59814 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 195 / Friday, October 6, 2000 / Proposed Rules

2. Within these areas, the primary

constituent elements include:

i) Fraser fir or fir-dominated sprucefir forests at and above 1,646-m (5,400-

ft) in elevation; and

ii) Moderately thick and humid, but

not wet, moss (species in the genus

Dicranodontium, and possibly

Polytrichum) and/or liverwort mats on

rock surfaces that are adequately

sheltered from the sun and rain (by

overhang and aspect) and include a thin

layer of humid soil and/or humus

between the moss and rock surface.

3. Existing human structures and

other features not containing all of the

primary constituent elements are not

considered critical habitat.

Dated: September 28, 2000.

Kenneth L. Smith,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and

Wildlife and Parks.

[FR Doc. 00–25671 Filed 10–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–C

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 000927275-0275-01; I.D.

082800F]

RIN 0648-AO31

Fisheries off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast

Groundfish Fishery; Amendment 12

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS is proposing a rule to

implement portions of Amendment 12

to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery

Management Plan (FMP). The Pacific

Fishery Management Council (Council)

prepared Amendment 12 to provide

procedures for developing rebuilding

plans for overfished species, for setting

guidelines for contents of rebuilding

plans, and for sending rebuilding plans

to NMFS for review and approval/

disapproval. Amendment 12 would also

declare all Pacific coast groundfish to be

fully utilized by domestic harvesters

and processors. This action would

remove references to foreign and joint

venture fishing in the groundfish

regulations, and is intended to update

the FMP and its implementing

regulations to reflect the current status

of the fishery.

DATES: Comments must be submitted in

writing by November 20, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Donna

Darm,, Acting Administrator, Northwest

Region, (Regional Administrator) NMFS,

7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA

98115; or Rebecca Lent, Administrator,

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach,

CA 90802-4213. Copies of Amendment

12 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP,

and the Environmental Assessment/

Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) are

available from Donald McIsaac,

Executive Director, Pacific Fishery

Management Council, 2130 SW Fifth

Avenue, Suite 224, Portland, OR 97201.

Send comments regarding any

ambiguity or unnecessary complexity

arising from the language used in this

rule to William Stelle, Jr. or Rebecca

Lent.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William Robinson at: phone, 206-526-

6140; fax, 206-526-6736, and email,

bill.robinson@noaa.gov Svein Fougner

at: phone, 562-980-4000; fax, 562-980-

4047; and email,

svein.fougner@noaa.gov

Electronic Access: This Federal

Registerdocument is also accessible via

the internet at the website of the Office

of the Federal Register: <<http://

www.access.gpo.gov/su-docs/aces/

aces140.html.≤≤

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is

proposing this rule to implement the

portions of Amendment 12 that declare

the West Coast groundfish resource fully

utilized by domestic harvesting and

processing entities. Minor regulatory

changes would be needed to make the

regulations at 50 CFR part 660

consistent with Amendment 12. This

proposed rule is based on the Council’s

recommendations, under the authority

of the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP

and the Magnuson Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The

background and rationale for the

Council’s recommendations are

summarized here; further details appear

in the EA/RIR prepared by the Council

for Amendment 12.

Background

In September 1998, the Council

adopted Amendment 11 to the FMP to

make the FMP consistent with revisions

to the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Among

other things, Amendment 11 set control

rules to define rates of ‘‘overfishing’’

and set defined levels at which managed

stocks are considered ‘‘overfished.’’

Amendment 11 was approved and

incorporated into the FMP in March

1999.

While implementing Amendment 11

provisions for rebuilding overfished

stocks, the Council determined that it

needed to set procedures within the

groundfish FMP for developing

overfished species rebuilding plans and

for providing NMFS with the

opportunity to review and approve/

disapprove those plans. Amendment 12

provides a process by which the Council

will develop overfished species

rebuilding plans during its annual

specifications and management

measures process.

During the Council’s two-meeting

process for setting annual specifications

and management measures (usually

September and November,) the Council

would make overfished species

rebuilding plans available for public

review, and would incorporate

measures to implement those plans

within the annual specifications and

management measures. Rebuilding plan

contents are defined in the FMP and

rely upon the Council’s annual stock

assessment and review process. Once

the Council approves a new rebuilding

plan, it would submit that plan for

NMFS review and approval/

disapproval, generally at the same time

that it submits its annual specifications

package for review and approval/

disapproval. This process would ensure

that rebuilding efforts are incorporated

into fishery management measures as

quickly and efficiently as practicable,

and that they are consistent with

management measures for other

groundfish species.

Procedural matters developed in

Amendment 12 for overfished species

rebuilding plans provide the Council

with direction for future activities, are

not regulatory in nature, and so do not

result in any change to regulations.

However, Amendment 12 also

announces that the Pacific Coast

groundfish resource is fully utilized by

domestic harvesting and processing

interests and provides an opportunity

for NMFS to update its regulations to

recognize this fully utilized status.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 195 / Friday, October 6, 2000 / Proposed Rules 59815

Foreign Fisheries and Pacific Coast

Underutilized Groundfish Species

When the FMP was first implemented

in 1982, most of the vessels were foreign

and joint venture vessels and these

vessels were primarily targeting Pacific

whiting. In 1983, about 60 percent of the

whiting optimum yield (OY) was

reserved for domestic harvest, and about

3 percent of the OY was reserved for

domestic processing. ‘‘Americanization’’

happened slowly for the Pacific whiting

resource; the whiting OY was not fully

utilized by domestic harvesters until

1989, and not fully utilized by domestic

processors until 1991. In addition to

whiting, there were minor joint venture

processing opportunities for shortbelly

rockfish and jack mackerel. Those

species were considered fully utilized

by the domestic fleet by 1992.

In 1991, Amendment 6 to the FMP

created a limited entry program and

specifically addressed domestic

underutilization of the groundfish

resource with ‘‘designated species B’’

permits. These permits were made

available to fishing vessels that had not

qualified for limited entry ‘‘A’’ permits,

to encourage those vessels to fish

specifically for Pacific whiting, jack

mackerel, and shortbelly rockfish. By

the time that the limited entry permit

program was implemented in 1994,

foreign harvest and processing of the

three underutilized species were no

longer an issue.

Although the West Coast groundfish

fishery has been fully Americanized for

almost a decade, the Council had not

amended the FMP to reflect the full and

expected long-term domestic utilization

of the resource until Amendment 12.

Amendment 12 still leaves open the

possibility of future foreign harvest of

West Coast groundfish should domestic

utilization decline, but requires an FMP

amendment to re-open the fisheries to

foreign access. The primary effect of

declaring the West Coast groundfish

resource fully utilized by domestic

fisheries would be to modestly reduce

NMFS’ and Council’s workload

associated with the annual

specifications and management

measures process.

Regulatory changes to implement

Amendment 12 would simply remove

references within the regulations at 50

CFR 660 to foreign and joint venture

fishing. These changes would have

neither biological nor socio-economic

effects on the environment.

Classification

At this time, NMFS has not

determined whether Amendment 12

that this rule would implement is

consistent with the national standards

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other

applicable laws. NMFS, in making that

determination, will take into account

the data, views, and comments received

during the comment period.

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of Executive Order 12866.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of

the Department of Commerce certified

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration that this

proposed rule, if adopted, would not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

The full effect of this proposed rule

would be to remove outdated regulatory

language at 50 CFR 660 that refers to

foreign and joint venture fishing. There

have been no foreign or joint venture

fisheries for West Coast groundfish

since 1992. These regulatory changes

would have no effect on any U.S.

businesses, small or otherwise. As a

result, a regulatory flexibility analysis

was not prepared.

The President has directed Federal

agencies to use plain language in their

communications with the public,

including regulations. To comply with

this directive, we seek public comment

on any ambiguity or unnecessary

complexity arising from the language

used in this rule (see ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

Administrative practice and

procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries,

Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives,

Indians, Northern Mariana Islands,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Dated: October 3, 2000.

Penelope D. Dalton,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST

COAST STATES AND IN THE

WESTERN PACIFIC

l. The authority citation for part 660

continues to read as follows:

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

2. In § 660.302, the definitions for

‘‘Reserve’’ and ‘‘Specification’’ are

revised to read as follows:

§ 660.302 Definitions.

* * * * *

Reserve means a portion of the harvest

guideline or quota set aside at the

beginning of the year to allow for

uncertainties in preseason estimates.

* * * * *

Specification is a numerical or

descriptive designation of a

management objective, including, but

not limited to: ABC; optimum yield;

harvest guideline; quota; limited entry

or open access allocation; a set aside or

allocation for a recreational or treaty

Indian fishery; an apportionment of the

above to an area, gear, season, fishery,

or other subdivision.

* * * * *

3. In § 660.303, paragraph (a) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 660.303 Reporting and recordkeeping.

(a) This subpart recognizes that catch

and effort data necessary for

implementing the PCGFMP are

collected by the States of Washington,

Oregon, and California under existing

state data collection requirements.

Telephone surveys of the domestic

industry may be conducted by NMFS to

determine amounts of whiting that may

be available for reallocation under 50

CFR 660.323 (a)(4(v). No Federal reports

are required of fishermen or processors,

so long as the data collection and

reporting systems operated by state

agencies continue to provide NMFS

with statistical information adequate for

management.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–25777 Filed 10–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S