[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 2, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2274]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: February 2, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 661
[Docket No. 940120-4020; I.D. No. 011094A]
RIN No. 0648-AE05
Ocean Salmon Fisheries Off the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and
California
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) requests public comments
on a proposed rule to implement Amendment 11 (amendment) to the Fishery
Management Plan for Commercial and Recreational Salmon Fisheries Off
the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California (FMP). Amendment 11
would modify the spawning escapement goal for Oregon coastal natural
(OCN) coho salmon and the criteria for establishing and managing
subarea allocations for recreational coho salmon harvest south of Cape
Falcon, Oregon (45 deg.46'00'' N. lat.). The amendment is intended to:
(1) Address persistent low OCN coho stock abundance and annual
escapement goals below maximum sustainable yield (MSY); (2) to prevent
imbalances in recreational coho harvest allocation at low allowable
harvest levels; and (3) to prevent the frequent use of emergency
rulemaking to implement annual management measures.
DATES: Written comments on the amendment and the proposed rule must be
received by March 21, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to J. Gary Smith, Acting Director,
Northwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point
Way NE., BIN C15700-Bldg. 1, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, or Dr. Gary
Matlock, Acting Director, Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 501 West Ocean Blvd., suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.
Copies of the amendment, including the environmental assessment and the
regulatory impact review/initial regulatory flexibility analysis, are
available from Lawrence D. Six, Executive Director, Pacific Fishery
Management Council, Metro Center, suite 420, 2000 SW. First Avenue,
Portland, OR 97201-5344.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:William L. Robinson at 206-526-6140,
Rodney R. McInnis at 310-980-4040, or Lawrence D. Six at 503-326-6352.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ocean salmon fisheries in the exclusive
economic zone of the United States (3 to 200 miles offshore) in the
Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California are
managed under the FMP. The FMP was developed by the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation
and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. (Magnuson Act), and approved
by the Secretary in 1978. Since then, the FMP has been amended 10
times, with implementing regulations codified at 50 CFR part 661. From
1979 to 1983, the FMP was amended annually. In 1984, a framework
amendment was implemented that provided the mechanism for making
preseason and inseason adjustments in the regulations without annual
amendments. Amendments to the framework FMP were implemented in 1987,
1988, 1989, and 1991.
The Council prepared Amendment 11 to the FMP and submitted it to
the Secretary for approval under the provisions of the Magnuson Act. On
January 10, 1994, the Secretary began formal review of the amendment. A
notice of availability for Amendment 11 was filed with the Office of
the Federal Register on January 14, 1994, announcing a public comment
period on the amendment.
The FMP amendment process for Amendment 11 was initiated at the
April 6-9, 1993, Council meeting with the presentation of several
alternative proposals by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
(ODFW) to address OCN coho salmon management concerns. Council
discussions at its September 15-17, 1993, meeting identified three
alternatives, in addition to the status quo, requiring further
analyses. A draft amendment was prepared and distributed to interested
persons for review in October 1993. Comments were invited, and public
hearings were held November 8-10, 1993, in Tillamook and Coos Bay,
Oregon, and Eureka, California (58 FR 57978, October 28, 1993). During
the public hearings, the ODFW and the California Department of Fish and
Game (CDFG) presented for Council consideration a joint recommendation
regarding recreational allocation.
After considering the comments received on the draft amendment at
the public hearing and Council meetings, and from its Salmon Technical
Team, Salmon Advisory Subpanel, and Scientific and Statistical
Committee, the Council, at its November 17-19, 1993, meeting, selected
the preferred alternative, which is based on the joint recommendation
by the ODFW and CDFG. The Council's recommendation is a modification of
the alternatives described in the draft amendment for public review and
falls within the scope of those alternatives.
The purpose of Amendment 11 is to modify the spawning escapement
goal for OCN coho salmon, and the criteria for establishing and
managing, when harvest levels are low, subarea allocations for
recreational coho salmon harvest south of Cape Falcon, Oregon. The OCN
coho stock is composed of naturally produced coho salmon from Oregon
coastal streams. OCN coho are important contributors to the ocean
salmon harvest, as the stock aggregate constitutes the largest
component of naturally produced coho caught in ocean salmon fisheries
off Oregon and California. In any given year, OCN coho stock numbers
are used to set the allowable coho harvest rate for combined natural
and hatchery production for the area south of Cape Falcon.
Spawning Escapement Goal
Prior to 1987, the OCN coho spawning escapement goal was 200,000
adults, the MSY spawning escapement level determined by the ODFW. The
current method of determining the OCN coho spawning escapement goal and
harvest rate was adopted by the Council in 1986 and implemented by
Amendment 7 to the FMP beginning in 1987. Amendment 7 established an
OCN spawning escapement goal floor of 135,000 coho for estimated ocean
abundances of up to 270,000 coho. the spawning escapement goal changes
to 50 percent of the ocean abundance (50 percent harvest rate) for
ocean abundances between 270,000 and 400,000 coho, and is capped at
200,000 coho for ocean abundances above 400,000 coho.
Amendment 7 was intended to allow some additional harvest in years
when unusual conditions such as the 1983 El Nino might temporarily
reduce stock abundance below 400,000 coho. The analysis supporting
Amendment 7 indicated that implementing the amendment would provide
increased economic benefits with a low likelihood that occasionally
allowing the spawning escapement to drop to the floor level of 135,000
would jeopardize the continued productivity of the OCN stock.
The analysis supporting deviations from the fixed 200,000 spawning
escapement goal at low stock sizes assumed that such deviations would
occur infrequently. However, since 1985 the annual spawning escapement
goal has been set below the 200,000 MSY level 50 percent of the time,
and since 1979 the actual spawning escapement has met or exceeded
200,000 coho in only a single year, 1984. During this same period, the
post-season estimates of total OCN stock size have not exceeded 360,000
coho salmon, compared to the 700,000 stock size that is believed to
represent the MSY level. The reasons for this extended stock depression
are not completely understood. Factors contributing to the decline of
OCN coho include widespread and significant degradation of freshwater
habitat, an extended period of poor ocean survival, and overestimation
of stock abundance.
The methodology for predicting the ocean abundance of OCN coho
south of Cape Falcon has had mixed results since 1984. Despite a
rigorous technical review of the OCN predictor by the Council in 1987,
the predictor has consistently and significantly overestimated
preseason abundance since its adoption in 1988. As a result, the
formula in the FMP for calculating the spawning escapement goal and
associated ocean harvest rate for OCN coho has resulted in overharvest
and spawning escapement falling short of its goal for the past 6 years.
In April 1991, the Council established an overfishing work group to
review the status of OCN coho. This assessment was completed in
February 1992 and included a review of the stock abundance predictor.
While the current methodology was under review, the Council was not
able to implement a new methodology that was more reliable than the
current predictor for estimating ocean abundance. To compensate for the
overestimation bias in the current predictor, the Council relied on
emergency regulations in 1991, 1992, and 1993 to reduce the ocean
harvest rate on OCN coho from the levels set in Amendment 7, thus
allowing additional natural spawners to escape the ocean fisheries.
Amendment 11 would modify the OCN coho spawning escapement goal so
as to achieve an aggregate OCN adult spawning density of 42 naturally
spawning adults per mile in standard index survey areas each year. The
standard index survey areas are 48 different stream sections that have
been surveyed by ODFW each year since 1950. Under the current methods
used by ODFW, the number of spawners in the standard index area is
extrapolated for 4,764 miles of coastal spawning habitat. This
translates to a numerical spawning escapement goal of 200,000. The
original FMP spawning escapement goal of 200,000 was based on this
expansion. This number of adult spawners per mile was documented as the
estimated MSY spawning escapement level in an ODFW study of coastal
stream spawning escapements and subsequent production from 1950 to
1980. The ODFW is currently in the fourth year of a 5-year study to
confirm the relationship between the number of natural spawners counted
in standard index survey areas and the total OCN coho salmon spawning
populations. This study may provide a better definition of the total
OCN coho spawning population when it is completed, and the results may
lead to revisions in the estimated total number of spawners at the MSY
level that is calculated by extrapolating from the 42 adults per mile
in the standard index survey areas. This type of change would not
necessitate any further changes to the FMP or its implementing
regulations. If further studies result in recommended changes to the
optimum number (42) of adult spawners per mile in the standard index
survey areas, the FMP will need to be amended or, if the change is
purely technical, the spawning escapement goal may be revised through
the framework provided in 50 CFR 661, Appendix IV.B. At this time,
however, Amendment 11 represents the best available science.
Amendment 11 also states that when OCN coho abundance is forecast
to be less than 125 percent of the annual numerical escapement goal, or
below 250,000 fish at the present spawner escapement goal of 200,000
adults, an incidental exploitation rate of up to 20 percent would be
allowed for ocean and freshwater fisheries targeting on non-OCN coho
salmon stocks. Concern was expressed that, when OCN coho abundance
forecasts are below 168,750, the proposal for up to a 20 percent
incidental harvest rate could allow OCN coho spawning escapements below
the 135,000 fish floor currently contained in the FMP. In response to
this concern, the Council modified the proposal to emphasize that the
20 percent represented a maximum harvest rate. The Council will
evaluate the actual level of incidental harvest of OCN coho that might
be expected to occur in fisheries for chinook salmon and non-OCN coho
salmon and will recommend only the minimum incidental harvest rate
necessary to prosecute other fisheries, provided the rate chosen will
cause no irreparable harm to the OCN stock.
Recreational Harvest Allocation
Amendment 11 also proposes to modify the subarea allocations for
the recreational fishery south of Cape Falcon when the allowable
recreational coho allocation for the entire area is equal to or less
than 167,000 fish. This modification is intended to maintain the
historical catch distribution between Oregon and California when stock
sizes are at low levels, so that one geographical area is not
disproportionately affected by the harvest reductions.
Due to the northward migration pattern of the affected coho stocks,
coho landings occur early in the season off California and gradually
move north into Oregon. Coho landings south of Humbug Mountain, Oregon
(42 deg. 40'30'' N. lat.), taper off dramatically after July, whereas
central Oregon fisheries tend to reach peak coho landings in July and
August with fish available into September. Currently, when the
recreational coho quota south of Cape Falcon is reached, the
recreational fishery for coho remains open south of Humbug Mountain. In
the past, the south of Cape Falcon coho quota has generally been
reached after mid-August; the impacts of allowing the California
recreational fishery to continue have been minor, as the season has
been near the end and coho catches are generally very low south of
Humbug Mountain.
With the reduction in the coho quotas and overall harvest rates
caused by low coho abundance, it is possible that early fisheries to
the south could catch most of the available coho impacts before fish
become readily available off central Oregon, resulting in a shift of
the harvest to southern Oregon and California fisheries. An example of
such a redistribution occurred during the 1993 season.
In 1993, 68,000 coho were available for the recreational fishery
south of Cape Falcon. The recreational season off central Oregon was
closed on August 10 with 56 percent of the recreational harvest caught
south of Humbug Mountain and 25 percent occurring south of Horse
Mountain, California (40 deg. 05'00'' N. lat.). From 1976 to 1992 for
comparison, the recreational coho harvest south of Cape Falcon averaged
over 200,000 coho and the harvest south of Humbug Mountain averaged 23
percent, with 2 percent occurring south of Horse Mountain.
To maintain the historical catch distribution given the current low
harvest levels, Amendment 11 establishes two subareas with independent
impact quotas to ensure that a large southward shift in the
recreational harvest does not occur. Of the total recreational
allocation, the subarea from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain, Oregon,
receives 70 percent and the subarea south of Humbug Mountain receives
30 percent, with the percentages being based on avoiding large
deviations from historical harvest shares. Except for the area south of
Point Arena, California (38 deg. 57'30'' N. lat.), the two subareas
will be managed for their respective impact quotas, and the
recreational fisheries for coho salmon in each area may be closed upon
attainment of the quota. South of Humbug Mountain, there are 2
additional conditions: (1) An impact guideline of 3 percent of the
overall south of Cape Falcon recreational allocation will be applied
from Horse Mountain to Point Arena, California; and (2) the
recreational fishery for coho salmon will not be closed south of Point
Arena, even if the fishery between Humbug Mountain and Point Arena is
closed, upon projected attainment of the south of Humbug Mountain
impact quota, but the projected harvest through the end of the year
will be included in the south of Humbug Mountain impact quota. Quota
transfers between subareas are allowed on a one-for-one basis, but only
if chinook constraints preclude access to coho.
Selection of 167,000 as the trigger for this allocation is based on
2 factors: (1) It represents a low harvest level at which a southward
shift is likely due to the migratory pattern of coho and the timing of
normal fishing seasons, and (2) it is the upper limit of the
recreational allocation that is subject to reduction to meet hook-and-
release mortality in the commercial all-salmon-except-coho fishery.
Implementation of Amendment 11 would require changes to the
regulatory language in the appendix to 50 CFR part 661.
Classification
Section 304(a)(1)(D) of the Magnuson Act, as amended, requires the
Secretary to publish regulations proposed by a Council within 15 days
of receipt of the amendment and regulations. At this time the Secretary
has not determined that the amendment these rules would implement is
consistent with the national standards, other provisions of the
Magnuson Act, and other applicable law. The Secretary, in making that
determination, will take into account the data, views, and comments
received during the comment period.
This action is not significant and is not subject to review under
E.O. 12866.
This proposed rule, if adopted, will have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities for purposes of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. The Council prepared a regulatory impact
review (RIR) and an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA),
which are incorporated in the Amendment 11 document and may be obtained
from the Council (see ADDRESSES). A summary of the economic impacts
evaluated apply to small business entities because this industry
consists primarily of small entities. Under the Council's recommended
alternative that eliminates the sliding scale escapement goal,
allowable coho ocean harvests will be reduced in the short term, with
the changes in net economic value (NEV) in the millions of dollars
(estimates of -$1.5 million and -$3.2 million were made based on
landings data for 1990 and 1992, respectively). Over the long term,
some stock rebuilding is expected, resulting in an increase in
allowable harvests and a reduction in the negative effects in any one
year. Expression of the spawning escapement goal in terms of a number
of fish per mile in standard index survey areas is expected to reduce
administrative costs by allowing the Council to use the best available
information to achieve MSY escapement without emergency regulations or
FMP amendments. At reduced allowable harvest levels for the
recreational fishery (under 167,000 coho), the Council's recommended
alternative will maintain harvest shares between central Oregon and
areas south of Humbug Mountain close to historic levels and minimize
any controversy resulting from a geographic shift of harvest from
northern to southern areas.
The Council prepared an environmental assessment for this amendment
that concludes there will be no significant impact on the human
environment as a result of this rule. The environmental assessment has
been incorporated in the Amendment 11 document and may be obtained from
the Council (see ADDRESSES).
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined
that this rule, if implemented, is not like to adversely affect Snake
River sockeye salmon, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon, Snake
River fall chinook salmon or Sacramento River winter-run chinook
salmon, species listed under the Endangered Species Act. This rule will
generally apply a more conservative management standard for coho salmon
off Oregon and California. Given the integrated management structure of
chinook and coho fisheries, the rule will generally reduce impacts and,
therefore, have a beneficial effect on the currently listed species. In
addition, no fishing on these stocks will occur until a section 7
consultation has been completed governing the annual harvest regime
under the FMP.
NMFS has received petitions to list two coho stocks from central
California (March 11, 1993), five Oregon stocks (July 21, 1993), and a
coastwide petition for all coho salmon (October 20, 1993). In response
to the first two petitions, NMFS published a notice in the Federal
Register announcing its intent to conduct a comprehensive status review
to assess all coho stocks in Washington, Oregon, and California
(October 27, 1993, 58 FR 57770). This rule will affect many of the
stocks petitioned for listing. However, because the rule will implement
more conservative standards for the management of coho fisheries, NMFS
concludes that it would have a generally beneficial effect on
petitioned coho salmon species as well.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 661
Fisheries, Fishing, Indians, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: January 27, 1994.
Nancy Foster,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 50 CFR part 661 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 661--OCEAN SALMON FISHERIES OFF THE COASTS OF WASHINGTON,
OREGON, AND CALIFORNIA
1. The authority citation for part 661 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In the Appendix to part 661, in section II.B., a new sentence is
added to the end of paragraph 2(b)(i), and a new paragraph 2(b)(v) is
added to read as follows:
Appendix
* * * * *
II. Annual Changes to Management Specifications
* * * * *
B. Procedures for Establishing and Adjusting Annual Management Measures
* * * * *
2. Allocation of ocean harvest levels.
* * * * *
(b) Coho south of Cape Falcon. (i) * * * The recreational allowable
ocean harvest will be distributed between the two major recreational
subareas when the recreational allocation is equal to or less than
167,000 fish in accordance with paragraph 2(b)(v) of this section.
* * * * *
(v) When the recreational allocation is at 167,000 fish or less,
the total recreational allowable ocean harvest of coho will be divided
between two major subareas with independent impact quotas. The initial
allocation will be 70 percent from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain and
30 percent south of Humbug Mountain. Coho transfers between the two
impact quotas may be permitted on a one-for-one basis, if chinook
constraints preclude access to coho. Horse Mountain to Point Arena will
be managed for an impact guideline of 3 percent of the south of Cape
Falcon recreational allocation. The recreational coho fishery between
Humbug Mountain and Point Arena may be closed when it is projected that
the harvest impact between Humbug Mountain and Point Arena, combined
with the projected harvest impact that will be taken south of Point
Arena to the end of the season, equals the impact quota for south of
Humbug Mountain. The recreational fishery for coho salmon south of
Point Arena will not close upon attainment of the south of Humbug
Mountain impact quota.
* * * * *
3. In the Appendix to part 661, in section IV.A., the table
``Summary of Specific Management Goals for Stocks in the Salmon
Management Unit'' is amended by revising the entry for Columbia River
and Oregon Coastal Coho and its footnote 4 to read as follows:
* * * * *
Summary of Specific Management Goals for Stocks in the Salmon Management
Unit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
System Spawning\1\ escapement goal
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*****
Columbia River and Oregon Coastal Oregon coastal natural (OCN) coho
Coho. spawning escapement is based on an
aggregate density of 42 naturally
spawning adults per mile in
standard index survey areas.\4\
*****
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Represents adult natural spawning escapement goal for viable natural
stocks or adult hatchery return goal for stocks managed for artificial
production.
*****
\4\At OCN stock sizes below 125 percent of the annual numerical
escapement goal, an exploitation rate of up to 20 percent will be
allowed for incidental impacts of the combined ocean troll, sport, and
freshwater fisheries. At OCN spawning escapements of 28 or fewer
adults per mile, an exploitation rate of up to 20 percent may be
allowed to provide only minimum incidental harvest to prosecute other
fisheries, provided the rate chosen will cause no irreparable harm to
the OCN stock.
*****
[FR Doc. 94-2274 Filed 1-28-94; 9:55 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-M