Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Spiny Dogfish; Open Access; Routine Management Measure; Closure Authority, 23804-23808 [05-9001]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 86 (Thursday, May 5, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23804-23808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9001]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 050302053-5120-03; I.D. 042605G]
RIN 0648-AT38


Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Spiny Dogfish; Open Access; Routine 
Management Measure; Closure Authority

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This emergency rule establishes routine management measure 
authority, under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 
(Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP), to reduce trip limits to incidental 
levels in the open access fishery for groundfish before the sector has 
taken its full target groundfish species' allocations, to minimize 
impacts on overfished species. This action establishes a mechanism that 
can be used to quickly restrict the directed open access groundfish 
fishery if NMFS estimates that the incidental catch of an overfished 
species is too high.

DATES: Effective May 2, 2005, until November 1, 2005. Comments must be 
received no later than 5 p.m., local time on June 6, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by I.D. 042605G by any 
of the following methods:
     E-mail: 2005oalimits.nwr@noaa.gov: Include 042605G in the 
subject line of the message.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 206-526-6736, Attn: Yvonne deReynier
     Mail: D. Robert Lohn, Administrator, Northwest Region, 
NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, Attn: Yvonne 
deReynier.
    Copies of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the 
harvest specifications and management measures for the 2005-2006 
groundfish fisheries are available from Donald McIsaac, Executive 
Director, Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 7700 NE 
Ambassador Place, Portland, OR 97220, phone: 503-820-2280. Copies of 
the Record of Decision, final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA), 
and the Small Entity Compliance Guide for the groundfish harvest 
specifications for 2005-2006 are available from D. Robert Lohn, 
Administrator, Northwest Region (Regional Administrator), NMFS, 7600 
Sand Point Way, NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne deReynier (Northwest Region, 
NMFS), phone: 206-526-6129; fax: 206-526-6736 and; e-mail: 
yvonne.dereynier@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This emergency rule is accessible via the Internet at the Office of 
the Federal Register's website at www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/. 
Background information and documents are available at the NMFS 
Northwest Region website at www.nwr.noaa.gov/1sustfsh/gdfsh01.htm. and 
at the Council's website at www.pcouncil.org.
    Federal regulations at 50 CFR 660.370(c) authorize the use of 
routine management measures in the groundfish fishery off Washington, 
Oregon, and California for the purpose of rebuilding and protecting 
overfished or depleted stocks. This action is consistent with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) requirements on the protection and rebuilding of 
overfished species.

New Entrant to the Open Access Fishery for Spiny Dogfish off the U.S. 
West Coast

    In mid-April 2005, a representative of a Seattle-based fishing 
company contacted NMFS about the possibility of using one of its 
vessels to operate off Washington State in the West Coast open access 
fishery for spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias. The vessel in question is 
a freezer-longliner 124.5 ft (38.3 m) in length. Vessel operators were 
intending to both catch and process dogfish and other groundfish 
species at sea in May-June 2005. The West Coast open access groundfish 
fishery is open to any vessel that is otherwise authorized to fish 
under U.S. Coast Guard safety, registration, and other requirements. 
Under the 2005-2006 groundfish fishery specifications and management 
measures, dogfish is part of the ``other fish'' complex. Dogfish is an 
unassessed species; NMFS anticipates that there will be adequate data 
available for its first assessment in time for the 2007 assessment 
season. There is no limit on the amount of dogfish that may be taken in 
either the limited entry or open access fisheries

[[Page 23805]]

(69 FR 77012, December 23, 2004.) NMFS's normal preference would be to 
coordinate with the Council on accommodating this vessel into the West 
Coast groundfish fisheries management. Because the Council does not 
meet again until June 13-17, 2005, the agency believes that it must 
take action in advance of any formal coordination with the Council. In 
developing this emergency rule, NMFS consulted with representatives 
from the three West Coast states, the Council chair and staff, and with 
representatives from the groundfish treaty tribes.
    Under Federal groundfish regulations at 50 CFR 660.314(c), an at-
sea catcher-processor shorter than 125 ft (38.4 m) in length must carry 
one NMFS-certified observer for each day that the vessel is used to 
take, retain, receive, land, process, or transport groundfish. Pursuant 
to Sec.  660.314(e), NMFS may additionally require such vessels to 
carry NMFS staff or individuals authorized by NMFS, in addition to an 
observer provided by a permitted observer provider. The freezer-
longliner intending to fish in the open access fishery has made plans 
to carry and pay for one observer pursuant to Sec.  660.314(c) and has 
been cooperating with NMFS in its request that the vessel carry an 
additional NMFS West Coast Groundfish Observer Program (WCGOP) staff 
observer. These observers will allow NMFS to monitor the fishing and 
processing activities of this vessel on a daily basis, providing 
valuable bycatch data on this fishery.
    The freezer-longliner intending to fish in the open access fishery 
for dogfish is of a notably larger harvest capacity than the West Coast 
vessels that traditionally participate in the longline dogfish fishery. 
Traditional West Coast longline dogfish vessels use 1-2,000 hooks per 
longline set, whereas freezer-longliners of this vessel's class will 
use 10-20,000 hooks per set. NMFS reviewed observer data from this and 
similar vessels in their operations off Alaska in order to compare 
their catch capabilities against that of vessels in the West Coast 
longline dogfish fleet. Vessels of this class routinely take 200 mt or 
more of groundfish per month. In 2004, the West Coast dogfish longline 
fleet landed 205 mt of dogfish, with vessels taking a high of 40-50 mt 
each of landed groundfish catch per month. These numbers are not a 
straight comparison because the freezer-longliner catch is in total 
(landed + discard) catch, whereas the traditional dogfish longliner 
boat catch is in landed catch. There is, however, a clear disparity 
between the amount of groundfish that a freezer-longliner of this 
vessel's class is able to take when compared against the amount of 
groundfish that a traditional West Coast longline vessel is able to 
take.

Bycatch Management in the West Coast Groundfish Fisheries

    In the preamble to its proposed rule to implement the 2005-2006 
groundfish harvest specifications and management measures, NMFS 
discussed its three-part strategy to meet Magnuson-Stevens Act mandates 
on minimizing and monitoring bycatch: (1) Gather data through a 
standardized reporting methodology on the amount and type of bycatch 
occurring in the fishery; (2) assess this data through bycatch models 
to estimate when, where, and with which gear types bycatch of varying 
species occurs; and (3) implement management measures through Federal 
fisheries regulations that minimize bycatch and bycatch mortality (69 
FR 56550, September 21, 2004). Bycatch management and monitoring in the 
West Coast groundfish fisheries is particularly focused on monitoring 
the total catch of overfished groundfish species. There are eight 
overfished groundfish species, several of which are taken in a broad 
array of commercial and recreational fisheries with a wide variety of 
gear types. Based on observer, survey, and exempted fishing permit 
data, NMFS believes that canary and yelloweye rockfish are the 
overfished species most likely to be negatively affected by an increase 
in open access dogfish fishing effort off the northern West Coast. 
Under Federal regulations at Sec.  660.383(a), retention of canary and 
yelloweye rockfish is prohibited in the open access fisheries. Current 
NMFS data systems are already capable of swiftly receiving and 
aggregating the observer data that will be generated through a freezer-
longliner's operating in West Coast water, thus incorporating this 
vessel into the first part of NMFS's bycatch strategy can be 
accommodated through regular NMFS programs.
    NMFS plans to provide its first release of WCGOP data on the open 
access fisheries in time for the June 13-17, 2005, Council meeting in 
Foster City, CA. For the 2005-2006 management cycle, NMFS and the 
Council developed estimates of total overfished species catch for the 
directed open access fisheries based on historic catch levels during 
years when fishing was less constrained by overfished species 
rebuilding efforts. Overfished species total catch estimates for the 
incidental open access fisheries, those fisheries that do not target 
groundfish directly but which may take groundfish incidentally, were 
derived from a combination of historic catch and state observation 
data. The combined estimated effects of all of the fisheries known to 
take groundfish either directly or incidentally is summarized in Table 
2-13a and 2-13b of the FEIS for the 2005-2006 groundfish harvest 
specifications and management measures. This table, informally known in 
the Council process as the ``bycatch scorecard,'' is used to both 
provide a baseline for expected effects of the different fisheries on 
overfished species and to track those effects during a fishing year, as 
they may be affected by new data.
    In the bycatch scorecard, 1.0 mt of canary rockfish and 0.6 mt of 
yelloweye rockfish are expected to be taken in the 2005 directed open 
access fisheries. An additional 1.8 mt of canary rockfish and 0.8 mt of 
yelloweye rockfish are expected to be taken in the 2005 incidental open 
access fisheries, those fisheries that do not target groundfish but 
which may take groundfish incidentally. Both of these species also have 
unassigned amounts of fish that are not currently expected to be taken 
in any fishery. The bycatch scorecard did not anticipate the entrance 
of a vessel like a 124.5 ft (38.3 m) freezer-longliner into the open 
access fisheries. There are no Federal fishery regulations, however, 
prohibiting such a vessel from entrance into the open access fishery. 
Barring further recommendations from the Council, any bycatch of canary 
and yelloweye rockfish taken in the open access longline dogfish 
fishery would need to be accommodated within the current bycatch 
scorecard amounts of 1.0 mt of canary rockfish and 0.6 mt of yelloweye 
rockfish for the directed open access fisheries. Constraining the 
freezer-longliner to the directed open access fishery's bycatch 
scorecard amounts would meet the second part of NMFS's bycatch strategy 
of managing fisheries to attribute bycatch estimates of overfished 
species to their appropriate fishery sectors and gear types.
    Without the action finalized in this emergency rule, NMFS does not 
believe that it would have adequate Federal regulations to accommodate 
the entrance of a freezer-longliner into the open access dogfish 
fishery while minimizing bycatch and preventing overfished species 
optimum yields (OYS) from being exceeded. NMFS is implementing this 
emergency rule to ensure that the third part of NMFS's bycatch strategy 
of minimizing bycatch through appropriate regulatory measures is met 
for this and any other similar entrants to the open access fishery.

[[Page 23806]]

Routine Management Measures

    The regulatory measures available to manage the West Coast 
groundfish fisheries include, but are not limited to, harvest 
guidelines, quotas, landing limits, frequency limits, gear restrictions 
(escape panels or ports, codend mesh size, etc.), time/area closures, 
prohibited species, bag and size limits, permits, other forms of effort 
control, allocation, reporting requirements, and onboard observers. 
Routine management measures are those regulatory measures that the 
Council determines are likely to be adjusted on an annual or more 
frequent basis.
    Routine management measures are necessary to meet the varied and 
interwoven mandates of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish FMP. These mandates include: implementing the overfished 
species rebuilding plans, reducing bycatch, preventing overfishing, 
allowing the harvest of healthy stocks as much as possible while 
protecting and rebuilding overfished and depleted stocks, and equitably 
distributing the burden of rebuilding among the fishing sectors. 
Routine management measures may be used to address a resource problem 
with an overfished species.
    Measures are classified as routine through a rulemaking process. 
For a measure to be classified as routine, NMFS determines whether the 
measure is appropriate to address a particular management issue. Once a 
measure is classified as routine, it may be modified thereafter by 
recommendation of the Council at a single Council meeting, providing it 
is used for the same intended purpose as the original measure. This 
allows for a swift adjustment of management measures to respond to 
updated information received during the fishing year. (See the Pacific 
Coast Groundfish FMP at Section 6.2)
    In August 2004, NMFS implemented an emergency rule to set a canary 
rockfish bycatch limit for the whiting fisheries as a routine 
management measure (69 FR 46448, August 3, 2004.) This action used the 
2004 bycatch scorecard to set a canary rockfish bycatch limit of 7.3 
mt. That emergency rule provided NMFS with a regulatory mechanism to 
close one or all non-tribal sectors of the whiting fishery if the 
whiting sectors collectively achieved 7.3 mt of incidental canary 
rockfish catch. At its September 2004 meeting, the Council adjusted the 
canary bycatch limit for the Pacific whiting fisheries to 6.2 mt and 
added a bycatch limit for darkblotched rockfish of 9.5 mt (69 FR 59816, 
October 6, 2004). NMFS implemented bycatch limits for the Pacific 
whiting fishery as a routine management measure available by permanent 
regulation through its final rule for the 2005-2006 groundfish harvest 
specifications and management measures. The authority to set bycatch 
limits for the Pacific whiting fishery is found in Sec.  
660.370(c)(1)(ii) and the 2005-2006 bycatch limits for canary and widow 
rockfish taken incidentally in that fishery are found in Sec.  
660.373(b)(4). Because bycatch limits for the Pacific whiting fishery 
are now permanent routine management measures, the Council may 
recommend that NMFS adjust those limits inseason, or may recommend that 
NMFS add bycatch limits for additional species inseason.

Regulatory Changes put into Effect Through This Emergency Action

    The freezer-longliner planning on entering the northern West Coast 
dogfish fishery has similar bycatch reporting requirements and 
capabilities to at-sea whiting catcher-processors. Like observer data 
from whiting catcher-processors, observer data from a freezer-longliner 
would be available to NMFS on a daily basis, with an approximate one-
day lag time. NMFS uses observer data to monitor the inseason total 
catch in the whiting fisheries, including incidental catch levels of 
non-target species. Because the agency would have access to a similar 
quality of data for a freezer-longliner vessel, NMFS believes that 
management via bycatch limits would be appropriate for this vessel's 
participation in the directed open access fishery. Therefore, with this 
action, NMFS is implementing the bycatch scorecard limits of 1.0 mt of 
canary rockfish and 0.6 mt of yelloweye rockfish for the directed open 
access fishery for groundfish. If those limits are estimated to have 
been achieved inseason, the open access fishery would be subject to 
incidental trip limit levels via NMFS automatic action at Sec.  
660.370(d). These bycatch limits for the directed open access fishery 
are intended to ensure that any increased open access harvest levels 
that may result from the participation of any freezer-longliner or 
other high capacity vessels in the open access fishery will not 
jeopardize either overfished species' OYs or the availability of 
incidental overfished species catch in fisheries other than the 
directed open access fishery.
    Under Federal groundfish regulations at Sec.  660.302, the open 
access fishery is defined as ``the fishery composed of vessels using 
open access gear fished pursuant to the harvest guidelines, quotas, and 
other management measures governing the open access fishery. Any 
commercial fishing vessel that does not have a limited entry permit and 
which lands groundfish in the course of commercial fishing is a 
participant in the open access fishery.'' Because open access fishery 
participants are simply defined as all vessels that do not have limited 
entry permits and which land groundfish, there are no regulatory 
mechanisms for distinguishing between the directed and incidental open 
access fisheries.
    The bycatch scorecard, which represents the division of estimated 
effects of the various directed and incidental groundfish fisheries on 
the environment, differentiates between directed and incidental open 
access fisheries. If the directed open access fisheries were to achieve 
the canary and yelloweye rockfish bycatch limits, the bycatch scorecard 
would still accommodate incidental take of these species in incidental 
open access groundfish fisheries (salmon troll, California halibut 
trawl, Dungeness crab pot, etc.) At its April 4-8, 2005, meeting in 
Tacoma, WA, the Council discussed whether to implement vessel 
monitoring system (VMS) requirements for the open access fishery. 
During its discussion, the Council indicated a desire to differentiate 
between the directed and open access fisheries through a review of some 
minimal groundfish level that might be needed to accommodate incidental 
groundfish catch in non-groundfish fisheries.
    NMFS reviewed landings data to estimate the minimal amount of 
groundfish that would be needed to allow vessels catching groundfish 
incidentally in fisheries directed at non-groundfish species to land 
their incidentally caught groundfish. Landings data indicates that 
vessels participating in non-groundfish fisheries that take groundfish 
incidentally would need access to approximately 200 lb (90.7 kg) of 
groundfish per month in order to continue to prosecute their non-
groundfish fisheries and land incidentally caught groundfish. To 
recognize the bycatch scorecard's differentiation between directed and 
open access fisheries, NMFS is, therefore, implementing a provision 
that if the open access bycatch limits are reached, open access fishery 
participants would be permitted to land up to 200 lb (90.7 kg) of 
groundfish per month.

Classification

    This emergency rule establishes routine management measure 
authority to reduce groundfish trip limits to incidental levels in the 
open access

[[Page 23807]]

groundfish fishery before the sector has taken its full target 
groundfish species' allocations in order to address bycatch concerns 
for overfished species. It is issued under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act at section 305(c)(1) and is consistent with the 
regulations implementing the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP at 50 CFR 
part 660.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA) finds good 
cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and comment on 
this action pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), because providing prior 
notice and opportunity for public comment would be impracticable. The 
information on which this action is based was not available to NMFS 
until mid-April 2005, for a fishing activity intended for May-June 
2005. There was insufficient time in April to undergo a proposed and 
final rulemaking, since this action needs to be in effect as soon as 
possible in early May. Prior notice and comment would be impracticable 
because affording prior notice and opportunity for public comment would 
impede the Agency's mandated duty to manage fisheries to protect 
overfished species from overfishing.
    The Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP and implementing regulations 
provide that closed areas, seasons, trip limits, and other measures may 
be used to protect overfished species in any commercial fisheries and 
for any gear type. This action provides a mechanism to reduce 
groundfish trip limits to an incidental level in the open access 
fisheries for groundfish to keep the harvest of canary and yelloweye 
rockfish within their OYs. NMFS has been made aware of a new higher-
capacity intended participant in the directed open access groundfish 
fisheries. This intended fishery participant comes to the fishery with 
notably greater fishing capacity than current participants, but also 
without the long experience of current fishery participants in avoiding 
bycatch of overfished species. Due to the expected faster pace of 
fishing of this intended fishery participant, delaying this rule could 
result in unexpectedly high bycatch of canary or yelloweye rockfish in 
the open access fishery. Both of these species are overfished and their 
2005 OYs were established at rebuilding levels. High bycatch levels of 
these stocks could result in their OYs being exceeded, or in the 
closure of some or all portions of the groundfish fishery being closed 
because of bycatch in the open access fishery.
    NMFS sets overfished species OYs using the guidance of those 
species' rebuilding plans, which are part of the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish FMP. To meet the goals of the rebuilding plans of canary and 
yelloweye rockfish, NMFS set 2005 OYs for those species at 46.8 mt and 
26 mt, respectively. NMFS made catch projections for all West Coast 
groundfish fisheries before the start of the 2005 fishing year to 
determine if the preferred management measures would keep harvests of 
overfished species within their OYs. The projected catches of canary 
and yelloweye rockfish in the directed open access fisheries are 1.0 mt 
and 0.6 mt, respectively. As noted above, NMFS has recently been 
contacted by a high-capacity at-sea longline catcher-processor 
intending to join the West Coast groundfish open access fisheries to 
target spiny dogfish. This emergency rule is needed to address concerns 
that this and any other unexpected high-capacity entrants to the 
directed open access fisheries could jeopardize the OYs for canary and 
yelloweye rockfish, and thereby take away fishing opportunities from 
hundreds of other commercial vessels and thousands of recreational 
vessels that also take these species incidentally.
    For the reasons described above, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), 
the AA also finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in 
effectiveness, so that this rule may become effective as soon as 
possible to enable NMFS to reduce trip limits to an incidental level in 
the open access fisheries should either the 1.0 mt canary bycatch limit 
or the 0.6 mt yelloweye rockfish bycatch limit be reached by the 
directed open access fishery.
    This emergency rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    This action is within the scope of the October 2004 Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) prepared by the Council for the 2005-2006 
Pacific Coast groundfish ABCs, OYS, and management measures. Copies of 
this EIS are available from the Council [See ADDRESSES].
    This emergency rule is exempt from the procedures of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act because the rule is issued without opportunity for 
prior notice and opportunity for public comment.
    The proposed and final rules to implement the 2005-2006 groundfish 
harvest specifications and management measures were developed after 
meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials from 
the area covered by the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP. Under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act at 16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(5), one of the voting members 
of the Pacific Council must be a representative of an Indian tribe with 
federally recognized fishing rights from the area of the Council's 
jurisdiction. The tribal representative on the Council made a motion to 
adopt the 2005-2006 tribal management measures, which was passed by the 
Council. This emergency rule is intended in part to constrain the 
incidental catch of overfished species in the directed open access 
fishery, so that excessive catch in that fishery does not negatively 
affect tribal and other fisheries for groundfish. NMFS consulted with 
the representatives from the groundfish treaty tribes on this emergency 
rule before publishing it in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries, 
Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives, Indians, Northern Mariana Islands, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: May 2, 2005.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended as 
follows:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES AND IN THE WESTERN 
PACIFIC

0
l. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:

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

0
2. In Sec.  660.370, paragraphs (c)(1)(ii) and (d) are suspended and 
paragraphs (c)(1)(iii) and (i) are added to read as follows:


Sec.  660.370  Specifications and management measures.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (iii) Differential trip landing limits and frequency limits based 
on gear type, closed seasons. Trip landing and frequency limits that 
differ by gear type and closed seasons may be imposed or adjusted on a 
biennial or more frequent basis for the purpose of rebuilding and 
protecting overfished or depleted stocks. To achieve the rebuilding of 
an overfished or depleted stock, the Pacific whiting primary seasons 
described at Sec.  660.373(b), may be closed for any or all of the 
fishery sectors identified at Sec.  660.373 (a) before the sector 
allocation is reached if any of the bycatch limits identified at Sec.  
660.373(b)(4) are reached. To achieve the rebuilding of an overfished 
or depleted stock, groundfish trip limits in the open access fishery

[[Page 23808]]

may be reduced to an incidental level if any of the bycatch limits 
identified at Sec.  660.383(f) are reached.
* * * * *
    (i) Automatic actions. Automatic management actions may be 
initiated by the NMFS Regional Administrator without prior public 
notice, opportunity to comment, or a Council meeting. These actions are 
nondiscretionary, and the impacts must have been taken into account 
prior to the action. Unless otherwise stated, a single notice will be 
published in the Federal Register making the action effective if good 
cause exists under the APA to waive notice and comment. Automatic 
actions are used in the Pacific whiting fishery to close the fishery or 
reinstate trip limits when a whiting harvest guideline, commercial 
harvest guideline, or a sector's allocation is reached, or is projected 
to be reached; or to reapportion unused allocation to other sectors of 
the fishery. An automatic action may also be used in the open access 
fishery to reduce groundfish trip limits to an incidental level when 
overfished species bycatch limits at Sec.  660.383(f) are reached.

0
3. In Sec.  660.383, paragraph (f) is added to read as follows:


Sec.  660.383  Open access fishery management measures.

* * * * *
    (f) 2005 bycatch limits in the directed open access fishery. 
Bycatch limits for the directed open access fishery may be used 
inseason to reduce overall groundfish trip limits to incidental levels 
to achieve the rebuilding of an overfished or depleted stock, under 
routine management measure authority at Sec.  660.370(c)(1)(ii). These 
limits are routine management measures under Sec.  660.370(c) and, as 
such, may be adjusted inseason or may have new species added to the 
list of those with bycatch limits. For 2005, the directed open access 
fishery bycatch limits are 1.0 mt of canary rockfish and 0.6 mt of 
yelloweye rockfish. Under automatic action authority at Sec.  
660.370(d), if either of these limits is reached, groundfish trip 
limits will be reduced to an incidental level. Under this authority, 
reducing groundfish trip limits to an incidental level means that any 
vessel operating off the West Coast that is not registered for use with 
a limited entry permit will be constrained to a trip limit for all 
groundfish, excluding Pacific whiting of no more than 200 lb (90.7 kg) 
per month.
[FR Doc. 05-9001 Filed 5-2-05; 2:58 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S