Proposed Rule2023-25997
Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 24 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 27, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 24 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (Salmon FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. The intent of Amendment 24 is to clarify the technical process for reviewing updates to the models used to determine the Chinook salmon abundance threshold that may trigger additional management measures to limit the impact of ocean salmon fisheries on Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW). The whales are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Chinook salmon, some of which are listed as threatened under the ESA, are their preferred prey. This action is administrative in nature and does not change the formula for calculating the threshold or the fishery management responses currently described in the Salmon FMP.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 226 (Monday, November 27, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 226 (Monday, November 27, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 82819-82820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25997]
[[Page 82819]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[RTID 0648-XD471]
Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries;
Amendment 24 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Announcement of availability of proposed fishery management
plan amendment; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted
Amendment 24 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan
(Salmon FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. The intent of
Amendment 24 is to clarify the technical process for reviewing updates
to the models used to determine the Chinook salmon abundance threshold
that may trigger additional management measures to limit the impact of
ocean salmon fisheries on Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW). The
whales are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Chinook
salmon, some of which are listed as threatened under the ESA, are their
preferred prey. This action is administrative in nature and does not
change the formula for calculating the threshold or the fishery
management responses currently described in the Salmon FMP.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 24 must be received by January 26, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on Amendment 24, identified by NOAA-
NMFS-2023-0105, 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-2023-0105 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 by the applicable deadlines. 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="https://www.regulations.gov">https://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).
The draft Salmon FMP, as amended through Amendment 24, with
notations showing how Amendment 24 would change the Salmon FMP, if
approved, is available on the NMFS website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/fisheries-west-coast-states-west-coast-salmon-fisheries-amendment-24-pacific-coast-salmon">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/fisheries-west-coast-states-west-coast-salmon-fisheries-amendment-24-pacific-coast-salmon</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannon Penna at 562-980-4239,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d586bdb4bbbbbabbfb85b0bbbbb495bbbab4b4fbb2baa3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ffac979e91919091d1af9a91919ebf91909e9ed1989089">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The ocean salmon fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (3-200
nautical miles; 5.6-370.4 kilometers) off Washington, Oregon, and
California are managed under the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery
Management Plan (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 section 304(a)).
The MSA also requires that NMFS, upon receiving a proposed FMP or plan
amendment, immediately publish a notice that the FMP or plan amendment
is available for public review and comment. Publication occurs on or
before the fifth day after the day on which a Council transmits to the
Secretary a FMP or plan amendment. This document announces that
proposed Amendment 24 to the Salmon FMP is available for public review
and comment. NMFS will consider the public comments received during the
comment period described above in determining whether to approve,
partially approve, or disapprove Amendment 24 to the Salmon FMP.
In November 2020, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
adopted management measures for Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW)
under Amendment 21 (86 FR 51017, September 14, 2021) to the Salmon FMP.
The Salmon FMP was amended by adding Section 6.6.8 which describes
provisions to limit the impacts of the Council-managed ocean salmon
fisheries on SRKW by limiting the extent to which they reduce Chinook
salmon prey availability for SRKW. Amendment 21 established a Chinook
salmon abundance threshold (threshold) for U.S. waters north of Cape
Falcon, Oregon and if preseason projections of abundance in a given
year are less than the threshold, then a list of management actions
will be implemented through the management measures for ocean salmon
fisheries that year.
In April 2022, the Salmon Technical Team and Scientific and
Statistical Committee conducted a technical review of updates to the
models that inform the threshold. During this review, it became
apparent that the language in Section 6.6.8 describing the process,
roles and responsibilities for reviewing model updates and using the
updated models to update the threshold, and the appropriate depth of
review was unclear. In November 2022, the Council adopted a revised
threshold value to account for the model updates. At the same time, the
Council tasked NMFS and Council staff to evaluate the description in
the Salmon FMP of the process for the technical review and suggest
clarifying language to improve the process. Based on this evaluation,
in November 2023, the Council adopted the recommended changes for the
Salmon FMP.
If approved, Amendment 24 to the Salmon FMP would clarify the
process for review of updates to the models, and the recalculation of
the threshold value based on updated model information, by revising
Section 6.6.8 of the Salmon FMP. The revised text would not change the
approach used to calculate the threshold.
[[Page 82820]]
Amendment 24 also includes some minor housekeeping edits, such as
updates to references and correction of a species name.
All comments received by the end of the comment period (see DATES
and ADDRESSES above) will be considered in the Secretary's decision to
approve, disapprove, or partially approve Amendment 24. To be
considered in this decision, comments must be received by close of
business on the last day of the comment period; that does not mean
postmarked or otherwise transmitted by that date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 20, 2023.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-25997 Filed 11-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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