[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 87838-87839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25676]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 240220-0053240]
RIN 0648-BM01


Pacific Island Fisheries; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule; Catch and 
Retention Limits for Striped Marlin in the Western and Central Pacific 
Ocean North of the Equator

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: NMFS withdraws the proposed rule for ``Catch and Retention 
Limits for Striped Marlin in the Western and Central North Pacific 
Ocean North of the Equator'' that published in the Federal Register on 
February 26, 2024. This proposed rule was intended to satisfy Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) 
obligations to address U.S. fishing vessels' relative impact on this 
internationally managed stock that, based on a prior stock assessment 
and domestic status determination criteria, NMFS determined was 
overfished. NMFS is now withdrawing the proposed rule because NMFS has 
determined the stock is no longer overfished, not approaching an 
overfished condition, and is rebuilding, based on a more recent 
assessment. Thus, the factual and legal bases for the proposed rule no 
longer apply.

DATES: The proposed rule published February 26, 2024 (89 FR 14036) is 
withdrawn as of November 5, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries 
of the Western Pacific (Pelagic FEP) are available from the Western 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 1164 Bishop St., Suite 
1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel. 808-522-8220, fax 808-

[[Page 87839]]

522-8226, or https://www.wpcouncil.org.
    Copies of other supporting documents for this action are available 
from https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2022-0148, or from 
Sarah Malloy, Acting Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands 
Regional Office (PIRO), 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David O'Brien, PIRO Sustainable 
Fisheries, 808-725-5038.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. How are striped marlin managed?

    NMFS and the Council manage U.S. commercial fishing for Pelagic 
Management Unit Species (PMUS), such as striped marlin (Kajikia audax), 
under the Pelagic FEP and implementing Federal regulations. Although 
the Pelagic FEP indicates that PMUS have statutory exemptions from 
annual catch limits (ACLs), the Magnuson-Stevens Act authorizes the 
Council to determine ACLs or other catch limits for PMUS if such 
actions are deemed appropriate and consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act and other statutory mandates.
    Striped marlin are an internationally managed species often caught 
incidentally in fisheries primarily targeting tuna, but are retained 
due to their economic value. Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(i) 
mandates that when the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) determines a 
fishery is overfished or approaching a condition of being overfished 
due to excessive international fishing pressure, and if there are no 
management measures to end overfishing under an international agreement 
to which the U.S. is a party, the Council shall recommend domestic 
regulations to address the relative impact of U.S. fishing vessels on 
the stock.
    As described in the proposed rule, the Secretary determined the 
stock was overfished in 2020 and informed the Council of its 
requirements under Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(i). The Council 
recommended NMFS implement an annual catch limit of 457 metric tons (t) 
for Western and Central North Pacific Ocean (WCNPO) striped marlin 
caught in all U.S. fisheries and a retention limit of 443 t for vessels 
with Hawaii limited entry longline permits. If the retention limit were 
projected to be reached, retention of striped marlin by Hawaii longline 
vessels would be prohibited for the remainder of the calendar year. 
Additional background information on this action is in the proposed 
rule published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2024 (89 FR 
14036); we do not repeat it here.

II. Why is NMFS withdrawing the proposed rule?

    Results of a 2023 stock assessment for WCNPO striped marlin, 
considered relative to domestic status determination criteria in the 
FEP, indicate the stock is experiencing overfishing but is no longer 
overfished. In addition, the 2023 assessment estimated spawning stock 
biomass (SSB) in the terminal year of the assessment (SSB2020 = 1,696 
t) had increased by nearly 73 percent from the estimate from the 
terminal year in the 2019 assessment (SSB2017 = 981 t) indicating the 
stock is not approaching a condition of being overfished.
    On May 20, 2024, the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center 
and the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center concluded that the 
results of the 2023 stock assessment were the best available scientific 
information for judging the status of the stock and for use in 
management, thus superseding the prior 2019 assessment.
    On September 5, 2024, considering the 2023 assessment and status 
determination criteria defined in the Pelagic FEP, the Secretary 
determined that the status of WCNPO striped marlin had changed from 
overfished to not overfished-rebuilding. The stock remains subject to 
overfishing.
    We published the proposed rule for catch and retention limits to 
address the relative impact of U.S. fishing vessels on the WCNPO 
striped marlin stock requirement in Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(i) 
when the stock had been determined to be overfished. The stock status 
no longer meets the statutory criteria of overfished or approaching an 
overfished condition; therefore, the action cannot proceed. For this 
reason, NMFS is withdrawing the proposed rule.

III. What are the next steps?

    As described in the proposed rule, this action on its own would not 
have ended overfishing on the stock, which must be addressed at the 
international level. International negotiations at the WCPFC have 
resulted in adoption of a rebuilding plan for this stock that requires 
rebuilding to 20 percent of unfished biomass with at least 60 percent 
probability by 2034. The rebuilding plan currently does not include 
catch limits, although it acknowledges that catch reductions by all 
member nations are required to achieve the rebuilding target.
    The U.S. delegation has brought recommendations to the WCPFC and 
continues to pursue revised international measures for WCNPO striped 
marlin. We anticipate the WCPFC at its upcoming November 2024 meeting 
or a subsequent meeting will update international management for the 
stock, including updated catch limits for U.S. fisheries. If the WCPFC 
takes such action in November 2024, we intend to implement consistent 
domestic measures and/or catch limits. If the WCPFC does not act in 
November 2024, we intend to implement the 457 t domestic catch limit 
for WCNPO striped marlin as prescribed under the prior WCPFC 
Conservation and Management Measure 2010-01.

    Dated: October 29, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-25676 Filed 11-4-24; 8:45 am]
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