Proposed Rule2021-11540
Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 21 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 2, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 21 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, Amendment 21 would set an annual Chinook salmon abundance threshold below which the Council and NMFS would implement specific management measures, through the annual ocean salmon management measures, to limit ocean salmon fishery impacts on the availability of Chinook salmon as prey for endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 104 (Wednesday, June 2, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 2, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29544-29545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11540]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[RTID 0648-XA696]
Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries;
Amendment 21 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Announcement of availability of fishery management plan
amendment; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted
Amendment 21 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP)
to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, Amendment 21
would set an annual Chinook salmon abundance threshold below which the
Council and NMFS would implement specific management measures, through
the annual ocean salmon management measures, to limit ocean salmon
fishery impacts on the availability of Chinook salmon as prey for
endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW).
DATES: Comments on Amendment 21 must be received by August 2, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2021-0006, by the following method:
<bullet> Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>
and enter NOAA-NMFS-2021-0006 in the Search box. Click the ``Comment''
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by the above method to
ensure that the comments are received, documented, and considered by
NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be
considered. All comments received are a part of the public record and
will generally be
[[Page 29545]]
posted for public viewing on <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the
required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
The draft FMP, as amended through Amendment 21, with notations
showing how Amendment 21 would change the FMP, if approved, is
available on the NMFS website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-21-pacific-coast-salmon-fishery-management-plan">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-21-pacific-coast-salmon-fishery-management-plan</a>.
The Council and NMFS prepared a draft Environmental Assessment. An
electronic copy of this document may be obtained from the West Coast
Regional Office website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/west-coast-region-national-environmental-policy-act-documents">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/west-coast-region-national-environmental-policy-act-documents</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeromy Jording at 360-763-2268.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The ocean salmon fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (3-
200 nautical miles) (5.6-370.4 kilometers) off Washington, Oregon, and
California are managed under the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery
Management Plan (FMP). The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (MSA) requires that each regional fishery management
council submit any FMP or plan amendment it prepares to NMFS for review
and approval, disapproval, or partial approval by the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary). The MSA also requires that NMFS, upon receiving
an FMP or amendment, immediately publish a notice that the FMP or
amendment is available for public review and comment. This document
announces that proposed Amendment 21 to the FMP is available for public
review and comment. NMFS will consider the public comments received
during the comment period described above in determining whether to
approve, partially approve, or disapprove Amendment 21 to the FMP.
Amendment 21 was developed by the Council to address impacts of the
fisheries managed under the FMP on Chinook salmon as prey for the SRKW
distinct population segment of Orcinus orca, which is listed as
endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The development of
Amendment 21 was informed by the risk assessment prepared by the
Council's ad hoc SRKW Workgroup.\1\ The risk assessment identified
Chinook salmon as the primary prey of SRKW. Chinook salmon, as well as
coho salmon, are targeted in ocean salmon fisheries managed under the
FMP. The Workgroup also identified a range of potential management
measure the Council could take to limit ocean salmon fishery impacts to
Chinook salmon prey availability for SRKW. The Council considered the
Workgroup recommendations in the development of Amendment 21.
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\1\ The SRKW Workgroup's risk assessment report can be found on
the Council's website: <a href="https://www.pcouncil.org/documents/2020/05/e-2-srkw-workgroup-report-1-pacific-fishery-management-council-salmon-fishery-management-plan-impacts-to-southern-resident-killer-whales-risk-assessment-electronic-only.pdf/">https://www.pcouncil.org/documents/2020/05/e-2-srkw-workgroup-report-1-pacific-fishery-management-council-salmon-fishery-management-plan-impacts-to-southern-resident-killer-whales-risk-assessment-electronic-only.pdf/</a>.
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If approved, Amendment 21 would establish a threshold for annual
Chinook salmon abundance below which additional management measures
would be implemented to limit the effects of the fisheries on SRKW.
This low abundance threshold is defined as October 1 projections of
Chinook salmon abundance in the area from the U.S./Canada border to
Cape Falcon, OR, prior to salmon fisheries occurring in the EEZ
(referred to as time step 1 (TS1)). If an annual forecast for this
abundance is less than the arithmetic mean of the seven lowest years of
TS1 starting abundance during the period 1992-2016 (1994-1996, 1998-
2000 and 2007), currently calculated as 966,000 Chinook salmon,
management responses would be implemented through the annual management
measures for ocean salmon fisheries. The management measures include a
limit on the annual quota in non-tribal commercial fisheries north of
Cape Falcon, Oregon, shifting quota for Chinook salmon catch north of
Cape Falcon, Oregon, from the spring time period when the available
information indicates the whales experience greater overlap with salmon
fisheries to the summer time period, and time and area closures in
times and areas for which current data indicate greater foraging use by
the killer whales (see proposed FMP language for detail). The goal for
the Amendment 21 management responses is to limit ocean salmon fishery
impacts on foraging opportunities for SRKW on Chinook salmon in years
of low Chinook salmon abundance. Management measures implemented under
Amendment 21 would be applied in concert with measures designed to meet
other requirements of the FMP including conservation objectives and
annual catch limits for specific salmon stocks and stock complexes.
Because Amendment 21 will be implemented through the annual
management measures for the ocean salmon fishery, NMFS is not
promulgating an implementing rule at this time.
All comments received by the end of the comment period on Amendment
21 (see DATES and ADDRESSES above) will be considered in the
Secretary's decision to approve, disapprove, or partially approve this
amendment. To be considered in this decision, comments must be received
by close of business on the last day of the comment period; that does
not mean postmarked or otherwise transmitted by that date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 26, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-11540 Filed 6-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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