Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices 18823 

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

Dated: April 3, 2015. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08056 Filed 4–7–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD882 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery off the South Atlantic 

States; Amendment 36 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare 

a draft environmental impact statement 

(DEIS); request for comments; notice of 

scoping meetings. 

SUMMARY: NMFS, Southeast Region, in 

collaboration with the South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

intends to prepare a DEIS to describe 

and analyze a range of alternatives for 

management actions to be included in 

Amendment 36 to the Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) for the 

Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South 

Atlantic Region (Amendment 36). 

Amendment 36 will consider 

alternatives to implement special 

management zones (SMZs). The purpose 

of this NOI is to solicit public comments 

on the scope of issues to be addressed 

in the DEIS and to announce scoping 

meetings. 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of issues to be addressed in the DEIS 

will be accepted until May 8, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the NOI identified by ‘‘NOAA– 

NMFS–2015–0050’’ by either of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic submissions: Submit 

electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.

regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;

D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0050, click the 

‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the 

required fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Rick DeVictor, NMFS Southeast 

Regional Office (SERO), 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick 

DeVictor, NMFS SERO, telephone: 727– 

824–5305, or email: rick.devictor@

noaa.gov. Kim Iverson, Public 

Information Officer, South Atlantic 

Fisheries Management Council, 4055 

Faber Place Drive,Suite 201, North 

Charleston, SC 29405; telephone: 843– 

571–4366, or email: kim.iverson@

safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1983, 

the Council and NMFS established a 

procedure under the FMP for the 

Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South 

Atlantic Region for designation of SMZs 

to protect artificial reef habitats. The 

procedure includes the development of 

recommendations to establish an SMZ 

by a monitoring team, a review of the 

recommendations by the Council, and 

submittal of the recommendations to the 

NMFS Southeast Regional 

Administrator (RA). The RA reviews the 

Council’s recommendations and may 

propose regulations in accordance with 

the recommendations or take no action. 

The Council and NMFS have used the 

procedure to establish artificial reef 

SMZs in the South Atlantic region. The 

SMZs protect artificial reef habitat by 

prohibiting the use of gear types such as 

fish traps and bottom longlines. 

Through Amendment 36, the Council 

is considering modifications to the SMZ 

process and framework procedures to 

include the consideration of SMZs that 

would protect locations where snappergrouper fish species are likely to spawn 

and natural habitats that support 

spawning fish. Protecting locations 

where fish spawn and protecting natural 

habitats that support spawning fish will 

likely enhance stock productivity and 

may act as an effective strategy when 

managing a sustainable fish population. 

In the amendment, the Council is also 

considering the implementation of 

SMZs to protect spawning snappergrouper species in the South Atlantic 

region. The measures in Amendment 36 

would prohibit fishing for, harvest, and/ 

or possession of species in the snappergrouper fishery management unit yearround in the proposed SMZs; fishing for 

other species would be allowed in 

accordance with the current regulations. 

Some of the sites being considered in 

Amendment 36 were recommended for 

protection by a Marine Protected Area 

(MPA) Expert Workgroup that was 

formed by the Council in 2012. The 

MPA Expert Workgroup is comprised of 

scientists and fishermen with 

experience studying snapper-grouper 

fish species and observing fish in 

spawning condition. 

NMFS previously published NOIs to 

notify the public that the Council and 

NMFS are considering the establishment 

of spatial management areas. NMFS 

published an NOI to prepare a DEIS for 

the Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based 

Amendment 3 (CE–BA 3) on May 23, 

2012 (77 FR 30506). One proposed 

action in CE–BA 3 was to modify 

existing MPAs or to establish new ones; 

however, that action was moved to 

Regulatory Amendment 17. An NOI for 

Regulatory Amendment 17 was 

published on December 4, 2013 (78 FR 

72867). Through Regulatory 

Amendment 17, the Council intended to 

further reduce bycatch mortality of 

speckled hind and warsaw grouper and 

increase protection to their habitat. 

However, at their June 2014 meeting, 

the Council decided not to proceed 

further with the development of 

Regulatory Amendment 17. 

NMFS, in collaboration with the 

Council, will develop a DEIS to describe 

and analyze alternatives to address the 

management needs described above 

including the ‘‘no-action’’ alternative. 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 

for scoping purposes only. The public is 

invited to attend scoping meetings 

(dates and addresses below) and provide 

written comments on the preliminary 

issues, which are identified as actions 

and alternatives in the Amendment 36 

scoping document. These preliminary 

issues may not represent the full range 

of issues that will eventually be 

evaluated in the DEIS. A copy of the 

Amendment 36 scoping document is 

available at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/

sustainable_fisheries/s_atl/sg/

index.html. 

After the DEIS associated with 

Amendment 36 is completed, it will be 

filed with the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). After filing, 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 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
18824 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices 

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 and NMFS 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 under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act). NMFS will announce in the 

Federal Register the availability of the 

final amendment and FEIS for public 

review during the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act Secretarial review period, and will 

consider all public comments prior to 

final agency action to approve, 

disapprove, or partially approve the 

final amendment. 

NMFS will announce, through a 

document published in the Federal 

Register, all public comment periods on 

the final amendment, its proposed 

implementing regulations, and the 

availability of its associated FEIS. NMFS 

will consider all public comments 

received during the Secretarial review 

period, whether they are on the final 

amendment, the proposed regulations, 

or the FEIS, prior to final agency action. 

Scoping Meetings 

The scoping meetings will be held via 

webinar April 20, 2015, through April 

23, 2015. A scoping meeting for 

Snapper-Grouper Amendment 36 will 

also be held in Key West, Florida, in 

conjunction with the Council meeting 

on June 10, 2015, beginning at 5:30 p.m. 

With the exception of the scoping 

meeting in Key West, Florida, all 

scoping meetings will be conducted via 

webinar accessible via the internet from 

the Council’s Web site at 

www.safmc.net. Scoping meetings held 

via webinar will begin at 6 p.m. 

Registration for each webinar is 

required. Registration information will 

be posted on the SAFMC Web site at 

www.safmc.net as it becomes available. 

Any graphics, including maps, 

drawings, or images to be shown during 

public comment should be emailed to 

Mike Collins at mike.collins@safmc.net 

prior to the public hearing. Webinar 

registrants may test or confirm their 

computer setup for the webinar one 

hour prior to each hearing and contact 

Mike Collins at 843–763–1050 to 

address any questions regarding 

webinar setup. Local comment stations 

will also be provided at the following 

locations: 

Scoping Meeting Dates and Local 

Comment Station Addresses 

1. April 20, 2015—Local Comment 

Stations: SC Department of Natural 

Resources, Marine Resources Research 

Institute Auditorium, 217 Fort Johnson 

Road, Charleston, SC 29422–2559; 

phone 843–953–9300 and Holiday Inn 

Express, 722 Highway 17, Little River, 

SC 29566; phone: 843–281–9400. 

2. April 21, 2015—Local Comment 

Station: NC Division of Marine 

Fisheries, Central District Office, 5285 

Highway 70 West, Morehead City, NC 

28557; phone 252–726–7021. 

3. April 22, 2015: Local Comment 

Station: Coastal Resources Division, GA 

Department of Natural Resources, One 

Conservation Way, Brunswick, GA 

31528–8687; phone 912–264–7218 and 

Richmond Hill Fish Hatchery, 110 

Hatercry Drive, Richmond Hill, GA 

31324; phone 912–756–3691. 

4. April 23, 2015: Local Comment 

Station: Hampton Inn Daytona 

Speedway, 1715 W. International 

Speedway Boulevard, Daytona Beach, 

FL 32114; phone 386–257–4030. 

5. June 10, 2015: A scoping meeting 

will be held in conjunction with the 

SAFMC meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m.; 

Doubletree Grand Key Resort, 3990 S. 

Roosevelt Blvd., Key West, FL 33040; 

phone 305–293–1818. 

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

Dated: April 2, 2015. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08057 Filed 4–7–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD872 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Take of Anadromous Fish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Applications for seven new 

scientific research permits, two permit 

modifications, and two permit renewals. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS has received 11 scientific 

research permit application requests 

relating to Pacific salmon and eulachon. 

The proposed research is intended to 

increase knowledge of species listed 

under the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA) and to help guide management 

and conservation efforts. The 

applications may be viewed online at: 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/

preview_open_for_comment.cfm. 

DATES: Comments or requests for a 

public hearing on the applications must 

be received at the appropriate address or 

fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later 

than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on 

May 8, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

applications should be sent to the 

Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 

1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100, 

Portland, OR 97232–1274. Comments 

may also be sent via fax to 503–230– 

5441 or by email to nmfs.nwr.apps@

noaa.gov (include the permit number in 

the subject line of the fax or email). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob 

Clapp, Portland, OR (ph.: 503–231– 

2314), Fax: 503–230–5441, email: 

Robert.Clapp@noaa.gov). Permit 

application instructions are available 

from the address above, or online at 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Species Covered in This Notice 

The following listed species are 

covered in this notice: 

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 

tshawytscha): Threatened Lower 

Columbia River (LCR); threatened Puget 

Sound (PS); threatened Snake River (SR) 

fall-run; threatened SR spring/summerrun (spr/sum); endangered Upper 

Columbia River (UCR) spring-run; 

threatened Upper Willamette River 

(UWR). 

Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened 

UCR; threatened SR; threatened middle 

Columbia River (MCR); threatened LCR; 

threatened PS; threatened UWR. 

Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): 

endangered SR. 

Chum salmon (O. keta): Threatened 

Columbia River (CR); threatened Hood 

Canal summer (HCS). 

Coho salmon (O. kisutch): Threatened 

LCR; threatened Oregon Coast (OC). 

Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus): 

Threatened southern distinct population 

segment (DPS) (S. eulachon). 

Authority 

Scientific research permits are issued 

in accordance with section 10(a)(1)(A) 

of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq) and 

regulations governing listed fish and 

wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222–226). 

NMFS issues permits based on findings 

that such permits: (1) Are applied for in 

good faith; (2) if granted and exercised, 

would not operate to the disadvantage 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES