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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18823-18824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08057]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD882

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper 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.

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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 e-Rulemaking 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: [email protected]. 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: [email protected].

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 snapper-grouper 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 snapper-grouper species in 
the South Atlantic region. The measures in Amendment 36 would prohibit 
fishing for, harvest, and/or possession of species in the snapper-
grouper fishery management unit year-round 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

[[Page 18824]]

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 [email protected] 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
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