[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 75535-75536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24309]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[RTID 0648-XD197]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Scallop 
Specification Process Flexibility

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

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

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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
submitted Amendment 18 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 
Scallop Fishery off Alaska (Scallop FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce 
for review. If approved, Amendment 18 would revise timing requirements 
for Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) reports to allow 
more flexibility for non-annual assessments and to set scallop harvest 
specifications less frequently than on an annual basis. This would 
reduce the burden on staff and provide more time for the development of 
new stock assessment methods. Amendment 18 is intended to promote the 
goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Scallop FMP, and other 
applicable laws.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than January 2, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0094, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2023-0094 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter 
or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Gretchen Harrington, 
Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 
Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Records Office. 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 
https://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 18 and the draft Analysis 
prepared for this action may be obtained from https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Mackey, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each 
regional fishery management

[[Page 75536]]

council submit any FMP amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and 
approval, disapproval, or partial approval by the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary). The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon 
receiving an FMP amendment, immediately publish a notice in the Federal 
Register announcing that the amendment is available for public review 
and comment. The Council has submitted Amendment 18 to the Secretary 
for review. This document announces that proposed Amendment 18 is 
available for public review and comment.
    The scallop fishery in the exclusive economic zone off Alaska under 
the Scallop FMP is jointly managed by NMFS and the State of Alaska. The 
Council prepared the FMP under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and 
implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
    The Scallop FMP delegates many management aspects of the scallop 
fishery to the State of Alaska but maintains Federal oversight. This 
authority is limited by the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the FMP. While the 
FMP includes scallop stocks off the coast of Alaska, including 
weathervane scallop (Patinopecten caurinus), reddish scallop (Chlamys 
rubida), spiny scallop (Chlamys hastata), and rock scallop (Crassadoma 
gigantea), the weathervane scallop is the only commercially targeted 
stock at this time. Commercial fishing for weathervane scallops occurs 
in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and waters off the Aleutian Islands. 
There is currently no formal stock assessment model for the scallop 
fishery. Instead, the State sets guideline harvest levels (GHLs) 
informed by data collected through the scallop fishery observer program 
and fishery-independent scallop dredge surveys. Standardized catch per 
unit effort (CPUE) indices are estimated to account for depth, month, 
vessel, bed, and season variations.
    Previously, the overfishing level (OFL) and acceptable biological 
catch (ABC) have been set based on the definition of optimal yield 
(OY). More recently, OFL and ABC have been based on the OY re-defined 
in 2012 (Amendment 13), when OY was re-defined as 0 to 1.29 million 
pounds (lb) (585 tons (t)) of shucked scallop meats to include 
estimated discards over the reference time frame. Annual specifications 
have been defined as: max OFL = OY, and ABC = 90 percent of OFL. Alaska 
scallop harvests have not exceeded OY in any year since it was first 
established.
    In the absence of stock-size estimates, the status of the scallop 
stock relative to its overfished state is unknown. Consistent with 
assessments since the 2011/12 season, the 2022/23 OFL is set equal to 
the OY (1.284 million lb.; 582 t) as defined in the Scallop FMP and the 
2022/23 ABC is set equal to the maximum ABC control rule value (90 
percent of OFL or 1.156 million lb.; 524 t). Estimated total fishing 
removals (retained and discarded) for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons 
were 311,978 lb (141.5 t) and 345,690 lb (156.8 t) of shucked meats, 
respectively (table 1). These estimates are less than 30 percent of the 
ABC/annual catch limit (ACL) and OFL; therefore, overfishing did not 
occur in 2021/22 or 2022/23.
    Currently, the Scallop FMP requires the SAFE report to be created 
on an annual basis. The proposed management measure in Amendment 18 
would amend the FMP to allow flexibility for non-annual assessments. 
This would remove prescriptive language dictating that SAFE reports are 
produced on an annual basis. Amendment 18 would give the Council 
flexibility in modifying the assessment cycle with the potential to set 
multi-year specifications, based on a period of no more than 3 years, 
that best suit the needs of the stock. If a formal stock assessment 
model is developed, or there is a decrease in estimated stock 
abundance, the Council could request that the development of the SAFE 
report revert to being reviewed annually.
    NMFS is soliciting public comments on proposed Amendment 18 through 
the end of the comment period (see DATES). All relevant written 
comments received by the end of the applicable comment period will be 
considered by NMFS in the approval/partial approval/disapproval 
decision for Amendment 18 and addressed in the response to comments in 
the final decision. Comments received after the end of the applicable 
comment period will not be considered in the approval/disapproval 
decision on Amendment 18. To be considered, comments must be received, 
not just postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the last day of the 
comment period (see DATES).

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

    Dated: October 31, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-24309 Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
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