Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 178 / Friday, September 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 51833 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[RTID 0648–XA980] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Standardized Bycatch 

Reporting Methodology Amendments 

to the Fishery Management Plans for 

the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King 

and Tanner Crabs, Scallops, and 

Salmon 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of agency decision. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

approval of Amendment 51 to the 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for 

Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) King 

and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP), 

Amendment 17 to the FMP for the 

Scallop Fishery Off Alaska (Scallop 

FMP), and Amendment 15 to the FMP 

for the Salmon Fisheries in the EEZ Off 

Alaska (Salmon FMP) (collectively 

Amendments). These Amendments add 

to or modify language in the Crab, 

Scallop, and Salmon FMPs to more 

transparently reflect and align the FMPs 

with the way bycatch is currently 

reported in the fisheries managed by the 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council). These Amendments 

are intended to promote the goals and 

objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act); the Crab, 

Scallop, and Salmon FMPs; and other 

applicable laws. 

DATES: The Amendments were approved 

on September 13, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the 

Amendments, the Categorical Exclusion, 

and the Analysis prepared for this 

action may be obtained from 

www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS 

Alaska Region website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan Mackey, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act 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 of Commerce 

(Secretary). The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

also requires that NMFS, upon receiving 

an FMP amendment, immediately 

publish a document in the Federal 

Register announcing that the 

amendment is available for public 

review and comment. 

The Notice of Availability (NOA) for 

the Amendments was published in the 

Federal Register on June 14, 2021 (86 

FR 31474) with a 60-day comment 

period that ended on August 13, 2021. 

NMFS received no comments during the 

public comment period on the NOA. 

NMFS determined that the 

Amendments are consistent with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and other 

applicable laws, and the Secretary 

approved the Amendments on 

September 13, 2021. The June 14, 2021, 

NOA contains additional information on 

this action. No changes to Federal 

regulations are necessary to implement 

the Amendments. 

NMFS manages the crab, scallop, and 

salmon fisheries in Alaska’s exclusive 

economic zone under the Crab, Scallop, 

and Salmon FMPs. The Council 

prepared these FMPs under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 

16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations 

governing U.S. fisheries and 

implementing the FMPs appear at 50 

CFR parts 600, 679, and 680. 

Section 303(a)(11) of the MagnusonStevens Act requires that any FMP 

establish a standardized bycatch 

reporting methodology (SBRM) to assess 

the amount and type of bycatch 

occurring in the fishery, and include 

conservation and management measures 

that, to the extent practicable and in the 

following priority: (A) Minimize 

bycatch, and (B) minimize the mortality 

of bycatch that cannot be avoided (16 

U.S.C. 1853(a)(11)). 

On January 19, 2017, NMFS 

published a final rule (82 FR 6317) 

establishing national guidance for 

compliance with this requirement. As 

required by 50 CFR 600.1610(b), 

regional fishery management councils, 

in coordination with NMFS, must 

review their FMPs and make any 

necessary changes so all FMPs are 

consistent with the guidance by 

February 21, 2022. 

The national guidance, codified at 50 

CFR 600.1605(a), defines an SBRM as 

‘‘an established, consistent procedure or 

procedures used to collect, record, and 

report bycatch data in a fishery.’’ This 

information, in conjunction with other 

relevant sources, is used to assess the 

amount and type of bycatch occurring in 

the fishery and inform the development 

of conservation and management 

measures to minimize bycatch. The 

regulations require that an FMP identify 

the required procedure or procedures 

that constitutes the SBRM for the fishery 

and explain how the procedure meets 

the purpose to collect, record, and 

report bycatch data. 

The SBRM final rule requires the 

Council to explain how the SBRMs meet 

the stated purpose in the rule based on 

an analysis of four considerations: (1) 

Characteristics of bycatch in the fishery, 

(2) the feasibility of the reporting 

methodology, (3) the uncertainty of data 

resulting from the methodology, and (4) 

how the data will be used to assess the 

amount and type of bycatch occurring in 

the fishery (50 CFR 600.1610(a)). The 

Council must address these 

considerations when reviewing or 

establishing an SBRM. 

In February 2020, the Council 

received a report on current FMPs 

managed by the Council and their 

consistency with the SBRM final rule. 

At that meeting, the Council determined 

that the FMPs for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area, Groundfish of the 

Gulf of Alaska, and Fish Resources of 

the Arctic Management Area were in 

compliance with the SBRM final rule. 

The Council also determined that the 

Crab, Scallop, and Salmon FMPs needed 

to be updated to explicitly identify the 

SBRMs to be consistent with the SBRM 

final rule and should therefore be 

amended. 

The Council took final action at its 

February 2021 meeting. In taking final 

action, the Council noted that changes 

to the Crab, Scallop, and Salmon FMPs 

were necessary to ensure those FMPs 

are consistent with the MagnusonStevens Act and the SBRM final rule. 

During deliberation, the Council 

recognized that the Crab, Scallop, and 

Salmon FMPs currently contain 

management measures such as the State 

of Alaska (State)’s Scallop and Crab 

Observer Programs, industry reports, 

and fish tickets that provide SBRMs 

consistent with the national guidance. 

However, these are not explicitly 

identified as the SBRM in each FMP. 

The Council recommended the three 

FMPs be amended to explicitly state the 

SBRMs and explain how they meet the 

purpose of collecting, recording, and 

reporting bycatch data. The Council also 

noted that the descriptions of the 

management measures that contribute to 

the SBRM (such as the Crab Observer 

Program) may be outdated. The Council 

indicated that the description of these 

management measures may be updated 

as the FMPs are amended by this action, 

and any such updates will be consistent 

with the SBRM regulations and be done 

in coordination with the State. Updates 

to the language of management 

measures for SBRM consistency will not 

add any new reporting requirements. 

51834 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 178 / Friday, September 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

This action does not add any new 

reporting requirements and does not 

change any regulatory requirements. 

This action only adds to or modifies 

language in the Crab, Scallop, and 

Salmon FMPs to more transparently 

reflect and align with how bycatch is 

currently reported in the fisheries 

managed by the Council by explicitly 

stating the SBRM in each fishery. 

Crab FMP 

The combination of the Crab Observer 

Program and industry reports provides a 

standard reporting methodology that is 

consistent with the SBRM final rule. 

Descriptions of these management 

measures currently exist in the Crab 

FMP; however, the FMP needed to be 

amended to explicitly identify these 

methodologies as the SBRM. 

Amendment 51 to the Crab FMP adds 

language to Sections 8.1.2, 8.3.1, and 

8.3.7 of the FMP to identify the existing 

SBRM and to explain how it meets the 

purpose of collecting, recording, and 

reporting bycatch. 

Scallop FMP 

The combination of industry reports 

and the Scallop Observer Program 

provides a standard reporting 

methodology that is consistent with the 

SBRM final rule. Descriptions of these 

management measures currently exist in 

the Scallop FMP; however, the FMP 

needed to be amended to explicitly 

identify these methodologies as the 

SBRM. Amendment 17 to the Scallop 

FMP adds language to Section 3.2.12 of 

the FMP to identify the SBRM and 

explain how it meets the purpose of 

collecting, recording, and reporting 

bycatch. 

Salmon FMP 

Fish tickets are the standardized 

reporting methodology in place for 

reporting catch of salmon species that 

are subject to maximum retainable 

amounts. The Statewide Harvest Survey 

and creel surveys, as well as the 

Saltwater Guide Logbooks, are the 

standardized reporting methodology in 

place for reporting in the salmon sport 

fishery and the guided sport fishery. 

However, the Salmon FMP needed to be 

amended in order to explicitly identify 

these methodologies as the SBRM. 

Amendment 15 to the Salmon FMP adds 

language to Section 8.1.8 of the FMP 

(Bycatch Management) to identify the 

SBRM and explain how it meets the 

purpose of collecting, recording, and 

reporting bycatch in the directed 

commercial salmon fishery. In addition, 

Amendment 15 adds language to 

Section 8.1.9 (Sport Fisheries) to 

identify the SBRM for the salmon sport 

fishery. 

Comments and Responses 

During the public comment period for 

the NOA for the Amendments, NMFS 

received no comments. NMFS is not 

disapproving any part of the 

Amendments. 

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

Dated: September 13, 2021. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20089 Filed 9–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P