Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; 2024 Specifications and Management Measures Corrections

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

This rule corrects 2024 harvest specifications for several species of groundfish where the numerical values were mathematically calculated incorrectly and do not accurately reflect the harvest policy recommendations of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). These harvest specifications are for groundfish caught in the U.S. exclusive economic zone seaward of Washington, Oregon, and California, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP). This rule revises harvest limits or allocations that were previously calculated based on incorrect annual catch limits (ACLs). This action implements corrected numerical values that align with the Council's intended harvest policy decisions and considers the most recent fishery information available at the time those policies were recommended.

DATES:

This final rule is effective December 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

This rule is accessible via the internet at the Office of the Federal Register website at https://www.federalregister.gov/. Background information and documents including an analysis for the policy decisions underpinning this action (Analysis), which addresses the statutory requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act are available from the Council's website at https://www.pcouncil.org. The final 2022 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report for Pacific Coast groundfish, as well as the SAFE reports for previous years, are available from the Council's website at https://www.pcouncil.org. The final Environmental Assessment (EA) and Regulatory Impact Review from the 2023–2024 harvest specifications is available from the NMFS website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/west-coast.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gretchen Hanshew, Fishery Management Specialist, at 206–526–6147 or g retchen.hanshew@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

This final rule corrects the numerical values of harvest specifications and resulting harvest target management measures for six species or stock complexes for 2024. The harvest policies by which these numerical values are derived were recommended by the Council at its April and June 2022 meetings and published in a proposed rule on October 14, 2022 (87 FR 62676) and final rule on December 16, 2022 (87 FR 77007). Hereafter, these proposed and final rules for the 2023–2024 harvest specifications and management measures will be referred to as the “original” proposed and final rules. In the original proposed and final rules, numerical values were miscalculated for a small subset (six species or stock complexes) of those harvest specifications and harvest target management measures regulations for 127 groundfish stocks or management units. Numerical values were either too high (increasing risk of overfishing) or too low (increasing risk of not achieving optimum yield). Specific details on the errors and corrected values for each species or stock complex are discussed in detail in the proposed rule for this action (88 FR 73810, October 27, 2023).

The harvest policies used to calculate the numerical values of the corrected harvest specifications and harvest target management measures in this rule are not revised from those described in the original proposed and final rules for the 2023–2024 harvest specifications and management measures. The Council recommended these corrections at its September 2023 meeting.

Corrections to Harvest Specifications and Harvest Targets

As described in the proposed rule (88 FR 73810, October 27, 2023) a few species and stock complex harvest specifications, which are numerical values of the harvestable surplus and include overfishing limits (OFLs), annual biological catch (ABCs), and ACLs, were calculated in error. Subsequent harvest target calculations that stem from the ACLs were also erroneous. This final rule corrects the numerical values of harvest specifications and applies the same sharing agreements to corrected ACLs to recalculate harvest targets. The OFLs, ABCs, and ACLs in this rule are based on the best available biological data, including projected biomass trends, information on assumed distribution of stock biomass, and technical methods used to calculate stock biomass and apportion that biomass within the allocation structure of the PCGFMP. This rule corrects errors in the original proposed and final rules for the 2023–2024 harvest specifications and management measures, as recommended by the Council at its September 7–14, 2023 meeting.

Due to the timing of being made aware of these mistakes, and that the 2023 fishing season was more than 75 percent complete by the time the Council considered this issue at its September 2023 meeting, we are only implementing corrections for 2024. This action includes correctly calculated numerical values for 2024 that are representative of the Council-recommended harvest control rules and that incorporate fishery and other scientific information that was inadvertently omitted. This action does not revise static numerical values deducted from the ACLs, such as set-asides for tribal fisheries or scientific research, except for sablefish north as described in the proposed rule (88 FR 73810, October 27, 2023). All other deductions from the ACLs remain the same as those described in the original proposed rule.

The Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) document for 2022, includes a detailed description of the scientific basis for all of the Council's Science and Statistical Committee-recommended OFLs implemented in this rule, and is available at the Council's website, https://www.pcouncil.org.

For all species described in the proposed rule (88 FR 73810, October 27, 2023), revised 2024 OFLs, ABCs, ACLs and fishery harvest guidelines are revised at table 2a to subpart C, and in some cases other necessary adjustments to numerical harvest target management measures in footnotes to that table are also revised. For all species described below, except sablefish north, 2024 trawl or non-trawl allocations are revised at table 2b to subpart C. Also, for all species described in the proposed rule, 2024 shorebased IFQ allocations are revised at § 660.140(d)(1)(ii)(D). Any additional species-specific regulatory changes are described in the proposed rule (88 FR 73810, October 27, 2023).

Summary

NMFS is correcting the harvest specifications and harvest targets for six species and complexes for 2024 as described in the proposed rule (88 FR 73810, October 27, 2023) and as summarized in table 1. The 2024 fishing season begins on January 1, 2024.

Comments and Responses

The proposed rule had a public comment period open from October 27, 2023 through November 13, 2023 and received no public comments.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

There are no changes from the proposed rule.

Classification

Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is consistent with the PCGFMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.

The errors were discovered in August 2023 and the recommendations from the Council to correct these errors were transmitted to NMFS on September 20, 2023. NMFS immediately prepared and published a proposed rule with a comment period open from the date of publication on October 27, 2023 through November 13, 2023, the final rule was submitted to DOC OGC for review and clearance on December 12, 2023, and the errors need to be corrected by the start of the fishing year on January 1, 2024. This timeline necessitates that NMFS waive the 30-day delay in effective date of this final rule so that the corrected, calculated values can be in effect by the start of the fishing year. Failure to implement the revised harvest specifications as soon as possible leaves harvest specifications in place that are inconsistent with the best scientific information available and the Council's recommended harvest policies and would cause unnecessary restrictions to industry.

Therefore, NMFS finds that waiving the 30-day delay in effectiveness is warranted under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) because delaying the effective date on these corrective measures beyond January 1, 2024 to allow for a 30-day delay in effectiveness will restrict fisheries by delaying the issuance of some 2024 quota pounds for the subject species and stock complexes. If the 2024 quotas calculated and released by NMFS based on the corrected 2024 harvest specifications in this rule are delayed, shareholders for those quotas effectively receive zero pounds for the start of the year and will be unable to begin fishing. Making this final rule effective upon publication in the Federal Register would relieve restrictions on the amounts of quota pounds that can be issued (and potentially fished) at the start of the fishing year. Therefore, NMFS finds reason to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) so that this final rule may become effective upon publication in the Federal Register .

Additionally, a 30-day delay in effectiveness would confuse the industry as to what quota pounds NMFS will issue to holders of quota share for 2024. This could negatively impact vessels because they could end up planning fishing operations under two different quota pound scenarios for 2024. Failure to implement the revised harvest specifications by the start of the fishing year on January 1, 2024 will keep harvest specifications in place that were not calculated to be consistent with harvest policies adopted by the Council and NMFS, and will cause confusion for the regulated public. This outcome runs contrary to the public interest.

Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, this final rule was developed after meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials from the area covered by the PCGFMP. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act at 16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(5), one of the voting members of the Pacific Council must be a representative of an Indian tribe with federally recognized fishing rights from the area of the Council's jurisdiction. This rule revises the numerical values of the sablefish north ACL to correctly apply the harvest control rules recommended by the Council. As a result, the regulations that implement the long-term allocation and sharing agreements for sablefish north in the PCGFMP, including the numerical calculation of the 10 percent tribal share, must be recalculated and revised in this rule. No other tribal management measures are revised in this rule. The regulations at 50 CFR 660.50 direct NMFS to develop tribal allocations and regulations in consultation with the affected tribes. In this instance, no change to harvest policies was proposed, and therefore additional tribal consultation was not required and none was conducted.

This rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.

NMFS prepared documentation for the original proposed and final rules, which address the statutory requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Executive Order 12866, and the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The full suite of alternatives analyzed by the Council can be found on the Council's website at https://www.pcouncil.org. NMFS addressed the statutory requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act through preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS). NMFS prepared an EIS for the 2015–2016 biennial harvest specifications and management measures and is available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES ) and tiered environmental analyses (EA) every biennium since then. This EIS and subsequent EAs examined the harvest specifications and management measures for 2015–2016 and 10-year projections for routinely adjusted harvest specifications and management measures. The 10-year projections evaluated the impacts of the ongoing implementation of harvest specifications and management measures and to evaluate the impacts of the routine adjustments that are the main component of each biennial cycle. This final rule corrects the numerical values that result from the application of best scientific information available and default harvest control rules analyzed in that EIS. There are no environmental effects expected from this rule beyond those evaluated in the EIS and the Environmental Assessment for the 2023–2024 harvest specifications and management measures. The harvest levels for all six species or complexes have not been fully attained in recent years, so minor adjustments to the ACLs implemented in this rule are likely to result in no discernable difference to the fishery or communities.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that the 2023–2024 harvest specifications and management measures in the original proposed and final rules would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that the proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This final rule implements the proposed rule unchanged, making minor, corrective adjustments to harvest specifications and related allocations and harvest targets that are unlikely to make any appreciable difference to the expected harvests in this mixed-stock fishery because the six species and complexes with corrected numerical values are not constraining access to co-occurring species. This action affects only a small number of species, and in a mixed stock fishery the affected entities for these few species cannot be differentiated from those described in the original proposed rule. The same small entities identified in the original proposed rule are the same parties that would be subject to the minor regulatory corrections in this rule. Additional information about the affected entities and expected impacts, in the context of the entire fishery and all species, can be found in the original proposed rule (87 FR 62676, October, 14, 2022). No environmental or socioeconomic impacts are expected from the changes in this rule, nor does the action diverge from the harvest policies considered in that certification. The corrections in this final rule do not change the overall framework and management measures from the original proposed and final rules and would affect large and small entities similarly. As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and none has been prepared.

This rule contains no new information collection burden under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

• Fisheries
• Fishing
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

For the reasons set out in the preamble, NOAA amends 50 CFR part 660 as follows:

PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES

1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.

2. In § 660.50, revise paragraph (f)(2)(ii) to read as follows:

3. Revise tables 2a, 2b, and 2c to subpart C to read as follows:

Table 2a. to Part 660, Subpart C—2024, and Beyond, Specifications of OFL, ABC, ACL, ACT and Fishery Harvest Guidelines

Table 2b to Part 660, Subpart C—2024, and Beyond, Allocations by Species or Species Group

Table 2c to Part 660, Subpart C—Sablefish North of 36° N Lat. Allocations, 2024 and Beyond

4. In § 660.140, revise table 1 to paragraph (d)(1)(ii)(D) to read as follows:

5. In § 660.231, revise paragraph (b)(3)(i) to read as follows: