Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2011/04/29/2011-10443/fisheries-off-west-coast-states-highly-migratory-species-fisheries-annual-catch-limits-and
Timestamp: 2016-09-30 01:57:56
Document Index: 52199291

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 660', '§\u2009660', '§\u2009660', '§\u2009660', '§\u2009660', '§\u2009660']

:: Fisheries Off West Coast States; Highly Migratory Species Fisheries; Annual Catch Limits and Accountability Measures
23962-23964
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2011-10443
This proposed rule is also accessible at (http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/​). An electronic copy of the current HMS FMP and accompanying appendices, including Amendment 1, are available on the Pacific Fishery Management Council's Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org/​hms/​hmsfmp.html.
In June 2010, the Council took final action to recommend Amendment 2 to the HMS FMP, which would address statutory requirements of the MSA National Standard Guidelines in regard to the establishment of annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs). This proposed rule to implement Amendment 2 would reduce the number of HMS FMP Management Unit Species (MUS) listed in 50 CFR part 660 from 13 to 11. The Council has recommended that all 11 MUS should be deemed to fall under the international exemption for setting ACLs and AMs as outlined in the revised MSA National Standard 1 (NS1) Guidelines described in detail below, and therefore the Council has not proposed implementing regulations for ACLs and AMs. The proposed rule would also modify the process for revising and seeking NMFS approval for numerical estimates of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and optimal yield (OY) and to specify status determination criteria (SDC) so that overfishing and overfished determinations can be made for all MUS stocks.Start Printed Page 23963
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 amended the MSA to include new requirements for establishing ACLs and AMs and other provisions regarding preventing and ending overfishing and rebuilding fisheries. In response to these changes in the MSA, in 2009 NMFS revised the NS1 Guidelines (50 CFR 600.310) (see: 74 FR 3178, January 16, 2009). The Guidelines are intended to help the regional fishery management councils and NMFS meet the objectives of NS1 by providing guidance on: Specifying MSY and OY; specifying SDC so that overfishing and overfished determinations can be made for stocks and stock complexes that are part of a fishery; preventing overfishing and achieving OY; incorporating of scientific and management uncertainty in control rules, adaptive management using ACLs and AMs; and rebuilding stocks and stock complexes. MSY is the largest long-term average catch or yield that can be taken from a stock or stock complex under prevailing ecological, environmental conditions and fishery technological characteristics (e.g., gear selectivity), and the distribution of catch among fleets. OY is the long-term average amount of fish that will provide the greatest overall benefit to the Nation, particularly with respect to food production and recreational opportunities and taking into account the protection of marine ecosystems. SDC are quantifiable factors or their proxies, which are used to determine if overfishing has occurred, or if the stock or stock complex is overfished. “Overfished” relates to biomass of a stock or stock complex, and “overfishing” pertains to a rate or level of removal of fish from a stock or stock complex.
The revisions to the NS1 Guidelines also dictate that fisheries undergoing overfishing have ACLs and AMs in place to end overfishing by 2010, and all fisheries to have ACLs and AMs in place to prevent or end overfishing by 2011. However, a stock or stock complex does not require an ACL or AM if it qualifies for any of several MSA-defined exceptions. The most important of these with respect to highly migratory species is the so-called “international exception” for stocks managed under an international agreement to which the United States is a party (§ 660.310(h)(2)(ii)). The international exception applies to stocks or stock complexes subject to management under an international agreement, which is defined as “any bilateral or multilateral treaty, convention, or agreement which relates to fishing and to which the United States is a party.” The management unit species in the HMS FMP occur in the convention area of, and are subject to the conservation and management authority of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission; furthermore most of the management unit species also occur in the convention area of, and are subject to the conservation and management authority of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
In regard to the process for revising numerical estimates of management reference points, the methods for determining MSY (or proxies), OY, and SDC are currently described in the HMS FMP. Existing numerical estimates of these quantities (shown in FMP Table 4-3) would be retained. However, upon receipt of any new information based on the best available science, the Council may adjust the numerical estimates of MSY, OY, and SDC periodically under the Council's management measure process. The process would involve the Council's HMSMT identifying the numerical estimates within the draft HMS Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) document that is submitted in June with the Council's SSC HMS subcommittee and then making a recommendation on their suitability. The Council would then decide whether to adopt updated numerical estimates of MSY and OY, which would be submitted as recommendations for NMFS to review as part of the management measure review process. This provides the Secretary the opportunity to review revised MSY and OY estimates. In this process, the Council takes final action in November and then NMFS engages in rulemaking to implement the specifications of any management measures proposed by the Council. The revised estimates of MSY, OY, and SDC would also be published in the annual HMS SAFE document. If, however, a regional fisheries management organization formally adopts reference points for the purpose of regional management for any of the HMS FMP managed species, these would generally take precedence. The Council would engage in a review process similar to that described above before adopting them as appropriate for domestic Start Printed Page 23964management purposes under the HMS FMP.
2. In § 660.702, revise the definition of “Highly Migratory Species (HMS)” to read as follows:
§ 660.702 Definitions.
3. In § 660.709, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 660.709 Annual specifications.