[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 229 (Friday, November 27, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 75920-75923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26042]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 201119-0308]
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: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to approve and 
implement rebuilding plans recommended by the Pacific Fishery 
Management Council (Council) for two overfished salmon stocks: Klamath 
River fall-run Chinook salmon (KRFC) and Sacramento River fall-run 
Chinook salmon (SRFC). NMFS determined in 2018 that these stocks were 
overfished under the MSA, due to spawning escapement falling below the 
required level for the three-year period 2015-2017. The MSA requires 
overfished stocks to be rebuilt, generally within 10 years.

DATES: This final rule is effective December 28, 2020.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In June 2018, NMFS determined that two stocks of Chinook salmon 
managed under the Council's Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) met the overfished criteria of the FMP and the MSA. 
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). The 
three-year geometric mean of spawning escapement fell below MSST for 
both KRFC and SRFC salmon stocks for the period 2015-2017. In response 
to the overfished determination, the Council developed rebuilding plans 
for these stocks, which were transmitted to NMFS for approval and 
implementation. NMFS published a proposed rule (85 FR 6135, February 4, 
2020) describing the rebuilding plans and soliciting comments from the 
public on the proposed rule and on the draft environmental assessments 
(EA) that were prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA).

Response to Comments

    NMFS published a proposed rule on February 4, 2020 (85 6135) and 
related draft EAs for public comment. The comment period ended on March 
5, 2020. NMFS received four public comment submissions from individuals 
on the proposed rule and no comments on the draft EA. The comments and 
responses are below.
    Comment 1: One person objected to NOAA's management of salmon 
stocks

[[Page 75921]]

and said NOAA failed to protect salmon from exploitation in commercial 
fisheries.
    Response: NOAA's NMFS disagrees that there was a failure to protect 
salmon from exploitation in commercial fisheries. NMFS is responsible 
for implementing the MSA to manage the nation's fisheries in a 
sustainable manner, including rebuilding overfished stocks. NMFS works 
with the Council to manage West Coast salmon stocks according to 
conservation objectives and status determination criteria specified in 
the FMP. It is through these measures that NMFS and the Council 
recognized the overfished situation for KRFC and SRFC and are managing 
fisheries to rebuild these stocks consistent with the provisions of the 
MSA. Annual management measures for ocean salmon fisheries are informed 
by annual stock abundance projections using the best available science, 
including analyses by the Council's Salmon Technical Team and 
Scientific and Statistical Committee. The management measures apportion 
the ocean harvest equitably among treaty Indian, non-treaty commercial, 
and recreational fisheries. The measures are also intended to allow a 
portion of the salmon runs to escape the ocean fisheries in order to 
provide for spawning escapement and to provide fishing opportunity in 
state waters.
    Comment 2: One person wrote to support ``replenishing of the fish 
stocks'' and hopes for sustainable populations for the future.
    Response: Sustainability is key to NMFS' mission and the 
cornerstone of the MSA. These rebuilding plans have been prepared to be 
consistent with the provisions of the MSA, and the Council and NMFS 
assess salmon stocks annually to assure fisheries are being managed in 
a sustainable manner.
    Comment 3: One person supported the regulation of fisheries and 
acknowledged that environmental factors which contribute to fish 
mortality complicate fishery management. This person supports banning 
or highly regulating fisheries during rebuilding and additional 
research into salmon mortality from environmental causes and possible 
solutions.
    Response: NMFS does not support banning fisheries in response to 
the current overfished status of KRFC and SRFC at this time. The 
Council and NMFS considered a no-fishing alternative. The estimated 
time to rebuild either of these Chinook salmon stocks under a no-
fishing scenario was only one year shorter than under the Council's 
recommended alternative. The MSA requires the Secretary of Commerce to 
consider the needs of fishing communities in implementing a rebuilding 
plan. A no-fishing scenario, for either KRFC or SRFC, would include a 
total closure of ocean salmon fisheries from Cape Falcon, OR to the 
U.S./Mexico border, resulting in an estimated loss of $46 million per 
year to fishing communities. NMFS can only regulate fisheries in the 
exclusive economic zone (3 to 200 nmi--5.6 to 370.4 km--offshore) and 
does not have regulatory authority over fisheries shoreward of 3 nmi 
and in-river fisheries; therefore, NMFS does not have the authority to 
implement a rebuilding plan that would have no fishing-related 
mortality on the overfished Chinook salmon stocks since in-river 
freshwater fishing-related mortality would likely continue. Therefore, 
in consideration of these factors, NMFS is approving the Council's 
recommendation as the rebuilding plan that will rebuild the stocks in 
the shortest amount of time while taking into consideration the needs 
of fishing communities.
    Comment 4: One person objected strongly to the use of the term 
``overfished.'' This person called on NMFS to identify lack of 
coordination among various agencies on water discharge to benefit 
salmon as the cause of salmon decline.
    Response: NMFS understands the concern regarding the term 
overfished. Under the MSA, a stock or stock complex is considered 
overfished when its biomass has declined below MSST (50 CFR 
600.310(e)(2)(i)(E)), irrespective of the cause of the decline. NMFS 
supports coordination among agencies to improve salmon productivity. 
The Council and NMFS considered several possible factors in the decline 
of the overfished Chinook salmon stocks and, as stated in the proposed 
rule (85 FR 6135, February 4, 2020), found that the overfished 
condition was due to: (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-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.

Changes From Proposed Rule

    There are no substantive changes made to the regulatory text from 
the proposed rule, beyond nonsubstantive editorial changes.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the MSA, the NMFS Assistant 
Administrator has determined that this final rule is consistent with 
the FMP, other provisions of the MSA, and other applicable law.
    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 during the proposed rule stage that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the 
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received 
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not required and none was prepared.
    This final rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
    This final 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.

    Dated: November 19, 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 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., 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 
16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.


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

[[Page 75922]]

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 (generally expressed as 
SMSY) 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 KRFC 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 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.
    (1) The SRFC 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]
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR27NO20.012
    

[[Page 75923]]


[FR Doc. 2020-26042 Filed 11-25-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P