Rule2022-09902
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2021-2022 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 9, 2022
Effective
May 9, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
This final rule announces routine inseason adjustments to the harvest limits for incidental Pacific halibut retention in the sablefish primary fishery. This action decreases the incidental Pacific halibut catch limit to ensure equitable harvest opportunities without exceeding the harvest limit.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 89 (Monday, May 9, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 89 (Monday, May 9, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27530-27532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09902]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 201204-0325]
RIN 0648-BL44
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2021-2022 Biennial Specifications and
Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments to biennial groundfish
management measures.
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SUMMARY: This final rule announces routine inseason adjustments to the
harvest limits for incidental Pacific halibut retention in the
sablefish primary fishery. This action decreases the incidental Pacific
halibut catch limit to ensure equitable harvest opportunities without
exceeding the harvest limit.
DATES: This final rule is effective May 9, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keeley Kent, phone: (206) 526-4655) or
email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2d46484841485403464843596d43424c4c034a425b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="18737d7d747d6136737d766c5876777979367f776e">[email protected]</span></a>.
Electronic Access
This rule is accessible via the internet at the Office of the
Federal Register website at <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov">https://www.federalregister.gov</a>. Background
information and documents are available at the Pacific Fishery
Management Council's website at <a href="http://www.pcouncil.org/">http://www.pcouncil.org/</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP), and
its implementing regulations at title 50 in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), 660, subparts C through G, regulate fishing for over
90 species of groundfish off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and
California. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) develops
groundfish harvest specifications and management measures for two-year
periods (i.e., a biennium). NMFS published the final rule to implement
harvest specifications and management measures for the 2021-2022
biennium for most species managed under the PCGFMP on December 11,
2020, (85 FR 79880). NMFS also published a correction (85 FR 86853,
December 31, 2020), and a correcting amendment (86 FR 14379, March 16,
2021) to implement the Council's recommendations for the 2021-2022
harvest specifications and management measures.
In general, the management measures set at the start of the
biennial harvest specifications cycle help the various sectors of the
fishery attain, but not exceed, the catch limits for each stock. The
Council, in coordination with Pacific Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and
the states of Washington, Oregon, and California, recommends
adjustments to the management measures during the fishing year to
achieve this goal.
At its March 8-14, 2022 meeting, the Council recommended decreasing
the amount of Pacific halibut that vessels in the sablefish primary
fishery north of Point Chehalis, WA, may retain incidentally to ensure
that catch of Pacific halibut stays within its annual allocation.
Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries are managed using harvest
specifications or limits (e.g., overfishing limits [OFL], acceptable
biological catch [ABC], annual catch limits [ACL] and harvest
guidelines [HG]) recommended biennially by the Council and based on the
best scientific information available at that time (50 CFR 660.60(b)).
During development of the harvest specifications, the Council also
recommends management measures (e.g., trip limits, area closures, and
bag limits) that are meant to mitigate catch so as not to exceed the
harvest specifications. The harvest specifications and mitigation
measures developed for the 2021-2022 biennium used data through the
2019 fishing year. Each of the adjustments to management measures
discussed below are based on updated fisheries information that was
unavailable when the analysis for the current harvest specifications
was completed. As new fisheries data becomes available, adjustments to
management measures are projected so as to help harvesters achieve but
not exceed the harvest limits.
Pacific halibut is generally a prohibited species for vessels
fishing in Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries, unless explicitly
allowed in groundfish regulations. The Council developed a Catch
Sharing Plan for the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC)
Regulatory Area 2A, as provided for in the Northern Pacific Halibut Act
of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773-773k) (Halibut Act), to allocate the Area 2A
annual catch limit for Pacific halibut among fisheries off Washington,
Oregon, and California. The IPHC annually sets allocations for the
various IPHC regulatory areas, including Area 2A and NMFS implements
these allocations for fishing in U.S. waters pursuant to the Halibut
Act. NMFS also annual implements management measures and approves
changes to the Catch Sharing Plan for Area 2A.
Under the Catch Sharing Plan, the sablefish primary fishery north
of Point Chehalis, WA (46[deg]53.30' N. lat.) is allocated a portion of
the Washington recreational allocation, which varies via a catch limit-
dependent formula, as described in the Catch Sharing Plan and in
regulations at 50 CFR 300.63(b)(3).
The sablefish primary fishery season is open from April 1 to
October 31, though the fishery may close for
[[Page 27531]]
individual participants prior to October 31 once they reach the
cumulative limit associated with their tier assignment(s) for the
primary fishery. Regulations at Sec. 660.231(b)(3)(iv) allow vessels
fishing in the sablefish primary fishery with a permit from the IPHC to
retain Pacific halibut up to a set landing limit, which may be reviewed
and modified throughout the sablefish primary fishery season to allow
for attainment, but not exceedance of the Pacific halibut allocation.
The objectives for the annual landing restrictions are to allow for
incidental Pacific halibut catch and attain the Pacific halibut
allocation, at about the same time the sablefish primary season ends
(October 31), and to ensure an equitable sharing of the Pacific halibut
landings among fishers.
On March 7, 2022, NMFS implemented a 2022 Area 2A catch limit of
1,490,000 pounds (lb) (675.9 metric tons (mt)) (87 FR 12604). As
specified by the Catch Sharing Plan, since the 2022 Area 2A catch limit
is less than 1.5 million pounds (680.4 mt), the incidental halibut
limit for the sablefish primary fishery's allocation is 50,000 lb (22.7
mt) (87 FR 12604, March 7, 2022). In 2021, due to economic uncertainty,
harvest during the regular sablefish primary fishery season was lower
than predicted. As a result, at the September 2021 Council meeting, the
Council recommended, and NMFS implemented, an emergency rule to extend
the sablefish primary season, normally scheduled to end on October 31,
until December 31, 2021 (86 FR 59873, October 29, 2021). Also, as part
of that emergency rule, the incidental Pacific halibut retention
allowance continued until the close of the Pacific halibut season on
December 7, 2021. The 2021 season concluded with 98.7 percent of the
70,000 lb (31.8 mt) allowance for Pacific halibut landed. The effects
of economic uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on
sablefish primary fishery harvest are expected to be lessened in 2022,
compared to 2021. If fishing patterns return to more typical seasonal
efforts in 2022, the incidental Pacific halibut retention limit in
place in 2021 may be too high, and harvest of Pacific halibut may
accrue too quickly to allow retention throughout the entire sablefish
primary season, which is ends on October 31, 2022. In addition, the
incidental limit for Pacific halibut is 20,000 lb less than in 2021, at
50,000 lb. The most recent year with a 50,000 lb limit was 2018, and in
that year 87 percent of the allocation was harvested. From 2019-2021,
the 70,000 lb limit was between 90 and 113 percent attained each year.
Therefore, at the March 2022 virtual meeting, the Council recommended a
reduction in Pacific halibut retention allowance early in the 2022
sablefish primary fishery season to discourage targeted fishing while
allowing small incidental catches through the end of the season on
October 31.
The Council recommended, and NMFS is revising the incidental
Pacific halibut retention regulations at Sec. 660.231(b)(3)(iv) to
decrease the incidental Pacific halibut catch limit to enable some
incidental catch without exceeding the harvest limit. The limit will be
reduced from 225 lb (102 kg) dressed weight of halibut for every 1,000
lb (454 kg) dressed weight of sablefish landed, and up to two halibut
in excess of the ratio, to 150 lb (68 kg) dressed weight of halibut for
every 1,000 lb (454 kg) dressed weight of sablefish landed, and up to
two halibut in excess of the ratio. This decrease is expected to allow
opportunity for total catch of Pacific halibut to attain, but not
exceed, the 2022 allocation for the sablefish primary fishery north of
Point Chehalis, WA (50,000 lb or 22.7 mt).
Classification
This final rule makes routine inseason adjustments to groundfish
fishery management measures, based on the best scientific information
available, consistent with the PCGFMP and its implementing regulations.
This action is taken under the authority of 50 CFR 660.60(c) and is
exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
The aggregate data upon which these actions are based are available
for public inspection by contacting Keeley Kent in NMFS' West Coast
Region (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above), or view at the
NMFS West Coast Groundfish website: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/west-coast-groundfish">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/west-coast-groundfish</a>.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b), NMFS finds good cause to waive prior
public notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as
notice and comment would be impracticable and contrary to the public
interest. The adjustments to management measures in this document
affect commercial fisheries off the coast of Washington. No aspect of
this action is controversial, and changes of this nature were
anticipated in the final rule for the 2021-2022 harvest specifications
and management measures, which was published on December 11, 2020 (85
FR 79880). Accordingly, for the reasons stated below, NMFS finds good
cause to waive prior notice and comment.
At its March 2022 meeting, the Council recommended the decrease to
the incidental Pacific halibut retention limit for vessels fishing in
the sablefish primary fishery north of Point Chehalis. The sablefish
primary fishery opened on April 1. The Council recommends this
precautionary reduction be implemented as soon as possible, early in
the season, in an effort to prolong the amount of time Pacific halibut
may be retained in the sablefish primary fishery north of Point
Chehalis.
Delaying implementation to allow for public comment would make it
more likely for the sablefish primary fishery north of Point Chehalis
to exceed its 2022 allocation of Pacific halibut before the end of the
sablefish primary fishery season. Therefore, providing a comment period
for this action could limit the equitable benefits to the fishery, and
the vessels that participate in the fishery, as they rely on the
Pacific halibut retention allowance throughout the entire season and
could result in a greater risk of exceeding the Pacific halibut harvest
allocation.
Because prior notice and an opportunity for public comment are not
required to be provided for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other
law, the analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5
U.S.C. 601 et seq., are not applicable. Accordingly, no Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis is required for this rule and none has been
prepared.
Therefore, the NMFS finds reason to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) so that this final rule
may become effective upon publication in the Federal Register. The
adjustments to management measures in this document affect commercial
fisheries by decreasing the incidental halibut retention limit in the
sablefish primary fishery north of Point Chehalis, WA. This adjustment
was requested by the Council's advisory bodies, as well as members of
industry during the Council's March 2022 meeting, and recommended
unanimously by the Council. No aspect of this action is controversial,
and changes of this nature were anticipated in the biennial harvest
specifications and management measures established through a notice and
comment rulemaking for 2021-2022 (85 FR 79880, December 11, 2020).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, and Indian Fisheries.
[[Page 27532]]
Dated: May 4, 2022.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended
as follows:
PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 16
U.S.C. 7001 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 660.231, revise paragraph (b)(3)(iv) to read as follows:
Sec. 660.231 Limited entry fixed gear sablefish primary fishery.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(3) * * *
(iv) Incidental Pacific halibut retention north of Pt. Chehalis, WA
(46[deg]53.30' N lat.). From April 1 through October 31, vessels
authorized to participate in the sablefish primary fishery, licensed by
the International Pacific Halibut Commission for commercial fishing in
Area 2A (waters off Washington, Oregon, California), and fishing with
longline gear north of Pt. Chehalis, WA (46[deg]53.30' N lat.) may
possess and land up to 150 lbs (68 kg) dressed weight of Pacific
halibut for every 1,000 lbs (454 kg) dressed weight of sablefish
landed, and up to two additional Pacific halibut in excess of the 150-
lbs-per-1,000-pound limit per landing. ``Dressed'' Pacific halibut in
this area means halibut landed eviscerated with their heads on. Pacific
halibut taken and retained in the sablefish primary fishery north of
Pt. Chehalis may only be landed north of Pt. Chehalis and may not be
possessed or landed south of Pt. Chehalis.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-09902 Filed 5-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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