27312 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 106 / Friday, May 31, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

amount of a species or species group

apportioned to a fishery is the amount

identified in the specifications as

provided in paragraph (c)(1) of this

section. These amounts are revised by

inseason adjustments, for a given

species or species group, as identified

by regulatory area, district or statistical

area, and as further identified according

to any allocation of TALFF, the

apportionment for JVP, the

apportionment for DAP, the seasonal

allowance of pollock or, with respect to

Pacific cod, to an allocation to the

inshore or offshore component and, if

applicable, as further identified by gear

type. In establishing a directed fishing

allowance, the Regional Director should

consider the amount of that species

group, seasonal allowance of pollock, or

allocation of Pacific cod to the inshore

or offshore component that will be taken

as incidental catch in directed fishing

for other species in the same regulatory

area, district or statistical area. If the

Regional Director establishes a directed

fishing allowance and that allowance is

or will be reached before the end of the

fishing year or, with respect to pollock,

before the end of the season, NMFS will

prohibit directed fishing for the species

or species group in the specified

regulatory area, district or statistical

area. If directed fishing for a species or

species group is prohibited, any amount

of that species or species group greater

than the maximum retainable bycatch

amount, as calculated under paragraph

(g) of this section, may not be retained

and must be treated as a prohibited

species under paragraph (e) of this

section.

* * * * *

3. In § 672.23, paragraph (e) is revised

to read as follows:

§ 672.23 Seasons.

* * * * *

(e) Subject to other provisions of this

part, directed fishing for pollock in the

Western and Central Regulatory Areas of

the Gulf of Alaska is authorized only

during the three seasons:

(1) From 0001, A.l.t., January 1

through 12 noon, A.l.t., April 1;

(2) From 1200, A.l.t., June 1 through

1200, A.l.t., July 1; and

(3) From 1200, A.l.t., September 1

through 2359 A.l.t., December 31.

Nomenclature Amendments

§ 672.20 [Amended]

4. In addition to the amendments set

out above, in § 672.20, in paragraph

(c)(1), remove all occurrences of the

word ‘‘quarterly’’ and add in their place

the word ‘‘seasonal’’.

[FR Doc. 96–13594 Filed 5–30–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–W

50 CFR Parts 672 and 675

[Docket No. 900833–1095; I.D. 052396A]

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska and

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Area; Bycatch Rate Standards for the

Second Half of 1996

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Pacific halibut and red king crab

bycatch rate standards; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces Pacific

halibut and red king crab bycatch rate

standards for the second half of 1996.

This action is necessary to implement

the bycatch rate standards for vessel

operators who participate in the Alaska

groundfish trawl fisheries under the

vessel incentive program. The intent of

this action is to reduce prohibited

species bycatch rates and promote

conservation of groundfish and other

fishery resources.

DATES: Effective 12:01 a.m., Alaska local

time (A.l.t.), July 1, 1996, through 12

midnight, A.l.t., December 31, 1996.

Comments on this action must be

received at the following address no

later than 4:30 p.m., A.l.t., June 30,

1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed to Ronald J. Berg, Chief,

Fisheries Management Division, NMFS,

P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–

1668, Attn: Lori Gravel; or be delivered

to 709 West 9th Street, Federal Building,

Room 401, Juneau, AK.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan J. Salveson, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

domestic groundfish fisheries in the

exclusive economic zone of the Bering

Sea and Aleutian Islands management

area (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA)

are managed by NMFS according to the

Fishery Management Plan for the

Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea

and Aleutian Islands Area and the

Fishery Management Plan for

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska

(FMPs). The FMPs were prepared by the

North Pacific Fishery Management

Council (Council) under the authority of

the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act. The FMPs are

implemented by regulations for the U.S.

fisheries at 50 CFR parts 672, 675, and

676. General regulations that also

pertain to the U.S. fisheries appear at 50

CFR part 620. Regulations that establish

observer coverage requirements are set

out at 50 CFR part 677. Bycatch rate

standards and the vessel incentive

program are described at § 675.26.

Halibut and red king crab bycatch rate

standards for the first half of 1996 were

published in the Federal Register on

November 29, 1995 (60 FR 61213). As

required by §§ 672.26(c) and 675.26(c),

the Director of the Alaska Region, NMFS

(Regional Director), has established the

bycatch rate standards for the second

half of 1996 (July 1 through December

31). These standards were approved by

the Council at its April 1996 meeting

and are set out in Table 1. The bycatch

rate standards are based on the

following information:

1. Previous years’ average observed

bycatch rates.

2. Immediately preceding season’s

average observed bycatch rates.

3. The bycatch allowances and

associated fishery closures specified

under §§ 672.20(f) and 675.21.

4. Anticipated groundfish harvests.

5. Anticipated seasonal distribution of

fishing effort for groundfish.

6. Other information and criteria

deemed relevant by the Regional

Director.

TABLE 1.—BYCATCH RATE STANDARDS BY FISHERY FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 1996 FOR PURPOSES OF THE VESSEL

INCENTIVE PROGRAM IN THE BSAI AND GOA

Fishery

Bycatch

rate

standard

Halibut bycatch rate standards

(kilogram of halibut/metric ton of groundfish catch)

BSAI Midwater pollock ................................................................................................................................................................................. 1.0

BSAI Bottom pollock .................................................................................................................................................................................... 5.0
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 106 / Friday, May 31, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 27313

TABLE 1.—BYCATCH RATE STANDARDS BY FISHERY FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 1996 FOR PURPOSES OF THE VESSEL

INCENTIVE PROGRAM IN THE BSAI AND GOA—Continued

Fishery

Bycatch

rate

standard

BSAI Yellowfin sole ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 5.0

BSAI Other trawl .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 30.0

GOA Midwater pollock ................................................................................................................................................................................. 1.0

GOA Other trawl .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 40.0

Zone 1 red king crab bycatch rates standards

(number of crab/metric ton of groundfish catch)

BSAI yellowfin sole ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 2.5

BSAI Other trawl .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2.5

Bycatch Rate Standards for Pacific

Halibut

The halibut bycatch rate standards for

the 1996 trawl fisheries are unchanged

from those implemented in 1995. The

Regional Director based standards for

the second half of 1996 on anticipated

seasonal fishing effort for groundfish

species and 1993–96 halibut bycatch

rates observed in the trawl fisheries

included under the incentive program.

In determining these bycatch rate

standards, the Regional Director

recognized that directed fishing for

BSAI Pacific cod by vessels using trawl

gear is closed until October 25, 1996 (61

FR 24730, May 16, 1996). Given the

present status of halibut bycatch in the

yellowfin sole fishery, the Regional

Director anticipates that this fishery will

close by early June due to halibut

bycatch restrictions. The fishery will

remain closed until August 15 when the

remainder of its halibut bycatch

allowance becomes available. The

Regional Director also considered the

fact that August 15 is opening date of

the 1996 Bering Sea pollock ‘B’ season

(§ 675.23(e)) and that the Council has

requested that NMFS initiate

rulemaking to delay this date until

September 1. NMFS anticipates that a

proposed rule to implement a pollock

‘B’ season delay will be published in the

Federal Register for public review and

comment by mid-June 1996.

The halibut bycatch rate standards for

the BSAI yellowfin sole and ‘‘bottom

pollock’’ trawl fisheries are each set at

5 kilogram (kg) halibut/metric ton (mt)

of groundfish. These standards

approximate the average annual rates

observed on trawl vessels participating

in these fisheries since 1992.

The halibut bycatch rate standard for

the BSAI and GOA midwater pollock

fisheries (1 kg halibut/mt of groundfish)

is higher than the bycatch rates

normally experienced by vessels

participating in these fisheries. This

standard is intended to encourage vessel

operators to maintain off-bottom trawl

operations and limit further bycatch of

halibut in the pollock fishery when

halibut bycatch restrictions at

§§ 672.20(f) and 675.21(c)(1) prohibit

directed fishing for pollock by vessels

using non-pelagic trawl gear.

A bycatch rate standard of 30 kg

halibut/mt of groundfish is established

for the BSAI ‘‘other trawl’’ fishery. This

standard has remained unchanged since

1992. A bycatch rate standard of 40 kg

halibut/mt of groundfish is established

for the GOA ‘‘other trawl’’ fishery,

which is unchanged since 1994. The

considerations that support these

bycatch rate standards for the ‘‘other

trawl’’ fisheries are unchanged from

previous years and are discussed in the

Federal Register publications of 1995

bycatch rate standards (60 FR 2905,

January 12, 1995, and 60 FR 27425, May

24, 1995).

Observer data collected from the 1995

GOA ‘‘other trawl’’ fishery show average

third and fourth quarter halibut bycatch

rates of 18 and 48 kg halibut/mt of

groundfish, respectively. The first

quarter rate from 1996 was lower, at 15

kg halibut/mt of groundfish. Observer

data from the 1995 BSAI ‘‘other trawl’’

fishery show third and fourth quarter

halibut bycatch rates of 10 and 21 kg

halibut/mt of groundfish, respectively.

The first quarter rate from the 1996

BSAI ‘‘other trawl’’ fishery was 10 kg

halibut/mt of groundfish.

Bycatch Rate Standards for Red King

Crab

The red king crab bycatch rate

standard for the yellowfin sole and

‘‘other trawl’’ fisheries in Zone 1 of the

Bering Sea subarea is 2.5 crab/mt of

groundfish during the second half of

1996. This standard has remained

unchanged since 1992.

The red king crab savings area

(RKCSA) in Zone 1 has been closed to

fishing with trawl gear since the

beginning of the 1996 trawl season (60

FR 63451, December 11, 1995; 61 FR

8889, March 6, 1996). This closure will

remain effective through June 15, 1996.

The closure of the RKCSA has

significantly reduced red king crab

bycatch rates in the BSAI trawl fisheries

during the first half of 1996. Through

early May, the rock sole/flathead sole/

other flatfish fishery category had taken

only 9 percent of its annual red king

crab bycatch allowance. The Pacific cod

and yellowfin sole fisheries had taken

only 25 percent and less than 1 percent,

respectively, of their bycatch

allowances. As a result, NMFS does not

anticipate that the red king bycatch

allowances specified for the 1996 trawl

fisheries (61 FR 4311, February 5, 1996)

will be reached. Furthermore, bycatch

rates should remain low given that

intensive flatfish or Pacific cod trawl

fisheries in Zone 1 are not anticipated

for the remainder of the year.

Nonetheless, as in past years, the

Regional Director is maintaining the 2.5

red king crab/mt of groundfish bycatch

rate standard to support any exploratory

fishing in Zone 1 by vessel operators

attempting to avoid relatively high

halibut and C. bairdi bycatch rates

typically experienced in other areas of

the BSAI.

The Regional Director has determined

that the bycatch rate standards set out

in Table 1 are appropriately based on

the information and considerations

necessary for such determinations under

§§ 672.26(c) and 675.26(c). These

bycatch rate standards may be revised

and published in the Federal Register

when deemed appropriate by the

Regional Director, pending his

consideration of the information set

forth at §§ 672.26(c)(2)(v) and

675.26(c)(2)(v).

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

672.26 and 675.26 and is exempt from

review under E.O. 12866.
27314 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 106 / Friday, May 31, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

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

Dated: May 24, 1996.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries

Conservation and Management, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96–13661 Filed 5–28–96; 4:25 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–W