Proposed Rule2026-02068
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone; Amendment 57 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP); Crab FMP Housekeeping
Primary source
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Published
February 2, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted amendment 57 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/ Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP), to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, amendment 57 would make a number of non-substantive, administrative changes to the Crab FMP including updates to informational content on the status of crab stocks, fisheries, and communities, as well as reorganizing the structure for clarity and logical sequence. These "housekeeping" changes would not change the management of any fisheries. The proposed amendment is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Crab FMP, and other applicable laws. NMFS will consider public comments in deciding whether to approve, disapprove, or partially approve amendment 57.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 21 (Monday, February 2, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 21 (Monday, February 2, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4492-4493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02068]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 680
[Docket No. RTID 0648-XE123]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone; Amendment 57 to the
Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner
Crabs (Crab FMP); Crab FMP Housekeeping
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)
submitted amendment 57 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/
Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP), to the Secretary of
Commerce for review. If approved, amendment 57 would make a number of
non-substantive, administrative changes to the Crab FMP including
updates to informational content on the status of crab stocks,
fisheries, and communities, as well as reorganizing the structure for
clarity and logical sequence. These ``housekeeping'' changes would not
change the management of any fisheries. The proposed amendment is
intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the
Crab FMP, and other applicable laws. NMFS will consider public comments
in deciding whether to approve, disapprove, or partially approve
amendment 57.
DATES: Submit comments on or before April 3, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2025-0054, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and type NOAA-NMFS-2025-0054 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. 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, 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).
Electronic copies of proposed amendment 57, the draft Analysis for
amendment 57 (referred to as the Analysis), and the draft Categorical
Exclusion prepared for this action are available from <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or from the NMFS Alaska Region website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lis Henderson, 907-586-7228,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1cdc8d28fc9c4cfc5c4d3d2cecfe1cfcec0c08fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7f13160c51171a111b1a0d0c10113f11101e1e51181009">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council prepared the Crab 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. The Crab FMP was approved by the Secretary of
Commerce on June 2, 1989 and established a cooperative management
regime between the State of Alaska (State) and NMFS that delegates
certain crab management authorities to the State with Federal
oversight. Applicable State regulations are subject to the provisions
of the Crab FMP, including its goals and objectives, the Magnuson-
Stevens Act National Standards, and other applicable Federal and State
laws.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each regional fishery
management council submit any Fishery Management Plan (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. This notice
of availability announces that the proposed amendment 57 to the Crab
FMP is available for public review and comment. NMFS will consider the
public comment received during the comment period described above in
determining whether to approve, disapprove, or partially approve
amendment 57.
Background
NMFS manages the crab fisheries in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands
(BSAI) under the Crab FMP. The Crab FMP governs 10 crab stocks in the
BSAI region: 4 red king crab (Paralithdoes camtschaticus) stocks
(Bristol Bay, Pribilof Islands, Norton Sound, and Western Aleutian
Islands), 2 blue king crab (P. platypus) stocks (Pribilof Islands and
St. Matthew Island), 2 golden king crab (Lithodes aequispinus) stocks
(Aleutian Islands and Pribilof Islands), 1 Tanner crab (Chionoecetes
bairdi) stock, and 1 snow crab (C. opilio) stock. Since the Crab FMP's
implementation in 1989, crab fisheries in the BSAI region have
undergone many changes. Fluctuations in crab abundance and other
factors have led to changes in management, both long- and short-term
fishery closures, some stocks being declared overfished, and the
implementation of rebuilding plans. Consequently, the Crab FMP has been
amended 56 times since its inception.
Amendment 57
In December 2023, the Council received an analysis underscoring the
need to update outdated information and the organizational structure of
the Crab FMP. As a result, the Council adopted the proposed changes and
recommended this administrative amendment to the Crab FMP. This action,
which is proposed amendment 57 to the Crab FMP, would revise and
reorganize the Crab FMP to reflect the numerous changes in crab
fisheries, stocks, and fishery management in the BSAI since the last
comprehensive Crab FMP update in 1998. The revisions are consistent
with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and intended to align with other North
Pacific FMPs while improving clarity and consistency.
Amendment 57 would not affect the status of the resource, harvest
specifications, fishery operations, or communities engaged in BSAI crab
fisheries. Amendment 57 includes the following changes. First, it
restructures the Crab FMP into six main chapters: (1) Introduction, (2)
Goals and Objectives, (3) Conservation and Fishery Management Measures,
(4) Description of Stocks and Fishery, (5) Relationship to Applicable
Law and Other Fisheries,
[[Page 4493]]
and (6) References. This structure aligns with other North Pacific
FMPs. Second, it provides updated information on stock statuses,
essential fish habitat, and fishing communities engaged in BSAI crab
fisheries in Sections 4.2, 4.3.2, and 4.5, respectively. Finally,
throughout the Crab FMP, other changes include revisions to the
organizational structure, improved content summarization, and
grammatical corrections. A more complete list of proposed
administrative changes and restructuring of the document in amendment
57 to the Crab FMP is available in Section 2.1 and Appendix A of the
Analysis.
Amendment 57 would incorporate the best scientific information
available, reflecting the current status of crab stocks, fishing
operations, and fishing communities consistent with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act.
NMFS is soliciting public comments on proposed amendment 57 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 57, and will be 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/
partial approval/disapproval decision on amendment 57. To be
considered, comments must be received by the last day of the comment
period (see DATES), regardless of the date of postmarking or other
transmittal.
(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)
Dated: January 29, 2026.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-02068 Filed 1-30-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 2, 2026.
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