13480 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Proposed Rules

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

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

625, 100 Stat. 3500, unless otherwise noted.

2. Section 17.12(h) is amended by

removing the entry for Eriastrum

hooveri, Hoover’s woolly star, under

‘‘Flowering Plants’’ from the List of

Endangered and Threatened Plants.

Dated: December 5, 2000.

Jamie Rappaport Clark,

Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 01–5288 Filed 3–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–U

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 010119023-1023-01; I.D.

121900A]

RIN 0648–AO80

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch

Sharing Plan

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed changes to catch

sharing plan and sport fishing

management; availability of draft

environmental assessment and

regulatory impact review.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes, under

authority of the Northern Pacific Halibut

Act (Halibut Act), to approve and

implement changes to the Area 2A

Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan

(Plan) to adjust the management of the

sport fisheries off Washington, and to

adjust the management of the non-treaty

commercial fisheries off Oregon and

Washington. NMFS also proposes sport

fishery regulations to implement the

Plan in 2001. A draft environmental

assessment and regulatory impact

review (EA/RIR) on this action is also

available for public comment.

DATES: Comments on the proposed

changes to the Plan and the proposed

sport fishery regulations must be

received by March 9, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments or requests

for a copy of the Plan and/or the EA/RIR

to Donna Darm, Acting Regional

Administrator, Northwest Region,

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way, Seattle,

WA 98115. Electronic copies of the

Plan, including proposed changes for

2001, and of the draft EA/RIR are also

available at the NMFS Northwest Region

website: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov,

under ‘‘Halibut Management.’’

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-a-mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Yvonne deReynier, 206–526–6140.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Halibut Act, at 16 U.S.C. 773c, gives the

Secretary of Commerce (Secretary)

general responsibility for carrying out

the Halibut Convention between the

United States and Canada. It requires

the Secretary to adopt such regulations

as may be necessary to carry out the

purposes and objectives of the

Convention and the Halibut Act. Section

773c(c) of the Halibut Act authorizes the

Regional Fishery Management Councils

to develop regulations that are not in

conflict with regulations adopted by the

International Pacific Halibut

Commission (IPHC) to govern the

Pacific halibut catch that occurs in their

regions. Each year since 1988, the

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council) has developed a catch sharing

plan in accordance with the Halibut Act

to allocate the total allowable catch

(TAC) of Pacific halibut between treaty

Indian and non-treaty harvesters and

among non-treaty commercial and sport

fisheries in IPHC statistical Area 2A (off

Washington, Oregon, and California). In 1995, upon the recommendation of

the Council, NMFS implemented the

Plan (60 FR 14651, March 20, 1995). In

each of the intervening years between

1995 and the present, minor revisions to

the Plan have been made to adjust for

the changing needs of the fisheries. The

Plan allocates 35 percent of the Area 2A

TAC to Washington treaty Indian tribes

in Subarea 2A-1 and 65 percent to nonIndian fisheries in Area 2A. The

allocation to non-Indian fisheries is

divided into three shares, with the

Washington sport fishery (north of the

Columbia River) receiving 36.6 percent,

the Oregon/California sport fishery

receiving 31.7 percent, and the

commercial fishery receiving 31.7

percent. The commercial fishery is

further divided into a directed

commercial fishery that is allocated 85

percent of the commercial allocation

and an incidental catch in the salmon

troll fishery that is allocated 15 percent

of the commercial allocation. The

directed commercial fishery in Area 2A

is confined to southern Washington

(south of 46°53’18′′ N. lat.), Oregon, and

California. The Plan also divides the

sport fisheries into seven geographic

subareas, each with separate allocations,

seasons, and bag limits.

Council Recommended Changes to the

Plan

At its September 2000 meeting, the

Council adopted, for public comment,

the following proposed changes to the

plan: (1) separating the directed

commercial fishery sub-quota from the

incidental salmon fishery allowance and

permitting the salmon troll fishery to

retain incidentally caught halibut from

May 1 until its sub-quota is estimated to

have been achieved; (2) allowing the

setting of sport fishery season start dates

in the Washington North Coast and

South Coast sub-areas following the

IPHC annual meeting, rather than

before; (3) removing the 1,000 lb (0.45

mt) nearshore set-aside in the

Washington South Coast sub-area; and

(4) eliminating the Washington South

Coast closed ‘‘hot spot.’’

At its November 2000 public meeting,

the Council considered the results of

state-sponsored workshops on the

proposed changes to the Plan and public

comments, and made final

recommendations for three

modifications to the Plan as follows:

(1) Set a halibut sub-quota for the

salmon troll fishery that is distinct from

the directed commercial fishery subquota. The salmon troll fishery would

be permitted to retain halibut taken

incidentally in that fishery, beginning

May 1 until the sub-quota is estimated

to have been achieved. The directed

commercial fishery would no longer

have access to the salmon troll fishery

sub-quota in July.

(2) Revise the season guidance for the

Washington South Coast sport fishery to

remove the 1,000 lb (0.45 mt) nearshore

halibut set-aside. Nearshore fishing for

halibut would be permitted during the

all-depth season. If the all-depth season

closes with halibut remaining in its

quota, additional nearshore fishing

would also be permitted after the alldepth season.

(3) Eliminate the closed ‘‘hot spot’’ for

the Washington South Coast sport

fishery.

The Council also recommended a

minor change to update the plan to

reflect the elimination of the Halibut

Managers Group, and to clarify which

Salmon Advisory Subpanel member

should be consulted regarding inseason

halibut actions.

Proposed Changes to the Catch Sharing

Plan

NMFS is proposing to approve and to

make the following changes to the Plan:

In section (e) of the Plan, Non-Indian

Commercial Fisheries, add a new

sentence to the end of sub-paragraph

(e)(1) to read as follows:

The primary management objective

for this fishery is to harvest the troll

quota as incidental catch during the

May/June salmon troll fishery. The

secondary management objective is to

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Proposed Rules 13481

harvest the remaining troll quota as

incidental catch during the July through

September salmon troll fishery.

In section (e), Non-Indian Commercial

Fisheries, revise the last sentence of

sub-paragraph (e)(1)(ii)(A) to read as

follows:

In determining whether to make such

inseason adjustments, NMFS will

consult with the applicable state

representative(s), a representative of the

Council’s Salmon Advisory Sub-Panel,

and Council staff.

In section (e), Non-Indian Commercial

Fisheries, revise sub-paragraph

(e)(1)(iii), redesignate paragraphs

(e)(1)(iv) and (e)(1)(v) as (e)(1)(iii) and

(e)(1)(iv), respectively, and revise

redesignated paragraph (e)(1)(iii) to read

as follows:

If the overall quota for the non-Indian,

incidental commercial troll fishery has

not been harvested by salmon trollers

during the May/June fishery, additional

landings of halibut caught incidentally

during salmon troll fisheries will be

allowed in July and will continue until

the amount of halibut that was initially

available as a quota for the troll fishery

is taken or the overall non-Indian

commercial quota is estimated to have

been achieved by the IPHC. Landing

restrictions implemented for the May/

June salmon troll fishery will apply for

as long as this fishery is open. Notice of

the July opening of this fishery will be

announced on the NMFS hotline (206)

526–6667 or (800) 662–9825. No halibut

retention in the salmon troll fishery will

be allowed in July unless the July

opening has been announced on the

NMFS hotline.

In section (e), Non-Indian Commercial

Fisheries, remove the fourth sentence of

paragraph (e)(2).

In section (f), Sport Fisheries, revise

the seventh and eighth sentences of

paragraph (1)(iii) to read as follows:

The fishery will continue until

September 30, or until the quota is

achieved, whichever occurs first.

Subsequent to this closure, if any

remaining quota is insufficient for an

offshore fishery, but is sufficient for a

nearshore fishery, the area from the

Queets River south to 47°00′00′′ N. lat.

and east of 124°40′00′′ W. long. will

reopen for 7 days per week until either

the remaining subarea quota is

estimated to have been taken and the

season is closed by the IPHC, or until

September 30, whichever occurs first.

In section (f), Sport Fisheries, delete

the last two sentences of paragraph

(1)(iii).

In section (f), Sport Fisheries, revise

paragraph (5)(iv)(A) to read as follows:

Inseason actions will be effective on

the date specified in the Federal

Register or at the time that the action is

filed for public inspection at the Office

of the Federal Register, whichever is

later.

Proposed 2001 Sport Fishery

Management Measures

NMFS is proposing sport fishery

management measures that are

necessary to implement the Plan in

2001. The 2001 TAC for Area 2A is

1,140,000 lb (517 mt), as set by the IPHC

at its annual meeting of January 22–25,

2001. The proposed 2001 sport fishery

regulations are based on this 2001 Area

2A TAC as follows:

Washington Inside Waters (Subarea

Puget Sound and Straits)

This subarea is allocated 57,393 lb (26

mt) of an Area 2A TAC of 1,140,000 lb

(517 mt) in accordance with the Plan.

The season should be longer than the

46-day season in 2001 because of the

increase in the overall TAC and

resultant subarea allocation. In

accordance with the procedure

developed with IPHC to project the

catch in this subarea based on past catch

per ‘‘fishing day equivalent’’ (FED),

where a weekday is equal to 1 FED and

a weekend/holiday is equal to 2.5 FEDs,

approximately 89 FEDs are expected

with a 57,393 lb (26 mt) quota. This

calculation is based on an average catch

of 643 lb (0.3 mt) per FED over the past

3 years. The number of fishing days is

based on setting a season that opens in

May and continues at least through July

4 for a 5-day per week fishery (Thursday

through Monday). A final determination

of the season dates will be made based

on the allowable harvest level, projected

2001 catch rates, and on

recommendations developed in a public

workshop sponsored by Washington

Department of Fish and Wildlife in

February. The daily bag limit is one

halibut of any size per day per person.

Washington North Coast Subarea (North

of the Queets River)

This subarea is allocated 108,030 lb

(49 mt) at an Area 2A TAC of 1,140,000

lb (517 mt) in accordance with the Plan.

The 2000 fishery began on May 2, lasted

through June 16, and re-opened July 1

to 4. This fishery is held 5 days per

week (Tuesday through Saturday).

According to the Plan, the structuring

objective for this subarea is to maximize

the season length for viable fishing

opportunity and, if possible, stagger the

seasons to spread out this opportunity

to anglers who use these remote

grounds. For the 2001 fishing season,

the fishery in this subarea is set to meet

the structuring objectives described in

the Plan. While this season is scheduled

to begin in May, a final determination

of the season dates will be made based

on the allowable harvest level, projected

2001 catch rates, and on

recommendations developed in a public

workshop sponsored by Washington

Department of Fish and Wildlife in

February. The daily bag limit is one

halibut of any size per day per person.

A portion of this subarea located about

19 nm (35 km) southwest of Cape

Flattery is closed to sport fishing for

halibut. The size of this closed area is

described in the Plan, but may be

modified preseason by NMFS to

maximize the season length.

Washington South Coast Subarea

This subarea is allocated 42,739 lb

(19.4 mt) of an Area 2A TAC of

1,140,000 lb (517 mt) in accordance

with the Plan. The fishery will open in

May and continue 5 days per week

(Sunday through Thursday) in all areas,

except where prohibited, and 7 days per

week only in the area from the Queets

River south to 47°00′00′′ N. lat. and east

of 124°40′00′′ W. long. When there is not

enough quota available for a single day

of offshore fishing, fishing will be

allowed 7 days per week in the area

from the Queets River south to

47°00′00′′ N. lat. and east of 124°40′00′′

W. long., until the quota is reached or

until September 30, whichever occurs

first. The daily bag limit is one halibut

of any size per day per person.

Columbia River Subarea

This subarea is allocated 10,487 lb

(4.8 mt) of an Area 2A TAC of 1,140,000

lb (517 mt) in accordance with the Plan.

The fishery will open on May 1 and

continue 7 days per week until the

quota is reached or September 30,

whichever occurs first. The daily bag

limit is the first halibut taken, per

person, of 32 inches (81.3 cm) or greater

in length.

Oregon North Central Coast Subarea

This subarea is allocated 199,803 lb

(90.6 mt) of an Area 2A TAC of

1,140,000 lb (517 mt) in accordance

with the Plan. The May all-depth season

is allocated 135,866 lb (61.6 mt). Based

on an observed catch per day trend in

this fishery, an estimated 24,000 lb (10.9

mt) will be caught per day in 2001,

resulting in a 5-day fixed season. In

accordance with the Plan, the season

dates will be May 9, 10, 11, 16, and 17.

If the quota is not taken, an appropriate

number of fishing days will be

scheduled for late May or early June.

The restricted depth fishery inside 30

fathoms is combined for the north

central and south central coast subareas, and is allocated 17,150 lb (7.8 mt)

13482 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Proposed Rules

and will be open starting May 1 through

September 30 or until the TAC is

attained, whichever occurs first. The

August coastwide all-depth fishery

(Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain) is

allocated 49,951 lb (22.7 mt), which

may be sufficient for a 1-day or 2-day

opening in August, based on the

expected catch per day. If sufficient

quota remains after this season for

additional days of fishing, the dates for

an all-depth fishery will be in midAugust. A final determination of the

season dates will be made based on the

allowable harvest level, projected catch

rates, and recommendations developed

in a public workshop sponsored by the

Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife in

February. The daily bag limit is the first

halibut taken, per person, of 32 inches

(81.3 cm) or greater in length.

Oregon South Central Coast Subarea

This subarea is allocated 15,820 lb

(7.2 mt) at an Area 2A TAC of 1,140,000

lb (517 mt) in accordance with the Plan.

The May all-depth season is allocated

12,656 lb (5.7 mt) and, based on

observed catch per day trend in this

fishery, an estimated 3,000 lb (1.4 mt)

would be caught per day in 2001,

resulting in a 4-day fixed season. In

accordance with the Plan, the season

dates are May 9, 10, 16, and 17. If the

quota is not taken, an appropriate

number of fishing days will be

scheduled for late May or early June.

The restricted depth fishery inside 30

fathoms is combined for the north

central and south central coast subareas, and would be allocated 17,150 lb

(7.8 mt) and will be open starting May

1 through September 30 or until the

TAC is attained, whichever occurs first.

The August coastwide all-depth fishery

(Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain) is

allocated 49,951 lb (22.7 mt), which

may be sufficient for a 1-day or 2-day

opening in August, based on the

expected catch per day. If sufficient

quota remains for additional fishing

days after this season, the dates for an

all-depth fishery will be in mid-August.

A final determination of the season

dates will be made based on the

allowable harvest level, projected catch

rates, and recommendations developed

in an ODFW-sponsored public

workshop in February. The daily bag

limit is the first halibut taken, per

person, of 32 inches (81.3 cm) or greater

in length.

Humbug Mountain, OR, through

California Subarea

This subarea is allocated 6,809 lb (3.1

mt) of an Area 2A TAC 1,140,000 lb

(517 mt) in accordance with the Plan.

The 2001 sport season for this subarea

is the same as last year, with a May 1

opening and continuing 7 days per week

until September 30. The daily bag limit

is the first halibut taken, per person, of

32 inches (81.3 cm) or greater in length.

NMFS requests public comments on

the Council’s recommended

modifications to the Plan and the

proposed sport fishing regulations. The

Area 2A TAC was set by the IPHC at its

annual meeting on January 22 to 25,

2001, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

NMFS requests comments on the

proposed changes to the Plan and on the

proposed changes to sport fishing

regulations by February 16, 2001, after

the IPHC annual meeting, so that the

public will have the opportunity to

consider the final Area 2A TAC before

submitting comments on the proposed

sport fishing regulations. The States of

Washington and Oregon will conduct

public workshops shortly after the IPHC

meeting to obtain input on the sport

season dates. NMFS will issue final

rules for the Area 2A Pacific halibut

sport fishery concurrent with the IPHC

regulations for the 2001 Pacific halibut

fisheries.

Classification

NMFS has prepared a draft EA/RIR on

the proposed changes to the Plan.

Copies of the ‘‘Draft Environmental

Assessment and Regulatory Impact

Review of Changes to the Catch Sharing

Plan for Pacific Halibut in Area 2A’’ are

available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

Comments on the EA/RIR are requested

by March 21, 2001.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of

the Department of Commerce certified

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration that the

proposed changes to the Plan would not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities as

follows:

Setting a fishery-specific halibut quota for

the salmon troll fishery will not appreciably

alter the annual halibut harvest of that

fishery or the directed commercial fishery.

The basic allocation scheme of 85% of the

non-treaty commercial quota for the directed

commercial fishery and 15% of the nontreaty commercial quota for the salmon troll

fishery would not change under this action.

Rather. the directed commercial fishery

would no longer have access to the halibut

that remains in the salmon troll fishery subquota after the June salmon fisheries; that

halibut would remain available to the salmon

fishery. Although it is theoretically possible

that commercial halibut fishers could be

adversely affected because they would be

unable to harvest any halibut remaining in

the salmon troll sub-quota, past experience

indicates that salmon troll participants have

harvested most of their annual quotas.

Accordingly, because fishery participants

will basically have the same fishing

opportunities in 2001 as 2000. In 2000, 268

licenses were issued to fishers participating

in the 3-day directed fishery, and 235

licenses were issued to salmon fishers

wishing to land halibut incidentally to their

troll fisheries. The total combined quota for

these two fisheries was less than 160,000 lb

(72 mt) in 2000, an insignificant amount

relative to the annual West Coast commercial

salmon and groundfish landings.

Similar to revisions on separating the nontreaty commercial allocations, proposed

changes for the Washington South Coast subarea would not re-allocate halibut or

appreciably alter halibut fishing

opportunities for charter businesses and

anglers operating in that area. Nearshore

halibut opportunities have traditionally

varied from year to year, based on harvest

rates in the all-depth fishery. Under the

proposed changes to the Plan, the all-depth

fishery would close when the remaining

quota is not adequate to cover a day of alldepth fishing. Because a single day of alldepth fishing could require up to 2,000 lb,

nearshore fishing opportunities are not

expected to be reduced from the current

system of setting aside 1,000 lb for nearshore

harvest.

The ‘‘hot spot’’ closed area in the

Washington South Coast subarea was opened

inseason in 1999 and 2000. Opening the hot

spot before the start of the season in 2001

will not alter quota availability for fishers in

that area. This proposed change is expected

to improve business planning convenience

for South Coast fishers, who will be able to

fish throughout the South Coast subarea from

the start of the season, rather than waiting for

guidance on whether the hot spot will be

closed or opened.

These proposed changes to the Plan are

insignificant and are expected to result in

either no impact at all, or a modest increase

in fishery and regulatory convenience.

Consequently, these changes to the Plan are

not expected to meet any of the RFA tests of

having a ‘‘significant’’ economic effect on a

‘‘substantial number’’ of small entities. The

proposed sport management measures for

2001 merely implement the Plan at the

appropriate level of TAC; their impacts are

within the scope of the impacts analyzed for

the Plan.

Accordingly, a regulatory flexibility

analysis was not prepared.

This action has been determined to be

not significant for purposes of E.O.

12866.

Dated: February 28, 2001.

William T. Hogarth,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–5314 Filed 3–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S