Proposed Rule2023-12825
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Snow Crab Rebuilding Plan in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Primary source
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Published
June 15, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted Amendment 53 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP), to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, Amendment 53 would add a new rebuilding plan for snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) to the Crab FMP. The objective of this amendment is to rebuild the snow crab stock. In order to comply with provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), this action is necessary to implement a rebuilding plan prior to the start of the 2023/2024 fishing season. Amendment 53 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Crab FMP, and other applicable laws.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 115 (Thursday, June 15, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 115 (Thursday, June 15, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39216-39218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12825]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[RTID 0648-XC845]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Snow Crab
Rebuilding Plan in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
[[Page 39217]]
submitted Amendment 53 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Bering
Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP), to the
Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, Amendment 53 would add a
new rebuilding plan for snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) to the Crab
FMP. The objective of this amendment is to rebuild the snow crab stock.
In order to comply with provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), this action is
necessary to implement a rebuilding plan prior to the start of the
2023/2024 fishing season. Amendment 53 is intended to promote the goals
and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Crab FMP, and other
applicable laws.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than August 14, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0040, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: 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-2023-0040 in the Search box.
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
<bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to Gretchen Harrington,
Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division,
Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Records Office. Mail comments to P.O. Box
21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
Instructions: 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 by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address), 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).
Electronic copies of the draft Environmental Assessment (referred
to as the ``Analysis'') prepared for the proposed rule may be obtained
from <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Mackey, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 of Commerce (Secretary). The Magnuson-Stevens
Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP amendment,
immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that
the amendment is available for public review and comment. The Council
has submitted Amendment 53 to the Secretary for review. This notice
announces that proposed Amendment 53 is available for public review and
comment.
NMFS manages the crab fisheries in the exclusive economic zone
under the Crab FMP. The Council prepared the FMP under the authority of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). Regulations
governing U.S. fisheries and implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR
parts 600 and 680.
Through the Crab FMP, the State of Alaska (the State) is delegated
management authority over certain aspects of the Eastern Bering Sea
(EBS) snow crab fishery. This authority is limited by the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and the FMP. For EBS snow crab, the State has established a
harvest strategy to set total allowable catch (TAC), and announce
season or area closures when the TAC is reached. The State's Bering Sea
C. opilio Tanner (snow crab) harvest strategy applies during
rebuilding, and is provided in the Alaska Administrative Code at 5 AAC
35.517. The State harvest strategy is more conservative than the Crab
FMP's control rule parameters for EBS snow crab because, under the
harvest strategy, a higher level of biomass is required to open
directed fishing than under the overfishing level (F<INF>OFL</INF>)
control rule.
On October 19, 2021, NMFS determined and notified the Council that
the EBS snow crab stock was overfished because the estimated mature
male biomass was below the minimum stock size threshold specified in
the Crab FMP. To comply with provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act,
the Council developed a rebuilding plan to be implemented prior to the
start of the 2023/2024 fishing season.
In February 2023, the Council chose a rebuilding plan for EBS snow
crab that would allow bycatch removals and an opportunity for directed
harvest during rebuilding if estimates of stock biomass are sufficient
to open the fishery under the State's snow crab harvest strategy. The
proposed rebuilding plan is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act
and with National Standard 1 Guidelines on time for rebuilding,
specifically rebuilding within a time (T<INF>target</INF>) that is as
short as possible, taking into account the status and biology of any
overfished stocks of fish, the needs of fishing communities,
recommendations by international organizations in which the United
States participates, and the interaction of the overfished stock of
fish with the marine ecosystems. This rebuilding plan would allow
directed fishing pursuant to the State harvest strategy and may provide
important economic opportunities for harvesters, processors, and Alaska
communities. Maintaining this economic opportunity for a limited
directed commercial fishery under the State harvest strategy is
important for harvesters, processors, and communities, particularly
during this time when the majority of commercial crab stocks are in a
state of decline and future openings are likely to be limited.
Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the time period specified for
rebuilding a fishery generally should not exceed 10 years unless the
biology of the stock or environmental conditions dictate otherwise. The
projected time for rebuilding the EBS snow crab stock, taking into
account the biology of the species and current environmental
conditions, is 6 years. The main driver in the speed of rebuilding is
likely related to recruitment and the ecosystem conditions that allow
for increased recruitment into the population. Uncertainty surrounding
recruitment and mortality under current ecosystem conditions is
expected to heavily influence the rate at which the stock is able to
rebuild under the proposed projection parameters. Fishing mortality
under the State's current harvest strategy is expected to have only
insignificant or minimal impacts on the rate of rebuilding.
Amendment 53 would add Section 6.2.3 to the Crab FMP to include the
proposed rebuilding plan for EBS snow crab. Under the proposed
rebuilding plan, ecosystem indicators developed for the stock would be
monitored during rebuilding. The NMFS EBS bottom-trawl survey provides
data for the annual assessment of the status of crab stocks in the
BSAI, including EBS snow crab, and would continue throughout
rebuilding. The Council's BSAI Crab Plan Team would report stock status
and progress towards the rebuilt level in the Stock Assessment and
Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report for the king and Tanner crab fisheries
of the BSAI. Additionally, the State and NMFS monitor directed fishery
catch and bycatch of snow crabs in other fisheries. When the fishery is
open, the State requires full observer coverage (100 percent) for
catcher/processors and partial coverage (30 percent) for catcher
[[Page 39218]]
vessels participating in the crab fishery. Observers monitor harvest at
sea and landings by catcher vessels and shoreside processors. The State
reports the total harvest from the commercial crab fishery, and that
report will be included annually in the SAFE. The contribution of the
rebuilding plan's assessment and monitoring to stock recovery would be
additive to measures already in place that limit the effects of fishing
activity on EBS snow crab.
In addition, Amendment 53 will remove rebuilding plans from the
Crab FMP for stocks that have since been rebuilt or that have been
replaced with new rebuilding plans, including rebuilding plans for
Bering Sea Tanner crab (declared overfished on March 3, 1999), Bering
Sea snow crab (declared overfished on September 24, 1999), and St.
Matthew blue king crab (declared overfished on September 24, 1999).
NMFS is soliciting public comments on proposed Amendment 53 through
the end of the comment period (see DATES). All relevant written
comments received by the end of the applicable comment period will be
considered by NMFS in the approval/partial approval/disapproval
decision for Amendment 53 and addressed in the response to comments in
the final decision. Comments received after the end of the applicable
comment period will not be considered in the approval/disapproval
decision on Amendment 53. To be considered, comments must be received,
not just postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the last day of the
comment period (see DATES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 12, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-12825 Filed 6-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 15, 2023.
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