[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48853-48854]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23770]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 662
[Docket No. 960903241-6241-01; I.D. 081996B]
Northern Anchovy Fishery; Quotas for the 1996-97 Fishing Year
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final quotas.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the estimated spawning biomass and final
harvest quotas for the northern anchovy fishery in the exclusive
economic zone south of Point Reyes, CA, for the 1996-97 fishing season.
These quotas may only be adjusted if inaccurate data were used or if
errors were made in the calculations. Comments on these two points are
invited. The intended effect of this action is to establish allowable
harvest levels of Pacific anchovy.
DATES: Effective on August 1, 1996. Comments will be accepted until
October 15, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments on the final quotas to Ms. Hilda Diaz-
Soltero, Regional Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean
Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213. Administrative Report LJ-
95-11 is available from this same address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James J. Morgan, Southwest Region,
NMFS, (310) 980-4036.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In consultation with the California
Department of Fish and Game and the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science
Center, the Director of the Southwest Region, NMFS, has decided to use
the 1995 estimate of 388,000 mt spawning biomass of the central
subpopulation of northern anchovy, Engraulis mordax, to set harvest
limits for the 1996-97 fishing season. This is the same biomass
estimate that was used for the 1995-96 fishing season because no new
estimate has been made.
On March 26, 1996, a proposed rule was published in the Federal
Register (61 FR 13148), recommending that Federal regulations
implementing the Northern Anchovy Fishery Management Plan (FMP) be
removed. This proposal was based on the fact that harvests of anchovy
have declined greatly since 1982, and that this situation is unlikely
to change in the foreseeable future. Interjurisdictional and allocation
issues that might require Federal intervention no longer exist.
Removing Federal regulations would mean that the anchovy fishery would
continue to be regulated by the State of California. Since no final
action has yet been taken on this proposed rule, Federal regulation of
the fishery is still effective, and a quota must be set for the 1996
fishing season, which begins on August 1 under the regulations.
The biomass estimate was derived from a stock assessment model
using spawning biomass estimated by five indices of abundance.
Documentation of the spawning biomass is contained in Administrative
Report LJ-95-11, published by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center,
NMFS (see ADDRESSES). This report and the determination of harvest
quotas were provided to the Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) last year, and a meeting of the Council's Coastal Pelagics
Planning Team and Advisory Subpanel was held in Long Beach, CA, on June
21, 1995. At that time, NMFS requested estimates of
[[Page 48854]]
domestic processing needs from the fishing industry so that a basis
could be established for setting annual quotas. Additional information
was received at the June 26-29, 1995, meeting of the Council. The
result of these meetings was the thorough review of the 1995 estimate
of the spawning biomass, which is the purpose of the meetings as stated
in 50 CFR 662.20(a)(1). There is no new information to support a change
from the assessment made in 1995. No stock assessment was conducted in
1996. With the information available, a modest harvest based on last
year's estimate of the spawning biomass and on the needs of the U.S.
fishery as expressed by the industry is reasonable.
According to the formula in the FMP, the optimum yield (OY) is
61,600 mt (70 percent of the biomass above 300,000), which is allocated
to reduction fisheries, plus 4,900 mt for non-reduction fisheries.
There is no agreement with Mexico on the management of northern
anchovy; a portion of the biomass (30 percent) above 300,000 mt is
designated as the amount to account for this unregulated harvest. Any
portion of the OY not used by U.S. fishermen is identified as total
allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF) and is available to foreign
fishing.
The estimates of the amount of anchovy that will be used by the
U.S. fishing industry is based, usually, on the largest amount of
reduction and non-reduction processing in the previous 3 years;
however, the spawning biomass has been below 300,000 mt for 3 of the
last 4 years and no fishery was allowed. There was no reduction harvest
in 1995.
The TALFF depends on that portion of the OY that will not be used
by U.S. fishermen, minus the amount of harvest by Mexican vessels that
is in excess of the average Mexican harvest (calculated according to
the formula in the FMP). The estimate of Mexican excess harvest is
based, generally, on the largest harvest in the last 3 years; however,
the biomass has been so low during this time that there has been no
significant fishery off Mexico until last year, and there was no excess
Mexican harvest last year as defined in the FMP. Historically, the
Mexican fishery has been based on availability and not on abundance.
Recent harvests are not a reliable predictor of Mexican harvest under
conditions of sudden increased abundance.
After considering the above, the Regional Director has made the
following determinations for the 1996-97 fishing season by applying the
formulas in the FMP and in 50 CFR 662.20.
1. The total OY for northern anchovy is 66,500 mt, plus an
unspecified amount for use as live bait.
2. The total U.S. harvest quota for reduction purposes is 13,000
mt.
a. Of the total reduction harvest quota, 1,300 mt is reserved for
the reduction fishery in Subarea A (north of Pt. Buchon). The FMP
requires that 10 percent of the U.S. reduction quota or 9,072 mt,
whichever is less, be reserved for the northern fishery. This is not a
special quota, but only a reduction in the amount allocated to the
southern fishery south of Pt. Buchon (Subarea B). After the northern
fishery has harvested 1,300 mt, any unused portion of the Subarea B
allocation may also be harvested north of Pt. Buchon.
b. The reduction quota for Subarea B (south of Pt. Buchon) is
11,700 mt.
3. The U.S. harvest quota for non-reduction fishing (i.e., fishing
for anchovy for use as dead bait or human consumption) is 4,900 mt (as
set by Sec. 662.20).
4. There is no U.S. harvest limit for the live bait fishery.
5. The domestic annual processing capacity (DAP) is 13,000 mt.
6. The amount allocated to joint venture processing (JVP) is zero,
because there is no history of, nor are there applications for, joint
ventures.
7. Domestic annual harvest capacity (DAH) is 13,000 mt. DAH is the
sum of DAP and JVP.
8. The TALFF is 48,600 mt.
The fishery will be monitored during the year and evaluated with
respect to the OY and the estimated needs of the fishing industry.
Adjustments may be made to comply with the requirements of the FMP and
its implementing regulations.
This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 662 and is exempt from
review under E.O. 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 11, 1996.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 96-23770 Filed 9-12-96; 12:32 pm]
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