Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 11681 

on April 8, 2008 is hereby incorporated 

by reference. The Director of the Federal 

Register approves this incorporation by 

reference in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 

552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. You may 

inspect or obtain a copy at the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 

Francisco, CA, or by calling the Docket 

Facility at (415) 947–4406, or go to 

http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID 

No. EPA–R09–RCRA–2008–0354. You 

may also inspect a copy at the National 

Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA). For information on the 

availability at NARA, call (202) 741– 

6030 or go to: http://www.archives.gov/ 

federal_register/code_of_federal

_regulations/ibr_locations.html. The 

facility owner and/or operator may 

operate the facility in accordance with 

this application, including the following 

activities more generally described as 

follows: 

(1) The owner and/or operator may 

install a geosynthetic clay liner as an 

alternative bottom liner system in Phase 

VI. 

(2) The owner and/or operator may 

operate Phase VI as a bioreactor by 

recirculating leachate and landfill gas 

condensate, and by adding storm water 

and groundwater, to the below grade 

portions of Phase VI. 

(3) The owner and/or operator may 

increase the moisture content of the 

waste mass in Phases IIIB and IVA by 

recirculating leachate and landfill gas 

condensate, and by adding storm water 

and groundwater, to the below grade 

portions of Phases IIIB and IVA. 

(4) The owner and/or operator shall 

maintain less than a 30-cm depth of 

leachate on the liner. 

(5) The owner and/or operator shall 

submit reports to the Director of the 

Waste Management Division at EPA 

Region 9 as specified in ‘‘Research, 

Development, and Demonstration 

Permit Application Salt River Landfill,’’ 

dated September 24, 2007 and amended 

on April 8, 2008 including an annual 

report showing whether and to what 

extent the site is progressing in attaining 

project goals. The annual report will 

also include a summary of all 

monitoring and testing results, as 

specified in the application. 

(6) The owner and/or operator may 

not operate the facility pursuant to the 

authority granted by this section if there 

is any deviation from the terms, 

conditions, and requirements of this 

section unless the operation of the 

facility will continue to conform to the 

standards set forth in § 258.4 of this 

chapter and the owner and/or operator 

has obtained the prior written approval 

of the Director of the Waste 

Management Division at EPA Region 9 

or his or her designee to implement 

corrective measures or otherwise 

operate the facility subject to such 

deviation. The Director of the Waste 

Management Division or designee shall 

provide an opportunity for the public to 

comment on any significant deviation 

prior to providing his or her written 

approval of the deviation. 

(7) Paragraphs (a)(2), (3), (5), (6) and 

(9) of this section will terminate 36 

months after date of publication in the 

Federal Register unless the Director of 

the Waste Management Division at EPA 

Region 9 or his or her designee renews 

this authority in writing. Any such 

renewal may extend the authority 

granted under paragraphs (a)(2), (3), (5), 

(6) and (9) of this section for up to an 

additional three years, and multiple 

renewals (up to a total of 12 years) may 

be provided. The Director of the Waste 

Management Division or designee shall 

provide an opportunity for the public to 

comment on any renewal request prior 

to providing his or her written approval 

or disapproval of such request. 

(8) In no event will the provisions of 

paragraphs (a)(2), (3), (5), (6) or (9) of 

this section remain in effect after 12 

years after date of publication in the 

Federal Register. Upon termination of 

paragraphs (a)(2), (3), (5), (6) and (9) of 

this section, and except with respect to 

paragraphs (a)(1) and (4) of this section, 

the owner and/or operator shall return 

to compliance with the regulatory 

requirements which would have been in 

effect absent the flexibility provided 

through this site-specific rule. 

(9) In seeking any renewal of the 

authority granted under or other 

requirements of paragraphs (a)(2), (3), 

(5) and (6) of this section, the owner 

and/or operator shall provide a detailed 

assessment of the project showing the 

status with respect to achieving project 

goals, a list of problems and status with 

respect to problem resolutions, and any 

other requirements that the Director of 

the Waste Management Division at EPA 

Region 9 or his or her designee has 

determined are necessary for the 

approval of any renewal and has 

communicated in writing to the owner 

and operator. 

(10) The owner and/or operator’s 

authority to operate the landfill in 

accordance with paragraphs (a)(2), (3), 

(5), (6) and (9) of this section shall 

terminate if the Director of the Waste 

Management Division at EPA Region 9 

or his or her designee determines that 

the overall goals of the project are not 

being attained, including protection of 

human health or the environment. Any 

such determination shall be 

communicated in writing to the owner 

and operator. 

(b) [Reserved] 

[FR Doc. E9–5848 Filed 3–18–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 0812311655–9277–02] 

RIN 0648–AX44 

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch 

Sharing Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Administrator 

for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), on behalf of 

the International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC), publishes annual 

management measures promulgated as 

regulations by the IPHC and approved 

by the Secretary of State governing the 

Pacific halibut fishery. The AA also 

announces modifications to the Catch 

Sharing Plan (CSP) for Area 2A (waters 

off the U.S. West Coast) and 

implementing regulations for 2009, and 

announces approval of the Area 2A CSP. 

These actions are intended to enhance 

the conservation of Pacific halibut and 

further the goals and objectives of the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(PFMC) and the North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (NPFMC) 

(Councils). 

DATES: The IPHC’s 2009 annual 

management measure are effective 

March 4, 2009 except for the measures 

in section 26 which are effective April 

20, 2009. The 2009 management 

measures are effective until superseded 

by the 2010 management measures that 

will be published in the Federal 

Register. 

The amendments to §§ 300.61 and 

300.64 are effective April 20, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Additional requests for 

information regarding this action may 

be obtained by contacting: the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission, P.O. Box 95009, Seattle, 

WA 98145–2009; or Sustainable 

Fisheries Division, NMFS Alaska 

Region, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802–1668, Attn: Ellen Sebastian, 

Records Officer; or Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, NMFS Northwest Region, 7600 

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11682 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

Sand Point Way, NE, Seattle, WA 98115. 

This final rule also is accessible via the 

Internet at the Government Printing 

Office’s website at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

waters off Alaska, Peggy Murphy, 907– 

586–8743 , e-mail at 

peggy.murphy@noaa.gov; or, for waters 

off the U.S. West Coast, Sarah Williams, 

206–526–4646, email at 

sarah.williams@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The IPHC has promulgated 

regulations governing the Pacific halibut 

fishery in 2009 under the Convention 

between the United States and Canada 

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, D.C., 

on March 29, 1979). The IPHC 

regulations have been accepted by the 

Secretary of State of the United States as 

provided by the Northern Pacific 

Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act) at 16 

U.S.C. 773–773k. 

The Halibut Act provides the 

Secretary with the authority and general 

responsibility to carry out the 

requirements of the Convention and the 

Halibut Act. 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. The NPFMC has exercised 

this authority most notably in 

developing a suite of halibut 

management programs that correspond 

to the three fisheries that harvest halibut 

in Alaska - the subsistence, commercial, 

and sport fisheries. Subsistence and 

sport halibut fishery management 

measures are codified at 50 CFR 300.65. 

Commercial halibut fisheries operate 

within the Individual Fishing Quota 

(IFQ) Program and Community 

Development Quota (CDQ) Program (50 

CFR part 679) and through area-specific 

catch sharing plans. Regulations for 

sport fisheries for halibut including a 

CSP also are being developed pursuant 

to the NPFMC authority under the 

Halibut Act. The PFMC also exercises 

this authority in its annual development 

of a CSP among sectors of the halibut 

fisheries in IPHC Area 2A. This CSP 

encompasses fisheries in Washington, 

Oregon, and California and applies to 

groups within treaty Indian, non-Indian 

commercial and non-Indian sport 

fisheries. A group may include tribal 

commercial and tribal ceremonial and 

subsistence fisheries. 

The structure of each Council’s CSP 

affects how each plan is promulgated. 

The Secretary implemented the Area 2A 

CSP recommended by the PFMC in 

1995. Each year between 1995 and the 

present, the PFMC has adopted minor 

revisions to the plan to account for 

needs of the fisheries. These revisions 

are implemented in regulations for the 

Area 2A CSP through annual rule 

making and annual IPHC review and 

recommendation of management 

measures for Secretarial review. The 

Area 2A CSP regulations are part of the 

IPHC annual management measures and 

are superseded each year by new 

implementing regulations. 

The NPFMC implemented a CSP 

among commercial IFQ and CDQ 

halibut fisheries in IPHC Areas 4C, 4D 

and 4E (Area 4) through rule making 

and the Secretary approved the plan on 

March 20, 1996 (61 FR 11337). The Area 

4 CSP regulations were codified in the 

Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 

300.65) and amended through rule 

making on March 17, 1998 (63 FR 

13000). New annual regulations 

pertaining to the Area 4 CSP also may 

be implemented through IPHC review 

and recommendation for Secretarial 

review. 

Publication of this final rule 

announces that the U.S. government has 

accepted the annual management 

measures recommended by the IPHC, 

implements regulations supporting 

annual management measures 

recommended by IPHC, and implements 

the Area 2A CSP. The proposed rule for 

the Area 2A CSP was published on 

January 14, 2009 (74 FR 2032). 

The NPFMC is developing a 

regulatory program to manage the 

guided sport fishery for halibut in Areas 

2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A (Central 

Gulf of Alaska). Work on this program 

has focused on a proposed rule for a 

limited access system for vessels in the 

guided sport fishery for halibut. The 

NPFMC also recommended regulations 

for a CSP to apportion halibut between 

the commercial and guided sport 

fisheries and to provide for lease of 

commercial halibut IFQ to charter vessel 

operators. A final rule is being prepared 

for the Area 2C guided sport fishery for 

halibut to impose a daily bag limit of 

one halibut for each charter vessel 

angler, prevent charter vessel guides, 

operators and crew from harvesting 

halibut, and restrict the number of lines 

used to fish for halibut on a charter 

vessel and add certain recordkeeping 

and reporting requirements. This action 

is being taken because a similar rule 

NMFS published May 28, 2008 (73 FR 

30504) was withdrawn on September 

11, 2008 (73 FR 52795). NMFS proposed 

a separate rule making on December 22, 

2008 to implement this action (73 FR 

78276) in Area 2C. The proposed rule 

would reduce sport fishing mortality of 

halibut in the Area 2C charter vessel 

fishery giving effect to the NPFMC’s 

intent to keep the harvest of charter 

vessel anglers close to the Council’s 

Guideline Harvest Level (GHL). NMFS 

provides annual notice of the GHL for 

Areas 2C and 3A to meet regulatory 

requirements and inform the public. 

Notice was published this year on 

February 24, 2009 (74 FR 8232). 

Pursuant to regulations at 50 CFR 

300.62, the approved IPHC regulations 

setting forth the 2009 IPHC annual 

management measures are published in 

the Federal Register to provide notice of 

their immediate regulatory effect, and to 

inform persons subject to the 

regulations of the restrictions and 

requirements. The 2009 management 

measures became effective on March 4, 

2009 and will stay in effect until 

superseded by the 2010 management 

measures, which NMFS will publish in 

the Federal Register. As noted, NMFS 

anticipates implementing more 

restrictive regulations for the Area 2C 

guided sport fishery for halibut and 

participants in that fishery are advised 

to check the current federal regulations 

and check with IPHC prior to fishing. 

The IPHC held its annual meeting in 

Vancouver, British Columbia, January 

12–16, 2009, and adopted regulations 

for 2009. The substantive changes to the 

previous IPHC regulations (73 FR 12280, 

March 7, 2008) include: 

1. New halibut catch limits in all 

regulatory areas; 

2. New commercial halibut fishery 

opening dates; 

3. Revisions of regulations regarding 

possession of Area 4 halibut on a vessel 

with a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS); 

4. Exemption of possession limits for 

transport of sport caught halibut and 

clarification of possession limit 

language. 

5. Revision of regulations in 

paragraph 19, governing fishing 72- 

hours prior to any commercial opening 

in Area 2A to clarify the regulations 

intent; and 

6. Adopt the revised CSP and 2009 

recreational management measures for 

Area 2A. 

Other changes to the IPHC regulations 

include: clarifying the interpretation of 

commercial fishing in paragraph 3 as 

fishing with the intent to sell or barter 

the catch and adding sport fishing to the 

list of activities that do not constitute 

‘‘commercial fishing’’; adding the word 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 11683 

commercial to references for the 

directed fishery to clarify the 

regulations in paragraphs 8 and 19; and 

adding the word ‘‘pieces’’ to reference 

side specific parts of a cut up halibut in 

paragraph 28. 

Catch Limits 

The IPHC recommended to the 

governments of Canada and the United 

States catch limits for 2009 totaling 

54,080,000 pounds (24,530 mt), a 10.4 

percent reduction from the 2008 catch 

limit. The decline in the catch limit is 

attributed to the exceptionally strong 

1987 and 1988 year classes passing out 

of the fishery. Recruitment of the 1994 

and 1995 year classes is above average 

and the 1999 and 2000 year classes are 

estimated to be above average but 

several years away from making major 

contributions to the exploitable biomass 

of the stock. 

The IPHC staff reported on the 2008 

assessment of the Pacific halibut stock 

that estimated coastwide biomass, with 

apportionment to regulatory biomass, 

based on the data from the annual 

Commission assessment survey. The 

total of the IPHC staff catch limit 

recommendations was accepted, but 

there were differences from staff 

recommendations and the limits 

adopted by IPHC for most areas. 

The IPHC recommended a 20 percent 

harvest rate for Areas 2A through Area 

3B and a harvest rate of 15 percent for 

Areas 4B and 4CDE. Because of 

concerns over continued decline in 

catch rates in Area 4A, an analysis of 

productivity was conducted for this area 

during 2008. The analysis 

recommended a reduction of the harvest 

rate to 15 percent for Area 4A, similar 

to that for the other areas of the Bering 

Seas (Areas 4B and 4CDE). Catch limits 

adopted by the IPHC for 2009 were 

lower for most regulatory areas except: 

Area 3B where IPHC with advice from 

its advisory bodies, recommended a 

catch limit the same as that in 2008; and 

Area 4B where the recommended catch 

limit increased slightly in 2009. 

Commercial Halibut Fishery Opening 

Dates 

The opening date for the tribal 

commercial fishery in Area 2A and for 

the commercial halibut fisheries in 

Areas 2B through 4E is March 21, 2009. 

The date takes into account a number of 

factors including, tides, timing of 

halibut migration and spawning, 

marketing for seasonal holidays, and 

interest in getting product in to the 

processing plants before the herring 

season opens. The close of the 

commercial halibut fishery is November 

15, 2009. 

In the Area 2A directed fishery, each 

fishing period shall begin at 0800 hours 

and terminate at 1800 hours local time 

on June 24, July 8, July 22, August 5, 

August 19, September 2, September 16 

and September 30, unless the 

Commission specifies otherwise. These 

10-hour openings will occur until the 

quota is taken and the fishery is closed. 

Harvest in Multiple Areas of Area 4 

New provisions for Fishing Multiple 

Regulatory Areas, paragraph 18, 

subparagraph (3)(a) and (b) allow 

possession of halibut on board a vessel 

that have been caught in more than one 

of the IPHC regulatory Areas 4A, 4B, 4C, 

or 4D when a NMFS certified observer 

is on board; or when the operator of the 

vessel has an operational VMS on board 

actively transmitting in all regulatory 

areas fished and the operator abides by 

specific halibut retention provisions. 

The regulation also clarifies the 

specific provisions for retaining halibut 

from multiple Areas in Area 4. The 

word ‘‘cumulatively’’ was added to 

describe the amount of IFQ available for 

fishing in a single Area in Area 4 from 

the IFQ permit holders on board the 

vessel. The method for separating each 

halibut caught in one regulatory area 

from each halibut caught in a different 

regulatory area also was updated to 

indicate halibut could be separated in 

more than one hold. 

Halibut Transport 

The regulation of sport halibut 

possession limits in Alaska in paragraph 

28(2) is revised to better accommodate 

flexibility needed by anglers to keep 

lawfully harvested fish while not 

undermining NMFS’s ability to monitor 

compliance with IPHC daily bag limits. 

To enforce the daily bag limit, the 

number of halibut in a person’s 

possession must not exceed two daily 

bag limits. This possession limit created 

a problem for anglers who fish from 

remote lodges or camps for three or 

more days and who use vessels to 

transport their total halibut harvest to a 

central port. To accommodate vessels 

used for such transportation, the 

revision of paragraph 28 (2) exempts 

persons from the possession limit if the 

vessel they are using does not contain 

sport fishing gear, fishing rods, hand 

lines, or gaffs. The restriction on gear is 

necessary to distinguish a vessel fishing 

for halibut from a vessel transporting 

halibut because both vessels would be 

considered a ‘‘fishing vessel’’ as that 

term is defined in the Halibut Act at 

section 773(f). Further,‘ revising the 

term ‘‘fishing vessel’’ in paragraph 28(2) 

to read more simply ‘‘vessel’’ will allow 

more precise enforcement of the 

possession limit. 

Area 2A Pre-fishing Period 

Requirements 

The change would add a requirement 

that vessels and skippers fishing before 

the 72-hours immediately prior to the 

opening would have to offload their 

catch or be subject to a hold inspection 

before taking part in the halibut fishery. 

Without this change, persons or vessels 

using setline gear to fish for any species 

of fish during the 72-hour period 

immediately before the halibut fishing 

period could not participate in the 

halibut fishery at all. The change would 

allow enforcement officers to determine 

whether the person or vessel in question 

commenced halibut fishing prior to the 

opening of the fishery, and allows for 

more flexibility with respect to 

participation in both non-halibut and 

halibut fisheries. 

Change to Federal Regulations 

Addition of the Nooksack Tribe and 

their fishing areas to the definition of 

‘‘Treaty Indian tribes’’ at § 300.61. 

To recognize the treaty rights of the 

Nooksack tribe, the definition of treaty 

Indian tribes will now include this tribe, 

in addition their fishing area will be 

added to the tribal fishing areas listed at 

§ 300.64. 

Catch Sharing Plan (CSP) and 2009 

Recreational Management Measures for 

Area 2A 

For 2009 and beyond, PFMC 

recommended changes to the Federal 

Regulations and the CSP to modify the 

Pacific halibut fisheries in Area 2A to: 

1. Remove the provision that divides the 

Washington North Coast subarea quota 

between May and June; 2. Change the 

Washington North Coast subarea to a 2- 

day per week fishery, Thursday and 

Saturday, from a 3-day per week fishery; 

3. Change the June re-opening date in 

the Washington North Coast subarea to 

the first Thursday in June, from the 

status-quo of the first Tuesday and 

Thursday after June 16; 4. Clarify that 

the nearshore set-aside in the 

Washington South Coast subarea is 10 

percent of the subquota, or 2,000 

pounds, whichever is less, rather than a 

straight 10 percent of the subquota; 5. 

Set the Washington South Coast subarea 

to open the first Sunday in May and 

continue to be open on Sundays and 

Tuesdays in May, except that beginning 

on the third week in May the fishery 

would be open on Sunday only until the 

quota for the primary season is reached. 

Under status-quo the fishery was open 

2 days a week until the quota was 

achieved; 6. Set the nearshore fishery in 

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11684 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

the Washington South Coast subarea as 

a 4-day per week fishery, open 

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 

during and after the primary season. 

Under status-quo the nearshore fishery 

was open only after the primary fishery 

was closed, leaving a large amount of 

unfished quota, in 2008 only 158 

pounds out of the 4,460 pound quota 

was caught; 7. Specify that in addition 

to the South Coast YRCA, recreational 

fishing for groundfish and halibut will 

be prohibited in the newly created 

Westport Offshore YRCA; 8. Change the 

Columbia River subarea spring fishery 

to a 3-day per week fishery, open 

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, until 70 

percent of the subarea allocation is 

taken or until the third Sunday in July, 

whichever is earlier. Under status-quo 

this was a 7-day per week fishery; 9. 

Specify that in the Oregon Central Coast 

subarea Pacific cod may be retained 

with a halibut on the vessel during the 

all-depth openings. Under status-quo 

Pacific cod retention was not allowed. 

The change is intended to make 

retention consistent in the areas north 

and south of Cape Falcon and Pacific 

cod are rarely encountered south of 

Cape Falcon; 10. Add the Nooksack 

tribe to the definition of ‘‘Treaty Indian 

tribes’’ in the federal regulations; 11. 

Add the Nooksack tribal fishing area 

boundaries to the federal regulations. 

NMFS published a proposed rule to 

implement the PFMC’s recommended 

changes to the Federal Regulations and 

the CSP, and to implement the 2009 

Area 2A sport fishing season regulations 

on January 14, 2009 (74 FR 2032). 

This final rule Implements the 

Annual Management Measures for the 

2009 Pacific Halibut Fisheries and 

changes to the Area 2A Catch Sharing 

Plan and Federal Regulations, and 

Approves the Catch Sharing Plan for 

Area 2A. The halibut management 

measures for 2009 became effective 

March 4, 2009 and stay in effect until 

superseded by the 2010 halibut 

management measures, which will be 

published in the Federal Register. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS accepted comments through 

February 1, 2009, on the proposed rule 

to implement the 2009 Area 2A CSP and 

received one letter of comment apiece 

from Washington Department of Fish 

and Wildlife (WDFW) and Oregon 

Department of Fish and Wildlife 

(ODFW). 

Comment 1: The WDFW held a public 

meeting on February 2, 2009, to review 

the results of the 2008 Puget Sound 

halibut fishery, and to develop season 

dates for the 2009 sport halibut fishery. 

Based on the 2009 Area 2A total 

allowable catch of 950,000 pounds 

(430.9 mt,) the halibut quota for the 

Puget Sound sport fishery is 57,393 lb 

(26.03 mt.) Applying WDFW’s Fishing 

Equivalent Day (FED) method for 

estimating the Puget Sound fishery’s 

season length, and applying the highest 

catch per FED in the past five years, 

there are 52 FEDs available in 2009. 

WDFW recommends that the regions 

within the Puget Sound sport halibut 

fishery will be open 5 days a week 

(Thursday through Monday) as follows: 

Eastern Region to be open April 23 

through June 5, 2009; and Western 

Region to be open May 21 through July 

3, 2009. 

Response: NMFS agrees with WDFW’s 

recommended Puget Sound season dates 

and has implemented them via this final 

rule. 

Comment 2: ODFW held a public 

meeting on January 22, 2009, to gather 

comments on the open dates for the 

recreational all-depth fishery in 

Oregon’s Central Coast sub-area. Since 

2004, the number of open fishing days 

that could be accommodated in the 

Spring fishery has been roughly 

constant. The catch limit for this subarea’s Spring season will be 124,261lb 

(56.3mt) in 2009, based on the IPHC’s 

2009 TAC for Area 2A. Given the 

relatively constant effort pattern in 

recent years, and the reduced quota 

level in 2009 from more similar levels 

in 2008 and 2007, ODFW recommends 

setting a Central Coast all-depth fishery 

of 12 days, with 11 additional back-up 

dates, in case the sub-area’s Spring 

quota is not taken in the initial 12 days. 

ODFW recommends the following days 

for the Spring fishery, within this subarea’s parameters for a ThursdaySaturday season and with weeks of 

adverse tidal conditions skipped (except 

for the opening weekend): regular open 

days of May 14–16, May 21–23, May28– 

30, June 4–6; back-up open days of June 

18–20, July 2–4, July 16–18, and July 

30–31. For the Summer fishery in this 

sub-area, ODFW recommended 

following the CSP’s parameters of 

opening the first Friday in August, with 

open days to occur every other FridaySunday, unless modified in-season 

within the parameters of the CSP. Under 

the CSP, the 2009 summer all-depth 

fishery in Oregon’s Central Coast subarea would occur: August 7–9, August 

21–23, September 4–6, September 18– 

20, October 2–4, October 16–18, and 

October 30–31. 

Response: NMFS agrees with ODFW’s 

recommended Central Coast season 

dates and has implemented them via 

this final rule. 

Changes from the Proposed Rule 

On January 14, 2009, NMFS 

published a proposed rule on changes to 

the CSP and recreational management 

measures for Area 2A (74 FR 2032). The 

final catch limits and total allowable 

catch numbers were not available until 

January 16, 2009, which was after the 

publication of the proposed rule. The 

proposed rule, therefore, was issued 

based on the preliminary estimate of the 

2A TAC of 860,000 pounds. The final 

2A TAC is 950,000 pounds which is 

higher than the preliminary estimate for 

2009, but lower than the 2008 2A TAC 

of 1,220,000 pounds. Most of the 

changes in this final rule are updates to 

subarea catch limits based on the final 

TAC. There are no other substantive 

changes from the proposed rule. 

Annual Halibut Management Measures 

The annual management measures 

that follow for the 2009 Pacific halibut 

fishery are those recommended by the 

IPHC and accepted by the Secretary of 

State, with concurrence of the Secretary 

of Commerce. The sport fishing 

regulations for Area 2A, included in 

paragraph 26, are consistent with the 

measures adopted by the Commission 

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. 

1. Short Title 

These regulations may be cited as the 

Pacific Halibut Fishery Regulations. 

2. Application 

(1) These Regulations apply to 

persons and vessels fishing for halibut 

in, or possessing halibut taken from, the 

maritime area as defined in Section 3. 

(2) Sections 3 to 6 apply generally to 

all halibut fishing. 

(3) Sections 7 to 20 apply to 

commercial fishing for halibut. 

(4) Section 21 applies to tagged 

halibut caught by any vessel. 

(5) Section 22 applies to the United 

States treaty Indian fishery in Subarea 

2A–1. 

(6) Section 23 applies to customary 

and traditional fishing in Alaska. 

(7) Section 24 applies to Aboriginal 

groups fishing for food, social and 

ceremonial purposes in British 

Columbia. 

(8) Sections 25 to 28 apply to sport 

fishing for halibut. 

(9) These Regulations do not apply to 

fishing operations authorized or 

conducted by the Commission for 

research purposes. 

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1Call NOAA Enforcement Division, Alaska 

Region, at 907–586–7225 between the hours of 0800 

and 1600 local time for a list of NMFS-approved 

VMS transmitters and communications service 

providers. 

3. Interpretation 

(1) In these Regulations, 

(a) ‘‘authorized officer’’ means any 

State, Federal, or Provincial officer 

authorized to enforce these regulations 

including, but not limited to, the 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS), Canada’s Department of 

Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Alaska 

Wildlife Troopers (AWT), United States 

Coast Guard (USCG), Washington 

Department of Fish and Wildlife 

(WDFW), and the Oregon State Police 

(OSP); 

(b) ‘‘authorized clearance personnel’’ 

means an authorized officer of the 

United States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor; 

(c) ‘‘charter vessel’’ means a vessel 

used for hire in sport fishing for halibut, 

but not including a vessel without a 

hired operator; 

(d) ‘‘commercial fishing’’ means 

fishing, the resulting catch of which is 

sold or bartered; or is intended to be 

sold or bartered, other than 

(i) sport fishing, 

(ii) treaty Indian ceremonial and 

subsistence fishing as referred to in 

section 22, 

(iii) customary and traditional fishing 

as referred to in section 23 and defined 

by and regulated pursuant to NMFS 

regulations published at 50 CFR Part 

300, and 

(iv) Aboriginal groups fishing in 

British Columbia as referred to in 

section 24; 

(e) ‘‘Commission’’ means the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission; 

(f) ‘‘daily bag limit’’ means the 

maximum number of halibut a person 

may take in any calendar day from 

Convention waters; 

(g) ‘‘fishing’’ means the taking, 

harvesting, or catching of fish, or any 

activity that can reasonably be expected 

to result in the taking, harvesting, or 

catching of fish, including specifically 

the deployment of any amount or 

component part of setline gear 

anywhere in the maritime area; 

(h) ‘‘fishing period limit’’ means the 

maximum amount of halibut that may 

be retained and landed by a vessel 

during one fishing period; 

(i) ‘‘land’’ or ‘‘offload’’ with respect to 

halibut, means the removal of halibut 

from the catching vessel; 

(j) ‘‘license’’ means a halibut fishing 

license issued by the Commission 

pursuant to section 4; 

(k) ‘‘maritime area,’’ in respect of the 

fisheries jurisdiction of a Contracting 

Party, includes without distinction areas 

within and seaward of the territorial sea 

and internal waters of that Party; 

(l) ‘‘net weight’’ of a halibut means the 

weight of halibut that is without gills 

and entrails, head-off, washed, and 

without ice and slime. If a halibut is 

weighed with the head on or with ice 

and slime, the required conversion 

factors for calculating net weight are a 

2% deduction for ice and slime and a 

10% deduction for the head. 

(m) ‘‘operator,’’ with respect to any 

vessel, means the owner and/or the 

master or other individual on board and 

in charge of that vessel; 

(n) ‘‘overall length’’ of a vessel means 

the horizontal distance, rounded to the 

nearest foot, between the foremost part 

of the stem and the aftermost part of the 

stern (excluding bowsprits, rudders, 

outboard motor brackets, and similar 

fittings or attachments); 

(o) ‘‘person’’ includes an individual, 

corporation, firm, or association; 

(p) ‘‘regulatory area’’ means an area 

referred to in section 6; 

(q) ‘‘setline gear’’ means one or more 

stationary, buoyed, and anchored lines 

with hooks attached; 

(r) ‘‘sport fishing’’ means all fishing 

other than i) commercial fishing, ii) 

treaty Indian ceremonial and 

subsistence fishing as referred to in 

section 22, iii) customary and 

traditional fishing as referred to in 

section 23 and defined in and regulated 

pursuant to NMFS regulations 

published in 50 CFR Part 300, and iv) 

Aboriginal groups fishing in British 

Columbia as referred to in section 24; 

(s) ‘‘tender’’ means any vessel that 

buys or obtains fish directly from a 

catching vessel and transports it to a 

port of landing or fish processor; 

(t) ‘‘VMS transmitter’’ means a NMFSapproved vessel monitoring system 

transmitter that automatically 

determines a vessel’s position and 

transmits it to a NMFS-approved 

communications service provider.1

(2) In these Regulations, all bearings 

are true and all positions are determined 

by the most recent charts issued by the 

United States National Ocean Service or 

the Canadian Hydrographic Service. 

4. Licensing Vessels for Area 2A 

(1) No person shall fish for halibut 

from a vessel, nor possess halibut on 

board a vessel, used either for 

commercial fishing or as a charter vessel 

in Area 2A, unless the Commission has 

issued a license valid for fishing in Area 

2A in respect of that vessel. 

(2) A license issued for a vessel 

operating in Area 2A shall be valid only 

for operating either as a charter vessel 

or a commercial vessel, but not both. 

(3) A vessel with a valid Area 2A 

commercial license cannot be used to 

sport fish for Pacific halibut in Area 2A. 

(4) A license issued for a vessel 

operating in the commercial fishery in 

Area 2A shall be valid for one of the 

following, but not both 

(a) the directed commercial fishery 

during the fishing periods specified in 

paragraph (2) of section 8 and the 

incidental commercial fishery during 

the sablefish fishery specified in 

paragraph (3) of section 8; or 

(b) the incidental catch fishery during 

the salmon troll fishery specified in 

paragraph (4) of section 8. 

(5) A license issued in respect of a 

vessel referred to in paragraph (1) of this 

section must be carried on board that 

vessel at all times and the vessel 

operator shall permit its inspection by 

any authorized officer. 

(6) The Commission shall issue a 

license in respect of a vessel, without 

fee, from its office in Seattle, 

Washington, upon receipt of a 

completed, written, and signed 

‘‘Application for Vessel License for the 

Halibut Fishery’’ form. 

(7) A vessel operating in the directed 

commercial fishery or the incidental 

commercial fishery during the sablefish 

fishery in Area 2A must have its 

‘‘Application for Vessel License for the 

Halibut Fishery’’ form postmarked no 

later than 11:59 PM on April 30, or on 

the first weekday in May if April 30 is 

a Saturday or Sunday. 

(8) A vessel operating in the 

incidental commercial fishery during 

the salmon troll season in Area 2A must 

have its ‘‘Application for Vessel License 

for the Halibut Fishery’’ form 

postmarked no later than 11:59 PM on 

March 31, or the first weekday in April 

if March 31 is a Saturday or Sunday. 

(9) Application forms may be 

obtained from any authorized officer or 

from the Commission. 

(10) Information on ‘‘Application for 

Vessel License for the Halibut Fishery’’ 

form must be accurate. 

(11) The ‘‘Application for Vessel 

License for the Halibut Fishery’’ form 

shall be completed and signed by the 

vessel owner. 

(12) Licenses issued under this 

section shall be valid only during the 

year in which they are issued. 

(13) A new license is required for a 

vessel that is sold, transferred, renamed, 

or the documentation is changed. 

(14) The license required under this 

section is in addition to any license, 

however designated, that is required 

under the laws of the United States or 

any of its States. 

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11686 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

2The directed fishery is restricted to waters that 

are south of Point Chehalis, Washington (46°53′18′′ 

N. latitude) under regulations promulgated by 

NMFS and published in the Federal Register. 

3The incidental fishery during the directed, fixed 

gear sablefish season is restricted to waters that are 

north of Point Chehalis, Washington (46°53′18′′ N. 

latitude) under regulations promulgated by NMFS 

at 50 CFR 300.63. 

(15) The United States may suspend, 

revoke, or modify any license issued 

under this section under policies and 

procedures in Title 15, CFR Part 904. 

5. In-Season Actions 

(1) The Commission is authorized to 

establish or modify regulations during 

the season after determining that such 

action: 

(a) will not result in exceeding the 

catch limit established preseason for 

each regulatory area; 

(b) is consistent with the Convention 

between the United States of America 

and Canada for the Preservation of the 

Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific 

Ocean and Bering Sea, and applicable 

domestic law of either Canada or the 

United States; and 

(c) is consistent, to the maximum 

extent practicable, with any domestic 

catch sharing plans or other domestic 

allocation programs developed by the 

United States or Canadian governments. 

(2) In-season actions may include, but 

are not limited to, establishment or 

modification of the following: 

(a) closed areas; 

(b) fishing periods; 

(c) fishing period limits; 

(d) gear restrictions; 

(e) recreational bag limits; 

(f) size limits; or 

(g) vessel clearances. 

(3) In-season changes will be effective 

at the time and date specified by the 

Commission. 

(4) The Commission will announce 

in-season actions under this section by 

providing notice to major halibut 

processors; Federal, State, United States 

treaty Indian, and Provincial fishery 

officials; and the media. 

6. Regulatory Areas 

The following areas shall be 

regulatory areas (see Figure 1) for the 

purposes of the Convention: 

(1) Area 2A includes all waters off the 

states of California, Oregon, and 

Washington; 

(2) Area 2B includes all waters off 

British Columbia; 

(3) Area 2C includes all waters off 

Alaska that are east of a line running 

340° true from Cape Spencer Light 

(58°11′54′′ N. latitude, 136°38′24′′ W. 

longitude) and south and east of a line 

running 205° true from said light; 

(4) Area 3A includes all waters 

between Area 2C and a line extending 

from the most northerly point on Cape 

Aklek (57°41′15′′ N. latitude, 155°35′00′′ 

W. longitude) to Cape Ikolik (57°17′17′′ 

N. latitude, 154°47′18′′ W. longitude), 

then along the Kodiak Island coastline 

to Cape Trinity (56°44′50′′ N. latitude, 

154°08′44′′ W. longitude), then 140° 

true; 

(5) Area 3B includes all waters 

between Area 3A and a line extending 

150° true from Cape Lutke (54°29′00′′ N. 

latitude, 164°20′00′′ W. longitude) and 

south of 54°49′00′′ N. latitude in 

Isanotski Strait; 

(6) Area 4A includes all waters in the 

Gulf of Alaska west of Area 3B and in 

the Bering Sea west of the closed area 

defined in section 10 that are east of 

172°00′00′′ W. longitude and south of 

56°20′00′′ N. latitude; 

(7) Area 4B includes all waters in the 

Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska west 

of Area 4A and south of 56°20′00′′ N. 

latitude; 

(8) Area 4C includes all waters in the 

Bering Sea north of Area 4A and north 

of the closed area defined in section 10 

which are east of 171°00′00′′ W. 

longitude, south of 58°00′00′′ N. 

latitude, and west of 168°00′00′′ W. 

longitude; 

(9) Area 4D includes all waters in the 

Bering Sea north of Areas 4A and 4B, 

north and west of Area 4C, and west of 

168°00′00′′ W. longitude; 

(10) Area 4E includes all waters in the 

Bering Sea north and east of the closed 

area defined in section 10, east of 

168°00′00′′ W. longitude, and south of 

65°34′00′′ N. latitude. 

7. Fishing in Regulatory Area 4E and 

4D 

(1) Section 7 applies only to any 

person fishing, or vessel that is used to 

fish for, Area 4E Community 

Development Quota (CDQ) or Area 4D 

CDQ halibut provided that the total 

annual halibut catch of that person or 

vessel is landed at a port within Area 4E 

or 4D. 

(2) A person may retain halibut taken 

with setline gear in Area 4E CDQ and 

4D CDQ fishery that are smaller than the 

size limit specified in section 13, 

provided that no person may sell or 

barter such halibut. 

(3) The manager of a CDQ 

organization that authorizes persons to 

harvest halibut in the Area 4E or 4D 

CDQ fisheries must report to the 

Commission the total number and 

weight of undersized halibut taken and 

retained by such persons pursuant to 

section 7, paragraph (2). This report, 

which shall include data and 

methodology used to collect the data, 

must be received by the Commission 

prior to November 1 of the year in 

which such halibut were harvested. 

8. Fishing Periods 

(1) The fishing periods for each 

regulatory area apply where the catch 

limits specified in section 11 have not 

been taken. 

(2) Each fishing period in the Area 2A 

directed commercial fishery2 shall begin 

at 0800 hours and terminate at 1800 

hours local time on June 24, July 8, July 

22, August 5, August 19, September 2, 

September 16, and September 30 unless 

the Commission specifies otherwise. 

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (7) of 

section 11, an incidental catch fishery3

is authorized during the sablefish 

seasons in Area 2A in accordance with 

regulations promulgated by NMFS. 

(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. 

(5) The fishing period in Areas 2B, 2C, 

3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E shall 

begin at 1200 hours local time on March 

21 and terminate at 1200 hours local 

time on November 15, unless the 

Commission specifies otherwise. 

(6) All commercial fishing for halibut 

in Areas 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 

4D, and 4E shall cease at 1200 hours 

local time on November 15. 

9. Closed Periods 

(1) No person shall engage in fishing 

for halibut in any regulatory area other 

than during the fishing periods set out 

in section 8 in respect of that area. 

(2) No person shall land or otherwise 

retain halibut caught outside a fishing 

period applicable to the regulatory area 

where the halibut was taken. 

(3) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8), (9), 

and (10) of section 19, these Regulations 

do not prohibit fishing for any species 

of fish other than halibut during the 

closed periods. 

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), no 

person shall have halibut in his/her 

possession while fishing for any other 

species of fish during the closed 

periods. 

(5) No vessel shall retrieve any halibut 

fishing gear during a closed period if the 

vessel has any halibut on board. 

(6) A vessel that has no halibut on 

board may retrieve any halibut fishing 

gear during the closed period after the 

operator notifies an authorized officer or 

representative of the Commission prior 

to that retrieval. 

(7) After retrieval of halibut gear in 

accordance with paragraph (6), the 

vessel shall submit to a hold inspection 

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at the discretion of the authorized 

officer or representative of the 

Commission. 

(8) No person shall retain any halibut 

caught on gear retrieved referred to in 

paragraph (6). 

(9) No person shall possess halibut 

aboard a vessel in a regulatory area 

during a closed period unless that vessel 

is in continuous transit to or within a 

port in which that halibut may be 

lawfully sold. 

10. Closed Area 

All waters in the Bering Sea north of 

55°00′00′′ N. latitude in Isanotski Strait 

that are enclosed by a line from Cape 

Sarichef Light (54°36′00′′ N. latitude, 

164°55′42′′ W. longitude) to a point at 

56°20′00′′ N. latitude, 168°30′00′′ W. 

longitude; thence to a point at 58°21′25′′ 

N. latitude, 163°00′00′′ W. longitude; 

thence to Strogonof Point 56°53′18′′ N. 

latitude, 158°50′37′′ W. longitude); and 

then along the northern coasts of the 

Alaska Peninsula and Unimak Island to 

the point of origin at Cape Sarichef 

Light are closed to halibut fishing and 

no person shall fish for halibut therein 

or have halibut in his/her possession 

while in those waters except in the 

course of a continuous transit across 

those waters. All waters in Isanotski 

Strait between 55°00′00′′ N. latitude and 

54°49′00′′ N. latitude are closed to 

halibut fishing. 

11. Catch Limits 

(1) The total allowable catch of 

halibut to be taken during the halibut 

fishing periods specified in section 8 

shall be limited to the net weights 

expressed in pounds or metric tons 

shown in the following table: 

Regulatory Catch Limit 

Area Pounds Metric 

tons 

2A: directed commercial, and incidental commercial 

during salmon troll 

fishery 195,747 88.8 

2A: incidental commercial during sablefish fishery 11,895 5.4 

2B4 7,630,000 3,460.3 

2C 5,020,000 2,276.6 

3A 21,700,000 9,841.3 

3B 10,900,000 4,943.3 

4A 2,550,000 1,156.5 

4B 1,870,000 848.1 

4C 1,569,000 711.6 

4D 1,569,000 711.6 

4E 322,000 146.0 

4Area 2B includes combined commercial 

and sport catch limits which will be allocated 

by DFO. 

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 

regulations pertaining to the division of 

the Area 2A catch limit between the 

directed commercial fishery and the 

incidental catch fishery as described in 

paragraph (4) of section 8 will be 

promulgated by NMFS and published in 

the Federal Register. 

(3) The Commission shall determine 

and announce to the public the date on 

which the catch limit for Area 2A will 

be taken. 

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 

Area 2B will close only when all 

Individual Vessel Quotas (IVQs) 

assigned by DFO are taken, or November 

15, whichever is earlier. 

(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 

Areas 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 

4E will each close only when all IFQs 

and all CDQs issued by NMFS have 

been taken, or November 15, whichever 

is earlier. 

(6) If the Commission determines that 

the catch limit specified for Area 2A in 

paragraph (1) would be exceeded in an 

unrestricted 10-hour fishing period as 

specified in paragraph (2) of section 8, 

the catch limit for that area shall be 

considered to have been taken unless 

fishing period limits are implemented. 

(7) When under paragraphs (2), (3), 

and (6) the Commission has announced 

a date on which the catch limit for Area 

2A will be taken, no person shall fish 

for halibut in that area after that date for 

the rest of the year, unless the 

Commission has announced the 

reopening of that area for halibut 

fishing. 

(8) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the 

total allowable catch of halibut that may 

be taken in the Area 4E directed 

commercial fishery is equal to the 

combined annual catch limits specified 

for the Area 4D and Area 4E CDQ 

fisheries. The annual Area 4D CDQ 

catch limit will decrease by the 

equivalent amount of halibut CDQ taken 

in Area 4E in excess of the annual Area 

4E CDQ catch limit. 

(9) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the 

total allowable catch of halibut that may 

be taken in the Area 4D directed 

commercial fishery is equal to the 

combined annual catch limits specified 

for the Area 4C and Area 4D. The 

annual Area 4C catch limit will decrease 

by the equivalent amount of halibut 

taken in Area 4D in excess of the annual 

Area 4D catch limit. 

12. Fishing Period Limits 

(1) It shall be unlawful for any vessel 

to retain more halibut than authorized 

by that vessel’s license in any fishing 

period for which the Commission has 

announced a fishing period limit. 

(2) The operator of any vessel that 

fishes for halibut during a fishing period 

when fishing period limits are in effect 

must, upon commencing an offload of 

halibut to a commercial fish processor, 

completely offload all halibut on board 

said vessel to that processor and ensure 

that all halibut is weighed and reported 

on State fish tickets. 

(3) The operator of any vessel that 

fishes for halibut during a fishing period 

when fishing period limits are in effect 

must, upon commencing an offload of 

halibut other than to a commercial fish 

processor, completely offload all halibut 

on board said vessel and ensure that all 

halibut are weighed and reported on 

State fish tickets. 

(4) The provisions of paragraph (3) are 

not intended to prevent retail over-theside sales to individual purchasers so 

long as all the halibut on board is 

ultimately offloaded and reported. 

(5) When fishing period limits are in 

effect, a vessel’s maximum retainable 

catch will be determined by the 

Commission based on 

(a) the vessel’s overall length in feet 

and associated length class; 

(b) the average performance of all 

vessels within that class; and 

(c) the remaining catch limit. 

(6) Length classes are shown in the 

following table: 

Overall 

Length (in 

feet) 

Vessel Class 

1–25 A 

26–30 B 

31–35 C 

36–40 D 

41–45 E 

46–50 F 

51–55 G 

56+ H 

(7) Fishing period limits in Area 2A 

apply only to the directed halibut 

fishery referred to in paragraph (2) of 

section 8. 

13. Size Limits 

(1) No person shall take or possess 

any halibut that 

(a) with the head on, is less than 32 

inches (81.3 cm) as measured in a 

straight line, passing over the pectoral 

fin from the tip of the lower jaw with 

the mouth closed, to the extreme end of 

the middle of the tail, as illustrated in 

Figure 2; or 

(b) with the head removed, is less 

than 24 inches (61.0 cm) as measured 

from the base of the pectoral fin at its 

most anterior point to the extreme end 

of the middle of the tail, as illustrated 

in Figure 2. 

(2) No person on board a vessel 

fishing for, or tendering, halibut caught 

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11688 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

in Area 2A shall possess any halibut 

that has had its head removed. 

14. Careful Release of Halibut 

(1) All halibut that are caught and are 

not retained shall be immediately 

released outboard of the roller and 

returned to the sea with a minimum of 

injury by 

(a) hook straightening; 

(b) cutting the gangion near the hook; 

or 

(c) carefully removing the hook by 

twisting it from the halibut with a gaff. 

(2) Except that paragraph (1) shall not 

prohibit the possession of halibut on 

board a vessel that has been brought 

aboard to be measured to determine if 

the minimum size limit of the halibut is 

met and, if sublegal-sized, is promptly 

returned to the sea with a minimum of 

injury. 

15. Vessel Clearance in Area 4 

(1) The operator of any vessel that 

fishes for halibut in Areas 4A, 4B, 4C, 

or 4D must obtain a vessel clearance 

before fishing in any of these areas, and 

before the landing of any halibut caught 

in any of these areas, unless specifically 

exempted in paragraphs (10), (13), (14), 

(15), or (16). 

(2) An operator obtaining a vessel 

clearance required by paragraph (1) 

must obtain the clearance in person 

from the authorized clearance personnel 

and sign the IPHC form documenting 

that a clearance was obtained, except 

that when the clearance is obtained via 

VHF radio referred to in paragraphs (5), 

(8), and (9), the authorized clearance 

personnel must sign the IPHC form 

documenting that the clearance was 

obtained. 

(3) The vessel clearance required 

under paragraph (1) prior to fishing in 

Area 4A may be obtained only at Nazan 

Bay on Atka Island, Dutch Harbor or 

Akutan, Alaska, from an authorized 

officer of the United States, a 

representative of the Commission, or a 

designated fish processor. 

(4) The vessel clearance required 

under paragraph (1) prior to fishing in 

Area 4B may only be obtained at Nazan 

Bay on Atka Island or Adak, Alaska, 

from an authorized officer of the United 

States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor. 

(5) The vessel clearance required 

under paragraph (1) prior to fishing in 

Area 4C and 4D may be obtained only 

at St. Paul or St. George, Alaska, from 

an authorized officer of the United 

States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor by VHF radio and allowing 

the person contacted to confirm visually 

the identity of the vessel. 

(6) The vessel operator shall specify 

the specific regulatory area in which 

fishing will take place. 

(7) Before unloading any halibut 

caught in Area 4A, a vessel operator 

may obtain the clearance required under 

paragraph (1) only in Dutch Harbor or 

Akutan, Alaska, by contacting an 

authorized officer of the United States, 

a representative of the Commission, or 

a designated fish processor. 

(8) Before unloading any halibut 

caught in Area 4B, a vessel operator may 

obtain the clearance required under 

paragraph (1) only in Nazan Bay on 

Atka Island or Adak, by contacting an 

authorized officer of the United States, 

a representative of the Commission, or 

a designated fish processor by VHF 

radio or in person. 

(9) Before unloading any halibut 

caught in Area 4C and 4D, a vessel 

operator may obtain the clearance 

required under paragraph (1) only in St. 

Paul, St. George, Dutch Harbor, or 

Akutan, Alaska, either in person or by 

contacting an authorized officer of the 

United States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor. The clearances obtained in 

St. Paul or St. George, Alaska, can be 

obtained by VHF radio and allowing the 

person contacted to confirm visually the 

identity of the vessel. 

(10) Any vessel operator who 

complies with the requirements in 

section 18 for possessing halibut on 

board a vessel that was caught in more 

than one regulatory area in Area 4 is 

exempt from the clearance requirements 

of paragraph (1) of this section, 

provided that: 

(a) the operator of the vessel obtains 

a vessel clearance prior to fishing in 

Area 4 in either Dutch Harbor, Akutan, 

St. Paul, St. George, Adak, or Nazan Bay 

on Atka Island by contacting an 

authorized officer of the United States, 

a representative of the Commission, or 

a designated fish processor. The 

clearance obtained in St. Paul, St. 

George, Adak, or Nazan Bay on Atka 

Island can be obtained by VHF radio 

and allowing the person contacted to 

confirm visually the identity of the 

vessel. This clearance will list the Areas 

in which the vessel will fish; and 

(b) before unloading any halibut from 

Area 4, the vessel operator obtains a 

vessel clearance from Dutch Harbor, 

Akutan, St. Paul, St. George, Adak, or 

Nazan Bay on Atka Island by contacting 

an authorized officer of the United 

States, a representative of the 

Commission, or a designated fish 

processor. The clearance obtained in St. 

Paul or St. George can be obtained by 

VHF radio and allowing the person 

contacted to confirm visually the 

identity of the vessel. The clearance 

obtained in Adak or Nazan Bay on Atka 

Island can be obtained by VHF radio. 

(11)Vessel clearances shall be 

obtained between 0600 and 1800 hours, 

local time. 

(12) No halibut shall be on board the 

vessel at the time of the clearances 

required prior to fishing in Area 4. 

(13) Any vessel that is used to fish for 

halibut only in Area 4A and lands its 

total annual halibut catch at a port 

within Area 4A is exempt from the 

clearance requirements of paragraph (1). 

(14) Any vessel that is used to fish for 

halibut only in Area 4B and lands its 

total annual halibut catch at a port 

within Area 4B is exempt from the 

clearance requirements of paragraph (1). 

(15) Any vessel that is used to fish for 

halibut only in Areas 4C or 4D or 4E and 

lands its total annual halibut catch at a 

port within Areas 4C, 4D, 4E, or the 

closed area defined in section 10, is 

exempt from the clearance requirements 

of paragraph (1). 

(16) Any vessel that carries a 

transmitting VMS transmitter while 

fishing for halibut in Area 4A, 4B, 4C, 

or 4D and until all halibut caught in any 

of these areas is landed is exempt from 

the clearance requirements of paragraph 

(1) of this section, provided that: 

(a) the operator of the vessel complies 

with NMFS’ vessel monitoring system 

regulations published at 50 CFR 

sections 679.28(f)(3), (4) and (5); and 

(b) the operator of the vessel notifies 

NOAA Fisheries Office for Law 

Enforcement at 800–304–4846 (select 

option 1 to speak to an Enforcement 

Data Clerk) between the hours of 0600 

and 0000 (midnight) local time within 

72 hours before fishing for halibut in 

Area 4A, 4B, 4C, or 4D and receives a 

VMS confirmation number. 

16. Logs 

(1) The operator of any U.S. vessel 

fishing for halibut that has an overall 

length of 26 feet (7.9 meters) or greater 

shall maintain an accurate log of halibut 

fishing operations. The operator of a 

vessel fishing in waters in and off 

Alaska must use one of the following 

logbooks: the Groundfish/IFQ Daily 

Fishing Longline and Pot Gear Logbook 

provided by NMFS; the Alaska hookand-line logbook provided by Petersburg 

Vessel Owners Association or Alaska 

Longline Fisherman’s Association; the 

Alaska Department of Fish and Game 

(ADF&G) longline-pot logbook; or the 

logbook provided by IPHC. The operator 

of a vessel fishing in Area 2A must use 

either the Washington Department of 

Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Voluntary 

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Sablefish Logbook, or the logbook 

provided by IPHC. 

(2) The logbook referred to in 

paragraph (1) must include the 

following information: 

(a) the name of the vessel and the 

state (ADF&G, WDFW, Oregon 

Department of Fish and Wildlife, or 

California Department of Fish and 

Game) vessel number; 

(b) the date(s) upon which the fishing 

gear is set or retrieved; 

(c) the latitude and longitude or loran 

coordinates or a direction and distance 

from a point of land for each set or day. 

(d) the number of skates deployed or 

retrieved, and number of skates lost; and 

(e) the total weight or number of 

halibut retained for each set or day. 

(3) The logbook referred to in 

paragraph (1) shall be 

(a) maintained on board the vessel; 

(b) updated not later than 24 hours 

after midnight local time for each day 

fished and prior to the offloading or sale 

of halibut taken during that fishing trip; 

(c) retained for a period of two years 

by the owner or operator of the vessel; 

(d) open to inspection by an 

authorized officer or any authorized 

representative of the Commission upon 

demand; and 

(e) kept on board the vessel when 

engaged in halibut fishing, during 

transits to port of landing, and until the 

offloading of all halibut is completed. 

(4) The log referred to in paragraph (1) 

does not apply to the incidental halibut 

fishery during the salmon troll season in 

Area 2A defined in paragraph (4) of 

section 8. 

(5) The operator of any Canadian 

vessel fishing for halibut shall maintain 

an accurate log recorded in the British 

Columbia Integrated Groundfish Fishing 

Log provided by DFO. 

(6) The logbook referred to in 

paragraph (5) must include the 

following information: 

(a) the name of the vessel and the 

DFO vessel number; 

(b) the date(s) upon which the fishing 

gear is set or retrieved; 

(c) the latitude and longitude or loran 

coordinates or a direction and distance 

from a point of land for each set or day; 

(d) the number of skates deployed or 

retrieved, and number of skates lost; and 

(e) the total weight or number of 

halibut retained for each set or day. 

(7) The logbook referred to in 

paragraph (5) shall be 

(a) maintained on board the vessel; 

(b) retained for a period of two years 

by the owner or operator of the vessel; 

(c) open to inspection by an 

authorized officer or any authorized 

representative of the Commission upon 

demand; 

(d) kept on board the vessel when 

engaged in halibut fishing, during 

transits to port of landing, and until the 

offloading of all halibut is completed; 

(e) mailed to the DFO (white copy) 

within seven days of offloading; and 

(f) mailed to the Commission (yellow 

copy) within seven days of the final 

offload if not collected by a Commission 

employee. 

(8) No person shall make a false entry 

in a log referred to in this section. 

17. Receipt and Possession of Halibut 

(1) No person shall receive halibut 

caught in Area 2A from a United States 

vessel that does not have on board the 

license required by section 4. 

(2) No person shall possess on board 

a vessel a halibut other than whole or 

with gills and entrails removed. Except 

that this paragraph shall not prohibit the 

possession on board a vessel of: 

(a) halibut cheeks cut from halibut 

caught by persons authorized to process 

the halibut on board in accordance with 

NMFS regulations published at 50 CFR 

Part 679; 

(b) fillets from halibut offloaded in 

accordance with section 17 that are 

possessed on board the harvesting 

vessel in the port of landing up to 1800 

hours local time on the calendar day 

following the offload5; and 

(c) halibut with their heads removed 

in accordance with section 13. 

(3) No person shall offload halibut 

from a vessel unless the gills and 

entrails have been removed prior to 

offloading6. 

(4) It shall be the responsibility of a 

vessel operator who lands halibut to 

continuously and completely offload at 

a single offload site all halibut on board 

the vessel. 

(5) A registered buyer (as that term is 

defined in regulations promulgated by 

NMFS and codified at 50 CFR Part 679) 

who receives halibut harvested in IFQ 

and CDQ fisheries in Areas 2C, 3A, 3B, 

4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E, directly from 

the vessel operator that harvested such 

halibut must weigh all the halibut 

received and record the following 

information on federal catch reports: 

date of offload; name of vessel; vessel 

number; scale weight obtained at the 

time of offloading, including the scale 

weight (in pounds) of halibut purchased 

by the registered buyer, the scale weight 

(in pounds) of halibut offloaded in 

excess of the IFQ or CDQ, the scale 

weight of halibut (in pounds) retained 

for personal use or for future sale, and 

the scale weight (in pounds) of halibut 

discarded as unfit for human 

consumption. 

(6) The first recipient, commercial 

fish processor, or buyer in the United 

States who purchases or receives halibut 

directly from the vessel operator that 

harvested such halibut must weigh and 

record all halibut received and record 

the following information on state fish 

tickets: the date of offload; vessel 

number; total weight obtained at the 

time of offload including the weight (in 

pounds) of halibut purchased; the 

weight (in pounds) of halibut offloaded 

in excess of the IFQ, CDQ, or fishing 

period limits; the weight of halibut (in 

pounds) retained for personal use or for 

future sale; and the weight (in pounds) 

of halibut discarded as unfit for human 

consumption. 

(7) The individual completing the 

state fish tickets for the Area 2A 

fisheries as referred to in paragraph (6) 

must additionally record whether the 

halibut weight is of head-on or head-off 

fish. 

(8) For halibut landings made in 

Alaska, the requirements as listed in 

paragraph (5) and (6) can be met by 

recording the information in the 

Interagency Electronic Reporting 

Systems, eLandings 

(9) The master or operator of a 

Canadian vessel that was engaged in 

halibut fishing must weigh and record 

all halibut on board said vessel at the 

time offloading commences and record 

on Provincial fish tickets or Federal 

catch reports the date; locality; name of 

vessel; the name(s) of the person(s) from 

whom the halibut was purchased; and 

the scale weight obtained at the time of 

offloading of all halibut on board the 

vessel including the pounds purchased, 

pounds in excess of IVQs, pounds 

retained for personal use, and pounds 

discarded as unfit for human 

consumption. 

(10) No person shall make a false 

entry on a State or Provincial fish ticket 

or a Federal catch or landing report 

referred to in paragraphs (5), (6), and (9) 

of section 17. 

(11) A copy of the fish tickets or catch 

reports referred to in paragraphs (5), (6), 

and (9) shall be 

(a) retained by the person making 

them for a period of three years from the 

date the fish tickets or catch reports are 

made; and 

(b) open to inspection by an 

authorized officer or any authorized 

representative of the Commission. 

(12) No person shall possess any 

halibut taken or retained in 

contravention of these Regulations. 

(13) When halibut are landed to other 

than a commercial fish processor, the 

records required by paragraph (6) shall 

be maintained by the operator of the 

vessel from which that halibut was 

caught, in compliance with paragraph 

(9). 

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(14) It shall be unlawful to enter an 

IPHC license number on a State fish 

ticket for any vessel other than the 

vessel actually used in catching the 

halibut reported thereon. 

(15) No person shall tag halibut unless 

the tagging is authorized by IPHC permit 

or by a Federal or State agency. 

5DFO has more restrictive regulations; 

therefore, section 17(2)b does not apply 

to fish caught in Area 2B or landed in 

British Columbia. 

6DFO did not adopt this regulation; 

therefore, section 17 paragraph (3) does 

not apply to fish caught in Area 2B. 

18. Fishing Multiple Regulatory Areas 

(1) Except as provided in this section, 

no person shall possess at the same time 

on board a vessel halibut caught in more 

than one regulatory area. 

(2) Halibut caught in more than one 

of the Regulatory Areas 2C, 3A, or 3B 

may be possessed on board a vessel at 

the same time provided the operator of 

the vessel: 

(a) has a NMFS-certified observer on 

board when required by NMFS 

regulations7 published at 50 CFR 

Section 679.7(f)(4); and 

(b) can identify the regulatory area in 

which each halibut on board was caught 

by separating halibut from different 

areas in the hold, tagging halibut, or by 

other means. 

(3) Halibut caught in more than one 

of the Regulatory Areas 4A, 4B, 4C, or 

4D may be possessed on board a vessel 

at the same time provided the operator 

of the vessel: 

(a) has a NMFS-certified observer on 

board the vessel as required by NMFS 

regulations published at 50, CFR 

Section 679.7(f)(4); or has an operational 

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) on 

board actively transmitting in all 

regulatory areas fished and does not 

possess at any time more halibut on 

board the vessel than the IFQ permit 

holders on board the vessel have 

cumulatively available for any single 

Area 4 regulatory area fished; and 

(b) can identify the regulatory area in 

which each halibut on board was caught 

by separating halibut from different 

areas in the holds, tagging halibut, or by 

other means. 

(4) If halibut from Area 4 are on board 

the vessel, the vessel can have halibut 

caught in Regulatory Areas 2C, 3A, and 

3B on board if in compliance with 

paragraph (2). 

7Without an observer, a vessel cannot 

have on board more halibut than the 

IFQ for the area that is being fished, 

even if some of the catch occurred 

earlier in a different area. 

19. Fishing Gear 

(1) No person shall fish for halibut 

using any gear other than hook and line 

gear, except that vessels licensed to 

catch sablefish in Area 2B using 

sablefish trap gear as defined in the 

Condition of Sablefish Licence can 

retain halibut caught as bycatch under 

regulations promulgated by the 

Canadian Department of Fisheries and 

Oceans. 

(2) No person shall possess halibut 

taken with any gear other than hook and 

line gear, except that vessels licensed to 

catch sablefish in Area 2B using 

sablefish trap gear as defined by the 

Condition of Sablefish Licence can 

retain halibut caught as bycatch under 

regulations promulgated by the 

Canadian Department of Fisheries and 

Oceans. 

(3) No person shall possess halibut 

while on board a vessel carrying any 

trawl nets or fishing pots capable of 

catching halibut, except that in Areas 

2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E, 

halibut heads, skin, entrails, bones or 

fins for use as bait may be possessed on 

board a vessel carrying pots capable of 

catching halibut, provided that a receipt 

documenting purchase or transfer of 

these halibut parts is on board the 

vessel. 

(4) All setline or skate marker buoys 

carried on board or used by any United 

States vessel used for halibut fishing 

shall be marked with one of the 

following 

(a) the vessel’s state license number; 

or 

(b) the vessel’s registration number. 

(5) The markings specified in 

paragraph (4) shall be in characters at 

least four inches in height and one-half 

inch in width in a contrasting color 

visible above the water and shall be 

maintained in legible condition. 

(6) All setline or skate marker buoys 

carried on board or used by a Canadian 

vessel used for halibut fishing shall be 

(a) floating and visible on the surface 

of the water; and 

(b) legibly marked with the 

identification plate number of the vessel 

engaged in commercial fishing from 

which that setline is being operated. 

(7) No person on board a vessel used 

to fish for any species of fish anywhere 

in Area 2A during the 72-hour period 

immediately before the fishing period 

for the directed commercial fishery shall 

catch or possess halibut anywhere in 

those waters during that halibut fishing 

period unless, prior to the start of the 

halibut fishing period, the vessel has 

removed its gear from the water and has 

either 

(a) made a landing and completely 

offloaded its catch of other fish; or 

(b) submitted to a hold inspection by 

an authorized officer. 

(8) No vessel used to fish for any 

species of fish anywhere in Area 2A 

during the 72-hour period immediately 

before the fishing period for the directed 

commercial fishery may be used to 

catch or possess halibut anywhere in 

those waters during that halibut fishing 

period unless, prior to the start of the 

halibut fishing period, the vessel has 

removed its gear from the water and has 

either 

(a) made a landing and completely 

offloaded its catch of other fish; or 

(b) submitted to a hold inspection by 

an authorized officer. 

(9) No person on board a vessel from 

which setline gear was used to fish for 

any species of fish anywhere in Areas 

2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E 

during the 72-hour period immediately 

before the opening of the halibut fishing 

season shall catch or possess halibut 

anywhere in those areas until the vessel 

has removed all of its setline gear from 

the water and has either 

(a) made a landing and completely 

offloaded its entire catch of other fish; 

or 

(b) submitted to a hold inspection by 

an authorized officer. 

(10) No vessel from which setline gear 

was used to fish for any species of fish 

anywhere in Areas 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 

4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E during the 72-hour 

period immediately before the opening 

of the halibut fishing season may be 

used to catch or possess halibut 

anywhere in those areas until the vessel 

has removed all of its setline gear from 

the water and has either 

(a) made a landing and completely 

offloaded its entire catch of other fish; 

or 

(b) submitted to a hold inspection by 

an authorized officer. 

(11) Notwithstanding any other 

provision in these regulations, a person 

may retain, possess and dispose of 

halibut taken with trawl gear only as 

authorized by Prohibited Species 

Donation regulations of NMFS. 

20. Supervision of Unloading and 

Weighing 

The unloading and weighing of 

halibut may be subject to the 

supervision of authorized officers to 

assure the fulfillment of the provisions 

of these Regulations. 

21. Retention of Tagged Halibut 

(1) Nothing contained in these 

Regulations prohibits any vessel at any 

time from retaining and landing a 

halibut that bears a Commission 

external tag at the time of capture, if the 

halibut with the tag still attached is 

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reported at the time of landing and 

made available for examination by a 

representative of the Commission or by 

an authorized officer. 

(2) After examination and removal of 

the tag by a representative of the 

Commission or an authorized officer, 

the halibut: 

(a) may be retained for personal use; 

or 

(b) may be sold only if the halibut is 

caught during commercial halibut 

fishing and complies with the other 

commercial fishing provisions of these 

regulations. 

(3) Externally tagged fish must count 

against commercial IVQs, CDQs, IFQs, 

or daily bag or possession limits unless 

otherwise exempted by state, provincial, 

or federal regulations. 

22. Fishing by United States Treaty 

Indian Tribes 

(1) Halibut fishing in Subarea 2A–1 by 

members of United States treaty Indian 

tribes located in the State of Washington 

shall be regulated under regulations 

promulgated by NMFS and published in 

the Federal Register. 

(2) Subarea 2A–1 includes all waters 

off the coast of Washington that are 

north of 46°53′18′′ N. latitude and east 

of 125°44′00′′ W. longitude, and all 

inland marine waters of Washington. 

(3) Section 13 (size limits), section 14 

(careful release of halibut), section 16 

(logs), section 17 (receipt and 

possession of halibut) and section 19 

(fishing gear), except paragraphs (7) and 

(8) of section 19, apply to commercial 

fishing for halibut in Subarea 2A–1 by 

the treaty Indian tribes 

(4) Commercial fishing for halibut in 

Subarea 2A–1 is permitted with hook 

and line gear from March 21 through 

November 15, or until 303,500 pounds 

(137.6 metric tons) net weight is taken, 

whichever occurs first. 

(5) Ceremonial and subsistence 

fishing for halibut in Subarea 2A–1 is 

permitted with hook and line gear from 

January 1 through December 31, and is 

estimated to take 29,000 pounds (13.2 

metric tons) net weight. 

23. Customary and Traditional Fishing 

in Alaska 

(1) Customary and traditional fishing 

for halibut in Regulatory Areas 2C, 3A, 

3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E shall be 

governed pursuant to regulations 

promulgated by NMFS and published in 

50 CFR Part 300. 

(2) Customary and traditional fishing 

is authorized from January 1 through 

December 31. 

24. Aboriginal Groups Fishing for Food, 

Social and Ceremonial Purposes in 

British Columbia 

(1) Fishing for halibut for food, social 

and ceremonial purposes by Aboriginal 

groups in Regulatory Area 2B shall be 

governed by the Fisheries Act of Canada 

and regulations as amended from time 

to time. 

25. Sport Fishing for Halibut—General 

(1) No person shall engage in sport 

fishing for halibut using gear other than 

a single line with no more than two 

hooks attached; or a spear. 

(2) Any minimum overall size limit 

promulgated under IPHC or NMFS 

regulations shall be measured in a 

straight line passing over the pectoral 

fin from the tip of the lower jaw with 

the mouth closed, to the extreme end of 

the middle of the tail. 

(3) Any halibut brought aboard a 

vessel and not immediately returned to 

the sea with a minimum of injury will 

be included in the daily bag limit of the 

person catching the halibut. 

(4) No person may possess halibut on 

a vessel while fishing in a closed area. 

(5) No halibut caught by sport fishing 

shall be offered for sale, sold, traded, or 

bartered. 

(6) No halibut caught in sport fishing 

shall be possessed onboard a vessel 

when other fish or shellfish aboard said 

vessel are destined for commercial use, 

sale, trade, or barter. 

(7) The operator of a charter vessel 

shall be liable for any violations of these 

regulations committed by a passenger 

aboard said vessel. 

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 and 

(b) 195,748 pounds (88.8 metric tons) 

net weight in waters off California and 

Oregon; 

(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 lb (26.03 mt). 

(i) The fishing season in eastern Puget 

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

Point) is open April 23 — June 5, and 

the fishing season in western Puget 

Sound (west of 123°49.50’ W. long., Low 

Point) is open May 21 — July 3, 5 days 

a week (Thursday through Monday). 

(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.), is 

108,030 lb (49.0 mt). 

(i) The fishing seasons are: 

(A) Commencing on May 14 and 

continuing 2 days a week (Thursday and 

Saturday) until 108,030 lb (49.0 mt) are 

estimated to have been taken and the 

season is closed by the Commission. 

(B) If sufficient quota remains the 

fishery will reopen on June 4 in the 

entire north coast subarea, continuing 2 

days per week (Thursday and Saturday) 

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11692 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

until there is not sufficient quota for 

another full day of fishing and the area 

is closed by the Commission. When 

there is insufficient quota remaining to 

reopen the entire north coast subarea for 

another day, then the nearshore areas 

described below will reopen for 2 days 

per week (Thursday and Saturday), until 

the overall quota of 108,030 lb (49.0 mt) 

is estimated to have been taken and the 

area is closed by the Commission, or 

until September 30, whichever is 

earlier. After May 24, any fishery 

opening will be announced on the 

NMFS hotline at 800–662–9825. No 

halibut fishing will be allowed after 

May 24 unless the date is announced on 

the NMFS hotline. The nearshore areas 

for Washington’s North Coast fishery are 

defined as follows: 

(1) WDFW Marine Catch Area 4B, 

which is all waters west of the Sekiu 

River mouth, as defined by 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., to the 

Bonilla-Tatoosh line, as defined by a 

line connecting the light on Tatoosh 

Island, WA, with the light on Bonilla 

Point on Vancouver Island, British 

Columbia (at 48°35.73’ N. lat., 

124°43.00’ W. long.) south of the 

International Boundary between the 

U.S. and Canada (at 48°29.62’ N. lat., 

124°43.55’ W. long.), and north of the 

point where that line intersects with the 

boundary of the U.S. territorial sea. 

(2) Shoreward of the recreational 

halibut 30–fm boundary line, a modified 

line approximating the 30–fm depth 

contour from the Bonilla-Tatoosh line 

south to the Queets River. The 

recreational halibut 30–fm boundary 

line is defined by the following 

coordinates in the order listed: 

(1) 48°24.79’ N. lat., 124°44.07’ W. 

long.; 

(2) 48°24.80’ N. lat., 124°44.74’ W. 

long.; 

(3) 48°23.94’ N. lat., 124°44.70’ W. 

long.; 

(4) 48°23.51’ N. lat., 124°45.01’ W. 

long.; 

(5) 48°22.59’ N. lat., 124°44.97’ W. 

long.; 

(6) 48°21.75’ N. lat., 124°45.26’ W. 

long.; 

(7) 48°21.23’ N. lat., 124°47.78’ W. 

long.; 

(8) 48°20.32’ N. lat., 124°49.53’ W. 

long.; 

(9) 48°16.72’ N. lat., 124°51.58’ W. 

long.; 

(10) 48°10.00’ N. lat., 124°52.58’ W. 

long.; 

(11) 48°05.63’ N. lat., 124°52.91’ W. 

long.; 

(12) 47°56.25’ N. lat., 124°52.57’ W. 

long.; 

(13) 47°40.28’ N. lat., 124°40.07’ W. 

long.; and 

(14) 47°1.70’ N. lat., 124°37.03’ W. 

long. 

(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 by straight lines connecting the 

following specific latitude and 

longitude coordinates in the order 

listed: 

(1) 48°18.00’ N. lat.; 125°18.00’ W. 

long.; 

(2) 48°18.00’ N. lat.; 124°59.00’ W. 

long.; 

(3) 48°11.00’ N. lat.; 124°59.00’ W. 

long.; 

(4) 48°11.00’ N. lat.; 125°11.00’ W. 

long.; 

(5) 48°04.00’ N. lat.; 125°11.00’ W. 

long.; 

(6) 48°04.00’ N. lat.; 124°59.00’ W. 

long.; 

(7) 48°00.00’ N. lat.; 124°59.00’ W. 

long.; 

(8) 48°00.00’ N. lat.; 125°18.00’ W. 

long.; 

and connecting back to 48°18.00’ N. 

lat.; 125°18.00’ W. long. 

(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 42,739 

pounds (19.38 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°25.00’ N. lat. south to 46°58.00’ 

N. lat. and east of 124°30.00’ W. long. 

(the Washington South coast, northern 

nearshore area). The south coast subarea 

quota will be allocated as follows: 

40,739 lb (18.47 mt), for the primary 

fishery, and 2,000 lb (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 24. Beginning on May 24 the 

primary fishery will be open 1 day per 

week (Sunday) 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, and during the primary 

season, continues 3 days a week 

(Thursday, Friday and Saturday) in 

addition to the days open in the primary 

fishery. Subsequent to closure of the 

primary fishery the nearshore fishery is 

open on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 

and Sundays, until 42,739 lb (19.38 

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) 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 

intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. 

The South Coast Recreational YRCA is 

defined by straight lines connecting the 

following specific latitude and 

longitude coordinates in the order 

listed: 

(1) 46°58.00’ N. lat., 124°48.00’ W. 

long.; 

(2) 46°55.00’ N. lat., 124°48.00’ W. 

long.; 

(3) 46°55.00’ N. lat., 124°49.00’ W. 

long.; 

(4) 46°58.00’ N. lat., 124°49.00’ W. 

long.; 

and connecting back to 46°58.00’ N. 

lat., 124°48.00’ W. long. 

The Westport Offshore YRCA is 

defined by straight lines connecting the 

following specific latitude and 

longitude coordinates in the order 

listed: 

(1) 46°54.30’ N. lat., 124°53.40’ W. 

long.; 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 11693 

(2) 46°54.30’ N. lat., 124°51.00’ W. 

long.; 

(3) 46°53.30’ N. lat., 124°51.00’ W. 

long.; 

(4) 46°53.30’ N. lat., 124°53.40’ W. 

long.; 

and connecting back to 46°54.30’ N. 

lat., 124°53.40’ W. long. 

(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 15,735 lb (7.1 

mt). 

(i) The fishing season commences on 

May 1, and continues 3 days a week 

(Thursday through Saturday) until 

11,014 lb (4.9 mt) are estimated to have 

been taken and the season is closed by 

the Commission or until July 19, 

whichever is earlier. The fishery will 

reopen on August 1 and continue 3 days 

a week (Friday through Sunday) until 

4,720 lb (2.1 mt) have been taken and 

the season is closed by the Commission, 

or until 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 in-season 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 and Pacific cod 

when allowed by Pacific Coast 

groundfish regulations, if halibut are on 

board the vessel. 

(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 180,088 

lb (81.68 mt). 

(i) The fishing seasons are: 

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

fm’’ fishery) commences May 1 and 

continues 7 days a week through 

October 31, in the area shoreward of a 

boundary line approximating the 40–fm 

(73–m) depth contour, or until the subquota for the central Oregon ‘‘inside 40– 

fm’’ fishery (14,407 lb (6.5 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 by straight 

lines connecting all of the following 

points in the order stated: 

(1) 45°46.00’ N. lat., 124°04.49’ W. 

long.; 

(2) 45°44.34’ N. lat., 124°05.09’ W. 

long.; 

(3) 45°40.64’ N. lat., 124°04.90’ W. 

long.; 

(4) 45°33.00’ N. lat., 124°04.46’ W. 

long.; 

(5) 45°32.27’ N. lat., 124°04.74’ W. 

long.; 

(6) 45°29.26’ N. lat., 124°04.22’ W. 

long.; 

(7) 45°20.25’ N. lat., 124°04.67’ W. 

long.; 

(8) 45°19.99’ N. lat., 124°04.62’ W. 

long.; 

(9) 45°17.50’ N. lat., 124°04.91’ W. 

long.; 

(10) 45°11.29’ N. lat., 124°05.19’ W. 

long.; 

(11) 45°05.79’ N. lat., 124°05.40’ W. 

long.; 

(12) 45°05.07’ N. lat., 124°05.93’ W. 

long.; 

(13) 45°03.83’ N. lat., 124°06.47’ W. 

long.; 

(14) 45°01.70’ N. lat., 124°06.53’ W. 

long.; 

(15) 44°58.75’ N. lat., 124°07.14’ W. 

long.; 

(16) 44°51.28’ N. lat., 124°10.21’ W. 

long.; 

(17) 44°49.49’ N. lat., 124°10.89’ W. 

long.; 

(18) 44°44.96’ N. lat., 124°14.39’ W. 

long.; 

(19) 44°43.44’ N. lat., 124°14.78’ W. 

long.; 

(20) 44°42.27’ N. lat., 124°13.81’ W. 

long.; 

(21) 44°41.68’ N. lat., 124°15.38’ W. 

long.; 

(22) 44°34.87’ N. lat., 124°15.80’ W. 

long.; 

(23) 44°33.74’ N. lat., 124°14.43’ W. 

long.; 

(24) 44°27.66’ N. lat., 124°16.99’ W. 

long.; 

(25) 44°19.13’ N. lat., 124°19.22’ W. 

long.; 

(26) 44°15.35’ N. lat., 124°17.37’ W. 

long.; 

(27) 44°14.38’ N. lat., 124°17.78’ W. 

long.; 

(28) 44°12.80’ N. lat., 124°17.18’ W. 

long.; 

(29) 44°09.23’ N. lat., 124°15.96’ W. 

long.; 

(30) 44°08.38’ N. lat., 124°16.80’ W. 

long.; 

(31) 44°08.30’ N. lat., 124°16.75’ W. 

long.; 

(32) 44°01.18’ N. lat., 124°15.42’ W. 

long.; 

(33) 43°51.60’ N. lat., 124°14.68’ W. 

long.; 

(34) 43°42.66’ N. lat., 124°15.46’ W. 

long.; 

(35) 43°40.49’ N. lat., 124°15.74’ W. 

long.; 

(36) 43°38.77’ N. lat., 124°15.64’ W. 

long.; 

(37) 43°34.52’ N. lat., 124°16.73’ W. 

long.; 

(38) 43°28.82’ N. lat., 124°19.52’ W. 

long.; 

(39) 43°23.91’ N. lat., 124°24.28’ W. 

long.; 

(40) 43°20.83’ N. lat., 124°26.63’ W. 

long.; 

(41) 43°17.96’ N. lat., 124°28.81’ W. 

long.; 

(42) 43°16.75’ N. lat., 124°28.42’ W. 

long.; 

(43) 43°13.98’ N. lat., 124°31.99’ W. 

long.; 

(44) 43°13.71’ N. lat., 124°33.25’ W. 

long.; 

(45) 43°12.26’ N. lat., 124°34.16’ W. 

long.; 

(46) 43°10.96’ N. lat., 124°32.34’ W. 

long.; 

(47) 43°05.65’ N. lat., 124°31.52’ W. 

long.; 

(48) 42°59.66’ N. lat., 124°32.58’ W. 

long.; 

(49) 42°54.97’ N. lat., 124°36.99’ W. 

long.; 

(50) 42°53.81’ N. lat., 124°38.58’ W. 

long.; 

(51) 42°50.00’ N. lat., 124°39.68’ W. 

long.; 

(52) 42°49.14’ N. lat., 124°39.92’ W. 

long.; 

(53) 42°46.47’ N. lat., 124°38.65’ W. 

long.; 

(54) 42°45.60’ N. lat., 124°39.04’ W. 

long.; 

(55) 42°44.79’ N. lat., 124°37.96’ W. 

long.; 

(56) 42°45.00’ N. lat., 124°36.39’ W. 

long.; 

(57) 42°44.14’ N. lat., 124°35.16’ W. 

long.; 

(58) 42°42.15’ N. lat., 124°32.82’ W. 

long.; and 

(59) 42°40.50’ N. lat., 124°31.98’ W. 

long.; 

(B) The second season (spring season), 

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

open on May 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 

29, 30, and June 4, 5, 6. The projected 

catch for this season is 124,261 lb (56.3 

mt). If sufficient unharvested catch 

remains for additional fishing days, the 

season will re-open. Dependent on the 

amount of unharvested catch available, 

the potential season re-opening dates 

will be June 18, 19, 20 and July 2, 3, 4, 

16, 17, 18, 30, 31. If NMFS decides inseason to allow fishing on any of these 

re-opening dates, notice of the reopening 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 catch 

remains, the third season (summer 

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

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11694 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

8 DFO could implement more restrictive 

regulations for the sport fishery, therefore anglers 

are advised to check the current federal or 

provincial regulations prior to fishing. 

9NMFS could implement more restrictive 

regulations for the sport fishery or components of 

it, therefore, anglers are advised to check the 

current federal or state regulations prior to fishing. 

fishery, will be open on August 7, 8, 9, 

21, 22, 23 and September 4, 5 6, 18, 19, 

20 and October 2, 3, 4, 16, 17, 18, 30, 

31 , or until the combined spring season 

and summer season quotas in the area 

between Cape Falcon and Humbug 

Mountain, OR, totaling165,681 lb (75.1 

mt), 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 a certain amount 

of quota remains after August 9 and 

August 23. If after August 9, 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 through Sunday, 

beginning August 16–18, and ending 

October 31. If after September 6, 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 

through Sunday, the fishery may reopen every Friday through Sunday, 

beginning September 18–20, and ending 

October 31. After September 6, 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 

and Pacific cod, 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 be 

in possession of 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 by 

straight lines connecting the following 

specific latitude and longitude 

coordinates in the order listed: 

(1) 44°37.46’ N. lat.; 124°24.92’ W. 

long.; 

(2) 44°37.46’ N. lat.; 124°23.63’ W. 

long.; 

(3) 44°28.71’ N. lat.; 124°21.80’ W. 

long.; 

(4) 44°28.71’ N. lat.; 124°24.10’ W. 

long.; 

(5) 44°31.42’ N. lat.; 124°25.47’ W. 

long.; 

and connecting back to 44°37.46’ N. 

lat.; 124°24.92’ W. long. 

(f) The area south of Humbug 

Mountain, Oregon (42°40.50’ N. lat.) and 

off the California coast is not managed 

in-season relative to its quota. This area 

is managed on a season that is projected 

to result in a catch of 5,872 lb (2.6 mt). 

(i) The fishing season will commence 

on May 1 and continue 7 days a week 

until October 31. 

(ii) The daily bag limit is one halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

27. Sport Fishing for Halibut—Area 2B 

(1) In all waters off British Columbia8

(a) The sport fishing season is from 

February 1 to December 31; 

(b) The daily bag limit is two halibut 

of any size per day per person. 

(2) In British Columbia, 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. 

(3) The possession limit for halibut in 

the waters off the coast of British 

Columbia is three halibut. 

28. Sport Fishing for Halibut—Areas 

2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E 

(1) In waters in and off Alaska9

(a) The sport fishing season is from 

February 1 to December 31; 

(b) The daily bag limit is two halibut 

of any size per day per person unless a 

more restrictive bag limit applies in 

federal regulations at 50CFR 300.65; and 

(c) No person may possess more than 

two daily bag limits. 

(2) In Convention waters in and off 

Alaska, no person shall possess on 

board a vessel, including charter vessels 

and pleasure craft used for fishing, 

halibut that has been filleted, mutilated, 

or otherwise disfigured in any manner, 

except that 

(a) Each halibut may be cut into no 

more than 2 ventral pieces, 2 dorsal 

pieces, and 2 cheek pieces, with skin on 

all pieces; and 

(b) Halibut in excess of the possession 

limit in paragraph (1)(c) of this section 

may be possessed on a vessel that does 

not contain sport fishing gear, fishing 

rods, hand lines, or gaffs. 

29. Previous Regulations Superseded 

These regulations shall supersede all 

previous regulations of the Commission, 

and these regulations shall be effective 

each succeeding year until superseded. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 11695 

Classification 

IPHC Regulations 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1), the 

notice-and-comment and delay-ineffectiveness date requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 

U.S.C. 553, are inapplicable to this 

notice of the effectiveness and content 

of the IPHC regulations because this 

regulation involves a foreign affairs 

function of the United States. 

Furthermore, no other law requires prior 

notice and public comment for this rule. 

Because prior notice and an opportunity 

for public comment are not required to 

be provided for these portions of this 

rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, 

the analytical requirements of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq., are not applicable. 

2009 Area 2A Catch Sharing Plan, 

Annual Management Measures and 

Federal Regulations 

As explained above in the preamble, 

the recreational management measures 

for Area 2A are promulgated through a 

different process than the process for 

the IPHC regulations themselves. NMFS 

proposed these management measures 

on January 14, 2009 (74 FR 2032). The 

different regulatory process requires a 

different classification section for these 

recreational management measures. 

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 

this action. A 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 or on the 

economic impacts of the rule. A copy of 

the FRFA is available from the NMFS 

Northwest Region (see ADDRESSES) 

and a summary of the FRFA follows: 

This rule is needed to implement the 

CSP and annual domestic management 

measures in Area 2A. The main 

objective for the Pacific halibut fishery 

in Area 2A is to manage the fisheries to 


mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with RULESER19MR09.000</GPH> ER19MR09.001</GPH>
11696 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

remain within the TAC for Area 2A, 

while also allowing each commercial, 

recreational, and tribal fishery to target 

halibut in the manner most appropriate 

for the users’ needs within that fishery. 

This rule is intended to enhance the 

conservation of Pacific halibut, to 

protect yellow eye rockfish and other 

overfished species from incidental catch 

in the halibut fisheries, and to provide 

greater angler opportunity where 

available. 

A fish-harvesting business is 

considered a ‘‘small’’ business by the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) if 

it has annual receipts not in excess of 

$4.0 million. For related fish-processing 

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 $6.5 

million. All of the businesses that 

would be affected by this action are 

considered small businesses under 

Small Business Administration 

guidance. This action finalizes the 

following changes to the CSP, which 

allocates the catch of Pacific halibut 

among users in Washington, Oregon and 

California: (1) Remove the provision 

that divides the Washington North Coast 

subarea quota between May and June; 

(2) Change the Washington North Coast 

subarea to a 2-day per week fishery, 

Thursday and Saturday, from a 3-day 

per week fishery; (3) Change the June reopening date in the Washington North 

Coast subarea to the first Thursday in 

June, from the status-quo of the first 

Tuesday and Thursday after June 16; (4) 

Clarify that the nearshore set-aside in 

the Washington South Coast subarea is 

10 percent of the subquota, or 2,000 

pounds, whichever is less, rather than a 

straight 10 percent of the subquota; (5) 

Set the Washington South Coast subarea 

to open the first Sunday in May and 

continue to be open on Sundays and 

Tuesdays in May, except that beginning 

the third week in May the fishery would 

be open on Sunday only until the quota 

for the primary season is reached. Under 

status-quo the fishery was open 2 days 

a week until the quota was achieved; (6) 

Set the nearshore fishery in the 

Washington South Coast subarea as a 3- 

day per week fishery, open Thursday, 

Friday, and Saturday, in addition to 

days on which the primary fishery is 

open, during the primary season. After 

the primary season, the nearshore 

fishery is open Thursday through 

Sunday. Under status-quo the nearshore 

fishery was open only after the primary 

fishery was closed, leaving a large 

amount of unfished quota, in 2008 only 

158 pounds out of the 4460 pound quota 

was caught; (7) Specify that in addition 

to the South Coast Yelloweye Rockfish 

Conservation Area (YRCA), recreational 

fishing for groundfish and halibut will 

be prohibited in the newly created 

Westport Offshore YRCA; (8) Change the 

Columbia River subarea spring fishery 

to a 3-day per week fishery, open 

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, until 70 

percent of the subarea allocation is 

taken or until the third Sunday in July, 

whichever is earlier. Under status-quo 

this was a 7-day per week fishery; (9) 

Specify that in the Oregon Central Coast 

subarea Pacific cod may be retained 

with a halibut on the vessel during the 

all-depth openings. Under status-quo 

Pacific cod retention was not allowed. 

The change is intended to make 

retention consistent in the areas north 

and south of Cape Falcon and Pacific 

cod are rarely encountered south of 

Cape Falcon; (10) Add the Nooksack 

tribe to the definition of ‘‘Treaty Indian 

tribes’’ in the federal regulations; (11) 

Add the Nooksack tribal fishing area 

boundaries to the federal regulations. 

In 1995, NMFS implemented the Plan, 

when the TAC was 520,000 pounds (236 

mt). In each of the intervening years 

between 1995 and the present, minor 

revisions to the Plan have been made to 

adjust for the changing needs of the 

fisheries, even though the TAC reached 

levels of over 1,000,000 pounds (454 

mt), with a peak of 1,480,000 pounds 

(671 mt) in 2004. Since 2004, there has 

been very little change in the total 

allowable catch and sector allocations. 

In 2007, the Area 2A Halibut TAC set 

by the IPHC was 1,340,000 pounds (608 

mt) and in 2008 it was 1,220,000 

pounds (553 mt). However, the 2009 

TAC is lower than the TAC levels since 

2001. The 2009 Area 2A TAC of 950,000 

pounds (430.9 mt) is lower than 

previous years due to the IPHC’s new 

stock assessment information, revised 

selectivity assumptions, and revised 

harvest policy. This is a 22–percent 

decline from the 2008 TAC. 

WDFW held state meetings and 

crafted alternatives to adjust 

management of the sport halibut 

fisheries in their state. These 

alternatives were then narrowed by the 

state and brought to the Council at the 

Council’s September and November 

2008 meetings. Generally, by the time 

the alternatives reach the Council, and 

because they have been through the 

state public review process, they are 

narrowed down into the proposed 

action and status quo. The Council and 

the States considered the full range of 

alternatives that could have similarly 

improved angler enjoyment of and 

participation in the fisheries while 

simultaneously protecting halibut and 

co-occurring groundfish species from 

overharvest. 

In 2008, 570 vessels were issued IPHC 

licenses to retain halibut. IPHC issues 

licenses for: the directed commercial 

fishery in Area 2A, including licenses 

issued to retain halibut caught 

incidentally in the primary sablefish 

fishery (296 licenses in 2008); incidental 

halibut caught in the salmon troll 

fishery (135 licenses in 2008); and the 

charterboat fleet (139 licenses in 2008). 

No vessel may participate in more than 

one of these three fisheries per year. 

Individual recreational anglers and 

private boats are the only sectors that 

are not required to have an IPHC license 

to retain halibut. 

Specific data on the economics of 

halibut charter operations is 

unavailable. However, in January 2004, 

the Pacific States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (PSMFC) completed a 

report on the overall West Coast 

charterboat fleet. In surveying 

charterboat vessels concerning their 

operations in 2000, the PSMFC 

estimated that there were about 315 

charterboat vessels in operation off 

Washington and Oregon. In 2000, IPHC 

licensed 130 vessels to fish in the 

halibut sport charter fishery. Comparing 

the total charterboat fleet to the 130 and 

139 IPHC licenses in 2000 and 2008, 

respectively, approximately 41 to 44 

percent of the charterboat fleet could 

participate in the halibut fishery. The 

PSMFC has developed preliminary 

estimates of the annual revenues earned 

by this fleet and they vary by size class 

of the vessels and home state. Small 

charterboat vessels range from 15 to 30 

ft (4.572 to 9.144 m), and typically carry 

5 to 6 passengers. Medium charterboat 

vessels range from 31 to 49 ft (9.44 to 

14.93 m) in length and typically carry 

19 to 20 passengers. (Neither state has 

large vessels of greater than 49 ft (14.93 

m) in their fleet.) Average annual 

revenues from all types of recreational 

fishing, whale watching, and other 

activities ranged from $7,000 for small 

Oregon vessels to $131,000 for medium 

Washington vessels. Estimates from the 

RIR show the recreational halibut 

fishery generated approximately $2.5 

million in personal income to West 

Coast communities, while the non-tribal 

commercial halibut fishery generated 

approximately $2.2 million in income 

impacts. Because these estimated 

impacts for the entire halibut fishery 

overall are less than the SBA criteria for 

individual businesses, these data 

confirm that charterboat and 

commercial halibut vessels qualify as 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 52 / Thursday, March 19, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 11697 

small entities under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA). 

These changes are authorized under 

the Pacific Halibut Act, implementing 

regulations at 50 CFR 300.60 through 

300.65, and the Pacific Council process 

of annually evaluating the utility and 

effectiveness of Area 2A Pacific halibut 

management under the Plan. Given the 

TAC, the sport management measures 

implement the Plan by managing the 

recreational fishery to meet the differing 

fishery needs of the various areas along 

the coast according to the Plan’s 

objectives. The measures are very 

similar to last year’s management 

measures. The changes to the Plan and 

domestic management measures are 

minor changes and are intended to help 

prolong the halibut season, provide 

increased recreational harvest 

opportunities, or clarify sport fishery 

management for fishermen and 

managers. There are no large entities 

involved in the halibut fisheries; 

therefore, none of these changes to the 

Plan and domestic management 

measures will have a disproportionate 

negative effect on small entities versus 

large entities. 

These changes do not include any 

reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements. These changes will also 

not duplicate, overlap or conflict with 

other laws or regulations. These changes 

to the Plan and annual domestic Area 

2A halibut management measures are 

not expected to have a ‘‘significant’’ 

economic impact on a ‘‘substantial 

number’’ of small entities, as those 

terms are defined in the RFA. 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity 

compliance guides.’’ The agency shall 

explain the actions a small entity is 

required to take to comply with a rule 

or group of rules. As part of halibut 

management in Area 2A, NMFS 

maintains a toll-free telephone hotline 

where members of the public may call 

in to receive current information on 

seasons and requirements to participate 

in the halibut fisheries in Area 2A. This 

hotline also serves as small entity 

compliance guide. Copies of this final 

rule are available from the NMFS 

Northwest Regional Office upon request 

(See ADDRESSES). To hear the small 

entity compliance guide associated with 

this final rule, call the NMFS hotline at 

800—662—9825. 

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. At section 302(b)(5), 

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 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 changes to the CSP, have been 

developed in consultation with the 

affected tribe(s) and, insofar as possible, 

with tribal consensus. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300 

Fishing, Fisheries, Indian fisheries, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Treaties. 

Dated: March 16, 2009 

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 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 300 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 300.61, the definition of 

‘‘Treaty Indian tribes’’ is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 300.61 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Treaty Indian tribes means the Hoh, 

Jamestown S’Klallam, Lower Elwha 

S’Klallam, Lummi, Makah, Port Gamble 

S’Klallam, Quileute, Quinault, 

Skokomish, Suquamish, Swinomish, 

Tulalip, and Nooksack tribes. 

■ 3. In § 300.64, in the table within 

paragraph (i), an entry for ‘‘Nooksack’’ 

is added in alphabetical order to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.64 Fishing by U.S. treaty Indian 

tribes. 

* * * * * 

Tribe Boundaries 

*****

Nooksack Those locations in the 

Strait of Juan de Fuca 

and Puget Sound as 

determined in or in 

accordance with Final 

Decision No. 1 and 

subsequent orders in 

United States v. 

Washington, 384 F. 

Supp. 312 (W.D. 

Wash. 1974), and 

particularly at 459 F. 

Supp. 1049, to be 

places at which the 

Nooksack Tribe may 

fish under rights secured by treaties with 

the United States. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E9–6025 Filed 3–18–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

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