[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 141 (Monday, July 25, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-17921]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 25, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 931235-4107; I.D. 071594F]

 

Pacific Halibut Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of inseason action.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, on behalf of 
the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), publishes notice 
of this inseason action pursuant to IPHC regulations approved by the 
U.S. Government to govern the Pacific halibut fishery. This action is 
intended to enhance the conservation of Pacific halibut stocks in order 
to help sustain them at an adequate level in the northern Pacific Ocean 
and Bering Sea.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 6, 1994, through September 30, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Pennoyer, telephone 907-586-
7221; Gary Smith, telephone 206-526-6140; or Donald McCaughran, 
telephone 206-634-1838.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IPHC, under the Convention between the 
United States of America and Canada for the Preservation of the Halibut 
Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea (signed at Ottawa, 
Ontario, on March 2, 1953), as amended by a Protocol Amending the 
Convention (signed at Washington, DC, on March 29, 1979), has issued 
this inseason action pursuant to IPHC regulations governing the Pacific 
halibut fishery. The regulations have been approved by the Secretary of 
State (59 FR 22522, May 2, 1994). On behalf of the IPHC, this inseason 
action is published in the Federal Register to provide additional 
notice of its effectiveness, and to inform persons subject to the 
inseason action of the restrictions and requirements established 
therein.

Inseason Action

1994 Halibut Landing Report No. 9

Last Oregon Sport Season Canceled, 30-Fathom Fishery to Continue
    The final sport Pacific halibut season scheduled to begin August 6 
in all depths between Cape Falcon (lat. 45 deg.46'00''N.) and the 
California border (lat. 42 deg.00'00''N.) has been canceled. 
Insufficient catch limit remains to allow for a complete day of 
fishing. Therefore, the current sport halibut fishery inside the 30-
fathom curve nearest to the coastline as plotted on National Ocean 
Service charts numbered 18520, 18580, and 18600 from Cape Falcon to the 
California border will continue until the overall catch limit for this 
area is reached. The fishery is open 7 days a week with a daily bag 
limit of two halibut per person, one with a minimum overall size limit 
of 32 in (81.3 cm) and the second with a minimum overall size limit of 
50 in (127 cm). This fishery will close when the remaining catch limit 
of 2,610 lb (1.2 mt) is reached and the season is closed by the 
Commission, or September 30, whichever occurs first.
Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound Sport Fishery Closes
    Sport fishing for Pacific halibut in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and 
Puget Sound (waters east of a line from Bonilla Point, lat. 
48 deg.35'44''N., long. 124 deg.43'00''W., to the buoy adjacent to 
Duntz Rock, lat. 48 deg.24'55''N., long. 124 deg.44'50''W., to Tatoosh 
Island lighthouse, lat. 48 deg.23'30''N., long. 124 deg.44'00''W., to 
Cape Flattery, lat. 48 deg.22'55''N., long. 124 deg.43'42''W.) closed, 
as scheduled, at 11:59 p.m. on July 5. Sport fishing for Pacific 
halibut will remain closed for the rest of 1994.

    Dated: July 18, 1994
David S. Crestin,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 94-17921 Filed 7-22-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F