11792 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 49 / Wednesday, March 14, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 32 

Hunting and Fishing 

CFR Correction 

In Title 50 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, parts 18 to 199, revised as 

of October 1, 2006, on page 302, § 32.42 

is corrected by reinstating the heading 

‘‘Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge’’

in the first column before paragraph A. 

[FR Doc. 07–55501 Filed 3–13–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1505–01–D 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 061229343–7050–02; I.D. 

121406A] 

RIN 0648–AV03 

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch 

Sharing Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Administrator 

for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), on behalf of 

the International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC), publishes annual 

management measures promulgated as 

regulations by the IPHC and approved 

by the Secretary of State governing the 

Pacific halibut fishery. The AA also 

announces modifications to the Catch 

Sharing Plan (CSP) for Area 2A (waters 

off the U.S. West Coast) and 

implementing regulations for 2007, and 

announces approval of the Area 2A CSP. 

These actions are intended to enhance 

the conservation of Pacific halibut and 

further the goals and objectives of the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(PFMC) and the North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (NPFMC). 

DATES: Effective March 10, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Additional requests for 

information regarding this action may 

be obtained by contacting either the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission, P.O. Box 95009, Seattle, 

WA 98145–2009, or Sustainable 

Fisheries Division, NMFS Alaska 

Region, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802–1668, or Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, NMFS Northwest Region, 7600 

Sand Point Way, NE, Seattle, WA 98105. 

This final rule also is accessible via the 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

waters off Alaska, Jay Ginter, 907–586–

7171, e-mail at jay.ginter@noaa.gov; or 

for waters off the U.S. West Coast, 

Yvonne deReynier, 206–526–6129, email at yvonne.dereynier@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The IPHC has promulgated 

regulations governing the Pacific halibut 

fishery in 2007 under the Convention 

between the United States and Canada 

for the Preservation of the Halibut 

Fishery of the North Pacific Ocean and 

Bering Sea (Convention), signed at 

Ottawa, Ontario, on March 2, 1953, as 

amended by a Protocol Amending the 

Convention signed at Washington, D.C., 

on March 29, 1979. The IPHC 

regulations have been approved by the 

Secretary of State of the United States 

under section 4 of the Northern Pacific 

Halibut Act (Halibut Act, 16 U.S.C. 773–

773k). Pursuant to regulations at 50 CFR 

300.62, the approved IPHC regulations 

setting forth the 2007 IPHC annual 

management measures are published in 

the Federal Register to provide notice of 

their effectiveness, and to inform 

persons subject to the regulations of the 

restrictions and requirements. These 

management measures are effective 

until superseded by the 2008 

management measures, which NMFS 

will publish in the Federal Register. 

The IPHC held its annual meeting in 

Victoria, British Columbia, January 16–

19, 2007, and adopted regulations for 

halibut fisheries in 2007. The 

substantive changes to the previous 

IPHC regulations (71 FR 10850, March 

3, 2006) that affect U.S. fishermen 

include: 

1. New catch limits in all regulatory 

areas (areas); 

2. Opening date for commercial 

fisheries; 

3. A new date by which managers of 

Community Development Quota (CDQ) 

fishing report sublegal sized halibut to 

the IPHC; 

4. An allowance to temporarily 

possess sublegal sized halibut caught in 

commercial fisheries to determine 

whether their size meets the minimum 

legal size limit before returning the fish 

to the sea with a minimum of injury; 

5. A change to regulations governing 

sport fishing; and 

6. Adoption of the revised Area 2A 

CSP. 

Catch Limits 

The IPHC recommended catch limits 

for 2007 to the Governments of Canada 

and the United States totaling 

65,170,000 pounds (29,561 metric tons 

(mt)) . This represents a 6.7 percent 

decrease from the 2006 catch limit of 

69,860,000 pounds (31,688 mt). The 

IPHC staff reported on the assessment of 

the Pacific halibut stock in 2006. The 

assessment indicated healthy halibut 

stocks in Areas 3A through 2A, but 

indicated declines in Areas 3B and 

throughout Area 4 as shown by lower 

fishery and survey catch rates. 

Recruitment of 1994 and 1995 year 

classes appeared relatively strong in all 

areas except Area 4B, which continued 

to demonstrate lower recruitment levels 

for all year classes. The IPHC staff also 

reported that recoveries of Passive 

Integrated Transponder tagged halibut 

in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska 

remain low, providing insufficient 

information to reliably estimate 

exploitable biomass in those areas. 

Based on recommendations by the 

IPHC staff, the IPHC continued using an 

optimum harvest rate of 22.5 percent as 

the baseline harvest rate for Areas 2A, 

2B, 2C, and 3A. However, a more 

conservative harvest rate was used in 

the western areas due to the 

aforementioned stock condition 

concerns. For Areas 3B and 4A, the 

IPHC continued using a harvest rate of 

20 percent in recognition of the 

continuing trend in lower abundance. 

The IPHC continued using a harvest rate 

of 15 percent for Areas 4B and 4CDE 

where productivity and recruitment 

have continued to be low as a 

precautionary measure. 

Opening Date for Commercial Fisheries 

The opening date for the tribal 

commercial fishery in Area 2A and for 

the commercial fisheries in Areas 2B 

through 4E was set at March 10, 2007. 

This date was determined by taking into 

account the condition of tides and 

timing of the first fresh halibut to retail 

markets. The commercial season closing 

date for 2007 continues to be November 

15. Commercial fishing for halibut 

during this period may start on March 

10 at noon, local time, and end on 

November 15 at noon, local time. In 

Area 2A, 10-hour non-tribal derby 

openings will be held on the following 

days, until the quota is taken and the 

fishery is closed: June 27, July 11, July 

25, August 8, August 22, September 5, 

and September 19. The commercial 

season in waters off British Columbia 

and Alaska is longer than it is in Area 

2A due to the individual quota 

management policies that govern 

commercial fishing in and off of British 

Columbia and Alaska. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 49 / Wednesday, March 14, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 11793 

Report Date for CDQ Managers 

Current regulations at sec. 7 of the 

Halibut Act allow persons fishing for 

CDQ halibut in Areas 4D or 4E to retain 

sublegal sized halibut for their personal 

use provided that they land their total 

annual halibut catch in these areas. In 

addition, managers of the CDQ 

organizations that authorize CDQ 

harvest in these areas must report 

annually to the IPHC the total weight 

and number of undersized halibut 

retained in Area 4D and 4E CDQ 

fisheries. The IPHC changed the due 

date for this report from December 1 to 

November 1 to facilitate the 

incorporation of these data in its annual 

meeting materials. 

Sublegal Halibut Possession Allowance 

Current regulations at sec. 14 of the 

Halibut Act require all halibut caught in 

the commercial fishery for halibut, but 

that are not retained, to be immediately 

released and returned to the sea with a 

minimum of injury. The IPHC 

recognized that this rule technically 

would prohibit retaining a halibut on 

the catcher vessel to determine whether 

it meets the minimum size limit for 

commercially harvested halibut. Hence, 

the IPHC recommended a regulatory 

change that would allow the temporary 

possession of a commercially harvested 

halibut to determine its length and if it 

is of sublegal size, it would be returned 

to the sea with a minimum of injury to 

enhance its survival potential. 

Change to Sport Fishing Regulations off 

Alaska 

Current regulations prohibit in all 

areas the filleting, mutilation or other 

disfigurement of sport-caught halibut 

that would prevent the determination of 

the size or number of halibut possessed 

or landed. In areas in and off of Alaska 

(Areas 2C through 4E), however, the 

IPHC recommended that this 

prohibition apply only to halibut on the 

catcher vessel. Once landed or offloaded 

from the catcher vessel, this prohibition 

would not apply. This change is 

intended to facilitate the processing of 

sport-caught halibut in Alaska for 

personal use. 

Rejected Sport Fishing Regulations 

The IPHC recommended decreased 

sport fishing daily bag limits for anglers 

on charter vessels in Areas 2C and 3A 

from two fish to one fish per angler 

during specific time periods. In Area 2C, 

the one-fish bag limit was recommended 

to apply to charter vessel anglers from 

June 15 through July 30 and in Area 3A 

from June 15 through June 30. The IPHC 

intended for these reduced bag limits to 

apply until superseded by regulations 

promulgated by the AA. 

The IPHC took this action because it 

believed that its management goals were 

at risk by the rapid growth in charter 

vessel harvest of halibut in excess of the 

NPFMC′s guideline harvest level (GHL) 

for charter vessel harvest, especially in 

Area 2C. The IPHC recognized the role 

of the NPFMC in developing policy and 

regulations that allocate the Pacific 

halibut resource among fishermen in 

and off of Alaska, and that the NPFMC 

is actively developing a program to 

manage the charter vessel fishery for 

halibut. However, the NPFMC 

management program has not yet been 

recommended to the AA, and if 

approved, could not be implemented 

before the 2008 charter vessel fishing 

season. Therefore, the IPHC determined 

that its recommended bag limits in 

Areas 2C and 3A were necessary to 

prevent further growth in the halibut 

harvest by charter vessel anglers as an 

immediate but interim measure until the 

NPFMC management program for this 

fishery can be implemented. 

The United States is unable to accept 

the IPHC’s reduction in the daily bag 

limit for halibut caught from sport 

charter vessels in Areas 3A and 2C. 

These regulatory decisions are more 

appropriately handled through the 

development and implementation of 

regulations by domestic fisheries 

management agencies. For Area 3A, the 

State of Alaska Commissioner of Fish 

and Game (State) issued an emergency 

order on January 26, 2007, prohibiting a 

sport fishing guide and a sport fishing 

crew member working on a charter 

vessel in salt waters of Southcentral 

Alaska from retaining fish while clients 

are onboard the vessel. This emergency 

order will be effective from May 1, 2007, 

through December 31, 2007. Also, the 

emergency order limits the maximum 

number of lines that may be fished from 

a charter vessel to the number of paying 

clients onboard the vessel. The State 

estimates that this action will reduce the 

harvest of halibut on charter vessels in 

Area 3A by 7.7 percent to 10.6 percent. 

This reduction in the charter halibut 

harvest in Area 3A likely will be 

sufficient to maintain it at about the 

level of the GHL because the GHL was 

exceeded in this area by an estimated 8 

percent to 9 percent in 2006. 

For Area 2C, the IPHC-recommended 

bag limit reduction would likely reduce 

the estimated charter vessel harvest in 

2006 by about 20 percent in 2007. 

Although the recommended one-fish 

bag limit on charter vessel anglers in 

Area 2C could lower the total charter 

vessel harvest somewhat, the AA has 

determined that a comparable mortality 

reduction could be achieved by 

alternative regulations that would 

minimize potential negative economic 

impacts on the charter vessel industry. 

Hence, the IPHC-recommended reduced 

bag limits for the charter vessel fishery 

in Area 2C were rejected in favor of 

substitute alternative restrictions which 

will be implemented through a separate 

domestic regulatory action. The AA’s 

goal in implementing substitute 

restrictions is to reduce sport fishing 

mortality of halibut in the charter 

fishery sector in Area 2C to a level 

comparable to the level that would be 

achieved by the IPHC-recommended 

regulations. The AA intends for the 

substitute restrictions to minimize 

negative impacts on the charter fishery, 

its sport fishing clients, the coastal 

communities that serve as home ports 

for this fishery, and on fisheries for 

other species. 

Catch Sharing Plan (CSP) for Area 2A 

This action also implements the CSP 

for regulatory Area 2A. This plan was 

developed by the PFMC under authority 

of the Halibut Act. Section 5 of the 

Halibut Act (16 U.S.C. 773c) provides 

the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) 

with general responsibility to carry out 

the Convention and to adopt such 

regulations as may be necessary to 

implement the purposes and objectives 

of the Convention and the Halibut Act. 

The Secretary’s authority has been 

delegated to the AA. Section 5 of the 

Halibut Act (16 U.S.C. 773c(c)) also 

authorizes the Regional Fishery 

Management Council having authority 

for the geographic area concerned to 

develop regulations governing the 

Pacific halibut catch in United States 

Convention waters that are in addition 

to, but not in conflict with, regulations 

of the IPHC. Pursuant to this authority, 

the PFMC’s Area 2A CSP allocates the 

halibut catch limit for Area 2A among 

treaty Indian, non-treaty commercial, 

and non-treaty sport fisheries in and off 

Washington, Oregon, and California. 

For 2007, PFMC recommended 

changes to the CSP to modify the Pacific 

halibut fisheries in Area 2A in 2007 to 

(1) constrain the Washington North 

Coast subarea June fishery to two 

specific nearshore areas on the first 

Tuesday and Thursday following June 

17; (2) reopen the Washington North 

Coast subarea June fishery in the entire 

north coast subarea on the first Saturday 

following June 17; (3) if sufficient quota 

remains, reopen the entire Washington 

North Coast subarea for one day on the 

first Thursday following June 24, 

otherwise, reopen the nearshore areas 

on the first Thursday following June 24 

for up to four days per week (ThursdayVerDate Aug<31>2005 14:23 Mar 13, 2007 Jkt 211001 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\14MRR1.SGM 14MRR1

cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with RULES
11794 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 49 / Wednesday, March 14, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

Sunday) until the quota is taken; (4) set 

aside 5 percent of the Washington South 

Coast subarea quota for the nearshore 

fishery once the primary fishery has 

closed; (5) set the Washington South 

Coast subarea nearshore fishery as a 2- 

day per week fishery, open Fridays and 

Saturdays; (6) implement additional 

closed areas (Yelloweye Rockfish 

Conservation Areas, or YRCAs) off the 

coast of Washington that would affect 

commercial and sport halibut fisheries; 

(7) remove latitude/longitude 

coordinates from the CSP but refer to 

the regulations in which they are 

published to reduce duplication; (8) 

remove language referring to salmon 

troll fishery July-September season; (9) 

add a definition of the Bonilla-Tatoosh 

line; and (10) decrease the California 

possession limit on land from two daily 

limits to one daily limit statewide to 

conform with state regulation. NMFS 

published a proposed rule to implement 

the PFMC’s recommended changes to 

the CSP, and to implement the 2007 

Area 2A sport fishing season regulations 

on January 16, 2007 (72 FR 1690). 

This final rule announces approval of 

revisions to the Area 2A CSP and 

implements the Area 2A CSP and 

management measures for 2007. These 

halibut management measures are 

effective until superceded by the 2008 

halibut management measures that will 

be published in the Federal Register. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS accepted comments on the 

proposed rule to implement the 2007 

Area 2A CSP through February 2, 2007, 

and received one letter of comment from 

a member of the public, plus one letter 

of comment apiece from Washington 

Department of Fish and Wildlife 

(WDFW) and Oregon Department of 

Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), plus one 

email comment from a member of the 

public. NMFS also received a letter from 

the United States Department of Interior 

indicating that it had no comments to 

offer. 

Comment 1: The WDFW held a public 

meeting on January 29, 2007, to review 

the results of the 2006 Puget Sound 

halibut fishery, and to develop season 

dates for the 2007 sport halibut fishery. 

Based on the 2007 Area 2A total 

allowable catch of 1.34 million lb (607.8 

mt) the halibut quota for the Puget 

Sound sport fishery is 65,562 lb (29.7 

mt) Applying WDFW’s Fishing 

Equivalent Day (FED) method for 

estimating the Puget Sound fishery’s 

season length, and applying the highest 

catch per FED in the past five years, 

there are 83 FEDs available for the 

Eastern Region and 83.5 FEDs available 

for the Western Region in 2007. Using 

the CSP’s guidance for setting an earlier 

season for the Eastern Region of Puget 

Sound than for the Western Region, 

WDFW recommends that the regions 

within the Puget Sound sport halibut 

fishery will be open as follows: Eastern 

Region to be open April 9 through June 

16, 2006; Western Region to be open 

May 24 through August 3, 2006. 

Response: NMFS agrees with WDFW’s 

recommended Puget Sound season dates 

and has implemented them via this final 

rule. 

Comment 2: The ODFW held a public 

meeting on January 24, 2007, to gather 

comments on the open dates for the 

Spring recreational all-depth fishery in 

Oregon’s Central Coast sub-area. Since 

2003, the number of open fishing days 

that could be accommodated in the 

Spring fishery has been roughly 

constant. The catch limit for this subarea’s Spring season will be 170,242 lb 

(77.2 mt) in 2007, based on the IPHC’s 

2007 recommendations for Area 2A. 

Given the relatively constant effort 

pattern in recent years, and the similar 

catch level in 2007 to that in 2006, 

ODFW recommends setting a Central 

Coast all-depth fishery of 15 days, with 

9 additional back-up dates, in case the 

sub-area’s Spring quota is not taken in 

the initial 15 days. ODFW recommends 

the following days for the Spring 

fishery, within this sub-area’s 

parameters for a Thursday-Saturday 

season: regular open days of May 10–12, 

17–19, 24–26, and 31, June 1–2, and 7–

9; back-up open days of June 22–23, and 

July 5–7, and 19–21. For the Summer 

fishery in this sub-area, ODFW 

recommended following the CSP’s 

parameters of opening the first Friday in 

August, with open days to occur every 

other Friday-Sunday, unless modified 

inseason within the parameters of the 

CSP. Under the CSP, the 2007 summer 

all-depth fishery in Oregon’s Central 

Coast sub-area would occur: August 3–

5, 17–19, and 31, September 1–2, and 

14–16, and 28–30, and October 12–14, 

and 26–28. 

Response: NMFS agrees with ODFW’s 

recommended Central Coast season 

dates and has implemented them via 

this final rule. 

Comment 3: One member of the 

public sent an email comment writing, 

‘‘I am a commercial salmon troller and 

have been limited by strict closures to 

our salmon season. I have applied for 

the incidental catch permit these past 

three years and have made a few extra 

dollars in being able to keep a limited 

number of halibut along with my 

salmon. This past year due to extreme 

salmon closures my catch of halibut was 

very minimal. I haven’t taken a whole 

lot of halibut in my three years using the 

incidental catch permit. We are limited 

by weather, season limits, and the latest 

extreme salmon closures. At the same 

time, the sport fishery has been 

dramatically cut in regards to salmon, 

yet they were allowed to target halibut 

as usual. My request is that you 

consider either raising the quota for 

incidental catch for salmon trollers or at 

the least keep the limits the same as in 

the past. I do not believe the salmon 

trollers have a major impact on the 

halibut resource. I am an Oregon 

fisherman and am aware that there are 

a few boats that do quite well on the 

Northern Washington coast. Even with 

these catches I am not sure that the 

salmon trollers as a whole take a 

substantial amount of halibut. Please 

consider this comment in making your 

decision for my future in regards to the 

incidental Halibut fishery.’’

Response: The 2007 quota for 

incidental halibut catch in the salmon 

troll fishery is established in the CSP as 

a proportion of the overall Area 2A total 

allowable catch (TAC), as are the quotas 

for the Washington and Oregon directed 

recreational fisheries for halibut. For 

2007, the quota for the incidental 

salmon troll fishery is 40,227 lb (18.2 

mt), a slight decrease from 2006, when 

the quota was 41,464 lb (18.8 mt). At its 

March 5–9, 2007, meeting in 

Sacramento, California, the PFMC will 

consider alternative incidental halibut 

catch rates for the 2007 salmon troll 

fishery. The PFMC will then make final 

recommendations on those incidental 

catch rates at its April 2–6, 2007, 

meeting in Tacoma, Washington, which 

will be included in its 2007 salmon troll 

fishery management recommendations 

to NMFS. 

Annual Halibut Management Measures 

The annual management measures 

that follow for the 2007 Pacific halibut 

fishery are those adopted by the IPHC 

and approved by the Secretary of State. 

1. Short Title 

These regulations may be cited as the 

Pacific Halibut Fishery Regulations. 

2. Application 

(1) These Regulations apply to 

persons and vessels fishing for halibut 

in, or possessing halibut taken from the 

maritime area as defined in Section 3. 

(2) Sections 3 to 6 apply generally to 

all halibut fishng 

(3) Sections 7 to 20 apply to 

commercial fishng for halibut 

(4) Section 21 applies to tagged 

halibut caught by any vessel. 

(5) Section 22 applies to the United 

States treaty Indian fishery in subarea 

2A–1 


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(6) Section 23 applies to customary 

and traditional fishng in Alaska 

(7) Section 24 applies to Aboriginal 

groups fishing for food, social and 

ceremonial purposes in British 

Columbia. 

(8) Section 25 applies to sport fishing 

for halibut. 

(9) These Regulations do not apply to 

fishing operations authorized or 

conducted by the Commission for 

research purposes. 

3. Interpretation 

(1) In these Regulations, 

(a) Authorized officer means any 

State, Federal, or Provincial officer 

authorized to enforce these regulations 

including, but not limited to, the 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS), Canada’s Department of 

Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Alaska 

Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement 

(ABWE), United States Coast Guard 

(USCG), Washington Department of Fish 

and Wildlife (WDFW), and the Oregon 

State Police (OSP); 

(b) Authorized clearance personnel 

means an authorized officer of the 

United States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor; 

(c) Charter vessel means a vessel used 

for hire in sport fishng for halibut, but 

not including a vessel without a hired 

operator; 

(d) Commercial fishing means fishing, 

other than 

(i) treaty Indian ceremonial and 

subsistence fishing as referred to in 

section 22, 

(ii) customary and traditional fishing 

as referred to in section 23 and defined 

by and regulated pursuant to NMFS 

regulations published at 50 CFR part 

300, the resulting catch of which is sold 

or bartered; or is intended to be sold or 

bartered, and 

(iii) Aboriginal groups fishing in 

British Columbia as referred to in 

section 24; 

(e) Commission means the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission; 

(f) Daily bag limit means the 

maximum number of halibut a person 

may take in any calendar day from 

Convention waters; 

(g) Fishing means the taking, 

harvesting, or catching of fish, or any 

activity that can reasonably be expected 

to result in the taking, harvesting, or 

catching of fish, including specifically 

the deployment of any amount or 

component part of setline gear 

anywhere in the maritime area; 

(h) Fishing period limit means the 

maximum amount of halibut that may 

be retained and landed by a vessel 

during one fishing period; 

(i) Land or offload with respect to 

halibut, means the removal of halibut 

from the catching vessel; 

(j) License means a halibut fishing 

license issued by the Commission 

pursuant to section 4; 

(k) Maritime area, in respect of the 

fisheries jurisdiction of a Contracting 

Party, includes without distinction areas 

within and seaward of the territorial sea 

and internal waters of that Party; 

(l) Net weight, with respect to halibut, 

shall be based on halibut that is gutted, 

head-off, and without ice and slime; 

(m) Operator, with respect to any 

vessel, means the owner and/or the 

master or other individual onboard and 

in charge of that vessel; 

(n) Overall length of a vessel means 

the horizontal distance, rounded to the 

nearest foot, between the foremost part 

of the stem and the aftermost part of the 

stern (excluding bowsprits, rudders, 

outboard motor brackets, and similar 

fittings or attachments); 

(o) Person includes an individual, 

corporation, firm, or association; 

(p) Regulatory area means an area 

referred to in section 6; 

(q) Setline gear means one or more 

stationary, buoyed, and anchored lines 

with hooks attached; 

(r) Sport fishing means all fishing 

other than 

(i) Commercial fishing; 

(ii) Treaty Indian ceremonial and 

subsistence fishing as referred to in 

section 22; 

(iii) Customary and traditional fishing 

as referred to in section 23 and defined 

in and regulated pursuant to NMFS 

regulations published in 50 CFR part 

300; and 

(iv) Aboriginal groups fishing in 

British Columbia as referred to in 

section 24. 

(s) Tender means any vessel that buys 

or obtains fish directly from a catching 

vessel and transports it to a port of 

landing or fish processor; 

(t) VMS transmitter means a NMFSapproved vessel monitoring system 

transmitter that automatically 

determines a vessel’s position and 

transmits it to a NMFS-approved 

communications service provider (Call 

NOAA Enforcement Division, Alaska 

Region, at 907–586–7225 between the 

hours of 0800 and 1600 local time for 

a list of NMFS-approved VMS 

transmitters and communications 

service providers.). 

(2) In these Regulations, all bearings 

are true and all positions are determined 

by the most recent charts issued by the 

United States National Ocean Service or 

the Canadian Hydrographic Service. 

4. Licensing Vessels for Area 2A 

(1) No person shall fish for halibut 

from a vessel, nor possess halibut 

onboard a vessel, used either for 

commercial fishing or as a charter vessel 

in Area 2A, unless the Commission has 

issued a license valid for fishing in Area 

2A in respect of that vessel. 

(2) A license issued for a vessel 

operating in Area 2A shall be valid only 

for operating either as a charter vessel 

or a commercial vessel, but not both. 

(3) A vessel with a valid Area 2A 

commercial license cannot be used to 

sport fish for Pacific halibut in Area 2A. 

(4) A license issued for a vessel 

operating in the commercial fishery in 

Area 2A shall be valid for one of the 

following, but not both: 

(a) The directed commercial fishery 

during the fishing periods specified in 

paragraph (2) of section 8 and the 

incidental commercial fishery during 

the sablefish fishery specified in 

paragraph (3) of section 8; or 

(b) The incidental catch fishery 

during the salmon troll fishery specified 

in paragraph (4) of section 8. 

(5) A license issued in respect of a 

vessel referred to in paragraph (1) of this 

section must be carried onboard that 

vessel at all times and the vessel 

operator shall permit its inspection by 

any authorized officer. 

(6) The Commission shall issue a 

license in respect of a vessel, without 

fee, from its office in Seattle, 

Washington, upon receipt of a 

completed, written, and signed 

‘‘Application for Vessel License for the 

Halibut Fishery’’ form. 

(7) A vessel operating in the directed 

commercial fishery or the incidental 

commercial fishery during the sablefish 

fishery in Area 2A must have its 

‘‘Application for Vessel License for the 

Halibut Fishery’’ form postmarked no 

later than 11:59 p.m. on April 30, or on 

the first weekday in May if April 30 is 

a Saturday or Sunday. 

(8) A vessel operating in the 

incidental commercial fishery during 

the salmon troll season in Area 2A must 

have its ‘‘Application for Vessel License 

for the Halibut Fishery’’ form 

postmarked no later than 11:59 p.m. on 

March 31, or the first weekday in April 

if March 31 is a Saturday or Sunday. 

(9) Application forms may be 

obtained from any authorized officer or 

from the Commission. 

(10) Information on ‘‘Application for 

Vessel License for the Halibut Fishery’’

form must be accurate. 

(11) The ‘‘Application for Vessel 

License for the Halibut Fishery’’ form 

shall be completed and signed by the 

vessel owner. 


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(12) Licenses issued under this 

section shall be valid only during the 

year in which they are issued. 

(13) A new license is required for a 

vessel that is sold, transferred, renamed, 

or redocumented. 

(14) The license required under this 

section is in addition to any license, 

however designated, that is required 

under the laws of the United States or 

any of its States. 

(15) The United States may suspend, 

revoke, or modify any license issued 

under this section under policies and 

procedures in 15 CFR part 904. 

5. In-Season Actions 

(1) The Commission is authorized to 

establish or modify regulations during 

the season after determining that such 

action 

(a) Will not result in exceeding the 

catch limit established preseason for 

each regulatory area; 

(b) Is consistent with the Convention 

between the United States of America 

and Canada for the Preservation of the 

Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific 

Ocean and Bering Sea, and applicable 

domestic law of either Canada or the 

United States; and 

(c) Is consistent, to the maximum 

extent practicable, with any domestic 

catch sharing plans or other domestic 

allocation programs developed by the 

United States or Canadian Governments. 

(2) In-season actions may include, but 

are not limited to, establishment or 

modification of the following: 

(a) Closed areas; 

(b) Fishing periods; 

(c) Fishing period limits; 

(d) Gear restrictions; 

(e) Recreational bag limits; 

(f) Size limits; or 

(g) Vessel clearances. 

(3) In-season changes will be effective 

at the time and date specified by the 

Commission. 

(4) The Commission will announce 

in-season actions under this section by 

providing notice to major halibut 

processors; Federal, State, United States 

treaty Indian, Provincial fishery 

officials, and the media. 

6. Regulatory Areas 

The following areas shall be 

regulatory areas (see Figure 1) for the 

purposes of the Convention: 

(1) Area 2A includes all waters off the 

states of California, Oregon, and 

Washington; 

(2) Area 2B includes all waters off 

British Columbia; 

(3) Area 2C includes all waters off 

Alaska that are east of a line running 

340° true from Cape Spencer Light 

(58°11′54’’ N. lat., 136°38′24′′ W. long.) 

and south and east of a line running 

205° true from said light; 

(4) Area 3A includes all waters 

between Area 2C and a line extending 

from the most northerly point on Cape 

Aklek (57°41′15’’ N. lat., 155°35′00’’ W. 

long.) to Cape Ikolik (57°17′17’’ N. lat., 

154°47′18’’ W. long.), then along the 

Kodiak Island coastline to Cape Trinity 

(56°44′50’’ N. lat., 154°08′44’’ W. long.), 

then 140° true; 

(5) Area 3B includes all waters 

between Area 3A and a line extending 

150° true from Cape Lutke (54°29′00’’ N. 

lat., 164°20′00’’ W. long.) and south of 

54°49′00’’ N. lat. in Isanotski Strait; 

(6) Area 4A includes all waters in the 

Gulf of Alaska west of Area 3B and in 

the Bering Sea west of the closed area 

defined in section 10 that are east of 

172°00′00’’ W. long. and south of 

56°20′00’’ N. lat.; 

(7) Area 4B includes all waters in the 

Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska west 

of Area 4A and south of 56°20′00’’ N. 

lat.; 

(8) Area 4C includes all waters in the 

Bering Sea north of Area 4A and north 

of the closed area defined in section 10 

which are east of 171°00′00’’ W. long., 

south of 58°00′00’’ N. lat., and west of 

168°00′00’’ W. long.; 

(9) Area 4D includes all waters in the 

Bering Sea north of Areas 4A and 4B, 

north and west of Area 4C, and west of 

168°00′00’’ W. long.; 

(10) Area 4E includes all waters in the 

Bering Sea north and east of the closed 

area defined in section 10, east of 

168°00′00’’ W. long., and south of 

65°34′00’’ N. lat. 

7. Fishing in Regulatory Area 4E and 4D 

(1) Section 7 applies only to any 

person fishing, or vessel that is used to 

fish for, Area 4E Community 

Development Quota (CDQ) or Area 4D 

CDQ halibut provided that the total 

annual halibut catch of that person or 

vessel is landed at a port within Area 4E 

or 4D. 

(2) A person may retain halibut taken 

with setline gear in Area 4E CDQ and 

4D CDQ fishery that are smaller than the 

size limit specified in section 13, 

provided that no person may sell or 

barter such halibut. 

(3) The manager of a CDQ 

organization that authorizes persons to 

harvest halibut in the Area 4E or 4D 

CDQ fisheries must report to the 

Commission the total number and 

weight of undersized halibut taken and 

retained by such persons pursuant to 

section 7, paragraph (2). This report, 

which shall include data and 

methodology used to collect the data, 

must be received by the Commission 

prior to December 1 of the year in which 

such halibut were harvested. 

8. Fishing Periods 

(1) The fishing periods for each 

regulatory area apply where the catch 

limits specified in section 11 have not 

been taken. 

(2) Each fishing period in the Area 2A 

directed fishery shall begin at 0800 

hours and terminate at 1800 hours local 

time on June 27, July 11, July 25, August 

8, August 22, September 5, and 

September 19 unless the Commission 

specifies otherwise. The directed fishery 

is restricted to waters that are south of 

Point Chehalis, Washington (46°53 18′ 

N. lat.) under regulations promulgated 

by NMFS and published in the Federal 

Register. 

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (7) of 

section 11, an incidental catch fishery is 

authorized during the sablefish seasons 

in Area 2A in accordance with 

regulations promulgated by NMFS. The 

incidental fishery during the directed, 

fixed gear sablefish season is restricted 

to waters that are north of Point 

Chehalis, Washington (46°53 18′ N. lat.) 

and published in the Federal Register. 

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), 

and paragraph (7) of section 11, an 

incidental catch fishery is authorized 

during salmon troll seasons in Area 2A 

in accordance with regulations 

promulgated by NMFS. 

(5) The fishing period in Areas 2B, 2C, 

3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E shall 

begin at 1200 hours local time on March 

10 and terminate at 1200 hours local 

time on November 15, unless the 

Commission specifies otherwise. 

(6) All commercial fishing for halibut 

in Areas 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 

4D, and 4E shall cease at 1200 hours 

local time on November 15. 

9. Closed Periods 

(1) No person shall engage in fishing 

for halibut in any regulatory area other 

than during the fishing periods set out 

in section 8 in respect of that area. 

(2) No person shall land or otherwise 

retain halibut caught outside a fishing 

period applicable to the regulatory area 

where the halibut was taken. 

(3) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8), (9), 

and (10) of section 19, these Regulations 

do not prohibit fishing for any species 

of fish other than halibut during the 

closed periods. 

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), no 

person shall have halibut in his/her 

possession while fishing for any other 

species of fish during the closed 

periods. 

(5) No vessel shall retrieve any halibut 

fishing gear during a closed period if the 

vessel has any halibut onboard. 


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(6) A vessel that has no halibut 

onboard may retrieve any halibut 

fishing gear during the closed period 

after the operator notifies an authorized 

officer or representative of the 

Commission prior to that retrieval. 

(7) After retrieval of halibut gear in 

accordance with paragraph (6), the 

vessel shall submit to a hold inspection 

at the discretion of the authorized 

officer or representative of the 

Commission. 

(8) No person shall retain any halibut 

caught on gear retrieved referred to in 

paragraph (6). 

(9) No person shall possess halibut 

aboard a vessel in a regulatory area 

during a closed period unless that vessel 

is in continuous transit to or within a 

port in which that halibut may be 

lawfully sold. 

10. Closed Area 

All waters in the Bering Sea north of 

55°00′00’’ N. lat. in Isanotski Strait that 

are enclosed by a line from Cape 

Sarichef Light (54°36′0’’ N. lat., 

164°55′42’’ W. long.) to a point at 

56°20′00’’ N. lat., 168°30′00’’ W. long.; 

thence to a point at 58°21′25’’ N. lat., 

163°00′00’’ W. long.; thence to 

Strogonof Point (56°53′18’’ N. lat., 

158°50′37’’ W. long.); and then along the 

northern coasts of the Alaska Peninsula 

and Unimak Island to the point of origin 

at Cape Sarichef Light are closed to 

halibut fishing and no person shall fish 

for halibut therein or have halibut in 

his/her possession while in those waters 

except in the course of a continuous 

transit across those waters. All waters in 

Isanotski Strait between 55°00′00’’ N. 

lat. and 54°49′00’’ N. lat. are closed to 

halibut fishing. 

11. Catch Limits 

(1) The total allowable catch of 

halibut to be taken during the halibut 

fishing periods specified in section 8 

shall be limited to the net weights 

expressed in pounds or metric tons 

shown in the following table: 

Regulatory Area 

Catch Limit 

Pounds Metric tons 

2A: directed commercial, and incidental commercial during salmon troll fishery 268,182 121.6 

2A: incidental commercial during sablefish fishery 70,000 31.8 

2B1 11,470,000 5,201.8 

2C 8,510,000 3,859.4 

3A 26,200,000 11,882.1 

3B 9,220,000 4,181.4 

4A 2,890,000 1,310.7 

4B 1,440,000 653.1 

4C 1,866,500 846.5 

4D 1,866,500 846.5 

4E 367,000 166.4 

1Area 2B includes combined commercial and sport catch limits which will be allocated by DFO. 

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 

regulations pertaining to the division of 

the Area 2A catch limit between the 

directed commercial fishery and the 

incidental catch fishery as described in 

paragraph (4) of section 8 will be 

promulgated by NMFS and published in 

the Federal Register. 

(3) The Commission shall determine 

and announce to the public the date on 

which the catch limit for Area 2A will 

be taken. 

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 

Area 2B will close only when all 

Individual Vessel Quotas (IVQs) 

assigned by DFO are taken, or November 

15, whichever is earlier. 

(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 

Areas 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 

4E will each close only when all IFQs 

and all CDQs issued by NMFS have 

been taken, or November 15, whichever 

is earlier. 

(6) If the Commission determines that 

the catch limit specified for Area 2A in 

paragraph (1) would be exceeded in an 

unrestricted 10-hour fishing period as 

specified in paragraph (2) of section 8, 

the catch limit for that area shall be 

considered to have been taken unless 

fishing period limits are implemented. 

(7) When under paragraphs (2), (3), 

and (6) the Commission has announced 

a date on which the catch limit for Area 

2A will be taken, no person shall fish 

for halibut in that area after that date for 

the rest of the year, unless the 

Commission has announced the 

reopening of that area for halibut 

fishing. 

(8) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the 

total allowable catch of halibut that may 

be taken in the Area 4E directed 

commercial fishery is equal to the 

combined annual catch limits specified 

for the Area 4D and Area 4E CDQ 

fisheries. The annual Area 4D CDQ 

catch limit will decrease by the 

equivalent amount of halibut CDQ taken 

in Area 4E in excess of the annual Area 

4E CDQ catch limit. 

(9) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the 

total allowable catch of halibut that may 

be taken in the Area 4D directed 

commercial fishery is equal to the 

combined annual catch limits specified 

for Area 4C and Area 4D. The annual 

Area 4C catch limit will decrease by the 

equivalent amount of halibut taken in 

Area 4D in excess of the annual Area 4D 

catch limit. 

12. Fishing Period Limits 

(1) It shall be unlawful for any vessel 

to retain more halibut than authorized 

by that vessel’s license in any fishing 

period for which the Commission has 

announced a fishing period limit. 

(2) The operator of any vessel that 

fishes for halibut during a fishing period 

when fishing period limits are in effect 

must, upon commencing an offload of 

halibut to a commercial fish processor, 

completely offload all halibut onboard 


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11798 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 49 / Wednesday, March 14, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

said vessel to that processor and ensure 

that all halibut is weighed and reported 

on State fish tickets. 

(3) The operator of any vessel that 

fishes for halibut during a fishing period 

when fishing period limits are in effect 

must, upon commencing an offload of 

halibut other than to a commercial fish 

processor, completely offload all halibut 

onboard said vessel and ensure that all 

halibut are weighed and reported on 

State fish tickets. 

(4) The provisions of paragraph (3) are 

not intended to prevent retail over-theside sales to individual purchasers so 

long as all the halibut onboard is 

ultimately offloaded and reported. 

(5) When fishing period limits are in 

effect, a vessel’s maximum retainable 

catch will be determined by the 

Commission based on 

(a) The vessel’s overall length in feet 

and associated length class; 

(b) The average performance of all 

vessels within that class; and 

(c) The remaining catch limit. 

(6) Length classes are shown in the 

following table: 

Overall Length, in feet (m) Vessel 

Class 

1–25 (0.3–7.6) A 

26–30 (7.9–9.1) B 

31–35 (9.4–10.7) C 

36–40 (11.0–12.2) D 

41–45 (12.5–13.7) E 

46–50 (14.0–15.2) F 

51–55 (15.5–16.8) G 

56+ (17.1+) H 

(7) Fishing period limits in Area 2A 

apply only to the directed halibut 

fishery referred to in paragraph (2) of 

section 8. 

13. Size Limits 

(1) No person shall take or possess 

any halibut that 

(a) With the head on, is less than 32 

inches (81.3 cm) as measured in a 

straight line, passing over the pectoral 

fin from the tip of the lower jaw with 

the mouth closed, to the extreme end of 

the middle of the tail, as illustrated in 

Figure 2; or 

(b) With the head removed, is less 

than 24 inches (61.0 cm) as measured 

from the base of the pectoral fin at its 

most anterior point to the extreme end 

of the middle of the tail, as illustrated 

in Figure 2. 

(2) No person onboard a vessel fishing 

for, or tendering, halibut caught in Area 

2A shall possess any halibut that has 

had its head removed. 

14. Careful Release of Halibut 

(1) All halibut that are caught and are 

not retained shall be immediately 

released outboard of the roller and 

returned to the sea with a minimum of 

injury by 

(a) Hook straightening; 

(b) Cutting the gangion near the hook; 

or 

(c) Carefully removing the hook by 

twisting it from the halibut with a gaff. 

(2) Except that paragraph (1) shall not 

prohibit the possession of halibut 

onboard a vessel that has been brought 

aboard to be measured to determine if 

the minimum size limit ofthe halibut is 

met and, if sublegal-sized, is promptly 

returned to the sea with a minimum of 

injury. 

15. Vessel Clearance in Area 4 

(1) The operator of any vessel that 

fishes for halibut in Areas 4A, 4B, 4C, 

or 4D must obtain a vessel clearance 

before fishing in any of these areas, and 

before the landing of any halibut caught 

in any of these areas, unless specifically 

exempted in paragraphs (10), (13), (14), 

(15) or (16). 

(2) An operator obtaining a vessel 

clearance required by paragraph (1) 

must obtain the clearance in person 

from the authorized clearance personnel 

and sign the IPHC form documenting 

that a clearance was obtained, except 

that when the clearance is obtained via 

VHF radio referred to in paragraphs (5), 

(8), and (9), the authorized clearance 

personnel must sign the IPHC form 

documenting that the clearance was 

obtained. 

(3) The vessel clearance required 

under paragraph (1) prior to fishing in 

Area 4A may be obtained only at Nazan 

Bay on Atka Island, Dutch Harbor or 

Akutan, Alaska, from an authorized 

officer of the United States, a 

representative of the Commission, or a 

designated fish processor. 

(4) The vessel clearance required 

under paragraph (1) prior to fishing in 

Area 4B may only be obtained at Nazan 

Bay on Atka Island or Adak, Alaska, 

from an authorized officer of the United 

States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor. 

(5) The vessel clearance required 

under paragraph (1) prior to fishing in 

Area 4C and 4D may be obtained only 

at St. Paul or St. George, Alaska, from 

an authorized officer of the United 

States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor by VHF radio and allowing 

the person contacted to confirm visually 

the identity of the vessel. 

(6) The vessel operator shall specify 

the specific regulatory area in which 

fishing will take place. 

(7) Before unloading any halibut 

caught in Area 4A, a vessel operator 

may obtain the clearance required under 

paragraph (1) only in Dutch Harbor or 

Akutan, Alaska, by contacting an 

authorized officer of the United States, 

a representative of the Commission, or 

a designated fish processor. 

(8) Before unloading any halibut 

caught in Area 4B, a vessel operator may 

obtain the clearance required under 

paragraph (1) only in Nazan Bay on 

Atka Island or Adak, by contacting an 

authorized officer of the United States, 

a representative of the Commission, or 

a designated fish processor by VHF 

radio or in person. 

(9) Before unloading any halibut 

caught in Area 4C and 4D, a vessel 

operator may obtain the clearance 

required under paragraph (1) only in St. 

Paul, St. George, Dutch Harbor, or 

Akutan, Alaska, either in person or by 

contacting an authorized officer of the 

United States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor. The clearances obtained in 

St. Paul or St. George, Alaska, can be 

obtained by VHF radio and allowing the 

person contacted to confirm visually the 

identity of the vessel. 

(10) Any vessel operator who 

complies with the requirements in 

section 18 for possessing halibut 

onboard a vessel that was caught in 

more than one regulatory area in Area 

4 is exempt from the clearance 

requirements of paragraph (1) of this 

section, provided that 

(a) The operator of the vessel obtains 

a vessel clearance prior to fishing in 

Area 4 in either Dutch Harbor, Akutan, 

St. Paul, St. George, Adak, or Nazan Bay 

on Atka Island by contacting an 

authorized officer of the United States, 

a representative of the Commission, or 

a designated fish processor. The 

clearance obtained in St. Paul, St. 

George, Adak, or Nazan Bay on Atka 

Island can be obtained by VHF radio 

and allowing the person contacted to 

confirm visually the identity of the 

vessel. This clearance will list the Areas 

in which the vessel will fish; and 

(b) Before unloading any halibut from 

Area 4, the vessel operator obtains a 

vessel clearance from Dutch Harbor, 

Akutan, St. Paul, St. George, Adak, or 

Nazan Bay on Atka Island by contacting 

an authorized officer of the United 

States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor. The clearance obtained in St. 

Paul or St. George can be obtained by 

VHF radio and allowing the person 

contacted to confirm visually the 

identity of the vessel. The clearance 

obtained in Adak or Nazan Bay on Atka 

Island can be obtained by VHF radio. 


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(11) Vessel clearances shall be 

obtained between 0600 and 1800 hours, 

local time. 

(12) No halibut shall be onboard the 

vessel at the time of the clearances 

required prior to fishing in Area 4. 

(13) Any vessel that is used to fish for 

halibut only in Area 4A and lands its 

total annual halibut catch at a port 

within Area 4A is exempt from the 

clearance requirements of paragraph (1). 

(14) Any vessel that is used to fish for 

halibut only in Area 4B and lands its 

total annual halibut catch at a port 

within Area 4B is exempt from the 

clearance requirements of paragraph (1). 

(15) Any vessel that is used to fish for 

halibut only in Areas 4C or 4D or 4E and 

lands its total annual halibut catch at a 

port within Areas 4C, 4D, 4E, or the 

closed area defined in section 10, is 

exempt from the clearance requirements 

of paragraph (1). 

(16) Any vessel that carries a 

transmitting VMS transmitter while 

fishing for halibut in Area 4A, 4B, 4C, 

or 4D and until all halibut caught in any 

of these areas is landed is exempt from 

the clearance requirements of paragraph 

(1) of this section, provided that 

(a) The operator of the vessel 

complies with NMFS’ vessel monitoring 

system regulations published at 50 CFR 

sections 679.28(f)(3), (4) and (5); and 

(b) The operator of the vessel notifies 

NOAA Fisheries Office for Law 

Enforcement at 800–304–4846 (select 

option 1 to speak to an Enforcement 

Data Clerk) between the hours of 0600 

and 0000 (midnight) local time within 

72 hours before fishing for halibut in 

Area 4A, 4B, 4C, or 4D and receives a 

VMS confirmation number. 

16. Logs 

(1) The operator of any U.S. vessel 

fishing for halibut that has an overall 

length of 26 ft (7.9 m) or greater shall 

maintain an accurate log of halibut 

fishing operations in the Groundfish/ 

IFQ Daily Fishing Longline and Pot Gear 

Logbook provided by NMFS, or Alaska 

hook-and-line logbook provided by 

Petersburg Vessel Owners Association 

or Alaska Longline Fisherman’s 

Association, or the Alaska Department 

of Fish and Game (ADF&G) longline-pot 

logbook, or the logbook provided by 

IPHC. 

(2) The logbook referred to in 

paragraph (1) must include the 

following information: 

(a) The name of the vessel and the 

state (ADF&G, WDFW, Oregon 

Department of Fish and Wildlife, or 

California Department of Fish and 

Game) vessel number; 

(b) The date(s) upon which the fishing 

gear is set or retrieved; 

(c) The latitude and longitude or loran 

coordinates or a direction and distance 

from a point of land for each set or day; 

(d) The number of skates deployed or 

retrieved, and number of skates lost; and 

(e) The total weight or number of 

halibut retained for each set or day. 

(3) The logbook referred to in 

paragraph (1) shall be 

(a) Maintained onboard the vessel; 

(b) Updated not later than 24 hours 

after midnight local time for each day 

fished and prior to the offloading or sale 

of halibut taken during that fishing trip; 

(c) Retained for a period of two years 

by the owner or operator of the vessel; 

(d) Open to inspection by an 

authorized officer or any authorized 

representative of the Commission upon 

demand; and 

(e) Kept onboard the vessel when 

engaged in halibut fishing, during 

transits to port of landing, and until the 

offloading of all halibut is completed. 

(4) The log referred to in paragraph (1) 

does not apply to the incidental halibut 

fishery during the salmon troll season in 

Area 2A defined in paragraph (4) of 

section 8. 

(5) The operator of any Canadian 

vessel fishing for halibut shall maintain 

an accurate log recorded in the British 

Columbia Integrated Groundfish Fishing 

Log provided by DFO. 

(6) The logbook referred to in 

paragraph (5) must include the 

following information: 

(a) The name of the vessel and the 

DFO vessel number; 

(b) The date(s) upon which the fishing 

gear is set or retrieved; 

(c) The latitude and longitude or loran 

coordinates or a direction and distance 

from a point of land for each set or day; 

(d) The number of skates deployed or 

retrieved, and number of skates lost; and 

(e) The total weight or number of 

halibut retained for each set or day. 

(7) The logbook referred to in 

paragraph (5) shall be 

(a) Maintained onboard the vessel; 

(b) Retained for a period of two years 

by the owner or operator of the vessel; 

(c) Open to inspection by an 

authorized officer or any authorized 

representative of the Commission upon 

demand; 

(d) Kept onboard the vessel when 

engaged in halibut fishing, during 

transits to port of landing, and until the 

offloading of all halibut is completed; 

(e) Mailed to the DFO (white copy) 

within seven days of offloading; and 

(f) Mailed to the Commission (yellow 

copy) within seven days of the final 

offload if not collected by a Commission 

employee. 

(8) No person shall make a false entry 

in a log referred to in this section. 

17. Receipt and Possession of Halibut 

(1) No person shall receive halibut 

from a United States vessel that does not 

have onboard the license required by 

section 4. 

(2) No person shall possess onboard a 

vessel a halibut other than whole or 

with gills and entrails removed. Except 

that this paragraph shall not prohibit the 

possession onboard a vessel: 

(a) Halibut cheeks cut from halibut 

caught by persons authorized to process 

the halibut onboard in accordance with 

NMFS regulations published at 50 CFR 

part 679; 

(b) Fillets from halibut that have been 

offloaded in accordance with section 17 

may be possessed onboard the 

harvesting vessel in the port of landing 

up to 1800 hours local time on the 

calendar day following the offload (DFO 

has more restrictive regulations 

therefore section 17(2)b does not apply 

to fish caught in Area 2B or landed in 

British Columbia); and 

(c) Halibut with their heads removed 

in accordance with section 13. 

(3) No person shall offload halibut 

from a vessel unless the gills and 

entrails have been removed prior to 

offloading (DFO did not adopt this 

regulation therefore section 17 

paragraph 3 does not apply to fish 

caught in Area 2B). 

(4) It shall be the responsibility of a 

vessel operator who lands halibut to 

continuously and completely offload at 

a single offload site all halibut onboard 

the vessel. 

(5) A registered buyer (as that term is 

defined in regulations promulgated by 

NMFS and codified at 50 CFR part 679) 

who receives halibut harvested in IFQ 

and CDQ fisheries in Areas 2C, 3A, 3B, 

4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E, directly from 

the vessel operator that harvested such 

halibut must weigh all the halibut 

received and record the following 

information on Federal catch reports: 

date of offload; name of vessel; vessel 

number; scale weight obtained at the 

time of offloading, including the weight 

(in pounds) of halibut purchased by the 

registered buyer, the weight (in pounds) 

of halibut offloaded in excess of the IFQ 

or CDQ, the weight of halibut (in 

pounds) retained for personal use or for 

future sale, and the weight (in pounds) 

of halibut discarded as unfit for human 

consumption. 

(6) The first recipient, commercial 

fish processor, or buyer in the United 

States who purchases or receives halibut 

directly from the vessel operator that 

harvested such halibut must weigh and 

record all halibut received and record 

the following information on state fish 

tickets: the date of offload, vessel 


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number, total weight obtained at the 

time of offload including the weight (in 

pounds) of halibut purchased, the 

weight (in pounds) of halibut offloaded 

in excess of the IFQ, CDQ, or fishing 

period limits, the weight of halibut (in 

pounds) retained for personal use or for 

future sale, and the weight (in pounds) 

of halibut discarded as unfit for human 

consumption. 

(7) The individual completing the 

state fish tickets for the Area 2A 

fisheries as referred to in paragraph (6) 

must additionally record whether the 

halibut weight is of head-on or head-off 

fish. 

(8) For halibut landings made in 

Alaska, the requirements as listed in 

paragraph (5) and (6) can be met by 

recording the information in the 

Interagency Electronic Reporting 

Systems, eLandings. 

(9) The master or operator of a 

Canadian vessel that was engaged in 

halibut fishing must weigh and record 

all halibut onboard said vessel at the 

time offloading commences and record 

on Provincial fish tickets or Federal 

catch reports the date, locality, name of 

vessel, the name(s) of the person(s) from 

whom the halibut was purchased; and 

the scale weight obtained at the time of 

offloading of all halibut onboard the 

vessel including the pounds purchased; 

pounds in excess of IVQs; pounds 

retained for personal use; and pounds 

discarded as unfit for human 

consumption. 

(10) No person shall make a false 

entry on a State or Provincial fish ticket 

or a Federal catch or landing report 

referred to in paragraphs (5), (6), and (9) 

of section 17. 

(11) A copy of the fish tickets or catch 

reports referred to in paragraphs (5), (6), 

and (9) shall be 

(a) Retained by the person making 

them for a period of three years from the 

date the fish tickets or catch reports are 

made; and 

(b) Open to inspection by an 

authorized officer or any authorized 

representative of the Commission. 

(12) No person shall possess any 

halibut taken or retained in 

contravention of these Regulations. 

(13) When halibut are landed to other 

than a commercial fish processor the 

records required by paragraph (6) shall 

be maintained by the operator of the 

vessel from which that halibut was 

caught, in compliance with paragraph 

(9). 

(14) It shall be unlawful to enter an 

IPHC license number on a State fish 

ticket for any vessel other than the 

vessel actually used in catching the 

halibut reported thereon. 

18. Fishing Multiple Regulatory Areas 

(1) Except as provided in this section, 

no person shall possess at the same time 

onboard a vessel halibut caught in more 

than one regulatory area. 

(2) Halibut caught in more than one 

of the Regulatory Areas 2C, 3A, or 3B 

may be possessed onboard a vessel at 

the same time providing the operator of 

the vessel: 

(a) Has a NMFS-certified observer 

onboard when required by NMFS 

regulations published at 50 CFR 

679.7(f)(4); (Note: Without an observer, 

a vessel cannot have onboard more 

halibut than the IFQ for the area that is 

being fished even if some of the catch 

occurred earlier in a different area.) and 

(b) Can identify the regulatory area in 

which each halibut onboard was caught 

by separating halibut from different 

areas in the hold, tagging halibut, or by 

other means. 

(3) Halibut caught in more than one 

of the Regulatory Areas 4A, 4B, 4C, or 

4D may be possessed onboard a vessel 

at the same time providing the operator 

of the vessel: 

(a) Has a NMFS-certified observer 

onboard the vessel when halibut caught 

in different regulatory areas are 

onboard; and 

(b) Can identify the regulatory area in 

which each halibut onboard was caught 

by separating halibut from different 

areas in the hold, tagging halibut, or by 

other means. 

(4) Halibut caught in Regulatory Areas 

4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D may be possessed 

onboard a vessel when in compliance 

with paragraph (3) and if halibut from 

Area 4 are onboard the vessel, the vessel 

can have halibut caught in Regulatory 

Areas 2C, 3A, and 3B onboard if in 

compliance with paragraph (2). 

19. Fishing Gear 

(1) No person shall fish for halibut 

using any gear other than hook and line 

gear, except that vessels licensed to 

catch sablefish in Area 2B using 

sablefish trap gear as defined in the 

Condition of Sablefish Licence can 

retain halibut caught as bycatch under 

regulations promulgated by the 

Canadian Department of Fisheries and 

Oceans. 

(2) No person shall possess halibut 

taken with any gear other than hook and 

line gear, except that vessels licensed to 

catch sablefish in Area 2B using 

sablefish trap gear as defined by the 

Condition of Sablefish Licence can 

retain halibut caught as bycatch under 

regulations promulgated by the 

Canadian Department of Fisheries and 

Oceans. 

(3) No person shall possess halibut 

while onboard a vessel carrying any 

trawl nets or fishing pots capable of 

catching halibut, except that in Areas 

2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E, 

halibut heads, skin, entrails, bones or 

fins for use as bait may be possessed 

onboard a vessel carrying pots capable 

of catching halibut, provided that a 

receipt documenting purchase or 

transfer of these halibut parts is onboard 

the vessel. 

(4) All setline or skate marker buoys 

carried onboard or used by any United 

States vessel used for halibut fishing 

shall be marked with one of the 

following: 

(a) The vessel’s state license number; 

or 

(b) The vessel’s registration number. 

(5) The markings specified in 

paragraph (4) shall be in characters at 

least four inches in height and one-half 

inch in width in a contrasting color 

visible above the water and shall be 

maintained in legible condition. 

(6) All setline or skate marker buoys 

carried onboard or used by a Canadian 

vessel used for halibut fishing shall be 

(a) Floating and visible on the surface 

of the water; and 

(b) Legibly marked with the 

identification plate number of the vessel 

engaged in commercial fishing from 

which that setline is being operated. 

(7) No person onboard a vessel from 

which setline gear was used to fish for 

any species of fish anywhere in Area 2A 

during the 72-hour period immediately 

before the opening of a halibut fishing 

period shall catch or possess halibut 

anywhere in those waters during that 

halibut fishing period. 

(8) No vessel from which setline gear 

was used to fish for any species of fish 

anywhere in Area 2A during the 72- 

hour period immediately before the 

opening of a halibut fishing period may 

be used to catch or possess halibut 

anywhere in those waters during that 

halibut fishing period. 

(9) No person onboard a vessel from 

which setline gear was used to fish for 

any species of fish anywhere in Areas 

2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E 

during the 72-hour period immediately 

before the opening of the halibut fishing 

season shall catch or possess halibut 

anywhere in those areas until the vessel 

has removed all of its setline gear from 

the water and has either 

(a) Made a landing and completely 

offloaded its entire catch of other fish; 

or 

(b) Submitted to a hold inspection by 

an authorized officer. 

(10) No vessel from which setline gear 

was used to fish for any species of fish 

anywhere in Areas 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 

4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E during the 72-hour 

period immediately before the opening 


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of the halibut fishing season may be 

used to catch or possess halibut 

anywhere in those areas until the vessel 

has removed all of its setline gear from 

the water and has either 

(a) Made a landing and completely 

offloaded its entire catch of other fish; 

or 

(b) Submitted to a hold inspection by 

an authorized officer. 

(11) Notwithstanding any other 

provision in these regulations, a person 

may retain, possess and dispose of 

halibut taken with trawl gear only as 

authorized by Prohibited Species 

Donation regulations of NMFS. 

20. Supervision of Unloading and 

Weighing 

The unloading and weighing of 

halibut may be subject to the 

supervision of authorized officers to 

assure the fulfillment of the provisions 

of these Regulations. 

21. Retention of Tagged Halibut 

(1) Nothing contained in these 

Regulations prohibits any vessel at any 

time from retaining and landing a 

halibut that bears a Commission 

external tag at the time of capture, if the 

halibut with the tag still attached is 

reported at the time of landing and 

made available for examination by a 

representative of the Commission or by 

an authorized officer. 

(2) After examination and removal of 

the tag by a representative of the 

Commission or an authorized officer, 

the halibut 

(a) May be retained for personal use; 

or 

(b) May be sold only if the halibut is 

caught during commercial halibut 

fishing and complies with the other 

commercial fishing provisions of these 

regulations. 

(3) Externally tagged fish must count 

against commercial IVQs, CDQs, IFQs, 

or daily bag or possession limits unless 

otherwise exempted by state, provincial, 

or Federal regulations. 

22. Fishing by United States Treaty 

Indian Tribes 

(1) Halibut fishing in subarea 2A–1 by 

members of United States treaty Indian 

tribes located in the State of Washington 

shall be regulated under regulations 

promulgated by NMFS and published in 

the Federal Register. 

(2) Subarea 2A–1 includes all waters 

off the coast of Washington that are 

north of 46°53′18′′N. lat. and east of 

125°44′00′′W. long., and all inland 

marine waters of Washington. 

(3) Section 13 (size limits), section 14 

(careful release of halibut), section 16 

(logs), section 17 (receipt and 

possession of halibut) and section 19 

(fishing gear), except paragraphs (7) and 

(8) of section 19, apply to commercial 

fishing for halibut in subarea 2A–1 by 

the treaty Indian tribes. 

(4) Commercial fishing for halibut in 

subarea 2A–1 is permitted with hook 

and line gear from March 10 through 

November 15, or until 461,000 lb (209.1 

mt) net weight is taken, whichever 

occurs first. 

(5) Ceremonial and subsistence 

fishing for halibut in subarea 2A–1 is 

permitted with hook and line gear from 

January 1 through December 31, and is 

estimated to take 33,000 lb (15.0 mt) net 

weight. 

23. Customary and Traditional Fishing 

in Alaska 

(1) Customary and traditional fishing 

for halibut in Regulatory Areas 2C, 3A, 

3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E shall be 

governed pursuant to regulations 

promulgated by the National Marine 

Fisheries Service and published in 50 

CFR part 300. 

(2) Customary and traditional fishing 

is authorized from January 1 through 

December 31. 

24. Aboriginal Groups Fishing for Food, 

Social, and Ceremonial Purposes in 

British Columbia 

(1) Fishing for halibut for food, social, 

and ceremonial purposes by Aboriginal 

groups in Regulatory Area 2B shall be 

governed by the Fisheries Act of Canada 

and regulations as amended from time 

to time. 

25. Sport Fishing for Halibut 

(1) No person shall engage in sport 

fishing for halibut using gear other than 

a single line with no more than two 

hooks attached; or a spear. 

(2) In all waters off Alaska 

(a) The sport fishing season is from 

February 1 to December 31; 

(b) The daily bag limit is two halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(3) In all waters off British Columbia 

(a) The sport fishing season is from 

February 1 to December 31; 

(b) The daily bag limit is two halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(4) In all waters off California, Oregon, 

and Washington 

(a) The total allowable catch of 

halibut shall be limited to 

(i) 239,636 lb (108.7 mt) net weight in 

waters off Washington; and 

(ii) 268,182 lb (121.6 mt) net weight 

in waters off California and Oregon. 

(b) The sport fishing subareas, 

subquotas, fishing dates, and daily bag 

limits are as follows, except as modified 

under the inseason actions authorized at 

50 CFR 300.63 (c). All sport fishing in 

Area 2A is managed on a ‘‘port of 

landing’’ basis, whereby any halibut 

landed into a port counts toward the 

quota for the area in which that port is 

located, and the regulations governing 

the area of landing apply, regardless of 

the specific area of catch. 

(i) The area in Puget Sound and the 

U.S. waters in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 

east of a line extending from 48°17.30′ 

N. lat., 124°23.70′ W. long. north to 

48°24.10′ N. lat., 124°23.70′ W. long., is 

not managed inseason relative to its 

quota. This area is managed by setting 

a season that is projected to result in a 

catch of 65,562 lb (29.7 mt). 

(A) The fishing season in eastern 

Puget Sound (east of 123°49.50′ W. 

long., Low Point) is April 9 through 

June 16 and the fishing season in 

western Puget Sound (west of 

123°49.50′ W. long., Low Point) is May 

24 through August 3, 5 days a week 

(Thursday through Monday). 

(B) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(ii) The quota for landings into ports 

in the area off the north Washington 

coast, west of the line described in 

paragraph (4)(b)(i) of this section and 

north of the Queets River (47°31.70′ N. 

lat.), is 116,199 lb (52.7 mt). 

(A) The fishing seasons are 

(1) Commencing on May 15 and 

continuing 3 days a week (Tuesday, 

Thursday, and Saturday) until 83,663 lb 

(37.9 mt) are estimated to have been 

taken and the season is closed by the 

Commission. 

(2) On June 19 and 21, the fishery will 

open only in the nearshore areas 

defined at the end of this paragraph. 

The fishery will open for one day on 

June 23 in the entire north coast 

subarea. If sufficient quota remains, the 

fishery would reopen, as a first priority, 

in the entire north coast subarea for one 

day on June 28. If there is insufficient 

quota remaining to reopen the entire 

north coast subarea on June 28, then the 

nearshore areas described below would 

reopen on June 28, up to four days per 

week (Thursday-Sunday), until the 

overall quota of 116,199 lb (52.7 mt) are 

estimated to have been taken and the 

area is closed by the Commission, or 

until September 30, whichever is 

earlier. After June 23, any fishery 

opening will be announced on the 

NMFS hotline at 800–662–9825. No 

halibut fishing will be allowed after 

June 23 unless the date is announced on 

the NMFS hotline. The nearshore areas 

for Washington’s North Coast fishery are 

defined as follows: 

(a) WDFW Marine Catch Area 4B, 

which is all waters west of the Sekiu 

River mouth, as defined by a line 

extending from 48°17.30′ N. lat., 


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124°23.70′ W. long. north to 48°24.10′ 

N. lat., 124°23.70′ W. long., to the 

Bonilla-Tatoosh line, as defined by a 

line connecting the light on Tatoosh 

Island, WA, with the light on Bonilla 

Point on Vancover Island, British 

Columbia (at 48°35.73′ N. lat., 

124°43.00′ W. long.) south of the 

International Boundary between the 

U.S. and Canada (at 48°29.62′ N.lat., 

124°43.55′ W.long.), and north of the 

point where that line intersects with the 

boundary of the U.S. territorial sea. 

(b) Shoreward of the recreational 

halibut 30–fm boundary line, a modified 

line approximating the 30 fm (55 m) 

depth contour from the Bonilla-Tatoosh 

line south to the Queets River, as 

defined by straight lines connecting all 

of the following points in the order 

stated: 

(1) 48°24.79′ N. lat., 124°44.07′ W. 

long.; 

(2) 48°24.80′ N. lat., 124°44.74′ W. 

long.; 

(3) 48°23.94′ N. lat., 124°44.70′ W. 

long.; 

(4) 48°23.51′ N. lat., 124°45.01′ W. 

long.; 

(5) 48°22.59′ N. lat., 124°44.97′ W. 

long.; 

(6) 48°21.75′ N. lat., 124°45.26′ W. 

long.; 

(7) 48°21.23′ N. lat., 124°47.78′ W. 

long.; 

(8) 48°20.32′ N. lat., 124°49.53′ W. 

long.; 

(9) 48°16.72′ N. lat., 124°51.58′ W. 

long.; 

(10) 48°10.00′ N. lat., 124°52.58′ W. 

long.; 

(11) 48°05.63′ N. lat., 124°52.91′ W. 

long.; 

(12) 47°53.37′ N. lat., 124°47.37′ W. 

long.; 

(13) 47°40.28′ N. lat., 124°40.07′ W. 

long.; and 

(14) 47°31.70′ N. lat., 124°37.03′ W. 

long. 

(B) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(C) Recreational fishing for groundfish 

and halibut is prohibited within the 

North Coast Recreational Yelloweye 

Rockfish Conservation Area (YRCA). It 

is unlawful for recreational fishing 

vessels to take and retain, possess, or 

land halibut taken with recreational gear 

within the North Coast Recreational 

YRCA. A vessel fishing in the North 

Coast Recreational YRCA may not be in 

possession of any halibut. Recreational 

vessels may transit through the North 

Coast Recreational YRCA with or 

without halibut onboard. The North 

Coast Recreational YRCA is a C-shaped 

area off the northern Washington coast 

intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. 

The North Coast Recreational YRCA is 

defined by straight lines connecting the 

following specific latitude and 

longitude coordinates in the order 

listed: 

(1) 48°18.00′ N. lat.; 125°18.00′ W. 

long.; 

(2) 48°18.00′ N. lat.; 124°59.00′ W. 

long.; 

(3) 48°11.00′ N. lat.; 124°59.00′ W. 

long.; 

(4) 48°11.00′ N. lat.; 125°11.00′ W. 

long.; 

(5) 48°04.00′ N. lat.; 125°11.00′ W. 

long.; 

(6) 48°04.00′ N. lat.; 124°59.00′ W. 

long.; 

(7) 48°00.00′ N. lat.; 124°59.00′ W. 

long.; 

(8) 48°00.00′ N. lat.; 125°18.00′ W. 

long.; 

and connecting back to 48°18.00′ N. 

lat.; 125°18.00′ W. long. 

(iii) The quota for landings into ports 

in the area between the Queets River, 

Washington, (47°31.70′ N. lat.) and 

Leadbetter Point, Washington, 

(46°38.17′ N. lat.), is 50,907 lb (23 mt). 

(A) The fishing season commences on 

May 1 and continues 5 days a week 

(Sunday through Thursday) in all 

waters, except that in the area from 

47°25.00′ N. lat. south to 46°58.00′ N. 

lat. and east of 124°30.00′ W. long. (the 

Washington South coast, northern 

nearshore area), the fishing season 

commences on May 1 and continues 7 

days a week. The south coast subarea 

quota will be allocated as follows: 

48,362 lb (22 mt), 95 percent, for the 

primary fishery, and 2,545 lb (1.2 mt), 

5 percent, for the northern nearshore 

fishery, once the primary fishery has 

closed. The primary fishery will 

continue from May 1 until 48,362 lb (22 

mt) are estimated to have been taken 

and the season is closed by the 

Commission, or until September 30, 

whichever is earlier. Subsequent to this 

closure, if there is insufficient quota 

remaining to reopen the primary fishery 

for another fishing day, then any 

remaining quota may be used to 

accommodate incidental catch in the 

northern nearshore area from 47°25.00′ 

N. lat. south to 46°58.00′ N. lat. and east 

of 124°30.00′ W. long. on Fridays and 

Saturdays, until 50,907 lb (23 mt) is 

projected to be taken and the fishery is 

closed by the Commission. No fishing is 

allowed after the closure of the primary 

fishery unless openings are announced 

on the NMFS hotline at 800–662–9825. 

If the fishery is closed prior to 

September 30, and there is insufficient 

quota remaining to reopen the northern 

nearshore area for another fishing day, 

then any remaining quota may be 

transferred inseason to another 

Washington coastal subarea by NMFS 

via an update to the recreational halibut 

hotline. 

(B) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(C) Recreational fishing for groundfish 

and halibut is prohibited within the 

South Coast Recreational YRCA. It is 

unlawful for recreational fishing vessels 

to take and retain, possess, or land 

halibut taken with recreational gear 

within the South Coast Recreational 

YRCA. A vessel fishing in the South 

Coast Recreational YRCA may not be in 

possession of any halibut. Recreational 

vessels may transit through the South 

Coast Recreational YRCA with or 

without halibut onboard. The South 

Coast Recreational YRCA is an area off 

the southern Washington coast intended 

to protect yelloweye rockfish. The South 

Coast Recreational YRCA is defined by 

straight lines connecting the following 

specific latitude and longitude 

coordinates in the order listed: 

(1) 46°58.00′ N. lat., 124°48.00′ W. 

long.; 

(2) 46°55.00′ N. lat., 124°48.00′ W. 

long.; 

(3) 46°58.00′ N. lat., 124°49.00′ W. 

long.; 

(4) 46°55.00′ N. lat., 124°49.00′ W. 

long.; 

and connecting back to 46°58.00′ N. 

lat., 124°48.00′ W. long. 

(iv) The quota for landings into ports 

in the area between Leadbetter Point, 

Washington, (46°38.17′ N. lat.) and Cape 

Falcon, Oregon, (45°46.00′ N. lat.), is 

20,378 lb (9.2 mt). 

(A) The fishing season commences on 

May 1, and continues 7 days a week 

until 14,264 lb (6.5 mt) are estimated to 

have been taken and the season is 

closed by the Commission or until July 

15, whichever is earlier. The fishery will 

reopen on August 3 and continue 3 days 

a week (Friday through Sunday) until 

20,378 lb (9.2 mt) have been taken and 

the season is closed by the Commission, 

or until September 30, whichever is 

earlier. Subsequent to this closure, if 

there is insufficient quota remaining in 

the Columbia River subarea for another 

fishing day, then any remaining quota 

may be transferred inseason to another 

Washington and/or Oregon subarea by 

NMFS via an update to the recreational 

halibut hotline. Any remaining quota 

would be transferred to each state in 

proportion to its contribution. 

(B) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(C) Pacific Coast groundfish may not 

be taken and retained, possessed or 

landed, except sablefish and Pacific cod 

when allowed by Pacific Coast 

groundfish regulations, if halibut are 

onboard the vessel. 


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(v) The quota for landings into ports 

in the area off Oregon between Cape 

Falcon (45°46.00′ N. lat.) and Humbug 

Mountain (42°40.50′ N. lat.), is 246,727 

lb (111.9 mt). 

(A) The fishing seasons are 

(1) The first season (the ‘‘inside 40–

fm’’ fishery) commences May 1 and 

continues 7 days a week through 

October 31, in the area shoreward of a 

boundary line approximating the 40–fm 

(73–m) depth contour, or until the subquota for the central Oregon ‘‘inside 40–

fm’’ fishery (19,738 lb (8.6 mt)) or any 

inseason revised subquota is estimated 

to have been taken and the season is 

closed by the Commission, whichever is 

earlier. The boundary line 

approximating the 40–fm (73–m) depth 

contour between 45°46.00′ N. lat. and 

42°40.50′ N. lat. is defined by straight 

lines connecting all of the following 

points in the order stated: 

(1) 45°46.00′ N. lat., 124°04.49′ W. 

long.; 

(2) 45°44.34′ N. lat., 124°05.09′ W. 

long.; 

(3) 45°40.64′ N. lat., 124°04.90′ W. 

long.; 

(4) 45°33.00′ N. lat., 124°04.46′ W. 

long.; 

(5) 45°32.27′ N. lat., 124°04.74′ W. 

long.; 

(6) 45°29.26′ N. lat., 124°04.22′ W. 

long.; 

(7) 45°20.25′ N. lat., 124°04.67′ W. 

long.; 

(8) 45°19.99′ N. lat., 124°04.62′ W. 

long.; 

(9) 45°17.50′ N. lat., 124°04.91′ W. 

long.; 

(10) 45°11.29′ N. lat., 124°05.20′ W. 

long.; 

(11) 45°05.80′ N. lat., 124°05.40′ W. 

long.; 

(12) 45°05.08′ N. lat., 124°05.93′ W. 

long.; 

(13) 45°03.83′ N. lat., 124°06.47′ W. 

long.; 

(14) 45°01.70′ N. lat., 124°06.53′ W. 

long.; 

(15) 44°58.75′ N. lat., 124°07.14′ W. 

long.; 

(16) 44°51.28′ N. lat., 124°10.21′ W. 

long.; 

(17) 44°49.49′ N. lat., 124°10.90′ W. 

long.; 

(18) 44°44.96′ N. lat., 124°14.39′ W. 

long.; 

(19) 44°43.44′ N. lat., 124°14.78′ W. 

long.; 

(20) 44°42.26′ N. lat., 124°13.81′ W. 

long.; 

(21) 44°41.68′ N. lat., 124°15.38′ W. 

long.; 

(22) 44°34.87′ N. lat., 124°15.80′ W. 

long.; 

(23) 44°33.74′ N. lat., 124°14.44′ W. 

long.; 

(24) 44°27.66′ N. lat., 124°16.99′ W. 

long.; 

(25) 44°19.13′ N. lat., 124°19.22′ W. 

long.; 

(26) 44°15.35′ N. lat., 124°17.38′ W. 

long.; 

(27) 44°14.38′ N. lat., 124°17.78′ W. 

long.; 

(28) 44°12.80′ N. lat., 124°17.18′ W. 

long.; 

(29) 44°09.23′ N. lat., 124°15.96′ W. 

long.; 

(30) 44°08.38′ N. lat., 124°16.79′ W. 

long.; 

(31) 44°08.30′ N. lat., 124°16.75′ W. 

long.; 

(32) 44°01.18′ N. lat., 124°15.42′ W. 

long.; 

(33) 43°51.61′ N. lat., 124°14.68′ W. 

long.; 

(34) 43°42.66′ N. lat., 124°15.46′ W. 

long.; 

(35) 43°40.49′ N. lat., 124°15.74′ W. 

long.; 

(36) 43°38.77′ N. lat., 124°15.64′ W. 

long.; 

(37) 43°34.52′ N. lat., 124°16.73′ W. 

long.; 

(38) 43°28.82′ N. lat., 124°19.52′ W. 

long.; 

(39) 43°23.91′ N. lat., 124°24.28′ W. 

long.; 

(40) 43°20.83′ N. lat., 124°26.63′ W. 

long.; 

(41) 43°17.96′ N. lat., 124°28.81′ W. 

long.; 

(42) 43°16.75′ N. lat., 124°28.42′ W. 

long.; 

(43) 43°13.97′ N. lat., 124°31.99′ W. 

long.; 

(44) 43°13.72′ N. lat., 124°33.25′ W. 

long.; 

(45) 43°12.26′ N. lat., 124°34.16′ W. 

long.; 

(46) 43°10.96′ N. lat., 124°32.33′ W. 

long.; 

(47) 43°05.65′ N. lat., 124°31.52′ W. 

long.; 

(48) 42°59.66′ N. lat., 124°32.58′ W. 

long.; 

(49) 42°54.97′ N. lat., 124°36.99′ W. 

long.; 

(50) 42°53.81′ N. lat., 124°38.57′ W. 

long.; 

(51) 42°50.00′ N. lat., 124°39.68′ W. 

long.; 

(52) 42°49.13′ N. lat., 124°39.70′ W. 

long.; 

(53) 42°46.47′ N. lat., 124°38.89′ W. 

long.; 

(54) 42°45.74′ N. lat., 124°38.86′ W. 

long.; 

(55) 42°44.79′ N. lat., 124°37.96′ W. 

long.; 

(56) 42°45.01′ N. lat., 124°36.39′ W. 

long.; 

(57) 42°44.14′ N. lat., 124°35.17′ W. 

long.; 

(58) 42°42.14′ N. lat., 124°32.82′ W. 

long.; and 

(59) 42°40.50′ N. lat., 124°31.98′ W. 

long. 

(2) The second season (spring season), 

which is for the ‘‘all-depth’’ fishery, is 

open on May 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 

25, 26, 31, and June 1, 2, 7, 8, 9. The 

projected catch for this season is 

170,242 lb (77.2 mt). If sufficient 

unharvested catch remains for 

additional fishing days, the season will 

re-open. Dependent on the amount of 

unharvested catch available, the 

potential season re-opening dates will 

be: June 21, 22, 23, and July 5, 6, 7, 19, 

20, 21. If NMFS decides inseason to 

allow fishing on any of these re-opening 

dates, notice of the re-opening will be 

announced on the NMFS hotline (206) 

526–6667 or (800) 662–9825. No halibut 

fishing will be allowed on the reopening dates unless the date is 

announced on the NMFS hotline. 

(3) If sufficient unharvested catch 

remains, the third season (summer 

season), which is for the ‘‘all-depth’’

fishery, will be open on August 3, 4, 5, 

17, 18, 19, 31, September 1, 2, 14, 15, 

16, 28, 29, 30, and October 12, 13, 14, 

26, 27, 28, or until the combined spring 

season and summer season quotas in the 

area between Cape Falcon and Humbug 

Mountain, Oregon, totaling 226,989 lb 

(103 mt), are estimated to have been 

taken and the area is closed by the 

Commission, or October 31, whichever 

is earlier. NMFS will announce on the 

NMFS hotline in July if the fishery will 

re-open for the summer season in 

August. No halibut fishing will be 

allowed in the summer season fishery 

unless the dates are announced on the 

NMFS hotline. Additional fishing days 

may be opened if a certain amount of 

quota remains after August 5 and 

September 2. If after August 5, greater 

than or equal to 60,000 lb (27.2 mt) 

remains in the combined all-depth and 

inside 40–fm (73–m) quota, the fishery 

may re-open every Friday through 

Sunday, beginning August 10 - 12, and 

ending October 26 - 28. If after 

September 2, greater than or equal to 

30,000 lb (13.6 mt) remains in the 

combined all-depth and inside 40–fm 

(73–m) quota, and the fishery is not 

already open every Friday through 

Sunday, the fishery may re-open every 

Friday through Sunday, beginning 

September 7 - 9, and ending October 26 

- 28. After September 2, the bag limit 

may be increased to two fish of any size 

per person, per day. NMFS will 

announce on the NMFS hotline whether 

the summer all-depth fishery will be 

open on such additional fishing days, 

days the fishery will be open, and the 

bag limit. 

(B) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person, unless 


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11804 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 49 / Wednesday, March 14, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

otherwise specified. NMFS will 

announce on the NMFS hotline any bag 

limit changes. 

(C) During days open to all-depth 

halibut fishing, no Pacific Coast 

groundfish may be taken and retained, 

possessed or landed, except sablefish 

when allowed by Pacific Coast 

groundfish regulations, if halibut are 

onboard the vessel. 

(D) When the all-depth halibut fishery 

is closed and halibut fishing is 

permitted only shoreward of a boundary 

line approximating the 40–fm (73–m) 

depth contour, halibut possession and 

retention by vessels operating seaward 

of a boundary line approximating the 

40–fm (73–m) depth contour is 

prohibited. 

(E) Recreational fishing for groundfish 

and halibut is prohibited within the 

Stonewall Bank YRCA. It is unlawful for 

recreational fishing vessels to take and 

retain, possess, or land halibut taken 

with recreational gear within the 

Stonewall Bank YRCA. A vessel fishing 

in the Stonewall Bank YRCA may not be 

in possession of any halibut. 

Recreational vessels may transit through 

the Stonewall Bank YRCA with or 

without halibut onboard. The Stonewall 

Bank YRCA is an area off central 

Oregon, near Stonewall Bank, intended 

to protect yelloweye rockfish. The 

Stonewall Bank YRCA is defined by 

straight lines connecting the following 

specific latitude and longitude 

coordinates in the order listed: 

(1) 44°37.46 N. lat.; 124°24.92′ W. 

long.; 

(2) 44°37.46 N. lat.; 124°23.63′ W. 

long.; 

(3) 44°28.71 N. lat.; 124°21.80′ W. 

long.; 

(4) 44°28.71 N. lat.; 124°24.10′ W. 

long.; 

(5) 44°31.42 N. lat.; 124°25.47′ W. 

long.; 

and connecting back to 44°37.46′ N. 

lat.; 124°24.92′ W. long. 

(vi) In the area south of Humbug 

Mountain, Oregon (42°40.50′ N. lat.) and 

off the California coast, there is no 

quota. This area is managed on a season 

that is projected to result in a catch of 

8,045 lb (3.6 mt). 

(A) The fishing season will commence 

on May 1 and continue 7 days a week 

until October 31. 

(B) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(c) The Commission shall determine 

and announce closing dates to the 

public for any area in which the catch 

limits promulgated by NMFS are 

estimated to have been taken. 

(d) When the Commission has 

determined that a subquota under 

paragraph (4)(b) of this section is 

estimated to have been taken, and has 

announced a date on which the season 

will close, no person shall sport fish for 

halibut in that area after that date for the 

rest of the year, unless a reopening of 

that area for sport halibut fishing is 

scheduled in accordance with the Catch 

Sharing Plan for Area 2A, or announced 

by the Commission. 

(5) Any minimum overall size limit 

promulgated under IPHC or NMFS 

regulations shall be measured in a 

straight line passing over the pectoral 

fin from the tip of the lower jaw with 

the mouth closed, to the extreme end of 

the middle of the tail. 

(6) In California, Oregon, Washington, 

or British Columbia no person shall 

fillet, mutilate, or otherwise disfigure a 

halibut in any manner that prevents the 

determination of minimum size or the 

number of fish caught, possessed, or 

landed. 

(7) In Alaska no person shall fillet, 

mutilate, or otherwise disfigure a 

halibut in any manner that prevents the 

determination of minimum size or the 

number of fish caught while onboard 

the catcher vessel. 

(8) The possession limit for halibut in 

the waters off the coast of Alaska is two 

daily bag limits. 

(9) The possession limit for halibut in 

the waters off the coast of British 

Columbia is three halibut. 

(10) The possession limit on a vessel 

for halibut in the waters off the coast of 

Washington is the same as the daily bag 

limit. 

(11) The possession limit on land in 

Washington for halibut caught is U.S. 

waters off the coast of Washington is 

two halibut. 

(12) The possession limit on a vessel 

for halibut caught in the waters off the 

coast of Oregon is the same as the daily 

bag limit. 

(13) The possession limit on a vessel 

for halibut caught in the waters off the 

coast of California is one halibut. 

(14) The possession limit for halibut 

on land in Oregon is three daily bag 

limits. 

(15) The possession limit for halibut 

on land in California is one halibut. 

(16) Any halibut brought aboard a 

vessel and not immediately returned to 

the sea with a minimum of injury will 

be included in the daily bag limit of the 

person catching the halibut. 

(17) No person shall be in possession 

of halibut on a vessel while fishing in 

a closed area. 

(18) No halibut caught by sport 

fishing shall be offered for sale, sold, 

traded, or bartered. 

(19) No halibut caught in sport fishing 

shall be possessed onboard a vessel 

when other fish or shellfish aboard the 

said vessel are destined for commercial 

use, sale, trade, or barter. 

(20) The operator of a charter vessel 

shall be liable for any violations of these 

regulations committed by a passenger 

aboard said vessel. 

26. Previous Regulations Superseded 

These regulations shall supersede all 

previous regulations of the Commission, 

and these regulations shall be effective 

each succeeding year until superseded. 


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Classification 

IPHC Regulations 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The notice-and-comment and delayin-effectiveness date requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 

U.S.C. 553, are inapplicable to this 

notice of the effectiveness and content 

of the IPHC regulations because this 

regulation involves a foreign affairs 

function of the United States, 5 U.S.C. 

553(a)(1). Furthermore, no other law 

requires prior notice and public 

comment for this final rule. Because 

prior notice and an opportunity for 

public comment are not required to be 

provided for these portions of this rule 

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. 

Catch Sharing Plan for Area 2A 

This action has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

The AA finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide a 30-day delay 

in effectiveness (5 U.S.C. 553(d)) 

because it is contrary to the public 

interest to delay the effectiveness date of 

this rule for 30 days. This final rule 

must be made effective for the opening 

of the 2007 Pacific halibut fishing 

season on March 10, 2007. Delaying the 

opening of the fishing season is contrary 

to the public interest because it would 

cause unnecessary economic burden on 

fishery participants due to loss of 

fishing opportunity. Because the annual 

quotas and management measures are 

ultimately determined by an 

international commission, the IPHC, the 

AA is constrained and cannot publish 

the final rule until after the IPHC has 

adopted the annual quotas and 

management measures for the year. 

NMFS’s implementation of the CSP in 

Area 2A could not begin until after 

January 19, 2007, when the IPHC 

adopted annual quotas and management 

measures for 2007. Insufficient time 

existed between when the IPHC adopted 

the annual quotas and management 

measures for 2007 and the scheduled 

March 10, 2007, start of the fishing 

season to publish the regulations in the 

Federal Register with enough time for a 

30-day delay in effectiveness. 


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11806 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 49 / Wednesday, March 14, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

NMFS prepared an Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) in 

association with the proposed rule for 

this action. A final regulatory flexibility 

analysis (FRFA) incorporates the IRFA, 

a summary of the significant issues 

raised by the public comments in 

response to the IRFA, if any, and NMFS 

responses to those comments, and a 

summary of the analyses completed to 

support the action. NMFS received no 

comments on the IRFA and the Area 2A 

2007 TAC is approximately 3 percent 

less than the Area 2A 2006 TAC, a 

reduction so minor that the differences 

between 2006 and 2007 halibut 

management in Area 2A are 

imperceptible. Therefore, the IRFA for 

this action also serves as the FRFA. A 

copy of this analysis is available from 

the NMFS Northwest Region (see 

ADDRESSES) and a summary of the FRFA 

follows: 

This final rule is necessary to 

implement the CSP and annual 

domestic management measures in Area 

2A. The main objective for the Pacific 

halibut fishery in Area 2A is to manage 

the fisheries to remain within the TAC 

for Area 2A, while also allowing each 

commercial, recreational, and tribal 

fishery to target halibut in the manner 

most appropriate for the users’ needs 

within that fishery. This final rule is 

intended to enhance the conservation of 

Pacific halibut, to protect yelloweye 

rockfish and other overfished species 

from incidental catch in the halibut 

fisheries, and to provide greater angler 

opportunity where available. 

The agency received three letters of 

comment on the proposed rule, but 

none of the comments received 

addressed the IRFA or the effects of this 

action on small entities. 

A fish-harvesting business is 

considered a ‘‘small’’ business by the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) if 

it has annual receipts not in excess of 

$4.0 million. For related fish-processing 

businesses, a small business is one that 

employs 500 or fewer persons. For 

wholesale businesses, a small business 

is one that employs not more than 100 

people. For marinas and charter/party 

boats, a small business is one with 

annual receipts not in excess of $6.5 

million. All of the businesses that 

would be affected by this action are 

considered small businesses under 

Small Business Administration 

guidance. 

This action finalizes the following 

changes to the CSP, which allocates the 

catch of Pacific halibut among users in 

Washington, Oregon, and California: (1) 

constrain the Washington North Coast 

subarea June fishery to two specific 

nearshore areas on the first Tuesday and 

Thursday following June 17; (2) reopen 

the Washington North Coast subarea 

June fishery in the entire north coast 

subarea on the first Saturday following 

June 17; (3) if sufficient quota remains, 

reopen the entire Washington North 

Coast subarea for one day on the first 

Thursday following June 24, otherwise, 

reopen the nearshore areas on the first 

Thursday following June 24 for up to 

four days per week (Thursday-Sunday) 

until the quota is taken; (4) set aside 5 

percent of the Washington South Coast 

subarea quota for the nearshore fishery 

once the primary fishery has closed; (5) 

set the Washington South Coast subarea 

nearshore fishery as a 2-day per week 

fishery, open Fridays and Saturdays; (6) 

implement additional closed areas 

(Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation 

Areas, or YRCAs) off the coast of 

Washington that would affect 

commercial and sport halibut fisheries; 

(7) remove latitude/longitude 

coordinates from the CSP but refer to 

where in the regulations they are 

published to reduce duplication; (8) 

remove language referring to salmon 

troll fishery July-September season; (9) 

add a definition of the Bonilla-Tatoosh 

line; and (10) decrease the California 

possession limit on land from two daily 

limits to one daily limit statewide to 

conform with state regulation. This 

action also implements sport fishery 

management measures for Area 2A and 

revises Area 2A non-treaty commercial 

fishery closed areas specified at 50 CFR 

300.63. These actions are intended to 

enhance the conservation of Pacific 

halibut, to provide greater angler 

opportunity where available, to protect 

yelloweye rockfish and other overfished 

groundfish species from incidental 

catch in the halibut fisheries, and to 

ensure consistency between Federal 

groundfish and halibut regulations and 

between State and Federal regulations. 

In 1995, NMFS implemented the CSP, 

when the TAC was 520,000 lb (236 mt). 

In each of the intervening years between 

1995 and the present, minor revisions to 

the CSP have been made to adjust for 

the changing needs of the fisheries, even 

though the TAC reached levels of over 

1 million lb (454 mt), with a peak of 

1.48 million lb (671 mt) in 2004. Since 

2004, there has been very little change 

in the total allowable catch and sector 

allocations. In 2005, the Area 2A 

Halibut TAC set by the IPHC was 1.33 

million lb (603 mt) and for 2006 it was 

1.38 million lb (626 mt). The 2007 Area 

2A TAC is 1.34 million lb (608 mt), a 

3 percent decline from 2006. 

Six hundred sixty two vessels were 

issued IPHC licenses to retain halibut in 

2006. IPHC issues licenses for the 

directed commercial fishery in Area 2A, 

including licenses issued to retain 

halibut caught incidentally in the 

primary sablefish fishery (298 licenses 

in 2006); incidental halibut caught in 

the salmon troll fishery (224 licenses in 

2006); and the charterboat fleet (140 

licenses in 2006). No vessel may 

participate in more than one of these 

three fisheries per year. Individual 

recreational anglers and private boats 

are the only sectors that are not required 

to have an IPHC license to retain 

halibut. 

Specific data on the economics of 

halibut charter operations are 

unavailable. However, in January 2004, 

the Pacific States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (PSMFC) completed a 

report on the overall West Coast 

charterboat fleet. In surveying 

charterboat vessels concerning their 

operations in 2000, the PSMFC 

estimated that there were about 315 

charterboat vessels in operation off 

Washington and Oregon. In 2000, IPHC 

licensed 130 vessels to fish in the 

halibut sport charter fishery. Comparing 

the total charterboat fleet to the 130 and 

140 IPHC licenses in 2000 and 2006, 

respectively, approximately 41 to 44 

percent of the charterboat fleet could 

participate in the halibut fishery. The 

PSMFC has developed preliminary 

estimates of the annual revenues earned 

by this fleet and they vary by size class 

of the vessels and home state. Small 

charterboat vessels range from 15 to 30 

ft (4.6 to 9.1 m), and typically carry 5 

to 6 passengers. Medium charterboat 

vessels range from 31 to 49 ft (9.4 to 

14.9 m) in length and typically carry 19 

to 20 passengers. (Neither state has large 

vessels of greater than 49 ft (14.9 m) in 

their fleet.) Average annual revenues 

from all types of recreational fishing, 

whalewatching and other activities 

ranged from $7,000 for small Oregon 

vessels to $131,000 for medium 

Washington vessels. Estimates from the 

RIR for this action show the recreational 

halibut fishery generated approximately 

$2.5 million in personal income to West 

Coast communities, while the non-tribal 

commercial halibut fishery generated 

approximately $1.8 million in income 

impacts. Because these estimated 

impacts for the entire halibut fishery 

overall are less than the SBA criteria for 

individual businesses, these data 

confirm that charterboat and 

commercial halibut vessels qualify as 

small entities under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA). 

These changes are authorized under 

the Pacific Halibut Act, implementing 

regulations at 50 CFR 300.60 through 

300.65, and the Pacific Council process 

of annually evaluating the utility and 

effectiveness of Area 2A Pacific halibut 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 49 / Wednesday, March 14, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 11807 

management under the CSP. Given the 

TAC, the sport management measures 

implement the CSP by managing the 

recreational fishery to meet the differing 

fishery needs of the various areas along 

the coast according to the CSP’s 

objectives. Commercial management 

measures will allow the fishery access 

to a portion of the Area 2A TAC while 

protecting overfished rockfish species 

that co-occur with halibut. The 

measures will be very similar to last 

year’s management measures. The 

changes to the CSP and domestic 

management measures are minor 

changes and are intended to increase 

flexibility in management and 

opportunity to harvest available quota. 

There are no large entities involved in 

the halibut fisheries; therefore, none of 

these changes to the CSP and domestic 

management measures will have a 

disproportionate negative effect on 

small entities versus large entities. 

This final rule does not impose any 

new reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements. This rule will also not 

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with other 

laws or regulations. Consequently, these 

changes to the CSP and annual domestic 

Area 2A halibut management measures 

do not meet any of the RFA tests of 

having a ‘‘significant’’ economic impact 

on a ‘‘substantial number’’ of small 

entities. 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity 

compliance guides.’’ The agency shall 

explain the actions a small entity is 

required to take to comply with a rule 

or group of rules. As part of halibut 

management in Area 2A, NMFS 

maintains a toll-free telephone hotline 

where members of the public may call 

in to receive current information on 

seasons and requirements to participate 

in the halibut fisheries in Area 2A. This 

hotline also serves as small entity 

compliance guide. Copies of this final 

rule are available from the NMFS 

Northwest Regional Office upon request 

(See ADDRESSES). To hear the small 

entity compliance guide associated with 

this final rule, call the NMFS hotline at 

800 662 9825. 

Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, 

the Secretary recognizes the sovereign 

status and co-manager role of Indian 

tribes over shared Federal and tribal 

fishery resources. At section 305(b)(5), 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

establishes a seat on the Pacific Council 

for a representative of an Indian tribe 

with federally recognized fishing rights 

from California, Oregon, Washington, or 

Idaho. The U.S. Government formally 

recognizes that 12 Washington tribes 

have treaty rights to fish for Pacific 

halibut. In general terms, the 

quantification of those rights is 50 

percent of the harvestable surplus of 

Pacific halibut available in the tribes’

usual and accustomed fishing areas 

(described at 50 CFR 300.64). Each of 

the treaty tribes has the discretion to 

administer their fisheries and to 

establish their own policies to achieve 

program objectives. Accordingly, tribal 

allocations and regulations, including 

the changes to the CSP, have been 

developed in consultation with the 

affected tribe(s) and, insofar as possible, 

with tribal consensus. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Treaties. 

Dated: March 8, 2007. 

William T. Hogarth, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

■ For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part 

300 as follows: 

PART 300—INTERNATIONAL 

FISHERIES REGULATIONS 

1. The authority citation for part 300 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 300.63, paragraphs (e), (f), and 

(g) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 300.63 Catch sharing plan and domestic 

management measures in Area 2A. 

* * * * * 

(e) Area 2A Non-Treaty Commercial 

Fishery Closed Areas. (1) Non-treaty 

commercial vessels operating in the 

directed commercial fishery for halibut 

in Area 2A are required to fish outside 

of a closed area, known as the Rockfish 

Conservation Area (RCA), that extends 

along the coast from the U.S./Canada 

border south to 40°10′ N. lat. Between 

the U.S./Canada border and 46°16′ N. 

lat., the eastern boundary of the RCA is 

the shoreline. Between 46°16′ N. lat. and 

40°10′ N. lat., the RCA is defined along 

an eastern boundary approximating the 

30–fm (55–m) depth contour. 

Coordinates for the 30–fm (55–m) 

boundary are listed at § 300.63 (f). 

Between the U.S./Canada border and 

40°10′ N. lat., the RCA is defined along 

a western boundary approximating the 

100–fm (183–m) depth contour. 

Coordinates for the 100–fm (183–m) 

boundary are listed at § 300.63 (g). 

(2) Non-treaty commercial vessels 

operating in the incidental catch fishery 

during the sablefish fishery north of Pt. 

Chehalis, Washington, in Area 2A are 

required to fish outside of a closed area. 

Under Pacific Coast groundfish 

regulations at 50 CFR 660.382, fishing 

with limited entry fixed gear is 

prohibited within the North Coast 

Commercial Yelloweye Rockfish 

Conservation Area (YRCA). It is 

unlawful to take and retain, possess, or 

land halibut taken with limited entry 

fixed gear within the North Coast 

Commercial YRCA. The North Coast 

Commercial YRCA is an area off the 

northern Washington coast, overlapping 

the northern part of North Coast 

Recreational YRCA, and is defined by 

straight lines connecting latitude and 

longitude coordinates. Coordinates for 

the North Coast Commercial YRCA are 

specified in groundfish regulations at 50 

CFR 660.390. 

(3) Non-treaty commercial vessels 

operating in the incidental catch fishery 

during the salmon troll fishery in Area 

2A are required to fish outside of a 

closed area. Under the Pacific Coast 

groundfish regulations at 50 CFR 

660.383, fishing with salmon troll gear 

is prohibited within the Salmon Troll 

YRCA. It is unlawful for commercial 

salmon troll vessels to take and retain, 

possess, or land fish within the Salmon 

Troll YRCA. The Salmon Troll YRCA is 

an area off the northern Washington 

coast and is defined by straight lines 

connecting latitude and longitude 

coordinates. Coordinates for the Salmon 

Troll YRCA are specified in groundfish 

regulations at 50 CFR 660.390 and in 

salmon regulations at 50 CFR 660.405. 

(f) The 30–fm (55–m) depth contour 

between 46°16′ N. lat. and 40°10′ N. lat. 

is defined by straight lines connecting 

all of the following points in the order 

stated: 

(1) 46°16.00′ N. lat., 124°13.05′ W. 

long.; 

(2) 46°16.00′ N. lat., 124°13.04′ W. 

long.; 

(3) 46°07.00′ N. lat., 124°07.01′ W. 

long.; 

(4) 45°55.95′ N. lat., 124°02.23′ W. 

long.; 

(5) 45°54.53′ N. lat., 124°02.57′ W. 

long.; 

(6) 45°50.65′ N. lat., 124°01.62′ W. 

long.; 

(7) 45°48.20′ N. lat., 124°02.16′ W. 

long.; 

(8) 45°46.00′ N. lat., 124°01.86′ W. 

long.; 

(9) 45°43.46′ N. lat., 124°01.28′ W. 

long.; 


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(10) 45°40.48′ N. lat., 124°01.03′ W. 

long.; 

(11) 45°39.04′ N. lat., 124°01.68′ W. 

long.; 

(12) 45°35.48′ N. lat., 124°01.90′ W. 

long.; 

(13) 45°29.81′ N. lat., 124°02.45′ W. 

long.; 

(14) 45°27.97′ N. lat., 124°01.90′ W. 

long.; 

(15) 45°27.22′ N. lat., 124°02.66′ W. 

long.; 

(16) 45°24.20′ N. lat., 124°02.94′ W. 

long.; 

(17) 45°20.60′ N. lat., 124°01.74′ W. 

long.; 

(18) 45°20.25′ N. lat., 124°01.85′ W. 

long.; 

(19) 45°16.44′ N. lat., 124°03.22′ W. 

long.; 

(20) 45°13.63′ N. lat., 124°02.69′ W. 

long.; 

(21) 45°11.05′ N. lat., 124°03.59′ W. 

long.; 

(22) 45°08.55′ N. lat., 124°03.47′ W. 

long.; 

(23) 45°02.81′ N. lat., 124°04.64′ W. 

long.; 

(24) 44°58.06′ N. lat., 124°05.03′ W. 

long.; 

(25) 44°53.97′ N. lat., 124°06.92′ W. 

long.; 

(26) 44°48.89′ N. lat., 124°07.04′ W. 

long.; 

(27) 44°46.94′ N. lat., 124°08.25′ W. 

long.; 

(28) 44°42.72′ N. lat., 124°08.98′ W. 

long.; 

(29) 44°38.16′ N. lat., 124°11.48′ W. 

long.; 

(30) 44°33.38′ N. lat., 124°11.54′ W. 

long.; 

(31) 44°28.51′ N. lat., 124°12.04′ W. 

long.; 

(32) 44°27.65′ N. lat., 124°12.56′ W. 

long.; 

(33) 44°19.67′ N. lat., 124°12.37′ W. 

long.; 

(34) 44°10.79′ N. lat., 124°12.22′ W. 

long.; 

(35) 44°09.22′ N. lat., 124°12.28′ W. 

long.; 

(36) 44°08.30′ N. lat., 124°12.30′ W. 

long.; 

(37) 44°00.22′ N. lat., 124°12.80′ W. 

long.; 

(38) 43°51.56′ N. lat., 124°13.18′ W. 

long.; 

(39) 43°44.26′ N. lat., 124°14.50′ W. 

long.; 

(40) 43°33.82′ N. lat., 124°16.28′ W. 

long.; 

(41) 43°28.66′ N. lat., 124°18.72′ W. 

long.; 

(42) 43°23.12′ N. lat., 124°24.04′ W. 

long.; 

(43) 43°20.83′ N. lat., 124°25.67′ W. 

long.; 

(44) 43°20.48′ N. lat., 124°25.90′ W. 

long.; 

(45) 43°16.41′ N. lat., 124°27.52′ W. 

long.; 

(46) 43°14.23′ N. lat., 124°29.28′ W. 

long.; 

(47) 43°14.03′ N. lat., 124°28.31′ W. 

long.; 

(48) 43°11.92′ N. lat., 124°28.26′ W. 

long.; 

(49) 43°11.02′ N. lat., 124°29.11′ W. 

long.; 

(50) 43°10.13′ N. lat., 124°29.15′ W. 

long.; 

(51) 43°09.26′ N. lat., 124°31.03′ W. 

long.; 

(52) 43°07.73′ N. lat., 124°30.92′ W. 

long.; 

(53) 43°05.93′ N. lat., 124°29.64′ W. 

long.; 

(54) 43°01.59′ N. lat., 124°30.64′ W. 

long.; 

(55) 42°59.72′ N. lat., 124°31.16′ W. 

long.; 

(56) 42°53.75′ N. lat., 124°36.09′ W. 

long.; 

(57) 42°50.00′ N. lat., 124°38.39′ W. 

long.; 

(58) 42°49.37′ N. lat., 124°38.81′ W. 

long.; 

(59) 42°46.42′ N. lat., 124°37.69′ W. 

long.; 

(60) 42°46.07′ N. lat., 124°38.56′ W. 

long.; 

(61) 42°45.29′ N. lat., 124°37.95′ W. 

long.; 

(62) 42°45.61′ N. lat., 124°36.87′ W. 

long.; 

(63) 42°44.27′ N. lat., 124°33.64′ W. 

long.; 

(64) 42°42.75′ N. lat., 124°31.84′ W. 

long.; 

(65) 42°40.50′ N. lat., 124°29.67′ W. 

long.; 

(66) 42°40.04′ N. lat., 124°29.20′ W. 

long.; 

(67) 42°38.09′ N. lat., 124°28.39′ W. 

long.; 

(68) 42°36.73′ N. lat., 124°27.54′ W. 

long.; 

(69) 42°36.56′ N. lat., 124°28.40′ W. 

long.; 

(70) 42°35.77′ N. lat., 124°28.79′ W. 

long.; 

(71) 42°34.03′ N. lat., 124°29.98′ W. 

long.; 

(72) 42°34.19′ N. lat., 124°30.58′ W. 

long.; 

(73) 42°31.27′ N. lat., 124°32.24′ W. 

long.; 

(74) 42°27.07′ N. lat., 124°32.53′ W. 

long.; 

(75) 42°24.21′ N. lat., 124°31.23′ W. 

long.; 

(76) 42°20.47′ N. lat., 124°28.87′ W. 

long.; 

(77) 42°14.60′ N. lat., 124°26.80′ W. 

long.; 

(78) 42°13.67′ N. lat., 124°26.25′ W. 

long.; 

(79) 42°10.90′ N. lat., 124°24.56′ W. 

long.; 

(80) 42°07.04′ N. lat., 124°23.35′ W. 

long.; 

(81) 42°02.16′ N. lat., 124°22.59′ W. 

long.; 

(82) 42°00.00′ N. lat., 124°21.81′ W. 

long.; 

(83) 41°55.75′ N. lat., 124°20.72′ W. 

long.; 

(84) 41°50.93′ N. lat., 124°23.76′ W. 

long.; 

(85) 41°42.53′ N. lat., 124°16.47′ W. 

long.; 

(86) 41°37.20′ N. lat., 124°17.05′ W. 

long.; 

(87) 41°24.58′ N. lat., 124°10.51′ W. 

long.; 

(88) 41°20.73′ N. lat., 124°11.73′ W. 

long.; 

(89) 41°17.59′ N. lat., 124°10.66′ W. 

long.; 

(90) 41°04.54′ N. lat., 124°14.47′ W. 

long.; 

(91) 40°54.26′ N. lat., 124°13.90′ W. 

long.; 

(92) 40°40.31′ N. lat., 124°26.24′ W. 

long.; 

(93) 40°34.00′ N. lat., 124°27.39′ W. 

long.; 

(94) 40°30.00′ N. lat., 124°31.32′ W. 

long.; 

(95) 40°28.89′ N. lat., 124°32.43′ W. 

long.; 

(96) 40°24.77′ N. lat., 124°29.51′ W. 

long.; 

(97) 40°22.47′ N. lat., 124°24.12′ W. 

long.; 

(98) 40°19.73′ N. lat., 124°23.59′ W. 

long.; 

(99) 40°18.64′ N. lat., 124°21.89′ W. 

long.; 

(100) 40°17.67′ N. lat., 124°23.07′ W. 

long.; 

(101) 40°15.58′ N. lat., 124°23.61′ W. 

long.; 

(102) 40°13.42′ N. lat., 124°22.94′ W. 

long.; and 

(103) 40°10.00′ N. lat., 124°16.65′ W. 

long. 

(g) The 100–fm (183–m) depth 

contour used between the U.S. border 

with Canada and 40°10′ N. lat. is 

defined by straight lines connecting all 

of the following points in the order 

stated: 

(1) 48°15.00′ N. lat., 125°41.00′ W. 

long.; 

(2) 48°14.00′ N. lat., 125°36.00′ W. 

long.; 

(3) 48°09.50′ N. lat., 125°40.50′ W. 

long.; 

(4) 48°08.00′ N. lat., 125°38.00′ W. 

long.; 

(5) 48°05.00′ N. lat., 125°37.25′ W. 

long.; 

(6) 48°02.60′ N. lat., 125°34.70′ W. 

long.; 

(7) 47°59.00′ N. lat., 125°34.00′ W. 

long.; 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 49 / Wednesday, March 14, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 11809 

(8) 47°57.26′ N. lat., 125°29.82′ W. 

long.; 

(9) 47°59.87′ N. lat., 125°25.81′ W. 

long.; 

(10) 48°01.80′ N. lat., 125°24.53′ W. 

long.; 

(11) 48°02.08′ N. lat., 125°22.98′ W. 

long.; 

(12) 48°02.97′ N. lat., 125°22.89′ W. 

long.; 

(13) 48°04.47′ N. lat., 125°21.75′ W. 

long.; 

(14) 48°06.11′ N. lat., 125°19.33′ W. 

long.; 

(15) 48°07.95′ N. lat., 125°18.55′ W. 

long.; 

(16) 48°09.00′ N. lat., 125°18.00′ W. 

long.; 

(17) 48°11.31′ N. lat., 125°17.55′ W. 

long.; 

(18) 48°14.60′ N. lat., 125°13.46′ W. 

long.; 

(19) 48°16.67′ N. lat., 125°14.34′ W. 

long.; 

(20) 48°18.73′ N. lat., 125°14.41′ W. 

long.; 

(21) 48°19.67′ N. lat., 125°13.70′ W. 

long.; 

(22) 48°19.70′ N. lat., 125°11.13′ W. 

long.; 

(23) 48°22.95′ N. lat., 125°10.79′ W. 

long.; 

(24) 48°21.61′ N. lat., 125°02.54′ W. 

long.; 

(25) 48°23.00′ N. lat., 124°49.34′ W. 

long.; 

(26) 48°17.00′ N. lat., 124°56.50′ W. 

long.; 

(27) 48°06.00′ N. lat., 125°00.00′ W. 

long.; 

(28) 48°04.62′ N. lat., 125°01.73′ W. 

long.; 

(29) 48°04.84′ N. lat., 125°04.03′ W. 

long.; 

(30) 48°06.41′ N. lat., 125°06.51′ W. 

long.; 

(31) 48°06.00′ N. lat., 125°08.00′ W. 

long.; 

(32) 48°07.08′ N. lat., 125°09.34′ W. 

long.; 

(33) 48°07.28′ N. lat., 125°11.14′ W. 

long.; 

(34) 48°03.45′ N. lat., 125°16.66′ W. 

long.; 

(35) 47°59.50′ N. lat., 125°18.88′ W. 

long.; 

(36) 47°58.68′ N. lat., 125°16.19′ W. 

long.; 

(37) 47°56.62′ N. lat., 125°13.50′ W. 

long.; 

(38) 47°53.71′ N. lat., 125°11.96′ W. 

long.; 

(39) 47°51.70′ N. lat., 125°09.38′ W. 

long.; 

(40) 47°49.95′ N. lat., 125°06.07′ W. 

long.; 

(41) 47°49.00′ N. lat., 125°03.00′ W. 

long.; 

(42) 47°46.95′ N. lat., 125°04.00′ W. 

long.; 

(43) 47°46.58′ N. lat., 125°03.15′ W. 

long.; 

(44) 47°44.07′ N. lat., 125°04.28′ W. 

long.; 

(45) 47°43.32′ N. lat., 125°04.41′ W. 

long.; 

(46) 47°40.95′ N. lat., 125°04.14′ W. 

long.; 

(47) 47°39.58′ N. lat., 125°04.97′ W. 

long.; 

(48) 47°36.23′ N. lat., 125°02.77′ W. 

long.; 

(49) 47°34.28′ N. lat., 124°58.66′ W. 

long.; 

(50) 47°32.17′ N. lat., 124°57.77′ W. 

long.; 

(51) 47°30.27′ N. lat., 124°56.16′ W. 

long.; 

(52) 47°30.60′ N. lat., 124°54.80′ W. 

long.; 

(53) 47°29.26′ N. lat., 124°52.21′ W. 

long.; 

(54) 47°28.21′ N. lat., 124°50.65′ W. 

long.; 

(55) 47°27.38′ N. lat., 124°49.34′ W. 

long.; 

(56) 47°25.61′ N. lat., 124°48.26′ W. 

long.; 

(57) 47°23.54′ N. lat., 124°46.42′ W. 

long.; 

(58) 47°20.64′ N. lat., 124°45.91′ W. 

long.; 

(59) 47°17.99′ N. lat., 124°45.59′ W. 

long.; 

(60) 47°18.20′ N. lat., 124°49.12′ W. 

long.; 

(61) 47°15.01′ N. lat., 124°51.09′ W. 

long.; 

(62) 47°12.61′ N. lat., 124°54.89′ W. 

long.; 

(63) 47°08.22′ N. lat., 124°56.53′ W. 

long.; 

(64) 47°08.50′ N. lat., 124°57.74′ W. 

long.; 

(65) 47°01.92′ N. lat., 124°54.95′ W. 

long.; 

(66) 47°01.08′ N. lat., 124°59.22′ W. 

long.; 

(67) 46°58.48′ N. lat., 124°57.81′ W. 

long.; 

(68) 46°56.79′ N. lat., 124°56.03′ W. 

long.; 

(69) 46°58.01′ N. lat., 124°55.09′ W. 

long.; 

(70) 46°55.07′ N. lat., 124°54.14′ W. 

long.; 

(71) 46°59.60′ N. lat., 124°49.79′ W. 

long.; 

(72) 46°58.72′ N. lat., 124°48.78′ W. 

long.; 

(73) 46°54.45′ N. lat., 124°48.36′ W. 

long.; 

(74) 46°53.99′ N. lat., 124°49.95′ W. 

long.; 

(75) 46°54.38′ N. lat., 124°52.73′ W. 

long.; 

(76) 46°52.38′ N. lat., 124°52.02′ W. 

long.; 

(77) 46°48.93′ N. lat., 124°49.17′ W. 

long.; 

(78) 46°41.50′ N. lat., 124°43.00′ W. 

long.; 

(79) 46°34.50′ N. lat., 124°28.50′ W. 

long.; 

(80) 46°29.00′ N. lat., 124°30.00′ W. 

long.; 

(81) 46°20.00′ N. lat., 124°36.50′ W. 

long.; 

(82) 46°18.40′ N. lat., 124°37.70′ W. 

long.; 

(83) 46°18.03′ N. lat., 124°35.46′ W. 

long.; 

(84) 46°17.00′ N. lat., 124°22.50′ W. 

long.; 

(85) 46°16.00′ N. lat., 124°20.62′ W. 

long.; 

(86) 46°13.52′ N. lat., 124°25.49′ W. 

long.; 

(87) 46°12.17′ N. lat., 124°30.74′ W. 

long.; 

(88) 46°10.63′ N. lat., 124°37.96′ W. 

long.; 

(89) 46°09.29′ N. lat., 124°39.01′ W. 

long.; 

(90) 46°02.40′ N. lat., 124°40.37′ W. 

long.; 

(91) 45°56.45′ N. lat., 124°38.00′ W. 

long.; 

(92) 45°51.92′ N. lat., 124°38.50′ W. 

long.; 

(93) 45°47.20′ N. lat., 124°35.58′ W. 

long.; 

(94) 45°46.40′ N. lat., 124°32.36′ W. 

long.; 

(95) 45°46.00′ N. lat., 124°32.10′ W. 

long.; 

(96) 45°41.75′ N. lat., 124°28.12′ W. 

long.; 

(97) 45°36.95′ N. lat., 124°24.47′ W. 

long.; 

(98) 45°31.84′ N. lat., 124°22.04′ W. 

long.; 

(99) 45°27.10′ N. lat., 124°21.74′ W. 

long.; 

(100) 45°20.25′ N. lat., 124°18.54′ W. 

long.; 

(101) 45°18.14′ N. lat., 124°17.59′ W. 

long.; 

(102) 45°11.08′ N. lat., 124°16.97′ W. 

long.; 

(103) 45°04.39′ N. lat., 124°18.35′ W. 

long.; 

(104) 45°03.83′ N. lat., 124°18.60′ W. 

long.; 

(105) 44°58.05′ N. lat., 124°21.58′ W. 

long.; 

(106) 44°47.67′ N. lat., 124°31.41′ W. 

long.; 

(107) 44°44.54′ N. lat., 124°33.58′ W. 

long.; 

(108) 44°39.88′ N. lat., 124°35.00′ W. 

long.; 

(109) 44°32.90′ N. lat., 124°36.81′ W. 

long.; 

(110) 44°30.34′ N. lat., 124°38.56′ W. 

long.; 

(111) 44°30.04′ N. lat., 124°42.31′ W. 

long.; 

(112) 44°26.84′ N. lat., 124°44.91′ W. 

long.; 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with RULES
11810 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 49 / Wednesday, March 14, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

(113) 44°17.99′ N. lat., 124°51.04′ W. 

long.; 

(114) 44°12.92′ N. lat., 124°56.28′ W. 

long.; 

(115) 44°00.14′ N. lat., 124°55.25′ W. 

long.; 

(116) 43°57.68′ N. lat., 124°55.48′ W. 

long.; 

(117) 43°56.66′ N. lat., 124°55.45′ W. 

long.; 

(118) 43°56.47′ N. lat., 124°34.61′ W. 

long.; 

(119) 43°42.73′ N. lat., 124°32.41′ W. 

long.; 

(120) 43°30.92′ N. lat., 124°34.43′ W. 

long.; 

(121) 43°20.83′ N. lat., 124°39.39′ W. 

long.; 

(122) 43°17.45′ N. lat., 124°41.16′ W. 

long.; 

(123) 43°07.04′ N. lat., 124°41.25′ W. 

long.; 

(124) 43°03.45′ N. lat., 124°44.36′ W. 

long.; 

(125) 43°03.91′ N. lat., 124°50.81′ W. 

long.; 

(126) 42°55.70′ N. lat., 124°52.79′ W. 

long.; 

(127) 42°54.12′ N. lat., 124°47.36′ W. 

long.; 

(128) 42°50.00′ N. lat., 124°45.33′ W. 

long.; 

(129) 42°44.00′ N. lat., 124°42.38′ W. 

long.; 

(130) 42°40.50′ N. lat., 124°41.71′ W. 

long.; 

(131) 42°38.23′ N. lat., 124°41.25′ W. 

long.; 

(132) 42°33.02′ N. lat., 124°42.38′ W. 

long.; 

(133) 42°31.90′ N. lat., 124°42.04′ W. 

long.; 

(134) 42°30.08′ N. lat., 124°42.67′ W. 

long.; 

(135) 42°28.28′ N. lat., 124°47.08′ W. 

long.; 

(136) 42°25.22′ N. lat., 124°43.51′ W. 

long.; 

(137) 42°19.23′ N. lat., 124°37.91′ W. 

long.; 

(138) 42°16.29′ N. lat., 124°36.11′ W. 

long.; 

(139) 42°13.67′ N. lat., 124°35.81′ W. 

long.; 

(140) 42°05.66′ N. lat., 124°34.92′ W. 

long.; 

(141) 42°00.00′ N. lat., 124°35.27′ W. 

long.; 

(142) 41°47.04′ N. lat., 124°27.64′ W. 

long.; 

(143) 41°32.92′ N. lat., 124°28.79′ W. 

long.; 

(144) 41°24.17′ N. lat., 124°28.46′ W. 

long.; 

(145) 41°10.12′ N. lat., 124°20.50′ W. 

long.; 

(146) 40°51.41′ N. lat., 124°24.38′ W. 

long.; 

(147) 40°43.71′ N. lat., 124°29.89′ W. 

long.; 

(148) 40°40.14′ N. lat., 124°30.90′ W. 

long.; 

(149) 40°37.35′ N. lat., 124°29.05′ W. 

long.; 

(150) 40°34.76′ N. lat., 124°29.82′ W. 

long.; 

(151) 40°36.78′ N. lat., 124°37.06′ W. 

long.; 

(152) 40°32.44′ N. lat., 124°39.58′ W. 

long.; 

(153) 40°30.00′ N. lat., 124°38.13′ W. 

long.; 

(154) 40°24.82′ N. lat., 124°35.12′ W. 

long.; 

(155) 40°23.30′ N. lat., 124°31.60′ W. 

long.; 

(156) 40°23.52′ N. lat., 124°28.78′ W. 

long.; 

(157) 40°22.43′ N. lat., 124°25.00′ W. 

long.; 

(158) 40°21.72′ N. lat., 124°24.94′ W. 

long.; 

(159) 40°21.87′ N. lat., 124°27.96′ W. 

long.; 

(160) 40°21.40′ N. lat., 124°28.74′ W. 

long.; 

(161) 40°19.68′ N. lat., 124°28.49′ W. 

long.; 

(162) 40°17.73′ N. lat., 124°25.43′ W. 

long.; 

(163) 40°18.37′ N. lat., 124°23.35′ W. 

long.; 

(164) 40°15.75′ N. lat., 124°26.05′ W. 

long.; 

(165) 40°16.75′ N. lat., 124°33.71′ W. 

long.; 

(166) 40°16.29′ N. lat., 124°34.36′ W. 

long.; and 

(167) 40°10.00′ N. lat., 124°21.12′ W. 

long. 

[FR Doc. 07–1196 Filed 3–9–07; 3:02 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 070213033–7033–01; I.D. 

030907A] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by 

Catcher Vessels Using Trawl Gear in 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels 

using trawl gear in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI). This action is necessary to 

prevent exceeding the 2007 first 

seasonal allowance of the Pacific cod 

total allowable catch (TAC) specified for 

catcher vessels using trawl gear in the 

BSAI. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), March 12, 2007, through 

1200 hrs, A.l.t., April 1, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Hogan, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council under 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. Regulations governing fishing by 

U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

The 2007 first seasonal allowance of 

the Pacific cod TAC specified for 

catcher vessels using trawl gear in the 

BSAI is 25,977 metric tons (mt) as 

established by the 2007 and 2008 final 

harvest specifications for groundfish in 

the BSAI (72 FR 9451, March 2, 2007), 

for the period 1200 hrs, A.l.t., January 

1, 2007, through 1200 hrs, A.l.t., April 

1, 2007. See § 679.20(c)(3)(iii), 

§ 679.20(c)(5), and § 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i), 

the Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator), has 

determined that the 2007 first seasonal 

allowance of the Pacific cod TAC 

specified for catcher vessels using trawl 

gear in the BSAI will soon be reached. 

Therefore, the Regional Administrator is 

establishing a directed fishing 

allowance of 25,777 mt, and is setting 

aside the remaining 200 mt as bycatch 

to support other anticipated groundfish 

fisheries. In accordance with 

§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii), the Regional 

Administrator finds that this directed 

fishing allowance has been reached. 

Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting 

directed fishing for Pacific cod by 

catcher vessels using trawl gear in the 

BSAI. 

After the effective date of this closure 

the maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with RULES