[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 130 (Friday, July 5, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35143-35144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17009]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 951227306-5306-01 ; I.D. 062696A]


Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Trip Limit Reductions

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

ACTION: Fishing restrictions; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces further restrictions to the Pacific coast 
groundfish fisheries for Pacific ocean perch (POP) coastwide and Dover 
sole north of Cape Mendocino, CA (40 deg.30' N. lat.). These actions 
are authorized by regulations implementing the Pacific Coast Groundfish 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which governs the groundfish fishery off 
Washington, Oregon, and California. These restrictions are intended to 
keep landings as close as possible to the 1996 harvest guidelines for 
these species.

DATES: Effective from 0001 hours (local time) July 1, 1996, until the 
effective date of the 1997 annual specifications and management 
measures for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery, which will be 
published in the Federal Register. Comments will be accepted through 
July 22, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest 
Region (Director), National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point 
Way NE., BIN-C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or Hilda Diaz-Soltero, 
Director, Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 501 West 
Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at 206-526-6140; 
or Rodney McInnis at 310-980-4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following changes to routine management 
measures for POP and Dover sole were recommended by the Pacific Fishery 
Management Council (Council) at its June 18-19, 1996, meeting in 
Seattle, WA.
    POP. POP has been overfished and has been managed under a 
rebuilding schedule since 1981. The acceptable biological catch (ABC) 
is zero, and the harvest guideline is intended to provide only for 
incidental catch of POP taken while fishing for other species. The 
harvest guideline was reduced from 1,300 metric tons (mt) in 1995 to 
750 mt on January 1, 1996, at which time a 2-month cumulative trip 
limit of 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) was implemented.
    The best available information at the June 1996 Council meeting 
indicated that 315 mt of POP had been taken through May 31, 1996, and 
that the 750-mt harvest guideline would be reached by September 28, 
1996, if the rate of landings is not slowed. The Council recommended 
that the 2-month cumulative limit for POP be reduced from 10,000 lb 
(4,536 kg) to 8,000 lb (3,629 kg) coastwide to keep landings within the 
harvest guideline in 1996.
    Dover sole. Dover sole is one component of the Dover sole,

[[Page 35144]]

thornyheads (both shortspine and longspine), and trawl-caught sablefish 
(DTS) complex. In recent years, the DTS complex has been managed with 
cumulative trip limits, with specific limits on sablefish and 
thornyheads. The remainder of catch could be Dover sole. The industry 
generally concentrated on the higher valued fish, thornyheads and 
sablefish. However, at its extreme, the entire cumulative limit for the 
DTS complex (since January 1, 1996, 70,000 lb (31,752 kg) per 2-month 
period ) could consist of Dover sole. Dover sole currently is managed 
with a coastwide harvest guideline, which includes a harvest guideline 
for Dover sole in the Columbia area (43 deg.00'-47 deg.30' N. lat.), 
where harvest typically has been the highest.
    The best available information at the June 1996 Council meeting 
indicated that 1,361 mt of Dover sole in the Columbia area had been 
taken through May 31, 1996, and that the 2,850-mt harvest guideline for 
this area would be reached by October 25, 1996, if the rate of landings 
is not slowed. The Council recommended that an explicit 2-month 
cumulative limit of 38,000 lb (17,236 kg) be specified for Dover sole 
taken and retained north of Cape Mendocino, CA. This is the amount of 
the DTS complex that would remain under the existing cumulative 2-month 
limit north of Cape Mendocino if the sub-limits for sablefish and 
thornyheads are fully taken. The 2-month cumulative limit for Dover 
sole is applied north of Cape Mendocino because this encompasses the 
Columbia area, and is consistent with current 2-month cumulative limits 
for the DTS complex (which differ north and south of Cape Mendocino) 
without unduly restricting the fishery south of Cape Mendocino.
    NMFS action. NMFS concurs with the Council's recommendations, which 
are intended to keep landings of POP and Dover sole within their 1996 
harvest guidelines. These restrictions apply to both the limited entry 
and open access fisheries, including exempt trawl gear used to harvest 
pink shrimp and prawns. As stated in the annual management measures at 
61 FR 279 (January 4, 1996), ``A vessel operating in the open access 
fishery must not exceed any trip limit, frequency limit, and/or size 
limit for the open access fishery; or for the same gear and/or subarea 
in the limited entry fishery; or, in any calendar month, 50 percent of 
any 2-month cumulative trip limit for the same gear and/or subarea in 
the limited entry fishery, called the '50-percent monthly limit.''' The 
annual management measures announced at 61 FR 279, as amended, are 
modified as follows:
    1. Paragraphs IV.D.(1) and (2) of the annual management measures 
for POP are revised to read as follows:
    ``D.(1) Limited entry fishery. The cumulative trip limit for POP is 
8,000 lb (3,629 kg) per vessel per 2-month period. The 60-percent 
monthly limit is 4,800 lb (2,177 kg).
    D.(2) Open access fishery. Within the limits at paragraph IV.I. for 
the open access fishery, the 50-percent monthly limit for POP is 4,000 
lb (1,814 kg).''
    2. Paragraphs IV.E.(3)(b)(i), IV.E.(3)(b)(iii), and IV.E.(4) of the 
annual management measures for the DTS complex are revised to read as 
follows:
    ``E.(3)(b)(i). North of Cape Mendocino. The cumulative trip limit 
for the DTS complex taken and retained north of Cape Mendocino is 
70,000 lb (31,752 kg) per vessel per 2-month period. Within this 
cumulative trip limit, no more than 12,000 lb (5,443 kg) may be 
sablefish, no more than 38,000 lb (17,236 kg) may be Dover sole, and no 
more than 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) may be thornyheads. No more than 4,000 
lb (1,814 kg) of the thornyheads may be shortspine thornyheads.''
    ``E.(3)(b)(iii) The 60-percent monthly limits are: For the DTS 
complex, 42,000 lb (19,051 kg) north of Cape Mendocino, and 60,000 lb 
(27,216 kg) south of Cape Mendocino; for trawl-caught sablefish, 7,200 
lb (3,266 kg); for Dover sole north of Cape Mendocino, 22,800 lb 
(10,342 kg); for both species of thornyheads combined, 12,000 lb (5,443 
kg); and for shortspine thornyheads 2,400 lb (1,089 kg).''
    ``E.(4) Open access fishery. Within the limits in paragraph IV.I. 
of the annual management measures, a vessel using exempt trawl gear in 
the open access fishery is subject to the 50-percent monthly limits 
which are as follows: For the DTS complex, 35,000 lb (15,876 kg) north 
of Cape Mendocino, and 50,000 lb (22, 680 kg) south of Cape Mendocino; 
for trawl-caught sablefish, 6,000 lb (2,722 kg); for Dover sole north 
of Cape Mendocino, 19,000 lb (8,618 kg); for both species of 
thornyheads combined, 10,000 lb (4,536 kg); and for shortspine 
thornyheads, 2,000 lb (907 kg).''

Classification

    These actions are authorized by the regulations implementing the 
FMP. The determination to take these actions is based on the most 
recent data available. The aggregate data upon which the determinations 
are based are available for public inspection at the office of the 
Director, Northwest Region, NMFS (see ADDRESSES) during business hours. 
Because of the need for immediate action to slow the rate of harvest of 
Dover sole and POP, and because the public had an opportunity to 
comment on the action at the June 1996 Council meeting, NMFS has 
determined that good cause exists for this document to be published 
without affording a prior opportunity for public comment or a 30-day 
delayed effectiveness period. These actions are taken under the 
authority of 50 CFR 660.323(b)(1)(i), and are exempt from review under 
E.O. 12866.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: June 28, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-17009 Filed 6-28-96; 4:20 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F