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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
publication of notification in the Federal Register, NOAA Weather Radio, Fishery Bulletins, and other appropriate means. All that remains is to notify the public that catastrophic conditions continue to exist, that IFQ participants may use paper forms, and that Federal dealers and Gulf for-hire permit holders may submit delayed reports. Such procedures are also contrary to the public interest because of the need to immediately implement this action because affected dealers continue to receive these species in the affected area and need a means of completing their landing transactions. With the continued power outages and damages to infrastructure that have occurred in the affected area due to Hurricane Ida, numerous businesses are unable to complete landings transactions, fishing reports, and dealer reports electronically. In order to continue with their businesses, IFQ participants need to be aware they can report using the paper forms, and Federal dealers and Gulf for-permit holders need to be aware that they can delay reporting.
For the aforementioned reasons, there is good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the effectiveness of this action under 5 U.S.C. 553d3.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 27, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
FR Doc. 202123820 Filed 11221; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 351022P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 679
Docket No. 2110250215
RIN 0648BK31

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Cook Inlet Salmon;
Amendment 14
National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA, Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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AGENCY:

NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 14 to the Fishery Management Plan FMP for the Salmon Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ Off Alaska Salmon FMP. Amendment 14 will incorporate the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea into the Salmon FMPs West Area,
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thereby bringing the Cook Inlet EEZ
Subarea and the commercial salmon fisheries that occur within it under Federal management by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council Council and NMFS. This action will apply the prohibition on commercial salmon fishing that is currently established in the West Area to the newly added Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea.
This final rule is necessary to comply with a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling and to ensure the Salmon FMP is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Magnuson-Stevens Act. This final rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Salmon FMP, and other applicable laws.
DATES: Effective December 3, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the Environmental Assessment and the Regulatory Impact Review collectively referred to as the Analysis and the Finding of No Significant Impact prepared for this final rule may be obtained from https
www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS
Alaska Region website at https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Doug Duncan, 9075867228 or doug.duncan@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule implements Amendment 14 to the Salmon FMP. NMFS published the Notice of Availability NOA for Amendment 14 in the Federal Register on May 18, 2021 86 FR 26888, with public comments invited through July 19, 2021. NMFS published the proposed rule to implement Amendment 14 in the Federal Register on June 4, 2021 86 FR
29977. Comments submitted on the NOA and the proposed rule for Amendment 14 were considered jointly.
The Secretary of Commerce approved Amendment 14 on August 12, 2021, after considering public comment and determining that Amendment 14 is consistent with the Salmon FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws. No substantive changes have been made from the proposed rule in this final rule.
Background The following provides a brief summary of the background for Amendment 14. Additional information is provided in the preamble of the proposed rule and the Analysis.
The Councils Salmon FMP manages the Pacific salmon fisheries in the EEZ
from 3 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles off Alaska. The Council developed
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the Salmon FMP under the MagnusonStevens Act, and it first became effective in 1979. The Council has divided the Salmon FMPs coverage into the West Area and the East Area, with the boundary between the two areas at Cape Suckling, at 14353.6 W longitude. The Salmon FMP authorizes commercial salmon fishing in the East Area, and prohibits commercial salmon fishing in the West Area. Through Amendment 12
December 21, 2012, 77 FR 75570, three small areas in the EEZincluding the Cook Inlet EEZwhere commercial salmon fishing with nets was originally authorized by the International Convention for the High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean, as implemented by the North Pacific Fisheries Act of 1954, were excluded from the Salmon FMP and therefore not subject to the West Area prohibition on commercial fishing. Amendment 12s removal of these three areas in the EEZ
from the Salmon FMPs West Area allowed the State of Alaska State to manage these areas independently and outside of an FMP.
Cook Inlet commercial salmon fishermen and seafood processors challenged Amendment 12 and its implementing regulations, including removal of the Cook Inlet EEZ from the Salmon FMP. United Cook Inlet Drift Assn v. NMFS, No. 3:13cv00104
TMB, 2014 WL 10988279 D. Alaska 2014. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that section 302h1 of the MagnusonStevens Act 16 U.S.C. 1852h1
requires a Council to prepare and submit FMPs for each fishery under its authority that requires conservation and management. United Cook Inlet Drift Assn v. NMFS, 837 F.3d 1055, 1065
9th Cir. 2016. Because NMFS agreed that the Cook Inlet EEZ salmon fishery needs conservation and management by some entity, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that fishery be included in the Salmon FMP.
Through its public processes, the Council spent significant time from 2017 to 2020 developing and evaluating management alternatives to comply with the Ninth Circuits ruling. The Council considered four alternatives, which are described in Section 2 of the Analysis: Alternative 1, status quo management; Alternative 2, Federal management of the Cook Inlet EEZ with specific management measures delegated to the State; Alternative 3, independent Federal management of the Cook Inlet EEZ with specific management measures for the commercial salmon fishery sector in the Cook Inlet EEZ; and Alternative 4, independent Federal management of the Cook Inlet EEZ with a closure of the
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