[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2425-2427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00666]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF679


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Gulf of Mexico State Management Program Amendment for Recreational Red 
Snapper

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: 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 the 
State Management Program for Recreational Red Snapper Amendment to the 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf 
of Mexico (State Management Program Amendment). The State Management 
Program Amendment will consider alternatives that would allocate the 
total recreational red snapper annual catch limit (ACL) for the Gulf of 
Mexico (Gulf) among the individual Gulf states of Alabama, Florida, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and designate the components of the 
recreational sector that would be included under a state's management 
program (private angling and/or charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) 
components). These decisions would form the basis for individual state 
amendments to the FMP to allow each of the Gulf states to establish 
management measures for the recreational harvest of red snapper in 
adjacent Gulf Federal waters. State management would enable each state 
to specify the management measures that best meet the needs of its 
constituents, thereby addressing regional socio-economic concerns. The 
purpose of this NOI is to inform the public of upcoming opportunities 
to provide additional comments on the scope of issues to be addressed 
in the DEIS, as specified in this notice.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
DEIS must be received by NMFS by February 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the Amendment identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2017-0122'' 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-2017-0122, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments
     Mail: Submit written comments to Lauren Waters, 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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Waters, Southeast Regional 
Office, telephone: (727) 824-5305; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For Gulf red snapper the recreational sector 
is separated into Federal for-hire (charter vessels and headboats) and 
private angling components, each managed under their respective 
recreational quotas and annual catch targets (ACTs). This separation 
will end after the 2022 fishing year if the Council takes no further 
action. NMFS annually projects the recreational season length for each 
component based on the ACTs and the projected average weights of fish 
and catch rates derived from historical

[[Page 2426]]

trends. Despite increases in the total red snapper quota, the 
recreational season length for the private angler component has become 
progressively shorter.
    Fishermen from different Gulf states have requested more 
flexibility in recreational red snapper management so that regulations 
provide greater socio-economic benefits to their particular area. In 
June 2012, Louisiana requested that the Council develop a recreational 
red snapper regional management pilot program. As a result of the 
Louisiana request, the Council initiated development of Amendment 39 to 
the FMP. Amendment 39 considered several actions that are also 
currently being considered by the Council, such as the mechanism for 
implementing regional management, apportioning the recreational annual 
catch limit (ACL) among the Gulf states, and modifying post-season 
accountability measures (AMs) consistent with the regional management 
approach.
    In May 2013, NMFS published an NOI to prepare a draft environmental 
impact statement for Amendment 39 and solicited public comment (78 FR 
27956, May 13, 2013). As explained in that NOI, the intent of Amendment 
39 was to allow participating states or regions to design management 
options to better fit their needs. However, red snapper would remain a 
federally managed species. The Council and NMFS would continue to 
oversee management of the stock. This includes continuing to comply 
with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the mandate to ensure the red snapper annual 
recreational quota is not exceeded and that conservation objectives are 
achieved. The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) 
would continue to determine the acceptable biological catch (ABC) for 
red snapper, and the Council and NMFS would determine the total 
recreational red snapper quota that could be allocated among regions.
    During the development of Amendment 39, the Council received public 
input on actions and alternatives regarding regional management of 
recreational red snapper at numerous public hearing meetings and 
Council meetings held throughout the Gulf states from October 2012 
through January 2016, as well as via webinar. Additionally the 
Council's Reef Fish Advisory Panel reviewed regional management actions 
and alternatives in September 2015. The Environmental Protection Agency 
published a Notice of Availability for the DEIS for Amendment 39 in 
December 2015 (80 FR 79041, December 18, 2015). However, in January 
2016, the Council voted to postpone further work on Amendment 39. In 
April 2017, the Council began discussing regional management concepts 
again and decided to develop new amendments to provide the management 
flexibility desired by the Gulf states and their constituents. Similar 
to Amendment 39, the intent is to allow each participating state to 
implement management measures to better fit its needs, while achieving 
the same conservations goals as the Federal management measures in 
existence at any given time.
    The Council is currently considering several FMP amendments that 
would allow each Gulf state to manage the recreational harvest of red 
snapper in Federal waters adjacent to their state. The State Management 
Program Amendment will consider alternatives to apportion the total 
recreational red snapper ACL for the Gulf among the individual Gulf 
states and determine which components of the recreational sector would 
be included under a state's management program (private angling and/or 
charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) components). Five separate FMP 
amendments, one for each Gulf state, will consider alternatives to 
establish the state-specific authority structure, such as delegation or 
the use of conservation equivalency plans, and state-specific post-
season accountability measures for each state that participates in the 
State Management Program for recreational red snapper (State 
Amendments).
    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. The State 
Management Program Amendment DEIS will describe and analyze the 
apportionment and recreational sector component alternatives as well as 
describe and analyze the authority structure and accountability measure 
alternatives included in the five individual State Amendments. Thus, 
NMFS anticipates that the State Management Program Amendment EIS will 
include the relevant National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses 
for all six FMP amendments. However, NMFS will continue to evaluate 
this determination as the State Amendments are developed and will 
provide additional NEPA analysis as appropriate.
    In accordance with NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6A, accompanying 
NEPA Procedures (companion manual), and the 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 and alternatives in 
the State Management Program Amendment draft options paper and 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 
State Management Program Amendment draft options paper and action guide 
are available at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/2017/RSStateManagement/RSStateManageindex.html.
    After the DEIS associated with the State Management Program 
Amendment 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 NEPA (40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508) and to NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6A 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 the Council votes to submit the State Management Program 
Amendment to NMFS for Secretarial review, approval, and implementation 
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 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 notice 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.


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    Dated: January 10, 2018.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-00666 Filed 1-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P