[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 14, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 40296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17465]
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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: Notice of agency decision.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the approval of Amendment 17 to the Coastal
Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. On June 10, 2019, the Regional
Administrator of the West Coast Region, NMFS, with the concurrence of
the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, approved Amendment 17 to the
Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. The intent of
Amendment 17 is to allow the Pacific Fishery Management Council
flexibility in recommending restrictions on the live bait portion of
the fishery when a stock is overfished.
DATES: The amendment was approved on June 10, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management
Plan as amended through Amendment 17, are available at the Pacific
Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101,
Portland, OR 97220-1384, or at this URL: https://www.pcouncil.org/coastal-pelagic-species/fishery-management-plan-and-amendments/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Massey, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, NMFS West Coast Region, at 562-436-2462; or Kerry Griffin,
Pacific Fishery Management Council, at 503-820-2280.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Amendment 17 removed the pre-specified
incidental landing limit for overfished stocks for vessels fishing for
live bait. Prior to Amendment 17, if a Coastal Pelagic Species stock
were to become overfished, and even prior to adoption of a rebuilding
plan, the Fishery Management Plan automatically limited retention in
the live bait fishery of that stock to only incidentally caught fish
with no more than 15 percent of any load being from the overfished
stock.
NMFS published a Notice Availability for Amendment 17 on March 22,
2019 (84 FR 10768), and solicited public comments through May 21, 2019.
NMFS received three public comments from industry representatives in
support of Amendment 17. The industry representatives included the
American Albacore Fishing Associations, the Sportfishing Association of
California, and a private fisherman from southern California.
There are no implementing regulations associated with Amendment 17;
therefore, NMFS did not promulgate a proposed and final rule to
implement this amendment.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 9, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-17465 Filed 8-13-19; 8:45 am]
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