[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 27, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4065-4066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1878]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 011999B]
RIN: 0648-AK83


Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; West 
Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 13

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of amendment to fishery management plan; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendment 13 to The West Coast Salmon Plan 
(Salmon FMP) for Secretarial review. Amendment 13 changes the 
management goals for the Oregon coastal natural (OCN) coho salmon 
(coho). The FMP amendment implements the fisheries management 
provisions of the Oregon Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative (OCSRI).


[[Page 4066]]


DATES: Comments on Amendment 13 must be received on or before March 29, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments on Amendment 13, or supporting documents should be 
sent to William W. Stelle, Jr., Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, 
Sand Point Way NE, BIN C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or to William T. 
Hogarth, Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean 
Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.
    Copies of Amendment 13, the Environmental Assessment (EA)/
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(IRFA), the Amendment 13 Issues Attachment, and the ODFW/NMFS risk 
assessment are available from Lawrence D. Six, Executive Director, 
Pacific Fishery Management Council, 2130 SW Fifth Ave., Suite 224, 
Portland, OR 97201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at 206-526-6140, 
Svein Fougner at 562-980-4040, or the Pacific Fishery Management 
Council at 503-326-6352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each Regional 
Fishery Management Council submit any fishery management plan (FMP) or 
FMP amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, 
or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, 
upon receiving an FMP or amendment, immediately publish a notice that 
the FMP or amendment is available for public review and comment. NMFS 
will consider the public comments received during the comment period in 
determining whether to approve the FMP or FMP amendment.
    Amendment 13 would change the management goals for the OCN coho. 
The major provisions of this amendment are not codified because, in 
order to streamline the regulations the salmon escapement goals were 
previously removed from the codified regulations and remain only in the 
FMP. Therefore, the modification of the OCN escapement goals requires 
only a minor modification of the regulations to change the language 
that explains that the coho allocation provisions south of Cape Falcon 
apply only when coho abundance allows a directed harvest of coho. The 
existing language is tied to the existing level of harvest allowed on 
OCN coho. NMFS will publish a proposed rule that would change the 
language to be more generic and accurate under Amendment 13.
    The FMP amendment implements the fisheries management provisions of 
the OCSRI. In a Memorandum of Agreement with the Governor of Oregon, 
NMFS pledged to work with the State of Oregon to encourage the Council 
to adopt the OCSRI. The OCSRI fisheries management provisions are just 
one part of a broad-based coastal recovery plan. Amendment 13 is a 
major step toward full implementation. The amendment would provide a 
more conservative management of OCN coho, Oncorhynchus kisutch, by 
disaggregating the OCN stock into four components, restricting total 
harvest exploitation rates on each component to a maximum of 35 
percent, and linking increases in harvest rates for each component from 
the current low rates (10-13 percent) to increases in marine survival 
and to proven reproductive success of the present brood year.
    NMFS welcomes comments on the proposed FMP amendment through the 
end of the comment period. NMFS will consider the public comments 
received during the comment period in determining whether to approve 
the proposed amendment. A proposed rule to implement Amendment 13 to 
the Salmon FMP has been submitted for Secretarial review and approval. 
NMFS expects to publish and request public review and comment on this 
rule in the near future. Public comments on the proposed rule must be 
received by the end of the comment period on the amendment to be 
considered in the approval/disapproval decision on the amendment. All 
comments received by the end of the comment period for the amendments, 
whether specifically directed to the amendment or to the proposed rule, 
will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on the 
amendment.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: January 22, 1999.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-1878 Filed 1-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F