NMFS announces the availability of the ``Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (DPEA) for Fisheries Research Conducted and Funded by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC).'' Publication of this notice begins the official public comment period for this DPEA. The purpose of the DPEA is to evaluate, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of conducting and funding fisheries and ecosystem research along the U.S. West Coast, throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, and in the Scotia Sea area off Antarctica.
Comments and information must be received no later than July 1, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the DPEA should be addressed to Jeremy Rusin,
Deputy Director, SWFSC Protected Resources Division, 8901 La Jolla
Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037. The mailbox address for providing
email comments is SWFSC.DPEA@noaa.gov. NMFS is not responsible for
email comments sent to addresses other than the one provided here.
Comments sent via email, including all attachments, must not exceed a
10-megabyte file size.
A copy of the DPEA may be obtained by writing to the address
specified above, telephoning the contact listed below (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT), or visiting the internet at: http://swfsc.noaa.gov/dpea.aspx. Documents cited in this notice may also be
viewed, by appointment, during regular business hours, at the
aforementioned address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremy Rusin, SWFSC, NMFS, (858) 546-
7101.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SWFSC is the research arm of NMFS in
the Southwest Region. The SWFSC conducts research and provides
scientific advice to manage fisheries and conserve protected species
along the U.S. West Coast in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE),
throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) Ocean, and in the Scotia
Sea area off Antarctica. Research is aimed at monitoring fish stock
recruitment, survival and biological rates, abundance and geographic
distribution of species and stocks, and providing other scientific
information needed to improve our understanding of complex marine
ecological processes. Primary research activities include: mid-water
trawl surveys to support assessments of coastal pelagic species, salmon
and groundfish in the CCE; longline surveys for life history studies of
sablefish in the CCE and highly migratory species tagging in the CCE
and ETP; deep-set buoy surveys for tagging swordfish in the CCE;
ecosystem surveys using active acoustic systems, plankton nets, and
other oceanographic equipment in the CCE and ETP; and bottom trawl and
ecosystem surveys in the Antarctic Research Area.
NMFS has prepared the DPEA under NEPA to evaluate several
alternatives for conducting and funding fisheries and ecosystem
research activities as the primary federal action. Additionally in the
DPEA, NMFS evaluates a related action--also called a ``connected
action'' under 40 CFR 1508.25 of the Council on Environmental Quality's
regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)--which is the proposed promulgation of regulations
and authorization of the take of marine mammals incidental to the
fisheries research under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
Additionally, because the proposed research activities occur in areas
inhabited by species of marine mammals, birds, sea turtles, and fish
listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as threatened or
endangered, this DPEA evaluates activities that could result in
unintentional takes of ESA-listed marine species.
The following four alternatives are currently evaluated in the
DPEA:
No-Action/Status Quo Alternative--Conduct Federal Fisheries
and Ecosystem Research with Scope and Protocols Similar to Past Effort
Preferred Alternative--Conduct Federal Fisheries and Ecosystem
Research (New Suite of Research) with Mitigation for MMPA and ESA
Compliance
Modified Research Alternative--Conduct Federal Fisheries and
Ecosystem Research (New Suite of Research) with Additional Mitigation
No Research Alternative--No Fieldwork for Federal Fisheries
and Ecosystem Research Conducted or Funded by SWFSC
The first three alternatives include a program of fisheries and
ecosystem research projects conducted or funded by the SWFSC as the
primary federal action. Because this primary action is connected to a
secondary federal action (also called a connected action under NEPA),
to consider authorizing incidental take of marine mammals under the
MMPA, NMFS must identify as part of this evaluation ``(t)he means of
effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the species or stock
and its habitat.'' (Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA [16 U.S.C. 1361 et
seq.]). NMFS must therefore identify and evaluate a reasonable range of
mitigation measures to minimize impacts to protected species that occur
in SWFSC research areas. These mitigation measures are considered as
part of the identified alternatives in order to evaluate their
effectiveness to minimize potential adverse environmental impacts. The
three action alternatives also include mitigation measures intended to
minimize potentially adverse interactions with other protected species
that occur within the action area. Protected species include all marine
mammals, which are covered under the MMPA, all species listed under the
ESA, and bird species protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
NMFS is also evaluating a second type of no-action alternative that
considers no federal funding for field fisheries and ecosystem research
activities. This is called the No Research Alternative to distinguish
it from the No-Action/Status Quo Alternative. The No-Action/Status Quo
Alternative will be used as the baseline to compare all of the other
alternatives.
Potential direct and indirect effects on the environment are
evaluated under each alternative in the DPEA. The environmental effects
on the following resources are considered: physical environment,
special resource areas, fish, marine mammals, birds, sea turtles,
invertebrates, and the social and economic environment. Cumulative
effects of external actions and the contribution of fisheries research
activities to the overall cumulative impact on the aforementioned
resources is also evaluated in the DPEA for the three main geographic
regions in which SWFSC surveys are conducted.
NMFS requests comments on the DPEA for Fisheries Research Conducted
and Funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest
Fisheries Science Center. Please include, with your comments, any
supporting data or literature citations that may be informative in
substantiating your comment.