Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 1, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 11161 

vessels have demonstrated the capacity 

to catch the TAC allocations in these 

fisheries. Any delay in allocating the 

final TACs in these fisheries would 

cause confusion to the industry and 

potential economic harm through 

unnecessary discards. Determining 

which fisheries may close is impossible 

because these fisheries are affected by 

several factors that cannot be predicted 

in advance, including fishing effort, 

weather, movement of fishery stocks, 

and market price. Furthermore, the 

closure of one fishery has a cascading 

effect on other fisheries by freeing up 

fishing vessels, allowing them to move 

from closed fisheries to open ones, 

increasing the fishing capacity in those 

open fisheries and causing them to close 

at an accelerated pace. 

In fisheries subject to declining 

sideboards, a failure to implement the 

updated sideboards before initial 

season’s end could preclude the 

intended economic protection to the 

non-sideboarded sectors. Conversely, in 

fisheries with increasing sideboards, 

economic benefit could be precluded to 

the sideboarded sectors. 

If the final harvest specifications are 

not effective by March 12, 2011, which 

is the start of the 2011 Pacific halibut 

season as specified by the IPHC, the 

hook-and-line sablefish fishery will not 

begin concurrently with the Pacific 

halibut IFQ season. Delayed 

effectiveness of this action would result 

in confusion for sablefish harvesters and 

economic harm from unnecessary 

discard of sablefish that are caught 

along with Pacific halibut, as both hookand-line sablefish and Pacific halibut 

are managed under the same IFQ 

program. Immediate effectiveness of the 

final 2011 and 2012 harvest 

specifications will allow the sablefish 

IFQ fishery to begin concurrently with 

the Pacific halibut IFQ season. Also, the 

immediate effectiveness of this action is 

required to provide consistent 

management and conservation of fishery 

resources based on the best available 

scientific information. This is 

particularly true of those species which 

have lower 2011 ABCs and TACs than 

those established in the 2010 and 2011 

harvest specifications (75 FR 11778, 

March 12, 2010). Immediate 

effectiveness also would give the fishing 

industry the earliest possible 

opportunity to plan and conduct its 

fishing operations with respect to new 

information about TAC limits. 

Therefore, NMFS finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

This final rule is a plain language 

guide to assist small entities in 

complying with this final rule as 

required by the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996. This final rule’s primary purpose 

is to announce the final 2011 and 2012 

harvest specifications and prohibited 

species bycatch allowances for the 

groundfish fisheries of the BSAI. This 

action is necessary to establish harvest 

limits and associated management 

measures for groundfish during the 2011 

and 2012 fishing years and to 

accomplish the goals and objectives of 

the FMP. This action affects all 

fishermen who participate in the BSAI 

fisheries. The specific amounts of OFL, 

ABC, TAC, and PSC are provided in 

tables to assist the reader. NMFS will 

announce closures of directed fishing in 

the Federal Register and information 

bulletins released by the Alaska Region. 

Affected fishermen should keep 

themselves informed of such closures. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 

1540(f); 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 

3631 et seq.; Pub. L. 105–277; Pub. L. 106– 

31; Pub. L. 106–554; Pub. L. 108–199; Pub. 

L. 108–447; Pub. L. 109–241; Pub. L. 109– 

479. 

Dated: February 23, 2011. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4538 Filed 2–28–11; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket Nos. 0910131362–0087–02 and 

0910131363–0087–02] 

RIN 0648–XA256 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Sablefish Managed 

Under the Individual Fishing Quota 

Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; opening. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is opening directed 

fishing for sablefish with fixed gear 

managed under the Individual Fishing 

Quota (IFQ) Program and the 

Community Development Quota (CDQ) 

Program. The season will open 1200 hrs, 

Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 12, 

2011, and will close 1200 hrs, A.l.t., 

November 18, 2011. This period is the 

same as the 2011 commercial halibut 

fishery opening dates adopted by the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission. The IFQ and CDQ halibut 

season is specified by a separate 

publication in the Federal Register of 

annual management measures. 

DATES: Effective March 1, 2011, until 

1200 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning 

in 1995, fishing for Pacific halibut and 

sablefish with fixed gear in the IFQ 

regulatory areas defined in 50 CFR 679.2 

has been managed under the IFQ 

Program. The IFQ Program is a 

regulatory regime designed to promote 

the conservation and management of 

these fisheries and to further the 

objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut 

Act. Persons holding quota share receive 

an annual allocation of IFQ. Persons 

receiving an annual allocation of IFQ 

are authorized to harvest IFQ species 

within specified limitations. Further 

information on the implementation of 

the IFQ Program, and the rationale 

supporting it, are contained in the 

preamble to the final rule implementing 

the IFQ Program published in the 

Federal Register, November 9, 1993 (58 

FR 59375) and subsequent amendments. 

This announcement is consistent with 

§ 679.23(g)(1), which requires that the 

directed fishing season for sablefish 

managed under the IFQ Program be 

specified by the Administrator, Alaska 

Region, and announced by publication 

in the Federal Register. This method of 

season announcement was selected to 

facilitate coordination between the 

sablefish season, chosen by the 

Administrator, Alaska Region, and the 

halibut season, adopted by the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC). The directed 

fishing season for sablefish with fixed 

gear managed under the IFQ Program 

will open 1200 hrs, A.l.t., March 12, 

2011, and will close 1200 hrs, A.l.t., 

November 18, 2011. This period runs 

concurrently with the IFQ season for 

Pacific halibut announced by the IPHC. 

The IFQ halibut season will be specified 

by a separate publication in the Federal 

Register of annual management 

measures pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

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11162 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 1, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

(AA), 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) as such requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

delay the opening of the sablefish 

fishery thereby increasing bycatch and 

regulatory discards between the 

sablefish fishery and the halibut fishery, 

and preventing the accomplishment of 

the management objective for 

simultaneous opening of these two 

fisheries. NMFS was unable to publish 

a notice providing time for public 

comment because the most recent, 

relevant data only became available as 

of February 23, 2011. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

This action is required by § 679.23 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: February 24, 2011. 

Margo Schulze-Haugen, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4541 Filed 2–28–11; 8:45 am] 

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