Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 58499 

TABLE 1. TILEFISH FULL-TIME TIER 2 CATEGORY 2008 LANDINGS AND OVERAGE

Permit Category 

2008 Quota 2008 Landings 2008 Overage 

Lb Kg1 Lb Kg1 Lb Kg1

Full-time Tier 2 284,288 128,951 291,620 132,277 7,332 3,326 

1Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding. 

TABLE 2. TILEFISH FULL-TIME TIER 2 CATEGORY ADJUSTED FY 2009 QUOTA

Permit Category 

2009 Initial Quota 2009 Adjusted Quota 

Lb Kg1 Lb Kg1

Full-time Tier 2 284,288 128,951 276,956 125,625 

1Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. Pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant 

Administrator finds good cause to waive 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment as notice and comment would 

be impracticable and unnecessary. The 

regulations under § 648.290(c) requires 

the Regional Administrator to subtract 

any overage of the quota for any tilefish 

limited access category from the quota 

for that category in the following fishing 

year. Accordingly, the action being 

taken by this temporary rule is 

nondiscretionary. There is no discretion 

to modify this action based on public 

comment at this time. The rate of 

harvest of tilefish by the Full-time 

permit category is updated weekly on 

the internet at http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov. Accordingly, the 

public is able to obtain information that 

would provide at least some advanced 

notice of a potential action as a result of 

a tilefish quota being exceeded during 

FY 2008. Further, the potential for this 

action was considered and open to 

public comment during the 

development of the tilefish FMP. 

Therefore, any negative effect the 

waiving of public comment may have 

on the public is mitigated by these 

factors. 

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

Dated: October 1, 2008. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–23720 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 0809231252–81272–01] 

RIN 0648–AX28 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 

Biennial Specifications and 

Management Measures; Inseason 

Adjustments; Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments 

to biennial groundfish management 

measures; correcting amendment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces correction 

to Federal regulations for the West Coast 

groundfish fishery. This action corrects 

trip limits for vessels using multiple 

bottom trawl gears, which were 

published in a final rule. That final rule 

announced inseason changes to 

management measures in the 

commercial Pacific Coast groundfish 

fisheries. This correction is intended to 

eliminate any confusion for the public 

that may have occurred as a result of 

prior incorrect NMFS publications. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) 

October 7, 2008. Comments on this final 

rule must be received no later than 5 

p.m., local time on November 6, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–AX28 by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Fax: 206–526–6736, Attn: Gretchen 

Arentzen. 

• Mail: D. Robert Lohn, 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070, Attn: Gretchen 

Arentzen. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments. Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gretchen Arentzen (Northwest Region, 

NMFS), phone: 206–526–6147, fax: 206– 

526–6736 and e-mail 

gretchen.arentzen@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This final rule is accessible via the 

Internet at the Office of the Federal 

Register’s Website at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

Background information and documents 

are available at the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s website at http:// 

www.pcouncil.org/. 

Background 

The Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP 

and its implementing regulations at title 

50 in the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR), part 660, subpart G, regulate 

fishing for over 90 species of groundfish 

off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, 

and California. Groundfish 

specifications and management 

measures are developed by the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

and are implemented by NMFS. A 


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58500 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

proposed rule to implement the 2007– 

2008 specifications and management 

measures for the Pacific Coast 

groundfish fishery and Amendment 16– 

4 of the FMP was published on 

September 29, 2006 (71 FR 57764). The 

final rule to implement the 2007–2008 

specifications and management 

measures for the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery was published on 

December 29, 2006 (71 FR 78638). These 

specifications and management 

measures are codified in the CFR (50 

CFR part 660, subpart G). The final rule 

was subsequently amended on: March 

20, 2007 (71 FR 13043); April 18, 2007 

(72 FR 19390); July 5, 2007 (72 FR 

36617); August 3, 2007 (72 FR 43193); 

September 18, 2007 (72 FR 53165); 

October 4, 2007 (72 FR 56664); 

December 4, 2007 (72 FR 68097); 

December 18, 2007 (72 FR 71583); April 

18, 2008 (73 FR 21057); and July 24, 

2008 (73 FR 43139). 

The July 24, 2008 final rule 

implemented inseason adjustments to 

groundfish management measures to 

respond to updated fishery information 

and other inseason management needs, 

effective August 1, 2008 (73 FR 43139). 

This final rule, in part, adjusted trip 

limits in the limited entry non-whiting 

trawl fishery North of 40°10.00’ N. lat. 

NMFS accepted public comments on 

this final rule through August 25, 2008. 

No comments were received regarding 

this final rule. 

Multiple types of bottom trawl gear 

are used in this sector of the fishery, 

including large footrope and small 

footrope trawl gears. Trip limits for 

some species, presented in Table 3 

(North) to part 660 subpart G, are gearspecific due to differences in selectivity. 

Providing differential trip limits based 

on gear selectivity is a management 

measure that is designed to meet the 

Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP objective 

of achieving, to the extent possible, but 

not exceeding, OYs of target species, 

while fostering the rebuilding of 

depleted stocks by remaining within 

their rebuilding OYs. 

In the northern bottom trawl fishery, 

which is structured around gear-specific 

cumulative trip limits, use of multiple 

gear types during a single trip has 

required the designation of cumulative 

trip limits on trips in which multiple 

types of gears are used or are on board 

the fishing vessel. This is useful for 

enforcement of cumulative trip limits, 

and catch accounting. Regulations that 

define cumulative trip limits, if more 

than one type of trawl gear is on board 

the vessel, are at 50 CFR 660.381 

(c)(4)(i)(D). In these regulations, vessels 

with multiple trawl gears on board at 

any time during the cumulative limit 

period are subject to the smaller of the 

limits, for the gears on board, for that 

entire cumulative limit period. In 

addition to this text description in the 

regulations, Table 3 (North) provides the 

numerical value for the most restrictive 

gear-specific trip limits in a line titled 

‘‘multiple bottom trawl gears’’. An 

additional description is provided in the 

8th footnote to that table. 

In the July 24, 2008 inseason final 

rule, gear specific trip limits for 

sablefish and Dover sole, taken by 

vessels using selective flatfish trawl 

gear, were raised from August 1 through 

the remainder of the year, consistent 

with the recommendation by the 

Council at its June 6–13, 2008, meeting 

in Foster City, California. For these 

species, gear-specific trip limits for 

vessels using selective flatfish trawl gear 

are the most restrictive. Therefore, the 

lines in Table 3 (North) describing the 

‘‘multiple bottom trawl gears’’ trip 

limits for these species should be equal 

to the selective flatfish trawl limits over 

the entire year. The numerical value for 

‘‘multiple bottom trawl gears’’, which 

should be equal to the cumulative limits 

for selective flatfish trawl gear, were not 

increased. An oversight created an 

inconsistency between the most 

restrictive gear-specific cumulative trip 

limits, which are repeated in lines 14 

and 26 in Table 3 (North), and described 

in the table’s 8th footnote and the 

regulations at § 660.381. This correction 

publishes Table 3 (North) with 

numerical values in the lines defining 

cumulative trip limits for vessels using 

‘‘multiple bottom trawl gears’’ corrected 

to reflect the most restrictive gearspecific cumulative trip limits for 

sablefish and Dover sole, consistent 

with the table’s 8th footnote, regulatory 

text at § 660.381(c)(4)(i)(D), and the 

Council’s June recommendations for 

inseason modifications to cumulative 

trip limits. 

Classification 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries (AA), NOAA, finds good cause 

to waive the requirement to provide 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment on this action pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B); providing prior notice 

and opportunity for comment would be 

contrary to the public interest. 

This correction document revises 

Table 3 (North) to part 660, subpart G 

of the Code of Federal Regulations so 

that the cumulative trip limits for 

vessels using ‘‘multiple bottom trawl 

gears’’, taking and retaining sablefish 

and Dover sole, are consistent with 

regulations at § 660.381(c)(4)(i)(D). 

Allowing inconsistencies caused by an 

oversight to remain in the Federal 

Register would be contrary to the public 

interest. It would leave language in the 

CFR that implies that trip limits for 

vessels using multiple trawl gear are 

unnecessarily lower than described in 

the regulatory text, and are 

unnecessarily lower than the most 

restrictive gear-specific cumulative trip 

limit shown in Table 3 (North). This 

correction is intended to allow 

increased harvest opportunities for 

healthy groundfish stocks, so that NMFS 

may meet its obligations under the 

Groundfish FMP to achieve, to the 

extent possible, the OYs of target 

species. Failing to meet this obligation 

as quickly as possible would be contrary 

to the public interest, as it would 

unnecessarily restrict cumulative trip 

limits for vessels using multiple bottom 

trawl gears. The use of cumulative trip 

limits for vessels using multiple bottom 

trawl gears were analyzed in the 2005– 

2006 groundfish specifications and 

management measures Environmental 

Impact Statement and clearly described 

in the preamble to the inseason final 

rule, implemented on April 1, 2005 (70 

FR 16145, March 30, 2005). Prior notice 

and opportunity for comment was 

provided earlier because both the EIS 

and the final rule were made available 

for public comment, and no comments 

were received pertaining to the 

representation of ‘‘multiple bottom 

trawl gear’’ cumulative trip limits in 

Table 3 (North). 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based on the 

reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Fishing, Fisheries, and Indian 

Fisheries. 

Dated: October 1, 2008. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Assistant Administrator For Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

■ For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST 

COAST STATES 

1. The authority citation for part 660 

continues to read as follows: 

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

2. Table 3 (North) to part 660 subpart 

G is revised to read as follows: 

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[FR Doc. E8–23722 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 070213032–7032–01] 

RIN 0648–XK96 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by 

Vessels Subject to Amendment 80 

Sideboard Limits in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by Amendment 

80 vessels subject to sideboard limits in 

the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf 

of Alaska (GOA). This action is 

necessary to prevent exceeding the 2008 

Pacific cod sideboard limit established 

for Amendment 80 vessels subject to 

sideboard limits in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), October 1, 2008, until 2400 

hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Hogan, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act. Regulations governing 

fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance 

with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 

CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. 

Regulations governing sideboard 

protections for GOA groundfish 

fisheries appear at subpart B of 50 CFR 

part 679. 

The 2008 Pacific cod sideboard limit 

established for Amendment 80 vessels 

subject to sideboard limits in the 

Western Regulatory Area of the GOA is 

389 metric tons (mt), as established by 

the 2008 and 2009 harvest specifications 

for groundfish of the GOA (73 FR 10562, 

February 27, 2008). 

In accordance with 

§ 679.20(d)(1)(v)(A), the Administrator, 

Alaska Region, NMFS (Regional 

Administrator), has determined that the 

2008 Pacific cod sideboard limit 

established for Amendment 80 vessels 


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