[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59888-59889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16239]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[RTID 0648-XD487]


Amendment 8 Revisions to Essential Fish Habitat in the Fishery 
Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory 
Species

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

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

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SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted to 
NMFS Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the U.S. West 
Coast Highly Migratory Species (HMS) July 15, 2024. If approved by the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), these Amendments would update 
essential fish habitat (EFH) provisions in the existing HMS FMP. This 
Amendment is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) which 
requires periodic review and revision of EFH components of FMPs as 
warranted based on available information.

DATES: Comments on the Amendments must be received by September 23, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified NOAA-
NMFS-2024-0013 by the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2024-0013 in the Search box. 
Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Eric Chavez, NMFS West 
Coast Region Long Beach Office, 501 W Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach, CA 90802. Include the identifier ``NOAA-NMFS-2024-0013'' in the 
comments.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods 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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Nasby-Lucas at (858) 334-2826, 
[email protected], or Eric Chavez at (562) 980-4064, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    NMFS manages the HMS fisheries off the U.S. Pacific Coast under the 
HMS FMP. The MSA requires that each regional fishery management council 
submit any FMP amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, 
disapproval, or partial approval by the Secretary (16 U.S.C. 1854(a)). 
The MSA 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 (16 U.S.C. 
1854(a)(1)(B)). The Council has submitted the Amendment to the 
Secretary for review. This notice announces that the proposed Amendment 
is available for public review and comment.
    The MSA mandates that each FMP describe and identify EFH for the 
fishery (16 U.S.C. 1853(7)). EFH is defined as ``those waters and 
substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth 
to maturity'' (16 U.S.C. 1802(10)). Under this authority, NMFS and the 
Council have

[[Page 59889]]

developed a comprehensive strategy to conserve EFH. This includes 
incorporating EFH into each of the Council's FMPs, identifying fishing 
and non-fishing impacts and associated conservation recommendations, 
and other required EFH elements. EFH requirements and the process for 
periodic EFH reviews are described in the EFH regulations at 50 CFR 
600.815(a).
    The HMS FMP was approved in 2004 and has been amended seven times. 
The HMS FMP includes three species of pelagic shark (common thresher, 
shortfin mako, and blue) five species of tunas (albacore, bigeye, 
Pacific bluefin, skipjack, and yellowfin), striped marlin, swordfish, 
and dolphinfish (dorado) as species in the management unit. EFH 
components for each management unit species (MUS) were included in 
appendix A to the Final Environmental Impact Statement when NMFS 
approved the HMS FMP and have not been reviewed since that time.
    The Council's relevant advisory bodies engaged in the EFH review 
process and provided recommendations to the Council at their September 
2023 Council meeting. The Council considered these recommendations when 
adopting a draft FMP Amendment for public review. The Council took 
final action at its November 2023 meeting, adopting the proposed 
amendment to the HMS FMP.
    The proposed amendment would not add any new reporting requirements 
and would not change any regulatory requirements. This action would 
only add to or update HMS EFH provisions in the HMS FMP.

HMS FMP Amendment 8

    Based on recommendations from the Council, NMFS proposes to amend 
the HMS FMP to update the EFH provisions to ensure compliance with the 
requirements of the MSA. This FMP amendment includes eight major 
components that would (1) update the description and identification of 
EFH, (2) include new maps for each MUS in the HMS FMP, (3) update 
information on life history, (4) update information on fishing impacts, 
(5) update information on non-fishing impacts and conservation 
measures, (6) update text on habitat areas of particular concern 
(HAPCs), (7) update research and information needs and (8) add a 
reference to Council's Operating Procedure 22 as a description of the 
review and revision process. The revised FMP text and appendix F 
include supporting information and rationale for the modifications 
adopted by the Council. The supporting information and rationale 
relevant to the major EFH components are briefly described below.
    Description and Identification of EFH. EFH descriptions including 
information on distributions by life stage were updated in appendix F 
and the FMP. Proposed modifications to the description and 
identification of EFH for HMS species were informed by using current 
fishery-independent information that was not available when the 
original EFH descriptions were adopted.
    Maps. New maps reflecting EFH spatial extent and global 
distribution were developed. EFH maps were developed based on species 
distribution data acquired from existing species distributions in the 
eastern North Pacific from published sources, expert opinion and a 
review of fisheries data. For many of the species, the use of fishery-
independent data shifted the EFH boundary closer to shore to encompass 
nearshore distribution for all life stages. For the warm-water species 
(i.e., skipjack, bigeye, and yellowfin tunas), Point Conception, the 
northern edge of the Southern California Bight (SCB), was selected as 
the northern EFH boundary. Global range maps were also developed to 
provide additional supporting information. Additional information on 
the development of the maps can be found in section 1.1, Review of 
Methods, in appendix F.
    Life History Summaries. Information on life histories summaries are 
proposed, based on historic and recent information. The revised HMS FMP 
appendix F contains the descriptions of overall species distributions, 
life history summaries, trophic interactions, primary prey species, 
proposed EFH descriptions, and maps.
    Fishing Impacts. Updated text contains information on potential 
adverse effects of fishing activities including potential impacts 
resulting from removal of prey species, derelict gear/ghost fishing, 
and vessel discharges. Details on these potential impacts and 
minimization measures are included in chapter 7.4 of the revised FMP 
text.
    Non-Fishing Impacts and Conservation and Enhancement Measures. In 
addition to the list of non-fishing impacts and conservation measures 
currently described in the HMS FMP, numerous additional non-fishing 
activities that may adversely affect HMS EFH along with their 
associated conservation measures were included based on a recent NMFS 
publication.
    Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC). The HMS FMP does not 
currently include any HAPCs, and none are proposed based on the current 
EFH review. Shark pupping and nursery areas within the SCB were 
considered for HAPC designation, based primarily on the prevalence of 
juveniles in the region. Migratory routes were also considered as 
potential HAPCs. However, the review of new information did not 
generate information that would allow for more precise mapping of such 
habitats or provide a thorough qualitative description of the HAPC 
boundaries. There was also insufficient information to describe the 
physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of the HAPC in 
detail. Therefore, HAPCs were not recommended for adoption. Rather, 
additional research is being recommended to collect more information 
that could inform consideration of HAPCs in the future. Additional 
details and rationale can be found in the revised FMP chapter 7.3.
    Research and Information Needs. The Council adopted several 
Research and Information (R&I) Needs, which are required to be 
identified by the EFH regulations. These include research useful for 
identifying HAPCs, and better understanding habitat associations and 
the dynamic nature of HMS habitat, migratory corridors and habitat 
dependency, including benthic habitats, and potential impacts to EFH 
from fishing activities. These R&I Needs are described more fully in 
chapter 7.7 of the revised HMS FMP.
    Review and Revision Process. The EFH regulations require that FMPs 
include a description of the EFH review and revision process. The 
Council's Operating Procedure 22 (COP 22; https://www.pcouncil.org/documents/2023/07/current-operating-procedures.pdf) describes a process 
to guide all EFH reviews. This process is referenced in FMP chapter 
7.1.
    All comments received by the end of the comment period on the 
Amendments (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: July 18, 2024.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-16239 Filed 7-23-24; 8:45 am]
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