Ocean Salmon Fisheries Off the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California

Resumo

The Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) requests public comments on a proposed rule to implement Amendment 11 (amendment) to the Fishery Management Plan for Commercial and Recreational Salmon Fisheries Off the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California (FMP). Amendment 11 would modify the spawning escapement goal for Oregon coastal natural (OCN) coho salmon and the criteria for establishing and managing subarea allocations for recreational coho salmon harvest south of Cape Falcon, Oregon (45 deg.46'00'' N. lat.). The amendment is intended to: (1) Address persistent low OCN coho stock abundance and annual escapement goals below maximum sustainable yield (MSY); (2) to prevent imbalances in recreational coho harvest allocation at low allowable harvest levels; and (3) to prevent the frequent use of emergency rulemaking to implement annual management measures.