[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 58 (Thursday, March 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15991-15992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06944]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD855


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 intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS); notice of initiation of scoping process; notice of public 
scoping meetings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council announces its 
intent to prepare, in cooperation with NMFS, an amendment to the 
Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish, 
and to potentially prepare an EIS in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act to analyze the impacts of any proposed 
management measures. 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. This 
notice announces a public process for determining the scope of issues 
to be addressed, for identifying concerns and potential alternatives 
related to capacity in the squid fisheries, and for determining the 
appropriate level of environmental analysis. This notice alerts the 
interested public of the scoping process, the potential development of 
a Draft EIS, and provides for public participation in that process. The 
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold six scoping hearings 
in April 2015 for this amendment. At the scoping hearings the Council 
will also take any general comments on mackerel, squid, and butterfish 
fisheries management, which could inform future Council actions not 
including this amendment.

DATES: The meetings will be held over several weeks between April 6, 
2015 and April 21, 2015. Written comments must be received on or before 
11:59 p.m., EST, on May 11, 2015.

ADDRESSES: There will be six scoping meetings listed under the heading 
Dates, Times, and Locations.
    Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N. 
State St., Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: (302) 674-2331.
    Comment addresses: Written comments may be sent by any of the 
following methods:
     Email to the following address: [email protected]; Include 
``Squid Amendment Scoping Comments'' in the subject line (recommended);
     Mail or hand deliver to Dr. Christopher M. Moore, 
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North 
State Street, Suite 201, Dover, Delaware 19901. Mark the outside of the 
envelope ``Squid Amendment Scoping Comments''; or
     Fax to (302) 674-5399.
     Comments may also be provided verbally at any of the 
public scoping meetings.

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. Please 
contact Jason Didden by April 19, 2015 at [email protected] or (302) 
526-5254 if you would like to confirm that your computer is set up to 
access the webinar.
    A scoping document will be posted to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council Web site.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Dates, Times and 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; (757) 247-2200. 
Members of the public may also attend in-person at the Council office 
address (see below) for this webinar meeting, if they contact the 
Council by April 19, 2015.

Background

    In the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) 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 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

[[Page 15992]]

``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. Comments can be made 
during the scoping hearings as detailed above or in writing. 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 EIS 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. 
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.

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

    Dated: March 23, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-06944 Filed 3-25-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P