Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 75867

Inseason orders must be published in

the Federal Register as soon as

practicable after they are issued. Due to

the frequency with which inseason

orders are issued, publication of

individual orders is impractical.

Therefore, the 2000 orders are therefore

being published in this document to

avoid fragmentation.

The following inseason orders were

adopted by the Panel and issued for U.S.

fisheries by NMFS during the 2000

fishing season. The times listed are local

times, and the areas designated are

Puget Sound Management and Catch

Reporting Areas as defined in the

Washington State Administrative Code

at Chapter 220–22.

Order No. 2000–1: Issued 5 p.m., July

21, 2000

Treaty Indian Fishery

Areas 4B, 5 and 6C: Open for drift

gillnets from 6 p.m. July 21, 2000, to 12

noon July 26, 2000.

Order No. 2000–2: Issued 1 p.m. July

25, 2000

Treaty Indian Fishery

Areas 4B, 5, and 6C: Open for drift

gillnets from 12 noon July 26, 2000, to

12 noon July 29, 2000.

Areas 6,7 and 7A: Open for net fishing

from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. on July 26, 2000.

All Citizen Fishery

Areas 7 and 7A: Purse seine fishery

open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 27,

2000. Drift gillnet fishery open from 3

p.m. to 11:59 p.m. on July 27, 2000. Reef

net fishery open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

on July 29, 2000.

Order No. 2000–3: Issued 4 p.m., July

25, 2000, and supersedes all previous

inseason orders

Treaty Indian Fishery

Areas 4B, 5, and 6C: Drift gillnet open

from 12 noon July 26, 2000, to 12 noon

July 29, 2000.

Areas 6, 7 and 7A: Open for net

fishing from 4 a.m. July 26, 2000, to 8

a.m. July 27, 2000.

All Citizen Fishery

Areas 7 and 7A: Drift gillnet fishery

open 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. July 27, 2000.

Purse seine fishery open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

July 28, 2000. Reef net fishery open

from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 29, 2000,

and July 30, 2000.

Order No. 2000–4: Issued 4 p.m. August

2, 2000, and supersedes all previous

inseason orders

All Citizen Fishery

Areas 7 and 7A: Purse seine fishery

open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. August 3,

2000, and from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. August

4, 2000. Drift gillnet fishery open from

7:15 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. August 3, 2000,

and from 7:15 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. August

4, 2000.

Order No. 2000–5: Issued at 4:00 p.m.,

August 5, 2000

Treaty Indian Fishery

Areas 4B, 5 and 6C: Open for drift

gillnets from 6 p.m. August 5 to 6:00

p.m. August 7, 2000.

Areas 6, 7 and 7A: Open for net

fishing from 12:00 noon August 6, 2000,

to 6:00 p.m. August 7, 2000.

Order No. 2000–6: Issued at 4:00 p.m.

August 8, 2000

All Citizen Fishery

Areas 7 and 7A: Reef net fishery open

from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. August 9,

2000. Purse seine fishery open from 6:00

a.m. to 6:00 p.m. August 10, 2000. Drift

gillnet fishery open from 8:00 a.m. to

8:00 p.m. on August 10, 2000.

Order No. 2000–7: Issued at 4:00 p.m.

August 15, 2000

All Citizen Fishery

Areas 7 and 7A south and east of a

line from Iwersen’s Dock on Point

Roberts to Georgina Point Light at the

entrance to Active Pass in British

Columbia: Purse seine fishery open from

6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on August 16,

2000. Drift gillnet fishery open from

8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. August 16, 2000.

Order No. 8–2000: Issued at 4:00 p.m.

August 22, 2000

United States Fraser River Panel Area

Waters

Areas 4B, 5 and 6C, relinquish

regulatory control effective August 27,

2000.

Areas 6 and 7 and Area 7A south and

east of a line from Iwerson’s Dock on

Point Roberts to Georgina Point Light at

the entrance to Active Pass in British

Columbia, relinquish regulatory control

effective August 27, 2000.

Classification

Because these fisheries have been

closed, 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.

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

300.97, and is exempt from review

under Executive Order 12866.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3636(b).

Dated: November 28, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–30818 Filed 12–4–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[I.D. 111400A]

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species

(HMS) Fisheries; Large Coastal,

Pelagic, and Small Coastal Shark

Species

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Fishing season notification.

SUMMARY: NMFS notifies eligible

participants of the opening and closing

of fishing seasons for Atlantic large

coastal sharks (LCS), small coastal

sharks (SCS), and pelagic sharks.

DATES: The fishery opening for LCS is

effective January 1, 2001; the LCS

closure is effective from 11:30 p.m. local

time March 24, 2001, through June 30,

2001. The fishery opening for SCS and

pelagic sharks is January 1, 2001; no

closure dates for these fisheries are

included in this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Margo Schulze-Haugen or Karyl

Brewster-Geisz, 301-713-2347; fax 301-

713-1917.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Atlantic shark fishery is managed under

the Fishery Management Plan for

Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks

(HMS FMP), and its implementing

regulations found at 50 CFR part 635

issued under authority of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act (16

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

On June 30, 1999, NMFS received a

Court Order from Judge Steven D.

Merryday enjoining NMFS from

enforcing the 1999 regulations, 64 FR

29090 (May 28, 1999), regarding

Atlantic shark commercial catch quotas

and fish-counting methods (including

the counting of dead discards and state

commercial landings after Federal

closures) that are different from the

quotas and fish counting methods

prescribed by the 1997 Atlantic shark

regulations, 62 FR 16648 (April 7, 1997).

On June 12, 2000, the Court issued

75868 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

another order permitting NMFS to

implement and enforce the 1999

prohibited species provisions. NMFS

and plaintiffs recently reached

settlement in this litigation; NMFS

intends to publish an emergency rule

consistent with the settlement

agreement once the Court stipulates to

the settlement agreement.

As such, the annual 2001 LCS quota

continues at the 1997 level of 1,285 mt

dw for all species of LCS, (Table 1 of

appendix A to part 635), with no

minimum size on ridgeback LCS. The

SCS and pelagic shark quotas also

remain at the annual 1997 levels, of

1,760 and 580 mt dw, respectively. The

prohibited species provisions will be

enforced. A list of prohibited shark

species can be found in Table 1 of

Appendix A to part 635, part D. The

limited access provisions for

commercial harvests still apply,

including trip limits for directed and

incidental shark permit holders.

The first semiannual fishing season of

the 2001 fishing year for the commercial

fishery for LCS in the western north

Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of

Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, will

open January 1, 2001. In 1998, 1999,

and 2000, the first semiannual fishing

season remained open until March 31 of

each year. In all three years, the

semiannual quota was exceeded. Catch

rate data from the first semiannual

fishing season from 1998 and 1999 for

LCS species indicate that approximately

70 percent of the LCS quota had been

taken by the end of February of each

year. In 2000, catch rate data indicate

that approximately 55 percent of the

LCS quota had been taken by the end of

February. In addition, catch rate data in

all three years indicate that catch rates

increase through the month of March.

Accordingly, the Assistant

Administrator for Fisheries (AA) has

determined, based on these catch rates

and the available quota, that the quota

for the 2001 first semiannual season for

LCS in or from the western north

Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of

Mexico and Caribbean Sea, will be

attained as of March 24, 2001. The LCS

fishery will close March 24, 2001, at

11:30 p.m. local time.

During a closure, retention of, fishing

for, possessing or selling LCS are

prohibited for persons fishing aboard

vessels issued a limited access permit

under 50 CFR 635.4. The sale, purchase,

trade, or barter of carcasses and/or fins

of LCS harvested by a person aboard a

vessel that has been issued a permit

under 50 CFR 635.4 are prohibited,

except for those that were harvested,

offloaded, and sold, traded, or bartered

prior to the closure and were held in

storage by a dealer or processor.

The first semiannual quota for SCS is

880 mt dw. The first semiannual quota

for pelagic sharks is 290 mt dw. When

quotas are projected to be reached for

these fisheries, the AA will file

notification of closure at the Office of

the Federal Register at least 14 days

before the effective date.

Those vessels that have not been

issued a limited access permit under 50

CFR 635.4 may not sell sharks and are

subject to the recreational retention

limits and size limits specified at 50

CFR 635.22(c) and 635.20(d),

respectively. The recreational fishery is

not affected by any closure in the

commercial fishery.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

part 635 and is exempt from review

under Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: November 29, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–30821 Filed 12–4–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S