[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6577-6578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3150]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 000124018-0018-01; I.D. 122999A]
RIN 0648-AN38


Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
to Establish a Control Date

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is 
considering management measures to reduce harvest capacity in the open 
access portion of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery in Federal 
waters off Washington, Oregon, and California. NMFS has previously made 
a similar announcement relating to the limited entry and recreational 
portions of the fishery. This document announces a control date for the 
open access portion of November 5, 1999, and is intended to promote 
awareness of potential eligibility criteria for future access to the

[[Page 6578]]

open access portion of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. The 
announcement is intended to discourage new entries into this fishery 
and increased fishing effort based on economic speculation while the 
Council contemplates whether and how access should be controlled.
    Vessels entering the fisheries after November 5, 1999, may be 
subject to restrictions different from those that apply to vessels in 
the fishery prior to November 5, 1999. If catch history is used as a 
basis for future participation or allocation, it is likely that 
participation in the fishery after November 5, 1999, would not count 
toward future allocations or participation in a limited access scheme. 
Because potential eligibility criteria for future management measures 
may be based on historical participation, fishery participants may need 
to preserve records that substantiate and verify their participation in 
the groundfish fishery in Federal waters.

DATES:  Comments may be submitted in writing by March 13, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Jim Lone, Chairman, Pacific 
Fishery Management Council, 2130 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 224, Portland 
OR 97201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  The Pacific Fishery Management 
Council at 503-326-6352; or Bill Robinson at 206-526-6140; or Svein 
Fougner at 562-980-4000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) was approved on January 4, 1982 (47 FR 43964, 
October 5 1982), and has been amended 11 times. Implementing 
regulations for the FMP and its amendments are codified at 50 CFR Part 
660. On November 16, 1992, NMFS published final regulations 
implementing Amendment 6 to the FMP. Amendment 6 and its implementing 
regulations established a license limitation program and divided the 
Pacific Coast commercial groundfish fishery into limited entry and open 
access segments. The limited entry fishery is comprised of permitted 
vessels using trawl, longline and/or trap (pot) gear. The open access 
fishery is comprised of unpermitted vessels that use all other gear, as 
well as vessels that do not have limited entry permits endorsed for use 
of longline or trap gear but make small landings with longline or trap 
gear.
    NMFS had previously made an announcement that the Council is 
considering additional management measures to further limit harvest 
capacity or to allocate between or within the limited entry commercial 
and the recreational groundfish fisheries. In order to discourage 
fishers from intensifying their fishing efforts for the purpose of 
amassing catch history for any allocation or additional limited access 
program developed by the Council, the Council announced on April 9, 
1998, that any program would not include consideration of catch landed 
after that date. NMFS announced that the Council was planning to 
consider catch history through the 1997 season (63 FR 53637, October 6, 
1998).
    At its April 1999 meeting, the Council reviewed a proposal to 
create a limited entry program to limit new entrants into the open 
access fishery. At this same meeting, the Council's Groundfish Advisory 
Subpanel (GAP) encouraged the Council to move toward the development of 
an individual quota (IQ) program for the limited entry and open access 
fisheries as a means of managing harvest capacity. Under Section 
303(d)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, the Council cannot submit recommendations for an IQ 
program to the Secretary of Commerce before October 1, 2000, however, 
the Council is not prohibited from developing such a program.
    At its June 1999 meeting, the Council further examined the proposal 
to create a limited entry program to limit new entrants into the open 
access fishery. Members of the Council expressed concerns that 
restricting new entrants into the fishery would not adequately address 
harvest capacity concerns. Even though the need to limit new entrants 
into the open access fleet was recognized, this measure did not go 
forward for further development. Limited access and participation in 
the open access fisheries were further discussed at the November 1999 
Council meeting, resulting in this document.
    Because the document published on October 6, 1998, refers 
specifically to management measures to restrain harvest capacity in the 
limited entry fishery, the Council saw a need to establish a control 
date for the open access fishery while management measures to restrain 
harvest capacity throughout the entire groundfish fishery are being 
considered. At its November meeting, the Council unanimously 
recommended that a control date of November 5, 1999, be established and 
the public be notified that the Council is considering the need to 
impose additional management measures to restrain harvest capacity in 
the open access fishery. The Council announced this control date for 
the open access portion of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery in its 
November 1999 newsletter. The newsletter was distributed to the public 
in the middle of November.
    Vessels entering the fishery after November 5, 1999, may be subject 
to restrictions different from those that apply to vessels in the 
fishery prior to November 5, 1999. If catch history is used as a basis 
for participation or allocation, it is likely that participation in the 
fishery after the control date would not count toward future 
allocations in a limited access scheme. Fishers are not guaranteed 
future participation in the groundfish fishery, regardless of their 
date of entry or level of participation in the fishery.
    This action does not commit the Council to develop any particular 
management regime or to use any specific criteria for determining entry 
to the fishery. The Council may choose a different control date, or may 
choose a management program that does not make use of such a date.
    Implementation of any management measures for the fishery will 
require amendment of the regulations implementing the FMP, and may 
require amending the FMP. Any action will require Council development 
of a regulatory proposal with public input and a supporting analysis, 
NMFS approval, and publication of implementing regulations in the 
Federal Register.

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

    Dated: February 4, 2000.
Penelope D. Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 00-3150 Filed 2-9-00; 8:45 am]
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