[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 16, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14401-14402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05101]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[RTID 0648-XA797]


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species 
Fisheries; Amendment 18 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery 
Management Plan

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

ACTION: Announcement of availability of fishery management plan 
amendment; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council has 
submitted Amendment 18 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery 
Management Plan for review by the Secretary of Commerce. Amendment 18 
would implement a rebuilding plan for the northern subpopulation of 
Pacific sardine, which NMFS declared overfished in June 2019. NMFS will 
consider public comments in deciding whether to approve, disapprove, or 
partially approve Amendment 18.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 18 must be received by May 17, 2021. 
Comments on the associated Environmental Assessment must be received by 
April 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-0008-2021, by the following electronic methods:
     The Pacific Fishery Management Council and NMFS prepared a 
draft excerpt of the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan as 
amended through Amendment 18, with notations showing how Amendment 18 
would change the Fishery Management Plan, if approved. This draft can 
be viewed via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, docket NOAA-NMFS-0008-2021 or by contacting the 
Pacific Fisheries Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 
101, Portland, OR 97220-1384. In order to comment on this document and 
the draft Amendment 18 language, submit all electronic public comments 
via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov and 
enter NOAA-NMFS-0008-2021 in the Search box. Click the ``Comment'' icon 
and complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     The Pacific Fishery Management Council and NMFS prepared a 
draft Environmental Assessment for this action pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act. This draft can be viewed on NMFS' website at 
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/west-coast-region-national-environmental-policy-act-documents. In order to comment 
on the Environmental Assessment, submit all public comments to Lynn 
Massey at [email protected], or Kerry Griffin at 
[email protected].
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by the above methods to 
ensure that the comments are received, documented, and considered by 
NMFS. 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. All comments received are a part of the

[[Page 14402]]

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.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will 
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Massey, Sustainable Fisheries 
Division, NMFS, (562) 436-2462, [email protected]; or Kerry Griffin, 
Pacific Fishery Management Council, (503) 820-2409, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The coastal pelagic species (CPS) fishery in 
the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the West Coast is managed under 
the CPS Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council) developed the CPS FMP pursuant to the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 
16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. The Secretary of Commerce approved the CPS FMP 
and implemented the provisions of the plan through regulations at 50 
CFR part 660, subpart I. Species managed under the CPS FMP include 
Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel, jack mackerel, northern anchovy, 
market squid, and krill.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires each regional fishery management 
council to submit any amendment to an FMP to NMFS for review and 
approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment to an FMP, publish 
notification in the Federal Register that the amendment 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, disapprove, or partially approve Amendment 18.
    NMFS declared the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine 
(hereafter, Pacific sardine) overfished in June 2019. This 
determination was based on the results of an April 2019 stock 
assessment, which indicated that the biomass of Pacific sardine had 
dropped below the overfished threshold of 50,000 metric tons (mt) 
defined in the CPS FMP. NMFS notified the Council about the overfished 
declaration on July 9, 2019. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that 
NMFS and the Council prepare a rebuilding plan within 2 years of NMFS' 
overfished notification to the Council that specifies a rebuilding 
timeframe (i.e., Ttarget) within 10 years, except where the 
biology of the stock or other environmental conditions dictate 
otherwise (see Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(e)(4)(A)(2)).
    In September 2020, the Council recommended a rebuilding plan 
strategy to NMFS that would maintain the existing management framework 
for the Pacific sardine fishery. Under the rebuilding plan, the harvest 
control rules and other FMP provisions currently in place for Pacific 
sardine would be maintained. This includes the harvest guideline 
control rule, which requires that the primary directed fishery for 
Pacific sardine be closed when the biomass is at or below 150,000 mt 
and restrictions on incidental landings of Pacific sardine in other CPS 
fisheries, including an automatic reduction in allowable incidental 
landings when the biomass is below 50,000 mt. The rebuilding plan would 
also maintain the Council's annual harvest specifications process for 
Pacific sardine, such that an overfishing limit and acceptable 
biological catch are calculated annually based on an estimate of that 
year's biomass from annual stock assessments and their respective 
control rules in the FMP (that have been approved by the Scientific and 
Statistical Committee to prevent overfishing). In addition to the 
harvest control rules prescribed by the CPS FMP, the rebuilding plan 
would allow the Council to maintain their ability to annually adjust 
the incidental harvest percentages or other accountability measures for 
the various sectors based on new information from the previous year or 
changes in fishery dynamics, if necessary. Although this framework 
would maintain the current management strategy, this management 
strategy already severely restricts fishing and will continue to do so 
until the stock is rebuilt.
    Current fishing mortality is not considered to be the primary 
constraining factor or rebuilding Pacific sardine. The primary directed 
fishery for Pacific sardine has been closed since 2015 when the stock's 
biomass dropped below the 150,000 mt threshold in the CPS FMP for 
allowing a primary directed fishery. This closure of the primary 
directed fishery, which took place 4 years prior to the stock dropping, 
drastically reduced catch of Pacific sardine and has kept harvest at 
very low levels since that time. As such, the contribution of this 
rebuilding plan to stock recovery would be additional to measures 
already in place via the CPS FMP and Council process that limit fishing 
mortality of Pacific sardine.
    As described above, the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifies that the 
time period for rebuilding a fishery generally should not exceed 10 
years unless the biology of the stock or environmental conditions 
dictate otherwise, as is the case for Pacific sardine. Pacific sardines 
are known for wide swings in population abundance, and studies show the 
species has long experienced boom-bust cycles even in the absence of 
fishing. Periods of low recruitment success driven by prevailing 
oceanographic conditions can lead to low population abundance over 
extended periods of time. Because environmental conditions represent 
the primary constraint on rebuilding Pacific sardine, the projected 
time for rebuilding, is 14 years (i.e., Ttarget). This 
Ttarget was determined to be the shortest time possible to 
rebuild the stock, taking into account the biology of the species, 
current environmental conditions, and the needs of fishing communities. 
For more information about how this rebuilding target was determined, 
see the Environmental Assessment at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/west-coast-region-national-environmental-policy-act-documents.
    Amendment 18 would expand Section 4.5 of the CPS FMP to include the 
proposed rebuilding plan for Pacific sardine. There are no implementing 
regulations associated with Amendment 18, therefore NMFS will not 
promulgate proposed and final rules to implement this amendment.
    Public comments on Amendment 18 must be received by May 17, 2021. 
Public comments on the associated EA for Amendment 18 must be received 
by May 17, 2021. All comments received by the end of the comment period 
on Amendment 18 will be considered in the Secretary's decision to 
approve, disapprove, or partially approve this amendment. To be 
considered in this decision, comments must be received by close of 
business on the last day of the comment period; that does not mean 
postmarked or otherwise transmitted by that date. NMFS will respond to 
any substantive comments received by the end of the comment period on 
Amendment 18 in a subsequent Federal Register document.

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

     Dated: March 8, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-05101 Filed 3-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P