70524 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 227 / Friday, November 24, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

These actions do not apply to other

fisheries that may be operating in other

areas.

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

660.409 and 660.411 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. 00–30027 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. 102300B]

Fisheries Off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; West Coast

Salmon Fisheries; Closures and

Inseason Adjustments from the U.S.-

Canada Border to the OregonCalifornia Border

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Closures and inseason

adjustments; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces closures of

several recreational and commercial

fisheries from the Oregon-California

border to the U.S.-Canada border. The

Northwest Regional Administrator,

NMFS (Regional Administrator),

determined that the recreational and

commercial quotas of salmon for these

areas had been reached. These actions

were necessary to conform to the 2000

management measures and are intended

to ensure conservation of coho and

chinook salmon.

DATES: Closures effective: 2359 hours

local time (l.t.), August 17, 2000, for the

area from U.S.-Canada Border to Cape

Alava; 2359 hours l.t., August 12, 2000,

for the area from Cape Alava to Queets

River, WA; 2359 hours l.t., August 10,

2000, for the area from Queets River to

Leadbetter Point, WA; 2359 hours l.t.,

August 13, 2000, for the area from

Leadbetter Point, WA, to Cape Falcon,

OR; and 2359 hours l.t., August 11,

2000, for the area from Sisters Rocks,

OR, to the Oregon-California border. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific

closure areas and times. 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 the

following recreational fisheries north of

Cape Falcon, Oregon: U.S.-Canada

Border to Cape Alava (Neah Bay Area)

opened July 3 through earlier of

September 30 or subarea quota of 6,900

marked coho, with a guideline of 500

chinook; Cape Alava to Queets River (La

Push Area) opened July 3 through

earlier of September 30 or subarea quota

of 1,700 marked coho, with a guideline

of 300 chinook; Queets River to

Leadbetter Pt. (Westport Area) opened

July 3 through earlier of September 30

or subarea quota of 28,900 marked coho,

with a guideline of 7,400 chinook, and

closed through August 10 inside the

area (‘‘Grays Harbor bubble area’’)

defined by a line drawn from the

Westport lighthouse (46°53.3’ N. lat.,

124°07.01’ W. long.) to Buoy #2

(46°52.7’ N. lat., 124°12.7’ W. long.) to

Buoy #3 (46°55.0’ N. lat., 124°14.8’ W.

long.) to the Grays Harbor north jetty

(46°55.6’ N. lat., 124°10.85’ W. long.);

Leadbetter Pt. to Cape Falcon (Columbia

River Area) opened July 10 through

earlier of September 30 or subarea quota

of 37,500 marked coho, with a guideline

of 4,300 chinook. NMFS also announced

the commercial fishery off the southern

Oregon coast from Sisters Rocks to

Oregon-California Border opened

August 1 through earlier of August 31 or

1,300 chinook quota.

The Regional Administrator consulted

with representatives of the Pacific

Fishery Management Council, the

Washington Department of Fish and

Wildlife and the Oregon Department of

Fish and Wildlife on August 4, 7, 9, and

16, 2000.

The Northwest Regional

Administrator, NMFS (Regional

Administrator), determined that the best

available information on August 9,

2000, indicated that the catch and effort

data and projections supported closure

of 3 of the 4 recreational fisheries and

the one commercial fishery. To meet

preseason management objectives such

as quotas and season duration, 4,000

coho from the commercial fishery from

Queets River, WA, to Cape Falcon, OR

were traded for 1,000 chinook from the

overall recreational allocation north of

Cape Falcon; and 250 coho from the

U.S.-Canada Border to Cape Alava subarea recreational quota were transferred

to the Cape Alava to Queets River, WA

area. Of the 4,000 coho that were traded,

3,400 coho were added to the Columbia

River Area quota and 600 coho to the

Westport Area quota. The troll fishery

received 1,000 chinook from the

recreational fisheries in the Columbia

River and Westport areas, reflected in

the revised Columbia River Area

chinook guideline.

The recreational fishery in the area

from Cape Alava to Queets River, WA

closed at 2359 hours l.t., August 12,

2000, with an estimated catch of 182

chinook on a guideline of 300 and 1,932

coho on a revised quota of 1,950; the

recreational fishery in the area from

Queets River to Leadbetter Point, WA,

closed at 2359 hours l.t., August 10,

2000, with an estimated catch of 6,349

chinook on a guideline of 7,400 and

28,841 coho on a revised quota of

29,500 (Except the Grays Harbor bubble

area was open for 1 day, August 13,

2000); and the recreational fishery in the

area from Leadbetter Point, WA, to Cape

Falcon, OR, closed at 2359 hours l.t.,

August 13, 2000, with an estimated

catch of 2,315 chinook on a revised

guideline of 3,300 and 39,668 coho on

a revised quota of 40,900. The

commercial fishery in the area from

Sisters Rocks, OR, to the OregonCalifornia border closed at 2359 hours

l.t., August 11, 2000, with an estimated

catch of 930 chinook on a quota of

1,300.

The best available information on

August 16, 2000, supported closure of

the recreational fishery in the area from

U.S.-Canada Border to Cape Alava

which was closed at 2359 hours l.t.,

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 227 / Friday, November 24, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 70525

August 17, 2000, with an estimated

catch of 467 chinook on a guideline of

500 and 7,265 coho on a revised quota

of 6,650.

The States of Washington and Oregon

will manage coho and chinook fisheries

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

notices to fishermen of these actions

were 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 prior to these inseason

adjustments.

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 interest.

Moreover, because of the immediate

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 public interest. These

actions do not apply to other fisheries

that may be operating in other areas.

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

660.409 and 660.411 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. 00–30026 Filed 11–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22–S