Rule2021-25212
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Biennial Specifications; 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Specifications for Pacific Mackerel
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
November 19, 2021
Effective
December 20, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS is implementing allowable catch levels including 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 rule is finalized pursuant to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. The harvest guideline and annual catch target for the 2021-2022 fishing season are 8,323 metric tons (mt) and 7,323 mt, respectively. The 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 and other sources of mortality. This rule 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 221 (Friday, November 19, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 221 (Friday, November 19, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64825-64827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25212]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 211115-0231]
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: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing allowable catch levels including 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 rule is finalized pursuant to the Coastal
Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. The
[[Page 64826]]
harvest guideline and annual catch target for the 2021-2022 fishing
season are 8,323 metric tons (mt) and 7,323 mt, respectively. The
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 and other sources of mortality. This rule is intended to
conserve and manage the Pacific mackerel stock off the U.S. West Coast.
DATES: Effective December 20, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Taylor Debevec, West Coast Region,
NMFS, (562) 619-2052, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#603401190c0f124e24050205160503200e0f01014e070f16"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="eabe8b93868598c4ae8f888f9c8f89aa84858b8bc48d859c">[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 control rules
in the CPS FMP include the harvest guideline (HG) control rule, which
in conjunction with the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable
biological catch (ABC) rules, are used to manage harvest levels for
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 current estimate of
stock biomass. 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. More information on the Pacific
Fishery Management Council's (Council) process for developing Pacific
mackerel harvest specifications and more detail on the HG control rule
are provided in the proposed rule for this action (86 FR 48969;
September 1, 2021) and are not repeated here.
The purpose of this final rule is to implement these harvest
specifications, which include allowable harvest levels (i.e., annual
catch target (ACT) and HG), an annual catch limit (ACL), and annual
catch reference points (i.e., OFL and 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. The Pacific mackerel
fishing season runs from July 1 to June 30. 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.
The Council has recommended, and NMFS is implementing, 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' Southwest Fisheries Science Center completed in
June 2021. The Council's Science and Statistical Committee, and the
Council approved this stock assessment and resulting biomass estimates
as the best scientific information available for management for these
two fishing years at the June 2021 Council meeting.
Under this 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.
On September 1, 2021, NMFS published a proposed rule in the Federal
Register (86 FR 48969) soliciting public comments through October 1,
2021. NMFS received two comments from private citizens, one supporting
the proposed rule and the other suggesting lowering the catch limit to
account for uncertainty. In response to the comment on uncertainty,
NMFS has determined that scientific uncertainty has been adequately
incorporated in this action through the stock assessment modeling and
resulting biomass estimate, as well as in the catch limit by reducing
the OFL to the ABC/ACL, to the HG, and finally the ACT. The
incorporation of uncertainty and precautionary reductions in the catch
limit are to prevent overfishing of mackerel. Additionally, NMFS notes
that the Pacific mackerel fishery has been managed with annual or
biennial stock assessments and precautionary catch levels for at least
the last 20 years.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this rule is
consistent with the CPS FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law.
This final 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 during the proposed rule stage that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility
analysis was not required and none was 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 final action.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
[[Page 64827]]
Dated: November 15, 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 amended
as follows:
PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES
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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.
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2. In Sec. 660.511, revise paragraphs (i) and (j) to read as follows:
Sec. 660.511 Catch restrictions.
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(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 NMFS West
Coast 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 (j) go into effect.
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[FR Doc. 2021-25212 Filed 11-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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