8750 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[RTID 0648–XA603] 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; West 

Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 

20 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 

fishery management plan amendment; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council) has submitted Amendment 20 

to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) for review by 

the Secretary of Commerce. If approved, 

Amendment 20 would modify the 

preseason schedule for implementing 

annual management measures and 

would move the southern boundary of 

the Klamath Management Zone (KMZ) 5 

nautical miles (nmi) (9.3 km) north of its 

current location. In addition, 

Amendment 20 would update out-ofdate language in the FMP. NMFS will 

consider public comments in deciding 

whether to approve, disapprove, or 

partially approve Amendment 20. 

NMFS also announces the availability 

for public review and comment of a 

draft environmental assessment (EA) 

analyzing the environmental impacts of 

implementing the actions under 

Amendment 20. 

DATES: Comments on Amendment 20 

must be received by April 12, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2020–0161, by any of the 

following method: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020- 

0161, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ 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. 

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 

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 FMP as amended through 

Amendment 20, with notations showing 

how Amendment 20 would change the 

FMP, if approved, is available on the 

NMFS website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

amendment-20-pacific-coast-salmonfishery-management-plan-changespreseason-schedule-and. 

The Council and NMFS prepared a 

draft EA. An electronic copy of this 

document may be obtained from the 

West Coast Regional Office website at 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/westcoast/laws-and-policies/west-coastregion-national-environmental-policyact-documents. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peggy Mundy at 206–526–4323. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The ocean salmon fisheries in the 

exclusive economic zone (3–200 nmi) 

(5.6–370.4 km) off Washington, Oregon, 

and California are managed under the 

Pacific Coast Salmon 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. NMFS will 

consider the public comments received 

during the comment period described 

above in determining whether to 

approve, partially approve, or 

disapprove Amendment 20 to the FMP. 

Amendment 20 was developed by the 

Council to address two primary issues: 

The preseason schedule for setting 

annual management measures and the 

southern boundary of the KMZ in 

California. Under Amendment 20, the 

Council also recommended updating 

outdated language, typographical errors, 

and references. 

Preseason Schedule 

Chapter 9 of the FMP contains the 

schedule and procedures for preseason 

modification of regulations (preseason 

schedule). The annual preseason 

schedule extends from March to May. 

The schedule in the FMP includes the 

timing of announcement of meeting 

dates and locations for Council meetings 

and public hearings, the timing of 

Council meetings at which the Council 

develops its recommended management 

measures, and the availability of the 

Salmon Technical Team’s (STT) 

analytical documents (the annual Stock 

Assessment and Fishery Evaluation 

(SAFE) document and the STT’s 

Preseason Reports). Under the preseason 

schedule currently in the FMP, the 

Council, at its regularly scheduled 

meeting in early to mid-April, adopts 

and recommends annual management 

measures to NMFS for approval. If 

NMFS determines the management 

measures are consistent with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) and other 

applicable law, NMFS then publishes 

the annual management measures in the 

Federal Register during the first week of 

May, which corresponds with the 

traditional May 1 start date for many 

ocean salmon fisheries. However, it has 

become increasingly challenging for the 

Council and NMFS to complete the 

necessary environmental and economic 

analyses and regulatory documentation 

following the April Council meeting in 

time for the Secretary of Commerce to 

approve and implement the Council’s 

annual recommendation by May 1. 

At its September 2020 meeting, the 

Council adopted, as part of Amendment 

20, a change in the schedule such that 

NMFS would publish the annual 

management measures in the Federal 

Register in the second or third week of 

May with an anticipated effective date 

of May 16. The annual management 

measures will include expected salmon 

fisheries for the following March 

through early May, pending 

modification through inseason action as 

needed in response to updated stock 

abundance forecasts. This has been the 

practice for March and April salmon 

fisheries since at least 1994. 

Klamath Management Zone (KMZ) 

Southern Boundary 

The Council uses management 

boundaries and zones to manage the 

ocean salmon harvest consistent with 

the objectives in the FMP. These 

boundaries or zones are specified in the 

annual management measures and may 

change from year to year. Some 

management boundaries remain 

relatively constant and, as described in 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules 8751 

1The STT’s analysis document is available on the 

Council’s website at: https://www.pcouncil.org/ 

documents/2019/10/agenda-item-e-2-attachment-1- 

potential-implications-of-moving-the-californiaklamath-management-zone-fort-bragg-salmonfishery-management-line-from-horse-mountainnorth-to-latitude-40-10.pdf/. 

2The economic analysis of the proposed 

boundary change can be found in chapter 9 of the 

analysis document available on the Council’s 

website at: https://www.pcouncil.org/documents/ 

2019/10/agenda-item-e-2-attachment-1-potentialimplications-of-moving-the-california-klamathmanagement-zone-fort-bragg-salmon-fisherymanagement-line-from-horse-mountain-north-tolatitude-40-10.pdf/. 

3The comments of the Enforcement Consultants 

can be found on the Council’s website at: https:// 

www.pcouncil.org/documents/2020/06/e-3-asupplemental-ec-report-1.pdf/. 

the FMP, changes to these boundaries or 

zones may require special justification 

and documentation. The KMZ is one of 

these relatively constant zones and is 

described in section 6.1 of the FMP as 

extending from Humbug Mountain, OR, 

to Horse Mountain, CA. 

Beginning in 2016, the Council 

received multiple requests from 

participants in the commercial ocean 

salmon fishery to move the southern 

boundary of the KMZ from Horse 

Mountain (Lat. 40°05′ N) 5 nmi north to 

Lat. 40°10′ N. Proponents argued this 

would align the salmon management 

boundary with an existing management 

boundary in the groundfish fishery, 

allowing for increased efficiency in 

fishery operations and enforcement as 

well as the potential to provide 

economic benefit to the Port of Eureka. 

The Council considered the analysis 

of the STT regarding the impacts of the 

boundary change on the affected salmon 

stocks, developed during the 2019 

methodology review, and economic 

analysis of the proposed boundary 

change during its deliberations for 

Amendment 20.1 2 The Council also 

considered the assessment of the 

Enforcement Consultants regarding any 

enforcement or safety concerns.3 At its 

September 2020 meeting, the Council 

recommended, as part of Amendment 

20, moving the boundary between the 

KMZ and Fort Bragg management area 

from Lat. 40°05′ N to Lat. 40°10′ N. 

FMP Language Updates 

In 2015, the Council adopted 

management reference points for three 

stocks of salmon managed under the 

FMP: Southern Oregon coastal Chinook 

salmon, Grays Harbor fall Chinook 

salmon, and Willapa Bay natural coho 

salmon. These changes were 

implemented through rulemaking (80 

FR 19564, April 13, 2015). The reference 

points included in that action have been 

used in salmon fishery management 

since the final rule implementing them 

was promulgated. However, the current 

text of the FMP includes the prior 

reference point values that the 2015 

reference points superseded. This action 

proposes updating the reference points. 

Other updates to the FMP included in 

Amendment 20 include: Updates to 

reflect the 2013 merger of NMFS’ 

Northwest and Southwest Regions, 

updates to the status and terminology of 

Endangered Species Act-listed salmon 

evolutionarily significant units, dates 

for updated management agreements 

and treaties, and updated references. 

There are no implementing 

regulations associated with Amendment 

20, therefore NMFS will not promulgate 

a proposed rule to implement this 

amendment. 

All comments received by the end of 

the comment period on Amendment 20 

(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: February 4, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02674 Filed 2–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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