Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 1, 1995 / Proposed Rules 11061

Nuclear Fuel, High-Level and

Transuranic Radioactive Wastes.’’ These

criteria were proposed at 60 FR 5766

and were published in Part II of the

Federal Register on January 30, 1995.

The Agency intends to issue final

compliance criteria in February 1996,

approximately one year after this

proposal.

DATES: EPA will conduct public

hearings on the Proposed Compliance

Criteria Rule in Carlsbad, NM on March

21, 1995 from noon to 9:00 p.m. Public

hearings will be held in Albuquerque,

NM on March 22, from noon to 9:00

p.m. Public hearings will be held in

Santa Fe, NM on Wednesday, March 23,

from noon to 9:00 p.m. and on March

24 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. In all

cases, there will be a dinner break from

5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

For speakers to receive scheduled

times to testify, requests to testify must

be received on or before March 14, 1995,

in order to guarantee an opportunity to

testify. Speakers not registered on or

before March 14 may register at the door

and will be scheduled to testify if time

permits.

ADDRESSES: The Proposed Compliance

Criteria Rule public hearings will be

held March 21, 1995, at the Quality Inn

(formerly the Park Inn International),

3706 National Parks Highway, Carlsbad,

NM; March 22 at the Albuquerque

Convention Center, 401 Second Street

NW., Albuquerque, NM; and March 23

and 24 at the High Mesa Inn, 3347

Cerillos Road, Santa Fe, NM.

To register to testify telephone Kelly

Rose or Ed Lyons of AST, Inc. at (301)

670–8344 or fax your request directly to

AST at (301) 670–4099 to their

attention. When registering by phone or

fax, please provide the following

information: Name, Address,

Organizational Affiliation (only if

testifying as spokesperson or official

representative for the company), desired

date, hearing location, times available to

testify, and a daytime telephone

number. Registrations must be made by

March 14, 1995, in order to be

guaranteed an opportunity to testify.

Testifiers not registered on or before

March 14 may register at the door and

will be scheduled if time permits.

Individual speakers will be allocated

5 minutes and individuals testifying as

the official representative or

spokesperson on behalf of groups and

organizations will be allocated 10

minutes for an oral presentation

exclusive of any time consumed by

questions from the government panel

and answers to these questions.

Information on EPA’s proposed

compliance criteria rule (40 CFR Part

194) is listed under Docket No. A–92–

56 and is available for review at the

following three EPA WIPP docket

locations in New Mexico: in Carlsbad at

the Municipal Library, Hours: Mon-Thu,

10–9, Fri-Sat, 10–6, and Sun 1–5; in

Albuquerque at the Government

Publications Department, Zimmerman

Library, University of New Mexico,

Hours: Mon-Thu, 8–9, Fri, 8–5, Sat-Sun,

1–5; and in Santa Fe at the Fogelson

Library, College of Santa Fe, Hours:

Mon-Thu, 8–12 Midnight, Fri, 8–5, Sat,

9–5, and Sun, 1–9. For purposes of

judicial review, EPA’s official docket for

the compliance criteria rulemaking,

Docket No. A–92–56, is located in

Washington, DC in the Air Docket,

Room M1500, Mailcode 6102, U.S. EPA,

401 M Street SW., Washington, DC

20460.

EPA also established separate official

dockets for other rulemaking activities

under the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Land Withdrawal Act at the

Washington, DC (WDC) location. The

following is a list of EPA’s radioactive

waste dockets: Radioactive Waste (40

CFR Part 191)—Docket No. R–89–01;

Compliance Criteria (40 CFR Part 194)—

Docket No. A–92–56; Test and Retrieval

Plans Review—Docket No. A–92–57;

Compliance Determination—Docket No.

A–93–02. [Note: The dockets in New

Mexico only contain major items from

the official docket (WDC) plus all those

documents added to the official docket

since October 1992 when the WIPP

Land Withdrawal Act was enacted.]

As provided in 40 CFR part 2, a

reasonable fee may be charged for

photocopying docket materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rafaela Ferguson, Office of Radiation

and Indoor Air, (202) 233–9362 or call

EPA’s 24-hour toll-free WIPP

Information Line, 1–800–331–WIPP.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.

Department of Energy is developing the

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near

Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico as

a deep geologic repository for disposal

of transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste.

TRU wastes are materials containing

elements having atomic numbers greater

than 92 in concentrations greater than

100 nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU

isotopes, with half-lives greater than

twenty years, per gram of waste. Most

TRU wastes are items that have become

associated with the production of

nuclear weapons; e.g., rags, equipment,

tools, and contaminated organic and

inorganic sludges.

On October 30, 1992, the Waste

Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal

Act (Pub. L. 102–579) was enacted.

Among other things, the law specifies

the terms and conditions for the DOE’s

activities at the WIPP and the regulatory

requirements which apply throughout

various stages of the repository’s

development including the requirement

that before beginning disposal of

radioactive wastes at the WIPP, DOE

must demonstrate that the WIPP will

comply with the Environmental

Protection Agency’s (EPA) radioactive

wastes disposal standards, e.g.,

‘‘Environmental Standards for the

Management and Disposal of Spent

Nuclear Fuel, High-Level and

Transuranic Radioactive Wastes’’ (40

CFR part 191).

Under the Act, EPA is required to

develop criteria for the Administrator’s

certification of compliance with the 40

CFR part 191 disposal standards. On

February 11, 1993, EPA published an

Advance Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking, 58 FR 8029, in the Federal

Register requesting information and

comments pertinent to the development

of the compliance criteria.

On January 11, 1995, EPA

Administrator Carol Browner signed the

proposed compliance criteria rule. The

90-day public comment period began on

January 30, the date the proposed

compliance criteria rule notice appeared

at 60 FR 5766 in Part II of the Federal

Register, and ends on May 1, 1995. EPA

intends to issue final compliance

criteria one year after prosposal in the

Federal Register. The WIPP Land

Withdrawal Act requires the DOE to

demonstrate compliance with EPA’s

disposal standards and to submit an

application for certification of WIPP’s

compliance to the EPA Administrator.

In submitting such an application, the

DOE must meet the requirements of the

EPA compliance criteria because EPA

will use these criteria in certifying

whether or not the WIPP complies with

the disposal standards.

Dated: February 23, 1995.

Mary D. Nichols,

Assistant Administrator for Air and

Radiation.

[FR Doc. 95–5026 Filed 2–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
11062 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 1, 1995 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 663

[Docket No. 950209046–5051–02; I.D.

011295D]

RIN 0648–AG82

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery;

Modification of Nontrawl Sablefish

Season

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS is publishing proposed

regulations that would establish a new

season structure for the nontrawl

sablefish component of the Pacific Coast

Groundfish limited entry fishery. The

new regular season for the limited entry

fishery would begin at noon August 6,

each year, and both the limited entry

and open-access fisheries would be

required to remove all nontrawl gear

from the water 72 hours prior to the

start of the regular season. This rule is

intended to promote the goals and

objectives of the Pacific Coast

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan

(FMP) by providing an equitable

opportunity for different types of

nontrawl gear to harvest the limited

entry nontrawl allocation for sablefish,

to enhance vessel safety by avoiding a

winter opening, to keep the fishery

within the annual management target,

and to minimize gear conflicts.

DATES: Comments must be submitted in

writing by April 17, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest

Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way

NE., BIN C15700, Seattle, WA 98115–

0070; or Hilda Diaz-Soltero, Director,

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 W.

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach,

CA 90802–4213. Information relevant to

this proposed rule is available for public

review during business hours at the

Office of the Director, Northwest

Region, NMFS, and at the Office of the

Director, Southwest Region, NMFS.

Copies of the Environmental

Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review

(EA/RIR) can be obtained from the

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council), 2000 SW First Avenue, Suite

420, Portland, OR 97201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William L. Robinson at 206–526–6140,

or Rodney R. McInnis at 310–980–4030.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is

proposing this rule based on a

recommendation of the Council, under

the authority of the FMP and the

Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (Magnuson Act). At its

October 1994 meeting in San Francisco,

CA, the Council recommended changes

to the management of this fishery that

are implemented by this rule. The

background and rationale for the

Council’s recommendations are

summarized below. More detail appears

in the EA/RIR prepared by the Council

for this action.

Background

Sablefish is one of the most valuable

species in the groundfish fishery off

Washington, Oregon, and California

(WOC). Since 1987, the annual sablefish

harvest guideline has been allocated

between the trawl-gear and nontrawlgear fisheries. Historically, the trawl

fishery has been managed with trip

limits, which means the amount of fish

that may be harvested during a fishing

trip or set time period. Trip limits are

imposed primarily in order to extend

the fishery throughout most of the year.

The nontrawl fishery, in contrast, has

taken most of its allocation in an

intense, open competition called the

‘‘regular season,’’ during which it

operates without trip limits, except for

limits on small sablefish (in 1995, trip

limits are applicable to sablefish less

than 22 inches (56 cm) total length). For

72 hours before and after the regular

season, it is illegal to take and retain,

possess or land groundfish caught with

nontrawl gear. In recent years, the

nontrawl fleet has operated under very

restrictive trip limits (250–500 lb (113–

227 kg) per day) outside of the ‘‘regular

season.’’ The limited entry nontrawl

fishery for sablefish involves two main

gear types, pot (or trap) and longline,

that compete for the nontrawl

allocation. Although the pot and

longline fisheries are operationally

different, they do not have separate

allocations.

The first problem addressed by the

Council was the increasing competition

in the fishery. The sablefish resource is

believed to be stable and close to the

level that produces maximum

sustainable yield (MSY), however,

fishing effort, and thus competition, are

increasing. The season length off WOC

has declined from almost 5 months in

1990 to about 3 weeks in 1993 and 1994,

and the industry is concerned about an

even shorter season in 1995.

Implementation of the limited entry

program for groundfish off WOC in 1994

has not diminished the problem of

increasing effort, because more vessels

currently have limited entry permits

than operated in the fishery in 1994.

Also, in recent years fishermen have

had to choose between concurrent

fisheries off Alaska or off WOC.

However, with the implementation of an

Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) system

off Alaska in 1995, fishermen will be

able to fish over a longer period in

Alaska, and thus those with a limited

entry permit for WOC will be able to

operate in both the Alaska and WOC

fisheries. Fishermen that operate more

slowly than others, generally those with

smaller vessels, or that do not also fish

in Alaska, fear that they are losing

opportunity during such short, intense

seasons off WOC. In addition, in 1994,

the nontrawl fishery exceeded its

limited entry allocation by 28 percent,

because of the difficulty of monitoring

such an intense fishery during the

season. If fishing effort increases as

expected, it will be increasingly difficult

to project landings accurately and keep

them from exceeding the nontrawl

allocation.

A second problem is the starting date

of the regular season. Under the current

regulations (50 CFR 663.23(b)(2)(i))

(temporarily suspended, through

September 1, 1995), the opening of the

WOC season is linked to the first

nontrawl sablefish season opening in

the Gulf of Alaska under 50 CFR part

672, which occurs in May. Under the

new IFQ program, governed by 50 CFR

part 676, the Alaska season could start

as early as March 1, 1995, which would

cause the WOC fishery to open on

February 26, 1995, preceded by a 72-

hour closure on February 23. (50 CFR

part 672 is expected to be revised to

clarify that the nontrawl sablefish

opening date in the Gulf of Alaska is

governed by part 676.) This early season

is unacceptable to the industry for a

number of reasons, particularly safety,

but also because of price, quality of the

fish, and alternative fishing

opportunities. By separate rule, NMFS

has temporarily amended 50 CFR

663.23(b)(2) to prevent the opening of

the regular season in February, pending

completion of this rulemaking to

establish a new season structure.

A third problem results from

competition within the nontrawl

fishery, between fishermen using pot

and longline gear. Approximately 21 pot

vessels and 88 longline vessels operated

in the limited entry sablefish fishery in

1994. The proportion of pot landings in

the nontrawl sablefish fishery has varied

widely in the last 12 years, from over 80

percent in 1983 to only 21 percent in

1992, and back up to about 40 percent

in 1994. Increased production by the

small pot fleet in recent years has been
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 1, 1995 / Proposed Rules 11063

caused at least in part by the way the

current 72-hour closure before the

regular season operates. The preseason

closure affects the competing pot and

longline operations in the following

ways:

1. Grounds preemption. The current

regulation at 50 CFR 663.23(b)(2)(ii)

(temporarily suspended) prohibits

taking and retaining, possessing, or

landing sablefish during the 72-hour

period before the start of the regular

season, but does not prohibit leaving

gear in the water. Most pot vessels

cannot carry all their gear on board at

one time without increasing safety risks.

Consequently, pots often are stored

unbaited in the water for long periods

of time to avoid the cost and lost fishing

time from making multiple trips to the

fishing grounds to deploy gear. When

the 72-hour closure was first

recommended, the Council felt it was

unreasonable to require pot fishermen to

pull all their gear out of the water.

However, this gave pot fishermen a

distinct advantage, because longline

gear cannot be set and left for several

days without risking extreme tangling.

This allowed pot fishermen to preempt

the best grounds before longline gear

could be deployed.

2. ‘‘Fair Start.’’ A second issue is the

different ability of the two gear types to

start fishing before the beginning of the

regular season. Baited pots can catch

and hold live sablefish until the 72-hour

closure has passed. This is legal under

the current regulation as long as the pot

has not been pulled and the fish

retained. Hook-and-line gear, however,

cannot be set much in advance of the

regular season because sablefish caught

with this gear are quickly attacked and

destroyed by marine scavengers such as

sand fleas. There is no simple solution

without one gear type gaining an

advantage over the other. According to

the EA/RIR, pot vessels are slower in

carrying and setting their gear, but

thereafter have the potential to harvest

more rapidly than most longline

operations off WOC. If pot gear can be

set and baited before the start of the

regular season, however, the best

grounds may be preempted and actual

fishing started before longline gear can

be deployed. If pot gear cannot be set

before the start of the regular season, it

may be preempted by longline gear that

can be set more quickly.

3. Enforceability. In the past, the

Council felt there was no point in

prohibiting baiting gear during the 72-

hour closure because there was

inadequate at-sea presence to enforce

such a restriction. Enforcement of the

closure was further complicated by

implementation of the limited entry

program in 1994, which exempted openaccess nontrawl gear from the 72–hour

closures. Limited entry vessels could

circumvent the intent of the regulation

by operating with nontrawl gear for

which they had no limited entry

endorsement (50 CFR 663.33(a)).

Furthermore, enforcement agents could

not easily discern by aerial surveillance

which vessels and gear were openaccess and which were limited entry.

The above-described problems

prompted the Council to rethink its

approach to nontrawl sablefish

management. The Council’s

recommendations to resolve these

problems, and rationale to the solutions

are summarized below.

Delaying the Regular Season to August

6

The August 6 date was selected for

reasons of safety, price of fish, and

alternative fishing opportunities. It was

selected primarily for the best weather

along the coast (see the EA/RIR). Rough

weather in late February makes fishing

unsafe along much of the coast. The best

time of year varies by location.

According to the EA/RIR, late summer

is the least windy period coastwide, and

perhaps provides the safest fishing

conditions. Initially the Council

recommended August 15, and then

shifted it 1 week earlier to avoid the

August 1995 Council meeting. The

Council did not select the first of the

month in order to avoid gear conflicts

with the deepwater trawl fishery (for

sablefish, Dover sole, and thornyheads),

because trawl effort may be greater at

the beginning of that fishery’s

cumulative monthly period. This delay

in the regular season would not reduce

effort by vessels able to operate in both

the Alaska and WOC fisheries. In fact,

an August date may increase effort,

because vessels previously discouraged

by bad winter weather may be able to

operate in the summer. Also, in August

larger sablefish would be available to

the fishery; larger sablefish generally

yield a higher price and therefore are

more desirable to the fleet. Neither a late

February opening of the regular season

during the winter spawning period, nor

an opening at any other time of year,

would have more than a negligible

impact on recruitment of sablefish.

August is also the preferred month

from the standpoint of maximizing

various fishing opportunities off WOC.

Sablefish pot vessels may also

participate in the Dungeness crab

fishery, which usually occurs from

December into March, and the shrimp

fishery, which generally begins in April

off WOC, and continues at a high level

through June or July. Hook-and-line

vessels also may participate in salmon

fisheries. Salmon fisheries traditionally

start in May and peak in June and July;

the status of these fisheries in 1995 is

not yet known. Albacore fishing, also

conducted by hook-and-line vessels,

peaks in summer as well, and may

coincide with the August regular

season. The Pacific halibut fishery, also

conducted by hook-and-line vessels,

occurs in June/July.

New Season Structure with a ‘‘Mop-up’’

Fishery

Because projecting landings

accurately during the regular season

will be extremely difficult, particularly

if effort increases substantially as

expected, the Council recommended

that the regular season end when

approximately 70 percent of the

nontrawl gear allocation has been

harvested. The remaining 30 percent

would be set aside as a buffer to keep

landings from exceeding the nontrawl

allocation and the sablefish harvest

guideline.

The Council also recommended that

about 3 weeks after the end of the

regular season, when the amount of the

landed catch has been confirmed, the

remainder of the nontrawl allocation be

released for harvest in a ‘‘mop-up’’

fishery of 1 month or less, with all

limited entry vessels subject to the same

cumulative trip limit. By applying a

cumulative limit, each vessel would

have the opportunity to take the same

amount and the mop-up fishery would

occur at a more orderly and manageable

pace. This would make it more likely

that the nontrawl allocation would not

be exceeded. It also would

accommodate those fishermen who

prefer to operate at a slower pace

without the rush of the ‘‘first come, first

serve’’ competition that defines the

regular season. Establishing a mop-up

fishery is particularly supported by

those fishermen who prefer receiving a

guaranteed equal share rather than the

open competition of the regular season.

The reserve could be less than 30

percent of the nontrawl allocation, or

the mop-up fishery may not occur at all,

if landings during the regular season are

higher than expected. Sablefish landings

before and after both the regular season

and mop-up fishery would be expected

to be negligible under the small trip

limits recommended by the Council

(300 lb or 136 kg per day north of 36°00′

N. lat. and 350 lb or 159 kg per day

south of 36°00′ N. lat.) in 1995 (60 FR

2331, January 9, 1995).

The actual level of the cumulative trip

limit during the mop-up fishery would

be determined in-season by NMFS, in

consultation with the Council’s
11064 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 1, 1995 / Proposed Rules

Groundfish Management Team,

primarily by dividing the remainder of

the nontrawl allocation by the number

of vessels expected to participate. The

trip limit and season dates would be

announced in the Federal Register.

Closed Periods Before and After the

Regular Season

The Council and its subcommittees

considered a wide range of options

(described in the EA/RIR) before

recommending the following changes to

the closed period before the regular

season. In recognition of pot gear’s

ability to hold live sablefish for the 72-

hour period, and the difficulty of

enforcing a closure if the open-access

fishery deploys its gear during this

period, the Council recommended that

all groundfish nontrawl gear, limited

entry and open-access, be out of the

water 72 hours before the start of the

regular season. Acknowledging the

difficulty and cost of transporting and

setting pot gear, the Council also

recommended that pot gear could

legally be deployed, and baited, 24

hours before the regular season.

However, as in past years, no sablefish

could be retained, possessed, or landed

during the 72-hour closure.

The 1995 annual groundfish

management measures establish trip

limits for groundfish that are

incidentally caught in the open-access

fishery by vessels using trawl or pot gear

to fish for pink shrimp, or spot and

ridgeback prawns. These limits are

1,500 pounds (680 kg) of groundfish per

day while fishing for pink shrimp

(multiplied by the total number of days

in the fishing trip), and 1,000 pounds

(454 kg) of groundfish per trip while

fishing for spot and ridgeback prawns.

The proposed rule would prohibit

setting nontrawl gear (sablefish pot gear)

that is used to take and retain

groundfish during a closed period

preceding the beginning of the regular

sablefish season. As applied to the pink

shrimp and spot and ridgeback prawn

fisheries, it would permit pot vessels to

set their gear provided that no

groundfish is retained or landed during

the 72-hour period.

Under the new structure the States of

Oregon and Washington are expected to

continue the practice of inspecting

vessel holds prior to the start of the

regular season to prevent stockpiling of

fish. The State of California would rely

on shore inspections and at-sea

boardings to accomplish the same, but

would not require a hold inspection of

all vessels before the regular season in

1995.

The Council also decided that a

closed period is no longer needed at the

end of the regular season. Initially, it

was thought that a 72-hour closure at

the end of the season would be needed

to tally catch data and to facilitate

enforcement. However, experience has

shown that catch data cannot be verified

in only 72 hours, and the closure has

not helped enforcement. Therefore, the

end of the regular season would be

marked by reimposition of small trip

limits. The Council confirmed that, as in

other groundfish fisheries, a vessel

would have to initiate offloading its

catch before the effective time of any

closure or reduced trip limit.

The Council also recommended that

the regular season end at noon rather

than midnight, so that enforcement

agents can more easily observe vessel

activity and so that processing plants

need not be open through the night. The

Council was silent as to the starting

times of the regular and mop-up

fisheries, and the ending time of the

mop-up fishery. NMFS has decided to

propose noon as the effective time for

all these events as well, for the same

reasons.

Closed periods are probably not

needed before the mop-up fishery,

because there would be no particular

disadvantage to the fleet if a vessel

deployed gear before the fishery began.

No vessel could land more than the

small daily trip limit until the mop-up

fishery started, and the amount that

could be taken by each vessel during the

mop-up fishery would be controlled by

the cumulative trip limit. Grounds

preemption by pot gear in the mop-up

fishery would not be expected to any

great extent, because much less gear

would be deployed by high-capacity

vessels under a cumulative trip limit. In

addition, the grounds would become

available as vessels complete their limit.

The rush to the grounds should be less

intense, because each vessel would have

about a month to take its equal share.

Biological Impacts

Biological impacts would be expected

to be negligible. The sablefish

acceptable biological catch (ABC) and

harvest guideline would not be affected

by this action, except to the extent that

catch overages are avoided. Also, a

delay of the fishery until August would

result in fewer fish being taken to attain

the quota, and therefore an increased

biomass over time.

Socio-Economic Impacts

The distribution of catch would be

expected to shift somewhat from pot to

longline landings, because the pot

fishermen would get less of a head start

on the fishery. Although most of the pot

fishery originates in Oregon, Oregon

would not necessarily be hurt by this

rule because longline fishermen along

the coast, including Oregon, would be

expected to benefit from the fair start.

NMFS has considered costs to the

limited entry and open-access fleets and

believes that, while the cost is expected

to be greatest for pot vessels, overall

costs to the longline and pot fleets

would be minimal.

Classification

The Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries, NOAA, (AA) has initially

determined that this action is consistent

with the FMP and the national

standards and other provisions of the

Magnuson Act.

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for the

purposes of E.O. 12866.

The Assistant General Counsel for

Legislation and Regulation of the

Department of Commerce certified to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration that this

proposed rule, if adopted, would not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

The socio-economic impacts are

discussed above and contained in the

EA/RIR. In summary, NMFS has

considered costs to the limited entry

and open-access fleets and believes that,

while the costs are expected to be

somewhat greater for pot vessels, overall

costs to the longline and pot fleets

would be minimal. As a result, a

regulatory flexibility analysis was not

prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 663

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: February 23, 1995.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 663 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 663—PACIFIC COAST

GROUNDFISH FISHERY

l. The authority citation for part 663

continues to read as follows:

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

2. In § 663.23 paragraph (b)(2) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 663.23 Catch restrictions.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(2) Nontrawl sablefish. This paragraph

(b)(2) applies to vessels using nontrawl

gear in the limited entry fishery, except

for paragraphs (b)(2)(i) and (v), which
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 1, 1995 / Proposed Rules 11065

also apply to vessels in the open-access

fishery. All times are local times.

(i) Pre-season closure—Open-access

and limited entry fisheries.

(A) Sablefish taken with nontrawl

gear in the limited entry or open access

fishery in the EEZ may not be retained

or landed from noon August 3 through

noon August 6.

(B) All nontrawl gear used to take and

retain groundfish must be out of EEZ

waters from noon August 3 through

noon August 6, except that pot gear

used to take and retain groundfish may

be deployed and baited in the EEZ after

noon on August 5.

(ii) Regular season—Limited entry

fishery. The regular season for the

limited entry nontrawl sablefish fishery

begins at 1201 hours on August 6.

During the regular season, the limited

entry nontrawl sablefish fishery may be

subject to trip limits to protect juvenile

sablefish. The regular season will end

when 70 percent of the limited entry

nontrawl allocation has been or is

projected to be taken. The end of the

regular season may be announced in the

Federal Register either before or during

the regular season.

(iii) Mop-up season—Limited entry

fishery. A mop-up season to take the

remainder of the limited entry nontrawl

allocation will begin about 3 weeks after

the end of the regular season, or as soon

as practicable thereafter. During the

mop-up fishery, cumulative trip limits

will be imposed. The length of the mopup season and amount of the cumulative

trip limit, including the time period to

which it applies, will be determined by

the Regional Director in consultation

with the Council or its Groundfish

Management Team, and will be based

primarily on the amount of fish

remaining in the allocation and the

number of participants anticipated. The

Regional Director may determine that

too little of the nontrawl allocation

remains to conduct an orderly or

manageable fishery, in which case there

will not be a mop-up season.

(iv) The dates that the regular season

ends (and trip limits on sablefish of all

sizes are resumed) and the mop-up

season begins and ends, and the size of

the trip limit for the mop-up fishery,

will be announced in the Federal

Register, and may be modified.

(v) Trip and/or frequency limits may

be imposed in the limited entry fishery

before and after the regular season, and

after the mop-up season, under

paragraph (c) of this section. Trip and/

or size limits to protect juvenile

sablefish in the limited entry or openaccess fisheries also may be imposed at

any time under paragraph (c) of this

section. Trip limits may be imposed in

the open-access fishery at any time

under paragraph (c) of this section.

[FR Doc. 95–5034 Filed 2–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F