Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 248 / Thursday, December 27, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 66811

request from the Field Supervisor,

Columbia, Missouri Field Office (see

ADDRESSES section).

Author

The primary author of this proposed

rule is Paul M. McKenzie, Ph.D., U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia,

Missouri Field Office (see ADDRESSES

section).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and threatened species,

Exports, Imports, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements,

Transportation.

Regulation Promulgation

For the reasons given in the preamble,

we amend part 17, subchapter B of

chapter I, title 50 of the Code of Federal

Regulations, as set forth below:

PART 17—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 17

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361–1407; 16 U.S.C.

1531–1544; 16 U.S.C. 4201–4245; Pub. L. 99–

625, 100 Stat. 3500, unless otherwise noted.

2. Amend § 17.11(h) by adding the

following, in alphabetical order under

SNAILS, to the List of Endangered and

Threatened Wildlife:

§ 17.11 Endangered and threatened

wildlife.

* * * * *

(h) * * *

Species

Historic

range

Vertebrate population

where endangered or

threatened

StatusWhen

listed

Critical

habitat

Special

Common name Scientific name rules

*******

SNAILS

*******

Cavesnail, ............................ Antrobia .............................. U.S.A. ........................ NA ...................................... E ... 719 NA NA

Tumbling Creek ................... culveri ................................. (MO).

* * * * *

Dated: December 10, 2001.

Marshall P. Jones, Jr.,

Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 01–31305 Filed 12–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 011218302–1302–01; 120601A]

RIN: 0648–AP00

Fisheries off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; Coastal Pelagic

Species Fisheries; Annual

Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final harvest guideline.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the annual

harvest guideline for Pacific sardine in

the exclusive economic zone off the

Pacific coast for the fishing season

January 1, 2002, through December 31,

2002. This harvest guideline has been

calculated according to the regulations

implementing the Coastal Pelagic

Species Fishery Management Plan

(FMP), and establishes allowable

harvest levels for Pacific sardine off the

Pacific coast.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2002,

through December 31, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The report Stock

Assessment of Pacific Sardine with

Management Recommendations for

2002 is available from Rodney R.

McInnis, Acting Administrator,

Southwest Region, (Regional

Administrator), NMFS, 501 West Ocean

Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA

90802–4213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James J. Morgan, Southwest Region,

NMFS, 562–980–4036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP

divides managed species into two

categories: actively managed and

monitored. Harvest guidelines for

actively managed species (Pacific

sardine and Pacific mackerel) are based

on formulas applied to current biomass

estimates. Harvest guidelines for

monitored species (jack mackerel,

northern anchovy, and market squid),

which are underutilized or under the

jurisdiction of the State of California,

are not based on current biomass

estimates, although a constant allowable

biological catch (ABC) for each species

is based on the long-term yield of each

species. If an ABC for a monitored

species is reached, it would be

designated an actively managed species;

at that time, the Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council)would

review the condition of the resource and

recommend management action.

At a public meeting each year, the

biomass for each actively managed

species is presented at a public meeting

held by the Council’s Coastal Pelagic

Species Management Team (Team). At

that time, the biomass, the harvest

guideline, and the status of the fishery

is reviewed. Following review and

recommendations by the Council, and

after hearing all public comments,

NMFS publishes the annual harvest

guideline in the Federal Register before

the beginning of the fishing season.

On October 10, 2001, in accordance

with the procedures of the FMP, the

biomass report and harvest guideline for

Pacific sardine were reviewed at a

public meeting of the Team at the

offices of the California Department of

Fish and Game in Los Alamitos,

California. A public meeting between

the Team and the Council’s Coastal

Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel was

held in the same location that afternoon.

The Council reviewed the report at its

meeting on November 1, 2001, and

heard comments from its advisory

bodies and the public. No significant

comments on the biomass estimate were

received; therefore, the Council

recommended to NMFS that the

biomass and harvest guideline be

published as presented.

The sardine population was estimated

using a modified version of the

integrated stock assessment model

called Catch at Age Analysis of Sardine–

Two Area Model (CANSAR–TAM).

CANSAR–TAM is a forward-casting,

66812 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 248 / Thursday, December 27, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

age-structured analysis using fishery

dependent and fishery independent data

to obtain annual estimates of sardine

abundance, year-class strength, and agespecific fishing mortality for 1983

through 2001. The modification of

CANSAR-TAM was developed to

account for the expansion of the Pacific

sardine stock northward to include

waters off the northwest Pacific coast.

Documentation of the 2002 estimate is

described in Stock Assessment of

Pacific Sardine with Management

Recommendations for 2002 (see

ADDRESSES).

The formula in the FMP uses the

following factors to determine the

harvest guideline:

1. The biomass of age one sardine and

above. For 2002, this estimate is

1,057,599 metric tons (mt).

2. The cutoff. This is the biomass

level below which no commercial

fishery is allowed. The FMP established

this level at 150,000 mt.

3. The portion of the sardine biomass

that is in U.S. waters. For 2002, this

estimate is 87 percent, based on the

average of larval distribution obtained

from scientific cruises and the

distribution of the resource obtained

from logbooks of fish-spotters.

4. The harvest fraction. This is the

percentage of the biomass above 150,000

mt that may be harvested. The fraction

used varies (5–15 percent) with current

ocean temperatures. A higher fraction is

used for warmer ocean temperatures,

which favor the production of Pacific

sardine, and a lower fraction is used for

cooler temperatures. For 2002, the

fraction was 15 percent based on three

seasons of sea surface temperature at

Scripps Pier, California.

Based on the estimated biomass of

1,057,599 mt and the formula in the

FMP, a harvest guideline of 118,442 mt

was calculated for the fishery beginning

January 1, 2002. The harvest guideline

is allocated one-third for Subarea A,

which is north of 35° 40′ N. lat. (Pt.

Piedras Blancas, CA) to the Canadian

border, and two-thirds for Subarea B,

which is south of 35° 40′ N. lat. to the

Mexican border. Any unused resource

in either area will be reallocated

between areas to help ensure that the

optimum yield will be achieved. The

northern allocation is 39,481 mt; the

southern allocation is 78,961 mt.

Classification

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

660.509 and is exempt from review

under Executive Order 12866.

The Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries, NOAA (AA) finds for good

cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 (b)(B) that

providing prior notice and an

opportunity for public comment on this

action is unnecessary because

establishing the annual harvest

guideline is primarily a ministerial act,

determined by applying formulas in the

FMP. During the comment periods for

Amendment 8 to the CPS FMP and its

proposed rule, the public was given an

opportunity to comment on these

formulas. Some of the variables used in

the formula (biomass estimate,

proportion of biomass in U.S. waters,

harvest fraction determination) are

developed with input from the Council

and its advisory committees. Final input

on these items was provided in

November, which did not allow

sufficient time to publish a proposed

rule in the Federal Register. Since the

harvest guideline should be in place

before the fishing year begins on January

1, 2002, it would be impracticable and

contrary to the public interest to delay

this process further.

Because this final rule merely

announces the result of harvest

guideline calculations and does not

require any participants in the fishery to

take action or to come into compliance,

the AA finds for good cause under 5

U.S.C. 553 (d)(3) that delaying the

effective date of this final rule for 30

days is unnecessary.

Because prior notice and opportunity

for public comment are not required for

this action by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other

law, the analytical requirements of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601

et seq., are not applicable.

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

Dated: December 19, 2001.

William T. Hogarth,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–31835 Filed 12–26–01; 8:45 am]

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