[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 29, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29089-29090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13433]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 051801D]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Oregon Department of Fish and 
Wildlife (ODFW) has submitted a Fisheries Management and Evaluation 
Plan (FMEP) pursuant to the protective regulations promulgated for 
Lower Columbia River (LCR) chinook salmon under the Endangered Species 
Act (ESA). The FMEP specifies the future management of inland 
recreational fisheries potentially affecting the LCR chinook in the 
State of Oregon. This document serves to notify the public of the 
availability of the FMEP for review and comment before a final approval 
or disapproval is made by NMFS.

[[Page 29090]]


DATES: Written comments on the draft FMEP must be received no later 
than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on June 28, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the draft FMEP 
should be addressed to Richard Turner, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 
Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Branch, 525 N.E. Oregon Street, Suite 
510, Portland, OR 97232 or faxed to 503-872-2737. The documents are 
also available on the Internet at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/. Comments 
will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Turner, Portland, OR at phone 
number 503-736-4737 or e-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a4d6cdc7cc8ad0d1d6cac1d6e4cacbc5c58ac3cbd2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="51233832397f2524233f3423113f3e30307f363e27">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is relevant to the Lower 
Columbia River chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Evolutionarily 
Significant Unit (ESU).

Background

    ODFW has submitted to NMFS an FMEP for inland recreational and 
commercial fisheries potentially affecting listed adults and juveniles 
of the LCR chinook salmon ESU. These include all freshwater fisheries 
managed under the sole jurisdiction of the State of Oregon occurring 
within the boundaries of the LCR chinook salmon ESU including all 
tributaries of the Columbia River from the mouth at the Pacific Ocean 
upstream to the Hood River, except for the Willamette River above 
Willamette Falls and spring chinook in the Clackamas River. Also 
included are the chinook salmon impacts in LCR mainstem recreational 
and commercial fisheries between the Columbia River mouth and the Hood 
River mouth. The objective of the fisheries is to harvest known, 
hatchery-origin spring chinook and natural and hatchery fall chinook 
and other fish species in a manner that does not jeopardize the 
survival and recovery of the listed LCR ESU. All spring chinook 
fisheries included in this FMEP will be managed such that only 
hatchery-produced adult spring chinook that are adipose fin clipped may 
be retained. The tributary fisheries for fall chinook salmon will be 
managed to meet natural and hatchery escapements and limited by total 
impacts from all fisheries including those that occur in the Pacific 
Ocean and mainstem Columbia River. Impact levels to the listed LCR 
chinook ESU are specified in the FMEP. Population viability analysis 
and risk assessments in the FMEP indicate the extinction risk for the 
listed ESU under the proposed fishery impact levels to be low. A 
variety of monitoring and evaluation tasks are specified in the FMEP to 
assess the abundance of chinook salmon, determine fishery effort and 
catch of chinook salmon and angler compliance. ODFW will annually 
conduct a review of fisheries compliance with the provisions of the 
FMEP. ODFW will conduct, at a minimum of every 5 years, a comprehensive 
review to evaluate the effectiveness of the FMEP.
    As specified in the July 10, 2000, ESA 4(d) rule for salmon and 
steelhead (65 FR 42422), NMFS may approve an FMEP if it meets criteria 
set forth in Sec.  223.203 (b)(4)(i)(A) through (I). Prior to final 
approval of an FMEP, NMFS must publish notification announcing its 
availability for public review and comment.

Authority

    Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce is required 
to adopt such regulations as he deems necessary and advisable for the 
conservation of species listed as threatened. The ESA salmon and 
steelhead 4(d) rule (65 FR 42422, July 10, 2000) specifies categories 
of activities that contribute to the conservation of listed salmonids 
and sets out the criteria for such activities. The rule further 
provides that the prohibitions of paragraph (a) of the rule do not 
apply to activities associated with fishery harvest provided that an 
FMEP has been approved by NMFS to be in accordance with the salmon and 
steelhead 4(d) rule (65 FR 42422, July 10, 2000).

    Dated: May 23, 2001.
Phil Williams,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-13433 Filed 5-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S


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