50258 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

will be reached on or before October 12,

1997. Consequently, NMFS closes the

directed fishery for the north Atlantic

swordfish management unit effective

October 12, 1997.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The closure is effective

at 12 noon, local time, on October 12,

1997, through November 30, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill

Stevenson, 301–713–2347, or Buck

Sutter, 813–570–5447.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The north

Atlantic swordfish fishery is managed

under the Fishery Management Plan for

Atlantic Swordfish and its

implementing regulations at 50 CFR part

630 under the authority of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act (16

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and the Atlantic

Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C.

971 et seq.). Regulations issued under

the authority of ATCA carry out the

recommendations of the International

Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas.

The regulations governing the

Atlantic swordfish fisheries at § 630.24

provide for a specified annual quota to

be landed by the directed fishery. The

annual quota is divided into two

semiannual quotas for each of the 6-

month periods, June 1 through

November 30, and December 1 through

May 31. NMFS is required, under

§ 630.25(a)(1), to monitor the catch and

landings statistics and, on the basis of

these statistics, to project a date when

the catch will equal the quota, and to

publish a Federal Register document

announcing the closure.

Closure of the Fishery

Reported landings of swordfish in the

directed fishery in the first semiannual

season totaled 594.7 metric tons dressed

weight (mt dw) as of September 1, 1997.

Average landings of swordfish during

September and October from 1994 to

1996 were 306 mt and 334 mt,

respectively. However, current landings

are higher than during similar periods

during the past 3 years. Accounting for

anticipated delayed reporting (based on

experience in the last semiannual

season from December 1, 1996, through

May 31, 1997) and the current higher

than average rate of landings, it is

expected that the first semiannual

directed harvest quota of 1,064.4 mt dw

for the directed fishery would be

reached on or about October 12, 1997.

Therefore, NMFS announces that the

directed fishery for swordfish will close

at 12 noon, local time on October 12,

1997. All vessels must be in port and

offloaded on or before this closing date.

This notice provides considerably more

than the 14-day advance notice of

closure required by regulation. To

provide advance notice as early as

possible, NMFS issued a notice to the

industry on August 20, 1997, that, based

on then current landings, a closure was

anticipated about mid-October, 1997.

This advance notice period will allow

swordfish vessel owners to plan their

fishing, offloading and sale of swordfish

catch prior to the closure deadline.

During closure of the directed fishery,

a person may not fish for swordfish

from the north Atlantic stock, and no

more than 15 swordfish, caught

incidentally while fishing with longline

gear for other species, may be possessed

in the North Atlantic Ocean, including

the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea,

north of 5° N. lat., or landed in an

Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, or Caribbean

state. During this directed fishery

closure, no swordfish may be retained

or possessed on board a vessel using

harpoon gear. Established swordfish

bycatch limits for the non-directed

fisheries remain unchanged

(§ 630.25(d)).

The drift gillnet fishery is currently

closed under emergency authority

through November 26, 1997 (62 FR

30775, June 5, 1997). Pursuant to this

emergency closure: (1) No one aboard a

vessel using or having on board a drift

gillnet may fish for swordfish from the

north Atlantic swordfish stock; and (2)

no more than two swordfish per trip

may be possessed on board a vessel

using or having on board a drift gillnet

in the North Atlantic Ocean, including

the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea,

north of 5° N. lat., or landed in an

Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, or Caribbean

coastal state.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

630.24 and 50 CFR 630.25(a) and is

exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.

Dated: September 19, 1997.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–25400 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 961126334–7025–02; I.D.

091997A]

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in Statistical

Area 620 of the Gulf of Alaska

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Closure.

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed

fishing for pollock in Statistical Area

620 of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This

action is necessary to prevent exceeding

the 1997 total allowable catch (TAC) for

pollock in this area.

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local

time (A.l.t.), September 21, 1997, until

2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas Pearson, 907–486–6919.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

groundfish fishery in the GOA exclusive

economic zone is managed by NMFS

according to the Fishery Management

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North

Pacific Fishery Management Council

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act. Fishing by U.S.

vessels is governed by regulations

implementing the FMP at subpart H of

50 CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679.

The 1997 TAC for pollock in

Statistical Area 620 of the GOA was

established as 31,250 metric tons (mt)

by the Final 1997 Harvest Specifications

of Groundfish for the GOA (62 FR 8179,

February 24, 1997), determined in

accordance with § 679.20(a) (5)(ii)(A).

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i),

the Administrator, Alaska Region,

NMFS (Regional Administrator), has

determined that the 1997 TAC for

pollock in Statistical Area 620 will be

reached. Therefore, the Regional

Administrator is establishing a directed

fishing allowance of 31,050 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 closing directed

fishing for pollock in Statistical Area

620 of the GOA.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 50259

Maximum retainable bycatch amounts

for applicable gear types may be found

in the regulations at § 679.20(e) and (f).

Classification

This action responds to the best

available information recently obtained

from the fishery. It must be

implemented immediately to prevent

overharvesting the 1997 TAC for pollock

in Statistical Area 620 of the GOA. A

delay in the effective date is

impracticable and contrary to public

interest. The fleet has already taken the

1997 TAC for pollock in Statistical Area

620 of the GOA. Further delay would

only result in overharvest which would

disrupt the FMP’s objective of providing

suficient pollock as bycatch to support

other anticipated fisheries. NMFS finds

for good cause that the implementation

of this action cannot be delayed for 30

days. Accordingly, under 5 U.S.C.

553(d), a delay in the effective date is

hereby waived.

This action is required by 50 CFR

679.20 and is exempt from review under

E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: September 19, 1997

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries National Marine Fisheries Service

[FR Doc. 97–25361 Filed 9–19–97; 4:41 pm]

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