Pelagics Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 102899A]

Pelagics Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of scoping meetings; notice of cancellation of one

scoping meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On October 6, 1999, and on October 20, 1999, NMFS announced

its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on

Federal management of the fishery for pelagic species in the Exclusive

Economic Zone (EEZ) waters of the Western Pacific Region. The scope of

the EIS analysis will include all activities related to the conduct of

the fishery authorized and managed under the Fishery Management Plan

for the Pelagics Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP) and all

amendments thereto. Additionally, NMFS announced its intention to

prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) on the fishery for pelagic

species in the EEZ waters of the Western Pacific Region. The scope of

the analysis of the EA will include all activities related to the

conduct of the fishery for the 2-year period NMFS anticipates is

necessary to prepare the EIS. NMFS is holding concurrent scoping

meetings to provide for public input into the range of actions,

alternatives, and impacts that the EIS and EA should consider. Scoping

for the EIS and EA commenced with publication of the document on

October 6, 1999. In addition to holding the scoping meetings, NMFS is

accepting written comments on the range of actions, alternatives, and

impacts it should be considering for this EIS, as well as comments on

the scope of the EA.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted through December 6, 1999. See

ADDRESSES for location to mail or fax written comments. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for meeting times and special accommodations.

ADDRESSES: The Responsible Program Manager for this EIS is Rodney R.

McInnis, Acting Southwest Regional Administrator, NMFS. Written

comments and requests to be included on a mailing list of persons

interested in the EIS should be sent to Marilyn Luipold, Pacific

Islands Area Office, NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu,

HI 96814-4700. Comments also may be sent, via facsimile, to 808-973-

2941. NMFS will not accept comments sent by e-mail or the Internet. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for meeting locations and special

accommodations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn Luipold, 808-973-2937 or 2935

extension 204.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act, the United States has exclusive

fishery management authority over all living marine resources within

the EEZ between the seaward boundary of each state or U.S. island

possession seaward to 200 nautical miles from the baseline used to

measure the territorial sea. The management of these marine resources

is vested in the Secretary of Commerce and in eight regional fishery

management councils. The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council) has the responsibility to prepare FMPs for the marine

resources that require conservation and management in the Western

Pacific Region. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires

preparation of EISs for major Federal actions significantly affecting

the quality of the human environment (42 U.S.C. 4332).

The FMP was developed by the Council, and regulations implementing

management measures were published on February 17, 1987 (52 FR 5983).

An EA was prepared for the action implementing the FMP. The FMP has

been amended seven times, and NEPA environmental documents

(environmental assessments, categorical exclusions, findings of no

significant

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impact, and an EIS) have been prepared for each FMP and regulatory

amendment. However, many of these earlier documents have become

outdated and/or focused on individual management actions, making it

difficult to obtain a comprehensive view of issues and management

options for the fishery as it exists today. NMFS is undertaking

preparation of a comprehensive EIS in order to analyze the fishery as

it is currently conducted, to address any and all impacts that might

have been overlooked in earlier analyses, and to improve management of

the fishery. The Federal action under review is defined as, among other

things, all activities authorized and managed under the FMP, as

amended.

The EIS will present an overall picture of the environmental

effects of fishing as conducted under the FMP, rather than focusing

narrowly on one management action, and will include a range of

reasonable management alternatives and an analysis of their impacts in

order to define issues and provide a clear basis for choice among

options by the public, the Council, and NMFS. NMFS intends to assess

the biological and socio-economic impacts that result from regulation

of the pelagic fisheries of the Western Pacific Region, including

license limitation, as well as present and potential controls on

effort, harvest levels, location, timing, and methods of fishing. The

effects on associated species, including interactions with protected

species, will be assessed. NMFS intends to evaluate the significant

changes that have occurred in the pelagic fisheries, including the

significant cumulative effects of changes in fishing activities, socio-

economics, the environment, and management. The assessment will include

analysis of the cumulative or incremental impacts of actions and

alternatives. Impacts associated with status quo management (i.e.,

continuation of fishing as currently conducted) will be presented and

compared to situations simulating limits on fishing areas and/or gears

over all or parts of the management area. Possible alternatives to the

current conduct of the fishery include a range of area and/or seasonal

closures for the longline fishery, gear restrictions and/or

modifications, including prohibitions on the use of longline gear in

some or all of the management area, and adjustments to requirements for

handling incidental hookings and takings of protected species. The

impacts of EEZ fishing activity and harvest on the marine environment

will be assessed under representative alternative management scenarios

that will ensure consideration of impacts that may reach beyond the

EEZ. As the number of possible alternatives is virtually infinite, the

EIS will not consider detailed alternatives for every aspect of the

FMP. Therefore, a principal objective of the scoping and public input

process is to identify a reasonable set of management alternatives

that, with adequate analysis, will sharply define critical issues and

provide a clear basis for choice among the alternatives.

Issues

The environmental consequences section of the EIS will display the

impacts of pelagics harvest accruing with present management

regulations and under a range of representative alternative management

regulations on Western Pacific ecosystem issues. These issues include:

Essential fish habitat (EFH), target and non-target species of fish

(including tunas, swordfish, and sharks), fish that are discarded,

marine mammals (Hawaiian monk seals and cetaceans), sea turtles, and

seabirds present in the Western Pacific ecosystem. In addition, the

environmental consequences section will contain a summary,

interpretation, and predictions for socio-economic issues associated

with conduct of the fishery on the following groups of individuals: (1)

Those who participate in harvesting the fishery resources and other

living marine resources, (2) those who process and market the fish and

fishery products, (3) those who are involved in allied support

industries, (4) those who consume fishery products, (5) those who rely

on living marine resources in the management area either for

subsistence needs or for recreational benefits, (6) those who benefit

from non-consumptive uses of living marine resources, (7) those

involved in managing and monitoring fisheries, and (8) fishing

communities.

EA Issues

In the EA, NMFS intends to evaluate whether the conduct of the

current fisheries over the next 2 years will have significant

environmental impacts. The Federal action under review in the EA is

defined as all activities authorized and managed under the FMP, as

amended, for the 2-year period anticipated to be necessary for

preparation of the EIS. The EA will present an overall picture of the

environmental effects over the next 2 years of fishing as conducted

under the FMP. Efforts will be made to quantify and explain the

intensity of projected impacts on EFH, target and non-target species of

fish (including tunas, swordfish, and sharks), fish that are discarded,

marine mammals (Hawaiian monk seals and cetaceans), sea turtles, and

seabirds present in the Western Pacific ecosystem. Additionally, the EA

will evaluate socio-economic impacts associated with the fishery on

groups of individuals, including fishing communities, harvesters,

processors and marketers, consumers, subsistence and recreational users

of living marine resources in the management area, non-consumptive

users, and individuals involved in allied support industries and

management and monitoring of the fisheries. Although the focus of the

EA will be analysis of impacts associated with continuation of fishing

as currently conducted, reasonable alternatives for application in the

2-year period, including area and/or seasonal closures for the longline

fishery, gear restrictions and/or modifications including prohibitions

on the use of longline gear in part or all of the management area, and

adjustments to requirements for handling incidental hookings and

takings of protected species, will be addressed.

Public Involvement

Scoping for the EIS and EA began with publication of the document

at 64 FR 54272, October 6, 1999. An informational presentation of the

project will be made at a scoping meeting to be held in the Hawaiian

Islands on Oahu at the following time and location:

Waianae, Oahu, HI--November 30, 1999, 6--8 p.m., Waianae Public

Library, 85625 Farrington Hwy., Waianae, HI 96792.

Scoping meetings in American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern

Mariana Islands, and Guam will be held at the following times and

locations:

1. Fagatogo, American Samoa, --November 15, 1999, 3--5 p.m.,

Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) Conference Room, AS.

Phone contact c/o DMWR (684) 633-4456.

2. Agana (Hagatna), GUAM, --November 16, 1999, 7--8 p.m., Guam

Fishermen's Cooperative Association, Hagatna Boat Basin, Agana

(Hagatna), GU. Phone contact c/o Guam Dept. of Commerce (671) 475-0321.

3. Susupe, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

(CNMI), --November 17, 1999, from 7:00-8:00 p.m., Joeten-Kiyu Library,

Beach Road, Susupe, Saipan, CNMI. Phone Division of Fish and Wildlife

Resources (DFWR) 670-322-9627 for information.

The meeting scheduled for Haleiwa, Oahu, HI for November 8, 1999,

from 6--8 p.m., at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park,

[[Page 60404]]

66167 Haleiwa Rd., Haleiwa, HI 96712 has been canceled. The

cancellation is due to loss of access to the Haleiwa Alii Beach Park

site. Interested persons are invited to attend the meeting scheduled

for November 30, 1999, 6--8 p.m., at the Waianae Public Library, 85625

Farrington Hwy., Waianae, HI 96792.

Special Accommodations

Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Marilyn Luipold, (see ADDRESSES), 808-973-2937

(voice) or 808-973-2941 (fax), at least 5 days before the meeting date.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: November 2, 1999.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 99-29081 Filed 11-4-99; 8:45 am]

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