[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 14, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35901-35903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12811]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 220325-0079; RTID 0648-XC089]


Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch Sharing Plan; Inseason Action

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason adjustment; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This document announces four additional season dates for 
Pacific halibut recreational fisheries in the International Pacific 
Halibut Commission's regulatory Area 2A off Washington, Oregon, and 
California. Specifically, this action adds the dates of June 10, 17, 
and 24 for the Washington North Coast subarea, June 28 and 30 for the 
Washington South Coast subarea, and June 13 and 20 for the Columbia 
River subarea, which includes waters off Washington and Oregon. This 
action is intended to conserve Pacific halibut and provide angler 
opportunity where available.

DATES: This action is effective June 9, 2022, through September 30, 
2022. Submit comments on or before June 29, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2022-0003, by 
either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2022-0003 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter 
or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Scott M. Rumsey, c/o 
Kathryn Blair, West Coast Region, NMFS, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 
1100, Portland, OR, 97232.
    Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments if they are sent by 
any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after 
the comment period ends. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and NMFS will post them for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender is publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
    Docket: This rule is accessible via the internet at the Office of 
the Federal Register website at https://www.federalregister.gov/. 
Background information and documents are available at the NOAA 
Fisheries website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/2022-pacific-halibut-catch-sharing-plan and at the Pacific Fishery 
Management Council's (Council) website at https://www.pcouncil.org. 
Other comments received may be accessed through www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Lindsay, phone: 562-980-4034, 
fax: 562-980-4018, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 1, 2022, NMFS published a final 
rule approving changes to the Pacific halibut Area 2A Catch Sharing 
Plan and implementing recreational (sport) management measures for 2022 
(87 FR 19007), as authorized by the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 
1982 (16 U.S.C. 773-773(k)). The 2022 Catch Sharing Plan provides a 
recommended framework for NMFS' annual management measures and subarea 
allocations based on the 2022 Area 2A Pacific halibut catch limit of 
1,490,000 pounds (lb) (675.9 metric tons (mt)) set by the International 
Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). These Pacific halibut management 
measures include recreational fishery season dates and subarea 
allocations.
    Federal regulations at 50 CFR 300.63(c), ``Flexible Inseason 
Management Provisions for Sport Halibut Fisheries in Area 2A,'' allow 
the NMFS' Regional Administrator to modify annual regulations during 
the season. These inseason provisions allow the Regional Administrator 
to modify sport (recreational) fishing periods, bag limits, size 
limits, days per calendar week, and subarea quotas, if it is determined 
it is necessary to meet the allocation objectives and the action will 
not result in exceeding the catch limit.
    NMFS has determined that, due to lower than expected landings in 
portions of Washington and Oregon, specifically the Washington North 
and South Coast subareas and Columbia

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River subarea, inseason action to modify the 2022 annual regulations 
for the recreational fishery is warranted at this time to provide 
additional opportunity for fishery participations to achieve the Area 
2A allocations as published in the final rule (87 FR 19007; April 1, 
2022). As stated above, inseason modification of the fishing season is 
authorized by Federal regulations at 50 CFR 300.63(c). After consulting 
with IPHC, the Council, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 
(WDFW), and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), NMFS 
determined the following inseason action is necessary to meet the 
management objective of attaining the subarea allocations, and is 
consistent with the inseason management provisions allowing for the 
modification of sport fishing periods and sport fishing days per 
calendar week. Notice of these additional dates and closure of the 
fisheries will also be announced on the NMFS hotline at 206-526-6667 or 
800-662-9825.

Inseason Action

    Description of the action: This inseason action implements three 
additional fishing dates for the Washington North Coast, two additional 
fishing dates for the Washington South Coast, and two additional dates 
for Columbia River subareas during the 2022 recreational fishery.
    Reason for the action: The purpose of this inseason action is to 
provide additional opportunity for anglers in the Washington North 
Coast subarea on June 10, 17, and 24, the South Coast subarea on June 
28 and 30, and the Columbia River subarea on June 13 and 20. The 
recreational fishery in these subareas opened on May 5, 2022. NMFS has 
determined that these additional dates are warranted due to lower than 
expected landings through May 2022, and the expectation that a 
substantial amount of subarea allocation will go unharvested without 
additional fishing dates. As of May 27, anglers in the Washington North 
and South Coast and Columbia River subareas have harvested 35,066 lb 
(15.91 mt) of the 221,439 lb (100.44 mt) allocations (16 percent), 
leaving 186,373 lb (84.54 mt) remaining (84 percent of the subarea 
allocation). This is a result of poor weather and ocean conditions 
preventing anglers from safely participating in the recreational 
fishery off the coast of Washington and the area off of the Columbia 
River. For reference, by the end of May 2021, fishery participants in 
the Washington North and South Coast and Columbia River subareas had 
attained 74 percent of the available recreational allocation. Without 
the additional fishing days in this action, the season dates 
implemented in the April 1, 2022 (87 FR 19007), final rule would likely 
result in substantial unharvested allocation in these subareas.
    After consulting with WDFW and ODFW, it was determined that in 
order for anglers to have the opportunity to achieve the combined 
subarea allocations in Washington and off the Columbia River, and with 
little risk of the subarea or coastwide allocations being exceeded, 
additional season dates were warranted for participants in the 
Washington North and South Coast and Columbia River subareas. 
Therefore, through this action NMFS is announcing new season dates in 
June that were not previously implemented in the April 1, 2022, final 
rule (87 FR 19007). Specifically, the additional season dates for the 
Washington North Coast subarea are June 10, 17, and 24, Washington 
South Coast are June 28 and 30, and June 13 and 20 for the Columbia 
River subarea.
    Notice of these additional dates will also be announced on the NMFS 
hotline at 206-526-6667 or 800-662-9825.
    Weekly catch monitoring reports for the recreational fisheries in 
Washington, Oregon, and California are available on their respective 
state Fish and Wildlife agency websites. NMFS and the IPHC will 
continue to monitor recreational catch obtained via state sampling 
procedures until NMFS has determined there is not sufficient allocation 
for another full day of fishing, and the area is closed by the IPHC, or 
the season closes on September 30, whichever is earlier.

Classification

    NMFS issues this action pursuant to the Northern Pacific Halibut 
Act of 1982. This action is taken under the regulatory authority at 50 
CFR 300.63(c), and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), there is good cause to waive 
prior notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as 
notice and comment would be impracticable and contrary to the public 
interest. WDFW and ODFW provided updated landings data to NMFS on May 
27, 2022, showing that the fishery participants in the recreational 
fishery off of Washington had only caught 16 percent of Washington 
North and South Coast and the Columbia River subarea's combined 
allocations. NMFS uses fishing rates from previous years to determine 
the number of recreational fishing dates needed to attain subarea 
allocations. The level of attainment of the allocation for 2022 is 
substantially lower than past years for this same point in time, and 
was not anticipated when the 2022 final rule setting the 2022 
recreational fishery season dates was developed. This action should be 
implemented as soon as possible to allow fishery participants to take 
advantage of the additional fishing dates prior to the end of the 
season. As the fishery closes on September 30, 2022, implementing this 
action through proposed and final rulemaking would limit the benefit 
this action would provide to fishery participants. Without 
implementation of additional season dates, the Washington North and 
South Coast and Columbia River subarea allocations are unlikely to be 
harvested, limiting economic benefits to the participants and not 
meeting the goals of the Catch Sharing Plan and the 2022 management 
measures. It is necessary that this rulemaking be implemented in a 
timely manner so that planning for these new fishing days can take 
place, and for business and personal decision making by the regulated 
public impacted by this action, which includes recreational charter 
fishing operations, associated port businesses, and private anglers who 
do not live near the coastal access points for this fishery, among 
others. To ensure the regulated public is fully aware of this action, 
notice of this regulatory action will also be provided to anglers 
through a telephone hotline, news release, and by the relevant state 
fish and wildlife agencies. NMFS will receive public comments for 15 
days after publication of this action, in accordance with 50 CFR 
300.63(c)(4)(ii). No aspect of this action is controversial, and 
changes of this nature were anticipated in the process described in 
regulations at 50 CFR 300.63(c).
    For the reasons discussed above, there is also good cause under 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effective date and make 
this action effective immediately upon filing for public inspection, as 
a delay in effectiveness of this action would constrain fishing 
opportunity and be inconsistent with the goals of the Catch Sharing 
Plan and current management measures, as well as potentially limit the 
economic opportunity intended by this rule to the associated fishing 
communities. NMFS regulations allow the Regional Administrator to 
modify sport fishing periods, bag limits, size limits, days per 
calendar week, and subarea quotas, provided that the action allows 
allocation objectives to be met and will not result in exceeding the 
catch limit for the subarea. NMFS recently received information on the 
progress of landings in the recreational

[[Page 35903]]

fisheries in Washington subareas, indicating additional dates should be 
added to the fishery to ensure optimal and sustainable harvest of the 
subarea allocation. As stated above, it is in the public interest that 
this action is not delayed, because a delay in the effectiveness of 
these new dates would not allow the allocation objectives of the 
recreational Pacific halibut fishery to be met.

    Dated: June 9, 2022.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-12811 Filed 6-9-22; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P