27530 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 89 / Monday, May 9, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

49 CFR Part 214 

Railroad Workplace Safety 

CFR Correction 

This rule is being published by the 

Office of the Federal Register to correct 

an editorial or technical error that 

appeared in the most recent annual 

revision of the Code of Federal 

Regulations. 

In Title 49 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, parts 200 to 299, revised as 

of October 1, 2021, make the following 

corrections: 

■ 1. Amend § 214.115 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 214.115 Foot protection. 

* * * * * 

(b) Foot protection equipment 

required by this section shall conform to 

the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.136(b), 

as established by the U.S. Department of 

Labor, Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration. 

■ 2. Amend § 214.117 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 214.117 Eye and face protection. 

* * * * * 

(b) Eye and face protection equipment 

required by this section shall conform to 

the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.133(b), 

as established by the U.S. Department of 

Labor, Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–09991 Filed 5–6–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 0099–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 201204–0325] 

RIN 0648–BL44 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 

2021–2022 Biennial Specifications and 

Management Measures; Inseason 

Adjustments 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments 

to biennial groundfish management 

measures. 

SUMMARY: This final rule announces 

routine inseason adjustments to the 

harvest limits for incidental Pacific 

halibut retention in the sablefish 

primary fishery. This action decreases 

the incidental Pacific halibut catch limit 

to ensure equitable harvest 

opportunities without exceeding the 

harvest limit. 

DATES: This final rule is effective May 9, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Keeley Kent, phone: (206) 526–4655) or 

email: keeley.kent@noaa.gov. 

Electronic Access 

This rule is accessible via the internet 

at the Office of the Federal Register 

website at https://

www.federalregister.gov. Background 

information and documents are 

available at the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s website at http:// 

www.pcouncil.org/. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 

Management Plan (PCGFMP), and its 

implementing regulations at title 50 in 

the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 

660, subparts C through G, regulate 

fishing for over 90 species of groundfish 

off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, 

and California. The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) 

develops groundfish harvest 

specifications and management 

measures for two-year periods (i.e., a 

biennium). NMFS published the final 

rule to implement harvest specifications 

and management measures for the 

2021–2022 biennium for most species 

managed under the PCGFMP on 

December 11, 2020, (85 FR 79880). 

NMFS also published a correction (85 

FR 86853, December 31, 2020), and a 

correcting amendment (86 FR 14379, 

March 16, 2021) to implement the 

Council’s recommendations for the 

2021–2022 harvest specifications and 

management measures. 

In general, the management measures 

set at the start of the biennial harvest 

specifications cycle help the various 

sectors of the fishery attain, but not 

exceed, the catch limits for each stock. 

The Council, in coordination with 

Pacific Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and 

the states of Washington, Oregon, and 

California, recommends adjustments to 

the management measures during the 

fishing year to achieve this goal. 

At its March 8–14, 2022 meeting, the 

Council recommended decreasing the 

amount of Pacific halibut that vessels in 

the sablefish primary fishery north of 

Point Chehalis, WA, may retain 

incidentally to ensure that catch of 

Pacific halibut stays within its annual 

allocation. Pacific Coast groundfish 

fisheries are managed using harvest 

specifications or limits (e.g., overfishing 

limits [OFL], acceptable biological catch 

[ABC], annual catch limits [ACL] and 

harvest guidelines [HG]) recommended 

biennially by the Council and based on 

the best scientific information available 

at that time (50 CFR 660.60(b)). During 

development of the harvest 

specifications, the Council also 

recommends management measures 

(e.g., trip limits, area closures, and bag 

limits) that are meant to mitigate catch 

so as not to exceed the harvest 

specifications. The harvest 

specifications and mitigation measures 

developed for the 2021–2022 biennium 

used data through the 2019 fishing year. 

Each of the adjustments to management 

measures discussed below are based on 

updated fisheries information that was 

unavailable when the analysis for the 

current harvest specifications was 

completed. As new fisheries data 

becomes available, adjustments to 

management measures are projected so 

as to help harvesters achieve but not 

exceed the harvest limits. 

Pacific halibut is generally a 

prohibited species for vessels fishing in 

Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries, 

unless explicitly allowed in groundfish 

regulations. The Council developed a 

Catch Sharing Plan for the International 

Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) 

Regulatory Area 2A, as provided for in 

the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 

(16 U.S.C. 773–773k) (Halibut Act), to 

allocate the Area 2A annual catch limit 

for Pacific halibut among fisheries off 

Washington, Oregon, and California. 

The IPHC annually sets allocations for 

the various IPHC regulatory areas, 

including Area 2A and NMFS 

implements these allocations for fishing 

in U.S. waters pursuant to the Halibut 

Act. NMFS also annual implements 

management measures and approves 

changes to the Catch Sharing Plan for 

Area 2A. 

Under the Catch Sharing Plan, the 

sablefish primary fishery north of Point 

Chehalis, WA (46°53.30′ N. lat.) is 

allocated a portion of the Washington 

recreational allocation, which varies via 

a catch limit-dependent formula, as 

described in the Catch Sharing Plan and 

in regulations at 50 CFR 300.63(b)(3). 

The sablefish primary fishery season 

is open from April 1 to October 31, 

though the fishery may close for 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 89 / Monday, May 9, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 27531 

individual participants prior to October 

31 once they reach the cumulative limit 

associated with their tier assignment(s) 

for the primary fishery. Regulations at 

§ 660.231(b)(3)(iv) allow vessels fishing 

in the sablefish primary fishery with a 

permit from the IPHC to retain Pacific 

halibut up to a set landing limit, which 

may be reviewed and modified 

throughout the sablefish primary fishery 

season to allow for attainment, but not 

exceedance of the Pacific halibut 

allocation. The objectives for the annual 

landing restrictions are to allow for 

incidental Pacific halibut catch and 

attain the Pacific halibut allocation, at 

about the same time the sablefish 

primary season ends (October 31), and 

to ensure an equitable sharing of the 

Pacific halibut landings among fishers. 

On March 7, 2022, NMFS 

implemented a 2022 Area 2A catch limit 

of 1,490,000 pounds (lb) (675.9 metric 

tons (mt)) (87 FR 12604). As specified 

by the Catch Sharing Plan, since the 

2022 Area 2A catch limit is less than 1.5 

million pounds (680.4 mt), the 

incidental halibut limit for the sablefish 

primary fishery’s allocation is 50,000 lb 

(22.7 mt) (87 FR 12604, March 7, 2022). 

In 2021, due to economic uncertainty, 

harvest during the regular sablefish 

primary fishery season was lower than 

predicted. As a result, at the September 

2021 Council meeting, the Council 

recommended, and NMFS 

implemented, an emergency rule to 

extend the sablefish primary season, 

normally scheduled to end on October 

31, until December 31, 2021 (86 FR 

59873, October 29, 2021). Also, as part 

of that emergency rule, the incidental 

Pacific halibut retention allowance 

continued until the close of the Pacific 

halibut season on December 7, 2021. 

The 2021 season concluded with 98.7 

percent of the 70,000 lb (31.8 mt) 

allowance for Pacific halibut landed. 

The effects of economic uncertainty 

resulting from the COVID–19 pandemic 

on sablefish primary fishery harvest are 

expected to be lessened in 2022, 

compared to 2021. If fishing patterns 

return to more typical seasonal efforts in 

2022, the incidental Pacific halibut 

retention limit in place in 2021 may be 

too high, and harvest of Pacific halibut 

may accrue too quickly to allow 

retention throughout the entire sablefish 

primary season, which is ends on 

October 31, 2022. In addition, the 

incidental limit for Pacific halibut is 

20,000 lb less than in 2021, at 50,000 lb. 

The most recent year with a 50,000 lb 

limit was 2018, and in that year 87 

percent of the allocation was harvested. 

From 2019–2021, the 70,000 lb limit 

was between 90 and 113 percent 

attained each year. Therefore, at the 

March 2022 virtual meeting, the Council 

recommended a reduction in Pacific 

halibut retention allowance early in the 

2022 sablefish primary fishery season to 

discourage targeted fishing while 

allowing small incidental catches 

through the end of the season on 

October 31. 

The Council recommended, and 

NMFS is revising the incidental Pacific 

halibut retention regulations at 

§ 660.231(b)(3)(iv) to decrease the 

incidental Pacific halibut catch limit to 

enable some incidental catch without 

exceeding the harvest limit. The limit 

will be reduced from 225 lb (102 kg) 

dressed weight of halibut for every 

1,000 lb (454 kg) dressed weight of 

sablefish landed, and up to two halibut 

in excess of the ratio, to 150 lb (68 kg) 

dressed weight of halibut for every 

1,000 lb (454 kg) dressed weight of 

sablefish landed, and up to two halibut 

in excess of the ratio. This decrease is 

expected to allow opportunity for total 

catch of Pacific halibut to attain, but not 

exceed, the 2022 allocation for the 

sablefish primary fishery north of Point 

Chehalis, WA (50,000 lb or 22.7 mt). 

Classification 

This final rule makes routine inseason 

adjustments to groundfish fishery 

management measures, based on the 

best scientific information available, 

consistent with the PCGFMP and its 

implementing regulations. 

This action is taken under the 

authority of 50 CFR 660.60(c) and is 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

The aggregate data upon which these 

actions are based are available for public 

inspection by contacting Keeley Kent in 

NMFS’ West Coast Region (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above), 

or view at the NMFS West Coast 

Groundfish website: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/westcoast-groundfish. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b), NMFS 

finds good cause to waive prior public 

notice and an opportunity for public 

comment on this action, as notice and 

comment would be impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest. The 

adjustments to management measures in 

this document affect commercial 

fisheries off the coast of Washington. No 

aspect of this action is controversial, 

and changes of this nature were 

anticipated in the final rule for the 

2021–2022 harvest specifications and 

management measures, which was 

published on December 11, 2020 (85 FR 

79880). Accordingly, for the reasons 

stated below, NMFS finds good cause to 

waive prior notice and comment. 

At its March 2022 meeting, the 

Council recommended the decrease to 

the incidental Pacific halibut retention 

limit for vessels fishing in the sablefish 

primary fishery north of Point Chehalis. 

The sablefish primary fishery opened on 

April 1. The Council recommends this 

precautionary reduction be 

implemented as soon as possible, early 

in the season, in an effort to prolong the 

amount of time Pacific halibut may be 

retained in the sablefish primary fishery 

north of Point Chehalis. 

Delaying implementation to allow for 

public comment would make it more 

likely for the sablefish primary fishery 

north of Point Chehalis to exceed its 

2022 allocation of Pacific halibut before 

the end of the sablefish primary fishery 

season. Therefore, providing a comment 

period for this action could limit the 

equitable benefits to the fishery, and the 

vessels that participate in the fishery, as 

they rely on the Pacific halibut retention 

allowance throughout the entire season 

and could result in a greater risk of 

exceeding the Pacific halibut harvest 

allocation. 

Because prior notice and an 

opportunity for public comment are not 

required to be provided for 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. Accordingly, 

no Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is 

required for this rule and none has been 

prepared. 

Therefore, the NMFS finds reason to 

waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) so that 

this final rule may become effective 

upon publication in the Federal 

Register. The adjustments to 

management measures in this document 

affect commercial fisheries by 

decreasing the incidental halibut 

retention limit in the sablefish primary 

fishery north of Point Chehalis, WA. 

This adjustment was requested by the 

Council’s advisory bodies, as well as 

members of industry during the 

Council’s March 2022 meeting, and 

recommended unanimously by the 

Council. No aspect of this action is 

controversial, and changes of this nature 

were anticipated in the biennial harvest 

specifications and management 

measures established through a notice 

and comment rulemaking for 2021–2022 

(85 FR 79880, December 11, 2020). 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Fisheries, Fishing, and Indian 

Fisheries. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
27532 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 89 / Monday, May 9, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

Dated: May 4, 2022. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST 

COAST STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 660 

continues to read as follows: 

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

773 et seq., and 16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq. 

■ 2. In § 660.231, revise paragraph 

(b)(3)(iv) to read as follows: 

§ 660.231 Limited entry fixed gear 

sablefish primary fishery. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(iv) Incidental Pacific halibut 

retention north of Pt. Chehalis, WA 

(46°53.30′ N lat.). From April 1 through 

October 31, vessels authorized to 

participate in the sablefish primary 

fishery, licensed by the International 

Pacific Halibut Commission for 

commercial fishing in Area 2A (waters 

off Washington, Oregon, California), and 

fishing with longline gear north of Pt. 

Chehalis, WA (46°53.30′ N lat.) may 

possess and land up to 150 lbs (68 kg) 

dressed weight of Pacific halibut for 

every 1,000 lbs (454 kg) dressed weight 

of sablefish landed, and up to two 

additional Pacific halibut in excess of 

the 150-lbs-per-1,000-pound limit per 

landing. ‘‘Dressed’’ Pacific halibut in 

this area means halibut landed 

eviscerated with their heads on. Pacific 

halibut taken and retained in the 

sablefish primary fishery north of Pt. 

Chehalis may only be landed north of 

Pt. Chehalis and may not be possessed 

or landed south of Pt. Chehalis. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–09902 Filed 5–6–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES