[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 150 (Monday, August 7, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52046-52053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16720]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 221206-0261]
RIN 0648-BM50


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2023-2024 Biennial Specifications and 
Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments

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

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

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SUMMARY: This final rule announces routine inseason adjustments to 
management measures in commercial groundfish fisheries. This action is 
intended to allow fishing vessels to access more abundant groundfish 
stocks while protecting rebuilding stocks.

DATES: This final rule is effective August 7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: 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 Pacific 
Fishery Management Council's website at https://www.pcouncil.org/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Sean Matson, phone: 206-526-6187 
or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP) and 
its implementing regulations at title 50 in the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), part 660, subparts C through G, regulate fishing for 
over 90 species of groundfish seaward of Washington, Oregon, and 
California. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) develops 
groundfish harvest specifications and management measures for 2-year 
periods (biennia). NMFS published the final rule to implement harvest 
specifications and management measures for the 2023-2024 biennium for 
most species managed under the PCGFMP on December 16, 2022 (87 FR 
77007). The management measures set at the start of the biennial 
harvest specifications cycle help the various sectors of the fishery 
attain, but not exceed, the catch limits for each stock. The Council, 
in coordination with Pacific Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and the States 
of Washington, Oregon, and California, recommends adjustments to the 
management measures during the fishing year to achieve this goal.
    At its June 2023 meeting, the Council recommended modifying fixed 
gear trip limits for limited entry (LE) and open access (OA) fisheries, 
for bocaccio rockfish (hereafter bocaccio), south of 40[deg]10' N 
latitude (lat.), and minimum length limits for LE and OA lingcod south 
of 42[deg] N lat., after updated information regarding projected catch 
and attainment became available, as well as requests from industry. 
Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries are managed using harvest 
specifications or limits (e.g., overfishing limits [OFL], acceptable 
biological catch [ABC], annual catch limits [ACL] and harvest 
guidelines [HG]) recommended biennially by the Council and based on the 
best scientific information available at that time (50 CFR 660.60(b)). 
During development of the harvest specifications, the Council also 
recommends management measures (e.g., trip limits, area closures, and 
bag limits) that are meant to control catch so as not to exceed the 
harvest specifications. The harvest specifications and management 
measures developed for the 2023-2024 biennium used data through the 
2021 fishing year. Each of the adjustments to management measures 
discussed below are based on updated fisheries information that was 
unavailable when the analysis for the current harvest specifications 
was completed. As new fisheries data becomes available, adjustments to 
management measures are projected so as to help harvesters achieve but 
not exceed the harvest limits.

Bocaccio South of 40[deg]10' N Latitude

    Bocaccio on the West Coast is managed as a separate stock south of 
40[deg]10' N lat., while bocaccio north of 40[deg]10' N lat. is managed 
as part of the minor shelf rockfish north of 40[deg]10' N lat. Bocaccio 
south of 40[deg]10' N lat., the subject of this action, is caught both 
commercially and recreationally, with commercial vessels harvesting it 
with both trawl and fixed gear (longlines and pots/traps) in the bottom 
trawl, nearshore, limited entry, and open access fixed gear fisheries. 
It is caught in shelf and nearshore areas, often together with 
chilipepper rockfish. The 2023 ACL and harvest guideline for bocaccio 
south of 40[deg]10' N lat. are 1,842 metric tons (mt), and 1,793.9 mt, 
respectively.
    At the June 2023 Council meeting, the California Department of Fish 
and Wildlife (CDFW) received a request from industry to adjust bocaccio 
bimonthly landing accumulation (``trip'') limits for the open access 
(OA) fisheries south of 40[deg]10' N. lat.; to increase the trip limit 
from 4,000 pounds (1,814 kg) per period (2 month) to 6,000 pounds 
(2,721 kg) per period. CDFW analyzed the request, as well as increasing 
the LE trip limits for bocaccio, and recommended the increases to 
Council. The Council reviewed the analytical documents drafted by the 
CDFW, as well as the Groundfish Management Team (GMT), and the 
Groundfish Advisory Subpanel (GAP), to inform their discussion and 
decision making under the inseason adjustment agenda item.
    The intent of increasing trip limits is to increase harvest 
opportunities, by reducing discard, for vessels catching bocaccio, 
while targeting chilipepper rockfish. The new OA trip limits would 
match existing chilipepper trip limits, which are reported to currently 
be caught in equal amounts to bocaccio. To evaluate potential increases 
to bocaccio trip limits for both the OA and LE fisheries, the CDFW made 
model-based catch projections under current regulations and alternative 
bocaccio trip limits, including the limits ultimately recommended by 
the Council, beginning on July 1 through the remainder of 2023. Table 1 
shows the projected bocaccio landings by fishery, relevant bocaccio 
allocations, and the projected attainment as a percentage of the 
landing target, under both the current trip limits and the Council's 
recommended adjusted trip limits. These projections were based on the 
most recent catch information available through June 16, 2023.

[[Page 52047]]



   Table 1--Projected Landings, Allocation, and Projected Percentage of Bocaccio Attained Through 2023 by Trip
                                                Limit and Fishery
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                                                                                                       Percent
                                                                                        Projected    attainment
            Option                    Fishery             Trip limit       Projected    sum catch     2023 non-
                                                                           catch (mt)      (mt)      trawl share
                                                                                                     (337.8 mt)
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Current regulation............  LE South of          6,000 lb (2,721 kg)/        16.2         51.6            15
                                 40[deg]10' N lat.    2 months.
                                OA South of          4,000 lb (1,814 kg)/        35.4  ...........  ............
                                 40[deg]10' N lat.    2 months.
Council-recommended...........  LE South of          8,000 lb (3,629 kg)/        19.6           65            19
                                 40[deg]10' N lat.    2 months.
                                OA South of          6,000 lb (2,721 kg)/        45.4  ...........  ............
                                 40[deg]10' N lat.    2 months.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As shown in Table 1, under the current trip limits, the model 
predicts catch of bocaccio will be at 15 percent, or 51.6 mt of the 
337.8 mt commercial non-trawl share for LE and OA fisheries combined, 
south of 40[deg]10' N lat.; while under the Council-recommended trip 
limits, attainment would be 19 percent, or 65 mt of the 337.8 mt 
commercial non-trawl share, for the LE and OA fisheries combined, south 
of 40[deg]10' N lat. Under the Council's recommended trip limits, 
bocaccio attainment is projected to increase by 4 percent in the LE and 
OA fisheries south of 40[deg]10' N lat., from 15 to 19 percent. The 
Council as a matter of practice, consistently maintains trip limits in 
LE fisheries at a higher level than those of OA, in order to afford a 
measure of additional opportunity to fishers with LE permits. Thus, in 
this case, the bocaccio LE trip limits were also recommended to be 
raised, to maintain a 2,000 lb (907 kg) per 2 months difference between 
the LE and OA sectors. Raising the LE trip limits for bocaccio to 8,000 
lb (3,629 kg) per 2 months also made them equal to the chilipepper 
rockfish trip limits (which were reported by industry to be caught in 
approximately equal amounts), south of 34[deg]27' N lat.; and close to 
chilipepper limits between 34[deg]27' N lat. and 40[deg]10' N lat., 
currently 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) per 2 months.
    Trip limit increases for bocaccio are intended to increase 
attainment of the non-trawl harvest guideline (HG), and convert 
regulatory discard into landed catch. The proposed trip limit increases 
do not change projected impacts to co-occurring rebuilding species 
compared to the impacts anticipated in the 2023-2024 harvest 
specifications because the projected impacts to those species assume 
that the entire bocaccio ACL is harvested. Therefore, the Council 
recommended and NMFS is implementing, by modifying Table 2 south to 
part 660, subpart E, and Table 3 south to part 660, subpart F, trip 
limit changes for the LE and OA fixed gear fisheries south of 
40[deg]10' N lat. as shown above in Table 1. These changes will start 
with Period 4 (July and August) and remain in place through the end of 
2023 and beyond, unless otherwise modified.

Lingcod

    For the June 2023 meeting, the GMT received a request to reduce the 
lingcod minimum total length limit south of 42[deg] N lat. from 24 
inches (61 cm) to 22 inches (56 cm), in groundfish fisheries (both 
trawl and non-trawl), during periods 4 through 6 of 2023, in order to 
reduce regulatory discards and increase economic opportunity. Industry 
reported that constraints from copper and quillback rockfishes off 
California are leading to nearshore participants to seek more 
opportunity in the live fish market, which prefers fish smaller than 
the current commercial limit of 24 inches (61 cm). Lingcod is managed 
with two separate ACLs, north and south of 40[deg]10' N lat. The 2023 
ACL for lingcod south of 40[deg]10' N lat. is 726 mt. The limit of 24 
inches (61 cm) for commercial fisheries south of 42[deg] N lat. has 
been in place since 1998.
    The intended, and most likely impact of this small change to 
minimum size length is to convert regulatory discards of slightly 
smaller fish into landings, resulting in a negligible overall change in 
overall commercial fishing mortality. Additionally, the ACL for lingcod 
south of 42[deg] N lat. has shown low attainment (mean of 38, 
coefficient of variation of 35, and maximum of 60 percent, Table 2) 
over the past 10 years, and it is highly unlikely that the modest 
reduction to minimum length would have impacts of any conservation 
concern. Further, 70-90 percent of lingcod south of 40[deg] 10' N lat. 
mortality occurs in the California recreational fishery, for which the 
size limit is already 22 inches (56 cm); thus, impacts of this action 
will only affect a small fraction of overall lingcod fishing mortality.

Table 2--Commercial, Recreational, and Total Mortality of Lingcod South of 40[deg]10' N Lat., Along With ACL and
                                            ACL Attainment, 2014-2022
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                                                                              Total                      ACL
                   Year                      Commercial     Recreational    mortality     ACL (mt)    attainment
                                           mortality (mt)  mortality (mt)    (mt) \a\                 (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014.....................................              76             426          510        1,276           40
2015.....................................             113             597          718        1,205           60
2016.....................................              82             593          682        1,136           60
2017.....................................              89             453          552        1,502           37
2018.....................................             103             346          457        1,373           33
2019.....................................             123             269          397        1,143           35
2020.....................................              88             200          290          977           30
2021.....................................              82             228          311        1,255           25
2022 \b\.................................              94             226          322        1,334           24
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\a\ Commercial and recreational mortality may not sum up to the total mortality, because the total mortality
  values also include mortality from research and non-groundfish fisheries.
\b\ 2022 mortality values are a combination of landings data and a 3-year average discard mortality estimate.
  Final 2022 discard mortality estimates are not available until Fall 2023.


[[Page 52048]]


             Table 3--Options for Inseason Action on the Lingcod Size Limit South of 42[deg] N Lat.
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                       Option                                                 Description
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Current regulation..................................  The commercial minimum size limit for lingcod is 24 inches
                                                       (61 cm) total length south of 42[deg] N lat.
Council recommendation..............................  The commercial minimum size limit for lingcod is 22 inches
                                                       (56 cm) total length south of 42[deg] N lat.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Minimum size limit changes for lingcod are intended to reduce 
regulatory discards, increase retention, and potentially marginally 
increase attainment of the non-trawl, and trawl allocations. The 
proposed size limit reductions do not change projected impacts to co-
occurring rebuilding species (yelloweye rockfish) compared to the 
impacts anticipated in the 2023-2024 harvest specifications, due a 
projection of yelloweye bycatch levels assuming the entire lingcod 
allocation is attained, in the harvest specifications analysis.
    The Council recommendation reads to lower ``the minimum lingcod 
size limit to 22 inches for commercial fisheries south of 42[deg] N 
lat.''. Groundfish regulations allow for limited retention of bycatch 
of lingcod in the commercial pink shrimp fishery, and also specifies a 
minimum size limit for retention of lingcod (currently of 24 inches (61 
cm) total length). However, the Council and ancillary bodies did not 
discuss making a change to lingcod size limits in the pink shrimp 
fishery, or other non-groundfish fisheries with incidental groundfish 
catch at the June 2023 meeting. Thus, no changes to the pink shrimp 
fishery regulations are implemented within this rule.
    Therefore, the Council recommended and NMFS is implementing, by 
modifying Table 2 North, and South to part 660, subpart E, and Table 3 
North, and South to part 660, subpart F, minimum size limit changes for 
LE and OA lingcod south of 42[deg] N lat. as shown above in Table 3. 
These changes will start with Period 4 (July and August) and remain in 
place through the end of 2023 and beyond, unless otherwise modified.
    The regulation text is also revised in Sec.  660.60, paragraph 
(h)(5)(ii)(A)(2)(ii) to read as follows: ``South of 42[deg] N lat., for 
lingcod with the head removed, the minimum size limit is 18 inches (46 
cm), which corresponds to 22 inches (56 cm) total length for whole 
fish'' (limited entry fixed gear and open access); and in Sec.  660.60, 
paragraph (h)(5)(ii)(B)(2)(ii) to read as follows: ``The minimum size 
limit for lingcod South of 42[deg] N lat. is 22 inches (56 cm) total 
length for whole fish, which corresponds to 18 inches (46 cm) with the 
head removed'' (shorebased IFQ fishery).

Classification

    This final rule makes routine inseason adjustments to groundfish 
fishery management measures, based on the best scientific information 
available, consistent with the PCGFMP and its implementing regulations.
    This action is taken under the authority of 50 CFR 660.60(c) and is 
exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
    The aggregate data upon which these actions are based, are 
available for public inspection by contacting Dr. Sean Matson in NMFS 
West Coast Region (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above), or view 
at the NMFS West Coast Groundfish website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/west-coast-groundfish.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b), NMFS finds good cause to waive prior 
public notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as 
notice and comment would be impracticable and contrary to the public 
interest. The adjustments to management measures in this document 
increase trip limits and decrease size limits for fisheries off 
California to allow additional economic opportunity while keeping catch 
within allocations established by the 2023-2024 harvest specifications. 
The trip limit increases are for the LE and OA sectors for bocaccio 
south of 40[deg]10' N lat. Over the year 2023, these changes are 
projected to potentially increase economic value of the fisheries for 
bocaccio alone, by $18,519 for LE and $40,565 for OA, as well as reduce 
regulatory discards in these fisheries. The decreases to minimum length 
limits for lingcod off California fishery are needed to provide 
alternative opportunity due to conservation related constraints in the 
nearshore, in the form of smaller lingcod which are preferred for live 
markets; and to convert regulatory discards to landed catch. No aspect 
of this action is controversial, and changes of this nature were 
anticipated in the final rule for the 2023-2024 harvest specifications 
and management measures which published on December 16, 2022 (87 FR 
77007).
    Delaying implementation to allow for public comment would likely 
reduce the economic benefits to the commercial fishing industry and the 
businesses that rely on that industry, because it is unlikely the new 
regulations would publish and could be implemented in time to realize 
the projected benefits to fishing communities and the resource. A delay 
in implementation could also contribute to unnecessarily discarded and 
largely wasted fish, which could otherwise be landed to provide food 
and revenue, and responsible use of the resource. Therefore, providing 
a comment period for this action could significantly limit the economic 
benefits to the fishery, and would hamper the achievement of optimum 
yield from the affected fisheries.
    Therefore, the NMFS finds reason to waive the 30-day delay in 
effectiveness pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) so that this final rule 
may become effective upon publication in the Federal Register. The 
adjustments to management measures in this document affect fisheries by 
increasing opportunity and allowing greater economic benefit. These 
adjustments were requested by the Council's advisory bodies, as well as 
members of industry during the Council's June 2023 meeting, and 
recommended unanimously by the Council. No aspect of this action is 
controversial, and changes of this nature were anticipated in the 
biennial harvest specifications and management measures established 
through a notice and comment rulemaking for 2023-2024 (87 FR 77007).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Fisheries, Fishing, Indian fisheries.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 16 
U.S.C. 7001 et seq.

    Dated: August 1, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    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., 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 
16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.


0
2. In Sec.  660.60, revise paragraph (h)(5)(ii)(A)(2)(ii) and 
(h)(5)(ii)(B)(2)(ii) to read as follows:

[[Page 52049]]

Sec.  660.60  Specifications and management measures.

* * * * *
    (h) * * *
    (5) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (ii) South of 42[deg] N lat., for lingcod with the head removed, 
the minimum size limit is 18 inches (46 cm), which corresponds to 22 
inches (56 cm) total length for whole fish.
* * * * *
    (B) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (ii) The minimum size limit for lingcod South of 42[deg] N lat. is 
22 inches (56 cm) total length for whole fish, which corresponds to 18 
inches (46 cm) with the head removed.
* * * * *

0
3. Revise Table 2 (North) to part 660, subpart E, to read as follows:
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0
4. Revise Table 2 (South) to part 660, subpart E, to read as follows:

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR07AU23.709


0
5. Revise Table 3 (North) to part 660, subpart F, to read as follows:

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0
6. Revise Table 3 (South) to part 660, subpart F, to read as follows:

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[FR Doc. 2023-16720 Filed 8-2-23; 4:15 pm]
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