Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Comprehensive Fishery Management Plan for the Exclusive Economic Zone of Puerto Rico, 26946-26947 [2014-10812]
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 91 / Monday, May 12, 2014 / Notices
Fish Hatchery (FRFH) for the following
activities: (1) The collection of springrun Chinook salmon juveniles and eggs
from the FRFH and their transport to
stream side incubators located alongside
the San Joaquin River; (2) the transport
of collected Chinook salmon to holding
pens located in the San Joaquin River;
(3) the tagging of FRFH collected springrun Chinook salmon; (4) the release of
tagged juvenile spring-run Chinook
salmon from FRFH, the salmon
conservation and research facility
(SCARF), and those juveniles that were
raised in the stream side incubators; (5)
the release of tagged adult salmon from
SCARF in years 4–5 of the permit; (6)
monitoring and evaluation associated
with permitted activities; and (7) if
required, quarantine and pathology
testing on eggs and/or juveniles
collected from FRFH.
Dated: May 6, 2014.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office
of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014–10737 Filed 5–9–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–BD32
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Comprehensive Fishery Management
Plan for the Exclusive Economic Zone
of Puerto Rico
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Supplemental Notice of Intent
(NOI) to prepare a draft environmental
impact statement (DEIS); reopening of
comment period.
AGENCY:
NMFS is reopening the
comment period for the supplemental
NOI to prepare a DEIS, which published
on March 11, 2014. NMFS, Southeast
Region, in collaboration with the
Caribbean Fishery Management Council
(Council), intends to prepare a DEIS to
describe and analyze a range of
management alternatives for
management actions to be considered
when developing and establishing a
Comprehensive Fishery Management
Plan (FMP) for the exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) of Puerto Rico. The purpose
of this Supplemental NOI is to inform
the public of upcoming opportunities to
provide comments on the actions to be
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:00 May 09, 2014
Jkt 232001
addressed in the DEIS, as specified in
this notice.
DATES: Written comments on the scope
of issues to be addressed in the DEIS
must be received by NMFS by August
11, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on the DEIS, identified by ‘‘NOAA–
NMFS–2013–0093’’, by any of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20130093, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Miguel Lugo, Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St.
Petersburg, FL 33701, or to the
Caribbean Fishery Management Council,
˜
270 Munoz Rivera Avenue, Suite 401,
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918.
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). Attachments to
electronic comments will be accepted in
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
Electronic copies of the scoping
document may be obtained from the
Southeast Regional Office Web site at
https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_
fisheries/caribbean/island_based/
index.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Miguel Lugo, phone 727–824–5305,
email Miguel.Lugo@noaa.gov; or
´
Graciela Garcıa-Moliner, phone 787–
766–5926, email Graciela.GarciaMoliner@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
Tuesday, March 11, 2014, NMFS
published in the Federal Register (79
FR 13624) a supplemental NOI to
prepare a DEIS. Comments on the notice
were required to be received on or
before April 10, 2014. NMFS is reopening the comment period for an
additional 90 days to allow interested
parties additional time to prepare and
submit comments.
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Currently, the Council manages
Federal fisheries in the U.S. Caribbean
under four species-based FMPs: The
Spiny Lobster FMP of Puerto Rico and
the U.S. Virgin Islands (Spiny Lobster
FMP), the Reef Fish FMP of Puerto Rico
and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Reef Fish
FMP), the Corals and Reef Associated
Plants and Invertebrates FMP of Puerto
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Coral
FMP), and the FMP for the Queen
Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands (Queen Conch FMP).
The fishers, fishing community
representatives, and the local
governments of Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands (USVI) have frequently
requested the Council consider the
differences between the islands or
island groups when addressing fisheries
management in the U.S. Caribbean to
recognize the unique attributes of each
U.S. Caribbean island. By developing
island-based FMPs, NMFS and the
Council would better account for
differences among the U.S. Caribbean
islands with respect to culture, markets,
gear, seafood preferences, and the
ecological impacts that result from these
differences.
At its 145th meeting, held on March
26–27, 2013, the Council decided to
transition from species-based fisheries
management to island-based fisheries
management. If approved, a
comprehensive FMP for fisheries
management off Puerto Rico, in
conjunction with similar comprehensive
FMPs for fisheries management off St.
Croix and off St. Thomas/St. John,
would replace the existing speciesbased FMPs.
Also at its March meeting, the Council
voted to hold scoping meetings in July
2013 to receive public feedback on
possible actions and alternatives to
consider during the development of the
Puerto Rico FMP, the St. Croix FMP,
and the St. Thomas/St. John FMP. Based
on public feedback received at the July
scoping meetings, the Council decided
at its 148th Meeting, held December
11–12, 2013, to hold a second round of
scoping meetings to present a more
robust set of actions and alternatives.
After the second round of scoping
meetings in April, 2014, the Council
recommended providing the public with
an additional opportunity to comment
on the range of management alternatives
to include in the DEIS. The Council
could develop the comprehensive FMPs
without significant changes to current
Federal fisheries management. For
example, the 2010 Caribbean Annual
Catch Limit (ACL) Amendment (76 FR
82404, December 30, 2011) and the 2011
Caribbean ACL Amendment (76 FR
82414, December 30, 2011) established
E:\FR\FM\12MYN1.SGM
12MYN1
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 91 / Monday, May 12, 2014 / Notices
ACLs by island or island group with
specific ACLs for the Puerto Rico EEZ.
The spatial and species-based attributes
of these Puerto Rico ACLs, likely, would
not change when developing the new
FMP.
However, a re-arrangement from
species-based FMPs to island-based
FMPs also provides an opportunity for
the Council to update management
regulations that are outdated or do not
reflect the current state of issues in the
Puerto Rico EEZ. In the comprehensive
Puerto Rico FMP, the Council is
considering management measures to
modify the composition of the fishery
management units (FMUs) by adding or
removing species, establishing
management reference points for any
new species added into the FMUs, and
modifying or establishing additional
management measures. If regulations are
to be changed, additional analyses to
assess the impacts to the social,
biological, economic, ecological, and
administrative environments will be
required.
To implement the proposed
provisions of this new FMP, the Council
will develop a DEIS for the
comprehensive Puerto Rico FMP that
describes and analyzes the proposed
management alternatives. The new FMP
will provide the best available scientific
information regarding the management
of Puerto Rico fisheries, within the
context of Federal fisheries management
in the U.S. Caribbean. Those
alternatives will include, but are not
limited to, a ‘‘no action’’ alternative
regarding the continuation of speciesbased Federal fishery management in
Puerto Rico, as well as alternatives to
revise the management of U.S.
Caribbean fisheries when developing
the comprehensive Puerto Rico FMP. In
addition, there will be alternatives to
modify the current FMUs including, but
not limited to, the ‘‘no action’’
alternative. Other actions could be
included in the DEIS in response to
public feedback during the scoping
process.
In accordance with NOAA’s
Administrative Order NAO 216–6,
Section 5.02(c), the Council and NMFS
have identified preliminary
environmental issues as a means to
initiate discussion for scoping purposes
only. These preliminary issues may not
represent the full range of issues that
eventually will be evaluated in the
DEIS.
After the DEIS associated with the
development of the Comprehensive
Puerto Rico FMP is completed, it will be
filed with the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). After filing, the EPA will
publish a notice of availability of the
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:00 May 09, 2014
Jkt 232001
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 and NMFS will consider
public comments received on the DEIS
in developing the final environmental
impact statement (FEIS), and before
voting to submit the FMP to NMFS for
Secretarial review, approval, and
implementation.
NMFS will announce in the Federal
Register the availability of the FMP for
public review during the Secretarial
review period. During Secretarial
review, NMFS will also file the FEIS
with the EPA for a final 30-day public
comment period. This comment period
will be concurrent with the Secretarial
review period and will end prior to final
agency action to approve, disapprove, or
partially approve the FMP.
NMFS will announce in the Federal
Register, all public comment periods on
the FMP, its proposed implementing
regulations, and the associated FEIS.
NMFS will consider all public
comments received during the
Secretarial review period, whether they
are on the FMP, the proposed
regulations, or the FEIS, prior to final
agency action.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 7, 2014.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014–10812 Filed 5–9–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–BD33
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Comprehensive Fishery Management
Plan for the Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ) of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
(USVI)
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Supplemental Notice of Intent
(NOI) to prepare a draft environmental
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
26947
impact statement (DEIS); reopening of
comment period.
NMFS is reopening the
comment period for the supplemental
NOI to prepare a DEIS, which published
on March 10, 2014. NMFS, Southeast
Region, in collaboration with the
Caribbean Fishery Management Council
(Council), intends to prepare a DEIS to
describe and analyze a range of
management alternatives for
management actions to be considered
when developing and establishing a
Comprehensive Fishery Management
Plan (FMP) for the exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) of St. Croix. The purpose of
this Supplemental NOI is to inform the
public of upcoming opportunities to
provide comments on the actions to be
addressed in the DEIS, as specified in
this notice.
DATES: Written comments on the scope
of issues to be addressed in the DEIS
must be received by NMFS by August
11, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on the DEIS, identified by ‘‘NOAA–
NMFS–2013–0092’’, by any of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20130092, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Miguel Lugo, Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St.
Petersburg, FL 33701, or to the
Caribbean Fishery Management Council,
˜
270 Munoz Rivera Avenue, Suite 401,
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918.
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). Attachments to
electronic comments will be accepted in
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
Electronic copies of the scoping
document may be obtained from the
Southeast Regional Office Web site at
https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\12MYN1.SGM
12MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 91 (Monday, May 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26946-26947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10812]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-BD32
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Comprehensive Fishery Management Plan for the Exclusive Economic Zone
of Puerto Rico
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Supplemental Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a draft
environmental impact statement (DEIS); reopening of comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS is reopening the comment period for the supplemental NOI
to prepare a DEIS, which published on March 11, 2014. NMFS, Southeast
Region, in collaboration with the Caribbean Fishery Management Council
(Council), intends to prepare a DEIS to describe and analyze a range of
management alternatives for management actions to be considered when
developing and establishing a Comprehensive Fishery Management Plan
(FMP) for the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Puerto Rico. The purpose
of this Supplemental NOI is to inform the public of upcoming
opportunities to provide comments on the actions to be addressed in the
DEIS, as specified in this notice.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of issues to be addressed in the
DEIS must be received by NMFS by August 11, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the DEIS, identified by ``NOAA-
NMFS-2013-0093'', by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0093, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Miguel Lugo, Southeast
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701,
or to the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 270 Mu[ntilde]oz Rivera
Avenue, Suite 401, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918.
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). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
Electronic copies of the scoping document may be obtained from the
Southeast Regional Office Web site at https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/caribbean/island_based/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miguel Lugo, phone 727-824-5305, email
Miguel.Lugo@noaa.gov; or Graciela Garc[iacute]a-Moliner, phone 787-766-
5926, email Graciela.Garcia-Moliner@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On Tuesday, March 11, 2014, NMFS published
in the Federal Register (79 FR 13624) a supplemental NOI to prepare a
DEIS. Comments on the notice were required to be received on or before
April 10, 2014. NMFS is re-opening the comment period for an additional
90 days to allow interested parties additional time to prepare and
submit comments.
Currently, the Council manages Federal fisheries in the U.S.
Caribbean under four species-based FMPs: The Spiny Lobster FMP of
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Spiny Lobster FMP), the Reef
Fish FMP of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Reef Fish FMP),
the Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates FMP of Puerto
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Coral FMP), and the FMP for the Queen
Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Queen Conch
FMP). The fishers, fishing community representatives, and the local
governments of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) have
frequently requested the Council consider the differences between the
islands or island groups when addressing fisheries management in the
U.S. Caribbean to recognize the unique attributes of each U.S.
Caribbean island. By developing island-based FMPs, NMFS and the Council
would better account for differences among the U.S. Caribbean islands
with respect to culture, markets, gear, seafood preferences, and the
ecological impacts that result from these differences.
At its 145th meeting, held on March 26-27, 2013, the Council
decided to transition from species-based fisheries management to
island-based fisheries management. If approved, a comprehensive FMP for
fisheries management off Puerto Rico, in conjunction with similar
comprehensive FMPs for fisheries management off St. Croix and off St.
Thomas/St. John, would replace the existing species-based FMPs.
Also at its March meeting, the Council voted to hold scoping
meetings in July 2013 to receive public feedback on possible actions
and alternatives to consider during the development of the Puerto Rico
FMP, the St. Croix FMP, and the St. Thomas/St. John FMP. Based on
public feedback received at the July scoping meetings, the Council
decided at its 148th Meeting, held December 11-12, 2013, to hold a
second round of scoping meetings to present a more robust set of
actions and alternatives. After the second round of scoping meetings in
April, 2014, the Council recommended providing the public with an
additional opportunity to comment on the range of management
alternatives to include in the DEIS. The Council could develop the
comprehensive FMPs without significant changes to current Federal
fisheries management. For example, the 2010 Caribbean Annual Catch
Limit (ACL) Amendment (76 FR 82404, December 30, 2011) and the 2011
Caribbean ACL Amendment (76 FR 82414, December 30, 2011) established
[[Page 26947]]
ACLs by island or island group with specific ACLs for the Puerto Rico
EEZ. The spatial and species-based attributes of these Puerto Rico
ACLs, likely, would not change when developing the new FMP.
However, a re-arrangement from species-based FMPs to island-based
FMPs also provides an opportunity for the Council to update management
regulations that are outdated or do not reflect the current state of
issues in the Puerto Rico EEZ. In the comprehensive Puerto Rico FMP,
the Council is considering management measures to modify the
composition of the fishery management units (FMUs) by adding or
removing species, establishing management reference points for any new
species added into the FMUs, and modifying or establishing additional
management measures. If regulations are to be changed, additional
analyses to assess the impacts to the social, biological, economic,
ecological, and administrative environments will be required.
To implement the proposed provisions of this new FMP, the Council
will develop a DEIS for the comprehensive Puerto Rico FMP that
describes and analyzes the proposed management alternatives. The new
FMP will provide the best available scientific information regarding
the management of Puerto Rico fisheries, within the context of Federal
fisheries management in the U.S. Caribbean. Those alternatives will
include, but are not limited to, a ``no action'' alternative regarding
the continuation of species-based Federal fishery management in Puerto
Rico, as well as alternatives to revise the management of U.S.
Caribbean fisheries when developing the comprehensive Puerto Rico FMP.
In addition, there will be alternatives to modify the current FMUs
including, but not limited to, the ``no action'' alternative. Other
actions could be included in the DEIS in response to public feedback
during the scoping process.
In accordance with NOAA's Administrative Order NAO 216-6, Section
5.02(c), the Council and NMFS have identified preliminary environmental
issues as a means to initiate discussion for scoping purposes only.
These preliminary issues may not represent the full range of issues
that eventually will be evaluated in the DEIS.
After the DEIS associated with the development of the Comprehensive
Puerto Rico FMP 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 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 FMP to NMFS for Secretarial review,
approval, and implementation.
NMFS will announce in the Federal Register the availability of the
FMP for public review during the Secretarial review period. During
Secretarial review, NMFS will also file the FEIS with the EPA for a
final 30-day public comment period. This comment period will be
concurrent with the Secretarial review period and will end prior to
final agency action to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the
FMP.
NMFS will announce in the Federal Register, all public comment
periods on the FMP, its proposed implementing regulations, and the
associated FEIS. NMFS will consider all public comments received during
the Secretarial review period, whether they are on the FMP, the
proposed regulations, or the FEIS, prior to final agency action.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 7, 2014.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-10812 Filed 5-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
