[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 84 (Tuesday, April 30, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18988-18994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-10663]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 611 and 663

[Docket No. 951227306-6117-02; I.D. 121295C]


Foreign Fishing; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Annual 
Specifications; and Correction

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

ACTION: Final 1996 groundfish fishery specifications for Pacific 
whiting and correction.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 1996 fishery specifications for Pacific 
whiting in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and state waters off 
the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California as authorized by the 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The 
specifications include the level of the acceptable biological catch 
(ABC) and harvest guideline, including the distribution between 
domestic and foreign fishing operations. The intended effect of this 
action is to establish allowable harvest levels of Pacific whiting 
based on the best available scientific information. Corrections are 
also made to Table 1 in the annual specifications and management 
measures for the Pacific coast groundfish fishery.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 15, 1996, until the effective date of the 1997 
annual specifications and management measures, which will be published 
in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson (Northwest Region, 
NMFS) 206-526-6140; or Rodney R. McInnis (Southwest Region, NMFS) 310-
980-4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP requires that fishery specifications 
for groundfish be evaluated each calendar year, that harvest guidelines 
or quotas be specified for species or species groups in need of 
additional protection, and that management measures designed to achieve 
the harvest guidelines or quotas be published in the Federal Register 
and made effective by January 1, the beginning of the fishing year. 
This was done for the 1996 groundfish fishery (61 FR 279, January 4, 
1996), with one exception, Pacific whiting (whiting). Final 
specifications for whiting were not announced because the Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (Council), which makes management 
recommendations to NMFS, decided to delay its consideration until 1995 
hydroacoustic survey information could be included in the assessment on 
whiting and the new results reviewed. Consequently, preliminary 
specifications for whiting were announced concurrent with the final 
specifications for other groundfish species. As in the past, the 
specifications include fish caught in state ocean waters (0-3 nautical 
miles (nm) offshore) as well as fish caught in the EEZ (3-200 nm 
offshore).
    In 1994, the ABC for whiting was substantially higher than in 
previous years, primarily because it was based on data from the 1992 
hydroacoustic survey that utilized new, more sensitive equipment, and 
extended farther offshore and farther north to encompass the species' 
range. To provide for cautious exploitation until the 1992 survey 
results could be confirmed, a conservative harvest rate policy was 
adopted in 1994 and 1995 to minimize the risk to the resource if the 
ABC is later found to be too high. Because initial results of the 
recent 1995 survey were favorable, the Council initially supported 
resumption of the moderate exploitation rate in 1996. When applied to 
the previous year's stock assessment, this resulted in a preliminary 
ABC recommendation of 123,000 metric tons (mt) for the U.S. and Canada 
combined. The Council also recommended that the preliminary U.S. 
harvest guideline continue at 80 percent (98,400 mt) of the ABC. When 
the preliminary specifications were announced, NMFS indicated that the 
final specifications could be higher or lower, depending on the 
information resulting from the new survey and stock assessment on 
whiting.
    At its March 1996 meeting in Portland, OR, the Council reviewed the 
new stock assessment, which indicated that the biomass of 3-year-old 
whiting was 60 percent greater than expected, and that a moderate 
abundance of 2-year-old fish will be recruited to the fishery in 1996. 
However, the Council recommended delaying the return to the moderate 
exploitation rate until resolution of new questions concerning the 
correct hydroacoustic target strength used in estimating biomass. The 
target strength calibrates the hydroacoustic survey data into absolute 
biomass of whiting. Even so, by applying the conservative exploitation 
rate to the new stock assessment, the Council's final ABC 
recommendation (U.S. and Canadian combined) of 265,000 mt is 42,000 mt 
higher than the 1995 ABC of 223,000 mt and more than double the 
preliminary ABC of 123,000 mt. (Under the new stock assessment, a 
moderate exploitation rate would have led to a 1996 ABC of 369,000 mt.)
    The Council also confirmed its preliminary recommendation to set 
the U.S. harvest guideline at 80 percent of the U.S.-Canadian ABC. 
Therefore, the final U.S. harvest guideline is 212,000 mt for 1996. If 
Canada adopts the same ABC and calculates its share as 30 percent of 
the total catch, as in the recent past, the U.S.-Canadian ABC will be 
exceeded by about 14 percent. These overages have not caused a 
biological problem, particularly given the large increase in the ABC in 
1994 and use of the conservative exploitation rate in 1994-96. The 
total harvest will not reach the overfishing level. Bilateral 
discussions with Canada are expected to continue.
    The whiting harvest guideline in 1996 is designated entirely for 
domestic harvesting and processing, and there is no surplus for joint 
venture or foreign fishing operations.
    Public comments on the preliminary whiting specifications were 
requested through February 5, 1996, but none were received. Whiting 
caught in 1996

[[Page 18989]]

before the effective date of this action will be counted toward the new 
harvest guideline.

Other Changes to the Whiting Fishery

    The start of the regular whiting season north of 42 deg. N. lat. is 
changed from April 15 to May 15 (61 FR 16402, April 15, 1996). In 
addition, NMFS has proposed a framework regulation for implementing the 
treaty rights of certain Washington State coastal treaty Indian tribes 
and presented options for an allocation to the Makah tribe in 1996 (61 
FR 10303, March 13, 1996). This proposal also appears in a separate 
Federal Register document, and is not yet approved. Other 
specifications and management measures announced at (61 FR 279, January 
4, 1996) or at 50 CFR part 663 are not changed by this action except as 
corrected.

Correction of Publication

    In the publication of the annual specifications and management 
measures on January 4, 1996 (I.D. 121295C), in the table on page 280, 
under ``roundfish,'' the entry for pacific whiting, under ``rockfish,'' 
the entries thornyheads, yellowtail, and the text of footnotes d and n 
at the end of the table are corrected as set forth. For the convenience 
of the user, the table is revised to include these changes to read as 
follows:
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Classification

    The final specifications and management measures for 1996 are 
issued under the authority of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act and are in accordance with 50 CFR parts 611 and 663, the 
regulations implementing the FMP.
    NMFS finds good cause, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), to waive a 
portion of the 30-day delay in effectiveness, so that this rule may 
become effective before the fishery begins on May 15, 1996. The initial 
whiting specifications were announced January 4, 1996 (61 FR 27), and 
explained clearly to the public that the harvest guideline might be 
adjusted later by notice in the Federal Register. This final rule is 
that notice. Since this action has been publicized widely through the 
Council process, the industry is aware of the increase and would be 
hurt if the final specifications were not effective on May 15. Since 
the at-sea processing sector is capable of taking its share of the 
harvest guideline within less than a month, delaying full releases of 
the harvest guideline may cause an unnecessary disruption in fishing. 
Therefore, it would be contrary to the public interest to delay the 
effectiveness of the rule beyond the start of the fishery.

    Dated: April 23, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-10663 Filed 4-29-96; 8:45 am]
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