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Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act; Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery
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[Federal Register: April 24, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 78)] [Notices] [Page 20984-20986] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr24ap06-43] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [I.D. 041806D] Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act; Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of scoping process; request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Based on recommendations contained in Amendment 6 to Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass (Amendment 6) and comments received from an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR), NMFS previously announced its intent to begin a scoping process to gather information for the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS). Initial scoping occurred during nine public hearings in November-December 2003. Due to the significant time that had passed since these initial scoping hearings, NMFS is seeking additional scoping on its preliminary draft analyses of Federal management options to open the EEZ to the harvest of Atlantic Striped Bass. The purpose of this notice is to alert the interested public of this further scoping process and to provide for public participation in compliance with environmental documentation requirements. DATES: Comments on this notice must be received (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on or before May 24, 2006. ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the draft document should be sent to: Tom [[Page 20985]] Meyer, State-Federal Fisheries Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 East West Highway, Room 13248, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Striped Bass Scoping.'' An electronic copy of the draft document and supporting documents (ANPR and a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS (NOI)) may also be obtained on the State-Federal Fisheries Division's website under Regulatory Activities at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/state_federal/state_federal.htm. Comments may also be sent via fax to (301) 713-0596, or via e-mail to: Striped-Bass.Comments@noaa.gov. Include in the subject e in the subject line of the fax or e-mail the following document identifier: Striped Bass Scoping. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Meyer, telephone (301) 713-2334, x173. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background An ANPR was published in the Federal Register on July 21, 2003 (68 FR 43074), with the comment period closing on August 20, 2003. The comment period was subsequently reopened on August 26, 2003 (68 FR 51232) for an additional 30-days. NMFS announced that it was considering proposed rulemaking to revise Federal Atlantic striped bass regulations to be compatible with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass (Amendment 6), and was seeking comments on the implementation of ASMFC's recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to open the EEZ to the harvest of Atlantic striped bass. NMFS also solicited comments on possible alternative management measures and issues that NMFS should consider relative to these recommendations. After review of comments received from the public during the ANPR comment period, NMFS determined there were sufficient issues raised, both in support of and in opposition to the ASMFC recommendation, to warrant further evaluation of the potential impacts of opening the EEZ to striped bass fishing. That determination resulted in the initiation of a decision-making process required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). A ``Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and notice of scoping process'' (NOI) was published in the Federal Register on October 20, 2003 (68 FR 59906). The notice presented a summary of the ANPR comments, and requested further public input on a list of potential alternatives and other management measures. Public meetings were held in nine Atlantic coast states between November 5 - December 10, 2003, and public comment period closed on December 22, 2003. See ADDRESSES for information on how to obtain a copy of the ANPR or the NOI. Atlantic striped bass management is based on ASMFC's Atlantic Striped Bass Interstate Fishery Management Plan (ISFMP), first adopted in 1981. From 1981 - 1994, four ISFMP Amendments were developed that provided a series of management measures that led to the rebuilding of the stocks. In 1995, ASMFC declared the Atlantic striped bass population fully restored and implemented Amendment 5 to the ISFMP to perpetuate the stock so as to allow a commercial and recreational harvest consistent with the long-term maintenance of the striped bass stock. Since then the population has expanded to record levels of abundance. To maintain this recovered population, ASMFC approved Amendment 6 in February 2003 (copies of Amendment 6 are available via ASMFC's website under Interstate Fisheries Management-striped bass at http://www.asmfc.org)