[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 63 (Friday, April 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16738-16739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7491]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XV37


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION:  Notice; availability of fishery plan 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 Fishery Management and Evaluation 
Plan (FMEP) pursuant to the protective regulations promulgated for 
Snake River steelhead, Snake River spring/summer Chinook, and Snake 
River fall Chinook salmon under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The 
FMEP specifies the future management of freshwater inland recreational 
fisheries potentially affecting basin steelhead and Chinook salmon in 
portions of the Snake River basin within the State of Washington. This 
document serves to notify the public of the availability of the FMEP 
and associated draft environmental assessment (EA) for comment prior to 
a decision by NMFS whether to approve the proposed fisheries. All 
comments received will become part of the public record and will be 
available for review pursuant to the ESA.

DATES:  Comments must be received at the appropriate address or fax 
number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific time on May 3, 
2010.

ADDRESSES:  Written comments on the application should be addressed to 
the NMFS Salmon Recovery Division, 1201 NE Lloyd Boulevard, Suite 1100,

[[Page 16739]]

Portland, OR 97232, or faxed to 503-872-2737. Comments may be submitted 
by e-mail. The mailbox address for providing e-mail comments is: 
[email protected]. Include in the subject line of the e-mail 
comment the following identifier: Comments on Washington's fishery 
plan.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Enrique Patino, at phone number: (206) 
526-4655, or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

    This notice is relevant to the Snake River Steelhead (Oncorhynchus 
mykiss) Distinct Population Segment (DPS), the Snake River Spring/
summer-run Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Evolutionarily 
Significant Unit (ESU), and the Snake River Fall-run Chinook 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) ESU.
    WDFW has submitted to NMFS an FMEP entitled ``WDFW Recreational 
fisheries for summer steelhead, warmwater fish, sturgeon, carp, and 
other species.'' The FMEP describes the management of recreational 
fisheries in the State of Washington, Snake River basin, for adipose-
clipped, hatchery-origin summer steelhead, warmwater fish, sturgeon, 
carp, and other game fish species in a manner that is intended to 
comply with requirements of the ESA under limit 4 of the 4(d) Rule. The 
FMEP includes adaptive management measures to limit ESA impacts and 
proposes conservative incidental harvest regimes on natural-origin 
members of the affected listed species. As described in the FMEP, the 
proposed fisheries are expected to result in the mortality of no more 
than 5%, 1.5%, and 0.2% of any population of listed, natural-origin 
Snake River steelhead, fall Chinook salmon, and spring/summer Chinook 
salmon, respectively. The FMEP presents evidence that the abundance of 
natural-origin fish has trended upwards over the past five years. In 
addition, the FMEP includes monitoring programs that are intended to 
ensure that the proposed fisheries and associated incidental take would 
not reduce the chances of survival and recovery of the affected listed 
species.
    The FMEP includes a provision that directs WDFW to conduct an 
annual review to determine if completed fisheries were conducted in 
manner that complied with the guidance provided in the FMEP. Further, 
WDFW will provide a pre-season planning letter each year to NMFS for 
concurrence that demonstrates the fisheries intended for the upcoming 
season shall be consistent with the fisheries management protocols 
described in the FMEP.
    As specified in the July 10, 2000, ESA 4(d) rule for salmon and 
steelhead (65 FR 42422) and updated June 28, 2005 (70 FR 37160), NMFS 
may approve an FMEP if it meets criteria set forth in 50 CFR 
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, as updated in 70 FR 
37160, June 28, 2005) specifies categories of activities that 
contribute to the conservation of listed salmonids and sets out the 
criteria for such activities. Limit 4 of the updated 4(d) rule (50 CFR 
223.203(b)(4)) further provides that the prohibitions of paragraph (a) 
of the updated 4(d) rule (50 CFR 223.203(a)) 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 (65 
FR 42422, July 10, 2000, as updated in 70 FR 37160, June 28, 2005).

    Dated: March 29, 2010.
Therese Conant,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-7491 Filed 4-1-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S