774) 634-2000.
    4. Monday, April 13, 2015, 6 p.m., Congress Hall Hotel. 251 Beach 
Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204, telephone: (888) 944-1816.
    5. Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 5 p.m., Ocean Place Resort. 1 Ocean 
Blvd., Long Branch, NJ, 07740; telephone: 732-571-4000.
    6. Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 6 p.m., This April 21, 2015 meeting 
will be conducted via webinar accessible via the internet from the 
Council's Web site, www.mafmc.org. The Virginia Marine Resources 
Commission will also provide in-person access to the webinar at its 
office at: 2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor, Newport News, VA 23607; 
telephone: (757) 247-2200. Members of the public may also attend in-
person at the Council office address (see ADDRESSES) for this webinar 
meeting, if they contact the Council by April 19, 2015. Please contact 
Jason Didden by April 19, 2015 at [email protected] or (302) 526-5254 
if you would like to test/confirm that your computer is set up to 
access the webinar.
    In the Council's 2015 Implementation Plan (available at http://www.mafmc.org/strategic-plan/), the Council decided to initiate an 
action on a ``Squid Capacity Amendment.'' There is considerable latent 
capacity in both the longfin squid and Illex squid fisheries--a small 
portion of vessels with limited access squid permits account for most 
landings in most years. The Council is concerned that activation of 
this latent capacity could cause problems in the fishery such as racing 
to fish and increased incidental catch of non-target species. 
Accordingly, the Amendment is likely to consider a variety of 
approaches for reducing capacity in the squid fisheries. Such 
approaches could

[[Page 15190]]

include, but would not be limited to, a requalification of limited 
access permits, a tiered limited access system, and/or a limited access 
privilege program (LAPP), which is more commonly referred to as an 
``individual quota'' or ``catch share system.'' The Council has 
recently updated control dates for both squid fisheries--May 16, 2013 
for longfin squid (http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/nr/2013/May/13smblongfinbutterfishcontroldatephl.pdf) and August 2, 2013 
for Illex squid (http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/nr/2013/August/13smbillexcontroldatephl.pdf). The Council may (or may not) use 
the current or previous control dates as reference points as it 
considers whether, and/or how, to further limit the number of 
participants in the squid fisheries (see preceding links for additional 
details on the control dates).
    The Council will first gather information during the scoping 
period. This is the first and best opportunity for members of the 
public to raise concerns related to the scope of issues that will be 
considered in the Amendment. The Council needs your input both to 
identify management issues and develop effective alternatives. Your 
comments early in the amendment development process will help us 
address issues of public concern in a thorough and appropriate manner. 
Comment topics could include the scope of issues in the amendment, 
concerns and potential alternatives related to capacity in the squid 
fisheries, and the appropriate level of environmental analysis. If the 
Council decides to move forward with the Amendment, the Council will 
develop a range of management alternatives to be considered and prepare 
a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and/or other appropriate 
environmental analyses. These analyses will consider the impacts of the 
management alternatives being considered, as required by the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Following a review of any comments on 
the draft analyses, the Council will then choose preferred management 
measures for submission with a Final EIS or Environmental Assessment to 
the Secretary of Commerce for publishing of a proposed and then final 
rule, both of which have additional comment periods. While the Council 
is conducting these scoping hearings, the Council will also accept 
general comments on the MSB fisheries. These general comments could 
inform Council decision making for upcoming annual specifications or 
other actions.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aid should be directed to M. Jan Saunders, (302) 526-5251, at 
least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: March 17, 2015.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-06438 Filed 3-20-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P