[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 91 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21102-21104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11546]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 663

[Docket No. 951227306-5306-01; I.D. 043096A]


Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Closure and Trip Limit 
Reduction

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

ACTION: Closure; fishing restrictions; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the closure of the open access fishery for 
thornyheads taken and retained north of Point Conception, CA 
(34 deg.27' N. lat.), and a further restriction to the open access 
fishery for sablefish taken with nontrawl gear north of the Conception 
subarea (36 deg.00' N. lat.). This action is authorized by the Pacific 
Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan

[[Page 21103]]

(FMP), which governs the groundfish fishery off Washington, Oregon, and 
California. The closure and trip limit are designed to keep landings as 
close as possible to the 1996 open access allocations for these 
species.

DATES: Effective from 0001 hours (local time) May 3, 1996, until the 
effective date of the 1997 annual specifications and management 
measures for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery, which will be 
published in the Federal Register. Comments will be accepted through 
May 24, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest 
Region (Regional Director), National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 
Sand Point Way NE., BIN-C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or Hilda Diaz-
Soltero, Regional Director, Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at 206-526-6140; 
or Rodney McInnis at 310-980-4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Management measures for the open access 
fishery apply to any vessel that takes and retains groundfish and that 
does not have a valid limited entry permit for the Pacific coast 
groundfish fishery with an endorsement for the gear used to harvest the 
groundfish. Open access gear includes longline, trap, pot, hook and 
line (fixed or mobile), set net (south of 38 deg. N. lat. only), and 
trawls used to target non-groundfish species (pink shrimp or prawns 
and, south of Pt. Arena, CA (38 deg.57'30'' N. lat.), California 
halibut or sea cucumbers). The following changes to routine management 
measures in the open access fisheries for thornyheads and sablefish 
were recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) at 
its April 8-12, 1996, meeting in San Francisco, CA.
    Open Access Thornyhead Fishery. Thornyheads consist of two species 
(shortspine and longspine thornyheads) that often are caught together. 
Because of difficulties in identifying and monitoring the two species 
separately in the open access fishery, this fishery has been managed 
for both species combined. Through 1995, separate open access and 
limited entry allocations had not been implemented for shortspine 
thornyheads because landings were thought to be negligible in the open 
access fishery. However, at its October 1995 meeting, the Council 
concluded that the best available information indicated that about 24 
metric tons (mt) had been taken north of Pt. Conception in 1995, 
indicating expansion in the fishery since the 1984-88 window period 
used to determine open access and limited entry allocations. The 
Council responded by recommending that limited entry and open access 
allocations be implemented for shortspine thornyheads for 1996. The 
1996 open access allocation for shortspine thornyheads is only 4 mt, 
and applies north of Pt. Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.). To keep 
landings close to the open access allocation, a coastwide daily trip 
limit of 50 lb (23 kg) (round weight) was applied for both species of 
thornyheads combined on January 1, 1996 (61 FR 279, January 4, 1996). A 
daily trip limit is the maximum amount that may be taken and retained, 
possessed, or landed per vessel in 24 consecutive hours, starting at 
0001 hours local time, and only one landing of the trip-limit species 
may be made in that 24-hour period. Daily trip limits may not be 
accumulated.
    The best available information at the April 1996 Council meeting 
indicated that landings of thornyheads in the open access fishery had 
reached 18.7 mt north of Pt. Conception by the end of March 1996. Of 
this, about 11 mt was shortspine thornyheads taken in California, 
exceeding the 1996 open access allocation for shortspine thornyheads 
north of Pt. Conception. The Council recommended that the open access 
fishery for thornyheads be closed north of Pt. Conception as soon as 
practicable for the rest of the year. Closure means taking and 
retaining, possessing, or landing thornyheads caught north of Pt. 
Conception with any open access gear (including open access trawl gear) 
is prohibited, and offloading must begin before the time the fishery 
closes. The 50-lb (23-kg) daily trip limit on thornyheads remains in 
effect south of Pt. Conception because the harvest guideline does not 
apply in that area. This daily trip limit is believed to be too small 
to encourage effort shifts into the area.
    Open Access Sablefish Fishery. In 1995, the daily trip limits for 
sablefish in the open access nontrawl fishery were 300 lb (136 kg) per 
day north of the Conception subarea (36 deg.00' N. lat.) and 350 lb 
(159 kg) per day in the Conception subarea (36 deg.00' N. lat. to the 
U.S.-Mexican border). The best available information at the April 1996 
Council meeting indicated that 119 mt of sablefish had been taken in 
the open access fishery in California by the end of March and that the 
rate of landings would need to be reduced by 40 percent to avoid 
reaching the 463-mt open access allocation before the end of the year. 
After hearing considerable testimony that a target fishery for less 
than 300 lb (136 kg) of sablefish per day would result in substantial 
discards, or would be too low to sustain a viable fishery, the Council 
agreed to maintain the current daily trip limit. However, it 
recommended further constraining landings by adding a cumulative trip 
limit of 2,100 lb (952 kg) north of 36 deg. N. lat. per vessel per 
month. A cumulative trip limit is the maximum amount that may be taken 
and retained, possessed, or landed per vessel in a specified period of 
time (in this case, 1 month). Landings made under the daily trip limits 
count toward the cumulative limit. This cumulative monthly limit would 
accommodate seven daily landings at 300 lb (136 kg). Any open access 
landings of sablefish made in May 1996 (even if made before this 
closure is filed with the Office of the Federal Register) will be 
counted toward the 2,100-lb (952-kg) cumulative limit for the month. 
This cumulative monthly limit does not apply to open access trawl 
fisheries because they target on non-groundfish species (pink shrimp, 
prawns, California halibut, and sea cucumbers) and are constrained by 
other limits.
    For the above reasons, NMFS concurs with the Council's 
recommendations and modifies the annual management measures announced 
at 61 FR 279 (January 4, 1996), as amended, as follows:
    1. Paragraph IV.I(1)(c)(ii) is revised to read as follows:
    ``(ii) A daily trip limit of 50 lb (23 kg) of thornyheads taken and 
retained south of Pt. Conception, CA.''
    2. A new paragraph IV.I(1)(e) is added to read as follows:
    ``(e) Closure - thornyheads north of Pt. Conception. The open 
access fishery for thornyheads (shortspine or longspine) north of Pt. 
Conception, CA is closed. This closure applies to thornyheads taken and 
retained with all open access gear. Open access gear is gear used to 
take and retain groundfish that does not have a valid limited entry 
permit for the Pacific coast groundfish fishery with an endorsement for 
the gear used to harvest the groundfish, including longline, trap, pot, 
hook-and-line (fixed or mobile), set net (south of 38 deg. N. lat. 
only), and trawls used to target non-groundfish species (pink shrimp or 
prawns, and, south of Pt. Arena, CA (38 deg.57'30'' N. lat.), 
California halibut or sea cucumbers).''
    3. Paragraph IV.I.(2)(a) is revised to read as follows:
    ``(a) North of 36 deg.00' N. lat. The cumulative trip limit for 
sablefish taken and retained north of 36 deg.00' N. lat. is 2,100 lb 
(952 kg) per month. The daily trip limit for sablefish taken and 
retained north of 36 deg.00' N. lat., which

[[Page 21104]]

counts toward the cumulative limit, remains at 300 lb (136 kg).''

Classification

    These actions are authorized by the FMP, which governs the harvest 
of groundfish in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the coasts of 
Washington, Oregon, and California. The determination to take these 
actions is based on the most recent data available. The aggregate data 
upon which the determinations are based are available for public 
inspection at the office of the Regional Director (see ADDRESSES) 
during business hours. Because of the need for immediate action to 
reduce the harvest of shortspine thornyheads, and because the public 
had an opportunity to comment on the action at the April 1996 Council 
meeting, NMFS has determined that good cause exists for this document 
to be published without affording a prior opportunity for public 
comment or a 30-day delayed effectiveness period. These actions are 
taken under the authority of 50 CFR 663.23(c)(1)(i)(E), (G), and (L), 
and are exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: May 2, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-11546 Filed 5-3-96; 4:47 pm]
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