[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 25, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42750-42751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-15989]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 000504124-0124-01; I.D. 011900B]
RIN 0648-AK11


Fisheries off the West Coast and in the Western Pacific; 
Prohibition on the Use of Set Net Fishing Gear; Withdrawal of Proposed 
Rule

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: NMFS withdraws the May 19, 2000, proposed rule to prohibit the 
use of set net (gillnet and trammel nets) fishing gear to take 
groundfish species in portions of the U.S. exclusive economic zone 
(EEZ) (also known as the fishery management area) adjacent to State 
waters at four areas off California. Groundfish fisheries in the 
fishery management area are managed under the Fishery Management Plan 
for Groundfish Fisheries off the West Coast (Groundfish FMP). The 
proposed rule is being withdrawn because it is not necessary and 
appropriate for the conservation and management of groundfish fisheries 
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Groundfish FMP.

DATES: This proposed rule is withdrawn June 25, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Svein Fougner, Sustainable Fisheries 
Division, Southwest Region, NMFS, 562-980-4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule was published on May 19, 
2000 (65 FR 31871), that would have prohibited the use of set net 
(gillnet and trammel nets) fishing gear to take groundfish species in 
portions of the EEZ (also known as the fishery management area) 
adjacent to state waters at 4 locations off California. The history of 
the action and the rationale for the proposed rule were provided in the 
preamble to the proposed rule and will not be repeated here.
    Upon reviewing the history of this action, the comments received on 
the proposed rule, and the legal and management issues involved, NMFS 
has concluded that the proposed rule should be withdrawn. Only one of 
the

[[Page 42751]]

4 EEZ areas that would have been closed to set net use is currently 
used by set net fishers. The vessels that use set net gear at this area 
(Huntington Flats) do not target groundfish, and their catches of 
groundfish are so small as to have minimal effect on the stocks. 
Fishing by these vessels thus does not adversely affect the 
administration and implementation of the Groundfish FMP. Accordingly, 
it is not necessary to control their fishing activities under the 
regulations implementing the Groundfish FMP in order to further the 
objectives of the Groundfish FMP or to achieve optimum yield and 
prevent overfishing. Therefore, NMFS is hereby withdrawing the proposed 
rule because it is not necessary and appropriate under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and other applicable law.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: June 18, 2002.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-15989 Filed 6-24-02; 8:45 am]
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