SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The ocean salmon fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (3-200 nautical miles; 5.6-370.4 kilometers) off Washington, Oregon, and California are managed under the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (Salmon FMP). The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) requires that each regional fishery management council submit any fishery management plan (FMP) or plan amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial approval by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) (MSA section 304(a)). The MSA also requires that NMFS, upon receiving a proposed FMP or plan amendment, immediately publish a notice that the FMP or plan amendment is available for public review and comment. Publication occurs on or before the fifth day after the day on which a Council transmits to the Secretary a FMP or plan amendment. This document announces that proposed Amendment 24 to the Salmon FMP 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, partially approve, or disapprove Amendment 24 to the Salmon FMP.

In November 2020, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) adopted management measures for Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) under Amendment 21 (86 FR 51017, September 14, 2021) to the Salmon FMP. The Salmon FMP was amended by adding Section 6.6.8 which describes provisions to limit the impacts of the Council-managed ocean salmon fisheries on SRKW by limiting the extent to which they reduce Chinook salmon prey availability for SRKW. Amendment 21 established a Chinook salmon abundance threshold (threshold) for U.S. waters north of Cape Falcon, Oregon and if preseason projections of abundance in a given year are less than the threshold, then a list of management actions will be implemented through the management measures for ocean salmon fisheries that year.

In April 2022, the Salmon Technical Team and Scientific and Statistical Committee conducted a technical review of updates to the models that inform the threshold. During this review, it became apparent that the language in Section 6.6.8 describing the process, roles and responsibilities for reviewing model updates and using the updated models to update the threshold, and the appropriate depth of review was unclear. In November 2022, the Council adopted a revised threshold value to account for the model updates. At the same time, the Council tasked NMFS and Council staff to evaluate the description in the Salmon FMP of the process for the technical review and suggest clarifying language to improve the process. Based on this evaluation, in November 2023, the Council adopted the recommended changes for the Salmon FMP.

If approved, Amendment 24 to the Salmon FMP would clarify the process for review of updates to the models, and the recalculation of the threshold value based on updated model information, by revising Section 6.6.8 of the Salmon FMP. The revised text would not change the approach used to calculate the threshold.

( printed page 82820)

Amendment 24 also includes some minor housekeeping edits, such as updates to references and correction of a species name.

All comments received by the end of the comment period (see DATES and ADDRESSES above) will be considered in the Secretary's decision to approve, disapprove, or partially approve Amendment 24. To be considered in this decision, 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.

88 FR 82819