[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 218 (Friday, November 9, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67327-67328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27473]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

RIN 0648-BC28


Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; 
Notice of Availability for Amendment 17 to the Salmon Fishery 
Management Plan

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

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

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has transmitted Amendment 17 to the Pacific Coast Salmon 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Secretarial review. Amendment 17 
revises the maximum fishing mortality threshold (MFMT) for Quillayute 
fall coho, revises the FMP to correct typographical errors, updates 
reporting measures to reflect new technology, and updates or removes 
other obsolete or unnecessary language.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 17 must be received on or before January 
8, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2012-0192, 
by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 
enter NOAA-NMFS-2011-0227 in the search box. Locate the document you 
wish to comment on from the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a 
Comment'' icon on the right of that line.
     Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional Administrator, 
Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070 
or to Rod McInnis, Regional Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 
West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.
     Fax: 206-526-6736 Attn: Peggy Mundy, or 562-980-4047 Attn: 
Heidi Taylor.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on http://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.)

[[Page 67328]]

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 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 wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to 
electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, 
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Electronic copies of the amendment may be obtained from the Council 
Web site at http://pcouncil.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Mundy at 206-526-4323, or Heidi 
Taylor at 562-980-4039.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The ocean salmon fisheries in the exclusive economic zone off 
Washington, Oregon, and California are managed under a ``framework'' 
fishery management plan entitled the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP). The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA) 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 MSRA 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 Amendment 17 to the FMP.
    In 2011, the Council transmitted Salmon FMP Amendment 16 to NMFS 
(76 FR 57945, September 19, 2011). NMFS partially approved Amendment 16 
in December 2011. NMFS disapproved the proposed maximum fishing 
mortality threshold (MFMT) for Quillayute coho. During the review of 
Amendment 16, a variety of other issues in the FMP were identified as 
needing revision, largely to correct typographical errors, update 
notification and reporting measures to reflect new technology, and 
remove an unnecessary post-final rule comment period from the schedule 
for annual management measures. Amendment 17 addresses the issue of 
MFMT for Quillayute coho and well as the other, largely editorial, 
revisions.
    NMFS welcomes comments on the proposed FMP amendment through the 
end of the comment period. The Council also transmitted a proposed rule 
to implement Amendment 17 for Secretarial review and approval. NMFS 
expects to publish and request public review and comment on this rule 
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: November 5, 2012.
Emily H. Menashes,
Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-27473 Filed 11-8-12; 8:45 am]
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