[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 190 (Friday, October 1, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60709-60710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24697]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

RIN 0648-BA01


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Notice of Availability for 
Amendments 16-5 and 23 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 
Management Plan

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

ACTION:  Availability of amendments to a fishery management plan; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendments 16-5 and 23 to the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Secretarial review. 
Amendment 16-5 would modify the FMP to implement an overfished species 
rebuilding plan for petrale sole and revise existing overfished species 
rebuilding plans. In addition, Amendment 16-5 would modify the default 
proxy values for FMSY and BMSY as they apply to the flatfish species, 
including petrale sole; and the harvest control rule policies. 
Amendment 23 introduces a new framework for fishery specifications and 
other measures for establishing Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) as required 
by the recent amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

DATES:  Comments on Amendments 16-5 and 23 must be received on or 
before November 30, 2010.

ADDRESSES:  You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-BA01, by 
any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal, at http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: 206-526-6736; Attn: Becky Renko.
     Mail: William Stelle, Regional Administrator, Northwest 
Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070; Attn: 
Becky Renko
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will accept 
anonymous comments (if submitting comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking 
portal, enter ``N/A'' in the relevant required fields if you wish to 
remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted 
in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats 
only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Becky Renko (Northwest Region, NMFS), 
phone: 206-526-6110; fax: 206 526 6736; and e mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This Federal Register document is also accessible via the internet 
at the website of the Office of the Federal Register: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su-docs/aces/aces140.html.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each regional fishery 
management council submit any FMP or plan 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 described above in 
determining whether to approve Amendments 16-5 and 23 to the FMP.
    Petrale sole was declared overfished on February 9, 2010. Amendment 
16-5 adds a new rebuilding plan for petrale sole to the FMP and revises 
the seven existing overfished species rebuilding plans consistent with 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The following groundfish species have been 
declared as overfished and are currently being managed under rebuilding 
plans: bocaccio in the Monterey and Conception areas; canary rockfish; 
cowcod south of Point Conception to the U.S. Mexico boundary; 
darkblotched rockfish, Pacific Ocean Perch (POP), widow rockfish, and 
yelloweye rockfish.
    In the FMP, MSY refers to a constant harvest rate (F) control rule 
that is assumed to produce the maximum average yield over time while 
protecting the spawning potential of the stock. The constant F control 
rule is generally the proxy for the MSY control rule. The long-term 
average biomass associated with fishing at FMSY is 
BMSY. Fishing rates above FMSY eventually result 
in

[[Page 60710]]

biomass smaller than BMSY and produce less harvestable fish 
on a sustainable basis. The Council uses default FMSY 
proxies for species groups. If sufficient information becomes available 
to develop more appropriate values of FMSY, BMSY, 
and harvest control rules for individual species or species groups the 
FMP allows those more specific values to be used. Amendment 16-5 
revises the proxy FMSY value for all flatfish species from 
F40% to F30%.
    BMSY (or its proxy) is used as a reference point for 
rebuilding for overfished stocks, such as petrale sole. Amendment 16-5 
revises the proxy BMSY value for all flatfish species from B40% 
to B25%. A rebuilding analysis is used to project the status 
of the overfished resource into the future under a variety of 
alternative harvest strategies to determine the probability of 
recovering to BMSY within a specified time-frame. The 
overfished threshold is also being revised. The overfished threshold or 
minimum stock size threshold (MSST) is the estimated biomass level of 
the stock relative to its unfished biomass (i.e., depletion level), 
below which the stock is considered overfished. Amendment 16-5 revises 
the default proxy MSST for the assessed flatfish species from B25% 
to B12.5%, which is 50 percent of the BMSY target of 
B25%.
    Amendment 16-5 adds to the FMP a new harvest control rule referred 
to as the 25-5 harvest control rule for stocks with a BMSY 
proxy of 25 percent (B25%). When the estimated biomass has 
fallen below B25% and when the stock is not managed under an 
overfished species rebuilding plan, the 25-5 harvest control rule would 
be applied. Under the 25-5 harvest control rule, a precautionary 
adjustment is made to the ACL when the stock's depletion drops below 
B25% and at B5%, the ACL is set to zero. The 25-5 
harvest control rule is designed to prevent stocks from becoming 
overfished.
    On January 16, 2009, NMFS adopted revisions to its guidelines 
implementing Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standard 1 (74 FR 3178) to 
prevent and end overfishing and rebuild fisheries. In particular, the 
revised guidelines provide guidance on implementation of the new 
statutory requirement for annual catch limits (ACLs). The revised 
guidelines also include new requirements for accountability measures 
(AMs) and other provisions regarding preventing and ending overfishing 
and rebuilding fisheries. To comply with the statute and these new 
guidelines Amendment 23 to the FMP redefines several existing terms and 
reference points to make them consistent with the new guidelines; 
provides a framework for the specification of the overfishing limit 
(OFL), acceptable biological catch (ABC) and ACLs, including control 
rules for determining the ABC; describes AMs; addresses the formation 
of stock complexes; and otherwise ensures that the FMP is consistent 
with the revised guidelines. Further, Amendment 23 removes dusky and 
dwarf-red rockfish from the FMP because these stocks are not considered 
to be in the fishery as there are no historical records of them being 
landed.
    NMFS welcomes comments on the proposed FMP amendments through the 
end of the comment period. A proposed rule to implement Amendments 16-5 
and 23 has been submitted for Secretarial review and approval. NMFS 
expects to publish and request public review and comment on proposed 
regulations to implement Amendments 16-5 and 23, along with the 
groundfish specifications and management measures for 2011 and 2012, 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 amendment, whether 
specifically directed to the amendment or the proposed rule, will be 
considered in the approval/disapproval decision.

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

    Dated: September 24, 2010.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-24697 Filed 9-28-10; 4:15 pm]
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