3890 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 25, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

Species

Historic range

Vertebrate population where endangered or threatened

Status When listed Critical habitat

Special

rules Common name Scientific name

*******

Butterfly, Fender’s

blue.

Icaricia icarioides

fenderi.

U.S.A. (OR) ............ NA ........................... E NA NA

*******

3. Amend § 17.12(h) by adding the

following, in alphabetical order, under

FLOWERING PLANTS, to the List of

Endangered and Threatened Plants:

§ 17.12 Endangered and threatened plants.

* * * * *

(h) * * *

Species

Historic range Family Status When listed Critical habitat

Special

rules Scientific name Common name

FLOWERING PLANTS

*******

Erigeron decumbens

var. decumbens.

Willamette daisy ..... U.S.A. (OR) ............ Asteraceae ............. E NA NA

*******

Lupinus sulphureus

ssp. kincaidii.

Kincaid’s lupine ...... U.S.A. (OR, WA) .... Fabaceae ................ T NA NA

Lupinus oreganus

var. kincaidii =

synonym.

Lupinus sulphureus

var. kincaidii =

synonym.

*******

Dated: January 5, 2000.

Rowan W. Gould,

Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 00–1561 Filed 1–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 991229356–9356–01; 121799F]

RIN 0648–AN36

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 harvest guidelines.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the annual

harvest guidelines for Pacific sardine

and Pacific mackerel in the exclusive

economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific

coast. The Coastal Pelagic Species

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and its

implementing regulations require NMFS

to establish annual harvest guidelines

for Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel

based on a formulas appearing in the

FMP. The intended effect of this action

is to establish allowable harvest levels

for coastal pelagic species off the Pacific

coast.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2000.

Comments are invited until February 24,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments on the

annual specifications to Rodney R.

McInnis, Acting Regional

Administrator, Southwest Region,

(Regional Administrator), NMFS, 501

West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long

Beach, CA 90802–4213. The reports

Stock Assessment of Sardine for 1999

with Management Recommendations for

2000 and Status of the Pacific Mackerel

Resource and Fishery in 1999 are

available from this same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James J. Morgan, Southwest Region,

NMFS, (562) 980–4030.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP,

which was partially approved by the

Secretary of Commerce on June 10,

1999, and implemented by publication

of a final rule in the Federal Register on

December 15, 1999 (64 FR 69888),

divides managed 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. Harvest guidelines for

monitored species (jack mackerel,

northern anchovy, and market squid),

which are underutilized or managed

primarily by California, are not based on

current biomass estimates. Nonetheless,

the FMP includes a constant allowable

biological catch (ABC) for each

monitored species based on long-term

yields. If an ABC for a monitored

species is reached, it would be

designated an actively managed species;

at that time, the Pacific Fishery

Management (Council) would review

the condition of the resource and

recommend necessary management

action. Except for northern anchovy,

this is the first year of managing coastal

pelagic species under this FMP.

At a public meeting each year, the

biomass for each actively managed

species is presented by the Council’s

Coastal Pelagic Species Management

Team (Team) to the Council’s Coastal

Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel

(Subpanel). At that time, the biomass,

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 25, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 3891

the harvest guideline, and the status of

the fisheries is reviewed. This

information is also reviewed by the

Council’s Scientific and Statistical

committee. Following review by the

Council and after hearing all public

comments, NMFS publishes the annual

harvest guidelines in theFederal

Register before the beginning of the

appropriate fishing season. The Pacific

sardine season begins on January 1 of

each year and ends on December 31.

The Pacific mackerel season begins on

July 1 of each year and ends on June 30.

Normally, the Pacific mackerel harvest

guideline would be announced in June;

however, the first harvest guidelines for

both species will be effective on January

1, 2000, as this will be the first year of

managing these species.

The FMP allows the Administrator,

Southwest Region, NMFS to announce

harvest guidelines before review by the

Council if there is insufficient time for

review. At its meeting in September

1999, the Council decided to use this

procedure during the first year of

managing Pacific sardine and Pacific

mackerel because the sardine

assessment would not be completed by

its November 1999 Meeting. The

Council plans to complete its review at

its March 2000 meeting, when the stock

assessment and fishery evaluation

report for Pacific sardine will be

presented. At the November meeting,

the Team presented the Council with

the Pacific mackerel assessment to

establish a harvest guideline for the

season that began on July 1, 1999. The

Council adopted the Team’s

recommendations, including the

necessary procedure to subtract the

estimated harvest of Pacific mackerel

from July 1, 1999, to December 31, 1999,

to establish a harvest guideline

beginning January 1, 2000, consistent

with the beginning of the fishing season.

On December 9, 1999, consistent with

the procedures of the FMP, the biomass

report and attendant harvest guidelines

for Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel

were reviewed at a public meeting of the

Team at the NMFS Southwest Fisheries

Science Center in La Jolla, California. A

public meeting between the Team and

the Subpanel was held on December 14,

1999, at the Southwest Region, NMFS,

in Long Beach, California. No significant

comments regarding the harvest

guidelines were received.

The sardine population was estimated

using a modified version of the

integrated stock assessment model

called Catch at Age Analysis of Sardine–

Two Area Model (CANSAR–TAM).

CANSAR is a forward-casting, agestructured analysis using fishery

dependent and fishery independent data

to obtain annual estimates of sardine

abundance, year-class strength, and agespecific fishing mortality for 1983

through 1999. The modification of

CANSAR was developed to account for

the expansion of the Pacific sardine

stock northward to include waters off

the northwest Pacific coast.

Documentation of the 1999 estimate is

described in the Council report Stock

Assessment of Sardine for 1999 with

Management Recommendations for

2000 (see ADDRESSES).

The formula in the FMP uses the

following factors to determine the

harvest guideline for Pacific sardine:

1. The biomass of age one sardine and

above. For 1999, this estimate is

1,581,346 metric tons (mt).

2. The cutoff. This is the biomass

level below which no commercial

fishery is allowed. The FMP established

this level at 150,000 mt.

3. The portion of the sardine biomass

that is in U.S. waters. For 1999, this

estimate is 87 percent, based on the

average of larval distribution obtained

from scientific cruises and the

distribution of the resource obtained

from logbooks of fish-spotters.

4. The harvest fraction. This is the

percentage of the biomass above 150,000

mt that may be harvested. The fraction

used varies (5–15 percent) with current

ocean temperatures, a higher fraction for

warmer ocean temperatures and a lower

fraction for cooler temperatures. Warm

ocean temperatures favor the production

of Pacific sardine. For 1999, the fraction

used was 15 percent, based on three

seasons of sea surface temperature at

Scripps Pier, California.

Based on the estimated biomass of

1,581,346 mt and the formula in the

FMP, a harvest guideline of 186,791 mt

was calculated for the fishery beginning

on January 1, 2000. The harvest

guideline is allocated one third for

Subarea A, which is north of 35° 40’ N.

lat. to the Canadian border, and two

thirds for Subarea B, which is south of

35° 40’ N. lat. to the Mexican border.

Any unused resource in either area will

be reallocated between areas to help

ensure that optimum yield will be

achieved. The northern allocation is

62,264 mt; the southern allocation is

124,527 mt.

The size of the Pacific mackerel

population was estimated using a

modified virtual population analysis

stock assessment model, which employs

both fishery dependent and fishery

independent data to estimate

abundance. The model was used to

calculate biomass estimates through the

end of 1998 and then project an estimate

of biomass for July 1, 1999, based on the

number of Pacific mackerel estimated to

comprise each year class at the

beginning of 1999, estimates of fishing

mortality during 1998, assumptions of

natural and fishing mortality through

the first half of 1999, and estimates of

age-specific growth. Documentation of

the 1999 estimate is described in the

Council report Status of the Pacific

Mackerel Resource and Fishery in 1999

(see ADDRESSES).

The formula in the FMP uses the

following factors to determine the

harvest guideline for Pacific mackerel:

1. The biomass of Pacific mackerel.

For 1999, this estimate is 239,286 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.

3. The portion of the Pacific mackerel

biomass that is in U.S. waters. This

estimate is 70 percent, based on the

average of larval distribution obtained

from scientific cruises and the

distribution of the resource obtained

from logbooks of fish-spotters.

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.

Based on the estimated biomass of

239,286 mt and the formula in the FMP,

a harvest guideline of 46,428 was

calculated for the fishery beginning on

July 1, 1999. To determine a harvest

guideline for the period beginning

January 1, 2000, the estimated harvest of

Pacific mackerel between July 1, 1999,

through December 31, 1999, was

subtracted from the harvest guideline.

The amount harvested is 3,609 mt;

therefore, the harvest guideline

available to the fishery beginning on

January 1, 2000, is 42,819 mt.

Classification

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

660.509 and is exempt from review

under Executive Order 12866.

The Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries, NOAA (AA) finds for good

cause under 5 U.S.C. § 553(b)(B) that

providing prior notice and an

opportunity for public comment on this

action is unnecessary because

establishing the harvest guidelines is a

ministerial act, determined by applying

formulas in the FMP. Accordingly,

providing prior notice and an

opportunity for public comment would

serve no useful purpose.

Because this rule merely announces

the result of harvest guideline

calculations and does not require any

participants in the fishery to take action

or to come into compliance, the AA

finds for good cause under 5 U.S.C.

§ 553(d)(3) that delaying the effective

3892 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 25, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

date of this rule for 30 days is

unnecessary.

Because prior notice and opportunity

for public comment are not required for

this action by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other

law, the analytical requirements of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601

et seq., are not applicable.

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

Dated: January 18, 2000.

Andrew R. Rosenberg,

Deputy Assistant Administrator, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–1700 Filed 1–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 000119015–0015–01; I.D.

010500A]

RIN 0648–AM32

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Steller Sea Lion

Protection Measures for the Pollock

Fisheries Off Alaska

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Emergency interim rule;

revision to 2000 interim harvest

specifications; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues an emergency

interim rule implementing reasonable

and prudent alternatives (RPAs) to

avoid the likelihood that the pollock

fisheries off Alaska will jeopardize the

continued existence of the western

population of Steller sea lions or

adversely modify its critical habitat.

This emergency rule implements three

types of management measures for the

pollock fisheries of the Bering Sea and

Aleutian Islands Management Area

(BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA):

Measures to temporally disperse fishing

effort; measures to spatially disperse

fishing effort; and measures to provide

sufficient protection from fisheries

competition for prey in waters adjacent

to rookeries and important haulouts.

These emergency measures are

necessary to avoid jeopardy and adverse

modification.

DATES: Effective January 20, 2000,

through July 19, 2000. Comments must

be received by February 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to

Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O.

Box 21668, Juneau, AK, 99802, Attn:

Lori Gravel, or delivered to the Federal

Building, 709 West 9th Street, Juneau,

AK. Copies of the Biological Opinion

(BiOp) on the pollock fisheries of the

BSAI and GOA and the Atka mackerel

fishery of the Aleutian Islands subarea,

the Revised Final Reasonable and

Prudent Alternatives (RFRPAs), and the

Environmental Assessment/Regulatory

Impact Review (EA/RIR) prepared for

the emergency interim rule may be

obtained from the same address. The

BiOp and the RFRPAs are also available

on the Alaska Region home page at

http://www.fakr.noaa.gov. Comments

will not be accepted if submitted via email or Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shane Capron, 907–586–7228 or

shane.capron@noaa.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS

manages the groundfish fisheries in the

exclusive economic zone off Alaska

under the Fishery Management Plan for

the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering

Sea and Aleutian Islands Area and the

Fishery Management Plan for

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska

(FMPs). The North Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council)

prepared the FMPs under the authority

of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801

et seq. Regulations governing U.S.

fisheries and implementing the FMPs

appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.

Background

In 1990, NMFS designated the Steller

sea lion as a threatened species under

the Endangered Species Act of 1973

(ESA). The designation followed severe

declines throughout much of the GOA

and Aleutian Islands region. In 1993,

NMFS defined critical habitat for the

species to include (among other areas),

the marine areas within 20 nautical

miles (nm) of major rookeries and

haulouts of the species west of 144° W

long. In 1997, NMFS recognized two

separate populations, and reclassified

the western population (west of 144° W

long.) as endangered.

NMFS first began collecting

information on the abundance of Steller

sea lions during the 1950s and 1960s.

However, the first counts based on

reliable data were not available until the

late 1970s; these counts reported

approximately 109,800 animals. During

the 1980s, a precipitous decline of

Steller sea lions was observed. By 1996,

counts declined to only 22,000 animals,

a decline of 80 percent from the late

1970s. Counts of adult and juvenile

Steller sea lions have continued to

decline over the last few years, but at a

lower rate. Due to the small population

size, these recent reductions may be a

serious obstacle to the recovery of the

western population of Steller sea lions.

Multiple factors have contributed to

the decline, but considerable evidence

indicates that lack of available prey is a

serious problem. Foraging studies

confirm that Steller sea lions depend on

pollock as a major prey source, and that

they may be particularly sensitive to any

reduced availability of prey during the

winter. The significance of pollock in

the diet of sea lions may have increased

since the 1970s due to shifts in the

Bering Sea ecosystem related to

atmospheric and oceanographic

changes. Pollock are also the target of

the largest commercial fisheries in

Alaska, fisheries that have grown

increasingly concentrated in time and

area. This concentration of effort occurs

largely in areas designated as Steller sea

lion critical habitat and may reduce

prey availability during critical times in

the life history of sea lions. Additional

information on Steller sea lions and the

pollock fisheries of the BSAI and GOA

is contained in the BiOp and in the EA/

RIR prepared for this action (see

ADDRESSES).

Purpose and Need for Action

In accordance with the requirements

of the ESA, the NMFS Office of

Protected Resources issued a BiOp

dated December 3, 1998, revised

December 16, 1998, on the pollock

fisheries of the BSAI and GOA and the

Atka mackerel fishery of the Aleutian

Islands subarea. The BiOp concluded

that the BSAI and GOA pollock trawl

fisheries, as projected for 1999 through

2002, were likely to jeopardize the

endangered western population of

Steller sea lions and destroy or

adversely modify critical habitat

designated for this population. ‘‘To

jeopardize’’ means ‘‘to engage in an

action that reasonably would be

expected, directly or indirectly, to

reduce appreciably the likelihood of

both the survival and recovery of a

listed species in the wild by reducing

the reproduction, numbers, or

distribution of that species’’ (50 CFR

402.02). The clause ‘‘adversely modify

its critical habitat’’ means ‘‘a direct or

indirect alteration that appreciably

diminishes the value of critical habitat

for both the survival and recovery of a

listed species. Such alterations include,

but are not limited to, alterations

adversely modifying any of those

physical or biological features that were

the basis for determining the habitat to