[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 44 (Friday, March 6, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11167-11168]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5839]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket no. 971112269-8047-02; I.D. 102997A]
RIN 0648-AK13
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Management
Authority for Black and Blue Rockfish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 46 to the
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP).
Amendment 46 removes black and blue rockfish from the complex of
species managed under the FMP. The rule makes conforming changes to the
FMP implementing regulations to reflect the removal of black and blue
rockfish from the complex. The State of Alaska (State) will regulate
fishing for these species by vessels registered under State law. This
action is necessary to allow the State to implement more responsive,
regionally based, management of these species than is currently
possible under the FMP. The intended effect of this action is to repeal
duplicative Federal regulations, provide for more responsive State
management and prevent localized overfishing of black and blue rockfish
stocks.
DATES: Effective April 6, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 46 and the Environmental Assessment/
Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) and related economic analysis
prepared for this action are available from the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council, 605 West 4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501-
2252; telephone: 907-271-2809.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Kinsolving, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Management Background and Need for Action
The domestic groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of
the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) are managed by NMFS under the FMP. The FMP was
prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act). Regulations governing the groundfish fisheries
of the GOA appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
Amendment 46 was adopted by the Council at its June 1997 meeting
and submitted for Secretarial review. A Notice of Availability of the
FMP amendment was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 1997
(62 FR 59844), with comments invited through January 5, 1998. A
proposed rule to implement Amendment 46 was published in the Federal
Register on December 2, 1997 (62 FR 63690), with comments invited
through January 16, 1998. No letters of comment were received on the
amendment or on the proposed rule.
Upon reviewing Amendment 46 and the rationale for its adoption by
the Council, NMFS has determined that this action is necessary for the
conservation
[[Page 11168]]
and management of the groundfish fishery of the GOA, and that it is
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
NMFS approved Amendment 46 on February 3, 1998, under section 304(a) of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Amendment 46 transfers the management of black and blue rockfish to
the State of Alaska by removing both species from the FMP. This will
allow the State to extend its management authority for State registered
vessels harvesting black and blue rockfish into Federal waters and
should result in more effective conservation measures in both nearshore
and offshore areas. By extending the State's existing rockfish sampling
programs into Federal waters and using an existing framework of small
area harvest guidelines, the State can more rationally manage black and
blue rockfish resources. However, the State may impose on State-
registered vessels fishing in Federal fisheries only such additional
State measures, like bycatch retention limits for blue and black
rockfish, as are consistent with the applicable Federal fishing
regulations for the fishery in which the vessel is operating. The
Council and NMFS do not intend to give the State authority to
indirectly regulate other Federal fisheries through State
implementation of gear restrictions, area closures or other bycatch
control measures. Additional information on this action may be found in
the preamble to the proposed rule and in the EA/RIR.
Classification
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 when this rule was proposed that this
rule, if approved, would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. No comments were received
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility
analysis was not prepared.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for the
purposes of E.O. 12866.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679
Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: March 2, 1998.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended
as follows:
PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., and 3631 et seq.
2. In Sec. 679.2, a definition of ``rockfish'' is added in
alphabetical order to read as follows:
Sec. 679.2 Definitions.
* * * * *
Rockfish means:
(1) For the Gulf of Alaska: Any species of the genera Sebastes or
Sebastelobus except Sebastes melanops, (black rockfish), and Sebastes
mystinus, (blue rockfish).
(2) For the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area: Any
species of the genera Sebastes or Sebastelobus.
* * * * *
3. In Sec. 679.21, paragraph (e)(3)(iv)(D) is revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 679.21 Prohibited species bycatch management.
* * * * *
(e)* * *
(3)* * *
(iv)* * *
(D) Rockfish fishery. Fishing with trawl gear during any weekly
reporting period that results in a retained aggregate amount of
rockfish species that is greater than the retained amount of any other
fishery category defined under this paragraph (e)(3)(iv).
* * * * *
4. In Sec. 679.23, paragraph (d)(1) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 679.23 Seasons.
* * * * *
(d)* * *
(1) Directed fishing for trawl rockfish. Directed fishing for
rockfish with trawl gear is authorized from 1200 hours, A.l.t., on the
first day of the third quarterly reporting period of a fishing year
through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, subject to other provisions of
this part.
* * * * *
5. In Sec. 679.50, paragraph (c)(2)(iv) is revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 679.50 Groundfish Observer Program applicable through December
31, 1998.
* * * * *
(c)* * *
(2)* * *
(iv) Rockfish fishery. In a retained aggregate catch of rockfish
that is greater than the retained catch of any other groundfish species
or species group that is specified as a separate groundfish fishery
under this paragraph (c)(2).
* * * * *
Table 3 to part 679 [Amended]
6. In Table 3 to Part 679, footnote reference 1 is removed and
footnotes 2 and 3 are redesignated as 1 and 2.
Table 10 to part 679 [Amended]
7. In Tables--Part 679, Table 10, footnote 2 is revised to read as
follows:
Table 10 to Part 679--Current Gulf of Alaska Retainable Percentage
* * * * *
2/ Aggregated Rockfish means any rockfish except in the Southeast
Outside District where demersal shelf rockfish (DSR) is a separate
category.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-5839 Filed 3-5-98; 8:45 am]
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