[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 4, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56497-56500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22523]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 011231309-2090-03; I.D. 082702E]


Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Closure of Minor Nearshore Rockfish 
South of 40[deg]10' N. lat.

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 the closure of the nearshore rockfish south of 
40[deg]10' N. lat. at 0001 local time (l.t.) September 1, 2002, for 
both the open access and limited entry fixed gear groundfish fisheries. 
This closure is necessary because the commercial harvest guideline is 
projected to be reached. This action is intended to prevent overfishing 
of minor nearshore rockfish in 2002.

DATES: Effective from 0001 l.t. September 1, 2002, until the effective 
date of the 2003 specification 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Register, unless modified, superseded or rescinded.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 September 19, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to D. Robert Lohn, Administrator, Northwest 
Region (Regional Administrator), NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., 
Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or Rod Mcinnis, Acting Regional Administrator, 
Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, 
CA 90802-4213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Renko at 206-526-6110.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is authorized by regulations 
implementing the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP), which governs the groundfish fishery off Washington, Oregon, and 
California. This action is a routine management measure under the FMP, 
and would normally be implemented after recommendation by the Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (Council) at a Council meeting. However, in 
this case, the next Council meeting will be too late to implement this 
action in time to prevent harvest of the September-October trip limits, 
and too late to obtain the conservation benefits of this action. 
Therefore, NMFS is taking this action before the Council meeting, 
relying upon information provided by the Council's Groundfish 
Management Team. NMFS will consult with the Council at its meeting in 
Portland, OR, September 9-13, 2002, and could further adjust the limits 
inseason, if necessary.
    On March 7, 2002, the levels of allowable biological catch (ABC), 
and the optimum yield (OY) for the minor rockfish species south of 
40[deg]10' N. lat. were announced in theFederal Register (67 FR 10490). 
Minor rockfish south includes the ``remaining rockfish'' and ``other 
rockfish'' categories in the Monterey and Conception areas combined. 
``Remaining rockfish'' generally includes species that have been 
assessed by less rigorous methods than stock assessments, and ``other 
rockfish'' which includes species that do not have quantifiable 
assessments. The minor rockfish south ABC (3,506 mt) is the sum of the 
individual ``remaining rockfish'' ABCs (854 mt) plus the ``other 
rockfish'' ABCs (2,652 mt). Due to limited stock assessment 
information, the ABC was reduced to obtain a more precautionary total 
catch OY of 2,015 mt. The remaining rockfish ABC was reduced by 25 
percent, with the exception of black rockfish and other rockfish, which 
were reduced by 50 percent.
    Changes to the rockfish management structure in 2000 resulted in 
the minor rockfish being divided into 3 species groups (nearshore, 
shelf, slope) (January 4, 2000; 65 FR 221). For the area south of 
40[deg]10' N. lat., the 2002 minor rockfish OY was divided with 662 mt 
going to nearshore rockfish, 714 mt going to shelf rockfish and 639 mt 
going to slope rockfish. The resulting commercial harvest guideline for 
nearshore rockfish, the total catch OY minus the estimated recreational 
catch of 532 mt, is 130 mt. The commercial landed catch OY, minus 5 
percent for discard mortality, is 124 mt.
    July inseason changes to the limited fixed gear and open access 
trip limits south of 40[deg]10' N. lat., closed many fisheries outside 
of the 20 fathom depth-contour (67 FR 44778, July 5, 2002). Effective 
July 1, 2002, minor nearshore rockfish was one of the species groups 
adjusted to remain closed outside of 20 fathoms through October. For 
the November-December cumulative limit period, minor nearshore rockfish 
was scheduled to close in all waters. The best available information on 
August 23, 2002, indicates that open access and limited entry 
commercial fisheries together have landed 139 mt through August 17, 
2002, and that the 24 mt commercial landed catch harvest guideline is 
likely to be exceeded by August 31, 2002. Therefore, to reduce the 
likelihood of the fishery (commercial plus recreational) exceeding the 
minor nearshore rockfish OY and possibly the ABC for the area south of 
40[deg]10' N. lat., it is necessary to close the fishery for the 
remainder of 2002, beginning in September. This Federal Register notice 
announces that minor nearshore rockfish fishery south of 40[deg]10' N. 
lat. will be closed for the limited entry fixed gear and open access 
fisheries as of September 1, 2002. The limited entry trawl fishery for 
minor nearshore rockfish fishery south of 40[deg]10' N. lat. has been 
closed since July 1, 2002.

NMFS Action

    For the reasons stated above, NMFS herein announces:1. in section 
IV., under B. Trip Limits in the Limited Entry Fixed Gear Fishery, 
Table 4 is revised to read as follows:
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[[Page 56498]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR04SE02.001

    2. in section IV., under C. Trip Limits in the Open Access Fishery, 
Table 5 is revised to read as follows:

[[Page 56499]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR04SE02.002

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Classification

    This action is authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP and 
its implementing regulations, and is based on the most recent data 
available. The aggregate data upon which this action is based is 
available for public inspection at the Office of the Administrator, 
Northwest Region, NMFS, (see ADDRESSES) during business hours.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS, finds good cause 
to waive the requirement to provide prior

[[Page 56500]]

notice and opportunity for public comment on this action pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B), because providing prior notice and opportunity for 
comment would be impracticable. It would be impracticable because the 
next 2-month cumulative trip limit period for the Pacific Coast 
groundfish fishery begins September 1, 2002, and affording prior notice 
and opportunity for public comment would impede the agency's function 
of managing fisheries to remain within the OY. The closure for minor 
nearshore rockfish in this document is a reduction from the status quo 
and must be implemented immediately to prevent the harvest of minor 
nearshore rockfish from exceeding its OY for 2002. Delaying 
implementation of this closure past September 1, 2002, would allow 
fishers to harvest the higher trip limits that were previously 
scheduled for the September-October 2-month cumulative period and may 
cause the catch of minor nearshore rockfish to exceed its OY. For these 
reasons, good cause also exists to waive the 30-day delay in 
effectiveness requirement of 5 U.S.C. 553 (d)(3). This action is taken 
under the authority of 50 CFR 660.323(b)(1) and is exempt from review 
under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: August 29, 2002.
Virginia M. Fay,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-22523 Filed 8-29-02; 4:09 pm]
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