Pacific Island Fisheries; American Samoa Bottomfish Fishery Disaster Relief, 32888 [2019-14668]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 32888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14668]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XP001


Pacific Island Fisheries; American Samoa Bottomfish Fishery 
Disaster Relief

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft environmental assessment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of a draft environmental 
assessment (EA) of the potential effects of two construction projects. 
The EA would support the release by NMFS of Congressionally-
appropriated funds for disaster relief in the American Samoa (AS) 
bottomfish fishery. The AS Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources 
(DMWR) would use the funds to construct a boat ramp and ice house in 
Pago Pago Harbor.

DATES: NMFS must receive comments by July 25, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2019-0075, by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2019-0075, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Send written comments to Michael D. Tosatto, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp 
Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
    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 https://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: Phyllis Ha, Sustainable Fisheries, 
NMFS PIR, tel 808-725-5000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 29, 2009, a submarine 
earthquake in the Pacific generated a tsunami that caused widespread 
damage, loss of life, and injuries in AS and elsewhere. The waves 
damaged coastal areas of Tutuila and the other AS islands. After 
President Obama declared a major disaster in the Territory of American 
Samoa (DR-1859; September 29, 2009), the Governor of American Samoa 
sought fishery disaster assistance in accordance with processes 
provided in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Inter-jurisdictional Fisheries Act 
(IFA).
    Damage assessment reports prepared by the DMWR, the Western Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (Council), and NMFS documented extensive 
damage to the harbor and floating docks in Pago Pago, damaged and 
destroyed alia (small fishing vessels), fishing gear, infrastructure, 
as well as lost fishing opportunities resulting in reduced food supply 
and income from the bottomfish fishery. The formerly productive and 
profitable bottomfish fishery was estimated to have lost 80% of its 
revenue after the tsunami. The Council reported that 17 vessels (50 
percent of the fleet) were damaged or destroyed and lost income was 
estimated to be around $200,000. The AS government estimated the value 
of the fishery failure to be approximately $5 million.
    After considering results of damage assessment reports, the 
Secretary of Commerce determined that a commercial fishery failure 
occurred for the bottomfish fishery in AS due to a fisheries resource 
disaster. The Secretary noted that the tsunami caused significant loss 
of access to the fishery resource and revenues declines and the effects 
met with criteria in Magnuson-Stevens Act section 312(a) and IFA 
section 308(b).
    In 2014, Congress appropriated disaster relief funding for NMFS to 
provide assistance to AS. DMWR proposes to use these funds to build a 
small community boat ramp at the southwestern-most terminus of Pago 
Pago Harbor, and a small ice house at the DMWR administrative work 
station in Fagatogo (at Pago Pago Harbor). The boat ramp would relieve 
boat traffic congestion in the area and result in improved launching 
and return of fishing vessels. The ice house would house and protect 
ice machines that produce ice used by bottomfish fishermen to maintain 
the quality of the fish they harvest.
    NMFS has produced a draft EA to evaluate the environmental effects 
of building the boat ramp and ice house. The draft EA shows that the 
construction includes several provisions intended to protect water 
quality in the harbor and prevent large adverse effects on wildlife. 
NMFS is seeking public comments on the draft EA.

    Dated: July 5, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-14668 Filed 7-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P