[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 135 (Friday, July 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36755-36756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17576]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 070201B]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Washington Department of Fish 
and Wildlife (WDFW) has submitted a Fisheries Management and Evaluation 
Plan (FMEP) pursuant to the protective regulations promulgated for 
Snake River (SR) steelhead under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The 
FMEP specifies the future management of inland recreational fisheries 
potentially affecting the SR steelhead in the State of Washington. This 
document serves to notify the public of the availability of the FMEP 
for review and comment before a final approval or disapproval is made 
by NMFS.

DATES: Written comments on the draft FMEP must be received at the 
appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. 
Pacific standard time on August 13, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the draft FMEP 
should be addressed to Debbie Martin, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 
Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Branch, 10215 West Emerald Street, Suite 
180, Boise, ID 83704 or faxed to 208/378-5699. The documents are also 
available on the Internet at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/. Comments will 
not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

[[Page 36756]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debbie Martin, Boise, ID at phone 
number 208/321-2959 or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is relevant to the Snake River 
steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU).

Background

    WDFW has submitted to NMFS an FMEP for inland recreational 
fisheries potentially affecting listed adults and juveniles of the SR 
steelhead ESU. These include all freshwater fisheries managed under the 
sole jurisdiction of the State of Washington occurring within the 
boundaries of the SR steelhead ESU including the anadromous portions of 
the Snake River mainstem and tributaries, from the mouth upstream to 
the Washington-Oregon border. The objective of the fisheries is to 
harvest known, hatchery-origin steelhead, hatchery spring and fall 
chinook and other fish species in a manner that does not jeopardize the 
survival and recovery of the listed SR ESU. All steelhead fisheries 
included in this FMEP will be managed such that only hatchery-produced 
adult steelhead that are adipose fin clipped may be retained. Impact 
levels to the listed SR steelhead ESU are specified in the FMEP. 
Population risk assessments in the FMEP indicate the extinction risk 
for the listed ESU under the proposed fishery impact levels to be low. 
A variety of monitoring and evaluation tasks are specified in the FMEP 
to assess the abundance of steelhead, determine fishery effort and 
catch of steelhead, and angler compliance. WDFW will annually conduct a 
wild population status and a review of the fisheries within the 
provisions of the FMEP. WDFW will conduct, at a minimum of every 5 
years, a comprehensive review to evaluate the effectiveness of the 
FMEP.
    As specified in the July 10, 2000, ESA 4 (d) rule for salmon and 
steelhead (65 FR 42422), NMFS may approve an FMEP if it meets criteria 
set forth in Sec.  223.203 (b)(4)(i)(A) through (I). Prior to final 
approval of an FMEP, NMFS must publish notification announcing its 
availability for public review and comment.

Authority

    Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce is required 
to adopt such regulations as he deems necessary and advisable for the 
conservation of species listed as threatened. The ESA salmon and 
steelhead 4 (d) rule (65 FR 42422, July 10, 2000) specifies categories 
of activities that contribute to the conservation of listed salmonids 
and sets out the criteria for such activities. The rule further 
provides that the prohibitions of paragraph (a) of the rule do not 
apply to activities associated with fishery harvest provided that an 
FMEP has been approved by NMFS to be in accordance with the salmon and 
steelhead 4 (d) rule.

    Dated: July 6 , 2001.
Phil Willliams,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-17576 Filed 7-12-01; 8:45 am]
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