70522 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 227 / Friday, November 24, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

identification of a stock as being

overfished, the affected Regional

Fishery Management Council must

develop measures to end overfishing

and rebuild the stock. On October 13,

2000, the Acting Regional

Administrator, NMFS Southeast Region,

notified the Council of the overfished

status of the Gulf of Mexico red grouper

and requested that the Council take

appropriate action. The letter to the

Council reads as follows:

October 13, 2000

Ms. Kay Williams, Chairperson

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management

Council

3018 U.S. Highway 301, Suite 1000

Tampa, Florida 33619

Dear Kay,

This is to inform the Council that, based

upon the best available scientific

information, the National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS) has determined that the Gulf

of Mexico red grouper stock is overfished and

undergoing overfishing. This determination

is based on the 1999 red grouper stock

assessment and subsequent analyses by the

Southeast Fisheries Science Center

completed at the request of the Reef Fish

Stock Assessment Panel (enclosed). These

most recent analyses indicate that the stock

is overfished and undergoing overfishing. I

do not anticipate that any additional reanalysis of these data will alter this

determination. Furthermore, the recent peer

review of the 1999 red grouper assessment by

the Center for Independent Experts

concluded that the assessment contained

sufficient information upon which to base

management decisions. The conclusions of

this peer review have already been provided

to the Council and the Reef Fish Stock

Assessment Panel (RFSAP).

The reference points for overfishing and

overfished currently in the Fishery

Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources

of the Gulf of Mexico are based only on

fishing mortality rates expressed as spawning

potential ratios (overfishing: 30% static SPR;

overfished: 20% transitional SPR). These

reference points are not fully compliant with

the national standard guidelines because they

do not include a component based on stock

size and, thus, are not an adequate basis for

determination of stock status. The national

guidelines require specification of a

minimum stock size threshold (MSST) and a

maximum fishing mortality threshold

(MFMT). Each of the assessment scenarios

provided to the Council includes estimates of

these status determination criteria as well as

an estimate of MSY.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act requires

that the Council propose management

measures to initiate rebuilding of the stock

within one year of the determination that the

stock is overfished. The 1999 stock

assessment as well as the enclosed analyses

provide the Council and the RFSAP with a

range of assessment scenarios, including

those recommended by industry consultants.

The RFSAP will meet again in December to

provide the Council with further guidance

regarding the extent of reduction in fishing

mortality required to end overfishing and

rebuild the stock. The extent of the required

reduction is dependent on the assessment

scenario selected and the duration of the

rebuilding period. As the Council addresses

overfishing and rebuilding of the red grouper

stock, the Council must develop a plan to

rebuild the stock to the biomass at MSY and

must select specific estimates of MSY, OY,

MFMT, and MSST as part of this plan. The

information necessary to complete this task

is included in the 1999 assessment and the

enclosed material requested by the RFSAP.

I look forward to working with the Council

to develop a plan for rebuilding the red

grouper stock.

Sincerely Yours,

Joseph E. Powers, PhD.

Acting Regional Administrator

Dated: November 16, 2000.

William T. Hogarth,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–30029 Filed 11–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 991228355-0140-02; I.D.

110700C]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Maine Mahogany Quahog

Fishery; Commercial Quota Harvested

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Commercial quota harvest;

closure.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

Maine mahogany quahog commercial

quota has been harvested. Vessels

issued a commercial Federal fisheries

permit for the Maine mahogany quahog

fishery may not land Maine mahogany

quahogs in the State of Maine for the

remainder of calendar year 2000, unless

fishing for an individual allocation of

ocean quahogs under specific

regulations. Regulations governing the

Maine mahogany quahog fishery require

publication of this notification to advise

the public that the quota has been

harvested and to notify vessel and

dealer permit holders that no

commercial quota is available for

landing Maine mahogany quahogs.

DATES: Effective from 0001 hours,

November 25, 2000, through 2400

hours, December 31, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Allison Ferreira, Fishery Management

Specialist, (978)281-9103.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations governing the Maine

mahogany fishery are found at 50 CFR

part 648. The annual quota of Maine

Mahogany quahogs is 100,000 Maine

bushels (35,150 hL) for 2000.

Section 648.76(b)(1)(iv) requires the

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

(Regional Administrator) to monitor the

Maine mahogany quahog quota based on

dealer reports and other available

information and determine when the

quota will be harvested. The Regional

Administrator is further required to

publish notification in the Federal

Register advising the public and

notifying Federal vessel and dealer

permit holders that, effective on a

specific date, the commercial quota for

Maine mahogany quahogs has been

harvested and no commercial quota is

available for landing Maine mahogany

quahogs for the remainder of the year.

The Regional Administrator has

determined, based upon dealer reports

and other available information, that the

commercial Maine mahogany quahog

quota for 2000 has been harvested.

Therefore, effective 0001 hours,

November 25, 2000, further landings of

Maine mahogany quahogs in Maine by

vessels issued a Maine mahogany

quahog permit and not fishing for an

individual allocation of ocean quahogs

under § 648.70 are prohibited for the

remainder of the 2000 calendar year.

Effective 0001 hours, November 25,

2000, federally permitted dealers are

also advised that they may not purchase

Maine mahogany quahogs landed in

Maine for the remainder of the calendar

year from federally permitted vessels,

unless they are fishing for an individual

allocation of ocean quahogs.

The Maine mahogany quahog zone as

defined in § 648.73(d), is closed to

fishing for ocean quahogs except in

those areas that are tested by the State

of Maine and deemed to be within the

requirements of the National Shellfish

Sanitation Program and adopted by the

Interstate Shellfish Sanitation

Conference as acceptable limits for the

toxin responsible for paralytic shellfish

poisoning. Harvesting of ocean quahogs

is allowed only in the areas and during

the time periods specified by the Maine

Department of Marine Resources as

being safe for human consumption.

The regulations at § 648.76(a)(2)

specify that vessels fishing under an

ocean quahog individual allocation,

regardless of whether they possess a

Maine mahogany quahog permit, may

land their catch in Maine or, consistent

with applicable state law, in any other

state that utilizes food safety-based

procedures consistent with those used

by the State of Maine for such purpose,

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 227 / Friday, November 24, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 70523

and must comply with the requirements

in §§ 648.70 and 648.75. All mahogany

quahogs landed by vessels fishing in the

Maine mahogany quahog zone for an

individual allocation of quahogs under

§ 648.70 are counted against the ocean

quahog allocation for which the vessel

is fishing.

Classification

This action is required by 50 CFR part

648 and is exempt from review under

Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: November 17, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–30025 Filed 11–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 000501119-01; I.D. 102300C]

Fisheries Off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; West Coast

Salmon Fisheries; Closures and

Inseason Adjustments from House

Rock, OR to Humboldt South Jetty, CA

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Closures and inseason

adjustments; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

commercial fishery in the area from

House Rock, OR to Humboldt South

Jetty, CA, reached its 1,000-chinook

guideline for the sub-area allocation off

Oregon. The fishery in the sub-area from

House Rock, OR to the OregonCalifornia border was closed at

midnight, September 6, 2000, for the

duration of the fishery. In the sub-area

off California, from Oregon-California

border to the Humboldt South Jetty, the

fishery remains open. Oregon State

regulations will allow vessels with fish

on board caught in the open area off

California to seek temporary mooring in

Brookings, OR, prior to landing in

California only if such vessels first

notify the Chetco River Coast Guard

Station. The Northwest Regional

Administrator, NMFS (Regional

Administrator), determined that the

commercial guideline of salmon for this

sub-area had been reached. These

actions were necessary to conform to the

2000 management measures and are

intended to ensure conservation of

chinook salmon.

DATES: Closure effective 2359 hours

local time (l.t.), September 6, 2000, for

the area from House Rock, OR to the

Oregon-California border. Comments

will be accepted through December 11,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments on these actions

must be mailed to Donna Darm, Acting

Regional Administrator, Northwest

Region, NMFS, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point

Way N.E., Bldg. 1, Seattle, WA 98115-

0070; or faxed to 206-526-6376; or

Rebecca Lent, Regional Administrator,

Southwest Region, NMFS, NOAA, 501

W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long

Beach, CA 90802-4132; or faxed to 562-

980-4018. Comments will not be

accepted if submitted via e-mail or the

Internet. Information relevant to this

document is available for public review

during business hours at the Office of

the Regional Administrator, Northwest

Region, NMFS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William Robinson, 206-526-6140,

Northwest Region, NMFS or Svein

Fougner, 562-980-4030 Southwest

Region, NMFS.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations governing the ocean salmon

fisheries at 50 CFR 660.409(a)(1) state

that, when a quota for any salmon

species in any portion of the fishery

management area is projected by the

Regional Administrator to be reached on

or by a certain date, NMFS will, by

notification issued under 50 CFR

660.411(a)(2), close the fishery for all

salmon species in the portion of the

fishery management area to which the

quota applies, as of the date the quota

is projected to be reached.

In the 2000 management measures for

ocean salmon fisheries (65 FR 26138,

May 5, 2000), NMFS announced that the

commercial fishery for all salmon

except coho in the area from House

Rock, OR to Humboldt South Jetty, CA

would open September 1 through the

earlier of September 30 or until the

7,000-chinook quota was reached. The

7,000 chinook quota included a harvest

guideline limiting landings at the port of

Brookings, OR, to no more than 1,000

chinook. If this guideline was reached

prior to the overall quota, the fishery

would be closed north of the OregonCalifornia border. When the fishery is

closed north of the Oregon-California

border and open to the south, Oregon

regulations provide that vessels with

fish on board caught in the open area off

California may seek temporary mooring

in Brookings, OR, prior to landing in

California only if such vessels first

notify the Chetco River Coast Guard

Station via VHF channel 22A between

the hours of 0500 and 2200 l.t. and

provide the vessel name, number of fish

on board, and estimated time of arrival.

The Regional Administrator consulted

with representatives of the Pacific

Fishery Management Council, the

California Department of Fish and

Game, and the Oregon Department of

Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) on

September 6, 2000. The ODFW reported

that the 1,000 chinook guideline for the

sub-area allocation off OR (for the area

from House Rock OR to Humboldt

South Jetty, CA) would be reached by

the end of the day on September 6,

2000, at the current catch and landing

rates.

The Northwest Regional

Administrator determined that the best

available information on September 6,

2000, indicated that the catch and effort

data and projections supported closure

of the commercial fishery in the subarea from House Rock, OR to the

Oregon-California border at midnight,

September 6, 2000. The sub-area off

California from the Oregon-California

border to the Humboldt South Jetty,

California order would remain open.

Oregon State regulations would allow

vessels with fish on board caught in the

open area off California to seek

temporary mooring in Brookings, OR

prior to landing in California only if

such vessels first notify the Chetco River

Coast Guard Station.

The States of California and Oregon

will manage this fishery in state waters

adjacent to these areas of the exclusive

economic zone in accordance with this

Federal action. As provided by the

inseason notice procedures of 50 CFR

660.411, actual notice to fishermen of

this action was given by telephone

hotline number 206-526-6667 and 800-

662-9825, and by U.S. Coast Guard

Notice to Mariners broadcasts on

Channel 16 VHF-FM and 2182 kHz.

Classification

Because of the need for immediate

action to stop a fishery upon

achievement of a quota, NMFS has

determined that good cause exists for

this notification to be issued without

affording a prior opportunity for public

comment because such notification

would be unnecessary, impracticable,

and contrary to the public the

immediate interest. Moreover, because

of need to stop the fishery upon

achievement of a quota, the Assistant

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA

finds, for good cause, under 5 U.S.C.

553(d)(3), that delaying the effectiveness

of this rule for 30 days is impracticable

and contrary to the public interest.