[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 4, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6135-6140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01908]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 200127-0031]
RIN 0648-BI04


Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; 
Rebuilding Chinook Salmon Stocks

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to approve and implement rebuilding plans 
recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) for two 
overfished stocks: Klamath River fall-run Chinook salmon (KRFC) and 
Sacramento River fall-run Chinook salmon (SRFC). NMFS determined in 
June 2018 that these stocks were overfished. This document also 
announces the availability for public review and comment of a draft 
environmental assessment (EA) analyzing the environmental impacts of 
implementing these rebuilding plans.

DATES: Public comments must be received by March 5, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2019-0080, 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-2019-0080, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments
     Mail: Peggy Mundy, NMFS West Coast Region, Sustainable 
Fisheries Division 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 considered 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).
    The Council and NMFS prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) 
which includes a regulatory flexibility analysis (RFA). Electronic 
copies of these documents may be obtained from the West Coast Regional 
Office website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/west-coast-region-national-environmental-policy-act-documents.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Mundy at 206-526-4323.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) 
established a national program for the conservation and management of 
the fishery resources of the United States to prevent overfishing and 
to rebuild overfished stocks. To that end, the MSA requires fishery 
management plans to specify objective and measurable criteria for 
identifying when the fishery to which the plan applies is overfished 
(MSA section 303(a)(10)). The MSA includes national standards which 
must be followed in any FMP. NMFS has developed guidelines, based on 
the national standards, to assist in the development and review of 
FMPs, amendments, and regulations prepared by the Councils and the 
Secretary (50 CFR 600.305(a)(1)). National Standard 1 (NS1) addresses 
the need under the MSA for FMPs to specify conservation and management 
measures that shall prevent overfishing while achieving, on a 
continuing basis, the optimum yield (OY) from each fishery for the U.S. 
fishing industry (50 CFR 600.310). The NS1 guidelines include status 
determination criteria (SDC) and other reference points that are used 
to determine if overfishing has occurred, or if the stock or stock 
complex is overfished (50 CFR 600.310(e)(2)) and specifies Council 
actions required to address overfishing and rebuilding for stocks and 
stock complexes (50 CFR 600.310(j)).
    Ocean salmon fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (3 to 
200

[[Page 6136]]

nautical miles offshore) off Washington, Oregon, and California are 
managed under the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) 
Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP identifies 
stocks that are in the fishery and the SDC and reference points that 
are used to determine when a stock is overfished and when it is 
rebuilt. For salmon, these metrics are based on the stock's spawning 
escapement (i.e., fish that escape the ocean and in-river fisheries to 
spawn) and the abundance of adult spawners that is expected, on 
average, to produce maximum sustained yield (MSY), which is expressed 
as SMSY.
    The SDC for overfished is defined in the FMP to be when the three-
year geometric mean of a salmon stock's annual spawning escapements 
falls below the reference point known as the minimum stock size 
threshold (MSST), where MSST is generally defined as 
0.5*SMSY or 0.75*SMSY--depending on the stock. 
The default SDC in the FMP for determining that an overfished stock is 
rebuilt is when the three-year geometric mean spawning escapement 
exceeds SMSY. Stock-specific values for the SMSY 
and MSST reference points are listed in Table 3-1 of the FMP, which is 
available on the Council's website (www.pcouncil.org). The status of 
salmon stocks is assessed annually. When NMFS determines that a stock 
is overfished, by virtue of meeting the overfished criteria in the FMP, 
described above, NMFS notifies the Council. The MSA requires Councils 
to develop and implement a rebuilding plan within two years of being 
notified by NMFS that a stock is overfished.

Overfished Determination for KRFC and SRFC

    The annual stock assessments for KRFC and SRFC in 2018 used 
escapement data for 2015 through 2017 to determine if the stocks were 
overfished. The three-year geometric mean spawning escapement for KRFC 
for the period 2015-2017 was 19,358, which is less than the stock's 
MSST of 30,525 (Table 1). The three-year geometric mean spawning 
escapement for SRFC for the period 2015-2017 was 76,714, which is less 
than the stock's MSST of 91,500 (Table 1). NMFS notified the Council 
that these stocks were overfished on June 18, 2018, and the overfished 
determination was announced in the Federal Register on August 6, 2018 
(83 FR 38292). To be determined to be rebuilt, these stocks must 
achieve a three-year geometric mean escapement of SMSY or 
greater. SMSY for KRFC is 40,700. SMSY for SRFC 
is 122,000.

     Table 1--Reference Points and 2015-2017 Geometric Mean Spawning
                      Escapement for KRFC and SRFC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Spawning escapement
                                  --------------------------------------
              Stock                 2015-2017       MSST         SMSY
                                    Geometric   (overfished  (target for
                                       mean      threshold)    rebuilt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
KRFC.............................       19,358       30,525       40,700
SRFC.............................       76,714       91,500      122,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fishery Management for KRFC and SRFC

    Ocean salmon fisheries impact both KRFC and SRFC stocks in the EEZ 
off Oregon and California. The Council uses the same harvest control 
rule for KRFC and SRFC, to manage impacts from ocean salmon fisheries 
on both stocks. This control rule was implemented under FMP Amendment 
16 (76 FR 81851, December 29, 2011). The control rule provides a multi-
step, exploitation rate-based model (exploitation rate is the 
proportion of a stock's abundance--fishery mortality plus escapement--
that occurs as mortality across all fisheries throughout the range of 
the stock) that allows some harvest impact at all abundance levels, 
providing opportunity to access more abundant salmon stocks that are 
typically available in the Council management area when the status of 
one stock may otherwise preclude all ocean salmon fishing in a large 
region. This type of control rule is referred to in the FMP as 
providing de minimis fishing provisions; i.e., allowing fisheries that 
will have minimal impact on a stock that is forecast at low abundance. 
Under this control rule, as stock size declines, the allowable 
exploitation rate declines, stepwise, as both stock size and 
exploitation rate approach zero. Details of the control rule are found 
in the FMP which is available on the Council's website 
(www.pcouncil.org).
    KRFC. The FMP describes KRFC as a major contributor to ocean salmon 
fisheries from Humbug Mountain, OR, to Horse Mountain, CA, as well as 
to in-river tribal and recreational fisheries in the Klamath River 
Basin. For the period 1986-2017, harvest of KRFC was distributed as 
follows: Ocean fisheries--56 percent, tribal in-river fisheries--36 
percent, and recreational in-river fisheries--8 percent.
    SRFC. The FMP describes SRFC as the single largest contributor to 
ocean salmon fisheries off California and a significant contributor to 
ocean salmon fisheries off southern and Central Oregon. The primary 
impact of ocean salmon fisheries on SRFC is south of Point Arena, CA, 
with a considerable overlap with KRFC between Point Arena, CA, and 
Horse Mountain, CA. The SRFC stock is also targeted in in-river 
recreational fisheries in the Sacramento River Basin. For the period 
1986-2017, harvest of SRFC was distributed as follows: Ocean 
fisheries--92 percent, and recreational in-river fisheries--8 percent.

Rebuilding Plans

    The Council transmitted their recommended rebuilding plans to NMFS 
on August 14, 2019. The plans were developed over the course of several 
Council meetings in 2018 and 2019 and were informed by the analyses of 
the Council's Salmon Technical Team (STT). The STT held public meetings 
and work sessions with state and Federal agencies, tribal governments, 
and the general public to assess available information on various 
factors that could impact the productivity of these stocks and lead to 
the overfished determination. These factors included: Freshwater 
survival, marine survival, harvest impacts, and assessment and fishery 
management errors.
    Overfishing on KRFC and SRFC, defined as the exploitation rate on a 
stock exceeding the maximum fishing mortality threshold (MFMT), did not 
occur during the years that lead to the overfished determination. The 
STT's report concluded that the overfished situation for these stocks 
was caused by: (1) Low flows and high water temperatures in the 
freshwater environment which resulted in low smolt survival for both 
stocks, disease issues in the Klamath River, and pre-

[[Page 6137]]

spawn mortality of migrating adults in the Sacramento River; (2) warm, 
unproductive ocean conditions that compromised survival in the marine 
environment for both stocks; (3) hatchery practices in the Sacramento 
River that resulted in straying of migrating salmon which lead to 
higher than expected in-river fishing mortality for SRFC; and (4) stock 
assessment errors that resulted in over-forecasting of SRFC and 
underpredictions of both ocean and in-river fishery mortality rates. 
Because SRFC would not have met the criteria for overfished status in 
the absence of assessment and management error, aspects of the fishery 
assessment and management process contributed to the stock's overfished 
status. The STT's report is contained within the draft EA (see 
ADDRESSES).
    The Council considered three alternatives for the rebuilding plan 
for each stock: (1) Existing control rule, (2) buffered exploitation 
rate and escapement goal, and (3) no fishing that affects the 
overfished stocks (including in state waters). The Council's 
recommendation for both KRFC and SRFC, which NMFS proposes to approve, 
is continuation of the existing control rule, as it meets the MSA 
requirement to rebuild the stock as quickly as possible, taking into 
account the status and biology of any overfished stock and the needs of 
fishing communities (50 CFR 600.310(j)(3)(i)). This alternative would 
continue to use the existing control rule to manage fishery impacts to 
KRFC and SRFC when setting annual management measures (76 FR 81851, 
December 29, 2011).
    When a stock or stock complex is overfished, a Council must specify 
a time period for rebuilding the stock or stock complex based on 
factors specified in MSA section 304(e)(4). This target time for 
rebuilding (Ttarget) shall be as short as possible, taking 
into account: The status and biology of any overfished stock, the needs 
of fishing communities, recommendations by international organizations 
in which the U.S. participates, and interaction of the stock within the 
marine ecosystem. In addition, the time period shall not exceed 10 
years, except where biology of the stock, other environmental 
conditions, or management measures under an international agreement to 
which the U.S. participates, dictate otherwise (50 CFR 
600.310(j)(3)(i)). The NS1 guidelines also describe the following 
rebuilding benchmarks: the minimum time to rebuild (Tmin) 
and the maximum time to rebuild (Tmax) (50 CFR 
600.310(j)(3)(i)). These benchmarks serve to establish the range of 
target times to rebuild that the Council may consider. Under the NS1 
guidelines, Tmin is calculated by assuming no fishery 
mortality, regardless of the source of the mortality. It is not 
possible, however, for the Council and NMFS to implement a 
Tmin scenario, because the MSA only provides regulatory 
authority over fisheries in the EEZ. Therefore, the Council and NMFS 
have no authority to suspend fisheries in state waters; however, the 
Council analyzed a no fishing alternative to identify TMIN 
and to serve as a bookend in the analysis of rebuilding probabilities.
    Council-area salmon fisheries are set annually each April. The 
Council's Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Document for the 
Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (SAFE document) is 
released annually in February and provides escapement data for the 
previous year. Analyses to determine rebuilding times in the Council's 
recommended rebuilding plans used available escapement data in the SAFE 
document issued February 2019, which included escapement data for KRFC 
and SRFC through 2018. When the Council developed annual management 
measures for 2019, the same control rule was used to limit impacts to 
KRFC and SRFC as recommended in the Council's rebuilding plans; 
therefore, the plans set rebuilding year one as 2019.

KRFC

    Tmin. The Council's analysis determined that, with no fishing 
mortality, there was a 60 percent probability that KRFC would rebuild 
in one year. Therefore, Tmin = one year or 2019.
    Tmax. NS1 guidelines state that if Tmin for the stock or 
stock complex is 10 years or less, then Tmax is 10 years (50 
CFR 600.310(j)(3)(i)(B)(1)). Since Tmin for KRFC is one year 
or 2019, Tmax = 10 years or 2028.
    Ttarget. The Council has recommended the existing control rule to 
rebuild KRFC. The control rule sets the annual allowable exploitation 
rate based on the forecast of potential spawners (i.e., the adult 
escapement expected in the absence of fisheries) to achieve a minimum 
spawning escapement of 40,700 (SMSY for this stock). This 
control rule has been in place since the 2012 fishing year. In the 
seven years for which we have escapement data for KRFC under this 
control rule (2012 through 2018), four of those years had escapement 
above SMSY. As described in the EA, the years in which KRFC 
failed to meet escapement goals are the years that led to the 
overfished determination, when cohorts were adversely affected by 
freshwater and marine environmental conditions (Table 2).

  Table 2--KRFC Spawning Escapement Achieved Under the Existing Control
                   Rule in the Years 2012 Through 2018
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         KRFC spawning
                                                        escapement (SMSY
                         Year                               = 40,700
                                                           spawners)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012.................................................            121,543
2013.................................................             59,156
2014.................................................             95,104
2015.................................................             28,112
2016.................................................             13,937
2017.................................................             19,904
2018.................................................             53,624
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Review of 2018 Ocean Salmon Fisheries, Council SAFE Document,
  February 2019.

    The Council's analysis, contained in the draft EA (see ADDRESSES), 
used 2019 as year one in calculating Ttarget. Under the 
existing control rule, there is a 61 percent probability that KRFC will 
meet the rebuilt criteria by year two (Ttarget = 2020). This 
means that the three-year geometric mean of KRFC escapement for 2018-
2020 is expected to meet or exceed SMSY. The spawning 
escapement from 2020 will be included in the 2021 stock assessment.
    MSA consistency. As mentioned above, the MSA requires overfished 
stocks to be rebuilt in as short a time as possible, while taking into 
account the needs of fishing communities. The Council considered an 
alternative that would buffer the existing control rule for KRFC by 
decreasing the maximum exploitation rate by 20 percent and increasing 
SMSY escapement by 20 percent. The Council's analysis of 
this alternative demonstrated this would result in a reduction of up to 
25 percent in ocean harvest-related economic activity each year during 
the rebuilding period over the existing control rule. However, this 
reduction in harvest would not rebuild KRFC sooner than the existing 
control rule; the Council's analysis indicates that Ttarget 
would be achieved in 2020 under either scenario. Under the no fishing 
alternative, which the Council could not implement in actuality, there 
would be a complete loss of ocean harvest-related economic activity in 
California and in Oregon, south of Cape Falcon, OR, during the 
rebuilding period, and rebuilding would only be achieved one year 
sooner than under the existing control rule. Therefore, due the 
negative economic impacts of the no fishing and buffered

[[Page 6138]]

control rule alternatives and negligible difference in rebuilding time, 
the existing control rule meets the MSA requirement to have a 
rebuilding period that is as short as possible while considering the 
needs of fishing communities.

SRFC

    Tmin. The Council's analysis determined that, with no fishing 
mortality, there was a 90 percent probability that SRFC would rebuild 
in two years. Therefore, Tmin = two years or 2020.
    Tmax. NS1 guidelines state that if Tmin for the stock or 
stock complex is 10 years or less, then Tmax is 10 years (50 
CFR 600.310(j)(3)(i)(B)(1)). Since Tmin for SRFC is two 
years or 2020, Tmax = 10 years or 2028.
    Ttarget. The Council has recommended the existing control rule to 
rebuild SRFC. The control rule sets the annual allowable exploitation 
rate based on the forecast of potential spawners (i.e., the adult 
escapement expected in the absence of fisheries) to achieve a minimum 
spawning escapement of 122,000 (SMSY for this stock). This 
control rule has been in place since the 2012 fishing year. In the 
seven years for which we have escapement data for SRFC under this 
control rule (2012 through 2018), three of those years had escapement 
above SMSY. As described in the EA, the years in which SRFC 
failed to meet the escapement goal are the years that led to the 
overfished determination, when cohorts were adversely affected by 
freshwater and marine environmental conditions, escapement greatly 
improved in 2018 compared with the previous two years, but still fell 
below SMSY (Table 3).

  Table 3--SRFC Spawning Escapement Achieved Under the Existing Control
                   Rule in the Years 2012 Through 2018
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         SRFC spawning
                                                        escapement (SMSY
                         Year                              = 122,000
                                                           spawners)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012.................................................            285,429
2013.................................................            406,846
2014.................................................            212,468
2015.................................................            114,085
2016.................................................             89,699
2017.................................................             42,714
2018.................................................            105,739
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Council SAFE Documents, February 2018 and 2019

    The Council's analysis, contained in the draft EA (see ADDRESSES), 
used 2019 as year one in calculating Ttarget. Under the 
existing control rule, there is a 58 percent probability that SRFC will 
meet the rebuilt criteria by year three (Ttarget = 2021). 
This means that the three-year geometric mean of KRFC escapement for 
2019-2021 is expected to meet or exceed SMSY. The spawning 
escapement from 2021 will be included in the 2022 stock assessment.
    MSA consistency. As mentioned above, the MSA requires overfished 
stocks to be rebuilt in as short a time as possible, while taking into 
account the needs of fishing communities. The Council considered an 
alternative that would buffer the existing control rule for SRFC by 
decreasing the maximum exploitation rate by 30 percent and increasing 
SMSY escapement by 30 percent. The Council's analysis of 
this alternative demonstrated this would result in a reduction of up to 
32 percent in ocean harvest-related economic activity each year during 
the rebuilding period over the existing control rule. This reduction in 
harvest would rebuild SRFC only one year sooner than the existing 
control rule; the Council calculated Ttarget would be 
achieved in 2020 under the buffered control rule, compared to achieving 
Ttarget in 2021 under the existing control rule. Under the 
no fishing alternative, which the Council could not implement in 
actuality, there would be a complete loss of ocean harvest-related 
economic activity south of Cape Falcon, OR, during the rebuilding 
period, and rebuilding would only be achieved one year sooner than 
under the existing control rule. Therefore, due to the negative 
economic impacts of the no fishing and buffered control rule 
alternatives and negligible difference in rebuilding time, the existing 
control rule meets the MSA requirement to have a rebuilding period that 
is as short as possible while considering the needs of fishing 
communities.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

    The draft EA for this action is an integrated document that 
includes the Council's analysis of the overfished stocks, analysis of 
environmental and socioeconomic effects under NEPA, the regulatory 
impact review, and regulatory flexibility analysis. The draft EA for 
this action is posted on the NMFS West Coast Region website (see 
ADDRESSES).

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the MSA, the NMFS Assistant 
Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with 
the Pacific Salmon Fishery Management Plan, other provisions of the 
MSA, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after 
public comment.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    This proposed rule is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory 
action because this rule is not significant under 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 that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    Using the catch area description in the Pacific States Marine 
Fisheries Commission Information Network (PacFIN), the most recent year 
of complete fishing data, 2018, had 653 distinct commercial vessels 
land fish caught south of Cape Falcon. These vessels had a combined ex-
vessel revenue of $10 million; therefore, no vessel met NMFS' threshold 
for being a large entity, which is $11 million in annual gross 
receipts. The proposed rule would not change harvest policy; thus, by 
definition, there would be no direct or indirect economic impact from 
the rebuilding plan.
    Because all directly regulated entities are small, these 
regulations are not expected to place small entities at a significant 
disadvantage to large entities. The Council recommended, and NMFS 
proposes approving, the status quo alternative rebuilding plans for 
KRFC and SRFC; therefore, this proposed rule is largely administrative, 
to establish the rebuilding plan parameters required under NS1. Because 
NMFS is proposing to approve the status quo alternative, these 
regulations do not change salmon harvest policy and economic activity 
is not expected to change from the baseline as a result of these 
regulations; thereore, this action is also not expected to 
significantly reduce profit for the substantial number of directly 
regulated entities.
    As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not 
required and none has been prepared.
    This proposed rule was developed after meaningful collaboration 
with the tribal representative on the Council who has agreed with the 
provisions that apply to tribal vessels.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.


[[Page 6139]]


     Dated: January 28, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES

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

     Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. and 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.

0
 2. Add Sec.  660.413 to read as follows:


Sec.  660.413   Overfished species rebuilding plans.

    For each overfished salmon stock with an approved rebuilding plan, 
annual management measures will be established using the standards in 
this section, specifically the target date for rebuilding the stock to 
its maximum sustainable yield (MSY) level and the harvest control rule 
to be used to rebuild the stock.
    (a) Klamath River Fall-run Chinook Salmon (KRFC). KRFC was declared 
overfished in 2018. The target year for rebuilding the KRFC stock is 
2020. The harvest control rule during the rebuilding period for the 
KRFC stock is the de minimis control rule specified in the FMP and at 
Sec.  660.410(c), which allows for limited fishing impacts when 
abundance falls below SMSY. The control rule describes 
maximum allowable exploitation rates at any given level of abundance. 
The control rule is presented in Figure 1 of subpart H of this part.
    (1) The Klamath River fall-run Chinook salmon control rule uses 
reference points FABC, MSST, SMSY, and two levels 
of de minimis exploitation rates, F = 0.10 and F = 0.25. The maximum 
allowable exploitation rate, F, in a given year, depends on the pre-
fishery ocean abundance in spawner equivalent units, N. At high 
abundance the control rule caps the exploitation rate at 
FABC, at moderate abundance the control rule specifies an F 
that results in SMSY spawners, and at low abundance (i.e., 
when expected escapement is below SMSY) the control rule 
allows for de minimis exploitation rates with the abundance breakpoints 
defined as: A = MSST/2; B = (MSST + SMSY)/2; C = 
SMSY/(1-0.25); D = SMSY/(1-FABC); as 
shown in Figure 1 of subpart H of this part. For N between 0 and A, F 
increases linearly from 0 at N = 0, to 0.10 at N = A. For N between A 
and MSST, F is equal to 0.10. For N between MSST and B, F increases 
linearly from 0.10 at N = MSST, to 0.25 at N = B. For N between B and 
C, F is equal to 0.25. For N between C and D, F is the value that 
results in SMSY spawners. For N greater than D, F is equal 
to FABC.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (b) Sacramento River Fall-run Chinook Salmon (SRFC). SRFC was 
declared overfished in 2018. The target year for rebuilding the SRFC 
stock is 2021. The harvest control rule during the rebuilding period 
for the SRFC stock is the de minimis control rule specified in the FMP 
and at 660.410(c), which allows for limited fishing impacts when 
abundance falls below SMSY. The control rule describes 
maximum allowable exploitation rates at any given level of abundance.
    (1) The Sacramento River fall-run Chinook salmon control rule uses 
the reference points FABC, MSST, SMSY, and two 
levels of de minimis exploitation rates, F = 0.10 and F = 0.25. The 
maximum allowable exploitation rate, F, in a given year, depends on the 
pre-fishery ocean abundance in spawner equivalent units, N. At high 
abundance the control rule caps the exploitation rate at 
FABC, at moderate abundance the control rule specifies an F 
that results in SMSY spawners, and at low abundance (i.e., 
when expected escapement is below SMSY) the control rule 
allows for de minimis exploitation rates with the abundance breakpoints 
defined as: A = MSST/2; B = (MSST + SMSY)/2; C = SMSY/(1-0.25); D = 
SMSY/(1-FABC); as shown in Figure 1 of subpart H of this part. For N 
between 0 and A, F increases linearly from 0 at N = 0, to 0.10 at N = 
A. For N between A and MSST, F is equal to 0.10. For N between MSST and 
B, F increases linearly from 0.10 at N = MSST, to 0.25 at N = B. For N 
between B and C, F is equal to 0.25. For N between C and D, F is the 
value that results in SMSY spawners. For N greater than D, F 
is equal to FABC.
    (2) [Reserved]

[[Page 6140]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP04FE20.009

[FR Doc. 2020-01908 Filed 2-3-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P