[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 1 (Monday, January 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 98-99]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-33099]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-BA60


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 5 to the Golden Crab Fishery Management Plan of the South 
Atlantic

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS, Southeast Region, in collaboration with the South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), intends to prepare an 
EIS to describe and analyze a range of alternatives for management 
actions to be included in Amendment 5 to the Golden Crab Fishery 
Management Plan of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 5). These 
alternatives will consider measures to develop a catch share program 
for the golden crab fishery. The purpose of this NOI is to solicit 
public comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
EIS will be accepted from January 12 to February 14, 5 p.m., Eastern 
time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-BA60, by any 
one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
    <bullet> Mail: Karla Gore, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 
13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
    Instructions: No comments will be posted for public viewing until 
after the comment period is over. All comments received are a part of 
the public record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All Personal Identifying 
Information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential 
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    To submit comments through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2010-0279'' in the keyword 
search, then select ``Send a Comment or Submission.'' NMFS will accept 
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required fields if you wish to 
remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to electronic comments in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karla Gore; phone: (727) 824-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Golden Crab FMP relies on a system of 
traditional fishery management plus limited access. Traditional fishery 
management includes: measures to provide biological protection to the 
resource (escape gaps in traps and no retention of female crabs); gear 
regulations (allowable gear, requirement for degradable panel, tending 
requirements, gear identification, and maximum trap size by zone); 
depth limitations and prohibition of possession of whole fish or 
fillets of snapper-grouper species; data collection requirements 
(vessel/fishermen and dealer/processor reporting); and a framework 
procedure to adjust the management program.
    The golden crab fishery resource is not overfished or undergoing 
overfishing. However, there are underlying social and economic problems 
resulting from gear conflicts, high regulatory costs, and limited 
markets. To solve these social and economic problems, managers have 
increasingly turned to various forms of controlled access or effort 
limitation. Combining more traditional fishery management measures with 
controlled access has allowed the Council to solve problems in the 
golden crab fishery.
    The Council is considering development and implementation of a 
catch share program for golden crab in order to: avoid a derby fishery 
from developing; place limitations on vessel harvest similar to 
historical participation; and maintain fishermen harvesting 
flexibility. Recent information indicates increased participation and 
renewed interest in participation in the golden crab fishery due to 
technological improvements that have increased quality, price, and 
marketability of golden crab.
    NMFS, in collaboration with the Council, will develop an EIS to 
describe and analyze management alternatives to address the management 
needs described above. Those alternatives will include a ``no action'' 
alternative regarding each action.
    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

[[Page 99]]

for scoping purposes only. These preliminary issues may not represent 
the full range of issues that eventually will be evaluated in the EIS.
    Copies of an information packet will be available from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES).
    Following publication of this NOI, the Council will conduct public 
scoping meetings to determine the range of issues to be addressed in 
the draft EIS (DEIS) and the associated Amendment 5. After the DEIS 
associated with Amendment 5 is completed, it will be filed with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA will publish a notice of 
availability 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 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.

Scoping Meetings, Times, and Locations

    All meetings will begin at 3 p.m. In addition to Amendment 5, the 
Council intends to scope additional amendments at this series of 
meetings. Separate NOIs will be prepared for each amendment. The 
meetings will be physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for information packets or for sign language interpretation or 
other auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Monday, January 24, 2011-Hilton New Bern/Riverfront, 100 Middle 
Street, New Bern, NC 28560; phone 252-638-3585.
    Wednesday, January 26, 2011-Crowne Plaza Charleston Airport, 4831 
Tanger Outlet Boulevard, North Charleston, SC 29418; phone 843-744-
4422.
    Thursday, January 27, 2011-Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, 175 
Bourne Avenue, Pooler, GA 31322; phone 912-748-8888.
    Monday, January 31, 2011-Jacksonville Marriott, 4670 Salisbury 
Road, Jacksonville, FL 32256; phone 904-296-2222.
    Tuesday, February 1, 2011-International Palms Resort, 1300 N. 
Atlantic Avenue, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931; phone 321-783-2271.
    Thursday, February 3, 2011-Key Largo Grande Resort, 97000 Overseas 
Resort, Key Largo, FL 33037; phone 305-852-5553.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: December 28, 2010.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-33099 Filed 12-30-10; 8:45 am]
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