Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 24, 2014 / Proposed Rules 77425 

4. Comments are due no later than 

March 11, 2015. Reply comments are 

due no later than April 8, 2015. 

5. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the 

Commission appoints Katalin K. 

Clendenin to serve as an officer of the 

Commission (Public Representative) to 

represent the interests of the general 

public in this docket. 

6. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this order in the Federal 

Register. 

By the Commission. 

Shoshana M. Grove, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30111 Filed 12–23–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

RIN 0648–BE46 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Shrimp 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Amendment 16 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

has submitted Amendment 16 to the 

Fishery Management Plan for the 

Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico 

(FMP) for review, approval, and 

implementation by NMFS. Amendment 

16 includes actions to revise the annual 

catch limit (ACL) for royal red shrimp, 

remove the royal red shrimp quota, and 

revise the accountability measures (AM) 

for royal red shrimp to remove an 

inconsistency in the regulations. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before February 23, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on Amendment 16, identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2014–0030’’ by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=

NOAA-NMFS-2014-0030, click the 

‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the 

required fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Susan Gerhart, Southeast Regional 

Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, 

St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

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). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. 

Electronic copies of Amendment 16, 

which includes an environmental 

impact statement, a Regulatory 

Flexibility Act analysis, and a regulatory 

impact review, may be obtained from 

the Southeast Regional Office Web site 

at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/

sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/

shrimp/2014/am16/index.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Gerhart, telephone: 727–824– 

5305, or email: Susan.Gerhart@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each 

regional fishery management council to 

submit any FMP or amendment to 

NMFS for review and approval, partial 

approval, or disapproval. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires 

that NMFS, upon receiving a plan or 

amendment, publish an announcement 

in the Federal Register notifying the 

public that the plan or amendment is 

available for review and comment. 

The FMP being revised by 

Amendment 16 was prepared by the 

Council and implemented through 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Background 

The FMP was established in 1981, 

and the maximum sustainable yield for 

royal red shrimp was estimated at 

392,000 lb (177.9 mt), tail weight, 

annually and specified as a fixed annual 

quota (46 FR 27489, May 20, 1981). This 

quota has remained in effect since that 

time. On January 30, 2012, NMFS 

implemented regulations developed 

through the Generic ACL Amendment to 

multiple fishery management plans, 

including the Shrimp FMP (December 

29, 2011, 76 FR 82044). That 

amendment included actions to 

establish the commercial ACL and AM 

for royal red shrimp. However, the ‘‘no 

action’’ alternatives and discussions in 

the Generic ACL Amendment 

incorrectly stated that there were 

currently no catch limits or AMs for 

royal red shrimp, even though a quota 

and in-season quota closure were in the 

regulations. As a consequence, through 

the Generic ACL Amendment, both a 

royal red shrimp ACL and AM were 

added to the regulations, but the 

existing quota and in-season quota 

closure provision were not removed. On 

March 11, 2014, NMFS published a 

notice of intent to prepare a 

supplemental environmental impact 

statement for Amendment 16 and 

requested public comment (79 FR 

13623). 

Federal regulations currently include 

a royal red shrimp ACL of 334,000 lb 

(151,000 kg), tail weight and a quota of 

392,000 lb (177.8 mt), tail weight. 

Amendment 16 would remove the royal 

red shrimp quota and update the ACL 

to 337,000 lb (152,861 kg), tail weight, 

which is equal to the acceptable 

biological catch as recommended by the 

Council’s Scientific and Statistical 

Committee at its March 2014 meeting. 

Federal regulations currently include 

a royal red shrimp in-season closure if 

the quota is met or projected to be met, 

based on in-season monitoring (which 

functions as an AM), and include an 

AM that implements in-season 

monitoring and an ACL closure in the 

year following any ACL overage. The 

presence of two AMs in the regulations 

presents an inconsistency in the 

management of royal red shrimp. 

Amendment 16 would remove the inseason quota closure associated with the 

royal red shrimp quota and retain the 

AM associated with the ACL. 

A proposed rule that would 

implement measures outlined in 

Amendment 16 has been drafted. In 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, NMFS is evaluating the proposed 

rule to determine whether it is 

consistent with the FMP, the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law. 

If that determination is affirmative, 

NMFS will publish the proposed rule in 

the Federal Register for public review 

and comment. 

Consideration of Public Comments 

The Council submitted Amendment 

16 for Secretarial review, approval, and 

implementation on November 19, 2014. 

Comments received by February 23, 

2015, whether specifically directed to 

the amendment or the proposed rule, 

will be considered by NMFS in its 

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77426 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 24, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

decision to approve, disapprove, or 

partially approve the amendment. 

Comments received after that date will 

not be considered by NMFS in this 

decision. All comments received by 

NMFS on the amendment or the 

proposed rule during their respective 

comment periods will be addressed in 

the final rule. 

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

Dated: December 19, 2014. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30160 Filed 12–23–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

RIN 0648–XD339 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; 

Amendment 14 to the Coastal Pelagic 

Species Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of an 

amendment to a fishery management 

plan; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council) has submitted Amendment 14 

to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for 

review by the Secretary of Commerce. 

The purpose of Amendment 14 is to 

specify an estimate of maximum 

sustainable yield (MSY) for the northern 

subpopulation of northern anchovy in 

the CPS FMP. 

DATES: Comments on Amendment 14 

must be received by February 23, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2014–0156, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=

NOAA-NMFS-2014-0156, click the 

‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the 

required fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional 

Administrator, West Coast Region, 

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070; Attn: Joshua 

Lindsay. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted by one of the above methods 

to ensure that the comments are 

received, documented, and considered 

by NMFS. 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. 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.) submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the 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. 

Copies of the draft CPS FMP as 

Amended through Amendment 14, with 

notations showing how Amendment 14 

would change the FMP, if approved, are 

available from Donald O. McIssac, 

Executive Director, Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384 or the NMFS West 

Coast Region (William W. Stelle, Jr. or 

Joshua Lindsay). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua B. Lindsay, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, NMFS, at 562–980–4034; or 

Kerry Griffin, Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, at 503–820–2280. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS 

fishery in the U.S. exclusive economic 

zone (EEZ) off the West Coast is 

managed under the CPS FMP, which 

was developed by the Council pursuant 

to the MSA, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Species managed under the CPS FMP 

include Pacific sardine, Pacific 

mackerel, jack mackerel, northern 

anchovy, market squid and krill. The 

CPS FMP was approved by the Secretary 

of Commerce and was implemented by 

regulations at 50 CFR part 660, subpart 

I. 

The MSA requires each regional 

fishery management council to submit 

any amendment to an FMP to NMFS for 

review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval. The MSA also requires 

that NMFS, upon receiving an 

amendment to an FMP, publish 

notification in the Federal Register that 

the 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, disapprove, or partially 

approve Amendment 14. 

At the November 2013 Council 

meeting, the Council adopted an FMSY of 

0.3 as the best estimate of MSY for the 

northern subpopulation of northern 

anchovy and agreed to amend the CPS 

FMP accordingly to include this 

reference point. This action was based 

on data compiled by the CPS 

Management Team and a 

recommendation by the Council’s 

Science and Statistical Committee 

(SSC). An FMSY equal to 0.3, the default 

exploitation rate for Pacific mackerel, a 

stock for which more information is 

known regarding stock variability and 

productivity, was deemed an 

appropriate specification of MSY by the 

SSC. Based on available information 

regarding northern anchovy, they are 

likely to be at least as productive as 

Pacific mackerel, and likely have higher 

natural mortality, which would 

typically be associated with a higher 

FMSY. Speaking further to their 

recommendation of the FMSY, the SSC 

stated that due to both high uncertainty 

in the available biomass estimates and 

large fluctuations in stock biomass that 

are known to occur in species such as 

anchovy, a fixed biomass-based 

approach to specifying MSY would 

likely not be appropriate. Additionally, 

because the northern subpopulation of 

northern anchovy is lightly fished, with 

inconsistent effort over time, the 

existing time series of catch was likely 

an unreliable indicator of stock status 

and therefore determining a catch-based 

MSY would not be meaningful. 

Public comments on Amendment 14 

must be received by February 23, 2015 

to be considered by NMFS in the 

decision whether to approve, 

disapprove, or partially approve 

Amendment 14. All comments received 

during the comment period for the 

amendment will be considered in the 

approval/disapproval decision. 

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

Dated: December 19, 2014. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30268 Filed 12–23–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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