Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 75417 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 090428799–9802–01] 

RIN 0648–BA44 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 

Inseason Adjustments to Fishery 

Management Measures 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments 

to biennial groundfish management 

measures; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This final rule makes 

inseason adjustments to commercial and 

tribal fishery management measures for 

several groundfish species taken in the 

U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off 

the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and 

California. These actions, which are 

authorized by the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP), are intended to allow fisheries to 

access more abundant groundfish stocks 

while protecting overfished and 

depleted stocks. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) 

December 1, 2010. Comments on this 

final rule must be received no later than 

5 p.m., local time on January 3, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–BA44, by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Fax: 206–526–6736, Attn: Gretchen 

Hanshew. 

• Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., 

Regional Administrator, Northwest 

Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way, 

NE., Seattle, WA 98115–0070, Attn: 

Gretchen Hanshew. 

Instructions: No comments will be 

posted for public viewing until after the 

comment period has closed. All 

comments received are a part of the 

public record and will generally be 

posted to http://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (for example, name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter may be publicly 

accessible. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gretchen Hanshew (Northwest Region, 

NMFS), 206–526–6147, fax: 206–526– 

6736, gretchen.hanshew@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This final rule is accessible via the 

Internet at the Office of the Federal 

Register’s Web site at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

Background information and documents 

are available at the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (the Council or 

PFMC) Web site at http:// 

www.pcouncil.org/. 

Background 

On December 31, 2008, NMFS 

published a proposed rule to implement 

the 2009–2010 specifications and 

management measures for the Pacific 

Coast groundfish fishery (73 FR 80516). 

The final rule to implement the 2009– 

2010 specifications and management 

measures for the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery was published on 

March 6, 2009 (74 FR 9874). This final 

rule was subsequently amended by 

inseason actions on April 27, 2009 (74 

FR 19011), July 6, 2009 (74 FR 31874), 

October 28, 2009 (74 FR 55468), 

February 26, 2010 (75 FR 8820), May 4, 

2010 (75 FR 23620), July 1, 2010 (75 FR 

38030), July 16, 2010 (75 FR 41386), 

August 23, 2010 (75 FR 51684); and 

October 4, 2010 (75 FR 61102). 

Additional changes to the 2009–2010 

specifications and management 

measures for petrale sole were made in 

two final rules: On November 4, 2009 

(74 FR 57117), and December 10, 2009 

(74 FR 65480). NMFS issued a final rule 

in response to a duly issued court order 

on July 8, 2010 (75 FR 39178). NMFS 

also issued a final rule to implement 

Amendments 20 and 21 to the Pacific 

Coast Groundfish Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) on October 1, 2010 (75 FR 

60868). The October 1, 2010 final rule, 

in part, re-organized the entire Pacific 

Coast Groundfish Fishery Regulations. 

Because of the restructuring, beginning 

on November 1, 2010, these 

specifications and management 

measures are at 50 CFR part 660, 

subparts C through G. 

Changes to the groundfish 

management measures implemented by 

this action were recommended by the 

Council, in consultation with Pacific 

Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and the 

States of Washington, Oregon, and 

California, at its November 2–10, 2010, 

meeting in Costa Mesa, CA. The Council 

recommended adjusting the groundfish 

management measures to respond to 

updated fishery information and other 

inseason management needs. These 

changes include: Expansion of the trawl 

Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) and 

a closure of the minor slope rockfish 

and darkblotched rockfish fishing in the 

limited entry trawl commercial fisheries 

off Washington, Oregon, and northern 

California (north of 40°10′ N. lat.); 

reductions to sector specific bycatch 

limits of darkblotched rockfish for all 

sectors of the primary Pacific whiting 

fishery; reductions to daily trip limits 

(DTL) for sablefish in the limited entry 

fixed gear fishery south of 36° N. lat. 

and a closure of the open access 

commercial fisheries for sablefish in 

that same area; increases to sablefish 

DTL limits in the limited entry fixed 

gear and open access commercial 

fisheries north of 36° N. lat.; and 

changes to the Makah tribal midwater 

trawl fishery management measures. 

Limited Entry Trawl Fishery 

At their November 2–10, 2010, 

meeting, the Council received new data 

and analyses on the catch of groundfish 

in the limited entry non-whiting trawl 

fishery. As described below, the Council 

considered inseason actions to reduce 

the mortality of darkblotched rockfish in 

the limited entry non-whiting trawl 

fishery and the limited entry primary 

season whiting fishery, the fisheries in 

which most darkblotched rockfish are 

taken. Cumulative limit fishing Period 

6, November-December, was already 

underway by the Council’s November 

meeting. Because the new information 

was available so late in the year, making 

inseason changes to fishing regulations 

as quickly as possible can only affect the 

last 4–5 weeks of the year. 

The Council uses a model to predict 

annual groundfish mortality in the 

limited entry non-whiting trawl fishery. 

At the November 2010 meeting, the 

Groundfish Management Team (GMT), 

an advisory body to the Council, 

determined that the model was 

underestimating the mortality of 

darkblotched rockfish. The model uses 

historical data, weighted more heavily 

towards the most recent year, to predict 

how current management measures will 

affect the mortality of groundfish 

species. The model has limited ability to 

account for recent, large-scale shifts in 

fishing effort and target catch species 

composition for use in its projection of 

bycatch species’ total mortality. 

Instead of relying solely on the model 

projections, which were by then 

understood to be too low for 


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darkblotched rockfish, the GMT made 

an adjustment to the model to produce 

a better estimate of the mortality of 

darkblotched rockfish through the end 

of 2010. The GMT used the best 

inseason estimates of landings of 

darkblotched rockfish, through October 

2010, to project what the darkblotched 

rockfish landings may be through the 

rest of the year. An assumption was also 

made about the discard rate (assumed to 

be 50 percent of the darkblotched total 

mortality, a 5-year average, weighted 

toward the most recent data) to estimate 

how much darkblotched rockfish was 

discarded in 2010, and that discard 

mortality estimate was added to the 

landed mortality estimate to produce an 

estimate of total mortality of 

darkblotched rockfish through the end 

of the year. Using the adjusted 

projection, the GMT projected that 335 

mt of darkblotched rockfish would be 

caught in the limited entry non-whiting 

trawl fishery, through the end of the 

year, if no action were taken to reduce 

impacts. This level of mortality in the 

limited entry non-whiting trawl fishery, 

combined with projected impacts to 

darkblotched rockfish from all other 

fisheries, would exceed the 2010 

darkblotched rockfish OY of 330 mt by 

53 mt, or approximately 16 percent. 

Darkblotched rockfish total mortality 

is highly variable, largely due to the 

high variability in the discard rate and 

its sensitivity to area closures and slope 

rockfish trip limits. Because the 

adjusted projection of darkblotched 

rockfish mortality assumed a discard 

rate, which is known to be highly 

variable, the point estimate of the total 

mortality for darkblotched rockfish in 

the limited entry non-whiting trawl 

fishery is highly uncertain. If the actual 

2010 trawl discard rate is lower than 

assumed, total mortality, which 

includes mortality estimates from all 

other sources, of darkblotched rockfish 

could actually be well below the 2010 

OY. If the actual 2010 discard rate is 

higher than assumed, total mortality of 

darkblotched rockfish could actually be 

higher than projected. However, NMFS 

anticipates that the assumed bycatch 

rate of 50 percent may be higher than 

the actual discard rate for early 2010 

because landings were very high from 

January–April, when there was a large 

trip limit in place. It is very likely that, 

with the high landings early in the year, 

discards during this time were much 

lower than 50 percent. If that is the case, 

the adjusted projection that resulted in 

a projected impact of 335 mt of 

darkblotched rockfish is more likely to 

be an overestimate. 

The Council considered and 

recommended expanding the northern 

trawl RCA seaward as soon as possible 

after their November meeting, for the 

remainder of 2010, in order to close 

areas where darkblotched rockfish are 

encountered, and to therefore lower 

impacts to darkblotched rockfish. The 

Council also considered and 

recommended reductions to the trip 

limits for ‘‘minor slope rockfish and 

darkblotched rockfish’’ to lower the 

landings of darkblotched rockfish 

through the end of the year. These 

changes to management measures are 

intended reduce the total mortality of 

darkblotched rockfish. Using the 

adjusted projection, assuming a 50 

percent discard rate, the GMT projected 

298 mt of darkblotched rockfish 

mortality in the limited entry nonwhiting trawl fishery through the end of 

the year if the RCA was expanded and 

the trip limits were ‘‘closed’’ on 

December 1, 2011. Reducing a twomonth limit in the middle of the period 

has limited effectiveness, because many 

vessels may have already taken their full 

limit, and others could swiftly take 

theirs before the recommended 

reduction can be implemented. 

Nonetheless, the trip limits for slope 

and darkblotched rockfish are being 

reduced to zero, as of December 1, 2010. 

Because the new fishery information 

and analyses were available so late in 

the year, the options for restrictions to 

fishery management measures that 

would reduce darkblotched rockfish 

impacts are limited. However, the 

restrictions proposed for the last 4–5 

weeks of the year in the limited entry 

non-whiting trawl fishery are 

anticipated to reduce the projected total 

impacts to darkblotched rockfish by 

approximately 37 mt. 

The Council did not recommend 

changes to management measures in the 

limited entry non-whiting trawl fishery 

south of 40°10′ N. lat. to reduce impacts 

to darkblotched rockfish. This is 

because only a very small amount of 

darkblotched rockfish are encountered 

in the limited entry non-whiting trawl 

fishery south of 40°10′ N. lat., and even 

drastic restrictions were not projected to 

reduce impacts by an appreciable 

amount. 

Based on the considerations outlined 

above, the Council recommended and 

NMFS is implementing the following 

changes to the trawl RCA and 

cumulative limits in the limited entry 

non-whiting trawl fishery North of 

40°10′ N. lat.: Modify the NovemberDecember 2010 bi-monthly cumulative 

limit from ‘‘4,000 lb per two months’’ to 

‘‘4,000 lb per month’’ for the month of 

November only, effective on December 

1, 2010; decrease the minor slope 

rockfish and darkblotched rockfish bimonthly cumulative limit in December 

to ‘‘CLOSED’’ beginning on December 1, 

2010 through the end of the year; and 

shift the seaward boundary of the trawl 

RCA from ‘‘the boundary line 

approximating the 200 fm depth contour 

and modified to allow fishing for petrale 

sole’’ to ‘‘the boundary line 

approximating the 250 fm depth 

contour’’ beginning on December 1, 2010 

through the end of the year. 

The Council also considered 

restrictions in the limited entry Pacific 

whiting midwater trawl fishery to 

reduce the potential harvest of 

darkblotched rockfish at the end of the 

year. The Pacific whiting fishery is 

managed with sector specific bycatch 

limits for several species, one of which 

is darkblotched rockfish. Several 

thousand metric tons of Pacific whiting 

have yet to be harvested in this fishery 

through the end of the year. Historical 

information and anecdotal testimony 

indicate that darkblotched bycatch in 

the whiting fishery is lower later in the 

year. Therefore, there is a considerable 

amount of the darkblotched rockfish 

bycatch limits that will likely go 

unharvested. The most recent fishery 

information, available on November 4, 

2010, indicated that: The catcher/ 

processor sector had taken only 2.3 mt 

of their 8.5 mt darkblotched rockfish 

bycatch limit, had 17 percent of their 

whiting allocation remaining to be 

harvested, and was continuing to fish; 

the mothership sector had taken 5.5 mt 

of their 6.0 mt darkblotched rockfish 

bycatch limit, had only 2,000 mt of their 

whiting allocation remaining, and was 

unlikely to harvest this remaining 

amount; and the shorebased sector had 

taken only 4.0 mt of their 10.5 mt 

darkblotched rockfish bycatch limit, had 

17 percent left of their whiting 

allocation, and it was likely that only a 

few vessels would continue to fish for 

whiting. Fishers in the Pacific whiting 

fishery informed the Council that it was 

their intent to fish deeper than 170 fm, 

which is beyond the area in which the 

majority of darkblotched are 

encountered, to help ensure that 

darkblotched catch would remain much 

lower than their bycatch limits. The 

Council considered reductions to the 

sector specific bycatch limits for 

darkblotched rockfish that would 

reduce the remaining potential impacts 

in the primary whiting fishery, while 

still allowing the fishery to harvest their 

remaining allocations of Pacific whiting 

Based on the considerations outlined 

above, the Council recommended and 

NMFS is implementing the following 

changes to the sector specific bycatch 

limits for darkblotched rockfish in the 

limited entry Pacific whiting midwater 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 75419 

trawl fishery, beginning on December 1: 

Reduce the darkblotched rockfish 

bycatch limit for the catcher/processor 

sector from 8.5 mt to 5.5 mt (of which 

2.3 mt had already be taken); reduce the 

darkblotched rockfish bycatch limit for 

the mothership sector from 6.0 mt to 5.5 

mt (which had already been taken); and 

reduce the darkblotched rockfish 

bycatch limit for the shorebased sector 

from 10.5 mt to 5.0 mt (of which 4.0 mt 

had already been taken). It appears that 

4.2 mt of darkblotched rockfish was 

available for harvest in this fishery as of 

November 1, 2010, through the end of 

the year, some of which may already be 

taken before this action is effective. 

With the changes to fishery 

management measures described above, 

the total projected impacts to 

darkblotched rockfish through the end 

of the year is 337 mt, which exceeds the 

2010 darkblotched rockfish OY of 330 

mt by 7 mt, or approximately 2 percent. 

The projected impact of 337 mt includes 

298 mt from the limited entry nonwhiting trawl fishery and also assumes 

that all sectors of the Pacific whiting 

fishery will catch their entire revised 

sector specific darkblotched rockfish 

bycatch limits (that is, the 4.2 mt was 

available for harvest in this fishery as of 

November 1, 2010, through the end of 

the year). As described above, the 

adjusted projection for the limited entry 

non-whiting trawl fishery are highly 

uncertain and is likely to be an 

overestimate of impacts. In addition, it 

is unlikely that the catcher processor 

and shorebased sectors will catch their 

entire sector specific bycatch limits of 

darkblotched rockfish this year. Based 

on these considerations, and with the 

restrictions to the limited entry trawl 

fishery and the precautionary measures 

that the Pacific whiting fishers will take 

to avoid bycatch of darkblotched 

rockfish, it is probable that the actual 

total mortality of darkblotched rockfish 

will be kept below the 2010 OY of 330 

mt. The most accurate 2010 discard rate 

of darkblotched rockfish in the nonwhiting trawl fishery, and the total 

mortality of darkblotched rockfish in the 

entire groundfish fishery, will only be 

known after the west coast groundfish 

observer program publishes the 2010 

total mortality report, between July 2011 

and January 2012. 

Sablefish Daily Trip Limit Fishery 

North of 36≥ N. Lat. 

The Council considered increases to 

sablefish trip limits for the Limited 

Entry and Open Access Daily Trip Limit 

(DTL) fisheries north of 36° N. lat. at 

their June and September 2010 

meetings. Trip limits were modestly 

increased for the Limited Entry DTL 

fishery after the June 2010 meeting 

because that fishery was tracking lower 

than anticipated. Changes to 

management measures were not 

recommended for either sector at the 

September 2010 meeting because 

available information indicated that 

catches were tracking similar to 

anticipated levels for the limited entry 

fixed gear fishery, and there was a 

possibility of effort shifts from south to 

north of 36° N. latitude due to trip-limit 

reductions to sablefish in the south. 

Catch of sablefish in the limited entry 

fixed gear and open access daily trip 

limit (DTL) fisheries north of 36° N. lat. 

are anticipated to be below their 

allocations. Based on the most recent 

fishery information, if no action is taken 

and catch remains lower than expected, 

landings of sablefish through the end of 

the year would be: 281 mt, or 88 percent 

of the limited entry fixed gear sablefish 

DTL fishery allocation of 321 mt; and 

435 mt, or 82 percent of the open access 

fishery sablefish allocation of 529 mt. 

The Council considered options for trip 

limit increases in the limited entry fixed 

gear and open access sablefish DTL 

fisheries north of 36° N. lat. to allow 

these fisheries to attain a higher 

proportion of their sablefish allocations, 

while keeping total projected catch 

below the 2010 sablefish OY for the area 

north of 36° N. lat. 

Projected impacts to overfished 

species in the limited entry fixed gear 

and open access fisheries are calculated 

assuming the entire sablefish OY is 

harvested. Therefore, increases to trip 

limits to allow additional fishing 

opportunities do not result in changes to 

projected impacts to co-occurring 

overfished groundfish species. The total 

projected impacts to darkblotched 

rockfish in the limited entry fixed gear 

and open access fisheries are very low. 

Based on the considerations outlined 

above, the Council recommended and 

NMFS is implementing a modest 

increase in the limited entry fixed gear 

sablefish DTL fishery weekly limits 

north of 36° N. lat. from ‘‘1,750 lb per 

week, not to exceed 8,000 lb per two 

months’’ to ‘‘2,000 lb per week, not to 

exceed 8,000 lb per two months’’ 

beginning on December 1, 2010 through 

the end of the year. 

Based on the considerations outlined 

above, the Council recommended and 

NMFS is implementing increases to the 

open access sablefish DTL fishery trip 

limits north of 36° N. lat. from ‘‘300 lb 

per day, or 1 landing per week of up to 

950 lb, not to exceed 2,750 lb per two 

months’’ to ‘‘400 lb per day, or 1 landing 

per week of up to 1,500 lb, not to exceed 

4,500 lb per two months’’ beginning on 

December 1, 2010 through the end of the 

year. 

Sablefish DTL Fishery South of 36≥ N. 

Lat. 

Catch of sablefish in the limited entry 

fixed gear and open access DTL fisheries 

south of 36° N. lat. has been higher than 

anticipated. In September, the Council 

recommended and NMFS implemented 

modest decreases to sablefish weekly 

limits in the limited entry fixed gear 

fishery, and more substantial decreases 

to the open access sablefish trip limits. 

The changes that went into effect on 

October 1, 2010 were anticipated to 

lower the projected impacts by 

approximately 45 percent and keep 

projected impacts within the sablefish 

OY south of 36° N. lat. Based on the 

most recent fishery information, if no 

additional action is taken and catch 

remains higher than expected, landings 

of sablefish through the end of the year 

would be 1,319 mt. This level of catch 

would exceed the 2010 sablefish OY for 

the area south of 36° N. lat. of 1,258 mt 

by approximately 5 percent. The 

Council considered several 

combinations of trip limit reductions in 

the limited entry fixed gear and open 

access sablefish DTL fisheries south of 

36° N. lat. to allow some fishing 

opportunities to remain open in 

December 2010, while preventing the 

2010 sablefish OY for the area south of 

36° N. lat. from being exceeded. Options 

were somewhat more limited than in 

September 2010, because only a single 

month of fishing can be restricted in this 

late-season inseason action. 

Sablefish landings from July through 

October 2010 indicate that sablefish 

catch were higher in these fisheries 

during July 2010 than estimated in 

September 2010. The Council 

considered several options for reducing 

the sablefish catch late in the season. 

The Council considered closing both the 

limited entry and open access fisheries 

for sablefish beginning on December 1, 

2010 through the end of the year. 

However, the higher than anticipated 

catch of sablefish is primarily due to 

increased effort in the open access 

fishery. Because the participation in the 

open access fishery is not limited, it is 

more difficult to project and to control 

the harvest in that fishery. Therefore, 

the Council considered larger 

restrictions in the open access sablefish 

DTL fishery, including complete 

closure. Modest decreases were 

necessary for the limited entry fixed 

gear fishery to further reduce projected 

impacts and to prevent the 2010 

sablefish OY from being exceeded. With 

the closure of the open access sablefish 

fishery and the limited entry fixed gear 


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fishery trip limit reductions, projected 

impacts are not anticipated to exceed 

2010 sablefish OY for the area south of 

36° N. lat. of 1,258 mt. 

West Coast Groundfish Observer data 

indicate that impacts to overfished 

species in the commercial fixed gear 

sablefish fisheries south of 36° N. lat. 

are extremely low. Therefore, decreases 

to trip limits to prevent exceeding the 

2010 sablefish OY are not anticipated to 

result in changes to impacts to cooccurring overfished groundfish species. 

Based on the considerations outlined 

above, the Council recommended and 

NMFS is implementing a decrease in the 

limited entry fixed gear sablefish DTL 

fishery cumulative limits south of 36° N. 

lat. from ‘‘2,800 lb per week’’ to ‘‘1,800 

lb per week’’ beginning on December 1, 

2010 through the end of the year. 

Based on the considerations outlined 

above, the Council recommended and 

NMFS is implementing restrictions to 

the open access sablefish DTL fishery 

trip limits south of 36° N. lat. from ‘‘800 

lb per week, not to exceed 1,600 lb per 

month’’ to ‘‘CLOSED’’ beginning on 

December 1, 2010 through the end of the 

year. 

Tribal Fishery Management Measures 

The Council considered a request 

from the Makah Tribe, a Washington 

State coastal treaty tribe, to increase the 

amount of yellowtail rockfish that 

would be available in the tribal fisheries 

for 2010. The Makah Tribe would like 

to test the use of electric jig machines 

in the midwater fishery to see if 

overfished species are encountered in 

an area before they set the midwater 

trawl net. These activities are 

anticipated to reduce bycatch rate of cooccurring overfished species, primarily 

widow rockfish and canary rockfish, in 

the midwater trawl fishery. Bycatch of 

widow rockfish has been higher than 

anticipated in the tribal midwater trawl 

fishery in 2010, and the Makah Tribe 

anticipates that, if testing is successful, 

the use of electric jigs could lower 

bycatch rates and increase access to 

yellowtail rockfish in the future. The 

Makah Tribe requested an additional 

187 mt of yellowtail rockfish, from 490 

mt to 677 mt, to allow the testing of the 

jig gear that may reduce bycatch of cooccurring overfished rockfish. In order 

to do the initial testing of the jig gear, 

some additional catch of widow 

rockfish and canary rockfish is 

anticipated. However, total impacts, 

when combined with those in other 

fisheries, are not anticipated to exceed 

the 2010 rebuilding OYs for these 

species. 

Yellowtail rockfish north of 40°30′ N. 

lat. was assessed in 2005 and is a 

healthy stock. Yellowtail rockfish are 

underutilized because of fishing 

restrictions to protect co-occurring 

overfished species. The most recent 

fishery information indicates that less 

than 19 percent of the 2010 yellowtail 

OY in this area has been caught. 

Based on the considerations outlined 

above, the Council recommended and 

NMFS is implementing an increase in 

the yellowtail rockfish catch limit for 

the Makah Tribe’s midwater trawl 

fishery. 

Classification 

This final rule makes routine inseason 

adjustments to groundfish fishery 

management measures based on the best 

available information and is taken 

pursuant to the regulations 

implementing the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish FMP. 

These actions are taken under the 

authority of 50 CFR 660.370(c) and are 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

These inseason adjustments are taken 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act), and are in accordance with 50 CFR 

part 660, the regulations implementing 

the FMP. These actions are based on the 

most recent data available. The 

aggregate data upon which these actions 

are based are available for public 

inspection at the Office of the 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, (see ADDRESSES) during business 

hours. 

For the following reasons, NMFS 

finds good cause to waive prior public 

notice and comment on the revisions to 

groundfish management measures under 

5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) because notice and 

comment would be impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest. Also, for 

the same reasons, NMFS finds good 

cause to waive the 30-day delay in 

effectiveness pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3), so that this final rule may 

become effective as quickly as possible. 

The recently available data upon 

which these recommendations were 

based was provided to the Council, and 

the Council made its recommendations, 

at its November 2–10, 2010, meeting in 

Costa Mesa, CA. The Council 

recommended that these changes be 

implemented by December 1, 2010 or as 

quickly as possible. There was not 

sufficient time after that meeting to draft 

this document and undergo proposed 

and final rulemaking before these 

actions need to be in effect. For the 

actions to be implemented in this final 

rule, affording the time necessary for 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment would prevent the Agency 

from managing fisheries using the best 

available science to approach, without 

exceeding, the OYs for federally 

managed species in accordance with the 

FMP and applicable laws. The 

adjustments to management measures in 

this document affect commercial 

fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and 

California and commercial tribal 

fisheries off Washington. 

Because the new fishery information 

and analyses were available so late in 

the year, the options for restrictions to 

fishery management measures that 

would reduce darkblotched rockfish 

impacts are limited. However, the 

restrictions proposed for the last 4–5 

weeks of the year in the limited entry 

non-whiting trawl fishery and the 

limited entry primary whiting fishery 

are anticipated to reduce the projected 

total impacts to darkblotched rockfish 

by approximately 46 mt. The 

adjustments to management measures in 

the limited entry trawl fishery north of 

40°10′ N. lat. and to the primary whiting 

fishery must be implemented as soon as 

possible to limit the fishery during 2010 

in order to reduce projected impacts to 

darkblotched rockfish to keep the total 

mortality very near, and probably 

below, the 2010 darkblotched rockfish 

OY. Reductions to cumulative limits in 

the limited entry fixed gear fishery and 

closure of the open access sablefish DTL 

fishery are needed to prevent the 2010 

sablefish OY in the area south of 36° N. 

lat. from being exceeded. These changes 

must be implemented in a timely 

manner by December 1, 2010. Failure to 

implement trip limit restrictions by 

December 1, 2010 would risk continued 

higher than anticipated catch of 

sablefish and the fishery could exceed 

the 2010 sablefish OY in the area south 

of 36° N. lat. These revisions are needed 

to keep the harvest of groundfish 

species within the harvest levels 

established for 2010, while allowing 

fishermen access to healthy stocks. 

Without these measures in place, the 

fisheries could risk exceeding some 

2010 OYs if catch continues to be higher 

than anticipated. Delaying these 

changes would keep management 

measures in place that are not based on 

the best available data and that could 

lead to exceeding OYs. Such delay 

would impair achievement of one of the 

Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP goals to 

prevent overfishing and rebuild 

overfished stocks. 

The increases to cumulative limits in 

the limited entry fixed gear and open 

access sablefish DTL fishery north of 36° 

N. lat. allow fishermen an opportunity 

to achieve the allocations and 2010 OY 

for sablefish in that area. Changes to 

management measures in the Makah 


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tribal midwater trawl fishery allow 

fishermen additional harvest 

opportunities for yellowtail rockfish, a 

healthy and underutilized stock. This 

also allows for testing of a fishing 

technique that could reduce bycatch 

rates as explained above. Increases are 

necessary to relieve a restriction by 

allowing fishermen increased 

opportunities to harvest sablefish north 

of 36° N. lat. and yellowtail rockfish, 

while staying within OYs. These 

changes must be implemented in a 

timely manner, as quickly as possible, 

so that fishermen are allowed increased 

opportunities to harvest available 

healthy stocks and meet the objective of 

the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP to 

allow fisheries to approach, but not 

exceed, OYs. It would be contrary to the 

public interest to wait to implement 

these changes until after public notice 

and comment, because that would 

prevent fishermen from taking these fish 

at the time they are available, 

preventing additional harvest in 

fisheries that are important to coastal 

communities. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Fisheries, Fishing, Indian fisheries. 

Dated: November 30, 2010. 

Brian Parker, 

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 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 660 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 660.50 to subpart C, paragraph 

(g)(5) is revised to read as follows: 

§ 660.50 Pacific Coast treaty Indian 

fisheries. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(5) Yellowtail and widow rockfish. 

The Makah Tribe will manage the 

midwater trawl fisheries as follows: 

Yellowtail rockfish taken in the directed 

tribal mid-water trawl fisheries are 

subject to a catch limit of 677 mt for the 

entire fleet. Landings of widow rockfish 

must not exceed 10 percent of the 

weight of yellowtail rockfish landed, for 

a given vessel, throughout the year. 

These limits may be adjusted by the 

tribe inseason to minimize the 

incidental catch of canary rockfish and 

widow rockfish, provided the catch of 

yellowtail rockfish does not exceed 677 

mt for the fleet. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 660.131 to subpart D, paragraph 

(b)(5)(i) is revised to read as follows: 

§ 660.131 Pacific whiting fishery 

management measures. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(5) * * * 

(i) The whiting fishery bycatch limit 

is apportioned among the sectors 

identified in paragraph (a) of this 

section based on the same percentages 

used to allocate whiting among the 

sectors, established in § 660.55(i)(2), 

subpart C. The sector specific bycatch 

limits are: For catcher/processors 4.8 mt 

of canary rockfish, 95 mt of widow 

rockfish, and 5.5 mt of darkblotched 

rockfish; for motherships 3.3 mt of 

canary rockfish, 67 mt of widow 

rockfish, and 5.5 mt of darkblotched 

rockfish; and for shorebased 5.9 mt of 

canary rockfish, 117 mt of widow 

rockfish, and 5.0 mt of darkblotched 

rockfish. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Table 1 (North) to part 660, subpart 

D, is revised to read as follows: 

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■ 5. Table 2 (North) and Table 2 (South) 

to part 660, subpart E, are revised to 

read as follows: 


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■ 6. Table 3 (North) and Table 3 (South) 

to part 660, subpart F, are revised to 

read as follows: 

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[FR Doc. 2010–30390 Filed 11–30–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 


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