[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70018-70023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-29510]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 600 and 660

[Docket No. 011231309-2090-03; I.D. 111302A]


Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Annual Specifications and Management 
Measures; Trip Limit Adjustments; Correction

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

ACTION: Inseason trip limit adjustments and correction; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces trip limit changes in the Pacific Coast 
groundfish fisheries for flatfish sub-limits in the exempted trawl 
fishery for California halibut and trip limit corrections for minor 
nearshore and widow rockfish in the limited entry trawl fisheries. 
These actions, which are authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP), will allow fisheries access to healthy 
groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks.

DATES: Effective 0001 hours local time November 20, 2002 until the 2003 
annual specifications and management measures are effective, unless 
modified, superseded, or rescinded through a publication in the Federal 
Register.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Nordeen (Northwest Region, 
NMFS), phone: 206-526-6140; fax: 206-526-6736; and e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This Federal Register document is available on the Government 
Printing Office's Web site at:http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/ca/docs/aces/aces140.html. Background information and documents are 
available at the NMFS Northwest Region Web site at: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1sustfsh/gdfsh01.htm and at the Pacific Fishery 
Management Council's Web site at: http://www.pcouncil.org.

Background

    The Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP and its implementing regulations 
at 50 CFR part 660, subpart G, regulate fishing for over 80 species of 
groundfish off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Annual 
groundfish specifications and management measures are initially 
developed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council), 
and are implemented by NMFS. The specifications and management measures 
for the current fishing year (January 1-December 31, 2002) were 
initially published in the Federal Register as an emergency rule for 
January 1-February 28, 2002 (67 FR 1540, January 11, 2002), as a 
proposed rule for all of 2002 (67 FR 1555, January 11, 2002), and as a 
final rule effective March 1, 2002 (67 FR 10490, March 7, 2002). The 
final rule was subsequently amended at 67 FR 15338, April 1, 2002; at 
67 FR 18117, April 15, 2002; at 67 FR 30604, May 7, 2002; at 67 FR 
40870, June 14, 2002; at 67 FR 44778, July 5, 2002; at 67 FR 48571, 
July 25, 2002; at 67 FR 50835, August 6, 2002; at 67 FR 55166, August 
28, 2000; at 67 FR 56497, September 4, 2002; at 67 FR 57973, September 
13, 2002; at 67 FR 62204, October 4, 2002; at 67 FR 62401, October 7, 
2002; and at 67 FR 64826, October 22, 2002.
    The following changes to current groundfish management measures 
were recommended by the Pacific Council, in consultation with Pacific 
Coast Treaty Tribes and the States of Washington, Oregon, and 
California, at its October 29-November 1, 2002, meeting in Foster City, 
CA. Pacific Coast groundfish landings will be monitored throughout the 
year, and further adjustments will be made as necessary to allow 
achievement of or to avoid exceeding the 2002 optimum yields (OYs) and 
allocations.

Limited Entry Trawl Small Footrope Limits for Nearshore Rockfish and 
Widow Rockfish North of 40[deg]10' N. lat.

    On September 10, 2002, NMFS implemented an emergency rule to 
establish new depth-based management measures in the Pacific Coast 
groundfish fishery north of 40[deg]10' N. lat. for September-December 
2002 (67 FR 57973, September 13, 2002). This emergency rule created the 
Darkblotched Rockfish Conservation Area (DBCA) to protect darkblotched 
rockfish, an overfished species, and re-opened areas outside the DBCA 
to limited entry trawl harvest of healthy groundfish stocks that 
otherwise would have been foregone to protect

[[Page 70019]]

darkblotched rockfish. Fishing with limited entry trawl large footrope 
gear has been permitted seaward of the DBCA September-December and 
fishing with limited entry small footrope gear has been permitted 
shoreward of the DBCA during October-December.
    When setting rockfish incidental catch allowance recommendations 
for the area shoreward of the DBCA in October's inseason action (67 FR 
62401, October 7, 2002), the Pacific Council overlooked allowances for 
nearshore rockfish and widow rockfish. After discussing this issue at 
its October/November meeting, instead of prohibiting retention of 
nearshore and widow rockfish, the Pacific Council recommended limited 
entry trawl small footrope limits of 300 lb (136 kg) per month for 
nearshore rockfish and 500 lb (227 kg) per month for widow rockfish for 
the November-December cumulative period north of 40[deg]10' N. lat. 
These incidental catch allowances will decrease the discard of rockfish 
incidentally taken with nearshore flatfish species, but are not 
expected to cause the 2002 OYs for any rockfish species or species 
group to be exceeded.

Exempted California Trawl Sub-limit for Flatfish South of 40[deg]10' N. 
lat.

    Another incidental catch allowance issue brought to the Pacific 
Council's attention at their October/November meeting was that of 
groundfish retention in the exempted trawl fishery for California 
halibut. Since July 1, 2002 (67 FR 44778), all groundfish retention 
with exempted trawl gear south of 40[deg]10' N. lat. has been 
prohibited to protect bocaccio. In addition to slowing the catch of 
bocaccio, prohibiting the retention of all groundfish species taken 
with exempted trawl gear has resulted in the discard of small amounts 
of valuable flatfish species in the trawl fishery for California 
halibut. Because flatfish species are taken incidentally with 
California halibut at depths shallower than where bocaccio are 
typically found (less than 40 fm (73 m)), an incidental catch allowance 
for nearshore flatfish is not expected to result in additional catch of 
bocaccio rockfish. Therefore, the Pacific Council recommended a 
California halibut exempted trawl flatfish sub-limit of up to 100 lb 
(45 kg) per day, provided that flatfish are landed with at least one 
California halibut, and an exempted trawl flatfish limit of between 100 
lb (45 kg) and 300 lb (136 kg) per day, not to exceed 3,000 lb (1,361 
kg) per month, provided the amount of flatfish landed does not exceed 
the amount of California halibut landed. Because of the small size of 
this incidental catch allowance and the variability of California 
halibut catch rates, the Pacific Council recommended suspension of the 
previous requirement that groundfish poundage not exceed non-groundfish 
poundage for flatfish landings of less than 100 lb (45 kg). These low 
incidental catch allowances are not expected to result in an effort 
shift whereby vessels would be targeting flatfish.

NMFS Actions

    For the reasons stated herein, NMFS concurred with the Pacific 
Council's recommendations and hereby announces the following changes to 
the 2002 specifications and management measures:
    1. On page 10517 in the March 7, 2002, issue of the Federal 
Register, in section IV., under B. Limited Entry Fishery, at the end of 
paragraph (1), Table 3 is revised to read as follows:
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[[Page 70020]]

IV. NMFS Actions


B.  Limited Entry Fishery

    (1) * * *
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR20NO02.000
    

[[Page 70021]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR20NO02.001

* * * * *

    2. On page 10520 in the same issue, in section IV., under C. Trip 
Limits in the Open Access Fishery, at the end of paragraph (1), Table 5 
is revised to read as follows:

[[Page 70022]]

IV. NMFS Actions


C.  Trip Limits in the Open Access Fishery

    (1) * * *
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR20NO02.002
    
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[[Page 70023]]

* * * * *
    3. On page 10521, in column 1, section IV., under C. Trip Limits in 
the Open Access Fishery, paragraph (2)(a) is revised to read as 
follows:
    (a) Trip limits. (i) North of 40[deg]10' N. lat. The trip limit is 
300 lb (136 kg) of groundfish per fishing trip. Limits in Table 5 also 
apply and are counted toward the 300 lb (136 kg) groundfish limit. In 
any landing by a vessel engaged in fishing for spot prawns with 
exempted trawl gear, the amount of groundfish landed may not exceed the 
amount of the target species landed. The daily trip limits for 
sablefish may not be multiplied by the number of days of the fishing 
trip.
    (ii) South of 40[deg]10' N. lat. ``It is prohibited to take and 
retain, possess, or land any groundfish species with exempted trawl 
gear with the following exceptions: vessels participating in the 
California halibut fishery south of 38[deg]57'30'' N. lat. are allowed 
to land up to 100 lb (45 kg) of flatfish per day, provided that 
flatfish are landed with at least one California halibut, and vessels 
participating in the California halibut fishery south of 38[deg]57'30'' 
N. lat. are allowed to land between 100 lb (45 kg) and 300 lb (136 kg) 
of flatfish per day, not to exceed 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) per month 
provided that the amount of flatfish landed does not exceed the amount 
of California halibut landed.''
* * * * *

Classification

    These actions are authorized by the Pacific Coast groundfish FMP 
and its implementing regulations, and are based on the most recent data 
available. The aggregate data upon which these actions are based are 
available for public inspection at the Office of the Administrator, 
Northwest Region, NMFS, (see ADDRESSES) during business hours.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA), NMFS, finds good 
cause to waive the requirement to provide prior 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 trip limit 
adjustments are for the November-December cumulative trip limit period 
and affording prior notice and opportunity for public comment would not 
allow fishers to take advantage of this harvest opportunity. This would 
impede the agency's function of managing fisheries to approach without 
exceeding the OY for federally managed species. The AA is also waiving 
the 30-day delay in effectiveness requirement under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) 
because this rule relieves a restriction. Delaying implementation of 
these trip limit adjustments may cause unnecessary hardship among the 
West Coast groundfish fleets. In 2002, the West coast groundfish fleet 
has suffered severe cutbacks in season lengths, areas, and species 
available to be fished in an effort by the Pacific Council to primarily 
protect darkblotched and bocaccio rockfish, both overfished species. 
Both of the trip limit adjustments in this document are increases from 
the status quo. Increases to trip limits for healthy stocks must be 
implemented in a timely manner to alleviate some of the economic and 
social burden fishermen and fishing communities have to bear to protect 
overfished and depleted groundfish species. Delaying implementation of 
these trip limit adjustments would restrict fishermen to the reduced 
trip limits put in place by the July and October inseason actions.
    These actions are taken under the authority of 50 CFR 660.323(b)(1) 
and are exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: November 14, 2002.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-29510 Filed 11-19-02; 8:45 am]
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