[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 213 (Monday, November 6, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51381-51382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24097]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

RIN 0648-BG74


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species 
Fisheries; Amendment 16 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery 
Management Plan

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

ACTION: Availability of fishery management plan amendment; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendment 16 to the Coastal Pelagic Species 
(CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for review by the Secretary of 
Commerce. Amendment 16 would add a description to the CPS FMP of a very 
small sector of the CPS fishery that is not part of the primary 
commercial directed fishery and harvests minor amounts of CPS finfish. 
Total landings from this sector typically make up less than one percent 
of the total landings of any particular CPS stock. Currently, when 
directed fishing closures are enacted, these very small-scale fisheries 
have been precluded from fishing and/or harvesting these minor amounts 
because they do not fall under the existing exemptions during closures 
for incidental harvest or for harvesting CPS to be sold as live bait. 
The intent of Amendment 16 is to allow this sector to continue 
targeting CPS finfish after a directed fishery closure, while keeping 
the aggregate catch level within the applicable annual catch limit 
(ACL).

DATES: Comments on Amendment 16 must be received by January 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2017-0135, 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-2017-0135, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to Barry A. Thom, Regional 
Administrator, West Coast Region, NMFS, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Ste. 4200, 
Long Beach, CA 90802-4250; 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).
    Copies of the draft CPS FMP as amended through Amendment 16, with 
notations showing how Amendment 16 would change the FMP, if approved, 
are available via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, docket NOAA-NMFS-2017-0135, or by contacting the 
Pacific Fisheries Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 
101, Portland, OR 97220-1384.

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 Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (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 a FMP to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or 
partial approval. The MSA also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an 
amendment to a FMP, publish

[[Page 51382]]

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 16.
    In recent years the primary directed fishery for Pacific sardine 
has experienced extremely shortened fishing seasons or complete fishing 
year closures. However, the CPS FMP allows incidental catch of CPS and 
live bait fishing to continue when directed fisheries are closed, 
provided the Pacific sardine stock is not overfished or experiencing 
overfishing. These small allowances continue to be subject to ACLs and 
comport with the conservation goals of the CPS FMP. Management measures 
for incidental landing allowances are typically expressed as allowable 
percentages of that species in a landing of the dominant species catch. 
However, during the directed fishing closures some other very small-
scale fisheries have been precluded from fishing and/or harvesting even 
de minimis amounts because they would exceed existing incidental 
allowances or they are not caught incidental to another CPS species 
(i.e., within allowances) and the fish are not sold as live bait. In 
the case of Pacific sardine, these small-scale CPS fisheries typically 
sell their catch as specialty dead bait to recreational and commercial 
fisheries, or as fresh fish to restaurants and the public. For example, 
landings by a beach seine operation may often be over 50 percent 
sardine, which would exceed typically incidental landing allowances, 
yet total only a few hundred pounds. Pursuant to a request from the 
Council at their April 2016 meeting, the Coastal Pelagic Species 
Management Team (CPSMT) explored management options to account for 
these small-scale fisheries that have been negatively impacted by the 
closure of the directed sardine fishery.
    At the April 2017 Council meeting, the Council adopted Amendment 16 
to the CPS FMP to allow minor directed fishing to continue after a 
directed fishery is closed. Minor directed fishing would be allowed 
unless otherwise specified, or if an applicable ACL is anticipated to 
be exceeded. As a further restriction, to ensure the minor directed 
landing provision is not exploited to make large aggregate harvests, 
Amendment 16 limits this directed fishing exemption so that landings 
cannot exceed 1 metric ton (mt) per day per vessel or person, and which 
is limited to one fishing trip per day by any vessel. The intent of 
distinguishing between a ``vessel'' and ``person'' is that some 
participants in this small sector of the CPS fishery fish from a 
platform other than a vessel (e.g. beach seine) and in a single fishing 
trip (e.g. a single haul of a beach seine) may only land a few hundred 
pounds. Therefore, the Council recommended allowing a person to make 
multiple fishing trips without using a vessel in a single day as long 
as their total landings do not exceed 1 mt in a day. The Council 
recommended that vessels be limited to a single trip as their typical 
landings are much greater per trip.
    Public comments on Amendment 16 must be received by January 5, 
2018. The Council has also submitted proposed regulations to implement 
Amendment 16 for Secretarial review and approval. NMFS expects to 
publish and request public comment on the proposed regulation to 
implement Amendment 16 in the near future. Public comments on Amendment 
16 must be received by the end of the comment period to be considered 
in the approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 16. All comments 
received by the end of the comment period on Amendment 16, whether 
specifically directed to Amendment 16 or the proposed rule, will be 
considered in the approval/disapproval decision. Comments received 
after that date will not be considered in the approval/disapproval 
decision of Amendment 16. To be considered, comments must be received 
by close of business on the last day of the comment period; that does 
not mean postmarked or otherwise transmitted by that date.

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

    Dated: November 1, 2017.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-24097 Filed 11-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P