[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 88 (Monday, May 7, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19981-19982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09584]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 171026999-8408-02]
RIN 0648-BH36


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Highly Migratory Fisheries; 
Amendment 4 to Fishery Management Plan for West Coast Highly Migratory 
Species Fisheries; Revisions to the Biennial Management Cycle

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Based on recommendations from the Pacific Fishery Mangement 
Council (Council), NMFS is issuing regulations under the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to implement 
Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Highly 
Migratory Species (HMS FMP). The intent of Amendment 4 is to bring 
descriptions of the management context for HMS fisheries up to date, to 
better describe the Council's role in the process of making stock 
status determinations for highly migratory species (HMS), including the 
Council's evaluations of the best scientific information available 
(BSIA), and to change the schedule of the Council's three-meeting 
biennial management cycle for HMS stocks. This rule updates and amends 
the descriptions of biennial management cycle activities in the 
regulations for the HMS FMP to allow the Council to shift the schedule 
of Council meetings for the consideration of HMS stock status updates 
and management recommendations in response to instances in which a 
stock or stocks is determined to be subject to overfishing, overfished, 
or both. The changes to the Council's biennial management cycle 
activities and the schedule are intended to better streamline 
international and domestic management processes for HMS. This rule is 
administrative in nature and is not expected to affect activities 
authorized under the FMP or harvest levels of HMS.

DATES: This rule is effective June 6, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Amendment 4, the Regulatory Impact Review 
(RIR) and other supporting documents are available via the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, docket NOAA-NMFS-2017-
0138, or contact Amber Rhodes, NMFS West Coast Region, 562-980-3231, 
[email protected] or Heidi Taylor, NMFS West Coast Region, 562-980-
4039, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amber Rhodes, NMFS, 562-980-3231, 
[email protected] or Heidi Taylor, NMFS, 562-980-4039, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In a January 23, 2018, Notice of Availability (83 FR 3108), NMFS 
announced that the Council submitted Amendment 4 to the Secretary of 
Commerce for approval, and requested comments on Amendment 4. The 60-
day public comment period ended on March 26, 2018. NMFS approved 
Amendment 4 to the HMS FMP on April 24, 2018.
    On February 27, 2018, NMFS published a proposed rule in the Federal 
Register (83 FR 8414) to implement Amendment 4 by revising regulations 
at 50 CFR 660.709 contingent upon approval of Amendment 4. The proposed 
rule contains additional background information on Amendment 4. The 45-
day public comment period for the proposed rule closed on April 13, 
2018.
    Amendment 4 is intended to better align the Council's biennial 
management cycle for HMS with the timing of international stock 
assessments and stock status determinations for these species. The 
changes to the current biennial management cycle included in Amendment 
4 and implemented by this rule would allow the Council to streamline 
domestic and international management activities, such as stock 
assessment and biological reference point reviews, and to better align 
schedules to meet statutory timelines in section 304(e) and (i) of the 
MSA (16 U.S.C. 1854(e) and (i)) for making recommendations for domestic 
regulations and international measures when stocks are determined to be 
overfished or subject to overfishing. Additionally, this rule would 
ensure that the meeting schedule is not codified in regulations, thus 
allowing the Council to make changes to the schedule for its meetings 
in the biennial management cycle, consistent with the HMS FMP, without 
needing to seek a change in the regulatory language. Allowing the 
Council to make this type of adjustment without seeking a regulatory 
change improves the efficiency with which future changes to the 
biennial management cycle can be implemented.

Content of Regulations

    This rule amends 50 CFR 660.709 to remove a specific schedule for 
the Council's biennial management cycle (i.e., during June, September, 
and November Council meetings) from codified text and replace it with a 
reference to a biennial management cycle schedule specified in the FMP 
(i.e., during September, November, and March Council meetings under 
Amendment 4). Thus, future schedule changes to the Council's biennial 
management cycle will not require a rulemaking. The rule also provides 
the Council's Science and Statistical Committee greater discretion over 
whether to review, and make recommendations on, the estimates in the 
annual stock assessment and fishery evaluation report.
    NMFS did not make any changes in this final rule to the regulatory 
text of the proposed rule.

Public Comments and Responses

    A total of 13 comments were received in response to either the 
Notice of Availability for the Amendment or the proposed rule. All 
comments remarked solely on issues beyond the scope of the proposed 
rule and lacked any specific remarks on NMFS' decision to approve, 
disapprove, or partially approve the amendment. Because 10 of the 
comments contained inappropriate content, NMFS made only three of the 
comments available on the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES).

Classification

    The Administrator of the West Coast Region, NMFS, determined that 
Amendment 4 to the HMS FMP and this final rule are necessary for the 
conservation and management of U.S. West Coast HMS fisheries and are 
consistent with the MSA and other applicable laws.

[[Page 19982]]

    This final 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 during the proposed rule stage that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the 
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received 
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not required and none was prepared.
    There are no new collection-of-information requirements associated 
with this action that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act; 
however, existing collection-of-information requirements associated 
with the HMS FMP still apply. These requirements have been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB control numbers 0648-0204, 
0648-0223, 0648-0361, 0648-0498). Notwithstanding any other provision 
of the law, no person is required to respond to, and no person shall be 
subject to penalty for failure to comply with, a collection-of-
information subject to the requirements of the PRA, unless that 
collection-of-information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: May 1, 2018.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended 
as follows:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES

Subpart K--Highly Migratory Fisheries

0
1. The authority citation for part 660, subpart K, continues to read as 
follows:

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


0
2. In Sec.  660.709, remove paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3), redesignate 
paragraph (a)(4) as (a)(2), and revise paragraphs (a)(1) and (d) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  660.709  Annual specifications.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Each year, the HMSMT will deliver a stock assessment and 
fishery evaluation report to the Council for all HMS with any necessary 
recommendations for harvest guidelines, quotas or other management 
measures to protect HMS, including updated maximum sustainable yield 
(MSY) and optimum yield (OY) estimates based on the best available 
science. The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee may review 
the estimates and make a recommendation on their suitability for 
management. As described in the fishery management plan, the Council 
will periodically review these recommendations and decide whether to 
adopt updated numerical estimates of MSY and OY, which are then 
submitted as recommendations for NMFS to review as part of the 
management measures review process.
* * * * *
    (d) Irrespective of the normal review process, the Council may 
propose management action to protect HMS at any time. The Council may 
adopt a management cycle different from the one described in the 
fishery management plan provided that such change is made by a majority 
vote of the Council and a 6-month notice of the change is given.

[FR Doc. 2018-09584 Filed 5-4-18; 8:45 am]
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