[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 10, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28829-28830]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10911]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE600


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 42

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.

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SUMMARY: The NMFS Southeast Region, in collaboration with the Gulf of 
Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council), intends to prepare a DEIS 
to describe and analyze a range of alternatives for management actions 
to be included in Amendment 42 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for 
the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 42). Amendment 
42 will consider an allocation-based management program for the 
headboat component of the reef fish recreational fishery in the Gulf of 
Mexico (Gulf). The purpose of this NOI is to solicit public comments on 
the scope of issues to be addressed in the DEIS.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
DEIS will be accepted until June 9, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2016-0055, 
by either of the following methods:
     Electronic submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2016-0055, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Susan Gerhart, NMFS 
Southeast Regional Office, 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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Gerhart, NMFS Southeast Regional 
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council recently took action to provide 
more flexibility in managing the harvest of red snapper by the various 
components of the Gulf reef fish recreational sector. In 2014, the 
Council established separate private angling and Federal charter 
vessel/headboat (for-hire) components of the red snapper recreational 
sector. The decrease over time in the proportion of red snapper 
harvested by anglers fishing from Federal for-hire vessels and 
differences in regulatory environments faced by Federal for-hire 
operators and private anglers contributed to the Council's decision to 
restructure the red snapper recreational sector to increase flexibility 
for each component. Recreational fishing for other reef fish species 
has not been as restricted as red snapper, but fishing has closed in 
Federal waters in recent years for several popular reef fish species 
with recreational annual catch limits.
    In early 2015, the Council requested the development of Amendment 
42 to the Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf 
of Mexico (Amendment 42) to address management for the headboat 
component of the Gulf reef fish fishery recreational sector. Management 
measures under consideration in Amendment 42 include allocation-based 
programs. The purpose of the proposed measures in Amendment 42 is to 
reduce management uncertainty and improve economic conditions for 
operators and owners of Gulf reef fish headboats, and provide 
flexibility by increasing fishing opportunities for their angler 
passengers through a management program for Gulf headboats 
participating in the Southeast Region Headboat Survey (SRHS). The 
species that may be included in the program developed in Amendment 42 
are red snapper, gray triggerfish, greater amberjack, gag, and red 
grouper.
    In the Gulf, one Federal charter vessel/headboat permit for reef 
fish is issued by NMFS, and the permit does not distinguish between 
headboats and charter vessels. The SRHS collects catch and effort data 
from headboats in the Southeast Region, thereby producing a catch 
history for each vessel included in the survey. In addition, for 
fishery managers, the SRHS continues to be the sole source for effort 
and landings estimates for the headboat component as a whole. For these 
reasons, the vessels included in Amendment 42 are those vessels with 
Federal charter vessel/headboat permits for reef fish that also have 
landings in the SRHS, as described in Amendment 42. The availability of 
vessel-specific landings data through the SRHS may allow development of 
an allocation-based management program for headboats using those 
landings histories.
    NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, will develop a DEIS for 
Amendment 42 to describe and analyze alternatives to address the 
management needs described above, including the ``no action'' 
alternative. In accordance with NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6A and 
the regulations issued by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508), NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, has 
identified preliminary environmental issues as a means to initiate 
discussion for scoping purposes only. These preliminary issues may not 
represent the full range of issues that eventually will be evaluated in 
the DEIS. A copy of the Amendment 42 draft options paper is available 
at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/index.html.
    Comments on the scope of the DEIS may be submitted in writing to 
NMFS (see ADDRESSES) during the 30-day scoping period. After the 
scoping period and during the development of

[[Page 28830]]

Amendment 42, the Council will accept written comments on the action, 
and oral comments may be made during the public testimony portion of 
any Council meeting. The next Council meeting will be June 20-24, 2016, 
at the Hilton Clearwater Beach, 400 Mandalay Avenue, Clearwater Beach, 
FL.
    After the DEIS associated with Amendment 42 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. Consistent with the CEQ regulations, 
the DEIS will have a 45-day public comment period.
    The Council and NMFS will consider public comments received on the 
DEIS in developing the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) and 
before adopting final management measures for the amendment. NMFS will 
submit the consolidated final amendment and supporting FEIS to the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review as required by the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
    NMFS will announce, through a notification in the Federal Register, 
the availability of the final amendment for public review during the 
Department of Commerce Secretarial review period and will consider all 
public comments. During Secretarial review, NMFS will also file the 
FEIS with the EPA, and the EPA will publish a notice of availability 
for the FEIS in the Federal Register. This public comment period is 
expected to be concurrent with the Secretarial review period and will 
end prior to final agency action to approve, disapprove, or partially 
approve Amendment 42.
    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: May 4, 2016.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-10911 Filed 5-9-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P