The MMPA (16 U.S.C. Below are links to learn about a few of our West Coast species. Bottlenose dolphin, Southern Migratory coastal. The NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region uses a variety of required methods to reduce the bycatch of seabirds in its fisheries. Response: The SARs are drafted according to NMFS' Guidelines for Preparing Stock Assessment Reports Pursuant to the 1994 Amendments to the MMPA (NMFS 2016, 02-204-01). Since 2006, there has only been one observed leatherback sea turtle caught in groundfish fishing gear. Fishermen from Washington, Oregon, and California catch them year-round using a variety of gear types. Northern elephant seal, California breeding. by the Foreign Assets Control Office is increasingly concentrated into fewer and younger ages, which may . Our ESA program supports a national focus on species needing immediate action to prevent extinction and species with identified actions that can be immediately implemented. However, U.S. Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, or Gulf of Mexico large pelagics longline vessels operating in special areas designated by the Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan implementing regulations (50 CFR 229.36(d)) will not be exempted from observer requirements, regardless of their size. They are in place for a two-year period, except as changed through in-season adjustments to management measures. US Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Marine Mammal Stock Assessments 2019. Based on these mitigation efforts, MA DMF recommends NMFS reclassify the Massachusetts state waters lobster trap/pot fishery as its own non-Category I fishery. However, the probability of encountering either stock is not 100 percent, but proportional to the relative population of the stocks throughout the range. The Operations, Management, and Information Services Division supports West Coast Region operations through budget planning, formulation, and execution; human resources management (including Equal Employment Opportunity and diversity); oversight of administrative processes; management of information, information technology, and communications systems; and management of environmental compliance, travel, facilities, safety, and property. Current Maine state lobster management does not represent unique gear characteristics (e.g., the use of weak rope exclusively or exclusion of vertical lines). Bottlenose dolphin, Northern SC estuarine system. Leanne Marten . Mid-Atlantic mid-water trawl (including pair trawl). Species with shorter life expectancies tend to have more variable reproductive success. has no substantive legal effect. Tables 1 and 2 serve to provide a description of the fishery's potential effort (state and Federal). documents in the last year, 11 The catch locations help understand the distribution of salmon in the ocean in winter. Response: As stated above in response to Comments #11 and 15, NMFS retains the Category I classification of the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic American lobster trap/pot fishery. NMFS also makes changes to the estimated number of vessels/persons and list of species and/or stocks killed or injured in certain fisheries. documents in the last year. edition of the Federal Register. For example, the State of Hawaii does not issue fishery-specific licenses, and the number of participants reported in the LOF represents the number of commercial marine license holders who reported using a particular fishing gear type/method at least once in a given year, without considering how many times the gear was used. Bottlenose dolphin, Central FL coastal. 1361 et seq. Bottlenose dolphin, unknown (Northern migratory coastal or Southern migratory coastal). Comments were received from members of the public, Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association (AOLA), Freezer Longline Coalition (FLC), Hawaii Longline Association (HLA), Maine Lobstermen's Association (MLA), Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF), Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) and Whale Safe USA. Therefore, NMFS reclassifies the AK BSAI Pacific cod longline fishery from a Category II to a Category III fishery in this final rule. (Henry et al., 2019). Credit: NOAA/Liana Heberer. Table 1 lists commercial fisheries in the Pacific Ocean (including Alaska), Table 2 lists commercial fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean, Table 3 lists commercial fisheries on the high seas, and Table 4 lists fisheries affected by TRPs or TRTs. For more information on how NMFS classifies high seas fisheries on the LOF, see the preamble text in the final 2009 LOF (73 FR 73032; December 1, 2008). Fadely, M.C. The mentioned study, (Baird and Webster, 2020) presented findings on the magnitude and nature of associations between fishing vessels and pantropical spotted dolphin stocks. The Regional Administrator's Office establishes policies, principles and priorities for the West Coast Region. Covering 317,690 square miles of the eastern Pacific Ocean, and more than 7,000 miles of tidal coastline, as well as the ecological functions within the states vast rivers and estuaries, we build sustainable fisheries, recover endangered and threatened species, maintain healthy ecosystems, and protect human health. 03/03/2023, 43 The list of species and/or stocks incidentally killed or injured includes serious and non-serious documented injuries as described later in the List of Species and/or Stocks Incidentally Killed or Injured in the Pacific Ocean and List of Species and/or Stocks Incidentally Killed or Injured in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean sections. 2016. NMFS must reexamine the LOF annually, considering new information in the Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Reports (SARs) and other relevant Start Printed Page 3029sources, and publish in the Federal Register any necessary changes to the LOF after notice and opportunity for public comment (16 U.S.C. CA yellowtail, barracuda, and white seabass drift gillnet (mesh size 3.5 in and <14 in). Bottlenose dolphin, Northern GMX continental shelf. Regulatory Branch Chief U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . The commenter notes that the primary information used in the 2021 LOF comes from 2019 SARs, which are based on data from 2013-2017. Is Action Likely to Adversely Affect Species? Video and sensor data is reviewed after the trip to determine fishing locations and quantify discards. AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Atka mackerel trawl, AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Pacific cod trawl, AK state-managed waters of Prince William Sound groundfish trawl, AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands sablefish pot, AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands groundfish jig, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands bottomfish, AK Southeast herring roe/food/bait pound net, WA/OR bait shrimp, clam hand, dive, or mechanical collection, OR/CA sea urchin, sea cucumber hand, dive, or mechanical collection, AK/WA/OR/CA commercial passenger fishing vessel. Using dolphins to catch tuna: Assessment of associations between pantropical spotted dolphins and yellowfin tuna hook and line fisheries in Hawai`i. NMFS has classified these fisheries by analogy to other Category I or II fisheries that use similar fishing techniques or gear that are known to cause mortality or serious injury of marine mammals, as discussed in the final LOF for 1996 (60 FR 67063; December 28, 1995), and according to factors listed in the definition of a Category II fishery in 50 CFR 229.2 (i.e., fishing techniques, gear types, methods used to deter marine mammals, target species, seasons and areas fished, qualitative data from logbooks or fishermen reports, stranding data, and the species and distribution of marine mammals in the area). 2020. Harbor seal, WNA. AOLA further states that the 2014 ALWTRP regulations as well as the American lobster fishery management plan regulations, reduced vertical lines and enhanced gear marking in the fishery. on This killer whale M/SI occurred in 2012, and no additional M/SI have been observed or reported for the 2013-2017 data analysis timeframe for this fishery. Our Science Centers conduct cutting-edge biological, economic, and oceanographic research, as well as observations and monitoring of living marine resources and their environments. 1202 Seattle, Washington 98134-2388 MLA alleges that based on these factors, the lobster fishery prosecuted close to shore in Maine is significantly different than lobster fisheries which occur in offshore Lobster Management Area 3 or off of New Jersey. In some cases, more recent information may be available and used in the LOF. There are approximately 50 ESA-listed species, distinct population segments, and evolutionarily significant units under our jurisdiction, including species of whales, pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), sea turtles, fish, and mollusks. The species and/or stocks are found, and the fishery remains the same, on both sides of the EEZ boundary. Injury determinations for humpback whales and other cetaceans reported to NOAA response networks in the Hawaiian Islands during 2017. List of Terms, Abbreviations, and Symbols Used in Table 3: CACalifornia; GMXGulf of Mexico; HIHawaii; OROregon; WAWashington; WNAWestern North Atlantic; *Fishery is an extension/component of an existing fishery operating within U.S. waters listed in Table 1 or 2. documents in the last year, by the Executive Office of the President The SARs are based upon the best available scientific information and provide the most current and inclusive information on each stock's PBR level and level of interaction with commercial fishing operations. Groundfish generally fall into one of the following categories of fish: Groundfish are commonly associated at some part of their lives with the ocean floor. The commenter alleges There are zero instances of Maine lobster gear associated with a right whale serious injury or mortality in any data set, and only one known entanglement where Maine lobster was the primary entangling gear in 2002 resulting in non-serious injury determination. We recognize that there has only been one confirmed mortality (in 2012) in identified U.S. trap/pot gear in the past decade. Those cases where we could identify lobster gear from right whale entanglements during the past 10 years were determined to result in non-serious injuries. These markup elements allow the user to see how the document follows the Open Access (OA) Gears North of 4010' N Lat. Irma Lagomarsino Senior Policy Advisor at NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region 4d Report this post Report Report. The documents posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal Refer to NMFS No. West Coast In the West Coast groundfish fishery, the position data is primarily used to monitor fishing activity relative to closed areas. Open for Comment, Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions, Economic Sanctions & Foreign Assets Control, Fisheries of the Northeastern United States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. documents in the last year, by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fish and Wildlife Service share jurisdiction of some listed entities; this service only contains spatial data for NMFS critical habitat in the West Coast Region. Fishery information presented in the SARs' appendices and other resources referenced during the tier analysis may include: Level of observer coverage; target species; levels of fishing effort; spatial and temporal distribution of fishing effort; characteristics of fishing gear and operations; management and regulations; and interactions with marine mammals. MMPA section 118 states that the Secretary is not required to place an observer on a vessel if the facilities for quartering an observer or performing observer functions are so inadequate or unsafe that the health or safety of the observer or the safe operation of the vessel would be jeopardized; thereby authorizing the exemption of vessels too small to safely accommodate an observer from this requirement. Western Pacific Pelagic (HI Shallow-set component)*^. NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, West Coast Division; NOAA General Counsel, Northwest Section; and NOAA General Counsel, Southwest Section December 2021 1 "NOAA" is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In the proposed rule, NMFS based the proposed change on reports of hooking spotted dolphins, and information on the prevalence of vessels from these fisheries targeting Pantropical spotted dolphin pods. Are high seas fisheries included on the LOF? Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. NMFS updates the estimated number of HSFCA permits for high seas fisheries (Table 3) as follows: The following tables set forth the list of U.S. commercial fisheries according to their classification under section 118 of the MMPA. The West Coast groundfish fisheries are tracked and managed using accounting of both landed catch and discarded catch. The Commission previously noted that the 2016 SAR for the Southeast Alaska stock of harbor porpoise reported a population-size estimate of 975 and an estimated minimum population size (Nmin) of 896, which produced a PBR of 8.9 animals. Additionally, species identified by logbook entries, stranding data, or fishermen self-reports (i.e., MMAP reports) may not be verified. at 67,130. 24 pp. NOAA Fisheries - Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI, USA . California sea lion, U.S. Long-beaked common dolphin, CA. The OFR/GPO partnership is committed to presenting accurate and reliable 2015. TRP regulations are found at 50 CFR 229.30 through 229.37. Category I: Annual mortality and serious injury of a stock in a given fishery is greater than or equal to 50 percent of the PBR level (i.e., frequent incidental mortality and serious injury of marine mammals). Bottlenose dolphin, Eastern GMX coastal. The following is a collection of organizations and programs involved in various aspects of West Coast groundfish science. NMFS has designated those fisheries in each table with an asterisk (*) after the fishery's name.Start Printed Page 3041, Table 1List of FisheriesCommercial Fisheries in the Pacific Ocean, Table 2List of FisheriesCommercial Fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean, Table 3List of FisheriesCommercial Fisheries on the High Seas, Table 4Fisheries Affected by Take Reduction Teams and Plans. The PBR level for the SEAK harbor porpoise stock was estimated based on a survey that covered only a portion of the currently-recognized distribution of this stock, and it included commercial fishery M/SI that occurred far north of the surveyed areas. Bottlenose dolphin, Mississippi River Delta. Aerial surveys, whale watching boats, the presence of other fisheries, and the presence and associated outreach by a disentanglement team contribute to the higher reporting of entanglement sightings in certain areas (i.e., Massachusetts) than in Maine state and offshore waters; we cannot conclude that risk is nonexistent in other areas where entanglements are not observed. NOAA Fisheries and the Council work with state and tribal governments, as well as industry, environmental organizations, and academic institutions. The Commission states that NMFS proposed to reclassify the Category III Hawaii charter vessel fishery, which is primarily a troll fishery, and the HI trolling, rod and reel fisheries as Category II fisheries in the 2012 LOF (76 FR 37716, June 28, 2011). NMFS adds two stocks to the list of species/stocks incidentally killed or injured in the Category III WA/OR/CA groundfish trawl fishery: (1) California Start Printed Page 3039breeding stock of northern elephant seal and (2) CA/OR/WA stock of northern right whale dolphin. NMFS adds the Western North Atlantic offshore stock of bottlenose dolphin to the list of species/stocks incidentally killed or injured in the Category II mid-Atlantic mid-water trawl (including pair trawl) fishery. Box 22668, 709 West 9th Street, Juneau, AK 99802, Attn: Suzie Teerlink; orStart Printed Page 3032. NMFS adds a superscript 1 to the CA/OR/WA stock of minke whale indicating it is driving the Category II classification of the CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet (14 in mesh) fishery. They also develop science-based strategies and effective partnerships to recover and conserve West Coast trust resources. Our prolific bays and estuaries nurture Dungeness crabs, oysters, and other delectable shellfish prized around the world. NMFS designates those fisheries in Tables 1, 2, and 3 with an asterisk (*) after the fishery's name. NMFS West Coast Region's 2018 Guidance on Assessing the Effects of Existing Structures in ESA Section 7 Consultations In 2018, the NMFS West Coast Region (WCR) issued internal guidance (2018 Guidance) on ESA Section 7 consultations for work on existing structures. The 2021 LOF generally summarizes data from 2013-2017, and in addition to the SARs, the LOF also reviews other sources of information, including injury determination reports and observer data. The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan provides the framework for managing the groundfish fishery. Once these permits for unauthorized gear types expire, the permit-holder will be required to obtain a permit for an authorized gear type; and. Observers collect information on what is caught, whether it is landed or discarded at sea, to estimate bycatch. The Communications and External Affairs Branch creates stories/content, graphics, presentations, brochures, and literature that engage stakeholders, promote understanding of NOAA Fisheries trust resources, convey the science behind our decisions, and advance NOAA Fisheries mission. For these fisheries, NMFS will review the other sources of information listed above and use its discretion to decide when it is appropriate to remove a species or stock. Response: The LOF is the annual process NMFS conducts to place all U.S. commercial fisheries into one of three categories based on the level of incidental mortality and serious injury of marine mammals occurring in each fishery. West Coast From killer whales slicing through waves to salmon jumping rapids on their journey home, marine life fills and defines the waters of the West Coast. Credit: NOAA Fisheries. Our charge is to manage fisheries sustainably for future generations. In one of the commenter's cited cases (E43-12/RW 4193), red tracers were identified in the recovered gear. Below we provide further detail as to why the information presented by the MLA is insufficient for the requested changes. Non-trawl (commercial, including limited entry and open access), Specifications of OFL, ABC, ACL, ACT and Fishery HG, Sablefish North of 36 N lat. The classifications and definitions of U.S. commercial fisheries for 2021 are identical to those provided in the LOF for 2020 with the changes discussed below. MLA recommends NMFS reclassify the Maine state waters lobster fishery as Category III fishery since there are no documented serious injuries or mortalities with this fishery, and NMFS determined that regulating the waters exempt from the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) would have no significant benefit to large whales. After publication of the final rule, NMFS noted the need for corrections to Korie is the Acting Deputy Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region. CA anchovy, mackerel, sardine purse seine, WA/OR herring, smelt, squid purse seine or lampara, WA/OR/CA albacore surface hook and line/troll, AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands groundfish hand troll and dinglebar troll, AK Gulf of Alaska groundfish hand troll and dinglebar troll, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands tuna troll, AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Greenland turbot longline, AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Pacific cod longline, AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands sablefish longline, AK Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands halibut longline, AK state-managed waters longline/setline (including sablefish, rockfish, lingcod, and miscellaneous finfish), WA/OR/CA groundfish, bottomfish longline/set line. In the 2020 LOF final rule, NMFS cites all U.S. undetermined M/SI, potential M/SI prevented by intervention, and North Atlantic right whale entanglement scarring rates as data used for the Category I classification of the Northeast/mid-Atlantic American lobster trap/pot fishery. NMFS is developing similar fishery fact sheets for each Category III fishery on the LOF. NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, and Southwest Fisheries Science Center work together to apply the latest science to sustainably manage the rich marine resources of the region for generations to come. For fisheries with observer coverage, species or stocks are generally removed from the list of marine mammal species and/or stocks incidentally killed or injured if no interactions are documented in the 5-year timeframe summarized in that year's LOF. *, Southeastern, U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico stone crab trap/pot. Vessel or gear owners participating in previous Category III fisheries reclassified as a Category II fishery in this final 2021 LOF can obtain their MMAP certificate on our website https://go.usa.gov/xArUW. Dam Removal Puts California Salmon in Hot Pursuit of Cold Water. Either there is limited interaction with eulachon in these fisheries or most eulachon encounters result in fish escaping trawl nets or avoiding trawl gear altogether. (2020):105652. Southeastern U.S. Atlantic shark gillnet. The commenter notes that in the absence of sufficient data to properly classify all fisheries, the MMPA provides that NMFS may evaluate other factors such as fishing techniques, gear used, methods used to deter marine mammals, target species, seasons and areas fished, qualitative data from logbooks or fishermen reports, stranding data, and the species and distribution of marine mammals in the area, or at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries. section). the official SGML-based PDF version on govinfo.gov, those relying on it for The Northwest Fisheries Science Center produces an annual report on salmon bycatch.