Proposed Rule2023-07121
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pelagic Species Fisheries; Amendment 20 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan
Primary source
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Published
April 6, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
This proposed rule would implement two minor changes to Federal regulations, prompted by the proposed Amendment 20 to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Amendment 20 would remove management category terminology from use in the FMP, but not to revise the manner in which the CPS stocks are managed. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) recommended Amendment 20 for clarity and consistency with other Council FMPs. Specifically, this proposed rule would remove the definition for "Actively Managed Species" and a reference to "monitored stocks" from Federal regulations. Because this action does not change the manner in which CPS stocks are managed, this action is administrative in nature.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20456-20457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07121]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 230327-0085]
RIN 0648-BM14
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pelagic Species Fisheries;
Amendment 20 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would implement two minor changes to
Federal regulations, prompted by the proposed Amendment 20 to the
Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Amendment
20 would remove management category terminology from use in the FMP,
but not to revise the manner in which the CPS stocks are managed. The
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) recommended Amendment 20
for clarity and consistency with other Council FMPs. Specifically, this
proposed rule would remove the definition for ``Actively Managed
Species'' and a reference to ``monitored stocks'' from Federal
regulations. Because this action does not change the manner in which
CPS stocks are managed, this action is administrative in nature.
DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received by May 8, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0036, by the following method:
<bullet> Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and enter NOAA-NMFS-2023-0036 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 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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Taylor Debevec at (562) 980-4066 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b9cdd8c0d5d6cb97dddcdbdccfdcdaf9d7d6d8d897ded6cf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dfabbea6b3b0adf1bbbabdbaa9babc9fb1b0bebef1b8b0a9">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The CPS FMP implemented the use of Management Categories with
Amendment 8. Originally, the management categories included ``Active''
(or Actively) and ``Monitored.'' With Amendment 12 and the
incorporation of krill into the CPS FMP, ``Prohibited Harvest'' was
added as a management category. The primary function of the ``Active''
and ``Monitored'' management categories was to effectively and
efficiently direct available agency and Council resources, in
recognition that not all stocks require as intensive management as
others, e.g., frequency of assessments and changes to harvest levels.
Stocks that supported intensive fisheries typically fell in the
``Active'' management category, meaning they were assessed on a regular
schedule with associated regular updates to harvest specifications. In
contrast, stocks that were less intensively fished were ``Monitored''
and utilized long-term conservative harvest strategies deemed
sufficient for their conservation and management. The category
designations did not relieve stocks from the requirements of Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) or National
Standard 1 guidelines. Nor did they characterize the type of stock
assessment or scientific information available to inform assessments,
or strictly prescribe the frequency of assessment or harvest policy
specification. Additionally, the FMP allowed for stocks to be moved
from the ``Monitored'' category to the ``Active'' category if deemed
necessary for their conservation and management.
In November 2018, the Council initiated an effort to address a
perceived lack of clarity regarding the meaning and use of these terms
in the FMP and to promote consistency with other Council FMPs. The
Council directed its CPS Management Team to explore ways to remove the
naming distinction of management categories, while maintaining existing
stock management. The Council considered the issue at its June 2019 and
November 2021 meetings, with final action taking place at its April
2022 meeting. The proposed Amendment 20 would remove management
category terms from the FMP and incorporate additional modifications in
place of those terms to ensure flow and readability of the FMP.
``Prohibited Harvest Species'' would remain defined (krill), but
references to it being a management category would be removed.
To align with the proposed Amendment, NMFS is proposing this rule
to remove the management category terms from Federal regulations, and
make some small additional modifications in place of where those terms
were removed to ensure flow and readability of the regulations. This
proposed rule would remove the two places in Federal CPS regulations
that reference these management category terms by: removing ``Actively
Managed Species'' from definitions in 50 CFR 660.502, and removing a
reference to ``monitored stocks'' from 50 CFR 660.511(k). These
regulatory changes are administrative in nature and do not change
management of CPS stocks.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, the Assistant Administrator, NMFS, has
determined that this proposed rule is consistent with the CPS FMP,
other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management 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
[[Page 20457]]
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 (North
American Industry Classification System (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 the vessels that harvest coastal pelagic species as part of the
West Coast CPS finfish fleet and are all considered small businesses
under the above size standards. Currently, there are 55 vessels
permitted in the Federal CPS limited entry fishery. For these vessels
that catch CPS, the average annual per vessel revenue has not exceeded
$1.25 million in the last 5 years. The individual vessel revenue for
these vessels is 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.
This proposed action removes terms that categorize CPS stocks, but
the management of CPS stocks remains unchanged. Therefore, this action
is not expected to have significant direct or indirect socioeconomic
impacts because the proposed action is administrative.
Based on the disproportionality and profitability analysis above,
the proposed action, if adopted, will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. As a result, an
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required, and none has
been prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, Indians--lands, Recreation and recreation
areas, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Treaties.
Dated: March 31, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50
CFR part 660 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.
Sec. 660.502 [Amended]
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2. In Sec. 660.502, remove the definition for ``Actively Managed
Species''.
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3. In Sec. 660.511, revise paragraph (k) to read as follows:
Sec. 660.511 Catch restrictions.
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(k) The following annual catch limit applies to fishing for
Northern Anchovy (Central Subpopulation): 25,000 mt.
[FR Doc. 2023-07121 Filed 4-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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