[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 47 (Thursday, March 11, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12092-12093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-6048]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 990304061-9061-01; I.D. 022599B]
RIN 0648-AL63
Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific;
Western Pacific Crustacean Fisheries; 1999 Harvest Guideline
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: 1999 harvest guideline for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
(NWHI) crustacean fishery.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces a 1999 harvest guideline of 243,100 lobsters
(spiny and slipper lobsters combined) for the NWHI crustacean fishery,
which opens on July 1, 1999. The harvest guideline applies to the
entire NWHI. The intent of this action is to prevent overfishing and
achieve the objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for the
Crustacean Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP).
DATES: Effective July 1, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Copies of background material pertaining to this action may
be obtained from Alvin Katekaru, Pacific Islands Area Office (PIAO),
Southwest Region, NMFS, 2570 Dole St., Honolulu, HI 96822 or Kitty
Simonds, Executive Director, Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alvin Katekaru at 808-973-2985 or
Kitty Simonds at 808-522-8220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Amendment 9 to the FMP, the Southwest
Regional Administrator, NMFS (Regional Administrator), sets the annual
harvest guideline for the NWHI crustacean fishery. The guideline is 13
percent of the estimated exploitable lobster population (spiny and
slipper lobsters combined). This harvest rate is associated with a 10-
percent risk of overfishing. As described in Amendments 7 and 9 to the
FMP, the total NWHI population of exploitable lobsters is estimated
from commercial logbook lobster catch and effort data. The harvest
guideline represents the total allowable mortality of lobsters in the
fishery regardless of lobster size or reproductive condition. The
Regional Administrator will close the fishery when the harvest
guideline is estimated to be reached. The harvest guideline for the
1999 NWHI lobster fishery is 243,100 lobsters, based on an estimated
total exploitable population of about 1,870,000 spiny and slipper
lobsters (both species combined).
Under Amendment 9 to the FMP, the Regional Administrator is
required to announce a harvest guideline for the entire NWHI. However,
the Regional Administrator has a reason to believe that, if the 1999
lobster harvest is not limited for certain fishing banks, the local
lobster populations may be at risk of overexploitation. The Council and
fishing industry also concur with this assessment. The Council
established bank-specific harvest guidelines for the 1998 lobster
season to prevent the potential risk of overexploiting the lobster
population at Necker Island, Gardner Pinnacles, and Maro Reef. Those
bank-specific guidelines ended on December 31, 1998. On December 2,
1998, the Council voted to recommend permanent bank-specific harvest
guidelines for Necker Island, Gardner Pinnacle, Maro Reef, and all
other remaining NWHI lobster grounds combined during the 1999 fishing
year and subsequent years. NMFS is working with the Council to develop
separate proposed and final rules for those bank-specific guidelines.
The PIAO will monitor landings and issue timely reports of the
level of cumulative catch information and of the amount of the harvest
guideline remaining. Fishermen are advised to contact the PIAO (see
ADDRESSES) periodically to stay abreast of any changes and of the
progress of the fishery toward attaining the harvest guideline. Under
the procedures in 50 CFR 660.50(b)(3), NMFS will announce the date upon
which the harvest guideline will be reached and the date when the
fishery will be closed.
Classification
This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 660 and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA), NOAA, finds that,
because this document merely announces a harvest guideline resulting
from the nondiscretionary application of the objective harvest
guideline formula in Amendment 9 to the FMP, no useful purpose would be
served by providing prior notice and opportunity for public comment.
Accordingly, the AA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive
as unnecessary the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity
for public comment.
Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not
required for
[[Page 12093]]
this action by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the analytical
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.,
are inapplicable.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 5, 1999.
Andrew A. Rosenberg,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-6048 Filed 3-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
