[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 22, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23519-23521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10578]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

RINs 0648-BI08, 0648-BI10, 0648-BI59


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Amendments 13 and 14 to the 
2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management 
Plan; Spatial Fisheries Management

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

ACTION: Notice of scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces scoping meetings and webinars for three actions 
that will evaluate possible revisions to measures implemented under the 
2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fisheries 
Management Plan (FMP). The public process for these actions commences 
with scoping to determine the range of issues for each action. For each 
action, a notice announcing NMFS' intent to prepare an environmental 
analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act, and availability 
of an issues and options paper, is published in a separate Federal 
Register Notice. In Amendment 13 to the HMS FMP, NMFS considers 
refining the Individual Bluefin Tuna Quota (IBQ) Program, reassessing 
allocation of bluefin tuna quotas, including the discontinuing or 
phasing out of the Purse Seine category, and other regulatory 
provisions regarding bluefin directed fisheries and incidental pelagic 
longline fisheries. Amendment 14 explores options to implement the 
newly-revised National Standard 1 (NS1) guidelines in the context of 
shark annual catch limits (ACLs), including how to account for 
uncertainty stemming from either stock assessments or the management 
process. In the third action, NMFS considers ways to perform research 
and collect data in closed areas to assess the effectiveness of spatial 
HMS management.

DATES: Scoping meetings and webinars will be held on the dates listed 
below in Table 1 of SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

[[Page 23520]]


ADDRESSES: Scoping meetings will be held at the locations listed below 
in Table 1 of SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Warren or Sarah McLaughlin by 
phone at 978-281-9260 (Amendment 13); Gu[yacute] DuBeck or Ian Miller 
by phone at (301) 427-8503 (Amendment 14); Tobey Curtis by phone at 
(978) 281-9260 or Steve Durkee by phone at (202) 670-6637 (Spatial 
Management Regulatory Amendment).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Atlantic HMS (tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) are managed 
under the dual authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and 
Conservation Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Atlantic Tunas 
Convention Act. Under these authorities, regulations at 50 CFR part 635 
implement the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP as amended (copies are 
available upon request).
    NMFS announces scoping meetings and webinars for three actions that 
will evaluate possible revisions to measures implemented under the 2006 
Consolidated HMS FMP. The public process for these actions commences 
with scoping to determine the range of issues for each action. For each 
action, a notice announcing NMFS' intent to prepare an environmental 
analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act, and availability 
of an issues and options paper, published in separate Federal Register 
notices. While each of these actions are separate, they are 
interrelated in some ways. Depending on the outcomes, each action and 
results could have impacts on the other actions. During the rulemaking 
process, NMFS will coordinate these actions and clarify any interaction 
among the actions, or cumulative impacts.
    NMFS recently released its ``Draft Three-Year Review of the 
Individual Bluefin Quota (IBQ) Program'' (Draft Three-Year Review). The 
IBQ Program, adopted in Amendment 7 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP 
(Amendment 7), is a catch share program that introduced individual 
vessel accountability for bluefin tuna bycatch in the pelagic longline 
fishery. Formal reviews of such catch share programs are required to 
evaluate whether their objectives are met. In Amendment 7, NMFS 
proposed and finalized a plan to formally evaluate the success and 
performance of the IBQ Program after three years of operation, and to 
provide the HMS Advisory Panel with a publicly-available written 
document with its findings. This is the draft review, which is expected 
to be finalized by September 2019 after consideration by the HMS 
Advisory Panel.
    NMFS also recently released a scoping document (Issues and Options: 
Amendment 13) for use in 2019 for scoping, a public process during 
which NMFS will consider a range of issues and objectives, as well as 
possible options, for Atlantic bluefin tuna management. The options 
presented in the issues and options paper consider the preliminary 
results of the Draft Three-Year Review, and respond to recent changes 
in the bluefin tuna fishery, and input from the public and HMS Advisory 
Panel. The options include refining the IBQ program, reassessing 
allocation of bluefin tuna quotas (including the potential 
discontinuation or phasing out of the Purse Seine category) and other 
regulatory provisions regarding bluefin tuna directed fisheries and 
bycatch in the pelagic longline fishery, to determine if existing 
measures are the best means of achieving current management objectives 
for bluefin tuna management. During scoping, public feedback will be 
accepted via written comments or at scoping meetings as described in a 
separate Federal Register notice.
    NMFS has also recently published an issues and options paper for 
Amendment 14 that reviews annual catch limits and various target 
reference points for sharks. This action could result in a different 
process for establishing the annual catch limits for sharks, and 
therefore could affect all fishermen, commercial and recreational, that 
target or incidentally catch sharks. During scoping, public feedback 
will be accepted via written comments or scoping meetings as described 
in a separate Federal Register notice.
    NMFS also released an issues and options paper considering 
approaches to collect data and perform research in areas that are 
currently closed to certain gears or fishing activities for Atlantic 
HMS. Such research will help evaluate and support spatial fisheries 
management for Atlantic HMS. ``Spatial management'' refers to a suite 
of fisheries conservation and management measures that are based on 
geographic area. When some spatial management tools, such as closed 
areas, are deployed, the collection of fishery-dependent data is 
reduced or eliminated. This loss of data can compromise effective 
fisheries management. The issues and options paper considers approaches 
to collect data and perform research in areas that may otherwise 
restrict commercial or recreational fishing, making the collection of 
fisheries-dependent data challenging or not possible. During scoping, 
public feedback will be accepted via written comments or at scoping 
meetings as described in a separate Federal Register notice.
    In addition to the three actions listed above, NMFS is also 
currently in the process of developing a proposed rule regarding 
pelagic longline bluefin tuna area-based and weak hook management 
measures. For that action, NMFS recently released a Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) and intends to release a proposed rule shortly. 
The comment period of this proposed action overlaps with the comment 
periods for the three scoping actions. However, the public hearings for 
the DEIS and related proposed rule will be separate from the scoping 
meetings announced in this notice, with the exception of the July 30, 
2019 meeting listed in Table 1 below. If the proposed rule publishes in 
time, the July 30 meeting in Toms River will begin with the proposed 
rule public hearing, and will close with the scoping meeting for 
Amendment 13. Please see the subsequent Federal Register notice 
announcing the proposed rule public hearings.

Scoping Process

    NMFS encourages participation, by all persons affected or otherwise 
interested in recreational and commercial HMS fishing, in the process 
to determine the scope and significance of options to be analyzed and 
considered in the environmental analysis for these regulatory actions. 
All such persons are encouraged to submit written comments (see 
ADDRESSES), or comment at one of the scoping meetings or public 
webinars. Persons submitting comments are welcome to address the 
specific measures in the issues and options paper for each action. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Gu[yacute] DuBeck at 301-427-8503, at least 7 
days prior to the meeting.
    NMFS is holding scoping meetings in the geographic areas that may 
be affected by these actions, including locations on the Atlantic and 
Gulf of Mexico coasts, and webinars accessible via the internet. 
Scoping meetings and webinars for each action are identified in Table 
1. NMFS has also asked to present information on these actions to the 
Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, and New England Fishery 
Management Councils at their meetings during the public scoping period. 
Please see their meeting notices for dates, times, and locations. In 
addition, these

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actions will be discussed at the HMS Advisory Panel meeting on May 21-
23, 2019 (March 7, 2019; 84 FR 8306).
    After public comment has been gathered and analyzed, NMFS will 
determine if it is necessary to proceed with preparation of an 
environmental analysis and proposed rule for each action, which would 
include additional opportunities for public comment. The scope of the 
environmental analysis would consist of the range of actions, 
alternatives, and impacts to be considered.
    The process of developing a regulatory action is expected to take 
approximately two years. Until the environmental analysis and proposed 
rule are finalized or until other regulations are put into place, the 
current regulations remain in effect.

              Table 1--Dates, Times and Locations of the Scoping Meetings and Webinars Instructions
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              Action                       Date                  Time             Location and street address
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                                                SCOPING MEETINGS
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Amendment 13.....................  June 3, 2019........  5:00-8:00 p.m......  Gulf of Maine Research Institute,
                                                                               350 Commercial Street, Portland,
                                                                               ME 04101.
Amendment 13, Spatial Management   June 4, 2019........  5:00-8:00 p.m......  National Marine Fisheries Service,
 Research.                                                                     Greater Atlantic Regional Office,
                                                                               55 Great Republic Drive,
                                                                               Gloucester, MA 01930.
Amendment 13.....................  June 18, 2019.......  5:00-8:00 p.m......  Chatham Community Center, 702 Main
                                                                               Street, Chatham, MA 02633.
Amendment 13.....................  June 19, 2019.......  5:00-8:00 p.m......  Plymouth Public Library, 132 South
                                                                               Street, Plymouth, MA 02360.
Amendment 14.....................  June 24, 2019.......  5:00-8:00 p.m......  National Marine Fisheries Service,
                                                                               Southeast Regional Office, 263
                                                                               13th Avenue South, Saint
                                                                               Petersburg, FL 33701.
All..............................  June 25, 2019.......  5:00-8:00 p.m......  Susan Broom Kilmer Branch Library,
                                                                               101 Melody Lane, Ft. Pierce, FL
                                                                               34950.
Amendment 13.....................  July 9, 2019........  5:00-8:00 p.m......  NC Division of Marine Fisheries,
                                                                               5285 Highway 70, Morehead City,
                                                                               NC 28557.
All..............................  July 10, 2019.......  5:00-8:00 p.m......  Dare County Administration
                                                                               Building, 954 Marshall Collins
                                                                               Dr., Commissioners Meeting Room,
                                                                               Manteo, NC 27954.
All..............................  July 25, 2019.......  5:00-8:00 p.m......  Terrebonne Parish Library (Main
                                                                               Branch), 151 Library Dr., Houma,
                                                                               LA 70360.
Amendment 13 *...................  July 30, 2019.......  5:00-8:00 p.m......  Ocean County Library, Toms River
                                                                               Branch, 101 Washington Street,
                                                                               Toms River, NJ 08753.
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                                                    WEBINARS
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Amendment 13.....................  June 10, 2019.......  2:00-4:00 p.m......  Link: https://noaanmfs-events1.webex.com/noaanmfs-events1/onstage/g.php?MTID=e25072f282e22bc58188f278a9328285e 78a9328285e; Dial In: 800-369-
                                                                               1177; Passcode: 2046577.
Amendment 14.....................  May 28, 2019........  1:00-3:00 p.m......  Link:https://noaanmfs-events1.webex.com/noaanmfs-events1/onstage/g.php?MTID=ed71080c2cb6d03424331aaa808865f0f aa808865f0f; Dial In: 888-282-
                                                                               0428; Passcode: 4913538.
Spatial Management Research......  June 19, 2019.......  2:00-4:00 p.m......  Link: https://noaanmfs-events1.webex.com/noaanmfs-events1/onstage/g.php?MTID=e90547c85b1c1d30c8adedba286178d7d ba286178d7d; Dial In: 888-324-
                                                                               8014; Passcode: 5920937.
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* The July 30, 2019 meeting in Toms River, NJ may be scheduled along with a public hearing for a proposed rule
  to modify pelagic longline bluefin tuna area-based and weak hook management measures. For further information,
  please see the subsequent Federal Register notice announcing the proposed rule public hearing schedule.

    The public is reminded that NMFS expects participants at the 
scoping meetings to conduct themselves appropriately. At the beginning 
of each scoping meeting, a representative of NMFS will explain the 
ground rules (e.g., alcohol is prohibited from the meeting room; 
attendees will be called to give their comments in the order in which 
they registered to speak; each attendee will have an equal amount of 
time to speak; and attendees should not interrupt one another). The 
NMFS representative will attempt to structure the meeting so that all 
attending members of the public will be able to comment, if they so 
choose, regardless of the controversial nature of the subject(s). 
Attendees are expected to respect the ground rules, and, if they do 
not, they may be asked to leave the scoping meeting.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: May 16, 2019.
Kelly L. Denit,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-10578 Filed 5-21-19; 8:45 am]
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