[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 121 (Friday, June 24, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36533-36535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12585]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 050125016-5097-02; I.D. 061605B]


Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Oregon Sport Fisheries

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason adjustment; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces changes to the regulations for the Area 2A 
sport halibut fisheries off the central coast of Oregon. This action 
would clarify the halibut regulations for the central Oregon coast 
sport fishery sub-area to specify that halibut may be onboard 
recreational fishing vessels trolling for salmon within the Oregon 
yelloweye rockfish conservation area (YRCA). The purpose of this action 
is to allow recreational salmon vessels to retain halibut caught 
legally outside of the YRCA while those vessels are legally fishing for 
salmon within the YRCA.

DATES: Effective June 24, 2005, through the 2006 annual management 
measures which will publish in a later Federal Register document. 
Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., local time, on July 11, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by I.D. 061605B by any 
of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]: Include 061605B 
in the subject line of the message.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 206-526-6736, Attn: Yvonne deReynier
     Mail: D. Robert Lohn, Administrator, Northwest Region, 
NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, Attn: Yvonne 
deReynier.

[[Page 36534]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne deReynier (NMFS, Northwest 
Region), phone: 206-526-6129.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: International Pacific Halibut Commission 
(IPHC) annual management measures for the Pacific halibut fisheries 
were published on February 25, 2005 (70 FR 9242). The Area 2A Catch 
Sharing Plan for Pacific halibut off
    Washington, Oregon, and California was implemented subsequently at 
70 FR 20304, April 19, 2005. Those regulations established a YRCA 
within the Oregon central coast sport fishery subarea (Cape Falcon, OR 
to Humbug Mountain, OR), among other management measures. The YRCA is 
intended to protect yelloweye rockfish from incidental catch in the 
sport halibut fishery, which uses bottom-tending gear that tends to 
catch both halibut and rockfish. This closed area is located on 
Stonewall Bank, an ocean area of high sealife abundance located 
offshore and southwest of Newport, Oregon.
    Sport fishing for halibut off the central Oregon coast is managed 
in two area-specific fisheries. The fishery shoreward of a boundary 
line approximating the 40-fm (73.2-m) depth contour is open from May 1 
through October 31 and participants tend to take halibut incidentally 
to fisheries targeting other nearshore species. Seaward of the boundary 
line approximating the 40-fm (73.2-m) depth contour, the halibut 
fishery is more intense, and is open for alternating weekends in the 
spring and summer, depending on quota availability. See the final rule 
implementing the 2005 West Coast Pacific halibut regulations for season 
details (70 FR 20304, April 19, 2005). The YRCA is in waters offshore 
of the boundary line approximating the 40-fm (73.2-m) depth contour, 
thus it applies only to vessels participating in the all-depth halibut 
fishery on days when that fishery is open.
    Recreational fishing for salmon occurs in similar waters to the 
recreational halibut fishery, although the recreational salmon season 
is usually open for more days than the halibut season. Also similar to 
the halibut fishery, recreational salmon fishermen use hook-and-line 
gear. Unlike halibut hook-and-line gear, salmon gear is not tended so 
that hooks stay on or near the bottom, mainly because most salmon do 
not range as close to the ocean bottom as halibut. In addition to 
fishing with hooks dropped from one or more fishing poles, salmon 
anglers may also troll for salmon. Troll fishing gear is defined in the 
2005 annual West Coast salmon regulations as ``One or more lines that 
drag hooks behind a moving fishing vessel. In that portion of the 
fishery management area off Oregon and Washington, the line or lines 
must be affixed to the vessel and must not be intentionally disengaged 
from the vessel at any time during the fishing operation.'' (70 FR 
23054, May 4, 2005)
    Recreational salmon gear does not tend to have the same 
interactions with yelloweye rockfish as halibut bottom-tending hook-
and-line gear. Therefore, recreational salmon fishing is permitted 
within the YRCA during the salmon season off the central Oregon coast. 
Stonewall Bank, where the YRCA is located, is a popular salmon fishing 
location because it is relatively easy to access from the port of 
Newport, OR, and because salmon and other species congregate there to 
feed. While allowing recreational salmon fishing within the YRCA is not 
problematic from a yelloweye rockfish conservation perspective, it can 
be problematic from an enforcement perspective. Hook-and-line 
recreational salmon fishing pole gear essentially looks the same as 
recreational halibut fishing pole gear from the ocean surface. Thus, it 
would be extremely difficult for an enforcement officer to accurately 
determine whether an angler were using that gear to fish for salmon or 
halibut. To facilitate enforcement of the prohibition against 
recreational halibut fishing within the YRCA, recreational fishing for 
salmon with any gear other than troll gear is prohibited within the 
YRCA on days when the all-depth recreational halibut fishery is open 
(70 FR 23054, May 4, 2005), at 23060, Section 2, paragraph A, Cape 
Falcon, OR to Humbug Mountain, OR).
    Federal halibut regulations at Section 24(12) at 70 FR 9249, 
February 25, 2005, state that for vessels sport fishing for halibut, 
``No person shall be in possession of halibut on a vessel while fishing 
in a closed area.'' This regulation has been in place since the early 
1990s and is intended to aid in the Catch Sharing Plan's intent that 
the halibut sport fishery be managed with seven separate sub-areas with 
different open and closed periods. Each of the seven sub-areas, from 
Puget Sound, WA to northern California, has its own quota and different 
open dates. This closed area halibut retention prohibition, however, 
inadvertently conflicts with the intent of Federal salmon regulations 
by unnecessarily restricting anglers who fish for halibut outside of 
the YRCA and who wish to also troll for salmon within the YRCA.
    NMFS believes that it is necessary to clarify Federal halibut 
regulations to ensure that recreational salmon trollers are again able 
to retain halibut they have caught legally outside of the YRCA while 
they are legally fishing for salmon within the YRCA. Section 25 of the 
2005 Pacific halibut regulations provides NMFS with the authority to 
make certain inseason management changes, provided that the action is 
necessary to allow allocation objectives to be met, and that the action 
will not result in exceeding the catch limit for the area. This action 
would allow halibut allocation objectives to be met by ensuring that 
anglers who wish to fish for halibut and salmon on the same day have 
access to both of those species. This action would encourage anglers to 
fish offshore of the YRCA for halibut, while still allowing them to 
access the recreational salmon quota at Stonewall Bank. This action 
will not result in exceeding the central Oregon coast catch limit. The 
central Oregon coast sport fishery for halibut is managed as a quota 
fishery, meaning that the fishery will close when the quota has been 
achieved, regardless of where anglers are permitted to fish within the 
sub-area.
    In consultation with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and 
the IPHC, NMFS has decided to revise Federal regulations to clarify 
that recreational vessels trolling for salmon within the YRCA may 
retain halibut on board. This action is not expected to result in 
bycatch of overfished groundfish species above the amounts previously 
projected to be taken in Oregon sport fisheries in 2005, particularly 
the 6.7 mt estimated for yelloweye rockfish taken in the Washington and 
Oregon sport fisheries, combined.

NMFS Action

    For the reasons stated above, NMFS announces the following change 
to the 2005 annual management measures (70 FR 20304, April 19, 2005) to 
read as follows:
    1. On page 20308, in section 24. Sport Fishing for Halibut, the 
introductory text to paragraph (4)(b)(v)(E) in the middle column is 
revised to read as follows:

24. Sport Fishing for Halibut

* * * * *
    (4) * * *
    (b) * * *
    (v) * * *
    (E) A yelloweye rockfish conservation area off central Oregon is 
closed to sport fishing for halibut. Notwithstanding Section 24(12) at 
70 FR 9249, February 25, 2005, halibut may be retained onboard 
recreational fishing vessels trolling for salmon while those vessels

[[Page 36535]]

are operating within this closed area. This area is defined by the 
following coordinates in the order listed: * * *
* * * * *

Classification

    This action is authorized by section 25 of the IPHC regulations 
published at 70 FR 20304 (April 19, 2005). The determination to take 
these actions is based on the most recent data available.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), has 
determined that good cause exists for this document to be published 
without affording a prior opportunity for public comment under 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(B) because doing so would be impracticable and contrary to the 
public interest. Providing prior notice and opportunity for public 
comment would be impracticable because the fishery affected by this 
action is scheduled to re-open on June 30, 2005. Providing prior notice 
and opportunity for public comment would also be contrary to public 
interest because it would prevent fishers from having access to 
recreational salmon fishing opportunities in an otherwise legal salmon 
fishing area.
    Without the regulatory revision provided in this document, the 
combined halibut and salmon regulations exclude recreational salmon 
trollers from accessing their salmon quota within the YRCA on days when 
the all-depth halibut fishery is open, if they have halibut onboard the 
vessel. The all-depth halibut fishery is currently closed, but is 
scheduled to re-open on June 30, 2005. NMFS first learned of the 
inadvertent effect of its combined halibut and salmon regulations on 
May 26, 2005. There was not sufficient time between receiving this 
information and June 30, 2005 to afford the public prior notice and 
opportunity for comment on this notice, making prior public notice and 
comment opportunity impracticable. Providing time for public notice and 
comment on this notice would be contrary to public interest because 
that time would reduce public opportunities to participate in the 
recreational salmon and halibut fisheries.
    For the above reasons, the AA has also determined that good cause 
exists to waive the delay of effectiveness of this action under 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(1) and (d)(3).
    Public comments will be received for a period of 15 days after the 
publication in the Federal Register. This action is authorized by 
section 25 of the IPHC's annual management measures for Pacific halibut 
fisheries published on April 19, 2005 (70 FR 20304), and has been 
determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773.773k.

    Dated: June 21, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-12585 Filed 6-23-05; 8:45 am]
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