Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Closure and Trip Limit Reduction

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 663

[Docket No. 951227306-5306-01; I.D. 043096A]

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Closure and Trip Limit

Reduction

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Closure; fishing restrictions; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the closure of the open access fishery for

thornyheads taken and retained north of Point Conception, CA

(34 deg.27' N. lat.), and a further restriction to the open access

fishery for sablefish taken with nontrawl gear north of the Conception

subarea (36 deg.00' N. lat.). This action is authorized by the Pacific

Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan

[[Page 21103]]

(FMP), which governs the groundfish fishery off Washington, Oregon, and

California. The closure and trip limit are designed to keep landings as

close as possible to the 1996 open access allocations for these

species.

DATES: Effective from 0001 hours (local time) May 3, 1996, until the

effective date of the 1997 annual specifications and management

measures for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery, which will be

published in the Federal Register. Comments will be accepted through

May 24, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest

Region (Regional Director), National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600

Sand Point Way NE., BIN-C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or Hilda Diaz-

Soltero, Regional Director, Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries

Service, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at 206-526-6140;

or Rodney McInnis at 310-980-4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Management measures for the open access

fishery apply to any vessel that takes and retains groundfish and that

does not have a valid limited entry permit for the Pacific coast

groundfish fishery with an endorsement for the gear used to harvest the

groundfish. Open access gear includes longline, trap, pot, hook and

line (fixed or mobile), set net (south of 38 deg. N. lat. only), and

trawls used to target non-groundfish species (pink shrimp or prawns

and, south of Pt. Arena, CA (38 deg.57'30'' N. lat.), California

halibut or sea cucumbers). The following changes to routine management

measures in the open access fisheries for thornyheads and sablefish

were recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) at

its April 8-12, 1996, meeting in San Francisco, CA.

Open Access Thornyhead Fishery. Thornyheads consist of two species

(shortspine and longspine thornyheads) that often are caught together.

Because of difficulties in identifying and monitoring the two species

separately in the open access fishery, this fishery has been managed

for both species combined. Through 1995, separate open access and

limited entry allocations had not been implemented for shortspine

thornyheads because landings were thought to be negligible in the open

access fishery. However, at its October 1995 meeting, the Council

concluded that the best available information indicated that about 24

metric tons (mt) had been taken north of Pt. Conception in 1995,

indicating expansion in the fishery since the 1984-88 window period

used to determine open access and limited entry allocations. The

Council responded by recommending that limited entry and open access

allocations be implemented for shortspine thornyheads for 1996. The

1996 open access allocation for shortspine thornyheads is only 4 mt,

and applies north of Pt. Conception (34 deg.27' N. lat.). To keep

landings close to the open access allocation, a coastwide daily trip

limit of 50 lb (23 kg) (round weight) was applied for both species of

thornyheads combined on January 1, 1996 (61 FR 279, January 4, 1996). 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 local time, and only one landing of the trip-limit species

may be made in that 24-hour period. Daily trip limits may not be

accumulated.

The best available information at the April 1996 Council meeting

indicated that landings of thornyheads in the open access fishery had

reached 18.7 mt north of Pt. Conception by the end of March 1996. Of

this, about 11 mt was shortspine thornyheads taken in California,

exceeding the 1996 open access allocation for shortspine thornyheads

north of Pt. Conception. The Council recommended that the open access

fishery for thornyheads be closed north of Pt. Conception as soon as

practicable for the rest of the year. Closure means taking and

retaining, possessing, or landing thornyheads caught north of Pt.

Conception with any open access gear (including open access trawl gear)

is prohibited, and offloading must begin before the time the fishery

closes. The 50-lb (23-kg) daily trip limit on thornyheads remains in

effect south of Pt. Conception because the harvest guideline does not

apply in that area. This daily trip limit is believed to be too small

to encourage effort shifts into the area.

Open Access Sablefish Fishery. In 1995, the daily trip limits for

sablefish in the open access nontrawl fishery were 300 lb (136 kg) per

day north of the Conception subarea (36 deg.00' N. lat.) and 350 lb

(159 kg) per day in the Conception subarea (36 deg.00' N. lat. to the

U.S.-Mexican border). The best available information at the April 1996

Council meeting indicated that 119 mt of sablefish had been taken in

the open access fishery in California by the end of March and that the

rate of landings would need to be reduced by 40 percent to avoid

reaching the 463-mt open access allocation before the end of the year.

After hearing considerable testimony that a target fishery for less

than 300 lb (136 kg) of sablefish per day would result in substantial

discards, or would be too low to sustain a viable fishery, the Council

agreed to maintain the current daily trip limit. However, it

recommended further constraining landings by adding a cumulative trip

limit of 2,100 lb (952 kg) north of 36 deg. N. lat. per vessel per

month. A cumulative trip limit is the maximum amount that may be taken

and retained, possessed, or landed per vessel in a specified period of

time (in this case, 1 month). Landings made under the daily trip limits

count toward the cumulative limit. This cumulative monthly limit would

accommodate seven daily landings at 300 lb (136 kg). Any open access

landings of sablefish made in May 1996 (even if made before this

closure is filed with the Office of the Federal Register) will be

counted toward the 2,100-lb (952-kg) cumulative limit for the month.

This cumulative monthly limit does not apply to open access trawl

fisheries because they target on non-groundfish species (pink shrimp,

prawns, California halibut, and sea cucumbers) and are constrained by

other limits.

For the above reasons, NMFS concurs with the Council's

recommendations and modifies the annual management measures announced

at 61 FR 279 (January 4, 1996), as amended, as follows:

1. Paragraph IV.I(1)(c)(ii) is revised to read as follows:

``(ii) A daily trip limit of 50 lb (23 kg) of thornyheads taken and

retained south of Pt. Conception, CA.''

2. A new paragraph IV.I(1)(e) is added to read as follows:

``(e) Closure - thornyheads north of Pt. Conception. The open

access fishery for thornyheads (shortspine or longspine) north of Pt.

Conception, CA is closed. This closure applies to thornyheads taken and

retained with all open access gear. Open access gear is gear used to

take and retain groundfish that does not have a valid limited entry

permit for the Pacific coast groundfish fishery with an endorsement for

the gear used to harvest the groundfish, including longline, trap, pot,

hook-and-line (fixed or mobile), set net (south of 38 deg. N. lat.

only), and trawls used to target non-groundfish species (pink shrimp or

prawns, and, south of Pt. Arena, CA (38 deg.57'30'' N. lat.),

California halibut or sea cucumbers).''

3. Paragraph IV.I.(2)(a) is revised to read as follows:

``(a) North of 36 deg.00' N. lat. The cumulative trip limit for

sablefish taken and retained north of 36 deg.00' N. lat. is 2,100 lb

(952 kg) per month. The daily trip limit for sablefish taken and

retained north of 36 deg.00' N. lat., which

[[Page 21104]]

counts toward the cumulative limit, remains at 300 lb (136 kg).''

Classification

These actions are authorized by the FMP, 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 Director (see ADDRESSES)

during business hours. Because of the need for immediate action to

reduce the harvest of shortspine thornyheads, and because the public

had an opportunity to comment on the action at the April 1996 Council

meeting, NMFS 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 663.23(c)(1)(i)(E), (G), and (L),

and are exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: May 2, 1996.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96-11546 Filed 5-3-96; 4:47 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F