```

[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 200 (Monday, October 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61351-61352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23280]

[[Page 61351]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 
[email protected]. 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.

[[Page 61352]]

 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]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
```