[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 112 (Tuesday, June 11, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27072-27074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12237]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

RIN 0648-BI89


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 
Management Plan; Amendment 28

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

[[Page 27073]]


ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed FMP Amendment; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
submitted Amendment 28 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 
Management Plan to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, 
Amendment 28 would establish new and revised areas closed to bottom 
trawling to conserve and protect Pacific coast groundfish essential 
fish habitat, and would re-open areas that were closed to bottom 
trawling to rebuild previously-overfished groundfish stocks. Combined, 
these two changes are anticipated to increase protections for 
groundfish essential fish habitat and provide additional flexibility to 
participants fishing with bottom trawl gear in the groundfish trawl 
rationalization program. Amendment 28 would also close deep-water areas 
off the coast of California to bottom contacting gear to protect deep-
water habitats, including deep-sea corals using discretionary fishery 
management plan provisions in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 28 must be received on or before August 
10, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2019-0039, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2019-0039, 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, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98115.
    Instructions: 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 by NMFS. 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.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
    FMP Amendment 28, background information and documents are 
available at the Council's website at http://www.pcouncil.org/groundfish/fishery-management-plan/groundfish-amendments-in-development/. Information relevant to Amendment 28, which includes a 
draft Environmental Impact Statement, a regulatory impact review, and a 
Regulatory Flexibility Act certification are available for public 
review during business hours at the NMFS West Coast Regional Office at 
7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, or by requesting them via 
phone or the email address listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section. Additional background documents are available at the 
NMFS West Coast Region website at http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/groundfish/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gretchen Hanshew, phone: 206-526-6147, 
or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the 
exclusive economic zone off Washington, Oregon, and California under 
the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Council 
prepared and NMFS implemented the FMP under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. and by regulations at 50 CFR parts 
600 and 660. 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 by 
the Secretary of Commerce. 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. 
This notice announces that proposed Amendment 28 to the FMP 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, partially approve, or disapprove 
Amendment 28 to the FMP.
    Amendment 28 would: (1) Revise, or create new area closures to 
conserve and protect essential fish habitat (EFH) from the adverse 
effects of bottom trawl fishing activities; (2) re-open historically 
important fishing grounds to bottom trawl gear to provide additional 
flexibility in harvest strategies in the Trawl Rationalization Program; 
(3) close to fishing with bottom contact gear the area of the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ) seaward of 3,500 meters under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act discretionary authority to protect deep-water habitats, including 
deep-sea corals; and (4) update information in the FMP regarding 
designated EFH and the EFH review process.
    Using the best scientific information available from the periodic 
review of groundfish EFH, the Council recommended changes to spatial 
management measures for vessels fishing with bottom trawl gear or 
bottom contact gear; primarily changes to EFH conservation area (EFHCA) 
boundaries. The Council recommended revising boundaries of some 
existing EFHCAs and establishing new EFHCAs in some areas. The new 
suite of EFHCAs are anticipated to minimize the adverse effects of 
fishing to groundfish EFH. The Council also recommended reopening the 
trawl rockfish conservation area (trawl RCA) off Oregon and California. 
These historically important fishing areas have been closed since 2002 
to rebuild overfished groundfish species during a period when the 
fishery was primarily managed using trip limits. In recent years, NMFS 
has declared as rebuilt the overfished groundfish stocks most commonly 
found at depths within the trawl RCA. In addition, the trawl 
rationalization program has increased incentives for fishermen to use 
precaution in areas where they may encounter rebuilding stocks and to 
generally reduce discards. Reopening the trawl RCA off Oregon and 
California is anticipated to increase the flexibility to vessels 
fishing with bottom trawl gear so they can harvest a higher proportion 
of their groundfish quotas. The combination of new and revised EFHCAs 
and the reopening of the trawl RCA is anticipated to minimize adverse 
impacts to groundfish EFH from the effects of fishing, while providing 
participants in the trawl rationalization program additional 
flexibility for efficient and sustainable harvest of groundfish species 
with bottom trawl gear.
    The Council also considered new information regarding the deep-
water habitats, including the presence of deep-sea corals in waters 
greater than 3,500 meters. While little to no fishing occurs with gears 
that are designed to make contact with the bottom in this area, 
permanent damage to these habitats could occur from future prospective 
fishing with bottom contact gear. These depths are deeper than 
designated groundfish EFH. Therefore, Amendment 28 would use the 
discretionary authority provisions in the Magnuson-Stevens Act to close 
the EEZ seaward of

[[Page 27074]]

3,500 meters to bottom contact gear to protect deep-water habitats, 
including deep-sea corals that occur there.
    The Council also recommended changes to the FMP that do not have 
corresponding regulation changes or on the water effects. The Council 
recommended revising the FMP by updating the description of fishing 
effects on designated EFH from fisheries that are not managed under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the purpose of the periodic EFH review and the 
summaries for research and data needs. The Council also recommended 
revising the FMP by updating the groundfish life history and the text 
description of designated EFH, the effects of fishing and non-fishing 
activities on designated EFH, and latitude and longitude coordinates 
and maps of EFHCAs. The Council also recommended archiving portions of 
EFH-related appendices that no longer reflected the best scientific 
information available.
    NMFS welcomes comments on the proposed FMP amendment through the 
end of the comment period. A proposed rule to implement Amendment 28 
has been submitted for Secretarial review and approval. NMFS expects to 
publish and request public review and comment on proposed regulations 
to implement Amendment 28 in the near future. For public comments on 
the proposed rule to be considered in the approval or disapproval 
decision on Amendment 28, those comments must be received by the end of 
the comment period 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: June 5, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-12237 Filed 6-10-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P