Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area, Trawl Closure to Protect Red King Crab

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 675

[Docket No. 951128281-5281-01;I.D. 112795A]

Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area,

Trawl Closure to Protect Red King Crab

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

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Inseason adjustment; response to comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS responds to comments received on an inseason adjustment

[[Page 6954]]

closing a portion of the Bering Sea to all trawl vessels to protect red

king crab. NMFS published this inseason adjustment in the Federal

Register on December 11, 1995, for a 30-day comment period. No change

in the trawl closure was made as a result of the comments received.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The inseason adjustment is effective January 20, 1996,

through March 31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kaja Brix, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NMFS published an inseason adjustment in the Federal Register on

December 11, 1995 (60 FR 63451) that implemented a closure to all trawl

vessels in part of the Bristol Bay area located in the Bering Sea. The

closure area encompasses an area between 56 deg. and 57 deg. N. lat.

and between 162 deg. and 164 deg. W. long., and is intended to protect

female red king crab, in view of the declining Bristol Bay red king

crab stocks. One letter of comments on the inseason adjustment was

received within the comment period, which ended January 10, 1996, and

is summarized in the ``Response to Comments'' section, below. After

review of the comments received, NMFS determined that no change to the

inseason adjustment is warranted.

Response to comments

Comment 1: Closure of areas that experience high red king crab

bycatch rates is supported.

Response: NMFS agrees.

Comment 2: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council),

NMFS, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) should consider

implementing regulations that provide appropriate management tools for

controlling bycatch of crab in the crab fisheries as well as other

causes of crab mortality.

Response: The current Fishery Management Plan for the Commercial

King and Tanner Crab Fisheries (FMP) defers the right to implement

bycatch limits of other species of crab in the directed crab fisheries

to the State of Alaska. Proposals to implement crab bycatch limits in

directed crab fisheries could be addressed to the State of Alaska Board

of Fisheries and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game or proposals

could be made to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for

amendments to the current FMP.

Comment 3: Regulations that authorize inseason adjustments at

Sec. 675.20(e) specify that the selection of inseason management

measures, including time/area closures, must be based on the least

restrictive action necessary to protect the species in need of

conservation protection and allow fisheries to continue for other

species. Therefore, the trawl closure implemented under the December

11, 1995, inseason adjustment should prohibit only bottom trawling, not

pelagic trawling, in the closed area. The seasonal timing of the

closure is supported to allow other fisheries with low bycatch of red

king crab to be prosecuted later in the year.

Response: The authority for various types of inseason adjustments

is provided in regulations at 50 CFR 675.20(e). However, the specific

regulatory authority under which the December 11, 1995, inseason

closure was promulgated (Sec. 675.20(e)(1)(iv)) does not require that

the least restrictive action be implemented. Furthermore, justification

for applying the interim closure to pelagic trawl operations is

provided in the publication of the inseason adjustment.

Comment 4: NMFS and the Council should begin to collect data and

pursue analyses of conservation benefits of red king crab bycatch

reduction measures, impacts on groundfish target fisheries that may be

affected by time/area closures, and impacts on bycatch of other species

by potentially displaced groundfish fisheries.

Response: NMFS collects a variety of fisheries data that may be

used to analyze the impacts of bycatch of groundfish and non-groundfish

species. These data were used as the basis for the analysis supporting

the inseason adjustment and are provided in the environmental

assessment/regulatory impact review/initial regulatory flexibility

analysis prepared for this action.

Dated: February 16, 1996.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96-3965 Filed 2-22-96; 8:45 am]

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