[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 18, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26888-26891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10450]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-BK31


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Cook Inlet 
Salmon; Amendment 14

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: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
submitted Amendment 14 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Salmon 
Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Off Alaska (Salmon FMP) 
to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review. If approved, 
Amendment 14 would incorporate the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea into the 
Salmon FMP's West Area, thereby bringing the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea and 
the commercial salmon fisheries that occur within it under Federal 
management by the Council and NMFS. Amendment 14 would manage the Cook 
Inlet EEZ Subarea by applying the prohibition on commercial salmon 
fishing that is currently established in the West Area to the newly 
added Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea. Amendment 14 is intended to promote the 
goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Salmon FMP, and other 
applicable laws.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than July 19, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2021-0018, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the

[[Page 26889]]

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and 
enter NOAA-NMFS-2021-0018 in the Search box. Click the ``Comment'' 
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant 
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, 
NMFS. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
    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), 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).
    Electronic copies of proposed Amendment 14 to the Salmon FMP, the 
Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Social Impact 
Analysis prepared for this action (the Analysis), and the draft Finding 
of No Significant Impact prepared for this action may be obtained from 
www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Duncan, 907-586-7228 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council has submitted Amendment 14 to 
the Salmon FMP to the Secretary for review. If approved, Amendment 14 
would incorporate the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea into the Salmon FMP's West 
Area, thereby bringing the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea and the commercial 
salmon fisheries that occur within it under Federal management by the 
Council and NMFS. Amendment 14 would manage the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea 
by applying the prohibition on commercial salmon fishing that is 
currently established in the West Area to the newly added Cook Inlet 
EEZ Subarea. Amendment 14 is necessary to make the Salmon FMP 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and 
to comply with a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling 
requiring the Salmon FMP be amended to include the Cook Inlet EEZ area 
within its fishery management unit. Amendment 14 is intended to promote 
the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Salmon FMP, 
and other applicable laws.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each regional fishery 
management council submit any fishery management plan amendment it 
prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval by the Secretary. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that 
NMFS, upon receiving a fishery management plan amendment, immediately 
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing that the 
amendment is available for public review and comment. This document 
announces that proposed Amendment 14 to the Salmon FMP is available for 
public review and comment.
    The Council prepared, and the Secretary approved, the Salmon FMP 
under the authority of sections 302(h)(1) and 303(b) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(1) and 1853(b)). The Salmon FMP is 
implemented by Federal regulations governing U.S. fisheries at 50 CFR 
part 679. The Council is authorized to prepare and recommend an FMP 
amendment for the conservation and management of a fishery covered 
under the FMP.
    Amendment 14 to the Salmon FMP was adopted by the Council in 
December 2020. The Council worked from 2017 to 2020 developing 
Amendment 14, ultimately concluding that federally managing the Cook 
Inlet EEZ Subarea by prohibiting commercial salmon fishing optimized 
conservation and management of the Cook Inlet salmon fishery when 
considering the costs and benefits of the available management 
alternatives, which are described in Section 2 of the Analysis. 
Important factors in the Council's decision were that maintaining the 
status quo would be inconsistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the 
Ninth Circuit ruling, and that the State of Alaska (State) would not 
accept a delegation of management authority for the Cook Inlet EEZ. The 
only other viable management alternative considered but not selected by 
the Council would have created a new Federal management regime for the 
commercial salmon fishery in the Cook EEZ separate and distinct from 
the adjacent State water salmon fishery.
    Federal management of the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea through closure of 
the area to commercial salmon fishing (1) takes the most precautionary 
approach to minimizing the potential for overfishing, (2) provides the 
greatest opportunity for maximum harvest from the Cook Inlet salmon 
fishery, (3) avoids creating new management uncertainty, (4) minimizes 
regulatory burden to fishery participants, (5) maximizes management 
efficiency for Cook Inlet salmon fisheries, and (6) avoids the 
introduction of an additional management jurisdiction into the already 
complex and interdependent network of Cook Inlet salmon fisheries.
    The proposed closure is consistent with the Council's longstanding 
salmon management policy, which is to facilitate salmon management by 
the State. As with the existing West Area, this policy would be 
achieved by prohibiting commercial fishing for salmon in the Cook Inlet 
EEZ Subarea so that the State can manage Cook Inlet salmon stocks as a 
unit within State waters. Except for maximum sustained yield (MSY), 
optimum yield (OY), and annual catch limits (ACL), all West Area 
management measures would apply to the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea. MSY and 
OY would be separately specified for the Cook Inlet salmon fishery, and 
ACL would be separately specified for the commercial salmon fishery in 
the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea, reflecting the fact that Cook Inlet salmon 
stocks have historically been harvested in both State and Federal 
waters. MSY would be established for the Cook Inlet salmon fishery as 
the maximum amount of harvest possible under the State's escapement 
goals, which is the largest long-term average catch that can be taken 
by the fishery under prevailing ecological, environmental conditions 
and fishery technological characteristics (e.g., gear selectivity), and 
the distribution of catch among fishery sectors (50 CFR 
600.310(e)(1)(i)). The OY range for the Cook Inlet salmon fishery would 
be the combined catch from all salmon fisheries occurring within Cook 
Inlet (State and Federal water catch), which results in a post-harvest 
abundance within the escapement goal range for stocks with escapement 
goals, and below the historically sustainable average catch for stocks 
without escapement goals, except when management measures required to 
conserve weak stocks necessarily limit catch of healthy stocks. 
Amendment 14 would establish an ACL of zero for the commercial salmon 
fishery in Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea.
    To delineate these separate reference points from those currently 
specified for the West Area, the Cook Inlet EEZ would be defined as the 
Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea. Amendment 14 would make no changes to 
management measures applicable to the remainder of the West Area (i.e., 
the West Area outside of the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea). Amendment 14 
would not modify State management measures, nor would it preclude the 
State from adopting additional management measures that could provide 
additional harvest opportunities for harvesters within State waters.

[[Page 26890]]

    The Council considered Amendment 14's consistency with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act's 10 National Standards and how the Amendment 
balances competing demands within the National Standards (16 U.S.C. 
1851). While all 10 of the National Standards were considered, 5 
national standards were particularly relevant to the Council's 
decision: National Standard 1, National Standard 2, National Standard 
3, National Standard 7, and National Standard 8.
    By prohibiting commercial salmon harvest in the Cook Inlet EEZ 
Subarea, Amendment 14 would avoid creating new management uncertainty 
and reduce the risk of overfishing or foregone yield inherent to an 
independent Federal management regime that would not be well-suited to 
respond to in-season data as necessary to adjust harvest levels. 
Amendment 14 would enable the State to continue managing salmon 
fisheries within escapement goals, as described in Sections 3.1 and 11 
of the Analysis, in order to achieve optimum yield and prevent 
overfishing, consistent with National Standard 1. The Council continues 
to recognize that the State is best situated to respond to changing 
conditions inseason to maximize utilization of salmon stocks under the 
constraints of weak stock management in a mixed stock fishery, and that 
the State's escapement goals are based on the best scientific 
information available, consistent with National Standard 2. Under 
Amendment 14, all commercial salmon fishing in Cook Inlet would occur 
in State waters under State management, unifying management of Cook 
Inlet salmon stocks across their range consistent with National 
Standard 3. Further, closure of the Cook Inlet EEZ would create the 
most efficient Cook Inlet salmon management arrangement of the two 
available management approaches, minimizing direct costs and regulatory 
burdens on participants and avoiding unnecessary duplication of 
management measures, consistent with National Standard 7. The Council 
considered the impact of Amendment 14 on fishing communities and 
determined that, while fishery benefits may be redistributed among 
sectors within fishing communities, Amendment 14 would provide for the 
sustained participation of those communities and, to the extent 
practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities 
within the constraints of conservation and management goals as 
described in Section 4.7.1.4 of the Analysis, consistent with National 
Standard 8.
    If approved, Amendment 14 would close an area historically used by 
the Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) drift gillnet fleet. The UCI drift gillnet 
fleet currently operates in both State and EEZ waters without specific 
reference to the boundary and is the only commercial salmon fishery 
that would be directly regulated by this action. This action would not 
close, or otherwise modify management of, salmon fishing in State 
waters where the UCI drift gillnet fleet could continue to operate.
    Amendment 14 would amend the Salmon FMP as described below. Most 
importantly, Section 2.1 ``Salmon Management Area'' would be modified 
to remove the ``Cook Inlet Area'' from the ``Areas Excluded from the 
Salmon Management Area.'' This would incorporate the Cook Inlet Area 
into the rest of the West Area where commercial salmon fishing is 
prohibited. Further, the Cook Inlet Area would be redefined as the 
``Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea,'' to indicate that it is part of the larger 
West Area for many management measures but to distinguish it from the 
West Area for distinct reference points to account for the Cook Inlet 
EEZ Subarea's unique history. Section 6.2 ``West Area'' would be 
updated to separately specify MSY, OY, and ACL for the Cook Inlet EEZ 
Subarea, reflecting the fact that Cook Inlet salmon stocks have 
historically been harvested in both State and Federal waters. Two 
traditional net fishing areas, the Prince William Sound Area and the 
Alaska Peninsula Area, would remain excluded from the salmon management 
area. Figure 1 would be revised to display the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea 
within the Salmon Management Area.
    Section 2.3.3 ``Commercial Salmon Fishery in the West Area'' would 
be modified to describe conditions for the fishery under Amendment 14 
and make technical corrections for clarity. The first paragraph would 
revised to specify that under Amendment 14, ``most of'' the West Area 
has been historically closed to commercial salmon fishing. The third 
paragraph of the section would be modified to include additional 
descriptions of historical salmon management under the 1990 version of 
the Salmon FMP when the traditional net fishing areas were included in 
the Salmon FMP's fishery management unit, but not subject to the West 
Area prohibition on commercial salmon fishing. A technical 
clarification to the fourth paragraph of the section would improve the 
historical description of traditional net fishing areas under Amendment 
12. The last change to this section would be the addition of a 
concluding paragraph describing Amendment 14's reincorporation of the 
Cook Inlet Area into the West Area, and the application of the West 
Area prohibition on commercial salmon fishing to the reincorporated 
Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea.
    Several other changes would be made throughout the Salmon FMP for 
consistency and clarity. Section 5 ``Regulation of the Salmon 
Fisheries'' would clarify that closing the ``West Area'' rather than 
``EEZ Waters'' to commercial salmon fishing enables the State to manage 
Alaska salmon stocks. A similar clarification would be made in Section 
8.2 ``Safety'' to indicate that commercial salmon fisheries operating 
in the EEZ are outside of the West Area. Section 6.2 ``West Area'' 
would also be updated to specify that under Amendment 14, ``most of'' 
the West Area has been closed to commercial salmon fishing since the 
Salmon FMP's inception in paragraph 2. In Section 8.1.8 ``Bycatch 
Management'', a paragraph would be added to explain that no 
Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) is applicable to the 
West Area because no commercial fisheries are authorized there, but 
that SBRM would be implemented if commercial salmon fishing were 
authorized in the future. The Salmon FMP introductory summary section, 
Section 1.1 ``History of the FMP'', and Table 1 would be updated with 
concise language describing conditions established under Amendment 14. 
Finally, the table of contents and list of figures would be updated to 
reflect all of these changes to the Salmon FMP.
    NMFS is soliciting public comments on proposed Amendment 14 through 
the end of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends to publish in 
the Federal Register and seek public comment on a proposed rule that 
would implement Amendment 14, following NMFS's evaluation of the 
proposed rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. All comments received by 
the end of the comment period on Amendment 14, whether specifically 
directed to the FMP amendment or the proposed rule, will be considered 
in the approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 14. Comments received 
after that date may not be considered in the approval/disapproval 
decision on Amendment 14. To be certain of consideration, comments must 
be received, not just postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the last 
day of the comment period.


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

    Dated: May 13, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-10450 Filed 5-17-21; 8:45 am]
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