[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7390-7392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02669]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 131119977-4381-02]
RIN 0648-XD640


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Whiting Allocations and 
Fishery Closure; Pacific Whiting Seasons

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

ACTION: Reapportionment of tribal Pacific whiting allocation, and 
implementation of an Ocean Salmon Conservation Zone to protect Chinook 
salmon.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the reapportionment of 45,000 metric 
tons (mt) of Pacific whiting from the tribal allocation to the non-
tribal commercial fishery sectors via two actions, in order to allow 
full utilization of the Pacific whiting resource. It also announces the 
implementation of an Ocean Salmon Conservation Zone that prohibited the 
targeting of Pacific whiting with midwater trawl gear shoreward of 
approximately 100 fathoms (fm) (183 m) to reduce Chinook salmon bycatch 
in the Pacific whiting fishery.

DATES: The rules set out in this document were made through automatic 
action, and are published in the Federal Register as soon as 
practicable after they are issued. The Ocean Salmon Conservation Zone 
was effective 0800 local time October 20, 2014 until December 31, 2014. 
The reapportionments of Pacific whiting were effective from 1200 local 
time, September 12, 2014 (25,000 mt) and 2000 local time October 23, 
2014 (additional 20,000 mt), until December 31, 2014. Comments will be 
accepted through February 25, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2014-0020 
by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014-0020, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional Administrator, West 
Coast Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070, 
Attn: Miako Ushio.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, 
address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise 
sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will be 
publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' 
in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miako Ushio (West Coast Region, NMFS), 
phone: 206-526-4644 or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 7391]]

Electronic Access

    This document is accessible via the Internet at the Office of the 
Federal Register's Web site at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action. Background information and documents are available at the 
Pacific Fishery Management Council's Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org/.

Pacific Whiting

    Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus) is a very productive species 
with highly variable recruitment (the biomass of fish that mature and 
enter the fishery each year) and a relatively short life span when 
compared to other groundfish species. Whiting has the largest (by 
volume) annual allowable harvest levels of the more than 90 groundfish 
species managed under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP), which governs the groundfish fishery off Washington, 
Oregon, and California. The coastwide whiting stock is managed by both 
the United States and Canada, and mature whiting are commonly available 
to vessels operating in U.S. waters from April through December. 
Background on the stock assessment for and the establishment of the 
2014 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Pacific whiting is provided in the 
final rule for the 2014 whiting harvest specifications, published May 
13, 2014 (79 FR 27198). Pacific whiting is allocated to the Washington 
Coast treaty tribes (tribal fishery), and to three non-tribal 
commercial sectors: the catcher/processor cooperative (C/P Coop), the 
mothership cooperative (MS Coop), and the Shorebased Individual Fishery 
Quota (IFQ) Program.
    This document announces the reapportionment of 45,000 mt of Pacific 
whiting from the tribal allocation to the non-tribal commercial 
sectors. On September 12, 2014, 25,000 mt of Pacific whiting was 
reapportioned, followed by a second reapportionment of 20,000 mt on 
October 23, 2014. Regulations at 50 CFR 660.131(h) contain provisions 
that allow the Regional Administrator to reallocate that portion of the 
Pacific whiting tribal allocation specified at Sec.  660.50 that will 
not be harvested by the end of the fishing year to other sectors. This 
action also announces the implementation of the Ocean Salmon 
Conservation Zone on October 20, 2014 pursuant to regulations at Sec.  
660.131(c) and Sec.  660.60(d), subpart C.

Pacific Whiting Reapportionment

    For 2014, the Washington Coast treaty tribes were allocated 55,336 
mt of Pacific whiting. The best available information through September 
12, 2014, indicated that at least 25,000 mt of the tribal allocation 
would not be harvested by December 31, 2014. To allow for full 
utilization of the resource, NMFS reapportioned 25,000 mt to the 
shorebased IFQ Program, C/P Coop and MS Coop in proportion to each 
sector's original allocation on September 12, 2014. Reapportioning this 
amount was expected to allow for greater attainment of the TAC while 
not limiting tribal harvest opportunities for the remainder of the 
year. Subsequently, the C/P Coop, MS Coop, and Shorebased IFQ sectors 
expressed an interest in additional harvest of Pacific whiting via 
written notice to NMFS.
    The best available information on October 22, 2014, indicated that 
an additional 20,000 mt of the tribal allocation would not be harvested 
by December 31, 2014. To allow for full utilization the resource, NMFS 
reapportioned an additional 20,000 mt of the non-tribal sector and 
distributed to the C/P Coop and MS Coop in proportion to each sector's 
original allocation on October 23, 2014. As explained below, the 
Shorebased IFQ Program's share of the second reapportionment was not 
distributed due to concerns about Chinook salmon catch.
    Reapportioning a combined total of 45,000 mt was expected to allow 
for a greater likelihood of attaining the OY while not limiting tribal 
harvest opportunities for the remainder of the year. The revised 
Pacific whiting allocations for 2014 are: Tribal 10,336 mt, C/P Coop 
103,486 mt; MS Coop 73,049 mt; and Shorebased IFQ Program 127,835 mt.

Ocean Salmon Conservation Zone and Chinook Salmon Bycatch in the 
Primary Whiting Season

    Chinook salmon protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) are 
caught as bycatch in the Pacific whiting fishery. As the result of 
previous ESA consultations, multiple steps have been taken in the 
fishery to minimize rates of Chinook salmon bycatch. The currently 
applicable incidental take statement requires reinitiation of 
consultation if the Pacific whiting fishery exceeds an 11,000-Chinook 
salmon annual bycatch amount. As reported in the 2006 Supplemental 
Biological Opinion on the Pacific Coast Groundfish, historic fishery 
data indicates that Chinook salmon bycatch rates can be highest in 
depths less than 100 fathoms (fm) (183 m) and early in the season (May 
and June), although bycatch rates can vary.
    When NMFS projects that the Pacific whiting fishery may 
incidentally take in excess of 11,000 Chinook salmon within a calendar 
year, an Ocean Salmon Conservation Zone may be implemented through an 
automatic action (50 CFR 660.60(d), subpart C). The Ocean Salmon 
Conservation Zone prohibits the targeting of Pacific whiting with 
midwater trawl gear shoreward of the 100 fm depth contour (Sec.  
660.131(c)).
    As of October 17, 2014, the best available information indicated 
that the Pacific whiting fishery had taken at least 11,000 Chinook 
salmon. Accordingly, NMFS has reinitiated consultation on the effect of 
the groundfish fishery on salmonids listed as endangered or threatened, 
and implemented the Ocean Salmon Conservation Zone to reduce the effect 
of the whiting fishery on salmon for the remainder of the 2014 season. 
Vessels fishing in the Pacific whiting primary seasons were prohibited 
from targeting Pacific whiting with midwater trawl gear in all waters 
shoreward of a boundary line approximating the 100 fm (183 m) depth 
contour as of 0800, local time, October 20, 2014. Latitude/longitude 
coordinates defining the boundary line that approximates the 100 fm 
(183 m) depth contour are provided at Sec.  660.73, subpart C.

Reapportionment Effect on Chinook Salmon

    NMFS concluded that distributing the reapportioned whiting to the 
at-sea sectors (C/P Coop and MS Coop) would not substantially increase 
the overall Chinook bycatch rates for the Pacific whiting fishery 
because these sectors had taken voluntary steps to reduce Chinook 
salmon bycatch, including fishing outside of 150 fm, and had notified 
NMFS in writing that they would cease fishing if they reached the 
bycatch numbers projected in the absence of additional reallocation.
    The Shorebased IFQ program tends to fish closer to shore to reduce 
operating costs. As a consequence, the shoreside sector tends to have 
higher bycatch rates than the at-sea sectors. For this reason, the 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) recommended via emergency 
meeting on October 17, 2014, that any additional reapportioned fish be 
distributed to the shorebased sector after attainment of their existing 
allocation in conjunction with salmon conservation measures implemented 
through inseason action. The Shorebased IFQ program did not attain 
their existing allocation, the Shorebased IFQ share of the second 
reapportionment was not distributed, and no additional salmon 
conservation measures were taken.

[[Page 7392]]

Emails sent directly to fishing businesses and individuals, and 
postings on the West Coast Region's internet site were used to provide 
actual notice to the affected fishers. Reapportionment was effective 
the same day as the notice, while implementation of the Ocean Salmon 
Conservation Zone was effective three days after the Public Notice, to 
allow for additional time for the public to become aware of the change 
in depth restrictions.

Classification

    This action is authorized by the regulations implementing the FMP. 
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds that good 
cause exists for this notification to be issued without affording prior 
notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(B) because such notification would be impracticable and contrary 
to the public interest. It was contrary to public interest to provide 
prior notice and comment on the implementation of the Ocean Salmon 
Conservation Zone because conservation concerns required taking 
immediate action on current catch information to reduce take of Chinook 
salmon. The closed area implemented by this rule needed to be in effect 
during the remainder of the 2014 primary season. If the agency were to 
conduct a proposed and final rulemaking for this action, the rule would 
not likely have been finalized until after the whiting fisheries had 
achieved their 2014 whiting quotas. The bycatch of ESA-listed salmon 
could have continued unabated during this time. Providing prior notice 
and comment was impracticable because affording prior notice and 
opportunity for public comment would have impeded the agency's mandated 
duty to manage fisheries to protect endangered and threatened salmon. 
Implementing the Ocean Salmon Conservation Zone and reapportioning as 
quickly as possible was necessary to protect Chinook salmon and to 
allow access to the remaining portion of the Pacific whiting TAC prior 
to the onset of weather conditions that would make fishing unsafe. As 
previously noted, actual notice of the reapportionment was provided to 
fishers. Prior notice and opportunity for public comment on this 
reapportionment was impracticable because NMFS had insufficient time to 
provide prior notice and the opportunity for public comment between the 
time the information about the progress of the fishery needed to make 
this determination became available and the time at which fishery 
modifications had to be implemented in order to allow fishers access to 
the available fish during the remainder of the fishing season. 
Additionally, it is not practical for vessels to keep crews waiting for 
additional quota, so timely reapportionment of uncaught quota to these 
sectors was necessary to keep workers in the C/P Coop and Mothership 
Coops employed. For the same reasons, the AA also finds good cause to 
waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness for these actions, required 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
    These actions are authorized by Sec. Sec.  660.55 (i), 660.60(d) 
and 660.131(h) and are exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq and 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.

    Dated: February 5, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-02669 Filed 2-9-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P