[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 56 (Thursday, March 23, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 17515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05885]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

RIN 0648-BM14


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pelagic Species Fisheries; 
Amendment 20 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of an amendment to a fishery management 
plan; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendment 20 to the Coastal Pelagic Species 
(CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for review by the Secretary of 
Commerce. The intent of Amendment 20 is to improve clarity in the 
management framework for CPS stocks. This action is administrative in 
nature and does not change management for CPS stocks, just certain 
nomenclature in the FMP. This proposed Amendment is intended to promote 
the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the CPS FMP, and other 
applicable laws.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received by May 22, 2023 
to be considered in the decision whether to approve, disapprove, or 
partially approve Amendment 20.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0035, by the following method:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2023-0035 in the Search box. 
Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by the above method 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 public record and 
will generally be posted for public viewing on https://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).
    Copies of the draft Amendment 20 and other supporting documents are 
available via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov, docket NOAA-NMFS-2023-0035.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Taylor Debevec at (562) 980-4066 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS FMP has used the terms ``Active'' 
and ``Monitored'' since Amendment 8 to the FMP to categorize how the 
various CPS stocks are managed and to direct management and research 
efforts where they were most needed. However, in 2018 the Council 
initiated an effort to address a perceived lack of clarity regarding 
the meaning and use of these terms. The Council directed its CPS 
Management Team to explore ways to remove the naming distinction of 
management categories, while maintaining existing management. The 
Council subsequently considered the issue at its June 2019 and November 
2021 meetings, with final action taking place at its April 2022 
meeting.
    Amendment 20 to the CPS FMP would remove ``Active'' and 
``Monitored'' terms from the FMP and incorporate additional 
modifications in place of those terms to ensure flow and readability of 
the FMP. The proposed changes to the CPS FMP are described in further 
detail below.
    In Section 1.1 of the FMP, a description of Amendment 20 would be 
added to the list of amendments to the FMP.
    In Section 1.3, the title would be changed to remove reference to 
categories and the categorical terms, and category descriptions would 
be removed and replaced with generalized descriptions of how CPS stocks 
are managed. Additional details would be added to distinguish krill 
from these categorical descriptions as fishing for krill is prohibited.
    In section 1.5, the definitions for ``Actively Managed Species'' 
and ``Monitored Species'' would be removed and the definition of 
``Prohibited Harvest Species'' would be updated to further distinguish 
it from categorical management.
    In section 2.1.2, a reference example regarding switching a 
``monitored species'' to an ``actively managed species'' would be 
removed.
    In sections 4.6 and 4.6.1, the harvest control rules would remain 
unchanged, but instead of being associated with ``active'' and 
``monitored'' categories, there would be new descriptions for the types 
of species for which each harvest control rule is best suited.
    In section 4.6.4, ``Monitored Stocks'' would be removed from the 
title and replaced with the individual names to which ``monitored 
stocks'' referred: northern anchovy, jack mackerel, and market squid.
    There would be additional minor changes scattered in chapters 1 and 
4, and no changes to chapters 3 and 5.
    All comments received by the end of the comment period on the 
Amendment (see DATES and ADDRESSES above) 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.

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

    Dated: March 17, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-05885 Filed 3-22-23; 8:45 am]
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