[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 15, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53577-53579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27296]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 961227373-6373-01; I.D. 092497C]
Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Nontrawl Sablefish Mop-Up Fishery;
Announcement of Extension
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Nontrawl sablefish mop-up fishery and delay of the limited
entry daily trip limit fishery; announcement of extension.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the extension of and new ending date for the
mop-up fishery for nontrawl limited entry sablefish. This action will
delay the beginning of the October limited entry daily trip limit
fishery. This action is taken in response to unusually bad coastwide
weather during the first week of the mop-up fishery. This action is
intended to increase safety while providing for harvest of the
remainder of the 1997 limited entry nontrawl allocation for sablefish.
DATES: This action is effective on October 9, 1997. The nontrawl
sablefish mop-up fishery began at 1201 hours local time (l.t.), October
1, 1997, and will end at 1200 hours l.t., October 22, 1997, at which
time the limited entry daily trip limit fishery resumes. The daily trip
limits for the nontrawl sablefish fishery will remain in effect until
the effective date of the 1998 annual specifications and management
measures for the Pacific coast groundfish fishery, which will be
published in the Federal Register. Comments will be accepted through
October 22, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments on these actions should be sent to William Stelle,
Jr.,
[[Page 53578]]
Administrator, Northwest Region, (Regional Administrator), NMFS, 7600
Sand Point Way NE., Bldg. 1, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or to William
Hogarth, Acting Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean
Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213. Information relevant to
these actions has been compiled in aggregate form and is available for
public review during business hours at the office of the Regional
Administrator.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at 206-526-6140;
or Svein Fougner at 562-980-4034.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 1, 1997, NMFS published an
inseason action (62 FR 51381) to announce the start and end dates for
the limited entry, fixed gear mop-up fishery for sablefish. When the
notice was published, 612 mt (1,349,215 lb) of sablefish was available
to the mop-up fishery. The Regional Administrator, in consultation with
the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), set a mop-up season
with a cumulative trip limit of 8,500 lb (3,851 kg) (round weight), to
be taken in a 2-week period (October 1-15, 1997). NMFS expected that
almost all of the limited entry permit holders with sablefish
endorsements would participate in the mop-up fishery and would catch
the full cumulative limit amount.
As the mop-up season has progressed, NMFS and the states of
Washington, Oregon, and California have received numerous telephone
calls from fishermen with sablefish endorsements who are concerned
about fishing under unusually difficult wind and storm conditions, and
who have asked if the mop-up season might be extended. In confirmation
of these reports from fishermen, NMFS has noted that the National
Weather Service (NWS) announced several severe weather warnings over
the week of October 1-8, 1997, that would likely deter fishers from
fishing in the mop-up fishery. In addition, as of October 8, 1997, NWS
is forecasting continued high winds, gale warnings, and small craft
advisories along the Pacific coast.
NMFS consulted with the three states, the Coast Guard, and the
Council Chair on whether to extend the length of the mop-up season. The
Coast Guard expressed particular concern about the safety of the small
vessels that participate in this fishery, as a result of bad weather.
All three states and the Council Chair endorsed extending the mop-up
season for 1 week. This extension is designed to allow flexibility for
fishermen who were not able to fish during the bad weather of the first
week of the mop-up fishery. In addition, it should deter fishermen from
fishing in the dangerous weather that is still forecast, because they
will have an additional week to harvest their limit. The season is only
being extended by 1 week in order to limit the impacts on the
participants in the daily trip limit fishery, whose fishery is delayed
until the end of the mop-up fishery. This extension still allows the
daily trip limit fishermen to operate the last 9.5 days in October.
Therefore, the Regional Administrator agreed to extend the length of
the mop-up season, so that the season will end on Wednesday, October
22, at noon. This notice does not change the cumulative trip limit
amount.
As announced in the October 1, 1997, notice on the mop-up fishery,
daily trip limits will be reimposed after the mop-up fishery and until
the end of the year. Following the mop-up season, the daily trip limits
will be 300 lb (136 kg) per day, with no more than 1,500 lb (680 kg)
taken in any one calendar month.
A daily trip limit is the maximum amount that may be taken and
retained, possessed, or landed per vessel in 24 consecutive hours,
starting at 0001 hours l.t. Only one landing of groundfish may be made
in that 24-hour period. Daily trip limits may not be accumulated. If a
trip lasts more than 1 day, only one daily trip limit is allowed. Daily
trip limits were in effect until the beginning of the regular season,
and went back into effect after the post-season closure ended on
September 5, 1997. A cumulative trip limit is the maximum amount of
sablefish that may be taken and retained, possessed, or landed per
vessel in a specified period of time, with no limit on the number of
landings or trips. In addition, no more than one mop-up cumulative
limit may be landed on each limited entry permit with a sablefish
endorsement.
The sablefish daily trip limit for the limited entry fishery after
the mop-up season is 300 lb (136 kg) per day, with no more than 1,500
lb (680 kg) to be taken in any one calendar month. Since the daily trip
limits apply to a 24-hour day starting at 0001 hours, but the mop-up
fishery begins and ends at 1200 hours, it will be legal for a vessel in
the limited entry fishery to land a daily trip limit between 1201 hours
and 2400 hours on October 22, 1997, following the mop-up season.
NMFS Actions
NMFS announces an extension to the end date of the nontrawl
sablefish limited entry mop-up fishery and a delay in the reopening of
the limited entry daily trip limit fishery. All other provisions remain
in effect. In the January 6, 1997 (62 FR 700) annual management
measures, as amended at 62 FR 51381, October 1, 1997, paragraphs
IV.E.(2)(c) introductory text and IV.E.(2)(C)(iii) are revised to read
as follows:
IV. * * *
E. * * *
(2) Limited Entry Fishery. * * *
(c) Nontrawl trip and size limits. (i) Daily trip limits. Effective
1201 hours October 22, 1997. The daily trip limit for sablefish taken
and retained with nontrawl gear north of 36 deg.00' N. lat. is 300 lb
(136 kg), not to exceed 1,500 lb (680 kg) cumulative in a calendar
month.
* * * * *
(iii) Mop-up Fishery. Effective 1201 hours October 1, 1997, until
1200 hours l.t. October 22, 1997, the cumulative trip limit for
sablefish caught with nontrawl gear in the limited entry fishery is
8,500 lb (3,851 kg) per vessel.
(Note: The States of Washington, Oregon, and California use a
conversion factor of 1.6 to convert dressed sablefish to its round-
weight equivalent. Therefore, 8,500 lb (3,851 kg) round weight
corresponds to 5,313 lb (2,407 kg) for dressed sablefish.)
Classification
These actions are authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish
Fishery Management Plan, which governs the harvest of groundfish in the
U.S. exclusive economic zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and
California. The determination to take these actions is based on the
most recent data available. The aggregate data upon which the
determinations are based are available for public inspection at the
office of the Regional Administrator (see ADDRESSES) during business
hours. Because of the need for immediate action to extend the mop-up
fishery for sablefish, as described above, NMFS has determined that
providing an opportunity for public notice and prior comment would be
contrary to the public interest. Participants in the mop-up season
sablefish fishery are concerned about their safety in dangerous fishing
conditions. Delay of this rule could prevent NMFS from allowing smooth
extension of the mop-up season and would give fishermen strong
incentives to fish in bad weather in order to catch their limit before
October 15. Therefore, the agency has determined that good cause exists
for this document to be published without affording a prior opportunity
for public comment or a 30-day delayed effectiveness period. These
actions are taken under the authority of 50 CFR 660.323(a)(2), and are
exempt from review under E.O. 12866.
[[Page 53579]]
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 9, 1997.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-27296 Filed 10-9-97; 4:24 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-U
