[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 202 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61063-61067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21088]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 051014263-5263-01; I.D. 093005A]
RIN 0648 AU00


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries off West Coast States 
and in the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 
Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments; 
Correction

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

ACTION: Final rule; correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: This document contains corrections to the inseason adjustments 
that became effective on October 1, 2005. The inseason adjustment 
contained an error in the limited entry trawl trip limit table, Table 3 
(South), on page 58076. The trip limit for petrale sole on line 16 
should have been closed only south of 38[deg] N. lat., as stated in the 
preamble, rather than south of 40[deg]10' N. lat. as depicted in the 
table. These regulations implemented changes to the 2005-2006 fishery 
specifications and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. 
exclusive economic zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and 
California.

DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) October 1, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamie Goen (Northwest Region, NMFS), 
phone: 206-526-4646; fax: 206-526-6736 and; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This correcting notification also is accessible via the Internet at 
the Office of the Federal Register's website at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. Background information and documents 
are available at the NMFS Northwest Region website http://www.nwr.noaa.govlsustfsh/gdfsh01.htm and at the Council's website at 
http://www.pcouncil.org.

Background

    The regulations that are the subject of this correction are at 50 
CFR 660, subpart G. These regulations affect persons operating in the 
limited entry trawl fishery for groundfish species off the U.S. West 
Coast.

Need for Correction

    As published, the inseason adjustment contained an error which 
needs to be corrected. This action provides one correction to the 
inseason adjustment. The inseason adjustment published in the Federal 
Register on October 5, 2005 (70 FR 58066), contained an error in the 
limited entry trawl trip limit table, Table 3 (South), on page 58076. 
The trip limit for petrale sole on line 16 should have been closed only 
south of 38[deg] N. lat., as stated in the preamble, rather than south 
of 40[deg]10' N. lat. as depicted in the table.
    As stated in the preamble to the inseason adjustment (70 FR 58066, 
October 5, 2005), the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific 
Council) recommended at its September 18-23, 2005, meeting in Portland, 
OR, that NMFS implement a seaward limited entry trawl Rockfish 
Conservation Area (RCA) boundary line approximating the 250-fm (457-m) 
depth contour coastwide in order to nearly eliminate the catch of 
petrale sole. However, NMFS was not able to implement this line south 
of 38[deg] N. lat. to the U.S./Mexico border because there are no 
coordinates for this line in Federal regulations. In order to be used 
as boundary lines for inseason groundfish management, coordinates must 
be published in Federal regulations at 50 CFR Part 660. Therefore, in 
order to implement the intent of the Pacific Council recommendation as 
much as possible, NMFS implemented a boundary line approximating the 
200-fm (366-m) depth contour and a prohibition on the retention of 
petrale sole in this area during October. Because there is catch of 
petrale between 200-fm (366-m) and 250-fm (457-m), including some 
targeting on petrale sole, moving the RCA boundary line from 150-fm 
(274-m) to 200-fm (366-m) for October through December would likely not 
keep total catch of petrale sole within its ABC/OY for the year. A 
reduction of the petrale sole trip limit during the middle of a 
cumulative trip limit period (in this case, September through October) 
would make enforcement of such limits difficult. Mid-cumulative trip 
limit reductions are difficult to enforce because some fishers may have 
already achieved the higher limits earlier in the period while others 
who have not achieved their limit previously are restricted to the 
lower limits. It is difficult to query a paper-based fish landing 
ticket system mid-cumulative limit period to see if a fisher is in 
violation. Thus, NMFS determined that a closure is the best method for 
achieving the goals of this action. Therefore, in addition to the line 
change, NMFS also implemented a prohibition on the retention of petrale 
sole between 38[deg] N. lat. and the U.S./Mexico border during the 
month of October in order to prevent targeting on petrale sole. During 
November and December, the Pacific Council recommendation of decreasing 
the trip limit for petrale sole to 2,000 lb (0.9 mt) per 2 months was 
determined to be sufficient to allow retention of incidentally caught 
petrale sole while not encouraging targeting. Therefore, while the 
analysis suggested a prohibition on the retention of petrale sole 
between 38[deg] N. lat. and the U.S./Mexico border during the month of 
October, the trip limit table, Table 3 (South), mistakenly showed the 
prohibition on the retention of petrale sole between 40[deg]10' N. lat. 
and the U.S./Mexico border during the month of October. This was an 
inadvertent mistake resulting from the design of the trip limit table 
(i.e., trip limits for a species in Table 3 (South) apply between 
40[deg]10' N. lat. and the U.S./Mexico border unless otherwise stated). 
The prohibition on retention of petrale sole should have been stated 
within that table as applying south of 38[deg] N. lat.
    Without a correction to Federal regulations, this fishery would be 
closed between 38[deg] N. lat. and 40[deg]10' N. lat., which is 
inconsistent with the intent of the Pacific Council and NMFS. Between 
38[deg] N. lat. and 40[deg]10' N. lat., the limited entry trawl RCA, 
which extends from the shoreline to 250-fm (457-m), as well as the 
reduced petrale sole trip limits for November and December, are 
expected to sufficiently reduce the take of petrale sole to near zero 
through the end of the year.
    For these reasons, NMFS is amending Federal regulations to 
correctly prohibit the retention of petrale sole between 38[deg] N. 
lat. and the U.S./Mexico border during the month of October in the trip 
limit table, Table 3 (South).

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator (AA) for Fisheries, NOAA, 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 
contrary to the public interest. The correction is to indicate that 
participants in the limited entry trawl fishery are prohibited from 
retaining petrale sole between 38[deg] N. lat. and the U.S./Mexico 
border during the month of October in the trip limit table, Table 3 
(South). NMFS had mis-published this closure in its inseason

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adjustment for this action (70 FR 58066, October 5, 2005). Prior notice 
and opportunity for comment would contravene the intent of this action, 
which was to allow fishing for petrale sole between 40[deg]10' N. lat. 
and 38[deg] N. lat. during October 2005. Providing prior notice and 
opportunity for comment would cost fishermen in lost fishing 
opportunity during October and to compound this loss by going through 
prior notice and opportunity for comment would in effect make the 
action meaningless. Therefore, it is contrary to the public interest to 
provide prior notice and an opportunity for public comment on this 
correction.
    For these reasons, the AA finds also finds good cause to waive the 
30-day delay in effectiveness requirement under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries, 
Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives, Indians, Northern Mariana Islands, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: October 17, 2005.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.

0
Accordingly, 50 CFR part 660 is corrected by making the following 
correcting amendments:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES AND IN THE WESTERN 
PACIFIC

0
l. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:

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

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2. In part 660, subpart G, Table 3 (South) is revised to read as 
follows:
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[FR Doc. 05-21088 Filed 10-18-05; 1:11 pm]
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