[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 23, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1739-1742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-885]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 663
[Docket No. 960111002-6002-01; I.D. 112495B]
RIN 0648-AG31
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Designation of Routine
Management Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a proposed rule that would designate certain
management measures as ``routine'' in the Pacific coast groundfish
fishery off Washington, Oregon, and California. Once management
measures have been designated as routine, they may be modified after a
single meeting and recommendation of the Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council). Such action is authorized under the Pacific Coast
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and is intended to provide for
responsive inseason management of the groundfish resource.
DATES: Comments must be received by March 8, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to William Stelle, Jr., Director,
Northwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point
Way NE., BIN C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or Hilda Diaz-Soltero,
Director, Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 501 W.
Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213. Information
relevant to this proposed rule has been compiled in aggregate form and
is available for public review during business hours at the Office of
the Director, Northwest Region, NMFS. Copies of the Environmental
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) can be obtained from the
Council, 2000 SW First Avenue, Suite 420, Portland, OR 97201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at 206-526-6140,
or Rodney R. McInnis at 310-980-4030.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP authorizes the designation of
certain management measures as ``routine.'' Routine management measures
are specific for species, gear types and purposes. Implementation and
adjustment of those routine measures may occur after consideration at a
single Council meeting, subsequent approval by NMFS and announcement in
the Federal Register. Adjustments must be within the scope of the
analysis performed when the management measure originally is designated
routine. A list of routine management measures is found at 50 CFR
663.23, specifying the species and gear types to which they apply.
At its August 1994 meeting, the Council announced its preliminary
recommendation to designate the management measures contained in this
proposed rule as routine. A draft EA/RIR was distributed to the public.
At its October 1994 meeting, after hearing public testimony, the
Council confirmed its preliminary recommendations to establish
additional routine designations as follows: (1) Trip limits for all
groundfish species, separately or in any combination, taken with open
access gear; and (2) trip and size limits for lingcod, and trip limits
for canary rockfish, shortspine thornyheads and longspine thornyheads
taken with any legal gear in the limited entry (or open access)
fisheries.
The most common type of routine management measure is ``trip
landing and frequency limits,'' which applies to the harvest of most
major groundfish species. Trip landing and frequency limits (trip
limits) include limits on the
[[Page 1740]]
amount of fish that a vessel may legally land per fishing trip or
cumulatively per unit of time, and/or limits on the number of landings
that may be made by a vessel in a given period of time. Taken to an
extreme, a fishery may be closed (equivalent to a ``zero trip limit'')
under this routine designation.
Size limits have been designated as routine in the recreational
fishery for lingcod and in the commercial and open access fisheries for
sablefish. Size limits often are used in conjunction with trip limits
to prevent the harvest of immature fish or fish that have not reached
their full reproductive capacity. Size limits also are used to slow the
harvest rate and prolong the fishery. Whenever size limits are used, it
is understood that conversion factors and methods of measurement may be
established or adjusted routinely on a case-by-case basis.
A. Open Access Fishery--trip limits for all groundfish, separately
or in any combination. Trip limits for most groundfish species with
harvest guidelines have already been designated routine for the limited
entry and open access fisheries. (These species/species groups are:
Widow rockfish, the Sebastes complex, yellowtail rockfish, Pacific
ocean perch, sablefish, Dover sole, thornyheads, bocaccio, and Pacific
whiting.) The primary purpose of those trip limits is to keep landings
within the levels specified by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary).
However, not all species caught in the open access fishery have a
harvest guideline (because there is inadequate information or no need
for close management), and not all species with a harvest guideline
have an individual open access allocation (because very little catch
has occurred historically or is expected in the open access fishery).
Individual trip limits for these minor species generally would be too
small to be manageable. Therefore, open access trip limits have been
set for larger groups of species, ``all rockfish'' and ``all
groundfish'' in 1995, under the assumption that the species composition
of the catch would remain similar to recent historical levels.
Consequently, a number of species whose trip limits have not been
individually designated routine are included under the trip limits for
``all rockfish'' and ``all groundfish'' in the open access fishery.
These are minor species like grenadiers and shortbelly rockfish about
which there is little biological information and little known harvest.
However, without a routine designation for trip limits for these
species, the trip limits for ``all rockfish'' and ``all groundfish''
may not be adjusted quickly during the season unless a resource problem
exists (under the points of concern mechanism in the FMP). However, it
is prudent to limit harvest before a conservation problem occurs, for
example, by keeping landings within the harvest guideline. As discussed
above, sometimes inseason adjustments are necessary to achieve the
Council's non-biological goals such as keeping landings within the open
access allocations, to maintain a long fishing season, and to
discourage increases in effort. In addition, trip limits for individual
species may need to be established and adjusted if the open access
fishery for that species begins to expand beyond historical levels.
Therefore, trip limits for all groundfish species, separately or in any
combination, that are caught in the open access fishery must be
designated routine in order to respond swiftly to changes in effort in
the fishery, and such trip limits need not apply to the same groups of
species managed by trip limits in the limited entry fishery.
This ``blanket'' all-groundfish designation would add approximately
137,150 mt of species with acceptable biological catch (ABC) or harvest
guideline specifications (as of 1995) to routine management in the open
access fishery. Of this, about 76,000 mt are underutilized species
(jack mackerel and shortbelly rockfish) whose landings have not yet
come close to their respective harvest guidelines, 35,000 mt are
miscellaneous rockfish and flatfish with no individual harvest
guideline, and about 15,000 mt are miscellaneous groundfish in the
management unit but that do not have individual species ABCs or harvest
guidelines. The remaining 11,000 mt are for Pacific cod, shortspine
thornyheads, longspine thornyheads, and canary rockfish.
Trip limits in the open access fishery have been set annually and
are not expected to change drastically from current levels. The level
of trip limits will vary, however, depending largely on the amount of
species available, effort in the fishery, and attempts to prolong the
fishery as long as possible. Therefore, it is important to be able to
modify these limits during the season rather than awaiting an annual
cycle.
The purposes for making routine adjustments to trip limits would
still apply (50 CFR 663.23(c)(1)(ii)): To keep landings within the
levels announced by the Secretary; to extend the fishing season; to
minimize disruption of traditional fishing and marketing patterns; to
avoid discards; to discourage target fishing while allowing small
incidental catches to be landed; and to allow small fisheries to
operate outside the normal season. In addition, trip limits for the
open access fishery are intended to maintain landings at historical
(1984-88) proportions (50 CFR 663.23(c)(2)(ii)).
B. Limited Entry and Open Access Fisheries--Trip and size limits
for lingcod; trip limits for canary rockfish, shortspine thornyheads,
and longspine thornyheads. Several species that had harvest guidelines
in 1995, and are expected to have harvest guidelines again in 1996, and
that are appropriately managed with trip limits have not yet been
designated for individual routine management. These species are
lingcod, canary rockfish, shortspine thornyheads and longspine
thornyheads. (Size limits for lingcod will also need to be designated
as routine for the commercial fishery; they already are routine in the
recreational fishery.) Clearly, these species should be managed
consistently, especially those caught together in a species complex.
This is even more critical because stock assessments for lingcod,
canary rockfish, and shortspine thornyheads indicate harvests have been
close to the estimated levels of overfishing in recent years.
Information on each species and management measure proposed for
routine designation is summarized below. More detailed information
appears in the EA/RIR for this rule and in the Stock Assessment and
Fishery Evaluation documents for the 1995 and 1996 fisheries available
from the Council (see ADDRESSES).
(1) Lingcod. A new stock assessment in 1994 resulted in a
significant decrease in the harvest guideline (from 4,000 mt in 1994 to
2,400 mt in 1995) due to heavy exploitation, particularly north of Cape
Falcon, OR (45 deg.46' N. lat.). The average catch of 2,736 mt north of
Cape Falcon during 1989-93 was below, but near, the overfishing level.
Management is complicated because this is a transboundary stock that
also is harvested in Canadian waters. A harvest guideline was
established for lingcod for the first time in 1994 in response to
indications of reduced abundance and concerns of effort shifts into the
open access fishery for this species. Until 1995, there were no Federal
trip or size limits on the commercial fishery. Recreational bag limits
(3-5 fish) applied in all three states, and a size limit of 22 inches
(56 cm) applied only in California. During the annual management cycle
in 1995, a 20,000-lb (907-kg) cumulative monthly trip limit was
implemented. The 22-inch (56-cm) size limit was applied coastwide in
both commercial and recreational fisheries, with a ``per trip'' limit
of 100 lb (45 kg) for trawl-
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caught lingcod. Recreational bag and size limits for lingcod already
are designated routine, but not commercial trip and size limits.
As in the recreational fishery, size limits may be appropriate in
the commercial fishery to protect juvenile fish and the reproductive
potential of the stock. The size composition of lingcod in the
Monterey-Columbia subareas in 1992-93 was smaller than observed in
limited samples in 1978-83. There is concern that the young average age
and size of the catch indicates a substantial level of fishing
mortality. The 22-inch (56 cm) size limit used in the recreational
fishery is a reasonable starting point for the commercial fishery. More
information may be needed to refine size limits, because trawl
selectivity and/or relative year class strength may differ along the
coast, depending on the fishery and gender of the fish, and some data
indicate that size at 50 percent maturity increases from south to
north. It is important to be able to respond to new information as it
becomes available, particularly when this resource appears to be
harvested near its overfishing level.
(2) Canary rockfish. Canary rockfish is a component of the multi-
species Sebastes complex, which already is managed under routine trip
limits. A 1994 stock assessment for canary rockfish indicated a
substantial decline in stock biomass and that continuation at current
ABC levels (set in 1990) would result in overfishing. Therefore, a
separate harvest guideline for canary rockfish was set for the first
time in 1995, with separate limits for canary rockfish (6,000 lb (2,722
kg) per month cumulative coastwide) that are counted toward the total
limit for the Sebastes complex. The canary harvest guideline for the
Vancouver-Columbia subareas of 1,250 mt in 1995 is about half the
recent annual catch of 2,500 mt in 1992 and 1993. Although landings are
well below the harvest guideline in 1995, the ability to modify trip
limits during the season is essential to respond to changes in fishing
behavior and to keep landings within the harvest guideline.
(3) Thornyheads (shortspine and longspine). Thornyheads were
managed together until 1995 when separate harvest guidelines were
established for each species. Trip limits for thornyheads combined
already are designated routine. Although trip limits for shortspine
thornyheads have been adjusted under the routine designation for
thornyheads combined, NMFS proposes to revise the regulations to
clarify that the routine designation applies to each species
separately.
Thornyheads are a component of the DTS complex that includes Dover
sole, both species of thornyheads, and trawl-caught sablefish.
Longspine thornyheads are more abundant and are being fished down to
the level that would produce their maximum sustainable yield. There is
no conservation problem with longspine thornyheads. However, shortspine
thornyheads, which are caught with longspine thornyheads, are less
abundant and have been fished close to their overfishing level in
recent years. The 1995 harvest of shortspine thornyheads is expected to
slightly exceed the overfishing level (60 FR 58527, November 28, 1995).
Landings of longspine thornyheads are restricted to protect shortspine
thornyheads.
Thornyheads have become the most valuable species in the DTS
complex and effort on them has intensified, resulting in the need for
sometimes frequent inseason adjustment. Trip limits have been adjusted
to divert effort to deeper water where longspine thornyheads are more
abundant relative to shortspine thornyheads. In 1995, the cumulative
monthly trip limits ranged from 20,000-8,000 lb (9,072-3,629 kg) for
thornyheads combined, of which no more than 4,000-1,500 lb (1,814-680
kg) could be shortspine thornyheads. Even so, landings of shortspine
thornyheads have been very difficult to control, and the entire DTS
complex fishery will be closed in late 1995 to protect shortspine
thornyheads. Management of thornyheads will be even more restrictive in
1996.
C. Clarification. Reducing discards already is included in the
regulations as a reason for making routine inseason adjustments to trip
limits in commercial fisheries (50 CFR 663.23(c)(1)(ii)(A)). However,
this reason was inadvertently omitted from the regulations governing
routine groundfish trip limits that apply to the shrimp fishery. The
ability to adjust trip limits to avoid discards is important, because,
if set too low, a trip limit may actually result in increased discards
of fish caught unavoidably in excess of the limit, resulting in no net
reduction of total catch. ``Reducing discards'' is changed to
``avoiding discards'' to better describe the reason for making a
routine change. Reduction of discards is not easily measured or
determined. This rule would establish avoidance of discards as a reason
for setting or adjusting trip limits in all commercial fisheries
(including the harvest of groundfish with nongroundfish trawl gear),
not just for those species listed individually at 50 CFR
663.23(c)(1)(i). Also, for simplification, this rule would combine the
purposes for routine management measures listed in paragraphs
(c)(1)(ii) and (c)(2)(ii), making clear that maintaining landings at
historical levels applies only to the open access fishery.
Classification
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA has initially
determined that this action is consistent with the FMP, the national
standards and other provisions of the Magnuson Act, and other
applicable law.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of
the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted,
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities. The socio-economic impacts are discussed in the EA/RIR.
Based on the Council's analysis, NMFS has considered the costs to the
limited entry and open-access fleets and believes that there is no
additional cost to the industry from taking this proposed action. As a
result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 663
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: January 17, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
PART 663--PACIFIC COAST GROUNDFISH FISHERY
1. The authority citation for part 663 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In Sec. 663.23, paragraphs (c)(1)(i)(G)through (I) and paragraph
(c)(1)(ii)(A) are revised, paragraphs (J), (K), and (L) are added;
paragraph (c)(2) is removed, and paragraph (c)(3) is redesignated as
paragraph (c)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 663.23 Catch restrictions.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(1) * * *
(i) * * *
(G) Thornyheads (shortspine thornyheads or longspine thornyheads,
separately or combined)--all gear--trip landing and frequency limits;
(H) Bocaccio--all gear--trip landing and frequency limits;
(I) Pacific whiting--all gear--trip landing and frequency limits;
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(J) Lingcod--all gear--trip landing and frequency limits; size
limits;
(K) Canary rockfish--all gear--trip landing and frequency limits;
and
(L) All groundfish, separately or in any combination--any legal
open access gear (including non-groundfish trawl gear used to harvest
pink shrimp, spot or ridgeback prawns, California halibut or sea
cucumbers in accordance with the regulations in this subpart)--trip
landing and frequency limits. (Size limits designated routine in this
section continue to apply.)
(ii) * * *
(A) Trip landing and frequency limits--to extend the fishing
season; to minimize disruption of traditional fishing and marketing
patterns; to reduce discards; to discourage target fishing while
allowing small incidental catches to be landed; to allow small
fisheries to operate outside the normal season; and, for the open
access fishery only, to maintain landings at historical (1984-88)
proportions.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 96-885 Filed 1-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
