[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 28, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37761-37763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16184]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 110606318-1319-01]
RIN 0648-BA68


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species 
Fisheries; Amendment 13 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery 
Management Plan; Annual Catch Limits

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 13 to 
the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This 
proposed rule will implement parts of proposed Amendment 13 to the CPS 
FMP, which is intended to ensure the FMP is consistent with advisory 
guidelines published in Federal regulations. Amendment 13 revises the 
framework process currently in place to set and adjust fishery 
specifications and management measures and modifies this framework to 
include the specification new reference points such as annual catch 
limit (ACL).

DATES: Comments must be received by July 28, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 0648-BA68, by any one 
of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Rodney R. McInnis, Regional Administrator, Southwest 
Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.
     Fax: (562) 980-4047, Attn: Joshua Lindsay.
    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 (enter N/A in the required 
fields if you prefer to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments 
to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, 
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Copies of the CPS FMP as Amended through Amendment 13 and the 
Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review for Amendment 13, are 
available from Donald O. McIssac, Executive Director, Pacific Fishery 
Management Council, 7700 NE. Ambassador Place, Suite 200, Portland, OR 
97220-1384 or the Southwest Regional Office (see ADDRESSES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua B. Lindsay, Sustainable 
Fisheries Division, NMFS, at 562-980-4034 or Mike Burner, Pacific 
Fishery Management Council, at 503-820-2280.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS fishery in the U.S. exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ) off the West Coast is managed under the CPS FMP, 
which was developed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (MSA). Species managed under the CPS FMP include Pacific sardine, 
Pacific mackerel, jack mackerel, northern anchovy, market squid and 
krill. The CPS FMP was approved by the Secretary of Commerce and was 
implemented by regulations that can be found at 50 CFR part 660, 
subpart I.
    The MSA was amended in 2007 to include new requirements for ACLs 
and accountability measures (AMs) and other provisions regarding 
preventing and ending overfishing and rebuilding fisheries. On January 
16, 2009, NMFS revised its guidelines implementing MSA National 
Standard 1 (74 FR 3178) in response to these changes in the MSA. The 
revised guidelines explain NOAA's interpretation of the new statutory 
requirements for specifying ACLs at such levels that overfishing does 
not occur and that measures be taken to ensure accountability with 
these limits. The purpose of Amendment 13 is to amend the CPS FMP to 
ensure that it is consistent with these revised advisory guidelines and 
to comply with the statute. Specifically, Amendment 13 would revise the 
framework process to set and adjust fishery specification and 
management measures, and would establish a framework for specifying new 
reference points such as ACLs and AMs, as well as other provisions for 
preventing overfishing such as the potential setting of annual catch 
targets (ACTs).
    Additionally, Amendment 13 would amend the FMP through the 
following measures that are designed to better

[[Page 37762]]

account for scientific and management uncertainty and to prevent 
overfishing:
     Modify the existing harvest control rules for actively 
managed species to include a buffer or reduction in acceptable 
biological catch (ABC) relative to overfishing limit (OFL) to account 
for scientific uncertainty. This buffer will be recommended during the 
annual management cycle through a combination of scientific advice from 
the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and a policy 
determination of the Council.
     Maintain the default harvest control rules for monitored 
stocks but modified to specify the new management reference points. 
ACLs would likely be specified for multiple years until such time as 
the species becomes actively managed or new scientific information 
becomes available. The current buffer of a 75-percent reduction in the 
ABC control rule (ABC equals 25 percent of OFL/MSY) will remain in use 
until recommended for modification by the SSC and approved by the 
Council through the annual harvest and management specification 
process.
     Add a mechanism for the use of sector-specific ACLs, ACTs 
and AMs.
    Although not a change to the FMP, the Council reaffirmed that all 
management unit species (MUS) currently in the FMP, including those 
species categorized as monitored species and prohibited harvest species 
(krill) are ``in the fishery'' and will remain as MUS. Amendment 13 
also adds Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii pallasii) and jacksmelt 
(Atherinopsis californiensis) to the FMP as ecosystem component (EC) 
species. Although the incidental catch of these species within CPS 
fisheries is extremely small, the intent of this action is to continue 
to specifically monitor the catches of these species and report catch 
estimates in the annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation report 
along with other incidental catch. In addition to the current 
ecological considerations in the FMP, the amendment also adds language 
to specify that the Council will include ecological considerations when 
reviewing and/or adopting status determination criteria (SDCs), ACLs, 
and ACTs.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with Amendment 13, the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other 
applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
    The Council and NMFS prepared an EA for this amendment that 
discusses the impact on the environment as a result of this proposed 
rule. A copy of the EA is available from the Council or NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES).
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
as follows:
    The purpose of this action is to implement parts of proposed 
Amendment 13 to the CPS FMP which is intended to ensure the FMP is 
consistent with the recently revised advisory guidelines implementing 
MSA National Standard 1 (74 FR 3178). Amendment 13 revises the 
framework process currently in place to set and adjust fishery 
specifications and management measures and modifies this framework to 
include the specification new reference points such as ACL, ACT and AM, 
as well as other provisions for preventing overfishing.
    The proposed action is not expected to have substantial direct or 
indirect socioeconomic impacts, because harvest limits and management 
measures influencing ex-vessel revenue and personal income are not 
established under the range of alternatives considered. Instead, the 
proposed action revises the framework used in developing management 
reference points. Additionally, for the current actively managed 
species within the FMP, Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel, for which 
annual harvest limits have been set since 2001, the control rules used 
in the setting of these limits are not changing based on this action. 
However, this action will modify the management framework in place to 
further ensure that overfishing does not occur. Specific catch limits 
and associated management measures will continue to go through the 
appropriate rulemaking process with environmental and economic analysis 
where required.
    A fishing vessel is considered a ``small'' business by the U.S. 
Small Business Administration (SBA) if its annual receipts are not in 
excess of $4.0 million. Since all of the vessels fishing for CPS have 
annual receipts below $4.0 million they would all be considered small 
businesses under the SBA standards. Therefore this rule will not create 
disproportionate costs between small and large vessels/businesses.
    NMFS has determined that this rule will not result in a significant 
economic impact to a substantial number of small entities.
    As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required, and 
none has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries, 
Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives, Indians, Northern Mariana Islands, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: June 22, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 
CFR part 660 as follows:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES

    1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
    2. Amend Sec.  660.502 by removing the definition of ``Monitored 
species (MS)'' and revising the definition of ``Harvest guideline'' to 
read as follows:


Sec.  660.502  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Harvest guideline means a specified numerical harvest objective 
that is not a quota. Attainment of a harvest guideline does not require 
complete closure of a fishery. It is operationally similar to an Annual 
Catch Target (ACT) (as defined at Sec.  600.310(f)(2)).
* * * * *
    3. Revise Sec.  660.508 as follows:


Sec.  660.508  Annual specifications.

    (a) The Regional Administrator will determine any harvest 
guideline, quota, Annual Catch Limit (ACL) (defined at Sec.  
600.310(f)(2)) or Annual Catch Target (ACT) (defined at Sec.  
600.310(f)(2)) in accordance with the framework process in the FMP.
    (b) Any harvest guideline, quota, ACL, or ACT, including any 
apportionment between the directed fishery and set-aside for incidental 
harvest, will be published in the Federal Register.
    (c) The announcement of each harvest guideline, quota, ACL or ACT 
will contain the following information if available or applicable:
    (1) The estimated biomass or MSY proxy on which the harvest 
guideline, quota, ACL or ACT was determined;
    (2) The portion, if appropriate, of the harvest guideline, quota, 
ACL or ACT

[[Page 37763]]

set aside to allow for incidental harvests after closure of the 
directed fishery;
    (3) The estimated level of the incidental trip limit that will be 
allowed after the directed fishery is closed; and
    (4) The allocation, if appropriate, between Subarea A and Subarea 
B.
    (d) As necessary, harvest guidelines, quotas, OFLs (defined at 
Sec.  600.310(f)(2)), ABCs (defined at Sec.  600.310(f)(2)), ACLs or 
ACTs, will receive public review according to the following procedure:
    (1) Meetings will be held by the Council's CPSMT and AP, where the 
estimated biomass and/or other biological or management benchmarks will 
be reviewed and public comments received. Each of these meetings will 
be announced in the Federal Register before the date of the meeting, if 
possible.
    (2) All materials relating to the estimated biomass and/or other 
biological or management benchmarks will be forwarded to the Council 
and its Scientific and Statistical Committee and will be available to 
the public from the Regional Administrator when available.
    (3) At a regular meeting of the Council, the Council will review 
the estimated biomass and/or other biological or management benchmarks 
and offer time for public comment. If the Council requests a revision, 
justification must be provided.
    (4) The Regional Administrator will review the Council's 
recommendations, justification, and public comments and base his or her 
final decision on the requirements of the FMP and other applicable law.
    4. Revise Sec.  660.509 to read as follows:


Sec.  660.509  Accountability measures (season closures).

    (a) General rule. When the directed fishery allocation or 
incidental allocation is reached for any CPS species it shall be closed 
until the beginning of the next fishing period or season. Regional 
Administrator shall announce in the Federal Register the date of such 
closure, as well as any incidental harvest level(s) recommended by the 
Council and approved by NMFS.
    (b) Pacific Sardine. When the allocation and reallocation levels 
for Pacific sardine in Sec.  660.511 (f)-(h) are reached, the Pacific 
sardine fishery shall be closed until either it re-opens per the 
allocation scheme in Sec.  660.511 (g) and (h) or the beginning of the 
next fishing season as stated in Sec.  660.510 (a). The Regional 
Administrator shall announce in the Federal Register the date of the 
closure of the directed fishery for Pacific sardine.
[FR Doc. 2011-16184 Filed 6-27-11; 8:45 am]
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