Photo: P. Gill / NOAA Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Seagrass Management Including Environmental Assessment, Regulatory Impact Review, Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis May 2013 Abbreviations and Acronyms Used ACL annual catch limit Magnuson-Stevens Act Magnuson-Stevens Fishery AM accountability measure Conservation and Management Act APA Administrative Procedures Act MMPA Marine Mammal Protection Act BVI British Virgin Islands MSY maximum sustainable yield CEA cumulative effects analysis NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service CEQ Council on Environmental Quality NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration CFMC Caribbean Fishery Management OMB Office of Management and Budget Council CZMA Coastal Zone Management Act OY optimum yield DPNR Department of Planning and Natural PAR photosynthetically active radiation Resources of the USVI EA environmental assessment PRA Paperwork Reduction Act EC ecosystem component species PSU practical salinity units EEZ exclusive economic zone RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act EFH essential fish habitat RIR Regulatory Impact Review ESA Endangered Species Act SEFSC Southeast Fisheries Science Center FEIS final environmental impact SEIS supplemental environmental impact statement statement FIS Fishery Impact Statement SERO Southeast Regional Office FMP fishery management plan USVI United States Virgin Islands FMU fishery management unit HAPC habitat area of particular concern I Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Coral FMP): Seagrass Management Proposed actions: Modify management measures for seagrasses in the U.S. Caribbean Lead agencies: Caribbean Fishery Management Council National Marine Fisheries Service For Further Information Contact: Miguel A. Rolón Caribbean Fishery Management Council 270 Muñoz Rivera Ave., Suite 401 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-1903 (787) 766-5926 Phil Steele National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Region 263 13th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727) 824-5305 Abstract The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Caribbean Council) prepared Amendment 4 to address the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requirement to establish annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) for seagrass species in the Coral FMP. Seagrasses provide essential habitat for many important fishery species in the U.S. Caribbean, but there is no directed harvest of these species. If seagrasses are kept in the coral reef resources fishery management unit of the Coral FMP, the establishment of ACLs and AMs is required. These were not established for seagrasses in the 2011 Caribbean ACL Amendment. Amendment 4 considers four alternatives: 1) No action; 2) a prohibition on the harvest of seagrasses and the establishment of an ACL; 3) the classification of seagrasses as ecosystem component species; and 4) the removal of seagrasses from the Coral FMP. Alternative 4 is the Caribbean Council’s preferred alternative. The National Marine Fisheries Service, in collaboration with the Caribbean Council, has developed Amendment 4 and its Environmental Assessment to describe and analyze these management alternatives and address the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. II Table of Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms Used ................................................................................................. I Table of Contents ...........................................................................................................................III List of Appendices .......................................................................................................................... V List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. V List of Tables.. ................................................................................................................................ V Table of Contents for the Environmental Assessment .................................................................. VI Fishery Impact Statement ............................................................................................................ VII Chapter 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................1 1.1 What Action is Being Proposed? ........................................................................................1 1.2 Who is Proposing the Action? ............................................................................................1 1.3 Where is the Project Located? ............................................................................................2 1.4 Why is the Caribbean Council Considering Action? .........................................................3 1.5 Management History ..........................................................................................................4 Chapter 2. Proposed Action and Alternatives .................................................................................7 2.1 What is the Proposed Action? ............................................................................................7 2.2 List of Alternatives to Modify Seagrass Management in the U.S. Caribbean ...................8 Chapter 3. Affected Environment .................................................................................................13 3.1 Physical Environment .......................................................................................................14 3.1.1 Geology ......................................................................................................................15 3.1.2 Oceanography and Climate ........................................................................................15 3.1.3 Major Habitat Types ...................................................................................................17 3.2 Biological Environment...................................................................................................22 3.2.1 Seagrass species description .......................................................................................25 3.2.2 Protected Species ........................................................................................................29 3.3 Human Environment ........................................................................................................31 3.3.1 Economic Description of the Fishery .........................................................................31 3.3.2 Social and Cultural Environment ...............................................................................31 3.3.3 Environmental Justice Considerations .......................................................................32 3.4 Administrative Environment ...........................................................................................33 3.4.1 Federal Fishery Management .....................................................................................33 3.4.2 Commonwealth and Territory Fishery Management .................................................34 Chapter 4. Environmental Effects .................................................................................................36 III 4.1 Direct and Indirect effects on the Physical Environment .................................................36 4.2 Direct and Indirect effects on the Biological/Ecological Environment ............................38 4.3 Direct and Indirect Effects on the Economic Environment ..............................................41 4.4 Direct and Indirect Effects on the Social Environment ....................................................44 4.5 Direct and Indirect Effects on the Administrative Environment ......................................46 4.6 Cumulative Effects ...........................................................................................................48 4.6.1 Effects to the Biological Environment .......................................................................49 4.6.2 Effects to the Socio-Economic Environment .............................................................55 4.7 Council Conclusions .........................................................................................................56 Chapter 5. Regulatory Impact Review ..........................................................................................58 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................58 5.2 Problems and Objectives ..................................................................................................58 5.3 Description of the Fishery ................................................................................................58 5.4 Impacts of the Proposed Action .......................................................................................58 5.5 Public and Private Costs of Regulations ..........................................................................59 5.6 Determination of Significant Regulatory Action .............................................................59 Chapter 6. Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis ............................................................................60