13380 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 48 / Monday, March 13, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

on the gear being measured) less one

thickness of the metal wedge, can be

passed with only thumb pressure

through at least 16 of 20 sets of two

meshes each of wet mesh.

MINIMUM TRAWL-MESH SIZE

[In Inches]1

Subarea

Trawl Type Vancouver Columbia Eureka Monterey Conception

Bottom ...................................................................................................... 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5

Pelagic ...................................................................................................... 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0

1 Metric conversion: 3.0 inches = 7.6 centimeters; 4.5 inches = 11.4 centimeters.

(3) Chafing gear. Chafing gear may

encircle no more than 50 percent of the

net’s circumference, except as provided

in paragraph (b)(5) of this section. No

section of chafing gear may be longer

than 50 meshes of the net to which it

is attached. Except at the corners, the

terminal end of each section of chafing

gear must not be connected to the net.

(The terminal end is the end farthest

from the mouth of the net.) Chafing gear

must be attached outside any riblines

and restraining straps. There is no limit

on the number of sections of chafing

gear on a net.

(4) Codends. Only single-walled

codends may be used in any trawl.

Double-walled codends are prohibited.

(5) Pelagic trawls. Pelagic trawl nets

must have unprotected footropes at the

trawl mouth, and must not have rollers,

bobbins, tires, wheels, rubber discs, or

any similar device anywhere in the net.

Sweeplines, including the bottom leg of

the bridle, must be bare. For at least 20

ft (6.15 m) immediately behind the

footrope or headrope, bare ropes or

mesh of 16-inch (40.6-cm) minimum

mesh size must completely encircle the

net. A band of mesh (a ‘‘skirt’’) may

encircle the net under transfer cables,

lifting or splitting straps (chokers), but

must be: over riblines and restraining

straps; the same mesh size and coincide

knot-to-knot with the net to which it is

attached; and no wider than 16 meshes.

(c) Fixed gear. (1) Fixed gear

(longline, trap or pot, set net, and

stationary hook-and-line gear, including

commercial vertical hook-and-line gear)

must be:

(i) Marked at the surface, at each

terminal end, with a pole, flag, light,

radar reflector, and a buoy except as

provided in paragraph (c)(2) of this

section; and

(ii) Attended at least once every 7

days.

(2) Commercial vertical hook-and-line

gear that is closely tended may be

marked only with a single buoy of

sufficient size to float the gear. ‘‘Closely

tended’’ means that a vessel is within

visual sighting distance or within 1⁄4

nautical mile (463 m) as determined by

electronic navigational equipment, of its

commercial vertical hook-and-line gear.

(3) A buoy used to mark fixed gear

under paragraph (c)(1)(i) or paragraph

(c)(2) of this section must be marked

with a number clearly identifying the

owner or operator of the vessel. The

number may be either:

(i) If required by applicable state law,

the vessel’s number, the commercial

fishing license number, or buoy brand

number; or

(ii) The vessel documentation number

issued by the U.S. Coast Guard, or, for

an undocumented vessel, the vessel

registration number issued by the state.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 95–6044 Filed 3–8–95; 9:30 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

50 CFR Part 681

[Docket No. 950224060–5060–01; I.D.

021395A]

RIN 0648–AH85

Western Pacific Crustacean Fisheries;

1995 Quota

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: 1995 final quota for crustaceans;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces a 1995

quota of zero lobsters for the

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI)

crustacean fishery. This action is

necessary to ensure protection and

conservation of lobsters in this fishery.

Also, fishermen who wish to participate

in an Experimental Fishing Program in

this fishery during 1995 are encouraged

to contact the Director, Southwest

Region, NMFS (Regional Director). The

purpose of any experimental fishery

would be to allow for a precisely

controlled harvest designed to acquire

data for assessing the status of the spiny

and slipper lobster stocks.

DATES: Effective July 1, 1995. Comments

are invited until April 12, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments about this notice

and requests for information about the

Experimental Fishing Program should

be sent to Hilda Diaz-Soltero, Regional

Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501

West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200,

Long Beach, CA 90802–4213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Svein Fougner, 310–980–4034; or Alvin

Z. Katekaru, 808–973–2985.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

crustacean fisheries of the NWHI are

managed by NMFS according to the

Fishery Management Plan for the

Crustacean Fisheries of the Western

Pacific Region (FMP), which was

prepared by the Western Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council) under

the authority of the Magnuson Fishery

Conservation and Management Act.

Regulations affecting this fishery appear

at 50 CFR part 681.

Ordinarily, an annual quota for the

NWHI crustacean fishery is announced

in two steps. First, based on previous

years’ fishery data, sampling during

research cruises, and other available

data, the Regional Director determines

an initial quota, which is announced in

the Federal Register, usually in

February each year. Next, a final quota

is announced as soon as possible on or

after August 15 of the fishing year. The

final quota is based on actual

commercial fisheries data collected

during the first month of fishing, which

begins July 1 (when there is a quota).

A substantial decrease in lobster

landings and catch-per unit-of-effort

(CPUE) in 1990 raised concern that

fishing effort was excessive. Low lobster

CPUE continued into the early part of

1991, prompting an emergency closure

of the fishery from May through

November 1991.

Amendment 7 to the FMP, which was

approved by NMFS in February 1992,

created an annual 6-month closed

season and an adjustable annual fleet
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 48 / Monday, March 13, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 13381

harvest quota determined by a formula.

This quota is established as described

above. The initial quota for 1992 was

forecast at 750,000 lobsters; however, a

research cruise to the NWHI in June

1992 indicated that recruitment had not

improved. Based on the CPUE

information from the first month of the

commercial fishery and the data

collected on the research cruise, the

final quota was set at 438,000 lobsters.

In 1993, the FMP quota formula

yielded an estimated quota of zero, and

there was no commercial fishing in the

NWHI.

In 1994, the FMP quota formula

yielded an initial quota of 200,000

lobsters; however, data obtained during

the first month of fishing yielded a

revised quota of 20,900 lobsters.

However, by the time the final quota

was determined, it had been exceeded

and the fishery was closed by

emergency rule.

A review panel established by the

Council, consisting of the Crustacean

Plan Team, Advisory Panel, and

reviewers with stock assessment and

quota management experience,

suggested a new quota system tied to

overfishing guidelines rather than

maximum sustainable yield, which is

used in the current formula. An analysis

by the Council and NMFS to evaluate

the new quota proposal, as well as

modification to the existing quota

setting procedures, is underway, but has

not been completed.

The review panel recommended that

NMFS conduct additional statistical

analyses to determine if use of new

statistical procedures would produce

more reliable results. After conducting

these analyses, NMFS determined that a

new statistical procedure should be

used and applied it in deriving the

initial quota for 1995.

Despite the quota derived from the

FMP formula, NMFS concludes that the

initial and final quota should be zero,

and the NWHI commercial lobster

fishery should be closed in 1995. There

are two reasons for this determination.

First, managing the fishery to ensure

that such a low quota is not exceeded

would be difficult to accomplish. There

are 15 permits in force for the fishery.

While it is unlikely that all permit

holders would gear up for the fishery,

five to seven vessels might participate in

a ‘‘derby’’ fishery, with each trying to

maximize its share of the quota. Data

from the 1994 fishery show that the

cumulative daily catch by the five

vessels that participated averaged

almost 4,000 lobsters. With seven

vessels, the expected cumulative daily

catch would be about 5,600 lobsters.

Even with daily catch reports, given the

requirement that 7-day notice be given

to fishermen prior to prohibiting further

landings, there would be potential for

exceeding the quota.

Second, the low 1995 quota is likely

to result in a ‘‘derby’’ fishery, which

would be economically inefficient and

would encourage fishermen to take

safety risks. Given the substantial cost to

prepare a vessel for fishing, once

outfitted, a vessel operator would be

under pressure to maximize catch,

regardless of weather and sea

conditions, in order to recoup expenses

and make a profit. However, since an

initial quota of 38,513 lobsters would

generate only about $250,000 in total exvessel revenues for the entire

commercial fishery, the likelihood that

all participants would benefit from

fishing is small, and certainly does not

outweigh the risk of a ‘‘derby’’ fishery.

Nevertheless, in the interest of

improving the scientific basis for future

management, NMFS will consider

allowing controlled fishing under an

Experimental Fishing Permit program,

which could be authorized under

§ 681.26 of the regulations. Controlled

fishing under an experimental fishing

program could provide added

information regarding rebuilding of the

stocks, to the extent stock rebuilding has

existed since late 1994, while ensuring

that the harvest of 38,513 lobsters is not

exceeded. In conjunction with the data

from the planned 1995 research cruise,

any information obtained from fishing

under an Experimental Fishing Program

could be important for deriving the

initial quota for 1996. However, data

obtained from any experimental fishing

would not be used to modify the 1995

quota. Also, NMFS encourages

fishermen who wish to participate in an

Experimental Fishing Program in this

fishery during 1995 to contact the

Regional Director.

Classification

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

part 681 and is exempt from review

under E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: March 7, 1995.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 95–6051 Filed 3–10–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F