Pacific Island Fisheries; Amendment 7 to the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the American Samoa Archipelago; Discontinue Rebuilding Plan for American Samoa Bottomfish and Implement Annual Catch Limits and Accountability Measures for Fishing Years 2024-2026, 63155-63156 [2024-17106]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63155-63156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17106]



[[Page 63155]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

RIN 0648-BN03


Pacific Island Fisheries; Amendment 7 to the Fishery Ecosystem 
Plan for the American Samoa Archipelago; Discontinue Rebuilding Plan 
for American Samoa Bottomfish and Implement Annual Catch Limits and 
Accountability Measures for Fishing Years 2024-2026

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Availability of proposed fishery ecosystem plan amendment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council) proposes to amend the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the 
American Samoa Archipelago (FEP). If approved, the FEP would be amended 
to discontinue the rebuilding plan for American Samoa bottomfish and 
NMFS would implement annual catch limits (ACL) and accountability 
measures (AM) for American Samoa bottomfish. The action is necessary 
because new best scientific information indicates the fishery is not 
overfished or experiencing overfishing. The proposed action considers 
the best available scientific, commercial, and other information about 
the fishery, and supports the long-term sustainability of the fishery.

DATES: NMFS must receive comments on the proposed amendment by October 
1, 2024.

ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this proposed amendment is 
available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2024-0088. 
You may submit comments on the proposed amendment, identified by NOAA-
NMFS-2024-0088, by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and type NOAA-NMFS-2024-0088 in the Search box 
(note: copying and pasting the FDMS Docket Number directly from this 
document may not yield search results). Click on the ``Comment'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Send written comments to Sarah Malloy, Deputy 
Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO), 
1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
    Instructions: 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 by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
    Amendment 7 includes a draft environmental assessment (EA) and 
regulatory impact review (RIR) that analyzes the potential impacts of 
the proposed action and alternatives considered. Copies of amendment 7, 
including the EA and RIR, and other supporting documents, are available 
from https://www.regulations.gov or the Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 
1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, telephone 808-522-8220, fax 808-522-8226, 
https://www.wpcouncil.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Nelson, Sustainable Fisheries 
Division, NMFS PIR, 808-725-5179.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS announces the availability of amendment 
7 to the FEP for the American Samoa Archipelago. This amendment would 
discontinue the stock rebuilding plan (see 50 CFR 600.310(j)) 
established through amendment 5 to the FEP and associated ACLs and AMs 
implemented to end overfishing and rebuild the stock (87 FR 25590, May 
5, 2022), and would implement new ACLs and AMs to prevent overfishing 
(see 50 CFR 600.310(g)-(f)).
    The Council and NMFS manage Federal fisheries in the Pacific 
Islands Region pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). Management of 
the American Samoa bottomfish fishery is organized through the American 
Samoa Archipelago FEP. There are 11 bottomfish management unit species 
(BMUS) managed under the FEP: 8 snappers, 1 emperor, 1 jack, and 1 
grouper. Fishing for bottomfish primarily occurs within 20 miles (32 
kilometers) from shore using aluminum catamarans less than 32 feet (9.7 
meters) long, known locally as alia. The fishery is relatively small 
and primarily non-commercial, but it is still of importance to the 
local economy, and from social, cultural, and food security 
standpoints. In 2022, nine vessels participated in the bottomfish 
fishery. During the most recent 3 years of available data (2020-2022), 
American Samoa bottomfish fishermen caught an average of 4,114 pounds 
(lb) (1,866 kilograms (kg)) of bottomfish annually. Catches were higher 
between 2017 and 2019 before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 
overfished determination, and American Samoa bottomfish fishermen 
caught an average of 12,499 lb (5,669 kg) of bottomfish annually. The 
fishery is culturally important in spite of the relatively modest catch 
totals, as deep-water snappers are used for chiefly position 
entitlements and fa'a lalave ceremonies (e.g., funerals, weddings, 
births, and special birthdays).
    The fishery is currently managed under a rebuilding plan 
established to address an overfished stock status determination for all 
11 BMUS as a multi-species stock complex (85 FR 26940, May 6, 2020). 
This status determination was based on the results of the 2019 
benchmark stock assessment, which analyzed fishery data through 2017. 
Consistent with section 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and 
implementing regulations at 50 CFR 600.310(j), the Council prepared, 
and NMFS implemented, a rebuilding plan under amendment 5 to the FEP. 
The rebuilding plan implemented an ACL of 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) of BMUS 
starting in 2022, and harvests from both territorial and Federal waters 
are counted toward the ACL. The rebuilding plan also includes an in-
season AM and a higher performance standard. As an in-season AM, if 
NMFS projects that the fishery will reach the ACL in any year, then the 
fishery will be closed in Federal waters for the remainder of that 
year. If the total annual catch exceeds the ACL during a year, NMFS 
will close the fishery in Federal waters until NMFS and the Territory 
of American Samoa implement a coordinated management approach to ensure 
that catch in Federal and territorial waters is maintained at levels 
that allow the stock to rebuild or the rebuilding plan is modified 
based on the best scientific information available.
    In June 2023 NMFS completed a new benchmark stock assessment for 
bottomfish in American Samoa that used single-species, age-structured 
models to determine stock status relative to overfishing and overfished 
reference points defined in the FEP. The 2023 benchmark stock 
assessment evaluated 9 of the 11 BMUS and found that none of the 
assessed species were overfished or experiencing overfishing

[[Page 63156]]

in 2017 or in any year since. That none of the stocks were overfished 
in the final data year of the previous assessment or since is 
significant because that is a criterion for discontinuing a rebuilding 
plan (see 50 CFR 600.310(j)(5)). Insufficient data were available to 
assess two species, Etelis carbunculus and Pristipomoides filamentosus. 
The assessment recommended using taxonomically and ecologically similar 
species (E. coruscans and P. flavipinnis, respectively) as indicator 
species to manage the unassessed species. This practice is consistent 
both with management practices in the FEP and National Standard 1 of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act (50 CFR 600.31(d)(2)(ii)), and it was 
supported by the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee.
    NMFS determined the 2023 benchmark stock assessment to be the best 
scientific information available, consistent with National Standard 2 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and issued a notification informing the 
Council of its determination that none of the American Samoa bottomfish 
stocks assessed in the 2023 benchmark assessment were overfished or 
subject to overfishing. Therefore, at its 197th meeting in December 
2023, in accordance with the ACL process approved by NMFS, and in 
consideration of the best available scientific, commercial, and other 
information, the Council recommended discontinuing the rebuilding plan, 
specifying ACLs and accountability measures (AMs) for nine assessed 
BMUS for fishing years 2024-2026, and using Etelis coruscans as an 
indicator species for E. carbunculus and Pristipomoides flavipinnis as 
an indicator species for P. filamentosus.
    Separate ACLs and AMs would not be implemented for E. carbunculus 
and P. filamentosus. Instead, they would be subject to the post-season 
AM based on monitoring of catch of the indicator species. There are no 
Federal reporting requirements for bottomfish fishing in Federal waters 
around American Samoa. Therefore, monitoring of the fishery depends 
largely on data voluntarily provided by fishermen to the American Samoa 
Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) through a creel 
survey program. Additionally, DMWR reviews sales data from its 
mandatory commercial fish purchase system. As a post-season AM, if NMFS 
and the Council determine that the average catch from the most recent 
3-year period exceeds the ACL for any species, NMFS would reduce the 
ACL for that species in subsequent years by the amount of overage. If 
approved, amendment 7 would discontinue the rebuilding plan for 
American Samoa bottomfish and implement single-species ACLs for the 
nine assessed American Samoa BMUS for fishing years 2024-2026 as 
recommended by the Council.
    Public comments are being solicited on amendment 7 to the FEP 
through the end of the comment period stated in this Notice of 
Availability. NMFS must receive comments on the proposed amendment by 
October 1, 2024 for consideration in the decision to approve, partially 
approve, or disapprove the amendment.
    A proposed rule that would implement the FEP amendment may be 
published in the Federal Register for public comment, following NMFS' 
evaluation under the Magnuson-Stevens Act procedures. Public comments 
on the proposed rule must be received by the end of the comment period 
on the FEP amendment to be considered in the decision to approve, 
partially approve, or disapprove the FEP amendment.
    All comments received by the end of the comment period on the FEP 
amendment, whether specifically directed to the FEP amendment or the 
proposed rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision. 
Comments received after that date will not be considered in the 
decision of the FEP amendment. To be considered, comments must be 
received by the 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.

    Dated: July 30, 2024.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-17106 Filed 8-1-24; 8:45 am]
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