SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The MSA requires each regional fishery management council to submit any amendment to an FMP to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The MSA also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment to an FMP, immediately publish a notification in the Federal Register that the amendment is available for public review and comment (16 U.S.C. 1854(a)(1)(B)). This notification announces that the proposed Amendment 22 to the CPS 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, disapprove, or partially approve Amendment 22.

Background

The MSA mandates that each FMP describe and identify EFH for the fishery (16 U.S.C. 1853(7)). EFH is defined as “those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity” (16 U.S.C. 1802(10)). Under this authority, NMFS and the Council have developed a comprehensive strategy to conserve EFH. This includes incorporating EFH into each of the Council's FMPs, identifying fishing and non-fishing impacts and associated conservation recommendations, and other required EFH elements. EFH requirements and the process for periodic EFH reviews are described in the EFH regulations at 50 CFR 600.815(a).

EFH was originally described for CPS species under Amendment 8 to the FMP, implemented in January 2000, in both the text of the FMP (section 2.3.1.2) and Appendix D. An EFH designation for krill was adopted in 2009 under Amendment 12, which added those species to the FMP as prohibited harvest species. The species currently managed under the CPS FMP include Pacific sardine ( Sardinops sagax), Pacific mackerel ( Scomber japonicus), northern anchovy ( Engraulis mordax), market squid ( Doryteuthis opalescens), Jack mackerel ( Trachurus symmetricus), and all species of krill (Euphausiids) in the West Coast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). EFH provisions of the CPS FMP were reviewed comprehensively in 2010, at which time revisions were found not warranted. The Council initiated the latest review of the EFH provisions in 2020. Based on a literature review and an evaluation of that material by the Council's CPS Management Team, the Council determined in 2021 that new information warranted updating the EFH provisions in the FMP. The Council took final action in June 2023.

Summary of Proposed Amendment 22

This section describes the proposed updates that Amendment 22 would make to EFH provisions in the CPS FMP, which the Council recommended based on a review of available information. The revised FMP text and Appendix D to the FMP include supporting information and rationale for the modifications recommended by the Council. There are no management measures proposed as part of this action, and no regulations are necessary to implement the proposed changes.

Species Groupings: Regulatory guidance at 50 CFR 600.815(a)(1)(iv)(E) allows that EFH be designated for assemblages of species or life stages that have similar habitat needs and requirements. Market squid are proposed to be removed from their prior species grouping with the CPS finfish assemblage based on differences in life histories, distributions, and habitat needs. The assemblage of “other krill” is proposed to include three additional species, updated in Appendix D with corresponding updates in the text of the FMP, to ensure the list of “All Species in West Coast EEZ” is accurate. The following species would be included in the discussion of “other krill” EFH: Thysanoessa inspinata, Stylocheiron affine, and Euphasia hemigibba.

EFH Description and Identification, Species Distribution and Habitat, Life History, and Relevant Trophic Information: Because market squid would be described separately from the CPS finfish assemblage for the first time, the EFH provisions would be updated with an EFH definition and more information on the distribution and habitat of this species. Market squid EFH would be defined as the area from the shoreline seaward to the extent of its 5.8 percent distribution probability, including waters to a depth of 300 meters (m), and where the sea surface temperature is between 7° and 24°C along the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. This definition would include U.S. waters of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea and exclude other estuarine waters on the Pacific Coast. Market squid EFH would also include soft, sandy substrates 13 m to 93 m of depth for spawning adults and the egg ( printed page 37378) capsule stage. EFH for all CPS finfish and krill remain as previously defined, but information on these species would be improved with updated distributional data and maps. Overall, descriptions of all species' life histories, habitats, and relevant trophic information would be augmented to reflect available scientific information, given advances in knowledge since the last update to EFH provisions of the CPS FMP.

Non-Fishing Impacts and Conservation and Enhancement Measures: The existing list of non-fishing impacts and conservation and enhancement measures would be updated based on a recent NMFS publication which comprehensively describes non-fishing impacts and conservation measures that may be relevant to EFH for CPS species.

Research and Information Needs: The Council adopted several Research and Information (R&I) Needs, as required by EFH regulations. This list would be updated with respect to oceanographic and environmental factors, species distributions, habitat features that might inform the designation of Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs), trophic ecology, and fishing effects.

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

91 FR 37376