[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 108 (Friday, June 6, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24081-24082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10330]
[[Page 24081]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 300
[RTID 0648-XE948]
Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast; 2025 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: NMFS announces inseason action for the Pacific halibut
recreational fishery in the International Pacific Halibut Commission's
(IPHC) regulatory Area 2A. This action adds fishing dates (June 9, 10,
16, 17, and 30) in the Columbia River subarea. The additional fishing
dates are intended to provide opportunity for anglers necessary to
achieve the overall recreational fishery allocation in the Pacific
Fishery Management Council's (Council) 2025 Pacific Halibut Catch
Sharing Plan.
DATES: Effective June 9, 2025, through September 30, 2025. Comments due
on or before June 23, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2024-0139, 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-2024-0139 in the Search box.
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Jennifer Quan, Regional
Administrator, c/o Heather Fitch, West Coast Region, NMFS, 501 W Ocean
Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802.
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 https://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/2025-pacific-halibut-recreational-fishery and at the Council's website at
https://www.pcouncil.org. Other comments received may be accessed
through https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Fitch, (360) 867-8608, or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On April 2, 2025, NMFS published a final rule (90 FR 14422)
implementing the 2025 Area 2A recreational (sport) fishery bag limits,
fishing dates, and subarea allocations for all subareas in IPHC
regulatory Area 2A. Inseason modifications to Area 2A recreational
fisheries, including bag limits, state and subarea allocations, and
fishing days per calendar week (i.e., fishing dates) are authorized
under 50 CFR 300.63(c)(6), if it is determined it is necessary to meet
the allocation objectives and if the action will not result in
exceeding the allocation.
The final rule published on April 2, 2025 (90 FR 14422) that
implemented the 2025 recreational fishery management measures also
stated that, if at least 55 percent of the Columbia River subarea
allocation remains as of May 25, 2025, then NMFS may take inseason
action to add the following dates to the all-depth fishery: June 9, 10,
16, 17, and 30.
In accordance with 50 CFR 300.63(c), inseason actions are announced
in the Federal Register and also on the NMFS hotline at (206) 526-6667
or (800) 662-9825. Weekly catch reports are available on their
respective state Fish and Wildlife agency websites. NMFS will continue
to monitor recreational catch estimates for all subareas obtained via
state sampling procedures until NMFS has determined that there is not
sufficient allocation for another full day of fishing and the area is
closed by NMFS, or until there are no more open fishing dates,
whichever is earlier.
After consulting with the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife (WDFW) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW),
and other appropriate entities, NMFS has determined that the following
action is necessary to meet the management objective of achieving, but
not exceeding, the subarea allocations. This action was not previously
implemented in the final rule on April 2, 2025 (90 FR 14422). This
action is intended to provide opportunity for anglers to achieve the
overall Area 2A recreational fishery allocation.
Inseason Action
The Pacific halibut fishery regulations for Area 2A at 50 CFR
300.63(c)(6) provide NMFS with the authority to modify annual
management measures inseason, including fishing periods, following
consultation with the Council, IPHC and the affected states, where such
inseason modifications action is necessary to allow allocation
objectives to be met and will not result in exceeding the allocation
for Area 2A (50 CFR 300.63(c)(6)(i)(A), (i)(B) and (ii)(A)).
The Columbia River subarea recreational fishery opened on May 1,
2025. On May 25, 2025, catch estimates in the Columbia River subarea
indicated that the remaining allocation was likely to exceed 55 percent
of the subarea allocation, the threshold established in the final rule
(90 FR 14422, April 2, 2025) to indicate that adding fishing dates may
be warranted. Updated catch estimates show that, through May 25, 2025,
anglers in the Columbia River subarea have harvested 8,745 pounds (3.97
mt) of the 19,087 pounds (8.7 mt) available for that subarea, leaving
10,342 pounds, or 54 percent remaining. Although the estimated
remaining allocation is slightly under the 55 percent threshold
described in the final rule (90 FR 14422, April 2, 2025) for setting
additional dates in June by 156 pounds (0.07 mt), sufficient allocation
remains to warrant adding fishing dates in the Columbia River subarea
all-depth fishery. Catches on May 23 and 25, 2025, were anomalously
high and current projections continue to indicate that a portion of the
subarea allocation would go unharvested without additional fishing
dates.
This inseason action implements the following additional fishing
dates for the Columbia River subarea all-depth fishery:
June 9, 10, 16, 17, and 30
If the subarea allocation is projected to be reached prior to June
30, the subarea will be closed when there is not sufficient subarea
allocation for another full day of fishing.
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)(6), and is exempt from review under Executive Order
12866.
[[Page 24082]]
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
29, 2025, showing that through May 25, 2025, an estimated 54 percent of
the Columbia River subarea annual allocation was remaining. The final
rule (90 FR 14422, April 2, 2025) specifies that when the remaining
allocation in the Columbia River Subarea is at least 55 percent of the
subarea allocation as of May 25, 2025, additional fishing dates may be
warranted to increase angler opportunity to reach the overall subarea
and Area 2A recreational fishery allocations. Although the remaining
Columbia River subarea allocation is slightly under the threshold for
additional dates in June, projections indicate that a portion of the
Area 2A allocation would likely go unharvested without additional
fishing dates, and thus that this inseason action is necessary to allow
for the Area 2A allocation objectives to be met in accordance with 50
CFR 300.63(c)(6)(i)(A). This action should be implemented as soon as
possible to allow fishery participants time to prepare to take
advantage of the additional fishing dates. As the subarea closes on
September 30, 2025, implementing this action through proposed and final
rulemaking would undermine the benefit this action is intended to
provide to fishery participants. Without implementation of additional
fishing dates in the Columbia River subarea, the overall Area 2A
recreational fishery allocation is unlikely to be harvested this year,
thus limiting the economic benefits of the fishery to the fishery
participants and obstructing the goals of the 2025 Catch Sharing Plan.
It is necessary that this rulemaking be implemented in a timely manner
so that planning for additional fishing dates can take place, and to
allow 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 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)(6)(iv).
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, be inconsistent with the goals of the 2025 Catch Sharing
Plan, and potentially limit the economic opportunity intended by this
rule to the associated fishing communities. This inseason action is not
expected to result in exceeding the allocation for the Columbia River
subarea or IPHC regulatory Area 2A. NMFS regulations allow the Regional
Administrator to modify sport fishing periods, bag limits, size limits,
days per calendar week, and subarea allocations, when the action
supports allocation objectives being met, and provided that such action
will not result in exceeding the catch limit for the subarea. NMFS
recently received information on the progress of landings in the
recreational fisheries in the Columbia River subarea, indicating
additional season dates should be implemented in the fishery to ensure
optimal harvest of the subarea allocation. As stated above, it is in
the public interest that this action not be delayed, because a delay in
the effectiveness of these new dates could prevent the allocation
objectives of the recreational Pacific halibut fishery from being met.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773-773k.
Dated: June 3, 2025.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-10330 Filed 6-5-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P