Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 18, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 71583 

by 12 to obtain the monthly cost of 

offsite revisit surveys to obtain the total 

costs for offsite revisit surveys for the 

period of the current Continuing 

Resolution (roughly 1 month). 

TABLE C.—OFFSITE REVISIT SURVEYS—ESTIMATED MONTHLY COSTS

Facility 

Monthly number 

of offsite revisit 

surveys 

Fee assessed 

per offsite revisit 

survey 

($112 × 1.5 hrs) 

Monthly costs for 

offsite revisit 

surveys* 

SNF & NF ........................................................................................................................ 1,262 $168 $211,932 

Hospitals .......................................................................................................................... 23 168 3,892 

HHA ................................................................................................................................. 43 168 7,238 

Hospice ............................................................................................................................ 4 168 714 

ASC .................................................................................................................................. 8 168 1,302 

RHC ................................................................................................................................. 6 168 938 

ESRD ............................................................................................................................... 19 168 3,234 

Total .......................................................................................................................... 1,365 ............................ 229,250 

* Monthly costs may differ from the multiple of monthly revisits and fee per revisit due to rounding. The time period of this CR is roughly 1 

month. 

As shown in Table D below, we 

provide the aggregate costs expected as 

projected for the entire FY 2007, as well 

as the costs we would expect to offset 

for the period of the current Continuing 

Resolution. 

TABLE D.—TOTAL COSTS COMBINED FOR ALL REVISITS SURVEYS PER FISCAL YEAR & PERIOD OF CR 

FY 2007 Period of CR* 

Onsite Revisit Surveys .................................................................................................................................... $34,565,760 $2,880,480 

Offsite Revisit Surveys .................................................................................................................................... 2,751,000 229,250 

Total Costs All Revisits ............................................................................................................................ 37,316,760 3,109,730 

* CR period’s costs are based on CR period revisit surveys rounded up to the nearest whole number as shown in Table B & C. 

E. Alternatives Considered 

We considered a number of 

alternatives to the revisit user fee 

program. Such alternatives were 

discussed in the final rule published on 

September 19, 2007 (72 FR 53647). We 

affirm the continuing validity of that 

analysis. The current Continuing 

Resolution provides CMS with the 

authority to continue projects or 

activities as was otherwise provided for 

in FY 2007, and as such CMS is 

required to publish an interim final rule 

with comment. This interim final rule 

with comment merely updates the 

Congressional authority under which 

the rule operates. 

In accordance with Executive Order 

12866, this rule has been reviewed by 

the Office of Management and Budget. 

List of Subjects in 42 CFR Part 488 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Health facilities, Medicare, 

Reporting and Recording requirements. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services amends 42 CFR 

chapter IV, part 488 as set forth below: 

PART 488—SURVEY, CERTIFICATION, 

AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 488 

is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 1102 and 1871 of the 

Social Security Act, unless otherwise noted 

(42 U.S.C. 1302 and 1395(hh)); Continuing 

Resolution Pub. L. 101–16 Division B of HR 

3222. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.778, Medical Assistance 

Program) 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital 

Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program) 

Dated: December 3, 2007. 

Kerry Weems, 

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

Approved: December 13, 2007. 

Michael O. Leavitt, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 07–6093 Filed 12–14–07; 12:13 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 060824226 6322 02] 

RIN 0648–AW34 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 

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; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This final rule announces 

inseason changes to management 

measures in the commercial Pacific 

Coast groundfish fishery. These actions, 

which are authorized by the Pacific 

Coast Groundfish Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP), are intended to allow 

fisheries to access more abundant 


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groundfish stocks while protecting 

overfished and depleted stocks. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) 

January 1, 2008. Comments on this final 

rule must be received no later than 5 

p.m., local time on January 17, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–AW34 by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Fax: 206–526–6736, Attn: Gretchen 

Arentzen 

• Mail: D. Robert Lohn, 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070, Attn: Gretchen 

Arentzen. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments. Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gretchen Arentzen (Northwest Region, 

NMFS), phone: 206–526–6147, fax: 206–

526–6736 and e-mail 

gretchen.arentzen@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This final rule is accessible via the 

Internet at the Office of the Federal 

Register’s Website at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

Background information and documents 

are available at the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s website at http:// 

www.pcouncil.org/. 

Background 

The Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP 

and its implementing regulations at title 

50 in the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR), part 660, subpart G, regulate 

fishing for over 90 species of groundfish 

off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, 

and California. Groundfish 

specifications and management 

measures are developed by the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

and are implemented by NMFS. A 

proposed rule to implement the 2007–

2008 specifications and management 

measures for the Pacific Coast 

groundfish fishery and Amendment 16–

4 of the FMP was published on 

September 29, 2006 (71 FR 57764). The 

final rule to implement the 2007–2008 

specifications and management 

measures for the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery was published on 

December 29, 2006 (71 FR 78638). These 

specifications and management 

measures were codified in the CFR (50 

CFR part 660, subpart G). The final rule 

was subsequently amended on: March 

20, 2007 (71 FR 13043); April 18, 2007 

(72 FR 19390); July 5, 2007 (72 FR 

36617); August 3, 2007 (72 FR 43193); 

September 18, 2007 (72 FR 53165); and 

October 4, 2007 (72 FR 56664); and 

December 4, 2007 (72 FR 68097). 

Changes to the biennial groundfish 

management measures implemented by 

this action were recommended by the 

Council, in consultation with Pacific 

Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and the 

States of Washington, Oregon, and 

California, at its November 5–9, 2007, 

meeting in San Diego, California. At that 

meeting, the Council recommended 

adjusting the biennial groundfish 

management measures for December 

2007 to respond to updated fishery 

information, and these measures were 

published in a separate rulemaking on 

December 4, 2007 (72 FR 68097). At that 

same meeting, the Council 

recommended adjusting the biennial 

groundfish management measures for 

the remainder of the biennial period to 

respond to updated fishery information 

and other inseason management needs. 

The Council recommended the 

following adjustments beginning 

January 1, 2008: (1) Setting the trawl 

Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) 

boundaries such that they take into 

account recent scientific information on 

constraining overfished species bycatch 

early in the year; (2) adjusting trip limits 

for sablefish, longspine thornyheads, 

shortspine thornyheads, Dover sole, 

petrale sole, arrowtooth flounder, Other 

Flatfish, minor slope and darkblotched 

rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and 

chilipepper rockfish in the limited entry 

trawl fishery; (3) recombining 

chilipepper rockfish into a single 

limited entry fixed gear cumulative 

limit for minor shelf, shortbelly and 

widow rockfish, and bocaccio between 

40°10.00′ N. lat. and 34°27.00′ N. lat.; (4) 

increasing shortspine thornyhead limits 

in the limited entry fixed gear fishery 

south of 34°27.00′ N. lat.; (5) setting 

differential open access sablefish daily 

trip limits north of 36° N. lat. and 

decreasing the daily trip limits north 

and south of 36° N. lat.; (6) removing 

trip limit requirements for lingcod in 

the tribal fishery. 

NMFS has considered these 

recommendations, and is implementing 

them as described below. Pacific Coast 

groundfish landings will be monitored 

throughout the remainder of the 

biennial period, and further adjustments 

to trip limits or management measures 

may be made as necessary to allow 

achievement of, or to avoid exceeding, 

optimum yields (OYs). 

Fishery Management Measures for the 

Limited Entry Non-Whiting Trawl 

Fishery 

At its November 2007 meeting, the 

Council reviewed the 2007 limited entry 

trawl fisheries by considering: 1) the 

fishery management measures initially 

set for 2007, 2) modifications to 

management measures that were needed 

inseason in 2007 as new data became 

available throughout the season, and 3) 

retrospective total catch pattern data 

from the 2007 year-to-date. A noticeable 

feature of the 2007 fishing season was 

that the Council had to, on several 

occasions, recommend inseason 

adjustments to constrain either trip 

limits or fishing areas in order to ensure 

that the total catch for 2007 of 

overfished species would stay within 

their allowable harvest levels for their 

rebuilding plans. This practice is in 

keeping with the Council’s rebuilding 

goals for overfished species, but is 

challenging for an industry trying to 

predict whether and how much fish will 

be available for harvest in the next 

month of the year. The Council’s goal in 

scrutinizing the 2007 fishery was to 

develop a set of management measures 

for the remainder of the biennial period, 

for implementation on January 1, 2008, 

that would take into account new 

knowledge gained in 2007 to better 

structure the fishery so initial 2008 

management measures would continue 

to keep total catch of managed species 

within their optimum yield levels, and 

would be conservative enough to reduce 

the frequency with which management 

measure adjustments would be needed 

inseason. 

Trawl management measures for the 

2007–2008 biennium were initially set 

using fishery data available through the 

June and September 2006 Council 

meetings. In late January 2007, NMFS’s 

West Coast Groundfish Observer 

Program (WCGOP) released new fishery 

data that showed that canary bycatch 

rates for vessels using selective flatfish 

bycatch gear were higher than was 

shown in the data available for 

development of management measures 

in 2006. The Council’s first opportunity 

to respond to this new WCGOP data was 

at its March 2007 meeting, after the 

2007 fishery had been underway for 


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over two months. In order to take into 

account estimated canary rockfish 

bycatch for the early part of 2007 and 

to ultimately keep the 2007 and 2008 

fisheries from exceeding the canary 

rockfish OY, the Council recommended 

a strict series of area closures and trip 

limit revisions for implementation in 

April 2007 (71 FR 19390, April 18, 

2007). 

The Council’s goal in reviewing 2007 

fishery data in preparation for 

recommending management measures 

for January 1, 2008, was to ensure that 

management measures in place for the 

remainder of the biennial period reflect 

the best available science and are 

appropriately designed to constrain total 

catch during the year for all species. To 

that end, the Council’s Groundfish 

Management Team (GMT) incorporated 

additional new data from WCGOP, 

released in October 2007, and the most 

recently available state logbook data on 

trawl fishing areas. Based on 2007 

fishery landed catch information 

received to date and on WCGOP data in 

combination with new logbook data, the 

GMT recommended that the Council 

consider measures to protect canary 

rockfish in 2008 that primarily focused 

on adjustments to the trawl RCA 

boundaries coastwide. Incidental catch 

of canary rockfish is of higher concern 

in the non-whiting trawl fishery 

compared to incidental catch of other 

overfished species because they are a 

shelf species that commonly co-occur 

with target species taken with trawl 

gear. Canary rockfish are the most 

constraining of the overfished species, 

based on incidental catch projections in 

the non-whiting trawl fishery. A GMT 

review of the trip limits implemented 

for target species in 2007 found that 

arrowtooth flounder was the primary 

species that needed adjustments to its 

trip limits in order to gain savings of 

canary rockfish bycatch in addition to 

the savings that the GMT estimated 

would be achieved from modifying the 

trawl RCA. Upon reviewing this 

analysis, the Council recommended 

reducing the arrowtooth flounder trip 

limits for selective flatfish gear in 

northern waters, and provided an RCA 

schedule for the remainder of the 

biennial period as next described. 

The Council also received the most 

recent Pacific Fishery Information 

Network’s (PacFIN) and Quota Species 

Monitoring (QSM) data, which 

estimated catch through the end of 

October, and considered trip limit 

adjustments based on the performance 

of the fishery during the first 10 months 

of the biennial period. 

Limited Entry Trawl Rockfish 

Conservation Area 

North of 40°10.00′ N. lat. The Council 

determined that, in order to constrain 

the incidental catch of canary rockfish 

and to prevent exceeding the 2008 

canary rockfish OY, the limited entry 

trawl RCA north of 40°10.00′ N. lat. 

should be modified, using a similar 

approach to what was ultimately 

implemented in April 2007 (72 FR 

19390, April 18, 2007). In some areas, 

the RCA would be expanded to 

eliminate fishing opportunity where 

trawl data shows higher canary rockfish 

bycatch rates, shifting fishing effort to 

depths exhibiting relatively lower 

canary rockfish bycatch rates. In some 

areas, the RCA would be liberalized to 

allow effort shifts and targeting 

opportunities in depths with relatively 

lower canary bycatch rates. The Council 

considered modification of the 

shoreward RCA boundaries in areas 

north of 40°10.00′ N. lat. that would 

close or substantially restrict areas with 

the highest bycatch rates, as identified 

from WCGOP data. The areas of highest 

canary rockfish bycatch rates included 

the area shoreward of the RCA north of 

Leadbetter Point (46°38.17′ N. lat.) and 

the area shoreward of the RCA between 

Cape Arago (43°20.83′ N. lat.) and 

Humbug Mountain (42°40.50′ N. lat.). 

The GMT analyzed the effect of 

relatively greater restrictions in these 

areas and, based on that analysis, 

recommended closing the shoreward 

area north of Cape Alava (48°10.00′ N. 

lat.) in the winter. For the area between 

Cape Alava south to Cape Arago where 

canary rockfish bycatch is relatively 

lower, yet where softshell Dungeness 

crab can occur, the GMT recommended 

a combined strategy of 75–fm (137–m) 

and 60–fm (110–m) shoreward RCA 

boundaries throughout the year. 

Trawl fishing opportunities seaward 

of the trawl RCA are primarily 

constrained by measures intended to 

minimize the incidental catch of 

darkblotched rockfish. Data from the 

NMFS trawl survey, logbook data, and 

WCGOP data show that various 

continental slope target species and 

darkblotched rockfish are found in 

shallower depths in the north and move 

deeper toward the south. The GMT 

analyzed the effects of shifting the 

seaward boundary of the trawl RCA 

shoreward to accommodate a shift in 

fishing effort from nearshore to offshore 

waters and recommended concentrating 

most fishing effort throughout the year 

offshore of a boundary line 

approximating the 200–fm (366–m) 

depth contour, with some seasonal 

modifications to allow greater access to 

petrale sole and Other Flatfish. The 

Council adopted these 

recommendations for the seaward 

boundary of the RCA to allow increased 

fishing opportunity in offshore waters 

while maintaining RCA protections for 

darkblotched rockfish. 

Based on the information and analysis 

described above, the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing the following changes to 

the trawl RCA north of 40°10.00′ N. lat. 

for the remainder of the biennial period: 

for the area north of Cape Alava, an RCA 

closure from the shoreline to the 

boundary line approximating the 200–

fm (366–m) depth contour, with a 

winter modification to accommodate 

petrale sole fishing, and a summer 

modification to accommodate greater 

flatfish fishing; for the area between 

Cape Alava and Cape Arago, an RCA 

closure from a boundary line 

approximating the 75–fm (137–fm) 

depth contour to a boundary line 

approximating the 200–fm (366–fm) 

depth contour, with modifications in 

the spring through fall months for the 

Cape Alava to the Washington-Oregon 

border (46°16.00’ N. lat.) sub-area to 

protect soft-shell crab and allow access 

to flatfish and slope target species where 

canary bycatch is low, and with a winter 

modification to accommodate petrale 

sole fishing; for the area between Cape 

Arago and Humbug Mountain, an RCA 

closure from the shoreline to a boundary 

line approximating the 200–fm (366–m) 

depth contour, with a winter 

modification to accommodate petrale 

sole fishing; and for the area between 

Humbug Mountain and 40°10.00′ N. lat., 

an RCA closure from a boundary line 

approximating the 75–fm (137–fm) 

depth contour to a boundary line 

approximating the 200–fm (366–fm) 

depth contour, with a winter 

modification to accommodate petrale 

sole fishing. 

South of 40°10.00′ N. lat. Trawl effort 

seaward of the trawl RCA is primarily 

constrained by incidental catch of 

darkblotched rockfish. Incidental catch 

of darkblotched rockfish between 

40°10.00′ N. lat. and 38° N. lat. was 

lower than originally predicted at the 

start of the biennial period. The Council 

determined that liberalizing the seaward 

boundary of the trawl RCA during 

winter in this area would allow 

increased targeting opportunities while 

keeping darkblotched rockfish within 

the 2008 OY. This would also establish 

a constant seaward boundary of the 

trawl RCA. Therefore, the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing an adjustment of the 

seaward boundary of the trawl RCA 

between 40°10.00′ N. lat. and 38° N. lat. 


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to a boundary line approximating the 

150–fm (274–m) depth contour during 

winter. 

Limited Entry Trawl Trip Limits 

North of 40°10.00′ N. lat. In addition 

to RCA modifications north of 40°10.00′ 

N. lat., the Council determined that 

cumulative limits in the limited entry 

trawl fishery should be modified to: 

Reduce total impacts and keep canary 

rockfish within the 2008 OY; provide 

increased access to target species in 

areas with lower canary bycatch rates; 

reduce a restriction by allowing 

fishermen increased opportunities to 

harvest available healthy stocks; reduce 

complexity of the cumulative limit 

structure and provide year round fishing 

opportunity; eliminate targeting of 

species subject to rebuilding 

requirements; reduce unnecessary 

discards; and reduce overall catches to 

keep stocks within their 2008 OYs. 

The Council considered various 

combinations of cumulative limit 

adjustments paired with RCA 

modifications and area closures to 

reduce fishery impacts to canary 

rockfish. As with the RCA boundary 

revisions, the Council’s GMT analyzed 

revisions to trip limits intended to shift 

fishing effort away from areas where 

canary rockfish are more commonly 

taken as bycatch. The Council 

considered and recommended a more 

conservative schedule of RCA 

boundaries, and, when paired with the 

reductions that had been made to other 

target species taken with selective 

flatfish trawl gear in April 2007, there 

were few additional trip limit 

reductions necessary to keep the 

fisheries within the 2008 canary 

rockfish OY. As a result, the Council 

recommended reducing arrowtooth 

flounder limits taken with selective 

flatfish trawl gear north of 40°10.00′ N. 

lat. because arrowtooth flounder are a 

target species more highly associated 

with canary rockfish bycatch and 

selective flatfish trawl gear is used to 

target arrowtooth shoreward of the trawl 

RCA, where canary rockfish bycatch 

rates are highest. The Council also 

recommended continuing the reduction 

in sablefish cumulative limits taken 

with selective flatfish trawl 

implemented in April 2007. Reducing 

these limits is estimated to reduce 

impacts on canary rockfish from status 

quo management measures. 

In April 2007, arrowtooth flounder 

cumulative limits for all gear types were 

combined into a single cumulative limit 

with Other Flatfish north of 40°10.00′ N. 

lat. to reduce total catch and, in turn, 

reduce impacts on canary rockfish. The 

most recently available catch data 

indicate that an unintentional 

consequence of this combined limit was 

that arrowtooth was being discarded for 

other higher-priced species in the 

combined cumulative limit. Therefore, 

the Council considered separating these 

limits to eliminate unnecessary 

discards, in conjunction with reducing 

canary rockfish impacts with gearspecific reductions in trip limits. 

To reduce the negative economic 

impacts of decreases to arrowtooth 

flounder cumulative limits taken with 

selective flatfish trawl gear north of 

40°10.00′ N. lat., the Council 

recommended increasing Dover sole 

cumulative limits taken with selective 

flatfish trawl gear in that area. Dover 

sole are a target species not strongly 

associated with incidental catch of 

canary rockfish. The Council also 

recommended increasing arrowtooth 

flounder cumulative limits taken 

seaward of the RCA with large footrope 

trawl gear north of 40°10.00′ N. lat. to 

provide additional fishing opportunity 

for these healthy target species in waters 

where they are least likely to co-occur 

with canary rockfish. In combination 

with the schedule of RCAs 

recommended by the Council and 

described above, the GMT projected that 

an increase in the Dover sole limits 

using selective flatfish trawl gear could 

be accommodated in the nearshore areas 

that remain open without exceeding the 

2008 canary rockfish OY, and an 

increase in the arrowtooth flounder 

cumulative limit using large and small 

footrope trawl gear could be 

accommodated in offshore areas without 

exceeding the 2008 darkblotched 

rockfish OY. 

The Council also considered whether 

decreases in cumulative limits for 

petrale sole taken with selective flatfish 

trawl gear might reduce fishery impacts 

on canary rockfish. However, the 

Council concluded that the schedule of 

RCAs described above are adequate to 

protect the canary rockfish OY while 

maintaining the overall catch limits of 

petrale sole for the year in the nearshore 

areas that remain open. 

Based on these analyses, the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing changes in the limited 

entry trawl flatfish fishery north of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. for the remainder of the 

biennial period that increase arrowtooth 

flounder trip limits for waters offshore 

of the trawl RCA, yet decrease 

arrowtooth flounder trip limits in the 

area shoreward of the trawl RCA and for 

selective flatfish trawl gear, and that 

stabilize Dover sole and Other Flatfish 

cumulative limits throughout the year, 

also with greater Dover sole 

opportunities offshore than nearshore, 

beginning January 1, 2008. 

In 2007, landings and total mortality 

estimates were lower than had been 

initially estimated for continental slope 

species Dover sole, longspine and 

shortspine thornyheads, and sablefish 

(DTS complex species) taken seaward of 

the trawl RCA with large and small 

footrope trawl gear north of 40°10.00′ N. 

lat. and limits for these DTS species 

were increased inseason in 2007. Under 

status quo regulations, total catch 

projections for these species are 

estimated to be below the 2008 OYs. 

Therefore, the Council developed a 

strategy for the remainder of the 

biennial period to re-distribute catch 

levels for DTS species more evenly over 

the entire period, reducing complexity 

in the cumulative limit structure and 

providing year round fishing 

opportunity. As discussed above, the 

Council recommended a stabilized trip 

limit strategy for Dover sole, beginning 

January 1, 2008. Dover sole is broadly 

distributed over a wide range of depths, 

and associates both with Other Flatfish 

species and, in deep water with the 

other species in the DTS complex. 

Consistent with its 2008 strategy for 

flatfish, the Council also recommended, 

and NMFS is implementing, a DTS 

complex strategy of stabilizing trip 

limits throughout the year and 

maintaining low status quo trip limits in 

offshore areas where overfished species 

are less likely to be taken, beginning 

January 1, 2008. 

In March 2007, the Council 

recommended and NMFS implemented 

a decrease in the minor slope and 

darkblotched rockfish combined 

cumulative limit north of 40°10.00′ N. 

lat. to reduce the impact of greater effort 

occurring in offshore areas where 

darkblotched rockfish are found, and 

considered how increased trawl effort 

seaward of the RCA would affect the 

incidental impacts to Pacific ocean 

perch (POP); however, inseason 

adjustments were anticipated to keep 

POP total catch well within its 2007 OY 

of 150 mt (72 FR 19390, April 18 2007). 

At its November 2007 meeting, the 

Council considered continuing the 

lower minor slope and darkblotched 

rockfish limits for the remainder of the 

biennial period, since management 

measures that shift fishing effort into 

deeper waters to protect canary rockfish 

can also increase bycatch of deepwater 

overfished species, such as 

darkblotched and POP. To prevent 

vessels from targeting darkblotched 

rockfish and POP, the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing a strategy for the 

remainder of the biennial period for 


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slope rockfish species taken north of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. that, beginning January 

1, 2008, maintains the lower status quo 

trip limits. 

South of 40°10.00′ N. lat. The Council 

determined that cumulative limits in the 

limited entry trawl fishery south of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. should be modified to: 

reduce unnecessary discards; reduce a 

restriction by allowing fishermen 

increased opportunities to harvest 

available healthy stocks; and, reduce 

complexity of the cumulative limit 

structure and provide year round fishing 

opportunity. 

In May 2007, arrowtooth flounder 

cumulative limits were combined into a 

single cumulative limit with Other 

Flatfish south of 40°10.00′ N. lat. to 

increase targeting flexibility while 

reducing total catch. The most recently 

available catch data indicate that an 

unintentional consequence of this 

combined limit was that arrowtooth was 

being discarded for other higher-priced 

species in the combined cumulative 

limit. As in the north, the Council 

recommended separating these limits to 

eliminate unnecessary discards by 

setting the cumulative limit for the year 

as it was set prior to inseason changes 

in May 2007. 

In addition, the Council considered 

the strategy of separate chilipepper 

rockfish limits for the remainder of the 

biennial period. Chilipepper rockfish 

are an abundant species taken in 

common with other rockfish in the 

southern shelf rockfish complex. Based 

on the most recently available WCGOP 

data, chilipepper rockfish are being 

regularly discarded under current trip 

limits for small footrope trawl gear 

south of 40°10.00′ N. lat. OYs for 

chilipepper rockfish have not come 

close to being achieved in recent years. 

For example, in the 2005 limited entry 

trawl and fixed gear fishery, the 

chilipepper rockfish landings were 28 

mt, less than 3 percent of the 1099 mt 

chilipepper rockfish OY. In June 2007, 

the Council recommended and NMFS 

implemented an increase in chilipepper 

rockfish limits to allow some of this 

discard to be retained while keeping 

limits low enough to prevent targeting, 

and a modest increase in monthly limits 

for small footrope trawl gear south of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. (72 FR 36617, July 5, 

2007). Catch estimates indicate that 

targeting did not occur under this higher 

limit, and there was little increase in the 

catch of co-occurring bocaccio and 

widow rockfish. At their November 5–

9 meeting, the Council considered 

increasing chilipepper limits, and catch 

projections estimate that less than 54 

percent of the 2008 bocaccio OY and 

less than 79 percent of the 2008 widow 

rockfish OY will be obtained for either 

bocaccio or widow rockfish by the end 

of 2008 with these changes. This means 

that, even if catch of chilipepper 

rockfish were to increase in 2008, and 

higher than expected bycatch of 

bocaccio and widow rockfish occurs, 

bocaccio and widow rockfish total catch 

would still remain within their 2008 

OYs. 

Therefore, the Council recommended 

and NMFS is implementing a fishing 

strategy for the remainder of the 

biennial period for both arrowtooth 

flounder and chilipepper rockfish for 

the limited entry trawl fishery south of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. that separates 

arrowtooth flounder from Other Flatfish 

limits, beginning January 1, 2008 and 

that increases the chilipepper rockfish 

limits using small footrope trawl gear to 

2,000 lb (907 kg) per two months, 

beginning January 1, 2008. 

In 2007, landings and total mortality 

estimates were lower than had been 

estimated preseason for DTS complex 

species and Other Flatfish south of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. and limits for these 

species were increased inseason. If the 

limits for DTS complex species were 

maintained for early 2008, total catch 

projections were estimated to be below 

the 2008 OYs for these species. In 

addition, status quo cumulative limits 

for DTS complex species and Other 

Flatfish would ramp up throughout the 

year, providing less fishing opportunity 

early in the year. Therefore, the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing a strategy for DTS 

complex species and Other Flatfish 

taken with trawl gear south of 40°10.00′ 

N. lat. to stabilize tip limit levels for 

these species throughout the year, with 

lower limits for sablefish in winter 

months, beginning January 1, 2008. 

At its March 2007 meeting, the 

Council received preliminary landings 

data indicating higher than expected 

petrale sole catch through February and 

recommended reducing summer petrale 

sole trip limits coastwide to keep total 

catch within the 2007 petrale sole OY. 

At its November 2007 meeting, the 

Council considered the most recent 

fishery data and performance of the 

2007 fishery and did not recommend 

this strategy for the remainder of the 

biennial period. Instead, the Council 

recommended and NMFS is 

implementing petrale sole trip limits 

south of 40°10.00′ N. lat. equivalent to 

the levels established at the beginning of 

the biennial period and continuing the 

status quo strategy of providing greater 

petrale sole fishing limits in the offshore 

areas in winter months, when 

overfished species bycatch is lowest. 

Trip limits for minor slope and 

darkblotched rockfish south of 38° N. 

lat. were increased inseason in 2007 

after the Council considered data at 

their September meeting indicating that 

only 16 percent (286 mt out of 1,786 mt) 

of the 2007 minor slope rockfish OY 

south of 38° N. lat. was expected to be 

taken through the end of 2007. At their 

November 2007 meeting, the Council 

considered the most recent fishery data 

and performance of the 2007 fishery and 

recommended continuing higher trip 

limits and stabilizing limits for minor 

slope and darkblotched rockfish for the 

remainder of the biennial period to 

allow fishermen to access available 

healthy stocks while keeping catch of 

overfished and depleted species within 

2008 OYs. Darkblotched rockfish and 

POP are overfished slope species within 

this complex; however, these species are 

much less abundant south of 38° N. lat. 

Yelloweye rockfish, impacts to which 

are of concern in hook-and-line fisheries 

like the California recreational fishery, 

are rarely taken in trawl fisheries. 

Therefore, the Council recommended 

and NMFS is implementing a strategy 

that stabilizes the combined cumulative 

limit for minor slope and darkblotched 

rockfish south of 38° N. lat. at 55,000 lb 

(24,948 kg) for the remainder of the 

biennial period. 

Limited Entry Fixed Gear Trip Limits 

South of 40°10.00′ N. Lat. 

As described in the section above 

(Limited Entry Trawl Trip Limits South 

of 40°10.00′ N. lat.), chilipepper 

rockfish are an abundant species taken 

in common with other rockfish in the 

southern shelf rockfish complex. 

Chilipepper rockfish taken in the 

limited entry fixed gear fishery south of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. were removed from the 

combined cumulative limit for minor 

shelf rockfish, shortbelly and widow 

rockfish at the beginning of the 2005 

fishing season to allow increased 

targeting opportunities. In June 2007, 

the Council received a request to 

recombine chilipepper rockfish into the 

combined cumulative limit to allow 

increased targeting opportunities and 

reduced discards. The Council had 

concerns, however, with the impacts to 

overfished species that might occur 

from combining chilipepper rockfish 

cumulative limits into a single 

cumulative limit with minor shelf 

rockfish, bocaccio and widow rockfish, 

since the high abundance of chilipepper 

rockfish would result in a combined 

limit too high to be supported by less 

abundant species in the complex. At 

their November 2007 meeting, the 

Council discussed recombining 

chilipepper rockfish into a single 


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combined cumulative limit, but with a 

sub-limit for all species other than 

chilipepper rockfish, to constrain catch 

of overfished species in the combined 

limit but allow additional opportunity 

for chilipepper rockfish. Therefore, the 

Council recommended and NMFS is 

implementing the following trip limit 

changes for the limited entry fixed gear 

fishery between 40°10.00′ N. lat. and 

34°27.00’ N. lat.: modify the chilipepper 

rockfish limit of 2,000 lb (907 kg) per 

two months by recombining it into a 

single combined cumulative limit with 

minor shelf rockfish, shortbelly, widow 

rockfish and bocaccio, and increase the 

trip limit from 500 lb (267 kg) per two 

months to ‘‘2,500 lb (1,134 kg) per two 

months of which no more than 500 lb 

(267 kg) per two months may be any 

species other than chilipepper 

rockfish,’’ beginning January 1, 2008. 

In June 2007, the Council 

recommended a short term increase in 

shortspine thornyhead cumulative 

limits south of 34°27.00′ N. lat. during 

Period 4 (July 1 through August 31). The 

Council had considered whether 

increases in effort in this area could 

result in higher incidental catches of 

sablefish and other species; however, 

estimates at that time showed that 

sablefish catches in this area were 

actually lower than had been estimated 

preseason for 2007. In September 2007, 

the most recent catch data indicated that 

the Period 4 increases in the shortspine 

thornyhead cumulative limit did not 

result in a large effort shift, and only 

slightly increased the catch rate in this 

area. Therefore, the Council 

recommended continuing the Period 4 

increases to the shortspine thornyhead 

cumulative limit south of 34°27.00′ N. 

lat. through the end of 2007. At the 

November 2007 Council meeting, the 

GMT recommended continuing the 

higher limit for the remainder of the 

biennial period because a change in 

behavior relative to the 2007 fishing 

season is not expected. Therefore, the 

Council recommended, and NMFS is 

implementing the following changes for 

the limited entry fixed gear fishery 

south of 34°27.00′ N. lat.: increase the 

shortspine thornyhead limits from 2,000 

lb (907 kg) per 2 months to 3,000 lb 

(1,361 kg) per 2 months, beginning 

January 1, 2008. 

Open Access Fishery Management 

Measures 

At their June 2007 meeting, the 

Council recommended and NMFS 

implemented an increase in the daily 

and weekly limits in the open access 

sablefish daily trip limit (DTL) fishery 

south of 36° N. lat. on August 1. The 

most recent catch information indicates 

that there have been increased sablefish 

landings in this area in 2007. In 

November 2007, the GMT compared 

current trip limits with historical 

catches and trip limits. An analysis of 

2003 through 2006 catch information 

indicates that increased effort and 

increased per-vessel catch have been 

responsible for the increased landings of 

sablefish in this area, in particular after 

the August 1, 2007, increases in daily 

and weekly trip limits. If catch rates 

seen during 2007 were to continue for 

the remainder of the biennial period, the 

2008 sablefish OY could be exceeded. 

The Council considered decreasing the 

weekly limits to 800 lb (363 kg) and 

implementing a two month cumulative 

limit of 2,400 lb (1,089 kg) per two 

months to keep catch projections within 

the 2008 sablefish OY; however, 

industry testimony stated that 

introducing a two month cumulative 

limit would force many long-time 

fishermen out of this fishery. 

The Council also considered using 

differential trip limits for open access 

sablefish north and south of 36° N. lat. 

to control shifts in effort that were seen 

in 2007. The Council discussed keeping 

weekly and daily limits equal to deter 

effort shifts; however, the bimonthly 

limit north of 36° N. lat. and the lack of 

a bimonthly limit south of 36° N. lat. 

will likely cause a shift of some effort 

to the south even when daily and 

weekly limits are equal. The GMT 

reviewed sablefish catch projections 

relative to overfished species impacts 

and an increase in trip limits can be 

accommodated north of 36° N. lat., 

which may reduce incentives for 

fishermen to shift their effort south 

where there is no bi-monthly limit for 

sablefish. Therefore, the Council 

recommended, and NMFS is 

implementing a sablefish limit strategy 

for the open access fishery that 

decreases the sablefish DTL limits south 

of 36° N. lat. from ‘‘350 lb (159 kg) per 

day, or 1 landing per week of up to 

1,050 lb (476 kg)’’ to ‘‘300 lb (136 kg) 

per day, or 1 landing per week of up to 

700 lb (318 kg)’’, and increases the 

sablefish DTL limits north of 36° N. lat. 

from ‘‘300 lb (136 kg) per day, or 1 

landing per week of up to 700 lb (318 

kg), not to exceed 2,100 lb (953 kg) per 

two months’’ to ‘‘300 lbs (136 kg) per 

day, or 1 landing per week up to 800 lbs 

(363 kg), not to exceed 2,400 lbs per two 

months,’’ beginning January 1, 2008. 

Tribal Fishery Management Measures 

At their November 2007 meeting, the 

Council was informed of unnecessary 

discards of lingcod in tribal fisheries as 

they reached their lingcod limits in 

some sectors of the fishery. Other 

sectors reduced target opportunities on 

associated species to avoid unnecessary 

lingcod discards. The tribes proposed to 

change lingcod management in 2008 to 

avoid unnecessary discards of lingcod. 

Rather than maintaining the current trip 

limits of 1,000 lb (454 kg) per day and 

4,000 lb (1,814 kg) per week in the troll 

fishery and 600 lb (272 kg) per day and 

1,800 lb (816 kg) per week for all other 

sectors, the tribes will manage all tribal 

fisheries to stay within an expected total 

lingcod catch of 250 mt. The tribes will 

continue to manage their fisheries to 

stay within the current catch estimates 

of canary and yelloweye rockfish 

impacts, regardless of any new targeting 

strategies for lingcod. 

Classification 

These actions are taken under the 

authority of 50 CFR 660.370(c) and are 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

These actions are authorized by the 

Pacific Coast groundfish FMP and its 

implementing regulations, and are based 

on the most recent data available. The 

aggregate data, upon which these 

actions are based, are available for 

public inspection at the Office of the 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, (see ADDRESSES) during business 

hours. 

For the following reasons, NMFS 

finds good cause to waive prior public 

notice and comment on the revisions to 

biennial groundfish management 

measures under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) 

because notice and comment would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. Also for the same reasons, 

NMFS finds good cause to waive the 

30–day delay in effectiveness pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) and 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). 

The data upon which these 

recommendations were based was 

provided to the Council and the Council 

made its recommendations at its 

November 5–9, 2007, meeting in San 

Diego, California. There was not 

sufficient time after that meeting to draft 

this notice and undergo proposed and 

final rulemaking before these actions 

need to be in effect. For the actions to 

be implemented in this notice, affording 

the time necessary for prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment would 

be impractical and contrary to the 

public interest because it would prevent 

the Agency from managing fisheries 

using the best available science to 

approach without exceeding the OYs for 

Federally managed species. The 

adjustments to management measures in 

this document affect commercial and 

tribal groundfish fisheries off 

Washington, Oregon, and California. 


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Changes to cumulative limits for the 

remainder of the biennial period in the 

limited entry non-whiting trawl fishery 

and to the trawl RCA north of 40°10.00′ 

N. lat. are based on the most recently 

available fishery information and must 

be implemented by January 1, 2008 to 

adequately constrain the projected 

bycatch of canary rockfish, a groundfish 

species that is currently subject to 

rebuilding requirements, and to provide 

increased access to fishing in areas with 

lower canary rockfish bycatch rates. The 

projected bycatch of canary rockfish 

must be reduced in order to keep 

coastwide fisheries from exceeding that 

species rebuilding OY. Shoreward 

boundaries of the trawl RCA and 

cumulative limit adjustments for 

arrowtooth flounder caught with 

selective flatfish trawl gear must be 

restricted to lower canary rockfish 

impacts. Seaward boundaries of the 

trawl RCA and cumulative limit 

adjustments for the following species 

must be liberalized to relieve a 

restriction and allow fishing 

opportunities in areas where fishing can 

occur with relatively lower canary 

rockfish impacts: arrowtooth flounder 

using large and small footrope trawl 

gear; and Dover sole using selective 

flatfish trawl gear. Changes to the trawl 

RCA to reduce the bycatch of canary 

and darkblotched rockfish must be 

implemented by January 1, 2008, so that 

the total catch of canary and 

darkblotched rockfish stays within their 

2008 OYs, as defined in the rebuilding 

plan for this species. It would be 

contrary to the public interest to wait to 

implement these RCA revisions until 

after public notice and comment, 

because making this regulatory change 

as soon as possible relieves a regulatory 

restriction for fisheries that are 

important to coastal communities. 

Liberalizing the seaward boundary of 

the limited entry trawl RCA between 

40°10.00′ N. lat. and 38° N. lat. and 

changes to all other cumulative limits in 

the non-whiting commercial fisheries 

must be implemented in a timely 

manner to: reduce a restriction by 

allowing fishermen increased 

opportunities to harvest available 

healthy stocks; reduce complexity of the 

cumulative limit structure and provide 

year round fishing opportunity; 

eliminate targeting of species subject to 

rebuilding requirements; reduce 

unnecessary discards; and reduce 

overall catches to keep stocks within 

their 2008 OYs. Changes to commercial 

cumulative limits for the following 

stocks must be implemented in a timely 

manner by January 1, 2008: (1) sablefish, 

longspine thornyhead, shortspine 

thornyhead, Dover sole, Other Flatfish, 

petrale sole, arrowtooth flounder, 

Pacific ocean perch (POP), chilipepper 

rockfish, and minor slope rockfish in 

the limited entry trawl fishery; (2) 

chilipepper and shortspine thornyheads 

in the limited entry fixed gear fishery; 

and (3) sablefish in the open access 

daily trip limit fishery. Some of these 

changes allow fishermen an opportunity 

to harvest higher trip limits for stocks 

with lower than expected projected 

catch, and open some areas seaward of 

the trawl RCA south of 40°10.00′ N. lat. 

based on availability of incidentally 

caught overfished species; therefore, it 

would be contrary to the public interest 

to fail to increase these limits and open 

these areas to reduce the current 

restrictions in a timely manner. Some of 

these changes implement restrictions for 

target species to keep 2008 projected 

total mortality for these species within 

their 2008 OYs. Changes in cumulative 

limits for the following species do not 

result in a total reduction or increase in 

per-vessel catch, but re-distribute 

cumulative limits to provide more stable 

year round fishing opportunities: (1) 

petrale sole and (2) Other Flatfish taken 

with selective flatfish trawl gear in the 

limited entry trawl fishery north of 

40°10.00′ N. lat.; and, (3) Dover sole in 

the limited entry trawl fishery south of 

40°10.00′ N. lat. Changes in cumulative 

limits for minor slope rockfish and POP 

to eliminate targeting opportunities for 

darkblotched rockfish and POP must be 

implemented as close as possible to 

January 1, 2008, so that the total catch 

of darkblotched rockfish and POP stay 

within their 2008 OYs, as defined in the 

rebuilding plans for these species. All of 

these cumulative limit changes keep 

projected mortality for overfished 

species within current estimates. 

Changes to lingcod trip limits in the 

tribal fishery must be implemented in a 

timely manner to: reduce unnecessary 

discards; and reduce a restriction by 

allowing fishermen in the tribal fishery 

increased flexibility in lingcod targeting 

opportunities. Changes to tribal lingcod 

cumulative limits are within projected 

mortality for overfished species. 

It would be contrary to the public 

interest to wait to implement these trip 

limit changes until after public notice 

and comment, because making these 

regulatory changes as soon as possible 

reduces regulatory restriction for 

fisheries that are important to coastal 

communities and fishery participants. 

For the same reasons, allowing a 30–day 

delay in effectiveness would be contrary 

to the public interest. 

Delaying these changes would keep 

management measures in place that are 

not based on the best available data, 

which could risk fisheries exceeding 

OYs, or deny fishermen access to 

available harvest. Such delay would 

impair achievement of one of the Pacific 

Coast Groundfish FMP objectives of 

providing for year-round harvest 

opportunities or extending fishing 

opportunities as long as practicable 

during the fishing year. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Fisheries, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: December 11, 2007. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting 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. 

■ 2. In § 660.385 paragraph (c) is revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 660.385 Washington coastal tribal 

fisheries management measures. 

* * * * * 

(c) Lingcod. Lingcod taken in the 

treaty fisheries are subject to an overall 

expected total lingcod catch of 250 mt. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Tables 3 (North), 3 (South), 4 

(South), 5 (North), and 5 (South) to part 

660 subpart G are revised to read as 

follows. 

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[FR Doc. 07–6077 Filed 12–17–07; 8:45 am] 

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