[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 162 (Monday, August 23, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51684-51692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20870]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 090428799-9802-01]
RIN 0648-BA10


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Inseason Adjustments to Fishery 
Management Measures

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

ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments to biennial groundfish 
management measures; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This final rule makes inseason adjustments to commercial 
fishery management measures for several groundfish species taken in the 
U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, 
Oregon, and California. These actions, which are authorized by the 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), are intended to 
allow fisheries to access more abundant groundfish stocks while 
protecting overfished and depleted stocks.

DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) August 18, 2010. Comments on 
this final rule must be received no later than 5 p.m., local time on 
September 22, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-BA10, by any 
one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: 206-526-6736, Attn: Gretchen Hanshew
     Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional Administrator, 
Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE., Seattle, WA 98115-
0070, Attn: Gretchen Hanshew.
    Instructions: No comments will be posted for public viewing until 
after the comment period has closed. All comments received are a part 
of the public record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All Personal Identifying 
Information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential 
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required 
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to 
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF 
file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gretchen Hanshew (Northwest Region, 
NMFS), 206-526-6147, fax: 206-526-6736, [email protected].

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 Pacific 
Fishery Management Council's (the Council or PFMC) Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org/.

Background

    On December 31, 2008, NMFS published a proposed rule to implement 
the 2009-2010 specifications and management measures for the Pacific 
Coast groundfish fishery (73 FR 80516). The final rule to implement the 
2009-2010 specifications and management measures for the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery was published on March 6, 2009 (74 FR 9874). This 
final rule was subsequently amended by inseason actions on April 27, 
2009 (74 FR 19011), July 6, 2009 (74 FR 31874), October 28, 2009 (74 FR 
55468), February 26, 2010 (75 FR 8820), May 4, 2010 (75 FR 23620), July 
1, 2010 (75 FR 38030), and July 16, 2010 (75 FR 41386). Additional 
changes to the 2009-2010 specifications and management measures for 
petrale sole were made in two final rules: On November 4, 2009 (74 FR 
57117), and December 10, 2009 (74 FR 65480). NMFS issued a final rule 
in response to a duly issued court order on July 8, 2010 (75 FR 39178). 
These specifications and management measures are at 50 CFR part 660, 
subpart G.

Limited Entry Non-Whiting Trawl Fishery Management Measures

    Changes to the groundfish management measures implemented by this 
action were recommended by the Council, in consultation with Pacific 
Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and the States of Washington, Oregon, and 
California, at its June 11-17, 2010, meeting in Foster City, CA. The 
Council recommended adjusting the groundfish management measures to 
respond to updated fishery information and other inseason management 
needs. These changes include increases to bi-monthly cumulative limits 
in the commercial fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and California and 
a change to the lingcod retention regulations for salmon troll 
fishermen. The increases to cumulative limits are intended to allow 
additional harvest opportunities for species for which catch estimates 
through the end of the year are lower than anticipated. The change to 
the lingcod retention regulations is intended to relieve a restriction 
for salmon trollers that do not fish inside the groundfish rockfish 
conservation area (RCA). The increase to chilipepper rockfish trip 
limits in the limited entry trawl fishery slightly increases the 
projected impacts to bocaccio, a co-occurring overfished species. 
However, even with the slight increase in impacts for bocaccio, when 
combined with the projected impacts from all other fisheries, the 2010 
OY for this rebuilding species is not projected to be exceeded.
    Estimated mortality of overfished and target species are the result 
of management measures designed to meet the Pacific Coast Groundfish 
FMP objective of achieving, to the extent possible, but not exceeding, 
OYs of target species, while fostering the rebuilding of overfished 
stocks by remaining within their rebuilding OYs.

Limited Entry Non-Whiting Trawl Fishery

    Chilipepper rockfish is an underutilized species, primarily due to 
fishery management measures that are intended to reduce impacts to co-
occurring bocaccio, an overfished species. Recent inseason restrictions 
to trip limits for sablefish, Dover sole, petrale sole and other 
flatfish in the limited entry trawl fishery to prevent exceeding the 
2010 OY for petrale sole and the limited entry trawl allocation for 
sablefish have reduced projected impacts to bocaccio in the trawl 
fishery. Due to the lower than anticipated projected impacts to 
bocaccio, the Council considered increasing the trip limits for 
chilipepper rockfish to provide additional harvest opportunities for 
this underutilized healthy stock. With the recommended chilipepper 
rockfish trip limit adjustments, projected impacts to overfished 
bocaccio are anticipated to be 7.5 mt, or 47 percent of the trawl 
fisheries' initially projected bocaccio impacts of

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16.1 mt and projected impacts to chilipepper rockfish are anticipated 
to be well below the 2010 OY.
    Based on the considerations outlined above, the Council recommended 
and NMFS is implementing the following changes to cumulative limits in 
the limited entry non-whiting trawl fishery: Increase chilipepper 
rockfish cumulative limits caught with all trawl gears South of 
40[deg]10.00' N. lat. from ``12,000 lb (5,443 kg) per 2 months'' to 
``17,000 lb (7,711 kg) per 2 months'' in July-December.

Limited Entry Fixed Gear Sablefish Daily Trip Limits

    Catch of sablefish in the limited entry fixed gear daily trip limit 
(DTL) fishery north of 36[deg] N. lat. is lower than anticipated. Based 
on the most recent fishery information, if no action is taken and catch 
remains lower than expected, only 236 mt out of the 321 mt sablefish 
allocation (73 percent) will be caught through the end of the year. The 
Council considered modest increases to the bi-monthly cumulative limits 
in the limited entry fixed gear sablefish DTL fishery north of 36[deg] 
N. lat. to allow the fishery to attain a larger proportion of its 
sablefish allocation.
    Projected impacts to overfished species in the limited entry fixed 
gear fishery are calculated assuming the entire sablefish allocation is 
harvested. Therefore, increases to trip limits to harvest a larger 
proportion of the sablefish allocation do not result in higher than 
anticipated impacts to co-occurring overfished groundfish species.
    Based on the considerations outlined above, the Council recommended 
and NMFS is implementing the following changes to cumulative limits in 
the limited entry fixed gear sablefish DTL fishery North of 36[deg] N. 
lat.: Increase the sablefish trip limits from ``1,750 lb (794 kg) per 
week, not to exceed 7,000 lb (3,175 kg) per 2 months'' to ``1,750 lb 
per week, not to exceed 8,500 lb (3,856 kg) per 2 months'' in periods 4 
and 5 and from ``1,750 lb per week, not to exceed 7,000 lb per 2 
months'' to ``1,750 lb per week, not to exceed 8,000 lb (3,629 kg) per 
2 months'' in period 6, beginning as soon as possible.

Open Access Fishery

    As part of the 2009-2010 Groundfish harvest specifications and 
management measures, the Council considered a change to the lingcod 
retention regulations for fishermen in the salmon troll fishery that 
wish to retain incidentally caught lingcod North of 40[deg]10.00' N. 
lat. Prior to 2009, salmon troll fishermen were not allowed to retain 
any groundfish, except yellowtail rockfish, if they were fishing inside 
the non-trawl rockfish conservation area (RCA). The Council recommended 
that salmon troll fishermen be allowed to retain a limited amount of 
lingcod, even if they were fishing for salmon inside of the non-trawl 
RCA, beginning in 2009. NMFS implemented language in Table 5 North that 
changed the lingcod retention regulations for salmon troll fishermen: 
``Salmon trollers may retain and land up to 1 lingcod per 15 Chinook, 
plus 1 lingcod up to a trip limit of 10 lingcod, both within and 
outside of the RCA.'' At their June 2010 meeting, the Council requested 
that NMFS revise the lingcod retention allowance language to clarify 
that if salmon trollers fished entirely outside of the non-trawl RCA on 
a trip then they were not subject to the lingcod landing ratio of 1:15 
with a trip limit of 10 lingcod, but were subject to the lingcod 
cumulative limit for the open access fishery, which is currently 400 lb 
(181 kg) per month. The intent of the change to the regulations in 2009 
was to allow limited lingcod retention opportunities for salmon 
trollers fishing for salmon within the groundfish non-trawl RCA, and no 
changes to regulations that apply to salmon trollers operating outside 
of the RCA were intended.
    At their June 2010 meeting, the Council requested that NMFS revise 
the lingcod retention regulations for salmon troll fishermen to relieve 
the restriction of ``1 lingcod per 15 Chinook, plus 1 lingcod up to a 
trip limit of 10 lingcod'' for salmon trollers that are operating 
entirely outside of the groundfish non-trawl RCA.
    Based on the considerations outlined above, the Council recommended 
and NMFS is implementing the following changes to lingcod retention 
allowances for vessels fishing in the salmon troll fishery and 
operating outside of the non-trawl RCA North of 40[deg]10.00' N. lat.: 
From ``Salmon trollers may retain and land up to 1 lingcod per 15 
Chinook, plus 1 lingcod up to a trip limit of 10 lingcod, both within 
and outside of the RCA'' to ``Salmon trollers may retain and land up to 
1 lingcod per 15 Chinook, plus 1 lingcod up to a trip limit of 10 
lingcod, on a trip when any fishing occurs within the RCA.''

Classification

    This rule makes routine inseason adjustments to groundfish fishery 
management measures based on the best available information and is 
taken pursuant to the regulations implementing the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish FMP.
    These actions are taken under the authority of 50 CFR 660.370(c) 
and are exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
    These inseason adjustments are taken under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), and are in accordance with 50 CFR part 660, the 
regulations implementing the FMP. These actions are based on the most 
recent data available. The aggregate data upon which these actions are 
based are available for public inspection at the Office of the 
Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, (see ADDRESSES) during business 
hours.
    For the following reasons, NMFS finds good cause to waive prior 
public notice and comment on the revisions to groundfish management 
measures under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) because notice and comment would be 
impracticable and contrary to the public interest. Also, for the same 
reasons, NMFS finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in 
effectiveness pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), so that this final rule 
may become effective as quickly as possible.
    The recently available data upon which these recommendations were 
based was provided to the Council, and the Council made its 
recommendations, at its June 11-17, 2010, meeting in Foster City, CA. 
The Council recommended that these changes be implemented as quickly as 
possible. There was not sufficient time after that meeting to draft 
this document and undergo proposed and final rulemaking before these 
actions need to be in effect. For the actions to be implemented in this 
final rule, affording the time necessary for prior notice and 
opportunity for public comment would prevent the Agency from managing 
fisheries using the best available science to approach, without 
exceeding, the OYs for federally managed species in accordance with the 
FMP and applicable laws. The adjustments to management measures in this 
document affect commercial fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and 
California.
    These adjustments to management measures must be implemented in a 
timely manner to allow fishermen an opportunity to harvest higher 
limits in 2010 for chilipepper, sablefish and lingcod beginning as 
quickly as possible. Increases are necessary to relieve a restriction 
by allowing fishermen increased opportunities to harvest available 
healthy stocks while staying within the OYs for these species. These 
changes must be implemented in a timely manner, as quickly as possible, 
so that fishermen are allowed increased opportunities to harvest 
available healthy stocks and meet the objective of

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the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP to allow fisheries to approach, but 
not exceed, OYs. It would be contrary to the public interest to wait to 
implement these changes until after public notice and comment, because 
making this regulatory change quickly allows additional harvest in 
fisheries that are important to coastal communities.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Fisheries, Fishing, Indian fisheries.

    Dated: August 18, 2010.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended as 
follows:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES

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


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

0
2. Table 3 (South), Tables 4 (North) and 4 (South), and Table 5 (North) 
to part 660, subpart G, are revised to read as follows:
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[FR Doc. 2010-20870 Filed 8-18-10; 4:15 pm]
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