Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Biennial Specifications; 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 Specifications for Pacific Mackerel

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Published

August 25, 2025

Issuing agencies

Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Abstract

NMFS proposes to implement annual harvest specifications and management measures for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the West Coast for the fishing year July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, and the fishing year July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. These specifications include overfishing limits (OFL), allowable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limits (ACL), harvest guidelines (HG), and annual catch targets (ACT) for each respective fishing year. If the fishery attains the ACT for either fishing year, 8,143 metric tons (mt) for 2025-2026 or 9,448 mt for 2026-2027, the directed fishery will close, reserving the 1,000-mt difference between the HG and ACT as a set-aside for incidental landings in other coastal pelagic species (CPS) fisheries and other sources of mortality. The HG is 9,143 mt for 2025-2026 and 10,448 mt for 2026-2027. This rulemaking is made pursuant to the CPS Fishery Management Plan (FMP), and is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific mackerel stock off the U.S. West Coast.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 162 (Monday, August 25, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 162 (Monday, August 25, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41376-41379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-16233]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 250813-0140]
RIN 0648-BN75

Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species
Fisheries; Biennial Specifications; 2025-2026 and 2026-2027
Specifications for Pacific Mackerel

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement annual harvest specifications and
management measures for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) off the West Coast for the fishing year July 1, 2025,
through June 30, 2026, and the fishing year July 1, 2026, through June
30, 2027. These specifications include overfishing limits (OFL),
allowable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limits (ACL), harvest
guidelines (HG), and annual catch targets (ACT) for each respective
fishing year. If the fishery attains the ACT for either fishing year,
8,143 metric tons (mt) for 2025-2026 or 9,448 mt for 2026-2027, the
directed fishery will close, reserving the 1,000-mt difference between
the HG and ACT as a set-aside for incidental landings in other coastal
pelagic species (CPS) fisheries and other sources of mortality. The HG
is 9,143 mt for 2025-2026 and 10,448 mt for 2026-2027. This rulemaking
is made pursuant to the CPS Fishery Management Plan (FMP), and is
intended to conserve and manage the Pacific mackerel stock off the U.S.
West Coast.

DATES: Comments must be received by September 24, 2025.

ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available
at: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2025-XXXX">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2025-XXXX</a>. You may
submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2025-0034, by
any of the following methods:
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-2025-0034 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

[[Page 41377]]

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: Melissa Mandrup, West Coast Region,
NMFS, (562) 980-3231, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#216c444d485252400f6c404f45535451614f4e40400f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c984aca5a0babaa8e784a8a7adbbbcb989a7a6a8a8e7aea6bf">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq., NMFS manages the Pacific mackerel fishery in the U.S. EEZ off
the West Coast in accordance with the CPS FMP. The CPS FMP and its
implementing regulations (50 CFR 660.508) require NMFS to set annual
harvest specifications for the Pacific mackerel fishery based on the
annual specification framework and control rules in the FMP. The
Pacific mackerel fishing season runs from July 1 to June 30. The
purpose of this action is to implement harvest specifications for the
2025-2026 and 2026-2027 fishing seasons: OFL, ABC, ACL, HG, and ACT.
Any Pacific mackerel harvested between July 1, 2025, and the effective
date of the final rule will count toward the aforementioned reference
points for 2025-2026.
During public meetings held every other year, the NMFS Southwest
Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) presents biomass estimates for Pacific
mackerel to the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) CPS
Management Team (CPSMT), the Council's CPS Advisory Subpanel (CPSAS)
and the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), and the
biomass estimates and the status of the fisheries are reviewed and
discussed. The CPSMT, CPSAS, and SSC then provide recommendations and
comments to the Council regarding the OFL, ABC, ACL, HG, and ACT.
Following Council review and after hearing public comment, the Council
adopts biomass estimates and makes its harvest specification
recommendations to NMFS. Pursuant to regulations at 50 CFR 660.508(e),
NMFS publishes biennial harvest specifications in the Federal Register
that establish the OFLs, ABCs, ACLs, HCs and ACTs for the upcoming two
Pacific mackerel fishing seasons.
The control rules in the CPS FMP include the formula-based control
rule for the HG, which is used, in conjunction with the OFL and ABC
control rules, to manage Pacific mackerel. The HG is based, in large
part, on the estimate of stock biomass for the fishing year. The
biomass estimate is an explicit part of the various harvest control
rules for Pacific mackerel, and as the estimated biomass decreases or
increases from one year to the next, the resulting allowable catch
levels similarly trend. The following is the formula-based harvest
control rule for the HG:

HG = [(Biomass-Cutoff) x Fraction x Distribution]

The parameters in the formula are described as follows:
1. Biomass. The estimated stock biomass of Pacific mackerel is
61,737 mt for the 2025-2026 management season, and 67,954 mt the 2026-
2027 management season.
2. Cutoff. This is the biomass level below which the directed
commercial fishery is not allowed to fish. The FMP establishes this
level at 18,200 mt.
3. Fraction. The harvest fraction is the percentage of the biomass
above 18,200 mt that may be harvested. This is set in the FMP at 30
percent.
4. Distribution. Pacific mackerel range from Mexico to Alaska and
regularly migrate between Mexico and the U.S. West Coast. Because some
of the Pacific mackerel stock exists outside of U.S. waters, the
Distribution parameter is used to estimate the proportion of the total
biomass in U.S. waters and to calculate U.S. catch limits. The average
portion of the total Pacific mackerel biomass estimated in the U.S.
West Coast EEZ is set in the FMP at 70 percent. The 70 percent
distribution estimate is based on the average historical larval
distribution data obtained from scientific cruises and the distribution
of the resource according to the logbooks of aerial fish-spotters.
The proposed Pacific mackerel harvest specifications for both the
2025-2026 and 2026-2027 fishing seasons, as recommended by the Council,
are presented in Table 1.

Table 1--Pacific Mackerel Harvest Specifications for the 2025-2026 and
2026-2027 Fishing Seasons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harvest specifications 2025-2026 (mt) 2026-2027 (mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL............................. 12,965 14,270
ACL = ABC....................... 10,084 11,099
HG.............................. 9,143 10,448
ACT............................. 8,143 9,448
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These catch specifications are based on the OFL and ABC control
rules established in the CPS FMP, recommendations from the Council's
SSC and other advisory bodies, and biomass estimates of 61,737 mt
(2025-2026) and 67,954 mt (2026-2027). The biomass estimates are the
result of a catch-only stock assessment the NMFS SWFSC completed in
March 2025. At the April 2025 Council meeting, the Council's SSC
reviewed and approved, and the Council adopted, the 2025 catch-only
stock assessment and resulting biomass estimates as the best scientific
information available for setting harvest specifications for the 2025-
2026 and 2026-2027 Pacific mackerel fishing seasons. Additionally, the
uncertainty surrounding these biomass estimates for Pacific mackerel
for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 fishing seasons were explicitly taken
into consideration in the development of these harvest specifications.
Under this proposed action, in the unlikely event that catch
reaches the ACT in either fishing season, directed fishing would close,
while the difference between the HG and ACT (1,000 mt) would be
reserved as a set-aside for incidental landings in other fisheries and
other sources of mortality.\1\ For the remainder of the fishing season,
incidental landings in CPS fisheries would be constrained to a 45
percent incidental catch allowance (in other words, no more than 45
percent by weight of the CPS landed per trip may

[[Page 41378]]

be Pacific mackerel); and in non-CPS fisheries, up to 3 mt of Pacific
mackerel incidental catch may be landed per fishing trip. The
incidental catch set-aside is intended to allow continued operation of
fisheries for other stocks, particularly other CPS stocks that may
school with Pacific mackerel. The NMFS West Coast Regional
Administrator will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing
the date of any closure of directed fishing if and when harvest levels
reach or exceed the ACT. Additionally, to ensure the regulated
community is informed of any closure, NMFS will also make announcements
through other means available, including by email to fishermen,
processors, and state fishery management agencies.
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\1\ Directed fishing for live bait and minor directed fishing is
allowed to continue during a closure of the directed fishery.
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Comments on this proposed rule and on NMFS' determination that this
proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities (as discussed below in the
Classification section), may be submitted via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> (see DATES and ADDRESSES).

Classification

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the CPS FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
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. This proposed rule is not an
Executive Order 14192 regulatory action because this action is not
significant under Executive Order 12866.
The purpose of this rulemaking is to set harvest specifications
(i.e., OFL, ABC, ACL, HG, and ACT) and management measures for the
Pacific mackerel fishery, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and
the CPS FMP. The OFL, ABC, and ACT are based on the harvest control
rules in the CPS FMP. These specific harvest control rules are applied
to year specific stock biomass estimates to derive these catch
specifications, which are used to manage the commercial take of Pacific
mackerel. A component of these control rules is that, as the estimated
biomass decreases or increases from one year to the next, so do the
applicable quotas. The harvest control rules in the CPS FMP remain
unchanged by this proposed action.
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 described 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 (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 this proposed action are those
vessels that harvest Pacific mackerel as part of the West Coast CPS
purse seine fleet and are all considered small businesses under the
above size standards.
The CPS FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS to set an
OFL, ABC, ACL, HG, and ACT for the Pacific mackerel fishery based on
the harvest control rules in the FMP. These specific harvest control
rules are applied to the current stock biomass estimate to derive these
catch specifications, which are used to manage the commercial take of
Pacific mackerel. A component of these control rules is that, as the
estimated biomass decreases or increases from one year to the next, so
do the applicable quotas.
Pacific mackerel harvest is one component of CPS fisheries off the
U.S. West Coast. Pacific mackerel are principally caught off southern
California within the limited entry portion (south of 39 degrees N
lat.; Point Arena, California) of the fishery. Currently there are 59
vessels permitted in the Federal CPS limited entry fishery off
California. The average annual per vessel revenue in the 2023-2024
fishing season for the 33 vessels that landed mackerel in the Federal
CPS limited entry fishery off California was well below the threshold
level of $11 million; therefore, all 59 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. Additionally, the harvest
specifications proposed in this rule would not constrain catch
disproportionately for small entities in different size categories, as
they remain well above the annual coastwide landings. Therefore, this
rulemaking would not create disproportionate costs between small and
large entities or between different size categories of small entities.
NMFS used the ex-vessel revenue information for a profitability
analysis, as the cost data for the harvesting operations of CPS finfish
vessels was limited or unavailable. For the 2023-2024 fishing year, the
HG was 7,871 mt with an ACT of 6,871 mt and an incidental set-aside of
1,000 mt. Approximately 778 mt of Pacific mackerel were harvested in
the 2023-2024 fishing year with an estimated ex-vessel value of
approximately $406,702. For the 2025-2026 fishing season the proposed
HG is 9,143 mt and the ACT is 8,143 mt. For the 2026-2027 fishing
season the proposed HG is 10,448 mt and the ACT is 9,448 mt. Each
fishing season will have an incidental set-aside of 1,000 mt. The
proposed ACTs for these fishing seasons are slightly greater than those
of the prior two fishing season (6,871 mt for 2023-2024, 7,943 mt for
2024-2025), and are well above recent catches, which have not exceeded
1,000 mt since the 2019-2020 fishing season. Therefore, the ACTs
proposed in this rule are not expected to affect the profitability of
the fleet compared to last season. Accordingly, under this rulemaking,
vessel income from fishing is not expected to be altered from the
vessel income from fishing under the previous season's specifications
as a result of this rulemaking.
For the reasons described above, we find that 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.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: August 20, 2025.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is
proposed to be amended as follows:

[[Page 41379]]

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES

0
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.

0
2. In Sec. 660.511, revise paragraphs (i)(1) and (2) to read as
follows:

Sec. 660.511 Catch restrictions.

* * * * *
(i) * * *
(1) For the Pacific mackerel fishing season July 1, 2025, through
June 30, 2026, the harvest guideline is 9,143 mt and the ACT is 8,143
mt; and
(2) For the Pacific mackerel fishing season July 1, 2026, through
June 30, 2027, the harvest guideline is 10,448 mt and the ACT is 9,448
mt.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2025-16233 Filed 8-22-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P

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