51684 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 168 / Wednesday, August 31, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

This same boundary line is used as the 

offshore boundary of the Ocean Salmon 

Conservation Zone established by this 

rule. 

Regulatory Changes put into Effect 

Through This Emergency Action 

Federal regulations at 50 CFR 

660.373(c) establish two closed areas for 

the Pacific whiting fishery that are 

intended to constrain the effects of the 

fishery on Klamath and Columbia River 

salmon. Additional salmon protection is 

provided at 50 CFR 660.373(d), which 

sets whiting trip limits for vessels 

operating shoreward of the 100–fm 

(183–m) depth contour in the Eureka 

management area (from 43°00′ to 40°30′ 

N. lat.) This emergency rule temporarily 

establishes a third salmon conservation 

zone for all West Coast waters 

shoreward of a boundary line 

approximating the 100–fm (183–m) 

depth contour. The latitude/longitude 

coordinates defining the boundary line 

that approximates the 100–fm (183–m) 

depth contour are provided at 

§ 660.393(a). 

Classification 

This emergency rule establishes a 

coastwide salmon conservation zone for 

the Pacific whiting fishery. It is issued 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act at section 305(c)(1) 

and is consistent with the regulations 

implementing the FMP at 50 CFR part 

660. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA (AA) finds good cause 

to waive the requirement to provide 

prior notice and comment on this action 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B)., because 

Pproviding prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest for the following reasons. The 

information on which this action is 

based was not available to NMFS until 

July 2005 and the closed area 

implemented by this rule needs to be in 

place as soon as possible in August 2005 

in order to provide additional protection 

for ESA-listed endangered and 

threatened salmon during the remainder 

of the 2005 primary primary whiting 

season, as well as during the ESA 

consultation that is currently ongoing 

for these salmon. If the agency were to 

conductundergo a proposed and final 

rulemaking for this action, the rule 

would not likely be finalized until after 

the whiting fisheries had achieved their 

2005 whiting quotas. The bycatch of 

ESA-listed salmon could continue 

unabated during this time. Providing 

prior notice and comment would be 

impracticable because affording prior 

notice and opportunity for public 

comment would impede the agency’s 

mandated duty to manage fisheries to 

protect endangered and threatened 

salmon. 

For the reasons described above, 

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

also finds good cause to waive the 30–

day delay in effectiveness, so that this 

rule may become effective as soon as 

possible to provide immediate 

protection for ESA-listed endangered 

and threatened salmon. 

This emergency rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

This action is within the scope of the 

October 2004 Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) prepared by the Council 

for the 2005–2006 Pacific Coast 

groundfish ABCs, OYS, and 

management measures. Copies of this 

EIS are available from the Pacific 

Council (See ADDRESSES.) 

This emergency rule is exempt from 

the procedures of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act because the rule is issued 

without opportunity for prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment. 

The proposed and final rules to 

implement the 2005–2006 groundfish 

harvest specifications and management 

measures were developed after 

meaningful consultation and 

collaboration with tribal officials from 

the area covered by the FMP, per 

Executive Order 13175. Under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act at 16 U.S.C. 

1852(b)(5), one of the voting members of 

the Pacific Council must be a 

representative of an Indian tribe with 

federally recognized fishing rights from 

the area of the Council’s jurisdiction. 

The tribal representative on the Council 

made a motion to adopt the 2005–2006 

tribal management measures, which was 

passed by the Council. Of the four 

groundfish treaty tribes, only the Makah 

Tribe conducts a whiting fishery. NMFS 

consulted with the Makah Tribe on 

salmon bycatch in their whiting fishery 

and on implementing a fishery closure 

shoreward of a boundary line 

approximating the 100–fm (183–m) 

depth contour. The Makah Tribe is 

implementing tribal fishery regulations 

to close the tribal whiting fishery 

shoreward of 100- fm (183- m) and is 

beginning testing a salmon bycatch 

excluder device that has been 

successfully used to exclude salmon 

bycatch in Alaska pollock fisheries. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries, 

Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives, 

Indians, Northern Mariana Islands, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: August 26, 2005. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting 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 AND IN THE 

WESTERN PACIFIC 

■ l. The authority citation for part 660 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 660.373, paragraph (c)(3) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 660.373 Pacific whiting (whiting) fishery 

management. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(3) Ocean Salmon Conservation Zone. 

All waters shoreward of a boundary line 

approximating the 100- fm (183- m) 

depth contour. Latitude and longitude 

coordinates defining the boundary line 

approximating the 100–fm (183–m) 

depth contour are provided at 

§ 660.393(a). This closure supplements 

the closures provided in this section at 

paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 05–17342 Filed 8–26–05; 2:26 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 041126332–5039–02; I.D. 

082505A] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of 

Pollock in the Bering Sea Subarea 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; reallocation. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is reallocating 

projected unused amounts of Bering Sea 

subarea (BS) pollock from the incidental 

catch allowance to the directed 

fisheries. This action is necessary to 

allow the 2005 total allowable catch 

(TAC) of pollock to be harvested. 

DATES: Effective August 26, 2005, until 

2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2005. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 168 / Wednesday, August 31, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 51685 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh 

Keaton, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council under 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. Regulations governing fishing by 

U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

The 2005 pollock incidental catch 

allowance in the BS was established as 

44,577 metric tons by the 2005 and 2006 

final harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the BSAI (70 FR 8979, 

February 24, 2005), in accordance with 

§ 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(1) and the American 

Fisheries Act (AFA) (Public Law 105–

277, Division C, Title II). 

As of August 22, 2005, the 

Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS, 

has determined that approximately 

11,525 metric tons (mt) of pollock 

remain in the incidental catch 

allowance. Based on projected harvest 

rates of other groundfish species and the 

expected incidental catch of pollock in 

those fisheries, the Regional 

Administrator has determined that 

7,000 mt of pollock specified in the 

incidental catch allowance will not be 

necessary as incidental catch. Therefore, 

NMFS is apportioning the projected 

unused amount, 7,000 mt, of pollock 

from the incidental catch allowance to 

the directed fishing allowances 

established pursuant to 

§ 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A). Pursuant to the 

pollock allocation requirements set forth 

in § 679.20(a)(5)(i), this transfer will 

increase the allocation to catcher vessels 

harvesting pollock for processing by the 

inshore component by 3,500 mt, to 

catcher/processors and catcher vessels 

harvesting pollock for processing by 

catcher/processors in the offshore 

component by 2,800 mt and to catcher 

vessels harvesting pollock for 

processing by motherships in the 

offshore component by 700 mt. Pursuant 

to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4), no less than 

8.5 percent of the 2,800 mt allocated to 

catcher/processors in the offshore 

component, 238 mt, will be available for 

harvest only by eligible catcher vessels 

delivering to listed catcher/processors. 

Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4)(iii), 

an additional 14 mt or 0.5 percent of the 

catcher/processor sector allocation of 

pollock will be available to unlisted 

AFA catcher/processors. 

Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(I) (A), 

Tables 3 and 10 are revised for the 2005 

B season consistent with this 

reallocation. Footnote 1 continues to 

state the allocations under regulations at 

§ 679.20(a)(5). 

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BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 

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) and 679.20(b)(3)(iii)(A) 

as such a 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 

reallocation of projected unused 

amounts of BS pollock from the 

incidental catch allowance to the 

directed fisheries. NMFS was unable to 

publish a notice providing time for 

public comment because the most 

recent, relevant data only became 

available as of August 22, 2005. 

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 taken under 50 CFR 

679.20, and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: August 26, 2005. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries , National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–17341 Filed 8–26–05; 2:26 pm] 

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