Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Gulf of Mexico State Management Program Amendment for Recreational Red Snapper, 2425-2427 [2018-00666]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2018 / Notices
Building, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230. The
address to register, submit comments, or
request auxiliary aids is: Mr. Jeffrey
Phillips, Office of Energy &
Environmental Industries (OEEI),
International Trade Administration,
Room 28018, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230 or email:
jeffrey.phillips@trade.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Jeffrey Phillips, Office of Energy &
Environmental Industries (OEEI),
International Trade Administration,
Room 28018, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230 (Phone:
202–482–8342; Fax: 202–482–5665;
email: jeffrey.phillips@trade.gov.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
meeting will take place on February 6
from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. The
general meeting is open to the public
and time will be permitted for public
comment from 3:00–3:30 p.m. EDT.
Members of the public seeking to attend
the meeting are required to register in
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must provide notification by Friday,
January 26, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. EDT, via
the contact information provided above.
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sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to
OEEI at (202) 482–8342 no less than one
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received after this date will be accepted,
but it may not be possible to
accommodate them.
Written comments concerning ETTAC
affairs are welcome any time before or
after the meeting. To be considered
during the meeting, written comments
must be received by Friday, January 26,
2018 at 5:00 p.m. EDT to ensure
transmission to the members before the
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within 30 days of this meeting.
Topic to be considered: During the
February 6, 2018 meeting the three
ETTAC subcommittees will discuss
their top priorities for this charter
period, with the goal of generating
recommendations for the Secretary of
Commerce. Topics under discussion
include optimizing the U.S.
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programs, identifying market access
barriers, pros and cons of existing trade
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The ETTAC’s subcommittees are: Trade
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VerDate Sep<11>2014
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Background: The ETTAC is mandated
by Section 2313(c) of the Export
Enhancement Act of 1988, as amended,
15 U.S.C. 4728(c), to advise the
Environmental Trade Working Group of
the Trade Promotion Coordinating
Committee, through the Secretary of
Commerce, on the development and
administration of programs to expand
U.S. exports of environmental
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chartered in May of 1994. It was most
recently re-chartered until August 2018.
Dated: January 10, 2018.
Edward A. O’Malley,
Director, Office of Energy and Environmental
Industries.
[FR Doc. 2018–00643 Filed 1–16–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XF679
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; Gulf of
Mexico State Management Program
Amendment for Recreational Red
Snapper
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.
AGENCY:
NMFS, Southeast Region, in
collaboration with the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council (Council),
intends to prepare a DEIS to describe
and analyze management alternatives to
be included in the State Management
Program for Recreational Red Snapper
Amendment to the Fishery Management
Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources
of the Gulf of Mexico (State
Management Program Amendment). The
State Management Program Amendment
will consider alternatives that would
allocate the total recreational red
snapper annual catch limit (ACL) for the
Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) among the
individual Gulf states of Alabama,
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and
Texas, and designate the components of
the recreational sector that would be
included under a state’s management
program (private angling and/or charter
vessel/headboat (for-hire) components).
These decisions would form the basis
for individual state amendments to the
FMP to allow each of the Gulf states to
establish management measures for the
SUMMARY:
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2425
recreational harvest of red snapper in
adjacent Gulf Federal waters. State
management would enable each state to
specify the management measures that
best meet the needs of its constituents,
thereby addressing regional socioeconomic concerns. The purpose of this
NOI is to inform the public of upcoming
opportunities to provide additional
comments on the scope of issues 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 February
16, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on the Amendment identified by
‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2017–0122’’ by any of
the following methods:
• Electronic submissions: Submit
electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!
docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20170122, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Lauren Waters, Southeast Regional
Office, NMFS, 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:
Lauren Waters, Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: (727) 824–5305; or
email: Lauren.Waters@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For Gulf
red snapper the recreational sector is
separated into Federal for-hire (charter
vessels and headboats) and private
angling components, each managed
under their respective recreational
quotas and annual catch targets (ACTs).
This separation will end after the 2022
fishing year if the Council takes no
further action. NMFS annually projects
the recreational season length for each
component based on the ACTs and the
projected average weights of fish and
catch rates derived from historical
E:\FR\FM\17JAN1.SGM
17JAN1
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2426
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2018 / Notices
trends. Despite increases in the total red
snapper quota, the recreational season
length for the private angler component
has become progressively shorter.
Fishermen from different Gulf states
have requested more flexibility in
recreational red snapper management so
that regulations provide greater socioeconomic benefits to their particular
area. In June 2012, Louisiana requested
that the Council develop a recreational
red snapper regional management pilot
program. As a result of the Louisiana
request, the Council initiated
development of Amendment 39 to the
FMP. Amendment 39 considered several
actions that are also currently being
considered by the Council, such as the
mechanism for implementing regional
management, apportioning the
recreational annual catch limit (ACL)
among the Gulf states, and modifying
post-season accountability measures
(AMs) consistent with the regional
management approach.
In May 2013, NMFS published an NOI
to prepare a draft environmental impact
statement for Amendment 39 and
solicited public comment (78 FR 27956,
May 13, 2013). As explained in that
NOI, the intent of Amendment 39 was
to allow participating states or regions
to design management options to better
fit their needs. However, red snapper
would remain a federally managed
species. The Council and NMFS would
continue to oversee management of the
stock. This includes continuing to
comply with the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the
mandate to ensure the red snapper
annual recreational quota is not
exceeded and that conservation
objectives are achieved. The Council’s
Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC) would continue to determine the
acceptable biological catch (ABC) for
red snapper, and the Council and NMFS
would determine the total recreational
red snapper quota that could be
allocated among regions.
During the development of
Amendment 39, the Council received
public input on actions and alternatives
regarding regional management of
recreational red snapper at numerous
public hearing meetings and Council
meetings held throughout the Gulf states
from October 2012 through January
2016, as well as via webinar.
Additionally the Council’s Reef Fish
Advisory Panel reviewed regional
management actions and alternatives in
September 2015. The Environmental
Protection Agency published a Notice of
Availability for the DEIS for
Amendment 39 in December 2015 (80
FR 79041, December 18, 2015).
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Jkt 244001
However, in January 2016, the Council
voted to postpone further work on
Amendment 39. In April 2017, the
Council began discussing regional
management concepts again and
decided to develop new amendments to
provide the management flexibility
desired by the Gulf states and their
constituents. Similar to Amendment 39,
the intent is to allow each participating
state to implement management
measures to better fit its needs, while
achieving the same conservations goals
as the Federal management measures in
existence at any given time.
The Council is currently considering
several FMP amendments that would
allow each Gulf state to manage the
recreational harvest of red snapper in
Federal waters adjacent to their state.
The State Management Program
Amendment will consider alternatives
to apportion the total recreational red
snapper ACL for the Gulf among the
individual Gulf states and determine
which components of the recreational
sector would be included under a state’s
management program (private angling
and/or charter vessel/headboat (for-hire)
components). Five separate FMP
amendments, one for each Gulf state,
will consider alternatives to establish
the state-specific authority structure,
such as delegation or the use of
conservation equivalency plans, and
state-specific post-season accountability
measures for each state that participates
in the State Management Program for
recreational red snapper (State
Amendments).
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.
The State Management Program
Amendment DEIS will describe and
analyze the apportionment and
recreational sector component
alternatives as well as describe and
analyze the authority structure and
accountability measure alternatives
included in the five individual State
Amendments. Thus, NMFS anticipates
that the State Management Program
Amendment EIS will include the
relevant National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) analyses for all six FMP
amendments. However, NMFS will
continue to evaluate this determination
as the State Amendments are developed
and will provide additional NEPA
analysis as appropriate.
In accordance with NOAA’s
Administrative Order 216–6A,
accompanying NEPA Procedures
(companion manual), and the Scoping
Process, NMFS, in collaboration with
the Council, has identified preliminary
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environmental issues as a means to
initiate discussion for scoping purposes
only. The public is invited to provide
written comments on the preliminary
issues, which are identified as actions
and alternatives in the State
Management Program Amendment draft
options paper and action guide. These
preliminary issues may not represent
the full range of issues that eventually
will be evaluated in the DEIS. A copy
of the State Management Program
Amendment draft options paper and
action guide are available at https://
sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_
fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/2017/
RSStateManagement/RSStateManage
index.html.
After the DEIS associated with the
State Management Program Amendment
is completed, it will be filed with the
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). After filing, the EPA will publish
a notice of availability (NOA) 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 NEPA (40 CFR parts
1500–1508) and to NOAA’s
Administrative Order 216–6A 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 the
Council votes to submit the State
Management Program Amendment to
NMFS for Secretarial review, approval,
and implementation under the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS will
announce in the Federal Register the
availability of the final amendment and
FEIS for public review during the
Secretarial review period, and will
consider all public comments prior to
final agency action to approve,
disapprove, or partially approve the
final amendment. During Secretarial
review, NMFS will also file the FEIS
with the EPA and the EPA will publish
an NOA for the FEIS in the Federal
Register.
NMFS will announce, through a
notice 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.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
E:\FR\FM\17JAN1.SGM
17JAN1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2018 / Notices
Dated: January 10, 2018.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–00666 Filed 1–16–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
ethrower on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
The Department of Commerce will
submit to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for clearance the
following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35).
Agency: National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Title: Alaska American Fisheries Act
(AFA) Reports.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0401.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular (extension of
a currently approved information
collection).
Number of Respondents: 8.
Average Hours per Response: AFA
cooperative contract, 8 hours; annual
cooperative report, 16 hours; inshore
cooperative weekly catch report, 45
minutes; incentive plan agreement (IPA)
amendment, 50 hours; incentive plan
agreement disapproval appeals, 4 hours;
IPA annual report, 80 hours.
Burden Hours: 599.
Needs and Uses: On October 21, 1998,
the President signed into law The
American Fisheries Act, 16 U.S.C. 1851
(AFA). The AFA authorizes the
formation of fishery cooperatives in all
sectors of the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Management Area (BSAI)
pollock fishery, grants antitrust
exemptions to cooperatives in the
mothership sector, and imposes
operational limits on fishery
cooperatives in the BSAI pollock
fishery. The National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) issues a single pollock
allocation to each cooperative, and the
cooperative may make sub-allocations of
pollock to each individual vessel owner
in the cooperative.
With respect to the fisheries off
Alaska, the AFA Program is a suite of
management measures that fall into four
general regulatory categories:
• Limit access into the fishing and
processing sectors of the BSAI pollock
fishery and that allocate pollock to such
sectors (50 CFR 679.64).
• Govern the formation and operation
of fishery cooperatives in the BSAI
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17:14 Jan 16, 2018
Jkt 244001
pollock fishery, including filing of
cooperative contracts (50 CFR 679.61
and 679.62).
• Protection of other fisheries from
spillover effects from the AFA (50 CFR
679.64).
• Govern catch measurement and
monitoring in the BSAI pollock fishery,
including filing of annual reports and
completing and submitting inshore
catcher vessel pollock cooperative catch
reports (50 CFR 679.63).
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Frequency: Annually and on occasion.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
This information collection request
may be viewed at reginfo.gov. Follow
the instructions to view Department of
Commerce collections currently under
review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to OIRA_Submission@
omb.eop.gov or fax to (202) 395–5806.
Dated: January 11, 2018.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018–00691 Filed 1–16–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XF951
Whaling Provisions; Aboriginal
Subsistence Whaling Quotas
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; notification of quota for
bowhead whales.
AGENCY:
NMFS notifies the public of
the aboriginal subsistence whaling
quota for bowhead whales that it has
assigned to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling
Commission (AEWC), and of limitations
on the use of the quota deriving from
regulations of the International Whaling
Commission (IWC). For 2018, the quota
is 75 bowhead whales struck. This quota
and other applicable limitations govern
the harvest of bowhead whales by
members of the AEWC.
DATES: Applicable January 17, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Office for International
Affairs and Seafood Inspection, National
Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD
20910.
SUMMARY:
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2427
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carolyn Doherty, (301) 427–8385.
Aboriginal
subsistence whaling in the United States
is governed by the Whaling Convention
Act (WCA) (16 U.S.C. 916 et seq.).
Under the WCA, IWC regulations shall
generally become effective with respect
to all persons and vessels subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States, within
90 days of notification from the IWC
Secretariat of an amendment to the IWC
Schedule (16 U.S.C. 916k). Regulations
that implement the WCA, found at 50
CFR 230.6, require the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary) to publish, at
least annually, aboriginal subsistence
whaling quotas and any other
limitations on aboriginal subsistence
whaling deriving from regulations of the
IWC.
At the 64th Annual Meeting of the
IWC, the Commission set catch limits
for aboriginal subsistence use of
bowhead whales from the BeringChukchi-Beaufort Seas stock. The
bowhead catch limits were based on a
joint request by the United States and
the Russian Federation, accompanied by
documentation concerning the needs of
two Native groups: Alaska Eskimos and
Chukotka Natives in the Russian Far
East.
The IWC set a 6-year block catch limit
of 336 bowhead whales landed. For
each of the years 2013 through 2018, the
number of bowhead whales struck may
not exceed 67, except that any unused
portion of a strike quota from any prior
year may be carried forward. No more
than 15 strikes may be added to the
strike quota for any one year. At the end
of the 2017 harvest, there were 15
unused strikes available for carryforward, so the combined strike quota
set by the IWC for 2018 is 82 (67 + 15).
An arrangement between the United
States and the Russian Federation
ensures that the total quota of bowhead
whales landed and struck in 2018 will
not exceed the limits set by the IWC.
Under this arrangement, the Russian
natives may use no more than seven
strikes, and the Alaska Eskimos may use
no more than 75 strikes.
Through its cooperative agreement
with the AEWC, NOAA has assigned 75
strikes to the Alaska Eskimos. The
AEWC will in turn allocate these strikes
among the 11 villages whose cultural
and subsistence needs have been
documented, and will ensure that its
hunters use no more than 75 strikes.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Other Limitations
The IWC regulations, as well as the
NOAA regulation at 50 CFR 230.4(c),
forbid the taking of calves or any whale
accompanied by a calf.
E:\FR\FM\17JAN1.SGM
17JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2425-2427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00666]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XF679
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Gulf of Mexico State Management Program Amendment for Recreational Red
Snapper
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS, Southeast Region, in collaboration with the Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council), intends to prepare a DEIS
to describe and analyze management alternatives to be included in the
State Management Program for Recreational Red Snapper Amendment to the
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf
of Mexico (State Management Program Amendment). The State Management
Program Amendment will consider alternatives that would allocate the
total recreational red snapper annual catch limit (ACL) for the Gulf of
Mexico (Gulf) among the individual Gulf states of Alabama, Florida,
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and designate the components of the
recreational sector that would be included under a state's management
program (private angling and/or charter vessel/headboat (for-hire)
components). These decisions would form the basis for individual state
amendments to the FMP to allow each of the Gulf states to establish
management measures for the recreational harvest of red snapper in
adjacent Gulf Federal waters. State management would enable each state
to specify the management measures that best meet the needs of its
constituents, thereby addressing regional socio-economic concerns. The
purpose of this NOI is to inform the public of upcoming opportunities
to provide additional comments on the scope of issues 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 February 16, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the Amendment identified by
``NOAA-NMFS-2017-0122'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic submissions: Submit electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0122, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments
Mail: Submit written comments to Lauren Waters, Southeast
Regional Office, NMFS, 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: Lauren Waters, Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: (727) 824-5305; or email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For Gulf red snapper the recreational sector
is separated into Federal for-hire (charter vessels and headboats) and
private angling components, each managed under their respective
recreational quotas and annual catch targets (ACTs). This separation
will end after the 2022 fishing year if the Council takes no further
action. NMFS annually projects the recreational season length for each
component based on the ACTs and the projected average weights of fish
and catch rates derived from historical
[[Page 2426]]
trends. Despite increases in the total red snapper quota, the
recreational season length for the private angler component has become
progressively shorter.
Fishermen from different Gulf states have requested more
flexibility in recreational red snapper management so that regulations
provide greater socio-economic benefits to their particular area. In
June 2012, Louisiana requested that the Council develop a recreational
red snapper regional management pilot program. As a result of the
Louisiana request, the Council initiated development of Amendment 39 to
the FMP. Amendment 39 considered several actions that are also
currently being considered by the Council, such as the mechanism for
implementing regional management, apportioning the recreational annual
catch limit (ACL) among the Gulf states, and modifying post-season
accountability measures (AMs) consistent with the regional management
approach.
In May 2013, NMFS published an NOI to prepare a draft environmental
impact statement for Amendment 39 and solicited public comment (78 FR
27956, May 13, 2013). As explained in that NOI, the intent of Amendment
39 was to allow participating states or regions to design management
options to better fit their needs. However, red snapper would remain a
federally managed species. The Council and NMFS would continue to
oversee management of the stock. This includes continuing to comply
with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the mandate to ensure the red snapper annual
recreational quota is not exceeded and that conservation objectives are
achieved. The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC)
would continue to determine the acceptable biological catch (ABC) for
red snapper, and the Council and NMFS would determine the total
recreational red snapper quota that could be allocated among regions.
During the development of Amendment 39, the Council received public
input on actions and alternatives regarding regional management of
recreational red snapper at numerous public hearing meetings and
Council meetings held throughout the Gulf states from October 2012
through January 2016, as well as via webinar. Additionally the
Council's Reef Fish Advisory Panel reviewed regional management actions
and alternatives in September 2015. The Environmental Protection Agency
published a Notice of Availability for the DEIS for Amendment 39 in
December 2015 (80 FR 79041, December 18, 2015). However, in January
2016, the Council voted to postpone further work on Amendment 39. In
April 2017, the Council began discussing regional management concepts
again and decided to develop new amendments to provide the management
flexibility desired by the Gulf states and their constituents. Similar
to Amendment 39, the intent is to allow each participating state to
implement management measures to better fit its needs, while achieving
the same conservations goals as the Federal management measures in
existence at any given time.
The Council is currently considering several FMP amendments that
would allow each Gulf state to manage the recreational harvest of red
snapper in Federal waters adjacent to their state. The State Management
Program Amendment will consider alternatives to apportion the total
recreational red snapper ACL for the Gulf among the individual Gulf
states and determine which components of the recreational sector would
be included under a state's management program (private angling and/or
charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) components). Five separate FMP
amendments, one for each Gulf state, will consider alternatives to
establish the state-specific authority structure, such as delegation or
the use of conservation equivalency plans, and state-specific post-
season accountability measures for each state that participates in the
State Management Program for recreational red snapper (State
Amendments).
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. The State
Management Program Amendment DEIS will describe and analyze the
apportionment and recreational sector component alternatives as well as
describe and analyze the authority structure and accountability measure
alternatives included in the five individual State Amendments. Thus,
NMFS anticipates that the State Management Program Amendment EIS will
include the relevant National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses
for all six FMP amendments. However, NMFS will continue to evaluate
this determination as the State Amendments are developed and will
provide additional NEPA analysis as appropriate.
In accordance with NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6A, accompanying
NEPA Procedures (companion manual), and the 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 provide written comments on the
preliminary issues, which are identified as actions and alternatives in
the State Management Program Amendment draft options paper and action
guide. These preliminary issues may not represent the full range of
issues that eventually will be evaluated in the DEIS. A copy of the
State Management Program Amendment draft options paper and action guide
are available at https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/2017/RSStateManagement/RSStateManageindex.html.
After the DEIS associated with the State Management Program
Amendment is completed, it will be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). After filing, the EPA will publish a notice of
availability (NOA) 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 NEPA (40 CFR
parts 1500-1508) and to NOAA's Administrative Order 216-6A 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 the Council votes to submit the State Management Program
Amendment to NMFS for Secretarial review, approval, and implementation
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS will announce in the Federal
Register the availability of the final amendment and FEIS for public
review during the Secretarial review period, and will consider all
public comments prior to final agency action to approve, disapprove, or
partially approve the final amendment. During Secretarial review, NMFS
will also file the FEIS with the EPA and the EPA will publish an NOA
for the FEIS in the Federal Register.
NMFS will announce, through a notice 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.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
[[Page 2427]]
Dated: January 10, 2018.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-00666 Filed 1-16-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
