Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 5719 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R1–ES–2014–0025; 

4500030113] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a 

Petition To List the Island Marble 

Butterfly as an Endangered Species; 

Correction 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of petition finding; 

correction. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, published a 90-day 

finding in the Federal Register on 

August 19, 2014, determining that a 

petition to list the island marble 

butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus) 

as an endangered species under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended, presented substantial 

information indicating listing may be 

warranted. We promptly initiated a 

status review and requested information 

on the species from any interested 

parties. We made an error in the 

requested deadline for information 

submission. With this document, we 

correct the error. 

DATES: The requested deadline for 

information submission in the petition 

finding published on August 19, 2014 

(79 FR 49045), is corrected in this 

document. To allow us adequate time to 

conduct the status review, we request 

that we receive information on or before 

April 6, 2015. After April 6, 2015, you 

must submit information by U.S. mail or 

hand-delivery to the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (see ADDRESSES, 

below). Please note that we might not be 

able to address or incorporate 

information that we receive after the 

above requested date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit 

information by one of the following 

methods: 

(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, 

enter docket number FWS–R1–ES– 

2014–0025. You may submit 

information by clicking on ‘‘Comment 

Now!’’ If your information will fit in the 

provided comment box, please use this 

feature of http://www.regulations.gov, as 

it is most compatible with our 

information review procedures. If you 

attach your information as a separate 

document, our preferred file format is 

Microsoft Word. If you attach multiple 

comments (such as form letters), our 

preferred format is a spreadsheet in 

Microsoft Excel. 

(2) By U.S. mail or hand-delivery: 

Public Comments Processing, Attn: 

FWS–R1–ES–2014–0025; U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC; 5275 

Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803. 

We request that you send information 

only by the methods described above. 

We will post all comments on http:// 

www.regulations.gov. This generally 

means that we will post any personal 

information you provide us. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Rickerson, Washington Fish and 

Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond Drive, 

Lacey, WA 98503; telephone 360–753– 

9440; facsimile 360–534–9331. Persons 

who use a telecommunications device 

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 

800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We 

published a 90-day finding in the 

Federal Register on August 19, 2014 (79 

FR 49045), on a petition to list the 

island marble butterfly (Euchloe 

ausonides insulanus) as an endangered 

species under the Endangered Species 

Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.). When we make such a finding 

that a petition presents substantial 

information indicating that listing a 

species may be warranted, we are 

required to promptly review the status 

of the species (status review; also 

commonly referred to as a ‘‘12-month 

finding’’). For the status review to be 

complete and based on the best 

available scientific and commercial 

data, we requested information on the 

island marble butterfly from 

governmental agencies, Native 

American tribes, the scientific 

community, industry, and any other 

interested parties. However, in the 90- 

day finding, we incorrectly stated the 

requested deadline for information 

submission was December 31, 2016. The 

correct date by which we request that 

the public submit information is listed 

above in the DATES section of this 

document. Please see the August 19, 

2014 (79 FR 49045), publication for 

details on the items for which we 

request information. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Dated: January 27, 2015. 

James W. Kurth, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02063 Filed 2–2–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 141219999–5053–01] 

RIN 0648–BE66 

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch 

Sharing Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to approve 

changes to the Pacific Halibut Catch 

Sharing Plan (Plan) for the International 

Pacific Halibut Commission’s (IPHC or 

Commission) regulatory Area 2A off 

Washington, Oregon, and California 

(Area 2A). In addition, NMFS proposes 

to implement the portions of the Plan 

and management measures that are not 

implemented through the IPHC. These 

measures include the sport fishery 

allocations and management measures 

for Area 2A. These actions are intended 

to conserve Pacific halibut, provide 

angler opportunity where available, and 

minimize bycatch of overfished 

groundfish species. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed 

changes to the Plan and on the proposed 

domestic Area 2A halibut management 

measures must be received by March 5, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2014–0159, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014- 

0159, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

William Stelle, Regional Administrator, 

West Coast Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand 

Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115– 

0070. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
5720 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter 

‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish 

to remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Williams, phone: 206–526–4646, 

fax: 206–526–6736, or email: 

sarah.williams@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This rule is accessible via the Internet 

at the Office of the Federal Register 

Web site at http://www.access.gpo.gov/

su_docs/aces/aces140.html. Background 

information and documents are 

available at the NMFS West Coast 

Region Web site at http://

www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/

fisheries/management/pacific_halibut_

management.html and at the Council’s 

Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org. 

Background 

The Northern Pacific Halibut Act 

(Halibut Act) of 1982, 16 U.S.C. 773– 

773K, gives the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary) general responsibility for 

implementing the provisions of the 

Halibut Convention between the United 

States and Canada (Halibut Convention) 

(16 U.S.C. 773c). It requires the 

Secretary to adopt regulations as may be 

necessary to carry out the purposes and 

objectives of the Halibut Convention 

and the Halibut Act. Section 773c of the 

Halibut Act also authorizes the regional 

fishery management councils to develop 

regulations in addition to, but not in 

conflict with, regulations of the IPHC to 

govern the Pacific halibut catch in their 

corresponding U.S. Convention waters. 

Each year between 1988 and 1995, the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council) developed and NMFS 

implemented a catch sharing plan in 

accordance with the Halibut Act to 

allocate the total allowable catch (TAC) 

of Pacific halibut between treaty Indian 

and non-Indian harvesters and among 

non-Indian commercial and sport 

fisheries in Area 2A. In 1995, NMFS 

implemented the Pacific Councilrecommended long-term Plan (60 FR 

14651, March 20, 1995). Every year 

since then, minor revisions to the Plan 

have been made to adjust for the 

changing needs of the fisheries. 

For 2015, the Council recommended 

changes to the non-Indian fishery 

allocations to increase the California 

sport allocation. The 2015 Plan 

recommended by the Council and 

proposed to be approved by NMFS, 

allocates 35 percent of the Area 2A 

Pacific halibut TAC to Washington 

treaty Indian tribes in Subarea 2A–1, 

and 65 percent of the Area 2A TAC to 

non-tribal fisheries. The non-tribal 

allocation is divided into four separate 

allocations, which are proposed to be 

modified for 2015 by reducing the 

Washington and Oregon sport and 

commercial allocations each by one 

percent and increasing the California 

sport allocation by 3 percent. The shares 

are proposed to be as follows: The 

Washington sport fishery (north of the 

Columbia River) receives 35.6 percent, 

the Oregon sport fishery receives 29.7 

percent (south of the Columbia River), 

the California sport fishery receives 4.0 

percent, and the commercial fishery 

receives 30.7 percent. The commercial 

fishery is further divided into a directed 

commercial fishery allocated 85 percent 

of the commercial allocation, and 

incidental catch in the salmon troll 

fishery that is allocated 15 percent of 

the commercial allocation. The directed 

commercial fishery in Area 2A is 

confined to southern Washington (south 

of 46°53.30’ N. lat.), Oregon, and 

California. North of 46°53.30’ N. lat. (Pt. 

Chehalis), the Plan allows for incidental 

halibut retention in the sablefish 

primary fishery when the overall Area 

2A TAC is above 900,000 lb (408.2 mt). 

The Plan also divides the sport fisheries 

into seven geographic subareas, each 

with separate allocations, seasons, and 

bag limits. The subarea allocations will 

be included in the final rule for this 

action after the IPHC has determined the 

final TAC at their annual meeting 

January 26–30, 2015. Therefore, this 

rule does not include subarea 

allocations, but does contain some dates 

for the sport fisheries based on the 2015 

Plan as recommended by the Council. 

Incidental Halibut Retention in the 

Sablefish Primary Fishery North of Pt. 

Chehalis, WA 

The Plan provides that incidental 

halibut retention in the sablefish 

primary fishery north of Pt. Chehalis, 

WA, will be allowed when the Area 2A 

TAC is greater than 900,000 lb (408.2 

mt), provided that a minimum of 10,000 

lb (4.5 mt) is available above a 

Washington recreational TAC of 214,100 

lb (97.1 mt). If the TAC is sufficient, the 

Council will recommend landing 

restrictions for public review at its 

March 2015 meeting and make final 

recommendations at its April 2015 

meeting. Following this meeting, NMFS 

will publish the restrictions in the 

Federal Register. 

Opportunity for Public Comment 

Through this proposed rule, NMFS 

requests public comments on the Pacific 

Council’s recommended modifications 

to the Plan and the resulting proposed 

domestic fishing regulations by March 

5, 2015. The States of Washington, 

Oregon, and California will conduct 

public workshops shortly to obtain 

input on the sport season dates. 

Following the proposed rule comment 

period, NMFS will review public 

comments and comments from the 

states, and issue a final rule. Either that 

final rule or an additional rule will 

include the IPHC regulations and 

regulations for the West Coast and 

Alaska. 

Proposed Changes to the Plan 

Each year, the Washington 

Department of Fish and Wildlife 

(WDFW), Oregon Department of Fish 

and Wildlife (ODFW), California 

Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), 

and the tribes with treaty fishing rights 

for halibut consider whether to pursue 

changes to the Plan to meet the needs 

of the fishery. In determining whether 

changes are needed, the state agencies 

hold public meetings prior to the 

Council’s September meeting. 

Subsequently, they recommend changes 

to the Council at its September meeting. 

In 2014, fishery managers from all three 

state agencies held public meetings on 

the Plan prior to the Council’s 

September meeting. At the September 

2014 Council meeting, NMFS, WDFW, 

ODFW, and CDFW recommended 

changes to the Plan and codified 

regulations. The tribes did not 

recommend any changes to the Plan or 

regulations. The Council voted to solicit 

public input on all of the changes 

recommended by the state agencies, 

several of which were presented in the 

form of alternatives. WDFW and ODFW 

subsequently held public workshops on 

the recommended changes. 

At its November 14–19, 2014, meeting 

the Council considered the results of 

state-sponsored workshops on the 

recommended changes to the Plan and 

public input provided at the September 

and November Council meetings, and 

made its final recommendations for 

modifications to the Plan. NMFS 

proposes to adopt all of the Council’s 

recommended changes to the Plan as 

further discussed below. NMFS also 

proposed to make a minor change to the 

codified regulations to update a 

reference to a NMFS regional office. 

Changes to the Plan 

1. In section (b), Allocations, this rule 

proposes several changes to the nonVerDate Sep<11>2014 13:27 Feb 02, 2015 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\03FEP1.SGM 03FEP1

rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 5721 

Indian allocations. The California sport 

fishery allocation is increased from 1 to 

4 percent by reducing the Washington 

and Oregon sport and commercial 

allocations each by 1 percent. The goal 

of this change is to provide California 

with an allocation that is closer to 

recent effort levels while not 

substantially reducing the remaining 

non-Indian allocations. 

2. In section (e)(2), NMFS proposes to 

remove a reference to the ‘‘fall salmon 

troll fisheries’’ as a trigger for the 

rollover of quota from the directed 

halibut fishery to the incidental salmon 

troll fishery because there is no ‘‘fall’’ 

salmon fishery. 

3. In section (f)(1)(iv), Columbia River 

subarea, this rule proposes four changes. 

The allocation to this area is comprised 

of contributions from the Washington 

and Oregon sport allocations. The first 

change proposed in this rule would 

modify the Oregon contribution from an 

amount equal to the Washington 

contribution to 2.3 percent of the overall 

Oregon sport allocation. The goal of this 

change is to better comport with recent 

fishing effort off Oregon. Second, this 

rule proposes to make the nearshore 

fishery allocation 500 pounds to better 

reflect recent effort in the nearshore 

fishery. Third, the separation of quota 

into an early and late season is removed 

to allow for a continuous season. The 

goal of this change is to have the entire 

subarea quota available in the early part 

of the season when effort is generally 

higher allowing for full attainment of 

the subarea allocation. In previous 

years, quota reserved for the late season 

has not been used because of low effort 

late in the season. Fourth, flatfish are 

added to the list of species that may be 

retained and landed with halibut 

allowing flatfish species that share 

habitat with halibut to be landed rather 

than discarded, to reduce waste. 

4. In section (f)(1)(v), Oregon central 

coast subarea, this rule proposes several 

changes to the text to implement several 

measures. First, there is a change to 

clarify that the allocation to this area is 

96 percent of the Oregon sport 

allocation after the allocation to the 

Columbia River subarea has been 

subtracted. Second, incidental flatfish 

retention is added to this area consistent 

with the change in the Columbia River 

subarea. Third, the spring all depth 

season allocation is modified from 61 to 

63 percent of the Central Coast 

allocation to better reflect recent effort 

in the spring all depth season. Fourth, 

the provision that allocated a percentage 

of the spring fishery allocation to the 

Southern Oregon subarea is removed 

and the Southern Oregon subarea 

allocation is derived from the overall 

Oregon sport allocation, after the 

Columbia River allocation has been 

removed. 

5. In section (f)(1)(vi), Southern 

Oregon subarea, this rule proposes 

changes to the allocations for this 

subarea. The allocation is modified from 

2 to 4 percent of the Oregon sport 

allocation after the Columbia River 

allocation has been subtracted, to better 

reflect recent effort. 

6. In section (f)(1)(vii), California 

subarea, several changes are proposed to 

allocations and inseason management. 

First, the allocation to this subarea is 

modified from 1 to 4 percent of the nonIndian allocation to allow increased 

opportunity closer to recent effort levels 

in the area. Second, the structure of the 

fishery is modified from a multi-month 

7-day-a-week fishery to a fishery that 

will be open 7 days a week, when open, 

with season dates recommended by 

CDFW preseason based on projected 

catch to attain the subarea allocation. 

Additionally, provisions allowing for 

inseason action are added for this 

subarea. The inseason procedures 

described for this subarea are identical 

to the inseason provisions used in the 

Washington and Oregon subareas. 

7. In various sections of the Plan, the 

term ‘‘Northwest Region’’ is changed to 

‘‘West Coast Region’’, to reflect the 

recent merger of NMFS offices. 

NMFS proposes to approve the 

Council’s recommendations and to 

implement the changes described above. 

A version of the Plan including these 

changes can be found at http://

www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/

fisheries/management/pacific_halibut_

management.html. 

Changes to the Regulations 

In the regulations at 50 CFR 300.63, 

the term ‘‘Northwest Region’’ is 

proposed to be changed to ‘‘West Coast 

Region’’, to reflect the recent merger of 

NMFS offices. 

Proposed 2015 Sport Fishery 

Management Measures 

NMFS also proposes sport fishery 

management measures, including 

season dates and bag limits, that are 

necessary to implement the Plan in 

2015. The annual domestic management 

measures are published each year 

through a final rule. For the 2014 fishing 

season, the final rule for Area 2A sport 

fisheries was published on April 4, 2014 

(79 FR 18827) and the final rule for the 

commercial fisheries was published on 

March 12, 2014 (79 FR 13906) along 

with the IPHC regulations. Therefore, 

the section numbers for the commercial 

fisheries below refer to sections in the 

March 4 final rule, and the section 

numbers for the recreational fisheries 

refer to sections in the April 4 final rule. 

Where season dates are not indicated, 

those dates will be provided in the final 

rule, following consideration of the 

2015 TAC and consultation with the 

states and the public. 

In Section 8 of the annual domestic 

management measures published on 

March 12, 2014, ‘‘Fishing Periods,’’ 

paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) are proposed 

to read as follows: 

(1) * * * 

(2) Each fishing period in the Area 2A 

directed fishery shall begin at 0800 

hours and terminate at 1800 hours local 

time on (season dates will be inserted 

when final rule is published), unless the 

Commission specifies otherwise. 

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (7) of 

section 11, an incidental catch fishery is 

authorized during the sablefish seasons 

in Area 2A in accordance with 

regulations promulgated by NMFS. This 

fishery will occur between 1200 hours 

local time on (season date will be 

inserted when final rule is published, if 

TAC is sufficient to allow incidental 

retention per Plan provisions). 

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), 

and paragraph (7) of section 11, an 

incidental catch fishery is authorized 

during salmon troll seasons in Area 2A 

in accordance with regulations 

promulgated by NMFS. This fishery will 

occur between 1200 hours local time on 

(season dates will be inserted when 

final rule is published). 

In section 26 of the annual domestic 

management measures published in the 

April 4, 2014, final rule, ‘‘Sport Fishing 

for Halibut,’’ paragraph 1(a)–(b) will be 

updated with 2015 total allowable catch 

limits in the final rule. In section 26 of 

the annual domestic management 

measures, ‘‘Sport Fishing for Halibut’’ 

paragraph (8) is proposed to read as 

follows: 

(8) * * * 

(a) The area in Puget Sound and the 

U.S. waters in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 

east of a line extending from 48°17.30′ 

N. lat., 124°23.70′ W. long. north to 

48°24.10′ N. lat., 124°23.70′ W. long., is 

not managed in-season relative to its 

quota. This area is managed by setting 

a season that is projected to result in a 

catch of (subarea allocations will be 

inserted when final rule publishes). 

(i) The fishing season in eastern and 

western Puget Sound (east and west of 

123°49.50′ W. long., Low Point) is 

(season dates will be inserted when 

final rule is published). 

(ii) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(b) The quota for landings into ports 

in the area off the north Washington 

coast, west of the line described in 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
5722 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

paragraph (2)(a) of section 26 and north 

of the Queets River (47°31.70′ N. lat.), is 

(subarea allocations will be inserted 

when final rule publishes). 

(i) The fishing seasons are: 

(A) Commencing on May 14 and 

continuing 2 days a week (Thursday and 

Saturday) until (subarea allocations will 

be inserted when final rule publishes) 

are estimated to have been taken and the 

season is closed by the Commission, or 

until May 23. 

(B) If sufficient quota remains the 

fishery will reopen on June 4 and/or 

June 6, continuing 2 days per week 

(Thursday and Saturday) until there is 

not sufficient quota for another full day 

of fishing and the area is closed by the 

Commission. After May 23, any fishery 

opening will be announced on the 

NMFS hotline at 800–662–9825. No 

halibut fishing will be allowed after 

May 23 unless the date is announced on 

the NMFS hotline. 

(ii) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(iii) Recreational fishing for 

groundfish and halibut is prohibited 

within the North Coast Recreational 

Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area 

(YRCA). It is unlawful for recreational 

fishing vessels to take and retain, 

possess, or land halibut taken with 

recreational gear within the North Coast 

Recreational YRCA. A vessel fishing in 

the North Coast Recreational YRCA may 

not be in possession of any halibut. 

Recreational vessels may transit through 

the North Coast Recreational YRCA with 

or without halibut on board. The North 

Coast Recreational YRCA is a C-shaped 

area off the northern Washington coast 

intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. 

The North Coast Recreational YRCA is 

defined in groundfish regulations at 

§ 660.70(a). 

(c) The quota for landings into ports 

in the area between the Queets River, 

WA (47°31.70′ N. lat.), and Leadbetter 

Point, WA (46°38.17′ N. lat.), is (subarea 

allocations will be inserted when final 

rule publishes). 

(i) This subarea is divided between 

the all-waters fishery (the Washington 

South coast primary fishery), and the 

incidental nearshore fishery in the area 

from 47°31.70′ N. lat. south to 46°58.00′ 

N. lat. and east of a boundary line 

approximating the 30 fm depth contour. 

This area is defined by straight lines 

connecting all of the following points in 

the order stated as described by the 

following coordinates (the Washington 

South coast, northern nearshore area): 

(1) 47°31.70′ N. lat, 124°37.03′ W. 

long; 

(2) 47°25.67′ N. lat, 124°34.79′ W. 

long; 

(3) 47°12.82′ N. lat, 124°29.12′ W. 

long; 

(4) 46°58.00′ N. lat, 124°24.24′ W. 

long. 

The south coast subarea quota will be 

allocated as follows: (subarea 

allocations for the primary and 

nearshore fisheries will be inserted 

when final rule publishes). The primary 

fishery commences on May 3, and 

continues 2 days a week (Sunday and 

Tuesday) until May 19. If the primary 

quota is projected to be obtained sooner 

than expected, the management closure 

may occur earlier. Beginning on May 31 

the primary fishery will be open at most 

2 days per week (Sunday and/or 

Tuesday) until the quota for the south 

coast subarea primary fishery is taken 

and the season is closed by the 

Commission, or until September 30, 

whichever is earlier. The fishing season 

in the nearshore area commences on 

May 3, and continues 7 days per week. 

Subsequent to closure of the primary 

fishery, the nearshore fishery is open 7 

days per week, until (subarea 

allocations will be inserted when final 

rule publishes) is projected to be taken 

by the two fisheries combined and the 

fishery is closed by the Commission or 

September 30, whichever is earlier. If 

the fishery is closed prior to September 

30, and there is insufficient quota 

remaining to reopen the northern 

nearshore area for another fishing day, 

then any remaining quota may be 

transferred in-season to another 

Washington coastal subarea by NMFS 

via an update to the recreational halibut 

hotline. 

(ii) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(iii) Seaward of the boundary line 

approximating the 30-fm depth contour 

and during days open to the primary 

fishery, lingcod may be taken, retained 

and possessed when allowed by 

groundfish regulations at 50 CFR 

660.360, subpart G. 

(iv) Recreational fishing for 

groundfish and halibut is prohibited 

within the South Coast Recreational 

YRCA and Westport Offshore YRCA. It 

is unlawful for recreational fishing 

vessels to take and retain, possess, or 

land halibut taken with recreational gear 

within the South Coast Recreational 

YRCA and Westport Offshore YRCA. A 

vessel fishing in the South Coast 

Recreational YRCA and/or Westport 

Offshore YRCA may not be in 

possession of any halibut. Recreational 

vessels may transit through the South 

Coast Recreational YRCA and Westport 

Offshore YRCA with or without halibut 

on board. The South Coast Recreational 

YRCA and Westport Offshore YRCA are 

areas off the southern Washington coast 

established to protect yelloweye 

rockfish. The South Coast Recreational 

YRCA is defined at 50 CFR 660.70(d). 

The Westport Offshore YRCA is defined 

at 50 CFR 660.70(e). 

(d) The quota for landings into ports 

in the area between Leadbetter Point, 

WA (46°38.17′ N. lat.), and Cape Falcon, 

OR (45°46.00′ N. lat.), is (subarea 

allocations will be inserted when final 

rule publishes). 

(i) This subarea is divided into an alldepth fishery and a nearshore fishery. 

The nearshore fishery is allocated 500 

pounds of the subarea allocation. The 

nearshore fishery is restricted to the area 

shoreward of the boundary line 

approximating the 30 fm (55 m) depth 

contour from Leadbetter Point to the 

Washington/Oregon border and the 

boundary line approximating the 40 fm 

(73 m) depth contour in Oregon. The 

nearshore fishery opens May 4, and 

continues 3 days per week (Monday— 

Wednesday) until the nearshore 

allocation is taken, or September 30, 

whichever is earlier. The all depth 

fishing season commences on May 1, 

and continues 4 days a week 

(Thursday—Sunday) until (subarea 

allocations will be inserted when final 

rule publishes) are estimated to have 

been taken and the season is closed by 

the Commission, whichever is earlier. 

Subsequent to this closure, if there is 

insufficient quota remaining in the 

Columbia River subarea for another 

fishing day, then any remaining quota 

may be transferred inseason to another 

Washington and/or Oregon subarea by 

NMFS via an update to the recreational 

halibut hotline. Any remaining quota 

would be transferred to each state in 

proportion to its contribution. 

(ii) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(iii) Pacific Coast groundfish may not 

be taken and retained, possessed or 

landed, except sablefish, Pacific cod, 

and flatfish species when allowed by 

Pacific Coast groundfish regulations, 

when halibut are on board the vessel, 

during days open to the all depth 

fishery only. 

(iv) Taking, retaining, possessing, or 

landing halibut on groundfish trips is 

only allowed in the nearshore area on 

days not open to all-depth Pacific 

halibut fisheries. 

(e) The quota for landings into ports 

in the area off Oregon between Cape 

Falcon (45°46.00′ N. lat.) and Humbug 

Mountain (42°40.50′ N. lat.), is (subarea 

allocations will be inserted when final 

rule publishes). 

(i) The fishing seasons are: 

(A) The first season (the ‘‘inside 40- 

fm’’ fishery) commences July 1, and 

continues 7 days a week, in the area 


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shoreward of a boundary line 

approximating the 40-fm (73-m) depth 

contour, or until the sub-quota for the 

central Oregon ‘‘inside 40-fm’’ fishery of 

(subarea allocations will be inserted 

when final rule publishes), or any inseason revised subquota, is estimated to 

have been taken and the season is 

closed by the Commission, whichever is 

earlier. The boundary line 

approximating the 40-fm (73-m) depth 

contour between 45°46.00′ N. lat. and 

42°40.50′ N. lat. is defined at 

§ 660.71(k). 

(B) The second season (spring season), 

which is for the ‘‘all-depth’’ fishery, is 

open (season dates will be inserted 

when final rule is published). The 

projected catch for this season is 

(subarea allocations will be inserted 

when final rule publishes). If sufficient 

unharvested quota remains for 

additional fishing days, the season will 

re-open. Depending on the amount of 

unharvested quota available, the 

potential season re-opening dates will 

be: (season dates will be inserted when 

final rule is published). If NMFS 

decides inseason to allow fishing on any 

of these re-opening dates, notice of the 

re-opening will be announced on the 

NMFS hotline (206) 526–6667 or (800) 

662–9825. No halibut fishing will be 

allowed on the re-opening dates unless 

the date is announced on the NMFS 

hotline. 

(C) If sufficient unharvested quota 

remains, the third season (summer 

season), which is for the ‘‘all-depth’’ 

fishery, will be (season dates will be 

inserted when final rule is published) or 

until the combined spring season and 

summer season quotas in the area 

between Cape Falcon and Humbug 

Mountain, OR, are estimated to have 

been taken and the area is closed by the 

Commission, or October 31, whichever 

is earlier. NMFS will announce on the 

NMFS hotline in July whether the 

fishery will re-open for the summer 

season in August. No halibut fishing 

will be allowed in the summer season 

fishery unless the dates are announced 

on the NMFS hotline. Additional fishing 

days may be opened if sufficient quota 

remains after the last day of the first 

scheduled open period on (insert date of 

last open period). If, after this date, an 

amount greater than or equal to 60,000 

lb (27.2 mt) remains in the combined 

all-depth and inside 40-fm (73-m) quota, 

the fishery may re-open every Friday 

and Saturday, beginning (insert date of 

first back up dates) and ending October 

31. If after September 7, an amount 

greater than or equal to 30,000 lb (13.6 

mt) remains in the combined all-depth 

and inside 40-fm (73-m) quota, and the 

fishery is not already open every Friday 

and Saturday, the fishery may re-open 

every Friday and Saturday, beginning 

September 5 and 6, and ending October 

31. After September 7, the bag limit may 

be increased to two fish of any size per 

person, per day. NMFS will announce 

on the NMFS hotline whether the 

summer all-depth fishery will be open 

on such additional fishing days, what 

days the fishery will be open and what 

the bag limit is. 

(ii) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person, unless 

otherwise specified. NMFS will 

announce on the NMFS hotline any bag 

limit changes. 

(iii) During days open to all-depth 

halibut fishing, no Pacific Coast 

groundfish may be taken and retained, 

possessed or landed, except sablefish, 

Pacific cod, and flatfish species, when 

allowed by Pacific Coast groundfish 

regulations, if halibut are on board the 

vessel. 

(iv) When the all-depth halibut 

fishery is closed and halibut fishing is 

permitted only shoreward of a boundary 

line approximating the 40-fm (73-m) 

depth contour, halibut possession and 

retention by vessels operating seaward 

of a boundary line approximating the 

40-fm (73-m) depth contour is 

prohibited. 

(v) Recreational fishing for groundfish 

and halibut is prohibited within the 

Stonewall Bank YRCA. It is unlawful for 

recreational fishing vessels to take and 

retain, possess, or land halibut taken 

with recreational gear within the 

Stonewall Bank YRCA. A vessel fishing 

in the Stonewall Bank YRCA may not 

possess any halibut. Recreational 

vessels may transit through the 

Stonewall Bank YRCA with or without 

halibut on board. The Stonewall Bank 

YRCA is an area off central Oregon, near 

Stonewall Bank, intended to protect 

yelloweye rockfish. The Stonewall Bank 

YRCA is defined at § 660.70(f). 

(f) The quota for landings into ports 

in the area south of Humbug Mountain, 

OR (42° 40.50′ N. lat.) to the Oregon/

California Border (42° 00.00′ N. lat.) is 

(subarea allocations will be inserted 

when final rule publishes). 

(i) The fishing season commences on 

May 1, and continues 7 days per week 

until the subquota is taken, or October 

31, whichever is earlier. 

(ii) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

per person with no size limit. 

(g) The quota for landings into ports 

south of the Oregon/California Border 

(42° 00.00′ N. lat.) and along the 

California coast is (subarea allocations 

will be inserted when final rule 

publishes). 

(i) The fishing season will be open 

(season dates will be inserted when 

final rule is published). 

(ii) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

Classification 

Regulations governing the U.S. 

fisheries for Pacific halibut are 

developed by the IPHC, the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council, the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council, 

and the Secretary of Commerce. Section 

5 of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 

1982 (Halibut Act, 16 U.S.C. 773c) 

provides the Secretary of Commerce 

with the general responsibility to carry 

out the Convention between Canada and 

the United States for the management of 

Pacific halibut, including the authority 

to adopt regulations as may be necessary 

to carry out the purposes and objectives 

of the Convention and Halibut Act. This 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

Secretary of Commerce’s authority 

under the Halibut Act. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 

5 U.S.C. 603 et seq., requires 

government agencies to assess the 

effects that regulatory alternatives 

would have on small entities, including 

small businesses, and to determine ways 

to minimize those effects. When an 

agency proposes regulations, the RFA 

requires the agency to prepare and make 

available for public comment an Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) 

that describes the impact on small 

businesses, non-profit enterprises, local 

governments, and other small entities. 

The IRFA is to aid the agency in 

considering all reasonable regulatory 

alternatives that would minimize the 

economic impact on affected small 

entities. After the public comment 

period, the agency prepares a Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) 

that takes into consideration any new 

information or public comments. A 

summary of the IRFA is provided below. 

The reasons why action by the agency 

is being considered, the objectives and 

legal basis for this rule are described 

above. 

The main management objective for 

the Pacific halibut fishery in Area 2A is 

to manage fisheries to remain within the 

TAC for Area 2A. Another main 

objective is to allow each commercial, 

recreational (sport), and tribal fishery to 

target halibut in the manner that is 

appropriate to meet both the 

conservation requirements for species 

that co-occur with Pacific halibut. A 

third main objective is to meet the needs 


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5724 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

of fishery participants in particular 

fisheries and fishing areas. 

Each year, the states of Washington, 

Oregon, California, and the treaty tribes 

that fish for halibut meet with their 

fishery participants to review halibut 

management under the Plan. Based on 

feedback from these meetings and 

experience from the previous year’s 

fishing season, the states or the tribes 

may propose changes to the Plan. 

Proposed changes to the Plan are 

intended to remedy any problems 

encountered during the previous year’s 

management, problems with other 

fisheries with overlapping management 

jurisdiction (i.e., Pacific Coast 

groundfish), or other anticipated 

problems. For 2015, the Pacific Council 

recommended changes to the Plan that 

affect the recreational (sport) and 

commercial fisheries. In this rule, NMFS 

proposes to adopt the Council’s 

recommended changes to the Plan, 

revise the annual sport fishery measures 

to reflect the changes to the Plan and 

update them with 2015 dates, and make 

changes to the codified regulations to 

update references to NMFS regional 

offices to reflect a recent NMFS merger. 

Final allocations will be included in the 

final rule for this action following the 

final TAC decision by the IPHC. The 

proposed changes do not affect the tribal 

fisheries. 

Changes to the Plan 

The 2A Halibut Catch Sharing Plan, as 

outlined above, allocates the TAC at 

various levels. The commercial fishery 

is further divided into a directed 

commercial fishery that is allocated 85 

percent of the commercial allocation of 

the Pacific halibut TAC, and incidental 

catch in the salmon troll fishery that is 

allocated 15 percent of the commercial 

allocation. The directed commercial 

fishery in Area 2A is confined to 

southern Washington (south of 

46°53.30′ N. lat.), Oregon, and 

California. North of 46°53.30′ N. lat. (Pt. 

Chehalis), the Plan allows for incidental 

halibut retention in the sablefish 

primary fishery when the overall Area 

2A TAC is above 900,000 lb (408.2 mt). 

The Plan also divides the sport fisheries 

into seven geographic subareas, each 

with separate allocations, seasons, and 

bag limits. The non-tribal allocation is 

divided into four shares. At the first 

level, there are specific percentage 

allocations for tribal and non-tribal 

fisheries. The non-tribal portion is then 

allocated to commercial components 

and to recreational components. The 

commercial component is then 

apportioned into directed, incidental 

troll, and incidental sablefish fisheries. 

The recreational portions for Oregon 

and Washington are furthered 

apportioned into area subquotas and 

these subquotas are further split into 

seasonal or depth fisheries (nearshore vs 

all depths). There may be gear 

restrictions and other management 

measures established as necessary to 

minimize the potential for the 

allocations to be exceeded. 

At the September meeting, the 

Council adopted a range of Plan 

alternatives for public review. For 2015, 

the Council adopted two types of Plan 

changes that are discussed separately 

below. The first were the routine 

recreational fishery adjustments 

proposed by the states each year to 

accommodate the needs of their 

fisheries. The second were allocation 

changes to both the non-treaty 

commercial and recreational fisheries in 

order to increase the California 

allocation. The Council made final Plan 

change recommendations from this 

range at its November meeting. 

For the non-allocation Plan changes 

the Council considered changes to the 

Columbia River, Oregon Central Coast, 

Southern Oregon, and California 

subareas. For the Columbia River 

subarea the Council considered: (1) 

Status quo seasonal management in a 

spring and summer fishery and one 

alternative which removes the seasonal 

split in the Columbia River subarea to 

allow for a single continuous season, (2) 

status quo allocation contributions from 

Washington and Oregon in equal 

amounts and one alternative that 

modifies the Oregon contribution to the 

Columbia River subarea to 2.3 percent of 

the Oregon sport allocation, (3) status 

quo nearshore fishery allocation of 

1,500 pounds and one alternative that 

modifies the Columbia River nearshore 

area allocation to 500 pounds. The 

Council recommended and NMFS 

proposes each of the alternatives for the 

Columbia River subarea. For the Oregon 

Central Coast subarea the Council 

considered three all-depth season 

structures and modifications to the 

allocation from the Oregon Central 

Coast spring fishery to the Southern 

Oregon subarea. For the season 

structure, the Council considered three 

alternatives. Status quo, separate spring 

and summer seasons; Alternative 1a 

which would combine the spring and 

summer season and open the fishery on 

May 1; and Alternative 1b which is the 

same as 1a, except begin on the first 

weekend in May that avoid negative 

tides. For the allocation change the 

Council considered: status quo, which 

allocates a portion of the spring fishery 

to the Southern Oregon subarea and one 

alternative which allocates a portion of 

the overall Oregon Central Coast subarea 

allocation to the Southern Oregon 

subarea. The Council recommended and 

NMFS proposes the status quo 

alternative for the season structure and 

the one alternative for the allocation to 

the Southern Oregon subarea. For the 

Southern Oregon subarea the Council 

considered three alternative season 

dates. Status quo, opening May 1, seven 

days per week; Alternative 1, open June 

1, seven days per week; and Alternative 

2, open July 1 seven days per week. The 

Council recommended and NMFS 

proposes the status quo alternative. In 

the Columbia River and Central Oregon 

Coast subareas the Council considered 

three alternatives to incidental 

groundfish retention allowances. Status 

quo, only Pacific cod and sablefish are 

allowed; Alternative 1 revise the 

bottomfish restrictions such that all 

groundfish except rockfish and lingcod 

would be allowed when halibut are 

onboard; and Alternative 2 revise the 

bottomfish restrictions such that other 

flatfish, in addition to Pacific cod and 

sablefish, would be allowed when 

halibut are onboard. The Council 

recommended and NMFS proposes 

Alternative 2. For the California 

subarea, the Council considered three 

alternatives. Status quo, fixed season 

open May 1–July 31 and September 1– 

October 31, no inseason adjustment; 

Alternative 1, one month season 

between May 1 and October 31, to be 

determined preseason, with inseason 

adjustment as needed; Alternative 2, 15 

consecutive day season between May 1 

and October 31, to be determined 

preseason, with inseason adjustment as 

needed. The Council recommended and 

NMFS proposes a modified Alternative 

which allows for a seven day a week 

fishery, that will be determined 

preseason through joint consultation 

between NMFS and CDFW, and allows 

for inseason adjustment as necessary. 

No alternatives were considered for the 

NMFS recommended changes because 

they are administrative in nature and 

simply update the name of the Region 

from Northwest to West Coast. 

The changes to the Columbia River 

subarea allocations and incidentally 

landed species allowances are expected 

to increase recreational opportunities by 

shifting underutilized fishery allocation 

from the late to the early part of the 

season when effort is higher and by 

turning previously discarded incidental 

flatfish catch into landed catch. Changes 

to the Oregon Central Coast subarea 

allocation and incidentally landed 

species are expected to prolong seasons 

and increase the total number of fishing 

days and are expected to increase 

recreational opportunities by turning 


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previously discarded incidental catch 

into landed catch. None of these 

changes are controversial and none are 

expected to result in substantial 

environmental or economic impacts. 

These actions are intended to enhance 

the conservation of Pacific halibut, to 

provide angler opportunity where 

available, and to protect overfished 

groundfish species from incidental 

catch in the halibut fisheries. Because 

the goal of the proposed action is to 

maximize angler participation and thus 

to maximize the economic benefits of 

the fishery, NMFS did not analyze 

alternatives to the above changes to the 

Plan other than the proposed changes 

and the status quo for purposes of the 

IRFA. Status quo would be the 2014 

Plan applied to the 2015 TAC. Effects of 

the status quo and the proposed changes 

are similar because the changes to the 

Plan for 2015 are not substantially 

different from the 2015 Plan. The 

propose changes to the Plan are not 

expected to have a significant impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Changes to Allocations 

The Small Business Administration 

defines a ‘‘small’’ harvesting business as 

one with annual receipts, not in excess 

of $20.5 million. For related fishprocessing businesses, a small business 

is one that employs 500 or fewer 

persons. For wholesale businesses, a 

small business is one that employs not 

more than 100 people. For marinas and 

charter/party boats, a small business is 

one with annual receipts, not in excess 

of $7.5 million. This rule directly affects 

charterboat operations, and participants 

in the non-treaty directed commercial 

fishery off the coast of Washington, 

Oregon, and California. Applying the 

SBA’s size standard for small 

businesses, NMFS considers all of the 

charterboat operations and participants 

in the non-treaty directed commercial 

fishery affected by this action as small 

businesses. 

This analysis continues the main 

conclusions developed in previous 

analyses that charterboats and the nontreaty directed commercial fishing 

vessels are small businesses (See 77 FR 

5477 (Feb 3, 2012) and 76 FR 2876 (Jan 

18, 2011). In 2014, 591 vessels were 

issued IPHC licenses to retain halibut. 

IPHC issues licenses for: the directed 

commercial fishery and the incidental 

fishery in the sablefish primary fishery 

in Area 2A (166 licenses in 2014); 

incidental halibut caught in the salmon 

troll fishery (425 licenses in 2014); and 

the charterboat fleet (127 licenses in 

2013, the most recent year available). No 

vessel may participate in more than one 

of these three fisheries per year. These 

license estimates overstate the number 

of vessels that participate in the fishery. 

IPHC estimates that 60 vessels 

participated in the directed commercial 

fishery, 100 vessels in the incidental 

commercial (salmon) fishery, and 13 

vessels in the incidental commercial 

(sablefish) fishery. Recent information 

on charterboat activity is not available, 

prior analysis indicated that 60 percent 

of the IPHC charterboat license holders 

may be affected by these regulations. 

In response to the growing California 

sport fishery, for 2014, a specific 

recreational subquota was created—1% 

of the non-tribal quota or 6,240 lbs. In 

prior years, the California fishery was a 

portion of the Southern Oregon/

Northern California subquota. 

Preliminary catch data show that the 

California fishery has taken 31,226 lbs, 

five times the California subquota. 

Because the 2014 subquota was 

insuffiencent to meet the growth in the 

California fishery, the Council reviewed 

six alternatives that allocate halibut to 

the various sectors differently between 

the sectors depending on the size of the 

TAC. Status Quo: The non-treaty 

allocation is apportioned according to 

the 2014 CSP: Washington sport 

(36.60%), Oregon sport (30.70%), 

California sport (1.00%), and 

commercial (31.70%). Alternative 1: 

Maintain allocations as described in the 

CSP (Status Quo), except increase the 

California sport allocation by two 

percent, for a total California sport 

allocation of three percent, by reducing 

the non-treaty commercial fishery share. 

Alternative 2, Option A: Same 

allocations as described in Alternative 1 

when the 2A TAC is one million pounds 

or less. When the 2A TAC is above one 

million pounds, the California sport 

allocation would increase by an 

additional one percent, for a total 

California sport allocation of four 

percent, by reducing the non-treaty 

commercial fishery share. Alternative 2, 

Option B: Same allocations as described 

in Alternative 1 when the 2A TAC is 

one million pounds or less. When the 

2A TAC is greater than one million 

pounds, the first one million pounds of 

the 2A TAC shall be distributed 

according to the Alternative 1 

allocations. For the portion of the 2A 

TAC that exceeds one million pounds, 

the California sport allocation would 

increase to 30–50 percent of the nontreaty share, and allocation percentages 

for the non-treaty commercial and 

recreational (Washington and Oregon) 

would be reduced to remain 

proportional to the status quo non-treaty 

shares. Alternative 3: Increase the 

California sport allocation by two 

percent, for a total California sport 

allocation of three percent, when the 2A 

TAC is less than one million pounds by 

reducing the three major non-treaty 

group allocations (i.e., Washington 

sport, Oregon sport, and commercial). 

When the 2A TAC is greater than one 

million pounds, the first one million 

pounds of the 2A TAC shall be 

distributed according to the Alternative 

3 allocations. For the portion of the 2A 

TAC that exceeds one million pounds, 

the California sport allocation would 

increase to four percent of the nontreaty share by reducing the three major 

non-treaty group allocations. Alternative 

4: Increase the California sport share by 

three percent, for a total allocation of 

four percent, when the 2A TAC is less 

than one million pounds by reducing 

the three major non-treaty group 

allocations. When the 2A TAC is greater 

than one million pounds, the first one 

million pounds of the 2A TAC shall be 

distributed according to the Alternative 

4 allocations. For the portion of the 2A 

TAC that exceeds one million pounds, 

the California sport allocation would 

increase to five percent of the non-treaty 

share by reducing the three major nontreaty group allocations. Alternative 5: 

Increase the California sport share by 

four percent, for a total allocation of five 

percent, when the 2A TAC is less than 

one million pounds by reducing the 

three major non-treaty group 

allocations. When the 2A TAC is greater 

than one million pounds, the first one 

million pounds of the 2A TAC shall be 

distributed according to the Alternative 

5 allocations. For the portion of the 2A 

TAC that exceeds one million pounds, 

the California sport allocation would 

increase to six percent of the non-treaty 

share by reducing the three major nontreaty group allocations. In addition to 

modifying the commercial and 

recreational fisheries allocations, 

suboptions within the allocation 

alternatives were evaluated for when the 

TAC is expected to be greater than one 

million pounds to cap the California 

allocation. These caps were designed to 

cap the California allocation to a level 

that the fishery could reasonably be 

expected to harvest in order to not 

strand pounds, therefore, making them 

unavailable to other fisheries. However, 

a one million pound TAC is a level the 

fishery has not experienced in recent 

years nor is it anticipated for the near 

term future. In response to the growing 

California sport fishery, the 2014 Plan 

included a specific recreational 

subquota of 1% of the non-tribal quota 

or 6,240 lbs. Prior to 2014, the California 

fishery was a portion of the Southern 

Oregon/Northern California subquota. 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
5726 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

Preliminary catch data show that the 

California fishery has taken 31,226 lbs, 

five times the 2014 California subquota. 

For 2015, the Council has 

recommended and NMFS proposes to 

approve and implement Alternative 4 

(the preferred alternative). For 2015, the 

Council recommended to increase the 

California recreational fishery allocation 

to 4% of the non-tribal allocation by 

reducing the Washington and Oregon 

sport and commercial allocations each 

by 1 percent. This modification is 

intended to provide an allocation to 

California that better matches recent 

effort. The CDFW has also committed to 

increased inseason monitoring in 

collaboration with NMFS. Pacific 

halibut sport fisheries in California have 

exceeded the allocation in recent years 

and therefore the goal of increased 

inseason monitoring and action, as 

necessary, is to keep the subarea within 

its allocation. Further, instead of a fixed 

season, CDFW will recommend to 

NMFS, similar to subareas in 

Washington and Oregon, a season length 

based on expected catch to attain the 

subarea quota. If the status quo is 

maintained, the California fishery is 

likely to continue to exceed its quota 

and suffer an early shutdown. Under the 

status quo alternative, the overall 

halibut TAC will run the risk of being 

exceeded, and therefore it was not 

selected. Alternatives 1, 2, and 3 

provide increases to the recreational 

fishery based on decreasing the 

commercial quota by 2 percent. 

Alternative 5 increases the California 

subquota by 4 percent by reducing the 

Oregon and Washington subquota and 

the non-tribal commercial quota. While 

this favors the California fishery, it is at 

the expense of too large of a reduction 

in the other fisheries, and therefore it 

was not selected. 

Under Alternative 4, the preferred 

alternative, the increase of 3% to the 

California subquota comes from 

reducing the WA sport quota by 1%, the 

Oregon sport quota by 1%, and the nontribal commercial quota by 1%. The 

overall effect is a shift of 1% reduction 

of the non-tribal commercial directed 

quota to the total sport quota allocation. 

From an economic perspective, it is 

unclear whether this shift is negative or 

positive given available analyses. 

However the overall economic effects of 

this shift is small as the potential loss 

of about $300,000 in ex-vessel revenues 

must be weighed by the gain of 

increased charterboat recreational 

activities. 

There are no projected reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements associated 

with this action. 

There are no relevant Federal rules 

that may duplicate, overlap, or conflict 

with this action. 

Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, 

the Secretary recognizes the sovereign 

status and co-manager role of Indian 

tribes over shared Federal and tribal 

fishery resources. Section 302(b)(5) of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

establishes a seat on the Pacific Council 

for a representative of an Indian tribe 

with federally recognized fishing rights 

from California, Oregon, Washington, or 

Idaho. 

The U.S. Government formally 

recognizes that the 13 Washington 

Tribes have treaty rights to fish for 

Pacific halibut. In general terms, the 

quantification of those rights is 50 

percent of the harvestable surplus of 

Pacific halibut available in the tribes’ 

usual and accustomed fishing areas 

(described at 50 CFR 300.64). Each of 

the treaty tribes has the discretion to 

administer their fisheries and to 

establish their own policies to achieve 

program objectives. Accordingly, tribal 

allocations and regulations, including 

the proposed changes to the Plan, have 

been developed in consultation with the 

affected tribe(s) and, insofar as possible, 

with tribal consensus. 

In 2014, a Biological Opinion (BiOp) 

was completed for the 2014–2016 Area 

2A Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan. 

The BiOp concluded that the continuing 

implementation of the Plan was not 

likely to adversely affect southern 

resident killer whales, leatherback sea 

turtles, humpack whales, blue whales, 

fin whales, Guadalupe fur seals, north 

Pacific right whales, sei whales, sperm 

whales, and steller sea lions. Further the 

BiOp concluded that continuing 

implementation of the Plan was likely to 

adversely affect but not likely to 

jeopardize Puget Sound/Georgia basin 

bocaccio, canary rockfish, and 

yelloweye rockfish, southern green 

sturgeon, lower Columbia River 

Chinook, and Puget Sound Chinook. 

The BiOp also concluded that the 

continued implementation of the Plan 

was not likely to adversely modify 

critical habitat of southern resident 

killer whales, leatherback sea turtles, 

Puget Sound/Georgia basin bocaccio, 

canary rockfish, and yelloweye rockfish, 

southern green sturgeon, lower 

Columbia River Chinook, and Puget 

Sound Chinook. Because the halibut 

fishery does not overlap with the critical 

habitat for the remaining listed species 

it was determined that, an evaluation of 

the effects on critical habitat was not 

applicable. Finally, in a letter dated 

March 12, 2014, NMFS determined that 

fishing activities conducted under the 

Plan would have no effect on Eulachon. 

None of the Council recommended 

changes to the Plan proposed in this 

rule change the determinations made in 

the BiOp because they do not result in 

changes to fishing behavior such that 

the impacts to listed species is 

anticipated to change. NMFS has 

initiated consultation with the US Fish 

and Wildlife Service on the ongoing 

implementation of the Catch Sharing 

Plan and its effects on short-tailed and 

black-footed albatross, California least 

tern, marbled murrelet, bull trout, and 

sea otters. 

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

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Antarctica, Canada, Exports, 

Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Imports, 

Indians, Labeling, Marine resources, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Russian Federation, 

Transportation, Treaties, Wildlife. 

Dated: January 22, 2015. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 300 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 300—INTERNATIONAL 

FISHERIES REGULATIONS 

Subpart E—Pacific Halibut Fisheries 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 300, 

subpart E continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773–773k. 

■ 2. In § 300.63, revise paragraphs (a), 

(c)(1) introductory text, (c)(3)(ii), and 

(c)(5) to read as follows: 

§ 300.63 Catch sharing plan and domestic 

management measures in Area 2A. 

(a) A catch sharing plan (CSP) may be 

developed by the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council and approved by 

NMFS for portions of the fishery. Any 

approved CSP may be obtained from the 

Administrator, West Coast Region, 

NMFS. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * (1) The Regional 

Administrator, NMFS West Coast 

Region, after consultation with the 

Chairman of the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, the Commission 

Executive Director, and the Fisheries 

Director(s) of the affected state(s), or 

their designees, is authorized to modify 

regulations during the season after 

making the following determinations: 

* * * * * 

(3) * * * 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 5727 

(ii) Actual notice of inseason 

management actions will be provided by 

a telephone hotline administered by the 

West Coast Region, NMFS, at 206–526– 

6667 or 800–662–9825 (May through 

October) and by U.S. Coast Guard 

broadcasts. These broadcasts are 

announced on Channel 16 VHF–FM and 

2182 kHz at frequent intervals. The 

announcements designate the channel 

or frequency over which the notice to 

mariners will be immediately broadcast. 

Since provisions of these regulations 

may be altered by inseason actions, 

sport fishers should monitor either the 

telephone hotline or U.S. Coast Guard 

broadcasts for current information for 

the area in which they are fishing. 

* * * * * 

(5) Availability of data. The Regional 

Administrator will compile, in aggregate 

form, all data and other information 

relevant to the action being taken and 

will make them available for public 

review during normal office hours at the 

West Coast Regional Office, NMFS, 

Sustainable Fisheries Division, 7600 

Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, 

Washington. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–01962 Filed 1–29–15; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS