[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 226 (Monday, November 27, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 82819-82820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25997]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[RTID 0648-XD471]


Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; 
Amendment 24 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan

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

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

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SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted 
Amendment 24 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan 
(Salmon FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. The intent of 
Amendment 24 is to clarify the technical process for reviewing updates 
to the models used to determine the Chinook salmon abundance threshold 
that may trigger additional management measures to limit the impact of 
ocean salmon fisheries on Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW). The 
whales are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Chinook 
salmon, some of which are listed as threatened under the ESA, are their 
preferred prey. This action is administrative in nature and does not 
change the formula for calculating the threshold or the fishery 
management responses currently described in the Salmon FMP.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 24 must be received by January 26, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on Amendment 24, identified by NOAA-
NMFS-2023-0105, 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-2023-0105 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 by the applicable deadlines. 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).
    The draft Salmon FMP, as amended through Amendment 24, with 
notations showing how Amendment 24 would change the Salmon FMP, if 
approved, is available on the NMFS website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/fisheries-west-coast-states-west-coast-salmon-fisheries-amendment-24-pacific-coast-salmon.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannon Penna at 562-980-4239, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The ocean salmon fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (3-200 
nautical miles; 5.6-370.4 kilometers) off Washington, Oregon, and 
California are managed under the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery 
Management Plan (Salmon FMP). The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (MSA) requires that each regional fishery management 
council submit any fishery management plan (FMP) or plan amendment it 
prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) (MSA section 304(a)). 
The MSA also requires that NMFS, upon receiving a proposed FMP or plan 
amendment, immediately publish a notice that the FMP or plan amendment 
is available for public review and comment. Publication occurs on or 
before the fifth day after the day on which a Council transmits to the 
Secretary a FMP or plan amendment. This document announces that 
proposed Amendment 24 to the Salmon FMP is available for public review 
and comment. NMFS will consider the public comments received during the 
comment period described above in determining whether to approve, 
partially approve, or disapprove Amendment 24 to the Salmon FMP.
    In November 2020, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
adopted management measures for Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) 
under Amendment 21 (86 FR 51017, September 14, 2021) to the Salmon FMP. 
The Salmon FMP was amended by adding Section 6.6.8 which describes 
provisions to limit the impacts of the Council-managed ocean salmon 
fisheries on SRKW by limiting the extent to which they reduce Chinook 
salmon prey availability for SRKW. Amendment 21 established a Chinook 
salmon abundance threshold (threshold) for U.S. waters north of Cape 
Falcon, Oregon and if preseason projections of abundance in a given 
year are less than the threshold, then a list of management actions 
will be implemented through the management measures for ocean salmon 
fisheries that year.
    In April 2022, the Salmon Technical Team and Scientific and 
Statistical Committee conducted a technical review of updates to the 
models that inform the threshold. During this review, it became 
apparent that the language in Section 6.6.8 describing the process, 
roles and responsibilities for reviewing model updates and using the 
updated models to update the threshold, and the appropriate depth of 
review was unclear. In November 2022, the Council adopted a revised 
threshold value to account for the model updates. At the same time, the 
Council tasked NMFS and Council staff to evaluate the description in 
the Salmon FMP of the process for the technical review and suggest 
clarifying language to improve the process. Based on this evaluation, 
in November 2023, the Council adopted the recommended changes for the 
Salmon FMP.
    If approved, Amendment 24 to the Salmon FMP would clarify the 
process for review of updates to the models, and the recalculation of 
the threshold value based on updated model information, by revising 
Section 6.6.8 of the Salmon FMP. The revised text would not change the 
approach used to calculate the threshold.

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    Amendment 24 also includes some minor housekeeping edits, such as 
updates to references and correction of a species name.
    All comments received by the end of the comment period (see DATES 
and ADDRESSES above) will be considered in the Secretary's decision to 
approve, disapprove, or partially approve Amendment 24. 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: November 20, 2023.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-25997 Filed 11-24-23; 8:45 am]
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