60642 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 14, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

restrictions) their gear from a DAM zone 

once one is approved. Thus, NMFS 

makes this action effective 2 days after 

the date of publication of this document 

in the Federal Register. NMFS will also 

endeavor to provide notice of this action 

to fishermen through other means upon 

issuance of the rule by the AA, thereby 

providing approximately 3 additional 

days of notice while the Office of the 

Federal Register processes the 

document for publication. 

NMFS determined that the regulations 

establishing the DAM program and 

actions such as this one taken pursuant 

to those regulations are consistent to the 

maximum extent practicable with the 

enforceable policies of the approved 

coastal management program of the U.S. 

Atlantic coastal states. This 

determination was submitted for review 

by the responsible state agencies under 

section 307 of the Coastal Zone 

Management Act. Following state 

review of the regulations creating the 

DAM program, no state disagreed with 

NMFS’ conclusion that the DAM 

program is consistent to the maximum 

extent practicable with the enforceable 

policies of the approved coastal 

management program for that state. 

The DAM program under which 

NMFS is taking this action contains 

policies with federalism implications 

warranting preparation of a federalism 

assessment under Executive Order 

13132. Accordingly, in October 2001 

and March 2003, the Assistant Secretary 

for Intergovernmental and Legislative 

Affairs, Department of Commerce, 

provided notice of the DAM program 

and its amendments to the appropriate 

elected officials in states to be affected 

by actions taken pursuant to the DAM 

program. Federalism issues raised by 

state officials were addressed in the 

final rules implementing the DAM 

program. A copy of the federalism 

Summary Impact Statement for the final 

rules is available upon request 

(ADDRESSES). 

The rule implementing the DAM 

program has been determined to be not 

significant under Executive Order 

12866. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. and 50 

CFR 229.32(g)(3) 

Dated: October 7, 2008. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–24272 Filed 10–8–08; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 060824226–6322–02] 

RIN 0648–AX30 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 

Biennial Specifications and 

Management Measures; Inseason 

Adjustments 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments 

to groundfish management measures; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This final rule announces 

inseason changes to management 

measures in the Pacific Coast groundfish 

fisheries including: trip limit 

adjustments; the reopening of the 

Pacific whiting primary seasons for the 

shore-based, catcher/processor, and 

mothership sectors; bycatch limit 

increases; and modifications to the trawl 

Rockfish Conservation Areas. These 

routine actions, are authorized by the 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP), and are 

intended to allow fisheries to access 

more abundant groundfish stocks while 

protecting overfished and depleted 

stocks. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) 

October 10, 2008. Comments on this 

action must be received no later than 

October 29, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–AX30 by any 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: Becky 

Renko. 

• Mail: D. Robert Lohn, 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, Attn: Becky Renko, 7600 Sand 

Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115–0070. 

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 (enter N/ 

A in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

Copies of additional reports referred 

to in this document may also be 

obtained from the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council(Council). Copies 

of the Record of Decision (ROD), final 

regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA), 

and the Small Entity Compliance Guide 

are available from D. Robert Lohn, 

Administrator, Northwest Region 

(Regional Administrator), NMFS, 7600 

Sand Point Way, NE, Seattle, WA 

98115–0070. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Becky Renko (Northwest Region, NMFS) 

206–526–6110. 

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 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 Council 

and are implemented by NMFS. A 

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 50 CFR part 

660, subpart G. The final rule was 

subsequently amended on: March 20, 

2007 (72 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). 

Inseason adjustments to the current 

groundfish management measures were 


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recommended by the Council in 

consultation with the Pacific Coast 

Treaty Indian Tribes and the States of 

Washington, Oregon, and California, at 

the Council’s September 10 14, 2008, 

meeting in Boise, Idaho. The Pacific 

Council recommended the following 

adjustments to current groundfish 

management measures in response to 

updated fishery information: (1) 

increase the 2008 canary rockfish and 

widow rockfish bycatch limits for the 

non-tribal sectors of the whiting fishery; 

(2) reopen the 2008 non-tribal whiting 

primary season for the catcher/ 

processor, mothership, and shore-based 

sectors; (3) move the shoreward 

boundary of the trawl Rockfish 

Conservation Area (RCA) north of 

40°10.00’ north latitude from 60–fm 

(110–m) to 75–fm (137–m), with the 

exception of the areas north of Cape 

Alava (48°10.00’ north latitude) and 

between Cape Arago (4°20.83’ north 

latitude) and Humbug mountain 

(42°40.50’ north latitude); (4) coastwide, 

increase large footrope (and small 

footrope in the north) trawl trip limits 

for petrale sole and Dover sole for 

period 6; (5) increase small footrope 

chilipepper rockfish limits in the south; 

(6) increase the weekly and monthly 

cumulative limits for sablefish in the 

limited entry fixed gear daily trip limit 

fishery north of 36°00.00’ north latitude; 

(7) increase shelf rockfish limits for 

open access gears south of Point 

Conception (34°27.00’ north latitude) 

and, (8) take action to close the 

recreational fisheries off the State of 

California in the North and North 

Central management areas. 

Catch of canary rockfish by scientific 

research vessels and catch in the limited 

entry trawl fisheries has been lower 

than was projected earlier in 2008. 

Scientific research catch projections 

made at the beginning of the year 

indicated that 5.5 mt of canary rockfish 

would be taken as scientific research 

catch in 2008, with 5.2 mt estimated to 

be taken in the Northwest Fishery 

Science Center’s bottom trawl survey. 

To prevent an overfished species 

optimum yield (OY) from being 

exceeded, the amount projected to be 

taken during scientific research 

activities is not available to the 

groundfish fisheries until the activities 

are completed or near completion. 

NMFS and the Council have a better 

estimate of what is actually taken and 

the remainder can be released to the 

fishery. 

When the Council considered 

inseason measures at its September 

2008 meeting, the Northwest Fishery 

Science Center’s bottom trawl survey 

was nearing completion and had passed 

most of the locations where previous 

surveys had encountered an abundance 

of canary rockfish. Updated projections 

from the bottom trawl survey (data 

through September 10, 2008) indicated 

that less than 2.6 mt of canary rockfish 

would be taken in the Northwest 

Fishery Science Center’s bottom trawl 

survey in 2008. When combined with 

catch projections from other scientific 

research work, the revised projection for 

scientific research catch of canary 

rockfish is 2.9 mt. The revised 

projection is 2.6 mt less than the earlier 

projection. 

Because catch projections early in the 

year use historical data to project effort, 

they are revised as the fishing year 

progresses and current-year data 

becomes available. Actual catch records 

indicate that trawl effort in areas 

shoreward of the trawl RCA north of 

40°10.00’ north latitude has been lower 

than projected. Implementation of a 60– 

fm (110–m) shoreward boundary in 

much of this area was intended to 

reduce incidental catch of canary 

rockfish, but may have discouraged 

more effort in the north than had been 

expected. Effort reductions may also be 

the result of vessels shifting to other 

trawl opportunities such as pink 

shrimp. 

Catch projections for canary rockfish 

are in part based on a historical 

understanding of fishing effort. Fishing 

effort reductions resulted in less canary 

rockfish being taken than had been 

projected earlier in the year. Updated 

projections indicate that if no inseason 

adjustment were made, 3.5 mt of canary 

rockfish would be unharvested at the 

end of 2008 due to lower than projected 

commercial and scientific research 

catch. Given the availability of canary 

rockfish, the Council considered 

inseason adjustments to bycatch limits, 

trip limits, and RCA restrictions for the 

Pacific whiting primary season fisheries, 

and the limited entry bottom trawl 

fishery. 

Pacific Whiting Fishery 

Bycatch limits have been used to 

restrict the catch of overfished species, 

particularly canary, darkblotched and 

widow rockfish, in the non-tribal Pacific 

whiting fisheries. With bycatch limits, 

the industry has the opportunity to 

harvest a larger Pacific whiting OY, 

providing the incidental catch of 

overfished species does not exceed the 

adopted bycatch limits. If a bycatch 

limit is reached, all non-tribal sectors of 

the whiting fishery are closed. For 2008, 

the following bycatch limits were 

specified for the non-tribal Pacific 

whiting sectors: 275 mt for widow 

rockfish, 4.7 mt for canary rockfish, and 

40 mt for darkblotched rockfish. 

The 2008 Pacific whiting primary 

seasons were closed for the catcher/ 

processor, mothership and shore-based 

sectors on August 19, 2008 (September 

17, 2008; 73 FR 53763) when catch 

estimates indicated that the 4.7 mt 

bycatch limit for canary rockfish had 

been reached. When the fisheries were 

closed the shore-based sector had taken 

only 35.5 percent of its Pacific whiting 

allocation, the catcher/processor sector 

had taken 62.3 percent of its allocation, 

and the mothership sector had taken 

84.0 percent of its allocation. 

At its September meeting, the Council 

considered increasing the canary and 

widow rockfish bycatch limits and reopening of the non-tribal sectors of the 

Pacific whiting fishery. Following 

discussion and public testimony, the 

Council recommended increasing the 

widow rockfish bycatch limit by 12 

metric tons (from 275 mt to 287 mt) and 

increasing the canary rockfish bycatch 

limit by 2 metric tons (from 4.7 mt to 

6.7 mt). With the Canary rockfish 

bycatch limit the Council recommended 

that the limit be raised by 1.7 mt (to 6.4 

mt) upon reopening of the fishery then 

increase by 0.3 mt (to 6.7 mt) two weeks 

following the re-opening, but no later 

than October 26, 2008. 

The Council considered the 

incremental increase of canary rockfish 

bycatch limits as a conservation 

measure. Historical data indicates that 

bycatch rates tend to be higher at the 

start of the Pacific whiting fisheries. As 

the fishery reopens, fishers will need to 

locate harvestable aggregations of 

Pacific whiting while minimizing the 

incidental catch of canary and widow 

rockfish. Increasing the bycatch limit 

two weeks after the fishery re-opens, 

when the incidental catch rates are 

expected to be lower, is expected to 

allow a greater proportion of the Pacific 

whiting allocations to be harvested. In 

addition, the Council expressed concern 

about stopping the fishery before a 

bycatch limit is exceeded so as not to 

exceed a rebuilding based OY. 

Increasing the bycatch limit after two 

weeks would provide a buffer while 

catch data were gathered and fishing 

patterns are established and understood. 

A 0.3 mt buffer at start-up would 

provide managers with an increased 

degree of certainty that fishery can be 

closed without going over the bycatch 

limit. 

When the Council considered 

possible reopening dates, it indicated 

that reopening the fishery as quickly as 

possible would be beneficial to the 

fishery participants because the 

aggregations of whiting begin to move 


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into deeper waters and disperse later in 

the year, and may result in increased 

bycatch rates for non-whiting species, 

and; because late autumn weather is 

more dangerous for smaller vessels. 

During Council discussion, the Council 

recognized the need to consider the 

tracking and monitoring of catch, 

particularly of overfished species, when 

reopening the fisheries. 

In 2008, a maximized retention and 

monitoring program was managed under 

federally managed exempted fishing 

permits (EFP). Most vessels in the shorebased sector operated under EFPs which 

allowed the sorting of groundfish catch 

to be delayed and catch in excess of 

cumulative trip limits and prohibited 

species catch retained until offloading. 

Retaining unsorted catch is otherwise 

prohibited by regulations at 50 CFR 

660.306(a)(10) and 50 CFR 

660.306(a)(2). EFPs were also issued to 

approximately 15 first receivers to allow 

first receivers to possess more than a 

single cumulative limit of a particular 

species, per vessel, per applicable 

cumulative limit period. The possession 

of catch in excess of the cumulative 

limits is otherwise prohibited by 

regulations at 50 CFR 660.306(a)(10). 

Any vessel fishing under an EFP, has 

been required to have and use an 

electronic monitoring system (EMS). 

The EMS is a video monitoring system 

that allows for the integrity of 

maximized catch retention requirements 

to be maintained. First receiver’s that 

accept unsorted Pacific whiting catch 

from vessels fishing under an EFP have 

been required to procure the service of 

a NMFS certified catch monitor to 

oversee the sorting, weighing, and 

recordkeeping process, as well as to 

gather information on incidentally 

caught salmon. Catch monitors are 

necessary to verify the accuracy of 

electronic fish ticket data used to 

manage the Pacific whiting shoreside 

fishery such that inaccurate or delayed 

information does not result in any 

fishery specifications (bycatch limits, 

species allocations, OYs, and biological 

opinion thresholds) being exceeded. 

Because of the need for accurate 

monitoring of bycatch limits to provide 

the data NMFS needs to monitor the 

fishery and close in time to keep within 

the bycatch limits, NMFS has 

determined that adequate time is 

needed to hire, train and deploy catch 

monitors. In addition, time is needed to 

hire and train observers for the catcher/ 

processor and mothership sectors, to 

reissue EFPs and to conduct onsite 

inspections of new first receivers. NMFS 

has determined that the earliest date 

that the fisheries can be reopened with 

adequate monitoring is October 12, 

2008. Therefore, this notice announces: 

the reopening of the fishery at 0001 

hours on October 12, 2008; an increase 

in the bycatch limit for widow to 287 mt 

effective on October 12, 2008; an 

increase in the canary rockfish bycatch 

limit to 6.4 mt on October 12, 2008; and 

an increase in the canary rockfish 

bycatch limit to 6.7 effective October 26, 

2008. 

Limited Entry Bottom Trawl North of 

40°10.00’ North Latitude 

Updated catch projections based on 

landing data through August 30, 2008, 

indicate that the catch of several target 

species north of 40°10.00’ north latitude 

are lower than previously projected. 

Because trawl opportunity in the north 

has been severely constrained by 

measures to rebuild overfished species, 

the Council indicated that there was a 

need to allow the fishers an opportunity 

to fish. Because catch projections early 

in the year use historical data to project 

effort, they are revised as the fishing 

year progresses and current year data 

becomes available. When compared to 

projections available at the Council’s 

June 2008 meeting, the catch of several 

target species, including Dover sole, 

arrowtooth flounder, petrale sole and 

other flatfish was lower than expected. 

Because the catch of target species 

and overfished species has been lower 

than expected, the Council considered 

liberalizing the RCA boundaries in the 

north and increasing target species trip 

limits. Two different approaches for 

modifying the RCA boundaries were 

considered. The first approach 

considered reopening the areas 

shoreward of the trawl RCA north of 

Cape Alava (48°10.00’ north latitude) 

and between Cape Arago (43°20.83’ 

north latitude) and Humbug mountain 

(42°40.50’ north latitude) to 60–fm 

(110–m) beginning October 1 (or as early 

as possible) through the end of the year. 

The second approach considered the 

possibility of shifting the shoreward 

boundary of the RCA in the north to 75– 

fm (137–m) while leaving the area north 

of Cape Alava and the area between 

Cape Arago and Humbug mountain 

closed beginning October 1 (or as early 

as possible) through the end of the year. 

After consideration of the availability of 

canary rockfish and the bycatch 

implications of the different approaches, 

the Council recommended that the 

shoreward boundary of the trawl RCA 

be moved from 60–fm (110 m) to 75–fm 

(137 m) in areas north of 40°deg;10.00’ 

north latitude as early as possible, but 

the areas north of Cape Alava and 

between Cape Arago and Humbug 

mountain remain closed. The Council 

identified concerns about the incidental 

canary rockfish catch relative to the 

limited benefit of opening closed areas 

north of Cape Alava and between Cape 

Arago and Humbug mountain. The 

Council also recommended increasing 

the petrale sole limit in the north for 

vessels using large and small footrope 

trawl gear from 30,000 lbs (13.6 mt) per 

two months to 45,000 lbs (20.41 mt) per 

two months in period 6, and increasing 

Dover sole in the north for vessels using 

large and small footrope trawl gear from 

80,000 lbs (36.3 mt) per two months to 

90,000 lbs (40.8 mt) per two months in 

period 6. 

Limited Entry Trawl South of 

40°deg;10.00’ North Latitude 

The Council considered increasing 

the petrale sole, Dover sole, and 

chilipepper rockfish trip limits in the 

area south of 40°10.00’ north latitude. 

West Coast Groundfish Observer 

program data, provided by the NMFS 

Northwest Fishery Science Center, 

identified a larger than expected 

chilipepper rockfish discard rate for 

small footrope trawl gear in the area 

south of 40°10.00’ north latitude. Rates 

were particularly high in the areas 

shoreward of the RCA. Because 

chilipepper rockfish co-occur with 

bocaccio and to a lesser degree with 

cowcod, targeting of chilipepper 

rockfish has been constrained. Industry 

participants requested that the Council 

consider increasing the small footrope 

trawl gear trip limit to allow the landing 

of incidentally caught chilipepper 

rockfish. After consideration of the 

potential impacts on bocaccio and 

cowcod projected to result from a 

modest increase in the trip limit, the 

Council recommended increasing the 

chilipepper rockfish limit for small 

footrope trawl gear in the south from 

2,000 lbs (0.9 mt) per two months to 

5,000 lbs (2.3 mt) per two months in 

period 6. 

Because the catch of several target 

species and overfished species has been 

lower than expected, the Council 

considered increasing trip limits for 

petrale sole and Dover sole. The Council 

recommended increasing petrale sole 

south of 40°10.00’ north latitude from 

50,000 lbs (22.6 mt) per two months to 

65,000 lbs (29.5 mt) per two months in 

period 6, and increasing the Dover sole 

from 80,000 lbs (36.3 mt) per two 

months to 90,000 lbs (40.8 mt) per two 

months in period 6. 

Limited Entry Fixed Gear North of 36° 

North Latitude 

The Council recommended increasing 

the daily limit in the limited entry fixed 

gear sablefish daily trip limit (DTL) 

fishery north of 36° north latitude in 


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June from 300–lbs (0.14–mt) per day to 

500–lbs (0.23–mt) per day, which 

became effective August 1. Though 

limited, data indicates that catch in the 

DTL fishery is less than the allocation, 

and has been substantially less than the 

allocation in recent years. Using 

historical participation and catch 

information, the potential increase in 

the weekly and bimonthly limit for 

period 6 was evaluated. Because the 

catches would remain within the 

limited entry DTL allocation if the 2– 

month DTL limit were raised from 

5,000–lbs (2.3–mt) to 6,500–lbs (2.9–mt) 

in period 6, the Council recommended 

raising the DTL limit north of 36 north 

latitude. The higher limit is expected to 

increase fishing opportunity without 

exceeding the allocation. The Council 

also recommended raising the 

corresponding weekly limit from 1,000 

lb (0.5 mt) per week to 1,500 lb (0.7 mt) 

per week in period 6. 

Open Access South of 34°27’ North 

Latitude 

The Council considered an increase in 

the shelf rockfish trip limits south of 

Point Conception (34°27’ north latitude) 

from 750–lb (0.3–mt) 2 months to 

1,000–lb (0.5–mt) 2 months because 

fishing effort has been lower than 

projected. Data through June 30, 2008, 

indicates that the shelf rockfish landings 

are approximately 25 percent lower than 

in previous years and well below the 

OY. Higher fuel costs and vessel 

monitoring system requirements may 

have contributed to the reduction in 

effort. 

In recent years, shelf rockfish trip 

limits have been substantially reduced 

over historical levels to reduce the catch 

of overfished species found on the 

continental shelf. A variety of 

information was examined to 

understand potential impacts of 

increasing shelf rockfish trip limits. 

Observer data south of Point Conception 

indicated low overfished species 

bycatch, however only limited data 

were available. An analysis prepared by 

California Department of Fish and Game 

(CDFG) indicated that the proposed trip 

limits change is likely to result in a 6.1 

percent increase in the projected catch 

of shelf rockfish and would not be 

expected to result in the bocaccio or 

widow rockfish OYs being exceeded. 

The Council considered potential effort 

shifts as a result of higher trip limits 

south of Point Conception, but did not 

find evidence that the modest increase 

would create an economic incentive that 

is likely to result in an effort shift from 

the north. After public comment and 

discussion, the Council recommended 

increasing the shelf rockfish trip limit 

south of 34°27’ north latitude to 1,000– 

lbs (0.5–mt) per two months in period 

6. 

California Recreational Fishery 

Data available through August 10, 

2008, indicated that the California 

harvest guideline for yelloweye rockfish 

was projected to be exceeded, therefore, 

CDFG took action to close the 

recreational fishery in the North and 

North Central Regions on September 2, 

2008. As a result of the recreational 

closure, the California recreational 

fishery is projected to stay within their 

harvest guidelines for overfished 

species. CDFG requested and the 

Council recommended that NMFS Take 

conforming federal action to close the 

California recreational fishery in the 

North and North Central Management 

Area north of Point Arena. 

Classification 

These actions are taken under the 

authority of 50 CFR 660.370(c) and are 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

These actions are authorized by the 

Pacific Coast groundfish FMP and its 

implementing regulations, and are based 

on the most recent data available. The 

aggregate data, upon which these 

actions are based, are available for 

public inspection at the Office of the 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, (see ADDRESSES) during business 

hours. 

For the following reasons, NMFS 

finds good cause to waive prior public 

notice and comment on the revisions to 

the 2008 groundfish management 

measures under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) 

because notice and comment would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. Also for the same reasons, 

NMFS finds good cause to waive part of 

the 30 day delay in effectiveness 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) and 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

The data upon which these 

recommendations were based was 

provided to the Council and the Council 

made its recommendations at its 

September 8–12, 2008, meeting in Boise, 

Idaho. There was not sufficient time 

after that meeting to draft this notice 

and undergo proposed and final 

rulemaking before these actions need to 

be in effect. For the actions to be 

implemented in this notice, affording 

the time necessary for prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment would 

be impractical and contrary to the 

public interest because it would prevent 

the Agency from managing fisheries 

using the best available science to 

approach without exceeding the OYs for 

Federally managed species. The 

inseason adjustments to management 

measures in this document affect 

commercial groundfish fisheries off 

Washington, Oregon, and California. 

Changes to the non-tribal whiting 

canary rockfish bycatch limit must be 

implemented and the non-tribal fishery 

must be reopened as soon as possible, 

to relieve a restriction and allow 

fishermen the opportunity to harvest the 

remainder of the 2008 Pacific whiting 

OY. It would be contrary to the public 

interest to wait to implement these 

changes until after public notice and 

comment. Reopening the fishery as 

quickly as possible would be beneficial 

to the fishery participants because the 

aggregations of whiting begin to move 

into deeper waters and disperse later in 

the year, and this movement may result 

in increased bycatch rates for nonwhiting species, and; because late 

autumn weather is more dangerous for 

smaller vessels. Taking the time to do 

provide notice and comment would 

eliminate the opportunity for many if 

not all vessels to participate in the 

fishery. The whiting fishery contributes 

a large amount of revenue to the coastal 

communities of Washington and 

Oregon. Leaving 101,694–mt (43.7 

percent) of the whiting OY unharvested 

would sacrifice millions of dollars and 

hundreds of jobs for fishermen and 

coastal communities. 

Projected effects of reopening the 

nontribal whiting fishery and increasing 

the non-tribal Pacific whiting widow 

and canary rockfish bycatch limits are 

within projected mortality for 

overfished species and other groundfish 

species. Failing to take these actions in 

a timely manner would result in 

unnecessary restriction of fisheries that 

are important to coastal communities 

and is therefore contrary to the public 

interest. 

The adjustments to management 

measures in this document affect: 

limited entry commercial trawl and 

fixed gear fisheries off Washington, 

Oregon, and California and open access 

fisheries off California in the area south 

of 34°27’ North latitude, and 

recreational fisheries off northern 

California. Adjustments to management 

measures must be implemented in a 

timely manner, by October 1, 2008, or 

as soon as possible afterward to allow: 

fishers an opportunity to harvest higher 

trip limits for species where the catch is 

tracking behind the projected catch 

levels for 2008; and to assure that 

recreational fishing in areas closed by 

CDFG or adjacent federal waters do not 

result in an overfished species OY being 

exceeded. 

Changes to the cumulative limits in 

the limited entry trawl fishery, limited 


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entry fixed gear fishery and the open 

access fishery are needed to relieve a 

restriction by allowing fishermen 

increased opportunities to harvest 

available healthy stocks. Increased 

opportunities to harvest available 

healthy stocks while not exceeding the 

OYs for overfished species meets the 

objective of the Pacific Coast Groundfish 

FMP to allow fisheries to approach, but 

not exceed, OYs. It would be contrary to 

the public interest to wait to implement 

these changes until after public notice 

and comment, because making this 

regulatory change by October 1, or as 

soon as possible after, relieves a 

regulatory restriction for fisheries that 

are important to coastal communities. 

Without these inseason measures, there 

is an increased risk of causing economic 

harm to fishing communities. Delaying 

these changes would keep management 

measures in place that are not based on 

the best available science and would 

impair achievement of one of the Pacific 

Coast Groundfish FMP objectives of 

providing for year-round harvest 

opportunities or extending fishing 

opportunities as long as practicable 

during the fishing year. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Fisheries, Fishing, Indians. 

Dated: October 6, 2008. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

■ For the reasons set out in this 

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. In § 660.373 paragraphs (b)(1)(iii) 

and (b)(4) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 660.373 Pacific whiting (whiting) fishery 

management. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iii) Primary whiting seasons. After 

the start of a primary season for a sector 

of the whiting fishery, the season 

remains open for that sector until the 

quota is taken or a bycatch limit is 

reached and the fishery season for that 

sector is closed by NMFS. The primary 

seasons for the whiting fishery are as 

follows: 

(A) Catcher/processor sector - May 15 

to August 19, 2008; reopening on 

October 12, 2008. 

(B) Mothership sector - May 15 to 

August 19, 2008; reopening on October 

12, 2008. 

(C) Shore-based sector 

(1) June 15 to August 19, 2008 and 

reopening on October 12, 2008 north of 

42° N. lat.; April 1 to May 21, 2008, June 

15 to August 19, 2008 and reopening on 

October 12, 2008 between 42°-40°30’ N. 

lat. 

(2) South of 40°30’ N. lat. the primary 

season is April 15 to May 21, 2008, June 

15 to August 19, 2008 and reopening on 

October 12, 2008. 

* * * * * 

(4) Bycatch limits in the whiting 

fishery. The bycatch limits for the 

whiting fishery may be used inseason to 

close a sector or sectors of the whiting 

fishery to achieve the rebuilding of an 

overfished or depleted stock, under 

routine management measure authority 

at § 660.370(c)(1)(ii). These limits are 

routine management measures under 

§ 660.370(c) and, as such, may be 

adjusted inseason or may have new 

species added to the list of those with 

bycatch limits. The whiting fishery 

bycatch limits for the sectors identified 

in § 660.323(a) are: 6.4 mt of canary 

rockfish on October 12, 2008; 6.7 mt of 

canary rockfish on October 26, 2008; 

287 mt of widow rockfish; and 40 mt of 

darkblotched rockfish. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 660.384 paragraphs 

(c)(3)(i)(A)(1)and (2) are revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 660.384 Recreational fishery 

management measures. 

* * * * * 

(c)* * * 

(3)* * * 

(i) * * * 

(A) * * * 

(1) Between 42° N. lat. (California/ 

Oregon border) and 40°10.00’ N. lat. 

(North Region), recreational fishing for 

all groundfish (except ‘‘other flatfish’’ as 

specified in paragraph (c)(3)(iv) of this 

section) is prohibited seaward of the 20 

fm (37 m) depth contour along the 

mainland coast and along islands and 

offshore seamounts from May 1 through 

October 13, 2008; and is closed entirely 

from January 1 through April 30, and 

October 14, 2008 through December 31, 

2008 (i.e., prohibited seaward of the 

shoreline). 

(2) Between 40°10’ N. lat. and 37°11’ 

N. lat. (North Central Region), 

recreational fishing for all groundfish 

(except ‘‘other flatfish’’ as specified in 

paragraph (c)(3)(iv) of this section) is 

prohibited seaward of the 20 fm (37 m) 

depth contour along the mainland coast 

and along islands and offshore 

seamounts from June 1 through October 

13, 2008; and is closed entirely from 

January 1 through May 31, and October 

14, 2008 through December 31, 2008 

(i.e., prohibited seaward of the 

shoreline). Closures around the Farallon 

Islands (see paragraph (c)(3)(i)(C) of this 

section) and Cordell Banks (see 

paragraph (c)(3)(i)(D) of this section) 

also apply in this area. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Tables 3 (North), 3 (South), 4 

(North), 4 (South), and 5 (South) to part 

660 subpart G are revised to read as 

follows: 


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[FR Doc. E8–24368 Filed 10–10–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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