Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2010 / Proposed Rules 60709 

substantial modification to the 

described work, mitigation or 

monitoring undertaken during the 

upcoming season will occur, NMFS will 

provide the public a period of 30 days 

for review and comment on the request. 

Review and comment on renewals of 

Letters of Authorization are restricted 

to: 

(1) New cited information and data 

indicating that the determinations made 

in this document are in need of 

reconsideration, and 

(2) Proposed changes to the mitigation 

and monitoring requirements contained 

in these regulations or in the current 

Letter of Authorization. 

(c) A notice of issuance or denial of 

a renewal of a Letter of Authorization 

will be published in the Federal 

Register. 

§ 217.89 Modifications of Letters of 

Authorization. 

(a) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b) of this section, no substantive 

modification (including withdrawal or 

suspension) to the Letter of 

Authorization by NMFS issued pursuant 

to §§ 216.106 and 217.87 and subject to 

the provisions of this subpart shall be 

made until after notification and an 

opportunity for public comment has 

been provided. For purposes of this 

paragraph, a renewal of a Letter of 

Authorization under § 217.88, without 

modification (except for the period of 

validity), is not considered a substantive 

modification. 

(b) If the Assistant Administrator 

determines that an emergency exists 

that poses a significant risk to the wellbeing of the species or stocks of marine 

mammals specified in § 217.80(b), a 

Letter of Authorization issued pursuant 

to §§ 216.106 and 217.87 may be 

substantively modified without prior 

notification and an opportunity for 

public comment. Notification will be 

published in the Federal Register 

within 30 days subsequent to the action. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24689 Filed 9–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

RIN 0648–BA01 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Notice of Availability for Amendments 

16–5 and 23 to the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Availability of amendments to 

a fishery management plan; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council) has submitted Amendments 

16–5 and 23 to the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) for Secretarial review. 

Amendment 16–5 would modify the 

FMP to implement an overfished 

species rebuilding plan for petrale sole 

and revise existing overfished species 

rebuilding plans. In addition, 

Amendment 16–5 would modify the 

default proxy values for FMSY and 

BMSY as they apply to the flatfish 

species, including petrale sole; and the 

harvest control rule policies. 

Amendment 23 introduces a new 

framework for fishery specifications and 

other measures for establishing Annual 

Catch Limits (ACLs) as required by the 

recent amendments to the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act). 

DATES: Comments on Amendments 16– 

5 and 23 must be received on or before 

November 30, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–BA01, by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal, at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Fax: 206–526–6736; Attn: Becky 

Renko. 

• Mail: William Stelle, Regional 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070; Attn: Becky 

Renko 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (if 

submitting comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal, enter ‘‘N/A’’ in the 

relevant required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, 

or Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Becky Renko (Northwest Region, 

NMFS), phone: 206–526–6110; fax: 206 

526 6736; and e mail: 

becky.renko@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This Federal Register document is 

also accessible via the internet at the 

website of the Office of the Federal 

Register: http://www.access.gpo.gov/sudocs/aces/aces140.html. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

that each regional fishery management 

council submit any FMP or plan 

amendment it prepares to NMFS for 

review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens 

Act also requires that NMFS, upon 

receiving an FMP or amendment, 

immediately publish a notice that the 

FMP or amendment is available for 

public review and comment. NMFS will 

consider the public comments received 

during the comment period described 

above in determining whether to 

approve Amendments 16–5 and 23 to 

the FMP. 

Petrale sole was declared overfished 

on February 9, 2010. Amendment 16–5 

adds a new rebuilding plan for petrale 

sole to the FMP and revises the seven 

existing overfished species rebuilding 

plans consistent with the MagnusonStevens Act. The following groundfish 

species have been declared as 

overfished and are currently being 

managed under rebuilding plans: 

bocaccio in the Monterey and 

Conception areas; canary rockfish; 

cowcod south of Point Conception to 

the U.S. Mexico boundary; darkblotched 

rockfish, Pacific Ocean Perch (POP), 

widow rockfish, and yelloweye rockfish. 

In the FMP, MSY refers to a constant 

harvest rate (F) control rule that is 

assumed to produce the maximum 

average yield over time while protecting 

the spawning potential of the stock. The 

constant F control rule is generally the 

proxy for the MSY control rule. The 

long-term average biomass associated 

with fishing at FMSY is BMSY. Fishing 

rates above FMSY eventually result in 


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60710 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

biomass smaller than BMSY and produce 

less harvestable fish on a sustainable 

basis. The Council uses default FMSY

proxies for species groups. If sufficient 

information becomes available to 

develop more appropriate values of 

FMSY, BMSY, and harvest control rules 

for individual species or species groups 

the FMP allows those more specific 

values to be used. Amendment 16–5 

revises the proxy FMSY value for all 

flatfish species from F40% to F30%. 

BMSY (or its proxy) is used as a 

reference point for rebuilding for 

overfished stocks, such as petrale sole. 

Amendment 16–5 revises the proxy 

BMSY value for all flatfish species from 

B40% to B25%. A rebuilding analysis is 

used to project the status of the 

overfished resource into the future 

under a variety of alternative harvest 

strategies to determine the probability of 

recovering to BMSY within a specified 

time-frame. The overfished threshold is 

also being revised. The overfished 

threshold or minimum stock size 

threshold (MSST) is the estimated 

biomass level of the stock relative to its 

unfished biomass (i.e., depletion level), 

below which the stock is considered 

overfished. Amendment 16–5 revises 

the default proxy MSST for the assessed 

flatfish species from B25% to B12.5%, 

which is 50 percent of the BMSY target 

of B25%. 

Amendment 16–5 adds to the FMP a 

new harvest control rule referred to as 

the 25–5 harvest control rule for stocks 

with a BMSY proxy of 25 percent (B25%). 

When the estimated biomass has fallen 

below B25% and when the stock is not 

managed under an overfished species 

rebuilding plan, the 25–5 harvest 

control rule would be applied. Under 

the 25–5 harvest control rule, a 

precautionary adjustment is made to the 

ACL when the stock’s depletion drops 

below B25% and at B5%, the ACL is set 

to zero. The 25–5 harvest control rule is 

designed to prevent stocks from 

becoming overfished. 

On January 16, 2009, NMFS adopted 

revisions to its guidelines implementing 

Magnuson-Stevens Act National 

Standard 1 (74 FR 3178) to prevent and 

end overfishing and rebuild fisheries. In 

particular, the revised guidelines 

provide guidance on implementation of 

the new statutory requirement for 

annual catch limits (ACLs). The revised 

guidelines also include new 

requirements for accountability 

measures (AMs) and other provisions 

regarding preventing and ending 

overfishing and rebuilding fisheries. To 

comply with the statute and these new 

guidelines Amendment 23 to the FMP 

redefines several existing terms and 

reference points to make them 

consistent with the new guidelines; 

provides a framework for the 

specification of the overfishing limit 

(OFL), acceptable biological catch (ABC) 

and ACLs, including control rules for 

determining the ABC; describes AMs; 

addresses the formation of stock 

complexes; and otherwise ensures that 

the FMP is consistent with the revised 

guidelines. Further, Amendment 23 

removes dusky and dwarf-red rockfish 

from the FMP because these stocks are 

not considered to be in the fishery as 

there are no historical records of them 

being landed. 

NMFS welcomes comments on the 

proposed FMP amendments through the 

end of the comment period. A proposed 

rule to implement Amendments 16–5 

and 23 has been submitted for 

Secretarial review and approval. NMFS 

expects to publish and request public 

review and comment on proposed 

regulations to implement Amendments 

16–5 and 23, along with the groundfish 

specifications and management 

measures for 2011 and 2012, in the near 

future. Public comments on the 

proposed rule must be received by the 

end of the comment period on the 

amendment to be considered in the 

approval/disapproval decision on the 

amendment. All comments received by 

the end of the comment period for the 

amendment, whether specifically 

directed to the amendment or the 

proposed rule, will be considered in the 

approval/disapproval decision. 

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

Dated: September 24, 2010. 

Carrie Selberg, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24697 Filed 9–28–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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