Proposed Rule2024-13530
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications; 2024-2025 Annual Specifications and Management Measures for Pacific Sardine
Primary source
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Published
June 21, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS proposes to implement annual harvest specifications and management measures for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine (hereafter, Pacific sardine), for the fishing year from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This proposed rule would prohibit most directed commercial fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Pacific sardine harvest would be allowed only for use as live bait, in minor directed fisheries, as incidental catch in other fisheries, or as authorized under exempted fishing permits. The proposed harvest specifications for 2024-2025 include an overfishing limit of 8,312 metric tons (mt), an annual catch limit of 6,005 mt, and an annual catch target of 5,500 mt. This proposed rule is intended to conserve, manage, and rebuild the Pacific sardine stock off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 120 (Friday, June 21, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52005-52009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13530]
[[Page 52005]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 240614-0162; RTID 0648-XD848]
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species
Fisheries; Annual Specifications; 2024-2025 Annual Specifications and
Management Measures for Pacific Sardine
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement annual harvest specifications and
management measures for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine
(hereafter, Pacific sardine), for the fishing year from July 1, 2024
through June 30, 2025. This proposed rule would prohibit most directed
commercial fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington,
Oregon, and California. Pacific sardine harvest would be allowed only
for use as live bait, in minor directed fisheries, as incidental catch
in other fisheries, or as authorized under exempted fishing permits.
The proposed harvest specifications for 2024-2025 include an
overfishing limit of 8,312 metric tons (mt), an annual catch limit of
6,005 mt, and an annual catch target of 5,500 mt. This proposed rule is
intended to conserve, manage, and rebuild the Pacific sardine stock off
the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California.
DATES: Comments must be received by July 8, 2024.
ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this rule is available at
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2024-0040">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2024-0040</a>. You may submit
comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2024-0040, by the
following method:
<bullet> Electronic Submissions: Submit all 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-2024-0040 in the Search box. Click on the ``Comment''
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method 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,
etc.), 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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Davis, West Coast Region, NMFS,
(323) 372-2126, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1d567c69747833597c6b746e5d73727c7c337a726b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f5be94819c90dbb194839c86b59b9a9494db929a83">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the Pacific sardine fishery in
the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast (i.e., off
the U.S. west coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington) in
accordance with the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management
Plan (FMP). The CPS FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS
to set annual reference points and management measures for the Pacific
sardine fishery based on the annual specification framework and control
rules in the FMP. These control rules include the harvest guideline
(HG) control rule, which, in conjunction with the overfishing limit
(OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules in the FMP,
are used to set required reference points, in accordance with the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) (16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). Additionally, the CPS FMP requires management
measures for the Pacific sardine fishery, such as catch restrictions,
in the Pacific sardine rebuilding plan implemented by Amendment 18 to
the CPS FMP (86 FR 33142, June 24, 2021).
The NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) conducts annual
stock assessments for Pacific sardine, alternating between benchmark
assessments in 1 year and update assessments the following 2 years.
Benchmark assessments are evaluated by a stock assessment review (STAR)
panel, which provides a report to the Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) documenting its findings on the technical merits.
During public meetings each year, the Council, including the Council's
CPS Management Team (Team), CPS Advisory Subpanel (Subpanel), and
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), review the estimated
biomass and the status of the fishery in these stock assessments, and
recommend applicable reference points, catch limits, and management
measures. Following Council review and public comment, the Council
recommends these harvest specifications and management measures and any
in-season accountability measures to NMFS, who then reviews the
Council's recommendations to ensure they are consistent with the CPS
FMP and all applicable laws. Following that review, NMFS publishes
annual specifications in the Federal Register to establish annual
reference points (e.g., the OFL, ABC, and annual catch limit (ACL)) and
management measures for each Pacific sardine fishing year. The OFL is
an annual catch amount that corresponds to the estimate of (annual)
fishing mortality corresponding to maximum sustainable yield (MSY). The
ABC is set below the OFL and is a reference point that incorporates a
scientific uncertainty buffer against overfishing. For Pacific sardine,
the ABC is based on a percentage reduction (BUFFER) of the OFL as
determined by an SSC evaluation of scientific uncertainty (sigma
[sigma]) and the Council's risk policy (P*). In cases where the SSC
quantifies scientific uncertainty (sigma, [sigma]) associated with
estimating an OFL, the percentage reduction that defines the ABC buffer
can be determined by translating the estimated [sigma] to a range of
probability of overfishing (P*) values.
The CPS FMP control rules, as they apply to annual reference
points, use the following formulas:
OFL = Biomass * E<INF>MSY</INF> * DISTRIBUTION
ABC = Biomass * BUFFER * E<INF>MSY</INF> * DISTRIBUTION
Biomass. The estimated stock biomass of Pacific sardine ages 1 and
older, in metric tons.
E<INF>MSY</INF>. The exploitation rate for deterministic
equilibrium maximum sustainable yield. Since 2014, the SSC has used a
temperature-recruitment relationship based on a running 3-year average
of the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations
(CalCOFI) temperature index to calculate an E<INF>MSY</INF> for Pacific
sardine.
DISTRIBUTION. The average portion of the Pacific sardine biomass
estimated to be in the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast. DISTRIBUTION is
currently defined in the CPS FMP as 87 percent and is based on the
average historical larval distribution obtained from scientific cruises
and the distribution of the resource according to the logbooks of
aerial fish-spotters.
BUFFER. The percentage reduction of the OFL as determined by the
SSC's evaluation of scientific uncertainty (sigma) and the Council's
risk policy (P*).
During the 2019-2020 fishing year, the estimated biomass of Pacific
sardine
[[Page 52006]]
dropped below its 50,000-mt minimum stock size threshold (MSST), which
triggered an overfished determination process. NMFS declared the stock
overfished on June 26, 2019, and notified the Council of this
determination on July 9, 2019. A rebuilding plan for Pacific sardine
was finalized on June 24, 2021 (86 FR 33142). The rebuilding plan
(Amendment 18 to the CPS FMP) stipulates that reference points (i.e.,
the OFL, ABC, and ACL) are to continue to be set annually based on
annual stock assessments, the control rules in the FMP, and best
scientific information available recommendations from the Council's
SSC. The rebuilding plan also includes the following management
measures that restrict harvest: (1) prohibition of the primary directed
fishery when the biomass is at or below 150,000 mt; (2) automatic
reduction in incidental allowances in other CPS fisheries to no more
than 20 percent by weight when the biomass is at or below 50,000 mt;
and (3) other accountability measures the Council may recommend.
Proposed Reference Points and Management Measures
At the Council's April 2024 meeting, the Council's SSC reviewed a
STAR panel report on the SWFSC's 2024 benchmark stock assessment, as
well as the assessment itself, titled ``Assessment of the Pacific
sardine resource (Sardinops sagax) in 2024 for U.S. management in 2024-
2025,'' and concluded that the 2024 benchmark assessment for Pacific
sardine is the best scientific information available for the management
of Pacific sardine. During their review, the SSC noted major
improvements from the 2020 benchmark assessment, including an updated
habitat model for assigning fishery catch and survey biomass to the
northern and southern subpopulations of sardine. However, the SSC
applied a category 2d sigma, instead of a category 1, as some past full
assessments have been categorized. The result of a category 2d sigma
determination compared to a category 1 is that it equates to a larger
scientific uncertainty buffer, and therefore a lower ABC. During the
discussion of the appropriate category, the SSC discussed potential
uncertainty in the relationship between sardine productivity and ocean
temperatures used to calculate E<INF>MSY</INF> as well as uncertainty
in the strength of the 2023 year-class represented in the stock
assessment.
Based on the 2024 benchmark stock assessment, the associated
estimated age 1+ biomass of 58,614 mt, and the control rule formulas in
the FMP, NMFS is proposing, as the Council recommended, an OFL of 8,312
mt, an ABC of 6,005 mt, and an ACL of 6,005 mt. The proposed OFL and
ABC were based on the control rules in the FMP and on recommendations
from the Council's SSC and their determination of best scientific
information available for calculating the OFL and recommended
precautionary buffer for the ABC.
According to the CPS FMP, the catch limit for the primary directed
fishery is determined using the FMP-specified HG formula. This Pacific
sardine HG control rule, the primary mechanism for setting the primary
directed fishery catch limit, includes a CUTOFF parameter, the lowest
level of estimated biomass at which directed harvest is allowed (i.e.,
a biomass level of 150,000 mt). This amount is subtracted from the
annual biomass estimate before calculating the applicable HG for the
fishing year. Because the biomass estimate used this year (i.e., 58,614
mt) is below that value, the formula results in an HG of zero, and no
Pacific sardine are available for the primary directed fishery during
the 2024-2025 fishing season. As noted previously, the rebuilding plan
also includes a prohibition of the primary directed fishery when the
biomass is at or below 150,000 mt. This is the 10th consecutive year
that the primary directed fishery is closed.
Pacific sardine catch during the 2024-2025 fishing season is
therefore prohibited unless it is harvested as part of the live bait,
Tribal ,\1\ or minor directed fisheries, as incidental catch in other
fisheries, or as part of exempted fishing permit (EFP) activities. For
these types of harvests, NMFS is proposing, as the Council recommended,
an annual catch target (ACT) of 5,500 mt for the 2024-2025 fishing
year.
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\1\ For the 2024-2025 fishing year, the Quinault Indian Nation
has not requested a Tribal set-aside, and therefore none is
proposed.
Table 1--Overfishing Limit (OFL), Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC),
Harvest Guideline (HG), and Annual Catch Limit (ACL) Calculations as
Established Under Amendment 13 to the CPS FMP
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harvest specification and formula parameters Value
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BIOMASS (ages 1+, mt)................................... 58,614
BUFFER Pstar (Category 2)............................... 0.7224
Calculated EMSY......................................... 0.163
DISTRIBUTION (U.S.)..................................... 0.87
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024-2025 Pacific sardine annual specifications Metric tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL = BIOMASS * EMSY * DISTRIBUTION..................... 8,312
ABC = BIOMASS * BUFFER0.40 * EMSY * DISTRIBUTION........ 6,005
HG...................................................... 0
ACL = ABC............................................... 6,005
ACT..................................................... 5,500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed annual harvest limits and management measures were
developed in the context of NMFS' July 2019 declaration that the
Pacific sardine stock was overfished and June 2021 approval of a
rebuilding plan for the stock.
The following are the additional proposed management measures and
in-season accountability measures for the 2024-2025 Pacific sardine
fishing year:
(1) If landings in the live bait fishery reach 3,000 mt of Pacific
sardine, then a per-trip limit of 1 mt of Pacific sardine would apply
to the live bait fishery;
(2) An incidental per-landing limit of 30 percent (by weight) of
Pacific sardine applies to other CPS primary directed fisheries (e.g.,
Pacific mackerel);
[[Page 52007]]
(3) If the ACT of 5,500 mt is attained, then a per-trip limit of 1
mt of Pacific sardine would apply to all CPS fisheries (i.e., (1) and
(2) would no longer apply); and
(4) An incidental per-landing allowance of 2 mt of Pacific sardine
would apply to non-CPS fisheries until the ACL is reached.
In addition to the management measures and in-season accountability
measures listed in the previous paragraphs, Pacific sardine catch in
the minor directed fishery for finfish remains limited to 1 mt per trip
per day, and 1 trip per day by any vessel, per regulations at 50 CFR
660.511(d)(2).
At the April 2024 meeting, the Council also recommended that NMFS
approve two EFP proposals requesting an exemption from the prohibition
to directly harvest sardine during their discussion of sardine
management measures. Those EFP proposals include a total amount of up
to 670 mt, and will be reviewed and potentially approved by NMFS
through a separate process.
All sources of catch including any fishing occurring as part of an
EFP, the live bait fishery, and other minimal sources of harvest, such
as incidental catch in CPS and non-CPS fisheries and minor directed
fishing, would be accounted for against the ACT and ACL.
The NMFS West Coast Regional Administrator would publish a notice
in the Federal Register to announce when catch reaches the incidental
limits, as well as any changes to allowable incidental catch
percentages or trip limits. Additionally, to ensure that the regulated
community is informed of any closure, NMFS would make announcements
through other means available, including emails to fishermen,
processors, and State fishery management agencies.
Court Order in Oceana, Inc., v. Raimondo, et al.
On April 22, 2024, shortly before NMFS finalized this proposed
rule, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
(the Court) issued an order in Oceana, Inc., v. Raimondo, et al., No.
5:21-cv-05407-VKD (N.D. Cal., filed July 14, 2021), a case that
challenged NMFS' approval of Amendment 18 to the CPS FMP (i.e., the
sardine rebuilding plan) and the June 23, 2023 final rule that set
harvest specifications and management measures for the 2023-2024
sardine fishing year (88 FR 41040) (2023 Final Rule). In that order,
the Court found that some aspects of Amendment 18 and the 2023 Final
Rule violate the MSA and remanded them to NMFS. Specifically, the Court
found that NMFS' reliance on the temperature-recruitment relationship
based on the 3-year running average CalCOFI temperature index was not
supported by the administrative record. The Court did not, however,
vacate Amendment 18 or the 2023 Final Rule. The Court also did not
issue an order on remedy, and instead ordered the parties to submit
proposals regarding what further proceedings are necessary to identify
an appropriate remedy. As of this writing, remedy proceedings are
ongoing.
Because the 2023 Final Rule set harvest specifications and
management measures that end on June 30, 2024, NMFS must publish new
specifications and management measures by July 1, 2024 to avoid a lapse
in regulations governing the fishery. Without specifications and
management measures in place, the Pacific sardine fishery would be
unregulated. NMFS is therefore proposing harvest specifications and
management measures for the upcoming fishing season as recommended by
the Council. This proposed rule is consistent with the rebuilding plan,
which is still effective, and it would maintain the status quo and
ensure that management measures are in place to constrain catch during
the 2024-2025 fishing season in furtherance of NMFS' goal to conserve,
manage, and rebuild the Pacific sardine population.
In making a preliminary determination that the harvest
specifications and management measures proposed in this action would
prevent overfishing, rebuild the stock, and are supported by the best
scientific information available, NMFS considered the recent order from
the Court as well as ongoing discussions at the Council regarding
E<INF>MSY</INF>. As they did the previous year, the SSC recommended
revisiting the analysis and assumptions underlying an E<INF>MSY</INF>
based on CalCOFI temperatures; however, they also recommended its use
as best available science for setting the 2024-2025 OFL and ABC. The
SSC discussed the uncertainty surrounding E<INF>MSY</INF> when
considering their choice of the appropriate uncertainty buffer (sigma)
for the ABC. NMFS has determined that the SSC appropriately accounted
for any scientific uncertainty and gaps in scientific information used
to calculate the recommended reference points through their
recommendation of Category 2 sigma; which is a larger buffer than would
have been associated with a Category 1 sigma.
The calculated CalCOFI-based E<INF>MSY</INF> value for this year is
0.163 and represents the lowest E<INF>MSY</INF> in 10 years. The
decline in E<INF>MSY</INF> this year compared to the last 3 years is
the result of a high temperature record year in 2020 falling out of the
running 3-year average temperature used to calculate E<INF>MSY</INF>.
This effect was also observed between 2014 and 2017 when a very large
marine heatwave off the Pacific coast caused unprecedented changes in
the ocean environment, and the 2015 annual CalCOFI temperature was the
highest in 40 years. This situation triggered the application of the
maximum allowed E<INF>MSY</INF> value of 0.25, instead of the
calculated E<INF>MSY</INF>, to prevent potentially excessive
E<INF>MSY</INF> values.
Although NMFS believes there is additional support for using a
CalCOFI-based E<INF>MSY</INF> in setting this year's specifications (as
described in the previous paragraphs), to the extent the use of CalCOFI
is precluded this year because of the Court's order, NMFS considered
alternatives to using the CalCOFI-based E<INF>MSY</INF>. Currently, no
other analysis is known of relationships between Pacific sardine
recruitment and an environmental variable on which to base
E<INF>MSY</INF>; however, past analyses have calculated a static
E<INF>MSY</INF> of 0.18 when the effects of temperature on productivity
are ignored. NMFS considers this static E<INF>MSY</INF> of 0.18 as the
only available alternative for setting Pacific sardine specifications
without the use of the CalCOFI temperature index. However, the
Council's recommended E<INF>MSY</INF> of 0.163 is a lower and therefore
more conservative value than the static E<INF>MSY</INF>. Therefore,
even if the use of a CalCOFI-based E<INF>MSY</INF> is precluded this
year, NMFS believes it is still appropriate to use the lower, more
conservative E<INF>MSY</INF> of 0.163 for this year's specifications on
a stock that is rebuilding while the methodology for determining
E<INF>MSY</INF> is under review.
Additionally, although this action proposes an ACL equal to the ABC
at 6,005 mt, as envisioned by the FMP, NMFS has preliminarily
determined that as a result of the closure of the directed fishery and
additional management measures, landings of the northern subpopulation
of Pacific sardine will remain very low and are unlikely to exceed
2,200 mt, similar to what has occurred over the last 3 full fishing
years (see table 2).
[[Page 52008]]
Table 2--Landings of Northern and Southern Subpopulations of Pacific Sardine (2020-2023), in Metric Tons (mt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fishing year 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACL............................................................. 4,288 3,329 4,274
Total Landings of northern and southern subpopulation........... 2,276 1,772 1,619
Landings of northern subpopulation.............................. 657 298 517
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the MSA, the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with
the CPS FMP, other provisions of the MSA, and other applicable law,
subject to further consideration after public comment.
NMFS finds that a 15-day comment period for this action provides a
reasonable opportunity for public participation in this action pursuant
to Administrative Procedure Act section 553(c) (5 U.S.C. 553(c)), while
also ensuring that the final specifications are in place for the start
of the Pacific sardine fishing year on July 1, 2024. Annual harvest
specifications and management measures for Pacific sardine are based on
an annual stock assessment, which is usually finalized in early Spring
and reviewed by the Council and its advisory bodies during the
Council's regularly-scheduled meeting in April. NMFS received the
recommendations from the Council that form the basis for this rule
following the Council's April 2024 meeting. The Council provided an
opportunity for public comment at that meeting, as it does every year
before adopting the recommended harvest specifications and management
measures for the proceeding fishing year. The subject of this proposed
rule--the establishment of the reference points--is considered a
routine action, because they are calculated annually based on the
framework control rules in the FMP, and in accordance with management
measures required by the Pacific sardine rebuilding plan, which has
been in place since 2021. A prolonged comment period and subsequent
potential delay in implementation past the start of the 2024 fishing
year would be contrary to the public interest, as it could create
confusion in the Pacific sardine industry around current specifications
and management measures. Such a delay would effectively open the
fishery without the restrictions necessary to manage harvest rates in
compliance with the Pacific sardine rebuilding plan.
This proposed rule is exempt from review under Executive Order
12866 because it is a routine rule that would implement regulations for
less than 1 year.
Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, this proposed rule was developed
after meaningful consultation and collaboration with the Tribal
representative on the Council who has agreed with the provisions that
apply to Tribal vessels.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities,
for the reasons provided below.
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 purpose of this proposed rule is to conserve and rebuild the
Pacific sardine stock by preventing overfishing, while still allowing
limited harvest opportunity among differing fishery sectors. This will
be accomplished by implementing the 2024-2025 annual specifications for
Pacific sardine in the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast. The small
entities that would be affected by the proposed action are the vessels
that would be expected to participate in the primary directed Pacific
sardine fishery as part of the Pacific coast CPS small purse seine
fleet. In 2014 (i.e., the last year that a directed fishery for Pacific
sardine was allowed) there were approximately 81 vessels permitted to
operate in the directed sardine fishery component of the CPS fishery
off the U.S. West Coast, with that total comprising 58 vessels in the
Federal CPS limited entry fishery off California (south of lat. 39[deg]
N) and a combined 23 vessels in Oregon and Washington's State Pacific
sardine fisheries. NMFS does not collect or have access to information
about affiliation between vessels or affiliation between vessels and
processing entities in this fishery, or receipts in Alaska,
Hawai[revaps]i, or international fisheries, so it is possible that some
impacted entities may exceed $11 million in ex-vessel revenue or
another size-standard threshold. Based on available data, the average
annual Pacific coast revenue per vessel for all west coast vessels,
including those described above potentially affected by this rule, was
well below the threshold level of $11 million as of 2024. 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. Therefore, this rule would not create disproportionate costs
between small and large vessels/businesses.
The CPS FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS to
annually set an OFL, ABC, ACL, and HG or annual catch target for the
Pacific sardine fishery based on the specified harvest control rules in
the FMP applied to the current stock biomass estimate for that year.
The derived annual HG is the level typically used to manage the
principal commercial sardine fishery and is the harvest level NMFS
typically uses for profitability analysis each year. As stated above,
the CPS FMP dictates that when the estimated biomass drops below a
certain level (150,000 mt), the HG is zero. Because there is again no
directed fishing for the 2024-2025 fishing year, as has been the case
for the last 10 years, this proposed rule will not change the potential
profitability compared to the previous fishing year or years following
the closure of the directed fishery. Additionally, the proposed 2024-
2025 ACL is still expected to account for the various fishery sector
needs (i.e., live bait, incidental catch in other CPS fisheries, EFPs,
and minor directed fisheries).
The revenue derived from harvesting Pacific sardine is typically
only one of the sources of fishing revenue for the commercial vessels
that participate in this fishery. As a result, the economic impact to
the fleet from the proposed action cannot be viewed in isolation.
[[Page 52009]]
From year to year, depending on market conditions and availability of
fish, most CPS/sardine vessels supplement their income by harvesting
other species. Many vessels in California also harvest anchovy,
mackerel, and, in particular, squid, making Pacific sardine only one
component of a multi-species CPS fishery. Additionally, some sardine
vessels that operate off of Oregon and Washington also fish for salmon
in Alaska or squid in California during the times of the year when
sardine are not available. The purpose of the incidental catch limits
proposed in this action are to ensure the vessels impacted by a
prohibition on directly harvesting sardine can still access these other
profitable fisheries while minimizing Pacific sardine harvest.
CPS vessels typically rely on multiple species for profitability
because abundance of Pacific sardine, like the other CPS stocks, is
highly associated with ocean conditions and seasonality. Variability in
ocean conditions and season results in variability in the timing and
location of CPS harvest throughout the year. Because each species
responds to ocean conditions in its own way, not all CPS stocks are
likely to be abundant at the same time. Therefore, as abundance levels
and markets fluctuate, the CPS fishery as a whole has relied on a group
of species for its annual revenues.
Therefore, 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.
This action does not contain a collection-of-information
requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act. There are no
relevant Federal rules that may duplicate, overlap, or conflict with
the proposed action.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 14, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-13530 Filed 6-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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