[Federal Register: May 24, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 101)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 28725-28726]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24my01-25]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[I.D. 051501D]
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery off
the Southern Atlantic States
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft supplemental environmental
impact statement (DSEIS); request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council)
intends to prepare a DSEIS to assess the impacts on the natural and
human environment of management measures proposed in its draft
Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of
the South Atlantic Region (FMP). The purpose of this document is to
solicit public comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed in
the DSEIS and to provide information on the Council's intended schedule
for completing the DSEIS and submitting it to NMFS for filing and for
further public comment.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed by
the DSEIS for draft Amendment 5 must be received by the Council by June
25, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the DSEIS and requests for
additional information on the management measures proposed in draft
Amendment 5 should be sent to the South Atlantic Fishery Management
Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 29407-4699;
phone: 843-571-4366; fax: 843-769-4520; e-mail: Kim.Iverson@noaa.govor
Robert.Mahood@noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson, 843-571-4366, or Dr.
Peter Eldridge, NMFS, 727-570-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Management measures for rock shrimp under
the FMP apply in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South
Atlantic. For the purposes of the FMP and its implementing regulations,
the South Atlantic consists of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern
Atlantic states (i.e., from the Virginia/North Carolina border through
the Florida Keys). The FMP currently establishes the following
management measures for rock shrimp: Federal fishing vessel permits
necessary to fish for, sell, transfer, or possess rock shrimp in or
from the South Atlantic EEZ; Federal dealer permits to receive rock
shrimp harvested in the South Atlantic EEZ; requirement for selected
dealers to report receipts and prices of rock shrimp harvested from the
South Atlantic EEZ; and a prohibition on fishing for or possessing rock
shrimp in or from the Oculina Bank habitat area of particular concern.
The Council is preparing draft Amendment 5 to the FMP. Amendment 5
will address the following issues: (1) The implementation of a limited
entry program for the rock shrimp fishery to remove speculative
interests from the fishery and ensure the economic viability of the
rock shrimp industry; (2) the establishment of mesh size restrictions
to reduce the harvest of small rock shrimp; (3) the requirement for
vessel operator permits and vessel monitoring systems to ensure better
compliance with the FMP's management measures and implementing
regulations; and (4) the specification of geographic areas within which
these aforementioned management measures would apply.
The Council is preparing a DSEIS as an integrated part of Amendment
5. The DSEIS will describe the amendment's proposed management measures
and their reasonable alternatives and will assess the environmental
impacts of these proposed and alternative measures. The Council is
requesting written comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed
in the DSEIS.
Based on input to be received during 7 public hearings that the
Council is conducting from May 3, 2001, through June 19, 2001 (see
notice of these hearings at 66 FR 22144) on a preliminary draft of
Amendment 5 and associated DSEIS, the Council intends to revise draft
Amendment 5, as appropriate, and to finalize the DSEIS. The Council
intends that the current public hearings on its preliminary draft
Amendment 5 and DSEIS supplement, for scoping purposes, the three
scoping meetings it held in 1994 to invite initial public input on the
scope of the issues to be addressed by Amendment 5 and the types of
environmental impacts associated with alternative management measures,
including those proposed measures listed here. With the exception of
the requirement for operator permits, which was disapproved by NMFS as
contained in a previous FMP amendment, these management measures have
not been
[[Page 28726]]
included in a previous FMP amendment.
Once the Council completes the DSEIS, it will submit it to NMFS for
filing with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA will publish
in the Federal Registera notice of availability of the DSEIS for public
comment. This procedure is pursuant to the Council on Environmental
Quality's regulations 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.
The Council intends to consider public comments received on the
DSEIS before adopting final management measures for a final Amendment
5. The Council intends to prepare a final supplemental environmental
impact statement (FSEIS) in support of its final Amendment 5. The
Council would then submit the final Amendment 5 and supporting FSEIS to
NMFS for Secretarial review, approval, and implementation under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. NMFS will
announce availability of Amendment 5 for public review during the
Secretarial review period though notice published in the Federal
Register. During Secretarial review, NMFS will also file the FSEIS with
EPA for a final public comment period on the FSEIS. 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 Amendment 5. All public comment periods on Amendment 5, its
proposed implementing regulations, and on its associated FSEIS will be
announced through notice published in the Federal Register. NMFS will
consider all public comments received during the Secretarial review
period for Amendment 5 (60-day period), whether they are on the
amendment, the FSEIS, or the proposed regulations, prior to final
agency action.
Copies of the preliminary draft Amendment 5/DSEIS may be obtained
by contacting the Council (see ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 17, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-13072 Filed 5-18-01; 3:57 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S