[Federal Register: October 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 200)]
[Notices]
[Page 61351-61352]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18oc04-26]
[[Page 61351]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 100804B]
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Scoping
Meetings on Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management Within the U.S.
Exclusive Economic Zone of the Western Pacific Region
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a programmatic environmental impact
statement (PEIS); notice of scoping meetings; request for written
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and
NMFS announce their intent to prepare a PEIS in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) on the development of
an ecosystem-based fisheries management regime in the Western Pacific
Region. The Council and NMFS are jointly holding public scoping
meetings throughout the region to solicit comments on management
options for ecosystem-based fisheries management. The scoping meetings
and written comments will provide for public input on the issues, range
of alternatives, impacts, and any other issues or concerns related to
the proposed action which should be analyzed in detail in the PEIS, as
described in this scoping notice.
DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held in October, November and
December 2004. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates, times,
and locations of hearings. Written comments must be received by January
3, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Kitty M. Simonds, Executive
Director, Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1164 Bishop St.,
Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, and/or William L. Robinson,
Administrator, Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO), NMFS, 1601
Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814. You may submit
comments to the Council via facsimile (fax) at 808-522-8226 or PIRO at
808-973-2941. You may also submit comments via e-mail to
scopePEISecosystem@noaa.gov. Include in the subject line the following
document identifier: ``scope ecosystem PEIS.'' See SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION for specific dates, times, and locations of hearings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Kingma (Council) at 808-522-8220
or Alvin Katekaru (PIRO) at 808-973-2937.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the United
States has exclusive management authority over all living marine
resources found within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The
management of these resources, with the exception of sea birds and some
marine mammals, is vested in the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary).
Eight regional fishery management councils prepare fishery management
plans for approval and implementation by the Secretary. The Council has
the responsibility to prepare fishery management plans (FMPs) for
fishery resources in the EEZ of the Western Pacific Region, which
include the Federal waters surrounding Hawaii, the Territories of
American Samoa and Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands,
and the Pacific Remote Island Areas (Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef,
Jarvis Island, Baker Island, Howland Island, Johnston Atoll, Wake
Island, and Midway Atoll).
The Council has developed FMPs for the following fisheries:
bottomfish and seamount groundfish, coral reef ecosystems, crustaceans,
pelagics, and precious corals. At its 123rd meeting (June 2004), the
Council decided to initiate a process to develop fishery ecosystem
management plans (FEMPs), thereby managing fisheries within an
ecosystem context. Thus, the primary objective of the PEIS is to serve
as a broad-scale planning tool for the Council's shift toward
ecosystem-based management, and ultimately the development and
implementation of FMPs, if approved by the Secretary, for managed
fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. The scope of the PEIS analysis
will, among other things, describe the management, monitoring, and
conduct of fisheries FMPs of the Western Pacific Region; examine
various options for managing fisheries within an ecosystem context;
consider the potential impacts of ecosystem-based management on target
species, non-target species, essential fish habitat, protected species;
and describe mechanisms for community involvement and participation in
the management of local fishery resources.
NEPA requires preparation of an environmental impact statement for
any major Federal action significantly impacting the quality of the
human environment. Regulations implementing NEPA at 40 CFR 1502.4(b)
state:
Environmental impact statements may be prepared, and are
sometimes required, for broad Federal actions such as adoption of
new agency programs or regulations. Agencies shall prepare
statements on broad actions so that they are relevant to policy and
are timed to coincide with meaningful points in agency planning and
decision making.
Under 40 CFR 1508.25(a), cumulative and connected actions require
the development of a PEIS. However, relevant case law since the
promulgation of NEPA has further expanded the PEIS requirement to: (1)
actions relating to broad program or regional planning and, (2) when
there are cumulative or synergistic environmental impacts upon the
environment from past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future
actions. In this regard, the PEIS serves as an analytical tool for
regional planning and potential implementation of an ecosystem-based
management regime in the Western Pacific.
Alternatives
The Council and NMFS are conducting scoping meetings to establish a
reasonable range of alternatives. Preliminary alternatives have been
drawn from the following categories: (1) FEMP boundaries (e.g.
archipelagic vs. island-by-island),(2) management unit species (e.g.,
multi-species linkages, (3) environmental indicators (e.g.,
productivity cycles), (4) the role of communities in ecosystem-based
management (e.g., monitoring) and (5) the Council process relating to
advisory body structures (e.g., sector specific representation vs.
ecosystem boundary representation). In addition to developing possible
alternatives, the scoping meetings will serve to identify and eliminate
the issues which are not significant or which have been covered by
prior environmental review.
Public Involvement
Public scoping is an early and open process for determining the
scope of issues to be addressed. A principal objective of the scoping
and public involvement process is to identify a reasonable range of
management alternatives that, with adequate analysis, will delineate
critical issues and provide a clear basis for distinguishing between
those alternatives and selecting a preferred alternative.
Other Issues to be Discussed
In order to broaden the public scoping opportunity described above,
the Council and NMFS will also solicit public comments on the following
issues: marine mammal mitigation measures, blue marlin, bigeye and
yellowfin tuna management, and c) recreational fisheries data
collection.
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Depending on public comments received and subsequent initial Council
action, these issues may require the preparation of an EIS. If it is
decided that an EIS will be prepared for any of the issues listed
above, a corresponding Notice of Intent will published in the Federal
Register.
Dates, Times, and Locations (island and address) for Public Scoping
Meetings
1. Hilo, HI -- Wednesday, October 27, 2004, from 6-9 p.m. at the
Naniloa Hotel, 93 Banyon DR, Hilo, HI 96720;
2. Kona, HI -- Thursday, October 28, 2004, from 6-9 p.m. at the
King Kamehameha Hotel, 75-5660 Palani Rd., Kona, HI 96740;
3. Oahu, HI -- Monday, November 1, 2004, from 6-9 p.m. at the Ala
Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson Dr., Honolulu, HI 96815;
4. Kauai, HI -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004, from 6-9 p.m. at the
Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, 4431 Nuhou St., Lihue, HI 96766;
5. Maui, HI -- Wednesday, November 3, 2004, from 6-9 p.m. at the
Maui Beach Hotel, 170 Kaahumanu Ave., Kahului, HI 96732;
6. Saipan, CNMI -- Wednesday, November 17, 2004, from 6-9 p.m. at
the Pedro P. Tenorio Multipurpose Building, Susupe, CNMI 96950;
7. Hagatna, Guam -- Thursday, November 18, 2004 from 6-9 p.m. at
the Guam Fishermen's Cooperative, Perez Marina, Hagatna, Guam 96932;
and
8. Pago Pago, American Samoa -- Wednesday, December 8, 2004, from
7-9 p.m. at the Department of Marine Resources and Wildlife Conference
Room, Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Kitty M. Simonds, 808-522-8220
(voice) or 808-522-8226 (fax), at least 5 days prior to the meeting
date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 13, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-23280 Filed 10-15-04; 8:45 am]
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