[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 84 (Tuesday, April 30, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18988-18994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-10663]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 611 and 663
[Docket No. 951227306-6117-02; I.D. 121295C]
Foreign Fishing; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Annual
Specifications; and Correction
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final 1996 groundfish fishery specifications for Pacific
whiting and correction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 1996 fishery specifications for Pacific
whiting in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and state waters off
the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California as authorized by the
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The
specifications include the level of the acceptable biological catch
(ABC) and harvest guideline, including the distribution between
domestic and foreign fishing operations. The intended effect of this
action is to establish allowable harvest levels of Pacific whiting
based on the best available scientific information. Corrections are
also made to Table 1 in the annual specifications and management
measures for the Pacific coast groundfish fishery.
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 15, 1996, until the effective date of the 1997
annual specifications and management measures, which will be published
in the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson (Northwest Region,
NMFS) 206-526-6140; or Rodney R. McInnis (Southwest Region, NMFS) 310-
980-4040.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP requires that fishery specifications
for groundfish be evaluated each calendar year, that harvest guidelines
or quotas be specified for species or species groups in need of
additional protection, and that management measures designed to achieve
the harvest guidelines or quotas be published in the Federal Register
and made effective by January 1, the beginning of the fishing year.
This was done for the 1996 groundfish fishery (61 FR 279, January 4,
1996), with one exception, Pacific whiting (whiting). Final
specifications for whiting were not announced because the Pacific
Fishery Management Council (Council), which makes management
recommendations to NMFS, decided to delay its consideration until 1995
hydroacoustic survey information could be included in the assessment on
whiting and the new results reviewed. Consequently, preliminary
specifications for whiting were announced concurrent with the final
specifications for other groundfish species. As in the past, the
specifications include fish caught in state ocean waters (0-3 nautical
miles (nm) offshore) as well as fish caught in the EEZ (3-200 nm
offshore).
In 1994, the ABC for whiting was substantially higher than in
previous years, primarily because it was based on data from the 1992
hydroacoustic survey that utilized new, more sensitive equipment, and
extended farther offshore and farther north to encompass the species'
range. To provide for cautious exploitation until the 1992 survey
results could be confirmed, a conservative harvest rate policy was
adopted in 1994 and 1995 to minimize the risk to the resource if the
ABC is later found to be too high. Because initial results of the
recent 1995 survey were favorable, the Council initially supported
resumption of the moderate exploitation rate in 1996. When applied to
the previous year's stock assessment, this resulted in a preliminary
ABC recommendation of 123,000 metric tons (mt) for the U.S. and Canada
combined. The Council also recommended that the preliminary U.S.
harvest guideline continue at 80 percent (98,400 mt) of the ABC. When
the preliminary specifications were announced, NMFS indicated that the
final specifications could be higher or lower, depending on the
information resulting from the new survey and stock assessment on
whiting.
At its March 1996 meeting in Portland, OR, the Council reviewed the
new stock assessment, which indicated that the biomass of 3-year-old
whiting was 60 percent greater than expected, and that a moderate
abundance of 2-year-old fish will be recruited to the fishery in 1996.
However, the Council recommended delaying the return to the moderate
exploitation rate until resolution of new questions concerning the
correct hydroacoustic target strength used in estimating biomass. The
target strength calibrates the hydroacoustic survey data into absolute
biomass of whiting. Even so, by applying the conservative exploitation
rate to the new stock assessment, the Council's final ABC
recommendation (U.S. and Canadian combined) of 265,000 mt is 42,000 mt
higher than the 1995 ABC of 223,000 mt and more than double the
preliminary ABC of 123,000 mt. (Under the new stock assessment, a
moderate exploitation rate would have led to a 1996 ABC of 369,000 mt.)
The Council also confirmed its preliminary recommendation to set
the U.S. harvest guideline at 80 percent of the U.S.-Canadian ABC.
Therefore, the final U.S. harvest guideline is 212,000 mt for 1996. If
Canada adopts the same ABC and calculates its share as 30 percent of
the total catch, as in the recent past, the U.S.-Canadian ABC will be
exceeded by about 14 percent. These overages have not caused a
biological problem, particularly given the large increase in the ABC in
1994 and use of the conservative exploitation rate in 1994-96. The
total harvest will not reach the overfishing level. Bilateral
discussions with Canada are expected to continue.
The whiting harvest guideline in 1996 is designated entirely for
domestic harvesting and processing, and there is no surplus for joint
venture or foreign fishing operations.
Public comments on the preliminary whiting specifications were
requested through February 5, 1996, but none were received. Whiting
caught in 1996
[[Page 18989]]
before the effective date of this action will be counted toward the new
harvest guideline.
Other Changes to the Whiting Fishery
The start of the regular whiting season north of 42 deg. N. lat. is
changed from April 15 to May 15 (61 FR 16402, April 15, 1996). In
addition, NMFS has proposed a framework regulation for implementing the
treaty rights of certain Washington State coastal treaty Indian tribes
and presented options for an allocation to the Makah tribe in 1996 (61
FR 10303, March 13, 1996). This proposal also appears in a separate
Federal Register document, and is not yet approved. Other
specifications and management measures announced at (61 FR 279, January
4, 1996) or at 50 CFR part 663 are not changed by this action except as
corrected.
Correction of Publication
In the publication of the annual specifications and management
measures on January 4, 1996 (I.D. 121295C), in the table on page 280,
under ``roundfish,'' the entry for pacific whiting, under ``rockfish,''
the entries thornyheads, yellowtail, and the text of footnotes d and n
at the end of the table are corrected as set forth. For the convenience
of the user, the table is revised to include these changes to read as
follows:
BILLING CODE 3510-22-W
[[Page 18990]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR30AP96.002
[[Page 18991]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR30AP96.003
[[Page 18992]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR30AP96.004
[[Page 18993]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR30AP96.005
BILLING CODE 3510-22-C
[[Page 18994]]
Classification
The final specifications and management measures for 1996 are
issued under the authority of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act and are in accordance with 50 CFR parts 611 and 663, the
regulations implementing the FMP.
NMFS finds good cause, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), to waive a
portion of the 30-day delay in effectiveness, so that this rule may
become effective before the fishery begins on May 15, 1996. The initial
whiting specifications were announced January 4, 1996 (61 FR 27), and
explained clearly to the public that the harvest guideline might be
adjusted later by notice in the Federal Register. This final rule is
that notice. Since this action has been publicized widely through the
Council process, the industry is aware of the increase and would be
hurt if the final specifications were not effective on May 15. Since
the at-sea processing sector is capable of taking its share of the
harvest guideline within less than a month, delaying full releases of
the harvest guideline may cause an unnecessary disruption in fishing.
Therefore, it would be contrary to the public interest to delay the
effectiveness of the rule beyond the start of the fishery.
Dated: April 23, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-10663 Filed 4-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-W
