34700 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 136 / Friday, July 17, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 

97.022, ‘‘Flood Insurance.’’) 

Dated: June 29, 2009. 

Deborah S. Ingram, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Mitigation, Mitigation Directorate, 

Department of Homeland Security, Federal 

Emergency Management Agency. 

[FR Doc. E9–17108 Filed 7–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1505–01–D 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 0812171612–9134–02] 

RIN 0648–XQ35 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; 

Closure 

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 sardine off the coast 

of Washington, Oregon and California. 

This action is necessary because the 

directed harvest allocation total for the 

second seasonal period (July 1– 

September 14) is projected to be reached 

by the effective date of the rule. From 

the effective date of this rule until 

September 15, 2009, Pacific sardine can 

only be harvested as part of the live bait 

fishery or incidental to other fisheries; 

the incidental harvest of Pacific sardine 

is limited to 20–percent by weight of all 

fish per trip. Fishing vessels must be at 

shore and in the process of offloading at 

12:01 am Pacific Daylight Time on date 

of closure. 

DATES: Effective 12:01 am Pacific 

Daylight Time (PDT) July 18, 2009, 

through September 14, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua Lindsay, Southwest Region, 

NMFS, (562) 980–4034. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice announces that based on the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery, the directed fishing 

harvest allocation for the second 

allocation period (July 1–September 14) 

will be reached and therefore directed 

fishing for Pacific sardine is now closed 

until September 15, 2009. Fishing 

vessels must be at shore and in the 

process of offloading at the time of 

closure. From 12:01 am on the date of 

closure until September 15, 2009, 

Pacific sardine may be harvested only 

incidental to other fisheries, with the 

incidental harvest of Pacific sardine 

limited to 20-percent by weight of all 

fish caught during a trip. 

NMFS manages the Pacific sardine 

fishery in the U.S. exclusive economic 

zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast 

(California, Oregon, and Washington) in 

accordance with the Coastal Pelagic 

Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). Annual specifications published 

in the Federal Register establish the 

harvest guideline (HG) and allowable 

harvest levels for each Pacific sardine 

fishing season (January 1–December 31). 

The acceptable biological catch (ABC) or 

maximum HG for the 2009 Pacific 

sardine fishing season (January 1, 2009– 

December 31, 2009) is 66,932 mt and 

was divided into a directed harvest 

fishery of 58,032 mt, an incidental 

fishery of 6,500 mt and an exempted 

fishing permit set-aside of 2,400 mt. The 

directed and incidental harvest amounts 

were subdivided throughout the year in 

the following way: January 1–June 30, 

22,006 mt was allocated for directed 

harvest with an incidental set-aside of 

1,000 mt; July 1–September 14, 24,543 

mt plus any portion not harvested from 

the initial allocation was allocated for 

directed harvest with an incidental setaside of 1,000 mt; September 15– 

December 31, 11,483 mt plus any 

portion not harvested from earlier 

allocations was allocated for directed 

harvest with an incidental set-aside of 

4,500 mt. See, 74 FR 7826 (February 

20,2009) as adjusted by 74 FR 31199 

(June 30, 2009). 

If during any of the seasonal 

allocation periods the applicable 

adjusted directed harvest allocation is 

projected to be taken, only incidental 

harvest is allowed and, for the 

remainder of the period, any incidental 

Pacific sardine landings will be counted 

against that period’s incidental set 

aside. In the event that an incidental setaside is projected to be attained, all 

fisheries will be closed to the retention 

of Pacific sardine for the remainder of 

the period via appropriate rulemaking. 

Under 50 CFR 660.509 if the total HG 

or these apportionment levels for Pacific 

sardine are reached at any time, NMFS 

is required to close the Pacific sardine 

fishery via appropriate rulemaking and 

it is to remain closed until it re-opens 

either per the allocation scheme or the 

beginning of the next fishing season. In 

accordance with § 660.509 the Regional 

Administrator shall publish a notice in 

the Federal Register the date of the 

closure of the directed fishery for Pacific 

sardine. 

The above in-season harvest 

restrictions are not intended to affect the 

prosecution the live bait portion of the 

Pacific sardine fishery. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR 

660.509 and is exempt from Office of 

Management and Budget review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

NMFS finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) for the closure of the 

July 1–September 14 directed harvest of 

Pacific sardine. For the reasons set forth 

below, notice and comment procedures 

are impracticable and contrary to the 

public interest. For the same reasons, 

NMFS also finds good cause under 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day 

delay in effectiveness for this action. 

This measure responds to the best 

available information and is necessary 

for the conservation and management of 

the Pacific sardine resource. A delay in 

effectiveness would cause the fishery to 

exceed the in-season harvest level. 

These seasonal harvest levels are 

important mechanisms in preventing 

overfishing and managing the fishery at 

optimum yield. The established directed 

and incidental harvest allocations are 

designed to allow fair and equitable 

opportunity to the resource by all 

sectors of the Pacific sardine fishery and 

to allow access to other profitable CPS 

fisheries, such as squid and Pacific 

mackerel. Many of the same fishermen 

who harvest Pacific sardine rely on 

these other fisheries for a significant 

portion of their income. 

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

Dated: July 15, 2009 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–17186 Filed 7–15–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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