17344 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 62 / Wednesday, April 1, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

the FCC is notifying the public that it 

received OMB approval on March 17, 

2015, for the new information collection 

requirements contained in the 

Commission’s rules at 47 CFR 

74.802(b)(2). 

Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency 

may not conduct or sponsor a collection 

of information unless it displays a 

current, valid OMB Control Number. 

No person shall be subject to any 

penalty for failing to comply with a 

collection of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act that does not 

display a current, valid OMB Control 

Number. The OMB Control Number is 

3060–1205. 

The foregoing notice is required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13, October 1, 1995, 

and 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

The total annual reporting burdens 

and costs for the respondents are as 

follows: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–1205. 

OMB Approval Date: March 17, 2015. 

OMB Expiration Date: March 31, 

2018. 

Title: Section 74.802, Low Power 

Auxiliary Stations Co-channel 

Coordination with TV Broadcast 

Stations. 

Form Number: Not Applicable. 

Respondents: Business or other forprofit entities; not-for-profit institutions; 

Federal government; and state, local or 

tribal government. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 400 respondents; 227 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion 

reporting requirement and third party 

disclosure requirement. 

Obligation to Respond: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. The statutory 

authority for this collection is contained 

in sections 47 U.S.C. 151, 154, 301, 303, 

307, 308, 309, 310, 316, 319, 325(b), 

332, 336(f), 338, 339, 340, 399b, 403, 

534, 535, 1404, 1452, and 1454. 

Total Annual Burden: 227 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: $56,750.00. 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

In general there is no need for 

confidentiality with this collection of 

information. 

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: There 

are no impacts under the Privacy Act. 

Needs and Uses: The Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) received approval for a 

new collection under OMB Control No. 

3060–1205 from the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). On 

June 2, 2014, the Commission released 

a Report and Order, FCC 14–50, GN 

Docket No. 12–268, ‘‘Expanding the 

Economic and Innovation Opportunities 

of Spectrum Through Incentive 

Auctions.’’ This order adopted a 

revision to a Commission rule, 47 CFR 

74.802(b), to permit low power auxiliary 

stations (LPAS), including wireless 

microphones, to operate in the bands 

allocated for TV broadcasting at revised 

distances from a co-channel television’s 

contour, and provided LPAS operators 

to operate even closer to television 

stations provided that any such 

operations are coordinated with TV 

broadcast stations that could be affected 

by the LPAS operations. The 

Commission sought Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval for a new information 

collection for the coordination process 

adopted in the Commission’s Report 

and Order, FCC 14–50, for such cochannel operations, in 47 CFR 

74.802d(b)(2). 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of 

the Managing Director. 

[FR Doc. 2015–07391 Filed 3–31–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 141219999–5289–02] 

RIN 0648–BE66 

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch 

Sharing Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule announces the 

approval of the Area 2A (waters off the 

U.S. West Coast) Catch Sharing Plan 

(Plan), with modifications 

recommended by the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council), and 

issues implementing regulations for 

2015. These actions are intended to 

conserve Pacific halibut, provide angler 

opportunity where available, and 

minimize bycatch of overfished 

groundfish species. The sport fishing 

management measures in this rule are 

an additional subsection of the 

regulations for the International Pacific 

Halibut Commission (IPHC) published 

on March 17, 2015. 

DATES: This rule is effective April 1, 

2015. The 2015 management measures 

are effective until superseded. 

ADDRESSES: Additional requests for 

information regarding this action may 

be obtained by contacting the 

Sustainable Fisheries Division, NMFS 

West Coast Region, 7600 Sand Point 

Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115. For 

information regarding all halibut 

fisheries and general regulations not 

contained in this rule contact the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission, 2320 W. Commodore Way 

Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98199–1287; or 

this final rule also is accessible via the 

Internet at the Federal eRulemaking 

portal at http://www.regulations.gov 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2015–0159. 

Electronic copies of the Final Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) prepared for 

this action may be obtained by 

contacting Sarah Williams, phone: 206– 

526–4646, email: sarah.williams@

noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Williams, 206–526–4646, email at 

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 IPHC has promulgated 

regulations governing the Pacific halibut 

fishery in 2015, pursuant to the 

Convention between Canada and the 

United States for the Preservation of the 

Halibut Fishery of the North Pacific 

Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention), 

signed at Ottawa, Ontario, on March 2, 

1953, as amended by a Protocol 

Amending the Convention (signed at 

Washington, DC, on March 29, 1979). 

Pursuant to the Northern Pacific Halibut 

Act of 1982 (Halibut Act) at 16 U.S.C. 

773b, the Secretary of State accepted the 

2015 IPHC regulations as provided by 

the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 

(Halibut Act) at 16 U.S.C. 773–773k. 

NMFS published these regulations on 

March 17, 2015 (80 FR 13771). 

The Halibut Act provides that the 

Regional Fishery Management Councils 

may develop, and the Secretary may 

implement, regulations governing 

harvesting privileges among U.S. 

fishermen in U.S. waters that are in 

addition to, and not in conflict with, 

approved IPHC regulations. To that end, 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 62 / Wednesday, April 1, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 17345 

the Council adopted a Catch Sharing 

Plan (Plan) allocating halibut among 

groups of fishermen in Area 2A, which 

is off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, 

and California. The Plan allocates the 

Area 2A catch limit among treaty Indian 

and non-Indian commercial and sport 

harvesters. The treaty Indian group 

includes tribal commercial, tribal 

ceremonial, and subsistence fisheries. 

Each year between 1988 and 1995, the 

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. 

NMFS implements the allocation 

scheme in the Plan through annual 

regulations for Area 2A. The proposed 

rule describing the changes the Council 

recommended to the Plan and resulting 

proposed Area 2A regulations for 2015 

was published on February 3, 2015 (80 

FR 5719). The proposed rule was 

developed prior to the IPHC’s decision 

on a TAC for Area 2A, therefore it did 

not include final allocations for the 

relevant areas and subareas. The IPHC 

held its annual meeting January 26–30, 

2015, and selected at TAC of 970,000 

pounds for Area 2A. This final rule 

accounts for that information. 

For 2015, this final rule contains only 

those regulations implementing the Plan 

in Area 2A. NMFS published the 

complete IPHC regulations, which apply 

to commercial, treaty Indian, and 

recreational fisheries, separately on 

March 17, 2015 (80 FR 13771). 

Therefore anyone wishing to fish for 

halibut in Area 2A should read both this 

final rule and the March 17, 2015 final 

rule that implements the IPHC 

regulations. 

Changes to the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s Area 2A Catch 

Sharing Plan 

This final rule announces the 

approval of several Councilrecommended changes to the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council’s Area 2A 

Plan and implements the Plan through 

annual management measures. For 

2015, the Council recommended and 

NMFS implements in this final rule, 

several changes to the non-Indian 

allocations in order to provide the 

California recreational fishery with an 

allocation that is closer to recent effort 

while not substantially reducing the 

remaining non-Indian allocations. The 

Council recommendation increases the 

California sport fishery allocation from 

1 to 4 percent of the non-tribal 

allocation by reducing the Washington 

and Oregon sport and the commercial 

allocations each by 1 percent. 

Additionally for 2015, the Council 

recommended several minor changes to 

the Plan that would: (1) 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 defined ‘‘fall’’ 

salmon fishery; (2) make several 

changes to the Columbia River subarea 

including modifying the Oregon 

contribution to a fixed percentage of the 

Oregon sport allocation, setting the 

nearshore fishery allocation to 500 

pounds, removing the spring and 

summer fisheries thus allowing the 

quota to be used continuously, and 

adding all flatfish species to the list of 

incidentally caught fish allowed to be 

landed with halibut; (3) make several 

changes to the Oregon central coast 

subarea including clarifying that the 

allocation to the Columbia river subarea 

comes from the total Oregon sport 

allocation and not from this area’s 

spring fishery, adding incidental flatfish 

retention consistent with the change in 

the Columbia River subarea, modifying 

the spring all depth season allocation 

from 61 to 63 percent, and removing the 

provision that allocated a portion of the 

spring fishery to the Southern Oregon 

subarea; (4) modify the allocation to the 

Southern Oregon subarea from 2 to 4 

percent of the Oregon sport allocation 

after the Columbia River allocation has 

been subtracted; (5) make several 

changes to the California subarea 

including modifying the season 

structure to a 7 days per week fishery 

when open, with a season length that is 

based on attainment of the quota instead 

of a set season, allowing inseason action 

through joint NMFS, IPHC, and CDFW 

consultation; and (6) modify the name 

of the NMFS Northwest Regional Office 

to ‘‘NMFS West Coast Regional Office’’, 

to reflect the recent merger of NMFS 

offices. 

Incidental Halibut Retention in the 

Sablefish Primary Fishery North of Pt. 

Chehalis, Washington and the Salmon 

Troll Fishery Along the West Coast 

This final rule also implements the 

allocation for incidental halibut 

retention in the sablefish primary 

fishery north of Pt. Chehalis, 

Washington. The Plan provides that 

incidental halibut retention in the 

sablefish primary fishery north of Pt. 

Chehalis, Washington, 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 the state of Washington 

recreational allocation of 214,100 lb 

(97.1 mt). In 2015, the TAC is set at 

970,000 lb (439.99 mt); therefore, the 

allocation for incidental halibut 

retention in the sablefish fishery is 

10,348 lb (4.69 mt). The Council 

considered whether any changes to the 

landing restrictions adopted for this 

fishery in 2014 were necessary for 2015, 

but because this allocation is similar to 

recent allocations, the Council made no 

changes. Therefore, the 2015 incidental 

halibut landing restrictions are: 75 

pounds dressed weight of halibut for 

every 1,000 lbs dressed weight of 

sablefish, except that 2 additional 

halibut may be landed. These 

restrictions can be found in the 

groundfish regulations at 50 CFR 

660.231(3)(iv). 

The Plan allocates 15 percent of the 

non-Indian commercial TAC to the 

salmon troll fishery in Area 2A. For 

2015, the allocation for the salmon troll 

fishery in Area 2A is 29,035 lb (13.17 

mt). The Council approved a range of 

landing restrictions for public review at 

its recent March meeting. The final 

landing restrictions will be addressed at 

its April 2015 meetings. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS accepted comments on the 

proposed rule for the Area 2A Plan and 

annual management measures through 

March 5, 2015. NMFS received 4 public 

comment letters: one comment letter 

each from the Washington Department 

of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Oregon 

Department of Fish and Wildlife 

(ODFW), and California Department of 

Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) 

recommending season dates for halibut 

sport fisheries in each state, and one 

comment from an individual. 

Comment 1: The WDFW held a public 

meeting following the IPHC’s final 2015 

TAC decisions to review the results of 

the 2013 Puget Sound halibut fishery, as 

the 2014 catch data was not yet 

finalized, and the preliminary 2014 

estimates, and to develop season dates 

for the 2015 sport halibut fishery. Based 

on input from stakeholders, WDFW 

recommended a 2015 season that is 

similar to the 2014 season because the 

allocation to this area is the same as in 

2014. For the Puget Sound halibut sport 

fishery, WDFW recommended the 

following dates: the Eastern Region to be 

open May 8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 

28, 29, and 30; and the Western Region 

to be open May 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 

29, and 30. 


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17346 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 62 / Wednesday, April 1, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

Response: NMFS believes WDFW’s 

recommended Puget Sound season dates 

will help keep this area within its quota, 

while providing for angler enjoyment 

and participation. Therefore, NMFS 

implements the dates for this subarea as 

stated above, in this final rule. 

Comment 2: The ODFW held a public 

meeting and hosted an online survey 

following the final TAC decision by the 

IPHC. Based on public comments 

received on Oregon halibut fisheries, the 

ODFW recommended the following 

days for the spring fishery in the Central 

Coast subarea, within this subarea’s 

parameters for a Thursday–Saturday 

season and weeks of adverse tidal 

conditions skipped: Regular open days 

May 14–16, 28–30, June 11–13, and 25– 

27. Back-up dates in case there is 

sufficient remaining quota will be July 

9–11 and 23–25. For the summer alldepth fishery in this subarea, ODFW 

recommended following the Plan’s 

parameters of opening the first Friday in 

August, with open days to occur every 

other Friday–Saturday, unless modified 

in-season within the parameters of the 

Plan. Therefore, pursuant to the Plan, 

the ODFW recommended the 2015 

summer all-depth fishery in Oregon’s 

Central Coast Subarea to occur: August 

7, 8, 21, 22, September 4, 5, 18, 19, 

October 2, 3, 16, 17, 30, and 31. 

Response: NMFS believes ODFW’s 

recommended Central Coast season 

dates will help keep this area within its 

quota, while providing for angler 

enjoyment and participation. Therefore, 

NMFS implements the dates in this final 

rule. 

Comment 3: The CDFW held a public 

meeting to solicit comments on the 

sport fishing seasons. Based on public 

comments and projected attainment of 

subarea allocation, the CDFW 

recommended the following open days 

May 1–14, June 1–15, July 1–15, August 

1–15, and September 1–October 31. 

Response: NMFS agrees with CDFW’s 

recommended season dates. These dates 

will help keep this area within its quota, 

while providing for angler enjoyment 

and participation. Therefore, NMFS 

implements the dates in this final rule. 

Comment 5: NMFS received one 

comment from a member of the public 

that appears to oppose the proposed 

rule, but does not identify any specific 

reasons for that opposition. 

Response: NMFS believes the revised 

Plan and proposed annual regulations 

will result in effective management of 

fisheries in Area 2A, keeping catch in 

the Area within the TAC while allowing 

for meaningful commercial and 

recreational fisheries, and full 

opportunity for the treaty tribes with 

rights to fish for halibut to exercise 

those rights. Therefore, NMFS has 

approved this action. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

On February 3, 2015, NMFS 

published a proposed rule to modify the 

Plan and recreational management 

measures for Area 2A (80 FR 5719). 

Because the proposed rule was finalized 

before the IPHC determined the TAC for 

Area 2A, the final subarea allocations 

based on the TAC and Plan are included 

for the first time in the final rule. The 

allocations in this rule are consistent 

with the final Area 2A TAC of 970,000 

lbs and the 2015 Plan as recommended 

by the Council. Also, season dates as 

recommended by the states following 

determination of the TAC are included 

in the final rule. There are no other 

substantive changes from the proposed 

rule. 

Annual Halibut Management Measures 

The sport fishing regulations for Area 

2A, included in section 26 below, are 

consistent with the measures adopted 

by the IPHC and approved by the 

Secretary of State, but were developed 

by the Pacific Fishery Management 

Council and promulgated by the United 

States under the Halibut Act. Section 26 

refers to a section that is in addition to 

and corresponds to the numbering in 

the IPHC regulations published on 

March 17, 2015 (80 FR 13771). 

26. Sport Fishing for Halibut—Area 2A 

(1) The total allowable catch of 

halibut shall be limited to: 

(a) 214,110 pounds (97.1 metric tons) 

net weight in waters off Washington; 

(b) 187,259 pounds (84.9 metric tons) 

net weight in waters off Oregon; and 

(c) 25,220 pounds (11.4 metric tons) 

net weight in waters off California. 

(2) The Commission shall determine 

and announce closing dates to the 

public for any area in which the catch 

limits promulgated by NMFS are 

estimated to have been taken. 

(3) When the Commission has 

determined that a subquota under 

paragraph (8) of this section is estimated 

to have been taken, and has announced 

a date on which the season will close, 

no person shall sport fish for halibut in 

that area after that date for the rest of the 

year, unless a reopening of that area for 

sport halibut fishing is scheduled in 

accordance with the Catch Sharing Plan 

for Area 2A, or announced by the 

Commission. 

(4) In California, Oregon, or 

Washington, no person shall fillet, 

mutilate, or otherwise disfigure a 

halibut in any manner that prevents the 

determination of minimum size or the 

number of fish caught, possessed, or 

landed. 

(5) The possession limit on a vessel 

for halibut in the waters off the coast of 

Washington is the same as the daily bag 

limit. The possession limit on land in 

Washington for halibut caught in U.S. 

waters off the coast of Washington is 

two halibut. 

(6) The possession limit on a vessel 

for halibut caught in the waters off the 

coast of Oregon is the same as the daily 

bag limit. The possession limit for 

halibut on land in Oregon is three daily 

bag limits. 

(7) The possession limit on a vessel 

for halibut caught in the waters off the 

coast of California is one halibut. The 

possession limit for halibut on land in 

California is one halibut. 

(8) The sport fishing subareas, 

subquotas, fishing dates, and daily bag 

limits are as follows, except as modified 

under the in-season actions in 50 CFR 

300.63(c). All sport fishing in Area 2A 

is managed on a ‘‘port of landing’’ basis, 

whereby any halibut landed into a port 

counts toward the quota for the area in 

which that port is located, and the 

regulations governing the area of 

landing apply, regardless of the specific 

area of catch. 

(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 57,393 lbs (26 mt). 

(i) The fishing season in eastern Puget 

Sound (east of 123°49.50′ W. long., Low 

Point) is May 8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 

28, 29, and 30. The fishing season in 

western Puget Sound (west of 

123°49.50′ W. long., Low Point) is open 

May 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, and 30. 

(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 

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

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

(North Coast subarea), is 108,030 lbs (49 

mt). 

(i) The fishing seasons are: 

(A) Commencing on May 14 and 

continuing 2 days a week (Thursday and 

Saturday) until 108,030 lbs (49 mt) 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 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 62 / Wednesday, April 1, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 17347 

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.) (South 

Coast subarea), is 42,739 lbs (19.4 mt). 

(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: 40,739 lbs (18.5 mt) 

for the primary fishery and 2,000 lbs 

(0.9 mt) for the nearshore fishery. 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 

is 42,739 lbs (19.4 mt) 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.) (Columbia River 

subarea), is 10,254 lbs (4.65 mt). 

(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 extends from 

Leadbetter Point (46°38.17′ N. lat., 

124°15.88′ W. long.) to the Columbia 

River (46°16.00′ N. lat., 124°15.88′ W. 

long.) by connecting the following 

coordinates in Washington 46°38.17′ N. 

lat., 124°15.88′ W. long. 46°16.00′ N. 

lat., 124°15.88′ W. long and connecting 

to 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 9,754 lbs (4.4 

mt) are estimated to have been taken 

and the season is closed by the 

Commission, or September 30, 

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 when halibut are on board the 

vessel, except sablefish, Pacific cod, and 

flatfish species when allowed by Pacific 

Coast groundfish regulations, 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.) (Oregon 

Central Coast subarea), is 175,633 lbs 

(79.6 mt). 

(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 

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 

21,076 lbs (9.56 mt), or any in-season 

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 May 14–16, 28–30, June 11–13, 

and 25–27. Back-up dates will be July 

9–11 and 23–25. The projected catch for 

this season is 110,649 lbs (50.2 mt). If 

sufficient unharvested quota remains for 

additional fishing days, the season will 


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re-open. 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 reopening 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 open August 7, 8, 21, 22, 

September 4, 5, 18, 19, October 2, 3, 16, 

17, 30, 31, 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 August 7. 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 reopen 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 10 

and 11, 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, when halibut are 

on board the vessel, except sablefish, 

Pacific cod, and flatfish species, when 

allowed by Pacific Coast groundfish 

regulations. 

(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.)(Southern Oregon subarea) is 7,318 

lbs (3.3 mt). 

(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 25,220 lb (11.4 mt). 

(i) The fishing season will be open 

May 1–15, June 1–15, July 1–15, August 

1–15, and September 1–October 31, or 

until the subarea quota is estimated to 

have been taken and the season is 

closed by the Commission, or October 

31, whichever is earlier. NMFS will 

announce any closure by the 

Commission on the NMFS hotline (206) 

526–6667 or (800) 662–9825. 

(ii) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

Classification 

Section 5 of the Northern Pacific 

Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act, 16 

U.S.C. 773c) allows the Regional 

Council having authority for a particular 

geographical area to develop regulations 

governing the allocation and catch of 

halibut in U.S. Convention waters as 

long as those regulations do not conflict 

with IPHC regulations. This action is 

consistent with the Pacific Council’s 

authority to allocate halibut catches 

among fishery participants in the waters 

in and off the U.S. West Coast. 

This action has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

NMFS prepared an Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) in 

association with the proposed rule for 

the 2014 Area 2A Catch Sharing Plan. 

The final regulatory flexibility analysis 

(FRFA) incorporates the IRFA, a 

summary of the significant issues raised 

by the public comments in response to 

the IRFA, if any, and NMFS’ responses 

to those comments, and a summary of 

the analyses completed to support the 

action. NMFS received no comments on 

the IRFA. A copy of the FRFA is 

available from the NMFS West Coast 

Region (see ADDRESSES) and a summary 

of the FRFA follows. 

This rule implements changes to the 

Halibut Catch Sharing Plan (CSP) that 

addresses the commercial and 

recreational fisheries within Area 2A 

(waters off the U.S. West Coast). The 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC) sets the overall 

Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and the 

CSP governs the allocation of that TAC 

between tribal and non-tribal fisheries, 

and among non-tribal fisheries. The 

Council, with input from industry, the 

states, and the tribes, may recommend 

changes to the CSP. (Note that the IPHC 

also sets the commercial fishery opening 

date(s), duration, and vessel trip limits 

to ensure that the quota for the nontribal fisheries is not exceeded.) For 

non-tribal fisheries, the CSP governs 

allocations of the TAC between various 

components of the commercial fisheries 

and recreational fisheries, and these 

allocations may vary depending on the 

level of the TAC. Seasons, gear 

restrictions, and other management 

measures implemented through 

domestic regulations are then used to 

meet the allocations and priorities of the 

CSP. There were no significant issues 

raised by the public comments in 

response to IRFA. 

These regulations directly affect finfish harvesting and charterboat 

businesses. The Small Business 

Administration (SBA) has established 

size criteria for all major industry 

sectors in the US, including fish 

harvesting and fish processing 

businesses. A business involved in fish 

harvesting is a small business if it is 

independently owned and operated and 

not dominant in its field of operation 

(including its affiliates) and if it has 

combined annual receipts, not in excess 

of $20.5 million for all its affiliated 

operations worldwide (See 79 FR 33647, 

effective July 14, 2014). For marinas and 

charter/party boats, a small business is 

now defined as one with annual 

receipts, not in excess of $7.5 million. 

A seafood processor is a small business 

if it is independently owned and 

operated, not dominant in its field of 

operation, and employs 500 or fewer 

persons on a full time, part time, 


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temporary, or other basis, at all its 

affiliated operations worldwide. A 

wholesale business servicing the fishing 

industry is a small business if it 

employs 100 or fewer persons on a full 

time, part time, temporary, or other 

basis, at all its affiliated operations 

worldwide. A small organization is any 

nonprofit enterprise that is 

independently owned and operated and 

is not dominant in its field. Small 

governmental jurisdictions such as 

governments of cities, counties, towns, 

townships, villages, school districts, or 

special districts are considered small 

jurisdictions if their populations are less 

than 50,000. 

To determine the number of small 

entities potentially affected by this rule, 

NMFS reviewed the number of IPHC 

issued licenses and other information. 

In 2014, 591 vessels were issued IPHC 

licenses to retain halibut. IPHC issued 

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, 

but prior analysis indicated that 60 

percent of the IPHC charterboat license 

holders may be affected by these 

regulations. There are no projected 

reporting or record keeping 

requirements with this rule. There are 

no large entities involved in the halibut 

fisheries; therefore, none of these 

changes will have a disproportionate 

negative effect on small entities versus 

large entities. 

The major effect of halibut 

management on small entities is from 

the internationally set TAC decisions 

made by the IPHC. Based on the 

recommendations of the states, the 

Council recommended and NMFS is 

implementing in this final rule minor 

changes to the Plan to provide increased 

recreational and commercial 

opportunities under the allocations that 

result from the TAC. 

The IPHC increased the Area 2A TAC 

by 1% from 960,000 lbs (2014) to 

970,000 lbs (2015). Within this 1% 

increase, different subgroups are being 

affected differently because of the CSP 

allocation formula. 

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; and (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 this final 

rule implements each of the alternatives 

for the Columbia River subarea because 

the status quo alternatives do not match 

the needs of the fishery. The status quo 

season structure with an early and late 

season was rejected because this 

structure would unnecessarily strand 

quota later in the year when effort 

decreases substantially. The status quo 

Oregon contribution was rejected 

because it does not match recent effort 

in this subarea in Oregon. The status 

quo nearshore allocation was rejected 

because the allocation did not match the 

effort in the nearshore area, leaving a 

large portion of the allocation 

unavailable for harvest in other areas. 

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, which would 

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 this final rule 

implements the status quo alternative 

for the season structure and the one 

alternative for the allocation to the 

Southern Oregon subarea. The season 

structure alternatives were rejected 

because they did not match the needs of 

this fishery. The allocation in this area 

is generally caught very quickly, 

therefore keeping separate seasons 

allows for two distinct seasons. The 

status quo alternative allocation to the 

Southern Oregon subarea was rejected 

because it does not allow the Southern 

Oregon subarea an individual 


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allocation, which means any overages in 

this area could affect other subareas. 

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 this final rule implements the status 

quo alternative because the other 

alternatives do not match the recent 

effort in this area and does not match 

the input the ODFW received at their 

public meetings. 

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 this final rule 

implements Alternative 2 because it 

allows incidentally caught flatfish 

species to be landed with halibut 

without increasing the catch of 

overfished species. Status quo was 

rejected because it would not allow 

incidentally caught flatfish species to be 

landed. Alternative 1 was rejected 

because it would likely increase the take 

of overfished groundfish species to 

levels that would restrict other fisheries 

due to the small allocations of 

overfished species. 

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 this final rule 

implements 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. 

The other three alternatives were 

rejected because they either did not 

allow for inseason adjustment or 

predetermined the season dates which 

would unnecessarily restrict the season. 

No alternatives were considered for 

the NMFS recommended change to the 

Regional Office name because it is 

administrative in nature and simply 

updates 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 

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 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 

FRFA. Status quo would be the 2014 

Plan applied to the 2015 TAC. Effects of 

the status quo and the final changes are 

similar because the changes to the Plan 

for 2015 are not substantially different 

from the 2014 Plan. The changes to the 

Plan are not expected to have a 

significant economic impact. 

Changes to Allocations 

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 for 2015 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 nontreaty 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 


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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. 

For 2015, the Council has 

recommended and this final rule 

implements 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. The status quo allocation was 

rejected because if 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. 

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 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 13 Washington tribes 

have treaty rights to fish for Pacific 

halibut. The Plan allocates 35 percent of 

the Area 2A TAC to U.S. treaty Indian 

tribes in the State of Washington. 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 changes to the Plan, have been 

developed in with the affected tribe(s) 

and, insofar as possible, with tribal 

consensus. 

In 2014, an Environmental 

Assessment (EA) was prepared 

analyzing the continuing 

implementation of the Catch Sharing 

Plan for 2014–2016. The Plan changes 

for 2015 are not expected to have any 

effects on the environment beyond those 

discussed in the EA and in the finding 

of no significant impact (FONSI). 

NMFS conducted a formal section 7 

consultation under the Endangered 

Species Act for the Area 2A Catch 

Sharing Plan for 2014–2016 addressing 

the effects of implementing the Plan on 

ESA-listed yelloweye rockfish, canary 

rockfish, and bocaccio in Puget Sound, 

the Southern Distinct Population 

Segment (DPS) of green sturgeon, 

salmon, marine mammals, and sea 

turtles. In the biological opinion the 

Regional Administrator determined that 

the implementation of the Catch Sharing 

Plan for 2014–2016 is not likely to 

jeopardize the continued existence of 

Puget Sound yelloweye rockfish, Puget 

Sound canary rockfish, Puget Sound 

bocaccio, Puget Sound Chinook, Lower 

Columbia River Chinook, and green 

sturgeon. It is not expected to result in 

the destruction or adverse modification 

of critical habitat for green sturgeon or 

result in the destruction or adverse 

modification of proposed critical habitat 

for Puget Sound yelloweye rockfish, 

canary rockfish, bocaccio. In addition, 

the opinion concluded that the 

implementation of the Plan is not likely 

to adversely affect marine mammals, the 

remaining listed salmon species and sea 

turtles, and is not likely to adversely 

affect critical habitat for Southern 

resident killer whales, stellar sea lions, 

leatherback sea turtles, any listed 

salmonids, and humpback whales. 

Further, the Regional Administrator 

determined that implementation of the 

Catch Sharing Plan will have no effect 

on southern eulachon, this 

determination was made in a letter 

dated March 12, 2014. The 2015 Plan 

and regulations do not change the 

conclusions from the biological opinion. 

NMFS has initiated consultation with 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on 

the effects of the halibut fishery on 

seabirds, bull trout, and sea otters. This 

consultation is not completed at this 

time. NMFS has prepared a 7(a)(2)/7(d) 

determination memo under the ESA 

concluding that any effects of the 2015 

fishery on listed seabirds are expected 

to be quite low, and are not likely to 

jeopardize the continued existence of 

any listed species. Further, in no way 

will the 2015 fishery make an 

irreversible or irretrievable commitment 

of resources by the agency. 

NMFS finds good cause to waive the 

30-day delay in effectiveness and make 

this rule effective upon publication in 

the Federal Register, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3), so that this final rule 

may become effective on April 1, 2015, 

when incidental halibut retention in the 

sablefish primary fishery begins. While 

the 2015 TAC is higher than the 2014 

TAC, due to the changes made to the 

Plan, the allocations for the salmon troll 

and sablefish primary fisheries are 

actually lower in 2015 than they were 

in 2014. Therefore, allowing the 2014 

measures to remain in place could result 

in significant management changes later 

in the year to prevent exceeding the 

lower 2015 subarea allocations. Finally, 

this final rule approves the Council’s 

2015 Plan that responds to the needs of 

the fisheries in each state and approves 

the portions of the Plan allocating 


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17352 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 62 / Wednesday, April 1, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

incidentally caught halibut in the 

salmon troll and sablefish primary 

fisheries, which start April 1. Therefore, 

allowing the 2014 subarea allocations 

and Plan to remain in place would not 

respond to the needs of the fishery and 

would be in conflict with the Council’s 

final recommendation for 2015. For all 

of these reasons, a delay in effectiveness 

could ultimately cause economic harm 

to the fishing industry and associated 

fishing communities by reducing fishing 

opportunity later in the year to keep 

catch in the subareas within the lower 

2015 allocations or result in harvest 

levels inconsistent with the best 

available scientific information. As a 

result of the potential harm to fishing 

communities that could be caused by 

delaying the effectiveness of this final 

rule, NMFS finds good cause to waive 

the 30-day delay in effectiveness and 

make this rule effective upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

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: March 26, 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 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) * * * 

(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. 2015–07329 Filed 3–31–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

RIN 0648–XD339 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; 

Amendment 14 to the Coastal Pelagic 

Species Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of agency decision. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

approval of Amendment 14 to the 

Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP). The purpose 

of Amendment 14 is to specify an 

estimate of maximum sustainable yield 

(MSY) for the northern subpopulation of 

northern anchovy in the CPS FMP. This 

action promotes the goals and objectives 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

FMP, and other applicable laws. 

DATES: The amendment was approved 

on March 23, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the CPS 

FMP as amended through Amendment 

14 are available from the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) Web site 

at: http://www.pcouncil.org/coastalpelagic-species/fishery-managementplan-and-amendments/. Requests for 

the list of references used in this 

document should be addressed to: 

NMFS, West Coast Region, Sustainable 

Fisheries Division, 501 West Ocean 

Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 

90802. c/o Joshua Lindsay 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua B. Lindsay, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, NMFS, at 562–980–4034 or 

Kerry Griffin, Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, at 503–820–2280. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS 

fishery in the U.S. exclusive economic 

zone (EEZ) off the West Coast is 

managed under the CPS FMP, which 

was developed by the Council pursuant 

to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq. Species managed under the CPS 

FMP include Pacific sardine, Pacific 

mackerel, jack mackerel, northern 

anchovy, market squid and krill. The 

CPS FMP was approved by the Secretary 

of Commerce and was implemented by 

regulations at 50 CFR part 660, subpart 

I. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

that each regional fishery management 

council submit proposed amendments 

to a fishery management plan to NMFS 

for review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval by the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary). The MagnusonStevens Act also requires that, upon 

receiving a fishery management plan 

amendment, NMFS immediately 

publish in the Federal Register a notice 

that the amendment is available for 

public review and comment. NMFS 

determined that Amendment 14 to the 

FMP is consistent with the MagnusonStevens Act and other applicable laws, 

and the Secretary approved Amendment 

14 on March 23, 2015. The December 

24, 2014, Notice of Availability contains 

additional information on this action. 

No changes to Federal regulations are 

necessary to implement Amendment 14. 

Amendment 14 will change the CPS 

FMP so that it now includes a 

specification of an estimate MSY for the 

northern subpopulation of northern 


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