Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 35143

42°49.5′ N. 69°40′ W.

43°12′ N. 69°00′ W.

Maine shoreline69°00′ W.

Vessels fishing under this exemption

are restricted to a minimum mesh size

of 10 inches (25.4 cm)(diamond). No

species other than monkfish, or lobsters

in an amount not to exceed 10 percent

by weight of the total catch on board or

200 lobsters (whichever is less), may be

retained when fishing in this exempted

fishery.

GOM/GB Dogfish Exempted Fishery

For the period July 1, 1996, through

August 31, 1996, an exempted fishery

for dogfish may also be conducted in the

area defined above by vessels using sink

gillnet gear with a minimum mesh size

of 6.5 inches (16.5 cm)(diamond). No

species other than dogfish, or lobsters in

an amount not to exceed 10 percent by

weight of the total catch on board or 200

lobsters (whichever is less), may be

retained when fishing in this exemption

program.

SNE Monkfish Exempted Fishery

For the period July 1, 1996, through

October 31, 1996, an exempted fishery

for monkfish may be conducted by

vessels using sink gillnet gear within a

specific portion of the SNE regulated

mesh area. This is defined by a line

running south from the Massachusetts

shoreline at 41°35′ N. lat. and 70°00′ W.

long. and bounded on the west by the

Mid-Atlantic regulated mesh area.

Vessels fishing under this exemption are

restricted to a minimum mesh size of 12

inches (25.4 cm)(diamond). No species

other than monkfish may be retained

when fishing in this exempted fishery.

SNE Dogfish Exempted Fishery

Modification

Analysis of the available data also

revealed that an existing fishery

exemption, allowing sink gillnets in the

dogfish fishery to be used year-round in

the SNE regulated mesh area, should be

restricted by a season and a minimum

mesh-size requirement to remain

consistent with the bycatch control

objective. NMFS observer data

documents that several trips exceeded

the bycatch limit during the months of

November through April. Therefore, the

Regional Director has determined that,

during the months of November through

April, this fishery should no longer be

exempted; NMFS intends to address this

through future rulemaking. To provide

additional assurance against bycatch of

regulated multispecies during the time

period the fishery is exempted, effective

from July 29, 1996 through October 31,

1996, a minimum mesh size of 6 inches

(15.24 cm)(diamond) must be used.

Further, from July 1, 1996, through

October 31, 1996, this fishery is

restricted to the area described above for

the SNE monkfish exempted fishery

(i.e., the area defined by a line running

south from the Massachusetts shoreline

at 41°35′ N. lat. and 70°00′ W. long. and

bounded on the west by the MidAtlantic regulated mesh area). The

allowed bycatch species for this

exemption are not changed.

Cultivator Shoals Whiting Exemption

Program Bycatch

For the period July 1, 1996, through

December 31, 1996, the bycatch of squid

is to be allowed under the existing time,

area, and mesh-size restrictions of the

Cultivator Shoals whiting fishery

exemption.

The Regional Director has informed

the New England Fishery Management

Council of the proposals to allow the

sink gillnet fisheries for monkfish and

dogfish in the GOM/GB area and to add

squid to the list of allowable bycatch in

the Cultivator Shoals whiting fishery

during 1996. No objection was raised.

The Regional Director has determined

that the GOM/GB sink gillnet fisheries,

as described above, and the previously

exempted SNE sink gillnet fishery for

dogfish, as temporarily modified by this

action, meet the exemption qualification

requirements specified in § 648.80(a)(7).

Fish that are caught, possessed, or

landed in accordance with provisions of

this action will be deemed by NMFS to

be in accordance with 50 CFR 648.80.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

648.80 and is exempt from review under

E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: June 28, 1996.

Richard H. Schaefer,

Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and

Management, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

[FR Doc. 96–17061 Filed 6–28–96; 4:20 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–W

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 951227306–5306–01 ; I.D.

062696A]

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Trip

Limit Reductions

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Fishing restrictions; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces further

restrictions to the Pacific coast

groundfish fisheries for Pacific ocean

perch (POP) coastwide and Dover sole

north of Cape Mendocino, CA (40°30′ N.

lat.). These actions are authorized by

regulations implementing the Pacific

Coast Groundfish Fishery Management

Plan (FMP), which governs the

groundfish fishery off Washington,

Oregon, and California. These

restrictions are intended to keep

landings as close as possible to the 1996

harvest guidelines for these species.

DATES: Effective from 0001 hours (local

time) July 1, 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 July 22, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to

William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest

Region (Director), National Marine

Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way

NE., BIN-C15700, Seattle, WA 98115–

0070; or Hilda Diaz-Soltero, 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: The

following changes to routine

management measures for POP and

Dover sole were recommended by the

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council) at its June 18–19, 1996,

meeting in Seattle, WA.

POP. POP has been overfished and

has been managed under a rebuilding

schedule since 1981. The acceptable

biological catch (ABC) is zero, and the

harvest guideline is intended to provide

only for incidental catch of POP taken

while fishing for other species. The

harvest guideline was reduced from

1,300 metric tons (mt) in 1995 to 750 mt

on January 1, 1996, at which time a 2-

month cumulative trip limit of 10,000 lb

(4,536 kg) was implemented.

The best available information at the

June 1996 Council meeting indicated

that 315 mt of POP had been taken

through May 31, 1996, and that the 750–

mt harvest guideline would be reached

by September 28, 1996, if the rate of

landings is not slowed. The Council

recommended that the 2-month

cumulative limit for POP be reduced

from 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) to 8,000 lb

(3,629 kg) coastwide to keep landings

within the harvest guideline in 1996.

Dover sole. Dover sole is one

component of the Dover sole,
35144 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

thornyheads (both shortspine and

longspine), and trawl-caught sablefish

(DTS) complex. In recent years, the DTS

complex has been managed with

cumulative trip limits, with specific

limits on sablefish and thornyheads.

The remainder of catch could be Dover

sole. The industry generally

concentrated on the higher valued fish,

thornyheads and sablefish. However, at

its extreme, the entire cumulative limit

for the DTS complex (since January 1,

1996, 70,000 lb (31,752 kg) per 2-month

period ) could consist of Dover sole.

Dover sole currently is managed with a

coastwide harvest guideline, which

includes a harvest guideline for Dover

sole in the Columbia area (43°00′–47°30′

N. lat.), where harvest typically has

been the highest.

The best available information at the

June 1996 Council meeting indicated

that 1,361 mt of Dover sole in the

Columbia area had been taken through

May 31, 1996, and that the 2,850–mt

harvest guideline for this area would be

reached by October 25, 1996, if the rate

of landings is not slowed. The Council

recommended that an explicit 2-month

cumulative limit of 38,000 lb (17,236 kg)

be specified for Dover sole taken and

retained north of Cape Mendocino, CA.

This is the amount of the DTS complex

that would remain under the existing

cumulative 2-month limit north of Cape

Mendocino if the sub-limits for sablefish

and thornyheads are fully taken. The 2-

month cumulative limit for Dover sole

is applied north of Cape Mendocino

because this encompasses the Columbia

area, and is consistent with current 2-

month cumulative limits for the DTS

complex (which differ north and south

of Cape Mendocino) without unduly

restricting the fishery south of Cape

Mendocino.

NMFS action. NMFS concurs with the

Council’s recommendations, which are

intended to keep landings of POP and

Dover sole within their 1996 harvest

guidelines. These restrictions apply to

both the limited entry and open access

fisheries, including exempt trawl gear

used to harvest pink shrimp and

prawns. As stated in the annual

management measures at 61 FR 279

(January 4, 1996), ‘‘A vessel operating in

the open access fishery must not exceed

any trip limit, frequency limit, and/or

size limit for the open access fishery; or

for the same gear and/or subarea in the

limited entry fishery; or, in any calendar

month, 50 percent of any 2-month

cumulative trip limit for the same gear

and/or subarea in the limited entry

fishery, called the ’50–percent monthly

limit.’’’ The annual management

measures announced at 61 FR 279, as

amended, are modified as follows:

1. Paragraphs IV.D.(1) and (2) of the

annual management measures for POP

are revised to read as follows:

‘‘D.(1) Limited entry fishery. The

cumulative trip limit for POP is 8,000 lb

(3,629 kg) per vessel per 2-month

period. The 60–percent monthly limit is

4,800 lb (2,177 kg).

D.(2) Open access fishery. Within the

limits at paragraph IV.I. for the open

access fishery, the 50–percent monthly

limit for POP is 4,000 lb (1,814 kg).’’

2. Paragraphs IV.E.(3)(b)(i),

IV.E.(3)(b)(iii), and IV.E.(4) of the annual

management measures for the DTS

complex are revised to read as follows:

‘‘E.(3)(b)(i). North of Cape Mendocino.

The cumulative trip limit for the DTS

complex taken and retained north of

Cape Mendocino is 70,000 lb (31,752 kg)

per vessel per 2-month period. Within

this cumulative trip limit, no more than

12,000 lb (5,443 kg) may be sablefish, no

more than 38,000 lb (17,236 kg) may be

Dover sole, and no more than 20,000 lb

(9,072 kg) may be thornyheads. No more

than 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of the

thornyheads may be shortspine

thornyheads.’’

‘‘E.(3)(b)(iii) The 60–percent monthly

limits are: For the DTS complex, 42,000

lb (19,051 kg) north of Cape Mendocino,

and 60,000 lb (27,216 kg) south of Cape

Mendocino; for trawl-caught sablefish,

7,200 lb (3,266 kg); for Dover sole north

of Cape Mendocino, 22,800 lb (10,342

kg); for both species of thornyheads

combined, 12,000 lb (5,443 kg); and for

shortspine thornyheads 2,400 lb (1,089

kg).’’

‘‘E.(4) Open access fishery. Within the

limits in paragraph IV.I. of the annual

management measures, a vessel using

exempt trawl gear in the open access

fishery is subject to the 50–percent

monthly limits which are as follows: For

the DTS complex, 35,000 lb (15,876 kg)

north of Cape Mendocino, and 50,000 lb

(22, 680 kg) south of Cape Mendocino;

for trawl-caught sablefish, 6,000 lb

(2,722 kg); for Dover sole north of Cape

Mendocino, 19,000 lb (8,618 kg); for

both species of thornyheads combined,

10,000 lb (4,536 kg); and for shortspine

thornyheads, 2,000 lb (907 kg).’’

Classification

These actions are authorized by the

regulations implementing the FMP. 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

Director, Northwest Region, NMFS (see

ADDRESSES) during business hours.

Because of the need for immediate

action to slow the rate of harvest of

Dover sole and POP, and because the

public had an opportunity to comment

on the action at the June 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 660.323(b)(1)(i), and are exempt

from review under E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: June 28, 1996.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries

Conservation and Management, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96–17009 Filed 6–28–96; 4:20 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 960126016–6121–04; I.D.

062896A]

Ocean Salmon Fisheries Off the

Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and

California; Closure from Point Arena,

CA, to the U.S.-Mexican Border

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Closure.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

recreational salmon fishery in the area

from Point Arena, CA, to the U.S.-

Mexican border, in the exclusive

economic zone (EEZ), closes at 0001

hours, July 2, 1996 and will remain

closed until 0001 hours, July 15, 1996.

The season in the EEZ will reopen

under the terms of the preseason

announcement of the 1996 management

measures. NMFS has determined that

the 2-week closure is necessary to offset

the increased impacts on Sacramento

River winter chinook salmon resulting

from the decision by the California Fish

and Game Commission (Commission) to

delay implementing an increase in the

recreational minimum size limit for

chinook salmon within state waters.

This action is necessary for ocean

salmon fisheries to remain in

conformance with the March 8, 1996,

biological opinion issued by NMFS and

is intended to provide protection to

Sacramento River winter chinook

salmon.

DATES: Effective 0001 hours local time,

July 2, 1996, through 0001 hours local

time, July 15, 1996. Comments will be

accepted through July 15, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

Hilda Diaz-Soltero, Director, Southwest

Region, National Marine Fisheries