Rule2023-13516
Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast; Management Measures for the 2023 Area 2A Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery
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
June 26, 2023
Effective
June 26, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS is implementing harvest specifications and management measures for the 2023 non-tribal directed commercial Pacific halibut fishery that operates south of Point Chehalis, WA (46[deg]53.30' N lat.) in the International Pacific Halibut Commission's regulatory Area 2A off Washington, Oregon, and California. Specifically, this final rule establishes directed commercial fishing periods and fishing period catch limits by vessel size class for the 2023 fishing season. These actions are intended to conserve Pacific halibut and provide fishing opportunity where available.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 121 (Monday, June 26, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 121 (Monday, June 26, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41334-41336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13516]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 300
[Docket No. 230615-0151; RTID 0648-XC711]
Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast; Management Measures
for the 2023 Area 2A Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing harvest specifications and management
measures for the 2023 non-tribal directed commercial Pacific halibut
fishery that operates south of Point Chehalis, WA (46[deg]53.30' N
lat.) in the International Pacific Halibut Commission's regulatory Area
2A off Washington, Oregon, and California. Specifically, this final
rule establishes directed commercial fishing periods and fishing period
catch limits by vessel size class for the 2023 fishing season. These
actions are intended to conserve Pacific halibut and provide fishing
opportunity where available.
DATES: This rule is effective on June 26, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Additional information regarding this action may be obtained
by contacting the Sustainable Fisheries Division, NMFS West Coast
Region, 500 W Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802. For information
regarding all halibut fisheries and general regulations not contained
in this rule, contact the International Pacific Halibut Commission,
2320 W Commodore Way, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98199-1287.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Davis, West Coast Region, NMFS,
(323) 372-2126, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6f040e1b060a410b0e19061c2f01000e0e41080019"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="442f25302d216a2025322d37042a2b25256a232b32">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act), 16 U.S.C.
773-773k, gives the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) general
responsibility for implementing the provisions of the Convention
between Canada and the United States for the Preservation of the
Halibut Fishery of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea (Halibut
Convention), signed at Ottawa, Ontario, on March 2, 1953, as amended by
a Protocol Amending the Convention (signed at Washington, DC, on March
29, 1979). The Halibut Act requires that the Secretary shall adopt
regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and
objectives of the Halibut Convention and Halibut Act. 16 U.S.C. 773c.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on behalf of the International
Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), publishes annual management measures
governing the Pacific halibut fishery that have been recommended by the
IPHC and accepted by the Secretary of State, with concurrence from the
Secretary of Commerce. These management measures include coastwide and
area-specific mortality limits (also known as allocations and subarea
allocations), coastwide season dates, gear restrictions, Pacific
halibut size limits for retention, and logbook requirements, among
others. The IPHC apportions allocations for the Pacific halibut fishery
among regulatory areas: Area 2A (Washington, Oregon, and California),
Area 2B (British Columbia), Area 2C (Southeast Alaska), Area 3A
(Central Gulf of Alaska), Area 3B (Western Gulf of Alaska), and Area 4
(subdivided into 5 areas, 4A through 4E, in the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands of Western Alaska).
Additionally, as provided in the Halibut Act, the Regional Fishery
Management Councils having authority for the geographic area concerned
may develop, and the Secretary of Commerce may implement, regulations
governing harvesting privileges among U.S. fishermen in U.S. waters
that are in addition to, and not in conflict with, approved IPHC
regulations (16 U.S.C. 773c(c)). The Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) has exercised this authority by developing a catch sharing
plan guiding the allocation of halibut across the various sectors and
management of fisheries for
[[Page 41335]]
the IPHC's regulatory Area 2A. At its annual meeting held January 22-
27, 2023, the IPHC adopted an Area 2A fishery constant exploitation
yield (FCEY) of 1.52 million pounds (689.46 metric tons (mt)) of
Pacific halibut. NMFS published this catch limit and fishery
allocations in the Federal Register on March 7, 2023 (88 FR 14066),
after acceptance by the Secretary of State, with concurrence from the
Secretary of Commerce, in accordance with 50 CFR 300.62. The FCEY was
derived from the total constant exploitation yield (TCEY) of 1.65
million pounds for Area 2A, which includes commercial discards and
bycatch estimates calculated using a formula developed by the IPHC.
Based on this FCEY for Area 2A and the allocation framework in the
Council's catch sharing plan, the IPHC also adopted a non-tribal
directed commercial fishing allocation of 257,819 pounds (116.94 mt).
On December 5, 2022, NMFS published a final rule that established
NMFS' authority to issue permits for Area 2A halibut fisheries, as well
as a regulatory framework for the area 2A directed commercial fishery
(87 FR 74322). NMFS is implementing the following 2023 harvest
specifications and management measures for the directed commercial
fishery based on that regulatory framework.
2023 Directed Commercial Fishing Periods
Fishing periods are the time during the annual halibut season when
directed commercial fishing for Pacific halibut is allowed, and may
span multiple days. Through this final rule NMFS is establishing two
fishing periods, both of which are 58 hours in length. The first
fishing period begins on June 27, 2023, at 8 a.m. and closes on June
29, 2023, at 6 p.m. The second fishing period will occur 2 weeks later,
beginning on July 11, 2023, at 8 a.m. and closing on July 13, 2023, at
6 p.m. Following these two fishing periods, if the fishery has not
attained nor is projected to have attained the directed commercial
allocation, NMFS may determine that subsequent fishing period(s) are
necessary to attain the allocation. Any additional fishing period(s)
and applicable fishing period limits will be announced in the Federal
Register through inseason action.
2023 Directed Commercial Vessel Limits
A fishing period limit, or vessel limit, is the maximum amount of
Pacific halibut that may be retained and landed by a vessel during one
fishing period. Each vessel may retain no more than the current fishing
period limit of Pacific halibut for its vessel class, which is
determined by vessel length (see Table 1). This final rule implements
directed commercial fishing period limits based on the allocation for
the directed commercial fishery in Area 2A and the number of permits
issued by vessel size class. Vessel limits are determined by vessel
size class based on the number and sizes of the vessels for which
permits were issued, as well as historical participation, and are
intended to ensure that the Area 2A directed commercial fishery does
not exceed the directed commercial allocation, while also providing
fair and equitable access across participants to an attainable amount
of harvest. The 2023 Pacific halibut directed commercial fishery permit
application deadline was February 14, 2023. NMFS received 154
applications across eight vessel size classes (A-H) and used that
information in determining the vessel limits. If NMFS determines
fishing period(s) in addition to those in this rule is warranted, NMFS
will set the fishing period limits equal across all vessel classes. If
NMFS determines that the directed commercial fishery has attained its
annual allocation or is projected to attain its allocation if
additional fishing was to be allowed, the Regional Administrator will
take action to close the fishery.
2023 Non-Tribal Directed Commercial Fishery Management Measures
The Area 2A non-tribal directed commercial fishery south of Point
Chehalis, WA (46[deg]53.30' N lat.), will open on June 27 at 8 a.m. and
close on June 29 at 6 p.m. and will open July 11 at 8 a.m. and close on
July 13 at 6 p.m. The fishery may be adjusted inseason consistent with
50 CFR 300.63.
Table 1--Vessel Limits by Size Class for the 2023 First and Second
Fishing Periods of the Area 2A Pacific Halibut Non-Tribal Directed
Commercial Fishery
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Fishing period limit
Vessel class Length range (feet) (pounds)
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A........................... 1-25 2,716
B........................... 26-30 2,716
C........................... 31-35 2,716
D........................... 36-40 4,092
E........................... 41-45 4,092
F........................... 46-50 5,454
G........................... 51-55 5,454
H........................... 56+ 6,136
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NMFS published a proposed rule on April 14, 2023 (88 FR 22992), and
received no public comments.
Classification
Regulations governing the U.S. fisheries for Pacific halibut are
developed by the IPHC, the Council, the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council, and the Secretary of Commerce. Section 5 of the
Halibut Act (16 U.S.C. 773c(c)) allows the Regional Council, having
authority for a particular geographical area, to develop regulations
governing the allocation and catch of halibut in U.S. Convention waters
as long as those regulations do not conflict with IPHC regulations.
This action is exempt from review under E.O. 12866.
NMFS finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the date of
effectiveness and make the 2023 Area 2A directed commercial fishery
specifications (i.e., fishing periods and vessel limits) in this rule
effective in time for the start of the directed commercial Pacific
halibut fishery on June 27, 2023, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). The
fishery specifications in this rule follow the established framework
for annual specifications for the IPHC regulatory Area 2A directed
commercial fishery at 50 CFR 300.63(e). Additionally, the fishing
periods and fishing period catch limits in this rule are consistent
with
[[Page 41336]]
how the fishery has been managed by the IPHC in prior years. This final
rule specifies fishery management measures only for the 2023 directed
commercial fishery and does not include changes to the codified
regulations.
Delaying the effective date of the specifications would be contrary
to the public interest. A delay in the effectiveness of these measures
for 30 days would result in the fisheries not opening on their intended
timelines and on the dates the affected public are expecting--the
directed commercial fishery season dates and vessel limits are
consistent with how this fishery has been managed and operated in
recent years, the framework for which was established through a
proposed (87 FR 44318; July 26, 2022) and final rulemaking (87 FR
74322; December 5, 2022), following multiple public meetings of the
Council and the IPHC where public comments were accepted. If the
commercial fisheries do not open on their intended timeline, there will
likely be an opportunity cost for those commercial entities that
anticipated these fishing dates, causing economic harm. A delay in the
start of the fishing season may risk the ability to attain the directed
commercial allocation, potentially affecting the ability for the
fisheries to attain the overall Area 2A catch limit set by the IPHC.
Therefore, a delay in effectiveness of the management measures
would likely cause economic harm to the commercial fisheries. As a
result of the harm to the commercial fishery that could be caused by
delaying the effectiveness of these management measures, NMFS finds
good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the date of effectiveness and
make the specifications effective upon publication in the Federal
Register.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility
analysis was not required and none was prepared.
This action does not contain a collection-of-information
requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act. There are no
relevant Federal rules that may duplicate, overlap, or conflict with
this action.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773-773k.
Dated: June 15, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-13516 Filed 6-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 26, 2023.
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