Rule2022-25328
Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 23 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
November 22, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces the approval of Amendment 23 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (Salmon FMP). Amendment 23 amends the Salmon FMP's current harvest control rule (HCR) for the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) Coho Salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 224 (Tuesday, November 22, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 22, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 71262-71263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25328]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[RTID 0648-XC119]
Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries;
Amendment 23 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of agency decision.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the approval of Amendment 23 to the Pacific
Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (Salmon FMP). Amendment 23 amends
the Salmon FMP's current harvest control rule (HCR) for the Southern
Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) Coho Salmon Evolutionarily
Significant Unit (ESU).
DATES: The amendment was approved on November 10, 2022.
ADDRESSES: The amended Salmon FMP is available on the Pacific Fishery
Management Council's (Council) website (<a href="http://www.pcouncil.org">www.pcouncil.org</a>). The final
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental assessment (EA)
evaluating this action is available on the NMFS website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/west-coast-salmon-harvest-nepa-documents">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/west-coast-salmon-harvest-nepa-documents</a>.
[[Page 71263]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannon Penna at 562-980-4239.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The ocean salmon fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (3-
200 nautical miles; 5.6-370.4 kilometers) seaward of Washington,
Oregon, and California are managed under the Salmon FMP. The Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) requires that
each regional fishery management council submit any fishery management
plan (FMP) or plan amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and
approval, disapproval, or partial approval by the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) (MSA 304(a)). The MSA also requires that NMFS, upon
receiving an FMP or plan amendment, immediately publish a notice that
the FMP or plan amendment is available for public review and comment.
The Notice of Availability (NOA) for Amendment 23 was published in
the Federal Register on August 18, 2022 (87 FR 50824), with a 60-day
comment period that ended on October 17, 2022. In the NOA, NMFS also
announced that a draft EA analyzing the environmental impacts of the
actions implemented under Amendment 23 was available for public review
and comments by October 3, 2022. NMFS summarized and responded to
comments in the final EA, and under Comments and Responses, below.
NMFS completed a biological opinion under section 7 of the ESA on
the implementation of the Salmon FMP, including Amendment 23, and
determined that this action is not likely to jeopardize the continued
existence of any endangered or threatened species under the
jurisdiction of NMFS (NMFS Consultation Number: WCRO-2021-03260;
biological opinion signed April 28, 2022).
NMFS determined that Amendment 23 is consistent with the MSA and
other applicable laws, and the Secretary of Commerce approved Amendment
23 on November 10, 2022. The August 18, 2022 NOA contains additional
information on this action. Amendment 23 will be implemented through
the annual salmon management measures; no changes to existing Federal
regulations are necessary.
Amendment 23 will replace the current HCR with two new HCRs. The
first will limit total fishery exploitation rates (ERs) on each of five
individual representative population units within the SONCC coho salmon
ESU to 15 percent annually, except for the Trinity River population
(represented by the Upper Trinity River, Lower Trinity River, and South
Fork Trinity River populations). The second HCR will limit the total ER
on the Trinity River population unit to 16 percent. Both HCRs account
for all ocean and inland sources of fishery mortality annually and
include landed and non-landed mortality of age-3 adult SONCC coho
salmon.
During its annual salmon preseason planning process for developing
recommended annual management measures governing ocean salmon
fisheries, the Council will evaluate ocean salmon fisheries using the
coho salmon Fishery Regulation Assessment Model (FRAM) so that, when
combined with estimated freshwater impacts, the preseason projected
total ERs will not exceed the adopted HCRs. The estimated freshwater
impacts will be determined using projections provided by co-managing
agencies (i.e., the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Yurok
Tribe, Hoopa Valley Tribe, or California Department of Fish and
Wildlife). Postseason ERs will be estimated for each year once
postseason harvest and abundance estimates become available. Coho
salmon-directed salmon fisheries and retention of coho salmon in
Chinook salmon-directed salmon fisheries will remain prohibited in the
EEZ seaward of California. Annual salmon management measures
implemented consistent with Amendment 23 will 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.
Comments and Responses
NMFS received four comments during the public comment period. Three
comments were from private citizens and the fourth comment was a letter
from the United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
One comment from private citizens was in support of Amendment 23 and
two comments were not relevant to the scope of Amendment 23. The EPA
specifically addresses the draft EA by providing recommendations for
NMFS to clearly document tribal engagement and to clearly describe the
final project in the final EA. NMFS incorporated the recommendations
from the comments received from the EPA into the final EA.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 16, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-25328 Filed 11-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 22, 2022.
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