[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22750-22753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9244]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648-XA975
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish
Fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare an environmental impact statement,
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS, in consultation with the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council), announces its intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) on Steller sea lion protection
measures for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI)
groundfish fisheries, in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969. The proposed action would restrict groundfish
fishing in the BSAI to ensure the groundfish fisheries are not likely
to result in jeopardy of continued existence or adverse modification or
destruction of designated critical habitat (JAM) for the western
distinct population segment (DPS) of Steller sea lions. The western DPS
of Steller sea lions is listed as endangered under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) and NMFS must ensure that the groundfish fisheries
are not likely to result in JAM for this DPS. NMFS intends to work with
stakeholders to develop fisheries restrictions that avoid the
likelihood of JAM and minimize the potential economic impact on the
fishing industry to the extent practicable while meeting the
requirements of the ESA. The analysis in the EIS will determine the
impacts to the human environment resulting from this proposed action
and the alternatives. In scoping for the EIS, NMFS will accept written
comments from the public to determine the issues of concern; the
appropriate range of management alternatives; and the direct, indirect,
and cumulative impacts. NMFS, in coordination with the Council, will
conduct a public meeting at the October 2012 Council meeting to inform
the public of this proposed action and alternatives, present issues and
potential impacts, and gather public comment.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. Alaska Standard Time
(AST), October 15, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this action, identified by NOAA-
NMFS-2012-0013, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click the ``submit a
comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2012-0013 in the keyword search.
Locate the document you wish to comment on from the resulting list and
click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on that line.
Mail: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn:
[[Page 22751]]
Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-
1668.
Fax: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Fax comments to 907-586-7557.
Hand delivery to the Federal Building: Address written
comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional Administrator,
Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Ellen
Sebastian. Deliver comments to 709 West 9th Street, Room 420A, Juneau,
AK.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and
considered by NMFS. 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. 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) submitted voluntarily by the sender
will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you
wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be
accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file
formats only.
Electronic copies of the 2010 environmental assessment and
biological opinion prepared for the Steller sea lion protection
measures are available from http://www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS
Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/sslpm/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Brown, (907) 586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the United
States has exclusive fishery management authority over all living
marine resources found within the exclusive economic zone. The
management of these marine resources, with the exception of certain
marine mammals and birds, is vested in the Secretary of Commerce. The
Council has the responsibility to prepare fishery management plans for
those marine resources off Alaska requiring conservation and
management. Management of the Federal groundfish fishery in the BSAI is
carried out under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). The FMP, its
amendments, and implementing regulations (found at 50 CFR part 679) are
developed in accordance with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act and other applicable Federal laws and executive orders, notably the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the ESA.
Alaska Groundfish Fisheries Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures
Steller sea lion protection measures have been used to manage the
groundfish fisheries since 1999 (64 FR 3437, January 22, 1999) and have
been annually revised in 2000 through 2004. Details of these rules are
available at the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/sslpm/. The
protection measures have been used to mitigate the potential adverse
effects of the groundfish fisheries on Steller sea lions and on their
designated critical habitat. Steller sea lions may be incidentally
taken in fishing gear, may be disturbed by fishing activities, and may
compete with groundfish fisheries for important prey species. Atka
mackerel, Pacific cod, and pollock are important Steller sea lion prey
species that also are harvested in the groundfish fisheries. The
protection measures temporally and spatially disperse Atka mackerel,
Pacific cod, and pollock harvest to reduce potential impacts from the
groundfish fisheries on Steller sea lions and on their designated
critical habitat. Spatial protection measures include closures of areas
to groundfish fishing near Steller sea lion haulouts and rookeries, and
in foraging areas, to reduce potential interactions with Steller sea
lions and fishing vessels and to reduce potential impacts on prey
resources in locations important to Steller sea lions. Harvest of
pollock, Pacific cod, and Atka mackerel also is temporally dispersed
through seasonal apportionments of the annual total allowable catch for
these species. The details of the current Steller sea lion protection
measures for the Alaska groundfish fisheries are available on the NMFS
Alaska Region Web site at http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/sslpm/.
In 2010, NMFS completed an ESA section 7 consultation on the
effects of the Alaska groundfish fisheries on ESA-listed species,
including the western DPS of Steller sea lions, and on designated
critical habitat. Based on the best available commercial and scientific
information, the consultation resulted in a biological opinion (2010
Biop) that found that the Steller sea lion protection measures
implemented in the BSAI since 2003 could not ensure that the groundfish
fisheries were not likely to result in JAM for the western DPS of
Steller sea lions. A reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) to the
protection measures was included in the 2010 Biop to ensure the
groundfish fisheries were not likely to result in JAM. This RPA was
implemented by an interim final rule as the 2011 Steller sea lion
protection measures (75 FR 77535, December 13, 2010, corrected 75 FR
81921, December 29, 2010).
The 2011 Steller sea lion protection measures primarily affected
the Pacific cod and Atka mackerel fisheries in the Aleutian Islands
subarea and were in addition to previous measures adopted since 2004.
The 2010 Biop determined that the weight of evidence indicated that
fisheries may remove prey species important to Steller sea lions, which
may affect the reproduction and numbers of Steller sea lions and
adversely modify the conservation value of their critical habitat in
Statistical Areas 543, 542, and 541. Competition with fisheries for
prey is likely one component of an intricate suite of natural and
anthropogenic factors affecting Steller sea lion numbers and
reproduction. While natural factors may be contributing, NMFS must
ensure that actions authorized by NMFS are not likely to appreciably
reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of the western DPS of
Steller sea lions, which is required to avoid the likelihood of JAM.
The RPA was developed based on performance standards that address
the effects of the groundfish fisheries--and the population status and
foraging behavior of Steller sea lions--in the Aleutian Islands
subarea. The details of these standards are in the 2010 Biop (see
ADDRESSES). The RPA was structured to mitigate effects of the fishery
in locations where Steller sea lion abundance continues to decline
(Statistical Areas 543, 542, and 541). One of the performance standards
requires that the protection measures be commensurate with the rate of
Steller sea lion population declines, with more stringent measures in
those locations with greater population declines. The RPA meets this
standard by applying more fisheries restrictions in Area 543, where
Steller sea lions have the highest population decline, and applying
fewer fisheries restrictions in Areas 542 and 541, where Steller sea
lion population decline is less than in Area 543.
[[Page 22752]]
Implementation of the RPA is expected to minimize local competition
between Steller sea lions and the Atka mackerel and Pacific cod
fisheries in Area 543. This is intended to improve foraging success and
prey availability for juvenile and adult Steller sea lions, which is
expected to lead to higher survival and natality rates. The RPA also
reduces the competitive overlap between Steller sea lions and fisheries
for Atka mackerel and Pacific cod in Areas 542 and 541. This is
intended to improve foraging success and prey availability for Steller
sea lions, particularly adult females with dependent young in winter,
which is expected to lead to higher natality rates and survival.
Litigation on the 2011 Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures
On March 5, 2012, NMFS was ordered by the U.S. District Court of
Alaska to prepare an EIS on the Steller sea lion protection measures
implemented in January 2011 (75 FR 77535, December 13, 2010, corrected
75 FR 81921, December 29, 2010). The Court's decision and order for
this action are available on the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/sslpm/eis/. The Court
ordered NMFS to prepare an EIS for the Steller sea lion protection
measures because NMFS failed to provide sufficient environmental
information for informed public comment to the agency decision-making
and failed to provide for adequate public participation when it
prepared the environmental assessment for this action in 2010 (see
ADDRESSES). Two areas identified by the Court as scientifically
controversial were the use of single species rather than multispecies
models for groundfish fisheries stock assessments and the effects of
the groundfish fisheries on the availability of Steller sea lion prey
resources.
The Court ordered the completion of the final EIS by March 2, 2014.
The Court also ordered that any subsequent rulemaking for the BSAI
groundfish fisheries as a result of the EIS must be completed by
January 1, 2015.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is a set of protection measures that would
ensure groundfish fishing in the BSAI is not likely to result in JAM
for the western DPS of Steller sea lions. Spatial and temporal
dispersion of the harvest of Steller sea lion prey species would be
included in the protection measures to reduce potential adverse
impacts. The protection measures should ensure the groundfish fisheries
are not likely to result in JAM while minimizing economic impact on
fishery participants to the extent practicable.
Alternative Management Measures
The EIS will evaluate a range of alternative management measures
for the BSAI groundfish fisheries with focus on the Aleutian Islands
groundfish fisheries management. Alternatives may be developed based on
the elements identified here, and those developed through the public
scoping and Council processes. Possible alternatives could be
constructed from one or more of the following alternatives, and public
suggestions on the specific features for these alternatives are
requested:
1. The status quo alternative to continue implementation of the
2011 Steller sea lion protection measures and management of the
groundfish fisheries under the FMP.
2. An alternative recommended by the Council that is intended to
maintain protection of Steller sea lions while reducing fishing
restrictions imposed by the 2011 Steller sea lion protection measures,
particularly for the Pacific cod and Atka mackerel fisheries in the
Aleutian Islands subarea.
3. An alternative that provides precautionary, additional
protection to Steller sea lions in the Aleutian Islands beyond those
provided by the 2011 Steller sea lion protection measures.
4. An alternative that changes the 2011 Steller sea lion protection
measures based on information since development of the 2010 biological
opinion, and may be more or less restrictive than status quo.
The Council will recommend alternatives for analysis in the EIS.
The Council's Steller Sea Lion Mitigation Committee may review the
latest scientific information regarding the biology of Steller sea
lions and fisheries interaction, and may develop alternative Steller
sea lion protection measures for the Aleutian Islands groundfish
fisheries for the Council's consideration. NMFS may develop additional
alternatives to ensure that a reasonable range of alternatives is
analyzed and that its responsibilities under the Magnuson-Stevens Act,
the ESA, and other applicable law are met.
Preliminary Identification of Issues
A principal objective of the scoping and public input process is to
identify potentially significant impacts to the human environment that
should be analyzed in the EIS. The analysis will evaluate the impacts
of the alternatives for all resources, species, and issues that may be
directly or indirectly affected by the Steller sea lion protection
measures for the BSAI groundfish fisheries. The following components of
the biological and physical environment may be evaluated: (1) Target
and non-target fish stocks, forage fish, and prohibited species
(including Pacific halibut, Pacific salmon, and crab); (2) species
listed under the ESA and their critical habitat; (3) seabirds; (4)
marine mammals; (5) habitat; and (6) the ecosystem. The target species
analysis would include examination of the use of single species and
multispecies stock assessment models. The latest information regarding
interactions between the groundfish fisheries and Steller sea lions for
prey resources would be examined in the EIS. The direct, indirect, and
cumulative impacts on the environmental components would be based on
the environmental assessment prepared for the 2011 Steller sea lion
protection measures with revisions based on the alternatives and issues
identified in scoping, and the best available information during the
development of the EIS.
The baseline used to compare the impacts of the alternatives on the
human environment is recommended to be the human environment in the
BSAI between 2004 and 2010. This time period represents the condition
of the environment before the implementation of the 2011 Steller sea
lion protection measures, includes the most complete data set of
fisheries catch information, and provides a reasonable time period to
compare potential effects of all alternatives, including status quo,
which has only been implemented for 1 year. Public review and comments
on the baseline for the analysis during the scoping period are welcome.
Social and economic impacts caused by changes to Steller sea lion
protection measures also would be considered in terms of the effects on
the following groups of individuals: (1) Those who participate in
harvesting groundfish (particularly Pacific cod and Atka mackerel in
the Aleutian Islands subarea); (2) those who process and market Pacific
cod and Atka mackerel and their products; (3) those who consume Pacific
cod and Atka mackerel products; (4) those who rely on living marine
resources caught in the management area, particularly Pacific cod, Atka
mackerel and Steller sea lions; (5) those who benefit from commercial,
subsistence, and recreational fisheries and Steller sea lion harvest;
and (6) fishing communities, including Adak, AK.
[[Page 22753]]
Public Involvement
Scoping is an early and open process for determining the scope of
issues, alternatives, and impacts to be addressed in an EIS, and for
identifying the significant issues related to the proposed action. A
principal objective of the scoping and public involvement process is to
identify a range of reasonable management alternatives that, with
adequate analysis, will delineate critical issues and provide a clear
basis for distinguishing among those alternatives and selecting a
preferred alternative. Through this notice, NMFS is notifying the
public that an EIS and decision-making process for this proposed action
have been initiated so that interested or affected people may
participate and contribute to the final decision.
NMFS is seeking written public comments on the scope of issues,
potential impacts, and alternatives that should be considered for the
Steller sea lion protection measures. Written comments will be accepted
at the address above (see ADDRESSES). Written comments should be as
specific as possible to be the most helpful. Written comments received
during the scoping process, including the names and addresses of those
submitting them, will be considered part of the public record for this
proposal and will be available for public inspection.
The public is invited to participate at the Council and any Steller
Sea Lion Mitigation Committee meetings where the latest scientific
information regarding Steller sea lions and fisheries interactions with
the BSAI groundfish fisheries is reviewed and alternative Steller sea
lion protection measures may be developed and evaluated. During the
scoping period, and in conjunction with the October 2012 Council
meeting, a public meeting will be held where this proposed action and
alternatives, issues, and potential impacts will be discussed. The
public may participate by submitting written comments or by testifying
at these public meetings. Notice of future Council and Steller Sea Lion
Mitigation Committee meetings, and any other public meetings where
these issues will be discussed, will be published in the Federal
Register and posted on the Internet at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/sslpm/eis/. Please visit this Web site for more
information on this EIS and for guidance on submitting effective public
comments.
Dated: April 12, 2012.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-9244 Filed 4-16-12; 8:45 am]
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