Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 53 / Friday, March 20, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 11881 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In FR Doc. 

E9–5066, appearing on page 10189 in 

the Federal Register on March 10, 2009, 

the following corrections are made: 

Corrections to Preamble 

1. On page 10190, in the second 

column, under the response to 

Comment 4, the application deadline is 

corrected to read May 11, 2009. 

2. On page 10190, in the second 

column, under the response to 

Comment 5, the application deadline 

announced is corrected to read May 11, 

2009. 

Corrections to Regulatory Text 

§ 660.306 [Corrected] 

On page 10192, in the second column, 

in § 660.306 Prohibitions, in paragraph 

(f)(1), the date of April 9, 2009, is 

corrected to read May 11, 2009. 

§ 660.333 [Corrected] 

2. On page 10192, in the third 

column, in § 660.333 Limited entry 

fishery eligibility and registration, in 

paragraph (a) the date of April 9, 2009, 

is corrected to read May 11, 2009. 

§ 660.336 [Corrected] 

3. On page 10193, in the first column, 

in § 660.336 Pacific whiting vessel 

licenses, in paragraph (a)(1) 

introductory text, the date of April 9, 

2009, is corrected to read May 11, 2009. 

4. On page 10193, in the third 

column, in § 660.336 Pacific whiting 

vessel licenses, in paragraph (a)(3)(i), 

the date of April 9, 2009, is corrected to 

read May 11, 2009 wherever it appears. 

5. On page 10194, in the first column, 

in § 660.336 Pacific whiting vessel 

licenses, in paragraph (a)(3)(ii), the date 

of April 9, 2009, is corrected to read 

May 11, 2009. 

6. On page 10194, in the first column, 

in § 660.336 Pacific whiting vessel 

licenses, in paragraph (a)(3)(iii), the date 

of May 11, 2009, is corrected to read 

June 15, 2009. 

§ 660.373 [Corrected] 

7. On page 10194, in the third 

column, § 660.373 Pacific whiting 

(whiting) fishery management, 

paragraph (a) is revised to read as 

follows: 

(a) Sectors. In order for a vessel to 

participate in a particular whiting 

fishery sector after May 11, 2009, that 

vessel must be registered for use with a 

sector-specific Pacific whiting vessel 

license under § 660.336. 

(1) The catcher/processor sector is 

composed of catcher/processors, which 

are vessels that harvest and process 

whiting during a calendar year. 

(2) The mothership sector is 

composed of motherships and catcher 

vessels that harvest whiting for delivery 

to motherships. Motherships are vessels 

that process, but do not harvest, whiting 

during a calendar year. 

(3) The shore-based sector is 

composed of vessels that harvest 

whiting for delivery to Pacific whiting 

shoreside first receivers. 

Notwithstanding the other provisions of 

50 CFR Part 660, subpart G, a vessel that 

is 75 feet or less LOA that harvests 

whiting and, in addition to heading and 

gutting, cuts the tail off and freezes the 

whiting, is not considered to be a 

catcher/processor nor is it considered to 

be processing fish. Such a vessel is 

considered a participant in the 

shorebased whiting sector, and is 

subject to regulations and allocations for 

that sector. 

* * * * * 

Dated: March 16, 2009. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Assistant Administrator For Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–6139 Filed 3–18–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 0910091344–9056–02 and 

0810141351–9087–02] 

RIN 0648–XN73 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Sablefish Managed 

Under the Individual Fishing Quota 

Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; opening. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is opening directed 

fishing for sablefish with fixed gear 

managed under the Individual Fishing 

Quota (IFQ) Program. The season will 

open 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), 

March 21, 2009, and will close 1200 hrs, 

A.l.t., November 15, 2009. This period 

is the same as the 2009 IFQ and 

Community Development Quota season 

for Pacific halibut adopted by the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC). The IFQ halibut 

season is specified by a separate 

publication in the Federal Register of 

annual management measures. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, A.l.t., March 

21, 2009, until 1200 hrs, A.l.t., 

November 15, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning 

in 1995, fishing for Pacific halibut and 

sablefish with fixed gear in the IFQ 

regulatory areas defined in § 679.2 has 

been managed under the IFQ Program. 

The IFQ Program is a regulatory regime 

designed to promote the conservation 

and management of these fisheries and 

to further the objectives of the 

Magnuson–Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act and 

the Northern Pacific Halibut Act. 

Persons holding quota share receive an 

annual allocation of IFQ. Persons 

receiving an annual allocation of IFQ 

are authorized to harvest IFQ species 

within specified limitations. Further 

information on the implementation of 

the IFQ Program, and the rationale 

supporting it, are contained in the 

preamble to the final rule implementing 

the IFQ Program published in the 

Federal Register, November 9, 1993 (58 

FR 59375) and subsequent amendments. 

This announcement is consistent with 

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

directed fishing season for sablefish 

managed under the IFQ Program be 

specified by the Administrator, Alaska 

Region, and announced by publication 

in the Federal Register. This method of 

season announcement was selected to 

facilitate coordination between the 

sablefish season, chosen by the 

Administrator, Alaska Region, and the 

halibut season, chosen by the IPHC. The 

directed fishing season for sablefish 

with fixed gear managed under the IFQ 

Program will open 1200 hrs, A.l.t., 

March 21, 2009, and will close 1200 hrs, 

A.l.t., November 15, 2009. This period 

runs concurrently with the IFQ season 

for Pacific halibut announced by the 

IPHC. The IFQ halibut season will be 

specified by a separate publication in 

the Federal Register of annual 

management measures pursuant to 50 

CFR 300.62. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

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

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

delay the opening of the sablefish 

fishery thereby increasing bycatch and 

regulatory discards between the 

sablefish fishery and the halibut fishery, 

11882 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 53 / Friday, March 20, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

and preventing the accomplishment of 

the management objective for 

simultaneous opening of these two 

fisheries. NMFS was unable to publish 

a notice providing time for public 

comment because the most recent, 

relevant data only became available as 

of March 13, 2009. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

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

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

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

This action is required by § 679.23 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: March 16, 2009. 

Alan D. Risenhoover 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–6190 Filed 3–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S