Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Cook Inlet Salmon; Amendment 14
| Published date | 18 May 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 26888 |
| Record Number | 2021-10450 |
| Section | Proposed rules |
| Court | National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration |
26888
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 18, 2021 / Proposed Rules
(b) If the examiner maintains the
refusal of the affidavit or declaration,
the holder may file a petition to the
Director to review the examiner’s action.
The petition must be filed within three
months of the date of issuance of the
action maintaining the refusal.
(c) Unless notified otherwise in the
Office action, the three-month response
period designated in paragraph (b) of
this section may be extended by three
months up to a maximum of six months
from the Office action issue date, upon
timely request and payment of the fee
set forth in § 7.6(a)(9). To be considered
timely, a request for extension of time
must be received by the Office on or
before the deadline for response set
forth in the Office action.
(d) If no response is filed within the
time periods set forth above, the
registration will be cancelled.
(e) A decision by the Director is
necessary before filing an appeal or
commencing a civil action in any court.
Andrew Hirshfeld,
Commissioner for Patents, Performing the
Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary
of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and
Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2021–10116 Filed 5–17–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
FEDERAL PERMITTING
IMPROVEMENT STEERING COUNCIL
40 CFR Chapter IX
[FPISC Case 2018–001; Docket No. 2018–
0008, Sequence No. 1]
RIN 3090–AJ88
Fees for Governance, Oversight, and
Processing of Environmental Reviews
and Authorizations by the Federal
Permitting Improvement Steering
Council; Withdrawal
AGENCY
: Federal Permitting
Improvement Steering Council.
ACTION
: Notice of proposed rulemaking;
withdrawal.
SUMMARY
: The Federal Permitting
Improvement Steering Council
(Permitting Council) hereby withdraws
its proposal to establish an initiation fee
for project sponsors to reimburse the
Permitting Council for reasonable costs
associated with implementing and
managing certain aspects of the program
established under Title 41 of the Fixing
America’s Surface Transportation Act
(FAST–41). The Permitting Council will
continue to assess the relative merits of
collecting fees from project sponsors
and various fee structures, and may
undertake a separate fees rulemaking in
the future.
DATES
: The proposed rule published on
September 4, 2018 (83 FR 44846), is
withdrawn on May 18, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
: John
G. Cossa, General Counsel, Federal
Permitting Improvement Steering
Council, 1800 G St. NW, Suite 2400,
Washington, DC 20006, john.cossa@
fpisc.gov, or by telephone at 202–255–
6936.
People who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339 to contact this individual
during normal business hours or to
leave a message at other times. FIRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You will receive a reply to a message
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
: The
Permitting Council administers FAST–
41, 42 U.S.C. 4370m et seq., which
serves to improve the timeliness,
predictability, and transparency of the
Federal environmental review and
authorization processes for ‘‘covered’’
infrastructure projects. Pursuant to 42
U.S.C. 4370m–8(a), Permitting Council
member agencies may issue regulations
establishing a fee structure for project
sponsors to reimburse the United States
for ‘‘reasonable costs’’ incurred in
conducting environmental reviews and
authorizations for FAST–41 covered
projects. Reasonable costs include the
cost of administering the FAST–41
program and the Permitting Council. 42
U.S.C. 4370m–8(b).
On September 4, 2018, the Permitting
Council proposed to establish an
initiation fee for project sponsors to
reimburse the United States for
reasonable costs associated with
implementing certain FAST–41
provisions and operating the Permitting
Council’s Office of the Executive
Director. 83 FR 44846. The Permitting
Council continues to assess the
advantages and disadvantages of: (i)
Collecting fees from project sponsors;
(ii) various fee structures in light of the
diverse range of FAST–41 covered
projects; and (iii) how such fees could
be used to most effectively comply with
and accomplish the goals of FAST–41.
In particular, the Permitting Council is
considering whether implementing fees
at this time may dissuade project
sponsors from seeking FAST–41
coverage because project review can
span more than two years and the
FAST–41 program is currently
scheduled to terminate in on December
4, 2022. 42 U.S.C. 4370m–12. The
Permitting Council does not anticipate
completing its assessment of these and
other issues related to the fee proposal
in the immediate future, and therefore is
withdrawing the proposed rule. The
Permitting Council may revisit a FAST–
41 fees rulemaking in the future.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4370m et seq.
John Cossa,
General Counsel, Federal Permitting
Improvement Steering Council.
[FR Doc. 2021–10047 Filed 5–17–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820–PL–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648–BK31
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Cook Inlet Salmon;
Amendment 14
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
: The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council)
submitted Amendment 14 to the Fishery
Management Plan for the Salmon
Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) Off Alaska (Salmon FMP) to
the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary)
for review. If approved, Amendment 14
would incorporate the Cook Inlet EEZ
Subarea into the Salmon FMP’s West
Area, thereby bringing the Cook Inlet
EEZ Subarea and the commercial
salmon fisheries that occur within it
under Federal management by the
Council and NMFS. Amendment 14
would manage the Cook Inlet EEZ
Subarea by applying the prohibition on
commercial salmon fishing that is
currently established in the West Area
to the newly added Cook Inlet EEZ
Subarea. Amendment 14 is intended to
promote the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Salmon
FMP, and other applicable laws.
DATES
: Comments must be received no
later than July 19, 2021.
ADDRESSES
: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2021–0018, by any of the
following methods:
•Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 18, 2021 / Proposed Rules
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and enter
NOAA–NMFS–2021–0018 in the Search
box. Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
•Mail: Submit written comments to
Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, Alaska Region, NMFS. Mail
comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau,
AK 99802–1668.
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 www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address),
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).
Electronic copies of proposed
Amendment 14 to the Salmon FMP, the
Environmental Assessment/Regulatory
Impact Review/Social Impact Analysis
prepared for this action (the Analysis),
and the draft Finding of No Significant
Impact prepared for this action may be
obtained from www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Doug Duncan, 907–586–7228 or
doug.duncan@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
: The
Council has submitted Amendment 14
to the Salmon FMP to the Secretary for
review. If approved, Amendment 14
would incorporate the Cook Inlet EEZ
Subarea into the Salmon FMP’s West
Area, thereby bringing the Cook Inlet
EEZ Subarea and the commercial
salmon fisheries that occur within it
under Federal management by the
Council and NMFS. Amendment 14
would manage the Cook Inlet EEZ
Subarea by applying the prohibition on
commercial salmon fishing that is
currently established in the West Area
to the newly added Cook Inlet EEZ
Subarea. Amendment 14 is necessary to
make the Salmon FMP consistent with
the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq.) and to comply with a U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
ruling requiring the Salmon FMP be
amended to include the Cook Inlet EEZ
area within its fishery management unit.
Amendment 14 is intended to promote
the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Salmon
FMP, and other applicable laws.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
that each regional fishery management
council submit any fishery management
plan amendment it prepares to NMFS
for review and approval, disapproval, or
partial approval by the Secretary. The
Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires
that NMFS, upon receiving a fishery
management plan amendment,
immediately publish a document in the
Federal Register announcing that the
amendment is available for public
review and comment. This document
announces that proposed Amendment
14 to the Salmon FMP is available for
public review and comment.
The Council prepared, and the
Secretary approved, the Salmon FMP
under the authority of sections 302(h)(1)
and 303(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, 16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(1) and 1853(b)).
The Salmon FMP is implemented by
Federal regulations governing U.S.
fisheries at 50 CFR part 679. The
Council is authorized to prepare and
recommend an FMP amendment for the
conservation and management of a
fishery covered under the FMP.
Amendment 14 to the Salmon FMP
was adopted by the Council in
December 2020. The Council worked
from 2017 to 2020 developing
Amendment 14, ultimately concluding
that federally managing the Cook Inlet
EEZ Subarea by prohibiting commercial
salmon fishing optimized conservation
and management of the Cook Inlet
salmon fishery when considering the
costs and benefits of the available
management alternatives, which are
described in Section 2 of the Analysis.
Important factors in the Council’s
decision were that maintaining the
status quo would be inconsistent with
the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the
Ninth Circuit ruling, and that the State
of Alaska (State) would not accept a
delegation of management authority for
the Cook Inlet EEZ. The only other
viable management alternative
considered but not selected by the
Council would have created a new
Federal management regime for the
commercial salmon fishery in the Cook
EEZ separate and distinct from the
adjacent State water salmon fishery.
Federal management of the Cook Inlet
EEZ Subarea through closure of the area
to commercial salmon fishing (1) takes
the most precautionary approach to
minimizing the potential for
overfishing, (2) provides the greatest
opportunity for maximum harvest from
the Cook Inlet salmon fishery, (3) avoids
creating new management uncertainty,
(4) minimizes regulatory burden to
fishery participants, (5) maximizes
management efficiency for Cook Inlet
salmon fisheries, and (6) avoids the
introduction of an additional
management jurisdiction into the
already complex and interdependent
network of Cook Inlet salmon fisheries.
The proposed closure is consistent
with the Council’s longstanding salmon
management policy, which is to
facilitate salmon management by the
State. As with the existing West Area,
this policy would be achieved by
prohibiting commercial fishing for
salmon in the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea
so that the State can manage Cook Inlet
salmon stocks as a unit within State
waters. Except for maximum sustained
yield (MSY), optimum yield (OY), and
annual catch limits (ACL), all West Area
management measures would apply to
the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea. MSY and
OY would be separately specified for
the Cook Inlet salmon fishery, and ACL
would be separately specified for the
commercial salmon fishery in the Cook
Inlet EEZ Subarea, reflecting the fact
that Cook Inlet salmon stocks have
historically been harvested in both State
and Federal waters. MSY would be
established for the Cook Inlet salmon
fishery as the maximum amount of
harvest possible under the State’s
escapement goals, which is the largest
long-term average catch that can be
taken by the fishery under prevailing
ecological, environmental conditions
and fishery technological characteristics
(e.g., gear selectivity), and the
distribution of catch among fishery
sectors (50 CFR 600.310(e)(1)(i)). The
OY range for the Cook Inlet salmon
fishery would be the combined catch
from all salmon fisheries occurring
within Cook Inlet (State and Federal
water catch), which results in a post-
harvest abundance within the
escapement goal range for stocks with
escapement goals, and below the
historically sustainable average catch for
stocks without escapement goals, except
when management measures required to
conserve weak stocks necessarily limit
catch of healthy stocks. Amendment 14
would establish an ACL of zero for the
commercial salmon fishery in Cook Inlet
EEZ Subarea.
To delineate these separate reference
points from those currently specified for
the West Area, the Cook Inlet EEZ
would be defined as the Cook Inlet EEZ
Subarea. Amendment 14 would make
no changes to management measures
applicable to the remainder of the West
Area (i.e., the West Area outside of the
Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea). Amendment
14 would not modify State management
measures, nor would it preclude the
State from adopting additional
management measures that could
provide additional harvest opportunities
for harvesters within State waters.
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 18, 2021 / Proposed Rules
The Council considered Amendment
14’s consistency with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act’s 10 National Standards and
how the Amendment balances
competing demands within the National
Standards (16 U.S.C. 1851). While all 10
of the National Standards were
considered, 5 national standards were
particularly relevant to the Council’s
decision: National Standard 1, National
Standard 2, National Standard 3,
National Standard 7, and National
Standard 8.
By prohibiting commercial salmon
harvest in the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea,
Amendment 14 would avoid creating
new management uncertainty and
reduce the risk of overfishing or
foregone yield inherent to an
independent Federal management
regime that would not be well-suited to
respond to in-season data as necessary
to adjust harvest levels. Amendment 14
would enable the State to continue
managing salmon fisheries within
escapement goals, as described in
Sections 3.1 and 11 of the Analysis, in
order to achieve optimum yield and
prevent overfishing, consistent with
National Standard 1. The Council
continues to recognize that the State is
best situated to respond to changing
conditions inseason to maximize
utilization of salmon stocks under the
constraints of weak stock management
in a mixed stock fishery, and that the
State’s escapement goals are based on
the best scientific information available,
consistent with National Standard 2.
Under Amendment 14, all commercial
salmon fishing in Cook Inlet would
occur in State waters under State
management, unifying management of
Cook Inlet salmon stocks across their
range consistent with National Standard
3. Further, closure of the Cook Inlet EEZ
would create the most efficient Cook
Inlet salmon management arrangement
of the two available management
approaches, minimizing direct costs and
regulatory burdens on participants and
avoiding unnecessary duplication of
management measures, consistent with
National Standard 7. The Council
considered the impact of Amendment
14 on fishing communities and
determined that, while fishery benefits
may be redistributed among sectors
within fishing communities,
Amendment 14 would provide for the
sustained participation of those
communities and, to the extent
practicable, minimize adverse economic
impacts on such communities within
the constraints of conservation and
management goals as described in
Section 4.7.1.4 of the Analysis,
consistent with National Standard 8.
If approved, Amendment 14 would
close an area historically used by the
Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) drift gillnet fleet.
The UCI drift gillnet fleet currently
operates in both State and EEZ waters
without specific reference to the
boundary and is the only commercial
salmon fishery that would be directly
regulated by this action. This action
would not close, or otherwise modify
management of, salmon fishing in State
waters where the UCI drift gillnet fleet
could continue to operate.
Amendment 14 would amend the
Salmon FMP as described below. Most
importantly, Section 2.1 ‘‘Salmon
Management Area’’ would be modified
to remove the ‘‘Cook Inlet Area’’ from
the ‘‘Areas Excluded from the Salmon
Management Area.’’ This would
incorporate the Cook Inlet Area into the
rest of the West Area where commercial
salmon fishing is prohibited. Further,
the Cook Inlet Area would be redefined
as the ‘‘Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea,’’ to
indicate that it is part of the larger West
Area for many management measures
but to distinguish it from the West Area
for distinct reference points to account
for the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea’s unique
history. Section 6.2 ‘‘West Area’’ would
be updated to separately specify MSY,
OY, and ACL for the Cook Inlet EEZ
Subarea, reflecting the fact that Cook
Inlet salmon stocks have historically
been harvested in both State and
Federal waters. Two traditional net
fishing areas, the Prince William Sound
Area and the Alaska Peninsula Area,
would remain excluded from the
salmon management area. Figure 1
would be revised to display the Cook
Inlet EEZ Subarea within the Salmon
Management Area.
Section 2.3.3 ‘‘Commercial Salmon
Fishery in the West Area’’ would be
modified to describe conditions for the
fishery under Amendment 14 and make
technical corrections for clarity. The
first paragraph would revised to specify
that under Amendment 14, ‘‘most of’’
the West Area has been historically
closed to commercial salmon fishing.
The third paragraph of the section
would be modified to include additional
descriptions of historical salmon
management under the 1990 version of
the Salmon FMP when the traditional
net fishing areas were included in the
Salmon FMP’s fishery management unit,
but not subject to the West Area
prohibition on commercial salmon
fishing. A technical clarification to the
fourth paragraph of the section would
improve the historical description of
traditional net fishing areas under
Amendment 12. The last change to this
section would be the addition of a
concluding paragraph describing
Amendment 14’s reincorporation of the
Cook Inlet Area into the West Area, and
the application of the West Area
prohibition on commercial salmon
fishing to the reincorporated Cook Inlet
EEZ Subarea.
Several other changes would be made
throughout the Salmon FMP for
consistency and clarity. Section 5
‘‘Regulation of the Salmon Fisheries’’
would clarify that closing the ‘‘West
Area’’ rather than ‘‘EEZ Waters’’ to
commercial salmon fishing enables the
State to manage Alaska salmon stocks.
A similar clarification would be made in
Section 8.2 ‘‘Safety’’ to indicate that
commercial salmon fisheries operating
in the EEZ are outside of the West Area.
Section 6.2 ‘‘West Area’’ would also be
updated to specify that under
Amendment 14, ‘‘most of’’ the West
Area has been closed to commercial
salmon fishing since the Salmon FMP’s
inception in paragraph 2. In Section
8.1.8 ‘‘Bycatch Management’’, a
paragraph would be added to explain
that no Standardized Bycatch Reporting
Methodology (SBRM) is applicable to
the West Area because no commercial
fisheries are authorized there, but that
SBRM would be implemented if
commercial salmon fishing were
authorized in the future. The Salmon
FMP introductory summary section,
Section 1.1 ‘‘History of the FMP’’, and
Table 1 would be updated with concise
language describing conditions
established under Amendment 14.
Finally, the table of contents and list of
figures would be updated to reflect all
of these changes to the Salmon FMP.
NMFS is soliciting public comments
on proposed Amendment 14 through
the end of the comment period (see
DATES
). NMFS intends to publish in the
Federal Register and seek public
comment on a proposed rule that would
implement Amendment 14, following
NMFS’s evaluation of the proposed rule
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. All
comments received by the end of the
comment period on Amendment 14,
whether specifically directed to the
FMP amendment or the proposed rule,
will be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on Amendment
14. Comments received after that date
may not be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on Amendment
14. To be certain of consideration,
comments must be received, not just
postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by
the last day of the comment period.
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Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: May 13, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–10450 Filed 5–17–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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