[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 12, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39970-39972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13673]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 040112010-4114-02; I.D. 063005A]


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Modification of Access to the Eastern U.S./Canada 
Area

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; access and gear modification.

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SUMMARY: The Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional 
Administrator), has projected that the total allowable catch (TAC) for 
Georges Bank (GB) cod allocated for harvest from the Eastern U.S./
Canada Area will be fully harvested prior to the end of the fishing 
year if the rate of GB cod harvest remains at the current level. In 
response, this action limits all Northeast (NE) multispecies days-at-
sea (DAS) vessels to one trip into the Eastern U.S./Canada Area per 
month through the end of the 2005 fishing year. In addition, this 
action requires all NE multispecies DAS vessels fishing in the Eastern 
U.S./Canada Area to use a haddock separator trawl for the remainder of 
the fishing year. This action is being taken to slow the rate of GB cod 
harvest from the Eastern U.S./Canada Area and to prolong access to the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area throughout the 2005 fishing year and to help 
prevent over-harvesting the GB cod TAC from the Eastern U.S./Canada 
Area during the 2005 fishing year in accordance with the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

DATES: The requirement that NE multispecies DAS vessels are limited to 
one trip per month into the Eastern U.S./Canada Area is effective 0001 
hr local time, July 12, 2005, through 2400 hr local time, April 30, 
2006. Two exceptions to this one trip per month requirement are 
discussed in the supplementary information section of this temporary 
rule.
    The requirement for NE multispecies DAS vessels to use a haddock 
separator trawl in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area is effective 0001 hr 
local time, July 27, 2005, through 2400 hr local time, April 30, 2006.

[[Page 39971]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas W. Christel, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, phone (978) 281-9141, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing fishing activity in 
the U.S./Canada Management Area are found at 50 CFR 648.85(a)(3). The 
U.S./Canada Resource Sharing Understanding implemented by Amendment 13 
to the NE Multispecies FMP (April 27, 2004; 69 FR 22906) established 
hard TACs for GB cod, GB haddock, and GB yellowtail flounder. The hard 
TACs for GB cod and GB haddock are specific to the Eastern U.S./Canada 
Area while the hard TAC for GB yellowtail flounder applies to vessel 
operations in both the Eastern and Western U.S./Canada Areas. The final 
GB cod TAC allocation for the 2005 fishing year is specified at 260 mt 
(July 7, 2005; 70 FR 39190). These TACs are monitored using catch 
information obtained from vessel monitoring system (VMS) catch reports, 
observer data, and other available information.
    Once the Regional Administrator projects that any one of these TACs 
have been caught, the Regional Administrator is required to close the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area to all NE multispecies DAS vessels pursuant to 
Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iv)(E). To prevent the fishery from over-harvesting 
these species, the Regional Administrator may implement regulations 
intended to slow the rate of harvest of these species once the Regional 
Administrator projects that 30 percent and/or 60 percent of the TAC 
allocations for GB cod, GB haddock, or GB yellowtail flounder have been 
harvested, as specified at Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D). These regulations 
provide the Regional Administrator with the authority to modify gear 
requirements and modify or close access to the U.S./Canada Management 
Areas, among other provisions.
    Based upon available information, to date, NE multispecies DAS 
vessels have harvested over 50 percent of the GB cod TAC. At this rate, 
the GB cod TAC would be harvested well before the end of the 2005 
fishing year on April 30, 2006. Based on this information, and the rate 
at which GB cod is being harvested, this action limits NE multispecies 
DAS vessels to one trip into the Eastern U.S./Canada Area per month for 
the remainder of the 2005 fishing year. Vessels that have already 
declared their intent to fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area (VMS Area 
Codes 2, 5, or 6) through VMS, departed on a trip, and crossed the 
demarcation line as of 0001 hours on July 12, 2005, may finish their 
trip. Any trip that began before July 12, 2005, will not count toward 
the one trip per month limit for the month of July. A trip will be 
counted toward the month in which the vessel started a trip into the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area by declaring into the Eastern U.S./Canada Area 
through VMS and crossing the VMS demarcation line. This measure is 
intended to slow the rate of harvest of GB cod, while allowing 
continued access to GB haddock and GB yellowtail flounder within the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area. This would help achieve optimum yield in the 
fishery during the 2005 fishing year. To allow the fishery to continue 
at its current harvest rate for GB cod could necessitate closure of the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area before the full harvest of the GB haddock and 
GB yellowtail flounder TACs in place for this area, in order to ensure 
that the GB cod TAC is not exceeded during the 2005 fishing year.
    This action also requires that all NE multispecies DAS vessels must 
use a haddock separator trawl when fishing in the Eastern U.S./Canada 
Area. This net is intended to allow vessels to continue to target the 
available GB haddock without catching substantial amounts of GB cod. 
Research highlighted in the environmental assessment prepared for 
Framework Adjustment 40-A to the FMP has shown that this net, if used 
properly, is capable of substantially reducing the amount of cod caught 
when compared to haddock. Vessels may continue to fish for GB 
yellowtail flounder in the Western U.S./Canada using any other gear 
allowed in the regulations under Sec.  648.80(a) to fully harvest the 
U.S. portion of the TAC for GB yellowtail flounder. Therefore, this 
action is intended to prolong opportunities to fully harvest the GB 
haddock TAC in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area without compromising 
opportunities to fully harvest the GB yellowtail flounder TAC from the 
Western U.S./Canada Area.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant Administrator finds 
good cause to waive prior notice and opportunity for public comment for 
this action as notice and comment would be impracticable and contrary 
to the public interest. Given the relatively small GB cod TAC for the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area during the 2005 fishing year and the very 
rapid rate at which the GB cod TAC has been harvested to date, it would 
be impracticable for NMFS to provide for prior notice and opportunity 
for public comment because this would likely prevent the agency from 
slowing the rate of GB cod catch within the Eastern U.S./Canada Area 
before the TAC is fully harvested. To allow vessels to continue fishing 
on GB cod at the recent catch rate during the period necessary to 
publish and receive comments on a proposed rule would result in the 
continued harvest of GB cod, potentially increasing the potential for 
the groundfish fishery to exceed the GB cod TAC for the Eastern U.S./
Canada Area during the 2005 fishing year. Exceeding the GB cod TAC 
during the 2005 fishing year would require any overages to be deducted 
from the 2006 GB cod TAC for the Eastern U.S./Canada Area. This would 
result in decreased revenue for the NE multispecies fishery, increased 
economic impacts to vessels operating in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, 
reduced opportunities to fully harvest the GB haddock and GB yellowtail 
flounder TACs in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area (i.e., through the 
increased possibility of premature closure of the Eastern U.S./Canada 
Area during the 2006 fishing year due to fully harvesting a reduced GB 
cod TAC in 2006), a reduced chance of achieving optimum yield in the 
groundfish fishery, and unnecessary delays to the rebuilding of this 
overfished stock.
    For similar reasons, the Assistant Administrator finds good cause, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), to waive the entire 30-day delayed 
effectiveness period for the measure limiting NE multispecies DAS 
vessels to one trip into the Eastern U.S./Canada Area per month and 
half of the 30-day delayed effectiveness period for the measure to 
require all NE multispecies DAS vessels to use a haddock separator 
trawl in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area. For the reasons specified above, 
a delay in the effectiveness of the access modification in this rule 
would prevent the agency from slowing the rate of GB cod catch within 
the Eastern U.S./Canada Area before the TAC is fully harvested and 
potentially exceeded during the 2005 fishing year. Any such delay could 
lead to the impacts to the fishing industry described above. 
Regulations at Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iii) require any NE multispecies DAS 
vessel fishing in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area to use either a haddock 
separator trawl or a modified flatfish net to facilitate the escapement 
of cod when targeting haddock or flatfish species, respectively. 
Because of the need to immediately slow the harvest of GB cod from the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area, a full 30-day delayed effectiveness period 
for the gear restrictions implemented by this action would compromise 
the effectiveness of

[[Page 39972]]

this regulatory change. The use of a haddock separator trawl would 
allow the fishing industry to continue to target GB haddock and help 
better achieve optimum yield from the resource without compromising 
efforts that would enable the agency to slow GB cod harvest before the 
TAC is fully achieved and prevent the TAC from being exceeded. Although 
most vessels operating in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area already possess 
and use a haddock separator trawl, not every NE multispecies DAS vessel 
eligible to fish in this area is likely to possess a haddock separator 
trawl at this time. Therefore, it is necessary to allow these vessels 
the opportunity to purchase and install a haddock separator trawl prior 
to the effective date of this provision. A 15-day delayed effectiveness 
should provide the industry with sufficient opportunity to modify 
existing trawl gear to comply with the separator trawl requirement 
specified in this action, as the materials and expertise needed to 
modify existing gear are readily available. Finally, the rate of 
harvest of GB cod in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area is updated weekly on 
NMFS' Northeast Regional Office website at http://www.nero.noaa.gov. 
Accordingly, the public is able to obtain information that would 
provide at least some advanced notice of a potential action to slow the 
harvest rate or to close the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, thereby 
minimizing the need for a delayed effectiveness.

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

    Dated: July 7, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-13673 Filed 6-7-05; 2:23 pm]
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