§ 660.390 - Groundfish conservation areas.

In § 660.302, a groundfish conservation area is defined in part as “a geographic area defined by coordinates expressed in degrees latitude and longitude, wherein fishing by a particular gear type or types may be prohibited.” While some groundfish conservation areas may be designed with the intent that their shape be determined by ocean bottom depth contours, their shapes are defined in regulation by latitude/longitude coordinates and are enforced by those coordinates. Latitude/longitude coordinates designating the large-scale boundaries for rockfish conservation areas are found in §§ 660.391 through 660.394. Fishing activity that is prohibited or permitted within a particular groundfish conservation area is detailed at §§ 660.381 through 660.384.

(a) North Coast Recreational Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area. The North Coast Recreational Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area (YRCA) is a C-shaped area off the northern Washington coast intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. The North Coast Recreational YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 48°18.00′ N. lat.; 125°18.00′ W. long.;

(2) 48°18.00′ N. lat.; 124°59.00′ W. long.;

(3) 48°11.00′ N. lat.; 124°59.00′ W. long.;

(4) 48°11.00′ N. lat.; 125°11.00′ W. long.;

(5) 48°04.00′ N. lat.; 125°11.00′ W. long.;

(6) 48°04.00′ N. lat.; 124°59.00′ W. long.;

(7) 48°00.00′ N. lat.; 124°59.00′ W. long.;

(8) 48°00.00′ N. lat.; 125°18.00′ W. long.;

and connecting back to 48°18.00′ N. lat.; 125°18.00′ W. long.

(b) North Coast Commercial Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area. The North Coast Commercial Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area (YRCA) is an area off the northern Washington coast, overlapping the northern part of North Coast Recreational YRCA, intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. The North Coast Commercial YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 48°11.77′ N. lat., 125°13.03′ W. long.;

(2) 48°16.43′ N. lat., 125°07.55′ W. long.;

(3) 48°14.72′ N. lat., 125°01.84′ W. long.;

(4) 48°13.36′ N. lat., 125°03.20′ W. long.;

(5) 48°12.74′ N. lat., 125°05.83′ W. long.;

(6) 48°11.55′ N. lat., 125°04.99′ W. long.;

(7) 48°09.96′ N. lat., 125°06.63′ W. long.;

(8) 48°09.68′ N. lat., 125°08.75′ W. long.;

and connecting back to 48°11.77′ N. lat., 125°13.03′ W. long.

(c) Salmon Troll Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area. The Salmon Troll Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area (YRCA) is an area off the northern Washington coast, overlapping the southern part of North Coast Recreational YRCA, intended to protect yelloweye rockfish.The Salmon Troll YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 48°00.00′ N. lat., 125°14.00′ W. long.;

(2) 48°02.00′ N. lat., 125°14.00′ W. long.;

(3) 48°02.00′ N. lat., 125°16.50′ W. long.;

(4) 48°00.00′ N. lat., 125°16.50′ W. long.; and connecting back to 48°00.00′ N. lat., 125°14.00′ W. long.

(d) South Coast Recreational Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area. The South Coast Recreational Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area (YRCA) is an area off the southern Washington coast intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. The South Coast Recreational YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 46°58.00′ N. lat., 124°48.00′ W. long.;

(2) 46°55.00′ N. lat., 124°48.00′ W. long.;

(3) 46°55.00′ N. lat., 124°49.00′ W. long.;

(4) 46°58.00′ N. lat., 124°49.00′ W. long.; and connecting back to 46°58.00′ N. lat., 124°48.00′ W. long.

(e) Westport Offshore Recreational YRCA. The Westport Offshore Recreational YRCA is an area off the southern Washington coast intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. The Westport Recreational YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 46°54.30′ N. lat., 124°53.40′ W. long.;

(2) 46°54.30′ N. lat., 124°51.00′ W. long.;

(3) 46°53.30′ N. lat., 124°51.00′ W. long.;

(4) 46°53.30′ N. lat., 124°53.40′ W. long.; and connecting back to 46°54.30′ N. lat., 124°53.40′ W. long.

(f) Stonewall Bank Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area. The Stonewall Bank Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area (YRCA) is an area off central Oregon, near Stonewall Bank, intended to protect yelloweye rockfish.The Stonewall Bank YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 44°37.46′ N. lat.; 124°24.92′ W. long.;

(2) 44°37.46′ N. lat.; 124°23.63′ W. long.;

(3) 44°28.71′ N. lat.; 124°21.80′ W. long.;

(4) 44°28.71′ N. lat.; 124°24.10′ W. long.;

(5) 44°31.42′ N. lat.; 124°25.47′ W. long.;

and connecting back to 44°37.46′ N. lat.; 124°24.92′ W. long.

(g) Point St. George YRCA. The Point St. George YRCA is an area off the northern California coast, northwest of Point St. George, intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. The Point St. George YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 41°51.00′ N. lat., 124°23.75′ W. long.;

(2) 41°51.00′ N. lat., 124°20.75′ W. long.;

(3) 41°48.00′ N. lat., 124°20.75′ W. long.;

(4) 41°48.00′ N. lat., 124°23.75′ W. long.; and connecting back to 41°51.00′ N. lat., 124°23.75′ W. long.

(h) South Reef YRCA. The South Reef YRCA is an area off the northern California coast, southwest of Crescent City, intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. The South Reef YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 41°42.20′ N. lat., 124°16.00′ W. long.;

(2) 41°42.20′ N. lat., 124°13.80′ W. long.;

(3) 41°40.50′ N. lat., 124°13.80′ W. long.;

(4) 41°40.50′ N. lat., 124°16.00′ W. long.; and connecting back to 41°42.20′ N. lat., 124°16.00′ W. long.

(i) Reading Rock YRCA. The Reading Rock YRCA is an area off the northern California coast, between Crescent City and Eureka, intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. The Reading Rock YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 41°21.50′ N. lat., 124°12.00′ W. long.;

(2) 41°21.50′ N. lat., 124°10.00′ W. long.;

(3) 41°20.00′ N. lat., 124°10.00′ W. long.;

(4) 41°20.00′ N. lat., 124°12.00′ W. long.; and connecting back to 41°21.50′ N. lat., 124°12.00′ W. long.

(j) Point Delgada YRCAs. The Point Delgada YRCAs are two areas off the northern California coast, south of Point Delgada and Shelter Cove, intended to protect yelloweye rockfish. The Northern Point Delgada YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 39°59.00′ N. lat., 124°05.00′ W. long.;

(2) 39°59.00′ N. lat., 124°03.00′ W. long.;

(3) 39°57.00′ N. lat., 124°03.00′ W. long.;

(4) 39°57.00′ N. lat., 124°05.00′ W. long.; and connecting back to 39°59.00′ N. lat., 124°05.00′ W. long.

(k) Southern Point Delgada YRCA. The Southern Point Delgada YRCA is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 39°57.00′ N. lat., 124°05.00′ W. long.;

(2) 39°57.00′ N. lat., 124°02.00′ W. long.;

(3) 39°54.00′ N. lat., 124°02.00′ W. long.;

(4) 39°54.00′ N. lat., 124°05.00′ W. long.; and connecting back to 39°57.00′ N. lat., 124°05.00′ W. long.

(l) Cowcod Conservation Areas. The Cowcod Conservation Areas (CCAs) are two areas off the southern California coast intended to protect cowcod. The Western CCA is an area south of Point Conception defined by the straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 33°50.00′ N. lat., 119°30.00′ W. long.;

(2) 33°50.00′ N. lat., 118°50.00′ W. long.;

(3) 32°20.00′ N. lat., 118°50.00′ W. long.;

(4) 32°20.00′ N. lat., 119°37.00′ W. long.;

(5) 33°00.00′ N. lat., 119°37.00′ W. long.;

(6) 33°00.00′ N. lat., 119°53.00′ W. long.;

(7) 33°33.00′ N. lat., 119°53.00′ W. long.;

(8) 33°33.00′ N. lat., 119°30.00′ W. long.;

and connecting back to 33°50.00′ N. lat., 119°30.00′ W. long.

(m) The Eastern CCA is an area west of San Diego defined by the straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 32°42.00′ N. lat., 118°02.00′ W. long.;

(2) 32°42.00′ N. lat., 117°50.00′ W. long.;

(3) 32°36.70′ N. lat., 117°50.00′ W. long.;

(4) 32°30.00′ N. lat., 117°53.50′ W. long.;

(5) 32°30.00′ N. lat., 118°02.00′ W. long.;

and connecting back to 32°42.00′ N. lat., 118°02.00′ W. long.

(n) Farallon Islands. The Farallon Islands, off San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, include Southeast Farallon Island, Middle Farallon Island, North Farallon Island and Noon Day Rock. Generally, the State of California prohibits fishing for groundfish between the shoreline and the 10-fm (18-m) depth contour around the Farallon Islands.

(o) Cordell Banks. Cordell Banks are located offshore of California′s Marin County. Generally, fishing for groundfish is prohibited in waters of depths less than 100-fm (183-m) around Cordell Banks as defined by specific latitude and longitude coordinates. The Cordell Banks closed area is defined by straight lines connecting the following specific latitude and longitude coordinates in the order listed:

(1) 38°03.18′ N. lat., 123°20.77′ W. long.;

(2) 38°06.29′ N. lat., 123°25.03′ W. long.;

(3) 38°06.34′ N. lat., 123°29.32′ W. long.;

(4) 38°04.57′ N. lat., 123°31.30′ W. long.;

(5) 38°02.32′ N. lat., 123°31.07′ W. long.;

(6) 38°00.00′ N. lat., 123°28.40′ W. long.;

(7) 37°58.10′ N. lat., 123°26.66′ W. long.;

(8) 37°55.07′ N. lat., 123°26.81′ W. long.;

(9) 38°00.00′ N. lat., 123°23.08′ W. long.;

and connecting back to 38°03.18′ N. lat., 123°20.77′ W. long.

(p) Rockfish Conservation Areas. RCA restrictions are detailed at §§ 660.381 through 660.384.RCAs may apply to a single gear type or to a group of gear types such as “trawl RCAs” or “non-trawl RCAs.” Specific latitude and longitude coordinates for RCA boundaries that approximate the depth contours selected for trawl, non-trawl, and recreational RCAs are provided in §§ 660.391 through 660.394.Also provided in §§ 660.391 through 660.394 are references to islands and rocks that serve as reference points for the RCAs.

(1) Trawl (Limited Entry and Open Access Nongroundfish Trawl Gears) Rockfish Conservation Areas. Trawl RCAs are intended to protect a complex of species, such as overfished shelf rockfish species, and have boundaries defined by specific latitude and longitude coordinates intended to approximate particular depth contours. Boundaries for the trawl RCA throughout the year are provided in Tables 3 and 5 (North) and Tables 3 and 5 (South) and may be modified by NMFS inseason pursuant to § 660.370(c). Trawl RCA boundaries are defined by specific latitude and longitude coordinates and are provided in §§ 660.391 through 660.394.

(2) Non-Trawl (Limited Entry Fixed Gear and Open Access Non-trawl Gears) Rockfish Conservation Areas. Non-trawl RCAs are intended to protect a complex of species, such as overfished shelf rockfish species, and have boundaries defined by specific latitude and longitude coordinates intended to approximate particular depth contours. Boundaries for the non-trawl RCA throughout the year are provided in Tables 4 and 5 (North) and Tables 4 and 5 (South) of this subpart and may be modified by NMFS inseason pursuant to § 660.370(c). Non-trawl RCA boundaries are defined by specific latitude and longitude coordinates and are provided in §§ 660.391 through 660.394.

(3) Recreational Rockfish Conservation Areas. Recreational RCAs are closed areas intended to protect overfished rockfish species. Recreational RCAs may either have boundaries defined by general depth contours or boundaries defined by specific latitude and longitude coordinates intended to approximate particular depth contours. Boundaries for the recreational RCAs throughout the year are provided in the text in § 660.384(c) under each state (Washington, Oregon and California) and may be modified by NMFS inseason pursuant to § 660.370. Recreational RCA boundaries are defined by specific latitude and longitude coordinates and are provided in §§ 660.391 through 660.394.