Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2017 / Proposed Rules 39977 

greenhouse-gas-ghg or by searching the 

Mid-term Evaluation Docket 

Identification No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2015– 

0827 at www.regulations.gov. 

Dated: August 18, 2017. 

Ben Hengst, 

Acting Director, Office of Transportation and 

Air Quality, Office of Air and Radiation. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17866 Filed 8–22–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 141222999–7741–01] 

RIN 0648–BE77 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries 

Management Plan; Adjustments to the 

Pacific Sardine Harvest Guideline 

Control Rule 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: Under the framework 

procedures of the Coastal Pelagic 

Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP), NMFS proposes to revise the 

FRACTION parameter of the Pacific 

sardine harvest guideline (HG) control 

rule to use a 3-year average of ocean 

temperature data from the California 

Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries 

Investigations (CalCOFI) survey that 

takes place off southern and central 

California, rather than temperatures 

measured from the end of the Scripps 

Institution of Oceanography (SIO) Pier, 

and revise the upper bound of fraction 

from 15 percent to 20 percent. These 

changes are intended to better reflect the 

best available science and to better 

conserve and manage the northern 

subpopulation of Pacific sardine off the 

U.S. West Coast managed under the CPS 

FMP. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

September 22, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2015–0044 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-2015- 

0044, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Barry A. Thom, 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 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. 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, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats 

only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua Lindsay, West Coast Region, 

NMFS, (562) 980–4034. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The HG 

control rule, in conjunction with the 

overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable 

biological catch (ABC) control rules in 

the FMP, are used to set annual harvest 

levels for the northern subpopulation of 

Pacific sardine (hereafter, simply Pacific 

sardine), in accordance with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq. The HG formula for 

Pacific sardine is HG = [(BiomassCUTOFF) * FRACTION * 

DISTRIBUTION] and was first 

established by Amendment 8 to the CPS 

FMP. FRACTION, expressed as a 

percentage, is dependent on 

oceanographic conditions, specifically 

ocean temperature, and is a proxy for 

EMSY (the exploitation rate for 

deterministic equilibrium maximum 

sustainable yield (MSY)). The value 

used for FRACTION in the control rule 

is calculated annually and varies with 

water temperature (a higher fraction for 

warmer ocean temperatures and a lower 

fraction for cooler temperatures). The 

rationale for setting FRACTION in the 

HG in this manner is that the 

productivity of the sardine stock is 

correlated to ocean temperatures, with 

sardines being more productive during 

times of higher ocean temperatures. 

FRACTION under the FMP is currently 

bounded between 5 and 15 percent, 

meaning that although the calculated 

EMSY estimate for any given year may be 

higher or lower, FRACTION is bounded 

and is never allowed to be higher than 

15 percent or lower than 5 percent. 

Since 1999, the formula prescribed in 

the FMP used for calculating 

FRACTION has been based on an 

average 3-year sea surface temperature 

measured at the SIO Pier and an 

estimate of the relationship between 

Pacific sardine EMSY and ocean 

temperatures of: 

FRACTION = 0.248649805 

T2¥8.190043975 T + 67.4558326 

where T is the average three season sea 

surface temperature at SIO during the 

three preceding seasons. 

In 2010, new research by scientists at 

the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science 

Center (SWFSC) called into question the 

original relationship between SIO 

temperature and productivity used in 

the analysis to establish the existing 

FRACTION parameter and control rule 

in the FMP. In February 2013, the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council) and the SWFSC convened a 

workshop to further examine the 

temperature-recruitment relationship 

used to inform FRACTION. The 

scientists at this workshop found that 

although a temperature-recruitment 

correlation based on SIO was still 

scientifically valid, a temperature index 

based on data from the California 

Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries 

Investigations (CalCOFI) survey (a 

compilation of temperatures measured 

throughout the southern California 

bight, from now on referred to as 

CalCOFI index) explained a more 

significant amount of sardine 

recruitment variability and success than 

the SIO index and was generally better 

aligned with ocean temperatures in the 

primary habitat of Pacific sardine 

(PFMC 2013). 

Based on this new information, and a 

recommendation from their Scientific 

and Statistical Committee (SSC) that the 

CalCOFI index represented the best 

available science for Pacific sardine 

management, the Council adopted the 

use of the CalCOFI temperature index 

and a new temperature-recruitment 

relationship as follows: 

EMSY= 0.248649805 T2¥8.190043975 

T + 67.4558326 

This was adopted at their March 2014 

meeting for use in the Pacific sardine 

OFL and ABC calculations and the 

Council stated their intent to also use 

the CalCOFI index in the calculation of 


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39978 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

the HG control rule, pending analysis on 

the impact of that change to the 

operation of the HG rule. 

As a result of further analyses 

presented to the Council on the use of 

the CalCOFI index to calculate 

FRACTION, the Council, at their 

November 2014 meeting, adopted and 

recommended to NMFS, and NMFS is 

proposing through this action, that the 

HG control rule be modified in the FMP 

so that the CalCOFI index and revised 

EMSY formula above be used in the 

calculation of the FRACTION. 

Additionally, the Council 

recommended, and NMFS is proposing 

through this action, that the upper 

bound on FRACTION is revised from 15 

percent to 20 percent. These changes 

better reflect best available science as 

well as provide for better alignment 

with the existing function of the current 

HG rule by providing an improved 

representation of the CalCOFI 

temperature data and new knowledge 

regarding the productivity of Pacific 

sardine. 

Adjusting the upper bound of 

FRACTION from 15 percent to 20 

percent is an attempt to scale the 

bounds on FRACTION to better reflect 

the mid-range of actual temperature 

readings observed in the CalCOFI data, 

thereby aligning the CalCOFI 

temperatures and the new temperatureEMSY relationship in a manner more 

similar to the old SIO-based relationship 

and to where the 5 to 15 percent range 

fell relative to typical SIO temperatures, 

although still on the lower range. This 

distinction can be seen by looking at the 

median temperature and corresponding 

EMSY for that temperature for both SIO 

and CalCOFI. The median of the 

observed SIO temperatures (16.98 

degrees Celsius) equates to an EMSY of 

7 percent; thereby falling within the 

range of the FRACTION bounds of 5 to 

15 percent. The median of the observed 

CalCOFI temperatures (15.72 degrees 

Celsius) however equates to an EMSY of 

18 percent, which is above an upper 

FRACTION bound of 15 percent. 

Therefore, increasing the upper bound 

of FRACTION to 20 percent allows 

FRACTION to be more in line with 

typical CalCOFI temperatures. By 

keeping the upper bound of FRACTION 

at 15 percent while using the new 

temperature index and EMSY

relationship, FRACTION would rarely 

vary up or down because it would be 

bounded in the lower range of typical 

CalCOFI temperatures. This change to 

the upper bound of FRACTION is an 

attempt to maintain consistency with 

the original intent of the HG under the 

CPS FMP, which was to have a 

FRACTION parameter that varied based 

on the environmental conditions (i.e. 

temperature) experienced by the stock 

and to permit higher harvest rates to 

take advantage of periods when biomass 

and productivity are high, but still 

restrict harvest when biomass and 

productivity are low. 

Additionally this revision mirrors an 

increase in the modeled stochastic 

estimate of MSY for Pacific sardine from 

0.12 during the analysis for Amendment 

8 to 0.18 (PFMC 1999 and PFMC 2014; 

Hurtado-Ferro and A. E. Punt.) when 

based on the updated analysis and the 

new simulation model developed to 

examine this action (Hurtado-Ferro and 

Punt 2013). This increase in the 

modeled stochastic MSY estimate 

reflects a statistically identified increase 

in the understanding of sardine 

productivity and the ability of the stock 

to withstand a higher average fishing 

rate. Additionally, results from the 

simulation model developed to examine 

the risks associated with the control rule 

and an assessment of changing to a new 

temperature recruit index showed that 

bounding FRACTION at 15 percent 

compared to 20 percent did not provide 

substantial benefits to the sardine stock 

from a long-term population perspective 

or benefits to the ecosystem with 

regards to the amount of sardine left 

unharvested as potential forage for 

predators. However, increasing the 

upper bound to 20 percent is expected 

to result in a higher yield to the fishery 

over the long term. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

NMFS Assistant Administrator has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

consistent with the CPS FMP, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, and other applicable law, subject to 

further consideration after public 

comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

This proposed rule is not expected to 

be an EO 13771 regulatory action 

because this proposed rule is not 

significant under EO 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities, 

for the following reasons: 

The purpose of this rule is to use the 

best available science for calculating the 

FRACTION parameter in the Pacific 

sardine HG control rule under the CPS 

FMP and this is expected to result, over 

the long term, in harvest guidelines of 

a similar level to the status quo, except 

the sardine stock should be more robust, 

over the long term, because the control 

rule would use better science. This is 

accomplished by incorporating the use 

of a new temperature index into the 

calculation that more accurately tracks 

sardine productivity and by revising the 

upper FRACTION bound to 20 percent. 

For RFA purposes only, NMFS has 

established a small business size 

standard for businesses, including their 

affiliates, whose primary industry is 

commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). 

A business primarily engaged in 

commercial fishing (NAICS code 11411) 

is classified as a small business if it is 

independently owned and operated, is 

not dominant in its field of operation 

(including its affiliates), and has 

combined annual receipts not in excess 

of $11 million for all its affiliated 

operations worldwide. 

The small entities that would be 

affected by the proposed action are the 

vessels that harvest Pacific sardine as 

part of the West Coast CPS finfish fleet 

and are all considered small businesses 

under the above size standards. In 2014, 

there were approximately 81 vessels 

permitted to operate in the directed 

sardine fishery component of the CPS 

fishery off the U.S. West Coast: 58 

vessels in the Federal CPS limited entry 

fishery off California (south of 39° N. 

lat.), and a combined 23 vessels in 

Oregon and Washington’s state Pacific 

sardine fisheries. The average annual 

per vessel revenue in 2014 for the West 

Coast CPS finfish fleet was well below 

$20.5 million; therefore, all of these 

vessels are considered small businesses 

under the RFA. 

The proposed action is not expected 

to have direct or indirect socioeconomic 

impacts, and, therefore, it is not 

expected to reduce profitability of the 

affected entities. This action does not 

establish specific harvest limits and 

does not change the general function of 

the existing control rule, both of which 

might influence ex-vessel revenue and 

personal income. Instead, the proposed 

action only updates the environmental 

indicator underlying the FRACTION 

parameter of the HG control rule and 

modifies the control rule to reflect this 

new information. In general, the revised 

harvest control rule encompassing these 

changes is expected to produce similar 

quotas as the existing control rule. 

The CPS FMP and its implementing 

regulations require NMFS to calculate 

annual harvest levels by applying the 

harvest control rule formulas, such as 

the HG rule, to the current stock 


pmangrum on DSK3GDR082PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2017 / Proposed Rules 39979 

biomass estimate. Therefore, if the 

estimated biomass decreases or 

increases from one year to the next, so 

do the applicable quotas. Under the 

proposed action, harvest levels will 

continue to vary from year to year, 

primarily driven by changes in sardine 

productivity and therefore changes in 

biomass. The proposed change to the 

temperature index that dictates the 

FRACTION parameter in the HG control 

rule simply ensures that the best 

available science is used when 

calculating the HG for Pacific sardine. 

This rule would also adjust the upper 

bound of FRACTION from 15 percent to 

20 percent. The reason for this change 

is that a FRACTION that ranges from 5 

percent to 20 percent better reflects the 

mid-range of actual measured 

temperatures and more closely aligns 

with CalCOFI temperatures in a manner 

similar to where the 5 to 15 percent 

range fell, relative to the existing 

temperature index. 

Based on the analysis above, the 

proposed action, if adopted, will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of these small 

entities. As a result, an Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not 

required, and none has been prepared. 

References Cited 

The complete citations for the 

references cited in this document can be 

obtained by contacting NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). 

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

Dated: August 17, 2017. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17820 Filed 8–22–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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