[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 28, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24398-24399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11014]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 031125294-4091-02]
RIN 0648-WCR-A002


Fisheries Off West Coast States; the Highly Migratory Species 
Fishery; Closure

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting fishing with large-mesh drift gillnet 
(DGN) gear (=14 inches mesh) off the coast of southern 
California east of 120[deg] W meridian from June 1, 2019, through 
August 31, 2019. This prohibition is based on the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries' (AA's) determination that El Ni[ntilde]o 
conditions are occurring off the coast of southern California. This 
action protects Endangered Species Act-listed loggerhead sea turtles 
(Caretta caretta), specifically the endangered North Pacific Ocean 
Distinct Population Segment.

DATES: Effective 12:01 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), June 1, 2019, 
through 11:59 p.m. PDT, August 31, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Fanning, West Coast Region 
(WCR), NMFS, (562) 980-4198, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DGN fishery is managed under the Fishery 
Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory 
Species (50 CFR part 660, subpart K) and occurs off the coast of 
California. NMFS regulations provide that, ``No person may fish with, 
set, or haul back drift gillnet gear in U.S. waters of the Pacific 
Ocean east of the 120[deg] W meridian from June 1 through August 31 
during a forecasted, or occurring, El Ni[ntilde]o event off the coast 
of southern California'' (50 CFR 660.713(c)(2)). This area, which falls 
within the Southern California Bight (SCB), is referred to in the 
regulations as the ``Pacific loggerhead conservation area.''
    Under 50 CFR 660.713(c)(2)(ii), the AA is to rely on information 
developed by NOAA offices (the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and the 
West Coast Office of the Coast Watch program) to make the determination 
that an El Ni[ntilde]o event is forecasted or occurring off southern 
California. The AA is to use monthly sea surface temperature (SST) 
charts to determine whether there are warmer-than-normal SSTs off 
southern California ``during the months prior to the closure months for 
years in which an El Ni[ntilde]o event has been declared'' by the CPC. 
Specifically, the AA is to use SST data from the third and second 
months prior to the month of closure.
    NMFS published these regulations to protect loggerhead sea turtles, 
which are listed under the Endangered Species Act. The regulations 
addressed a reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) included in NMFS' 
2000 biological opinion on issuance of an incidental take permit under 
the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The biological opinion concluded that 
bycatch in the DGN fishery was likely to jeopardize the continued 
existence of loggerhead sea turtles and, as an RPA, recommended the 
fishery be closed during the summer months when El Ni[ntilde]o 
conditions are present to avoid the likelihood of jeopardy. The 
regulations implemented in 2003 addressed this RPA.
    On February 14, 2019, the CPC issued an El Ni[ntilde]o Advisory, 
declaring that El Ni[ntilde]o conditions formed during January 2019, 
based on the presence of above-average SSTs across most of the 
equatorial Pacific Ocean. Since that initial advisory, all monthly CPC 
updates have stated that El Ni[ntilde]o conditions remain in these 
waters. The May 9, 2019, update reaffirmed El Ni[ntilde]o conditions 
are currently present.
    On May 7, 2019, NMFS staff reviewed the SST anomalies in the SCB 
during March and April of 2019, relying on SST maps available through 
NOAA's Coast Watch program (for details see http://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/index.html). These maps indicated that 
SSTs were above normal in the SCB. NMFS concluded that a determination 
of El Ni[ntilde]o conditions off southern California is warranted based 
on SSTs that are warmer than normal during the third and second months 
prior to the month of the closure, consistent with regulations at 50 
CFR 660.713(c)(2)(ii).
    If SSTs return to normal or below normal during a closure period, 
regulations at 50 CFR 660.713(c)(2)(iii) state that the AA may re-open 
the fishery after publishing a Federal Register notice announcing that 
El Ni[ntilde]o conditions are no longer present in the SCB.

Classification

    This action is required by regulations at 50 CFR 660.713 and is 
exempt from Office of Management and Budget review under Executive 
Order 12866.
    NMFS finds good cause to waive the requirement to provide prior 
notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to the authority set 
forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) for the time-area closure of the DGN 
fishery. Notice and comment procedures are impracticable and contrary 
to the public interest. The most recent El Ni[ntilde]o determination 
occurred on May 9, 2019, and regulations require that the closure 
period begin on June 1; therefore, there is insufficient time for 
notice and comment procedures. For the same reasons, NMFS also finds 
good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the general requirement 
for a 30-day delay in effectiveness for this action. This measure is 
based upon the best available information and is necessary for the 
conservation of loggerhead sea turtles. The closure period anticipated 
by the regulation ends, at the latest, on August 31, 2019. A delay in 
effectiveness may

[[Page 24399]]

allow the fishery to interact with and injure or kill loggerhead sea 
turtles that may occur within the SCB during the time period in which 
the regulation was intended to protect loggerheads.

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

    Dated: May 21, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-11014 Filed 5-24-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P