Rule2022-14597
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Amendments to the Fishery Management Plans for Coastal Pelagic Species, West Coast Highly Migratory Species, and Pacific Coast Salmon
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
July 8, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces the approval of three fishery management plan (FMP) amendments: Amendment 19 to the FMP for Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS FMP), Amendment 7 to the FMP for the West Coast Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP), and Amendment 22 to the FMP for Pacific Coast Salmon Fisheries (Salmon FMP) (collectively Amendments). These Amendments modify language in the CPS, HMS, and Salmon FMPs to more clearly describe and align the FMPs with the way bycatch is currently reported in the fisheries managed by the Council. These Amendments ensure conformance with national guidance for compliance with the standardized bycatch reporting methodology (SBRM) requirement in the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 130 (Friday, July 8, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 130 (Friday, July 8, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40744-40745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14597]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[RTID 0648-XB763]
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Standardized Bycatch Reporting
Methodology Amendments to the Fishery Management Plans for Coastal
Pelagic Species, West Coast Highly Migratory Species, and Pacific Coast
Salmon
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Agency decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces the approval of three fishery management plan
(FMP) amendments: Amendment 19 to the FMP for Coastal Pelagic Species
(CPS FMP), Amendment 7 to the FMP for the West Coast Highly Migratory
Species (HMS FMP), and Amendment 22 to the FMP for Pacific Coast Salmon
Fisheries (Salmon FMP) (collectively Amendments). These Amendments
modify language in the CPS, HMS, and Salmon FMPs to more clearly
describe and align the FMPs with the way bycatch is currently reported
in the fisheries managed by the Council. These Amendments ensure
conformance with national guidance for compliance with the standardized
bycatch reporting methodology (SBRM) requirement in the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).
DATES: The Amendments were approved on July 5, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the Amendments may be obtained from
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or the West Coast Region website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/standardized-bycatch-reporting-methodology-amendments-fishery-management-plans-coastal">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/standardized-bycatch-reporting-methodology-amendments-fishery-management-plans-coastal</a>. Additional
documents can be found on the Council's website at <a href="http://www.pcouncil.org">www.pcouncil.org</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For CPS--Taylor Debevec at (562) 980-
4066 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b9cdd8c0d5d6cb97dddcdbdccfdcdaf9d7d6d8d897ded6cf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6216031b0e0d104c06070007140701220c0d03034c050d14">[email protected]</span></a>. For HMS--Celia Barroso at (562) 432-
1850 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b4d7d1d8ddd59ad6d5c6c6dbc7dbf4dadbd5d59ad3dbc2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7714121b1e165915160505180418371918161659101801">[email protected]</span></a>. For Salmon--Jeromy Jording at (360)
763-2268 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#89e3ecfbe6e4f0a7e3e6fbede0e7eec9e7e6e8e8a7eee6ff"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="96fcf3e4f9fbefb8fcf9e4f2fff8f1d6f8f9f7f7b8f1f9e0">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each regional fishery
management council submit any FMP amendment it prepares to NMFS for
review and approval, disapproval, or partial approval by the Secretary.
16 U.S.C. 1854(a). NMFS manages the CPS, HMS, and salmon fisheries in
the Pacific Coast exclusive economic zone under the CPS, HMS, and
Salmon FMPs, respectively. The Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) prepared these FMPs under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing U.S.
fisheries and implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 660.
Section 303(a)(11) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that any
FMP establish a SBRM to assess the amount and type of bycatch occurring
in the fishery, and include conservation and management measures that,
to the extent practicable and in the following priority--(A) minimize
bycatch, and (B) minimize the mortality of bycatch that cannot be
avoided. (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(11))
On January 19, 2017, NMFS published a final rule (82 FR 6317)
establishing national guidance regulations at 50 CFR 600.1600 through
50 CFR 600.1610 for compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act SBRM
requirement (SBRM regulations). The SBRM regulations require regional
fishery management councils, in coordination with NMFS, to review their
FMPs and make any necessary changes so all FMPs are consistent with the
guidance.
The SBRM regulations define an SBRM as a consistent procedure or
procedures used to collect, record, and report bycatch data in a
fishery managed under an FMP. This information, in conjunction with
other relevant sources, is used to assess the amount and type of
bycatch occurring in the fishery and inform the development of
conservation and management measures to minimize bycatch. The SBRM
regulations require the Council to explain how each FMP's SBRM meets
the purpose described in the national guidelines, based on an analysis
of four considerations: (1) Characteristics of bycatch in the fishery,
(2) the feasibility of the reporting methodology, (3) the uncertainty
of data resulting from the methodology, and (4) how the data will be
used to assess the amount and type of bycatch occurring in the fishery
(50 CFR 600.1610(a)). The Council undertook a review of its FMPs to
ensure they met this requirement. That review resulted in the three
Amendments referenced in this notice that make additions and
modifications to the CPS, HMS, and Salmon FMPs to clearly and
accurately describe the SBRM for those fisheries, consistent with the
SBRM regulations.
Further detail describing the Amendments was provided in the Notice
of Availability for this action and is not repeated here.
Procedural Aspects of the Amendments
The Council submitted the Amendments to the Secretary for review on
April 4, 2022. On April 12, 2022, NMFS published a notice of
availability (NOA) for the Amendments, including background on the
rationale for how the respective amendments proposed to satisfy the
requirements of the SBRM regulations, and requested public review and
comment (87 FR 21603). Public comments were received pertaining to the
Salmon FMP amendment and are addressed below.
The Amendments do not add any new reporting requirements and do not
change any regulatory requirements. Therefore, no proposed or final
rule was prepared. This action only modifies language in the CPS, HMS,
and Salmon FMPs to more clearly describe and align with how bycatch is
currently reported in the fisheries managed by the Council.
Comments and Responses
NMFS received a combined 17,355 comments regarding the Amendment 22
for the Salmon FMP. These comments were directed at actions to protect
Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) and are not relevant to the
development of SBRM for ocean salmon fisheries. Rather, these comments
reiterated comments NMFS previously addressed in the final
environmental assessment (EA) for FMP Amendment 21 (<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>), in the notice of agency decision (86 FR
51017, September 14, 2021), and the West Coast Salmon Fisheries 2022
[[Page 40745]]
Specifications and Management Measures (<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/16/2022-10430/fisheries-off-west-coast-states-west-coast-salmon-fisheries-2022-specifications-and-management">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/16/2022-10430/fisheries-off-west-coast-states-west-coast-salmon-fisheries-2022-specifications-and-management</a>).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: July 5, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-14597 Filed 7-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 8, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.