[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 84 (Friday, April 30, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23667-23681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9844]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 031216314-4118-03; I.D. 112803A]
RIN 0648-AR54


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Annual Specifications; Pacific 
Whiting

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

ACTION: Final rule; 2004 groundfish fishery specifications; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: This final rule establishes the 2004 fishery specifications 
for whiting in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and state waters 
off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California as authorized by 
the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This 
Federal Register document also serves to announces that the whiting 
resource is estimated to be above the target rebuilding biomass and 
will no longer have an overfished species status, and amends the final 
rule implementing the specifications and management measures for the 
2004 fishing year, which were published March 9, 2004. These 
specifications include the allowable biological catch (ABC), optimum 
yield (OY), tribal allocation, and allocations for the non-tribal 
commercial sectors. The intended effect of this action is to establish 
allowable harvest levels of whiting based on the best available 
scientific information. NMFS is specifically seeking comments on 
changes to the ABC in this final rule. These changes are described 
below in the section of the preamble titled ABC/OY Recommendations.

DATES: Effective April 27, 2004, through December 31, 2004. Comments on 
the 2004 whiting ABC must be received by June 1, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by [031216314-01 and/or 
0648-AR54], by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]: identified 
by [031216314-01 and/or 0648-AR54] in the subject line of the message.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 206-526-6736.
     Mail: D. Robert Lohn, Administrator, Northwest 
Region (Regional Administrator), NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE., 
Seattle, WA 98115-0070; Robert Lohn, Administrator.
    Copies of the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for this 
action are available from Donald McIsaac, Executive Director, Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (Council), 7700 NE. Ambassador Place, 
Portland, OR 97220, phone: 503-820-2280. These documents are also 
available online at

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the Council's Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org. Copies of additional 
reports referred to in this document may also be obtained from the 
Council. Copies of the Record of Decision (ROD), final regulatory 
flexibility analysis (FRFA), and the Small Entity Compliance Guide are 
available from D. Robert Lohn, Northwest Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
7600 Sand Point Way, NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Renko or Yvonne deReynier 
(Northwest Region, NMFS) 206-526-6150; or Svein Fougner (Southwest 
Region, NMFS) 310-980-4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This final rule is accessible via the Internet at the Office of the 
Federal Register's Web site at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 
Background information and documents are available at the NMFS 
Northwest Region Web site at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/sustfsh/gdfsh01.htm.

Background

    The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) requires 
that fishery specifications be evaluated biennially or annually and 
revised as necessary, that OYs be specified for groundfish species or 
species groups that need protection, and that management measures 
designed to achieve the OYs be published in the Federal Register. 
Specifications include ABCs and harvest levels (OYs, harvest 
guidelines, allocations, or quotas). In anticipation of a new whiting 
stock assessment that would be available in early 2004 and given the 
small amount of whiting typically landed under trip limits prior to the 
April 1 start of the primary season, the Council chose to delay its 
final whiting recommendation until its March 2004 meeting.
    A proposed rulemaking to implement the 2004 specifications and 
management measures for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery was 
published on January 8, 2004 (69 FR 1380). NMFS requested public 
comment on the proposed rule through February 8, 2004. During that 
comment period, NMFS received four letters of comment that were 
addressed in the preamble of the final rule published on March 9, 2004 
(69 FR 11064). One comment, comment 9, which is not being repeated in 
the preamble discussion for this action, addressed the process for 
establishing a harvest level for whiting. For additional background 
information on the fishery, see the preamble of the proposed and final 
rules for the 2004 annual specifications and management measures.

Stock Status

    In general, whiting is a very productive species with highly 
variable recruitment (the biomass of fish that mature and enter the 
fishery each year) patterns and a relatively short life span when 
compared to other overfished groundfish species. In 1987, the whiting 
biomass was at a historical high level due to an exceptionally large 
number of fish that spawned in 1980 and 1984 (fished spawned during a 
particular year are referred to as year classes). As these large year 
classes of fish passed through the population and were replaced by 
moderate sized year classes, the stock declined. The whiting stock 
stabilized between 1995 and 1997, but then declined to its lowest level 
in 2001.
    In 2002, a whiting stock assessment was prepared. It estimated the 
female spawning biomass to be less than 20 percent of the unfished 
biomass. As a result of the 2002 assessment, the whiting stock was 
believed to be below the overfished threshold in 2001 and was, 
therefore, declared overfished on April 15, 2002 (67 FR 18117). Since 
2001, the whiting stock has increased substantially as a strong 1999 
year class has matured and entered the spawning population.
    In 2003, whiting was managed under the 40-10 harvest policy, which 
appeared to be adequate to achieve rebuilding. The 40-10 policy is 
intended to prevent species or stocks from becoming overfished. If the 
stock biomass is larger than the biomass needed to produce MSY, the OY 
may be set equal to or less than ABC. For further discussion see the 
preamble of the proposed rule for the 2003 specifications and 
management measures (68 FR 949, January 7, 2003). An age-structured 
assessment model was used to prepare a new coastwide stock assessment 
in 2004. This model was similar to the model used in the previous stock 
assessment in 2002. New data in this stock assessment included updated 
catch through 2003, recruitment indices from the juvenile survey in 
2003, and the results of the 2003 U.S./Canada acoustic survey. The 
stock assessment was examined by a joint U.S./Canada Pacific Hake 
(Whiting) Stock Assessment Review (STAR) panel in early February of 
2004.
    The STAR panel considered the stock assessment to be complete and 
suitable for use by the Council and its advisory bodies for ABC 
projections. However, the amount of whiting that the hydroacoustic 
survey was able to measure relative to the total whiting in the 
surveyed area (survey catchability coefficient or q) was identified as 
a major source of uncertainty in the stock assessment. Therefore, two 
sets of ABC/OY projections, with different assumptions about the survey 
catchability, were brought forward for decision making. This range of 
projections was intended to represent a plausible range of the stock's 
status. The more optimistic or less risk averse model run assumed that 
q equaled 0.6, while the less optimistic or more risk averse model run 
assumed that q equaled 1.0. A catchability coefficient of 1.0 is the 
value that has been used in the previous assessments. The Council's 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) also reviewed the 
assessment.
    As a result of the new whiting stock assessment, the estimated 
abundance of whiting has increased substantially since the last 
assessment. However, the pattern of stock growth is very similar to 
what has been estimated in past assessments. The stock was estimated to 
be 47 percent of its unfished biomass in 2003 (2.7 million mt of age 3+ 
fish) when a survey catchability coefficient of 1.0 was applied and at 
51 percent (4.2 million mt of age 3+ fish) of its unfished biomass in 
2003 when a survey catchability coefficient of 0.6 was applied. Under 
both scenarios, the whiting biomass in 2003 is estimated to be above 
the target rebuilding biomass. However, in the absence of a large year 
class after 1999, the stock is projected to decline again.
    Whiting was declared overfished on April 15, 2002 (67 FR 18117) as 
a result of the 2002 stock assessment which estimated that the female 
spawning biomass was less than 20 percent of the unfished biomass. In 
retrospect, the abundance of the whiting stock in 2001, as estimated 
from the current stock assessment, is now believed to have been at 27 
percent of its unfished biomass in 2001 when a survey catchability 
coefficient of 1.0 is applied, and at 31 percent of its unfished 
biomass in 2001 when a survey catchability coefficient of 0.6 was 
applied.
    With the publication of this document, NMFS is announcing that the 
whiting stock is estimated to be above the target rebuilding biomass in 
2003 and will no longer be considered an overfished stock. 
Consequently, the adoption of a whiting rebuilding plan under Amendment 
16-4 to the FMP, scheduled to be completed by November 2004, may no 
longer be necessary.
    During 2003, while whiting was under NMFS's overfished designation,

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an order was entered in Natural Resources Defense Council v. Evans, 290 
F. Supp. 2d 1051, 1057 (N.D. Calif. 2003), requiring NMFS to approve or 
adopt a rebuilding plan for whiting by November 30, 2004 pursuant to 16 
U.S.C. 1854(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). NMFS will move the Court to 
amend its order on the grounds that a rebuilding plan for whiting is no 
longer necessary because the stock is no longer in an overfished 
status.

U.S.-Canada Whiting Negotiations

    Since 1977, the U.S. and Canada have periodically held negotiations 
to address whiting fishery management issues, particularly catch 
sharing between the two countries. Through 2003, the U.S. fisheries 
have been managed to take 80 percent of the OY, while the Canadian 
fisheries have been managed to take 30 percent of the U.S.-Canada 
coastwide harvest. In the fall of 2002, after the whiting stock had 
been declared overfished, international negotiations were resumed.
    In February 2003, U.S.-Canada negotiations reached a tentative 
agreement detailing the conservation, research, and catch sharing of 
whiting. A new process for conducting stock assessments and managing 
whiting was developed and is described in a treaty which was signed by 
both countries on November 21, 2003. This treaty is currently awaiting 
ratification by the U.S. Senate and passage of implementing legislation 
by the U.S. Congress. Treaty provisions include the use of a default 
harvest rate of F40 with a 40/10 adjustment. A rate 
of F40 can be explained as that which reduces 
spawning potential per female to 40 percent of what it would have been 
under natural conditions (if there were no mortality due to fishing). 
The treaty's catch sharing plan provides 73.88 percent of the total 
catch OY to the U.S. fisheries and 26.12 percent to the Canadian 
fisheries. Although the international agreement and implementing 
legislation are not expected to be effective until 2005, the 
negotiators recommended that each country informally implement the 
agreed upon treaty provisions, to the extent possible, beginning in 
2004.

ABC/OY Recommendations

    At its September 2003 meeting, the Council considered a range of 
ABCs and OYs that were consistent with historical values and expected 
to encompass results of the upcoming 2004 assessment. The four ABC and 
OY options considered by the Council were: An ABC of 94,000 mt with an 
OY of 74,100 mt, which represents 50 percent of the 2003 ABC and OY; an 
ABC of 188,000 mt with an OY of 148,200 mt, which was the 2003 ABC and 
OY; an ABC of 282,000 mt with an OY of 222,300 mt, which is 50 percent 
greater than the 2003 ABC and OY; and an ABC of 325,000 mt with an OY 
of 250,000 mt, which was an intermediate value recommended by the 
Council.
    The Council recommended a preferred OY of 250,000 mt to accommodate 
any biomass increase that could result from the 2004 stock assessment, 
while recognizing that incidental catch of widow rockfish could 
constrain harvest levels of whiting. Widow rockfish, an overfished 
species, is often caught with whiting. Because the 2004 widow rockfish 
OY is very low to allow for rebuilding, estimates of incidental widow 
rockfish catch in the whiting fishery suggested that widow OY might be 
exceeded if the whiting OY were not constrained. It was announced 
throughout the specification process that the ABC and OY for whiting 
would be implemented in a separate final rule from the rest of the 
groundfish specifications.
    At its March 2004 meeting in Tacoma, Washington, the Council 
reviewed the results of the new stock assessment for whiting. The 
coastwide ABCs considered by the Council were 514,441 mt (q=1.0) and 
780,758 (q=0.6). Both ABCs were based on an FMSY harvest 
rate of F40 which is consistent with the U.S./Canada 
treaty for whiting. FMSY is the default harvest rate that 
the Council uses as a proxy for the fishing mortality rate.
    Because the whiting biomass is estimated to be above 40 percent of 
its unfished biomass, the 40/10 adjustment was not applied. With the 
stock above the target rebuilding biomass, the OY could be set as high 
as the ABC. The SSC recommended that the Council use the decision table 
presented in the whiting stock assessment (Table 13) to evaluate the 
consequences of alternate OY options on the whiting biomass. This 
assessment is available from the Council (see ADDRESSES). In addition 
to the two OYs based on different values for the q, 0.6 and 1.0, the 
consequences of a constant harvest rate of 250,000 mt annually for the 
U.S. was also considered in the decision table.
    The Council's groundfish management team (GMT) considered the 2004 
OY alternatives in relation to the impacts of incidental catch of 
overfished species, particularly widow rockfish. In September 2003, 
when projecting the impacts of the whiting fishery on widow rockfish, 
the GMT applied an average bycatch rate for 1998-2002 for each sector. 
Based on this rate, it was projected that the whiting OY would need to 
be constrained to 120,000 mt as not to exceed the widow rockfish 
rebuilding OY.
    At the March meeting, the 2003 whiting bycatch data were available. 
However, the GMT could not reach consensus on the best approach to 
calculating the widow bycatch projections. The influence of fishers' 
ability to reduce bycatch rates by changing fishing practices, as 
compared to the influence on bycatch rates due to the relationship 
between the two stocks and the frequency of widow rockfish 
interactions, are not well understood at this time. Therefore, the GMT 
presented two OYs based on alternative bycatch projections that fixed 
the widow rockfish take at 220 mt, to the Council. The first whiting OY 
was 260,343 mt, which was based on a weighted 4-year average with more 
weight being given to recent years. The second whiting OY was 205,782 
mt, and was based on an equally weighted four year average. In 
addition, the GMT estimated the widow rockfish catch (211 mt) with a 
fixed OY of 250,000 mt, and with the application of a weighted 4-year 
average.
    Following discussion and public testimony concerning the new 2004 
stock assessment, the Council recommended adopting an ABC of 514,441 
mt, based on the new assessment with model runs using q=1.0, and an OY 
of 250,000 mt. As explained above, the Council initially considered a 
range of ABCs that were expected to encompass the results of the new 
stock assessment. However, the 514,441 mt ABC based on the new 
assessment is greater than the range of ABC alternatives (based on the 
2002 stock assessment) that were initially considered by the Council, 
analyzed in the EIS, and presented in the proposed rule.
    Because it is the OY harvest level that determines the effects of 
the fisheries on the environment and not the ABC, there is no 
functional difference in environmental impacts between the high ABC of 
325,000 mt and the ABC of 514,441 mt. The environmental impacts of the 
250,000 mt OY, including impacts on overfished species, resulting from 
the whiting harvest specification were fully considered within the 
range of alternatives in the EIS and there are no additional 
environmental impacts on whiting or bycatch species over those already 
considered.
    As in past years, the whiting fisheries are will be managed with 
near real-time data to achieve, but not exceed the OY. The Council 
recognized efforts by

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fishery participants to avoid bycatch of overfished species and asked 
that the industry continue to share information and avoid widow 
rockfish ``hot spots''.

Economic Impact

    The U.S. OY recommended by the Council represents a 68 percent 
increase from the 2003 whiting OY. When the OY was substantially 
reduced to allow for rebuilding of the stock, it was not economically 
feasible for some shoreside or at-sea processors who had historically 
participated in the fishery to remain in the fishery. The increased OY 
for 2004 may result in financial improvements and may likely encourage 
some fishers and processors to return to the fishery. In the short 
term, the increased OY is expected to have a substantial economic 
impact on harvesters and processors. It is also expected that the 
length of the whiting season will increase proportionately with the OY, 
thereby likely reducing some fishing pressure on already constrained 
non-whiting fisheries such as flatfish and DTS, in which whiting 
vessels also participate.

Sector Allocations

    In 1994, the United States formally recognized that the four 
Washington coastal treaty Indian tribes (Makah, Quileute, Hoh, and 
Quinault) have treaty rights to fish for groundfish in the Pacific 
Ocean. In general terms, the quantification of those rights is 50 
percent of the harvestable surplus of groundfish that pass through the 
tribes' usual and accustomed ocean fishing areas (described at 60 CFR 
660.324).
    The Pacific Coast Indian treaty fishing rights, described at 50 CFR 
660.324, allow for the allocation of fish to the tribes through the 
annual specification and management process. A tribal allocation is 
subtracted from the species OY before limited entry and open access 
allocations are derived. The tribal whiting fishery is a separate 
fishery, and is not governed by the limited entry or open access 
regulations or allocations. To date only the Makah tribe has 
participated. It regulates, and in cooperation with NMFS, monitors this 
fishery so as not to exceed the tribal allocation.
    The sliding scale methodology used to determine the treaty Indian 
share of whiting is the subject of ongoing litigation. In United States 
v. Washington, Subproceeding 96-2, the Court held that the methodology 
is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and is the best available 
scientific method to determine the appropriate allocation of whiting to 
the tribes. See United States v. Washington, 143 F.Supp.2d 1218 (W.D. 
Wash. 2001). This ruling was reaffirmed in July 2002, Midwater Trawlers 
Cooperative v. Daley, C96-1808R (W.D. Wash.) (Order Granting 
Defendants' Motion to Supplement Record, July 17, 2002), and again in 
April 2003, id., Order Granting Federal Defendants' and Makah's Motions 
for Summary Judgment and Denying Plaintiffs' Motions for Summary 
Judgment, April 15, 2003. The latter ruling has been appealed to the 
Ninth Circuit, but no decision has been rendered as yet. At this time, 
NMFS remains under a Court order in Subproceeding 96-2 to continue use 
of the sliding scale methodology unless the Secretary finds just cause 
for its alteration or abandonment, the parties agree to a permissible 
alternative, or further order issues from the Court. Therefore, NMFS is 
obliged to continue to use the methodology unless one of the events 
identified by the Court occurs. Since NMFS finds no reason to change 
the methodology, it has been used to determine the 2004 tribal 
allocation.
    Beginning in 1999, NMFS set the tribal allocation according to an 
abundance-based sliding scale allocation method, proposed by the Makah 
Tribe in 1998. See, 64 FR 27928, 27929 (May 29, 1999); 65 FR 221, 247 
(January 4, 2000); 66 FR 2338, 2370 (January 11, 2001). Under the 
sliding scale allocation method, the tribal allocation varies with U.S. 
whiting OY, ranging from a low of 14 percent (or less) of the U.S. OY 
when OY levels are above 250,000 mt, to a high of 17.5 percent of the 
U.S. OY when the OY level is at or below 145,000 mt. For 2004, using 
the sliding scale allocation method the tribal allocation will be 
32,500 mt. The Makah are the only Washington Coast tribe that requested 
a whiting allocation for 2004.
    The 2004 non-tribal commercial OY for whiting is 215,500 mt. This 
is calculated by deducting the 32,500 mt tribal allocation and 2,000 mt 
for research catch and bycatch in non-groundfish fisheries from the 
250,000 mt total catch OY. Regulations at 50 CFR 660.323(a)(4) divide 
the commercial OY into separate allocations for the non-tribal catcher/
processor, mothership, and shore-based sectors of the whiting fishery. 
The catcher/processor sector is comprised of vessels that harvest and 
process whiting. The mothership sector is comprised of motherships and 
catcher vessels that harvest whiting for delivery to motherships. 
Motherships are vessels that process, but do not harvest, whiting. The 
shoreside sector is comprised of vessels that harvest whiting for 
delivery to shoreside processors. Each sector receives a portion of the 
commercial OY, with the catcher/processors getting 34 percent (73,270 
mt), motherships getting 24 percent (51,720 mt), and the shore-based 
sector getting 42 percent (90,510 mt).
    All whiting caught in 2004 before the effective date of this action 
will be counted toward the new OY. As in the past, the specifications 
include fish caught in state ocean waters (0-3 nautical miles (nm) 
offshore) as well as fish caught in the EEZ (3-200 nm offshore).

NMFS Actions

    For the reasons stated here, NMFS is amending the 2004 annual 
specifications and management measures in the preamble of the final 
rule (69 FR 11064, March 9, 2004) with the following changes:
    1. Tables 1a and 1b (69 FR 11074) are revised to include the 
Pacific whiting ABC and OYs and to correct footnote x/ to add the term 
``harvest guideline'' to clarify that the black rockfish OY 
subdivisions between the States of Washington, Oregon and California.
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    2. Section IV NMFS Actions, B. Limited Entry Fishery, (3) Whiting 
(69 FR 11114) is revised; and Section V Washington Coastal Tribal 
Fisheries, E. Pacific Whiting (69 FR 11121) is revised.

B. Limited Entry Fishery

* * * * *
    (3) Whiting. Additional regulations that apply to the whiting 
fishery are found at 50 CFR 660.306 and at 50 CFR 660.323(a)(3) and 
(a)(4).
    (a) Allocations. The non-tribal allocations, based on percentages 
that are applied to the commercial OY of 215,500 mt in 2004 (see 50 CFR 
660.323(a)(4)), are as follows:
    (i) Catcher/processor sector--73,270 mt (34 percent);
    (ii) Mothership sector--51,720 mt (24 percent);
    (iii) Shore-based sector--90,510 mt (42 percent). No more than 5 
percent (4,526 mt) of the shore-based whiting allocation may be taken 
before the shore-based fishery begins north of 42[deg] N. lat. on June 
15, 2004.
* * * * *

V. Washington Coastal Tribal Fisheries

* * * * *
    E. Pacific Whiting. The tribal allocation is 32,500 mt.

Classification

    The final whiting specifications and management measures for 2004 
are issued under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act and are in accordance with 50 CFR parts 
660, the regulations implementing the Pacific Coast groundfish FMP.
    The Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP requires that fishery 
specifications be evaluated biennially or annually using the best 
scientific information available. A stock assessment for whiting was 
prepared in early 2004, using the most recent survey data. Because of 
the timing of the resource survey upon which the assessment is based, 
the stock assessment could not be completed and ready for use in the 
June-September management cycle when the rest of the groundfish 
specifications were set. The Council and NMFS decided it was best to 
delay the adoption of the 2004 ABC and OY in order to use the newest 
data, rather than use old data from the prior survey. Preliminary 
indications from catch and survey data were that the biomass had 
increased in recent years and the ABC and OY recommended for 2004 would 
be substantially higher than those in 2003. For the most socio-economic 
benefits to harvesters and communities relying on the harvest of 
whiting, it was particularly important to delay the ABC and OY adoption 
in order to use the most recent data. Finally, since the major fishery 
for whiting does not start until April 1, there was time to delay the 
adoption of the new ABC and OY, until the new information was available 
to the Council in March.
    The proposed rulemaking to implement the 2004 specifications and 
management measures, published on January 8, 2004 (69 FR 1380), 
addressed the delayed in adopting the whiting ABC and harvest 
specifications. NMFS requested public comment on the proposed rule 
through February 8, 2004. The final rule was published on March 9, 2004 
(69 FR 11064). In this rule, NMFS responded to one public comment 
regarding the process for establishing a harvest level for Pacific 
whiting by stating that the specification would be adjusted following 
the Council's March meeting and announced in the Federal Register as a 
final rule. This action has been publicized widely through the Council 
process.
    The proposed and final rules for the 2004 specifications and 
management measures contained a range of ABCs and OYs for whiting. The 
specifications announced here are within the scope of the proposed and 
final rules. Implementing these specifications as soon as possible is 
necessary because the 2004 whiting fishery is already underway and is 
operating under the lower 2003 OYs.
    For the reasons described above, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), 
the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause to 
waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness, so that this final rule may 
become effective as soon as possible after the April 1, 2004, fishery 
start date.

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    The environmental impacts associated with the Pacific whiting 
harvest levels being adopted by this action were considered in the 
final environmental impact statement for the 2004 specification and 
management measures. Copies of the FEIS and the ROD are available from 
the Council (see ADDRESSES) Because the impacts of this action were 
already considered in the FEIS, it is categorically excluded under NAO 
216-6 and NEPA from both further analysis and the requirements to 
prepare additional environmental documents.
    The Council prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and 
NMFS prepared a FRFA for the 2004 harvest specifications and management 
measures which included the impacts of this action. A summary of the 
FRFA analysis was published in the final rule on March 9, 2004 (69 FR 
11064). A copy of the FRFA is available from NMFS Northwest Region (see 
ADDRESSES)
    Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, this final rule was developed 
after meaningful consultation with tribal officials during the Council 
process. This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

    Dated: April 27, 2004.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-9844 Filed 4-27-04; 4:54 pm]
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