[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1555-1593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-32262]



Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 8 / Friday, January 11, 2002 / 
Proposed Rules

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 600 and 660

[Docket No. 011231309-1309-01; I.D. 121301A]
RIN 0648-AO69


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States 
and in the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Annual 
Specifications and Management Measures

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule, announcement of the overfished status of 
yelloweye rockfish; announcement of the receipt of exempted fishing 
permit application; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a rule to implement the 2002 fishery 
specifications and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. 
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and state waters off the coasts of 
Washington, Oregon, and California. The proposed specifications include 
the levels of the acceptable biological catch (ABC) and optimum yields 
(OYs). The commercial OYs (the total catch OYs reduced by tribal 
allocations and by amounts expected to be taken in recreational and 
compensation fisheries) proposed herein would be allocated between the 
limited entry and open access fisheries. Proposed management measures 
for 2002 are intended to prevent overfishing; rebuild overfished 
species; minimize incidental catch and discard of overfished and 
depleted stocks; provide equitable harvest opportunity for both 
recreational and commercial sectors; and, within the commercial 
fisheries, achieve harvest guidelines and limited entry and open access 
allocations to the extent practicable. This Federal Register document 
also announces that the yelloweye rockfish resource is considered 
overfished, and announces the receipt of an application for an exempted 
fishing permit (EFP) for 2002.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., local time 
(l.t.) on February 11, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to D. Robert Lohn, Administrator, Northwest 
Region (Regional Administrator), NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Bldg. 
1, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, or fax to 206-526-6736; or Rodney McInnis, 
Acting Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., 
Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213, or fax to (562) 980-4047. 
Comments will not be accepted if submitted via E-mail or the internet. 
Information relevant to this proposed rule, which includes an 
environmental asssessment/regulatory impact review/initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA), is available for public review 
during business hours at the offices of the NMFS Northwest Regional 
Administrator and the NMFS Southwest Regional Administrator, or may be 
obtained from the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), at 7700 
NE Ambassador Place, Portland, OR 97220, phone: 503-326-6352. 
Additional reports referred to in this document may also be obtained 
from the Council. Copies of EFP applications are available from NMFS 
Northwest Region.
    Send comments regarding the reporting district estimate or any 
other aspect of the collection-of-information requirements in the 
announcement of EFPs, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to 
one of the NMFS addresses and to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), Washington, DC 20503, (ATTN: NOAA Desk Officer).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne deReynier or Becky Renko 
(Northwest Region, NMFS), phone: 206-526-6140; fax: 206-526-6736 and; 
E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#324b445d5c5c571c565740574b5c5b5740725c5d53531c555d44"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2d545b424343480349485f48544344485f6d43424c4c034a425b">[email protected]</span></a>, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a4c6c1c7cfdd8ad6c1cacfcbe4cacbc5c58ac3cbd2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d0b2b5b3bba9fea2b5bebbbf90bebfb1b1feb7bfa6">[email protected]</span></a> or Svein 
Fougner (Southwest Region, NMFS) phone: 562-980-4000; fax: 562-980-4047 
and; E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#532025363a3d7d353c26343d3621133d3c32327d343c25"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b2c1c4d7dbdc9cd4ddc7d5dcd7c0f2dcddd3d39cd5ddc4">[email protected]</span></a>.

Electronic Access

    This proposed rule also is accessible via the Internet at the 
Office of the Federal Register's Web site at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su-- docs/aces/aces140.html. Background information and documents are 
available at the NMFS Northwest Region Web site at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov.1sustfsh/gdfsh01.htm and at the Council's Web site at 
http://www.pcouncil.org.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The FMP requires that fishery specifications for groundfish be 
annually evaluated, and revised as necessary, that OYs be specified for 
species or species groups in need of particular protection, and that 
management measures designed to achieve the OYs be published in the 
Federal Register and made effective by January 1, the beginning of the 
fishing year. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the FMP require that NMFS implement 
actions to prevent overfishing and to rebuild overfished stocks.
    Since 1990, the Council has developed annual specifications and 
management measures in a two-meeting process (usually its September and 
November meetings) followed by a NMFS final action published in the 
Federal Register and made available for public comment and correction 
after the effective date of the action. Each year, specifications and 
management measures are effective until the specifications and 
management measures for the following year are published and effective. 
In 2001, NMFS was challenged on this process in Natural Resources 
Defense Council, Inc. v. Evans, 2001 WL 1246622 (N.D.Cal. 2001) and the 
court ordered NMFS to provide prior public notice and allow public 
comment on the annual specifications. NMFS is publishing the 2002 
specifications and management measures initially as a proposed rule 
available for a 30-day public comment, to be followed by a final rule.
    The Council finalized its 2002 specifications and management 
measures recommendations at its October 28 through November 2, 2001 
meeting in Millbrae, CA. Because NMFS did not have enough time to 
publish a proposed rule on the Council's recommendations, receive 
public comments, and publish all of a final rule by the scheduled start 
of the fishery on January 1, 2002, NMFS also publishes a final 
emergency rule today's Federal Register that finalizes and makes 
effective the groundfish management measures for January 1 through 
February 28, 2002. As a result, this proposed rule addresses the 2002 
specifications (ABCs and OYs) and the management measures for March 
through December 2002. Specifications and management measures proposed 
for 2002 are designed to constrain direct and incidental mortality in 
order to rebuild overfished stocks and to prevent overfishing and to 
achieve as much of the OYs as practicable for healthier groundfish 
stocks managed under the FMP.
    During 2002, NMFS and the Council will develop a means to 
incorporated the Council's development of annual specifications and 
management measures into the proposed and final rulemaking process 
required by the Court's order.

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I. Proposed Specifications

    Proposed fishery specifications include ABCs, the designation of 
OYs, which may be represented by harvest guidelines (HGs) or quotas for 
species that need individual management, and the allocation of 
commercial OYs between the open access and limited entry segments of 
the fishery. These specifications include fish caught in state ocean 
waters (0-3 nautical miles (nm) offshore) as well as fish caught in the 
EEZ (3-200 nm offshore).
BILLING CODE 3510-22-M

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BILLING CODE 3510-22-C
ABC Policy and Overfishing
    Each fishing year, the Council assesses the biological condition of 
the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery, develops estimates of the ABC for 
major groundfish stocks, and identifies harvest levels or OYs for the 
species or species groups that it proposes to manage.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires an FMP to prevent overfishing. 
Overfishing is defined in the National Standard Guidelines (50 CFR part 
600, subpart D) as exceeding the fishing mortality rate (F) needed to 
produce the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). When setting the 2002 
ABCs, the Council maintained a policy of using a default harvest rate 
as a proxy for the fishing mortality rate (Fmsy) that is expected to 
achieve the MSY. The OYs were then set at levels that are expected to 
prevent overfishing, equal to or less than the ABCs.
    The ABC for a species or species group is generally derived by 
multiplying the harvest rate proxy by the current estimated biomass. In 
2002, the Council continued to use default harvest rate proxies 
recommended by the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) 
for 2001. See the final rule for the 2001 annual specifications and 
management measures published on January 11, 2001 (66 FR 2338). These 
recommended harvest rate proxies are: F40% for flatfish and whiting, 
F50% for rockfish (including thornyheads), and F45% for other 
groundfish such as sablefish and lingcod. The FMP allows default 
harvest rate proxies to be modified as scientific knowledge improves 
for a particular species.
    A harvest or fishing mortality rate can mean very different things 
for different stocks because that rate is dependent on the productivity 
of a particular species. For fast growing stocks, those with a strong 
ability to maintain moderate recruitment levels even when the spawning 
biomass is reduced, a higher fishing mortality rate may be used, such 
as F40%. A rate of F40% can be explained as that which reduces spawning 
potential per female to 40 percent of what it would have been under 
natural conditions (if there were no mortality due to fishing), and is 
therefore a more aggressive rate than F45% or F50%. Harvest rate 
policies must account for several complicating factors, including the 
relative fecundity of mature individuals over time, and the optimal 
stock size for the highest level of productivity within that stock.
    For some groundfish species, there may be little or no detailed 
biological data available on which to base ABCs, and only rudimentary 
assessments were prepared; for other species, the ABC levels may be 
established only on the basis of historical landings. As in 2001, 
precautionary measures continue to be taken when setting ABCs and OYs 
for species with no assessments or only rudimentary ones.
    The 2002 ABCs are based on the best scientific information 
available to the Council at its November 2001 meeting. The ABCs in 
Table 1 represent total fishing mortality (landed catch plus discards). 
Where the assessments included Canadian waters, the ABCs apply only to 
U.S. waters. Stock assessment information considered in determining the 
ABCs is available from the Council and was made available to the public 
before the Council's November 2001 meeting. Additional

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information can be found in the EA/RIR/IRFA prepared by the Council for 
this action and in documents from the September and November 2001 
Council meetings (see ADDRESSES).
OY Policy
    In 1999, the Council adopted the ``40-10 precautionary policy'' for 
setting OYs. The 40-10 policy is intended to prevent species from 
becoming overfished. According to the Council's OY policy, if a stock 
biomass is larger than the biomass needed to produce MSY (Bmsy), the OY 
may be set equal to or less than ABC. The Council uses 40 percent as a 
default proxy for the Bmsy, also referred to as B40%. See the final 
rule for the 1999 annual specifications and management measures 
published on January 8, 1999 (64 FR 1316). A stock with a current 
biomass between 25 percent of the unfished level and Bmsy (the 
precautionary threshold) is said to be in the ``precautionary zone.'' 
The Council's default OY harvest policy reduces the fishing mortality 
rate when a stock is at or below its precautionary threshold. The 
further the stock is below the precautionary threshold, the greater the 
reduction in OY will be relative to the ABC, until, at B10%, the OY 
would be set at zero. This is, in effect, a default rebuilding policy 
that will foster quicker return to the Bmsy level than would fishing at 
the ABC level.
    The Council may recommend setting the OY higher than what the 
default OY harvest policy specifies, if justified, as long as the OY 
does not exceed the ABC (Fmsy harvest rate) and it is consistent with 
the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the National Standard 
Guidelines. Additional precaution may be added on a case-by-case basis 
regardless of the stock's current biomass level, if warranted by 
uncertainty in the data or by higher risks of being overfished.
    If a stock falls below 25 percent of its unfished biomass (B25%), 
it is considered overfished, and the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires the 
Council to develop a rebuilding plan within 1 year. Rebuilding plans 
for overfished species have stock-specific allowable harvest rates, 
which are intended to rebuild the stock within a specified time period.
    Precautionary measures continue to be taken when setting the OYs 
for species that have no or only rudimentary assessments. Since 
implementation of the 2000 specifications, ABCs have been reduced by 25 
percent to set OYs for those species with less rigorous stock 
assessments, and by 50 percent to set OYs for those species with no 
stock assessment.
2002 ABCs and OYs
    Species with ABCs and OYs in 2001 continue to have ABCs and OYs in 
2002. New assessments were completed and new ABCs and OYs were 
developed for sablefish, Dover sole, and shortspine thornyhead north of 
Point Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.;) and for yelloweye rockfish in 
the Monterey, Eureka and Columbia (waters off Oregon only) areas. A new 
assessment was also prepared for black rockfish off southern Oregon to 
40 deg.10' N. lat.; however, it was not available in time to complete 
the required review process and was therefore not available for setting 
2002 ABCs.
    A new stock assessment was prepared for sablefish in 2001. The 
assessment incorporated new survey and fishery data and extended the 
assessment area south from 36 deg.N. lat. to 34 deg.27' N. lat. (Point 
Conception). Two different assessment models indicated a normal decline 
in biomass since the late 1970s due to the fishing down of the virgin 
stock and an unexpected decline in recruitment during the early 1990s. 
The sablefish stock is currently estimated to be between 27 and 38 
percent of the unfished biomass, depending on the assessment scenario 
and the basis for estimating unfished biomass.
    A change in environmental conditions may have been responsible for 
the abrupt decline in recruitment in the 1990s, or this low recruitment 
may have been the natural consequence of the gradual decline in 
spawning biomass. Because of this uncertainty, two ABC estimates were 
produced and reviewed by the Council: an ABC of 4,786 mt based upon the 
current Fmsy proxy of F45%, and an ABC of 4,062 mt based upon a reduced 
harvest rate of F50%. Although sablefish have experienced a decline due 
to poor recruitment in the 1990's, continuation of the F45% harvest 
rate is expected to prevent overfishing if this recruitment decline is 
primarily due to random environmental factors. However, reduction in 
harvest rate of F50%, or lower, will be necessary in the long-term if 
reduced spawner abundance has been the dominant factor in causing the 
lower recruitment (density-dependence). Both represent a substantial 
reduction from the current ABC. If further analysis during 2002 
indicates that the lower level is more appropriate, then the one year 
delay in implementing the change from F45% to F50% will cause the 
spawning stock at the beginning of 2003 to be only slightly smaller 
(47,341 mt versus 47,704 mt).
    It is likely that both environmental factors and reduced spawning 
biomass affect sablefish recruitment, although the relative 
contribution of each is unknown. Large numbers of juvenile sablefish in 
the 2001 shelf survey (conducted after the 2001 assessment was 
completed) suggest that the fishable biomass and spawning biomass will 
increase in coming years. The survival of these juvenile sablefish may 
also be improved through the reduced trawl opportunities for 
continental shelf species because juvenile sablefish are commonly found 
in shelf areas. The recent large year classes are physical evidence 
that a recruitment scenario based solely on low spawning biomass 
(density-dependent scenario) does not fully described the status of the 
sablefish biomass. Thus, the environmental scenario may have merit as 
an explanation for the low recruitment during the 1990s. The ABCs 
considered by the Council and its advisory panels were based on 
assessments that did not include projections of the juvenile fish 
(animals that have not yet entered the fishery) from 1999 and 2000. 
Therefore, both ABC options considered by the Council were prudent 
reductions from the 2001 ABC level (7,661 mt) and until new information 
validates the recent recruitment level.
    Three OY options were considered for sablefish by the Council: 
4,500 mt derived from the environmentally driven model, 4,000 mt a ramp 
down approach to start moving toward a lower OY strategy, and 3,200 mt 
derived from the density-dependent model. At the Council's September 
meeting, the SSC stated a preference for the lowest OY option (3,200 
mt), because it was the option most likely to prevent the biomass from 
falling below the rebuilding threshold (B25%) within the next five 
years. The SSC also recommended that the Council consider moving 
towards a more conservative Fmsy proxy. At the Council's November 
meeting, NMFS scientists presented preliminary data from the 2001 shelf 
survey that suggests that the fishable biomass and spawning biomass 
will increase in coming years. In addition, public testimony indicated 
that more smaller sablefish have been seen in catches during the 2001 
fishing year. The SSC did not revise its OY recommendation to the 
Council after receiving this new information.
    The Council majority agreed that information on juvenile sablefish 
occurrence in the shelf survey and in commercial landings is so strong 
that it supported the environmental-recruitment scenario while still 
being

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precautionary. Therefore, the Council recommended adopting a 4,500 mt 
OY, based on the environmentally driven recruitment scenario with the 
application of the 40-10 harvest policy to reduce the risk of 
overfishing. The Council asked that NMFS prepare a revised assessment 
that incorporates the 2001 survey data in time for the Council's 2003 
ABCs and OYs setting process. If the revised assessment does not show 
an increase in recruitment for 2001, the Council expressed interest in 
considering a ramp down strategy beginning with 2003.
    Because the OY options before the Council were substantial 
reductions from the 2001 total catch OY of 6,895 mt, the Council 
expressed concern about the adverse economic effect on the fishing 
industry. In the short-term the 4,500 mt OY option is expected to have 
less of an adverse economic impact on the fishery than the other OY 
options.
    The sablefish spawning biomass is expected to slowly decline until 
the large 1999 and 2000 year classes mature. The abundance of these 
year classes will be monitored with surveys planned for summer 2002, 
and subsequent stock assessments will provide biological guidance for 
future adjustments to allowable harvest levels. If the future 
recruitment of juvenile sablefish from 1999 and 2000 is not as large as 
estimated and are followed by low recruitments as in the 1990s, then 
future spawning biomass and OYs will decline further. If the 
recruitment returns to the long-term average level or is above average, 
as may be the case in 2001, the stock is expected to increase its 
spawning biomass and the OY will also increase.
    A new stock assessment for Dover sole was prepared by scientists 
from Oregon State University in 2001. This assessment incorporated new 
survey and fishery data and extended the assessment area south from 
36 deg. N. lat. to Point Conception. The new assessment indicates that 
the Dover sole stock is at about 29 percent of its unfished biomass. 
Recent biomass estimates appear to be without trend, but follow a 
steady decline since the late 1950s. The 5-year projection is for a 
relatively stable stock abundance. However, lower recruitment during 
the 1990s indicates a possible future stock decline and provides the 
reason for consideration of a lower harvest rate.
    For the 2001 fishery, the Council adopted a Fmsy proxy of F40% for 
Dover sole following an SSC recommendation based on a harvest rate 
analysis specific to Dover sole. With the new Dover sole assessment in 
2001, the SSC expressed concerns that the F40% harvest rate was too 
aggressive given the reduced recruitment levels seen in the 1990s. 
Three ABCs based on alternative Fmsy proxies of F40%, F45%, and F50% 
were considered by the Council. The Council determined that a change 
from the harvest rate policy introduced in 2001 would require a new and 
equally thorough evaluation of the long term harvest strategy. For 
2002, the Council recommended adopting the ABC and OY values (8,510 mt/
7,440 mt) that are consistent with the current F40% proxy for Fmsy with 
the 40-10 precautionary policy adjustments. The Council expressed 
support for the SSC recommendation for further evaluation of the Fmsy 
proxy used for Dover sole, but indicated that the process for preparing 
and reviewing such recommendations should be maintained.
    NMFS prepared a new stock assessment for shortspine thornyhead in 
2001. The assessment incorporated new survey and fishery data and 
extended the assessment area south from 36 deg. N. lat. to Point 
Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.) The stock is estimated to be at 25 to 
50 percent of its unfished biomass. The assessment concluded that the 
shortspine thornyhead population shows an increasing biomass trend and 
has not declined since the last assessment. The Council considered two 
OYs: 955 mt, the OY from the new assessment, and 751 mt, the 2001 OY 
that was based on the assessments prepared in the late 1990s. Both OY 
options reflected an Fmsy proxy of F50% with the application of the 40-
10 harvest policy.
    The SSC recognized that the analysis and data in the new assessment 
were an improvement over the previous assessment. However, the SSC also 
noted the high degree of uncertainty in the 2002 stock projections and 
they considered the lower OY (751 mt) to be the most risk-adverse 
option before the Council. The uncertainty associated with an 
incomplete understanding of biological parameters and survey 
effectiveness led to the calculation of an alternative shortspine 
thornyhead OY using standard precautionary measures typically used for 
species with less rigorous stock assessments. The OY based on standard 
precautionary measures was similar to the OY from the new assessment. 
The Council recognized the uncertainty associated with the new 
assessment, but noted that the new assessment was more adequate than 
those available in previous years. Because the assessment-based OY was 
comparable to an OY calculated using standard precautionary measures, 
the Council recommended adopting 955 mt at the 2002 OY for shortspine 
thornyhead.
    A yelloweye rockfish assessment, which integrated fishery and 
survey data from northern California and Oregon, was completed by 
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. This was the first time an 
assessment was done on yelloweye rockfish. The assessment indicated 
that there has been a declining biomass trend in both areas for about 
30 years, with the last above average recruitment occurring in the late 
1980s. The assessment concluded that yelloweye rockfish is at about 7 
percent of its unfished biomass in waters off northern California and 
at 13 percent of its unfished biomass in waters off Oregon.
    Although a rebuilding analysis has not yet been completed for 
yelloweye rockfish, the assessment author and the Groundfish Management 
Team (GMT) analyzed the recruitment data and projected ABCs and OYs for 
2002 fisheries. They recommended a coastwide ABC of 27 mt (5 mt for the 
Monterey area and 22 mt for the areas north of 40 deg.10' N. lat.) 
which is based on an Fmsy proxy of F50%.
    In September, the Council adopted a preliminary coastwide total 
catch OY of 11 mt for yelloweye (2 mt for Monterey, 1 for Eureka, and 8 
for Columbia and Vancouver areas) based on an initial rebuilding 
analysis and the application of the 40+10 harvest policy. As an interim 
measure prior to the development of a rebuilding plan, the Council 
recommended reducing the 27 mt ABC by 50 percent as a precautionary 
measure, resulting in an OY of 13.5 mt. The 2.5 mt difference between 
the two OY options represents approximately 0.3 percent of the stock 
biomass and is therefore not expected to have an appreciative effect on 
the stock abundance while a rebuilding analysis is prepared. The 
recommended OY of 13.5 is not expected to result in further overfishing 
because both of these options are below the 27 mt ABC.
    Seven groundfish stocks have been designated as ``overfished'' 
Pacific ocean perch (POP), bocaccio, lingcod, canary rockfish, cowcod, 
darblotched rockfish, and widow rockfish. With the publication of this 
document, yelloweye rockfish is being designated as overfished. As 
noted above, the OY for yelloweye rockfish is set at extremely low 
levels in anticipation of rebuilding plan requirements in 2003.
    The OYs for 3 overfished species, POP, widow rockfish and 
darkblotched rockfish were revised to be consistent with the rebuilding 
measures for those species. For 2002: the POP OY would be

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set at 350 mt, which reflects a 70 percent probability of rebuilding by 
the year 2042; the widow rockfish OY would be set at 856 mt, which 
reflects a 60 percent probability of rebuilding the stock by the year 
2039; and the darkblotched rockfish OY would be set at 168 mt, which 
reflects a 70 percent probability of rebuilding the stock by the year 
2034. The revised rebuilding analysis for darkblotched rockfish 
indicates that the stock cannot be rebuilt within a 10 year period; 
therefore, the OY reflects an extended rebuilding trajectory.
    To protect depleted stocks and minimize the chance of overfishing, 
changes were made in 2000 that eliminated the ``Sebastes complex'' and 
created the ``minor rockfish'' categories. The same categories will 
continue to be used for 2002. Minor rockfish, species which have had no 
or only rudimentary assessments, are divided into nearshore, 
continental shelf, and continental slope categories that represent 
where they are predominantly caught. This strategy is intended to keep 
harvest levels more closely in line with the allowable biological 
catches for individual species and the various rockfish groups. 
Grouping the minor rockfish species into nearshore, shelf, and slope 
categories, allows fishing opportunities to be maintained for abundant 
stocks while improving protection for depleted stocks.
    Management measures designed to rebuild overfished species, to 
prevent overfishing, or to prevent species from becoming overfished may 
restrict the harvest of relatively healthy stocks that co-occur with 
overfished species. As a result of the constraining management measures 
imposed to protect and rebuild overfished species, a number of the OYs 
may not be achieved in 2002, particularly for those shelf rockfish 
species that are not overfished, but which are caught with species that 
are overfished. Derivations of the ABCs and OYs for the individual 
groundfish species are explained in detail in Council documents from 
their September and November 2001 meetings and in the most recent stock 
assessments, and are summarized in this document in Table 1a. 
Derivations of commercial harvest guidelines, limited entry and open 
access allocations, and landed catch equivalents appear in the 
footnotes to table 1a, which are listed at the end of Table 1b.
Determinations of Overfished Stocks and Rebuilding Plans
    The status of the resource is evaluated against the requirements of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the National Standard Guidelines, and the 
FMP. A species is considered by NMFS to be overfished if its current 
biomass is less than 25 percent of the unfished biomass. The Magnuson-
Stevens Act requires that a rebuilding plan be prepared within 1 year 
after the Council is notified by NMFS that a particular species is 
overfished.
    Requirements for developing overfished species rebuilding plans 
were addressed in Amendment 12 to the FMP, which NMFS approved on 
December 7, 2000 (65 FR 82947, December 29, 2000). Before Amendment 12 
was approved, NMFS had approved the first 3 rebuilding plans for 
lingcod, bocaccio, and POP (65 FR 53646, September 5, 2000). During 
NMFS review of Amendment 12, the agency considered whether these 3 
rebuilding plans met the requirements of Amendment 12 and concluded 
that they did not. The final rule to implement Amendment 12 describes 
NMFS's revocation of the lingcod, bocaccio, and POP rebuilding plans, 
as these plans did not meet the rebuilding plan content requirements 
described in Amendment 12 (65 FR 82947, December 29, 2000). The 
groundfish fishery has continued to operate under measures implementing 
these preliminary rebuilding plans for lingcod, bocaccio, and POP. NMFS 
instructed the Council to re-submit rebuilding plans for these species 
by January 1, 2002.
    On January 4, 2000 (65 FR 221), NMFS notified the Council that 
cowcod and canary rockfish were overfished and that the Council must 
submit rebuilding plans for these species to NMFS by January 4, 2001. 
On January 11, 2001 (66 FR 2338), NMFS notified the Council that 
darkblotched and widow rockfish were overfished and that the Council 
must submit rebuilding plans for these species to NMFS by January 11, 
2002.
    On August 20, 2001, the Federal magistrate ruled in National 
Resources Defense Council, v. Evans, 2001 WL 1246622 (N.D. Cal. 2001) 
that rebuilding plans under the FMP must be in the form of a plan 
amendment or proposed regulations as specified by the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, 16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(3). Accordingly, the magistrate issued an order 
setting aside those portions of Amendment 12 to the FMP dealing with 
rebuilding plans. Amendment 12 had provided a framework for rebuilding 
plans that were not themselves plan amendments or proposed regulations. 
As a result of the magistrate's decision, the Council must now revise 
Amendment 12 and all rebuilding plans to be consistent with the Court 
Order. NMFS has notified the Council that draft FMP amendment(s) that 
meet the statutory rebuilding requirements for POP, bocaccio, lingcod, 
canary rockfish, cowcod, darkblotched rockfish and widow rockfish 
should be available for review at the April 2002 meeting, with the 
intention of presenting final amendment(s) for adoption at the 
Council's June 2002 meeting.
    NMFS also notifies the Council, via this Federal Register document, 
and that yelloweye rockfish is considered overfished at this time and 
the Council must submit a rebuilding plan FMP amendment to NMFS within 
1 year of this notification. While rebuilding plans have not been 
approved by NMFS, the Council has prepared rebuilding analyses, and the 
OYs and management measures proposed for 2002 are consistent with 
these. The draft rebuilding plans initially endorsed by the Council are 
summarized as follows (maximum allowable rebuilding years refers to the 
maximum time allowed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the National 
Standard Guidelines):
Canary Rockfish
Areas: Coastwide
Status of stock: 8 to 22 percent of its unfished biomass.
Maximum allowable years to rebuild to MSY: 58 years
Expected median time to rebuild: 57 years (2056)
Probability of rebuilding to MSY biomass by 2056: 52 percent
Fmsy proxy: F50%
ABC in 2002: 228 mt
OY in 2002: 93 mt
Management Measures for 2002
    Historically, canary rockfish have been caught directly or 
incidentally in both recreational and commercial groundfish fisheries. 
Commercial fisheries for groundfish and for non-groundfish species that 
co-occur with canary rockfish have been restricted to minimize the 
incidental catch of canary rockfish. Management measures have also been 
taken to divert effort off the seafloor of the continental shelf where 
canary rockfish are typically found. Fishing opportunities with large 
footrope bottom trawl gear have been severely restricted to reduce 
incidental interception of canary rockfish. Only small amounts of 
canary rockfish may be landed with small footrope or midwater trawl 
gear. Summer flatfish and midwater yellowtail rockfish harvests are 
constrained to protect canary rockfish and the Dover sole, sablefish, 
thornyhead (DTS) northern limits are structured to minimize canary 
interception. California hook-and-line

[[Page 1568]]

commercial fisheries are closed during the same periods and in the same 
areas as the recreational fisheries (below). The shrimp trawl industry 
will continue to use fish excluder devices to reduce incidental harvest 
of canary rockfish and other groundfish in that fishery.
    The recreational fisheries have been constrained to protect 
overfished species including canary rockfish. In California and Oregon, 
the rockfish bag limit is 10 fish, no more than 1 of which may be 
canary rockfish; off Washington the bag limit is 10 fish, no more than 
2 of which may be canary rockfish or no more than 1 canary rockfish and 
1 yelloweye rockfish. California recreational fisheries closures are 
twice the duration they were in 2001. The recreational season for the 
area between Point Conception and Cape Mendocino, California would be 
just 4 months duration for all depths, January-February and July-
August, plus 4 months inside 20 fathoms (36.9 m) in May-June and 
September-October. When the fishery is open inside 20 fathoms (36.9 m), 
canary rockfish retention is prohibited, and there is a 2-shelf 
rockfish bag limit. South of Point Conception, the recreational fishery 
would be 8 months (March-October). Historically, the bulk of the 
recreational canary rockfish landings have been made in California.
POP
Areas: Vancouver and Columbia
Status of stock: 13 percent of its unfished biomass (1998)
Maximum allowable years to rebuild to MSY: 47 years
Expected median time to rebuild: 43 years (2042)
Probability of rebuilding to MSY biomass by 2042: 70 percent
Fmsy proxy: F50%
ABC in 2002: 640 mt
OY in 2002: 350 mt
Management Measures for 2002
    Because POP primarily inhabit waters of the upper continental slope 
and are found along the edge of the shelf, they benefit from the trawl 
gear restrictions adopted to protect shelf rockfish species. Relatively 
small cumulative trip limits are intended to accommodate incidental 
bycatch without encouraging targeting. Higher POP limits are provided 
in the summer months, when they are more likely to be incidentally 
taken in the flatfish fisheries.
Bocaccio
Areas: Monterey and Conception
Status of stock: 2.1 percent of its unfished biomass
Maximum allowable years to rebuild to MSY: 38 years
Expected median time to rebuild: 34 years (2033)
Probability of rebuilding to MSY biomass by 2033: 67 percent
Fmsy proxy: F50%
ABC in 2002: 122 mt
OY in 2002: 100 mt
Management Measures for 2002
    Bottom trawl opportunities for shelf rockfish continue to be 
extremely limited. No landings of bocaccio rockfish are allowed with 
large footrope trawl gear. Small amounts of bocaccio, an unavoidable 
bycatch, taken with small footrope or midwater trawl gear may be landed 
in fisheries for healthy stocks. The chilipepper rockfish OY continues 
to be reduced to limit the incidental take of bocaccio. California 
hook-and-line commercial fisheries are closed during the same periods 
and in the same areas as the recreational fisheries (below).
    The recreational fisheries in California maintain a rockfish bag 
limit of 10 fish, no more than 2 of which may be bocaccio rockfish. In 
addition, California recreational fisheries closures described above 
under the canary rockfish rebuilding section also protects bocaccio.
Darkblotched Rockfish
Areas: Coastwide
Status of stock: 22 percent of its unfished biomass
Maximum allowable years to rebuild to MSY: 47 years
Expected median time to rebuild: 34 years (2034)
Probability of rebuilding to MSY biomass by 2034: 70 percent
Fmsy proxy: F50%
ABC in 2002 187 mt
OY in 2002: 168 mt
Management Measures in 2002
    Relatively small cumulative trip limits for slope rockfish north 
are intended to accommodate incidental bycatch without encouraging 
targeting. In addition, the northern DTS trawl fisheries limits are 
constrained during the November-December period to reduce the 
incidental catch of darkblotched rockfish, as are the flatfish 
fisheries during the summer months when participation is greatest and 
darkblotched are most likely to be encountered. Lower sablefish and 
Dover sole OYs are also expected to reduce the incidental take of 
darkblotched rockfish.
Lingcod
Areas: Coastwide
Status of stock: 15 percent of its unfished biomass
Maximum allowable years to rebuild to MSY: 10 years
Expected median time to rebuild: 10 years (2009)
Probability of rebuilding to MSY biomass by 2009: 60 percent
Fmsy proxy: F45%
ABC in 2002: 745 mt
OY in 2002: 577 mt
Management Measures for 2002
    Commercial limits for lingcod are intended to accommodate 
incidental catch and do not provide an incentive for directed fishing. 
Bottom trawl opportunities for shelf rockfish continue to be extremely 
limited. Because lingcod are predominately found on the shelf, gear 
restrictions imposed to protect shelf rockfish will also benefit 
lingcod. Trawl caught lingcod retention will be permitted during the 
winter months so as not to increase the overall discard mortality. 
Commercial nontrawl landings will continue to be prohibited during the 
winter months. This is to protect lingcod, which are more available to 
nontrawl gears in rocky habitats, during their spawning and nesting 
seasons. Nontrawl commercial fishing for lingcod south of 40 deg.10' N. 
lat. will be closed during the same periods and in the same areas as 
the recreational fisheries (below).
    The recreational fisheries have been constrained to protect 
overfished species, including lingcod. Off Washington, the bag limit is 
1 lingcod and fishing is not allowed during a 5 month period in the 
winter. The Oregon lingcod bag limit is 1 fish and the fishery operates 
year-round. California has a 2 lingcod bag limit. Beginning in 2002, 
California will lower the minimum size limit to 24 inches (61 cm), 
which is the same Oregon and Washington. California lingcod closures 
south of 40 deg.10' N. lat. are more stringent than in 2001. From 
40 deg.10' N. lat. to 34 deg.27' N. lat., the area is closed March 
through April and November through December in all waters, and open 
only inside 20 fathoms (36.9 m) in May through June and September 
through October. The area south of 34 deg.27' N. lat., is closed 
January through February and November through December.
Cowcod
Areas: Point Conception to the U.S. Areas: Point Conception to the 
U.S.-Mexico boundary
Status of stock: 4-11 percent of its unfished biomass
Maximum allowable years to rebuild to MSY: 98 years
Expected median time to rebuild: 95 years (2094)
Probability of rebuilding to MSY biomass by 2094: 55 percent
Fmsy proxy: F50%

[[Page 1569]]

ABC in 2002: 24 mt
OY in 2002: 4.8 mt
Management Measures in 2002
    As in 2001, retention of cowcod is not allowed for any commercial 
and recreational fisheries. To further protect cowcod from incidental 
harvest, 2 Cowcod Conservation Areas (CCAs), delineated to encompass 
key cowcod habitat areas and known areas of high catches, were 
established in the Southern California Bight in 2001. Fishing for 
groundfish is prohibited within the CCAs, except that minor nearshore 
rockfish, cabezon, and greenlining may be taken from waters where the 
bottom depth is less than 20 fathoms (36.9 m).
Widow Rockfish
Areas Coastwide
Status of Stock: 24 percent of its unfished biomass
Maximum allowable years to rebuild to MSY: 38 years
Expected median time to rebuild: 37 years (2039)
Probability of rebuilding to MSY biomass by 2039 60 percent
Fmsy proxy: F50%
ABC in 2002: 3, 727 mt
OY in 2002: 856 mt
Management Measures in 2002
    Commercial limits for widow rockfish are intended to accommodate 
incidental catch and do not provide an incentive for direct fishing. In 
addition, the midwater trawl fisheries for yellowtail rockfish have 
been constrained with an incidental catch allowance during the primary 
season for Pacific whiting. Bottom trawl opportunities for shelf 
rockfish continue to be extremely limited, which is expected to benefit 
widow rockfish.
Overfishing
    None of the 2002 ABCs are knowingly set higher than Fmsy or its 
proxy, none of the OYs are set higher than the corresponding ABCs, and 
the management measures herein are designed to keep harvest levels 
within specified OYs. After the 2000 fishing season, NMFS determined 
that overfishing did not occur on any of the groundfish species. 
Changes to the rockfish management structure in 2002 that divided minor 
rockfish into 3 species groups (nearshore, shelf, slope) were partially 
intended to ensure that those species would not be subject to 
overfishing harvest rates. The Council also adopted a policy for the 
2000 specifications that reduced ABCs by 25 percent to determine OYs 
for those species with less rigorous stock assessments, and by 50 
percent to determine OYs for those species with no stock assessment. 
These policies are continued in 2002. Overfishing is difficult to 
detect inseason for many rockfish, particularly on these minor rockfish 
species, because most are not individually identified on landing. 
Species compositions, based on proportions encountered in samples of 
landings, are applied during the year. However, final results are not 
available until after the end of the year.
Bycatch and Discard Accounting
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act defines bycatch as ``fish which are 
harvested in a fishery, which are not sold or kept for personal use, 
and include economic discards and regulatory discards.'' By contrast, 
Pacific Coast groundfish fishery management and many other fishery 
management regimes commonly use the term bycatch to describe non-
targeted species that are caught in common with (co-occur with) target 
species, some of which are landed and sold or otherwise used and some 
of which are discarded. The term ``discard'' is used to describe those 
fish harvested that are neither landed nor used. For the purposes of 
this rule, the term ``bycatch'' is used to describe a species' co-
occurrence with a target species, regardless of that first species' 
disposition.
    With the exception of the mid-water trawl fishery for Pacific 
whiting, most groundfish vessels sort their catch at sea and discard 
species that are: in excess of cumulative trip limits, unmarketable, in 
excess of annual allocations, or incidentally caught non-groundfish 
species. Landed or retained catch has been monitored by the three 
state-run fish ticket programs in Washington, Oregon, and California.
    Groundfish management measures include provisions to reduce trip 
limit-induced discards and to account for those discards when 
monitoring harvest levels (OYs). Historically, NMFS and the Council 
have accounted for dead discards by estimating the amounts of certain 
species OYs that would be discarded dead, and then subtracting those 
amounts from the total catch OYs to get landed catch levels for those 
species. These discard rates have been expressed as a percent of total 
catch OY, so that a 16 percent discard rate for a species meant that 16 
percent of that species' total catch OY would be deducted to derive 
that species' landed catch OY. Then, management measures were set to 
achieve the landed catch OY for that species. Using discard rates was 
intended to account for dead fish either as dead discard or in landed 
catch. For all species except lingcod, sablefish, and nearshore 
rockfish species, it is assumed that discarded fish are generally dead 
upon discard or die soon after being discarded. Rockfish, particularly 
deepwater species, are severely stressed by decompression and 
temperature shock; however, lingcod discard mortality studies show 
about a 50 percent discard survival rate. There is no exact measure of 
discard amounts in most fisheries. Assumed amounts are taken into 
account to determine the true fishing mortality level and to prevent 
overall harvest from exceeding the OYs.
    In setting past management measures, the Council would consider how 
each species or species group was taken, as targeted or incidental 
catch, in each of the various West Coast fisheries. A single species 
could be taken by many different gear types using different fishing 
strategies. Sablefish, for example, could be taken in trawl fisheries 
directly targeting the DTS complex, by pot gear directly targeting just 
sablefish, or by hook-and-line gear catching sablefish incidentally 
while targeting slope rockfish. West coast groundfish species are 
rarely found in isolation, and form associations with other groundfish 
that vary by geographic location, position in the water column, and 
season. Fisheries management recognizes this mix by setting management 
measures that discourage targeting of healthy stocks in times and areas 
when depleted stocks may co-occur with those healthy stocks. 
Conversely, fisheries management also recognizes this mix by 
structuring retention allowances for the harvestable amounts of 
depleted stocks so that fisheries do have access to healthy fish 
stocks.
    During 2001, the annual specifications and management measures were 
challenged in court under Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc v. 
Evans, 2001 WL 1246622 (N.D.Cal. 2001). One result of that challenge 
was a court order to review the Council's historic bycatch rates and 
discard assumptions for bocaccio and lingcod, two overfished species. 
NMFS and the Council therefore reviewed and revised their overall 
approach to managing co-occurring healthy and depleted stocks. In 
September 2001, the Council's GMT and its SSC met to consider a new 
approach for determining discard rates for five overfished species for 
the 2002 fishery: bocaccio, lingcod, POP, canary rockfish, and 
darkbotched rockfish. During the September-October 2001 period, the GMT 
also considered discard rates for other rockfish and rockfish 
complexes. This analysis of discard rates for 2002

[[Page 1570]]

is the same analysis that the court had ordered NMFS to conduct for the 
2001 annual specifications and management measures, and is intended to 
fulfill that obligation and to serve as the basis for determining 2002 
management measures. The analysis for the 2002 discard rates is in 
``Evaluation of Bycatch and Discard in the West Coast Groundfish 
Fishery,'' Council's Exhibit C3, Supplemental Attachment 3, November 
2001.
    This new bycatch and discard analysis calculated the co-occurrence 
of healthy stocks with each of the five overfished species. To make 
these co-occurrence calculations, the analysis evaluated data on a 
suite of trawl fishery target strategies (targeting the deepwater DTS 
complex, targeting arrowtooth flounder, etc.) Each target strategy was 
separated into six two-month periods to set a baseline of co-occurrence 
rates of overfished stocks throughout an entire calendar year. Not 
surprisingly, the analysis found seasonal variations in the co-
occurrence rates between healthy and overfished stocks.
    The bycatch and discard analysis evaluated information from several 
sources: (1) A 1985-1987 observed trawl study, commonly referred to as 
``the Pikitch study,'' for its principal investigator; (2) the 1995-
1998 EDCP observer and logbook study; (3) the 1999 state trawl logbook 
data; and (4) a 1998 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) 
study on lingcod discard mortality. The Pikitch study, Experimental 
Data Collection Program (EDCP) study, and the trawl logbook data were 
used to derive co-occurrence rates of bycatch species within numerous 
defined target fishing strategies. Because logbooks only report 
retained catch, only tows where trip limits had not yet been achieved 
were included in the calculation of the rates. Logbooks represented the 
only available source of co-occurrence information for the fishery 
south of Cape Mendocino. The WDFW study addressed only lingcod discard 
survival and was not used in analyzing the effects of different fishing 
strategies on rockfish species.
    Once the report's authors had described the relationship between 
healthy and overfished stocks by calculating co-occurrence rates, they 
then calculated a range (low-mid-high) of bycatch rates for each of the 
five overfished species in the analysis. In this report, the bycatch 
rate referred to the caught amount (by weight) of an overfished bycatch 
species, divided by the caught-and-retained amount (by weight) of 
target species for various target fishery scenarios, areas, and months.
    Logbook and EDCP data were also used in developing a supplemental 
analysis of the effects of bycatch distribution on discard for the area 
north of Cape Mendocino for canary rockfish, POP, and lingcod. The 
report's authors used the findings from these three species in 
developing the upper end of the ranges for darkblotched rockfish and 
bocaccio. The results of this supplemental analysis were used in 
developing the upper bounds of the expected discard ranges identified 
for individual species, below. In all cases, the discard ranges 
developed are lower than the discard assumptions that have been used in 
recent years. Because of the newness of the analysis and the 
uncertainty regarding much of the data included in the analysis, NMFS 
determined it would be prudent to wait to use the new lower discard 
estimates in calculating landed catch OYs until they can be confirmed 
by data to be obtained in the new NMFS observer program in the current 
management regime. Therefore, for canary rockfish, POP, bocaccio, and 
lingcod the assumed discard rate has been conservatively adjusted up to 
the rate used in the recent past. For darkblotched rockfish, as 
explained below, the rate has been conservatively adjusted up to 20 
percent.
    At its November 2001 meeting, the Council reviewed the bycatch and 
discard analysis and the possible range of bycatch rates for each of 
the five overfished species. The Council determined which bycatch level 
(low, mid, or high) was likely most accurate for each of the five 
species, based on the analysis in the report. The Council's GMT then 
crafted trip limit scenarios for target and bycatch species calculated 
to keep the total catch (landed + discard) of healthy target species 
and the five overfished species below their respective OYs. The 
Council's ultimate trip limit recommendations were shaped largely by 
this bycatch and discard analysis and are proposed in section IV.
    After the Council had set management measures according to the 
bycatch rate ranges for those species and designed to keep the total 
catch of overfished species below their OYs, the analysis authors were 
then able to provide NMFS with estimates of the percent of each 
overfished species OY that would be discarded. Thus, although the 
analysis of healthy/overfished stock co-occurrence rates and overfished 
species bycatch rates is new, the practice of deducting expected 
discard from a species total catch OY to derive landed catch OY has not 
changed. At the November 2001 Council meeting, the SSC reviewed the new 
bycatch and discard analysis and stated in its report to the Council 
that ``the SSC considers the GMT analysis to be the best way to proceed 
for the coming year.''
    As the fishing year progresses, the GMT and the Council will have 
to periodically evaluate target species catch patterns and effort in 
season and revise trip limits for the remainder of the year to keep 
overfished species catch (landed + discard) below the appropriate 
limits. For example, if flatfish trawl fishery participation in winter 
months is higher than expected from past participation, assumed winter 
discard levels might increase and summer trip limits for target and 
bycatch species may then have to be adjusted to ensure that the overall 
2002 fisheries do not exceed the OYs for overfished species. This 
approach addresses a recommendation from Amendment 13 to the FMP, which 
called for a re-examination and improvement in accuracy of species-to-
species landings limit ratios.
    The Council recommended addressing bycatch rates of the five 
overfished species analyzed in the report as follows:
    Canary rockfish. Within the low-mid-high range of possible bycatch 
rates, the Council recommended the low bycatch rate range for canary 
rockfish. The Council chose the low range because both the Pikitch 
study and the EDCP study occurred during years when canary rockfish was 
considered one of the primary target species in the West Coast rockfish 
complex fisheries. Coincident catch of canary rockfish should be lower 
in a fishery management regime designed to avoid canary rockfish, 
through gear and target species restrictions, than in one designed to 
target canary rockfish. Data from a 2001 EFP at-sea observation program 
managed by WDFW supported this assumption, indicating canary rockfish 
interception rates in the trawl arrowtooth fishery off Washington were 
about one-tenth the rates assumed in even the low bycatch range 
scenario. The low bycatch rate range and the management measures 
proposed in this rule are expected to result in a discard rate of 5-10 
percent of the total catch, which has been conservatively adjusted to 
16 percent. This bycatch rate range and discard deduction would result 
in a landed catch OY of 30 mt for the limited entry fisheries and 4.5 
mt for the open access fisheries.
    Pacific ocean perch. Within the low-mid-high range of possible 
bycatch rates, the Council recommended the mid bycatch rate range for 
POP. POP has been managed to allow only incidental

[[Page 1571]]

retention for many years, thus the Pikitch and EDCP studies may more 
accurately represent current POP co-occurrence rates in the fisher than 
they do for canary rockfish. Bycatch levels assumed under the high 
bycatch rate scenario were so high that accepting it would have meant 
assuming that vessels would discard POP without achieving their trip 
limits. Conversely, the low bycatch rate scenario was implausible 
because it projected harvest levels lower than actual recorded landings 
in recent years. These unlikely assumptions related to the high and low 
bycatch scenarios for POP illustrate some of the difficulties in using 
varied historical data in a mathematical probability model for 
determining current bycatch rates. The mid bycatch rate range and the 
management measures proposed in section IV are expected to result in a 
discard rate of 0-7 percent of the total catch, which has been 
conservatively adjusted to 16 percent. This bycatch rate range and 
discard deduction would result in a landed catch OY of 294 mt.
    Bocaccio. Within the low-mid-high range of possible bycatch rates, 
the Council recommended the high bycatch rate range for bocaccio. 
Similar to the POP low and high ranges, the low and mid bocacio bycatch 
range scenarios that came out of the model were unlikely when examined 
against actual landings data. Both the low and mid bycatch range 
scenarios for bocaccio projected harvest levels lower than actual 
recorded landings. Thus, the high bycatch range was the only plausible 
range for bocaccio. The high bycatch rate range and the management 
measures proposed in of this rule are expected to result in a discard 
rate of 4-8 percent of the total catch, which has been conservatively 
adjusted to 16 percent. This bycatch rate range and discard deduction 
would result in a landed catch OY of 21 mt for the limited entry 
fisheries and 16 mt for the open access fisheries.
    Darkblotched rockfish. Within the low-mid-high range of possible 
bycatch rates, the Council recommended the mid bycatch rate range for 
darkblotched rockfish. Setting a bycatch rate for darkblotched rockfish 
was more difficult than for the other four species because darkblotched 
rockfish has not historically been separated from other minor slope 
rockfish in landings tickets, logbooks, and in data gathered in the 
EDCP study. The Council indicated that the high range was not as 
probable as the mid range because darkblotched rockfish tend to be of a 
larger size than other minor slope rockfish, thus less likely to be 
discarded for size and market reasons. The mid bycatch rate range and 
the management measures proposed in section IV are expected to result 
in a discard rate of 4-16 percent of the total catch, which has been 
conservatively adjusted to 20 percent due to generally higher rates of 
slope rockfish discard in EDCP observations. The mid bycatch range was 
also more probable than the low bycatch range because it was more 
compatible with results from the EDCP study, which NMFS has determined 
to be a fair illustration of slope trawling acetifies. This bycatch 
rate range and discard deduction would result in a landed catch OY of 
130 mt.
    Lingcod. Within the low-mid-high range of possible bycatch rates, 
the Council recommended the mid bycatch range for lingcod. The Council 
indicated that the high bycatch rate range was unlikely because the 
Pikitch and EDCP studies were conducted during periods when large 
footrope trawling (which can operate in rocky areas where lingcod are 
found) was permitted for rocky habitat species. The low bycatch range 
was unlikely for reasons similar to those for the low range for 
bocaccio and the low and mid ranges for POP, all of which projected 
harvest levels lower than actual recorded landings in recent years. The 
bycatch/discard analysis also indicated that if trawlers were allowed 
to retain incidentally caught lingcod during the winter months, the 
overall level of dead and discarded lingcod in 2002 could be reduced 
because it would be landed as retained catch during those months. Trawl 
footrope restrictions prevent trawlers from targeting lingcod. Thus, 
allowing winter trawl retention of lingcod is not expected to increase 
overall lingcod harvest and the effect on nest guarding males in rocky 
areas is expected to be neutral. Lingcod discard mortality is estimated 
to be 50 percent of the number of lingcod discarded (WDFW, 1997). The 
mid bycatch rate range and the management measures proposed in of this 
rule are expected to result in a discard mortality rate of 6-10 percent 
of the total catch, which has been conservatively adjusted to 20 
percent. This bycatch rate range and discard deduction would result in 
a landed catch OY of 163 mt for the limited entry fisheries and 38 mt 
for the open access fisheries.
    In addition to establishing the amount and percentage of discard 
that would occur for each of these five species (bocaccio, lingcod, 
darkblotched rockfish, canary rockfish, and POP), target fishery limits 
were adjusted so that the expected total catch of the five species was 
less than their total catch OYs. This provides an additional layer of 
protection for the five species, in that even if realized discard rates 
are somewhat higher than estimated, the total mortalities of these 
species should not exceed their OYs.
    DTS complex species. For the 2001 specifications and management 
measures process, NMFS analyzed the results of the 1995 through 1998 
EDCP, in which trawl vessels voluntarily fished for groundfish and 
either carried observers or completed detailed catch and discard 
logbooks. In 2000, NMFS determined that EDCP data could be used to 
update discard estimates applied to the DTS complex. New discard rates 
for the DTS complex resulted from this analysis and were implemented in 
2001 as follows: 5 percent of the total catch OY for Dover sole, 17 
percent of the total catch OY for longspine thornyhead, and 20 percent 
of the total catch OY for shortspine thornyhead. For sablefish, the new 
analysis resulted in discard rates separated by fishery: 22 percent of 
the limited entry trawl allocation, 8 percent of the limited entry 
fixed gear and open access allocations, and 3 percent of the tribal 
fisheries allocation. These discard rate estimates would again be used 
in 2002 as deductions from the total catch OYs for Dover sole and the 
two thornyhead species, and as deductions from the various fishery-
specific sablefish allocations.
    Rockfish species not included in bycatch/discard analysis. For 
widow rockfish, an overfished shelf rockfish species, the Council 
recommended continuing use of the historic discard rate estimation of 
16 percent, which was originally derived for widow rockfish from the 
Pikitch study. The Council also recommended using this 16 percent 
placeholder discard rate for minor shelf rockfish and chilipepper 
rockfish. The origin of this rate is explained in the GMT's bycatch and 
discard analysis, along with an evaluation of its current use. 
Yellowtail rockfish would have a 20 percent placeholder discard rate, 
which is the 16 percent historic rate adjusted conservatively to 
reflect moderately higher discard values for yellowtail in the EDCP 
study. As in past years, widow, yellowtail, canary and darkblotched 
rockfish discard in the at-sea whiting fisheries will be monitored 
inseason and actual discard numbers will be deducted from the OY. The 
Council recommended a 20 percent discard rate for minor slope rockfish, 
as a conservative adjustment to the 16 percent discard rate that the 
EDCP study showed for slope rockfish taken in the DTS complex 
fisheries. The 20 percent discard rate for minor slope rockfish also 
mirrors the more thoroughly analyzed discard rate for darkblotched

[[Page 1572]]

rockfish, a slope rockfish. The minor nearshore rockfish discard rate 
was set at 5 percent of the total catch OY, based on the assumption 
that most minor nearshore rockfish survive the discard process because 
they are shallow water species and are not as affected by depth changes 
during capture as shelf and slope rockfish. This is supported by the 
fact that a significant percentage of these species are landed as live 
fish.
    Cowcod and yelloweye rockfish are the other two overfished species 
not analyzed in the bycatch and discard analysis. Cowcod rebuilding 
measures include a coastwide retention prohibition. Thus, there is no 
landed catch OY for cowcod and any incidentally caught cowcod will be 
discarded. Prohibiting fishing for all groundfish with the CCAs, except 
that which is allowed seasonally inside 20 fathoms (37 m) along with 
other seasonal closures off California, is expected to reduce 
opportunities for intercepting cowcod.
    Yelloweye rockfish is not often intercepted in the trawl fisheries. 
Thus, yelloweye rockfish management focuses on eliminating commercial 
hook-and-line interception and reducing recreational fisheries 
opportunities for interception. Modest amounts of yelloweye rockfish 
retention would be permitted in the trawl fisheries to ensure that if 
it is encountered, it will be available for scientific sampling.
    Future Bycatch and Discard Analyses. During 2002, the Council's SSC 
will convene a workshop or a series of workshops to discuss the future 
of the Council's bycatch and discard rate policies. NMFS initiated an 
observer program for the vessels delivering groundfish to shorebased 
processing plants in August 2001. Future Council bycatch and discard 
rate policies will have to evolve over time, first accommodating 
management needs with little current observer data, and then maturing 
as the observer program data accumulates to a level where it can be 
used to better define total catch levels. Data from the observer 
program will provide information about co-occurrence and discard rates, 
and will affect discard calculations for all groundfish species, not 
just those included in the November 2001 bycatch and discard analysis. 
By the fall of 2002, the observer program will have been in operation 
for one year and will have observations from all seasons. Preliminary 
examination of the observer data will occur prior to that time, but the 
first complete analysis requires accumulation of data from all seasons. 
This analysis may not be completed in time, or have sufficient 
observations, to be fully incorporated in the annual specifications fro 
2003.

II. Limited Entry and Open Access Fisheries

    Since 1994, the non-tribal commercial groundfish fishery has been 
divided into limited entry and open access sectors, each with its own 
set of allocations and management measures. Species or species group 
allocations between the two sectors are based on the relative amounts 
of a species or species group taken by each component of the fishery 
during the 1984-1988 limited entry permit qualification period (50 CFR 
660.332). The FMP allows suspension of this allocation formula for 
overfished species when changes to the traditional allocation formula 
are needed to better protect overfished species (Section 5.3.2).
    Ground fish species or species group allocations between the 
limited entry and open access sectors are detailed in Tables 1a and 1b. 
All OYs, and all limited entry and open access allocations are 
expressed in terms of total catch. The limited entry/open access 
allocations for canary, darkblotched, and yelloweye rockfish would be 
suspended to allow the Council to better develop management measures 
that provide harvest of healthy stocks while protecting overfished 
stocks. Estimates of trip-limit induced discards are taken ``off the 
top'' before setting the limited entry and open access allocations, 
except for estimates of sablefish discards as explained in the 
footnotes to Table 1a. Landed catch equivalents are the harvest goals 
used when adjusting trip limits and other management measures during 
the season. Estimated bycatch of yellowtail, widow, canary, and 
darkblotched rockfish in the offshore whiting fishery is also deducted 
from the limited entry allocations before determining the landed catch 
equivalents for the target fisheries for widow and yellowtail rockfish.
Open Access Allocations
    The open access fishery is composed of vessels that operate under 
the OYs, quotas, and other management measures governing the open 
access fishery, using (1) exempt gear or (2) longline or pot (trap) 
gear fished from vessels that do not have limited entry permits 
endorsed for that gear. Exempt gear includes all types of legal 
groundfish fishing gear except groundfish trawl, longline, and pots. 
(Exempt gear includes trawls used to harvest pink shrimp, spot, or 
ridgeback prawns (shrimp trawls) and, halibut or sea cucumbers south of 
Pt. Arena, CA (38 deg.57'30"N. lat.))
    Open access allocations are derived by applying the open access 
allocation percentages to the commercial OY. The commercial OY is the 
total catch OY after subtracting any tribal allocations and set-asides 
for recreational or compensation fishing for conducting resource 
surveys. For those species in which the open access share would have 
been less than 1 percent, no open access allocation is specified unless 
significant open access effort is expected.
Limited Entry Allocations
    The limited entry fishery is the fishery composed of vessels using 
limited entry gear fished pursuant to the OYs, quotas, and other 
management measures governing the limited entry fishery. Limited entry 
gear includes longline, pot, or groundfish trawl gear used under the 
authority of a valid limited entry permit issued under the FMP, affixed 
with an endorsement for that gear. (Groundfish trawl gear excludes 
shrimp trawls used to harvest pink shrimp, spot prawns, or ridgeback 
prawns, and other trawls used to fish for California halibut or sea 
cucumbers south of Pt. Arena, CA.) A sablefish endorsement is also 
required for a vessel to operate in the limited entry primary fixed 
gear season for sablefish.
    The limited entry allocation (in total catch) is the OY reduced by 
(1) set-asides, if any, for treaty tribal fisheries, recreational 
fisheries, or compensation fishing for participation in resource 
surveys (which results in the commercial OY or quota); and (2) the open 
access allocation. (Allocations for Washington coastal tribal fisheries 
are discussed in section V and, for whiting, at paragraph IV.B.(3).)
    Following these procedures, the Regional Administrator calculated 
the amounts of allocations that are presented in Table 1a of this 
document. Unless otherwise specified, the limited entry and open access 
allocations would be treated as OYs or harvest guidelines in 2002. 
There may be slight discrepancies from the Council's recommendations 
due to rounding.

III. 2002 Management Measures

    Before 2000, the major goals of groundfish management were to 
prevent overfishing while achieving the OYs and to provide year-round 
fisheries for the major species or species groups. Over time, however, 
it became apparent to NMFS that a number of species could not continue 
to be harvested year-round at a constant harvest rate. New legislative 
mandates under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (as amended by the Sustainable 
Fisheries Act in 1996)

[[Page 1573]]

gave highest priority to preventing overfishing and rebuilding 
overfished stocks to their MSY levels. The National Standard guidelines 
at 50 CFR 600.310 interpreted this as ``weak stock management,'' which 
means that harvest of healthier stocks may need to be curtailed to 
prevent overfishing or to rebuild overfished stocks.
    Seven FMP species were declared overfished as of January 2001 
(lingcod, bocaccio, POP, canary rockfish, cowcod, widow rockfish, and 
darkblotched rockfish), and one more species is being declared 
overfished concurrent with publication of this document (yelloweye 
rockfish). Of these species, canary rockfish is the most constraining, 
because it is found coastwide on the continental shelf and is caught 
directly or incidentally in most West coast fisheries (groundfish and 
non-groundfish.) In order to rebuild these overfished species while 
allowing harvest of healthy stocks, the Council chose management 
measures to divert fishing effort off the sea floor of the continental 
shelf, where lincod, bocaccio, canary rockfish, cowcod, widow rockfish, 
yelloweye rockfish, and, to a lesser extent, POP and darkblotched 
rockfish occur. Continental slope fisheries have also been curtailed by 
lower Dover sole and sablefish ABCs and OYs, which provides additional 
protection to POP and darkblotched rockfish. Management measures for 
2002 have been crafted to maximize fishing opportunity for healthy 
stocks in periods when bycatch and discard of overfished and depleted 
stocks is estimated to be lowest.
    Management priorities for 2002 were guided by the following goals: 
(1) Prevent overfishing; (2) manage consistent with rebuilding plans 
for overfished species; (3) craft management measures and target 
species seasons to minimize incidental catch and discard of overfished 
and depleted stocks; (4) provide equitable harvest opportunity for both 
recreational and commercial sectors; and (5) within the commercial 
fisheries, achieve harvest guidelines and limited entry and open access 
allocations, to the extent practicable.
    A number of assumptions and considerations were involved in 
developing the management recommendations for 2002. As discussed 
earlier, the November 2001 bycatch and discard analysis evaluated the 
target fisheries for healthy stocks to determine periods in the fishing 
year when those fisheries could be constrained to best reduce the 
incidental catch of overfished species. Trip limits in the commercial 
fisheries have been crafted to reduce incidental interception of 
overfished species so that total mortality for a species does not 
exceed its OY, and different sectors of the commercial fisheries are 
constrained at different times of the year in accordance with their 
specific effects on overfished species. For example, the bycatch and 
discard analysis of EDCP data indicated that incidental catch of 
darkblotched rockfish in the DTS complex fisheries is significantly 
higher during November-December than during other times of the year. 
Thus, DTS complex cumulative limits are at their lowest in November-
December. Similarly, trawl flatfish limits are the most constrained in 
May through September, when canary rockfish interception is higher. 
Fisheries for many target species are unlikely to achieve the OYs of 
those target species so that overfished species may be protected. 
Fisheries for yellowtail rockfish, for example, will not achieve the 
yellowtail OYs because yellowtail harvest is constrained to protect co-
occurring canary and widow rockfish. Similarly, chilipepper harvest 
will be significantly below its OY to protect co-occurring bocaccio.
    Management measures for the limited entry fishery are found in 
section IV. Most cumulative trip limits, size limits, and seasons for 
the limited entry fishery are set out in Tables 3 and 4. However, the 
limited entry nontrawl sablefish fishery, the midwater trawl fishery 
for whiting, and the hook-and-line fishery for black rockfish off 
Washington are managed separately from the majority of the groundfish 
species and are not fully addressed in the tables. The management 
structure for these fisheries has not changed since 2001, except for 
the level of trip limits for sablefish and whiting, and is described in 
paragraphs IV.B.(2)-(4) of section IV. Other provisions for the 2001 
fisheries not explicitly addressed above would remain in effect for 
2002 and are repeated in section IV of this document.
    After hearing proposals and advice from its advisory entities and 
public testimony at its November 2001 meeting, the Council recommended 
the following actions for management in 2002.
Limited Entry Trawl
    For the limited entry trawl fishery, the Council recommended a 
suite of gear and cumulative trip limits designed to allow fishing with 
gear in times and areas where incidental catch of overfished or 
depleted species will be minimized. As discussed earlier, the primary 
force shaping the structure of trawl fisheries limits were the 
coincident catch rates for overfished species taken in fisheries 
targeting healthy stocks. Many of the healthy groundfish stocks, such 
as the suite of flatfish species, are harvested almost exclusively with 
trawl gear, rather than with hook-and-line gear. Season structuring and 
gear requirements are intended to reduce incidental catch of overfished 
species as much as possible in every period of the year.
    Flatfish fisheries are managed with more restrictions on gear use 
and trip limit levels during the summer months, when participation is 
greater and trawl tows for flatfish are more likely to encounter 
overfished species. More restrictive landings limits are imposed on all 
flatfish species in the north in May-October to minimize canary and/or 
darkblotched rockfish bycatch. Higher POP trip limits are provided in 
the summer months, when the flatfish fisheries are more likely to 
encounter POP. Northern DTS complex limits are different for each two-
month period of the year to minimize interception of canary rockfish or 
darkblotched rockfish, depending on which species is more available to 
the DTS complex fisheries during a particular period. For both the DTS 
complex and flatfish fisheries, landings limits are less tightly 
structured south of 40 deg.10" N. lat. because fisheries in that area 
are less likely to encounter POP, canary, and darkblotched rockfish. 
South of 40 deg.10" N. lat., the Council has also introduced a new trip 
limit for Pacific sanddabs, an abundant species with relatively low 
bycatch rates of other species.
    In 2000 and 2001, lingcod retention was prohibited in all fisheries 
for the months of November through April. These winter closures were 
intended to both reduce overall lingcod harvest and to reduce capture 
of male lingcod during the spawning/nesting season. Male lingcod guard 
nests of fertilized eggs from predators, so reducing male lingcod catch 
during nest guarding season is an effective way of protecting both 
adults and eggs. Nest guarding males are mainly caught by gear that can 
be used in the rocky areas where they nest. Under current gear 
restrictions, this gear is hook-and-line gear. Small footrope trawl and 
mid-water trawl gear are not used in rocky areas because they can too 
easily become entangled and torn in rocky habitat. In 2002, trawl-
caught lingcod retention would be permitted throughout the year because 
the Council believes that trawling is less likely than hook-and-line 
fishing to disturb male lingcod guarding nests in rocky areas. Lingcod 
caught incidentally during winter trawl fisheries would otherwise be 
discarded and thereby increase the overall lingcod discard

[[Page 1574]]

level in the trawl fisheries. The lingcod landings limit of 800 lb (363 
kg) per 2-month period is not high enough to give trawlers an incentive 
to target lingcod.
    For 2002, the Council recommended continuing the use of 
differential trip limits for limited entry trawlers operating with 
different trawl gear configurations: bottom trawl with footropes 
greater than 8 inches (20.5 cm) in diameter; bottom trawl with 
footropes smaller than 8 inches (20.5 cm) in diameter; and midwater or 
pelagic trawl. Trawling with footropes that have roller gear or other 
large gear designed to bounce over tough rockpiles tends to allow those 
vessels greater access to rocky areas where several of the overfished 
species congregate. Therefore, landings of shelf rockfish (except 
chilipepper) are prohibited if large footrope trawls (such as roller 
gear) are used (or on board the vessel); small amounts of shelf 
rockfish bycatch may be landed if small footrope trawls are used; and, 
targeting healthy shelf rockfish stocks is encouraged only if midwater 
trawls are used. This tends to greatly reduce harvest in the areas 
where the overfished species are presumably found, while allowing 
retention of small amounts incidentally caught in areas of lower 
abundance of these species. This strategy of differential trip limits 
for different trawl gear types was used in 2000 and 2001. Initial 
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife trawl logbook data indicate a 
significant decrease in trawl activity in rocky areas of the 
continental shelf since the adoption of this strategy. Cowcod 
prohibitions and closures apply to limited entry trawl vessels, 
although there are few limited entry trawl vessels operating south of 
Point Conception in CCA waters.
    Chafing gear will continue to be prohibited on the body of small 
footrope trawls. Chafing gear protects the net from excess wear when it 
drags against rock piles or the sea floor. The prohibition against 
chafing gear makes the net more vulnerable to damage, and so encourages 
fishers to operate in less rocky areas.
    Trawl vessels using large footrope gear (with footrope greater than 
8 inches (20 cm) in diameter) are prohibited from landing nearshore and 
shelf rockfish (except chilipepper) and most flatfish species because 
their ability to fish in rocky areas would result in high incidental 
catch of species that cannot withstand additional fishing effort. 
Although vessels are not prohibited from using large footropes in 
nearshore and continental shelf areas, they are not allowed to retain 
and sell most of the species they would catch from those areas. 
Therefore, NMFS expects little, if any, use of large footrope gear in 
areas of high concentration of overfished species. Large footrope 
trawls may still be used for target deepwater fisheries when fewer 
overfished species are encountered, primarily Dover and rex soles, 
thornyheads, sablefish, and deepwater rockfish. During part of the 
year, predominately winter months, large footrope trawls may also be 
used to harvest arrowtooth flounder and petrale sole. However, small 
footrope trawls are required for the rest of the year when these 
species are more likely to aggregate with overfished species (See Table 
3).
    For chilipepper rockfish, trip limits are more liberal when it is 
taken with midwater trawl gear. This gear is effective at harvesting 
chilipepper above the ocean floor with little or no bycatch of bottom-
dwelling species such as canary rockfish. In past years, higher 
midwater trawl limits were also available for yellowtail rockfish 
because of reduced canary rockfish availability in the midwater 
yellowtail fisheries. In 2002, however, midwater yellowtail retention 
is restricted to an incidental catch allowance in the midwater whiting 
trawl fisheries. Midwater fisheries for yellowtail rockfish tend to 
also harvest widow rockfish. Thus, this increased protection for 
yellowtail rockfish taken with midwater gear is intended to reduce the 
opportunity for incidental widow rockfish harvest. If a fisher chooses 
to carry more than one type of trawl gear on board, any landing will be 
attributed to the gear on board with the most restrictive landing 
limit. To land the maximum amounts of chilipepper rockfish, vessels 
will be required to have only midwater trawl gear on board.
Limited Entry Fixed Gear
    Similar to the limited entry trawl fisheries, trip limit 
opportunities in the limited entry fixed gear fisheries are arranged to 
minimize opportunities for intercepting overfished species. One of the 
most significant changes expected for limited entry fixed gear 
management in 2002 is an April-October primary sablefish season. In 
2001, NMFS approved Amendment 14 to the FMP, which implemented a permit 
stacking program for sablefish-endorsed limited entry permits and a 
longer primary sablefish season. NMFS expects to shortly publish a 
proposed rule to, among other things, implement the April-October 
season for 2002 and beyond.
    The larger-sized sablefish most desired in the market are available 
farther offshore in continental slope waters. For 2002, minor slope 
rockfish limits are higher in the May-October period to allow vessels 
targeting primary season sablefish to take advantage of the minor slope 
rockfish OY when they are most likely to encounter those rockfish. 
Darkblotched rockfish are part of the minor slope rockfish complex, so 
overall minor slope rockfish limits are set at levels intended to 
constrain darkblotched rockfish catch.
    Yelloweye rockfish is also caught incidentally in hook-and-line 
sablefish fisheries. Because yelloweye rockfish tend to sell for a 
higher price per pound than other co-occurring rockfish species, there 
is a good chance that yelloweye taken in prior years have been 
targeted, rather than caught incidentally. Thus, yelloweye rockfish 
retention has been prohibited entirely in the limited entry fixed gear 
fisheries. To give vessels targeting sablefish in the daily trip limit 
fisheries an opportunity to move out to the continental slope fishing 
grounds, the Council has again recommended a weekly sablefish landing 
option. With weekly limits, vessels are more likely to travel to the 
continental slope for the larger and more valuable sablefish, thereby 
reducing opportunities for incidental catch of continental shelf 
species (yelloweye, canary, and widow rockfish, bocaccio, cowcod, and 
lingcod.) Cowcod prohibitions and closures apply to limited entry, 
fixed gear vessels. Similar to 2001, fisheries for minor nearshore 
rockfish north of 40 deg.10' N. lat. are managed with sublimits for 
species other than black and blue rockfish, to encourage targeting on 
these more abundant nearshore rockfish species.
    As in 2000 and 2001, limited entry fixed gear fishing for lingcod 
will be prohibited during January through April and during November 
through December. These closures are intended to protect nest-guarding 
lingcod during the spawning and nesting season. Nest-guarding lingcod 
are more available to fixed gear than to trawl gear, because lingcod 
nest in rocky habitat that tears trawl gear while line gear can be used 
successfully in rocky areas. Thus, winter closures for fixed gear are 
intended to eliminate fixed gear lingcod targeting.
    For commercial fisheries, directed fishing for and opportunities to 
take overfished species as bycatch are severely curtailed. Fixed gear 
generally has greater access than trawl gear to rockfish living on and 
around high relief rockpiles as explained above. The Council 
recommended closing commercial fixed gear fishing for nearshore 
rockfish, shelf rockfish, and

[[Page 1575]]

lingcod during periods when the recreational fisheries for those 
species are closed to reduce overall hook-and-line gear (commercial and 
recreational) targeting on rockfish. All limited entry fixed gear (pot 
and longline) vessels south of 40 deg.10' N. lat. are prohibited from 
fishing for nearshore rockfish, shelf rockfish, and lingcod during the 
closed periods detailed in Table 4, with allowances for vessels fishing 
inside of the 20-fathom (36.9 m) depth contour. Concurrent commercial 
and recreational closures are expected to achieve conservation goals 
while reducing the conflict that sometimes occurs when one fishing 
sector is allowed to fish while another is not.
Open Access (Hook-and-Line, Troll, Pot, Setnet, Trammel Net)
    The open access nontrawl fishery is managed separately from the 
limited entry fixed-gear fishery, but bycatch reduction measures are 
similar for both sectors. As in the past, open access cumulative trip 
limits continue to be applied mostly to 1-month periods, and 
thornyheads may not be taken and retained north of 37 deg.27' N. lat. 
Time and area closures are used south of 40 deg.10' N. lat., similar to 
the limited entry fixed gear fisheries and for the same reasons. 
Vessels participating in the open access fisheries with nontrawl gear 
(hook-and-line, troll, pot, setnet and trammel net) south of 40 deg.10' 
N. lat. are prohibited from fishing for nearshore rockfish, shelf 
rockfish, and lingcod, during the closed periods described in Table 5 
with allowances for vessels fishing inside of the 20-fathom (36.9 m) 
depth contour. The lingcod fishery for all open access nontrawl gears 
is also subject to the same closure, size limits, and cumulative trip 
limits as the limited fixed gear fisheries. Similar to 2001, fisheries 
for minor nearshore rockfish north of 40 deg.10' N. lat. are managed 
with sublimits for black and blue rockfish, to encourage targeting on 
these more abundant nearshore rockfish species. Cowcod prohibitions and 
closures apply to all open access vessels.
    Open access cumulative limits may exceed those for limited entry. 
If a vessel with a limited entry permit uses open access gear 
(including exempted trawl gear) and the open access cumulative limit is 
larger, the vessel will be constrained by the smaller, limited entry 
cumulative limit for the entire cumulative period.
Open Access Exempted Trawl Gear
    Open access exempted trawl gear (used to harvest spot and ridgeback 
prawns, California halibut, sea cucumbers, or pink shrimp) is managed 
with both ``per trip'' limits and cumulative trip limits. These trip 
limits are similar to those in 2001, and the species-specific open 
access limits apply but may not exceed the overall groundfish limits. 
The limits are 500 lb (227 kg) of groundfish per day, not to exceed 
1,500 lb (680 kg) per trip in the pink shrimp fishery. For other 
exempted trawl gears, there is a 300 lb (136 kg) per trip limit. The 
pink shrimp fishery is subject to species-specific limits that are 
different from other open access limits for lingcod, canary rockfish, 
and sablefish. As with open access nontrawl gears, thornyheads may not 
be taken and retained north of 34 deg.27' N. lat. Cowcod prohibitions 
and closures apply to all open access vessels.
Recreational Fishery
    Recreational fisheries effort has also been constrained to protect 
overfished species, particularly for lingcod, canary rockfish, 
bocaccio, and yelloweye rockfish, which have significant recreational 
catches. Washington, Oregon, and California each proposed, and the 
Council recommended, different combinations of seasons, bag limits, and 
size limits to best fit the needs of their recreational fisheries, 
while also meeting conservation goals.
    For lingcod, Washington closed the recreational fishery for 5 
months (January 1--March 15, October 15--December 31) and maintained 
its 2 fish bag limit and its 24 inch (61 cm) minimum size limit. 
Oregon's lingcod measures are also the same as in 2001, a 1 fish bag 
limit, 24 inch (61 cm) minimum size limit and a year-round fishery. 
California maintained its 2 lingcod bag limit, but lowered its minimum 
size limit to match the 24 inch (61 cm) limit used in the other two 
states. California lingcod closures south of 40 deg.10' N. lat. are 
more stringent than in 2001: from 40 deg.10' N. lat. 34 deg.27' N. 
lat., closed March through April and November through December in all 
waters, and open only inside 20 fathoms (36.9 m) in May through June 
and September through October. South of 34 deg.27' N. lat., closed 
January through February and November through December.
    Recreational fisheries off Washington and Oregon will be challenged 
this year by a need to maintain low yelloweye rockfish catch. Some 
measures taken in 2000 and 2001 to protect other northern overfished 
rockfish species should also protect yelloweye rockfish, but the states 
also recommended several new yelloweye-specific measures. Washington 
maintained its 10 rockfish bag limit, with sublimits of no more than 2 
canary rockfish, or no more than 1 canary rockfish and 1 yelloweye 
rockfish. Oregon also maintained its 10 rockfish bag limit, of which no 
more than 1 may be canary rockfish and no more than one may be 
yelloweye rockfish. In reviewing the take of yelloweye rockfish in 
their recreational fisheries, the states of Washington and Oregon found 
that yelloweye rockfish is most frequently taken by vessels that travel 
offshore to target Pacific halibut. However, yelloweye rockfish are not 
taken while the vessel is fishing for halibut, but rather after the 
vessel has completed its halibut fishing it moves to another location 
and fishes for yelloweye rockfish before heading to port. Therefore, 
prohibiting the retention of yelloweye rockfish when halibut are on the 
vessel should eliminate the directed harvest of yelloweye during 
halibut fishing trips, without causing discard of incidentally-caught 
yelloweye rockfish. Thus, Washington is prohibiting the retention of 
yelloweye rockfish when halibut is on board, and Oregon is prohibiting 
the same during its all-depth halibut fisheries.
    Recreational fishing restrictions proposed for California are 
intended to ensure that fishing mortality will not exceed limits 
associated with rebuilding plans for bocaccio, canary rockfish, cowcod, 
and lingcod. California maintained its rockfish size limits, its 2-hook 
per fishing line limit and its 10 rockfish bag limit, with a 1 canary 
rockfish sublimit, 2 bocaccio sublimit, and a 1 yelloweye rockfish 
sublimit with no more than 2 yelloweye rockfish per vessel. As with all 
commercial fisheries, cowcod retention is prohibited. In the southern 
California area, the CCAs first implemented in 2001 would remain closed 
to both recreational and commercial fishing for groundfish outside of 
the 20 fathom (36.9 m) depth contour. Inside the 20 fathom (36.9 m) 
depth contour, recreational and commercial fishing for rockfish and 
lingcod is permitted from March through October.
    Recreational fisheries data indicate that California fisheries may 
have exceeded the amounts of bocaccio and canary rockfish that the 
Council had estimated pre-season would be taken in those fisheries in 
2001. To prevent these overages from reoccurring in 2002, recreational 
fisheries closures off California are twice the duration they were in 
2001. The recreational fishing season for rockfish and lingcod between 
40 deg.27' N. lat.) and Point Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.) would be 
just 4 months duration for all depths, January-February and July-
August, plus 4 months inside 20 fathoms (36.9 m) in

[[Page 1576]]

May-June and September-October. When the fishery is open inside 20 
fathoms (36.9 m), bocaccio, canary, and yelloweye rockfish retention is 
prohibited, and there is a 2 shelf rockfish bag limit. The recreational 
fishing season for rockfish and lingcod in that same area would be open 
for all depths in January-February and July-August, and in waters 
shoreward of 20 fathoms (36.9 m) in May-June and September-October. 
South of Point Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.) the recreational fishing 
season would be 8 months duration, March through October. Different 
season closures were chosen north and south of Point Conception 
(34 deg.27' N. lat.) in order to correspond with the periods of 
greatest benefit statewide for bocaccio and canary rockfish. Taken 
together with the proposed restrictions on commercial fisheries, the 
recreational fishery season closures and limits are expected to keep 
total fishing mortality under the established OYs.
    The season closures allow for modestly higher commercial trip and 
recreational bag limits than would otherwise be possible under year-
round fishing. Season closures are also expected to result in fewer 
discards than would otherwise occur. Concurrent seasons for 
recreational and commercial nontrawl fisheries are more cost effective 
to enforce than staggered seasons and minimize conflicts between 
commercial nontrawl and recreational fishers who fish for nearshore and 
self rockfish.
Fishing Communities and Impacts
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that actions taken to implement 
FMPs be consistent with the 10 national standards, one of which 
requires that conservation and management measures shall be consistent 
with the conservation requirements of the Act, ``take into account the 
importance of fishery resources to fishing communities in order to (A) 
provide for sustained participation of such communities and (B), to the 
extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such 
communities.'' Commercial and recreational fisheries for Pacific Coast 
groundfish contribute to the economies and shape the cultures of 
numerous fishing communities in Washington, Oregon, and California. 
Meeting the needs of fishing communities has become increasingly 
difficult because the Council manages a fishery that is overcapitalized 
and contains stocks that are overfished. In recommending this year's 
specifications and management measures, the Council tried to 
accommodate some of the needs of those communities within the 
constraints of Magnuson-Stevens Act requirements to rebuild overfished 
stocks, prevent overfishing, and minimize bycatch. In general, the 
Council allows the largest harvest possible, consistent with 
conservation needs of the fish stocks.
    West Coast groundfish intermix by species, which means that 
interception and incidental mortality of overfished species is 
inevitable even if retention of a particular species is prohibited. As 
discussed earlier in the section on bycatch and discards, the Council's 
primary goal for 2002 was to minimize the incidental interception of 
overfished species. To achieve this, the fisheries seasons are 
structured both to maximize target species catch while minimizing 
overfished species incidental take and to allow minimal retention of 
overfished species where incidental take will inevitably occur. Minimal 
retention levels will discourage targeting while allowing fishers to 
land already dead, incidentally caught fish. The retention levels 
allowed (along with the estimated discard levels) for each of the 
overfished species are below their OYs and allow rebuilding.
    For 2002, the Council continued the year-round fishery opportunity 
that is important to the fishing and processing sectors for maintaining 
continuous employment opportunities and maintaining consistent 
groundfish marketing opportunities. The Council modified the cumulative 
trip limit system that has been used in recent years to extend the 
fishing season throughout the year by providing opportunities for at 
least some groundfish species and by maintaining trawl gear 
restrictions initially adopted for 2000. These gear restrictions use 
operational and economic incentives to prevent bottom trawl fishing 
with roller gear for some species and encourage use of midwater trawl 
and small footrope trawls on the continental shelf where most 
overfished species occur. Trawl gear restrictions are intended to 
reduce directed fishing for species that commonly co-occur with 
overfished species. These strategies were first developed for the 2000 
fishery by a group of industry participants who met with the GMT about 
achieving conservation goals while minimizing effects on the industry 
and coastal communities. Offering higher limits to fishermen who use 
gear with lower bycatch rates reduces bycatch and enhances economic 
opportunities by providing access to healthy stocks.
    Some commercial fishers have commented that they are being unfairly 
constrained relative to recreational fisheries, while some recreational 
fishers have commented that the commercial fisheries are being favored. 
In developing 2002 management measures, the Council sought a fair and 
equitable balance for the two sectors, and also sought to achieve 
needed reductions in total fishing mortality. California hook-and-line 
commercial fisheries will be subject to the same season restrictions as 
the recreational fisheries. The Council was concerned that further 
restrictions on recreational fishing (e.g., longer closures or lower 
bag limits) would prevent charter vessels operators from running 
charter fishing trips for a long enough period that they could go out 
of business. Under further restrictions, passengers may refuse to pay 
the price to fish or may not make enough trips in open seasons to allow 
operators to cover their costs. Not only would charter vessel operators 
be affected by changes to recreational fishery management, but 
supporting businesses such as bait shops and tackle suppliers, hotels, 
restaurants, and charter company agents, etc. would also likely suffer. 
The closed seasons generally cover the months that have historically 
accounted for the largest seasonal catches of bocaccio and other 
rockfishes.
    Allowable commercial catches of many groundfish are even lower than 
in 2001, but the Council has tried to restructure the timing of 
differential trip limits to provide commercial fisheries with greater 
flexibility in their fishing patterns while not increasing the overall 
catches. Again, this restructuring is intended to limit the extent to 
which businesses such as tackle suppliers and bait shops that supply 
and support the fishing industry would suffer. Many commercial 
groundfish fishers have other fishing opportunities during the year, 
and these opportunities were taken into account. For example, the 
small-scale commercial fishers (and recreational fishers) in southern 
California would (under state regulations) still be able to fish for 
certain species in nearshore waters while the shelf is closed to 
protect overfished species.
    Nonetheless, the effects of these 2002 management measures on some 
fishers and communities will be severe, particularly for those without 
other opportunities. For the 2002 fishery, the Council proposed 
stringent harvest levels intended to protect and rebuild overfished and 
depleted stocks. In addition to reducing OYs for overfished stocks, the 
Council also severely constrained harvest on healthy stocks associated 
with overfished stocks. These measures were needed to ensure that

[[Page 1577]]

rebuilding of overfished and depleted stocks could occur. However, they 
will cause serious socio-economic repercussions as a result of these 
lower harvest levels and the consequent lower landings limits.
    Distribution of the economic effect of the 2002 management measures 
will depend on how well the fishers can adapt to the restrictions. Some 
user groups, particularly those able to use midwater trawl gear, will 
have a greater opportunity to harvest than they would have had without 
gear restrictions, because proposed restrictions allow fishers to use 
gear that reduces incidental catch of the depleted rockfish. Other 
fishers will not be able to maintain a viable operation at the reduced 
harvest levels. The Council prepared an EA/RIR/IRFA for this action, 
which includes a discussion of the economic and social effects of these 
management measures on coastal communities (see ADDRESSES).
Trip Limit Tables and Management Measures
    Cumulative trip limits are set into tables, with explanations in 
section IV. However, the industry is cautioned not to rely on the 
tables alone. The text in section IV provides cumulative trip limit 
definitions and periods, size limit definitions and conversions, and 
other information that cannot be readily included in a table but must 
be understood in order to correctly use the tables. The sablefish 
allocations and nontrawl sablefish management, Pacific whiting 
allocations and seasons, and ``per trip'' limits for black rockfish off 
Washington State are still presented in text in paragraphs IV.B. Trip 
limits for exempted trawl gear in the open access fishery (paragraphs 
IV.B. Trip limits for exempted trawl gear in the open access fishery 
(paragraph IV.C.), recreational management measures (paragraph IV.D.), 
and tribal allocations and management measures (paragraph V.) still 
remain in the text.
    Cumulative trip limits are applied during the time periods and in 
the areas indicated in Tables 3-5 of section IV. The cumulative trip 
limit may be taken at any time within the applicable cumulative trip 
limit period. All cumulative trip limit periods start at 0001 hours, 
local time, on the specified beginning date, except for ``B'' platoon 
trawl vessels whose limits start on the 16th of the month (see 
paragraph IV.A.(16).

    Example 1: Line 2 of Table 3 for the limited entry trawl fishery 
means: North of 40 deg.10' N. lat., the cumulative trip limit for 
minor slope rockfish is 1,800 lb (816 kg) per 2-month period; the 2-
month periods are January 1-February 28 and March 1-April 30, etc.
    Example 2: The trip limits for bocaccio on Table 4 for limited 
entry fixed gear mean: From January 1 through February 28, the trip 
limit for bocaccio between 40 deg.10' N. lat and 34 deg.27' N. lat. 
is 200 lb (91 kg) each month. However, the fishery for bocaccio is 
closed from March 1 to June 30, which means bocaccio may not be 
taken, retained, possessed or landed between 40 deg.10' N. lat. and 
34 deg.27' N. lat. during that time period. The cumulative trip 
limit returns at 200 lb (91 kg) per month on July 1, but a fisher 
may not fish ahead on that amount (see paragraph IV.A(2)). Bocaccio 
taken and retained north of 40 deg.10' N. lat. are not explicitly 
mentioned in the table, however they are included in the trip limit 
for ``minor shelf rockfish-north'' (see footnote 5 of Table 4).

IV. NMFS Actions

    For the reasons stated above, the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NOAA (Assistant Administrator), concurs with the Council's 
recommendations and announces the following management actions for 
2002, including measures that are unchanged from 2001 and new measures.
A. General Definitions and Provisions
    The following definitions and provisions apply to the 2002 
management measures, unless otherwise specified in a subsequent Federal 
Register document:
    (1) Trip limits. Trip limits are used in the commercial fishery to 
specify the amount of fish that may legally be taken and retained, 
possessed, or landed, per vessel, per fishing trip, or cumulatively per 
unit of time, or the number of landings that may be made from a vessel 
in a given period of time, as follows:
    (a) A per trip limit is the total allowable amount of a groundfish 
species or species group, by weight, or by percentage of weight of 
legal fish on board, that may be taken and retained, possessed, or 
landed per vessel from a single fishing trip.
    (b) A daily trip limit is the maximum amount that may be taken and 
retained, possessed, or landed per vessel in 24 consecutive hours, 
starting at 0001 hours l.t. Only one landing of groundfish may be made 
in that 24-hour period. Daily trip limits may not be accumulated during 
multiple day trips.
    (c) A weekly trip limit is the maximum amount that may be taken and 
retained, possessed, or landed per vessel in 7 consecutive days, 
starting at 0001 hours l.t. on Sunday and ending at 2400 hours l.t. on 
Saturday. Weekly trip limits may not be accumulated during multiple 
week trips. If a calendar week includes days within two different 
months, a vessel is not entitled to two separate weekly limits during 
that week.
    (d) A cumulative trip limit is the maximum amount that may be taken 
and retained, possessed, or landed per vessel in a specified period of 
time without a limit on the number of landings or trips, unless 
otherwise specified. The cumulative trip limit periods for limited 
entry and open access fisheries, which start at 0001 hours l.t. and end 
at 2400 hours l.t., are as follows, unless otherwise specified:
    (i) The 2-month periods are: January 1-February 28, March 1-April 
30, May 1-June 30, July 1-August 31, September 1-October 31, and 
November 1-December 31.
    (ii) One month means the first day through the last day of the 
calendar month.
    (iii) One week means 7 consecutive days, Sunday through Saturday.
    (2) Fishing ahead. Unless the fishery is closed, a vessel that has 
landed its cumulative or daily limit may continue to fish on the limit 
for the next period, so long as no fish (including, but not limited to, 
groundfish with no trip limits, shrimp, prawns, or other nongroundfish 
species or shellfish) are landed (offloaded) until the next period. As 
stated at 50 CFR 660.302 (in the definition of ``landing''), once the 
offloading of any species begins, all fish aboard the vessel are 
counted as part of the landing. Fishing ahead is not allowed during or 
before a closed period (see paragraph IV.A. (7)). See paragraph 
IV.A.(9) for information on inseason changes to limits.
    (3) Weights. All weights are round weights or round-weight 
equivalents unless otherwise specified.
    (4) Percentages. Percentages are based on round weights, and, 
unless otherwise specified, apply only to legal fish on board.
    (5) Legal fish. Legal fish means fish legally taken and retained, 
possessed, or landed in accordance with the provisions of 50 CFR part 
660, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, any document issued under part 660, and 
any other regulation promulgated or permit issued under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act.
    (6) Size limits and length measurement. Unless otherwise specified, 
size limits in the commercial and recreational groundwater fisheries 
apply to the ``total length,'' which is the longest measurement of the 
fish without mutilation of the fish or the use of force to extend the 
length of the fish. No fish with a size limit may be retained if it is 
in such condition that its length has been extended or cannot be 
determined by these methods. For conversions not listed here, contact 
the state where the fish will be landed.

[[Page 1578]]

    (a) Whole fish. For a whole fish, total length is measured from the 
tip of the snout (mouth closed) to the tip of the tail in a natural, 
relaxed position.
    (b) ``Headed'' fish. For a fish with the head removed (``headed''), 
the length is measured from the origin of the first dorsal fin (where 
the front dorsal fin meets the dorsal surface of the body closest to 
the head) to the tip of the upper lobe of the tail; the dorsal fin and 
tail must be left intact.
    (c) Filets. A filet is the flesh from one side of a fish extending 
from the head to the tail, which has been removed from the body (head, 
tail, and backbone) in a single continuous piece. Filet lengths may be 
subject to size limits for some groundfish taken in the recreational 
fishery off California (see paragraph IV. D.(1)). A filet is measured 
along the length of the longest part of the filet, in a relaxed 
position; stretching or other wise manipulating the filet to increase 
its length is not permitted.
    (d) Sablefish weight limit conversions. The following conversions 
apply to both the limited entry and open access fisheries when trip 
limits are effective for those fisheries. For headed and gutted 
(eviscerated) sablefish, the conversion factor established by the state 
where the fish is or will be landed will be used to convert the 
processed weight to round weight for purposes of applying the trip 
limit. (The conversion factor currently is 1.6 in Washington, Oregon, 
and California. However, the state conversion factors may differ; 
fishers should contact fishery enforcement officials in the state where 
the fish will be landed to determine that state's official conversion 
factor.)
    (e) Lingcod size and weight conversions. The following conversions 
apply in both limited entry and open access fisheries.
    (i) Size conversion. For lingcod with the head removed, the minimum 
size limit is 19.5 inches (49.5 cm), which corresponds to 24 inches (61 
cm) total length for whole fish.
    (ii) Weight conversion. The conversion factor established by the 
state where the fish is or will be landed will be used to convert the 
processed weight to round weight for purposes of applying the trip 
limit. (The states' conversion factors may differ, and fishers should 
contact fishery enforcement officials in the state where the fish will 
be landed to determine that state's official conversion factor.) If a 
state does not have a conversion factor for headed and gutted lingcod, 
or lingcod that is only gutted; the following conversion factors will 
be used. To determine the round weight, multiply the processed weight 
times the conversion factor.
    (A) Headed and gutted. The conversion factor for headed and gutted 
lingcod is 1.5.
    (B) Gutted, with the head on. The conversion factor for lingcod 
that has only been gutted is 1.1.
    (7) Closure. ``Closure,'' when referring to closure of a fishery, 
means that taking and retaining, possessing, or landing the particular 
species or species group is prohibited. (See 50 CFR 660.302.) Unless 
otherwise announced in the Federal Register, offloading must begin 
before the time the fishery closes. The provisions at paragraph IV.A. 
(2) for fishing ahead do not apply during a closed period. It is 
unlawful to transit through a closed area with the prohibited species 
on board, no matter where that species was caught, except as provided 
for in the CCA at IV.A. (20).
    (8) Fishery management area. The fishery management area for these 
species is the EEZ off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California 
between 3 and 200 nm offshore, bounded on the north by the Provisional 
International Boundary between the United States and Canada, and 
bounded on the south by the International Boundary between the United 
States and Mexico. All groundfish possessed between 0-200 nm offshore 
or landed in Washington, Oregon, or California are presumed to have 
been taken and retained from the EEZ, unless otherwise demonstrated by 
the person in possession of those fish.
    (9) Routine management measures. Most trip, bag, and size limits in 
the groundfish fishery have been designated ``routine,'' which means 
they may be changed rapidly after a single Council meeting. (See 50 CFR 
660.323(b).) Council meetings in 2002 will be held in the months of 
March, April, June, September, and November. Inseason changes to 
routine management measures are announced in the Federal Register. 
Information concerning changes to routine management measures is 
available from the NMFS Northwest and Southwest Regional Offices (see 
ADDRESSES). Changes to trip limits are effective at the times stated in 
the Federal Register. Once a change is effective, it is illegal to take 
and retain, possess, or land more fish than allowed under the new trip 
limit. This means that, unless otherwise announced in the Federal 
Register, offloading must begin before the time a fishery closes or a 
more restrictive trip limit takes effect.
    (10) Limited entry limits. It is unlawful for any person to take 
and retain, possess, or land groundfish in excess of the landing limit 
for the open access fishery without having a valid limited entry permit 
for the vessel affixed with a gear endorsement for the gear used to 
catch the fish (50 CFR 660.306(p)).
    (11) Operating in both limited entry and open access fisheries. The 
open access trip limit applies to any fishing conducted with open 
access gear, even if the vessel has a valid limited entry permit with 
an endorsement for another type of gear. A vessel that operates in both 
the open access and limited entry fisheries is not entitled to two 
separate trip limits for the same species. If a vessel has a limited 
entry permit and uses open entry limit, the open access limit cannot be 
exceeded and counts toward the limited entry limit. If a vessel has a 
limited entry permit and uses open access gear, but the open access 
limit is larger than the limited entry limit, the smaller limited entry 
limit applies, even if taken entirely with open access gear.
    (12) Operating in areas with different trip limits. Trip limits for 
a species or a species group may differ in different geographic areas 
along the coast. The following ``crossover'' provisions apply to 
vessels operating in different geographical areas that have different 
cumulative or ``per trip'' trip limits for the same species or species 
group. Such crossover provisions do not apply to species that are 
subject only to daily trip limits, or to the trip limits for black 
rockfish off Washington (see 50 CFR 660.323(a)(1)). In 2002, the 
cumulative trip limit periods for the limited entry and open access 
fisheries are specified in paragraph IV.A(1)(d), but may be changed 
during the year if announced in the Federal Register.
    (a) Going from a more restrictive to a more liberal area. If a 
vessel takes and retains any groundfish species or species group of 
groundfish in an area where a more restrictive trip limit applies 
before fishing in an area where a more liberal trip limit (or no trip 
limit) applies, then that vessel is subject to the more restrictive 
trip limit for the entire period to which that trip limit applies, no 
matter where the fish are taken and retained, possessed, or landed.
    (b) Going from a more liberal to a more restrictive area. If a 
vessel takes and retains a groundfish species or species group in an 
area where a higher trip limit or no trip limit applies, and takes and 
retains, possesses or lands the same species or species group in an 
area where a more restrictive trip limit applies, that vessel is 
subject to the more restrictive trip limit for the entire period to 
which that trip limit applies, no matter where the fish are taken and 
retained, possessed, or landed.

[[Page 1579]]

    (c) Minor rockfish. Several rockfish species are designed with 
species-specific limits on one side of the 40 deg.10' N. lat. 
management line, and are included as part of a minor rockfish complex 
on the other side of the line.
    (i) If a vessel takes and retains minor slope rockfish north of 
40 deg.10' N. lat., that vessel is also permitted to take and retain, 
possess or land splitnose rockfish up to its cumulative limit south of 
40 deg.10' N. lat., even if splitnose rockfish were a part of the 
landings from minor slope rockfish taken and retained north of 
40 deg.10' N. lat. [Note: A vessel that takes and retains minor slope 
rockfish on both sides of the management line in a single cumulative 
limit period is subject to the more restrictive cumulative limit for 
minor slope rockfish during that period.]
    (ii) If a vessel takes and retains minor slope rockfish south of 
40 deg.10' N. lat., that vessel is also permitted to take and retain, 
possess or land POP up to its cumulative limit north of 40 deg.10' N. 
lat., even if POP were a part of the landings from minor slope rockfish 
taken and retained south of 40 deg.10' N. lat.

    Note: A vessel that takes and retains minor slope rockfish on 
both sides of the management line in a single cumulative limit 
period is subject to the more restrictive cumulative limit for minor 
slope rockfish during that period.

    (iii) If a vessel takes and retains minor shelf rockfish north of 
40 deg.10' N. lat., that vessel is also permitted to take and retain, 
possess, or land chilipepper rockfish and bocaccio up to their 
respective cumulative limits south of 40 deg.10' N. lat., even if 
either species is part of the landings from minor shelf rockfish taken 
and retained north of 40 deg.10' N. lat.

    Note: A vessel that takes and retains minor shelf rockfish on 
both sides of the management line in a single cumulative limit 
period is subject to the more restrictive cumulative limit for minor 
shelf rockfish during that period.

    (iv) If a vessel takes and retains minor shelf rockfish south of 
40 deg.10' N. lat., that vessel is also permitted to take and retain, 
possess, or land yellowtail rockfish up to its respective cumulative 
limits north of 40 deg.10' N. lat., even if yellowtail rockfish is part 
of the landings from minor shelf rockfish taken and retained south of 
40 deg.10' N. lat.

    Note: A vessel that takes and retains minor shelf rockfish on 
both sides of the management line in a single cumulative limit 
period is subject to the more restrictive cumulative limit for minor 
shelf rockfish during that period.

    (d) ``DTS complex.'' For 2002, there are differential trip limits 
for the ``DTS complex'' (Dover sole, shortspine thornyhead, longspine 
thornyhead, sablefish) north and south of the management line at 
40 deg.10' N. lat. Vessels operating in the limited entry trawl fishery 
are subject to the crossover provisions in this paragraph IV.A. (12) 
when making landings that include any one of the four species in the 
``DTS complex.''
    (13) Sorting. It is unlawful for any person to ``fail to sort, 
prior to the first weighing after offloading, those groundfish species 
or species groups for which there is a trip limit, size limit, quota, 
or commercial OY, if the vessel fished or landed in an area during a 
time when such trip limit, size limit, commercial optimum yield, or 
quota applied.'' This provision applies to both the limited entry and 
open access fisheries. (See 50 CFR 660.306(h).) The following species 
must be sorted in 2002:
    (a) For vessels with a limited entry permit:
    (i) Coastwide--widow rockfish, canary rockfish, darkblotched 
rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, shortbelly rockfish, minor nearshore 
rockfish, minor shelf rockfish, minor slope rockfish, shortspine and 
longspine thornyhead, Dover sole, arrowtooth flounder, rex sole, 
petrale sole, other flatfish, lingcod, sablefish, and Pacific whiting.

    Note: Although both yelloweye and darkblotched rockfish are 
considered minor rockfish managed under the minor shelf and minor 
slope rockfish complexes, respectively, they have separate OYs and 
therefore must be sorted by species.

    (ii) North of 40 deg.10' N. lat.--POP, yellowtail rockfish, and, 
for fixed gear, black rockfish and blue rockfish;
    (iii) South of 40 deg.10' N. lat.--chilipepper rockfish, bocaccio 
rockfish, splitnose rockfish, and Pacific sanddabs.
    (b) For open access vessels (vessels without a limited entry 
permit):
    (i) Coastwide--widow rockfish, canary rockfish, darkblotched 
rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, minor nearshore rockfish, minor shelf 
rockfish, minor slope rockfish, arrowtooth flounder, other flatfish, 
lingcod, sablefish, Pacific whiting, and Pacific sanddabs;
    (ii) North of 40 deg.10' N. lat.--black rockfish, blue rockfish, 
POP, yellowtail rockfish;
    (iii) South of 40 deg.10' N. lat.--chilipepper rockfish, bocaccio 
rockfish, splitnose rockfish;
    (iv) South of Point Conception--thornyheads.
    (14) Limited Entry Trawl Gear Restrictions. Limited entry trip 
limits may vary depending on the type of trawl gear that is on board a 
vessel during a fishing trip: large footrope, small footrope, or 
midwater trawl gear.
    (a) Types of trawl gear--(i) Large footrope trawl gear is bottom 
trawl gear, as specified at 50 CFR 660.302 and 660.322(b), with a 
footrope diameter larger than 8 inches (20 cm) (including rollers, 
bobbins or other material encircling or tied along the length of the 
footrope).
    (ii) Small footrope trawl gear is bottom trawl gear, as specified 
at 50 CFR 660.302 and 660.322(b), with a footrope diameter 8 inches (20 
cm) or smaller (including rollers, bobbins or other material encircling 
or tied along the length of the footrope), except chafing gear may be 
used only on the last 50 meshes of a small footrope trawl, measured 
from the terminal (closed) end of the codend. Other lines or ropes that 
run parallel to the footrope may not be augmented or modified to 
violate footrope size restrictions.
    (iii) Midwater trawl gear is pelagic trawl gear, as specified at 50 
CFR 660.302 and 660.322(b)(2). The footrope of midwater trawl gear may 
not be enlarged by encircling it with chains or by any other means. 
Ropes or lines running parallel to the footrope of midwater trawl gear 
must be bare and may not be suspended with chains or other materials.
    (b) Cumulative trip limits and prohibitions by trawl gear type-(i) 
Large footrope trawl. It is unlawful to take and retain, possess or 
land any species of shelf or nearshore rockfish (defined at IV.A. (21) 
and Table 2 to section IV) except chilipepper rockfish south of 
40 deg.10' N. Lat. (as specified in Table 3) from a fishing trip if 
large footrope gear is on board; this restriction applies coastwide 
from January 1 to December 31. It is unlawful to take and retain, 
possess or land petrale sole, rex sole, or arrowtooth flounder from a 
fishing trip if large footrope gear is onboard and the trip is 
conducted at least in part between May 1 and October 31; cumulative 
limits for ``all other flatfish'' (all flatfish except those with 
cumulative trip limits in Table 3 to section IV) are lower for vessels 
with large footrope gear on board throughout the year. (See Table 3.) 
It is unlawful for any vessel using large footrope gear to exceed large 
footrope gear limits for any species or to use large footrope gear to 
exceed small footrope gear or midwater trawl gear limits for any 
species. The presence of rollers or bobbins larger than 8 inches (20 
cm) in diameter on board the vessel, even if not attached to a trawl, 
will be considered to mean a large footrope trawl is on board. Dates 
are adjusted for the ``B'' platoon (See IV.A. (16)).

[[Page 1580]]

    (ii) Small footrope or midwater trawl gear. Cumulative trip limits 
for canary rockfish, widow rockfish, yellowtail rockfish, bocaccio, 
minor shelf rockfish, minor nearshore rockfish, and lingcod, and higher 
cumulative trip limits for chilipepper rockfish and flatfish, as 
indicated in Table 3 to section IV, are allowed only if small footrope 
gear or midwater trawl gear is used, and if that gear meets the 
specifications in paragraphs IV.A (14).
    (iii) Midwater trawl gear. Higher cumulative trip limits are 
available for limited entry vessels using midwater trawl gear to 
harvest widow or chilipepper rockfish. Each landing that contains widow 
or chilipepper rockfish is attributed to the gear on board with the 
most restrictive trip limit for those species. Landings attributed to 
small footrope trawl must not exceed the small footrope limit, and 
landings attributed to midwater trawl must not exceed the midwater 
trawl limit. If a vessel has landings attributed to both types of 
trawls during a cumulative trip limit period, all landings are counted 
toward the most restrictive gear-specific cumulative limit.
    (iv) More than one type of trawl gear on board. The cumulative trip 
limits in Table 3 of section IV must not be exceeded. A fisher may have 
more than one type of limited entry trawl gear on board, but the most 
restrictive trip limit associated with the gear on board applies for 
the trip and will count toward the cumulative trip limit for that gear.

    Example: If a vessel has large footrope gear on board, it cannot 
land yellowtail rockfish, even if the yellowtail rockfish is caught 
with a small footrope trawl. If a vessel has both small footrope 
trawl and midwater trawl gear on board, the landing is attributed to 
the most restrictive gear-specific limit, regardless of which gear 
type was used.

    (c) Measurement. The footrope will be measured in a straight line 
from the outside edge to the opposite outside edge at the widest part 
on any individual part, including any individual disk, roller, bobbin, 
or any other device.
    (d) State landing receipts. Washington, Oregon, and California will 
require the type of trawl gear on board with the most restrictive limit 
to be recorded on the State landing receipt(s) for each trip or an 
attachment to the State landing receipt.
    (e) Gear inspection. All trawl gear and trawl gear components, 
including unattached rollers or bobbins, must be readily accessible and 
made available for inspection at the request of an authorized officer. 
No trawl gear may be removed from the vessel prior to offloading. All 
footropes shall be uncovered and clearly visible except when in use for 
fishing.
    (15) Permit transfers. Limited entry permit transfers are to take 
effect no earlier than the first day of a major cumulative limit period 
following the day NMFS receives the transfer form and original permit 
(50 CFR 660.335(e)(3)). Those days in 2002 are January 1, March 1, May 
1, July 1, September 1, and November 1, and are delayed by 15 days 
(starting on the 16th of a month) for the ``B'' platoon.
    (16) Platooning--limited entry trawl vessels. Limited entry trawl 
vessels are automatically in the ``A'' platoon, unless the ``B'' 
platoon is indicated on the limited entry permit. If a vessel is in the 
``A'' platoon, its cumulative trip limit periods begin and end on the 
beginning and end of a calendar month as in the past. If a limited 
entry trawl permit is authorized for the ``B'' platoon, then cumulative 
trip limit periods will begin on the 16th of the month (generally 2 
weeks later than for the ``A'' platoon), unless otherwise specified.
    (a) For a vessel in the ``B'' platoon, cumulative trip limit 
periods begin on the 16th of the month at 0001 hours, l.t., and end at 
2400 hours, l.t., on the 15th of the month. Therefore, the management 
measures announced herein that are effective on January 1, 2002, for 
the ``A'' platoon will be effective on January 16, 2002, for the ``B'' 
platoon. The effective date of any inseason changes to the cumulative 
trip limits also will be delayed for 2 weeks for the ``B'' platoon, 
unless otherwise specified.
    (b) A vessel authorized to operate in the ``B'' platoon may take 
and retain, but may not land, groundfish from January 1, 2002, through 
January 15, 2002.
    (c) A vessel authorized to operate in the ``B'' platoon will have 
the same cumulative trip limits for the November 16, 2002, through 
December 31, 2002, period as a vessel operating in the ``A'' platoon 
has for the November 1, 2002, through December 31, 2002 period.
    (17) Exempted fisheries. U.S. vessels operating under an exempted 
fishing permit issued under 50 CFR part 600 are also subject to these 
restrictions, unless otherwise provided in the permit.
    (18) Application of requirements. Paragraphs IV.B. and IV.C. 
pertain to the commercial groundfish fishery, but not to Washington 
coastal tribal fisheries, which are described in section V. The 
provisions in paragraphs IV.B. and IV.C. that are not covered under the 
headings ``limited entry'' or ``open access'' apply to all vessels in 
the commercial fishery that take and retain groundfish, unless 
otherwise stated. Paragraph IV.D. pertains to the recreation fishery.
    (19) Commonly used geographic coordinates.
    (a) Cape Falcon, OR--45 deg.46' N. lat.
    (b) Cape Lookout, OR--45 deg.20'15" N. lat.
    (c) Cape Blanco, OR--42 deg.50' N. lat.
    (d) Cape Mendocino, CA--40 deg.30' N. lat.
    (e) North/South management line--40 deg.10' N. lat.
    (f) Point Arena, CA--38 deg.57'30" N. lat.
    (g) Point Conception, CA--34 deg.27' N. lat.
    (h) International North Pacific Fisheries Commission (INPFC) 
subareas (for more precise coordinates for the Canadian and Mexican 
boundaries, see 50 CFR 660.304):
    (i) Vancouver--U.S.-Canada border to 47 deg.30' N. lat.
    (ii) Columbia--47 deg.30' to 43 deg.00' N. lat.
    (iii) Eureka--43 deg.00' to 40 deg.00' N. lat. N. lat.
    (iv) Monterey--40 deg.30' 36 deg.00' N. lat. N. lat.
    (v) Conception--36 deg.00' N. lat. to the U.S.-Mexico border.
    (20) Cowcod Conservation Areas. Recreational and commercial fishing 
for groundfish is prohibited within the Cowcod Conservation Areas 
(CCAs), except that recreational and commercial fishing for rockfish 
and lingcod is permitted in waters inside 20 fathoms (36.9 m). It is 
unlawful to take and retain, possess, or land groundfish inside the 
CCAs, except for rockfish and lingcod taken in waters inside the 20-
fathom (36.9 m) depth contour, when those waters are open to fishing. 
Commercial fishing vessels may transit through the Western CCA with 
their gear stowed and groundfish on board only in a corridor through 
the Western CCA bounded on the north by the latitude line at 
33 deg.00'30" N. lat., and bounded on the south by the latitude line at 
32 deg.59'30'' N. lat.
    (i) The Western CCA is an area south of Point Conception that is 
bound by straight lines connecting all of the following points in the 
order listed:
    33 deg.50' N. lat., 119 deg.30' W. long.;
    33 deg.50' N. lat., 118 deg.50' W. long.;
    32 deg.20' N. lat., 118 deg.50' W. long.;
    32 deg.20' N. lat., 119 deg.30' W. long.;
    33 deg.00' N. lat., 119 deg.30' W. long.;
    33 deg.00' N. lat., 119 deg.50' W. long.;
    33 deg.30' N. lat., 119 deg.50' W. long.;
    33 deg.30' N. lat., 119 deg.30' W. long.; and connecting back to 
33 deg.50' N. lat., 119 deg.30' W. long.
    (ii) The Eastern CCA is a smaller area west of San Diego that is 
bound by straight lines connecting all of the following points in the 
order listed:
    32 deg.40' N. lat., 118 deg.00' W. long.;

[[Page 1581]]

    32 deg.40' N. lat., 117 deg.50' W. long.;
    32 deg.36'42" N. lat., 117 deg.50' W. long.;
    32 deg.30' N. lat., 117 deg.53'30" W. long.;
    32 deg.30' N. lat., 118 deg.00' W. long.; and connecting back to 
32 deg.40' N. lat., 118 deg.00' W. long.;
    (21) Rockfish categories. Rockfish (except thornyheads) are divided 
into categories north and south of 40 deg.10' N. lat., depending on the 
depth where they most often are caught: nearshore, shelf, or slope. 
(Scientific names appear in Table 2.) Trip limits are established for 
``minor rockfish'' species according to these categories (see Tables 2-
5).
    (a) Nearshore rockfish consists entirely of the minor nearshore 
rockfish species listed in Table 2.
    (b) Shelf rockfish consists of canary rockfish, shortbelly 
rockfish, widow rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, yellowtail rockfish, 
bocaccio, chilipepper, cowcod, and the minor shelf rockfish species 
listed in Table 2.
    (c) Slope rockfish consists of POP, splitnose rockfish, 
darkblotched rockfish, and the minor slope rockfish species listed in 
Table 2.
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B. Limited Entry Fishery
    (1) General. Most species taken in limited entry fisheries will be 
managed with cumulative trip limits (see paragraph IV.A.(1)(d),) size 
limits (see paragraph IV.A(6)), and seasons (see paragraph IV.A.(7)). 
The trawl fishery has gear requirements and trip limits that differ by 
the type of trawl gear on board (see paragraph (IV.A.(14)). Cowcod 
retention is prohibited in all fisheries and groundfish vessels 
operating south of Point Conception must adhere to CCA restrictions 
(see paragraph IV.A.(20)). Yelloweye rockfish retention is prohibited 
in the limited entry fixed gear fisheries. Most of the management 
measures for the limited entry fishery are listed above and in Tables 3 
and 4, and may be changed during the year by announcement in the 
Federal Register. However, the management regimes for several fisheries 
(nontrawl sablefish, Pacific whiting, and black rockfish) do not neatly 
fit into these tables and are addressed immediately following 3 and 4.

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    (2) Sablefish. The limited entry sablefish allocation is further 
allocated 58 percent to trawl gear and 42 percent to nontrawl gear. See 
footnote e/ of Table 1a.
    (a) Trawl trip and size limits. Management measures for the limited 
entry trawl fishery for sablefish are listed in Table 3.
    (b) Nontrawl (fixed gear) trip and size limits. To take, retain, 
possess, or land sablefish during the primary season for the limited 
entry fixed gear sablefish fishery, the owner of a vessel must hold a 
limited entry permit for that vessel, affixed with both a gear 
endorsement for longline or trap (or pot) gear, and a sablefish 
endorsement. (See 50 CFR 663.323(a)(2)(i).) A sablefish endorsement is 
not required to participate in the limited entry daily trip limit 
fishery.
    (i) Primary season. The primary season begins at 12 noon l.t. on 
April 1, 2002, and ends at 12 noon l.t. on October 31, 2002. There are 
no pre-season or post-season closures. During the primary season, each 
vessel with at least one limited entry permit with a sablefish 
endorsement that is registered for use with that vessel may land up to 
the cumulative trip limit for each of the sablefish-endorsed limited 
entry permits registered for use with that vessel, for the tier(s) to 
which the permit(s) are assigned. For 2002, the following limits would 
be in effect: Tier 1, 36,000 lb. (16,329 kg); Tier 2, 16,500 lb (7,484 
kg); Tier 3, 9,500 lb (4,309 kg). All limits are in round weight. If a 
Vessel is registered for use with a sablefish-endorsed limited entry 
permit, all sablefish taken after April 1, 2002, count against the 
cumulative limits associated with the permit(s) registered for use with 
that vessel. A vessel that is eligible to participate in the primary 
sablefish season may participate in the daily trip limit fishery for 
sablefish once that vessel's primary season sablefish limit(s) have 
been taken or after October 31, 2001, whichever occurs first. No vessel 
may land sablefish against both its primary season cumulative sablefish 
limits and against the daily trip limit fishery limits within the same 
24 hour period of 0001 hour l.t. to 2400 hours l.t.
    (ii) Daily trip limit. Daily and/or weekly sablefish trip limits 
listed in Table 4 apply to any limited entry fixed gear vessels not 
participating in the primary sablefish season described in paragraph 
(i) of this section. North of 36 deg. N. lat., the daily and/or weekly 
trip limits apply to fixed gear vessels that are not registered for use 
with a sablefish-endorsed limited entry permit, and to fixed gear 
vessels that are registered for use with a sablefish-endorsed limited 
entry permit when those vessels are not fishing against their primary 
sablefish season cumulative limits. South of 36 deg. N. lat., the daily 
and/or weekly trip limits for taking and retaining sablefish that are 
listed in Table 4 apply throughout the year to all vessels registered 
for use with a limited entry fixed gear permit.
    (3) Whiting. Additional regulations that apply to the whiting 
fishery are found at 50 CFR 660.306 and at 50 CFR 660.323(a)(3) and 
(a)(4). All allocations described in this section and in the tribal 
fisheries allocation description at paragraph V. will not be finalized 
until the Council finalizes the 2002 whiting ABC and OY at its March 
2002 meeting.
    (a) Allocations. Whiting allocations will be based on the 
percentages detailed in 50 CFR 660.323(a)(4)(i), and will be announced 
inseason when the final OY is announced.
    (b) Seasons. The 2002 primary seasons for the whiting fishery start 
on the same dates as in 2001, as follows (see 50 CFR 660.323(a)(3)):
    (i) Catcher/processor sector--May 15;
    (ii) Mothership sector--May 15;
    (iii) Shore-based sector--June 15 north of 42 deg. N. lat.; April 1 
between 42 deg.-40 deg.30' N. lat.; April 15 south of 40 deg.30' N. 
lat.; April 15 south of 40 deg.30' N. lat.
    (c) Trip limits--(i) Before and after the regular season. The ``per 
trip'' limit for whiting before and after the regular season for the 
shore-based sector is announced in Table 3, as authorized at 50 CFR 
660.323(a)(3) and (a)(4). This trip limit includes any whiting caught 
shoreward of 100 fathoms (183 m) in the Eureka area.
    (ii) Inside the Eureka 100 fm (183 m) contour. No more than 10,000 
lb (4,536 kg) of whiting may be taken and retained, possessed, or 
landed by a vessel that, at any time during a fishing trip, fished in 
the fishery management area shoreward of the 100 fathom (183 m) contour 
(as shown on NOAA Charts 18580, 18600, and 18620) in the Eureka area.
    (4) Black rockfish. The regulations at 50 CFR 660.323(a)(1) state: 
``The trip limit for black rockfish (Sebastes melanops) for commercial 
fishing vessels using hook-and-line gear between the U.S.-Canada border 
and Cape Alava (48 deg.09'30" N. lat.) and between Destruction Island 
(47 deg.40'00" N. lat.) and Leadbetter Point (46 deg.38'10" N. lat.), 
is 100 lb (45 kg) or 30 percent, by weight of all fish on board, 
whichever is greater, per vessel per fishing trip.'' These ``per trip'' 
limits apply to limited entry and open access fisheries, in conjunction 
with the cumulative trip limits and other management measures listed in 
Tables 4 and 5 of section IV. The crossover provisions at paragraphs 
IV.A. (12) do not apply to the black rockfish per-trip limits.
C. Trip Limits in the Open Access Fishery
    (1) General. Open access gear is gear used to take and retain 
groundfish from a vessel that does not have a valid permit for the 
Pacific Coast groundfish fishery with an endorsement for the gear used 
to harvest the groundfish. This includes longline, trap, pot, hook-and-
line (fixed or mobile), set net trammel net (south of 38 deg. N. lat. 
only), and exempted trawl gear (trawls used to target non-groundfish 
species: pink shrimp or prawns, and, south of Pt. Arena, CA 
(38 deg.57'30" N. lat.), California halibut or sea cucumbers). Unless 
otherwise specified, a vessel operating in the open access fishery is 
subject to, and must not exceed any trip limit, frequency limit, and/or 
size limit for the open access fishery. Groundfish species taken in 
open access fisheries will be managed with cumulative trip limits (see 
paragraph IV.A.(1)(d) size limits (see paragraph IV.A.(6)), and seasons 
(see paragraph IV.A.(7)). Cowcod retention is prohibited in all 
fisheries and groundfish vessels operating south of Point Conception 
must adhere to CCA restrictions (see paragraph IV.A.(201)). Yelloweye 
rockfish retention is prohibited in all open access fisheries. The trip 
limits, size limits, seasons, and other management measures for open 
access groundfish gear, except exempted trawl gear, are listed in Table 
5. The trip limit at 50 CFR 660.323(a)(i) for black rockfish caught 
with hook-and-line gear also applies. (The black rockfish limit is 
repeated at paragraph IV.B.4.)
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    (2) Groundfish taken with exempted trawl gear by vessels engaged in 
fishing for spot and ridgeback prawns, California halibut, or sea 
cucumbers--(a) Trip limits. The trip limit is 300 lb (136 kg) of 
groundfish per fishing trip. Limits in Table 5 also apply and are 
counted toward the 300 lb (136 kg) groundfish limit. In any landing by 
a vessel engaged in fishing for spot and ridgeback prawns, California 
halibut, or sea cucumbers with exempted trawl gear, the amount of 
groundfish landed may not exceed the amount of the target species 
landed, except that the amount of spiny dogfish (Squalas acanthias) 
landed may exceed the amount of target species landed. Spiny dogfish 
are limited by the 300 lb (136 kg) per trip overall groundfish limit. 
The daily trip limits for sablefish coastwide and thornyheads south of 
Pt. Conception and the overall groundfish ``per trip'' limit may not be 
multiplied by the number of days of the fishing trip. The closures 
listed in Table 5 also apply, except for the species listed below in 
subparagraphs (i) through (v). The following sublimits also apply and 
are counted toward the overall 300 lb (136 kg) per trip groundfish 
limit:
    (i) Shelf rockfish (including minor shelf rockfish, widow and 
yellowtail)--
    (A) Between 40 deg.10' N. lat. and 34 deg.27' N. lat.: 200 lb (91 
kg) per month.
    (B) South of 34 deg.27' N. lat.: 500 lb (227 kg) per month.
    (ii) Bocaccio south of 40 deg. 10' N. lat.--200 lb (91 kg) per 
month.
    (iii) Chilipepper--
    (A) Between 40 deg.10' N. lat. and 34 deg.27' N. lat.: 500 lb (227 
kg) per month.
    (B) South of 34 deg.27' N. lat.: 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) per month.
    (iv) Minor nearshore rockfish south of 40 deg. 10' N. lat.--1,200 
lb (544 kg) per 2 months.
    (v) Lingcod south of 40 deg. 10' N. lat.--May 1 through October 31, 
2002: 300 lb (136 kg) per month, otherwise closed.
    (b) State law. These trip limits are not intended to supersede any 
more restrictive state law relating to the retention of groundfish 
taken in shrimp or prawn pots or traps.
    (c) Participation in the California halibut fishery. A trawl vessel 
will be considered participating in the California halibut fishery if:
    (i) It is not fishing under a valid limited entry permit issued 
under 50 CFR 660.333 for trawl gear;
    (ii) All fishing on the trip takes place south of Pt. Arena; and
    (iii) The landing includes California halibut of a size required by 
California Fish and Game Code section 8392(a), which states: ``No 
California halibut may be taken, possessed or sold which measures less 
than 22 inches (56 cm) in total length, unless it weighs 4 lbs (1.8144 
kg) or more in the round, 3 and one-half lbs (1.587 kg) or more dressed 
with the head on, or 3 lbs (1.3608 kg) or more dressed with the head 
off. Total length means ``the shortest distance between the tip of the 
jaw or snout, whichever extends farthest while the mouth is closed, and 
the tip of the longest lobe of the tail, measured while the halibut is 
lying flat in natural repose, without resort to any force other than 
the swinging or fanning of the tail.''
    (d) Participation in the sea cucumber fishery. A trawl vessel will 
be considered to be participating in the sea cucumber fishery if:
    (i) It is not fishing under a valid limited entry permit issued 
under 50 CFR 660.333 for trawl gear;
    (ii) All fishing on the trip takes place south of Pt. Arena; and
    (iii) The landing includes sea cucumbers taken in accordance with 
California Fish and Game Code, section 8396, which requires a permit 
issued by the State of California.
    (3) Groundfish taken with exempted trawl gear by vessels engaged in 
fishing for pink shrimp. (a) The trip limit is 500 lb (227 kg) of 
groundfish per day, multiplied by the number of days of the fishing 
trip, but not to exceed 1,500 lb (680 kg) of groundfish per trip. The 
following sublimits also apply and are counted toward the overall 500 
lb (227 kg) per day and 1,500 lb (680 kg) per trip groundfish limits:
    (i) Canary rockfish--
    (A) April 1 through 30, 2002: 50 lb (23 kg) per month
    (B) Starting May 1, 2002 through October 31, 2002: 200 lb (91 kg) 
per month
    (ii) Lingcod--April 1 through October 31, 2002: 400 lb (181 kg) per 
month, with a minimum size limit (total length) of 24 inches (61 cm).
    (iii) Sablefish--April 1, 2002 through October 31, 2002: 2,000 lb 
(907 kg) per month.
    (iv) Thornyheads--Closed north of Pt. Conception (34 deg.27' N. 
lat.)
    (b) All other groundfish species taken with exempted trawl gear by 
vessels engaged in fishing for pink shrimp are managed under the 
overall 500 lb (227 kg) per day and 1,500 lb (680 kg) per trip 
groundfish limits. Landings of these species count toward the per day 
and per trip groundfish limits and do not have species-specific limits.
    (c) In any trip in which pink shrimp trawl gear is used, the amount 
of groundfish landed may not exceed the amount of pink shrimp landed.
    (d) Operating in pink shrimp and other fisheries during the same 
cumulative trip limit period. Notwithstanding section IV.A.(11), a 
vessel that takes and retains pink shrimp and also takes and retains 
groundfish in either the limited entry or another open access fishery 
during the same applicable cumulative limit period that it takes and 
retains pink shrimp (which may be 1 month or 2 months, depending on the 
fishery and the time of year), may retain the larger of the two limits, 
but only if the limit(s) for each gear or fishery are not exceeded when 
operating in that fishery or with that gear. The limits are not 
additive; the vessel may not retain a separate trip limit for each 
fishery.
D. Recreational Fishery
    (a) California.

    Note: California law provides that, in times and areas when the 
recreational fishery is open, there is a 20-fish bag limit for all 
species of finfish, within which no more than 10 fish of any one 
species may be taken or possessed by any one person.

For each person engaged in recreational fishing seaward of California, 
the following seasons and bag limits apply:
    (a) Rockfish--(i) Cowcod Conservation Areas. Recreational fishing 
for groundfish is prohibited within the CCAs, as described above at 
IV.A.(20), except that fishing for rockfish is permitted in waters 
inside the 20-fathom (37 m) depth contour within the CCAs from March 1 
through October 31, 2002, subject to the bag limits in paragraph (iii) 
of this section.
    (ii) Seasons. North of 40 deg.10' N. lat., recreational fishing for 
rockfish is open from January 1 through December 31. South of 
40 deg.10' N. lat. and north of Point Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.), 
recreational fishing for rockfish is closed from March 1 through April 
30, and from November 1 through December 31. This area is also closed 
to recreational rockfish fishing from May 1 through June 30 and from 
September 1 through October 31, except that fishing for rockfish is 
permitted inside the 20 fathom (37 m) depth contour, subject to the bag 
limits and retention prohibitions of paragraph (iii) of this section. 
South of Point Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.), recreational fishing 
for rockfish is closed from January 1 through February 28 and from 
November 1 through December 31. Recreational fishing for cowcod is 
prohibited all year in all areas.
    (iii) Bag limits, boat limits, hook limits. In times and areas when 
the recreational season for rockfish is open, there is a 2-hood limit 
per fishing line, and the bag limit is 10 rockfish per day,

[[Page 1589]]

of which not more than 2 may be bocaccio, no more than 1 may be canary 
rockfish, and no more than 1 may be yelloweye rockfish. No more than 2 
yelloweye may be retained per vessel. Cowcod may not be retained. 
Bocaccio, canary rockfish, and yelloweye may not be retained, and no 
more than 2 shelf rockfish may be retained, in the area between 
40 deg.10' N. lat. and Point Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.) from May 1 
through June 30, or September 1 through October 31.

    Note: California scorpionfish, are subject to California's 10 
fish bag limit per species, but are not counted toward the 10 
rockfish bag limit.

Multi-day limits are authorized by a valid permit issued by California 
and must not exceed the daily limit multiplied by the number of days in 
the fishing trip.
    (iv) Size limits. The following rockfish size limits apply: 
bacaccio may be no smaller than 10 inches (25 cm), and California 
scorpionfish may be no smaller than 10 inches (25 cm).
    (v) Dressing/Fileting. Rockfish skin may not be removed when 
fileting or otherwise dressing rockfish taken in the recreational 
fishery. The following rockfish filet size limits apply: bocaccio 
filets may be no smaller than 5 inches (12.8 cm); California 
scorpionfish filets may be no smaller than 5 inches (12.8 cm); and 
brown-skinned rockfish filets may be no smaller than 6.5 inches (16.6 
cm). ``Brown-skinned'' rockfish include the following species: brown, 
calico, copper, gopher, kelp, olive, speckled, squarespot, and 
yellowtail.
    (b) Roundfish (Lingcod, cabezon, kelp greenling) (i) Cowcod 
Conservation Areas. Recreational fishing for groundfish is prohibited 
within the CCAs, as described above at IV.A. (20), except that fishing 
for lingcod is permitted in waters inside the 20 fathom (37 m) depth 
contour within the CCAs from March 1 through October 31, 2002, subject 
to the bag limits in paragraph (ii) of this section. Fishing for 
cabezon and kelp greenling is allowed in waters inside the 20 fathom 
(37 m) depth contour within the CCAs year round.
    (ii) Seasons. South of 40 deg.10' N. lat. and north of Point 
Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.), recreational fishing for lingcod is 
closed from March 1 through April 30, and from November 1 through 
December 31. This area is also closed to recreational lingcod fishing 
from May 1 through June 30 and from September 1 though October 31, 
except that fishing for lingcod is permitted inside the 20 fathom (36.9 
m) depth contour, subject to the bag limits in paragraph (iii) of this 
section. South of Point Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.), recreational 
fishing for lingcod is closed from January 1 though February 28 and 
from November 1 through December 31.
    (iii) Bag limits, boat limits, hook limits. In times and areas when 
the recreational season for lingcod is open, there is a 2-hook limit 
per fishing line, and the bag limit is 2 lingcod per day. Multi-day 
limits are authorized by a valid permit issued by California and must 
not exceed the daily limit multiplied by the number of days in the 
fishing trip.
    (iv) Size limits. The following roundfish size limits apply: 
lingcod may be no smaller than 24 inches (61 cm) total length, cabezon 
may be no smaller than 15 inches (38 cm); and kelp greenling may be no 
smaller than 12 inches (30 cm).
    (v) Dressing/Fileting. Cabezon and kelp greenling taken in the 
recreational fishery may not be fileted at sea. Lingcod filets may be 
no smaller than 15 inches (38.1 cm).
    (2) Oregon. The bag limits for each person engaged in recreational 
fishing seaward of Oregon are 1 lingcod per day, which may be no 
smaller than 24 inches (61 cm) total length; and 10 rockfish per day, 
of which no more than 1 may be canary rockfish and no more than 1 may 
be yelloweye rockfish. During the all-depth recreational fisheries for 
Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolopis), vessels with halibut on 
board may not take, retain, possess or land yelloweye rockfish.
    (3) Washington. For each person engaged in recreational fishing 
seaward of Washington, the following seasons and bag limits apply:
    (a) Rockfish. There is a rockfish bag limit of no more than 10 
rockfish per day, of which no more than 2 may be canary rockfish, or no 
more than 1 may be canary rockfish and 1 may be yelloweye rockfish. 
Taking and retaining yelloweye rockfish is prohibited from a vessel 
with Pacific halibut retained on board.
    (b) Lingcod. Recreational fishing for lingcod is closed between 
January 1 and April 15, and between October 16 and December 31. When 
the recreational season for lingcod is open, there is a bag limit of 2 
lingcod per day, which may be no smaller than 24 inches (61 cm) total 
length.

V. Washington Coastal Tribal Fisheries

    In 1994, the U.S. government formally recognized that the four 
Washington Coastal Tribes (Makah, Quileute, Hoh, and Qinault) have 
treaty rights to fish for groundfish, and concluded that, in general 
terms, the quantification of those rights is 50 percent of the 
harvestable surplus of groundfish available in the tribes' usual and 
accustomed (U and A) fishing areas (described at 60 CFR 660.324).
    A tribal allocation is subtracted from the species OY before 
limited entry and open access allocations are derived for areas that 
coincide with U and As. The treaty tribal fisheries for sablefish, 
black rockfish, and whiting are separate fisheries and are not governed 
by the limited entry or open access regulations or allocations. The 
tribes regulate these fisheries so as not to exceed their allocations.
    The tribal allocation for black rockfish is the same in 2002 as in 
2001. Also similar to 2001, the tribal sablefish allocation is 10 
percent of the total catch OY (437 mt), less 3 percent for estimated 
discard mortality, or 424 mt. In 1999 through 2001, the tribal whiting 
allocation was based on a 5-year sliding scale proposal presented by 
the Makah Tribe in 1998 (for the years 1999-2003) that determines the 
tribal allocation based on the level of the overall U.S. OY, up to 17.5 
percent tribal harvest ceiling. Although the 2002 whiting ABC and OY 
have not yet been set, the tribes proposed using the same sliding scale 
allocation for 2002. As discussed earlier in footnote d/ to Table 1a, 
the Council will recommend the whiting ABC and OY at its March 2002 
meeting, based on the results of a new whiting stock assessment. In 
2001, applying the Makah sliding scale allocation to a 190,400 mt 
overall OY resulted in a 27,500 mt tribal whiting allocation. No other 
tribes proposed to harvest whiting in 2001.
    The right of the Washington coastal treaty tribes to harvest 
Pacific whiting in accordance with the legal principles established in 
the ongoing case of U.S. v. Washington, No. 9213, Phase I (W.D. Wash), 
was sustained in Subproceeding 96-2, Order Granting Makah's Motion for 
Summary Judgment (Nov. 5, 1996), and also in Midwater Trawlers 
Cooperative v. Daley, 139 F.Supp.2d 1136 (W.D. Wash. 2000). In the 
latter case, the court held that the tribes have a treaty right to 
harvest Pacific whiting; that the Federal defendants did not act 
arbitrarily and capriciously in recognizing the tribes' right; that the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) did not act arbitrarily and 
capriciously in extending the tribes' usual and accustomed fishing 
areas into the United States EEZ; that the Secretary appropriately 
recognized the tribes as co-managers of the shared resources in the 
final rule providing for tribal groundfish allocations (see 50 CFR 
660.324(d)); and that the 1999 tribal allocation, which was based on 
the

[[Page 1590]]

sliding scale proposal first presented by the Makah Tribe in 1998, was 
not arbitrary and capricious. Non-treaty fishers and the State of 
Oregon have appealed this decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of 
Appeals, where it awaits oral argument.
    The issue of the appropriate quantifications of the treaty right to 
Pacific whiting was recently adjudicated in U.S. v. Washington, 143 
F.Supp.2d 1218 (W.D. Wash., Order on Summary Judgment Motions, April 5, 
2001), which approved the Makah Tribe's 1998 sliding scale proposal as 
within the tribal treaty right and consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act.
    For some species on which the tribes have a modest harvest, no 
specific allocation has been determined. Rather than try to reserve 
specific allocations for the tribes, NMFS is establishing trip limits 
recommended by the tribes and the Council to accommodate modest tribal 
fisheries. For lingcod, all tribal fisheries are restricted to 300 lb 
(136 kg) per day and 900 lb (408 kg) per week cumulative limits. Tribal 
fisheries are expected to take about 4-5 mt of lingcod in 2002. For 
rockfish species, the 2002 tribal longline and trawl fisheries will 
operate under trip and cumulative limits. Tribal fisheries will operate 
under 300 lb (136 kg) per trip limits each for canary rockfish, 
thornyheads, and the minor rockfish species groups (nearshore, shelf, 
and slope), and under a 100 lb (45 kg) trip limit for yelloweye 
rockfish. A 300 lb (136 kg) canary rockfish trip limit is expected to 
result in landings of 2.5 mt in 2002. A 300 lb (136 kg) thornyheads 
trip limit is expected to result in landings of 1 mt in 2002. Other 
rockfish limits are expected to result in the following landings 
levels: widow rockfish, 27 mt; yelloweye rockfish, 1-1.5 mt; yelloweye 
rockfish, 300 mt; minor nearshore rockfish, 2 mt; minor shelf rockfish 
excluding yelloweye, 4 mt; minor slope rockfish, 4 mt. Trace amounts (1 
mt) of POP and darkblotched rockfish may also be landed in tribal 
commercial fisheries.
    The Assistant Administrator announces the following tribal 
allocations for 2002, including those that are the same as in 2001. 
Trip limits for certain species were recommended by the tribes and the 
Council and are specified here with the tribal allocations.
A. Sablefish
    The tribal allocation is 424 mt, 10 percent of the total catch OY, 
less 3 percent estimated discard mortality.
B. Rockfish
    (1) For the commercial harvest of black rockfish off Washington 
State, a harvest guideline of: 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) north of Cape Alava 
(48 deg.09'30" N. lat.) and 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) between Destruction 
Island (47 deg.40'00" N. lat.) and Leadbetter Point (46 deg.38'10" N. 
lat.).
    (2) Thornyheads are subject to a 300 lb (136 kg) trip limit.
    (3) Canary rockfish are subject to a 300 lb (136 kg) trip limit.
    (4) Yelloweye rockfish are subject to a 100 lb (45 kg) trip limit.
    (5) Yellowtail rockfish taken in the tribal mid-water trawl 
fisheries are subject to a cumulative limit of 30,000 lb (13,608 kg) 
per two-month period. Landings of widow rockfish must not exceed 10 
percent of the weight of yellowtail rockfish landed in any two-month 
period. These limits may be adjusted by an individual tribe inseason to 
minimize the incidental catch of canary rockfish and widow rockfish.
    (6) Other rockfish, including minor nearshore, minor shelf, and 
minor slope rockfish groups are subject to a 300 lb (136 kg) trip limit 
per species or species group, or to the non-tribal limited entry trip 
limit for those species if those limits are less restrictive than 300 
lb (136 kg) per trip.
    (7) Rockfish taken during open competition tribal commercial 
fisheries for Pacific halibut will not be subject to trip limits.
C. Lingcod
    Lingcod are subject to a 300 lb (136 kg) daily trip limit and a 900 
lb (408 kg) weekly limit.
D. Pacific Whiting
    Whiting allocations will be announced when the final OY is 
announced.

VI. Receipt of an Application for EFPs

    At the Council's November 2001 meeting, NMFS received an 
application requesting renewal of EFPs for the 2002 shore-based Pacific 
whiting fishery from the States of Washington, Oregon, and California. 
Issuance of these EFPs would allow unsorted whiting harvests to be 
delivered to shore-based processing facilities where state-sponsored 
biologists can collect information on the incidental catch of salmon 
and groundfish. These EFPs are intended to promote the objectives of 
the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP by providing catch data that is 
otherwise not available for managing the fishery.
    Because whiting deteriorates rapidly, it must be handled quickly 
and immediately chilled to maintain its quality. As a result, many 
vessels prefer to dump catch directly, or near directly, into the hold 
and are unable to effectively sort their catch at sea. Delaying sorting 
until offloading allows whiting quality to be maintained while 
providing an opportunity for state biologists to collect much needed 
fishery data. If issued, approximately 20 vessels would be permitted to 
delay the sorting of prohibited species and groundfish species caught 
in excess of cumulative trip limits until offloading. Without an EFP, 
vessels are required to sort prohibited species and return them to sea 
as soon as practicable with minimum injury (50 CFR 660.306(b)), and 
they are prohibited from exceeding the groundfish trip limits for 
individual species or groups (50 CFR 660.306(h)).
    Following the opportunity for public comment at the Council's 
November meeting, the Council recommended that NMFS issue the EFPs 
requested by the States. A copy of the application is available for 
review from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

Classification

    These proposed specifications and management measures for 2002 are 
issued under the authority of, and are in accordance with, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the FMP, and 50 CFR parts 600 and 660 subpart G 
(the regulations implementing FMP).
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Council prepared an initial regulatory flexibility analysis 
that describes the impact this proposed rule, if adopted, would have on 
small entities.
    NMFS is proposing the 2002 annual specifications and management 
measures to allow West Coast commercial and recreational fisheries 
participants to fish the harvestable surplus of healthy groundfish 
stocks, while also ensuring that those fisheries do not exceed the 
allowable catch levels intended to protect overfished and depleted 
stocks. The form of the specifications, in ABCs and OYs, follows the 
guidance of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the National Standard Guidelines, 
and the FMP for protecting and conserving fish stocks. Annual 
management measures include trip and bag limits, size limits, season 
restrictions, gear restrictions, and other measures intended to allow 
year-round West Coast groundfish landings without compromising 
overfished species rebuilding measures.
    Approximately 2,000 vessels participate in the West Coast 
groundfish fisheries. Of those, about 500 vessels are registered to 
limited entry permits

[[Page 1591]]

issued for either trawl, longline, or pot gear. About 1,500 vessels 
land groundfish against open access limits while either directly 
targeting groundfish or taking groundfish incidentally in fisheries 
directed at non-groundfish species. All but 10-20 of those vessels are 
considered small businesses by the Small Business Administration. There 
are also about 700 groundfish buyers on the West Coast, approximately 
250 of which annually purchased at least $33,000 of groundfish in 2000. 
In the 2001 recreational fisheries, there were 106 charter vessels 
engaged in salt water fishing outside the Puget Sound, 232 charter 
vessels active on the Oregon coast and 415 charter vessels active on 
the California coast.
    Revenues for many groundfish fishery participants are expected to 
decline in 2002. Harvest levels for some key species, such as 
sablefish, Dover sole, and widow rockfish are set significantly lower 
in 2002 than in 2001 and will affect coastwide groundfish revenues. For 
example, the proposed 2002 sablefish commercial OY is 37 percent lower 
than in 2001. Comparing 2000 sablefish revenue data (2001 data is not 
yet complete) with the available sablefish commercial OY in 2002, 2002 
coastwide sablefish revenue could be 39-48 percent lower than in 2000. 
Overall, groundfish revenues in 2002 are expected to the $31 million, 
which is a 22.5 percent decrease from estimated 2001 revenues ($40 
million) and a 39 percent decrease from 2000 revenues ($51 million).
    It is difficult to estimate exactly how this overall decline in 
landings and revenue will affect individual members of the groundfish 
fleet. However, the overall decline is significant enough to suggest 
that small businesses with a substantial portion of their incomes 
dependent on groundfish will be negatively affected by implementation 
of the 2002 proposed harvest levels. Limited entry vessels generally 
harvest in excess of $50,000 of West Coast fish per year and tend to 
depend on the catch of groundfish for over 35 percent of their gross 
West Coast revenue. Open access vessels tend to harvest less than 
$50,000 of West Coast fish per year and those harvesting in excess of 
$50,000 of West Coast fish per year generally rely on groundfish for 
less than 5 percent of their exvessel revenue. Thus limited entry 
vessels and the people relying on these vessels for income are likely 
to be more adversely affected from the decline in groundfish revenue 
opportunity than open access vessels. Of the approximately 700 
groundfish buyers, about 300 have groundfish as at least 35 percent of 
their fish products purchase from fishing vessels. If those groundfish 
buyers are unable to purchase alternative fish species, they will 
likely also suffer declines in income and employment.
    For the recreational fishery, the only significant catch and effort 
reductions would occur in California. Little change in overall 
recreational effort is expected in Washington or Oregon. Reduction in 
effort in California is expected to result in a reduction in revenue 
for businesses that cater to recreational fishers. In northern and 
southern California, $10.8 million and $9.5 million, respectively, of 
community level personal income were associated with the recreational 
groundfish fishery. These personal income values are a measure of the 
contribution of recreational fishing to businesses and local 
communities. Under the proposed action effort is expected to decline by 
about 15 percent. The decline in effort would be expected to reduce 
associated community level personal income by similar amounts. Gross 
receipts for recreational groundfish activities will likely decline in 
proportion with the decline in number of angler trips, however, net 
profits may decline more given that certain costs will be fixed on an 
annual and per trip basis. Revenue declines from groundfish may be 
offset to the degree that charter vessels operate in other fisheries.
    This rule does not propose any new reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements; however, it does announce EFPs for 2002, which include 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements associated with EFPs are described in this section, under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    The Council considered three issues, each with several alternatives 
and sub-options, and ultimately chose alternative that balanced the 
conservation and socioeconomic risks and benefits associated with all 
aspects of the 2002 Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. The relevant 
issues were alternative harvest levels, alternative bycatch and discard 
rate assumptions, and alternative season options. Each issue had 
several alternatives with varying degrees of potential risks and 
benefits to the groundfish fishery that are described in the EA/RIR/
IRFA. Less restrictive alternatives tend to buffer, but not necessarily 
ameliorate, the continued downward trend in economic benefits and 
fishing opportunities. However, the short term benefits of less 
restrictive alternatives were weighed against longer term stock 
conservation risks. The Council adopted alternatives modeled in the EA/
RIR/IRFA that are believed to adequately bracket a reasonable range of 
options for the 2002 groundfish fishery, given anticipated short and 
long term risks and benefits.
    The alternative harvest levels apply to seven stocks that are 
subject to new stock assessments or rebuilding strategies, sablefish, 
Pacific ocean perch (POP), widow rockfish, shortspine thornyhead, 
darkblotched rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, and Dover sole. Four 
alternatives were considered, the status quo, a low level of acceptable 
biological catch (ABC) and OY, high levels of ABC/OY, and the proposed 
action. The proposed action sets ABCs/OYs between the high and low 
levels, with the ABCs/OYs of the seven stocks at lower levels than the 
status quo alternative except for shortspine thornyheads and 
darkblotched rockfish, and represents a 21-percent reduction in 
commercial exvessel value from the status quo and a commensurate 
reduction in recreational catch. While the status quo alternative would 
provide the highest ABCs/OYs, except for shortspine thornyhead, this 
alternative was not adopted because these levels are higher than those 
supported by the new stock assessments and rebuilding strategies. 
Similarly, the high level alternative, which represents a 19-percent 
reduction in commercial exvessel value, was not considered to 
sufficiently consider the effects of incidental catches of these 
species in other fisheries or to be sufficiently risk averse in 
rebuilding these stocks. The low level alternative would reduce 
commercial exvessel value by 34 percent of the value of the status quo 
fishery, with a commensurate reduction in recreational catch. While 
this alternative would be risk averse from the standpoint of the 
stocks, it was rejected because its effects on the fishery would likely 
cause even more severe economic disruptions, particularly in the trawl 
and fixed gear limited fisheries.
    The bycatch and discard rate estimation issue arose by the need to 
accurately track total mortality of groundfish stocks and by recent 
legal challenges of past bycatch and discard rate assumptions. The 
Council recommended bycatch rates and discard mortality for lingcod, 
bocaccio, canary rockfish, darkblotched rockfish, and POP for the 
limited entry trawl fishery. The Council used a synthesis of several 
scientific studies to provide a low-to-high range of bycatch rates. The 
methodology of this analysis and how the Council arrived at the 
species-specific bycatch rates and discard mortality is described 
previously in this

[[Page 1592]]

document. Four alternatives were considered, the status quo, a low end 
range of bycatch rates, a high end range of bycatch rates, and the mid-
range proposed action, which represents the Council consensus of the 
most scientifically reasonable bycatch rates for each of the five 
stocks considered to apply to the fishery in 2002. In choosing the 
preferred alternative the Council considered the legal requirements and 
the biological and economic consequences of over- or underestimating 
the bycatch rates. The Council rejected using the status quo bycatch 
and discard rate assumptions of 2001 as not legally defensible. 
Applying the low end alternative would not be as constraining on the 
fishery, but represents a greater risk of overfishing the constraining 
stocks if bycatch rates and total mortality are underestimated. 
Applying the high end alternative would entail less risk of 
overfishing, but would be the most constraining on the fishery and 
incur excess economic losses if the total mortality is overestimated.
    The alternative season options resulted from a desire to consider 
area and time manipulations of the fishery to potentially realize 
higher trip limits and lessen regulatory discard of groundfish. Six 
alternatives were considered for the commercial seasons, the status 
quo, a year-round Groundfish Management Team (GMT) recommended season, 
a coastwide 6-month season, a year-round Groundfish Advisory Panel 
(GAP) recommended season based on the preferred OYs, a year-round GAP 
recommended season based on the high end OYs, and the proposed action, 
which provides seasons considering the preferred OYs with consideration 
of bycatch. The status quo alternative was rejected because the best 
available science (i.e., new stock assessments) was not considered and 
it violates the legal mandate to consider bycatch and discard mortality 
rate assumptions. The year-round GMT recommended season was rejected 
because it did not consider the restrictions needed for managing 
overfished species. The coastwide 6-month season was rejected because 
of the potential of processors and vessels to lose skilled workers, 
loss of markets, and weather constraints leading to inequitable fishing 
opportunities among the areas. The two year-round GAP recommended 
seasons were rejected because the landing limits for these seasons 
implied a higher bycatch of constraining stocks than would be allowed 
under the range of harvest levels considered.
    The fisheries agencies of the states of Oregon, Washington, and 
California presented several options for recreational fisheries off 
their respective states. In each case the Council adopted a preferred 
alternative that considered the preferred ABC/OY level and the bycatch 
constraints for their fisheries.
    Other regulations affecting the West Coast groundfish fisheries are 
primarily found at 50 CFR 660.301-360. A copy of this analysis is 
available from the Council (see ADDRESSES).
    Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, this rule was developed after 
meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials from 
the area covered by the FMP. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act at 16 
U.S.C. 1852(b)(5), one of the voting members of the Pacific Council 
must be a representative of an Indian tribe with Federally recognized 
fishing rights from the area of the Council's jurisdiction. In 
addition, regulations implementing the FMP establish a procedure by 
which the tribes with treaty fishing rights in the area covered by the 
FMP request new allocations or regulations specific to the tribes, in 
writing, before the first of the two fall groundfish meetings of the 
Council. The regulation at 50 CFR 660.324(d) further states ``the 
Secretary will develop tribal allocations and regulations under this 
paragraph in consultation with the affected tribe(s) and, insofar as 
possible, with tribal consensus.'' The tribal management measures in 
this proposed rule have been developed following these procedures. The 
tribal representative on the Council made a motion to adopt the tribal 
management measures, which was passed by the Council, and those 
management measures, which were developed and proposed by the tribes, 
are included in this proposed rule.
    NMFS issued Biological Opinions (BOs) under the Endangered Species 
Act on August 10, 1990, November 26, 1991, August 28, 1992, September 
27, 1993, May 14, 1996, and December 15, 1999, pertaining to the 
effects of the groundfish fishery on chinook salmon (Puget Sound, Snake 
River spring/summer, Snake River fall, upper Columbia River spring, 
lower Columbia River, upper Willamette River, Sacramento River winter, 
Central Valley, California coastal), coho salmon (Central Calfornia 
coastal, southern Oregon/northern California coastal, Oregon coastal), 
chum salmon (Hood Canal, Columbia River), sockeye salmon (Snake River, 
Ozette Lake), and steelhead (upper, middle and lower Columbia River, 
Snake River Basin, upper Willamette River, central California coast, 
California Central Valley, south-central California, northern 
California, southern California). NMFS has concluded that 
implementation of the FMP for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery is 
not expected to jeopardize the continued existence of any Endangered or 
threatened species under the jurisdiction of NMFS, or result in the 
destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. NMFS has re-
initiated consultation on the Pacific whiting fishery associated with 
the (whiting BO) issued on December 15, 1999. During the 2000 whiting 
season, the whiting fisheries exceeded the chinook bycatch amount 
specified in the BO's incidental take statement's incidental take 
estimates, 11,000 fish, by approximately 500 fish. In the 2001 whiting 
season, however, the whiting fishery's chinook bycatch was well below 
the 11,000 fish incidental take estimates. The re-initiation will focus 
primarily on additional actions that the whiting fisheries would take 
to reduce chinook interception, such as time/area management. NMFS is 
gathering data from the 2001 whiting fisheries and expects that the re-
initiated whiting BO will be complete by February 2002. During the 
reinitiation, fishing under the FMP is within the scope of the December 
15, 1999, BO, so long as the annual incidental take of chinook stays 
under the 11,000 fish bycatch limit. NMFS has concluded that 
implementation of the FMP for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery is 
not expected to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or 
threatened species under the jurisdiction of NMFS, or result in the 
destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. This action is 
within the scope of these consultations.
    This action refers to a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Permit requirements have 
been approved by OMB under control number 0648-203 for Federal 
fisheries permits. The public reporting burden for applications for 
exempted fishery permits is estimated at 1 hour per response; the 
burden for reporting by exempted fishing permittees is estimated at 30 
minutes per response. These estimates include the time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and revising the collection 
of information. Send comments regarding these burden estimates or any 
other aspect of the data requirements, including suggestions for 
reducing the burden to NMFS and to OMB (see ADDRESSES).

[[Page 1593]]

    Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for 
failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

    Dated: December 31, 2001.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-32262 Filed 12-31-01; 4:46 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-M


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