NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on a draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) evaluating the potential environmental impacts of a management program for offshore aquaculture in federal waters of the Pacific Islands Region. The draft PEIS is available at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2021-0044. The agency is accepting comments through August 5, 2021.
Aquaculture plays an important role in the region’s and the nation’s fisheries, contributing to seafood supply, fostering economic growth and development, restoring fish habitats, and helping preserve indigenous cultural practices.
The draft PEIS analyzes the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of several management alternatives on the human, physical, and biological environment. This is an opportunity for the public to provide input on the environmental analysis and alternatives within the PEIS, which NOAA Fisheries will consider in any final PEIS and within any future management action by NOAA Fisheries and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council.
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