Proposed Rule2021-18851
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Biennial Specifications; 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Specifications for Pacific Mackerel
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Published
September 1, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS proposes to implement allowable catch levels, an overfishing limit, an allowable biological catch, and an annual catch limit for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the West Coast (California, Oregon and Washington) for the fishing seasons 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. This proposed rule is pursuant to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. The proposed harvest guideline and annual catch target for the 2021-2022 fishing season are 8,323 metric tons (mt) and 7,323 mt, respectively. The proposed harvest guideline and annual catch target for the 2022-2023 fishing season are 5,822 mt and 4,822 mt, respectively. If the fishery attains the annual catch target in either fishing season, the directed fishery will close, reserving the 1,000-mt difference between the harvest guideline and annual catch target as a set-aside for incidental landings in other Coastal Pelagic Species fisheries and other sources of mortality. This document is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific mackerel stock off the U.S. West Coast.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 167 (Wednesday, September 1, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 167 (Wednesday, September 1, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48969-48971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18851]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 210826-0168]
RIN 0648-BK56
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species
Fisheries; Biennial Specifications; 2021-2022 and 2022-2023
Specifications for Pacific Mackerel
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement allowable catch levels, an
overfishing limit, an allowable biological catch, and an annual catch
limit for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the
West Coast (California, Oregon and Washington) for the fishing seasons
2021-2022 and 2022-2023. This proposed rule is pursuant to the Coastal
Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. The proposed harvest guideline
and annual catch target for the 2021-2022 fishing season are 8,323
metric tons (mt) and 7,323 mt, respectively. The proposed harvest
guideline and annual catch target for the 2022-2023 fishing season are
5,822 mt and 4,822 mt, respectively. If the fishery attains the annual
catch target in either fishing season, the directed fishery will close,
reserving the 1,000-mt difference between the harvest guideline and
annual catch target as a set-aside for incidental landings in other
Coastal Pelagic Species fisheries and other sources of mortality. This
document is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific mackerel stock
off the U.S. West Coast.
DATES: Comments must be received by October 1, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2021-0066, by any of the following methods:
<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-2021-0066 in the Search box. Click on the
``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach
your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method or received after
the end of the comment period may not be considered by NMFS. All
comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be
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.),
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS
will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if
you wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Taylor Debevec, West Coast Region,
NMFS, (562) 619-2052, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6d390c1401021f4329080f081b080e2d03020c0c430a021b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0551647c696a772b41606760736066456b6a64642b626a73">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq., NMFS manages the Pacific mackerel fishery in the U.S.
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the West Coast in accordance with the
Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The CPS
FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS to set annual harvest
specifications for the Pacific mackerel fishery based on the annual
specification framework and control rules in the FMP. The Pacific
mackerel fishing season runs from July 1 to June 30. The purpose of
this proposed rule is to implement these harvest specifications, which
include allowable harvest levels (i.e., annual catch target (ACT) and
harvest guideline (HG)), an annual catch limit (ACL), and annual catch
reference points (i.e., overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable
biological catch (ABC)). The uncertainty surrounding the current
biomass estimates for Pacific mackerel for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023
fishing seasons was taken into consideration in the development of
these harvest specifications. Any Pacific mackerel harvested between
July 1, 2021, and the effective date of the final rule would count
toward the 2021-2022 ACT and HG.
During public meetings each year, the NMFS Southwest Fisheries
Science Center (SWFSC) presents biomass estimates for Pacific mackerel
to the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) CPS Management
Team (CPSMT), the Council's CPS Advisory Subpanel (CPSAS) and the
Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee
[[Page 48970]]
(SSC), and the biomass estimates and the status of the fisheries are
reviewed and discussed. The CPSMT, CPSAS, and SSC then provide
recommendations and comments to the Council regarding the calculated
OFL, ABC, ACL, HG and ACT. Following Council review and after hearing
public comment, the Council adopts biomass estimates and makes its
harvest specification recommendations to NMFS. Biennial specifications
published in the Federal Register establish these allowable harvest
levels (i.e., ACT/HG) as well as OFL, ABC, and ACL for the upcoming two
Pacific mackerel fishing seasons.
The control rules in the CPS FMP include the HG control rule,
which, in conjunction with the OFL and ABC rules, are used to manage
Pacific mackerel. According to the FMP, the quota for the principal
commercial fishery, the HG, is determined using the FMP-specified HG
formula. The HG is based, in large part, on the estimate of stock
biomass for the fishing year. The biomass estimate is an explicit part
of the various harvest control rules for Pacific mackerel, and as the
estimated biomass decreases or increases from one year to the next, the
resulting allowable catch levels similarly trend. The harvest control
rule in the CPS FMP is HG = [(Biomass-Cutoff) * Fraction *
Distribution] with the parameters described as follows:
1. Biomass. The estimated stock biomass of Pacific mackerel for the
2021-2022 management season is 57,832 metric tons (mt). The estimated
stock biomass of Pacific mackerel for the 2022-2023 management season
is 45,925 mt.
2. Cutoff. This is the biomass level below which no commercial
fishery is allowed. The FMP established this level at 18,200 mt.
3. Fraction. The harvest fraction is the percentage of the biomass
above 18,200 mt that may be harvested. This is set in the FMP at 30
percent.
4. Distribution. Pacific mackerel range from Mexico to Alaska and
regularly migrate between Mexico and the U.S. West Coast. Because some
of the Pacific mackerel stock exists outside of U.S. waters, the
Distribution parameter is used to estimate the proportion of the total
biomass in U.S. waters and to calculate U.S. catch limits. The average
portion of the total Pacific mackerel biomass estimated in the West
Coast U.S. EEZ is set in the FMP at 70 percent. The 70 percent
distribution estimate is based on the average historical larval
distribution obtained from scientific cruises and the distribution of
the resource according to the logbooks of aerial fish-spotters.
The Council has recommended, and NMFS is proposing, Pacific
mackerel harvest specifications for both the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023
fishing seasons. For the 2021-2022 Pacific mackerel fishing season
these include an OFL of 12,145 mt, an ABC and ACL of 9,446 mt, a HG of
8,323 mt, and an annual ACT of 7,323 mt. For the 2022-2023 Pacific
mackerel fishing season these include an OFL of 9,644 mt, and ABC and
ACL of 7,501 mt, a HG of 5,822 mt, and an ACT of 4,822 mt. These catch
specifications are based on the control rules established in the CPS
FMP and biomass estimates of 57,832 mt (2021-2022) and 45,925 mt (2022-
2023). The biomass estimates are the result of a catch-only stock
assessment the NMFS SWFSC completed in June 2021. The Council's SSC and
the Council approved this stock assessment and resulting biomass
estimates as the best scientific information available for management
at the June 2021 Council meeting.
Under this proposed action, in the unlikely event that catch
reaches the ACT in either fishing season, directed fishing would close,
reserving the difference between the HG and ACT (1,000 mt) as a set-
aside for incidental landings in other fisheries and other sources of
mortality.\1\ For the remainder of the fishing season, incidental
landings in CPS fisheries would be constrained to a 45-percent
incidental catch allowance (in other words, no more than 45 percent by
weight of the CPS landed per trip may be Pacific mackerel); and in non-
CPS fisheries, up to 3 mt of Pacific mackerel may be landed
incidentally per fishing trip. The incidental set-aside is intended to
allow continued operation of fisheries for other stocks, particularly
other CPS stocks that may school with Pacific mackerel.
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\1\ Directed fishing for live bait and minor directed fishing is
allowed to continue during a closure of the directed fishery.
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The NMFS West Coast Regional Administrator will publish a notice in
the Federal Register announcing the date of any closure of directed
fishing (when harvest levels reach or exceed the ACT). Additionally, to
ensure the regulated community is informed of any closure, NMFS will
also make announcements through other means available, including email
to fishermen, processors, and state fishery management agencies.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the CPS FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after
public comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities,
for the following reasons:
For Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) purposes only, NMFS has
established a small business size standard for businesses, including
their affiliates, whose primary industry is commercial fishing (see 50
CFR 200.2). A business primarily engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS
code 11411) is classified as a small business if it is independently
owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of operation
(including its affiliates), and has combined annual receipts not in
excess of $11 million for all its affiliated operations worldwide. The
small entities that would be affected by the proposed action are those
vessels that harvest Pacific mackerel as part of the West Coast Coastal
Pelagic Species (CPS) purse seine fleet and are all considered small
businesses under the above size standards.
The CPS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and its implementing
regulations requires the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to
set an overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable biological catch (ABC),
annual catch limit (ACL), harvest guidelines (HG) and annual catch
target (ACT) for the Pacific mackerel fishery based on the harvest
control rules in the FMP. These specific harvest control rules are
applied to the current stock biomass estimate to derive these catch
specifications, which are used to manage the commercial take of Pacific
mackerel. A component of these control rules is that as the estimated
biomass decreases or increases from one year to the next, so do the
applicable quotas.
Pacific mackerel harvest is one component of CPS fisheries off the
U.S. West Coast, which also includes the fisheries for Pacific sardine,
northern anchovy and market squid. Pacific mackerel are principally
caught off southern California within the limited entry portion (south
of 39 degrees N latitude; Point Arena, California) of the fishery.
Currently there are 53 vessels permitted in the Federal CPS limited
entry fishery off California. The average annual per vessel revenue in
2020 for
[[Page 48971]]
vessels that landed Pacific mackerel was well below the threshold level
of $11 million; therefore, all of these vessels are considered small
businesses under the RFA. Because each affected vessel is a small
business, this proposed rule is considered to equally affect all of
these small entities in the same manner. Therefore, this rule would not
create disproportionate costs between small and large vessels/
businesses.
NMFS used the ex-vessel revenue information for a profitability
analysis, as the cost data for the harvesting operations of CPS finfish
vessels was limited or unavailable. For the 2019-2020 fishing year, the
HG was 11,109 mt with an ACT of 10,109 mt and an incidental set-aside
of 1,000 mt. Approximately 3,840 mt of Pacific mackerel were harvested
in the 2019-2020 fishing year with an estimated ex-vessel value of
approximately $1,299,153.
The HG for the 2021-2022 Pacific mackerel fishing season is 8,323
mt, with an ACT of 7,323 mt and an incidental set-aside of 1,000 mt.
The HG for the 2022-2023 Pacific mackerel fishing season is 5,822 mt
with an ACT of 4,822 mt and an incidental set-aside of 1,000 mt. The
proposed ACTs for these fishing years are lower than the prior two
fishing years (i.e., 10,109 mt for 2019-2020 and 6,950 mt for 2020-
2021). However, Pacific mackerel landings in the U.S. over the last ten
management seasons (2009-2010 through 2019-2020) have averaged only
about 3,790 mt. Therefore it is highly unlikely that the ACTs proposed
in this rule will limit the potential profitability to the fleet from
catching Pacific mackerel compared to last season or recent catch
levels. Accordingly, vessel income from fishing is not expected to be
altered as a result of this rule as it compares to recent catches in
the fishery, including under the previous season's regulations.
Based on the disproportionality and profitability analysis above,
the proposed action, if adopted, will not have adverse or
disproportional economic impact on these small business entities. As a
result, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required, and
none has been prepared.
This action does not contain a collection-of-information
requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act. There are no
relevant Federal rules that may duplicate, overlap, or conflict with
the proposed action.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: August 26, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., and
16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 660.511, revise paragraphs (i) and (j) to read as follows:
Sec. 660.511 Catch restrictions.
* * * * *
(i) The following harvest specifications apply for Pacific
mackerel:
(1) For the Pacific mackerel fishing season July 1, 2021, through
June 30, 2022, the harvest guideline is 8,323 mt and the ACT is 7,323
mt; and
(2) For the Pacific mackerel fishing season July 1, 2022, through
June 30, 2023, the harvest guideline is 5,822 mt and the ACT of 4,822
mt.
(j) When an ACT in paragraph (i) of this section has been reached
or exceeded, then for the remainder of the Pacific mackerel fishing
season, Pacific mackerel may not be targeted and landings of Pacific
mackerel may not exceed: 45 percent of landings when Pacific mackerel
are landed in CPS fisheries (in other words, no more than 45 percent by
weight of the CPS landed per trip may be Pacific mackerel), or up to 3
mt of Pacific mackerel when landed in non-CPS fisheries. The Regional
Administer shall announce in the Federal Register the date that an ACT
is reached or exceeded, and the date and time that the restrictions
described in this paragraph go into effect.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2021-18851 Filed 8-31-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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