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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 19, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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resources, including fish in relation to the different expansion alternatives see FEIS Chapter 5, Section 5.36. Overall, NOAA determined none of these resources would sustain any significant adverse impacts with sanctuary designation. However, NOAA
determined that this action will provide benefit to fish, given the added protection to critical habitat and restrictions to fishing techniques.
Mesophotic and deep water reefs have been shown to have low resilience and slow recovery potential, and harbor greater fish biomass than their shallower counterparts, underlining the importance of their protection Lindfield et al. 2016, Huvenne et al.
2016. By reducing fishing pressure through sanctuary protection, fish size, biomass, and abundance could increase, while also enhancing coral reef resiliency Reed 2002, 2007, Bozec et al.
2016, Chirico et al. 2017. Impacts to the resources may be reduced due to limitations on fishing that can otherwise alter predator-prey relationships, disturb bottom habitats, and increase loss of fish biomass. The added prohibition of spearfishing further protects fish from direct extraction Lindfield et al. 2014.
Sanctuary management actions could reduce marine debris and impacts of debris on corals and other organisms, such as entanglement in derelict fishing gear and incidental catch of fish in ghost fishing gears. Moreover, extending to the expansion areas the prohibition of bottom-tending fishing gear, limits on anchoring and the discharge of pollutants, removal of marine debris such as derelict fishing gear, and invasive species removal, would all improve habitat for benthic coral communities and fish communities.
Designating areas as a no take marine reserve is an important issue and NOAA plans to consider it in the next review of the FGBNMS management plan.
26. Comment: NOAA received a comment requesting that a Gulf Sperm Whale/Pelagic Ecosystem national marine sanctuary be established.
Response: NOAA does not intend to establish a Gulf Sperm Whale/Pelagic Ecosystem National Marine Sanctuary.
The request is beyond the scope of this proposed action.
Visual Resources 27. Comment: NOAA received a comment on DEIS Section 5.3.2.3
Scenic and Visual Resources requesting that negative impacts to scenic and visual resources that could occur because of an increased number of
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boaters and/or increased use of fishing line be considered in the analysis.
Response: NOAA evaluated both beneficial and adverse impacts to each resource area and determined there would be no adverse impacts to scenic and visual resources. NOAA predicts beneficial impacts on the scenic and visual resources of the proposed expansion areas by reducing marine debris including derelict fishing gear, vessel traffic, and industrial infrastructure. Refer to FEIS Chapter 5, Section 5.3.3.
Fishing, Fishery Regulations, and Fishery Management 28. Comment: NOAA received a comment that requested the agency to analyze recreational fishing activities in the proposed expansion areas.
Response: NOAA addressed the request for this analysis by evaluating the level of recreational fishing activity expected to occur in the proposed expansion areas, using the best available data, to capture the socioeconomic impact to this industry. Ultimately, NOAA determined that there would be no significant adverse impacts to recreational fishers. For analysis of recreational fishing activities, please refer to FEIS Chapter 4, Section 4.4.1.2
for a description of the data used and Chapter 5, Section 5.3.9.2 for the expected environmental impact.
29. Comment: NOAA received a comment that requested the agency clarify benefits of the expansion to commercial fishers and improve the socioeconomic analysis of commercial fishers.
Response: NOAA updated FEIS
Chapter 4, Section 4.4.1 to supplement the analysis on commercial fisheries with additional and current VMS data to assess socioeconomic impacts imposed by the expansion on commercial Section 4.4.1.1 and recreational Section 4.4.1.2 fishers. Overall, NOAA
determined that no significant adverse impacts to fishers would result from the proposed expansion See Chapter 5, Section 5.3.9.1 and 5.3.9.2. NOAA
concluded minor benefits to commercial fishers may occur with the expansion of the sanctuary see Chapter 5, Section 5.3.9.1 as fish production may increase in general with the decreased fishing pressure and habitat protections of specific locations.
Broadly, it is well documented by the scientific community that coral reef and mesophotic coral communities provide necessary habitat for a significant number of fish species, and the prevention of loss of these habitats will help to maintain and enhance fish populations dependent on these areas.

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More specifically, higher biomass and abundance of fish are often associated with greater habitat coverage and/or complexity, such that, protecting habitat has an increased likelihood to improve fish stocks Jones et al. 2004, Coker et al. 2014, Lindfield et al. 2016, Komyakova et al. 2018, Carminatto et al.
2020, Russ et al. 2020. Additionally, reducing fishing pressure could lead to an increased monetary value of commercial fisheries, partly due to the presence of larger individuals thus more valuable and higher densities of high-value species Chirico et al. 2017.
Mesophotic reefs have been found to harbor greater biomass of fisherytargeted species than shallower reefs, suggesting these habitats are important to protect for the longevity of commercial harvests Lindfield et al.
2016. In essence, sanctuary expansion is protecting critical habitat which may result in increased fish biomass Edgar et al. 2011, Harborne et al. 2008 or abundance Jeffrey et al. 2012, particularly where fishing pressure is reduced Edgar et al. 2011, Kramer and Heck 2007, which could benefit commercial fishers.
30. Comment: NOAA received comments regarding spearfishing, with the majority requesting a prohibition on this activity. Some commenters offered conditional support of spearfishing, suggesting allowing the activity: 1 In a limited capacity with access at a limited number of banks and reefs in the expansion area; 2 only for the removal of lionfish, an invasive species present in the current and proposed sanctuary areas; or 3 by breath hold only.
Response: NOAA intends to extend the current sanctuary regulations to the expansion areas proposed in the Final Preferred Alternative. As such, NOAA
will not be implementing any additional fishing regulations as part of the final rulemaking. NOAA prohibits spearfishing in the current boundary to protect delicate corals, including threatened species, and important benthic habitat from fishing impacts, which will continue in the expansion areas. Spearfishing for lionfish is not a permissible activity within sanctuary borders. However, spearfishing with pole spears has been performed opportunistically by research staff through permitted long-term monitoring activities at FGBNMS. Additionally, lionfish invitational research cruises have been a permitted activity since 2015 at FGBNMS to remove the invasive species with highly skilled, qualified recreational divers and contribute to a variety of research projects with external academic and agency partners.
NOAA intends to continue to permit
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