[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 5541-5543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2284]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 0810141351-0040-03]
RIN 0648-XL28


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea 
and Aleutian Islands; Final 2009 and 2010 Harvest Specifications for 
Groundfish; Correction

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

ACTION: Correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: On February 17, 2009, NMFS published the final 2009 and 2010 
harvest specifications for groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands (BSAI) management area. Table 8c of that document contained the 
final 2009 and 2010 prohibited species bycatch allowances for the BSAI 
trawl limited access sector and non-trawl fisheries of the BSAI 
management area. That table contained an error that is corrected in 
this rule.

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.) February 3, 2010, 
through 2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Furuness, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal regulations at 50 CFR part 679 
implement the Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for groundfish of the 
BSAI and govern the groundfish fisheries in the BSAI. The North Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared the FMP, and NMFS 
approved it under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). General regulations governing 
U.S. fisheries also appear at 50 CFR part 600.
    On February 17, 2009 (74 FR 7359) NMFS published harvest 
specifications

[[Page 5542]]

for groundfish of the BSAI that included Table 8c, which allocated the 
final 2009 and 2010 prohibited species bycatch allowances for the BSAI 
trawl limited access sector and non-trawl fisheries of the BSAI 
management area. However, NMFS inadvertently left out the date of April 
15, 2010, associated with the 2010 allocation of halibut mortality for 
the rockfish fishery category for the BSAI trawl limited access sector. 
This document corrects the error and republishes Table 8c in its 
entirety. Without this correction, the rockfish fishery for this sector 
opened on January 20, 2010, instead of April 15, 2010, as intended by 
the Council and NMFS to address operational issues raised by the 
fisheries participants.

Correction

    Accordingly, the revised Table 8c from the temporary rule (FR Doc. 
E9-3297) published on February 17, 2009, at 74 FR 7359, is corrected as 
follows:
    On page 7371, Table 8c is corrected and republished in its entirety 
to read as follows:

          Table 8c--Final 2009 and 2010 Prohibited Species Bycatch Allowances for the Bsai Trawl Limited Access Sector and Non-Trawl Fisheries
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             Prohibited species and area \1\
                                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              BSAI trawl limited access fisheries                                          Red king crab     C. opilio          C. bairdi (animals)
                                                                  Halibut mortality (mt)  (animals) Zone     (animals)   -------------------------------
                                                                           BSAI                  1             COBLZ          Zone 1          Zone 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yellowfin sole.................................................                      187          47,397       1,176,494         346,228       1,185,500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rock sole/flathead sole/other flatfish \2\.....................                        0               0               0               0               0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turbot/arrowtooth/sablefish \3\................................                        0               0               0               0               0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rockfish (in 2010 April 15-December 31)........................                        5               0           2,000          60,000           1,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pacific cod....................................................                      508           6,000          50,000          60,000          50,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pollock/Atka mackerel/other species \4\........................                      175             400          20,000            5000           5,000
                                                                -----------------------------------------
    Total BSAI trawl limited access PSC........................                      875          53,797       1,248,494         411,228       1,241,500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                     Non-trawl fisheries                         Catcher     Catcher
                                                                processor      vessel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pacific cod--Total...........................................         760          15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 1-June 10............................................         314          10
June 10-August 15............................................           0           3
August 15-December 31........................................         446           2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other non-trawl--Total.......................................            58
    May 1-December 31........................................            58
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Groundfish pot and jig.......................................          Exempt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sablefish hook-and-line......................................          Exempt
                                                              ------------------------
    Total non-trawl PSC......................................            833
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Refer to Sec.   679.2 for definitions of areas.
\2\ ``Other flatfish'' for PSC monitoring includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), flathead sole, Greenland turbot,
  rock sole, yellowfin sole, and arrowtooth flounder.
\3\ Greenland turbot, arrowtooth flounder, and sablefish fishery category.
\4\ ``Other species'' for PSC monitoring includes sculpins, sharks, skates, and octopus.

Classification

    This action is authorized under 50 CFR 679.20 and is exempt from 
review under E.O. 12866.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Acting Assistant Administrator 
of Fisheries (AA) finds good cause to waive prior notice and 
opportunity for public comment, as notice and comment would be 
impracticable and contrary to the public interest. Through this action, 
NOAA seeks to correct the inadvertent omission of the 2010 dates 
associated with the allocation of halibut mortality for the rockfish 
category for the BSAI trawl limited access sector. Prior notice and an 
opportunity for public comment on this action would be impracticable 
and contrary to the public interest for the following reasons: 
Corrections to ensure the rule's compliance with the intent of the 
Council and NMFS to address operational issues raised by fisheries 
participants must be made immediately; since the rockfish fishery for 
this sector opened prematurely, on January 20, 2010, instead of the 
intended date of April 15, 2010. A premature opening of the fishery 
would fail to limit directed fishing for rockfish to a time period when 
all interested participants would have equal opportunity to participate 
and would unfairly advantage some participants at the expense of other 
participants. Additionally, this correction must be made immediately in 
order to give the regulated community as much time as is practical to 
plan upcoming fishing activities. As such, prior notice and an 
opportunity for public comment on these measures are impracticable and 
contrary to the public interest because NMFS only recently discovered 
these errors and must ensure the timely,

[[Page 5543]]

uninterrupted, comprehensive and rational management of the fisheries 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    Additionally, for the reasons listed above, the AA finds good cause 
to waive the 30-day delay in the effective date under 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(3), as such procedures would be contrary to the public interest. 
Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not 
required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the 
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq. are inapplicable.

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

    Dated: January 28, 2010.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-2284 Filed 2-2-10; 8:45 am]
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