33442 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 106 / Thursday, June 2, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended. 

Total Annual Burden: 2,064,483 

hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No cost. 

Needs and Uses: On January 25, 2022, 

the Commission adopted a Report and 

Order in MB Docket No. 21–293, FCC 

22–5, 87 FR 7748 (February 10, 2022), 

Revisions to Political Programming and 

Record-Keeping Rule, which updates 

the political file rules for broadcast 

licensees and cable television system 

operators to bring them into conformity 

with the Bipartisan Campaign Reform 

Act of 2002. The Report and Order 

revises the following information 

collection requirements: 

Pursuant to 47 CFR 73.1943 and 

76.1701, each broadcast station licensee 

and each cable television system is 

required to maintain in its online 

political file a complete record of any 

request to purchase broadcast and 

cablecast time that is made by or on 

behalf of a candidate for public office, 

or that communicates a message relating 

to any political matter of national 

importance, including a legally 

qualified candidate, any election to 

Federal office, or a national legislative 

issue of public importance. Such 

records must include information 

regarding: (1) Whether the request to 

purchase broadcast or cablecast time is 

accepted or rejected by the broadcast 

licensee or cable television system 

operator; (2) the rate charged for the 

broadcast or cablecast time; (3) the date 

and time on which the communication 

is aired; (4) the class of time that is 

purchased; (5) the name of the 

candidate to which the communication 

refers and the office to which the 

candidate is seeking election, the 

election to which the communication 

refers, or the issue to which the 

communication refers (as applicable); 

(6) in the case of a request made by, or 

on behalf of, a candidate, the name of 

the candidate, the authorized committee 

of the candidate, and the treasurer of 

such committee; and (7) in the case of 

any other request, the name of the 

person purchasing the time, the name, 

address, and phone number of a contact 

person for such person, and a list of the 

chief executive officers or members of 

the executive committee or of the board 

of directors of such person. In addition, 

when free time is provided for use by or 

on behalf of candidates, a record of the 

free time provided must be placed in the 

political file. These records must be 

placed in the political file as soon as 

possible and retained for a period of two 

years. 

All other information collection 

requirements contained under 47 CFR 

73.1212, 73.3526, 73.3527, 73.1943, and 

76.1701 are still a part of the 

information collection and remain. 

OMB Control Number: 3060–1207. 

Title: Section 25.701, Other DBS 

Public Interest Obligations, and Section 

25.702, Other SDARS Public Interest 

Obligations. 

Form Number: N/A. 

Respondents: Business or other forprofit entities. 

Number of Respondents: 3 

respondents; 11 responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 1–11 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion 

reporting requirement, Recordkeeping 

requirement, Third party disclosure 

requirement. 

Obligation to Respond: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. The statutory 

authority for this information collection 

is contained in sections 154, 301, 302, 

303, 307, 309, 310, 332, and 335 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended. 

Total Annual Burden: 75 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No cost. 

Needs and Uses: On January 25, 2022, 

the Commission adopted a Report and 

Order in MB Docket No. 21–293, FCC 

22–5, Revisions to Political 

Programming and Record-Keeping Rule, 

which updates the political file rules for 

Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) 

providers and Satellite Digital Audio 

Radio Service (SDARS) licensees to 

bring them into conformity with the 

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 

2002. The Report and Order revises the 

following information collection 

requirements: 

Pursuant to 47 CFR 25.701(d) and 

25.702(b), each DBS provider and each 

SDARS licensee is required to maintain 

in its online political file a complete 

record of any request to purchase 

airtime that is made by or on behalf of 

a candidate for public office, or that 

communicates a message relating to any 

political matter of national importance, 

including a legally qualified candidate, 

any election to Federal office, or a 

national legislative issue of public 

importance. Such records must include 

information regarding: (1) Whether the 

request to purchase airtime is accepted 

or rejected by the DBS provider or 

SDARS licensee; (2) the rate charged for 

the airtime; (3) the date and time on 

which the communication is aired; (4) 

the class of time that is purchased; (5) 

the name of the candidate to which the 

communication refers and the office to 

which the candidate is seeking election, 

the election to which the 

communication refers, or the issue to 

which the communication refers (as 

applicable); (6) in the case of a request 

made by, or on behalf of, a candidate, 

the name of the candidate, the 

authorized committee of the candidate, 

and the treasurer of such committee; 

and (7) in the case of any other request, 

the name of the person purchasing the 

time, the name, address, and phone 

number of a contact person for such 

person, and a list of the chief executive 

officers or members of the executive 

committee or of the board of directors of 

such person. In addition, when free time 

is provided for use by or on behalf of 

candidates, a record of the free time 

provided must be placed in the political 

file. These records must be placed in the 

political file as soon as possible and 

retained for a period of two years. 

All other information collection 

requirements contained under 47 CFR 

25.701 and 25.702 are still a part of the 

information collection and remain 

unchanged since last approved by OMB. 

This information collection (OMB 3060– 

1207) also consolidates the information 

collections in OMB 3060–1065, OMB 

3060–1212, and the portion of OMB 

3060–0214 which related to SDARS 

licensees to eliminate duplication and 

inconsistencies between these 

information collections. OMB 3060– 

1065 and OMB 3060–1212 will be 

discontinued. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11694 Filed 6–1–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 220524–0122] 

RIN 0648–BL21 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2022 

Harvest Specifications for Pacific 

Whiting, and 2022 Pacific Whiting 

Tribal Allocation 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to 

implement the 2022 Pacific whiting 

fishery under the authority of the Pacific 

Coast Groundfish Fishery Management 

Plan, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 106 / Thursday, June 2, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 33443 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

Pacific Whiting Act of 2006 (Whiting 

Act), and other applicable laws. This 

rule implements the domestic 2022 

harvest specifications for Pacific 

whiting including the 2022 tribal 

allocation for the Pacific whiting 

fishery, the non-tribal sector allocations, 

and set-asides for incidental mortality in 

research activities and non-groundfish 

fisheries. These measures are intended 

to help prevent overfishing, achieve 

optimum yield, ensure that management 

measures are based on the best scientific 

information available, and provide for 

the implementation of tribal treaty 

fishing rights. 

DATES: Effective June 2, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: 

Electronic Access 

This final 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 NMFS website at 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov and at 

the Pacific Fishery Management 

Council’s website at http:// 

www.pcouncil.org/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Colin Sayre, phone: 206–526–4656, and 

email: Colin.Sayre@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The transboundary stock of Pacific 

whiting is managed through the 

Agreement Between the Government of 

the United States of America and the 

Government of Canada on Pacific Hake/ 

Whiting of 2003 (Agreement). The 

Agreement establishes bilateral 

management bodies to implement the 

terms of the Agreement, including the 

Joint Management Committee (JMC), 

which recommends the annual catch 

level for Pacific whiting. NMFS issued 

a proposed rule on April 13, 2022 (87 

FR 21858) that describes the Agreement, 

including the establishment of F–40 

percent default harvest rate, the explicit 

allocation of Pacific whiting coastwide 

total allowable catch (TAC) to the 

United States (73.88 percent) and 

Canada (26.12 percent), the bilateral 

bodies to implement the terms of the 

Agreement, including the Joint 

Management Committee (JMC), and the 

process used to determine the coastwide 

TAC under the Agreement. The 

proposed rule also proposed allocating 

17.5 percent of the U.S. TAC of Pacific 

whiting for 2021 to Pacific Coast Indian 

tribes that have a treaty right to harvest 

groundfish, and implementing setasides (750 metric tons (mt)) for Pacific 

whiting for research and incidental 

mortality in other fisheries. 

2022 TAC Recommendation 

The Treaty’s Advisory Panel (AP) and 

JMC met virtually March 1–3, 2022, to 

develop advice on a 2022 coastwide 

TAC. The AP provided its 2022 TAC 

recommendation to the JMC on March 2, 

2022. 

The Agreement directs the JMC to 

base the catch limit recommendation on 

the default harvest rate unless scientific 

evidence demonstrates that a different 

rate is necessary to sustain the offshore 

Pacific whiting resource. After 

consideration of the 2022 stock 

assessment and other relevant scientific 

information, the JMC did not use the 

default harvest rate, and instead agreed 

on a more conservative approach. There 

were two primary reasons for choosing 

a TAC well below the level of F–40 

percent. First, the JMC noted the 

increasing age of the 2010, 2014, and 

2016 year classes and wished to extend 

access to these stocks as long as 

possible, which a lower TAC could 

accomplish. Second, there is 

uncertainty regarding the size of the 

2020 year class. Maintaining a modest 

TAC for 2022 was deemed prudent by 

the JMC until an additional year of data 

is available on the size of the 2020 year 

class. This conservative TAC setting 

process, endorsed by the AP, resulted in 

a TAC that is less than what it would 

be using the default harvest rate under 

the Agreement. 

The JMC agreed on a recommended 

coastwide TAC of 545,000 mt, of Pacific 

whiting, which resulted in a U.S. TAC 

of 402,646 mt (73.88 percent of 545,000 

mt). This recommendation is consistent 

with the best available scientific 

information, provisions of the 

Agreement, and the Whiting Act. The 

recommendation was transmitted via 

letter to the United States and Canadian 

Governments on March 3, 2022. NMFS, 

under delegation of authority from the 

Secretary of Commerce, approved the 

TAC recommendation of 402,646 mt for 

U.S. fisheries on March 25, 2022. 

This final rule announces the U.S. 

TAC of 402,646 mt, and implements the 

domestic 2022 Pacific whiting harvest 

specifications, including, the 2022 tribal 

allocation of 70,463 mt, the preliminary 

allocations for three non-tribal 

commercial whiting sectors, and setasides for incidental mortality in 

research activities and non-groundfish 

fisheries. The tribal and non-tribal 

allocations for Pacific whiting, as well 

as set-asides, are effective until 

December 31, 2022. 

Tribal Allocations 

This final rule establishes the tribal 

allocation of Pacific whiting for 2022 as 

described in the proposed rule (87 FR 

21858). Since 1996, NMFS has been 

allocating a portion of the U.S. TAC of 

Pacific whiting to the tribal fishery. 

Regulations for the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) specify that the tribal allocation 

is subtracted from the total U.S. Pacific 

whiting TAC. The tribal Pacific whiting 

fishery is managed separately from the 

non-tribal Pacific whiting fishery and is 

not governed by limited entry or open 

access regulations or allocations. NMFS 

is establishing the 2022 tribal allocation 

as 70,463 mt (17.5 percent of the U.S. 

TAC) in this final rule. 

In 2009, NMFS, the states of 

Washington and Oregon, and the tribes 

with treaty rights to harvest Pacific 

whiting started a process to determine 

the long-term tribal allocation for Pacific 

whiting; however, no long-term 

allocation has been determined. While 

new scientific information or 

discussions with the relevant parties 

may impact that decision, the best 

available scientific information to date 

suggests that 70,463 mt is within the 

likely range of potential treaty right 

amounts. As with prior tribal Pacific 

whiting allocations, this final rule is not 

intended to establish precedent for 

future Pacific whiting seasons, or for the 

determination of the total amount of 

Pacific whiting to which the Tribes are 

entitled under their treaty right. Rather, 

this rule adopts an interim allocation. 

The long-term tribal treaty amount will 

be based on further development of 

scientific information and additional 

coordination and discussion with and 

among the coastal tribes and the states 

of Washington and Oregon. 

Non-Tribal Research and Bycatch SetAsides 

The U.S. non-tribal whiting fishery is 

managed under the Council’s Pacific 

Coast Groundfish FMP. Each year, the 

Council recommends a set-aside of 

Pacific whiting to accommodate 

incidental mortality of the fish in 

research activities and non-groundfish 

fisheries based on estimates of scientific 

research catch and estimated bycatch 

mortality in non-groundfish fisheries. At 

its November 2021 meeting, the Council 

recommended an incidental mortality 

set-aside of 750 mt for 2022. This setaside is unchanged from the 750 mt setaside amount for incidental mortality in 

2021 and reflects the recent average 

mortality that has declined from 942 mt 

in 2014–2016 to 216 mt in 2017–2019. 


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This rule implements the Council’s 

recommendations. 

Non-Tribal Harvest Guidelines and 

Allocations 

This final rule implements the fishery 

harvest guideline (HG), also called the 

non-tribal allocation as described in the 

proposed rule published on April 13, 

2022 (87 FR 21858). The 2022 fishery 

HG for Pacific whiting is 331,433 mt. 

This amount was determined by 

deducting the 70,463 mt tribal 

allocation and the 750 mt allocation for 

scientific research catch and fishing 

mortality in non-groundfish fisheries 

from the U.S. TAC of 402,646 mt. The 

regulations further allocate the fishery 

HG among the three non-tribal sectors of 

the Pacific whiting fishery: The catcher/ 

processor (C/P) Co-op Program, the 

Mothership (MS) Co-op Program, and 

the Shorebased Individual Fishing 

Quota (IFQ) Program. The C/P Co-op 

Program is allocated 34 percent (112,687 

mt for 2022), the MS Co-op Program is 

allocated 24 percent (79,544 mt for 

2022), and the Shorebased IFQ Program 

is allocated 42 percent (139,202 mt for 

2022). The fishery south of 42° N lat. 

may not take more than 6,960 mt (5 

percent of the Shorebased IFQ Program 

allocation) prior to May 15, the start of 

the primary Pacific whiting season 

north of 42° N lat. 

TABLE 1—2022 U.S. PACIFIC WHITING

ALLOCATIONS IN METRIC TONS

Sector 

2022 Pacific 

whiting 

allocation 

(mt) 

Tribal ..................................... 70,463 

Catcher/Processor (C/P) Coop Program ....................... 112,687 

Mothership (MS) Co-op Program .................................. 79,544 

Shorebased IFQ Program .... 139,202 

This rule would be implemented 

under the statutory and regulatory 

authority of section 305(d) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Pacific 

Whiting Act of 2006, the regulations 

governing the groundfish fishery at 50 

CFR 660.5—660.360, and other 

applicable laws. Additionally, with this 

final rule, NMFS, will ensure that the 

fishery is managed in a manner 

consistent with treaty rights of four 

Treaty Tribes to fish in their ‘‘usual and 

accustomed grounds and stations’’ in 

common with non-tribal citizens. 

United States v. Washington, 384 F. 

Supp. 313 (W.D. 1974). 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS issued a proposed rule on 

April 13, 2022 (87 FR 21858). The 

comment period on the proposed rule 

closed April 28, 2022. No comments 

were received during the public 

comment period. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

NMFS has not made any changes to 

the proposed regulatory text and there 

are no substantive changes from the 

proposed rule. 

Classification 

The Administrator, West Coast 

Region, NMFS, determined that the final 

rule is necessary for the conservation 

and management of the Pacific whiting 

and that it is consistent with section 

305(d), and other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP, and 

other applicable laws. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the 

NMFS Assistant Administrator finds 

good cause to waive the 30-day delay in 

the date of effectiveness for this final 

rule because such a delay would be 

contrary to the public interest. If this 

final rule were delayed by 30 days, 

Pacific coast whiting fishermen would 

not be able to fish under the final catch 

limits for Pacific whiting for that time 

period, and not be able to realize the full 

level of economic opportunity this rule 

provides. Waiving the 30-day delay in 

the date of effectiveness will allow this 

final rule to more fully benefit the 

fishery through increased fishing 

opportunities as described in the 

preamble of this rule. 

In addition, because this rule 

increases catch limits for Pacific whiting 

compared to the interim allocation the 

fishery is currently operating under, it 

therefore also falls within the 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(1) exception to the 30-day delay 

in the date of effectiveness requirement. 

The Pacific whiting fishery season 

began fishing on May 15, 2022 under 

interim allocations based on the lowest 

coastwide TAC considered in the 

proposed rule. This final rule 

implements a higher TAC for Pacific 

whiting than the interim allocation 

provided prior to the season opening, 

and implementing the rule upon 

publication provides the whiting fleet 

more opportunity and greater flexibility 

to harvest the optimal yield. 

Waiving the 30-day delay in 

effectiveness will not have a negative 

impact on any entities, as there are no 

new compliance requirements or other 

burdens placed on the fishing 

community with this rule. Making this 

rule effective immediately would also 

serve the best interests of the public 

because it will allow for the longest 

possible fishing season for Pacific 

whiting and therefore the best possible 

economic outcome for those whose 

livelihoods depend on this fishery. 

Because the 30-day delay in 

effectiveness would potentially cause 

significant financial harm without 

providing any corresponding benefits, 

this final rule is effective upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that this final rule is not 

significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

A range of potential harvest levels for 

Pacific whiting have been considered 

under the Final Environmental Impact 

Statement for Harvest Specifications 

and Management Measures for 2015– 

2016 and Biennial Periods thereafter 

(2015/16 FEIS). The 2015/16 FEIS 

examined the harvest specifications and 

management measures for 2015–16 and 

10 year projections for routinely 

adjusted harvest specifications and 

management measures. The 10 year 

projections were produced to evaluate 

the impacts of the ongoing 

implementation of harvest 

specifications and management 

measures and to evaluate the impacts of 

the routine adjustments that are the 

main component of each biennial cycle. 

The Environmental Assessment for 

Amendment 29 to the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

and 2021–22 Harvest Specifications and 

Management Measures (2021–22 EA) for 

the 2021–22 cycle tiers from the 2015/ 

16 FEIS and focuses on the harvest 

specifications and management 

measures for Pacific coast groundfish 

stocks that were not within the scope of 

the 10 year projections in the 2015/16 

FEIS. The 2015/16 FEIS and 2021–22 

EA are available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

NMFS issued a proposed rule on 

April 13, 2022 (87 FR 21858), for the 

2022 Harvest Specifications for Pacific 

Whiting, and 2022 tribal allocation for 

Pacific whiting. An Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was 

prepared and summarized in the 

Classification section of the preamble to 

the proposed rule. The comment period 

on the revised proposed rule ended on 

April 28, 2022. NMFS did not receive 

any public comments on the revised 

proposed rule. The Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) did not file any 

comments on the IRFA or the proposed 

rule. The description of this action, its 


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purpose, and its legal basis are 

described in the preamble to the 

proposed rule and are not repeated here. 

A Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(FRFA) was prepared and incorporates 

the IRFA. There were no public 

comments received on the IRFA. NMFS 

also prepared a RIR for this action. A 

copy of the RIR/FRFA is available from 

NMFS (see ADDRESSES). A summary of 

the FRFA, per the requirements of 5 

U.S.C. 604 follows. 

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(RFA), the term ‘‘small entities’’ 

includes small businesses, small 

organizations, and small governmental 

jurisdictions. The Small Business 

Administration has established size 

criteria for entities involved in the 

fishing industry that qualify as small 

businesses. A business involved in fish 

harvesting is a small business if it is 

independently owned and operated and 

not dominant in its field of operation 

(including its affiliates) and if it has 

combined annual receipts, not in excess 

of $11 million for all its affiliated 

operations worldwide (see 80 FR 81194, 

December 29, 2015). A wholesale 

business servicing the fishing industry 

is a small business if it employs 100 or 

fewer persons on a full time, part time, 

temporary, or other basis, at all its 

affiliated operations worldwide. A small 

organization is any nonprofit enterprise 

that is independently owned and 

operated and is not dominant in its 

field. Effective February 26, 2016, a 

seafood processor is a small business if 

it is independently owned and operated, 

not dominant in its field of operation, 

and employs 750 or fewer persons on a 

full time, part time, temporary, or other 

basis, at all its affiliated operations 

worldwide (See NAICS 311710 at 81 FR 

4469; January 26, 2016). For purposes of 

rulemaking, NMFS is also applying the 

seafood processor standard to catcher 

processors because whiting C/Ps earn 

the majority of the revenue from 

processed seafood product. 

A Summary of the Significant Issues 

Raised by the Public in Response to the 

IRFA, a Summary of the Agency’s 

Assessment of Such Issues, and a 

Statement of Any Changes Made in the 

Final Rule as a Result of Such 

Comments 

No public comments were received on 

the proposed rule. 

Description and Estimate of the Number 

of Small Entities to Which the Rule 

Applies, and Estimate of Economic 

Impacts by Entity Size and Industry 

This final rule announces the 

coastwide TAC and U.S. TAC and 

allocates Pacific whiting to the 

following sectors/programs: Tribal, 

Shorebased IFQ Program Trawl Fishery, 

MS Coop Program Whiting At-sea Trawl 

Fishery, and C/P Coop Program Whiting 

At-sea Trawl Fishery. The amount of 

Pacific whiting allocated to these sectors 

is based on the U.S. TAC. 

We expect one tribal entity to fish for 

Pacific whiting in 2022. Tribes are not 

considered small entities for the 

purposes of RFA. Impacts to tribes are 

nevertheless considered in this analysis. 

As of January 2022, the Shorebased 

IFQ Program is composed of 164 Quota 

Share permits/accounts (134 of which 

were allocated whiting quota pounds), 

and 35 first receivers, one of which is 

designated as whiting-only receivers 

and 11 that may receive both whiting 

and non-whiting. 

These regulations also directly affect 

participants in the MS Co-op Program, 

a general term to describe the limited 

access program that applies to eligible 

harvesters and processors in the MS 

sector of the Pacific whiting at-sea trawl 

fishery. This program consists of six MS 

processor permits, and a catcher vessel 

fleet currently composed of a single coop, with 34 Mothership/Catcher Vessel 

(MS/CV) endorsed permits (with three 

permits each having two catch history 

assignments). 

These regulations also directly affect 

the C/P Co-op Program, composed of 10 

C/P endorsed permits owned by three 

companies that have formed a single 

coop. These co-ops are considered large 

entities from several perspectives; they 

have participants that are large entities, 

and have in total more than 750 

employees worldwide including 

affiliates. 

Although there are three non-tribal 

sectors, many companies participate in 

two sectors and some participate in all 

three sectors. As part of the permit 

application processes for the non-tribal 

fisheries, based on a review of the Small 

Business Administration size criteria, 

permit applicants are asked if they 

considered themselves a ‘‘small’’ 

business, and they are asked to provide 

detailed ownership information. Data on 

employment worldwide, including 

affiliates, are not available for these 

companies, which generally operate in 

Alaska as well as the West Coast and 

may have operations in other countries 

as well. NMFS has limited entry permit 

holders self-report size status. For 2021, 

all 10 C/P permits reported they are not 

small businesses, as did 8 mothership 

catcher vessels. There is substantial, but 

not complete overlap between permit 

ownership and vessel ownership so 

there may be a small number of 

additional small entity vessel owners 

who will be impacted by this rule. After 

accounting for cross participation, 

multiple Quota Share account holders, 

and affiliation through ownership, 

NMFS estimates that there are 103 nontribal entities directly affected by these 

proposed regulations, 89 of which are 

considered ‘‘small’’ businesses. 

This rule will allocate Pacific whiting 

between tribal and non-tribal harvesters 

(a mixture of small and large 

businesses). Tribal fisheries consist of a 

mixture of fishing activities that are 

similar to the activities that non-tribal 

fisheries undertake. Tribal harvests may 

be delivered to both shoreside plants 

and motherships for processing. These 

processing facilities also process fish 

harvested by non-tribal fisheries. The 

effect of the tribal allocation on nontribal fisheries will depend on the level 

of tribal harvests relative to their 

allocation and the reapportionment 

process. If the tribes do not harvest their 

entire allocation, there are opportunities 

during the year to reapportion 

unharvested tribal amounts to the nontribal fleets. For example, in 2021 NMFS 

reapportioned 34,645 mt of the original 

64,645 mt tribal allocation. This 

reapportionment was based on 

conversations with the tribes and the 

best information available at the time, 

which indicated that this amount would 

not limit tribal harvest opportunities for 

the remainder of the year. The 

reapportioning process allows 

unharvested tribal allocations of Pacific 

whiting to be fished by the non-tribal 

fleets, benefitting both large and small 

entities. The revised Pacific whiting 

allocations for 2021 following the 

reapportionment were: Tribal 30,000 mt, 

C/P Co-op 115,141 mt; MS Co-op 81,275 

mt; and Shorebased IFQ Program 

142,232 mt. 

The prices for Pacific whiting are 

largely determined by the world market 

because most of the Pacific whiting 

harvested in the United States is 

exported. The U.S. Pacific whiting TAC 

is highly variable, as have subsequent 

harvests and ex-vessel revenues. For the 

years 2016 to 2020, the total Pacific 

whiting fishery (tribal and non-tribal) 

averaged harvests of approximately 

303,782 mt annually. The 2021 U.S. 

non-tribal fishery had a Pacific whiting 

catch of approximately 268,926 mt, and 

the tribal fishery landed less than 3,000 

mt. 

Impacts to the U.S. non-tribal fishery 

are measured with an estimate of exvessel revenue. The coastwide TAC of 

545,000 mt would result in an U.S. TAC 

of 402,646 mt and, after deduction of 

the tribal allocation and the incidental 

catch set-aside, a U.S. non-tribal harvest 

guideline of 331,433 mt. Using the 2021 

weighted-average non-tribal price per 


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metric ton (e.g. $221 per metric ton), the 

TAC is estimated to result in an exvessel revenue of $73.3 million for the 

U.S. non-tribal fishing fleet. 

Impacts to tribal catcher vessels who 

elect to participate in the tribal fishery 

are measured with an estimate of exvessel revenue. In lieu of more complete 

information on tribal deliveries, total exvessel revenue is estimated with the 

2021 average ex-vessel price of Pacific 

whiting, which was $221.15 per mt. At 

that price, the proposed 2022 tribal 

allocation of 70,463 mt would have an 

ex-vessel value of $15.58 million. 

A Description of Any Significant 

Alternatives to the Proposed Rule That 

Accomplish the Stated Objectives of 

Applicable Statutes and That Minimize 

any Significant Economic Impact of the 

Proposed Rule on Small Entities 

For the allocations to the non-tribal 

commercial sectors the Pacific whiting 

tribal allocation, and set-asides for 

research and incidental mortality NMFS 

considered two alternatives: ‘‘No 

Action’’ and the ‘‘Proposed Action.’’ 

Under the no action alternative, 

NMFS would not implement allocations 

to the non-tribal sectors based on the 

JMC recommended U.S. TAC, which 

would not fulfill NMFS’ responsibility 

to manage the U.S. fishery. This is 

contrary to the Whiting Act and 

Agreement, which requires sustainable 

management of the Pacific whiting 

resource, therefore this alternative 

received no further consideration. 

Under the no action alternative, 

NMFS would not implement the setaside amount of 750 mt recommended 

by the Council. Not implementing setasides of the US whiting TAC would 

mean incidental mortality of the fish in 

research activities and non-groundfish 

fisheries would not be accommodated. 

This would be inconsistent with the 

Council’s recommendation, the Pacific 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, 

the regulations setting the framework 

governing the groundfish fishery, and 

NMFS’ responsibility to manage the 

fishery. Therefore the no action 

alternative received no further 

consideration. 

NMFS did not consider a broader 

range of alternatives to the proposed 

tribal allocation because the tribal 

allocation is a percentage of the U.S. 

TAC and is based primarily on the 

requests of the tribes. These requests 

reflect the level of participation in the 

fishery that will allow them to exercise 

their treaty right to fish for Pacific 

whiting. Under the Proposed Action 

alternative, NMFS proposes to set the 

tribal allocation percentage at 17.5 

percent, as requested by the Tribes. This 

would yield a tribal allocation of 70,463 

mt for 2022. Consideration of a 

percentage lower than the tribal request 

of 17.5 percent is not appropriate in this 

instance. As a matter of policy, NMFS 

has historically supported the harvest 

levels requested by the Tribes. Based on 

the information available to NMFS, the 

tribal request is within their tribal treaty 

rights. A higher percentage would 

arguably also be within the scope of the 

treaty right. However, a higher 

percentage would unnecessarily limit 

the non-tribal fishery. 

Under the no action alternative, 

NMFS would not make an allocation to 

the tribal sector. This alternative was 

considered, but the regulatory 

framework provides for a tribal 

allocation on an annual basis only. 

Therefore, the no action alternative 

would result in no allocation of Pacific 

whiting to the tribal sector in 2022, 

which would be inconsistent with 

NMFS’ responsibility to manage the 

fishery consistent with the Tribes’ treaty 

rights. Given that there is a tribal 

request for allocation in 2022, this 

alternative received no further 

consideration. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Determination 

of No Significant Impact 

NMFS determined this proposed rule 

would not adversely affect small 

entities. The reapportioning process 

allows unharvested tribal allocations of 

Pacific whiting, fished by small entities, 

to be fished by the non-tribal fleets, 

benefitting both large and small entities. 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

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. A small entity 

compliance guide will be sent to 

stakeholders, and copies of the final rule 

and guides (i.e., information bulletins) 

are available from NMFS at the 

following website: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/pacificwhiting#management. 

With this final rule, NMFS, acting on 

behalf of the Secretary, determined that 

the FMP is implemented in a manner 

consistent with treaty rights of four 

Treaty Tribes to fish in their ‘‘usual and 

accustomed grounds and stations’’ in 

common with non-tribal citizens. 

United States v. Washington, 384 F. 

Supp. 313 (W.D. Wash. 1974). 

This final rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Fisheries, Fishing, Indian Fisheries. 

Dated: May 25, 2022. 

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 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 § 660.50, revise paragraph (f)(4) 

to read as follows: 

§ 660.50 Pacific Coast treaty Indian 

fisheries. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(4) Pacific whiting. The tribal 

allocation for 2022 is 70,463 mt. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Revise Table 2a to part 660, subpart 

C, to read as follows: 

TABLE 2a. TO PART 660, SUBPART C—2022, AND BEYOND, SPECIFICATIONS OF OFL, ABC, ACL, ACT AND FISHERY

HARVEST GUIDELINES (WEIGHTS IN METRIC TONS) 

[Capitalized stocks are overfished.] 

Stocks Area OFL ABC ACL a Fishery HG b

YELLOWEYE ROCKFISH c .............. Coastwide ......................................... 98 83 51 42.2 

Arrowtooth Flounder d ....................... Coastwide ......................................... 11,764 8,458 8,458 6,362.9 

Big Skate e ........................................ Coastwide ......................................... 1,606 1,389 1,389 1,331.7 


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TABLE 2a. TO PART 660, SUBPART C—2022, AND BEYOND, SPECIFICATIONS OF OFL, ABC, ACL, ACT AND FISHERY

HARVEST GUIDELINES (WEIGHTS IN METRIC TONS)—Continued 

[Capitalized stocks are overfished.] 

Stocks Area OFL ABC ACL a Fishery HG b

Black Rockfish f ................................. California (S of 42° N lat.) ................ 373 341 341 338.7 

Black Rockfish g ................................ Washington (N of 46°16′ N lat.) ....... 319 291 291 272.9 

Bocaccio h ......................................... S of 40°10′ N lat. .............................. 1,870 1,724 1,724 1,676.2 

Cabezon i ........................................... California (S of 42° N lat) ................. 210 195 195 193.7 

California Scorpionfish j ..................... S of 34°27′ N lat. .............................. 303 275 275 271.1 

Canary Rockfish k .............................. Coastwide ......................................... 1,432 1,307 1,307 1,237.6 

Chilipepperl ....................................... S of 40°10′ N lat. .............................. 2,474 2,259 2,259 2,161.3 

Cowcod m .......................................... S of 40°10′ N lat. .............................. 113 82 82 70.8 

Cowcod ...................................... (Conception) ..................................... 94 70 NA NA 

Cowcod ...................................... (Monterey) ........................................ 19 12 NA NA 

Darkblotched Rockfish n .................... Coastwide ......................................... 901 831 831 811.9 

Dover Sole o ...................................... Coastwide ......................................... 87,540 78,436 50,000 48,402.8 

English Sole p .................................... Coastwide ......................................... 11,127 9,101 9,101 8,850.4 

Lingcod q ........................................... N of 40ß10′ N lat. .............................. 5,395 4,974 4,958 4,679.6 

Lingcod r ............................................ S of 40°10′ N lat. .............................. 1,334 1,230 1,172 1,159 

Longnose Skate s .............................. Coastwide ......................................... 2,036 1,761 1,761 1,509.6 

Longspine Thornyhead t .................... N of 34°27′ N lat. ............................. 4,838 3,227 2,452 2,398.3 

Longspine Thornyhead u ................... S of 34°27′ N lat. .............................. 774 771.8 

Pacific Cod v ...................................... Coastwide ......................................... 3,200 1,926 1,600 1,093.9 

Pacific Ocean Perch w ....................... N of 40°10′ N lat. ............................. 4,371 3,711 3,711 3,686.3 

Pacific Whiting x ................................ Coastwide ......................................... 715,643 x x 331,433 

Petrale Sole y .................................... Coastwide ......................................... 3,936 3,660 3,660 3,272.5 

Sablefish z ......................................... N of 36° N lat. .................................. 9,005 8,375 6,566 See Table 1c 

Sablefish aa ........................................ S of 36° N lat. .................................. 1,809 1,781.6 

Shortspine Thornyhead bb ................. N of 34°27′ N lat. ............................. 3,194 2,130 1,393 1,314.6 

Shortspine Thornyhead cc ................. S of 34°27′ N lat. .............................. 737 730.3 

Spiny Dogfish dd ................................ Coastwide ......................................... 2,469 1,585 1,585 1,241.0 

Splitnose ee ........................................ S of 40°10′ N lat. .............................. 1,837 1,630 1,630 1,611.6 

Starry Flounderff ............................... Coastwide ......................................... 652 392 392 343.6 

Widow Rockfish gg ............................. Coastwide ......................................... 14,826 13,788 13,788 13,539.7 

Yellowtail Rockfish hh ........................ N of 40°10′ N lat. ............................. 6,324 5,831 5,831 4,793.5 

Stock Complexes 

Blue/Deacon/Black Rockfish ii ........... Oregon ............................................. 672 600 600 597.7 

Cabezon/Kelp Greenling jj ................. Washington ...................................... 22 17 17 15 

Cabezon/Kelp Greenling kk ............... Oregon ............................................. 208 190 190 189.8 

Nearshore Rockfish North ll ............... N of 40°10′ N lat. ............................. 93 77 77 73.9 

Nearshore Rockfish South mm ........... S of 40°10′ N lat. .............................. 1,233 1,011 1,010 1,005.6 

Other Fish nn ...................................... Coastwide ......................................... 286 223 223 201.7 

Other Flatfish oo ................................. Coastwide ......................................... 7,808 4,838 4,838 4,617.1 

Shelf Rockfish North pp ..................... N of 40°10′ N lat. ............................. 1,821 1,450 1,450 1,377.6 

Shelf Rockfish South qq ..................... S of 40°10′ N lat. .............................. 1,832 1,429 1,428 1,295.2 

Slope Rockfish North rr ...................... N of 40°10′ N lat. ............................. 1,842 1,568 1,568 1,502.1 

Slope Rockfish South ss .................... S of 40°10′ N lat. .............................. 871 705 705 666.1 

aAnnual catch limits (ACLs), annual catch targets (ACTs) and harvest guidelines (HGs) are specified as total catch values. 

bFishery HGs means the HG or quota after subtracting Pacific Coast treaty Indian tribes allocations and projected catch, projected research 

catch, deductions for fishing mortality in non-groundfish fisheries, and deductions for EFPs from the ACL or ACT. cYelloweye rockfish. The 51 mt ACL is based on the current rebuilding plan with a target year to rebuild of 2029 and an SPR harvest rate of 

65 percent. 8.85 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (5 mt), EFP catch (0.24 mt), research (2.92 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (0.69 mt) resulting in a fishery HG of 42.2 mt. The non-trawl HG is 38.8 mt. The combined non-nearshore/nearshore 

HG is 8.1 mt. Recreational HGs are: 9.9 mt (Washington); 9 mt (Oregon); and 11.7 mt (California). In addition, the nontrawl ACT is 30.4 mt and 

the combined non-nearshore/nearshore ACT is 6.3 mt. Recreational ACTs are: 7.8 mt (Washington), 7.1 (Oregon), and 9.2 mt (California). dArrowtooth flounder. 2,095.08 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (2,041 mt), EFP fishing (0.1 mt), research 

(12.98 mt) and incidental open access (41 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 6,362.9 mt. eBig skate. 57.31 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (15 mt), EFP fishing (0.1 mt), and research catch (5.49 mt), 

and incidental open access (36.72 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,331.7 mt. fBlack rockfish (California). 2.26 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP fishing (1.0 mt), research (0.08 mt), and incidental open 

access (1.18 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 338.7 mt. gBlack rockfish (Washington). 18.1 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (18 mt) and research catch (0.1 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 272.9 mt. hBocaccio south of 40°10′′ N lat. The stock is managed with stock-specific harvest specifications south of 40°10′′ N lat. and within the Minor 

Shelf Rockfish complex north of 40°10′′ N lat. 47.82 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP catch (40 mt), research (5.6 mt), and incidental open access (2.22 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,676.2 mt. The 2022 combined allocation to the nearshore and non-nearshore fishery is 315.7 mt. The California recreational fishery south of 40°10′′ N lat. has an HG of 706.1 mt. i Cabezon (California). 1.28 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP (1 mt), research (0.02 mt), and incidental open access fishery 

(0.26 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 193.7 mt. 

j California scorpionfish south of 34°27′′ N lat. 3.89 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate research (0.18 mt) and the incidental open 

access fishery (3.71 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 271.1 mt. k Canary rockfish. 69.39 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (50 mt), EFP catch (8 mt), and research catch (10.08 

mt), and the incidental open access fishery (1.31 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,237.6 mt. The combined nearshore/non-nearshore HG is 

123.5 mt. Recreational HGs are: 42.2 mt (Washington); 63.5 mt (Oregon); and 113.9 mt (California). 


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l Chilipepper rockfish south of 40°10′′ N lat. Chilipepper are managed with stock-specific harvest specifications south of 40°10′N lat. and within 

the Minor Shelf Rockfish complex north of 40°10′′ N lat. 97.7 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP fishing (70 mt), research (14.04 

mt), the incidental open access fishery (13.66 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 2,161.3 mt. m Cowcod south of 40°10′′ N lat. 11.17 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP fishing (1 mt), research (10 mt), and incidental 

open access (0.17 mt), resulting in a fishery harvest guideline of 70.83 mt. A single ACT of 50 mt is being set for the Conception and Monterey 

areas combined. n Darkblotched rockfish. 19.06 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (0.2 mt), EFP catch (0.6 mt), and research 

catch (8.46 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (9.8 mt) resulting in a fishery HG of 811.9 mt. o Dover sole. 1,597.21 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (1,497 mt), EFP fishing (0.1 mt), research (50.84 mt), 

and incidental open access (49.27 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 48,402.8 mt. pEnglish sole. 250.63 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (200 mt), EFP fishing (0.1 mt), research (8 mt), and the 

incidental open access fishery (42.52 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 8,850.4 mt. q Lingcod north of 40°10′′ N lat. 278.38 mt is deducted from the ACL for the Tribal fishery (250 mt), EFP catch (0.1 mt), research (16.6 mt), 

and the incidental open access fishery (11.68 mt) resulting in a fishery HG of 4,679.6 mt. r Lingcod south of 40°10′′ N lat. 13 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP catch (1.5 mt), research (3.19 mt), and incidental open 

access fishery (8.31 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,159 mt. s Longnose skate. 251.40 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (220 mt), EFP catch (0.1 mt), and research catch 

(12.46 mt), and incidental open access fishery (18.84 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,509.6 mt. t Longspine thornyhead north of 34°27′ N lat. 53.71 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (30 mt), research catch 

(17.49 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (6.22 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 2,398.3 mt. u Longspine thornyhead south of 34°27′ N lat. 2.24 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate research catch (1.41 mt) and the incidental 

open access fishery (0.83 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 771.8 mt. vPacific cod. 506.1 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (500 mt), EFP fishing (0.1 mt), research catch (5.47 mt), 

and the incidental open access fishery (0.53 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,093.9 mt. w Pacific ocean perch north of 40°10′′ N lat. 24.73 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (9.2 mt), EFP fishing (0.1 

mt), research catch (5.39 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (10.04 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 3,686.2 mt. xThe 2022 OFL of 715,643 mt is based on the 2022 assessment with an F40 percent of FMSY proxy. The 2022 coastwide Total Allowable 

Catch (TAC) is 545,000 mt. The U.S. TAC is 73.88 percent of the coastwide TAC. The 2022 U.S. TAC is 402,646 mt. From the U.S. TAC, 

70,463 mt is deducted to accommodate the Tribal fishery, and 750 mt is deducted to accommodate research and bycatch in other fisheries, resulting in a 2022 fishery HG of 331,433 mt. The TAC for Pacific whiting is established under the provisions of the Agreement with Canada on 

Pacific Hake/Whiting and the Pacific Whiting Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 7001–7010, and the international exception applies. Therefore, no ABC or 

ACL values are provided for Pacific whiting. yPetrale sole. 387.54 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (350 mt), EFP catch (0.1 mt), research (24.14 mt), and 

the incidental open access fishery (13.3 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 3,272.5 mt. zSablefish north of 36° N lat. This coastwide ACL value is not specified in regulations. The coastwide ACL value is apportioned north and 

south of 36° N lat., using a rolling 5-year average estimated swept area biomass from the NMFS NWFSC trawl survey, with 78.4 percent apportioned north of 36° N lat. and 21.5 percent apportioned south of 36° N lat. The northern ACL is 6,566 mt and is reduced by 656.6 mt for the Tribal allocation (10 percent of the ACL north of 36° N lat.). The 656.6 mt Tribal allocation is reduced by 1.7 percent to account for discard mortality. 

Detailed sablefish allocations are shown in Table 1c. aaSablefish south of 36° N lat. The ACL for the area south of 36° N lat. is 1,809 mt (21.6 percent of the calculated coastwide ACL value). 27.4 

mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate research (2.40 mt) and the incidental open access fishery (25 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 

1,781.6 mt. bbShortspine thornyhead north of 34°27′ N lat. 78.4 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (50 mt), EFP catch (0.1 

mt), and research catch (10.48 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (17.82 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,314.6 mt for the area north 

of 34°27′ N lat. ccShortspine thornyhead south of 34°27′ N lat. 6.71 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate research catch (0.71 mt) and the incidental 

open access fishery (6 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 730.3 mt for the area south of 34°27′ N lat. ddSpiny dogfish. 344 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (275 mt), EFP catch (1.1 mt), research (34.27 mt), and 

the incidental open access fishery (33.63 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,241 mt. eeSplitnose rockfish south of 40°10′′ N lat. Splitnose rockfish in the north is managed in the Slope Rockfish complex and with stock-specific 

harvest specifications south of 40°10′ N lat. 18.42 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP catch (1.5 mt), research (11.17 mt), and 

the incidental open access fishery (5.75 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,611.6 mt. ffStarry flounder. 48.38 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (2 mt), EFP catch (0.1 mt), research (0.57 mt), and the 

incidental open access fishery (45.71 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 343.6 mt. ggWidow rockfish. 248.32 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (200 mt), EFP catch (28 mt), research (17.27 mt), 

and the incidental open access fishery (3.05 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 13,539.7 mt. hhYellowtail rockfish north of 40°10′′ N lat. 1,037.55 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (1,000 mt), EFP catch (10 

mt), research (20.55 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (7 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 4,793.5 mt. iiBlack rockfish/Blue rockfish/Deacon rockfish (Oregon). 2.32 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the EFP catch (0.5 mt), research 

(0.08 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (1.74 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 597.7 mt. 

jj Cabezon/kelp greenling (Washington). 2 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery, therefore the fishery HG is 15 mt. 

kk Cabezon/kelp greenling (Oregon). 0.21 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP catch (0.1 mt), research (0.05 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (0.06 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 189.8 mt. ll Nearshore Rockfish north of 40°10′′ N lat. 3.08 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (1.5 mt), EFP catch (0.5 mt), 

research (0.47 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (0.61 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 73.9 mt. State-specific HGs are 17.7 mt (Washington), 22.2 mt (Oregon), and 37.4 mt (California). mm Nearshore Rockfish south of 40°10′′ N lat. 4.42 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate research catch (2.68 mt) and the incidental 

open access fishery (1.74 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,005.6 mt. nnOther Fish. The Other Fish complex is comprised of kelp greenling off California and leopard shark coastwide. 21.34 mt is deducted from 

the ACL to accommodate EFP catch (0.1 mt), research (6.29 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (14.95 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 

201.7 mt. ooOther Flatfish. The Other Flatfish complex is comprised of flatfish species managed in the PCGFMP that are not managed with stock-specific OFLs/ABCs/ACLs. Most of the species in the Other Flatfish complex are unassessed and include: butter sole, curlfin sole, flathead sole, Pacific sanddab, rock sole, sand sole, and rex sole. 220.89 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (60 mt), EFP catch (0.1 

mt), research (23.63 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (137.16 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 4,617.1 mt. ppShelf Rockfish north of 40°10′′ N lat. 72.44 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (30 mt), EFP catch (1.5 mt), research (15.32 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (25.62 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,377.6 mt. qqShelf Rockfish south of 40°10′′ N lat. 132.77 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP catch (50 mt), research catch (15.1 mt), 

and the incidental open access fishery (67.67 mt) resulting in a fishery HG of 1,295.2 mt. rrSlope Rockfish north of 40°10′′ N lat. 65.89 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate the Tribal fishery (36 mt), EFP catch (1.5 mt), and 

research (10.51 mt), and the incidental open access fishery (18.88 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 1,502.1 mt. ssSlope Rockfish south of 40°10′′ N lat. 38.94 mt is deducted from the ACL to accommodate EFP catch (1 mt), and research (18.21 mt), and 

the incidental open access fishery (19.73 mt), resulting in a fishery HG of 666.1 mt. Blackgill rockfish has a stock-specific HG for the entire 

groundfish fishery south of 40°10′′ N lat. set equal to the species’ contribution to the 40–10-adjusted ACL. Harvest of blackgill rockfish in all 

groundfish fisheries south of 40°10′′ N lat. counts against this HG of 174 mt. 


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* * * * * ■ 4. Revise Table 2b to part 660, subpart 

C, to read as follows: 

TABLE 2b. TO PART 660, SUBPART C—2022, AND BEYOND, ALLOCATIONS BY SPECIES OR SPECIES GROUP

[Weight in Metric Tons] 

Stocks/stock complexes Area Fishery HG or 

ACT a b

Trawl Non-trawl 

% Mt % Mt 

YELLOWEYE ROCKFISH a Coastwide ........................... 42.2 8 3.4 92 38.8 

Arrowtooth flounder ............. Coastwide ........................... 6,362.9 95 6,044.8 5 318.1 

Big skate a ........................... Coastwide ........................... 1,331.7 95 1,265.1 5 66.6 

Bocaccio a ........................... S of 40°10′ N lat ................. 1,676.2 39.04 654.4 60.96 1,021.8 

Canary rockfish a ................. Coastwide ........................... 1,237.6 72.281 894.6 27.719 343.1 

Chilipepper rockfish ............ S of 40°10′ N lat ................. 2,161.3 75 1,621 25 540.3 

Cowcod a ............................. S of 40°10′ N lat ................. 50 36 18 64 32 

Darkblotched rockfish ......... Coastwide ........................... 811.9 95 771.3 5 40.6 

Dover sole ........................... Coastwide ........................... 4,8402.8 95 45,982.7 5 2,420.1 

English sole ......................... Coastwide ........................... 8,850.4 95 8,407.8 5 442.5 

Lingcod ................................ N of 40′10° N lat ................ 4,679.6 45 2,105.8 55 2,573.8 

Lingcod a ............................. S of 40’10° N lat ................. 1,159 40 463.6 60 695.4 

Longnose skate a ................ Coastwide ........................... 1,509.6 90 1,358.6 10 151 

Longspine thornyhead ........ N of 34°27′ N lat ................ 2,398.3 95 2,278.4 5 119.9 

Pacific cod ........................... Coastwide ........................... 1,093.9 95 1,039.2 5 54.7 

Pacific ocean perch ............ N of 40°10′ N lat ................ 3,686.3 95 3,502 5 184.3 

Pacific whiting c ................... Coastwide ........................... 331,443 100 331, 443 0 0 

Petrale sole a ....................... Coastwide ........................... 3,272.5 ........................ 3,242.5 ........................ 30 

Sablefish ............................. N of 36° N lat ..................... NA See Table 1c 

Sablefish ............................. S of 36° N lat ..................... 1,781.6 42 748.3 58 1,033.3 

Shortspine thornyhead ........ N of 34°27′ N lat ................ 1,314.6 95 1,248.9 5 65.7 

Shortspine thornyhead ........ S of 34°27′ N lat ................. 730.3 ........................ 50 ........................ 680.3 

Splitnose rockfish ................ S of 40°10′ N lat ................. 1,611.6 95 1,531 5 80.6 

Starry flounder .................... Coastwide ........................... 343.6 50 171.8 50 171.8 

Widow rockfish a .................. Coastwide ........................... 13,539.7 ........................ 13,139.7 ........................ 400 

Yellowtail rockfish ............... N of 40°10′ N lat ................ 4,783.5 88 4,209.5 12 574 

Other Flatfish ...................... Coastwide ........................... 4,617.1 90 4,155.4 10 461.7 

Shelf Rockfish a ................... N of 40° 10′ N lat ............... 1,377.6 60.2 829.3 39.8 548.3 

Shelf Rockfish a ................... S of 40° 10′ N lat ............... 1,295.2 12.2 158 87.8 1,137.2 

Slope Rockfish .................... N of 40° 10′ N lat ............... 1,502.1 81 1,216.7 19 285.4 

Slope Rockfish a .................. S of 40° 10′ N lat ............... 666.1 ........................ 523.9 ........................ 142.2 

aAllocations decided through the biennial specification process. 

bThe cowcod fishery harvest guideline is further reduced to an ACT of 50 mt. 

c Consistent with regulations at § 660.55(i)(2), the commercial harvest guideline for Pacific whiting is allocated as follows: 34 percent for the C/ 

P Coop Program; 24 percent for the MS Coop Program; and 42 percent for the Shorebased IFQ Program. No more than 5 percent of the 

Shorebased IFQ Program allocation may be taken and retained south of 42° N lat. before the start of the primary Pacific whiting season north of 

42° N lat. 

■ 5. In § 660.140, revise paragraph 

(d)(1)(ii)(D) to read as follows: 

§ 660.140 Shorebased IFQ Program. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(D) Shorebased trawl allocations. For 

the trawl fishery, NMFS will issue QP 

based on the following shorebased trawl 

allocations: 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (d)(1)(ii)(D) 

IFQ species Area 

2021 

Shorebased 

trawl allocation 

(mt) 

2022 

Shorebased 

trawl allocation 

(mt) 

YELLOWEYE ROCKFISH ............................................ Coastwide ..................................................................... 3.3 3.4 

Arrowtooth flounder ...................................................... Coastwide ..................................................................... 7,376.02 5,974.77 

Bocaccio ....................................................................... South of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 663.75 654.38 

Canary rockfish ............................................................. Coastwide ..................................................................... 880.96 858.56 

Chilipepper .................................................................... South of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 1,695.2 1,621 

Cowcod ......................................................................... South of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 18 18 

Darkblotched rockfish ................................................... Coastwide ..................................................................... 743.39 694.94 

Dover sole .................................................................... Coastwide ..................................................................... 45,972.65 45,972.65 

English sole .................................................................. Coastwide ..................................................................... 8,478.2 8,407.9 

Lingcod ......................................................................... North of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 2,275.78 2,090.83 

Lingcod ......................................................................... South of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 435.6 463.6 


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33450 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 106 / Thursday, June 2, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (d)(1)(ii)(D)—Continued 

IFQ species Area 

2021 

Shorebased 

trawl allocation 

(mt) 

2022 

Shorebased 

trawl allocation 

(mt) 

Longspine thornyhead .................................................. North of 34°27′ N lat .................................................... 2,451.28 2,278.38 

Pacific cod .................................................................... Coastwide ..................................................................... 1,039.21 1,039.21 

Pacific halibut (IBQ) ...................................................... North of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 69.6 69.6 

Pacific ocean perch ...................................................... North of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 3,337.74 3,201.94 

Pacific whiting ............................................................... Coastwide ..................................................................... 127,682 139,202 

Petrale sole ................................................................... Coastwide ..................................................................... 3,692.9 3,237.5 

Sablefish ....................................................................... North of 36° N lat ......................................................... 3,139.59 2,985.42 

Sablefish ....................................................................... South of 36° N lat ......................................................... 786 748 

Shortspine thornyhead ................................................. North of 34°27′ N lat .................................................... 1,212.12 1,178.87 

Shortspine thornyhead ................................................. South of 34°27′ N lat .................................................... 50 50 

Splitnose rockfish ......................................................... South of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 1,565.20 1,531.00 

Starry flounder .............................................................. Coastwide ..................................................................... 171.8 171.8 

Widow rockfish ............................................................. Coastwide ..................................................................... 13,600.68 12,663.68 

Yellowtail rockfish ......................................................... North of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 4,091.13 3,898.4 

Other Flatfish complex ................................................. Coastwide ..................................................................... 4,088.00 4,120.40 

Shelf Rockfish complex ................................................ North of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 831.07 794.56 

Shelf Rockfish complex ................................................ South of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 159.24 158.02 

Slope Rockfish complex ............................................... North of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 938.58 916.71 

Slope Rockfish complex ............................................... South of 40°10′ N lat .................................................... 526.4 523.9 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–11728 Filed 6–1–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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