Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 166 / Wednesday, August 27, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 45357

than one regular season cumulative

limit may be landed on each limited

entry permit with a sablefish

endorsement. No vessel may land more

than one cumulative limit. Each vessel

is subject to the following per-trip limit

for small sablefish: Sablefish smaller

than 56 cm (22 in) total length may

comprise no more than 1,500 lb (680 kg)

or 3 percent of all legal sablefish 56 cm

(22 in) (total length) or larger, whichever

is greater. There will be no daily trip

limit fishery during the regular season.

(B) Permit holders whose applications

for sablefish endorsements are under

administrative appeal at the time the

regular season begins will not be

allowed to participate in the regular

season. There will be a 9-day auxiliary

regular season for permit holders whose

sablefish endorsements are granted after

August 25. The season will be held

following the end of the appeal process.

The auxiliary regular season start date

will be announced by the NMFS

Regional Administrator and published

in the Federal Register. Each vessel

participating in this season will have a

cumulative trip limit of 34,100 lb. No

more than one regular season

cumulative limit may be landed on each

limited entry permit with a sablefish

endorsement. No vessel may land more

than one cumulative limit. Each vessel

is subject to the following per-trip limit

for small sablefish: Sablefish smaller

than 56 cm (22 in) total length may

comprise no more than 1,500 lb (680 kg)

or 3 percent of all legal sablefish 56 cm

(22 in) (total length) or larger, whichever

is greater.

(viii) Other announcements; from

August 21, 1997 through December 31,

1997. The number of days in the mopup season, dates and times that the

auxiliary regular, and mop-up seasons

start and end (and trip limits on

sablefish of all sizes are resumed), dates

of the pre- and post-season closures for

the auxiliary regular season, and the

size of the trip limit for the mop-up

season will be announced in the Federal

Register and may be modified. Unless

otherwise announced, these seasons

will begin and end at 1200 l.t. on the

specified date.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–22709 Filed 8–21–97; 5:04 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 961227373–6373–01; I.D.

082097C]

Fisheries Off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast

Groundfish Fishery; End of the

Primary Season and Resumption of

Trip Limits for the Shore-based

Whiting Sector

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Fishing restrictions; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the end of

the 1997 regular season for the shorebased fishery for Pacific whiting

(whiting), and resumption of a 10,000 lb

(4,534 kg) trip limit, at 12 noon local

time (l.t.), Friday, August 22, 1997,

because the allocation for the shorebased sector will be reached by that

time. This action is intended to keep the

harvest of whiting at levels announced

by NMFS on January 6, 1997, and May

20, 1997.

DATES: Effective from 12 noon l.t,

August 22, 1997, until the effective date

of the 1998 annual specifications and

management measures for the Pacific

Coast groundfish fishery, which will be

published in the Federal Register,

unless modified, superseded, or

rescinded. Comments will be accepted

through September 11, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to

William Stelle, Jr., Administrator,

Northwest Region (Regional

Administrator), National Marine

Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way

NE., Seattle, WA 98115–0070; or

William Hogarth, Acting Regional

Administrator, Southwest Region,

National Marine Fisheries Service, 501

West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long

Beach, CA 90802–4213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William L. Robinson at 206–526–6140

or Rodney McInnis at 562–980–4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

action is authorized by regulations

implementing the Pacific Coast

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan

(FMP), which governs the groundfish

fishery off Washington, Oregon, and

California. On January 6, 1997 (62 FR

700), regulations were published

announcing the annual management

measures for Pacific coast whiting. The

regulations at 50 CFR 660.23(a)(4) (62

FR 27519, May 20, 1997) established

separate allocations for the catcher/

processor, mothership, and shore-based

(also called ‘‘shoreside’’) sectors of the

whiting fishery. Each allocation is a

harvest guideline, which when reached,

results in the end of the primary season

for that sector. The catcher/processor

sector is composed of catcher/

processors, which are vessels that

harvest and process whiting. The

mothership sector is composed of

motherships and catcher vessels that

harvest whiting for delivery to

motherships. Motherships are vessels

that process, but do not harvest,

whiting. The shoreside sector is

composed of vessels that harvest

whiting for delivery to shore-based

processors. The allocations, which are

based on the 1997 commercial harvest

guideline for whiting of 207,000 mt, are:

70,400 mt (34 percent) for the catcher/

processor sector; 49,700 mt (24 percent)

for the mothership sector; and 86,900 mt

(42 percent) for the shoreside sector.

The best available information on

August 19, 1997, indicated that 80,792

mt of whiting had been taken by the

shore-based sector through August 16,

1997, and that the 86,900–mt shorebased allocation would be reached by 12

noon l.t., August 22, 1997. Accordingly,

the primary season for the shore-based

sector ends at 12 noon l.t., August 22,

1997, at which time no more than

10,000 lb (4,534 kg) of whiting may be

taken and retained, possessed or landed

by a catcher boat in the shore-based

sector per fishing trip. The regulations

at 50 CFR 600.323(a)(3)(i) describe the

primary season for the shore-based

sector as the period(s) when the largescale target fishery is conducted (when

routine trip limits accommodating small

fresh fish and bait fisheries and bycatch

in other fisheries under § 600.323(b) are

neither needed nor in effect). The

10,000 lb (4,534 kg) trip limit, which

also had been in effect before the

primary season, is intended to

accommodate small bait and fresh fish

markets, and bycatch in other fisheries.

NMFS Action

For the reasons stated above, and in

accordance with the regulations at 50

CFR 660.323(a)(4)(iii)(C) NMFS herein

announces:

Effective 12 noon l.t., August 22,

1997—No more than 10,000 lb (4,534

kg) of whiting may be taken and

retained, possessed, or landed by a

catcher vessel participating in the

shoreside sector per fishing trip.

Classification

This action is authorized by the

regulations implementing the FMP. The
45358 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 166 / Wednesday, August 27, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

determination to take this action is

based on the most recent data available.

The aggregate data upon which the

determination is based are available for

public inspection at the Office of the

Regional Administrator (see ADDRESSES)

during business hours. This action is

taken under the authority of 50 CFR

660.323(a)(4)(iii)(C) and is exempt from

review under E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: August 21, 1997.

George H. Darcy

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–22707 Filed 8–21–97; 5:04 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F