Proposed Rule2024-25676
Pacific Island Fisheries; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule; Catch and Retention Limits for Striped Marlin in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean North of the Equator
Primary source
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Published
November 5, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS withdraws the proposed rule for "Catch and Retention Limits for Striped Marlin in the Western and Central North Pacific Ocean North of the Equator" that published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2024. This proposed rule was intended to satisfy Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) obligations to address U.S. fishing vessels' relative impact on this internationally managed stock that, based on a prior stock assessment and domestic status determination criteria, NMFS determined was overfished. NMFS is now withdrawing the proposed rule because NMFS has determined the stock is no longer overfished, not approaching an overfished condition, and is rebuilding, based on a more recent assessment. Thus, the factual and legal bases for the proposed rule no longer apply.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 87838-87839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25676]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 665
[Docket No. 240220-0053240]
RIN 0648-BM01
Pacific Island Fisheries; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule; Catch and
Retention Limits for Striped Marlin in the Western and Central Pacific
Ocean North of the Equator
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: NMFS withdraws the proposed rule for ``Catch and Retention
Limits for Striped Marlin in the Western and Central North Pacific
Ocean North of the Equator'' that published in the Federal Register on
February 26, 2024. This proposed rule was intended to satisfy Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act)
obligations to address U.S. fishing vessels' relative impact on this
internationally managed stock that, based on a prior stock assessment
and domestic status determination criteria, NMFS determined was
overfished. NMFS is now withdrawing the proposed rule because NMFS has
determined the stock is no longer overfished, not approaching an
overfished condition, and is rebuilding, based on a more recent
assessment. Thus, the factual and legal bases for the proposed rule no
longer apply.
DATES: The proposed rule published February 26, 2024 (89 FR 14036) is
withdrawn as of November 5, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries
of the Western Pacific (Pelagic FEP) are available from the Western
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 1164 Bishop St., Suite
1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel. 808-522-8220, fax 808-
[[Page 87839]]
522-8226, or <a href="https://www.wpcouncil.org">https://www.wpcouncil.org</a>.
Copies of other supporting documents for this action are available
from <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2022-0148">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2022-0148</a>, or from
Sarah Malloy, Acting Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands
Regional Office (PIRO), 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David O'Brien, PIRO Sustainable
Fisheries, 808-725-5038.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. How are striped marlin managed?
NMFS and the Council manage U.S. commercial fishing for Pelagic
Management Unit Species (PMUS), such as striped marlin (Kajikia audax),
under the Pelagic FEP and implementing Federal regulations. Although
the Pelagic FEP indicates that PMUS have statutory exemptions from
annual catch limits (ACLs), the Magnuson-Stevens Act authorizes the
Council to determine ACLs or other catch limits for PMUS if such
actions are deemed appropriate and consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens
Act and other statutory mandates.
Striped marlin are an internationally managed species often caught
incidentally in fisheries primarily targeting tuna, but are retained
due to their economic value. Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(i)
mandates that when the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) determines a
fishery is overfished or approaching a condition of being overfished
due to excessive international fishing pressure, and if there are no
management measures to end overfishing under an international agreement
to which the U.S. is a party, the Council shall recommend domestic
regulations to address the relative impact of U.S. fishing vessels on
the stock.
As described in the proposed rule, the Secretary determined the
stock was overfished in 2020 and informed the Council of its
requirements under Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(i). The Council
recommended NMFS implement an annual catch limit of 457 metric tons (t)
for Western and Central North Pacific Ocean (WCNPO) striped marlin
caught in all U.S. fisheries and a retention limit of 443 t for vessels
with Hawaii limited entry longline permits. If the retention limit were
projected to be reached, retention of striped marlin by Hawaii longline
vessels would be prohibited for the remainder of the calendar year.
Additional background information on this action is in the proposed
rule published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2024 (89 FR
14036); we do not repeat it here.
II. Why is NMFS withdrawing the proposed rule?
Results of a 2023 stock assessment for WCNPO striped marlin,
considered relative to domestic status determination criteria in the
FEP, indicate the stock is experiencing overfishing but is no longer
overfished. In addition, the 2023 assessment estimated spawning stock
biomass (SSB) in the terminal year of the assessment (SSB2020 = 1,696
t) had increased by nearly 73 percent from the estimate from the
terminal year in the 2019 assessment (SSB2017 = 981 t) indicating the
stock is not approaching a condition of being overfished.
On May 20, 2024, the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
and the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center concluded that the
results of the 2023 stock assessment were the best available scientific
information for judging the status of the stock and for use in
management, thus superseding the prior 2019 assessment.
On September 5, 2024, considering the 2023 assessment and status
determination criteria defined in the Pelagic FEP, the Secretary
determined that the status of WCNPO striped marlin had changed from
overfished to not overfished-rebuilding. The stock remains subject to
overfishing.
We published the proposed rule for catch and retention limits to
address the relative impact of U.S. fishing vessels on the WCNPO
striped marlin stock requirement in Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(i)
when the stock had been determined to be overfished. The stock status
no longer meets the statutory criteria of overfished or approaching an
overfished condition; therefore, the action cannot proceed. For this
reason, NMFS is withdrawing the proposed rule.
III. What are the next steps?
As described in the proposed rule, this action on its own would not
have ended overfishing on the stock, which must be addressed at the
international level. International negotiations at the WCPFC have
resulted in adoption of a rebuilding plan for this stock that requires
rebuilding to 20 percent of unfished biomass with at least 60 percent
probability by 2034. The rebuilding plan currently does not include
catch limits, although it acknowledges that catch reductions by all
member nations are required to achieve the rebuilding target.
The U.S. delegation has brought recommendations to the WCPFC and
continues to pursue revised international measures for WCNPO striped
marlin. We anticipate the WCPFC at its upcoming November 2024 meeting
or a subsequent meeting will update international management for the
stock, including updated catch limits for U.S. fisheries. If the WCPFC
takes such action in November 2024, we intend to implement consistent
domestic measures and/or catch limits. If the WCPFC does not act in
November 2024, we intend to implement the 457 t domestic catch limit
for WCNPO striped marlin as prescribed under the prior WCPFC
Conservation and Management Measure 2010-01.
Dated: October 29, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-25676 Filed 11-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 5, 2024.
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