[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 55 (Monday, March 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15189-15190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06438]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC); Fisheries of the
Northeastern United States; Scoping Process
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public scoping meetings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold six
scoping hearings in April 2015 for an Amendment to the Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish
(MSB). The current focus of the amendment is to consider alternatives
to reduce the capacities of the longfin squid and Illex squid fleets as
defined by vessels with limited access permits. At the scoping hearings
the Council will also take any general comments on MSB fishery
management, which could inform future Council actions besides this
Amendment. There will also be a separate written comment period for
Amendment scoping, which will be described in an upcoming Federal
Register announcement as a ``Notice of Intent (NOI)'' to potentially
develop an EIS that accompanies the Amendment. That NOI will also
contain information regarding these scoping hearings, but to provide
the public with sufficient advance notice of the hearings, this notice
is being published now since the NOI will likely publish shortly before
the scoping hearings.
DATES: The meetings will be held over several weeks between April 6,
2015 and April 21, 2015. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific
dates and times.
ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific locations of the
hearings.
Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N.
State St., Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: (302) 674-2331.
Comments: Comments will be taken at all scoping hearings. A
separate Federal Register announcement will be published soon that
provides additional information on how to make written comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D. Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; telephone: (302)
526-5255. The Council's Web site, www.mafmc.org also has details on the
meeting locations, webinar access, and background materials. A scoping
document will be posted to the Council Web site no later than March 24,
2015.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There will be six scoping meetings (each
lasting approximately 1-2 hours depending on attendance) with the
following dates/times/locations:
1. Monday, April 6, 2015, 4 p.m., Superior Trawl, 55 State Street,
Narragansett, RI 02882; telephone: (401) 782-1171.
2. Tuesday, April 7, 2015, 5 p.m., Montauk Library, 871 Montauk
Highway, Montauk, NY 11954; telephone: (631) 668-3377.
3. Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 5 p.m., Fairfield Inn, 185 MacArthur
Dr., New Bedford, MA 02740; telephone: (774) 634-2000.
4. Monday, April 13, 2015, 6 p.m., Congress Hall Hotel. 251 Beach
Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204, telephone: (888) 944-1816.
5. Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 5 p.m., Ocean Place Resort. 1 Ocean
Blvd., Long Branch, NJ, 07740; telephone: 732-571-4000.
6. Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 6 p.m., This April 21, 2015 meeting
will be conducted via webinar accessible via the internet from the
Council's Web site, www.mafmc.org. The Virginia Marine Resources
Commission will also provide in-person access to the webinar at its
office at: 2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor, Newport News, VA 23607;
telephone: (757) 247-2200. Members of the public may also attend in-
person at the Council office address (see ADDRESSES) for this webinar
meeting, if they contact the Council by April 19, 2015. Please contact
Jason Didden by April 19, 2015 at [email protected] or (302) 526-5254
if you would like to test/confirm that your computer is set up to
access the webinar.
In the Council's 2015 Implementation Plan (available at http://www.mafmc.org/strategic-plan/), the Council decided to initiate an
action on a ``Squid Capacity Amendment.'' There is considerable latent
capacity in both the longfin squid and Illex squid fisheries--a small
portion of vessels with limited access squid permits account for most
landings in most years. The Council is concerned that activation of
this latent capacity could cause problems in the fishery such as racing
to fish and increased incidental catch of non-target species.
Accordingly, the Amendment is likely to consider a variety of
approaches for reducing capacity in the squid fisheries. Such
approaches could
[[Page 15190]]
include, but would not be limited to, a requalification of limited
access permits, a tiered limited access system, and/or a limited access
privilege program (LAPP), which is more commonly referred to as an
``individual quota'' or ``catch share system.'' The Council has
recently updated control dates for both squid fisheries--May 16, 2013
for longfin squid (http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/nr/2013/May/13smblongfinbutterfishcontroldatephl.pdf) and August 2, 2013
for Illex squid (http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/nr/2013/August/13smbillexcontroldatephl.pdf). The Council may (or may not) use
the current or previous control dates as reference points as it
considers whether, and/or how, to further limit the number of
participants in the squid fisheries (see preceding links for additional
details on the control dates).
The Council will first gather information during the scoping
period. This is the first and best opportunity for members of the
public to raise concerns related to the scope of issues that will be
considered in the Amendment. The Council needs your input both to
identify management issues and develop effective alternatives. Your
comments early in the amendment development process will help us
address issues of public concern in a thorough and appropriate manner.
Comment topics could include the scope of issues in the amendment,
concerns and potential alternatives related to capacity in the squid
fisheries, and the appropriate level of environmental analysis. If the
Council decides to move forward with the Amendment, the Council will
develop a range of management alternatives to be considered and prepare
a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and/or other appropriate
environmental analyses. These analyses will consider the impacts of the
management alternatives being considered, as required by the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Following a review of any comments on
the draft analyses, the Council will then choose preferred management
measures for submission with a Final EIS or Environmental Assessment to
the Secretary of Commerce for publishing of a proposed and then final
rule, both of which have additional comment periods. While the Council
is conducting these scoping hearings, the Council will also accept
general comments on the MSB fisheries. These general comments could
inform Council decision making for upcoming annual specifications or
other actions.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aid should be directed to M. Jan Saunders, (302) 526-5251, at
least 5 days prior to the meeting date.
Dated: March 17, 2015.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-06438 Filed 3-20-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P