[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]
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