[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 103 (Thursday, May 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30872-30873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12494]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-SERO-BISC-15012; PPSESEROC3, PPMPSAS1Y.YP0000]
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Fishery Management Plan, Biscayne National Park,
Florida
AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Fishery Management Plan, Biscayne National Park,
Florida.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS),
announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement
(FEIS) for the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Biscayne National Park
(Park), Florida. The authority for publishing this notice is 40 CFR
1506.6.
The FMP is designed to guide fishery management decisions in the
park for the next five to ten years. An FMP is needed to guide
sustainable use of the Park's fishery-related resources, as recent
studies suggest that many of these resources are in decline. The
development of the alternatives and the identification of the preferred
alternative were based on a combination of public input from three
public comment periods and three series of public meetings, the input
of the FMP Working Group, inter-agency meetings, and environmental and
socioeconomic analyses.
DATES: The NPS will execute a Record of Decision (ROD) [no sooner than
30 days following publication of the Environmental Protection Agency of
its Notice of Availability of the FEIS/GMP in the Federal Register.]
ADDRESSES: Biscayne National Park, 9700 SW 328th Street, Homestead,
Florida, 33033. Electronic copies of the final document, including
responses to public comments received and the entire Biological Opinion
issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service, will
[[Page 30873]]
be available online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/BISC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vanessa McDonough, Biscayne National
Park, 9700 SW 328th Street, Homestead, FL, 33033; 305-230-1144,
extension 027; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final FMP responds to, and incorporates
agency and public comments received on the Draft EIS, which was
available for public review from August 5, 2009, through October 6,
2009. Three public meetings were held on September 15th through 17th,
2009, and a total of 337 comments were received. The NPS responses to
substantive agency and public comments are provided in Appendix 8 of
the FEIS.
The FMP FEIS offers five management alternatives, including the no
action alternative (Alternative 1) and four action alternatives.
Alternatives 2 through 5 represent progressively increasing levels of
change from current regulations and management approaches, and thus
would result in differing future levels of fishery resources and gear-
related habitat impacts in Biscayne National Park.
Alternative 1: The No-Action alternative serves as a basis of
comparison with the other alternatives. Alternative 1 is characterized
by the continuation of current fisheries management and no new
regulatory changes would be triggered by the establishment of the FMP.
Alternative 2, Maintain at or Above Current Levels: Management
actions would be enacted to maintain Biscayne National Park's fisheries
resources at or above current existing levels. Actions would be
implemented in conjunction with the FWC and could include moderate
increases in minimum harvest sizes, moderate decreases in bag limits,
and seasonal and/or spatial closures. Numbers of commercial fishers
would remain at current levels or decrease over time. Additional Park-
specific regulations and management actions could be enacted to
maintain current levels only if levels of fish stocks or recreational
fishing experience decline, or if fishing-related habitat impacts
increase.
Alternative 3, Improve Over Current Levels: Management actions
would be enacted in conjunction with the FWC to increase the abundance
and average size of fishery-targeted species within the Park by at
least 10 percent over existing conditions. A range of management
actions to achieve the desired resource status would be considered, and
include moderate increases in minimum harvest sizes, moderate decreases
in bag limits, seasonal and/or spatial closures. Under this
alternative, the recreational Lobster Mini-Season would be eliminated
in the Park and regulations would be enacted to prohibit the use of an
air providing equipment (e.g. scuba or hookah) or use of gear with a
trigger mechanism while spearfishing. Numbers of commercial fishers
would remain at current levels or decrease over time. This alternative
would require implementation of new regulations governing fishing
activities within the Park that would be accomplished through continued
collaboration with the FWC. Promulgation of any new regulations would
include additional opportunities for public comment.
Alternative 4, Rebuild and Conserve Park Fisheries Resources,
(preferred alternative): Management strategies would seek a balance
between enjoyment, extraction, and conservation of fishery resources,
while ensuring sustainable fishing activities. Management actions would
be enacted in conjunction with the FWC to increase the abundance and
average size of fishery-targeted species within the Park by at least 20
percent over existing conditions, as well as to reduce fishing-related
habitat impacts. Possible management actions to achieve substantial
improvement of fisheries resources could include considerable increases
in minimum size limits, designation of slot limits, substantial
decreases in bag limits, and seasonal and/or spatial closures.
Alternative 4 includes many of the same concepts previously described
for Alternative 3. However numbers of commercial fishers would decrease
over time via establishment of a non-transferable use-or-lose permit
system, and a no-trawl zone within the Bay would be proposed for
consideration by the FWC. This alternative would require considerable
changes to current fishing regulations within the Park, and would be
accomplished through continued collaboration with the FWC. Promulgation
of any new regulations would include additional opportunities for
public comment.
Alternative 5, Restore Park Fisheries Resources: This alternative
would require the most change from current management strategies in
order to return the sizes and abundance of targeted species within 20
percent of their estimated, historic levels and to prevent further
decline in fishing-related habitat impacts. Possible management actions
to achieve the desired conditions would be enacted in conjunction with
the FWC and could include substantial increases in minimum size limits,
designation of slot limits, substantial decreases in bag limits,
seasonal and/or spatial closures, prohibition of extractive fishing
(i.e. only allowing catch-and-release fishing), and a temporary
moratorium on all fishing activity within the Park. Among the five
alternatives, this alternative would require the most extreme changes
to current fishing regulations within the Park. These changes would be
accomplished through continued collaboration with the FWC. Promulgation
of any new regulations would include additional opportunities for
public comment.
After careful consideration of public and agency comment,
Alternative 4 continues to be the NPS preferred alternative because it
results in the most equitable balance between protection and
recreational enjoyment of the Park's fisheries resources. The NPS feels
that Alternative 4 will allow for fishing activities to continue at a
sustainable level that does not compromise the long-term health of the
Park's fisheries resources.
The responsible official for this final FMP/EIS is the Regional
Director for the Southeast Region, Stan Austin.
Dated: May 12, 2014.
Sherri L. Fields,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-12494 Filed 5-28-14; 8:45 am]
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