[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 110 (Wednesday, June 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32745-32746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13861]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-AY26
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 scoping
meetings; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council)
announces its intent to prepare an amendment (Amendment 14) to the
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and
Butterfish (MSB) and to prepare an EIS to analyze the impacts of any
proposed management measures. This amendment may address one or more of
the following issues: The implementation of catch share systems for the
squid fisheries; the need for additional fishery monitoring to
determine the significance of river herring and shad incidental catch
in the MSB fisheries; and the effectiveness and impacts of management
measures to minimize bycatch and/or incidental catch of river herrings
and shads. The Council is initiating a public process to determine the
scope of alternatives to be addressed in the amendment and EIS. NMFS
and the Council are alerting the interested public of the commencement
of the scoping process and providing for public participation in
compliance with environmental documentation requirements.
DATES: Public comments on Amendment 14 scoping must be received no
later than 5 p.m., eastern standard time, on July 9, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on Amendment 14 may be sent by any of the
following methods:
E-mail to the following address: [email protected]. Include
``Scoping Comments on MSB 14'' in the subject line;
Mail to Dan Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover,
DE 19901. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Scoping Comments on MSB
14;'' or
Fax to Dan Furlong, (302) 674-5399. Include ``Scoping
Comments on MSB 14'' in the fax.
Requests for copies of the scoping document and other information
should be directed to Dan Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover,
DE 19901, toll-free telephone: (877) 446-2362. The scoping document is
also accessible via the Internet at http://www.mafmc.org/fmp/msb.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Toll-free telephone: (877) 446-
2362.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Council initiated Amendment 14 to the MSB FMP for two reasons:
(1) There are concerns among some stakeholders that there may be too
much harvesting capacity in the squid (both Loligo and Illex) fisheries
and that uncontrolled activation of latent capacity could cause
negative economic effects for participants. Implementation of catch
shares may address some of these concerns; and (2) There is concern by
some stakeholders that more should be done to monitor and/or minimize
the incidental catch of river herrings (blueback and alewife) and shads
(American and hickory) in the MSB fisheries, especially given the
currently low levels of monitoring in the MSB fisheries and the likely
poor stock status of shads and river herrings.
Related to the first concern, this amendment may address one or
more of the following issues: The implementation of catch share systems
for the squid fisheries to further refine the existing management
process, the biological and socio-economic outcomes of a catch share
system and how such outcomes depend on specific program design
features, and the possible need for changes to existing information
collection processes if a catch share system is implemented. Related to
the second concern, the amendment may address: The need for additional
fishery monitoring to determine the significance of river herring and
shad incidental catch in the MSB fisheries, and the effectiveness and
impacts of possible management measures to minimize bycatch and/or
incidental catch of river herrings and shads in the MSB fisheries.
The Council will gather information during the scoping period.
This is the first and best opportunity for members of the public to
raise concerns related to the scope of issues that will be considered
in Amendment 14. The Council needs your input both to identify
management issues and develop effective alternatives. Your comments
early in the amendment development process will help us address issues
of public concern in a thorough and appropriate manner. Comments can be
made in writing or made verbally during the scoping hearings. The
Council announced the scoping meeting dates in a separate Federal
Register notice published on May 27, 2010 (75 FR 29725). If the Council
decides to move forward with Amendment 14, the Council will develop a
range of management alternatives to be considered and prepare an EIS to
analyze the impacts of the management alternatives being considered as
required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Impacts may be
direct, individual, or cumulative. A draft EIS will be distributed for
public review. During a 45-day public
[[Page 32746]]
comment period, which will include public hearings, the public may
comment on the draft EIS. Following a review of the comments, the
Council will then choose final preferred management measures for
submission with the final EIS to the Secretary of Commerce for
publishing of a proposed and then final rule, both of which have
additional comment periods.
Scoping Hearing Schedule
Scoping hearings will be held on the following dates:
June 14, 2010, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.: Hilton Garden Inn, Providence
Airport/Warwick, One Thuber Street, Warwick, RI 02886, 401-734-9600;
June 15, 2010, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.: Holiday Inn Express East End, 1707
Old country Rd., Route 58, Riverhead, NY 11901, 631-548-1000;
June 17, 2010, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.: Congress Hall, 251 Beach Ave, Cape
May, NJ 08204, 609-884-6592; and
June 23, 2010, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.: Virginia Marine Resources
Commission, 2600 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor, Newport News, VA 23607.
Special Accommodations
The scoping hearings are accessible to people with physical
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Dan Furlong (see ADDRESSES above)
at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 4, 2010.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-13861 Filed 6-4-10; 4:15 am]
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