[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 129 (Monday, July 7, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36228-36230]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17625]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 961227373-6373-01; I.D. 062797C]


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.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces further restrictions to the Pacific Coast 
groundfish fisheries for lingcod and fixed-gear sablefish on July 1, 
1997, and announces a change from 2-month cumulative trip limits to 1-
month cumulative trip limits for Dover sole, thornyheads, and trawl-
caught sablefish on September 1, 1997. NMFS also warns the industry of 
the likely closure of the limited entry fisheries for Dover sole, 
thornyheads, and trawl-caught sablefish in November and December 1997, 
and possibly earlier. 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, and to 
provide management flexibility during the final months of the year.

DATES: The trip limit changes for lingcod and fixed-gear sablefish are 
effective from 0001 hours (local time) July 1, 1997; for trawl vessels 
operating in the ``B'' platoon, effective from 0001 hours (local time) 
July 16, 1997. Changes to the cumulative trip limits for Dover sole, 
thornyheads, and trawl-caught sablefish are effective 0001 hours (local 
time) September 1, 1997; for vessels operating in the ``B'' platoon, 
effective 0001 hours September 16, 1997. These changes remain in effect 
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will be published in the Federal Register, unless modified, superseded, 
or rescinded. Comments will be accepted through July 22, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to William Stelle, Jr., Administrator, 
Northwest Region (Regional Administrator), NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way 
NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or William Hogarth, Acting Administrator, 
Southwest Region, NMFS, 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 562-980-4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following changes to routine management 
measures are based on the best available information, and were 
recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), in 
consultation with the states of Washington, Oregon, and California, at 
its June 23-25, 1997, meeting in Seattle, WA.

Dover Sole, Thornyheads, and Trawl-Caught Sablefish (the DTS 
Complex)

    Year-End Closures. The catch projections presented at the June 1997 
Council meeting indicated that the fishery for Dover sole (north of 
Cape Mendocino, 40 deg.30' N. lat.), thornyheads (north of Pt. 
Conception, CA, 34 deg.27' N. lat.), and trawl-caught sablefish would 
not last through the end of the year. The Council considered whether 
additional trip limit reductions on July 1, 1997, would reduce the need 
for closures at the end of the year, or if further reductions would be 
more likely to increase discards rather than to reduce fishing 
mortality. The Council considered public testimony and the 
recommendations of its Groundfish Advisory Subpanel of industry 
representatives. Many individuals testified that the rate of landings 
used in the catch projections was unrealistically high and could 
indicate data errors, that further reductions in trip limits at this 
time would be translated into discards but not a reduction in fishing 
mortality, and that a closure at the end of the year would be 
preferable to reduced trip limits. Therefore, the Council did not 
recommend further reductions to trip limits on July 1, and assumed that 
the fishery for the DTS complex would likely be closed in November and 
December 1997, or as early as September or October if review of the 
data at the September 1997 Council meeting indicates the harvest 
guidelines will be reached earlier. Depending on the amount of fish 
remaining, if any,

[[Page 36229]]

provisions may be made for a small bycatch of Dover sole in the petrale 
sole fishery. Closure of the limited entry thornyhead fishery, when it 
occurs, is expected to apply north of Pt. Conception, CA, although 
reductions in the cumulative trip limit south of Pt. Conception may be 
needed to avoid effort shifts into that area. The Council will make its 
final recommendation on closure dates at its September 1997 meeting in 
Portland, OR, and any changes approved by NMFS will be announced in the 
Federal Register.
    Monthly limits. To provide additional management flexibility in 
setting closure dates (or severely reduced trip limits), the Council 
recommended that the 2-month cumulative trip limits for the DTS complex 
be converted to 1-month cumulative trip limits, effective September 1, 
1997. This means the 60- percent monthly limits would become obsolete 
for those species after September 1.

Limited Entry Fixed-Gear Sablefish Fishery North of 36 deg.00' N. 
Lat.

    The limited entry fixed-gear sablefish fishery is managed with a 
daily trip limit that applies outside the regular and mop-up seasons 
(which together are called the primary season). Testimony at the April 
1997 Council meeting indicated that landings by the limited entry 
fixed-gear fleet were accelerating under the small, 300-lb (136-kg) 
daily trip limit fishery north of 36 deg.00' N. lat., possibly by 
vessels expecting not to qualify for the sablefish endorsement that 
will be required to participate in the regular and mop-up seasons for 
the limited entry sablefish fishery in 1997 and beyond. To slow the 
fishery, a monthly cumulative trip limit of 5,100 lb (2,313 kg) was 
added on May 1, 1997 (62 FR 24845, May 7, 1997), to limit landings 
under the daily trip limit. Despite this cumulative limit, landings 
remained high in the daily trip limit fishery. At its June 1997 
meeting, the Council expressed its intent to keep landings in the daily 
trip limit fishery at about 1.1 million lb (499 mt), about 84 mt higher 
than the amount taken in 1996. (The amount of fish taken in the daily 
trip limit fishery in 1996 initially was estimated to be 825,000 lb 
(374 mt), but at the June 1997 Council meeting was revised to 915,000 
lb (415 mt).) The Council recommended that landings under the daily 
trip limit of 300 lb (136 kg) be further restricted on July 1, 1997, by 
reducing the cumulative monthly limit from 5,100 lb (2,313 kg) to 600 
lb (272 kg) in the limited entry fishery north of 36 deg.00' N. lat. 
This is intended to provide enough sablefish so that the daily trip 
limit fishery may last to the end of the year. Because the daily trip 
limit fishery will be interrupted by the regular and mop-up seasons, 
the 600-lb (272-kg) cumulative limit also will apply to partial months 
in which daily trip limits are in effect.

Open Access Fixed-Gear Sablefish Fishery North of 36 deg.00' N. 
Lat.

    The Council also recommended that the 1,500-lb (680-kg) cumulative 
monthly limit on sablefish taken under the 300-lb (136-kg) daily trip 
limit in the open access fishery be reduced from 1,500 lb (680 kg) to 
600 lb (272 kg), to be consistent with the limited entry fishery. This 
limit applies to hook-and-line, pot, and set net gear, but not to 
exempted trawl gear (e.g., shrimp, prawn, California halibut, and sea 
cucumber trawls). This limit on the open access fishery is intended to 
prevent effort shifts into that fishery by limited entry vessels. If 
adequate amounts of sablefish remain, the cumulative trip limit may be 
increased later in the year.

Lingcod

    The limited entry fishery for lingcod currently is managed under a 
2-month cumulative trip limit of 40,000 lb (18,144 kg). The best 
available information at the June 1997 Council meeting indicated that 
536 mt of lingcod had been taken through May 31, 1997, and that the 
2,400-mt harvest guideline would be reached in late September-early 
October if the rate of landings is not slowed. The Council therefore 
recommended that the 2-month cumulative trip limit for lingcod be 
reduced coastwide on July 1, 1997, from 40,000 lb (18,144 kg) to 30,000 
lb (13,608 kg), to keep landings within the harvest guideline in 1997. 
The prohibition against landing lingcod smaller than 22 inches (56 cm), 
with the exception of 100 lb (45 kg) for trawl caught lingcod, remains 
in effect. The Council also recommended that the 900 mt estimated for 
the recreational fishery be evaluated to see if it reflects current 
levels of harvest.

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, as modified).
    1. Effective September 1, 1997 (September 16, 1997, for the ``B'' 
platoon), for Dover sole, thornyheads, and trawl-caught sablefish (the 
DTS complex), paragraph E.(2)(b) of section IV. is amended, and 
paragraph E.(3) is removed, to read 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 28,500 lb (12,927 
kg) per vessel per 1-month period. Within this cumulative trip limit, 
no more than 6,000 lb (2,722 kg) may be sablefish, no more than 15,000 
lb (6,804 kg) may be Dover sole, and no more than 7,500 lb (3,402 kg) 
may be thornyheads. No more than 1,500 lb (680 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 50,000 lb (22,680 
kg) per vessel per 1-month period. Within this cumulative trip limit, 
no more than 6,000 lb (2,722 kg) may be sablefish, and no more than 
7,500 lb (3,402 kg) may be thornyheads. No more than 1,500 lb (680 kg) 
of the thornyheads may be shortspine thornyheads.
    (iii) Clarification. The cumulative monthly trip limits for 
sablefish and thornyheads are the maximum amount that may be taken and 
retained, possessed, or landed coastwide in a calendar month. A vessel 
is not entitled to double the cumulative trip limit if it operates both 
north and south of Cape Mendocino in a calendar month.
* * * * *
    2. Effective July 1, 1997, paragraph E.(2)(c) of section IV. for 
nontrawl sablefish is amended as follows:
    E. Sablefish and the DTS Complex (Dover Sole, Thornyheads, and 
Trawl-Caught Sablefish
* * * * *
    (2) * * *
    (c) Nontrawl trip and size limits.
    (i) Daily trip limit. 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 currently specified at 50 CFR 
660.323(a)(2)(i)), between the end of the regular season and the 
beginning of the mop-up season, and after the mop-up season.
    (A) The daily trip limit for sablefish taken and retained with 
nontrawl gear north of 36 deg.00' N. lat. is 300 lb (136 kg), not to 
exceed 600 lb (272 kg) cumulative in a calendar month in which the 
daily trip limit is in effect (e.g., August before the start of the 
regular season, which the Council has recommended to begin on August 
25, 1997, but which has not yet been approved by NMFS; in September

[[Page 36230]]

after the regular season; and in October after the mop-up season. Exact 
dates of the regular and mop-up seasons are yet to be announced.)
    (B) The daily trip limit for sablefish taken and retained with 
nontrawl gear south of 36 deg.00' N. lat. is 350 lb (159 kg) with no 
cumulative limit on the amount of sablefish that may be retained in a 
month.
* * * * *
    3. Effective July 1, 1997 (July 16, 1997, for the ``B'' platoon), 
for lingcod, paragraph G. of section IV. is amended as follows:
    G. Lingcod * * *
    (1) Limited entry fishery. The cumulative trip limit for lingcod is 
30,000 lb (13,608 kg) per vessel per 2-month period. The 60-percent 
monthly limit is 18,000 lb (8,165 kg).
    (2) Open access fishery. Within the limits at paragraph IV.I. for 
the open access fishery, the 50-percent monthly limit for lingcod is 
15,000 lb (6,804 kg).
* * * * *
    4. Effective July 1, 1997, for sablefish taken in the open access 
fishery, paragraph I. of section IV. is amended as follows:
    I. Trip Limits in the Open Access Fishery * * *
* * * * *
    (2) * * *
    (a) North of 36 deg.00' N. lat. The cumulative trip limit for 
sablefish taken and retained north of 36 deg.00' N. lat. is 600 lb (272 
kg) per month. The daily trip limit for sablefish taken and retained 
north of 36 deg.00' N. lat., which counts toward the cumulative limit, 
is 300 lb (136 kg). The 600-lb (272-kg) cumulative monthly limit does 
not apply to exempted trawl gear (used to fish for shrimp, prawn, sea 
cucumber, and California halibut) in the open access fishery.
* * * * *

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 
Regional Administrator (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 June 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: July 1, 1997.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-17625 Filed 7-1-97; 3:51 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F