[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24845-24848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11790]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 961227373-6373-01; I.D. 042397A]
Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific;
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces further restrictions to the Pacific Coast
groundfish fisheries for widow rockfish,
[[Page 24846]]
bocaccio, Dover sole, thornyheads, and sablefish, and clarifies the
cross-over provisions for operating in areas with different trip
limits. 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
1997 harvest guidelines for these species.
DATES: Effective from 0001 hours (local time) May 1, 1997, until the
effective date of the 1998 annual specifications and management
measures for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery, which will be
published in the Federal Register. For vessels operating in the B
platoon, effective from 0001 hours (local time) May 16, 1997, until the
effective date of the 1998 annual specifications and management
measures for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery, which will be
published in the Federal Register. Comments will be accepted through
May 22, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments to William Stelle, Jr., Administrator,
Northwest Region (Regional Administrator), National Marine Fisheries
Service, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or William
Hogarth, Acting Administrator, 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 were recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council), in consultation with the states of Washington, Oregon, and
California, at its April 8-11, 1997, meeting in San Francisco, CA.
Widow Rockfish
The limited entry fishery for widow rockfish currently is managed
under a 2-month cumulative trip limit of 70,000 lb (31,752 kg). The
best available information at the April 1997 Council meeting indicated
that 1,458 mt of widow rockfish had been taken through March 31, 1997,
and that the 6,500-mt harvest guideline would be reached by mid-October
1997 if the rate of landings is not slowed. The Council therefore
recommended that the 2-month cumulative trip limit for widow rockfish
be reduced May 1, 1997, from 70,000 lb (31,752 kg) to 60,000 lb (27,216
kg) coastwide to keep landings within the harvest guideline in 1997.
Bocaccio
Bocaccio, which are found predominantly off California south of
Cape Mendocino (40 deg.30' N. lat.), comprise one component of the
Sebastes complex of rockfish. The acceptable biological catch (ABC) and
harvest guideline for bocaccio were severely reduced in 1997 as a
result of a new stock assessment. The harvest guideline for bocaccio
was set at its overfishing threshold in 1997, as a 1-year step down to
fishing at the level of ABC. Bocaccio is particularly difficult to
manage because many gear types are involved. It is caught with
commercial trawl, longline, hook-and-line, set net, and pot gear, and
substantial amounts also are taken in the recreational fishery.
The best available information at the April 1997 Council meeting
indicated that 80 mt of bocaccio had been taken through March 31, 1997,
and that the 387-mt harvest guideline would be reached by the end of
the year. However, uncertainty in recreational catch levels, and
projections based on achievement of the 332-mt commercial harvest
guideline (the harvest gudeline minus the recreational catch) indicate
that the commercial harvest guideline would be reached by late October.
To assure that the harvest guideline and overfishing threshold for
bocaccio are not exceeded, the Council recommended two changes to trip
limits south of Cape Mendocino, effective May 1, 1997: A reduction from
12,000 lb (5,443 kg) to 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) in the 2-month cumulative
trip limit for the limited entry fishery; and, for the open access
fishery, a reduction from 300 lb (136 kg) to 250 lb (113 kg) per trip
for hook-and-line and trap gear, with no change to the monthly
cumulative limit of 2,000 lb (907 kg). No changes were recommended to
the trip limits for the open access set net fishery south of Cape
Mendocino, the open access fishery targeting on non-groundfish species,
or to the bag limit for the recreational fishery, but such changes
could be made in the future.
Dover Sole, Thornyheads, and Trawl-Caught Sablefish (the DTS
Complex)
The Council recommended that changes be made May 1, 1997, to the 2-
month cumulative trip limits for Dover sole north of Cape Mendocino and
thornyheads coastwide, which also result in a reduction to the trip
limit for the DTS complex north of Cape Mendocino.
Dover Sole
The limited entry fishery for Dover sole is managed with a
coastwide harvest guideline which includes a separate harvest guideline
for the Columbia area. Coastwide landings of Dover sole are projected
to reach the 11,050-mt harvest guideline on November 26, 1997, but this
is due predominantly to exceeding the 2,850-mt Columbia area harvest
guideline by 827-1,288 mt. If landing rates are not slowed, the harvest
guideline in the Columbia area is projected to be reached in early to
late September. The Council therefore recommended lowering the 2-month
cumulative trip limit from 38,000 lb (17,237 kg) to 30,000 lb (13,608
kg) for the limited entry fishery north of Cape Mendocino, with the
intent that both the Columbia and coastwide harvest guidelines would
not be exceeded.
Thornyheads (Shortspine and Longspine)
The limited entry fishery for the two species of thornyheads is
managed with a coastwide, 2-month cumulative trip limit for both
species combined, which includes a separate limit for shortspine
thornyheads. The harvest guideline for longspine thornyheads will not
be reached in order to protect shortspine thornyheads. Shortspine
thornyheads are managed so as not to exceed total catch of 1,500 mt in
1997 (1,380 mt for the landed catch harvest guideline and 120 mt for
trip-limit induced discards), and therefore is above the 1,000-mt ABC
but below the 1,757-mt overfishing threshold (total catch).
Approximately 400 mt of shortspine thornyheads had been landed through
March 31 and the harvest guideline is projected to be reached on
October 26, 1997, if landing rates are not slowed. The Council
therefore recommended a reduction in the 2-month cumulative trip limit
for thornyheads from 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) to 3,000 lb (1,361 kg).
Because both species often are caught together, a reduction also was
recommended to the overall limit for thornyheads, from 20,000 lb (9,072
kg) to 15,000 lb (6,804 kg), to maintain the same proportion between
longspine and shortspine thornyheads. Otherwise, additional discards of
shortspine thornyheads could occur, with no real reduction in the level
of catch.
DTS-North of Cape Mendocino
The limited entry, 2-month cumulative trip limit for the DTS
complex north of Cape Mendocino is the sum of the trip limits for Dover
sole, thornyheads, and trawl-caught sablefish.
[[Page 24847]]
The 2-month cumulative limit for the DTS complex therefore is reduced
by 13,000 lb (5,897 kg), from 70,000 lb (31,752 kg) to 57,000 lb
(25,855 kg), reflecting the reductions in the trip limits for Dover
sole north of Cape Mendocino and for thornyheads coastwide. However,
the 2-month cumulative trip limit of 100,000 lb (45,359 kg) south of
Cape Mendocino is not changed to reflect the reduction in the trip
limits for thornyheads. This has the effect of increasing the maximum
amount of Dover sole that may be taken south of Cape Mendocino, because
the limit for Dover sole in that area is the DTS limit minus the
landings of thornyheads and trawl-caught sablefish.
Fixed-Gear Sablefish Fishery North of 36 deg. N. lat.
Sablefish are managed to achieve the limited entry allocation for
nontrawl gear of 2,754 mt in 1997. Projected landings to the end of the
year are not available because the regular (or ``primary'') season
which accounts for the majority of landings has not yet occurred.
However, the Council has declared its intent to keep landings in the
daily trip limit fishery, that occurs outside the regular and any mop-
up seasons, to about the same level (385 mt) as in 1996. Testimony at
the April Council meeting indicated that landings by the limited entry
fixed gear fleet were accelerating, possibly by vessels expecting not
to qualify for the proposed sablefish endorsement that would be
required to participate in the regular and mop-up seasons for the
limited entry sablefish fishery in 1997 and beyond. Therefore the
Council recommended that landings under the current daily trip limit of
300 lb (136 kg) be further restricted with a cumulative limit of 5,100
lb (2,313 kg) of sablefish per month in the limited entry fishery north
of 36 deg. N. lat.
Fixed-Gear Sablefish Fishery South of 36 deg. N. lat.
The Council also considered a proposal from limited entry, fixed
gear sablefish fishers who operate in the Conception area south of
36 deg. N. lat. The Council recommended that if at the end of July,
cumulative landings of sablefish in the Conception area are 210 mt or
less, then, effective September 1, 1997, limited entry fixed gear
fishers operating in that area will have the option of continuing under
the current daily trip limit or making one landing a week above 350 lb
(159 kg) but less than 1,050 lb (476 kg). If sablefish landings reach,
or are projected to reach, 400 mt before the end of the year, the
option to make one landing a week above 350 lb (159 kg) will be
rescinded. Landings of sablefish by all gears (including open access
and limited entry trawl and nontrawl fisheries) will be included when
monitoring or projecting the 210-mt and 400-mt levels. If this proposal
is implemented, it will be announced in the Federal Register before
September 1, 1997.
Future Inseason Changes to Management Measures
The Council meetings in September and November 1997 occur just
after the beginning of 2-month cumulative periods, making it impossible
to implement changes at the beginning of those periods. To resolve this
problem, the Council will consider several courses of action at its
June meeting. Possible solutions include: Resuming 1-month cumulative
trip limits on September 1 (which means the 60 percent monthly limits
would become obsolete); or providing general guidance to NMFS to make
inseason adjustments after consultation through a conference call
rather than at a Council meeting. The Council also may consider
imposing, for some period of time, very restrictive trip limits or even
fishery closures as early as July 1, 1997, to ensure that harvest
guidelines or other allocations are not exceeded, or to make sure that
some commercially important species are available at the end of the
year. These issues will be discussed further, and may be acted on, at
the June 23-25, 1997, Council meeting in Seattle, WA. At its June 1997
meeting, the Council also will review the progress of the groundfish
fishery and may recommend rapid changes to the limits announced herein,
as early as July 1, 1997. Any changes approved by NMFS will be
announced in the Federal Register.
Cross-Over Provisions
After publication of the annual management measures for 1997, NMFS
received a comment that the cross-over provisions were confusing. NMFS
is taking this opportunity to clarify that in paragraph A.(12)(b) of
section IV., which discusses fishing in a more liberal area before
fishing in a more restrictive area. That paragraph states:
``If a vessel takes and retains a species (or species complex)
in an area where a higher trip limit (or no trip limit) applies, and
possesses or lands that species (or species complex) in an area
where a more restrictive trip limit applies, then that vessel is
subject to the more restrictive trip limit for that trip limit
period.''
This paragraph is revised to clarify that ``that species'' refers
to the same species but not necessarily the identical fish that were
caught in the more liberal area.
NMFS Action
For the reasons stated above, NMFS concurs with the Council's
recommendations and makes the following changes to the 1997 annual
management measures (62 FR 700, January 6, 1997). The trip limit
changes for the limited entry fishery may also affect the open access
fishery, including exempt trawl gear used to harvest pink shrimp and
prawns, California halibut, and sea cucumbers. As stated in paragraph
I. of the annual management measures: ``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 are modified as follows:
1. For crossovers, paragraph A.(12)(b) of section IV. is revised to
read as follows:
A. General Definitions and Provisions.
* * * * *
(12) * * *
(b) If a vessel takes and retains a species (or species complex) in
an area where a higher trip limit (or no trip limit) applies, and takes
and retains, possesses, or lands the same species (or species complex)
in an area where a more restrictive trip limit applies, then that
vessel is subject to the more restrictive trip limit for that trip
limit period.
* * * * *
2. For widow rockfish, paragraph B. of section IV. is amended as
follows:
B. Widow Rockfish * * *
(1) Limited entry fishery. The cumulative trip limit for widow
rockfish is 60,000 lb (27,216 kg) per vessel per 2-month period. The
60-percent monthly limit is 36,000 lb (16,329 kg).
(2) Open access fishery. Within the limits at paragraph IV.I. for
the open access fishery, the 50-percent monthly limit for widow
rockfish is 30,000 lb (13,608 kg).
3. For bocaccio, paragraph C. of section IV. is amended as follows:
C. Sebastes Complex (including Bocaccio, Yellowtail, and Canary
Rockfish)
* * * * *
(2) * * *
(a) * * *
(ii) South of Cape Mendocino. The cumulative trip limit for the
Sebastes
[[Page 24848]]
complex taken and retained south of Cape Mendocino is 150,000 lb
(68,039 kg) per vessel per 2-month period. Within this cumulative trip
limit for the Sebastes complex, no more than 10,000 lb (4,534 kg) may
be bocaccio taken and retained south of Cape Mendocino, and no more
than 14,000 lb (6,350 kg) may be canary rockfish.
(iii) The 60-percent monthly limits are: For the Sebastes complex,
18,000 lb (8,165 kg) north of Cape Mendocino, and 90,000 lb (40,823 kg)
south of Cape Mendocino; for yellowtail rockfish, 3,600 lb (1,633 kg)
north of Cape Mendocino; for bocaccio south of Cape Mendocino, 6,000 lb
(2,722 kg); and for canary rockfish coastwide, 8,400 lb (3,810 kg).
* * * * *
(3) Open access fishery. If smaller than the limits at paragraph
IV.I., the following cumulative monthly trip limits apply (within the
limits at paragraph IV.I.): For the Sebastes complex, 15,000 lb (6,804
kg) north of Cape Mendocino, and 75,000 lb (34,019 kg) south of Cape
Mendocino; for yellowtail rockfish, 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) north of Cape
Mendocino; for bocaccio, 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) south of Cape Mendocino;
and, for canary rockfish, 7,000 lb (3,175 kg) coastwide.
4. For Dover sole, thornyheads, and the DTS complex, paragraph E.
of section IV. is amended as follows:
E. Sablefish and the DTS Complex (Dover Sole, Thornyheads, and
Trawl-Caught Sablefish
* * * * *
(2) * * *
(b) * * *
(i) North of Cape Mendocino. The cumulative trip limit for the DTS
complex taken and retained north of Cape Mendocino is 57,000 lb (25,855
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 30,000
lb (13,608 kg) may be Dover sole, and no more than 15,000 lb (6,804 kg)
may be thornyheads. No more than 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) of the thornyheads
may be shortspine thornyheads.
(ii) South of Cape Mendocino. The cumulative trip limit for the DTS
complex taken and retained south of Cape Mendocino is 100,000 lb
(45,359 kg) per vessel per 2-month period. Within this cumulative trip
limit, no more than 12,000 lb (5,443 kg) may be sablefish, and no more
than 15,000 lb (6,804 kg) may be thornyheads. No more than 3,000 lb
(1,361 kg) of the thornyheads may be shortspine thornyheads.
(iii) The 60-percent monthly limits are: For the DTS complex,
34,200 lb (15,513 kg) north of Cape Mendocino, and 60,000 lb (27,216
kg) south of Cape Mendocino; for trawl-caught sablefish coastwide,
7,200 lb (3,266 kg); for Dover sole north of Cape Mendocino, 18,000 lb
(8,165 kg); for both species of thornyheads combined coastwide, 9,000
lb (4,082 kg); and for shortspine thornyheads coastwide, 1,800 lb (816
kg).
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(i) Daily trip limit. The daily trip limit for sablefish taken and
retained with nontrawl gear north of 36 deg. N. lat. is 300 lb (136
kg), not to exceed 5,100 lb (2,313 kg) per calendar month, and south of
36 deg. N. lat. is 350 lb (159 kg) with no additional limit on the
amount of sablefish that may be retained in a month. The daily trip
limit, which applies to sablefish of any size, is in effect until the
closed periods before or after the regular season (as specified at 50
CFR 660.323(a)(2)(i) (formerly 50 CFR 663.23(b)(2)), between the end of
the regular season and the beginning of the mop-up season, and after
the mop-up season.
* * * * *
(3) Open access fishery. Within the limits in paragraph IV.I.
below, a vessel in the open access fishery is subject to the 50-percent
monthly limits, which are as follows: For the DTS complex, 28,500 lb
(12,927 kg) north of Cape Mendocino, and 50,000 lb (22,680 kg) south of
Cape Mendocino; for Dover sole north of Cape Mendocino, 15,000 lb
(6,804 kg); south of Pt. Conception, for both species of thornyheads
combined, 7,500 lb (3,402 kg) of which no more than 1,500 lb (680 kg)
may be shortspine thornyheads. (The open access fishery for thornyheads
is closed north of Pt. Conception.) * * *
5. For bocaccio taken in the open access fishery, paragraph I. of
section IV. is amended as follows:
I. Trip Limits in the Open Access Fishery * * *
(1) * * *
(b) * * *
(i) Hook-and-line or pot gear: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) of rockfish per
vessel per fishing trip, of which no more than 250 lb (113 kg) per
trip, not to exceed 2,000 lb (907 kg) cumulative per month, may be
bocaccio taken and retained south of Cape Mendocino.
* * * * *
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
Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS (see ADDRESSES) during business
hours. Because of the need for immediate action to slow the rate of
harvest of the species discussed above, and because the public had an
opportunity to comment on the action at the April 1997 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), and are exempt from review under
E.O. 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 1, 1997.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-11790 Filed 5-1-97; 4:54 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F