[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 154 (Tuesday, August 11, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42762-42763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21495]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
Docket No. 971229312-7312-01; I.D. 072798A]
Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Whiting Closure for the Catcher/
Processor Sector
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Fishing restrictions; requests for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces closure of the 1998 catcher/processor fishery
for whiting at 3 p.m. local time (l.t.) August 7, 1998, because the
allocation for the catcher/processor sector will be reached by that
time. This action is authorized by regulations implementing the Pacific
Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which governs the
groundfish fishery off Washington, Oregon, and California. This action
is intended to keep the harvest of whiting within the allocations NMFS
announced on January 6, 1998.
DATES: Effective from 3 p.m. l.t. August 7, 1998, until the start of
the 1999 primary season for the catcher/processor sector, unless
modified, superseded or rescinded, which will be published in the
Federal Register. Comments will be accepted through August 26, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Submit comment to William Stelle, Jr., Administrator,
Northwest Region (Regional Administrator), NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way
NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or William Hogarth, Regional
Administrator, Southwest Region, 1 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long
Beach, CA 90802-4213.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine King at 206-526-6140 or
Svein Fougner at 562-980-4040.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 6, 1998 (63 FR 419), NMFS
published regulations announcing the annual management measures for
Pacific Coast whiting. The regulations at 50 CFR 660.323(a) (4) (62 FR
27519, May 20, 1997) established separate
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allocations for the catcher/processor, mothership, and shore-based
sectors of the whiting fishery. Each allocation is a harvest guideline,
which, when reached, results in the end of the primary season for that
sector. The regulations at 50 CFR 600.323(a)(3)(i) describe the primary
season for catcher/processors as the period(s) when at-sea processing
is allowed and the fishery is open for the catcher/processor sector.
The catcher/processor sector is composed of catcher/processors, which
are vessels that harvest and process whiting. The mothership sector is
composed of motherships and catcher vessels that harvest whiting for
delivery to motherships. Motherships are vessels that process, but do
not harvest, whiting. The shoreside sector is composed of vessels that
harvest whiting for delivery to shore-based processors. The
allocations, which are based on the 1998 commercial harvest guideline
for whiting of 207,000 metric tons (mt), are 70,400 mt (34 percent) for
the catcher/processor sector, 49,700 mt (24 percent) for the mothership
sector, and 86,900 mt (42 percent) for the shoreside sector. The
mothership fishery reached its allocation and was closed on May 31,
1998 (63 FR 30147, June 3, 1998). The shore-based sector allocation has
not yet been attained.
The best available information on August 5, 1998, indicated that
the 70,400-mt catcher/processor allocation would be reached by 3 p.m.
l.t. August 7, 1998.
NMFS Action
For the reasons stated above, and in accordance with the
regulations at 50 CFR 660.323(a)(4)(iii)(A), NMFS herein announces:
Effective 3 p.m. l.t August 7, 1998, (1) further taking and
retaining, receiving, or at-sea processing of whiting by a catcher/
processor are prohibited. No additional unprocessed whiting may be
brought on board after at-sea processing is prohibited, but a catcher/
processor may continue to process whiting that was on board before at-
sea processing was prohibited.
Classification
This action is authorized by the regulations implementing the FMP.
The determination to take this action is based on the most recent data
available. The aggregate data upon which the determination is based are
available for public inspection at the Office of the Regional
Administrator Northwest Region (see ADDRESSES) during business hours.
This action is taken under the authority of 50 CFR
660.323(a)(4)(iii)(A) and is exempt from review under E.O. 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 6, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-21495 Filed 8-6-98; 3:07 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
