61768 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 203 / Thursday, October 21, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

Dated: September 20, 2004. 

Thomas C. Voltaggio, 

Acting Deputy Regional Administrator, 

Region III.

■ 40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are amended 

as follows:

PART 52—[AMENDED]

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart V—Maryland

■ 2. Section 52.1070 is amended by 

adding paragraph (c)(187) to read as 

follows:

§ 52.1070 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * * 

(187) The Ozone Redesignation and 

Maintenance Plan for Kent and Queen 

Anne’s Counties nonattainment area 

submitted on February 4, 2004 by the 

Maryland Department of the 

Environment: 

(i) Incorporation by reference. 

(A) A letter dated February 9, 2004 

from the Maryland Department of the 

Environment transmitting Maryland’s 

State Implementation Plan pertaining to 

the redesignation request for the Kent 

and Queen Anne’s Counties Ozone 

Nonattainment Area. 

(B) SIP Revision 03–15, Redesignation 

Request for Kent and Queen Anne’s 

Counties Ozone Nonattainment Area, 

February 4, 2004. 

(ii) Additional Material—Remainder 

of the State submittals pertaining to the 

revisions listed in paragraph (c)(187)(i) 

of this section.

PART 81—[AMENDED]

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 81 

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

■ 2. Section 81.321 is amended by 

revising the ozone table entry for Kent 

and Queen Anne’s Counties to read as 

follows:

§ 81.321 Maryland.

* * * * *

MARYLAND—OZONE (1–HOUR STANDARD) 

Designated area 

Designation Classification 

Date 1 Type Date 1 Type 

* * * * * * * 

Kent County and Queen Anne’s County Area 

Kent County ....................................................................................................... October 21, 2004 ...... Attainment.

Queen Anne’s County ....................................................................................... October 21, 2004 ...... Attainment.

* * * * * * * 

1This date is October 18, 2000, unless otherwise noted. 

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 04–23584 Filed 10–20–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 04076201–4279–02; I.D. 

060204F]

RIN 0648–AR97

Fisheries off West Coast States and in 

the Western Pacific; Coastal Pelagic 

Species Fisheries; Annual 

Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule to 

implement the annual harvest guideline 

for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the 

Pacific coast. The Coastal Pelagic 

Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) and its implementing regulations 

require NMFS to set an annual harvest 

guideline for Pacific mackerel based on 

the formula in the FMP. This action 

adopts allowable harvest levels for 

Pacific mackerel off the U.S. Pacific 

coast.

DATES: This action becomes effective 

November 22, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The report Stock 

Assessment of Pacific Mackerel with 

Recommendations for the 2004–2005 

Management Season may be obtained 

from Rodney R. McInnis, Acting 

Administrator, Southwest Region, 

NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, 

Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802. An 

regulatory impact review/regulatory 

analysis may be obtained at this same 

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tonya L. Wick, Southwest Region, 

NMFS, (562) 980–4036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS 

FMP, which was implemented by a final 

rule published in the Federal Register

on December 15, 1999 (64 FR 69888), 

divides management unit species into 

the categories of actively managed and 

monitored. Harvest guidelines of 

actively managed species (Pacific 

sardine and Pacific mackerel) are based 

on formulas applied to current biomass 

estimates. Biomass estimates are not 

calculated for species that are only 

monitored (jack mackerel, northern 

anchovy, and market squid).

At a public meeting each year, the 

biomass for each actively managed 

species is reviewed by the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council’s 

(Council) CPS Management Team 

(Team). The biomass, harvest guideline, 

and status of the fisheries are then 

reviewed at a public meeting of the 

Council’s CPS Advisory Subpanel 

(Subpanel). This information is also 

reviewed by the Council’s Scientific and 

Statistical Committee (SSC). The 

Council reviews reports from the Team, 

Subpanel, and SSC, then, after 

providing time for public comment, 

makes its recommendation to NMFS. 

The annual harvest guideline and 

season structure is published by NMFS 

in the Federal Register as soon as 

practicable before the beginning of the 

appropriate fishing season. The Pacific 

mackerel season begins on July 1 of each 

year and ends on June 30 the following 

year.

The Team and Subpanel meetings 

took place at the Long Beach, CA, office 

of the NMFS, Southwest Region, on May 

18 and 19, 2004 (69 FR 23730, April 20, 

2004, and 69 FR 24585, May 4, 2004). 

The SSC meeting took place in

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 203 / Thursday, October 21, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 61769

conjunction with the June 13–18, 2004, 

Council meeting in Foster City, CA.

A modified virtual population 

analysis stock assessment model is used 

by stock assessment scientists to 

estimate the biomass of Pacific 

mackerel. The model employs both 

fishery dependent and fishery 

independent indices to estimate 

abundance. The biomass was calculated 

through the end of 2003, then estimated 

for the fishing season that began July 1, 

2004, based on: (1) the number of 

Pacific mackerel estimated to comprise 

each year class at the beginning of 2004, 

(2) modeled estimates of fishing 

mortality during 2003, (3) assumptions 

for natural and fishing mortality through 

the first half of 2004, and (4) estimates 

of age-specific growth. Based on this 

approach the biomass for July 1, 2004, 

would be 81,383 metric tons (mt). 

Applying the formula in the FMP to this 

biomass estimate results in a harvest 

guideline of 13,268 mt, which is higher 

than last year but similar to low harvest 

guidelines of recent years.

The formula in the FMP uses the 

following factors to determine the 

harvest guideline:

1. The biomass of Pacific mackerel.

For 2004, this estimate is 81,383 mt.

2. The cutoff. This is the biomass 

level below which no commercial 

fishery is allowed. The FMP established 

the cutoff level at 18,200 mt. The cutoff 

is subtracted from the biomass, leaving 

63,183 mt.

3. The portion the Pacific mackerel 

biomass in the U. S. exclusive economic 

zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast. This 

estimate is 70 percent, based on the 

historical average of larval distribution 

obtained from scientific cruises and the 

distribution of the resource obtained 

from logbooks of aerial fish-spotters. 

Therefore, the harvestable biomass in 

U.S. EEZ waters is 70 percent of 63,183 

mt, that is, 44,228 mt.

4. The harvest fraction. This is the 

percentage of the biomass above 18,200 

mt that may be harvested. The FMP 

established the harvest fraction at 30 

percent. The harvest fraction is 

multiplied by the harvestable biomass 

in U.S. waters (44,228 mt), which 

results in 13,268 mt.

Information on the fishery and the 

stock assessment are found in the report 

Stock Assessment of Pacific Mackerel 

with Recommendations for the 2004–

2005 Management Season, which may 

be obtained by mail from Rodney R. 

McInnis, Regional Administrator (see 

ADDRESSES).

Following recommendations of the 

fishing industry and Subpanel for the 

2003–2004 fishing season, a directed 

fishery for Pacific mackerel of 7,500 mt 

was set beginning July 1, 2003, followed 

by an incidental allowance of 40 percent 

of Pacific mackerel in landings of any 

CPS, if the 7,500 mt was harvested. A 

1 mt landing of Pacific mackerel per trip 

would have been allowed if no other 

species were landed during a trip. 

NMFS implemented a directed and 

incidental fishery last season in 

response to concerns about how a low 

harvest guideline for mackerel might 

interfere with the sardine fishery. 

Pacific mackerel is often caught with 

sardine; therefore, mackerel might have 

to be discarded, which would increase 

bycatch. As of June 30, 2004, the end of 

the season, approximately 5,961 mt of 

Pacific mackerel had been landed; 

therefore, an incidental fishery was not 

necessary.

At its meeting on May 19, 2004, the 

Subpanel recommended for the 2004–

2005 fishing season that a directed 

fishery of 9,100 mt and an incidental 

fishery of 4,168 mt be implemented. An 

incidental allowance of 40 percent of 

Pacific mackerel in landings of any CPS 

would become effective when 9,100 mt 

of Pacific mackerel is estimated to be 

harvested. The Subpanel also 

recommended to allow 1 mt of mackerel 

to be landed per trip during the 

incidental fishery without landing any 

other CPS. The Subpanel recommended 

that an inseason review of the mackerel 

season be completed for the March 2005 

Council meeting, with the possibility of 

reopening the directed fishery as an 

automatic action if sufficient amount of 

the harvest guideline reserved for the 

incidental fishery remains unharvested. 

At its June 2004 meeting, the Council 

made these recommendations to NMFS. 

A proposed rule containing the 

Council’s recommendations was 

published July 20, 2004 (69 FR 43383). 

The public comment period ended on 

August 4, 2004.

One public comment was received.

Comment: One commenter generally 

criticized commercial fishing rules and 

recommended that the quota should be 

cut by 10 percent per year until the 

fishery is closed.

Response: The commenter provided 

no information to support such a 

change. Further, the comment seemed to 

be a generic one and not directed to the 

mackerel fishery, but to all commercial 

fisheries in general. Information 

provided by the stock assessment and 

recommended by the Council indicates 

that the harvest guidelines proposed are 

appropriate, therefore, NMFS has not 

changed the harvest guidelines from 

those proposed.

After a review of the information 

available and the one public comment, 

NMFS approved the Council’s 

recommendation and hereby 

implements the following measures for 

the July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, 

fishing season:

Based on the estimated biomass of 

81,383 mt and the formula in the FMP, 

a harvest guideline of 13,268 mt will be 

in effect for the fishery beginning on 

July 1, 2004. This harvest guideline 

applies to Pacific mackerel harvested in 

the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast 

beginning at 12:01 a.m. on July 1, 2004, 

and remains in effect through June 30, 

2005, unless the harvest guideline is 

attained and the fishery is closed before 

June 30, 2005. All landings made after 

July 1, 2004, will be counted toward the 

2004–2005 harvest guideline of 13,268 

mt. There shall be a directed fishery, 

followed by an incidental fishery of 

4,168 mt. An incidental allowance of 40 

percent of Pacific mackerel in landings 

of any CPS will become effective after 

the date when 9,100 mt of Pacific 

mackerel is estimated to have been 

harvested. A landing of 1 mt of Pacific 

mackerel per trip will be permitted 

during the incidental fishery for trips in 

which no other CPS is landed.

Classification

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that the 

proposed rule for this action would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The factual basis for the certification 

was published in the proposed rule. No 

comments were received regarding the 

economic impacts of this action. As a 

result, a regulatory flexibility analysis 

was not prepared.

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

Dated: October 15, 2004.

Rebecca Lent,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–23595 Filed 10–20–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S