National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
Notice of availability of a Draft Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment; request for comments.
NMFS announces the availability of the “Draft Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment (SPEA) for Fisheries Research Conducted and Funded by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center.” Publication of this notice begins the official public comment period for this SPEA. The purpose of this Draft SPEA is to evaluate potential direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of unforeseen changes in research that were not analyzed in the 2015 SWFSC Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA), or new research activities along the U.S. West Coast, throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, and in the Scotia Sea area off Antarctica. Where necessary, updates to certain information on species, stock status or other components of the affected environment that may result in different conclusions from the 2015 PEA are presented in this analysis.
Comments and information must be received no later than June 10, 2020.
Comments on the Draft SPEA should be addressed to Elise Kohli, Environmental Compliance Specialist, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92307. The mailbox address for providing email comments is:
Elise Kohli, email:
The SWFSC is the research arm of NMFS in the Southwest Region. The purpose of SWFSC fisheries research is to produce scientific information necessary for the management and conservation of living marine resources 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. SWFSC's research is needed to promote both the long-term sustainability of the resource and the recovery of certain species, while generating social and economic opportunities and benefits from their use. 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 in the CCE and highly migratory species tagging in the CCE; deep-set buoy surveys for tagging highly migratory species in the CCE; ecosystem surveys using active acoustic systems, other oceanographic equipment in the CCE and ETP; and surveys using unmanned systems in the Antarctic Research Area (ARA) and CCE.
NMFS has prepared the Draft SPEA under NEPA to evaluate several alternatives for conducting and funding fisheries and ecosystem research activities as the primary federal action. Additionally in the Draft SPEA, 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
The following (2) alternatives are currently evaluated in the Draft SPEA:
The 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
Potential direct and indirect effects on the environment are evaluated under each alternative in the Draft SPEA. 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 Draft SPEA for the three main geographic regions in which SWFSC surveys are conducted.
NMFS requests comments on the Draft SPEA 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.
16 U.S.C. 1361