[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5282-5283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2161]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-AY56
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Amendment 32 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; intent to prepare a draft environmental impact
statement (DEIS); scoping; 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 an
amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of
the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). These alternatives will consider measures to
end overfishing of gag; create a rebuilding plan for the gag stock that
will restore the stock to its maximum sustainable yield level (MSY);
adjust gag and red grouper annual catch limits (ACLs), annual catch
targets (ACTs), and other management measures; and revise shallow-water
grouper accountability measures (AMs). In addition, the DEIS will
consider separating the recreational sector of the grouper component of
the reef fish fishery, revising multi-use individual fishing quota
(IFQ) shares, methods to reduce gag bycatch, and improving data
collection and monitoring of the recreational sector. The purpose of
this notice of intent (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 March 4, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Requests for information packets, written comments on the
scope of the DEIS, suggested alternatives and potential impacts, and
requests for additional information on the amendment should be sent to
Peter Hood, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional
Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5505; telephone
(727) 824-5305; fax (727) 824-5308. Comments may also be sent by email
to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Hood; phone: (727) 824-5305;
fax: (727) 824-5308; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Based on the results of the 2009 stock
assessment update, NMFS notified the Council on August 11, 2009, that
the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) gag stock was both overfished and undergoing
overfishing. The gag stock has shown declines in indices of abundance
since 2005. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), within two years of notifying
the Council of a stock's condition, a plan must be developed and
implemented to end overfishing and rebuild the stock.
For Gulf gag and red grouper, ACLs must be reexamined in light of
new information on the stocks. To rebuild the gag stock, an ACL, and
optionally an ACT, must be set at levels that will prevent overfishing
from occurring while allowing the gag stock to rebuild to a biomass
level capable of producing MSY in 10 years or less. Although the 2009
stock assessment update of the red grouper stock in the Gulf of Mexico
indicated the stock continues to be neither overfished or undergoing
overfishing, the stock has declined since 2005. The ACT currently in
effect exceeds the optimum yield level for 2010 and the acceptable
biological catch level set by the Scientific and Statistical Committee
for 2010.
In Amendment 30B, the AMs implemented for gag and red grouper were
established under a quota system and do not reflect changes that
occurred in the commercial sector when the IFQ system was implemented
in January of 2010, including the incorporation of tilefish into the
IFQ program. In addition, the AMs do not contain the overage adjustment
for overfished stocks recommended by the National Standard 1
Guidelines. Therefore, the AMs for gag and red grouper should be
revisited.
Private recreational fishing vessels and for-hire (charter and
headboat) vessels are currently combined for management purposes into a
single recreational sector. However, if each sector had its own ACL and
ACT, managers would have greater flexibility in managing the sectors.
The for-hire and private recreational sectors could potentially be
given different fishing seasons, bag limits, or other management
measures, and could improve the net benefits of the recreational
grouper component of the reef fish fishery.
The IFQ system implemented for the commercial grouper and tilefish
components of the Gulf reef fish fishery in 2010 allowed for
flexibility in gag and red grouper harvest by allowing for multi-use
shares (valid for harvesting either red or gag grouper). However, under
the reduced red grouper and gag annual catch limits expected to be
implemented through Amendment 32, it is possible that the use of multi-
use shares could result in commercial harvest of red grouper or gag
exceeding the sector allocation. To prevent this from happening,
adjustments need to be made to the provision for multi-use shares in
the grouper individual fishing quota system.
The reduced gag catch limits under the initial years of the
rebuilding plan require substantial reductions in both commercial and
recreational harvest. The commercial harvest can be reduced through an
adjustment to the commercial quota, but the recreational sector has no
quota. Recreational catch levels are managed primarily through a
combination of bag limits, minimum size limits and closed seasons. A
combination of management measures need to be adopted that will achieve
the needed reductions in the recreational fishery.
Bycatch issues need to be addressed in both the commercial and
recreational grouper fisheries. With the large difference between the
red grouper and gag commercial quotas, this could result in large
numbers of gag discards as fishermen direct effort to catch red
grouper. Specifically, ways to reduce gag bycatch are needed in both
sectors of the fishery. Proposed measures have
[[Page 5283]]
included time and area closures to protect gag, the use of gear that
does not target gag, and changes in gag size and bag limits.
Data collection and monitoring of the recreational fishery could be
improved in terms of both accuracy and timeliness to enhance management
of the recreational sector and application of AMs. The Council is
evaluating methods such as fish tags or a fish stamp, and several
proposals have been directed toward the Council to improve the
monitoring and management of the recreational fishery. These
recommendations could improve the quality and timeliness of information
needed to assess the different reef fish fisheries.
NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, will develop a DEIS to
describe and analyze management alternatives to address the management
needs described above. Those alternatives include, but are not limited
to, a ``no action'' alternative regarding each action; alternatives to
end overfishing of gag and rebuild the stock to its MSY level;
alternatives to adjust gag and red grouper ACLs, ACTs, management
measures, and AMs; alternatives to consider recreational sector
separation; alternatives to revise how multi-use IFQ shares are
allocated; alternatives to reduce gag bycatch; and alternatives to
improve data collection and monitoring of the recreational sector.
In accordance with NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6, Section
5.02(c), Scoping Process, NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, has
identified preliminary environmental issues as a means to initiate
discussion for scoping purposes only. These preliminary issues may not
represent the full range of issues that eventually will be evaluated in
the DEIS.
Copies of an information packet will be available from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
After the DEIS associated with Amendment 32 is completed, it will
be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA will
publish a notice of availability 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 to NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6 regarding NOAA's compliance
with NEPA and the CEQ regulations.
NMFS will consider public comments received on the DEIS in
developing the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) and before
adopting final management measures for the amendment. NMFS will submit
both the final amendment and the supporting FEIS to the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary) for review as per the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
NMFS will announce, through a notice published in the Federal
Register, the availability of the final amendment for public review
during the Department of Commerce Secretarial review period. During
Secretarial review, NMFS will also file the FEIS with the EPA and the
EPA will publish a notice of availability for the FEIS in the Federal
Register. This comment period will be concurrent with the Secretarial
review period and will end prior to final agency action to approve,
disapprove, or partially approve the amendment.
NMFS will announce, through a notice 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: January 27, 2010
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-2161 Filed 2-1-10; 8:45 am]
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