98-31085. Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Essential Fish Habitat Amendment to the Fishery Management Plans of the U.S. Caribbean

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 224 (Friday, November 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64463-64464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31085]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D.110298A]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Essential Fish Habitat Amendment to the Fishery Management Plans of the 
U.S. Caribbean

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of an amendment to the fishery 
management plans of the U.S. Caribbean; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Caribbean Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted its Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Generic 
Amendment to the Fishery Management Plans of the U.S. Caribbean (FMPs) 
for its review, approval, and implementation. Written comments are 
requested from the public.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before January 19, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be mailed to the Southeast Regional Office, 
NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
    Requests for copies of the amendment, which includes an 
environmental assessment, should be sent to the Caribbean Fishery 
Management Council, 268 Munoz Rivera Avenue, Suite 11108, San Juan, 
Puerto Rico 00918-2577, Phone: [phone]; Fax: [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Georgia Cranmore, 813-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each regional 
fishery management council to submit any fishery management plan or 
amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or 
partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, 
after receiving an amendment, immediately publish a notice in the 
Federal Register that the amendment is available for public review and 
comment. This document constitutes such notice for the EFH amendment.
    NMFS will consider the public comments received during the comment 
period in determining whether to approve, disapprove, or partially 
approve this amendment.
    NMFS published guidelines to assist regional fishery management 
councils in the description and identification of EFH in FMPs, 
including identification of adverse impacts from both fishing and non-
fishing activities on EFH and identification of actions required to 
conserve and enhance EFH (62 FR 66531, December 19, 1997). These 
guidelines encourage ecosystem approaches to protecting and conserving 
EFH. Identification of ecological roles (i.e., prey, competitors, 
trophic links within foodwebs, and nutrient transfer between 
ecosystems) should be incorporated into EFH recommendations. The 
guidelines also specify that sufficient EFH be protected and conserved 
to support sustainable fisheries and managed species' contribution to a 
healthy ecosystem.
    The Council's EFH generic amendment includes information on 
important factors in the relationships between species in the fishery 
management units and their habitats during each of the species' life 
stages, including eggs, larvae, juveniles, adults, and spawning adults. 
Available information is not sufficient to provide for the 
identification of EFH for each species in all FMPs. There are more than 
1,149 species of finfish and over 1,170 mollusks reported in Puerto 
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Council has identified, to the 
extent possible, the environmental, trophic, and biological 
characteristics of species managed by each FMP prepared by the Council. 
The Council has emphasized selected species, and in the absence of 
habitat information, has used them as ``indicators'' of such habitats. 
Following is a summary of the EFH generic amendment:
    1. EFH is identified and described based on areas where various 
life stages of the 17 selected, managed species and the coral complex 
commonly occur. The selected species are: Nassau grouper, Epinephelus 
striatus; red hind, Epinephelus guttatus; coney, Epinephelus fulvus; 
yellowtail snapper,Ocyurus chrysurus; mutton snapper, Lutjanus analis; 
schoolmaster,Lutjanus apodus; grey snapper, Lutjanus griseus; silk 
snapper, Lutjanus vivanus; butterfly fish, Chaetodon striatus; squirrel 
fish, Holocentrus ascensionis; white grunt, Haemulon plumieri; queen 
triggerfish, Balistes vetula; sandtilefish, Malacanthus plumieri; 
redtail parrotfish, Sparisoma chrysopterum; trunkfish, Lactophrys 
quadricornis; spiny lobster, Panulirus argus; and queen conch, Strombus 
gigas.
    2. The selected species represent some of the key species under 
management by the Council. Collectively, these species commonly occur 
throughout all the marine and estuarine waters of the U.S. Caribbean. 
EFH for the remaining managed species will be addressed in future FMP 
amendments, as information becomes available.
    3. EFH is defined as everywhere that the selected species commonly 
occur. Because these species collectively occur in all habitats of the 
U.S. Caribbean, the EFH of all species combined includes all waters and 
substrates (mud, sand, shell, rock, and associated biological 
communities), including coral habitats (coral reefs, coral hard 
bottoms, and octocoral reefs), sub-tidal vegetation (seagrasses and 
algae) and adjacent

[[Page 64464]]

intertidal vegetation (wetlands and mangroves). Therefore, collectively 
EFH includes virtually all marine waters and substrates from the 
shoreline to the seaward limit of the exclusive economic zone.
    4. Threats to EFH from fishing and non-fishing activities are 
identified.
    5. Whenever possible, options to conserve and enhance EFH are 
provided and research needs are identified.
    6. No management measures and, therefore, no regulations are 
proposed at this time. Measures to minimize any identified impacts are 
deferred to future amendments when the Council has the information 
necessary to decide if the measures are practicable.

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

    Dated: November 16, 1998.
Dean Swanson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-31085 Filed 11-19-98; 8:45 am]
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