Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 47 / Tuesday, March 11, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 11109

Dated: March 5, 1997.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–5876 Filed 3–5–97; 4:30 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 961220363–7038–02; I.D.

120296B]

RIN 0648–AI65

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Maximum Retainable

Bycatch Percentages

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS implements a

regulatory amendment to reduce

maximum retainable bycatch

percentages for sablefish in the Gulf of

Alaska (GOA) groundfish trawl fisheries

and to allow the use of GOA arrowtooth

flounder as a basis species for the

retention of bycatch amounts of pollock

and Pacific cod when either of these two

species is closed to directed fishing.

This action is necessary to slow the

harvest rate of GOA sablefish and to

provide for fuller utilization of pollock

and Pacific cod incidentally taken in the

arrowtooth flounder fishery. This action

is intended to further the objectives of

the Fishery Management Plan for

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP).

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 10, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the environmental

assessment/regulatory impact review

prepared for this action may be obtained

from the Fisheries Management

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O.

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attn:

Lori Gravel.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue

Salveson, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fishing

for groundfish by U.S. vessels in the

exclusive economic zone of the GOA is

managed by NMFS according to the

FMP. The FMP was prepared by the

North Pacific Fishery Management

Council (Council) under authority of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). Fishing by

U.S. vessels is governed by regulations

implementing the FMP at subpart H of

50 CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679.

Regulations at § 679.20(e) establish

maximum retainable bycatch (MRB)

percentages for groundfish species or

species groups. These MRB percentages

establish the amount of a species that is

closed to directed fishing that may be

retained on board a vessel, relative to

amounts of other retained species open

to directed fishing.

At the Council’s September 1996

meeting, the Council requested that

NMFS initiate rulemaking to change

several MRB percentages. This request

was in response to (1) concerns about

the extent to which some existing MRB

percentages allow vessel operators to

top off their retained catch of bycatch

species up to the MRB amount and (2)

testimony that a limited fishery for GOA

arrowtooth flounder exists and that this

species should be allowed as a basis

species for the retention of pollock and

Pacific cod. A proposed rule to

implement the Council’s recommended

changes was published in the Federal

Register on January 6, 1997 (62 FR 724).

No comments were received within the

public comment period that ended

February 5, 1997.

This final rule implements the

following changes to the MRB

percentages established for GOA

groundfish:

1. The MRB percentage for sablefish

relative to deep water species is reduced

from 15 percent to 7 percent; and

2. The use of GOA arrowtooth

flounder is allowed as a basis species for

the retention of pollock and Pacific cod.

An MRB of 5 percent of each these

species relative to arrowtooth flounder

is established.

Further justification of these changes

is discussed in the preamble to the

proposed rule.

Changes from the proposed rule

NMFS clarifies § 679.20(f)(2) so that

regulatory constraints to using

arrowtooth flounder as a basis to

calculate retained amounts of other

groundfish species are consistent with

the allowances provided under the final

rule for GOA pollock and Pacific cod.

Classification

The Assistant General Counsel for

Legislation and Regulation of the

Department of Commerce certified to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration that this

rule would not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. The reasons

were published in the Federal Register

with the proposed rule (62 FR 724,

January 6, 1997). No comments were

received regarding this certification. As

a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis

was not prepared.

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

Fisheries, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: March 3, 1997.

Nancy Foster,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended

as follows:

PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF

ALASKA

1. The authority citation for part 679

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et

seq.

2. In part 679, Table 10 is revised to

read as follows:

TABLE 10 TO PART 679.—CURRENT GULF OF ALASKA RETAINABLE PERCENTAGES

Pollock Pacific

cod

Deep

flatfish

Rex

sole

Bycatch species 1 Aggregated

rockfish 2

DSR

SEEO 4

Atka

mackerel

Other

Flathead species

sole

Shallow

flatfish Arrowtooth Sablefish

Basis Species:

Pollock ............................... 3 na 20 20 20 20 20 35 1 5 10 20 20

Pacific cod ......................... 20 3 na 20 20 20 20 35 1 5 10 20 20

Deep flatfish ...................... 20 20 3 na 20 20 20 35 7 15 1 20 20

Rex sole ............................ 20 20 20 3 na 20 20 35 7 15 1 20 20

Flathead sole .................... 20 20 20 20 3 na 20 35 7 15 1 20 20

Shallow flatfish .................. 20 20 20 20 20 3 na 35 1 5 10 20 20

Arrowtooth ......................... 5 5 0 0 0 0 3 na 0 0 0 0 0

Sablefish ........................... 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 3 na 15 1 20 20

Pacific Ocean perch .......... 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 7 15 1 20 20

Shortraker/rougheye ......... 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 7 15 1 20 20
11110 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 47 / Tuesday, March 11, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

TABLE 10 TO PART 679.—CURRENT GULF OF ALASKA RETAINABLE PERCENTAGES—Continued

Pollock Pacific

cod

Deep

flatfish

Rex

sole

Bycatch species 1 Aggregated

rockfish 2

DSR

SEEO 4

Atka

mackerel

Other

Flathead species

sole

Shallow

flatfish Arrowtooth Sablefish

Other rockfish .................... 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 7 15 1 20 20

Northern rockfish ............... 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 7 15 1 20 20

Pelagic rockfish ................. 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 7 15 1 20 20

DSR–SEEO ....................... 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 7 15 3 na 20 20

Thornyhead ....................... 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 7 15 1 20 20

Atka mackerel ................... 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 1 5 10 3 na 20

Other species .................... 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 1 5 10 20 3 na

Aggregated amount nongroundfish species ........ 20 20 20 20 20 20 35 1 5 10 20 20

1For definition of species, see Table 1 of the Gulf of Alaska groundfish specifications.

2Aggregated rockfish means rockfish of the genera Sebastes and Sebastolobus except in the southeast Outside District where demersal shelf rockfish (DSR) is a

separate category. 3 na=not applicable.

4SEEO=Southeast Outside District.

3. In § 679.20, paragraph (f)(2) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 679.20 General limitations.

* * * * *

(f) * * *

(2) Retainable amounts. Except as

provided in Table 10 to this part,

arrowtooth flounder, or any groundfish

species for which directed fishing is

closed, may not be used to calculate

retainable amounts of other groundfish

species.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–5977 Filed 3–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P