28796 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 110 / Thursday, June 6, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

limits applicable to the limited entry

fishery.

6. The Appendix to this part is

amended by revising the first paragraph

in section II.H. to read as follows:

Appendix to Part 663—Groundfish

Management Procedures

* * * * *

II. * * *

H. * * *

Annually, the Council will develop

recommendations for specification of ABCs,

identification of species or species groups for

management by numerical harvest guidelines

and quotas, specification of the numerical

harvest guidelines and quotas, and

apportionments to DAP, JVP, DAH, TALFF,

and the reserve over the span of two Council

meetings. The Council also will develop

recommendations for the specification of

allocations for Pacific Coast treaty Indian

tribes as described at § 663.24.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 96–14141 Filed 5–31–96; 4:42 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

50 CFR Part 663

[Docket No. 951227306–6117–02; I.D.

053096A]

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery;

Whiting At-Sea Processing

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Fishing restrictions.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the

prohibition of further processing at sea

of Pacific whiting at 1200 hours (local

time) on June 1, 1996, based on its

projection that 60 percent (118,200

metric tons (mt)) of the 1996

commercial harvest guideline for Pacific

whiting will have been harvested by

that time. This action is authorized by

the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery

Management Plan and is necessary to

provide adequate amounts of whiting

for shoreside processors and to achieve

the allocations adopted for 1996.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 31, 1996, through

2400 hours (local time) May 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to

William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest

Region, National Marine Fisheries

Service, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., BINC15700, Seattle, WA 98115–0070.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William L. Robinson at 206–526–6140.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April

13, 1994, NMFS issued regulations (59

FR 17491) to allocate annually the U.S.

Pacific whiting harvest guideline in the

years 1994 through 1996 between

fishing vessels that either catch and

process at sea or catch and deliver to atsea processors (the at-sea sector) and

fishing vessels that catch and deliver to

processors located on shore (the shorebased sector). In each year, after 60

percent of the annual harvest guideline

(or quota) for Pacific whiting has been

or is projected to be taken, further at-sea

processing of Pacific whiting in the

exclusive economic zone is prohibited.

This provision was modified in 1996 by

a rule that established a framework to

implement the Washington coastal

Indian tribes’ treaty rights to harvest

Pacific groundfish. That rule also

allocated 15,000 mt of whiting to the

Makah Indian Tribe for 1996. The tribal

allocation is subtracted from the harvest

guideline to derive the ‘‘commercial

harvest guideline.’’ When 60 percent of

the commercial harvest guideline is

projected to be taken (by both at-sea and

shore-based sectors), at-sea processing

of whiting is prohibited. The remaining

40 percent of the commercial harvest

guideline is reserved initially for harvest

by vessels delivering to shore-based

processors. The regulations require that

the Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries, NOAA, announce in the

Federal Register when 60 percent of the

commercial harvest guideline has been,

or is about to be, harvested, specifying

a time after which further at-sea

processing of Pacific whiting in the

fishery management area is prohibited.

The most recent catch data available

on May 31, 1996, indicate that

approximately 96,000 mt of Pacific

whiting have been harvested through

May 28, 1996, and 60 percent (118,200

mt) of the 197,000–mt commercial

harvest guideline for Pacific whiting is

projected to be reached by 1200 hours

(local time) on June 1, 1996.

Secretarial Action

For the reasons given above, and in

accordance with 50 CFR 663.23(b)(4)(i)

and (iv), after 1200 hours (local time) on

June 1, 1996, at-sea processing of Pacific

whiting is prohibited (except for Pacific

whiting that was on board the

processing vessel prior to that time), and

the taking and retaining, or receiving

(except as cargo) of Pacific whiting by

a vessel in the fishery management area

with processed whiting on board is

prohibited. Any vessel used to fish for

whiting for processing at sea must have

its trawl doors on board and attached to

the trawl (50 CFR 663.7(o)).

Classification

The determination that 60 percent of

the commercial harvest guideline is

about to be harvested is based on the

most recent data available. The

aggregate data upon which the

determination is based are available for

public inspection at the Office of the

Director, Northwest Region (see

ADDRESSES) during business hours. This

action is taken under the authority of 50

CFR 663.23 (b)(4)(i), and is exempt from

review under E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: May 31, 1996.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries

Conservation and Management, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96–14148 Filed 5–31–96; 3:49 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F