Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Monkfish Fishery; Scoping Process, 74005-74006 [2010-30179]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 229 / Tuesday, November 30, 2010 / Notices
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Procedures and Guidelines
A. Participants
The SEDAR Pool is comprised of
individuals representing the commercial
and recreational fishing communities
for Atlantic HMS, the environmental
community active in the conservation
and management of Atlantic HMS, and
the academic community that have
relevant expertise either with sharks or
shark-like species and/or stock
assessment methodologies for marine
fish species. Members of the SEDAR
Pool must have demonstrated
experience in the fisheries, related
industries, research, teaching, writing,
conservation, or management of marine
organisms. The distribution of
representation among the interested
parties is not defined or limited.
Additional members of the SEDAR
Pool may also include representatives
from each of the five Atlantic Regional
Fishery Management Councils, each of
the 18 constituent states, both the U.S.
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and
each of the constituent interstate
commissions: The Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission and the
Gulf States Marine Fisheries
Commission.
If NMFS requires additional members
to ensure a diverse pool of individuals
to draw from for data or assessment
workshops, NMFS may request
individuals to become members of the
SEDAR Pool outside of the annual
nomination period.
Panel members serve at the discretion
of the Secretary. Not all members will
attend each SEDAR workshop. Rather,
NMFS will invite certain members to
participate at specific stock assessment
workshops dependent on their ability to
participate, discuss, and recommend
scientific decisions regarding the
species being assessed. If an invited
SEDAR Pool member is unable to attend
the workshop, the member may send a
designee who may represent them and
participate in the activities of the
workshop. In order to ensure the
designee meets the requirements of
participating in the data and/or
assessment workshop, the designee
must receive written approval of the
Deputy Director of the Office of
Sustainable Fisheries at least six weeks
in advance of the beginning of the
relevant data and/or assessment
workshop. Written notification must
include the name, address, telephone,
e-mail, and position of the individual
designated. A designee may not name
another designee.
NMFS is not obligated to fulfill any
requests (e.g., requests for an assessment
of a certain species) that may be made
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15:13 Nov 29, 2010
Jkt 223001
by the SEDAR Pool or its individual
members. Members of the SEDAR Pool
who are invited to attend stock
assessment workshops will not be
compensated for their services but may
be reimbursed for their travel-related
expenses to attend such workshops.
B. Nomination Procedures for
Appointments to the SEDAR Pool
Member tenure will be for three years.
Nominations are sought for terms
beginning February 2011 and expiring
January 2014. Nomination packages
should include:
1. The name, address, phone number,
and e-mail of the applicant or nominee;
2. A description of his/her interest in
Atlantic shark stock assessments or the
Atlantic shark fishery;
3. A statement of background and/or
qualifications; and
4. A written commitment that the
applicant or nominee shall participate
actively and in good faith in the tasks
of the SEDAR Pool, as requested.
C. Meeting Schedule
Individual members of the SEDAR
Pool meet to participate in stock
assessments at the discretion of the
Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS.
Stock assessment timing, frequency, and
relevant species will vary depending on
the needs determined by NMFS and
SEDAR staff. Meetings and meeting
logistics will be determined according
to the SEDAR Guidelines. All meetings
are open for observation by the public.
Dated: November 24, 2010.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010–30176 Filed 11–29–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–BA50
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Monkfish Fishery; Scoping
Process
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS)
and scoping meetings; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
The New England Fishery
Management Council (NEFMC)
announces its intent to prepare an
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
74005
amendment (Amendment 6) to the
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for
monkfish (Lophius americanus) and an
EIS to analyze the impacts of any
proposed management measures. The
purpose of Amendment 6 is to consider
one or more catch share management
approaches for the monkfish fishery,
including, but not limited, to Individual
Fishery Quotas (IFQs), sectors, and/or
community quotas. The NEFMC is
initiating a public process to determine
the scope of issues and range of
alternatives to be addressed in
Amendment 6 and its EIS. The purpose
of this notification is to alert the
interested public of the commencement
of the scoping process and to provide
for public participation in compliance
with environmental documentation
requirements.
DATES: Written and electronic scoping
comments must be received on or before
5 p.m., local time, February 15, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on
Amendment 6 may be sent by any of the
following methods:
• E-mail to the following address:
monkfisha6@noaa.gov;
• Mail to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the
outside of the envelope ‘‘Scoping
Comments on Monkfish Amendment 6;’’
or
• Fax to Patricia A. Kurkul, 978–281–
9135.
Requests for copies of the scoping
document and other information should
be directed to Paul J. Howard, Executive
Director, New England Fishery
Management Council, 50 Water Street,
Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950,
telephone 978–465–0492. The scoping
document is accessible electronically
via the Internet at https://
www.nefmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul
J. Howard, Executive Director, New
England Fishery Management Council,
978–465–0492.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The U.S. monkfish fishery is jointly
managed by the New England and MidAtlantic Councils, with the NEFMC
having the administrative lead. The
Councils manage monkfish under a twoarea program (northern and southern),
primarily due to differences in the
characteristics of the fisheries in the two
areas, although no conclusive evidence
exists supporting the idea that there are
two biological stocks. The Monkfish
FMP became effective on November 8,
1999. The Councils have modified the
E:\FR\FM\30NON1.SGM
30NON1
74006
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 229 / Tuesday, November 30, 2010 / Notices
jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
management program several times
since the original FMP was adopted,
most recently in 2010 with the
completion of Amendment 5, containing
Annual Catch Limits, Annual Catch
Targets (ACT) and specification of daysat-sea (DAS) allocations and trip limits
for the 2011–2013 fishing years.
While a significant portion of the
monkfish catch in both areas is
incidental to other fishing activities, a
directed fishery also exists. The
Councils have adopted incidental catch
possession limits for all non-directed
fisheries, and currently manages the
directed fishery through a combination
of DAS allocations and trip limits
designed to achieve the ACT.
Measures Under Consideration
The Councils are considering catch
shares for the monkfish fishery as a way
to improve the economic performance of
the fishery by increasing flexibility,
maintaining catch within set limits,
achieving optimum yield, promoting
safety, and reducing the regulatory
burden on vessel operators.
Additionally, nearly 75-percent of
limited access monkfish permit holders
also hold a limited access permit in the
Northeast multispecies fishery, where a
catch share program (in the form of
sector management) has been
implemented. As a consequence, many
monkfish permit holders have requested
that the Councils consider a catch share
program in the monkfish fishery to
coordinate the management and
improve the performance of both
fisheries.
‘‘Catch shares’’ is a generic term for a
fishery management program that
allocates a specific portion of a total
fishery catch to individuals,
communities, or cooperatives (including
sectors). In contrast to managing
through effort or input controls such as
DAS and trip limits, catch shares
management focuses on allocating and
monitoring the catch or output controls.
Specific catch share approaches
include, but are not limited to, IFQs,
Individual Transferrable Quotas (ITQs),
Community Quotas, Harvest
Cooperatives (including ‘‘sectors’’ such
as those as recently adopted in the
Northeast Multispecies FMP), areabased fishing rights, and non-vessel
allocations (e.g., dealer or processor
shares). At this stage in the amendment
process, the Councils have not
eliminated any of the various types of
catch share management approaches
from consideration. Rather, they intend
to collect early comments from
stakeholders and interested parties to
guide them in the development of
appropriate catch-share alternatives.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:13 Nov 29, 2010
Jkt 223001
The Councils are also interested in
hearing from stakeholders what their
concerns might be with various catch
share elements, including, but not
limited to, limits on accumulation of
shares, costs of monitoring individual
catch, barriers or incentives for new
entrants, and the effect of consolidation
on fishing communities.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(MSA) authorizes and provides a
regulatory framework for Councils to
establish Limited Access Privilege
Programs (LAPPs), of which ITQs are
one type. In addition to the
requirements and standards for all
LAPPs, the MSA requires the NEFMC
specifically to hold a referendum and
gain approval of more than two-thirds of
the voters for an IFQ program prior to
submitting the plan to NMFS. The
Councils will determine who is eligible
to participate in the referendum from
among the potential pool that includes
permit holders and crew members who
derive a significant part of their total
income from the fishery. If an IFQ
system is adopted, the Council would
allocate individual proportions of the
available catch to qualified participants
who may then be allowed, under yetunspecified terms and restrictions, to
buy, sell, trade or otherwise transfer
their shares to other entities or
participants.
Scoping Process
All persons affected by or otherwise
interested in monkfish fishery
management are invited to participate in
determining the scope and significance
of issues to be analyzed by submitting
written comments (see ADDRESSES) or by
attending one of the meetings where
scoping comments will be taken.
Scoping consists of identifying the range
of actions, alternatives (including taking
no action), and impacts to be considered
in developing an amendment that
addresses the purposes and goals
discussed in this notice. Impacts may be
direct, indirect, or cumulative. This
scoping process will also identify and
eliminate from detailed analysis issues
that are not significant, as well as
alternatives that do not achieve the
goals of the FMP or this amendment.
The scoping process for Amendment
5 to the Monkfish FMP (74 FR 7880;
February 20, 2009) also considered the
development of a catch share program
for the monkfish fishery in the range of
issues to be considered in that
amendment. However, by September
2009, the Councils recognized that, due
to their complexity, development of
catch share alternatives would likely
delay Amendment 5, and risk not
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
meeting the statutory deadline for
annual catch limits and accountability
measures under the MSA. At that time,
the Councils agreed to separate the
catch shares portion of the amendment
to focus on the remaining elements, and
consider catch shares in the next
management action. Any comments
concerning the development of a catch
share program for the monkfish fishery
that were received in conjunction with
the scoping process for Amendment 5
will be carried forward in the
development of Amendment 6.
After the scoping process is
completed, the NEFMC will identify the
range of alternatives to be considered in
the Amendment 6, and to be analyzed
in the EIS. Once a draft amendment
document, including a draft EIS, is
completed, the NEFMC will hold public
hearings to receive comments on the
alternatives and the analysis of its
impacts presented in the draft EIS.
Following that public comment period,
the NEFMC will identify its proposed
action and complete a final amendment
document that includes a final EIS, as
well as documentation and analysis
required by all other applicable laws.
The NEFMC will then submit the
amendment to NMFS for review,
approval and implementation.
Scoping Hearing Schedule
At this time, only one scoping
meeting is scheduled. The Councils will
schedule additional meetings in the
near future, and announce those
meetings in the Federal Register, as
well as on the Councils’ Web site and
through other channels. The first
scheduled meeting is to be held in
conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council meeting:
1. Wednesday, December 15, 2010,
4:30 p.m.; Hilton Beach Oceanfront,
3001 Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach,
VA 23451, telephone: (757) 213–3000.
Special Accommodations
The meetings are accessible to people
with physical disabilities. Requests for
sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Paul
J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at least 5
days prior to this meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 24, 2010.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010–30179 Filed 11–29–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\30NON1.SGM
30NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74005-74006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30179]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-BA50
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Monkfish Fishery;
Scoping Process
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS) and scoping meetings; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) announces
its intent to prepare an amendment (Amendment 6) to the Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) for monkfish (Lophius americanus) and an EIS to
analyze the impacts of any proposed management measures. The purpose of
Amendment 6 is to consider one or more catch share management
approaches for the monkfish fishery, including, but not limited, to
Individual Fishery Quotas (IFQs), sectors, and/or community quotas. The
NEFMC is initiating a public process to determine the scope of issues
and range of alternatives to be addressed in Amendment 6 and its EIS.
The purpose of this notification is to alert the interested public of
the commencement of the scoping process and to provide for public
participation in compliance with environmental documentation
requirements.
DATES: Written and electronic scoping comments must be received on or
before 5 p.m., local time, February 15, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on Amendment 6 may be sent by any of the
following methods:
E-mail to the following address: monkfisha6@noaa.gov;
Mail to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS,
Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Scoping Comments on Monkfish
Amendment 6;'' or
Fax to Patricia A. Kurkul, 978-281-9135.
Requests for copies of the scoping document and other information
should be directed to Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA
01950, telephone 978-465-0492. The scoping document is accessible
electronically via the Internet at https://www.nefmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management Council, 978-465-0492.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The U.S. monkfish fishery is jointly managed by the New England and
Mid-Atlantic Councils, with the NEFMC having the administrative lead.
The Councils manage monkfish under a two-area program (northern and
southern), primarily due to differences in the characteristics of the
fisheries in the two areas, although no conclusive evidence exists
supporting the idea that there are two biological stocks. The Monkfish
FMP became effective on November 8, 1999. The Councils have modified
the
[[Page 74006]]
management program several times since the original FMP was adopted,
most recently in 2010 with the completion of Amendment 5, containing
Annual Catch Limits, Annual Catch Targets (ACT) and specification of
days-at-sea (DAS) allocations and trip limits for the 2011-2013 fishing
years.
While a significant portion of the monkfish catch in both areas is
incidental to other fishing activities, a directed fishery also exists.
The Councils have adopted incidental catch possession limits for all
non-directed fisheries, and currently manages the directed fishery
through a combination of DAS allocations and trip limits designed to
achieve the ACT.
Measures Under Consideration
The Councils are considering catch shares for the monkfish fishery
as a way to improve the economic performance of the fishery by
increasing flexibility, maintaining catch within set limits, achieving
optimum yield, promoting safety, and reducing the regulatory burden on
vessel operators. Additionally, nearly 75-percent of limited access
monkfish permit holders also hold a limited access permit in the
Northeast multispecies fishery, where a catch share program (in the
form of sector management) has been implemented. As a consequence, many
monkfish permit holders have requested that the Councils consider a
catch share program in the monkfish fishery to coordinate the
management and improve the performance of both fisheries.
``Catch shares'' is a generic term for a fishery management program
that allocates a specific portion of a total fishery catch to
individuals, communities, or cooperatives (including sectors). In
contrast to managing through effort or input controls such as DAS and
trip limits, catch shares management focuses on allocating and
monitoring the catch or output controls. Specific catch share
approaches include, but are not limited to, IFQs, Individual
Transferrable Quotas (ITQs), Community Quotas, Harvest Cooperatives
(including ``sectors'' such as those as recently adopted in the
Northeast Multispecies FMP), area-based fishing rights, and non-vessel
allocations (e.g., dealer or processor shares). At this stage in the
amendment process, the Councils have not eliminated any of the various
types of catch share management approaches from consideration. Rather,
they intend to collect early comments from stakeholders and interested
parties to guide them in the development of appropriate catch-share
alternatives. The Councils are also interested in hearing from
stakeholders what their concerns might be with various catch share
elements, including, but not limited to, limits on accumulation of
shares, costs of monitoring individual catch, barriers or incentives
for new entrants, and the effect of consolidation on fishing
communities.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA)
authorizes and provides a regulatory framework for Councils to
establish Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPPs), of which ITQs are
one type. In addition to the requirements and standards for all LAPPs,
the MSA requires the NEFMC specifically to hold a referendum and gain
approval of more than two-thirds of the voters for an IFQ program prior
to submitting the plan to NMFS. The Councils will determine who is
eligible to participate in the referendum from among the potential pool
that includes permit holders and crew members who derive a significant
part of their total income from the fishery. If an IFQ system is
adopted, the Council would allocate individual proportions of the
available catch to qualified participants who may then be allowed,
under yet-unspecified terms and restrictions, to buy, sell, trade or
otherwise transfer their shares to other entities or participants.
Scoping Process
All persons affected by or otherwise interested in monkfish fishery
management are invited to participate in determining the scope and
significance of issues to be analyzed by submitting written comments
(see ADDRESSES) or by attending one of the meetings where scoping
comments will be taken. Scoping consists of identifying the range of
actions, alternatives (including taking no action), and impacts to be
considered in developing an amendment that addresses the purposes and
goals discussed in this notice. Impacts may be direct, indirect, or
cumulative. This scoping process will also identify and eliminate from
detailed analysis issues that are not significant, as well as
alternatives that do not achieve the goals of the FMP or this
amendment.
The scoping process for Amendment 5 to the Monkfish FMP (74 FR
7880; February 20, 2009) also considered the development of a catch
share program for the monkfish fishery in the range of issues to be
considered in that amendment. However, by September 2009, the Councils
recognized that, due to their complexity, development of catch share
alternatives would likely delay Amendment 5, and risk not meeting the
statutory deadline for annual catch limits and accountability measures
under the MSA. At that time, the Councils agreed to separate the catch
shares portion of the amendment to focus on the remaining elements, and
consider catch shares in the next management action. Any comments
concerning the development of a catch share program for the monkfish
fishery that were received in conjunction with the scoping process for
Amendment 5 will be carried forward in the development of Amendment 6.
After the scoping process is completed, the NEFMC will identify the
range of alternatives to be considered in the Amendment 6, and to be
analyzed in the EIS. Once a draft amendment document, including a draft
EIS, is completed, the NEFMC will hold public hearings to receive
comments on the alternatives and the analysis of its impacts presented
in the draft EIS. Following that public comment period, the NEFMC will
identify its proposed action and complete a final amendment document
that includes a final EIS, as well as documentation and analysis
required by all other applicable laws. The NEFMC will then submit the
amendment to NMFS for review, approval and implementation.
Scoping Hearing Schedule
At this time, only one scoping meeting is scheduled. The Councils
will schedule additional meetings in the near future, and announce
those meetings in the Federal Register, as well as on the Councils' Web
site and through other channels. The first scheduled meeting is to be
held in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
meeting:
1. Wednesday, December 15, 2010, 4:30 p.m.; Hilton Beach
Oceanfront, 3001 Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23451, telephone:
(757) 213-3000.
Special Accommodations
The meetings are accessible to people with physical disabilities.
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Paul J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days
prior to this meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 24, 2010.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-30179 Filed 11-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
