Rule2024-24400
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2023-2024 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
October 22, 2024
Effective
October 22, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
This final rule announces routine inseason adjustments to management measures in commercial groundfish fisheries. This action is intended to allow fishing vessels to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting rebuilding stocks.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 204 (Tuesday, October 22, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 22, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 84296-84302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24400]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 221206-0261]
RIN 0648-BN32
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2023-2024 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
management measures in commercial groundfish fisheries. This action is
intended to allow fishing vessels to access more abundant groundfish
stocks while protecting rebuilding stocks.
DATES: This final rule is effective October 22, 2024.
ADDRESSES: 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="https://www.pcouncil.org/">https://www.pcouncil.org/</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Sean Matson, phone: 206-526-6187
or email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e19284808fcf8c8095928e8fa18f8e8080cf868e97"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="acdfc9cdc282c1cdd8dfc3c2ecc2c3cdcd82cbc3da">[email protected]</span></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), part 660, subparts C through G, regulate fishing for
over 90 species of groundfish seaward of Washington, Oregon, and
California. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) develops
groundfish harvest specifications and management measures for 2-year
periods (biennia). NMFS published the final rule to implement harvest
specifications and management measures for the 2023-2024 biennium for
most species managed under the PCGFMP on December 16, 2022 (87 FR
77007). 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 September 2024 meeting, the Council recommended an
assortment of modifications that included corrections and adjustments,
to commercial fixed gear trip limits and incidental catch limits, for
limited entry (LE) and open access (OA) fisheries for the remainder of
2024. Stocks and complexes with recommended changes included the other
fish complex south of 40[deg]10' N lat., minor nearshore rockfish south
of 40[deg]10' N lat., and cabezon in California. Potential changes were
analyzed and ultimately recommended after updated information regarding
projected catch and attainment became available, as well as requests
from industry.
Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries are managed using harvest
specifications or limits (e.g., overfishing limits,
[[Page 84297]]
acceptable biological catch, annual catch limits and harvest
guidelines) 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 control catch so as not to exceed the
harvest specifications. The harvest specifications and management
measures developed for the 2023-2024 biennium used data through the
2021 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.
Other Fish Limited Entry Trip Limit South of 40[deg]10' N Lat.
(Correction)
In the September 2024 meeting, the Council recommended that the
trip limit for the ``other fish'' complex be changed from zero pounds
(lb) per 2 months, to unlimited for the limited entry fixed gear (LEFG)
fishery south of 40[deg]10' N lat. during November and December of 2024
(table 1), to correct an inadvertent change made in the inseason action
from November 2023, which became effective in January 2024.
Table 1--Trip Limit Structure for LE FG ``Other Fish'' Complex South of
40[deg]10' N Lat., in Current Regulation and Recommended by Council in
September 2024
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option January-October November-December
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current regulation.......... 0 lb (0 kg)/2 months 0 lb (0 kg)/2
months.
Recommended................. 0 lb (0 kg)/2 months Unlimited.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LEFG and OA Minor Nearshore Rockfish South of 40[deg]10' N Lat., and
Cabezon in California
The Council recommended at their September 2024 meeting, in
agreement with analyses by the Council's Groundfish Management Team
(GMT) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW),
discussion with the Groundfish Advisory Subpanel and enforcement
consultants, to change the management lines on LEFG and open access
(OA) trip limits in Federal regulation for cabezon in California, as
well as shallow and deeper nearshore rockfish (within the minor
nearshore rockfish south of 40[deg]10' N lat. complex) from 36[deg] N
lat. to 37[deg]07' N lat. (tables 2 and 3). This was done to align trip
limits with current non-trawl rockfish conservation area boundaries
(implemented April 1, 2024), align State and Federal regulations,
prevent regulatory and enforcement confusion, and to better serve
conservation needs of quillback rockfish (recently designated as
overfished), while minimizing corresponding constraints to fishery
participants by utilizing more spatially precise management measures.
Similar changes were recommended in March 2024 (implemented April 2024)
for lingcod, shelf rockfish, and other flatfish, to allow more
spatially precise management measures, for both better quillback
conservation, and better concurrent access to other target species.
CDFW has taken State action to move their latitude line for quillback
related closures from 36[deg] to 37[deg]07' N lat. for the same reasons
(State/Federal coordination, and benefits of spatially precise
management).
Table 2--Trip Limit Structure for LEFG and OA Minor Nearshore Rockfish South of 40[deg]10' N Lat., in Current
Regulation and Recommended by Council in September 2024
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Option Habitat Management area Trip limits
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Current regulation....... Shallow nearshore.............. 40[deg]10' N lat.- 0 lb (0 kg)/2 months.
36[deg] N lat. 2,000 lb (907 kg)/2 months.
South of 36[deg] N
lat.
Deeper nearshore............... 40[deg]10' N lat.- 0 lb (0 kg)/2 months.
36[deg] N lat. 2,000 lb (907 kg)/2 months, of
South of 36[deg] N which no more than 75 lb (34
lat. kg) may be copper rockfish.
Council recommended...... Shallow nearshore.............. 40[deg]10' N lat.- 0 lb (0 kg)/2 months.
37[deg]07' N lat. 2,000 lb (907 kg)/2 months.
South of 37[deg]07'
N lat.
Deeper nearshore............... 40[deg]10' N lat.- 0 lb (0 kg)/2 months.
37[deg]07' N lat. 2,000 lb (907 kg)/2 months, of
South of 37[deg]07' which no more than 75 lb (34
N lat. kg) may be copper rockfish.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 3--Trip Limit Structure for LE FG and OA Cabezon in California,
South of 40[deg]10' N Lat., in Current Regulation and Recommended by
Council in September 2024
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option Management area Trip limits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current regulation.......... 40[deg]10' N lat.- 0 lb (0 kg)/2
36[deg] N lat. months.
South of 36[deg] N Unlimited.
lat.
Council recommended......... 40[deg]10' N lat.- 0 lb (0 kg)/2
37[deg]07' N lat. months.
South of 37[deg]07' Unlimited.
N lat.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Therefore, the Council recommended and NMFS is implementing, by
modifying table 2 South to part 660, subpart E, and table 3 South to
part 660, subpart F, changes to the management lines on LEFG and OA
trip limits in Federal regulation for cabezon in California, as well as
shallow and deeper nearshore rockfish (both part of
[[Page 84298]]
the minor nearshore rockfish south of 40[deg]10' N lat. complex) from
36[deg] N lat. to 37[deg]07' N lat. (tables 2 and 3). These changes
will start with Period 5 (November and December) and remain in place
through the end of 2024 and beyond, unless otherwise modified.
Retention Limits for Incidental Catch of Pacific Halibut North of Pt.
Chehalis
Pacific halibut is internationally managed by the International
Pacific Halibut Commission and NMFS. A catch sharing plan is published
each year by NMFS; the 2024 plan (89 FR 19275, March 18, 2024) states
that the non-treaty incidental catch in sablefish fishery (north of Pt.
Chehalis) is 50,000 lb (22.7 metric tons). At the September 2024
meeting, the Council recommended to increase retention limits for the
remainder of 2024, for incidental catch of Pacific halibut in the
primary sablefish fishery north of Pt. Chehalis. This would represent
an increase from the current limit in regulation of 130 lb (59 kg) of
halibut per 1,000 lb (454 kg) of dressed sablefish plus two halibut, to
150 lb (68 kg) of halibut per 1,000 lb (454 kg) of dressed sablefish
plus two halibut. This action was requested in order to help sablefish
fishers north of Pt. Chehalis increase the utilization of their
sablefish allocation without exceeding the halibut allocation. The GMT
projected an inconsequential increase in already low attainment of the
incidental halibut limit, from 52 to 55 percent, if the measure were
implemented (table 4).
Table 4--Projected Incidental Pacific Halibut Landings in the Primary Sablefish Fishery North of Point Chehalis
Under Current Regulation and Council Recommended Incidental Trip Limits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Projected landings (net wt. lb) Allocation (net wt. Attainment
Option Landing ratio through December 7 lb) (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status Quo............ 130 lb (59 kg) 25,871 (11,735 kg).............. 50,000 lb (22,680 kg). 52
halibut per
1,000 lb
sablefish landed
and up to 2
halibut in
excess of limit.
Alternative 1......... 150 lb (68 kg) 27,609 (12,523 kg).............. 55
halibut per
1,000 lb
sablefish landed
and up to 2
halibut in
excess of limit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Therefore, the Council recommended and NMFS is implementing, by
modifying regulation text in Sec. 660.60, paragraph (b)(3)(iv) to read
as follows: ``Incidental Pacific halibut retention north of Pt.
Chehalis, WA (46[deg]53.30' N lat.). From April 1 through the closure
date set by the International Pacific Halibut Commission for Pacific
halibut in all commercial fisheries, 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 lb (68 kg) dressed weight of Pacific halibut for every 1,000 lb
(454 kg) dressed weight of sablefish landed, and up to two additional
Pacific halibut in excess of the 150-lb-per-1,000-lb limit per landing.
NMFS publishes the International Pacific Halibut Commission's
regulations setting forth annual management measures, including the
closure date for Pacific halibut in all commercial fisheries, in the
Federal Register by March 15 each year, 50 CFR 300.62. ``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.''
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 Dr. Sean Matson 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
update management line designations on trip limits for cabezon in
California, and minor nearshore rockfish south of 40[deg]10' N lat.,
and allow additional incidental retention of bycaught Pacific halibut
north of Pt. Chehalis to allow additional economic opportunity while
keeping catch within allocations established by the 2023-2024 harvest
specifications, and the 2024 halibut catch sharing plan, respectively.
The latitude line changes on trip limits in the LE and OA sectors
are necessary to enable and spatially precise management for adequate
conservation, and to minimize catch of quillback rockfish, which was
recently determined to be overfished (NMFS notified the Council of the
overfished status determination for quillback rockfish on December 14,
2023), while allowing fishing for other species to continue in areas
where it may otherwise need to be closed if the changes were not made.
The changes also are necessary to enable effective enforcement by
aligning spatial management for these species across State and Federal
waters boundaries. Increases to retention of incidentally caught
halibut are necessary to enable more effective attainment of the
sablefish allocation without exceeding the halibut allocation.
Delaying implementation to allow for public comment would likely
reduce the economic benefits to the commercial fishing industry and the
businesses that rely on that industry, because it is unlikely the new
regulations would publish and could be implemented in time to realize
the projected benefits to fishing communities and the resource. A delay
in implementation could also contribute to unnecessarily discarded and
largely wasted fish, which could otherwise be landed to provide food
and revenue, and responsible use of the resource. Therefore, providing
a comment period for this action could significantly limit the economic
benefits to the fishery, and would hamper the achievement of optimum
yield from the affected fisheries.
[[Page 84299]]
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 fisheries by
increasing opportunity and allowing greater economic benefit. These
adjustments were requested by the Council's advisory bodies, as well as
members of industry during the Council's September 2024 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 2023-2024 (87 FR 77007).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, Indian fisheries.
Dated: October 16, 2024.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part
660 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:
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(3) * * *
(iv) Incidental Pacific halibut retention north of Pt. Chehalis, WA
(46[deg]53.30' N lat.). From April 1 through the closure date set by
the International Pacific Halibut Commission for Pacific halibut in all
commercial fisheries, 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 lb (68 kg) dressed weight of Pacific halibut for every 1,000 lb
(454 kg) dressed weight of sablefish landed, and up to two additional
Pacific halibut in excess of the 150-lb-per-1,000-lb limit per landing.
NMFS publishes the International Pacific Halibut Commission's
regulations setting forth annual management measures, including the
closure date for Pacific halibut in all commercial fisheries, in the
Federal Register by March 15 each year, 50 CFR 300.62. ``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.
* * * * *
0
3. Revise table 2 (South) to part 660, subpart E, to read as follows:
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
[[Page 84300]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR22OC24.000
[[Page 84301]]
0
4. Revise table 3 (South) to part 660, subpart F, to read as follows:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR22OC24.001
[[Page 84302]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR22OC24.002
[FR Doc. 2024-24400 Filed 10-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-C
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