24634 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 25, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of 

the Managing Director. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9912 Filed 4–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 100804324–1265–02] 

RIN 0648–BC11 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries off West Coast States; 

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 biennial groundfish management 

measures; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This final rule announces an 

inseason change to management 

measures in the Pacific Coast groundfish 

fisheries. This action, which is 

authorized by the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP), is intended to allow fisheries to 

access more abundant groundfish stocks 

while protecting overfished and 

depleted stocks. This rule also 

implements changes to the incidental 

retention allowance for halibut in the 

primary sablefish fishery under the 

authority of the Northern Pacific Halibut 

Act. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) 

May 1, 2012. Comments on this final 

rule must be received no later than May 

25, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by FDMS docket number 

NOAA–NMFS–2010–0194 by any one of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Fax: 206–526–6736, Attn: Colby 

Brady 

• Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., 

Regional Administrator, Northwest 

Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way 

NE., Seattle, WA 98115–0070, Attn: 

Colby Brady. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Colby Brady (Northwest Region, NMFS), 

phone: 206–526–6117, fax: 206–526– 

6736, colby.brady@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.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action. 

Background information and documents 

are available at the Pacific Fishery 

Management 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, subparts C through 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 Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

and are implemented by NMFS. 

On November 3, 2010, NMFS 

published a proposed rule to implement 

the 2011–2012 harvest specifications 

and management measures for most 

species of the Pacific Coast groundfish 

fishery (75 FR 67810). The final rule to 

implement the 2011–12 harvest 

specifications and management 

measures for most species of the Pacific 

Coast Groundfish Fishery was published 

on May 11, 2011 (76 FR 27508). This 

final rule was subsequently amended by 

several inseason actions (76 FR 39313, 

76 FR 67092, 76 FR 79122, 77 FR 12503, 

77 FR 22679). On September 27, 2011, 

NMFS published a proposed rule to 

implement final 2012 specifications for 

overfished species and assessed flatfish 

species pursuant to Secretarial 

Amendment 1 to the Groundfish FMP 

(76 FR 59634). That final rule was 

effective January 1, 2012. These 

specifications and management 

measures are codified in the CFR 

(50 CFR part 660, subparts C through G). 

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 April 1–April 6, 2012 

meeting. The Council recommended 

adjusting the biennial groundfish 

management measures for the remainder 

of the biennial period to respond to 

updated fishery information and 

additional inseason management needs. 

The adjustment to fishery management 

measures are not expected to result in 

greater impacts to overfished species 

than originally projected through the 

end of 2012. Estimated mortality of 

overfished and target species are the 

result of management measures 

designed to achieve, to the extent 

possible, but not exceed, annual catch 

limits (ACLs) of target species while 

fostering the rebuilding of overfished 

stocks by remaining within their 

rebuilding ACLs. 

Limited Entry Fixed Gear Fishery 

Management Measures 

Sablefish Daily Trip Limit Fishery 

In 2011, the amount of sablefish 

harvested in the limited entry fixed gear 

sablefish daily trip limit (DTL) fishery 

North of 36° N. lat. exceeded its 

sablefish allocation by 60 mt above its 

collective target (the northern DTL fixed 

gear share). This did not impact the 

northern sablefish ACL, since the 

rationalized Individual Fishing Quota 

(IFQ) trawl fishery left 148 mt of 

sablefish un-harvested in the northern 

area. However, it is expected that since 

the IFQ fishery participants have one 

full year of experience in the IFQ 

fishery, then higher sablefish allocation 

attainments will be attained, in which 

case another overage by the northern LE 

fixed gear could possibly exceed the 

northern sablefish ACL. To ensure that 

harvest opportunities for this healthy 

stock do not exceed the northern LE 

fixed gear share allocation, the Council 

considered decreases to trip limits for 

sablefish in this fishery and the 

potential impacts on overall catch 

levels. Landings projections were made 

by the Council advisory Groundfish 

Management Team (GMT) for the 

northern LE fixed gear fishery under the 

current 2012 trip limit scenario, which 

projected an overage in the LE North 

fishery of 16%, or 43 mt. Projections for 

the other three fixed gear sablefish 

fisheries were tracking within their 

targets for 2012. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 25, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 24635 

Therefore, the Council recommended 

and NMFS is implementing trip limit 

changes for the limited entry fixed gear 

fishery North of 36° N. lat. that decrease 

sablefish DTL fishery limits from ‘‘1,300 

lb (590 kg) per week, not to exceed 

5,000 lb (2,268 kg) of per 2 months’’ to 

‘‘1,000 lb (454 kg) per week, not to 

exceed 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) per 2 

months’’ beginning in period 3, May 1, 

2012 through the end of the year. This 

decrease in trip limits is not anticipated 

to increase projected impacts to 

overfished species. 

Incidental Halibut Retention 

The International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC) establishes total 

allowable catch (TAC) amounts for 

Pacific halibut each year in January. 

Under the authority of the Northern 

Pacific Halibut Act, and implementing 

regulations at 50 CFR 300.63, a catch 

sharing plan, developed by the Pacific 

Council and implemented by the 

Secretary, allocates portions of the 

annual TAC among fisheries off 

Washington, Oregon, and California. 

The catch sharing plan for Pacific 

halibut fisheries in Area 2A (waters off 

the U.S. West coast) allows an 

incidental total catch limit for halibut 

for the 2012 sablefish primary season 

(i.e. tier limit fishery) of 21,173 lb (9,604 

kg). This total catch limit of 21,173 lb 

(9,604 kg) in 2012 is higher than what 

has been available to the sablefish 

primary fishery in recent years (2010– 

11), which was not high enough to 

justify an incidental catch limit of 

halibut in the sablefish primary fishery 

north of Pt. Chehalis, WA (46°53.30′ N. 

lat.). The retention limits for halibut 

were not revised as part of the 2011– 

2012 harvest specifications and 

management measures because the Total 

Allowable Catch of halibut for 2012 was 

not determined until the IPHC meeting 

in January, 2012. Although the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC) recommended 

coast-wide catch limits for 2012 totaled 

33,540,000 lb (15,213,488 kg), which is 

a coast-wide decrease of 18.3% from the 

2011 catch limit of 41,070,000 lb. 

(18,629,038 kg), the area 2A allocation 

increased 8% from 910,000 lb. (412,769 

kg) in 2011 to 989,000 lb. (448,603 kg) 

for 2012. Due to the increase in the 

Pacific halibut TAC for area 2A, and the 

resulting increase in the amount of 

Pacific halibut available to the sablefish 

primary fishery as incidental take, the 

Council considered options to revise the 

catch ratio established in the groundfish 

regulations at 50 CFR 660.231 at their 

first opportunity, the March 2012 

meeting. These options were developed 

to reduce incidental impacts to Pacific 

halibut in the sablefish primary fishery, 

and stay below the lower 2012 Pacific 

halibut allocation. After the opportunity 

for public review and comment, the 

Council, at their April meeting, made 

their final recommendation for adjusting 

the incidental retention limits for 

Pacific halibut in the sablefish primary 

fishery in order to allow incidental take 

and keep mortality of halibut below the 

2012 catch limit of 21,173 lb (9,604 kg). 

In order to allow incidental halibut 

catch in the sablefish primary fishery, 

which is currently not allowed, the 

Council recommended and NMFS is 

implementing incidental halibut 

retention regulations at 50 CFR 

660.231(b)(3)(iv) to read as follows: ‘‘50 

lb (23 kg) dressed weight of halibut for 

every 1,000 pounds (454 kg) dressed 

weight of sablefish landed and up to 2 

additional halibut in excess of the 50- 

pounds-per-1,000-pound ratio per 

landing.’’ NMFS in including 

enforcement related provisions 

recommended by the Council in 2009, 

the last time an incidental allowance 

was allowed. Consequently, the landing 

requirement applies also to possession, 

and the term ‘‘dressed’’ is described to 

mean halibut landed eviscerated with 

their heads on. 

Classification 

These actions are taken under the 

authority of 50 CFR 660.60(c) and 50 

CFR 300.63(b)(3) and are exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

These increases in sablefish limits are 

taken under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), and are in 

accordance with 50 CFR part 660, the 

regulations implementing the FMP. The 

adjustment to the halibut incidental 

catch limit in the sablefish primary 

fishery is taken under the authority of 

the Northern Pacific Halibut Act and 

implementing regulations, and is 

consistent with the approved catch 

sharing plan. 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. 

This final rule makes routine inseason 

adjustments to groundfish fishery 

management measures based on the best 

available information and is taken 

pursuant to the regulations 

implementing the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish FMP. 

For the following reasons, NMFS 

finds good cause to waive prior public 

notice and comment on the revisions to 

groundfish management measures under 

5 U.S.C. 553(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 May 1, 2012. 

For the following reasons, NMFS 

finds good cause to waive prior public 

notice and comment on the revisions to 

groundfish management measures under 

5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(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 May 1, 2012. 

The recently available information 

upon which the changes to the 

incidental halibut retention in the 

sablefish primary fishery north of Pt. 

Chehalis, WA (46°53.30′ N. lat.), and the 

subsequent proposed management 

measure changes are based were 

originally provided to the Council, and 

the Council made its potential 

recommendations available for public 

comment, at its March 2–7, 2012 

meeting. The Council considered the 

public comments on this matter as well 

as additional recently available 

information upon which the changes to 

the limited entry fixed gear sablefish 

trip limits North of 36° N. lat. at its 

April 1–6, 2012 meeting. At the April 

Council meeting, the Council 

recommended that these changes be 

implemented by May 1, 2012. There was 

not sufficient time after that meeting to 

draft this document and undergo 

proposed and final rulemaking before 

these actions need to be in effect. For 

the actions to be implemented in this 

final rule, affording the time necessary 

for prior notice and opportunity for 

public comment would prevent NMFS 

from managing fisheries using the best 

available science to approach, without 

exceeding, the ACLs for federally 

managed species in accordance with the 

FMP and applicable laws. The 

adjustments to management measures in 

this document affect commercial 

fisheries off northern California to 

Washington State. These adjustments to 

management measures must be 

implemented in a timely manner, by 

May 1, 2012, to: Allow fishermen an 

opportunity to harvest their limits in 

2012 for sablefish, and allow incidental 

catch of halibut in the sablefish primary 

fishery to keep impacts below the 2012 

halibut Area 2A allocation. 

Decreases to the sablefish cumulative 

limits in the limited entry fixed gear 


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24636 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 25, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

fishery continue to allow fishermen 

opportunities to harvest available 

healthy stocks while staying within the 

ACLs for these species. Furthermore, 

these adjustments to management 

measures must be implemented in a 

timely manner to allow limited entry 

primary sablefish fishermen North of Pt. 

Chehalis, WA (46°53.30′ N. lat.) to 

prosecute their intended sablefish 

fishing strategies while accessing a 

portion of incidental halibut bycatch in 

a manner that is consistent with the 2A 

catch sharing plan. If this rule is not 

implemented immediately, the public 

could have incorrect information 

regarding allowed limited entry fixed 

gear sablefish trip limits, and allowed 

fishing activities for groundfish fisheries 

management, which would cause 

confusion and be inconsistent with the 

intent of the Council. It would be 

contrary to the public interest to delay 

implementation of these changes until 

after public notice and comment, 

because making this regulatory change 

by May 1, 2012, allows harvest as 

intended by the Council in fisheries that 

are important to coastal communities in 

a manner that prevents ACLs of 

overfished and target species from being 

exceeded. Furthermore, changes to the 

sablefish primary fishery regulations to 

allow incidental halibut retention limits 

for the sablefish primary fishery are 

necessary to reduce halibut impacts in 

area 2A, keeping total mortality of 

halibut below the 2012 area 2A 

allocation. These changes must be 

implemented in a timely manner by 

May 1, 2012, to allow sablefish 

fishermen sustainable incidental take in 

a manner that prevents early closure of 

the incidental halibut fishery. It would 

be contrary to the public interest to wait 

to implement these changes until after 

public notice and comment, because a 

delay in reducing retention limits could 

cause incidental halibut to be 

unavailable for harvest for as long as 

possible throughout the sablefish 

primary season, which runs through 

October 31. 

No aspect of this action is 

controversial and no change in 

operating practices in the fishery is 

required from those intended in this 

inseason adjustment. 

Delaying these changes would also 

keep management measures in place 

that are not based on the best available 

information. Such delay would impair 

achievement of the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish FMP objectives of providing 

for year-round harvest opportunities, 

extending fishing opportunities as long 

as practicable during the fishing year, or 

staying within ACLs or allocations for 

Pacific halibut. 

Accordingly, for the reasons stated 

above, NMFS finds good cause to 

partially waive prior notice and 

comment and the delay in effectiveness. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Fisheries, Fishing, Indian fisheries. 

Dated: April 20, 2012. 

Galen Tromble, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, 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., 16 

U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq. 

■ 2. In § 660.231, paragraph (b)(3)(iv) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 660.231 Limited entry fixed gear 

sablefish primary fishery management. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(iv) Incidental halibut retention north 

of Pt. Chehalis, WA (46°53.30′ N. lat.). 

From May 1 through October 31, vessels 

authorized to participate in the sablefish 

primary fishery, licensed by the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission for commercial fishing in 

Area 2A (waters off Washington, 

Oregon, California), and fishing with 

longline gear north of Pt. Chehalis, WA 

(46°53.30′ N. lat.) may possess and land 

up to the following cumulative limits: 

50 lb (23 kg) dressed weight of halibut 

for every 1,000 pounds (454 kg) dressed 

weight of sablefish landed and up to 2 

additional halibut in excess of the 50- 

pounds-per-1,000-pound ratio per 

landing. ‘‘Dressed’’ halibut in this area 

means halibut landed eviscerated with 

their heads on. Halibut taken and 

retained in the sablefish primary fishery 

north of Pt. Chehalis may only be 

landed north of Pt. Chehalis and may 

not be possessed or landed south of Pt. 

Chehalis. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Table 2 (North) to part 660, Subpart 

E, is revised to read as follows: 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 25, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 24637 

■ 4. Table 2 (South) to part 660, Subpart 

E, is revised to read as follows: 


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[FR Doc. 2012–9963 Filed 4–20–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 


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