[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4796-4797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02697]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG723


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel, 
Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; 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 
Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. An 
environmental impact statement may be necessary for the amendment to 
analyze the impacts of potential management measures in accordance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act. The Council has initiated this 
amendment to review and consider modifications to both the permitting 
system for Illex squid and the fishery management plan goals and 
objectives. This notice announces a public process for determining the 
scope of issues to be addressed, and for identifying the significant 
issues related to this action. This notice alerts the interested public 
of the scoping process, the potential development of a draft 
environmental impact statement, and to provide for public participation 
in that process.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 11:59 p.m., EST, 
on April 12, 2019. Public scoping meetings will be held during this 
comment period. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for dates, times, and 
locations.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent by any of the following 
methods:
     Email to the following address: 
[email protected]. Include ``Illex Permits and FMP 
Goals Amendment Scoping Comments'' in the subject line;
     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 ``Illex Permits and FMP Goals Amendment Scoping Comments''; or
     Fax to (302) 674-5399.
    Comments may also be provided at the April 2019 Council meeting. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the meeting date, time, and location.
    The scoping document may be obtained from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council office at the previously provided address, by 
request to the Council by telephone (302) 674-2331, or at http://www.mafmc.org/msb/ msb/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, 
DE 19901; telephone (302) 674-2331.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Council initiated this action to review and consider 
modifications to both the permitting system for Illex squid and the 
goals and objectives of the entire Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 
Butterfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). In June 2017, the Council 
considered, but did not adopt, revisions to Illex squid permits as part 
of Amendment 20 to the FMP (December 14, 2018; 83 FR 64257). Since 
then, effort has increased and the fishery has been closed in both 2017 
and 2018 after fully harvesting available Illex squid quota. Given 
recent fishery performance, the Council is evaluating if permitted 
access to the Illex fishery should be modified based on recent and 
historical participation. Existing FMP goals and objectives have not 
been revised since they were originally established in 1983. The 
Council is seeking input whether these goals and objectives are still 
appropriate for managing the Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish 
fisheries or if they should be modified. More details may be found in 
the Scoping Document (see ADDRESSES for how to obtain scoping document) 
and on the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish page of the 
Council's website at http://www.mafmc.org/msb/.
    The scoping period is an important 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 public input to identify 
management issues, develop effective alternatives, and identify 
possible impacts to be considered. Public comments early in the 
amendment development process will help the Council address issues of 
public concern in a thorough and appropriate manner. Comments can be 
made during the scoping hearings or as described above (see ADDRESSES).
    After this initial phase of information gathering, if the Council 
decides to proceed with the amendment the Council will evaluate 
potential management alternatives. The Council will then develop a 
draft amendment, incorporating the identified management alternatives, 
for public review. The Council will also prepare draft environmental 
analyses, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and 
provide those analyses for review and comment by the public as 
appropriate. Finally, the Council will choose preferred management 
measures for submission with the appropriate environmental analyses to 
the Secretary of Commerce to publish a proposed and then final rule, 
both of which have additional comment periods. While there are many 
opportunities for public comment in the process, this initial scoping 
comment opportunity is particularly important for assisting the Council 
in establishing the overall focus and direction of the amendment.

Scoping Hearings

    Although the Council did not ultimately revise Illex squid permits 
as part of Amendment 20 to the FMP, the public provided scoping 
comments during the development of that action in response to a Notice 
of Intent published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2015 (80 FR 
15991), which the Council considered as part of that action. To solicit 
further public comment on Illex squid permits and potential updates to 
the FMP objectives, the Council accepted additional comments at the 
following four meetings:

[[Page 4797]]



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                  Date                               Address
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Monday, February 4, 2019, at 6:00 p.m..  Corless Auditorium, University
                                          of Rhode Island Bay Campus,
                                          215 South Ferry Road,
                                          Narragansett, RI 02882, 401-
                                          874-6440.
Tuesday, February 5, 2019, at 5:30 p.m.  Gurney's Inn, 290 Old Montauk
                                          Road, Montauk, NY 11954, 631-
                                          668-2345.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019, at 5:30     Congress Hall Hotel, 200
 p.m.                                     Congress Place, Cape May, NJ
                                          08204, 609-884-8421.
Thursday, February 7, 2019, at 6:00 p.m  Internet webinar: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/msb-scoping-2019/, Webinar help:
                                          302-397-1131, With a listening
                                          station at the new Virginia
                                          Marine Resources Commission
                                          location:, 380 Fenwick Road,
                                          Ft. Monroe, VA 23651, 757-247-
                                          2200.
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    Due to the late 2018/early 2019 government shutdown, prior notice 
of these meetings was not published in the Federal Register and NMFS 
was not able to publish this Notice of Intent before the above 
hearings. To facilitate comments within the comment period for this 
notice, an additional internet webinar scoping hearing will be 
conducted on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. via this link: 
http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/msb-scoping-2019/. The Council will also 
accept additional in-person scoping comments provided at its April 9-
11, 2019, meeting at the Icona Golden Inn, 7849 Dune Drive, Avalon, NJ 
08202 (telephone number: 609-368-5155). The date and time for the 
scoping hearing during the April Council meeting will be published in a 
future separate Federal Register notice specific to that meeting. When 
further developing this action, the Council will consider all relevant 
public comments received during previously scheduled 2019 hearings even 
though they occurred prior to the official comment period defined in 
this Notice of Intent.

Special Accommodations

    The scoping hearings are accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aid should 
be directed to M. Jan Saunders (302-674-2331, ext 251) at least 5 days 
prior to the meeting date.

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

    Dated: February 13, 2019.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-02697 Filed 2-15-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P