80 FR 17352 - Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Amendment 14 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 62 (April 1, 2015)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 62 (April 1, 2015)
| Page Range | 17352-17354 | |
| FR Document | 2015-07289 |
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 1, 2015)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 17352-17354] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2015-07289] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 agency decision. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: NMFS announces the approval of Amendment 14 to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). 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. This action promotes the goals and objectives of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws. DATES: The amendment was approved on March 23, 2015. ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the CPS FMP as amended through Amendment 14 are available from the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Web site at: http://www.pcouncil.org/coastal-pelagic-species/fishery-management-plan-and-amendments/. Requests for the list of references used in this document should be addressed to: NMFS, West Coast Region, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802. c/o 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 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 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 Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each regional fishery management council submit proposed amendments to a fishery management plan to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial approval by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that, upon receiving a fishery management plan amendment, NMFS immediately publish in the Federal Register a notice that the amendment is available for public review and comment. NMFS determined that Amendment 14 to the FMP is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws, and the Secretary approved Amendment 14 on March 23, 2015. The December 24, 2014, Notice of Availability contains additional information on this action. No changes to Federal regulations are necessary to implement Amendment 14. Amendment 14 will change the CPS FMP so that it now includes a specification of an estimate MSY for the northern subpopulation of northern [[Page 17353]] anchovy. NMFS has determined that the specification of an FMSY of 0.3 as the MSY reference for the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy point as recommended by the Council is appropriate and supported by the best available information. 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 voted 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. This was deemed appropriate by the SSC because the best available information regarding northern anchovy shows that northern anchovy 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. The Notice of Availability for Amendment 14 was published in the Federal Register on December 24, 2014 (79 FR 77426), with a 60-day comment period that ended on February 23, 2015. NMFS received one comment letter during the public comment period. No changes were made in response to these comments. NMFS summarizes and responds to that comment below. Comment: The majority of points raised in the comment were outside the scope of Amendment 14 and instead were related to the CPS FMP as a whole and/or other aspects of the management of the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy beyond the establishment of an MSY reference point, which is the purpose and substance of Amendment 14. Those comments will not be addressed here. However, NMFS found the comments valuable and will consider them for future management planning, and will ensure the Council is aware of the comments. Related to Amendment 14, the commenter questioned some of the scientific rationale underlying the MSY recommendation, specifically the commenter states that productivity is not constant and states that the MSY estimate does not account for the current productivity of the stock and may overestimate the productivity of the stock during periods of low natural recruitment, which the commenter states currently appears to be the case from recent NMFS, CalCOFI, and independent surveys and that the use of information on Pacific mackerel to help determine the estimate may not be appropriate. The commenter however did not state that the Amendment should not be approved and expressed encouragement by the establishment of this reference point. Response: NMFS agrees with the commenter that productivity of the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy is likely not constant over time. Much like other CPS stocks, the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy is likely subject to relatively large fluctuations in stock biomass that are driven by changes in environmental conditions. As described below, this specific life history trait was in fact part of the rationale for the SSC's recommendation to the Council and subsequent adoption by the Council of an FMSY equal to 0.3 over a fixed biomass-based or catch-based MSY that may not fully take these factors into consideration. Additionally, NMFS points out that by definition MSY is a long-term average, therefore at times any estimate may be an overestimate or an underestimate, however, the MSY estimate is intended to reflect a fishing mortality rate that does not jeopardize the capacity of a stock or stock complex to produce MSY. As it relates to the specific information used to make the determination that an FMSY equal to 0.3 is appropriate for use as the MSY reference point for the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy, NMFS has determined the best available scientific information was used. In addition, an FMSY equal to 0.3 was recommended to the Council by its SSC, the scientific advisory body to the Council tasked with making such recommendations based on the best available information. Although the commenter states that there is recent survey information that is contrary to this determination, no specific evidence or citations for this referenced information is provided to show that the a FMSY equal to 0.3 does not represent the best available science for estimating MSY for this stock. Furthermore, the commenter references the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) survey however this survey only occurs off of southern and south-central California, were as the southern extent of the habitat range for the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy is northern California. In making their recommendation on MSY the SSC reviewed all of the available information on the stock, which although limited, included information such as egg and larvae survey data, density and distribution data, stock productivity and vulnerability information and landings data, which was prepared and presented to them by the Council's CPSMT (Agenda Item I.2.c, CPSMT Report 1, November 2010 and references contained within). Included in this scientific and fishery information, and specifically examined for potential use in estimating MSY, were (the only) two estimates of biomass: One from the 1970s (Richardson 1981), and the other from an acoustic survey conducted by researchers at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in 2008 as well as the historical time series of catch going back to the 1950s. In reviewing this information, however, the SSC noted that the available biomass estimates were uncertain and, because there were only two, they provided little information on the variability of stock biomass over time. Furthermore, the SSC also noted that because the northern subpopulation of anchovy has been lightly fished, with inconsistent effort, that the time series of catch was an unreliable indicator of annual stock status. It was therefore determined that because of the paucity of biomass data and the nature of the landings information, that a MSY estimate based either of these sources would not be representative of the biology of the stock, and that it would be more appropriate to use a rate-based approach to estimate MSY instead of biomass or catch-based method. Although general biological information on the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy exists, specific productivity information is limited; therefore the SSC looked at information available for the other CPS stocks to help determine an appropriate rate. For instance, the default exploitation rate for Pacific mackerel, a stock for which more information is known regarding stock variability and productivity (stock assessments for [[Page 17354]] Pacific mackerel have occurred since 1978, with annual assessments generally since 2000), is 0.3. Based on what information is known regarding northern anchovy, they are assumed to be at least as productive as Pacific mackerel, and likely have higher natural mortality (Patrick et al. 2009, PFMC 1998, Crone et al. 2011) which would typically be associated with a higher FMSY . Therefore an FMSY equal to 0.3 was deemed an appropriate specification of MSY by the SSC, for the northern subpopulation of northern anchovy, in part, because the previous determination of 0.3 as the default exploitation rate for Pacific mackerel and the existing knowledge of the two stocks. References Cited The complete citations for the references used 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: March 23, 2015. Samuel D. Rauch III, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2015-07289 Filed 3-31-15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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incidentally caught halibut in the consultation with the Chairman of the (MSY) for the northern subpopulation of
salmon troll and sablefish primary Pacific Fishery Management Council, northern anchovy in the CPS FMP. This
fisheries, which start April 1. Therefore, the Commission Executive Director, and action promotes the goals and objectives
allowing the 2014 subarea allocations the Fisheries Director(s) of the affected of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
and Plan to remain in place would not state(s), or their designees, is authorized Conservation and Management Act, the
respond to the needs of the fishery and to modify regulations during the season FMP, and other applicable laws.
would be in conflict with the Council’s after making the following DATES: The amendment was approved
final recommendation for 2015. For all determinations: on March 23, 2015.
of these reasons, a delay in effectiveness * * * * * ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the CPS
could ultimately cause economic harm (3) * * * FMP as amended through Amendment
to the fishing industry and associated (ii) Actual notice of inseason 14 are available from the Pacific Fishery
fishing communities by reducing fishing management actions will be provided by Management Council (Council) Web site
opportunity later in the year to keep a telephone hotline administered by the at: http://www.pcouncil.org/coastal-
catch in the subareas within the lower West Coast Region, NMFS, at 206–526– pelagic-species/fishery-management-
2015 allocations or result in harvest 6667 or 800–662–9825 (May through plan-and-amendments/. Requests for
levels inconsistent with the best October) and by U.S. Coast Guard the list of references used in this
available scientific information. As a broadcasts. These broadcasts are document should be addressed to:
result of the potential harm to fishing announced on Channel 16 VHF–FM and NMFS, West Coast Region, Sustainable
communities that could be caused by 2182 kHz at frequent intervals. The Fisheries Division, 501 West Ocean
delaying the effectiveness of this final announcements designate the channel Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA
rule, NMFS finds good cause to waive or frequency over which the notice to 90802. c/o Joshua Lindsay
the 30-day delay in effectiveness and mariners will be immediately broadcast. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
make this rule effective upon Since provisions of these regulations Joshua B. Lindsay, Sustainable Fisheries
publication in the Federal Register. may be altered by inseason actions, Division, NMFS, at 562–980–4034 or
sport fishers should monitor either the Kerry Griffin, Pacific Fishery
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300 telephone hotline or U.S. Coast Guard Management Council, at 503–820–2280.
Administrative practice and broadcasts for current information for SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS
procedure, Antarctica, Canada, Exports, the area in which they are fishing. fishery in the U.S. exclusive economic
Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Imports, * * * * * zone (EEZ) off the West Coast is
Indians, Labeling, Marine resources, (5) Availability of data. The Regional managed under the CPS FMP, which
Reporting and recordkeeping Administrator will compile, in aggregate was developed by the Council pursuant
requirements, Russian Federation, form, all data and other information to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Transportation, Treaties, Wildlife. relevant to the action being taken and Conservation and Management Act
Dated: March 26, 2015. will make them available for public (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801
Samuel D. Rauch III, review during normal office hours at the et seq. Species managed under the CPS
Deputy Assistant Administrator for West Coast Regional Office, NMFS, FMP include Pacific sardine, Pacific
Regulatory Programs, National Marine Sustainable Fisheries Division, 7600 mackerel, jack mackerel, northern
Fisheries Service. Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, anchovy, market squid and krill. The
For the reasons set out in the Washington. CPS FMP was approved by the Secretary
preamble, 50 CFR part 300 is amended * * * * * of Commerce and was implemented by
as follows: [FR Doc. 2015–07329 Filed 3–31–15; 8:45 am] regulations at 50 CFR part 660, subpart
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P I.
PART 300—INTERNATIONAL The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
FISHERIES REGULATIONS that each regional fishery management
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE council submit proposed amendments
Subpart E—Pacific Halibut Fisheries to a fishery management plan to NMFS
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
for review and approval, disapproval, or
■ 1. The authority citation for part 300, Administration
partial approval by the Secretary of
subpart E continues to read as follows:
Commerce (Secretary). The Magnuson-
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773–773k. 50 CFR Part 660
Stevens Act also requires that, upon
■ 2. In § 300.63, revise paragraphs (a), RIN 0648–XD339 receiving a fishery management plan
(c)(1) introductory text, (c)(3)(ii), and amendment, NMFS immediately
(c)(5), to read as follows: Fisheries Off West Coast States; publish in the Federal Register a notice
Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; that the amendment is available for
* * * * * Amendment 14 to the Coastal Pelagic public review and comment. NMFS
§ 300.63 Catch sharing plan and domestic Species Fishery Management Plan determined that Amendment 14 to the
management measures in area 2A. FMP is consistent with the Magnuson-
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
(a) A catch sharing plan (CSP) may be Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Stevens Act and other applicable laws,
developed by the Pacific Fishery Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Secretary approved Amendment
Management Council and approved by Commerce. 14 on March 23, 2015. The December
NMFS for portions of the fishery. Any ACTION: Notice of agency decision.
24, 2014, Notice of Availability contains
approved CSP may be obtained from the additional information on this action.
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Administrator, West Coast Region, SUMMARY: NMFS announces the No changes to Federal regulations are
NMFS. approval of Amendment 14 to the necessary to implement Amendment 14.
* * * * * Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Amendment 14 will change the CPS
(c) * * * Management Plan (FMP). The purpose FMP so that it now includes a
(1) The Regional Administrator, of Amendment 14 is to specify an specification of an estimate MSY for the
NMFS West Coast Region, after estimate of maximum sustainable yield northern subpopulation of northern
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Pacific mackerel have occurred since was deemed an appropriate contacting NMFS (See ADDRESSES and FOR
1978, with annual assessments generally specification of MSY by the SSC, for the FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
since 2000), is 0.3. Based on what northern subpopulation of northern Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
information is known regarding anchovy, in part, because the previous
determination of 0.3 as the default Dated: March 23, 2015.
northern anchovy, they are assumed to
be at least as productive as Pacific exploitation rate for Pacific mackerel Samuel D. Rauch III,
mackerel, and likely have higher natural and the existing knowledge of the two Deputy Assistant Administrator for
mortality (Patrick et al. 2009, PFMC stocks. Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
1998, Crone et al. 2011) which would References Cited
[FR Doc. 2015–07289 Filed 3–31–15; 8:45 am]
typically be associated with a higher
The complete citations for the references
FMSY. Therefore an FMSY equal to 0.3 used in this document can be obtained by
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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Document Created: 2015-12-18 11:04:30
Document Modified: 2015-12-18 11:04:30
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Rules and Regulations | |
| Action | Notice of agency decision. | |
| Dates | The amendment was approved on March 23, 2015. | |
| Contact | Joshua B. Lindsay, Sustainable Fisheries Division, NMFS, at 562-980-4034 or Kerry Griffin, Pacific Fishery Management Council, at 503-820-2280. | |
| FR Citation | 80 FR 17352 | |
| RIN Number | 0648-XD33 |
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