[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77657-77658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30694]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XD023
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Amendment 40 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 of intent (NOI) 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
Amendment 40 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 40). Amendment 40 will
consider alternatives to define private and for-hire components of the
recreational red snapper fishery and allocate red snapper resources
between these components. The purpose of Amendment 40 is to increase
the stability for the for-hire component, provide a basis for increased
flexibility in future management of the recreational sector, and reduce
the chance for recreational quota overruns which could affect
rebuilding of the red snapper stock. The purpose of this NOI is to
solicit public comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the
DEIS, as specified in this notice. The Council will continue to take
comments on this action as it develops Amendment 40. The next Council
meeting where public comment is scheduled will be February 3-7, 2014,
at the Westin Galleria Houston, 5060 W. Alabama Street, Houston, TX
77056.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the
DEIS must be received by NMFS by January 23, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on Amendment 40 identified by
``NOAA-NMFS-2013-0178'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic submissions: Submit electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0178, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Peter Hood, Southeast
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: 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 by NMFS. 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, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. 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, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Hood, Southeast Regional Office,
telephone: (727) 824-5305; or email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The red snapper stock is currently
overfished and under a rebuilding plan. The commercial sector is
managed under an individual fishing quota program that keeps the sector
from exceeding its quota. The recreational sector is managed under a
quota and NMFS projects the season length based on the quota and recent
years' harvest trends. Due to the uncertainty in estimating
recreational catches, the recreational sector has experienced quota
overages in the last several years. The Council and NMFS have
determined that separating the recreational sector into more than one
component and establishing separate red snapper recreational sub-quotas
for the different components may be one method to improve the
management of recreational red snapper harvest.
The recreational sector for red snapper includes a private
recreational component and a for-hire component. The for-hire component
includes headboats and charter vessels. Current recreational management
measures such as season length, daily bag limits, and size limits are
applied to the recreational sector as a whole, without making a
distinction between the private and for-hire components.
The for-hire component includes vessels that have a Federal reef
fish permit and may fish for reef fish in Federal waters and state
waters, as well as vessels that do not have a Federal reef fish permit
and may only fish for reef fish in state waters. Federal reef fish for-
hire permits were first issued in 1996. In 2004, a moratorium on the
issuance of new permits was implemented (i.e., a cap was placed on the
number of vessel permits issued) because of concern that this component
of the fishery was expanding too fast. There is no limit to the number
of state-permitted for-hire vessels.
There is also no limit to the number of private angler vessels that
may target reef fish species including red snapper. Over time, there
has been an increase in the number of private recreational vessels,
while the number of Federal for-hire vessels has decreased. This change
in vessel demographics has resulted in private vessels landing
proportionally more of the red snapper recreational quota than Federal
for-hire vessels in recent years. For example, in 2004 when the reef
fish for-hire permit moratorium was implemented, approximately 55
percent of the recreational red snapper quota was landed by Federal
for-hire vessels and 45 percent was landed by private vessels. In 2011,
approximately 33 percent of the recreational red snapper quota was
landed by Federal for-hire vessels and 67 percent was landed by private
vessels.
The Council and NMFS are currently considering four actions in
Amendment 40. These actions would define the different components of
the recreational sector, determine how the quota would be split among
the components, determine whether participation in the for-hire
component would be mandatory or voluntary, and determine quota closure
options for the different recreational components. The Council
[[Page 77658]]
and NMFS may add actions in the future, such as landing reporting
requirements, after the scoping process or from future discussions on
this amendment.
NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, will develop a DEIS to
describe and analyze alternatives to address the management needs
described above including the ``no action'' alternative. 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. The public is invited to provide written
comments on the preliminary issues, which are identified as actions in
the Amendment 40 action guide. These preliminary issues may not
represent the full range of issues that eventually will be evaluated in
the DEIS. A copy of the Amendment 40 action guide is available at
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/index.html.
After the DEIS associated with Amendment 40 is completed, it will
be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). After filing,
the EPA will publish a notice of availability (NOA) 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.
The Council and NMFS will consider public comments received on the
DEIS in developing the final environmental impact statement (FEIS), and
before voting to submit the final amendment to NMFS for Secretarial
review, approval, and implementation. NMFS will announce in the Federal
Register the availability of the final amendment and FEIS for public
review during the Secretarial review period, and will consider all
public comments prior to final agency action to approve, disapprove, or
partially approve the final amendment. During Secretarial review, NMFS
will also file the FEIS with the EPA and the EPA will publish an NOA
for the FEIS in the Federal Register.
NMFS will announce, through a document 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: December 18, 2013.
Sean F. Corson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-30694 Filed 12-23-13; 8:45 am]
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