Fishery conservation and management: Pacific halibut,

[Federal Register: May 18, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 95)]

[Rules and Regulations]

[Page 26890-26891]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr18my99-18]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 99990312074-9074-01; I.D. 051299A]

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Washington Sport Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Inseason action.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces changes to the regulations for the Area 2A sport fisheries off the south coast of Washington. This action opens the south coast closed area to halibut fishing. The purpose of this action is to allow sport fishers access to the south coast of Washington halibut quota in a season of unusually slow fishing.

DATES: Effective May 13, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to William Stelle, Jr., Regional Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way, Seattle, WA 98115.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne deReynier, 206-526-6120.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Area 2A Catch Sharing Plan for Pacific halibut off Washington, Oregon, and California is implemented in the annual management measures for the Pacific halibut fisheries published on March 19, 1999 (64 FR 13519). Those regulations established the 1999 subarea quota for the south coast of Washington (Queets River, Washington to Leadbetter Point, Washington) fishery as 32,081 lb (14.6 mt). The all-depth sport fishery in this area is scheduled for 5 days per week (Sunday through Thursday), and the nearshore fishery is scheduled for 7 days per week. Early catch rate attainment for this area is significantly slower than in past years, with several charter vessels returning to dock without having caught any halibut. In 1998, charter anglers averaged 1 fish per person over the fishery's opening weekend. This year, anglers averaged .25 fish per person over the opening weekend.

[[Page 26891]]

Section 24 of the 1999 Pacific halibut regulations provides NMFS with the flexibility to make certain inseason management changes, provided that the action is necessary to allow allocation objectives to be met, and that the action will not result in exceeding the catch limit for the area. The structuring objective for the Washington coast subarea is to maximize the season length, while maintaining a quality fishing experience. This inseason action would open to fishing the portion of the Washington south coast subarea that is currently closed to sport fishing for halibut.

The Washington south coast closed area is a halibut ``hot spot.'' The purpose of having a closed ``hot spot'' is to lengthen the season in this subarea by preventing fisher access to this area of more abundant halibut. The closed area is not maintained for conservation purposes. Given the extremely low rate of halibut landings thus far in 1999, opening the ``hot spot'' to fishing is not expected to shorten the season for this area over past years' season lengths. The closed area is a rectangle defined by these four coordinates: 47 deg.19'00'' N. lat., 124 deg.53'00'' W. long.; 47 deg.19'00'' N. lat., 124 deg.48'00'' W. long.; 47 deg.16'00'' N. lat., 124 deg.53'00'' W. long.; 47 deg.16'00'' N. lat., 124 deg.48'00'' W. long.

In consultation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Pacific Fishery Management Council, and the International Pacific Halibut Commission, NMFS has determined that opening the Washington south coast closed area to halibut fishing meets the season structuring objective of providing a quality fishing experience without allowing the fishery to exceed the Washington south coast quota.

NMFS Action

For the reasons stated above, NMFS announces the following change to the 1999 annual management measures (64 FR 13519, March 19, 1999, as amended).

1. For the Washington south coast subarea, section 23(4)(b)(iii)(C) is removed.

Classification

This action is authorized by the regulations implementing the Catch Sharing Plan. The determination to take these actions is based on the most recent data available. Because of the need for immediate action to allow fishers access to the Washington south coast halibut quota, and because the public had an opportunity to comment on the NMFS authority to make inseason changes to certain management measures when those measures would further the objectives of the Catch Sharing Plan, 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. Public comments will be received for a period of 15 days after the effectiveness of this action. This action is authorized by Section 24 of the annual management measures for Pacific halibut fisheries published on March 19, 1999 (63 FR 13519) and has been determined to be not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.

Dated: May 13, 1999. Bruce C. Morehead, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 99-12486Filed5-13-99; 4:05 pm]

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