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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 11, 2021 / Notices
environmental analysis of their proposed actions to determine if the actions may significantly affect the human environment. NMFS has determined that an EIS should be prepared under NEPA for the purpose of informing rulemaking to modify the Plan. We will prepare an EIS in accordance with NEPA requirements, as amended 42 U.S.C. 4321 et al.; NEPA
implementing regulations 40 CFR
15001508; and other Federal laws, regulations, and policies. Reasonable alternatives that are identified during the scoping period will be evaluated in the draft EIS.

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Summary of Expected Impacts The draft EIS will identify and describe the potential effects of the proposed action on the human environment that are reasonably foreseeable and have a reasonably close causal relationship to the proposed action. This includes such effects that occur at the same time and place as the proposed action or alternatives and such effects that are later in time or occur in a different place. The proposed action may include, but is not limited to, modifications to configurations of fishing gear, modification to fishing seasons and/or areas, and modifications to gear marking requirements. Expected potential impacts to commercial fishermen in the above-mentioned fisheries may include, but are not limited to, additional costs and labor for modifying gear configurations and gear markings, and reduced profit due to reduced catches, access to fishing grounds, or seasons. Expected potential impacts to Atlantic large whales include, but are not limited to, reduced mortality and serious injury due to a reduction in entanglement in fishing gear or reduced severity of any entanglements that do occur. Other potential impacts may include, but are not limited to, impacts both beneficial and adverse to other marine life, cultural resources, demographics, employment, and economics. These expected potential impacts will be analyzed in the draft and final EIS.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process After the draft EIS is completed, NMFS will publish a notice of availability NOA and request public comments on the draft EIS. NMFS
expects to issue the NOA in the Fall of 2022. After the public comment period ends, NMFS will review, consider, and respond to comments received and will develop the final EIS. NMFS expects to make the final EIS available to the public in 2023. A record of decision will
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be completed no sooner than 30 days after the final EIS is released, in accordance with 40 CFR 1506.11.
Scoping Process: This NOI
commences the public scoping process for identifying issues and potential alternatives for consideration.
Throughout the scoping process, Federal agencies, state, tribal, local governments, and the general public have the opportunity to help NMFS
determine reasonable alternatives and potential measures to be analyzed in the EIS, as well as to provide additional information.
NMFS will hold virtual public scoping meetings at the following dates and times eastern:
Thursday, September 9, 2021, 6:30
8:30 p.m., for Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Northern North Carolina trap/
pot fisheries;
Tuesday, September 14, 2021, 6:30
8:30 p.m., for Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey trap/pot fisheries;
Tuesday, September 21, 2021, 6:30
8:30 p.m., for Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island trap/
pot fisheries;
Thursday, September 23, 2021, 6:308:30 p.m., for Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey gillnet fisheries;
Tuesday, October 5, 2021, 6:308:30
p.m., for Southern North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, all gear;
Tuesday, October 12, 2021, 6:30
8:30 p.m., for Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Northern North Carolina gillnet fisheries;
Thursday, October 14, 2021, 6:30
8:30 p.m., for Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island gillnet fisheries.
To register, go to our website: https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alwtrp. NMFS
will also hold public call-in days:
Friday, October 1, 2021, 12 noon to 6 p.m.
Monday, October 4, 2021, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesday, October 12, 10 a.m. to 4
p.m.
For more information on how to call, go to our website: https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alwtrp.
Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and Analyses Relevant to the Proposed Action Everyone potentially impacted by or interested in changes to the Plan, and particularly, management of commercial trap/pot and gillnet fisheries along the East Coast, is invited to participate in the public scoping process by
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submitting written input, attending public scoping webinar meetings, or calling us during designated call-in days. This scoping process aims to gather input regarding the scope of actions to be proposed for rulemaking, the development of alternatives to analyze in the EIS, and the potential impacts of management actions.
For gillnet fisheries, the Team discussed and NMFS requests input on management options, particularly concerning information about operational challenges, time, and costs required to change configurations such as net panels per set to reduce endline numbers, gear tending or daytime-only sets for gillnets, installation of weak inserts or rope that breaks at forces of less than 1,700 lb, to establish restricted areas, and to expand gear marking requirements. For trap/pot fisheries, the Team discussed and NMFS requests input on management options, particularly including information about operational challenges, time, and costs required to change configurations such as traps per trawl to reduce endline numbers and to install weak inserts or rope that breaks at forces of less than 1,700 lb, to establish restricted areas, and to expand gear marking requirements.
NMFS and the Team particularly request input on latent effort in U.S.
East Coast gillnet and trap/pot operations that may affect measures designed to reduce gear that could entangle whales, potential impacts to fishery operations arising from gear modifications likely to be considered, potential risks and benefits to large whales, and information regarding whale distribution or behavior along the U.S. East Coast that should be considered in developing risk reduction measures. In addition to direct costs of replacing new gear, input is requested on indirect cost of gear modification measure alternatives, such as costs and time required to install sleeves, install weak rope, and mark gear, and costs related to fewer vertical lines, seasonal closures, or exempted areas. Information on the value of whale conservation and the economic benefits of whale conservation is also requested.
NMFS and the Team also identified data needs to support future discussions, including data on open access fisheries, gear configurations across the fisheries, whale distribution, whale behavioral information, and gear marking. Data related to fishing gear configurations specific to areas or target species, how gear alterations measures may affect those fisheries, and how existing gear configurations contribute to large whale entanglement risk would
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