[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 153 (Thursday, August 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54303-54304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17170]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[0648-XD226]


Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Assessment on the 
Effects of Issuing an Incidental Take Permit No. 27106

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

ACTION: Notice; availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of the Draft Environmental 
Assessment (EA) on the effects of issuing an Incidental Take Permit 
(ITP) (No. 27106) to North Carolina Department of Environment and 
Natural Resources, Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF), pursuant to 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, for the 
incidental take of ESA-listed sea turtles and sturgeon associated with 
the otherwise lawful gill net fisheries operating in the inshore waters 
of North Carolina. The duration of the requested permit is 10 years. 
NMFS is requesting comment on the draft EA.

DATES: Written comments must be received at the appropriate address or 
fax number (see ADDRESSES) on or before September 11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The EA is available for download and review at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/incidental-take-permits under the section heading Related Documents for 
the Incidental Take Permit to North Carolina Division of Marine 
Fisheries (Sea Turtles and Sturgeon). The draft EA is also available 
upon written request (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2023-0098, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2023-0098 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter 
or attach your comments.
    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: Celeste Stout, NMFS, Office of 
Protected Resources at [email protected], 301-427-8403; Wendy 
Piniak, NMFS, Office of Protected Resources at [email protected], 
301-427-8402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Publication of this notice begins the 
official public comment period for this draft EA. Per the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the purpose of the draft EA is to 
evaluate the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts caused 
by the issuance of Permit No. 27106 to NCDMF for the incidental take of 
ESA-listed sea

[[Page 54304]]

turtles and sturgeon associated with the otherwise lawful anchored 
small and large-mesh gill net fisheries operating in the inshore waters 
of North Carolina. All comments received will become part of the public 
record and will be available for review.
    Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations prohibit the `taking' 
of a species listed as endangered or threatened. The ESA defines 
``take'' to mean harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 
capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. NMFS 
may issue permits, under limited circumstances to take listed species 
incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities. 
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA provides a mechanism for authorizing 
incidental take of listed species. NMFS regulations governing permits 
for threatened and endangered species are promulgated at 50 CFR 
222.307.

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following species are included in the EA: North Atlantic and 
South Atlantic Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) of green (Chelonia 
mydas), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill (Eretmochelys 
imbricata), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and Northwest Atlantic 
Ocean DPS of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles, Gulf of Maine, 
New York Bight, Chesapeake, Carolina, and South Atlantic DPSs of 
Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus), and shortnose 
sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum).

Background

    NMFS received a draft permit application and conservation plan from 
NCDMF on June 22, 2022. Based on our review of the draft application, 
we requested further information and clarification on their mitigation 
measures and take requests. After several draft submissions and 
reviews, on December 2, 2022, NCDMF submitted a complete revised 
application for the incidental take of ESA-listed sea turtles and 
sturgeon. On December 22, 2022, we published a notice of receipt (87 FR 
78659) of application and conservation plan from NCDMF for an 
incidental take permit. In that notice, we made the ITP application and 
associated conservation plan available for public comment. 
Subsequently, we received a request to extend the public comment 
period. NMFS provided a 30-day extension (88 FR 3971) to the comment 
period which closed on February 22, 2023. We received 231 comments on 
the application and conservation plan and responses to these comments 
are available in the draft EA.

National Environmental Policy Act

    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA and 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 
1506.6). The draft EA was prepared in accordance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 
4321, et seq.), 40 CFR 1500-1508 and NOAA policy and procedures (NOAA 
Administrative Order [NAO] 216-6A and the Companion Manual for the NAO 
216-6A).

Alternatives Considered

    NMFS' proposed action is issuance of an ITP to NCDMF, which would 
authorize take of threatened and endangered sea turtle and sturgeon 
species associated with the otherwise lawful operation of NC commercial 
inshore large and small-mesh anchored gill net fisheries and require 
implementation of a conservation plan, in accordance with the 
requirements of the ESA. In preparing the draft EA, NMFS considered the 
following two alternatives for the proposed action.
    Alternative 1: No Action. In accordance with the NOAA Companion 
Manual (CM) for NAO 216-6A, Section 6.B.i, NMFS is defining the no 
action alternative as not authorizing the requested incidental take of 
ESA-listed sea turtles and sturgeon. This is consistent with our 
statutory obligation under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to either: 
(1) deny the requested ITP or (2) grant the requested ITP and prescribe 
mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements. Under the no action 
alternative, NMFS would not issue the ITP, in which case, we assume 
NCDMF would continue to operate the fishery as described in the 
application without implementing the full suite of specific mitigation 
measures, monitoring, reporting explained in the Conservation Plan. The 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations and the Companion 
Manual for NAO 216-6A require consideration and analysis of a no action 
alternative for the purposes of presenting a comparative analysis to 
the action alternatives. The no action alternative, serves as a 
baseline against which the impacts of the action alternatives will be 
compared and contrasted.
    Alternative 2: Issue Permit as Requested in Application (Preferred 
alternative): Under Alternative 2, an ITP would be issued to exempt 
NCDMF from the ESA prohibition on taking sturgeon and sea turtles 
during operation of the otherwise lawful NC commercial inshore anchored 
gill net fisheries. As required under Section 10(a)(1)(B), the ITP 
would require NCDMF to operate as described in the application and 
conservation plan to avoid, minimize, and mitigate take of ESA-listed 
sea turtles and sturgeon.
    Final permit determinations will not be completed until after the 
end of the 30-day comment period and will fully consider all public 
comments received during the comment period. NMFS will publish a record 
of its final action in the Federal Register.

    Dated: August 7, 2023.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-17170 Filed 8-9-23; 8:45 am]
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