Fisheries Off West Coast States; Highly Migratory Fisheries; Amendment 4 to Fishery Management Plan for West Coast Highly Migratory Species Fisheries; Revisions to the Biennial Management Cycle

Based on recommendations from the Pacific Fishery Mangement Council (Council), NMFS is issuing regulations under the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to implement Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP). The intent of Amendment 4 is to bring descriptions of the management context for HMS fisheries up to date, to better describe the Council's role in the process of making stock status determinations for highly migratory species (HMS), including the Council's evaluations of the best scientific information available (BSIA), and to change the schedule of the Council's three-meeting biennial management cycle for HMS stocks. This rule updates and amends the descriptions of biennial management cycle activities in the regulations for the HMS FMP to allow the Council to shift the schedule of Council meetings for the consideration of HMS stock status updates and management recommendations in response to instances in which a stock or stocks is determined to be subject to overfishing, overfished, or both. The changes to the Council's biennial management cycle activities and the schedule are intended to better streamline international and domestic management processes for HMS. This rule is administrative in nature and is not expected to affect activities authorized under the FMP or harvest levels of HMS.