13788 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 51 / Tuesday, March 17, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

3For the Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, Pacific cod, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean 

perch), 10.7 percent of the TAC is reserved for use by CDQ participants (see §§ 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C) and 679.31). Twenty percent of the sablefish 

TAC allocated to hook-and-line gear or pot gear, 7.5 percent of the sablefish TAC allocated to trawl gear, and 10.7 percent of the TACs for Bering Sea Greenland turbot and arrowtooth flounder are reserved for use by CDQ participants (see § 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) and (D)). Aleutian Islands 

Greenland turbot, ‘‘other flatfish,’’ Alaska plaice, Bering Sea Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, shortraker rockfish, rougheye rockfish, ‘‘other 

rockfish,’’ skates, sculpins, sharks, squids, and octopuses are not allocated to the CDQ program. 4 Under § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(1), the annual BS subarea pollock TAC after subtracting first for the CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) 

and second for the incidental catch allowance (4.0 percent), is further allocated by sector for a pollock directed fishery as follows: Inshore—50 

percent; catcher/processor—40 percent; and motherships—10 percent. Under § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2)(i) and (ii), the annual Aleutian Islands subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second for the incidental catch allowance (2,400 

mt) is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a pollock directed fishery. 5The BS Pacific cod TAC is reduced by 3 percent from the combined BSAI ABC to account for the State of Alaska’s (State) guideline harvest 

level in State waters of the Bering Sea subarea. The AI Pacific cod TAC is reduced by 3 percent from the combined BSAI ABC to account for 

the State guideline harvest level in State waters of the Aleutian Islands subarea. 6 ‘‘Flathead sole’’ includes Hippoglossoides elassodon (flathead sole) and Hippoglossoides robustus (Bering flounder). 7 ‘‘Other flatfish’’ includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), flathead sole, Greenland turbot, rock sole, yellowfin sole, 

arrowtooth flounder, Kamchatka flounder, and Alaska plaice. 8 ‘‘Rougheye rockfish’’ includes Sebastes aleutianus (rougheye) and Sebastes melanostictus (blackspotted). 9 ‘‘Other rockfish’’ includes all Sebastes and Sebastolobus species except for Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, dark rockfish, shortraker 

rockfish, and rougheye rockfish. 

Note: Regulatory areas and districts are defined at § 679.2 (BS=Bering Sea subarea, AI=Aleutian Islands subarea, EAI=Eastern Aleutian district, CAI=Central Aleutian district, WAI=Western Aleutian district.) 

[FR Doc. C1–2015–05041 Filed 3–16–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1505–01–D 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 141021887–5172–02 and 

140918791–4999–02] 

RIN 0648–XD818 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Sablefish Managed 

Under the Individual Fishing Quota 

Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; opening. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is opening directed 

fishing for sablefish with fixed gear 

managed under the Individual Fishing 

Quota (IFQ) Program and the 

Community Development Quota (CDQ) 

Program. The season will open 1200 

hours, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 

14, 2015, and will close 1200 hours, 

A.l.t., November 7, 2015. This period is 

the same as the 2015 commercial 

halibut fishery opening dates adopted 

by the International Pacific Halibut 

Commission. The IFQ and CDQ halibut 

season is specified by a separate 

publication in the Federal Register of 

annual management measures. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hours, A.l.t., 

March 14, 2015, until 1200 hours, A.l.t., 

November 7, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning 

in 1995, fishing for Pacific halibut and 

sablefish with fixed gear in the IFQ 

regulatory areas defined in 50 CFR 679.2 

has been managed under the IFQ 

Program. The IFQ Program is a 

regulatory regime designed to promote 

the conservation and management of 

these fisheries and to further the 

objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut 

Act. Persons holding quota share receive 

an annual allocation of IFQ. Persons 

receiving an annual allocation of IFQ 

are authorized to harvest IFQ species 

within specified limitations. Further 

information on the implementation of 

the IFQ Program, and the rationale 

supporting it, are contained in the 

preamble to the final rule implementing 

the IFQ Program published in the 

Federal Register, November 9, 1993 (58 

FR 59375) and subsequent amendments. 

This announcement is consistent with 

§ 679.23(g)(1), which requires that the 

directed fishing season for sablefish 

managed under the IFQ Program be 

specified by the Administrator, Alaska 

Region, and announced by publication 

in the Federal Register. This method of 

season announcement was selected to 

facilitate coordination between the 

sablefish season, chosen by the 

Administrator, Alaska Region, and the 

halibut season, adopted by the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC). The directed 

fishing season for sablefish with fixed 

gear managed under the IFQ Program 

will open 1200 hours, A.l.t., March 14, 

2015, and will close 1200 hours, A.l.t., 

November 7, 2015. This period runs 

concurrently with the IFQ season for 

Pacific halibut announced by the IPHC. 

The IFQ halibut season will be specified 

by a separate publication in the Federal 

Register of annual management 

measures pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

delay the opening of the sablefish 

fishery thereby increasing bycatch and 

regulatory discards between the 

sablefish fishery and the halibut fishery, 

and preventing the accomplishment of 

the management objective for 

simultaneous opening of these two 

fisheries. NMFS was unable to publish 

a notice providing time for public 

comment because the most recent, 

relevant data only became available as 

of March 11, 2015. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

This action is required by § 679.23 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: March 12, 2015. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06064 Filed 3–12–15; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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