48968 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

under Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2020– 

0152. 

Authors 

The primary authors of this proposed 

rule are the staff members of the Fish 

and Wildlife Service’s Species 

Assessment Team and the Tennessee 

Ecological Services Field Office. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17 

Endangered and threatened species, 

Exports, Imports, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, 

Transportation. 

Proposed Regulation Promulgation 

Accordingly, we propose to amend 

part 17, subchapter B of chapter I, title 

50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 

as set forth below: 

PART 17—ENDANGERED AND 

THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 17 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361–1407; 1531– 

1544; and 4201–4245, unless otherwise 

noted. 

§ 17.11 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 17.11 in paragraph (h) by 

removing the entry for ‘‘Darter, snail’’ 

under FISHES from the List of 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. 

Martha Williams, 

Principal Deputy Director, Exercising the 

Delegated Authority of the Director, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18127 Filed 8–31–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

RIN 0648–BK64 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; 

Amendment 7 to the Atlantic Bluefish 

Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of availability of 

proposed fishery management plan 

amendment; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council has submitted 

Amendment 7 to the Atlantic Bluefish 

Fishery Management Plan to NMFS for 

review and approval. Amendment 7 

proposes to implement a rebuilding 

plan for the overfished bluefish stock, as 

well as revisions to fishery management 

plan goals and objectives, 

administrative measures during the 

specifications process, and the 

allocation percentages of quota between 

the commercial and recreational sectors 

and commercial quota among the states. 

The purpose of this amendment is to 

implement a rebuilding plan, as 

required by the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, and to update the Bluefish Fishery 

Management Plan; responding to recent 

changes in stock health and distribution 

using the best information available, 

while recognizing economic need and 

reliance throughout the management 

area. This notice is intended to alert the 

public to this action and provide an 

opportunity for comment. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 1, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2021–0071, by the following 

method: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. 

1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov, 

and enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2021–0071’’ 

in the Search box; 

2. Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields; and 

3. Enter or attach your comments. 

Instructions: 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 by NMFS. 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.), 

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). 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council prepared an 

environmental assessment (EA) for this 

action that describes the proposed 

measures and other considered 

alternatives. The EA also provides a 

thorough analysis of the biological, 

economic, and social impacts of the 

proposed measures and other 

considered alternatives. Copies of 

Amendment 7, including the EA, the 

Regulatory Impact Review, and the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis 

prepared in support of this action, are 

available upon request from: Dr. 

Christopher M. Moore, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Suite 201, 800 N 

State Street, Dover, DE 19901. These 

documents are also accessible via the 

internet at https://www.mafmc.org/ 

supporting-documents. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9180. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) and the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (Commission) 

cooperatively manage bluefish from 

Maine to Florida under the Atlantic 

Bluefish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). The Council and Commission 

initiated Amendment 7 as a joint action 

in December 2017 to address a 

comprehensive range of management 

issues in the bluefish fishery from goals 

and objectives of the FMP to the 

allocation and transfer of quota between 

the commercial and recreational sectors. 

Following the overfished stock 

determination from the 2019 operational 

stock assessment, a rebuilding plan for 

bluefish was also added to the 

amendment, and final alternatives were 

approved at the joint meeting of the 

Council and Commission’s Bluefish 

Management Board in February 2021. 

Public hearings on these alternatives 

were held throughout the spring of 

2021, and the Council and Board 

approved Amendment 7 on June 8, 

2021, with the intent that the changes 

would be effective for the 2022 fishing 

year that begins on January 1, 2022. 

The purpose of this amendment is to 

implement a rebuilding plan for 

bluefish, as required by the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act), and to update the FMP; 

responding to recent changes in stock 

health and distribution using the best 

information available, while recognizing 

economic need and reliance throughout 

the management area. This action 

proposes to: 

• Update the Bluefish FMP goals and 

objectives from those that were initially 

established for the fishery in 1991 to 

better reflect today’s fishery; 

• Re-allocate bluefish quota between 

the commercial and recreational fishery 

sectors to more accurately reflect recent 

catch and landings data in the fishery, 

allocating 14 percent to the commercial 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules 48969 

fishery and 86 percent to the 

recreational fishery (a 3-percentage 

point change from the current 

allocations of 17 percent to the 

commercial sector and 83 percent to the 

recreational sector); 

• Re-allocate bluefish commercial 

quota to the states from Maine to Florida 

based on the most recent 10 years of 

landings data (2009–2018) rather than 

outdated historical information (1981– 

1989), including a 0.1-percent minimum 

default allocation so no states in the 

management unit lose quota entirely; 

• Implement a 7-year rebuilding plan 

using a constant fishing mortality model 

where fishing mortality (F) = 0.154; 

• Revise measures to allow the sector 

quota transfer to be bi-directional (from 

commercial to recreational or vice 

versa), with a revised maximum transfer 

cap of 10-percent of the Acceptable 

Biological Catch; and 

• Revise administrative measures in 

the specifications process to allow for 

the accounting of sector-specific 

management uncertainty. 

Additional information on these 

proposed changes can be found in the 

EA for this amendment and forthcoming 

proposed rule. 

Public Comment Instructions 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act allows 

NMFS as the implementing agency to 

approve, partially approve, or 

disapprove measures recommended by 

the Council in a regulatory amendment 

based on whether the measures are 

consistent with the FMP, the MagnusonStevens Act and its National Standards, 

and other applicable law. As such, 

NMFS is soliciting public comments on 

whether the measures in Amendment 7 

to the Atlantic Bluefish FMP and its 

supporting documents are consistent 

with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law. Public 

comments on this amendment may be 

submitted through the end of the 

comment period specified in the DATES

section of this notice of availability 

(NOA). 

A proposed rule that would 

implement this amendment, including 

draft regulatory text, will also be 

published in the Federal Register for 

public comment. All comments received 

by the end of the comment period on 

this NOA, whether specifically directed 

to the NOA or the proposed rule, will 

be considered in the approval/ 

disapproval decision on Amendment 7. 

Comments received after the end of the 

comment period for this NOA will not 

be considered in the approval/ 

disapproval decision of this action. 

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

Dated: August 27, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18848 Filed 8–31–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 210826–0168] 

RIN 0648–BK56 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; 

Biennial Specifications; 2021–2022 and 

2022–2023 Specifications for Pacific 

Mackerel 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement 

allowable catch levels, an overfishing 

limit, an allowable biological catch, and 

an annual catch limit for Pacific 

mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic 

zone off the West Coast (California, 

Oregon and Washington) for the fishing 

seasons 2021–2022 and 2022–2023. This 

proposed rule is pursuant to the Coastal 

Pelagic Species Fishery Management 

Plan. The proposed harvest guideline 

and annual catch target for the 2021– 

2022 fishing season are 8,323 metric 

tons (mt) and 7,323 mt, respectively. 

The proposed harvest guideline and 

annual catch target for the 2022–2023 

fishing season are 5,822 mt and 4,822 

mt, respectively. If the fishery attains 

the annual catch target in either fishing 

season, the directed fishery will close, 

reserving the 1,000-mt difference 

between the harvest guideline and 

annual catch target as a set-aside for 

incidental landings in other Coastal 

Pelagic Species fisheries and other 

sources of mortality. This document is 

intended to conserve and manage the 

Pacific mackerel stock off the U.S. West 

Coast. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

October 1, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2021–0066, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– 

NMFS–2021–0066 in the Search box. 

Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method or received after the end 

of the comment period may not be 

considered by NMFS. 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.), 

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). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Taylor Debevec, West Coast Region, 

NMFS, (562) 619–2052, 

Taylor.Debevec@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq., NMFS manages the Pacific 

mackerel fishery in the U.S. exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ) off the West Coast 

in accordance with the Coastal Pelagic 

Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). The CPS FMP and its 

implementing regulations require NMFS 

to set annual harvest specifications for 

the Pacific mackerel fishery based on 

the annual specification framework and 

control rules in the FMP. The Pacific 

mackerel fishing season runs from July 

1 to June 30. The purpose of this 

proposed rule is to implement these 

harvest specifications, which include 

allowable harvest levels (i.e., annual 

catch target (ACT) and harvest guideline 

(HG)), an annual catch limit (ACL), and 

annual catch reference points (i.e., 

overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable 

biological catch (ABC)). The uncertainty 

surrounding the current biomass 

estimates for Pacific mackerel for the 

2021–2022 and 2022–2023 fishing 

seasons was taken into consideration in 

the development of these harvest 

specifications. Any Pacific mackerel 

harvested between July 1, 2021, and the 

effective date of the final rule would 

count toward the 2021–2022 ACT and 

HG. 

During public meetings each year, the 

NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science 

Center (SWFSC) presents biomass 

estimates for Pacific mackerel to the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council’s 

(Council) CPS Management Team 

(CPSMT), the Council’s CPS Advisory 

Subpanel (CPSAS) and the Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS