[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 126 (Tuesday, July 1, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39066-39067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16569]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 052803B]


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 
Middle Columbia River (MCR) steelhead and Lower Columbia River (LCR) 
chinook salmon under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The FMEP 
specifies the future management of inland recreational fisheries 
potentially affecting the MCR steelhead and LCR

[[Page 39067]]

chinook salmon. 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 FMEPs must be received at the 
appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. 
Pacific daylight time on July 31, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the draft FMEP 
should be addressed to Richard Turner, Salmon Recovery Division, 
Propagation, Tributary Fisheries, and Recovery Branch, 525 N.E. Oregon 
Street, Suite 510, Portland, OR 97232 or faxed to (503) 872-2737. 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Turner, Portland, OR, at phone 
number (503) 736-4737, or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is relevant to the Middle 
Columbia River steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Lower Columbia River 
chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESU).

Background

    WDFW has submitted to NMFS an FMEP (Mid-Columbia Region) for inland 
recreational fisheries potentially affecting listed adult and juvenile 
MCR steelhead and LCR chinook salmon. These include fisheries occurring 
in the Little White Salmon, White Salmon, Klickitat, Walla Walla, and 
Yakima Rivers. The objective of the FMEP is to harvest known hatchery-
origin steelhead and salmon and other fish species in a manner that 
does not jeopardize the survival and recovery of the MCR steelhead and 
the LCR chinook salmon ESUs. All fisheries included in the FMEP will be 
managed such that the retention of adult steelhead that are not 
externally marked (i.e., do not have the adipose fin clipped) will be 
prohibited. Only hatchery-origin steelhead that are adipose-fin clipped 
may be retained. Tule fall chinook from the LCR chinook salmon ESU will 
also be harvested in tributary recreational fisheries. Impact levels to 
listed MCR steelhead and LCR chinook salmon are specified in the FMEP. 
Population viability analysis and risk assessments in the FMEP indicate 
the extinction risk for listed steelhead and salmon 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 
and salmon, determine fishery effort and catch of steelhead and salmon, 
and angler compliance. A review of compliance with the provisions of 
the FMEP will be conducted by WDFW annually and a comprehensive review 
to evaluate the effectiveness of the FMEP will occur at a minimum every 
5 years.

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 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 will not apply to activities associated with 
fishery harvest provided that those fisheries are managed in accordance 
with an FMEP that has been approved by NMFS and implemented in 
accordance with a letter of concurrence from NMFS.
    As specified in Sec.  223.203 (b)(4) of the ESA 4(d) rule, 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.

    Dated: June 23, 2003.
Phil Williams,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-16569 Filed 6-30-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S