[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 77 (Tuesday, April 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22137-22139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08438]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XS031]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 53 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources 
of the Gulf of Mexico

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 
Amendment 53 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 53). Amendment 53 will 
address the conservation and management of Gulf of Mexico red grouper 
and will consider alternatives to

[[Page 22138]]

revise the commercial and recreational sector allocation, the 
overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual 
catch limits (ACLs), and annual catch targets (ACTs). 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 must be received by NMFS by May 21, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on Amendment 53 identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2020-0062'' 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-2020-0062, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Peter Hood, 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: Peter Hood, Southeast Regional Office, 
telephone: 727-824-5305; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The status of the Gulf red grouper stock was 
evaluated in the Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) 61 
stock assessment that was completed in 2019. The results of SEDAR 61 
indicated that the Gulf red grouper stock is not considered overfished 
or undergoing overfishing. However, fishermen and the Council have 
expressed concern about the health of the stock because of a decrease 
in landings, fewer legal sized fish, and a recent red tide event off 
the west coast of Florida. All weights described in this notice are in 
gutted weight.
    In 2018, the Council noted that the combined commercial and 
recreational Gulf red grouper landings have trended downwards from over 
7.26 million lb (3.29 million kg) in 2014 to approximately 4.16 million 
lb (1.89 million kg) in 2017. The Council also heard public testimony, 
primarily from commercial fishermen, who noted that Gulf red grouper 
are harder to catch and that there appears to less legal-size and 
larger fish throughout the species' range on the west Florida shelf. In 
addition, the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) 
reviewed an interim stock analysis conducted by the NMFS Southeast 
Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and concluded that the stock may be 
declining. Therefore, the SSC recommended that the Council reduce the 
2019 Gulf red grouper total ACL from 10.70 million lb (4.85 million kg) 
to 4.60 million lb (2.09 million kg). The Council decided on a more 
precautionary approach and reduced the 2019 ACL to 4.16 million lb 
(1.89 million kg), which was the equal to the 2017 harvest (84 FR 
52036; October 1, 2019).
    The SSC reviewed the SEDAR 61 stock assessment in September 2019. 
To predict recreational fishing effort and landings, the assessment 
used the historical time series of recreational landings that has been 
fully-calibrated to the new Marine Recreational Information Program 
(MRIP) Fishing Effort Survey (FES). This survey provides a better 
estimate of recreational effort and landings than the previous MRIP 
survey, and indicates that landing estimates for many species, 
including Gulf red grouper, are greater than previously thought. As a 
result, the calibrated historical recreational landings, when compared 
to commercial landings, are greater than the current allocation of 24 
percent recreational and 76 percent commercial, which was established 
in 2009 based on the average landings from 1986 through 2005.
    The Council's SSC agreed with the determination in SEDAR 61 that 
the Gulf red grouper stock was not overfished or experiencing 
overfishing, but recognized the stock may have been adversely affected 
by the 2018 red tide event. Therefore, the SSC recommended that the 
catch level projections produced by the assessment assume that the 
impact from the 2018 red tide is approximately the same as the impact 
of a red tide event that occurred in 2005. In January 2020, the SSC 
received additional information about how different sector allocations 
impact the OFL and ABC projections produced by the assessment. The 
SEFSC explained that if the commercial and recreational allocation is 
changed to better reflect historical recreational harvest based on the 
FES-adjusted MRIP landing estimates, the projected OFL and ABC are less 
than if the allocation remains the same. This reduction is caused by 
changes in the estimated size distribution of harvested fish and 
greater estimates of discarded fish by the recreational sector.
    The Council and NMFS are currently considering two actions in 
Amendment 53. The first action would revise the Gulf red grouper 
allocation between the commercial and recreational sectors. The Council 
is currently considering historical landings as a basis to revise the 
allocation. For the second action, the Council is considering revising 
the sector ACLs and ACTs based on the allocation selected in the first 
action of Amendment 53 and the results of SEDAR 61. The Council and 
NMFS may add actions to Amendment 53 in the future, such as 
recreational bag limits, minimum size limits, and seasonal closures, 
after the scoping process or based on future discussions of this 
amendment.
    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'' alternatives. In accordance 
with the Companion Manual to NOAA Administrative Order 216-6A, Section 
8(B), Scoping Requirements for an EIS, 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 in the Amendment 53 draft options paper. These 
preliminary issues may not represent the full range of issues that 
eventually will be evaluated in the DEIS. A copy of the Amendment 53 
draft options paper is available at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-53-red-grouper-allocations-and-catch-levels.
    After the DEIS associated with Amendment 53 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 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 40 CFR parts 
1500-1508) and the Companion Manual to NOAA Administrative Order 216-
6A.

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    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 final amendment to NMFS for 
Secretarial review, approval, and implementation. 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 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: April 15, 2020.
H[eacute]l[egrave]ne M.N. Scalliet,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-08438 Filed 4-20-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P