Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 38 / Tuesday, February 27, 2007 / Notices 8693 

more than 11 members; 8 nongovernmental voting members and 3 

governmental non-voting members. The 

Council may serve as a forum for 

consultation and deliberation among its 

members and as a source of advice to 

the Sanctuary manager regarding the 

management of the Flower Garden 

Banks National Marine Sanctuary. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. Sections 1431, et seq. 

(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog 

Number 11.429, Marine Sanctuary 

Program) 

Dated: February 12, 2007. 

Daniel J. Basta, 

Director, National Marine Sanctuary Program, 

National Ocean Services, National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. 07–869 Filed 2–26–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 021407A] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 

Butterfish Fisheries; Amendment 10 

Butterfish Stock Rebuilding and 

Amendment 11 Atlantic Mackerel 

Limited Access Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Supplemental Notice Of Intent 

(NOI) to prepare an environmental 

impact statement; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: On December 19, 2005, the 

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council (Council), in cooperation with 

NMFS, announced its intent to prepare 

an environmental assessment (EA) for 

Amendment 10 (butterfish stock 

rebuilding program) and a supplemental 

environmental impact statement (SEIS) 

for Amendment 11 (Atlantic mackerel 

limited access program) to the Atlantic 

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP). Since then, 

the Council and NMFS have concluded 

that a SEIS must be prepared for 

Amendment 10; therefore, this 

supplemental NOI seeks comments on 

Amendment 10. In addition, the Council 

hereby notifies the public that SEIS 

documents for Amendment 10 and 

Amendment 11 will be developed 

simultaneously, but each amendment 

will remain separate fishery 

management actions. 

DATES: Public comments on the 

supplementary NOI for Amendment 10 

must be received no later than 5 p.m., 

eastern standard time, on March 29, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting 

documents used by the Council are 

available from: Daniel Furlong, 

Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, Room 

2115, Federal Building, 300 South New 

Street, Dover, DE 19904–6790. 

Written comments on the 

supplementary notice of intent for 

Amendment 10 may be sent by any of 

the following methods: 

• E-mail to the following address: 

MSBAmendment10@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: ‘‘Comments on MSB 

Amendment 10’’; 

• Mail to Daniel Furlong, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Room 2115, 

Federal Building, 300 South New Street, 

Dover, DE 19904–6790. Mark the 

outside of the envelope ‘‘Comments on 

MSB Amendment 10’’; or 

• Fax to Daniel Furlong, 302–674–

5399. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carrie Nordeen, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

phone 978–281–9272, fax 978–281–

9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Amendment 10 Butterfish Stock 

Rebuilding 

The most recent stock assessment for 

Atlantic butterfish indicated that while 

overfishing of the stock is not occurring, 

the stock is overfished because the most 

recent estimates of stock biomass are 

slightly below the minimum biomass 

threshold supporting maximum 

sustainable yield (50 percent of BMSY). 

Based on this information, NMFS 

notified the Council that the butterfish 

stock is designated as being overfished 

as defined under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fisheries Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The 

purpose of Amendment 10 to the FMP 

is to develop a management program 

consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act which would rebuild the butterfish 

stock to the level associated with BMSY. 

After a preliminary analysis of the 

action, the Council believed that an EA 

would fulfill the requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA). However, during the 

development and preliminary analyses 

of alternatives for rebuilding strategies 

and possible management measures, it 

became apparent that some of the 

measures being considered could 

potentially have significant effects on 

the human environment, particularly 

the Loligo squid fishery. Potential 

measures being considered are no 

action, gear modifications, area 

management, and bycatch/retention 

requirements. In order to consider the 

full range of alternatives potentially 

necessary to rebuild the overfished 

butterfish stock, the Council has 

determined that the development of a 

SEIS will be necessary to fulfill the 

requirements of NEPA and this 

supplemental notice of intent requests 

comments on this action. 

Amendment 11 Atlantic Mackerel 

Limited Access Program 

On March 4, 2005 (70 FR 10605), the 

Council published an NOI to prepare a 

SEIS to consider the impacts of 

alternatives for limiting access to the 

Atlantic mackerel fishery. The Council 

subsequently conducted scoping 

meetings on the development of a 

limited access program, which the 

Council originally planned to include in 

Amendment 9 to the FMP. However, 

due to unforeseen delays in the 

development of Amendment 9, the 

Council subsequently notified the 

public on December 19, 2005 (70 FR 

75114), that the mackerel limited access 

program would be considered in 

Amendment 11 to the FMP. The Council 

hereby notifies the public that it will 

begin development of Amendment 11 

and the associated SEIS while 

Amendment 10 is being developed, 

although the two amendments will 

remain separate fishery management 

actions. Comments received during the 

previous scoping period for Amendment 

11 will be considered and no additional 

comments are being sought at this time. 

This notification also reminds the 

public that interested participants 

should locate and preserve records that 

substantiate and verify their 

participation in the Atlantic mackerel 

fishery in Federal waters. 

Request for Comments 

The public will have the opportunity 

to comment on the measures and 

alternatives being considered by the 

Council for both amendments through 

public meetings and public comment 

periods required by NEPA, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and the 

Administrative Procedure Act. NMFS 

anticipates completing these SEISs and 

all related documents by early 2009. 

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

Dated: February 21, 2007. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–3336 Filed 2–26–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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