[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 56 (Friday, March 22, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10768-10769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05455]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

RIN 0648-XG660


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species 
Fisheries; Amendment 17 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery 
Management Plan

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

ACTION: Announcement of availability of fishery management plan 
amendment; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council has 
submitted Amendment 17 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery 
Management Plan for review by the Secretary of Commerce. Amendment 17 
would remove the pre-specified incidental landing limit that would 
become effective for live bait were a stock managed under the Fishery 
Management Plan to become overfished. Currently, if a coastal pelagic 
species stock were to become overfished, and even prior to adoption of 
a rebuilding plan, the Fishery Management Plan would automatically 
limit retention of live bait of that stock to incidentally caught fish 
with no more than 15 percent of any load being live bait from the 
overfished stock. The intent of Amendment 17 is to allow the Council 
flexibility in recommending restrictions on the live bait portion of 
the fishery when a stock is overfished. NMFS will consider public 
comments in deciding whether to approve, disapprove, or partially 
approve Amendment 17.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 17 must be received by May 21, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2018-0137, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0137, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Barry A. Thom, Regional 
Administrator, West Coast Region, NMFS, 501 W Ocean Blvd., Ste. 4200, 
Long Beach, CA 90802-4250; Attn: Lynn Massey.
    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 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) 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).
    Copies of the draft Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) as amended through Amendment 17, with notations 
showing how Amendment 17 would change the FMP, if approved, are 
available via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, docket NOAA-NMFS-2018-0137, or by contacting the 
Pacific Fisheries Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 
101, Portland, OR 97220-1384.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Massey, Sustainable Fisheries 
Division, NMFS, at 562-436-2462; or Kerry Griffin, Pacific Fishery 
Management Council, at 503-820-2280.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS fishery in the U.S. exclusive 
economic zone off the West Coast is managed under the CPS FMP. The 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) developed the CPS FMP 
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. The Secretary of 
Commerce approved the CPS FMP and implemented the provisions of the 
plan through regulations at 50 CFR part 660, subpart I. Species managed 
under the CPS FMP include Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel, jack 
mackerel, northern anchovy, market squid and krill.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires each regional fishery management 
council to submit any amendment to an FMP to NMFS for review and 
approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment to an FMP, publish 
notification in the Federal Register that the 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, disapprove, or partially approve Amendment 17.
    The live bait fishery provides live bait to anglers and commercial 
vessels in California, Oregon, and Washington, making it an extremely 
important component of the West Coast's recreational fishing community, 
as well as some commercial fishery sectors such as the albacore tuna 
fishery. At the June 2018 Council meeting, in anticipation that the 
Northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine might be declared overfished 
if there were even a minor decline in the 2019 biomass estimate, the 
Council initiated an FMP amendment to address the prosecution of the 
live bait sector of the CPS fishery (primarily consisting of Pacific 
sardine and northern anchovy) after a stock is declared overfished. 
Additionally, several industry members offered testimony at the June 
and September 2018 Council meetings about probable adverse impacts to 
the live bait fishery if Pacific sardine were to become overfished in 
the 2019-2020 fishing year. At the November 2018 meeting, the Council 
took final action and approved Amendment 17 to the CPS FMP for 
submission to the Secretary for review under section 304(a) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1854(a).
    Amendment 17 would remove the pre-specified incidental catch limit 
in the live bait fishery that would become

[[Page 10769]]

effective were a CPS stock declared overfished. Currently, if a CPS 
stock were to become overfished, and even before adoption of a 
rebuilding plan, the CPS FMP would automatically limit retention of 
live bait of that stock to incidentally caught fish with no more than 
15 percent of any load being live bait from the overfished stock. Live 
bait is sold in units of single species; therefore the live bait 
fishery targets pure loads of the desired species since it is not 
operationally feasible to separate mixed loads. Stopping all live bait 
fishing would likely cause a de facto closure for catching the 
overfished species as live bait, which would seriously disrupt various 
recreational fisheries, most notably in Southern California, and the 
commercial albacore fishery that purchase and rely on live bait managed 
under the CPS FMP.
    If a CPS stock becomes overfished, Amendment 17 would provide NMFS 
and the Council the ability to either set incidental catch limits or 
allow directed fishing in the live bait fishery with consideration of 
biological, environmental, or socio-economic factors during each 
management cycle or under a developed rebuilding plan without being 
restricted to predetermined limits. The intent of Amendment 17 is to 
allow more flexibility in setting restrictions on the live bait portion 
of the fishery when a stock is overfished and would not weaken any 
statutory requirements to rebuild an overfished stock.
    There are no implementing regulations associated with Amendment 17, 
therefore NMFS will not promulgate a proposed rule to implement this 
amendment.
    Public comments on Amendment 17 must be received by May 21, 2019. 
All comments received by the end of the comment period on Amendment 17 
will be considered in the Secretary's decision to approve, disapprove, 
or partially approve this amendment. To be considered in this decision, 
comments must be received by close of business on the last day of the 
comment period; that does not mean postmarked or otherwise transmitted 
by that date. NMFS will respond to any substantive comments received by 
the end of the comment period on Amendment 17 in a subsequent Federal 
Register notice, either in conjunction with or following the agency's 
decision.

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

    Dated: March 18, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-05455 Filed 3-21-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P