[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 24, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 77426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30268]


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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.

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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:
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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 
F<INF>MSY</INF> 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 F<INF>MSY</INF> 
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 F<INF>MSY</INF>. Speaking further to their recommendation of 
the F<INF>MSY</INF>, 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]
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