[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 25429-25430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09139]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 220425-0104]
RIN 0648-BK43


Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; 
Federal Salmon Regulations for Overfished Species Rebuilding Plans

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is revising regulations that implement the Pacific 
Fishery Management Council's (Council) Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP). This action removes a rebuilding plan for 
Sacramento River fall-run Chinook salmon (SRFC) from regulation, as 
this stock has been rebuilt and is no longer required to be managed 
under a rebuilding plan; and updates language to reflect the 2013 
merger of NMFS' Northwest Region (NWR) and Southwest Region (SWR), 
which created NMFS' West Coast Region (WCR).

DATES: Effective May 31, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannon Penna, Fishery Management 
Specialist, at 562-676-2148, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations at 50 CFR part 660, subpart H 
implement the management of West Coast salmon fisheries under the FMP 
in the exclusive economic zone (3 to 200 nautical miles (5.6-370.4 
kilometers)) off the coasts of the states of Washington, Oregon, and 
California.
    In 2018, NMFS determined that SRFC was overfished under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and Conservation Management Act (MSA). The 
Council developed a rebuilding plan for SRFC, which it transmitted to 
NMFS on August 14, 2019. The Council recommended as the rebuilding plan 
the existing control rule for SRFC, which is described in the FMP and 
referenced in codified regulation at 50 CFR 660.410(c). The Council 
determined that the existing control rule met 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)). NMFS approved and implemented 
the Council's recommended rebuilding plan for SRFC through rulemaking. 
50 CFR 660.413(b), (85 FR 75920; November 27, 2020).
    In 2021, NMFS determined that SRFC met the criteria in the FMP for 
being rebuilt and notified the Council (Letter from Barry A. Thom, NMFS 
West Coast Regional Administrator, to Charles A. Tracy, Pacific Fishery 
Management Council Executive Director, dated July 23, 2021). As the 
stock is rebuilt, it is no longer required to be managed under a 
rebuilding plan and the SRFC rebuilding plan should be removed from 
regulation to avoid confusion regarding the stock's status. 
Additionally, removing the SRFC rebuilding plan from regulation will 
avoid confusion should NMFS make a future determination that the SRFC 
stock is overfished again, in which case the MSA requires the Council 
to prepare and implement a rebuilding plan within two years of that 
determination (50 CFR 600.310(j)(2)(ii)). Leaving the current 
rebuilding plan in regulation could be confused as being the default 
rebuilding plan for SRFC, which is the intention of neither the Council 
nor of NMFS. Therefore, to avoid confusion, it is necessary to remove 
the existing SRFC rebuilding plan from regulation. Because the 
rebuilding plan adopted the existing harvest control rule for SRFC 
described in the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan, removing 
the rebuilding plan from regulation will not change the management of 
salmon fisheries that affect SRFC. NMFS determined that a 15-day 
comment period for the proposed rule was appropriate to allow adequate 
time for public comment while also allowing for the final rule to be in 
effect prior to the annual preseason management process for the 2022 
ocean salmon fisheries, thereby avoiding confusion about the status of 
SRFC prior to the fishing season.
    In 2013, NMFS implemented a realignment that merged the NWR and SWR 
to create the WCR. This change was made in order to more effectively 
manage resources, decision-making, and policy from a holistic West 
Coast perspective. NMFS is revising the regulations at 50 CFR 660, 
subpart H, to reflect the 2013 merger of NMFS' NWR and SWR by replacing 
mentions of NWR and SWR with WCR, and by replacing mention of the 
Northwest and Southwest Regional Administrators with West Coast 
Regional Administrator.

Public Comment

    No comments were received during the public comment period.

Classification

    NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to section 305(d) of the MSA. 
The reason for using this regulatory authority is: Pursuant to section 
305(d) of the MSA section, this action is necessary to carry out 
administrative actions, because it will revise outdated regulations.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of 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.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Fisheries, Fishing, and Recording and reporting requirements.

    Dated: April 25, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part 
660 as follows:

[[Page 25430]]

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.


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2. In Sec.  660.402, revise the definition of ``Regional 
Administrator'' to read as follows:


Sec.  660.402   Definitions.

* * * * *
    Regional Administrator means the Administrator, West Coast Region, 
NMFS.
* * * * *


Sec.  660.408   [Amended]

0
3. In Sec.  660.408, paragraph (m), footnote 2, remove ``Director, 
Southwest'' and add in its place ``West Coast''.

0
4. In Sec.  660.411, revise paragraph (c) to read as follows:


Sec.  660.411   Notification and publication procedures.

* * * * *
    (c) Availability of data. The Regional Administrator will compile 
in aggregate form all data and other information relevant to the action 
being taken and will make them available for public review upon 
request. Contact information will be published annually in the Federal 
Register, posted on the NMFS website, and announced on the telephone 
hotline.

0
5. In Sec.  660.413;
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a. Remove and reserve paragraph (b); and
0
b. Revise Figure 1 to Sec.  660.413.


Sec.  660.413   Overfished species rebuilding plans.

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR29AP22.001

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[FR Doc. 2022-09139 Filed 4-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P