Pacific Coast Groundfish Salmon Bycatch Minimization

This request is for extension of a currently approved information collection. On February 23, 2021, NMFS published in the Federal Register a final rule (86 FR 10857) allowing a Pacific whiting sector cooperative or group of vessels to develop a Salmon Mitigation Plan (SMP) to promote reduction in Chinook salmon bycatch. The SMP is a voluntary agreement by a Pacific whiting fishery Mothership (MS), Catcher/processor (C/P), or Pacific whiting individual fishing quota (IFQ) fishery group to manage Chinook salmon bycatch. The SMP would be approved by NMFS. Those groups with an approved SMP would be required to provide an annual postseason report to the Council and NMFS no later than March 31. The report would describe the group’s use of Chinook salmon bycatch avoidance measures and an evaluation of the effectiveness of those measures. It would also describe any amendments to the terms of the SMP that were approved by NMFS during the fishing year in which the SMP was approved and the reasons that the amendments to the SMP were made. The rule also established that vessels with a NMFS-approved SMP have access to the Chinook salmon bycatch reserve regardless of NMFS implementing other inseason measures to minimize salmon bycatch. Participation in an SMP is voluntary; however, any vessel that chooses not to participate in an SMP would be subject to additional salmon bycatch minimization measures prior to being allowed access to the reserve. The associated regulations are found at 50 CFR part 660. OMB approved the collection-of-information requirements contained in the final rule on March 10, 2021, under OMB Control Number 0648–0794 (Pacific Coast Groundfish Salmon Bycatch Minimization).

The latest form for Pacific Coast Groundfish Salmon Bycatch Minimization expires 2027-09-30 and can be found here.

SMP Proposal

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Natural Resources - Conservation, Marine and Land Management