3276 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 14 / Friday, January 21, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

SCWA may apply for and obtain a 

renewal of the LOA. 

(d) In the event of projected changes 

to the activity or to mitigation and 

monitoring measures required by an 

LOA, SCWA must apply for and obtain 

a modification of the LOA as described 

in § 217.8. 

(e) The LOA shall set forth: 

(1) Permissible methods of incidental 

taking; 

(2) Means of effecting the least 

practicable adverse impact (i.e., 

mitigation) on the species, its habitat, 

and on the availability of the species for 

subsistence uses; and 

(3) Requirements for monitoring and 

reporting. 

(f) Issuance of the LOA shall be based 

on a determination that the level of 

taking will be consistent with the 

findings made for the total taking 

allowable under these regulations. 

(g) Notice of issuance or denial of an 

LOA shall be published in the Federal 

Register within 30 days of a 

determination. 

§ 217.8 Renewals and modifications of 

Letters of Authorization. 

(a) An LOA issued under §§ 216.106 

of this chapter and 217.7 for the activity 

identified in § 217.1(a) shall be renewed 

or modified upon request by the 

applicant, provided that: 

(1) The proposed specified activity 

and mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting measures, as well as the 

anticipated impacts, are the same as 

those described and analyzed for these 

regulations (excluding changes made 

pursuant to the adaptive management 

provision in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section), and 

(2) NMFS determines that the 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

measures required by the previous LOA 

under these regulations were 

implemented. 

(b) For an LOA modification or 

renewal requests by the applicant that 

include changes to the activity or the 

mitigation, monitoring, or reporting 

(excluding changes made pursuant to 

the adaptive management provision in 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section) that do 

not change the findings made for the 

regulations or result in no more than a 

minor change in the total estimated 

number of takes (or distribution by 

species or years), NMFS may publish a 

notice of proposed LOA in the Federal 

Register, including the associated 

analysis of the change, and solicit 

public comment before issuing the LOA. 

(c) An LOA issued under §§ 216.106 

of this chapter and 217.7 for the activity 

identified in § 217.1(a) may be modified 

by NMFS under the following 

circumstances: 

(1) Adaptive Management—NMFS 

may modify (including augment) the 

existing mitigation, monitoring, or 

reporting measures (after consulting 

with SCWA regarding the practicability 

of the modifications) if doing so creates 

a reasonable likelihood of more 

effectively accomplishing the goals of 

the mitigation and monitoring set forth 

in the preamble for these regulations. 

(i) Possible sources of data that could 

contribute to the decision to modify the 

mitigation, monitoring, or reporting 

measures in an LOA: 

(A) Results from SCWA’s monitoring 

from the previous year(s). 

(B) Results from other marine 

mammal and/or sound research or 

studies. 

(C) Any information that reveals 

marine mammals may have been taken 

in a manner, extent or number not 

authorized by these regulations or 

subsequent LOAs. 

(ii) If, through adaptive management, 

the modifications to the mitigation, 

monitoring, or reporting measures are 

substantial, NMFS will publish a notice 

of proposed LOA in the Federal 

Register and solicit public comment. 

(2) Emergencies—If NMFS determines 

that an emergency exists that poses a 

significant risk to the well-being of the 

species or stocks of marine mammals 

specified in LOAs issued pursuant to 

§§ 216.106 of this chapter and 217.7, an 

LOA may be modified without prior 

notice or opportunity for public 

comment. Notice would be published in 

the Federal Register within thirty days 

of the action. 

§ 217.9 [Reserved] 

§ 217.10 [Reserved] 

[FR Doc. 2022–00996 Filed 1–20–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

RIN 0648–BK79 

Pacific Island Fisheries; Amendment 5 

to the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the 

American Samoa Archipelago; 

American Samoa Bottomfish Fishery 

Rebuilding Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Announcement of availability of 

fishery ecosystem plan amendment; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) proposes to amend 

the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the 

American Samoa Archipelago (FEP). If 

approved, Amendment 5 would 

establish a rebuilding plan for the 

American Samoa bottomfish stock 

complex. The Council recommended 

Amendment 5 to rebuild the bottomfish 

stock, which is overfished and 

experiencing overfishing. 

DATES: NMFS must receive comments 

on Amendment 5 by March 22, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2022–0006, by either of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2022–0006, in the 

Search box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ 

icon, complete the required fields, and 

enter or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Send written comments to 

Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 

176, Honolulu, HI 96818. 

• Instructions: NMFS may not 

consider comments sent by any other 

method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period. All comments 

received are a part of the public record, 

and NMFS will generally post them for 

public viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

Amendment 5 includes a draft 

environmental assessment (EA) and 

regulatory impact review (RIR) that 

analyzes the potential impacts of the 

proposed action and alternatives 

considered. Copies of Amendment 5, 

including the EA and RIR, and other 

supporting documents, are available at 

https://www.regulations.gov or the 

Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, 

Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808–522–8220, 

www.wpcouncil.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Heather Cronin, Sustainable Fisheries, 

NMFS PIR, 808–725–5179. 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 14 / Friday, January 21, 2022 / Proposed Rules 3277 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and 

the Council manage the American 

Samoa bottomfish fishery under the FEP 

and implementing regulations. The 

Council and NMFS only have the 

authority to develop and implement 

fishery management regulations in 

Federal waters, and the American 

Samoa Government has the authority to 

implement fishery management 

measures in territorial waters. The 

fishery primarily targets and harvests 11 

species of emperors, snappers, groupers, 

and jacks. Bottomfish are typically 

harvested in deep waters, though some 

species are caught over reefs at 

shallower depths. Fishing for bottomfish 

primarily occurs within 20 miles from 

shore using aluminum catamarans less 

than 32 feet (9.7 m) long, known locally 

as alia. There are fewer than 20 

participants in the fishery. Bottomfish 

fishermen in American Samoa are not 

required to obtain a Federal permit to 

fish for bottomfish management unit 

species (BMUS) or report their BMUS 

catch to NMFS. American Samoa has a 

mandatory requirement for entities that 

sell any seafood products (e.g., fish 

dealers, hotels, and restaurants) to 

submit invoice reports to American 

Samoa Division of Marine and Wildlife 

Resources. There are no territorial 

permitting requirements to fish for 

bottomfish in territorial waters. 

Currently, the fishery is relatively 

small and primarily non-commercial, 

but it is still of importance to the local 

economy, and from social, cultural, and 

food security standpoints. In the past 20 

years, the estimated total catch has 

varied from a high of 42,301 lb (19,187 

kg) in 2001 to a low of 7,688 lb (3,487 

kg) in 2012. The average catch from 

2018–2020 was 12,687 lb (5,755 kg), 

with 965 lb (438 kg) attributed to the 

commercial fishery and the 11,722 lb 

(5,317 kg) attributed to the noncommercial sector. In 2020, the 

commercial price was $3.48/lb ($7.67/ 

kg) and the estimated fishery revenue 

was $4,018. 

On February 10, 2020, NMFS notified 

the Council that the bottomfish stock 

complex was overfished and subject to 

overfishing (85 FR 26940, May 6, 2020). 

Consistent with section 304(e) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act and 

implementing regulations at 50 CFR 

600.310(j), the Council must prepare, 

and NMFS must implement a rebuilding 

plan within two years of the 

notification. If approved, Amendment 5 

would implement a rebuilding plan for 

the American Samoa bottomfish stock 

complex that consists of an annual catch 

limit (ACL) and two accountability 

measures (AM). We would set the ACL 

to 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) starting in 2022. 

Because NMFS is obligated to manage 

the stock throughout its range, and the 

complex exists in both territorial and 

Federal waters, we would count 

harvests from territorial and Federal 

waters toward the ACL. Note, however, 

that existing data collection programs 

do not differentiate catch from territorial 

versus Federal waters. The fishing year 

is the calendar year. 

As an in-season AM, if NMFS projects 

that the fishery will reach the ACL in 

any year, then we would close the 

fishery in Federal waters for the 

remainder of that year. At this time, the 

American Samoan Government does not 

have regulations in place to implement 

a complementary closure in territorial 

waters at the same time as a Federal 

closure. Therefore, NMFS expects there 

could continue to be fishing in 

territorial waters even after a closure of 

the bottomfish fishery in Federal waters, 

and this could offset the potential 

conservation benefits of restricting 

bottomfish harvest in Federal waters. As 

an additional AM, if the total annual 

catch (which includes catch from both 

Federal and territorial waters) exceeds 

the ACL during a year, we would close 

the fishery in Federal waters until 

NMFS and the Territory of American 

Samoa implement a coordinated 

management regime to ensure that the 

catch in both Federal and territorial 

waters is maintained at levels that allow 

the stock to rebuild. The rebuilding plan 

would remain in place until NMFS 

determines that the stock complex is 

rebuilt, which is expected to take 10 

years if catches are maintained at the 

specified level. NMFS and the Council 

would review the rebuilding plan every 

two years and amend it, as necessary. 

NMFS must receive comments on 

Amendment 5 by March 22, 2022 for 

consideration in the decision to 

approve, partially approve, or 

disapprove the amendment. Concurrent 

with our review of the amendment 

under the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

procedures, NMFS expects to publish in 

the Federal Register and request public 

comment on a proposed rule that would 

implement the draft measures described 

in Amendment 5. NMFS specifically 

invites public comments that address 

the impact of Amendment 5 and the 

proposed rule on cultural fishing in 

American Samoa. 

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

Dated: January 18, 2022. 

Ngagne Jafnar Gueye, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–01189 Filed 1–20–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with PROPOSALS1