Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Amendment 18 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan, 14401-14402 [2021-05101]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 16, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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[FR Doc. 2021–05138 Filed 3–15–21; 8:45 am]
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16:47 Mar 15, 2021
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 73
[MB Docket No. 21–49; RM–11874; DA 21–
158; FR ID 17557]
Television Broadcasting Services;
Augusta, Georgia
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule; correction.
AGENCY:
The Federal Communications
Commission published a document in
the Federal Register of March 8, 2021,
concerning a petition for rulemaking
filed by Gray Television Licensee, LLC
(Gray) requesting the substitution of
channel 27 for channel 12 at Augusta,
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The document contained the incorrect
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
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SUMMARY:
Correction
In the Federal Register of March 8,
2021, in FR Vol. 86, No. 43, on page
13278, in the second column, correct
the ADDRESSES caption to read:
ADDRESSES: Federal Communications
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Dated: March 9, 2021.
Thomas Horan,
Chief of Staff, Media Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2021–05394 Filed 3–15–21; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[RTID 0648–XA797]
Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries;
Amendment 18 to the Coastal Pelagic
Species Fishery Management Plan
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Announcement of availability of
fishery management plan amendment;
request for comments.
AGENCY:
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Frm 00015
Fmt 4702
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14401
NMFS announces that the
Pacific Fishery Management Council
has submitted Amendment 18 to the
Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery
Management Plan for review by the
Secretary of Commerce. Amendment 18
would implement a rebuilding plan for
the northern subpopulation of Pacific
sardine, which NMFS declared
overfished in June 2019. NMFS will
consider public comments in deciding
whether to approve, disapprove, or
partially approve Amendment 18.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 18
must be received by May 17, 2021.
Comments on the associated
Environmental Assessment must be
received by April 15, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–0008–2021, by the following
electronic methods:
• The Pacific Fishery Management
Council and NMFS prepared a draft
excerpt of the Coastal Pelagic Species
Fishery Management Plan as amended
through Amendment 18, with notations
showing how Amendment 18 would
change the Fishery Management Plan, if
approved. This draft can be viewed via
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov, docket NOAA–
NMFS–0008–2021 or by contacting the
Pacific Fisheries Management Council,
7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101,
Portland, OR 97220–1384. In order to
comment on this document and the
draft Amendment 18 language, submit
all electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA–
NMFS–0008–2021 in the Search box.
Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon and
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• The Pacific Fishery Management
Council and NMFS prepared a draft
Environmental Assessment for this
action pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act. This draft
can be viewed on NMFS’ website at
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/westcoast/laws-and-policies/west-coastregion-national-environmental-policyact-documents. In order to comment on
the Environmental Assessment, submit
all public comments to Lynn Massey at
lynn.massey@noaa.gov, or Kerry Griffin
at Kerry.griffin@noaa.gov.
Instructions: Comments must be
submitted by 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
SUMMARY:
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14402
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 16, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lynn Massey, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, NMFS, (562) 436–2462,
lynn.massey@noaa.gov; or Kerry Griffin,
Pacific Fishery Management Council,
(503) 820–2409, kerry.griffin@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
coastal pelagic species (CPS) fishery in
the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the
West Coast is managed under the CPS
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The
Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) developed the CPS FMP
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq. The Secretary of Commerce
approved the CPS FMP and
implemented the provisions of the plan
through regulations at 50 CFR part 660,
subpart I. Species managed under the
CPS FMP include Pacific sardine,
Pacific mackerel, jack mackerel,
northern anchovy, market squid, and
krill.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
each regional fishery management
council to submit any amendment to an
FMP to NMFS for review and approval,
disapproval, or partial approval. The
Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires
that NMFS, upon receiving an
amendment to an FMP, publish
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 18.
NMFS declared the northern
subpopulation of Pacific sardine
(hereafter, Pacific sardine) overfished in
June 2019. This determination was
based on the results of an April 2019
stock assessment, which indicated that
the biomass of Pacific sardine had
dropped below the overfished threshold
of 50,000 metric tons (mt) defined in the
CPS FMP. NMFS notified the Council
about the overfished declaration on July
9, 2019. The Magnuson-Stevens Act
requires that NMFS and the Council
prepare a rebuilding plan within 2 years
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16:16 Mar 15, 2021
Jkt 253001
of NMFS’ overfished notification to the
Council that specifies a rebuilding
timeframe (i.e., Ttarget) within 10 years,
except where the biology of the stock or
other environmental conditions dictate
otherwise (see Magnuson-Stevens Act
section 304(e)(4)(A)(2)).
In September 2020, the Council
recommended a rebuilding plan strategy
to NMFS that would maintain the
existing management framework for the
Pacific sardine fishery. Under the
rebuilding plan, the harvest control
rules and other FMP provisions
currently in place for Pacific sardine
would be maintained. This includes the
harvest guideline control rule, which
requires that the primary directed
fishery for Pacific sardine be closed
when the biomass is at or below 150,000
mt and restrictions on incidental
landings of Pacific sardine in other CPS
fisheries, including an automatic
reduction in allowable incidental
landings when the biomass is below
50,000 mt. The rebuilding plan would
also maintain the Council’s annual
harvest specifications process for Pacific
sardine, such that an overfishing limit
and acceptable biological catch are
calculated annually based on an
estimate of that year’s biomass from
annual stock assessments and their
respective control rules in the FMP (that
have been approved by the Scientific
and Statistical Committee to prevent
overfishing). In addition to the harvest
control rules prescribed by the CPS
FMP, the rebuilding plan would allow
the Council to maintain their ability to
annually adjust the incidental harvest
percentages or other accountability
measures for the various sectors based
on new information from the previous
year or changes in fishery dynamics, if
necessary. Although this framework
would maintain the current
management strategy, this management
strategy already severely restricts fishing
and will continue to do so until the
stock is rebuilt.
Current fishing mortality is not
considered to be the primary
constraining factor or rebuilding Pacific
sardine. The primary directed fishery
for Pacific sardine has been closed since
2015 when the stock’s biomass dropped
below the 150,000 mt threshold in the
CPS FMP for allowing a primary
directed fishery. This closure of the
primary directed fishery, which took
place 4 years prior to the stock
dropping, drastically reduced catch of
Pacific sardine and has kept harvest at
very low levels since that time. As such,
the contribution of this rebuilding plan
to stock recovery would be additional to
measures already in place via the CPS
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 9990
FMP and Council process that limit
fishing mortality of Pacific sardine.
As described above, the MagnusonStevens Act specifies that the time
period for rebuilding a fishery generally
should not exceed 10 years unless the
biology of the stock or environmental
conditions dictate otherwise, as is the
case for Pacific sardine. Pacific sardines
are known for wide swings in
population abundance, and studies
show the species has long experienced
boom-bust cycles even in the absence of
fishing. Periods of low recruitment
success driven by prevailing
oceanographic conditions can lead to
low population abundance over
extended periods of time. Because
environmental conditions represent the
primary constraint on rebuilding Pacific
sardine, the projected time for
rebuilding, is 14 years (i.e., Ttarget). This
Ttarget was determined to be the shortest
time possible to rebuild the stock, taking
into account the biology of the species,
current environmental conditions, and
the needs of fishing communities. For
more information about how this
rebuilding target was determined, see
the Environmental Assessment at
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/westcoast/laws-and-policies/west-coastregion-national-environmental-policyact-documents.
Amendment 18 would expand
Section 4.5 of the CPS FMP to include
the proposed rebuilding plan for Pacific
sardine. There are no implementing
regulations associated with Amendment
18, therefore NMFS will not promulgate
proposed and final rules to implement
this amendment.
Public comments on Amendment 18
must be received by May 17, 2021.
Public comments on the associated EA
for Amendment 18 must be received by
May 17, 2021. All comments received
by the end of the comment period on
Amendment 18 will be considered in
the Secretary’s decision to approve,
disapprove, or partially approve this
amendment. 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. NMFS will respond to any
substantive comments received by the
end of the comment period on
Amendment 18 in a subsequent Federal
Register document.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 8, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–05101 Filed 3–15–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 16, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14401-14402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05101]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[RTID 0648-XA797]
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species
Fisheries; Amendment 18 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery
Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Announcement of availability of fishery management plan
amendment; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council has
submitted Amendment 18 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery
Management Plan for review by the Secretary of Commerce. Amendment 18
would implement a rebuilding plan for the northern subpopulation of
Pacific sardine, which NMFS declared overfished in June 2019. NMFS will
consider public comments in deciding whether to approve, disapprove, or
partially approve Amendment 18.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 18 must be received by May 17, 2021.
Comments on the associated Environmental Assessment must be received by
April 15, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-0008-2021, by the following electronic methods:
The Pacific Fishery Management Council and NMFS prepared a
draft excerpt of the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan as
amended through Amendment 18, with notations showing how Amendment 18
would change the Fishery Management Plan, if approved. This draft can
be viewed via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov, docket NOAA-NMFS-0008-2021 or by contacting the
Pacific Fisheries Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite
101, Portland, OR 97220-1384. In order to comment on this document and
the draft Amendment 18 language, submit all electronic public comments
via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov and
enter NOAA-NMFS-0008-2021 in the Search box. Click the ``Comment'' icon
and complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council and NMFS prepared a
draft Environmental Assessment for this action pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act. This draft can be viewed on NMFS' website at
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/west-coast-region-national-environmental-policy-act-documents. In order to comment
on the Environmental Assessment, submit all public comments to Lynn
Massey at [email protected], or Kerry Griffin at
[email protected].
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by 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
[[Page 14402]]
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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Massey, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, NMFS, (562) 436-2462, [email protected]; or Kerry Griffin,
Pacific Fishery Management Council, (503) 820-2409,
[email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The coastal pelagic species (CPS) fishery in
the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the West Coast is managed under
the CPS Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) developed the CPS FMP pursuant to the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act),
16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. The Secretary of Commerce approved the CPS FMP
and implemented the provisions of the plan through regulations at 50
CFR part 660, subpart I. Species managed under the CPS FMP include
Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel, jack mackerel, northern anchovy,
market squid, and krill.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires each regional fishery management
council to submit any amendment to an FMP to NMFS for review and
approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment to an FMP, publish
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 18.
NMFS declared the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine
(hereafter, Pacific sardine) overfished in June 2019. This
determination was based on the results of an April 2019 stock
assessment, which indicated that the biomass of Pacific sardine had
dropped below the overfished threshold of 50,000 metric tons (mt)
defined in the CPS FMP. NMFS notified the Council about the overfished
declaration on July 9, 2019. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that
NMFS and the Council prepare a rebuilding plan within 2 years of NMFS'
overfished notification to the Council that specifies a rebuilding
timeframe (i.e., Ttarget) within 10 years, except where the
biology of the stock or other environmental conditions dictate
otherwise (see Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(e)(4)(A)(2)).
In September 2020, the Council recommended a rebuilding plan
strategy to NMFS that would maintain the existing management framework
for the Pacific sardine fishery. Under the rebuilding plan, the harvest
control rules and other FMP provisions currently in place for Pacific
sardine would be maintained. This includes the harvest guideline
control rule, which requires that the primary directed fishery for
Pacific sardine be closed when the biomass is at or below 150,000 mt
and restrictions on incidental landings of Pacific sardine in other CPS
fisheries, including an automatic reduction in allowable incidental
landings when the biomass is below 50,000 mt. The rebuilding plan would
also maintain the Council's annual harvest specifications process for
Pacific sardine, such that an overfishing limit and acceptable
biological catch are calculated annually based on an estimate of that
year's biomass from annual stock assessments and their respective
control rules in the FMP (that have been approved by the Scientific and
Statistical Committee to prevent overfishing). In addition to the
harvest control rules prescribed by the CPS FMP, the rebuilding plan
would allow the Council to maintain their ability to annually adjust
the incidental harvest percentages or other accountability measures for
the various sectors based on new information from the previous year or
changes in fishery dynamics, if necessary. Although this framework
would maintain the current management strategy, this management
strategy already severely restricts fishing and will continue to do so
until the stock is rebuilt.
Current fishing mortality is not considered to be the primary
constraining factor or rebuilding Pacific sardine. The primary directed
fishery for Pacific sardine has been closed since 2015 when the stock's
biomass dropped below the 150,000 mt threshold in the CPS FMP for
allowing a primary directed fishery. This closure of the primary
directed fishery, which took place 4 years prior to the stock dropping,
drastically reduced catch of Pacific sardine and has kept harvest at
very low levels since that time. As such, the contribution of this
rebuilding plan to stock recovery would be additional to measures
already in place via the CPS FMP and Council process that limit fishing
mortality of Pacific sardine.
As described above, the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifies that the
time period for rebuilding a fishery generally should not exceed 10
years unless the biology of the stock or environmental conditions
dictate otherwise, as is the case for Pacific sardine. Pacific sardines
are known for wide swings in population abundance, and studies show the
species has long experienced boom-bust cycles even in the absence of
fishing. Periods of low recruitment success driven by prevailing
oceanographic conditions can lead to low population abundance over
extended periods of time. Because environmental conditions represent
the primary constraint on rebuilding Pacific sardine, the projected
time for rebuilding, is 14 years (i.e., Ttarget). This
Ttarget was determined to be the shortest time possible to
rebuild the stock, taking into account the biology of the species,
current environmental conditions, and the needs of fishing communities.
For more information about how this rebuilding target was determined,
see the Environmental Assessment at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/laws-and-policies/west-coast-region-national-environmental-policy-act-documents.
Amendment 18 would expand Section 4.5 of the CPS FMP to include the
proposed rebuilding plan for Pacific sardine. There are no implementing
regulations associated with Amendment 18, therefore NMFS will not
promulgate proposed and final rules to implement this amendment.
Public comments on Amendment 18 must be received by May 17, 2021.
Public comments on the associated EA for Amendment 18 must be received
by May 17, 2021. All comments received by the end of the comment period
on Amendment 18 will be considered in the Secretary's decision to
approve, disapprove, or partially approve this amendment. 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. NMFS will respond to
any substantive comments received by the end of the comment period on
Amendment 18 in a subsequent Federal Register document.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 8, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-05101 Filed 3-15-21; 8:45 am]
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