[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 102 (Friday, May 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34131-34132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11232]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC935]


Pacific Island Fisheries; Marine Conservation Plan for Pacific 
Insular Areas other Than American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana 
Islands; Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund

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

ACTION: Notice of agency decision.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval of a Marine Conservation Plan (MCP) 
for Pacific Insular Areas other than American Samoa, Guam, and the 
Northern Mariana Islands.

DATES: This agency decision is effective from August 4, 2023, through 
August 3, 2026.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the MCP, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2023-0056, from the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal, https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2023-0056, or from the Western 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 1164 Bishop St., Suite 
1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, 808-522-8220, https://www.wpcouncil.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Kamikawa, Sustainable Fisheries, 
NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office, 808-725-5177.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 204(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) 
authorizes the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), and in consultation with the 
Council, to negotiate and enter into a Pacific Insular Area fishery 
agreement (PIAFA). A PIAFA would allow foreign fishing within the U.S. 
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) adjacent to a Pacific Insular Area other 
than American Samoa, Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands, that is, in 
the EEZ around the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA). The PRIA are 
Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman 
Reef, Midway Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island. Before entering 
into a PIAFA for the PRIA, the Council must develop and submit to the 
Secretary a 3-year MCP that details the uses for funds collected by the 
Secretary under the PIAFA. NMFS is the designee of the Secretary for 
MCP review and approval.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires payments received under a PIAFA, 
and any funds or contributions received in support of conservation and 
management objectives for the MCP, to be deposited into the Western 
Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund (Fund) for use by the Council. 
Additionally, in the case of violations by foreign fishing vessels in 
the EEZ around the PRIA, amounts received by the Secretary attributable 
to fines and penalties imposed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
including sums collected from the forfeiture and disposition or sale of 
property seized subject to its authority, are deposited into the Fund 
for use by the Council, after direct costs of the enforcement action 
are subtracted. Section 204(e)(7)(C) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act also 
authorizes the Council to use the Fund to meet conservation and 
management objectives in the State of Hawaii, if funds remain 
available.
    An MCP must be consistent with the Council's fishery ecosystem 
plans (FEPs), must identify conservation and management objectives 
(including criteria for determining when such objectives have been 
met), and must

[[Page 34132]]

prioritize planned marine conservation projects. Although no foreign 
fishing in the PRIA is being considered at this time, the Council 
reviewed and approved the draft MCP at its March 2023 meeting. On April 
5, 2023, the Council's Executive Director submitted the MCP to NMFS for 
review and approval.
    The MCP contains the following five conservation and management 
objectives that are consistent with the FEP for the PRIA and the FEP 
for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific:
    1. Support quality research and monitoring to obtain the most 
complete scientific information available to assess and manage 
fisheries within an ecosystem approach;
    2. Conduct education and outreach to foster good stewardship 
principles and broad and direct public participation in the Council's 
decision making process;
    3. Promote regional cooperation to manage domestic and 
international fisheries;
    4. Encourage development of technologies and methods to achieve the 
most effective level of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) and 
to ensure safety at sea; and
    5. Western Pacific Community Development Program and Western 
Pacific Community Demonstration Projects Program.
    In addition, the MCP contains seven conservation and management 
objectives that are consistent with the FEP for the Hawaii Archipelago:
    1. Support quality research and monitoring to obtain the most 
complete scientific information available to assess and manage 
fisheries within an ecosystem approach;
    2. Promote an ecosystem approach to fisheries management including 
reducing bycatch in fisheries and minimizing impacts on marine habitat 
and impacts on protected species and addressing climate change 
adaptation and mitigation;
    3. Conduct education and outreach to foster good stewardship 
principles and broad and direct public participation in the Council's 
decision making process;
    4. Recognize the importance of island cultures and traditional 
fishing practices in managing fishery resources and foster 
opportunities for participation;
    5. Promote responsible domestic fisheries development to provide 
long term economic growth and stability by reducing foreign imports and 
increasing local seafood production;
    6. Promote regional cooperation and capacity building to manage 
domestic and international fisheries; and
    7. Encourage development of technologies and methods to achieve the 
most effective level of monitoring, control and surveillance and to 
ensure safety at sea.
    Please refer to the MCP for projects and activities designed to 
meet each objective, the evaluative criteria, and priority rankings.
    This notice announces that NMFS has reviewed the MCP and determined 
that it satisfies the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 
Accordingly, we have approved the MCP for the 3-year period from August 
4, 2023, through August 3, 2026. This MCP supersedes the one approved 
previously for August 4, 2020, through August 3, 2023 (85 FR 65389, 
October 15, 2020).

    Dated: May 22, 2023.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-11232 Filed 5-25-23; 8:45 am]
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