[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 182 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54132-54133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21837]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 600
[Docket No. 0808041047-81182-01]
RIN 0648-AW62
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Scientific and Statistical
Committees; Peer Review; National Standard Guidelines
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it is considering, and is seeking public
comment on proposed rulemaking to revise National Standard 2 (NS2)
guidelines regarding use of best scientific information available, in
light of reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). NMFS is considering
modifying the language describing the content and purpose of the Stock
Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report or related documents,
and adding language regarding peer review processes, the role of the
scientific and statistical committees (SSCs) of the Regional Fishery
Management Councils (Councils), and the relationship between peer
reviews and SSCs.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 5 p.m., local
time, December 17, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 0648-AW62, by any one
of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
Fax: Attn: William Michaels 301-713-1875.
Mail: William Michaels, NOAA Fisheries Service, Office of
Science and Technology, 1315 East-West Highway, F/ST4, Silver Spring,
MD 20910.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill Michaels, 301-713-2363 x136.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 12, 2007, the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA)
was signed into law. The MSRA amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act
included provisions to improve the use of science in decision-making,
provide for a stronger role for Councils' SSCs and enhance peer review
processes.
Currently, the NS2 guidelines address the use of best scientific
information available to support fishery management actions, prescribe
the content and purpose of SAFE reports or similar
[[Page 54133]]
documents, and assign responsibility for the preparation and review of
SAFE reports to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). SAFE reports are
intended to provide the Councils with a summary of current scientific
information available to make management decisions and are intended to
contain information upon which Councils are to base harvest
specifications, including annual harvest levels from each stock. At
this time, NS2 does not specifically mention that the SAFE should
include SSC recommendations for acceptable biological catch from either
the SSC or peer review process (established under Section 302(g)(1)(E)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act). SSC recommendations for acceptable
biological catch are the basis upon which each Council is to set annual
catch limits (ACLs), and ACLs are not to exceed these fishing level
recommendations per Section 302(h)(6) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS
is considering, and is seeking public comment on how to revise the
discussion of SAFE reports in the NS2 to include the scientific
recommendations that are to be provided by the SSCs under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, as reauthorized.
NMFS is inviting comment on the extent to which the NS2 guidelines
should provide guidance as to what constitutes ``best scientific
information available.'' In 2004, the National Research Council (NRC)
of the National Academies was charged with examining the application of
the term ``best scientific information available'' as the basis for
fishery conservation and management measures required under NS2 and
recommended approaches for a more uniform application of the standard
within the context of current and future fisheries management efforts.
The NRC recommendations can be found in their publication, ``Improving
the Use of the Best Scientific Information Available' Standard in
Fisheries Management'' (NRC 2004,http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php).
Although NMFS has informally adopted many of the NRC recommendations,
this advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) is an opportunity to
solicit and incorporate recommendations into the NS2 guidance.
Section 302(g)(1)(E) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act provides that
``(T)he Secretary and each Council may establish a peer review process
for that Council for scientific information used to advise the Council
about the conservation and management of the fishery. The review
process, which may include existing committees or panels, is deemed to
satisfy the requirements of the guidelines issued pursuant to section
515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for
Fiscal year 2001,'' otherwise known as the Information Quality Act. At
present, none of the 10 national standards, or national standard
guidelines, directly discuss or provide guidance on peer review
processes.
NMFS is considering expanding NS2 to include specific language
regarding peer review processes. NS2 appears to be the logical national
standard to provide further guidance regarding peer reviews, since a
peer review process is one method for ensuring that the best scientific
information available is utilized in Council decisions. This language
may include minimum criteria for peer review processes, based in part
on the public comments received. Furthermore, there may be a need to
clarify the relationship between the peer review processes that may be
established by the Secretary and each Council and the role of the SSC
of that Council vis-[aacute]-vis the peer review process.
Finally, NMFS seeks comments from the public on other issues or
clarifications to NS2 that the public would like to see addressed in
this rulemaking.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1851.
Dated: September 15, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-21837 Filed 9-17-08; 8:45 am]
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