[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 44 (Friday, March 6, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11167-11168]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5839]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket no. 971112269-8047-02; I.D. 102997A]
RIN 0648-AK13


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Management 
Authority for Black and Blue Rockfish

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 46 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP). 
Amendment 46 removes black and blue rockfish from the complex of 
species managed under the FMP. The rule makes conforming changes to the 
FMP implementing regulations to reflect the removal of black and blue 
rockfish from the complex. The State of Alaska (State) will regulate 
fishing for these species by vessels registered under State law. This 
action is necessary to allow the State to implement more responsive, 
regionally based, management of these species than is currently 
possible under the FMP. The intended effect of this action is to repeal 
duplicative Federal regulations, provide for more responsive State 
management and prevent localized overfishing of black and blue rockfish 
stocks.

DATES: Effective April 6, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 46 and the Environmental Assessment/
Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) and related economic analysis 
prepared for this action are available from the North Pacific Fishery 
Management Council, 605 West 4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501-
2252; telephone: 907-271-2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Kinsolving, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Management Background and Need for Action

    The domestic groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of 
the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) are managed by NMFS under the FMP. The FMP was 
prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act). Regulations governing the groundfish fisheries 
of the GOA appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
    Amendment 46 was adopted by the Council at its June 1997 meeting 
and submitted for Secretarial review. A Notice of Availability of the 
FMP amendment was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 1997 
(62 FR 59844), with comments invited through January 5, 1998. A 
proposed rule to implement Amendment 46 was published in the Federal 
Register on December 2, 1997 (62 FR 63690), with comments invited 
through January 16, 1998. No letters of comment were received on the 
amendment or on the proposed rule.
    Upon reviewing Amendment 46 and the rationale for its adoption by 
the Council, NMFS has determined that this action is necessary for the 
conservation

[[Page 11168]]

and management of the groundfish fishery of the GOA, and that it is 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws. 
NMFS approved Amendment 46 on February 3, 1998, under section 304(a) of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    Amendment 46 transfers the management of black and blue rockfish to 
the State of Alaska by removing both species from the FMP. This will 
allow the State to extend its management authority for State registered 
vessels harvesting black and blue rockfish into Federal waters and 
should result in more effective conservation measures in both nearshore 
and offshore areas. By extending the State's existing rockfish sampling 
programs into Federal waters and using an existing framework of small 
area harvest guidelines, the State can more rationally manage black and 
blue rockfish resources. However, the State may impose on State-
registered vessels fishing in Federal fisheries only such additional 
State measures, like bycatch retention limits for blue and black 
rockfish, as are consistent with the applicable Federal fishing 
regulations for the fishery in which the vessel is operating. The 
Council and NMFS do not intend to give the State authority to 
indirectly regulate other Federal fisheries through State 
implementation of gear restrictions, area closures or other bycatch 
control measures. Additional information on this action may be found in 
the preamble to the proposed rule and in the EA/RIR.

Classification

    The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the 
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration when this rule was proposed that this 
rule, if approved, would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. No comments were received 
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not prepared.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: March 2, 1998.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended 
as follows:

PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA

    1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., and 3631 et seq.

    2. In Sec. 679.2, a definition of ``rockfish'' is added in 
alphabetical order to read as follows:


Sec. 679.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Rockfish means:

    (1) For the Gulf of Alaska: Any species of the genera Sebastes or 
Sebastelobus except Sebastes melanops, (black rockfish), and Sebastes 
mystinus, (blue rockfish).
    (2) For the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area: Any 
species of the genera Sebastes or Sebastelobus.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec. 679.21, paragraph (e)(3)(iv)(D) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 679.21  Prohibited species bycatch management.

* * * * *
    (e)* * *
    (3)* * *
    (iv)* * *
    (D) Rockfish fishery. Fishing with trawl gear during any weekly 
reporting period that results in a retained aggregate amount of 
rockfish species that is greater than the retained amount of any other 
fishery category defined under this paragraph (e)(3)(iv).
* * * * *
    4. In Sec. 679.23, paragraph (d)(1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 679.23  Seasons.

* * * * *
    (d)* * *
    (1) Directed fishing for trawl rockfish. Directed fishing for 
rockfish with trawl gear is authorized from 1200 hours, A.l.t., on the 
first day of the third quarterly reporting period of a fishing year 
through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, subject to other provisions of 
this part.
* * * * *
    5. In Sec. 679.50, paragraph (c)(2)(iv) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 679.50  Groundfish Observer Program applicable through December 
31, 1998.

* * * * *
    (c)* * *
    (2)* * *
    (iv) Rockfish fishery. In a retained aggregate catch of rockfish 
that is greater than the retained catch of any other groundfish species 
or species group that is specified as a separate groundfish fishery 
under this paragraph (c)(2).
* * * * *

Table 3 to part 679 [Amended]

    6. In Table 3 to Part 679, footnote reference 1 is removed and 
footnotes 2 and 3 are redesignated as 1 and 2.

Table 10 to part 679 [Amended]

    7. In Tables--Part 679, Table 10, footnote 2 is revised to read as 
follows:
    Table 10 to Part 679--Current Gulf of Alaska Retainable Percentage
* * * * *
    2/ Aggregated Rockfish means any rockfish except in the Southeast 
Outside District where demersal shelf rockfish (DSR) is a separate 
category.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-5839 Filed 3-5-98; 8:45 am]
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