[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 220 (Thursday, November 16, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78677-78678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25268]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[RTID 0648-XC971]


Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Groundfish Fisheries; 
Amendment 31 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan

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 the approval of Amendment 31 to the Pacific 
Fishery Management Council's (Council) Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP). Amendment 31 defines stocks that are in need of 
conservation and management, consistent with the provisions and 
guidelines of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act. Amendment 31 defines stocks for 14 species within the fishery 
management unit. These species were prioritized because they had stock 
assessments in 2021 or 2023. Amendment 31 is necessary for NMFS to make 
stock status determinations, which in turn will help prevent 
overfishing, rebuild overfished stocks, and achieve optimum yield. 
Amendment 31 is administrative in nature and does not change harvest 
levels or timing and location of fishing, nor does it revise the goals 
and objectives or the management frameworks of the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan.

DATES: The amendment was approved on November 8, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The amended FMP is available on the Council's website 
(https://www.pcouncil.org), as is the final supporting analysis.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gretchen Hanshew (206) 526-6147, email 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the 
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) seaward of Washington, Oregon, and 
California under the Pacific Coast Groundfish fishery management plan 
(FMP). The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(MSA) requires that each regional fishery management council submit any 
FMP or plan amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, 
disapproval, or partial approval by the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary). The MSA also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or 
amendment, immediately publish a notice that the FMP or amendment is 
available for public review and comment.
    The Notice of Availability (NOA) for Amendment 31 was published in 
the Federal Register on August 23, 2023 (88 FR 57400), with a 60-day 
comment period that ended on October 22, 2023. NMFS received three 
comments during the public comment period on the NOA, all in support of 
Amendment 31. NMFS' authority for this action is limited by the MSA to 
approval, disapproval, or partial approval of the amendment submitted 
by the Council. NMFS summarized and responded to these comments under 
Comments and Responses, below.
    NMFS determined that Amendment 31 is consistent with the MSA and 
other applicable laws, and the Secretary of Commerce approved Amendment 
31 on November 8, 2023. The August 23, 2023 NOA (88 FR 57400) contains 
additional information on this action. Amendment 31 is administrative 
in nature and has no implementing regulations; no changes to existing 
Federal regulations are necessary and none were proposed.
    The Council recommended stock definitions for 14 species of Pacific 
Coast groundfish after NMFS was unable to make stock status 
determinations in 2021. NMFS was unable to make stock status 
determinations because the ``stocks'' for which the Council was 
expecting status determinations did not exist in the FMP. Currently, 
the FMP has a list of 80+ species to which it pertains, and does not 
describe whether each species is a single stock within the fishery 
management unit or if it is multiple (e.g., regional) stocks. The 
Council prioritized a sub-set of species for stock identification in 
Amendment 31. These species are black, canary, copper, quillback, 
squarespot, vermilion, and vermilion/sunset rockfishes; Dover, petrale, 
and rex soles; lingcod, Pacific spiny dogfish, sablefish, and 
shortspine thornyhead. These species were prioritized because they were 
subject to stock assessments in 2021 or were subject to stock 
assessments in 2023. The Council considered some of the biological, 
socioeconomic, and fishery management trade-offs that might be expected 
from implementation of future management actions based on the 
alternative stock definitions. The Council recommended Amendment 31 at 
its June 20-27, 2023 meeting. Amendment 31 was transmitted to NMFS by 
the Council on August 14, 2023. A detailed description of Amendment 31 
is included in the NOA (88 FR 57400, August 23, 2023).

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received two comment letters with three comments during the 
60-day public comment period on the NOA. The comments were all in favor 
of NMFS' approval of the amendment and included some specific 
rationale. The comments and NMFS's responses are presented below.
    Comment 1: One commenter endorses Amendment 31 because it aims to 
reduce overfishing and rebuild stocks back to sustainable levels, which 
will help prevent food chain and food web imbalances.
    Response: NMFS agrees that defining stocks with Amendment 31will 
aid in preventing overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks and that 
this may, in turn, also provide ecosystem benefits.
    Comment 2: One commenter urges approval and effective 
implementation of Amendment 31 to prevent overfishing which would in 
turn increase marine ecosystems' resiliency to climate change 
stressors.
    Response: NMFS agrees that Amendment 31 will lead to future 
management decisions that improve the long-term sustainability of the 
managed fisheries, which may improve resilience of marine ecosystems to 
non-fishing climate stressors. Effective implementation of stock 
definitions in Amendment 31 will come in future biennial harvest 
specifications and management measures actions, where the best 
scientific information will be used to inform management of the defined 
stocks within the context of the FMP and the mixed stock fishery.
    Comment 3: One commenter expressed that Amendment 31 is warranted 
because the species that are the subject of Amendment 31 have already 
been verified as overfished stocks by governmental and nongovernmental 
organizations.
    Response: NMFS agrees that the Amendment 31 stock definitions for 
the subject species are based on the best scientific information 
available, and that stocks are the unit at which NMFS may determine 
whether an overfished status is warranted. NMFS notes that the 
determination whether or not a stock is overfished is the sole 
responsibility of NMFS, based on best scientific

[[Page 78678]]

information available and the stocks' status determination criteria 
that are defined in the FMP.

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

    Dated: November 9, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-25268 Filed 11-15-23; 8:45 am]
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