[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 104 (Thursday, May 29, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30811-30813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-1304]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 080326475-8686-02]
RIN 0648-XG22


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species 
Fisheries; Annual Specifications

AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule; closure of directed fishing for Pacific sardine

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SUMMARY:  NMFS issues this final rule to implement the annual harvest 
guideline

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(HG) for Pacific sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off 
the Pacific coast for the fishing season of January 1, 2008, through 
December 31, 2008. This HG has been determined according to the 
regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest levels for 
Pacific sardine off the Pacific coast. NMFS also announces that based 
on the best available information recently obtained from the fishery, 
the directed fishing harvest total for the first allocation period 
(January 1 - June 30) has been reached and therefore directed fishing 
for Pacific sardine is now closed until July 1, 2008.

DATES:  Effective May 29, 2008 through December 31, 2008, except for 
directed harvest closure effective through June 30, 2008

ADDRESSES:  Copies of the report ``Assessment of Pacific Sardine Stock 
for U.S. Management in 2008'' may be obtained from the Southwest 
Regional Office (see the Mailing address above).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Lindsay, Southwest Region, 
NMFS, (562) 980-4034.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS FMP, which is implemented by 
regulations at 50 CFR part 660 subpart I, divides management unit 
species into two categories: actively managed and monitored. Harvest 
guidelines for actively managed species (Pacific sardine and Pacific 
mackerel) are based on formulas applied to current biomass estimates. 
Biomass estimates are not calculated for species that are only 
monitored (jack mackerel, northern anchovy, and market squid).
    During public meetings each year, the biomass for each actively 
managed species within the CPS FMP is presented to the Pacific Fishery 
Management Council's (Council) Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team 
(Team) and the Council's Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel 
(Subpanel). At that time, the biomass, the acceptable biological catch 
(ABC) and the status of the fisheries are reviewed and discussed. This 
information is then presented to the Council along with HG 
recommendations and comments from the Team and Subpanel. Following 
review by the Council and after hearing public comment, the Council 
makes its HG recommendation to NMFS.
    A full assessment for Pacific sardine was conducted this management 
cycle and reviewed by a Stock Assessment Review (STAR) Panel in La 
Jolla, California, September 18-21, 2007. This assessment produced an 
estimated biomass of 832,706 metric tons (mt). Applying this biomass 
number to the harvest control rule in the FMP produces an ABC for the 
2008 fishery of 89,093 (mt).
    In November, the Council adopted, and NMFS then approved, an ABC or 
HG of 89,093 mt for the 2008 fishing year. This ABC is 42 percent less 
than the ABC/HG adopted by the Council for the 2007 fishing season. The 
Council also adopted, and NMFS approved, a set-aside of 8,909 mt (10 
percent of the ABC), establishing a directed harvest fishery of 80,184 
mt and an incidental fishery of 8,909 mt. The purpose of the incidental 
fishery is to allow for incidental landings of Pacific sardine in other 
fisheries and prevent the closure of such fisheries, particularly other 
CPS fisheries, if a seasonal directed fishery total is reached and 
directed fishing is closed. In turn the set-aside also helps to ensure 
the fishery does not exceed the ABC.
    The Pacific sardine HG is apportioned based on the following 
allocation scheme established by Amendment 11 (71 FR 36999, June 
29,2006) to the CPS FMP: 35 percent is allocated coastwide on January 
1; 40 percent, plus any portion not harvested from the initial 
allocation is reallocated coastwide on July 1; and on September 15 the 
remaining 25 percent, plus any portion not harvested from earlier 
allocations is released. If the total HG or these apportionment levels 
for Pacific sardine are reached at any time, the Pacific sardine 
fishery will be closed via appropriate rulemaking until it re-opens 
either per the allocation scheme or the beginning of the next fishing 
season. The Regional Administrator shall publish a notice in the 
Federal Register the date of the closure of the directed fishery for 
Pacific sardine.
    The set-aside is based on recent annual incidental sardine landing 
rates in other fisheries during each of the seasonal allocation 
periods. The set-aside is initially allocated across these periods in 
the following way: January 1-June 30, 26,550 mt is allocated for 
directed harvest with an incidental set-aside of 4,633 mt; July 1-
September 14, 34,568 mt is allocated for directed harvest with an 
incidental set-aside of 1,069 mt; September 15-December 31, 19,066 mt 
is allocated for directed harvest with an incidental set-aside of 3,207 
mt.
    If during any of the seasonal allocation periods the applicable 
adjusted directed harvest allocation is projected to be taken, only 
incidental harvest will be allowed and, for the remainder of the 
period, any incidental Pacific sardine landings will be counted against 
that period's incidental set aside. The incidental fishery will also be 
constrained to a 20-percent by weight incidental catch rate when 
Pacific sardine are landed with other CPS to minimize targeting of 
Pacific sardine and to maximize landings of harvestable stocks. In the 
event that an incidental set-aside is projected to be attained, all 
fisheries will be closed to the retention of Pacific sardine for the 
remainder of the period via appropriate rulemaking. If the set-aside is 
not fully attained or is exceeded in a given seasonal period, the 
directed harvest allocation in the following seasonal period will be 
automatically adjusted to account for the discrepancy. The above in-
season harvest restrictions are not intended to affect the prosecution 
the live bait portion of the Pacific sardine fishery.
    For further background information on this action please refer to 
the preamble of the proposed rule (73 FR 20015).

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received one comment regarding the Pacific sardine annual 
specifications.
    Comment 1: The commenter stated that they believed that the catch 
specifications for CPS do not adequately take into account broader 
ecosystem needs and information such as foraging requirements of other 
species that may feed on Pacific sardine.
    Response: NMFS agrees that Pacific sardine is an important prey 
component of the California Current ecosystem and as such the current 
harvest control rule formula used to determine the harvest guideline 
for Pacific sardine takes into account ecosystem as well as physical 
environmental factors. This is achieved by means of a formula that, 
after overall biomass is determined, takes into account the viability 
of the sardine stock and its value as forage when determining the 
guideline number. This is accomplished by a harvest rate or harvest 
``fraction'' that is adjusted between 5 percent and 15 percent based on 
current ocean temperatures. Because past shifts in sardine productivity 
are linked with warm or cold ocean regimes a higher fraction is 
allotted for harvest when ocean temperatures are warmer and sardine 
production is greater, while the lower fraction is used when ocean 
temperatures are cooler and sardine production is decreased. In 
addition, a 150,000 mt stock biomass threshold, or ``cutoff'', is 
established below which no harvest is allowed in order to ensure a 
minimum spawning biomass is protected. Each year this ``cutoff'' number 
of 150,000 mt is subtracted from the overall biomass number before the

[[Page 30813]]

harvestable biomass is calculated to take into account the importance 
of Pacific sardine as forage.

Classification

    The Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, determined that this 
final rule is necessary for the conservation and management of the CPS 
fishery and that it is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws.
    NMFS 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. Sec.  553(b)(B) for the closure of the January 1- 
June 30 directed harvest of Pacific sardine. For the reasons set forth 
below, notice and comment procedures are impracticable and contrary to 
the public interest. For the same reasons, NMFS also finds good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. Sec.  553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in 
effectiveness for both the establishment of the harvest guideline and 
closure of the January 1 June 30 directed harvest. These measures 
respond to the best available information and are necessary for the 
conservation and management of the Pacific sardine resource. The most 
recent data from the fishery, received by NMFS on May 11, 2008, shows 
that projected landings, along with some previously reported landings, 
are significantly greater than anticipated. Based on this data, NMFS 
believes that the directed harvest allocation for the period January 1 
through June 30 will be attained much sooner than predicted and prior 
to publication of this rulemaking. A delay in effectiveness would cause 
the fishery to further exceed the in-season directed harvest level. 
These seasonal harvest levels are important mechanisms in preventing 
overfishing and managing the fishery at optimum yield. The established 
directed and incidental harvest allocations are designed to allow fair 
and equitable opportunity to the resource by all sectors of the Pacific 
sardine fishery and to allow access to other profitable CPS fisheries, 
such as squid and Pacific mackerel. Many of the same fishermen who 
harvest Pacific sardine rely on these other fisheries for a significant 
portion of their income. To help keep the regulated community advised 
of the progression of sardine landings, the California Department of 
Fish and Game provided a detailed accounting of landings-to-date to the 
CPS Advisory Subpanel in late April. The Subpanel is comprised of 
representatives from all sectors and regions of the sardine industry, 
including processors, fishermen, user groups and fishermen association 
representatives. As landing totals have become available, they are also 
posted on NMFS' Southwest Regional Office website, http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/. NMFS will also announce this closure through other 
means available, including fax, email, and mail to fishermen, 
processors, and state agencies. Therefore, NMFS finds that there is 
good cause to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness in this 
circumstance.
    This final rule is exempt from Office of Management and Budget 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the 
proposed rule (73 FR 20015) and is not repeated here. No comments were 
received regarding this certification or the economic impact of the 
proposed rule. As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not 
required and none was prepared.

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

    Dated: May 23, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 08-1304 Filed 5-23-08; 3:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S