[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 3, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30305-30310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14468]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 970520120-71-01; I.D. 040297A]
RIN 0648-AJ19
Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 1997 Management Measures for Nontrawl
Sablefish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement management
measures recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) for the 1997 limited entry, fixed gear sablefish fishery
north of 36 deg. N. lat. These measures are a ``regular'' limited
entry, fixed gear sablefish season of no longer than 10 days, with an
equal cumulative landing limit for all permit holders with sablefish
endorsements, with starting date, ending date, and a landing limit
announced by NMFS; closure of both the limited entry and open access
fixed gear fisheries for sablefish for 48 hours both immediately before
and after the regular fishery; and a cumulative limit mop-up fishery
following the regular fishery, to allow any of the harvest guideline
that remains after the regular fishery has closed. The proposed rule
would also implement several long-term changes recommended by the
Council including: A framework to start the regular fishery from August
1 through September 30 and an at-sea closure with a prohibition on
setting or pulling fixed gear during the 48 hours after the regular
fishery closes. The preamble also discusses the Council's
recommendations for a year-round, daily trip limit for limited entry,
fixed gear vessels harvesting or landing sablefish south of 36 deg. N.
lat. to be implemented as a routine management measure. These actions
are intended to reduce the risk to human life and safety inherent in
the current ``derby'' fishery.
DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing by July 3, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to William Stelle, Jr.,
Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, BIN
C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or to William Hogarth, Acting
Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200,
Long Beach, CA 90802-4213. Information about this proposed rule is
available for public review during business hours at the Office of the
Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, and at the Office of the
Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS. Copies of the Environmental
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) may be obtained from the Pacific Fishery
Management Council, 2130 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 224, Portland, OR
97201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at 206-526-6140,
or Rodney R. McInnis at 310-980-4030.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is proposing this rule based on
recommendations of the Council, under the authority of the Pacific
Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. This proposed rule would suspend certain parts of the regulations
currently in place and temporarily replace them with the new management
measures recommended by the Council through December 31, 1997. The
background and rationale for the Council's recommendations are
summarized below. More detail appears in the EA/RIR/IRFA prepared by
the Council for this action (see ADDRESSES).
Background
Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is one of the most valuable species
in the groundfish fishery off Washington,
[[Page 30306]]
Oregon, and California (WOC). Since 1987, the annual sablefish non-
tribal harvest guideline has been divided between trawl gear and fixed
gear fisheries. Historically, the sablefish trawl fishery has been
managed with trip or period landings limits, which means with a limit
on the amount of fish that may be harvested during a fishing trip or
during a set time period. Trip or period landings limits mainly have
been imposed to extend a fishery throughout most of the year. By
contrast, the fixed gear sablefish fishery has historically taken most
of its allocation in an intense, open competition called the
``regular'' or ``derby'' season, which has had no trip limits except on
small sablefish less than 22 inches (56 cm) in length. In recent years,
the fixed gear fleet has operated under daily trip limits (250-500 lb
(113-227 kg) per day) outside of the ``primary season'' (i.e., the
``regular'' season combined with the ``mop-up'' season). The limited
entry fixed gear fishery for sablefish involves two operationally
distinct gear types, pot (or trap) and longline, that compete for the
nontrawl (fixed gear) harvest allocation.
The Council's first concern regarding the current management of the
limited entry, fixed gear sablefish fishery is that, if this fishery
were allowed to continue as a derby, the season would become even
shorter and the danger of fishing in the derby would rise. Before 1990,
the fixed gear sablefish fishery began on January 1 and usually lasted
for the greater part of the year. However, fishing effort increased and
quotas were reduced during the late 1980s and early 1990s, resulting in
the recent short ``derby'' seasons. In 1995 and 1996, the seasons were
7 and 5 days derbies, respectively. Seasons shorten from year to year
because each vessel owner has an incentive to invest in new and better
gear each year, hoping to increase the amount of fish that he/she can
catch per hour or per day, and because the relatively high price of
sablefish provides strong incentives for new entrants to join the
fishery annually. With seasons measured in numbers of days, the derby
is not just hazardous because it gives fishers strong incentives to
stay out during bad weather but also because they work at sea with
heavy machinery and with little or no sleep throughout the derby. The
1996 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act included new National
Standard 10, which requires, to the extent practicable, the promotion
of the safety of human life at sea in conservation and management
measures.
Beyond the Council's safety concerns with the derby fishery, the
Council has also cited economic and conservation detractions of the
derby fishery. Just as fishers cannot choose to fish during the best
weather, they also cannot choose to fish during periods of highest
sablefish market value. Fish caught under derby conditions often cannot
be handled or processed into the highest value sablefish products. In a
derby for high-value fish like sablefish, lower-value bycatch may be
thrown overboard, dead and unused. Magnuson-Stevens Act National
Standard 9 supports efforts to minimize bycatch and bycatch mortality.
With shortening derby seasons, fishers may also be more likely to
abandon their gear at sea, leaving that gear to continue to ``ghost
fish'' after the derby has ended. Finally, as the length of the derby
decreases, it becomes more difficult for managers to accurately choose
a closing date to prevent the harvest from exceeding the allowable
catch.
The Council has been exploring an individual fishing quota (IFQ)
system for the fixed gear sablefish fishery since 1991, in order to
equitably put an end to the derby fishery. However, the Magnuson-
Stevens Act was recently amended to prohibit implementation of new IFQ
programs until October 1, 2000. Therefore, the Council has turned to
other management measures to resolve the problems inherent in the
derby. At its August 1996 meeting, the Council continued its efforts to
address safety and overcapacity in the limited entry, fixed gear
sablefish fishery, by recommending Amendment 9 to the FMP, which would
require a sablefish endorsement for vessels taking part in the primary
sablefish season, north of 36 deg. N. lat. Under Amendment 9, sablefish
endorsement qualifications are a single year of permit catch history in
which Council-managed sablefish caught with longline or fishpot gear
exceeded 16,000 pounds (7,257 kg) (round weight), during the 1984-1994
qualifying period. Given these qualifications, it is likely that
approximately 167 of the current 237 longline and pot permits would
qualify for sablefish endorsements. NMFS approved Amendment 9 on May 8,
1997, and the endorsement is expected to be in place for the 1997
season.
Council recommendations from the October 1996 and March 1997
meetings strengthened the separation of sablefish fishing effort north
and south of 36 deg. N. lat. New management schemes that would put an
end to the derby have been recommended for each area.
North of 36 deg. N. lat.
Cumulative Limit Fishery
At the October 1996 and March 1997 Council meetings, industry
members continued the long-standing debate about the future of limited
entry, fixed gear sablefish management. Most fishers recognized that
the trend in annually decreasing derby duration was likely to continue
if there were a derby in 1997. Fear of a future sablefish season that
would be measured in hours and frustration with the difficult fishing
conditions of the derby brought forth much public testimony against a
1997 derby.
During the industry debates and on the Council floor, it became
clear that traditionally low producers and traditionally high producers
could not agree on a new management scheme. The traditionally low
producers, who make up the majority of the fishery participants, but a
minority of the total catch, favored an end to the derby and a system
of equal cumulative limits for all participants. While the
traditionally high producers did not necessarily wish to continue the
derby, many were dissatisfied with the available management options,
and saw the derby as the best way to maintain past trends in income
distribution between fishery participants.
Members of the Council were forced to weigh the long-voiced anger
over the continuing danger of the derby against the severe
redistributive results of a management option to set equal cumulative
limits for all of the vessels endorsed for the limited entry, fixed
gear sablefish fishery. The Magnuson-Stevens Act national standards
recognize the importance of both these issues. National Standard 10
places an emphasis on the safety of human life at sea, yet National
Standard 4 requires that if allocation of fishing privileges between
U.S. fishermen is necessary, then that allocation must be fair and
equitable.
The Council's October recommendation was a three-week cumulative
limit season, with equal limits for all participants. Although the
Council considered the equal cumulative limit fishery to be undesirable
for the long term, due to its redistribution of catch and income among
fishery participants, it was the only acceptable alternative to the
derby amongst the options available to the Council.
Following the October meeting, Council and NMFS staff analyzed the
Council's proposal with newly available data from the 1996 fishery.
This analysis showed that under a three week equal
[[Page 30307]]
cumulative limit fishery, almost all of the fishery participants likely
would take their full cumulative limit. If this happened, the
implementation of the three week equal cumulative limit fishery would
be the implementation of an IFQ program. Since implementation of new
IFQ programs is prohibited by the Magnuson-Stevens Act until October 1,
2000, NMFS, on February 28, 1997, rejected the Council's recommendation
and requested that the Council either revise the equal limit proposal
or adopt a different regime.
In order not to violate the prohibition on implementing any new IFQ
programs, the fishery would have to be managed as a true cumulative
limit fishery, where the limit is only the upper limit on what can be
taken, rather than a fishery where the total allowable catch is divided
up such that each participant has an exclusive right to a set amount.
Therefore, management of the fishery had to be structured so that it
could be expected that a substantial number of vessels would be
unlikely to take the cumulative limit. The Council met these conditions
by revising its season structure recommendations at the March 1997
meeting by (1) shortening the recommended length for the fishery to not
more than 10 days, and (2) recommending a larger, less conservative,
but still risk averse, maximum potential harvest.
For 1997 only, the Council recommended that the limited entry,
fixed gear sablefish fishery north of 36 deg. N. lat. consist of a no
more than 10-day regular season with a single cumulative limit, equal
for all vessels. Prior to and following the regular fishery, the
current small daily trip limit fishery of 300 pounds (136 kg) per day
would continue. Based on the number of permits qualifying for the
proposed sablefish endorsement and the amount of harvest taken in the
daily trip limit fishery, the cumulative limit amount, and the length
in days of the fishery, would be established by the NMFS Regional
Administrator, in consultation with the Council, and announced in the
Federal Register.
Following the cumulative limit regular fishery, there would be a
cumulative limit mop-up fishery to allow any of the harvest guideline
that remains after the cumulative limit regular fishery and which is in
excess of the amount needed for the daily trip limit fishery following
the cumulative limit fishery to be taken. The recommendation on the
size of the mop-up cumulative limit would be made by the Council's
Groundfish Management Team, following a calculation of the actual
landed catch from the initial cumulative limit fishery and the daily
trip limit fishery. The regular and mop-up seasons are designed to take
the entire fixed gear allocation, except for approximately 385 mt for
the daily trip limit fishery. The 385 mt for the daily trip limit
fishery is slightly higher than the amount taken in the 1996 daily trip
limit fishery.
Season Start Date
Before 1995, the start of the regular season off Washington,
Oregon, and California was linked to the fixed gear sablefish season
opening in the Gulf of Alaska, to reduce effort in the fishery by
forcing fishers to choose between participating in the fishery off
Alaska or the West Coast fishery. When the individual quota program was
introduced for halibut and sablefish fisheries in exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) waters off Alaska in 1995, the Council no longer had a
reason to set start dates to match the Alaska fisheries. In 1995 and
1996, the Council set start dates of August 6 (60 FR 34472, July 3,
1995) and September 1 (61 FR 16402, April 15, 1996), respectively,
because wind and sea conditions are generally safer along the coast at
that time of year and to avoid overlapping with other West Coast
fisheries and fishing opportunities.
At the October 1996 meeting, the Council decided to improve on 1995
and 1996 management efforts with a framework for future limited entry,
fixed gear sablefish season start dates that would allow the start date
to occur on any day from August 1 through September 30. The NMFS
Regional Administrator would establish the season start date after
consulting with the Council, at the June meeting if possible, and
taking into account tidal conditions, Council meeting dates, conflicts
with alternative fisheries, and industry comments. For 1997 only,
establishment of the season start date would be affected by the status
of the implementation of the sablefish endorsement program under
Amendment 9 and the implementation date of this rule.
48-Hour Pre-Season Enforcement Closure
To facilitate enforcement at the start the 1997 regular cumulative
limit fishery, there would be a 48-hour closure before the 10-day
cumulative limit fishery, during which time no fixed gear vessel
(limited entry and open access) may deploy gear used to take and retain
groundfish, or take or retain sablefish north of 36 deg. N. lat. All
fixed gear used to take groundfish must be out of the water during this
period.
No Pre-Set Gear
In the past, there has been some conflict between longline and pot
gear users over whether pot vessels should be allowed to set their gear
in advance of the derby. Pots are extremely cumbersome and most pot
fishers cannot store and transport all of their gear on board at once
without increasing safety risks. Setting pot gear for the limited entry
sablefish season may require more than one trip from shore to sea. In
the 1995 and 1996 derbies, pot fishers were allowed to set baited gear
24 hours prior to the start of the derby. Longliners were opposed to
this practice because it gave pot fishers the chance to choose and then
monopolize premium fishing ground positions before the start of the
derby. Because of these concerns and because the 1997 10-day fishery
period is expected to provide all pot gear participants with sufficient
time to set and tend their gear, there would be no opportunities for
pot fishers to set their gear before the 1997 regular season start
time.
Longliners have recently made requests to pre-set their gear for
the derby, hoping to improve their competitive standing against the
pre-set allowance for pot fishers. However, with no derby in 1997, and
no pot gear pre-set provision, the perceived competitive disadvantage
to the longliners is eliminated. Longliners would also not have the
opportunity to set their gear before the start of the cumulative limit
season.
At-sea closure
The Council decided that safety concerns associated with at-dock
closures outweighed the enforcement benefits of at-dock closures.
Therefore the Council recommended that at the end of the regular
season; fishers must stop fishing, they must stop pulling gear but they
need not be at the dock at the end of the regular season. The Council's
Enforcement Consultants assured Council members that it would be
possible to enforce an at-sea closure under a 10-day cumulative limit
system or derby fishery, particularly with a 48-hour post-season
closure. A portion of the fleet would have caught the cumulative limit
before the end of the season, which means that fewer vessels would be
fishing up until the season closure.
48-Hour Post-Season Enforcement Closure
To facilitate enforcement at the end of the regular season, there
would be a 48-hour post-season closure, during which time no sablefish
taken with fixed gear
[[Page 30308]]
(limited entry or open access) may be taken and retained for the 48
hours immediately after the end of the regular season. However,
sablefish taken and retained during the regular season may be possessed
and landed during that 48-hour period. Gear may remain in the water
during the 48-hour post-season closure; however, gear used to take and
retain groundfish may not be set or retrieved during this period.
Daily Trip Limit Fishery
Outside of the initial cumulative limit fishery, the mop-up
fishery, and the associated 48-hour closures, there would continue to
be a daily trip limit fishery. Under Amendment 9's sablefish
endorsement program, in order to land limited entry fixed gear
sablefish during either the initial cumulative limit fishery or the
mop-up fishery, a fisher would be required to have a limited entry
permit with a sablefish endorsement. During these fisheries, there
would be no daily trip limit sablefish fishing opportunities for
limited entry fixed gear vessels without permits with sablefish
endorsements. During the time between the end of the 48-hour closure
following the cumulative limit period and the beginning of the mop-up
fishery, the daily trip limit fishery would be open.
South of 36 deg. N. lat.
Catch taken south of 36 deg. N. lat. counts against the southern
area acceptable biological catch (ABC). The available harvest has not
been fully exploited in past years, and many southern area vessels have
harvested sablefish only in recent years. Therefore, many southern area
fishers would not qualify for sablefish endorsements. For these
reasons, the Council recommended exempting vessels fishing for
sablefish in this area from the sablefish endorsement requirement. In
order to prevent all of the unendorsed vessels from northern areas
moving to the south, the Council also recommended eliminating the
``primary season'' for waters south of 36 deg. N. lat. Historically,
most of the fishing in this area has been low volume, year-round
fishing; the Council's recommendations for the southern area preserve
that traditional structure. Southern area fishers would have a year-
round trip limit fishery, and those without sablefish endorsements
would not be permitted to move north to take part in the primary
northern season without obtaining permits with sablefish endorsements.
The Council and southern area industry goal for this area was a
management regime that would allow traditional sablefish fishing
practices, yet discourage an influx of northern vessels into the
southern area. Fishers from the southern area wish to continue
operating a low-level, year-round harvest, and recognize that this will
only happen if the total harvest for that area remains below the
southern area ABC. An influx of new effort into the southern area could
raise harvest levels above the ABC, leading to more complex management
schemes for that area.
At the October 1996 Council meeting, the Council recommended the
elimination of the primary season for the southern area, resulting in a
year-round daily trip limit fishery south of 36 deg. N. lat. The 1997
daily trip limit began the year at 350 pounds (159 kg) round weight per
day (62 FR 700, January 6, 1997), and may be adjusted up or down at a
1997 Council meeting, to ensure that the ABC can be harvested without
being exceeded. Southern area fixed gear sablefish fishing would
henceforth be managed under routine management measures imposed under
50 CFR 660.323(b). This proposed rule does not amend Sec. 660.323(b)
but appropriately references it. Limits would be established in the
annual specifications.
Biological Impacts
Biological impacts of the proposed action would be expected to be
fairly minimal. However, there may be some negative biological impacts
from moving to a non-derby management regime, such as highgrading, trip
limit induced discards, and under-reporting of catch.
For vessels able to fully take the cumulative limit in the time
available, highgrading provides an opportunity to increase revenues by
discarding smaller sablefish in favor of the higher-priced large
sablefish. Unrecorded discards can lead to a higher than intended
fishing mortality level, although the amount would have to be
substantial to measurably alter the sablefish ABC. Because highgrading
and catch discard do not necessarily lead to mortality of the catch,
the mortality rate associated with highgrading may be below the
highgrading rate. Under the 10-day cumulative limit fishery, it is
expected that 65 percent of the catch would be taken by vessels able to
slow their usual rate of harvest and highgrade.
Trip limit induced discards happen when vessels fishing up to some
limit exceed that limit and must discard catch to bring landings down
to the limit. The more trip limit periods there are in a fishery, the
more frequent the possibilities of trip limit induced discards. Under
the proposed management scheme, vessels would have two chances to
generate trip limit induced discards, in the initial cumulative limit
period and in the mop-up period.
Under a derby fishery, there is no incentive to under-report the
amount of fish landed. With cumulative limit management, incentives to
under-report are much higher, and under-reporting may occur in the
proposed management scheme. Potential under-reporting can be mitigated
by strong enforcement presence at the docks and processing plants, but
it is not yet known what level of enforcement would be needed to ensure
that the new management rules are followed.
All three of these possibilities, highgrading, trip limit induced
discards, and under-reporting of landings, could have long-term
negative impacts on the sablefish stock. If the true impact of the
fishery on the stock cannot be measured, there may be a decrease in
sablefish stock abundance that is scientifically ``invisible'' for the
short term. If this fishery were introduced as a long-term measure, the
West Coast sablefish ABC and associated harvest guideline could decline
over time as a result of the unmeasured impacts that this type of
fishery may have on the fish stocks. If the level of discards were
known, one solution to unintended stock reduction might be to adjust
stock assessments to account for unreported discards. Observer data
would improve the accuracy of the adjustments.
No significant new biological impacts are expected to result from
the change in management structure for the southern area, limited
entry, fixed gear sablefish fishery. Only a few vessels in the area
have participated in past derbies, and their catches have been
comparable to medium and low level harvesters from the rest of the
coast.
Socio-Economic Impacts
The major positive sociological impact of ending the derby regime
is the improved safety of operation for fishery participants. A trip
limit system would be expected to increase safety for those vessels
able to easily take the cumulative limit during the allotted time.
Under cumulative limits, such a vessel would not lose sablefish
harvesting opportunity if it stays in port during bad weather, stops
fishing to make repairs, or harvests at slightly slower and safer rate.
A 10-day cumulative limit period would still leave a number of vessels
unable to take the available limits in the allotted time, thereby
giving those fishers an incentive to fish as they would have under
derby management. However, even for vessels unable to take the
cumulative limit in
[[Page 30309]]
the allotted time, there may be a safety benefit to the 10-day fishery
because there would be less financial pressure to fish at the frenetic
speed of the derby.
Replacing the derby with a 10-day cumulative limit fishery could
have significant short and long term economic impacts on the fishery
participants. There would likely be a 29 percent redistribution of the
harvest from traditionally high producers to traditionally low
producers, a redistribution of ex-vessel revenue of about $2.5 to $3.0
million. It is expected that under the single cumulative limit scheme,
38 fishing operations would experience a greater than 5 percent loss in
their total gross fishing revenues, a level of loss considered
significant for purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Fishers in
the top third of the fleet in terms of production levels would face
severe reductions in their sablefish incomes, which would be funneled
into distributed gains for the lower producing two-thirds of the fleet.
For many of the fleet's top producers, income from past sablefish
derbies has represented a significant portion of their total annual
incomes.
No substantial reallocative effect is expected from not providing a
derby or some other primary sablefish opportunity in the southern area.
By maintaining the daily trip limit regime, the Council is discouraging
the influx of new effort into the southern area. Without new effort
increases, southern area harvests should stay below the ABC, and if the
ABC is not exceeded, southern area management would likely remain
relatively free of regulatory complexity and reallocative socio-
economic impacts on the fishing community.
Classification
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of E.O. 12866.
The Council prepared an initial regulatory flexibility analysis
that describes the impact that this proposed rule, if adopted, would
have on small entities. A copy of this analysis is available from the
Council (see ADDRESSES). The SBA defines a small business in commercial
fishing as a firm with receipts up to $2 million annually, which
includes all of the vessels that would be affected by this proposed
rule.
In general, NMFS has determined that a ``substantial number'' of
small entities would be more than 20 percent of those small entities
engaged in the fishery. Economic impacts on small business entities are
considered ``significant'' if the proposed action would result in any
of the following: (a) reduction in annual gross revenues by more than 5
percent; (b) increase in total costs of production by more than 5
percent as a result of compliance costs; (c) compliance costs as a
percent of sales for small entities are at least 10 percent higher than
compliance costs as a percent of sales for large entities; (d) capital
costs of compliance represent a significant portion of capital
available to small entities, considering internal cash flow and
external financing capabilities; or (e) as a rule of thumb, 2 percent
of small business entities being forced to cease operations.
As indicated above and in the EA/RIR/IRFA for this action, 38 of
the expected endorsed participants (23 percent of 164 expected endorsed
permits north of 36 deg. N. lat.) in the limited entry, fixed gear
sablefish fishery would suffer a greater than 5 percent loss in total
gross fishing income. The Council views these losses as a necessary
burden that comes with the reduction of the greater threat to the
general well-being of the fishery posed by the unsafe derby conditions.
Additionally, when looking at the nation as a whole, the impact on
traditionally high sablefish producers would be mitigated by the
benefits of this action to traditionally low sablefish producers, also
small businesses.
It is expected that small business entities would not face further
compliance or capital costs in order to comply with the proposed
regulations. It is also not expected that any small business entities
would be forced to cease operations because of the proposed
regulations, although several would be forced into severe cutbacks in
production and employment. An initial regulatory flexibility analysis
(RFA) was prepared with the EA/RIR for this issue.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries,
Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives, Indians, Northern Mariana Islands,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: May 29, 1997.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Services.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES AND IN THE WESTERN
PACIFIC
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Subpart G--West Coast Groundfish Fisheries
2. Section 660.323 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(2) to read
as follows:
Sec. 660.323 Catch restrictions.
(a) * * *
(2) Nontrawl sablefish. This paragraph (a)(2) applies to the
regular and mop-up seasons for the nontrawl limited entry sablefish
fishery north of 36 deg. N. lat., except for paragraphs (a)(2)(ii) and
(iii) of this section, which also apply to the open access fishery
north of 36 deg. N. lat. Limited entry and open access fixed gear
sablefish fishing south of 36 deg. N. lat. is governed by routine
management measures imposed under paragraph (b) of this section.
(i) Sablefish endorsement. In order to lawfully participate in the
regular season or mop-up season for the nontrawl limited entry fishery,
the owner of a vessel must hold (by ownership or otherwise) a limited
entry permit for that vessel, affixed with both a gear endorsement for
longline or trap (or pot) gear, and a sablefish endorsement.
(ii) Pre-season closure--open access and limited entry fisheries.
(A) From August 1, 1997, through December 31, 1997, sablefish taken
with fixed gear in the limited entry or open access fishery in the EEZ
may not be retained or landed during the 48 hours immediately before
the start of the regular season for the nontrawl limited entry
sablefish fishery. Beginning January 1, 1998, sablefish taken with
fixed gear in the limited entry or open access fishery in the EEZ may
not be retained or landed during the 72 hours immediately before the
start of the regular season for the nontrawl limited entry sablefish
fishery.
(B) From August 1, 1997, through December 31, 1997, all fixed gear
used to take and retain groundfish must be out of EEZ waters during the
48 hours immediately before the opening of the regular season for the
nontrawl limited entry sablefish fishery. Beginning January 1, 1998,
all fixed gear used to take and retain groundfish must be out of EEZ
waters during the 72 hours immediately before the opening of the
regular season for the nontrawl limited entry sablefish fishery, except
that pot gear used to take and retain groundfish may be deployed and
baited in the EEZ up to 24 hours immediately before the start of the
regular season.
(iii) Regular season--nontrawl limited entry sablefish fishery;
starting in 1998. The NMFS Regional Administrator will announce a
season to start on any day from August 1 through September 30,
[[Page 30310]]
based on consultations with the Council, taking into account tidal
conditions, Council meeting dates, conflicts with alternative
fisheries, and industry comments. During the regular season, the
limited entry nontrawl sablefish fishery may be subject to trip limits
to protect juvenile sablefish. The regular season will end when 70
percent of the limited entry nontrawl allocation has been or is
projected to be taken. The end of the regular season may be announced
in the Federal Register either before or during the regular season.
(iv) Post-season closure--limited entry and open access. No
sablefish taken with fixed gear may be taken and retained during the 48
hours immediately after the end of the regular season for the nontrawl
limited entry sablefish fishery. Sablefish taken and retained during
the regular season may be possessed and landed during that 48-hour
period. Gear may remain in water during the 48-hour post-season
closure. Fishers may not set or pull from the water fixed gear used to
take and retain groundfish during the 48-hour post-season closure. At
the end of the post season closure, the daily trip limit regime will
resume.
(v) Mop-up season--limited entry fishery. A mop-up season to take
the remainder of the limited entry nontrawl allocation will begin about
3 weeks after the end of the regular season, or as soon as practicable
thereafter. During the mop-up fishery, a cumulative trip limit will be
imposed. The length of the mop-up season and the amount of the
cumulative trip limit, including the time period to which it applies,
will be determined by the Regional Administrator in consultation with
the Council or its designees, and will be based primarily on the amount
of fish remaining in the allocation, the amount of sablefish needed for
the remainder of the daily trip limit fishery, and the number of mop-up
participants anticipated. The regular and mop-up seasons are designed
to take the entire nontrawl allocation, except for approximately 385 mt
for the daily trip limit fishery. The Regional Administrator may
determine that too little of the nontrawl allocation remains to conduct
an orderly or manageable fishery, in which case there will not be a
mop-up season. There will be no daily trip limit fishery during the
mop-up season. At the end of the mop-up season, the daily trip limit
fishery will resume.
(vi) Other announcements; starting in 1998. The dates and times
that the regular season ends (and trip limits on sablefish of all sizes
are resumed), the dates and times for the 48-hour post-season closure,
the dates and times that the mop-up season begins and ends, and the
size of the trip limit for the mop-up fishery, will be announced in the
Federal Register, and may be modified. Unless otherwise announced,
these seasons will begin and end at 12 noon on the specified date.
(vii) Regular season; from August 1, 1997, through December 31,
1997--limited entry fishery. (A) The regular season for the nontrawl
limited entry sablefish fishery will be a cumulative limit fishery of
up to 10 days, with the same cumulative limit for each vessel with a
sablefish endorsement. During the regular season, the limited entry
nontrawl sablefish fishery may be subject to trip limits to protect
juvenile sablefish. There will be no daily trip limit fishery during
the regular season.
(B) The NMFS Regional Administrator will announce a season to start
on any day from August 1 through September 30, based on consultations
with the Council, taking into account tidal conditions, Council meeting
dates, conflicts with alternative fisheries, and industry comments.
(C) The Regional Administrator will announce the size of the
cumulative limit and the number of days in the fishery based on Council
recommendations, taking into account the exact number of vessels
qualifying for the sablefish endorsement and the amount of sablefish
that has been harvested by the daily trip limit fishery prior to the
start of the regular season.
(viii) Other announcements; from August 1, 1997, through December
31, 1997. The number of days in the regular and mop-up seasons, dates
and times that the regular and mop-up seasons start and end (and trip
limits on sablefish of all sizes are resumed), dates of the pre- and
post-season closures, and the sizes of the trip limits for the regular
and mop-up seasons, will be announced in the Federal Register, and may
be modified. Unless otherwise announced, these seasons will begin and
end at 12 noon on the specified date.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 97-14468 Filed 6-2-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F