19390 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 74 / Wednesday, April 18, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 90—PRIVATE LAND MOBILE 

RADIO SERVICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 90 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Sections 4(i), 11, 303(g), 303(r), 

and 332(c)(7) of the Communications Act of 

1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 161, 

303(g), 303(r), 332(c)(7). 

■ 2. Amend § 90.203 by revising 

paragraph (j)(4) introductory text and 

paragraph (j)(5); and removing 

paragraph (j)(6); and by redesignating 

paragraphs (j)(7) through (j)(11) as (j)(6) 

through (j)(10) to read as follows: 

§ 90.203 Certification required. 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * 

(4) Applications for part 90 

certification of transmitters designed to 

operate on frequencies in the 150.8–

162.0125 MHz, 173.2–173.4 MHz, and/ 

or 421–512 MHz bands, received on or 

after January 1, 2011, except for handheld transmitters with an output power 

of two watts or less, will only be granted 

for equipment with the following 

channel bandwidths: 

* * * * * 

(5) Applications for part 90 

certification of transmitters designed to 

operate on frequencies in the 150.8–

162.0125 MHz, 173.2–173.4 MHz, and/ 

or 421–512 MHz bands, received on or 

after January 1, 2011, must include a 

certification that the equipment meets a 

spectrum efficiency standard of one 

voice channel per 6.25 kHz of channel 

bandwidth. Additionally, if the 

equipment is capable of transmitting 

data, has transmitter output power 

greater than 500 mW, and has a channel 

bandwidth of more than 6.25 kHz, the 

equipment must be capable of 

supporting a minimum data rate of 4800 

bits per second per 6.25 kHz of channel 

bandwidth. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E7–7252 Filed 4–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 070404078–7078–01; I.D. 

082806B] 

RIN 0648–AV52 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 

Biennial Specifications and 

Management Measures; Inseason 

Adjustments 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments 

to groundfish management measures; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This final rule takes two 

actions: It establishes the 2007 harvest 

specifications for Pacific whiting 

(whiting) in the U.S. exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ) and state waters 

off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, 

and California; and, it announces 

inseason changes to management 

measures in the commercial and 

recreational Pacific Coast groundfish 

fisheries. These actions are authorized 

by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP). The 2007 

whiting harvest specifications include 

the level of the acceptable biological 

catch (ABC), optimum yield (OY), tribal 

allocation, and allocations for the nontribal commercial whiting sectors, and 

are intended to establish allowable 

harvest levels of whiting based on the 

best available scientific information. 

The inseason changes to fishery 

management measures are intended to 

allow fisheries to access more abundant 

groundfish stocks while protecting 

overfished and depleted species, and to 

reduce possible confusion to the public 

over differing state and Federal 

regulations. 

DATES: Effective April 17, 2007. 

Comments on this rule must be received 

no later than 5 p.m., local time on May 

18, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by I.D. 082806B by any of the 

following methods: 

∑ E-mail: 

WhitingABCOYInseason1.nwr@

noaa.gov. Include I.D. 082806B in the 

subject line of the message. 

∑ Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

∑ Fax: 206–526–6736, Attn: Gretchen 

Arentzen 

∑ Mail: D. Robert Lohn, 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070, Attn: Gretchen 

Arentzen. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gretchen Arentzen (Northwest Region, 

NMFS), phone: 206–526–6147, fax: 206–

526–6736 and e-mail 

gretchen.arentzen@noaa.gov; or Becky 

Renko (Northwest Region, NMFS), 

phone: 206–526–6110 fax: 206–526–

6736 and e-mail becky.renko@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This final rule is accessible via the 

Internet at the Office of the Federal 

Register’s Web site at http:// 

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

Background information and documents 

are available at the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Council’s) Web 

site at http://www.pcouncil.org/. 

Background 

The Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP 

and its implementing regulations at title 

50 in the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR), part 660, subpart G, regulate 

fishing for over 90 species of groundfish 

off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, 

and California. Groundfish 

specifications and management 

measures are developed by the Council, 

and are implemented by NMFS. A 

proposed rulemaking to implement the 

2007–2008 specifications and 

management measures for the Pacific 

Coast groundfish fishery and 

Amendment 16–4 of the FMP was 

published on September 29, 2006 (71 FR 

57764). The final rule to implement the 

2007–2008 specifications and 

management measures for the Pacific 

Coast Groundfish Fishery was published 

on December 29, 2006 (71 FR 78638). 

These specifications and management 

measures were codified in the CFR (50 

CFR part 660, subpart G). The final rule 

was subsequently amended on March 

20, 2007 via a correcting amendment (71 

FR 13043). 

Changes to current groundfish 

management measures implemented by 

this action were recommended by the 

Council, in consultation with Pacific 

Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and the 

States of Washington, Oregon, and 

California, at its March 5–9, 2007, 

meeting in Sacramento, California. The 

Council recommended changes to 

current regulations pertaining to two 

separate actions: (1) Setting the final 

2007 ABC and OY values for the Pacific 

coast whiting fishery and the 2007 tribal 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 74 / Wednesday, April 18, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 19391 

allocation of whiting; and (2) adjusting 

current groundfish management 

measures to respond to updated fishery 

information and other inseason 

management needs. 

Pacific Whiting Specifications for 2007 

In November 2003, the United States 

and Canada signed an agreement 

regarding the conservation, research, 

and catch sharing of whiting. The 

whiting catch sharing arrangement that 

was agreed upon provides 73.88 percent 

of the total catch OY to the U.S. 

fisheries and 26.12 percent to the 

Canadian fisheries. At this time, both 

countries are taking steps to fully 

implement this agreement. Until this 

occurs, the negotiators recommended 

that each country apply the agreed upon 

provisions to their respective fisheries. 

In anticipation of the ratification of 

the U.S.-Canada agreement, a new stock 

assessment, and given the small amount 

of whiting that is typically landed under 

trip limits prior to the April 1 start of 

the primary season, the Council adopted 

a range for OY and ABC in the 2007–

2008 specifications, and delayed 

adoption of final 2007 and 2008 ABC 

and OY until its March 2007 and 2008 

meetings, respectively. To date, the 

international agreement has not yet been 

ratified by the United States, but the 

implementing legislation was recently 

signed into law on January 12, 2007. 

The ABC and OY values recommended 

by the Council as final ABC and OY 

values for 2007 are based on the 2007 

stock assessment, and their impacts are 

within the scope of impacts considered 

in the EIS for the 2007 and 2008 

management measures. The whiting OY 

being implemented in this rule, and the 

resulting allocations among the sectors, 

is reduced by approximately 10 percent 

from the 2006 OY. 

Pacific Whiting Stock Status 

In general, whiting is a very 

productive species with highly variable 

recruitment (the biomass of fish that 

mature and enter the population and/or 

fishery each year) and a relatively short 

life span when compared to other 

groundfish species. In 1987, the whiting 

biomass was at a historically high level 

due to an exceptionally large number of 

fish that recruited into the population in 

1980 and 1984 (fish recruited during a 

particular year are referred to as year 

classes). As these large year classes of 

fish passed through the population and 

were replaced by moderate sized year 

classes, the stock declined. The whiting 

stock stabilized between 1995 and 1997, 

but then declined to its lowest level in 

2001. After 2001, the whiting biomass 

increased substantially as a strong 1999 

year class matured and entered the 

spawning population. The 1999 year 

class has now reached its peak biomass 

level and is declining, and in the 

absence of additional strong year classes 

the stock is expected to decline in the 

near term even in the absence of fishing. 

The joint US-Canada Stock 

Assessment Review (STAR) panel met 

February 5–9, 2007, to review the 

whiting stock assessment prepared 

jointly by scientists from the NMFS 

Northwest Fisheries Science Center and 

the University of British Columbia 

Fisheries Centre. The STAR panel 

accepted two equally plausible 

assessment models that consider 

uncertainty in the relative depletion 

level and stock productivity. 

As in 2006, the amount of whiting 

that the hydroacoustic survey was able 

to measure relative to the total amount 

of whiting in the surveyed area (acoustic 

survey catchability coefficient, or q) was 

identified as a major source of 

uncertainty in the new stock 

assessment. Because of this uncertainty, 

two models were presented to bracket 

the range of uncertainty in q: The base 

model with a fixed value of q=1, 

representing the lower range of biomass 

and ABC/OY estimates; and the 

alternative model (using an informative 

prior) to arrive at q=0.7, which results 

in an upward scaling of both biomass 

and ABC/OY estimates. Uncertainty 

regarding the true value of q has been 

a major issue with whiting stock 

assessments in recent years, and as a 

precautionary measure the Council has 

based whiting ABCs from the last 

several assessments on models where 

q=1. 

Using the base model, q=1, the 

whiting stock biomass at the end of 

2006 was estimated to be at 36 percent 

of its unfished biomass and at 44 

percent of its unfished biomass with the 

alternative model, q=0.7. As no strong 

year classes have been observed since 

1999, the whiting biomass is projected 

to decline in the near future. Data from 

the 2005 hydroacoustic survey 

suggested a moderately strong 2003 year 

class; however current recruitment 

estimates from fishery-dependent 

indices predict that the 2003 

recruitment will be below the mean. 

Current estimates, while not validated 

with a hydroacoustic survey, predict 

larger 2004 recruitment than for 

surrounding years. If these year classes 

are stronger than currently projected, 

the recent downward trend in whiting 

biomass could stabilize. 

The steepness of the stockrecruitment relationship (the proportion 

of young fish entering the population in 

relation to the number of adult fish) in 

the 2007 assessment was estimated to be 

0.75. This is the same value that was 

used in 2006 when it was redefined in 

the 2006 assessment, whereas a value of 

1 was used in 2005. Assuming a 

steepness of 1 implies that the spawning 

biomass level has no influence on the 

number of recruits produced in any 

given year, which may result in overly 

optimistic projections. Reducing the 

steepness to 0.75 increases the 

dependency of recruitment on the 

number of adult fish in the population. 

Based on its review, the SSC endorsed 

the use of both models in setting 2007 

ABCs and OYS. 

The U.S. implementing legislation 

and the U.S.-Canada agreement 

provisions include the use of a default 

harvest rate of F40. A harvest rate of F40

can be explained as that which reduces 

spawning potential per female to 40 

percent of what it would have been 

without fishing mortality. The selection 

of the F40 value was based on an 

analysis of stock and recruitment data 

for other whiting (hake) species. 

However, because the whiting stock is 

projected to fall below the overfished 

threshold if managed with a harvest rate 

of F40, primarily due to the highly 

variable recruitment characteristic of the 

stock, the SSC noted that use of a 

control rule that allows for maximized 

yield may be inconsistent with the need 

to prevent whiting from falling below 

the overfished threshold. 

The range of U.S. ABCs and OYs 

considered by the Council and analyzed 

in the EIS for 2007 and 2008 included: 

A low ABC of 244,425 mt and a high 

ABC of 733,275 mt (50 percent and 150 

percent, respectively, of the 2006 U.S. 

ABC of 488,850); and a low OY of 

134,534 mt and a high OY of 403,604 mt 

(50 percent and 150 percent, 

respectively, of the 2005/2006 U.S. OY 

of 269,069). These broad ranges in 

whiting harvest levels were analyzed in 

order to assess the potential range of the 

effects of the whiting fishery on 

incidentally-caught overfished species 

and the economic effects to coastal 

communities. 

At its March 5–9, 2007, meeting in 

Sacramento, CA, the Council reviewed 

the results of the new whiting stock 

assessment and recommended adopting 

a U.S.-Canada coastwide ABC of 

612,068 mt (results in a U.S. ABC of 

452,196 mt) based on the q=1 

assessment model. Because the whiting 

biomass is estimated to be below 40 

percent of its unfished biomass, the 40–

10 adjustment was applied as specified 

in the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP, 

the U.S.-Canada agreement, and the 

Pacific Whiting Act of 2006. With the 

40–10 adjustment, the U.S.-Canada 


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19392 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 74 / Wednesday, April 18, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

coastwide OY was 575,090 mt with the 

q=1 model, and 878,670 mt with the 

q=0.7 model. The potential OYs with 

the 40–10 adjustment were considered 

by the Council to be too high during a 

time when the stock biomass is in 

decline. The 40–10-based OY for the 

q=1 model was projected to result in the 

stock biomass falling below the 

overfished threshold of 25 percent of 

unfished biomass by 2008. The 40–10- 

based OY for the q=0.7 model was 

projected to result in the stock biomass 

falling below the overfished threshold 

by 2009. Given the potential impact on 

future stock biomass levels and as 

contemplated by the Pacific Whiting Act 

of 2006, the Council considered a more 

conservative range of U.S.-Canada 

coastwide OYs. 

Following discussion and public 

testimony, the Council recommended 

adopting a U.S.-Canada coastwide OY of 

328,358 mt, which corresponds to a U.S. 

OY of 242,591 mt according to the 

international allocation in the U.S.- 

Canada agreement. The 2007 U.S. OY is 

almost 10 percent less than the 2006 OY 

(269,069 mt), as a precautionary 

response to the declining trend in stock 

biomass, no strong year class available 

for the 2007 fishery, and continuing 

uncertainty in the model relative to the 

parameter q. With a constant harvest 

rate corresponding to the 2007 U.S. OY 

of 242,591 mt, the stock biomass level 

is projected to drop below the 

overfished level (B25, or 25 percent of 

estimated unfished biomass) by 2009 if 

q=1 is the true state of nature; however, 

the biomass would remain near 30 

percent of the unfished level through 

2009 if q=0.7 is the true state of nature. 

When the results of both models are 

combined and given equal weighting, 

the 2009 depletion level is projected to 

be slightly above the overfished level. 

Because whiting stock assessments are 

prepared annually and OYs adjusted 

annually, the risk of reaching an 

overfished condition is reduced. A new 

stock assessment will be prepared prior 

to the 2008 fishing year and will 

provide an opportunity to further adjust 

harvest levels in response to new 

assessment information. The 2008 

assessment will be informed with 

results from the 2007 hydroacoustic 

survey (the 2007 assessment used 

results from the 2005 hydroacoustic 

survey which is conducted every other 

year) and will further investigate the 

appropriateness of model parameters, 

harvest rates proxies, and year class 

strength. 

Allocations 

In 1994, the United States formally 

recognized that the four Washington 

coastal treaty Indian tribes (Makah, 

Quileute, Hoh, and Quinault) have 

treaty rights to fish for groundfish in the 

Pacific Ocean. In general terms, the 

quantification of those rights is 50 

percent of the harvestable surplus of 

groundfish that pass through the tribes’

usual and accustomed fishing areas 

(described at 50 CFR 660.324). 

The Pacific Coast Indian treaty fishing 

rights, described at 50 CFR 660.324 and 

660.385, provide for the allocation of 

groundfish to the tribes through the 

specifications and management 

measures process. A tribal allocation is 

subtracted from the species’ OY before 

limited entry and open access 

allocations are derived. The tribal 

whiting fishery is a separate fishery, and 

is not governed by the limited entry or 

open access regulations or allocations. 

To date, only the Makah Tribe has 

participated. The Makah Tribe regulates, 

and in cooperation with NMFS, 

monitors this fishery so as not to exceed 

the tribal allocation. 

Beginning in 1999, NMFS set the 

tribal allocation according to an 

abundance-based sliding scale method, 

proposed by the Makah Tribe in 1998 

(see 64 FR 27928, May 24, 1999; 65 FR 

221, January 4, 2000; and 66 FR 2338, 

January 11, 2001). Details on the 

abundance-based sliding scale 

allocation method and related litigation 

were discussed in the preamble to the 

proposed rule to implement the 2005–

2006 groundfish specifications and 

management measures and are not 

repeated here. On December 28, 2004, 

the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 

upheld the sliding scale approach in 

Midwater Trawler’s Cooperative v. 

Daley, 393 F. 3d 994 (9th Cir. 2004). 

Under the sliding scale allocation 

method, the tribal allocation varies with 

the U.S. whiting OY, ranging from a low 

of 14 percent (or less) of the U.S. OY 

when OY levels are above 250,000 mt, 

to a high of 17.5 percent of the U.S. OY 

when the OY level is at or below 

145,000 mt. For 2007, using the sliding 

scale allocation method, the tribal 

allocation will be 32,500 mt. The Makah 

Tribe is the only Washington Coast tribe 

that requested a whiting allocation for 

2007. The tribal fleet is comprised of 

five midwater trawlers who deliver to 

shoreside plants and to one at-sea 

mothership. 

The 2007 commercial OY (non-tribal) 

for whiting is 208,091 mt. This is 

calculated by deducting the 32,500 mt 

tribal allocation and 2,000 mt for 

research catch and bycatch in nongroundfish fisheries from the 242,591 

mt U.S. OY. Regulations at 50 CFR 

660.323(a)(2) divide the commercial OY 

into separate allocations for the nontribal catcher/processor, mothership, 

and shore-based sectors of the whiting 

fishery and the specific values are found 

in tables 1a and 2a to part 660 subpart 

G. 

The catcher/processor sector is 

comprised of vessels that harvest and 

process whiting at sea (the fleet has 

typically been six to nine vessels 

annually since the formation of the 

Pacific Whiting Conservation 

Cooperative in 1997). The mothership 

sector is comprised of motherships and 

catcher vessels that harvest whiting for 

delivery to motherships that process the 

whiting at sea (typically three–six 

motherships operate in the fishery with 

one mothership also servicing the tribal 

fleet). Motherships are vessels that do 

not harvest, but process the whiting at 

sea. The shoreside sector is comprised 

of vessels that harvest whiting for 

delivery to shoreside processors (in 

recent years, the number of participating 

vessels has ranged from 29 to 37 vessels, 

some of which also service the nontribal mothership sector). Each sector 

receives a portion of the non-tribal 

commercial OY, with the catcher/ 

processors receiving 34 percent (70,751 

mt), the mothership sector receiving 24 

percent (49,942 mt), and the shoreside 

sector receiving 42 percent (87,398 mt), 

amounts that are roughly an 11% 

reduction from 2005 and 2006 levels. 

It should also be noted that whiting is 

not the only fishery that these vessels 

depend on. Shoreside vessels typically 

participate in other fisheries, such as 

non-whiting groundfish, crab, and 

shrimp fisheries. Mothership and 

catcher-processor vessels typically 

participate in the Alaska pollock 

fishery. 

All whiting caught in 2007 before the 

effective date of this action will be 

counted against the new 2007 OY. As in 

the past, the specification include fish 

caught in state ocean waters (0–3 

nautical miles (nm) offshore) as well as 

fish caught in the EEZ (3–200 nm 

offshore). 

Inseason Adjustments to Fishery 

Management Measures 

The Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP 

and its implementing regulations at 50 

CFR part 660, subpart G, provide for 

routine management measures to be 

used for inseason management of the 

Pacific coast groundfish fishery. The 

changes to current groundfish 

management measures implemented by 

this action were recommended by the 

Council, in consultation with Pacific 

Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and the 

States of Washington, Oregon, and 

California, at its March 5–9, 2007, 

meeting in Sacramento, CA. At that 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 74 / Wednesday, April 18, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 19393 

meeting the Council recommended 

changes to management measures in 

response to three primary concerns: (1) 

Higher than expected canary rockfish 

bycatch rates in the non-whiting limited 

entry trawl fishery north of 40°10.00′ N. 

lat. based on newly-available scientific 

information; (2) higher than expected 

catch of petrale sole in the limited entry 

trawl fishery; and (3) the need for state 

and Federal groundfish regulations to 

conform in order to minimize confusion 

for the public. To address these 

concerns, the Council recommended the 

following revisions to groundfish 

management measures: (1) Close the 

areas shoreward of the trawl Rockfish 

Conservation Area (RCA) north of Cape 

Alava and between Capa Arago and 

Humbug Mountain beginning April 1; 

(2) adjust the shoreward boundary of the 

trawl RCA to a line approximating the 

60-fm (110-m) contour between 

Leadbetter Point and the OregonWashington border from April 1 through 

October 31; (3) adjust the seaward 

boundary of the trawl RCA to a line 

approximating the 150-fm (274-m) 

contour north of Cascade Head and to a 

line approximating the 200-fm (366-m) 

contour south of Cascade Head 

beginning April 1 through August 31; 

(4) adjust the seaward boundary of the 

trawl RCA to the petrale-modified line 

approximating the 200-fm (366-m) 

contour, coastwide, from November 1 

through December 31; (5) north of 

40°10.00′ N. lat., increase cumulative 

limits for lingcod and shortspine 

thornyhead taken with large and small 

footrope trawl gear, and south of 

40°10.00′ N. lat., increase cumulative 

limits for lingcod taken with large 

footrope and midwater trawl gear; (6) 

north of 40°10.00′ N. lat., decrease 

cumulative limits for selective flatfish 

trawls for sablefish, Dover sole, and 

petrale sole beginning May 1; (7) 

combine cumulative limited entry trawl 

limits for Other Flatfish and arrowtooth 

flounder coastwide beginning May 1; (8) 

north of 40°10.00′ N. lat., reduce 

cumulative limits for slope rockfish for 

all trawl gears beginning May 1; (9) 

reduce cumulative limits for petrale sole 

using large and small footrope trawl 

gears coastwide beginning May 1; and 

(10) adjust Federal regulations to 

conform with Washington recreational 

fishery management measures to 

prohibit the retention of groundfish 

seaward of a line approximating the 20- 

fm (37-m) contour from May 21 through 

September 30, in the area from the U.S. 

border with Canada to the Queets River, 

WA (47°31.70′ N. lat.), except on days 

when the Pacific halibut fishery is open 

in this area, and prohibit the retention 

of groundfish seaward of a line 

approximating the 30-fm (55-m) contour 

from March 17 through June 15, in the 

area between the Queets River and 

Leadbetter Point, except that retention 

of sablefish and Pacific cod is allowed 

from May 1 through June 15. 

Overfished Species Bycatch Limits in 

the Pacific Whiting Fishery 

The availability of overfished species 

as incidental catch, particularly canary 

rockfish, darkblotched rockfish, and 

widow rockfish, may prevent the 

industry from harvesting the entire 

whiting OY during 2007. To allow the 

industry to have the opportunity to 

harvest the higher whiting OY while 

keeping incidental catch within the 

rebuilding OYs for the incidental 

species, the Council recommended 

bycatch limits for the overfished species 

most commonly taken as incidental 

catch in the whiting fishery. With 

bycatch limits, the industry has the 

opportunity to harvest a larger amount 

of whiting, if they can do so while 

keeping the incidental catch of specific 

overfished species within adopted 

bycatch limits. Regulations provide for 

the automatic closure of the commercial 

(non-tribal) portion of the whiting 

fishery upon attainment of a bycatch 

limit. 

In recent years, the most constraining 

overfished species for the whiting 

fishery have been darkblotched, canary 

and widow rockfish. Prior to this final 

rule, regulations at 50 CFR 660.373 

(b)(4) contained the following bycatch 

limits for the commercial sectors (nontribal) of the whiting fishery: 4.7 mt for 

canary, 200 mt for widow, and 25 mt for 

darkblotched rockfish. 

At the March 2007 Council meeting, 

the Council’s groundfish management 

team (GMT) examined the 2007 whiting 

OY alternatives in relation to the 

potential bycatch of overfished species. 

With a U.S. OY of 242,591 mt and in the 

absence of any further restrictions, the 

bycatch of canary rockfish was projected 

to be approximately 3.9 mt, the bycatch 

of widow rockfish was projected to be 

approximately 217 mt, and the bycatch 

of darkblotched rockfish was projected 

to be approximately 12.4 mt. After 

considering the projected catch of 

overfished species in all other fishing 

and research activities, the Council 

recommended that the canary and 

darkblotched rockfish bycatch limits for 

the whiting fishery remain at 4.7 mt and 

25 mt, respectively, which were the 

same limits that were available during 

the 2006 primary whiting season. To 

accommodate current incidental catch 

projections for the non-tribal whiting 

fishery, the Council recommended the 

widow rockfish bycatch limit be raised 

to 220 mt, the same bycatch limit that 

was in effect at the end of 2006. With 

this increase, the 2007 estimated total 

catch of widow rockfish is still 

predicted to be well below the 2007 

widow rockfish OY of 368 mt. 

Limited Entry Trawl Fishery 

Management Measures 

At its March 2007 meeting, the 

Council received new data and analyses 

on the catch of groundfish in the limited 

entry trawl fishery. The Council’s 

recommendations for revising 2007 

trawl fishery management measures 

focused on modifying the RCA 

boundary lines and trip limits to move 

vessels away from areas where canary 

rockfish most commonly co-occur with 

more abundant groundfish stocks, 

limiting the resulting effects of the 

movement of the fleet on darkblotched 

rockfish, and reducing the availability of 

petrale sole early in 2007 in order to 

better ensure that petrale sole is 

available for harvest later in the 2007 

fishing year. 

According to the most recently 

available West Coast Groundfish 

Observer Program (WCGOP) data, 

released in late January, 2007, bycatch 

rates for canary rockfish using selective 

flatfish trawl gear north of 40°10.00′ N. 

lat. were much higher in 2005 than had 

been anticipated. By applying these new 

bycatch rates to landings of target 

species in the existing fishery bycatch 

model, NMFS concluded that the 2005 

canary rockfish OY had been exceeded 

by 2 mt. While estimated 2006 total 

catch of canary rockfish has yet to be 

determined, higher than anticipated 

bycatch rates in the north by selective 

flatfish trawls would be expected to 

continue in 2006. Based on 2005 

WCGOP data indicating higher canary 

rockfish bycatch rates using selective 

flatfish trawls north of 40°10.00′ N. lat., 

NMFS believes that the canary rockfish 

OY could be exceeded in 2007 under 

status quo regulations. The 2007 

regulatory measures were developed 

assuming a canary rockfish bycatch rate 

that now has been determined to be too 

low, which results in an underestimate 

in the predicted impacts to canary 

rockfish. In order to keep catch levels 

within the canary rockfish OY, inseason 

adjustments are necessary to constrain 

incidental canary rockfish catch in the 

limited entry non-whiting trawl fishery. 

The Council considered several short 

term options available to reduce impacts 

on canary rockfish in the non-whiting 

limited entry trawl fishery north of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. to harvest levels 

initially projected for the fisheries 

during development of the 2007 


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management measures: (1) The 

modification of trawl cumulative limits; 

(2) modifications of the trawl RCA 

boundaries; and (3) the use of 

management area boundaries and 

commonly used geographic coordinates, 

defined at 50 CFR 660.302 under 

‘‘North-South management area’’, to 

provide more area-specific management 

measures on portions of the coast with 

differential canary rockfish bycatch 

rates. For the longer term, the Council 

discussed the development of other 

tools, such as more refined area 

closures, similar to the yelloweye 

rockfish RCAs, but concluded that 

implementing these types of closures 

would not be routine management 

measure changes under either the FMP 

at 6.2.D or Federal regulations at 50 CFR 

660.370(c). 

Based on analysis of 2005 WCGOP 

data, the areas of the coast with highest 

bycatch rate of canary rockfish relative 

to target species taken in the nonwhiting trawl fishery are: The area 

shoreward of the trawl RCA north of 

Cape Alava (48°10.00′ N. lat.) to the 

U.S./Canada boundary; the area 

shoreward of the trawl RCA between 

Leadbetter Point (46°38.17′ N. lat.) and 

the Oregon/Washington border 

(46°16.00′ N. lat.); and the area 

shoreward of the trawl RCA between 

Cape Arago (43°20.83′ N. lat.) and 

Humbug Mountain (42°40.50′ N. lat.). 

The Council considered several 

combinations of available management 

measures and looked at the projected 

impact of these measures on the 

resource and the fishery. In order to 

keep projected impacts of the nonwhiting trawl fishery on canary rockfish 

within the 2007 OY, and to allow 

fishing opportunities in geographic 

areas with low canary rockfish bycatch, 

several modifications were 

recommended to the limited entry nonwhiting trawl fishery regulations, 

including: (1) Modify the trawl RCA 

boundaries; (2) close two areas of the 

coast shoreward of the trawl RCA; (3) 

reduce cumulative limits for some 

species using selective flatfish trawl 

gear; (4) combine arrowtooth and Other 

Flatfish into a flatfish species group 

with a single, reduced cumulative limit; 

and (5) increase opportunities for 

lingcod and shortspine thornyheads in 

areas seaward of the trawl RCA. 

Rockfish Conservation Area 

Boundaries 

The Council determined that, in order 

to constrain the incidental catch of 

canary rockfish and to prevent 

exceeding the 2007 canary rockfish OY, 

the limited entry trawl RCA north of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. should be expanded 

shoreward, so that the RCA’s shoreward 

boundary is no deeper than a line 

approximating the 75-fm (137-m) 

contour for the entire year. This RCA 

expansion is expected to have a dual 

effect of eliminating fishing opportunity 

in areas with trawl efforts exhibiting 

higher canary rockfish bycatch rates, as 

well as shifting fishing effort to areas 

exhibiting relatively lower canary 

rockfish bycatch rates. The Council also 

considered a more refined modification 

of the shoreward RCA boundaries in 

areas north of 40°10.00′ N. lat. that 

would close or substantially restrict 

areas with the highest bycatch rates, as 

identified from WCGOP data. The areas 

of highest canary rockfish bycatch rates 

included: The area shoreward of the 

RCA north of Cape Alava; the area 

shoreward of the RCA between 

Leadbetter Point and the Washington/ 

Oregon border; and the area shoreward 

of the RCA between Cape Arago and 

Humbug Mountain. The Council’s 

Groundfish Management Team (GMT) 

analyzed the effect of relatively greater 

restrictions in these three areas and, 

based on that analysis, recommended 

closing the shoreward area north of 

Cape Alava, closing the shoreward area 

between Cape Arago and Humbug 

Mountain, and expanding the 

shoreward boundary of the trawl RCA to 

a line approximating the 60-fm (110-m) 

contour during the summer in the area 

between Leadbetter Point and the 

Oregon/Washington border. The 

Council also considered various 

alternatives that would leave the area 

shoreward of the RCA and north of Cape 

Alava open during winter months to 

reduce the disproportionate impact this 

closure would have on vessels based in 

northern Washington. However, the 

necessary reductions in cumulative trip 

limits required to keep this area open 

would make trawling with selective 

flatfish gear not economically viable for 

many participants in the non-whiting 

trawl fishery. The Council also 

considered the potential impacts of 

interaction with soft-shelled crab as 

trawl effort is shifted to areas closer to 

shore between Leadbetter Point and the 

Oregon/Washington border during 

summer months. The line 

approximating the 60-fm (110-m) depth 

contour is farther offshore in this area 

and GMT analysis suggested that 

interactions between groundfish 

trawlers and soft-shelled crab would be 

minimal if a 60-fm (110-m) shoreward 

boundary were put in place. In order to 

reduce economic impacts on vessels 

that formerly operated in the nearshore 

fishing areas, the Council supported 

liberalization, where possible, of the 

seaward boundary of the RCA in order 

to provide open fishing areas of 

relatively low canary bycatch to 

accommodate a shift in fishing effort 

from nearshore to offshore waters. The 

benefits of shifting effort offshore are 

twofold: Since the highest rates of 

canary bycatch occur in the areas 

shoreward of the RCA, shifting effort 

seaward of the RCA further reduces the 

effort in the nearshore areas that remain 

open, thus reducing the amount of 

canary rockfish caught in those areas; 

and some displaced vessels whose effort 

was concentrated in the areas that are 

now closed may be able to shift their 

effort seaward of the RCA and remain in 

the fishery. 

Trawl fishing opportunities seaward 

of the trawl RCA are primarily 

constrained by measures intended to 

minimize the incidental catch of 

darkblotched rockfish. Data from the 

NMFS trawl survey, logbook data, and 

anecdotal information from the trawl 

industry shows that various target 

species and darkblotched rockfish are 

found in shallower depths in the north 

and move deeper toward the south. The 

Council considered changes to the 

seaward boundary of the RCA within 

the context of allowing increased fishing 

opportunity while maintaining 

protections for darkblotched rockfish. 

Dividing the seaward boundary of the 

RCA at Cascade Head (45°03.83′ N. lat.) 

allows more refined area management in 

response to the depth-based shift in 

abundance from north to south of 

darkblotched rockfish and target 

species. North of Cascade Head, target 

species and darkblotched rockfish are 

more abundant in shallower water, so 

the seaward boundary of the RCA can be 

shifted shoreward to allow increased 

targeting opportunity while still 

protecting darkblotched rockfish. South 

of Cascade Head, target species and 

darkblotched rockfish are more 

abundant in deeper water, so only 

minor adjustments to the seaward 

boundary of the RCA, which remains 

similar to what was in place at the 

beginning of 2007, provides targeting 

opportunity while still protecting 

darkblotched rockfish. 

Based on the information and analysis 

described above, the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing the following changes to 

the trawl RCA north of 40°10.00′ N. lat.: 

North of Cape Alava, and between Cape 

Arago and Humbug Mountain, the 

shoreward boundary of the RCA is 

shifted to the shore, closing the area 

shoreward of the RCA for the remainder 

of 2007; between Leadbetter Point and 

the Oregon/Washington border, the 

shoreward boundary is shifted 


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shoreward to a line approximating the 

60-fm (110-m) depth contour from April 

1 through October 31; unless otherwise 

specified above, the RCA will have a 

shoreward boundary of a line 

approximating the 75-fm (137-m) depth 

contour from April 1 through December 

31, 2007; north of Cascade Head, the 

seaward boundary of the trawl RCA is 

shifted shoreward to a line 

approximating the 150-fm (274-m) 

depth contour from April 1 through 

August 31, 2007; north of Cascade Head, 

the seaward boundary of the RCA will 

remain at a line approximating the 200- 

fm (366-m) depth contour from 

September 1 through October 31, 2007; 

south of Cascade Head, the seaward 

boundary of the RCA will be shifted 

shoreward to a line approximating the 

200-fm (366-m) depth contour from 

April 1 through April 30, and remain at 

the 200-fm (366-m) depth contour 

through October 31, 2007; north of 

40°10.00′ N. lat., the seaward boundary 

of the RCA will be shifted shoreward to 

a line approximating the petralemodified 200-fm (366-m) depth contour 

from November 1 through December 31, 

2007. 

Limited Entry Trawl Trip Limits 

In addition to area closures, the 

Council determined that cumulative 

limits in the limited entry trawl fishery 

north of 40°10.00′ N. lat. should be 

modified to: Reduce effort and catch of 

target species in order to reduce impacts 

on co-occurring canary rockfish and 

prevent exceeding the 2007 canary 

rockfish OY; constrain the effect of any 

fleet movement away from canary 

rockfish grounds and into darkblotched 

rockfish grounds; and reduce the early 

2007 rate of petrale sole catch in order 

to allow more petrale sole to be 

available for harvest later in the 2007 

season. 

The Council considered various 

combinations of cumulative limit 

adjustments paired with RCA 

modifications and area closures to 

reduce impacts to canary rockfish. As 

with the RCA boundary revisions, the 

Council’s GMT analyzed revisions to 

trip limits intended to shift fishing effort 

away from areas where canary rockfish 

are more commonly taken as bycatch. 

The GMT recommended that the 

Council consider reducing sablefish and 

Dover sole opportunity for vessels using 

selective flatfish trawl gear, in order to 

provide for a disincentive to fish in 

areas where canary rockfish are found 

and to shift effort away from areas with 

a relatively high canary rockfish bycatch 

rate. Reductions in petrale sole 

opportunities were primarily driven by 

the need to slow the catch of petrale 

sole, but this adjustment also results in 

lower impacts on canary rockfish 

compared to status quo measures. 

Given the need to reduce overall catch 

and to result in lower predicted canary 

rockfish impacts than under current 

management measures, the GMT also 

recommended combining the 

arrowtooth and Other Flatfish 

cumulative limits to enable fishermen to 

better vary their target strategy while 

still gaining the benefit of reducing 

canary rockfish impacts. GMT estimates 

showed that this approach allows for 

greater opportunities for those particular 

target strategies, but that the total catch, 

and thus overfished species impacts, are 

less than if separate cumulative limits 

were applied. 

Based on these analyses and 

recommendations the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing a decrease in the limited 

entry selective flatfish trawl fishery 

cumulative limits north of 40°10.00′ N. 

lat. beginning May 1: For sablefish from 

‘‘8,000 lb per two months’’ to ‘‘5,000 lb 

per two months’’ through December 31, 

2007; for Dover sole from ‘‘40,000 lb per 

two months’’ to ‘‘38,000 lb per two 

months’’ through October 31, 2007 and 

from ‘‘40,000 lb per two months’’ to 

‘‘25,000 lb per two months’’ through 

December 31, 2007; and for petrale sole, 

from ‘‘25,000 lb per two months’’ to 

‘‘20,000 lb per two months’’ through 

August 31, 2007, to ‘‘15,000 lb per two 

months’’ from September 1 through 

October 31, and to ‘‘8,000 lb per two 

months’’ from November 1 through 

December 31, 2007. The Council also 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing, beginning May 1, 

combining cumulative limits for 

arrowtooth and Other Flatfish within a 

single cumulative limit for Other 

Flatfish (including arrowtooth). For 

large and small footrope trawl gears, 

arrowtooth limits are modified from 

‘‘100,000 lb per two months’’ and 

combined within Other Flatfish limits 

into a combined cumulative limit of 

‘‘110,000 lb per two months’’ through 

December 31, 2007. For selective flatfish 

trawl gears, arrowtooth limits are 

modified from ‘‘90,000 lb per two 

months’’ and combined within Other 

Flatfish limits into a combined 

cumulative limit of ‘‘70,000 lb per two 

months’’ through October 31, 2007. 

Beginning November 1, the cumulative 

limit for Other Flatfish, including 

arrowtooth, taken with selective flatfish 

trawl gear is reduced from ‘‘90,000 lb 

per two months’’ to ‘‘30,000 lb per two 

months’’ through December 31, 2007. 

In addition to liberalizing the seaward 

boundaries of the trawl RCA north of 

40°10.00′ N. lat., the Council considered 

increasing cumulative limits for DTS 

species and lingcod in areas seaward of 

the RCA in order to shift more fishing 

effort to offshore waters. North of 

40°10.00′ N. lat., the Council considered 

increasing limits for lingcod and 

shortspine thornyheads taken with large 

and small footrope trawl gears, which 

are only allowed when fishing seaward 

of the trawl RCA, to create incentives to 

fish in areas with lower canary rockfish 

bycatch rates. South of 40°10.00′ N. lat., 

the Council considered increasing limits 

for lingcod taken with large footrope 

and midwater trawl gears, which are 

only allowed when fishing seaward of 

the trawl RCA, to accommodate a shift 

in effort from shoreward areas, and to 

reduce discards of non-constraining 

target species. The Council determined 

that increasing trip limits for lingcod 

and shortspine thornyhead would help 

prevent exceeding the 2007 canary 

rockfish OY, reduce unnecessary 

discards, and reduce economic impacts 

for the following reasons: (1) The shift 

in effort to areas with lower canary 

rockfish bycatch rates will reduce total 

coastwide incidental catch of canary 

rockfish; (2) it may reduce the economic 

impacts on vessels displaced by 

nearshore fishery closures by providing 

fishing opportunity while also 

constraining incidental catch of canary 

rockfish; and (3) it will reduce 

unnecessary discards of lingcod and 

shortspine thornyheads. 

Increasing incentives to fish seaward 

of the trawl RCA will increase effort in 

an area of known darkblotched rockfish 

abundance; accordingly, the Council 

considered various ways to mitigate 

these impacts and prevent exceeding the 

2007 darkblotched rockfish OY. 

Changes to management measures to 

constrain the catch of canary rockfish 

will also affect the incidental catch of 

darkblotched rockfish and Pacific ocean 

perch (POP). The incidental catch of 

darkblotched rockfish is likely to 

increase compared to predicted impacts 

under current management measures, 

and will be caused by a shift in effort 

away from areas of high canary rockfish 

bycatch to areas of greater darkblotched 

rockfish and POP abundance. However, 

POP is not considered to be a 

constraining species in the limited entry 

trawl fishery; the inseason adjustments 

to management measures implemented 

by this action are anticipated to keep 

POP total catch well within its 2007 OY 

of 150 mt. The Council focused its 

discussions of various continental slope 

actions to prevent exceeding the 2007 

darkblotched rockfish OY, including 

modification of the seaward boundary of 

the trawl RCA, and changes in catch 

limit opportunities. The Council’s GMT 


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analyzed the effects of changes in RCA 

boundaries, cumulative limit 

opportunities, and fishing effort on the 

incidental catch of darkblotched 

rockfish, and recommended that 

cumulative limits for slope rockfish be 

decreased to reduce the impact of 

greater effort occurring in areas where 

darkblotched rockfish are found. The 

combined effects of these actions are 

predicted to result in a total 2007 catch 

of darkblotched rockfish that is lower 

than the 2007 OY. Catch of 

darkblotched rockfish will be monitored 

and action can be taken inseason if 

necessary to modify the trawl RCA and 

cumulative limits to keep total catch 

within the 2007 darkblotched rockfish 

OY. 

Based on these analyses and 

recommendations, the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing an increase in the limited 

entry trawl fishery cumulative limits 

taken with large and small footrope 

trawl gears north of 40°10.00′ N. lat. 

beginning May 1 through December 31, 

2007: For lingcod from ‘‘1,200 lb per 

two months’’ to ‘‘4,000 lb per two 

months’’; and for shortspine 

thornyheads from ‘‘7,500 lb per two 

months’’ to ‘‘10,000 lb per two months’’. 

South of 40°10.00′ N. lat., limited entry 

trawl fishery cumulative limits for 

lingcod taken with large footrope and 

midwater trawl gears will increase, 

beginning May 1 through December 31, 

2007, from ‘‘1,200 lb per two months’’

to ‘‘4,000 lb per two months’’. The 

Council also recommended and NMFS 

is implementing a decrease in the 

limited entry trawl fishery cumulative 

limits for minor slope and darkblotched 

rockfish north of 40°10.00′ N. lat., 

beginning May 1 through December 31, 

2007, from ‘‘4,000 lb per two months’’

to ‘‘1,500 lb per two months’’. 

In early February 2007, NMFS 

received preliminary fishery data 

showing higher than expected limited 

entry trawl landings of petrale sole. 

NMFS estimated that the catch of 

petrale sole could be 1,200 mt out of a 

coastwide OY of 2,499 by the end of 

February. On February 9, NMFS issued 

a public notice asking for industry 

cooperation in reducing petrale sole 

catch to keep petrale sole from 

exceeding the 2007 OY, and still allow 

for management flexibility to keep 

petrale sole fishing opportunities 

throughout the calendar year. As a 

result of this voluntary action, 

significant reductions in catch occurred 

during the remainder of February and 

petrale sole catch was estimated to be 

between 850 and 900 mt at the end of 

February. In an effort to slow the catch 

of petrale sole, to prevent exceeding the 

2007 OY, and allow petrale sole target 

opportunities through the end of 2007, 

the Council considered reductions of 

petrale sole cumulative limits in the 

limited entry trawl fishery. Industry 

representatives indicated that petrale 

sole limits less than 20,000 lbs (9,072 

kg) per two months were not 

economically sustainable, given the cost 

of fuel needed to access that catch. The 

Council also considered the effects of 

petrale sole cumulative limit reductions 

on the bycatch of canary rockfish. 

Based on these analyses and 

information, the Council recommended 

and NMFS is implementing a decrease 

in the limited entry trawl fishery 

cumulative limits for petrale sole north 

of 40°10.00′ N. lat.: Beginning May 1 

through October 31, 2007, from ‘‘25,000 

lb per two months’’ to ‘‘20,000 lb per 

two months’’; and beginning November 

1 through December 31, 2007, from 

‘‘50,000 lb per two months’’ to ‘‘30,000 

lb per two months’’. South of 40°10.00′ 

N. lat., beginning May 1 through 

October 31, 2007, the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing reductions in cumulative 

limits for petrale sole from ‘‘30,000 lb 

per two months’’ to ‘‘25,000 lb per two 

months’’. 

Washington’s Recreational Groundfish 

RCA 

The States of Washington and Oregon 

manage canary and yelloweye rockfish 

under a joint harvest guideline for their 

recreational fisheries. The states modify 

portions of their recreational fisheries, 

through inseason adjustment to state 

regulations, in order to keep catch 

within the harvest guidelines for canary 

and/or yelloweye rockfish. 

During 2005, after receiving inseason 

recreational catch data, the Washington 

Department of Fish and Wildlife’s 

(WDFW) revised catch projections for 

the year indicated that the state harvest 

targets for canary and yelloweye 

rockfish would be prematurely attained, 

and WDFW took action to prevent 

exceeding the Washington/Oregon 

harvest guidelines for these species. For 

2006, new Washington recreational 

management measures were adopted to 

avoid early canary and yelloweye 

rockfish harvest guideline attainment. 

During development of the 2007–2008 

groundfish specifications and 

management measures, WDFW 

identified additional RCA restrictions 

that could be in place if needed, based 

on harvest data through 2005. These 

additional restrictions were adopted by 

the Council and implemented by NMFS 

in the final rule for the 2007–2008 

groundfish specifications and 

management measures (71 FR 78638). 

New 2006 harvest estimates, based on 

data collected in WDFW’s Ocean 

Sampling Program, indicated that the 

Washington recreational fishery stayed 

well below their portion of the 2006 

Oregon/Washington harvest guidelines, 

harvesting 1.28 mt of canary and 1.70 

mt of yelloweye (out of the 2006 

Oregon/Washington harvest guidelines 

of 8.5 mt and 6.7 mt for canary and 

yelloweye rockfish, respectively). The 

2007 Oregon/Washington canary and 

yelloweye rockfish harvest guidelines 

are 8.2 mt and 6.8 mt, respectively. At 

the March 2007 meeting, WDFW 

requested that the duration of the 

closure of the Washington recreational 

RCAs be shortened for 2007 and 2008 to 

reduce the adverse impacts on 

Washington’s coastal communities from 

the additional restrictions implemented 

as part of the 2007–2008 specifications 

and management measures. Compared 

to the duration of the Washington 

recreational RCAs implemented in the 

2007–2008 specifications, the 2007–

2008 closure north of Queets River will 

be 20 days shorter and between the 

Queets River and Leadbetter Point, the 

2007–2008 closure will be 46 days 

shorter. Based on data from the 2006 

Washington recreational fisheries, the 

revised RCA restrictions are still 

expected to constrain total catch of 

canary and yelloweye rockfish to stay 

within the shared Oregon and 

Washington harvest guidelines. 

Therefore, the Pacific Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing: (1) A prohibition of 

groundfish fishing in the Washington 

recreational fishery, north of the Queets 

River and seaward of a line 

approximating the 20-fm (37-m) contour 

from May 21–September 30, except on 

days when the Pacific halibut fishery is 

open in this area; and (2) a prohibition 

of groundfish fishing in the Washington 

recreational fishery, between the Queets 

River and Leadbetter Point seaward of a 

line approximating the 30–fm (55-m) 

contour from March 17–June 15, except 

retention of sablefish and Pacific cod is 

allowed from May 1–June 15. 

Classification 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

Final Whiting Specifications for 2007 

and Inseason Adjustments to Fishery 

Management Measures 

The final whiting specifications and 

management measures for 2007 are 

issued under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), and are in 


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accordance with 50 CFR part 660, the 

regulations implementing the FMP. 

These actions are based on the most 

recent data available. The aggregate data 

upon which these actions are based are 

available for public inspection at the 

Office of the Administrator, Northwest 

Region, NMFS, (see ADDRESSES) during 

business hours. 

For the following reasons, NMFS 

finds good cause to waive prior public 

notice and comment on the revisions to 

the 2007 Pacific whiting specifications 

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

and comment would be impracticable 

and contrary to the public interest. Also 

for the same reasons, NMFS finds good 

cause to waive the 30-day delay in 

effectiveness pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

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

become effective as close as possible to 

the April 1, 2007, fishery start date. 

The proposed rulemaking to 

implement the 2007 specifications and 

management measures, published on 

September 29, 2006 (71 FR 57764), first 

explained the need to delay adopting 

the whiting ABC and harvest 

specifications until after the March 2007 

and March 2008 Council meetings. 

NMFS requested public comment on the 

proposed rule through October 31, 2006. 

The final rule, published on December 

29, 2006 (71 FR 78638), again explained 

the range in the specifications and that 

the final OY and ABC would be 

recommended at the Council’s March 

2007 and 2008 meetings. 

The FMP requires that fishery 

specifications be evaluated periodically 

using the best scientific information 

available. Every year NMFS does a stock 

assessment in which U.S. and Canadian 

scientists cooperate. The 2007 stock 

assessment for whiting was prepared in 

early 2007, the earliest possible time to 

conduct an assessment incorporating 

2006 data. Whiting differs from other 

groundfish species in that it has a 

shorter life span and the population 

exhibits greater recruitment variability. 

Thus, it is important to use the most 

recent fisheries and survey data in stock 

assessment when determining ABC and 

OY. Because of the timing of the 

assessment, the results are not available 

for use in developing the new ABC and 

OY until just before the Council’s 

annual March meeting. The Council 

made its recommendations at its March 

5–9, 2007 meeting in Sacramento, CA. 

For the actions to be implemented in 

this final rule, affording the time 

necessary for prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment would 

prevent the Agency from managing the 

Pacific whiting and related fisheries 

using the best available science by 

approaching without exceeding the OYs 

for federally managed species. The 

adjustments to management measures in 

this document affect commercial trawl 

fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and 

California and recreational fisheries off 

Washington. These adjustments to 

management measures must be 

implemented immediately to: Prevent 

exceeding the 2007 OYs for petrale sole, 

widow rockfish, and canary rockfish; 

prevent premature closure of fisheries; 

and eliminate confusion for the public 

and to improve enforcement by ensuring 

that Federal and state recreational 

regulations conform to each other. 

Changes to the cumulative limits in 

the limited entry trawl fishery and to 

the trawl RCA are needed to reduce the 

projected bycatch of canary rockfish, a 

groundfish species that is currently 

subject to rebuilding requirements. The 

projected bycatch of canary rockfish 

must be reduced in order to keep 

coastwide fisheries from exceeding that 

species’s rebuilding OY. Changes to the 

trawl RCA to reduce the bycatch of 

canary rockfish must be implemented as 

close as possible to the April 1, 2007 

start of the fishing season so that the 

total catch of canary rockfish stays 

within its 2007 OY, as defined in the 

rebuilding plan for this species. Changes 

to petrale sole cumulative limits in the 

limited entry trawl fishery must be 

implemented in a timely manner by 

May 1, 2007, so that harvest of petrale 

sole stays within the harvest levels 

projected for 2007 and so that petrale 

sole catch is available for harvest for as 

long as possible throughout the year. 

Changes to the non-tribal whiting 

widow rockfish bycatch limit must be 

implemented as close as possible to the 

start of the California whiting fishery, 

on April 1, 2007. Ensuring that the 

bycatch limit is in place by the season 

start date provides an opportunity for 

participants in this fishery to catch the 

available whiting quota without 

reaching or exceeding the bycatch limit 

of widow rockfish or its OY, 

prematurely closing the fishery. 

Changes to the Washington 

recreational groundfish RCA must be 

implemented in a timely manner by 

May 1, 2007, to allow the recreational 

fishermen to fish in the newly opened 

area in the EEZ, in order to eliminate 

confusion for the public, and to improve 

enforcement by ensuring that Federal 

and state recreational regulations 

conform to each other. 

These revisions are needed to protect 

overfished groundfish species and to 

keep the harvest of other groundfish 

species within the harvest levels 

projected for 2007, while allowing 

fishermen access to healthy stocks. 

Without these measures in place, the 

fisheries could risk exceeding harvest 

levels early in the year, causing early 

and unanticipated fishery closures and 

economic harm to fishing communities. 

Delaying these changes would keep 

management measures in place that are 

not based on the best available data and 

which could lead to early closures of the 

fishery if harvest of groundfish exceeds 

levels projected for 2007. Such delay 

would impair achievement of one of the 

Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP objectives 

of providing for year-round harvest 

opportunities or extending fishing 

opportunities as long as practicable 

during the fishing year. In addition, it is 

also in the public interest to implement 

the recreational measures in this notice 

as soon as possible to improve 

enforcement and eliminate confusion 

for the public by removing differences 

between different regulations that affect 

the same waters and fisheries. 

The environmental impacts associated 

with the Pacific whiting harvest levels 

being adopted by this action are 

considered in the final environmental 

impact statement for the 2007–2008 

specifications and management 

measures. Copies of the FEIS and the 

ROD are available from the Council (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, 

this action was developed after 

meaningful consultation and 

collaboration with tribal officials from 

the area covered by the FMP. Under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act at 16 U.S.C. 

1852(b)(5), one of the voting members of 

the Council must be a representative of 

an Indian tribe with federally 

recognized fishing rights from the area 

of the Council’s jurisdiction. In 

addition, regulations implementing the 

FMP establish a procedure by which the 

tribes with treaty fishing rights in the 

area covered by the FMP request new 

allocations or regulations specific to the 

tribes, in writing, before the first of the 

two meetings at which the Council 

considers groundfish management 

measures. Only the Makah Tribe 

requested a whiting allocation for 2007. 

The regulations at 50 CFR 660.324(d) 

further state ‘‘the Secretary will develop 

tribal allocations and regulations under 

this paragraph in consultation with the 

affected tribe(s) and, insofar as possible, 

with tribal consensus.’’ The tribal 

whiting allocation finalized by this final 

rule was recommended by the Council 

based on the sliding scale allocation 

formula described above. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Fishing, Fisheries, and Indian 

fisheries. 


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Dated: April 11, 2007. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST 

COAST STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 660 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 660.373, paragraph (b)(4) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 660.373 Pacific whiting (whiting) fishery 

management. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) Bycatch limits in the whiting 

fishery. The bycatch limits for the 

whiting fishery may be used in season 

to close a sector or sectors of the whiting 

fishery to achieve the rebuilding of an 

overfished or depleted stock, under 

routine management measure authority 

at § 660.370(c)(1)(ii). These limits are 

routine management measures under 

§ 660.370(c) and, as such, may be 

adjusted inseason or may have new 

species added to the list of those with 

bycatch limits. The whiting fishery 

bycatch limits for the sectors identified 

in § 660.323(a) are: 4.7 mt of canary 

rockfish; 220 mt of widow rockfish; and 

25 mt of darkblotched rockfish. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 660.384, paragraphs 

(c)(1)(i)(C)(1) and (2) are revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 660.384 Recreational fishery 

management measures. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(C) * * * 

(1) Between the U.S. border with 

Canada and the Queets River, 

recreational fishing for groundfish is 

prohibited seaward of a boundary line 

approximating the 20-fm (37-m) depth 

contour from May 21 through 

September 30, except on days when the 

Pacific halibut fishery is open in this 

area. Days open to Pacific halibut 

recreational fishing off Washington are 

announced on the NMFS hotline at 

(206) 526–6667 or (800) 662–9825. 

Coordinates for the boundary line 

approximating the 20-fm (37-m) depth 

contour are listed in § 660.391. 

(2) Between the Queets River and 

Leadbetter Point, recreational fishing for 

groundfish is prohibited seaward of a 

boundary line approximating the 30-fm 

(55-m) depth contour from March 17, 

2007, through June 15, 2007, except that 

recreational fishing for sablefish and 

Pacific cod is permitted within the 

recreational RCA from May 1 through 

June 15. In 2008, recreational fishing for 

groundfish is prohibited seaward of a 

boundary line approximating the 30-fm 

(55-m) depth contour in from March 15, 

2008, through June 15, 2008, except that 

recreational fishing for sablefish and 

Pacific cod is permitted within the 

recreational RCA from May 1 through 

June 15. Coordinates for the boundary 

line approximating the 30-fm (55-m) 

depth contour are listed in § 660.391. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Table 1a to part 660 subpart G is 

revised to read as follows. 

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■ 5. Tables 3 (North) and 3 (South) to 

part 660 subpart G are revised to read 

as follows. 

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