Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2009-2010 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures, 80516-80577 [E8-30778]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 251 (Wednesday, December 31, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 80516-80577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30778]



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Part II





Department of Commerce





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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration



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50 CFR Part 660



Magnuson[dash]Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2009-2010 Biennial Specifications and 
Management Measures; Proposed Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 251 / Wednesday, December 31, 2008 / 
Proposed Rules

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 0809121213-81246-01]
RIN 0648-AX24


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2009-2010 Biennial Specifications and 
Management Measures

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a rule to set the 2009-2010 harvest 
specifications and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. 
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and 
California and to revise rebuilding plans for four of the seven 
overfished rockfish species, consistent with the Mangunson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. Together, the revisions to 
rebuilding plans and the 2007-2008 harvest specifications and 
management measures are intended to rebuild overfished stocks as soon 
as possible, taking into account the status and biology of the stocks, 
the needs of fishing communities, and the interaction of the overfished 
stocks within the marine environment.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be received no later than 5 
p.m., local time on January 30, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-AX24 by any 
one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal https://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: 206-526-6736, Attn: Gretchen Arentzen
     Mail: D. Robert Lohn, Administrator, Northwest Region, 
NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, Attn: Gretchen 
Arentzen.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gretchen Arentzen (Northwest Region, 
NMFS), phone: 206-526-6147, fax: 206-526-6736 and e-mail 
gretchen.arentzen@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access

    This proposed rule is accessible via the Internet at the Office of 
the Federal Register's Web site at https://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/
index.html. Background information and documents are available at the 
Pacific Fishery Management Council's Web site at https://
www.pcouncil.org/.

Background

    The amount of each Pacific Coast groundfish species or species 
group that is available for harvest in a specific year is referred to 
as a harvest specification. Harvest specifications include acceptable 
biological catches (ABCs), optimum yields (OYs), and harvest guidelines 
(HGs). Harvest specifications may also include ``set-asides'' of 
harvestable amounts of fish.
    The ABC is a biologically based estimate of the amount of fish that 
may be harvested each year without affecting the sustainability of the 
resource. The ABC may be modified with precautionary adjustments to 
account for uncertainty. An OY is a target harvest level for a species 
or species groups. The OYs may be set equal to the ABC for the species 
or species group, but are often set lower as a precautionary measure. 
The Council's policies on setting ABCs, OYs, and other harvest 
specifications are discussed later in the preamble to this proposed 
rule. Proposed harvest specifications for 2009-2010 are provided in 
Tables 1a through 2c.
    Management measures being proposed for 2009-2010 work in 
combination with the existing regulations to create a management 
structure that is intended to constrain fishing so the catch of 
overfished groundfish species does not exceed the rebuilding-based OYs 
while allowing, to the extent practicable, the OYs for healthier 
groundfish stocks that co-occur with the overfished stocks to be 
achieved. In order to rebuild overfished species, allowable harvest 
levels of healthy species will only be achieved where such harvest will 
not deter rebuilding of overfished stocks. Routine management measures 
for the commercial fisheries include: Bycatch limits, trip and 
cumulative landing limits, time/area closures, size limits, and gear 
restrictions. Routine management measures for the recreational 
fisheries include bag limits, size limits, gear restrictions, fish 
dressing requirements, and time/area closures. Routine management 
measures are used to modify fishing behavior during the fishing year to 
allow a harvest specification to be achieved, or to prevent a harvest 
specification from being exceeded. The groundfish fishery is managed 
with a variety of other regulatory requirements that are not considered 
routine, and which are outside of this rulemaking and found at 50 CFR 
660, subpart G. The regulations at 50 CFR 660, subpart G include, but 
are not limited to: Long-term harvest allocations; recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements; monitoring requirements; license limitation 
programs; and essential fish habitat (EFH) protection measures. 
Together the routine management measures and regulations at 50 CFR 660, 
subpart G are used to manage the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery to 
stay within the harvest specifications identified in the rulemaking.
    The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) requires 
the Council to set harvest specifications and management measures for 
groundfish at least biennially. This proposed rule would set 2009-2010 
harvest specifications and management measures for all of the 90 plus 
groundfish species or species groups managed under the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish FMP, except for Pacific whiting. Pacific whiting harvest 
specifications are proposed as a range in this action. The Council will 
consider final Pacific whiting specifications after new stock 
assessments are prepared at the beginning of each year. The final 
specifications for 2009 and 2010 will be announced following the March 
2009 and March 2010 Council meetings, respectively.
    There are seven Pacific Coast groundfish species that are currently 
being managed under rebuilding plans established in Amendment 16-4 to 
the FMP. Amendment 16-4 was developed and approved to respond to the 
decision in Natural Resources Defense Council v. NMFS, 421 F.3d 872 
(9th Cir. 2005) [hereinafter NRDC v. NMFS]. The overfished species are: 
Bocaccio, canary rockfish, cowcod, darkblotched rockfish, Pacific Ocean 
Perch (POP), widow rockfish, and yelloweye rockfish.

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This action proposes to revise rebuilding plans for four of the seven 
overfished groundfish species (canary rockfish, darkblotched rockfish, 
cowcod, and yelloweye rockfish), consistent with the approach taken in 
Amendment 16-4, by revising target rebuilding dates and/or harvest 
rates specified in Federal regulations at 50 CFR 660.365.
    The focus of the preamble discussion is the Council's ABC and OY 
policies for 2009 and 2010, new harvest specifications, new fishery 
specific management measures, and other issues related to the 
management of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery in 2009 and 2010. 
Preambles to prior proposed rules have more thoroughly discussed 
bycatch accounting and reduction measures (See 67 FR 1555, January 11, 
2002; 68 FR 936, January 7, 2003; 69 FR 1380, January 8, 2004; 69 FR 
56563, September 21, 2004 for historical information on the bycatch 
model). On June 27, 2006, NMFS published a proposed rule to implement 
Amendment 18 to the FMP on bycatch mitigation (71 FR 36506.) The 
preamble to the Amendment 18 proposed rule discussed NMFS and Council 
bycatch accounting and mitigation policies, programs, and regulations. 
The preamble for the 2007 and 2008 harvest specifications and 
management measures fully described a new approach to overfished 
species management that was taken by NMFS, the Council, and state and 
tribal partners in light of NRDC v. NMFS (71 FR 57764, September 29, 
2006). The same approach has been followed in this rulemaking. Issues 
that were thoroughly discussed in previous rulemakings will only be 
briefly discussed in this preamble as they pertain to 2009-2010 
fisheries. On December 2005, NMFS published a final EIS on the 
designation of groundfish EFH and minimization of adverse fishing 
effects on EFH. (https://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Groundfish-Halibut/Groundfish-
Fishery-Management/NEPA-Documents/EFH/-Final-EIS.cfm). The final EFH 
EIS provides information on the interactions of groundfish species with 
their physical environment. Amendment 16-4 and the 2007-2008 groundfish 
specifications and management measures expand upon the EFH EIS's 
analysis to analyze the interactions of groundfish species with each 
other and with other marine species within the California Current 
ecosystem.
    Consistent with the FMP, the socio-economic effects of this action 
on communities were analyzed to provide guidance on the effects of the 
action on fishing communities. Fishing communities need a sustainable 
fishery that is safe, well managed, and profitable, that provides jobs 
and incomes, that contributes to the local social fabric, culture, and 
image of the community, and helps market the community and its services 
and products. In its 2007-2008 recommendations for overfished species 
rebuilding plans and groundfish specifications and management measures, 
the Council was clear that it did not expect fishing community needs 
could be met. The Council took the needs of communities into account as 
it analyzed different rebuilding plans and management measures 
alternatives. As a result, the rebuilding plans, groundfish 
specifications and management measures recommended by the Council and 
adopted for 2007-2008 were expected to allow fishing businesses and 
communities to operate at a level that would provide for the continued 
existence of those fishing businesses and communities and would only 
allow opportunities for economic growth or profit if they were 
consistent with the adopted rebuilding policies. In many instances the 
harvests of healthy stocks were curtailed by the projected effects on 
overfished species. The Council used this same approach in the 
development of the 2009 and 2010 specifications and management 
measures.
    Further discussion on how the needs of fishing communities were 
taken into account can be found in the preamble to the proposed rule 
for the 2007-2008 specifications and management measures (71 FR 57765, 
September 29, 2006). The supporting DEIS for this action assesses, 
through the analysis of several rebuilding alternatives, the needs of 
groundfish fishing communities, the dependence of fishing communities 
on overfished species, and the vulnerability of fishing communities to 
further near-term reductions in groundfish harvest.

Management Measure Approach

    In considering the effects of the action on fishing communities, 
the effects of inseason fishery management changes on fishing 
communities were considered. At the start of each biennial management 
cycle, NMFS and the Council establish fishery management measures that 
are expected to allow fishers to harvest as much of the healthy species 
OYs as possible without exceeding allowable harvest levels for co-
occurring overfished species. These management measures are set using 
the best scientific information available at the time. However, as 
catch data and new scientific information may become available during 
the fishing year, NMFS and the Council's knowledge may change. Catch 
data vary in quality and abundance both before and during the season, 
and catch of the most constraining overfished species may also occur in 
fisheries not managed under the Pacific Coast groundfish FMP. Managing 
a coastwide fishery to ensure that OYs of overfished species are not 
exceeded is particularly difficult because of the low OY levels. If new 
information received during the season reveals that landings are 
occurring at a faster pace than were initially anticipated, management 
action would be needed to keep the harvest of healthy stocks and the 
incidental catch of overfished species at or below their specified OYs. 
If these inseason adjustments to management measures are dramatic, such 
as an early closure of a fishery, then the effects of management 
actions on the fishing communities can be severe.
    To prevent major inseason fluctuations in available harvest, the 
2009-2010 harvest levels account for uncertainty in order to minimize 
the potential need for dramatic inseason measures. In other words, 
currently available scientific information is used to design management 
measures that are projected to result in overfished species harvest 
levels that are somewhat lower than their OYs. This practice provides a 
buffer to account for both scientific uncertainty and unexpected 
occurrences. In general, a buffer helps prevent OYs from being 
exceeded. Even with these safeguards, information that becomes 
available during the 2009-2010 fishing year may reveal that previously 
set management measures need to be revised inseason. If that is the 
case, management measures will be appropriately adjusted inseason to 
keep harvest from exceeding OYs.

Specification and Management Measure Development Process

    The process for setting biennial specifications begins with stock 
assessments to evaluate the status of the groundfish stocks or stock 
complexes. After being prepared by a stock assessment scientist, each 
stock assessment is reviewed by the Council's stock assessment review 
(STAR) team as well as the Council's Scientific and Statistical 
Committee (SSC). The SSC reviews the stock assessments and provides 
guidance to the Council relative to the stock assessment's suitability 
for use in groundfish fishery management decision making. The SSC also 
endorses the assessments and identifies if they are the ``best 
available science'' on the stock's status. During

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the review process for the 2009-2010 stock assessments, the SSC 
indicated that the current stock assessments were more thorough and of 
a higher quality than those used in the previous management cycles. At 
its June, September and November 2007 meetings, the Council reviewed 
the new stock assessments, stock assessment updates and rebuilding 
analyses, and made recommendations regarding the use of the various 
stock assessments for setting the 2009-2010 specifications. No new 
species were identified as overfished or approaching an overfished 
condition.
    At its November 2007 meeting, the Council adopted initial fishery 
specifications based on the new assessments and rebuilding analyses. 
These recommendations included preliminary ABCs and ranges of OYs for 
most groundfish species, and where possible, preferred OYs. As a result 
of the new stock assessments, the SSC recommended that the Council 
consider revisions to three overfished species rebuilding plans: Canary 
rockfish; darkblotched rockfish; and cowcod. At this same meeting, the 
Council provided a variety of potential management measures to be 
considered for the 2009-2010 fisheries. Over winter, the Council's 
advisory bodies met to discuss and analyze the Council's preliminary 
fishery specifications and potential management measures based on the 
initial specifications.
    At its April 2008 meeting, the Council identified its preferred 
final 2009 and 2010 ABCs for all groundfish species and species 
complexes; identified preliminary preferred OYs for most managed 
groundfish species and species complexes; adopted revised rebuilding 
plans for canary rockfish, cowcod, and darkblotched rockfish; and 
recommended a range of 2009-2010 groundfish management measure 
alternatives for analysis that were designed to keep catch levels 
within the final preferred OYs. The newly adopted rebuilding analyses 
were used to develop ranges of OY alternatives for canary rockfish, 
cowcod, and darkblotched rockfish, while the previously adopted 
rebuilding plans were used for the remaining overfished species. For 
each individual overfished species a range of OY alternatives was 
described by the target year to rebuild (TTARGET), median 
time to rebuild, a spawning potential ratio (SPR = the ratio of the 
equilibrium spawning output per recruit under fished conditions to the 
spawning output per recruit under no fishing), the maximum time to 
rebuild (TMAX), and probability of rebuilding by 
TMAX (PMAX). An OY alternative that eliminated 
fishing-related mortality beginning in 2009 (TF=0) was 
considered for each overfished species. By developing individual 
overfished species OY, the tradeoffs between the amount of allowable 
harvest, alternative rebuilding periods, and fishing constraints 
relative to a particular overfished species could be identified.
    Prior to 2007, the Council was provided with analyses on preferred 
OYs for each overfished species in isolation from other species rather 
than considering how different overfished species OYs might affect or 
constrain other overfished species. Beginning with Amendment 16-4 and 
the 2007 and 2008 specifications and management measures and continued 
for 2009 and 2010, individual overfished species OYs were integrated 
into rebuilding OYs that more explicitly took the interaction of the 
overfished species within the marine ecosystem into consideration. The 
interrelated nature of Pacific Coast groundfish stocks makes this 
consideration necessary. The degree of interaction between overfished 
species and other stocks is such that ``rebuilding as quickly as 
possible while taking into account the needs of fishing communities'' 
is not possible based solely on a species-by-species approach. To 
consider the needs of the fishing communities and the status and 
biology of the stocks, the 2009 and 2010 specifications for overfished 
species were considered in an integrated manner as was done in 2007 and 
2008.
    To build integrated rebuilding OY alternatives, the individual 
overfished species OYs were arranged in strategic combinations that 
could be analyzed to assess how changes in harvest availability of the 
various overfished species would constrain fishing opportunities by 
sector, north and south of 40[deg]10' N. lat. (N. lat.), and on the 
continental shelf and slope. The rebuilding OY alternatives were 
arranged to show how fishing opportunities may be constrained by sector 
(or gear type) and region along the West Coast, depending on the amount 
of allowable harvest of each species. By adopting a suite of OYs for 
overfished species in April 2008, the Council was provided the 
opportunity to take a realistic look at minimal harvest levels that 
would rebuild as quickly as possible taking into account the status and 
biology of the stocks and extractive scientific take of overfished 
stocks. The rebuilding OY ranges recommended by the Council at its 
April 2008 meeting provided a starting point for more detailed analysis 
which was presented to the Council at its June 2008 meeting. Final 
recommendations on the rebuilding OYs and the management measures 
needed to keep fishery harvests within the OYs were presented at the 
Council's June 2008 meeting. The rebuilding alternatives that were 
considered and Council recommendations are further discussed in the OY 
Policies and Rebuilding Parameters for Overfished Species section of 
this preamble.
    In summary, when making its final recommendations for rebuilding 
optimum yields (OYs) for 2009-2010, the Council took into account the 
status and biology of the stocks by looking for the shortest possible 
rebuilding periods within a suite of management measures that provided 
the greatest reduction in catch of the most sensitive and lowest 
productivity species. The Council took the needs of fishing communities 
into account by providing fishing opportunities where such 
opportunities would have a minimal effect on rebuilding periods for 
stocks with higher productivity, and by recommending restrictive 
management measures focused on stocks with the lowest productivity 
levels.

ABC Policy

    The Council develops annual estimates of the ABC for major 
groundfish stocks. When setting the 2009 and 2010 ABCs, three 
categories of species were identified. The first were those species for 
which quantitative stock assessments can be conducted because there is 
adequate data. Stock assessments (a biological evaluation of the 
condition of a stock or stock complex) are used to estimate the 
population status of each assessed stock relative to its unfished 
biomass level. Stock assessments were used to estimate the current 
level of the abundance, changes in abundance over time, depletion 
levels relative to an unfished state, fishing mortality, mortality from 
other causes, and how changes in harvest levels are likely to affect 
the stock's abundance. The second category included species for which 
some biological indicators are available, but are not sufficient to 
support a quantitative analysis. The third category included minor 
species which are caught, but where the only available information is 
on the landed biomass.
    For 2009 and 2010, the Council maintained a policy of using a 
default harvest rate as a proxy for the fishing mortality rate that is 
expected to achieve the maximum sustainable yield (FMSY). A 
proxy is used because there is insufficient information for most 
Pacific Coast groundfish stocks. In 2009 and 2010, the following 
default harvest rate

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proxies, based on the Council's SSC recommendations, were used: 
F40% for flatfish and Pacific Whiting, F50% for 
rockfish (including thornyheads), and F45% for other 
groundfish such as sablefish and lingcod. The ABCs for groundfish 
species or species groups are derived by solving for the fishery 
removals resulting in an SPR equal to the harvest rate proxy.
    A rate of F40% can be explained as that which reduces 
the SPR to 40 percent and is therefore a more aggressive rate than 
F45% or F50%. The FMP allows default harvest rate 
proxies to be modified as scientific knowledge improves for a 
particular species. A fishing mortality or harvest rate will mean 
different things for different stocks, depending on the productivity of 
a particular species. For highly productive species (those with 
individuals that grow and mature quickly and produce many young that 
survive to an age where they are caught in the fishery) a higher 
fishing mortality rate may be used, such as F40%. Fishing 
mortality rate policies must account for several complicating factors, 
including the capacity of mature individuals to produce young over time 
and the optimal stock size necessary for the highest level of 
productivity within that stock.
    For some groundfish species, there is little or no detailed 
biological data available on which to base ABCs, and therefore only 
rudimentary stock assessments have been prepared; for other species, no 
stock assessments have been prepared and the ABC levels were based on 
historical landings. Since 2000, the Council has applied a more 
precautionary policy when setting ABCs for species with only 
rudimentary or no stock assessments. The ABC policy prior to 2000 had 
been to assume that fishing mortality was equal to natural mortality 
(F=M); the current policy is to assume that fishing mortality is 75 
percent of natural mortality (F=0.75M).

2009-2010 Groundfish ABCs

    A biennial management cycle for setting harvest specifications and 
management measures was implemented in 2004 and biennial specification 
were first established for the 2005 and 2006 management cycle. During 
the first year in a biennial cycle, new stock assessments are prepared 
and the results of the new assessments are reviewed by the Council and 
adopted for use. In some cases, a stock assessment needs to be refined 
and the final assessment may not be reviewed by the Council and adopted 
for use until later in the first year or early in the second year of 
the biennial cycle.
    To estimate stock abundance and population trends, each stock 
assessment relies on various types and sources of information with the 
principal information coming from the commercial and recreational 
fisheries themselves. For example, basic fishery dependent data for 
stock assessments includes the amount of fish caught, the individual 
sizes of the fish and their biological characteristics (e.g., age, 
maturity, sex), and the ratio of fish caught to the time spent fishing 
(catch-per-unit-of-effort). In addition to fishery dependent data, 
fishery independent data for stock assessments are collected during 
scientific research surveys. In addition, Pacific Coast groundfish 
stock assessments identify areas of uncertainty and modeling 
difficulties. When data are lacking for a particular species, it can 
result in uncertainty and modeling problems for the stock assessment 
scientists.
    In preparation for setting new ABC values for 2009 and 2010, 15 
stock assessments were prepared. Full stock assessments, those that 
consider the appropriateness of the assessment model and that revise 
the model as necessary, were prepared for the following stocks: 
Sablefish; longnose skate; cowcod south of 36[deg]00[min] N. lat. 
(Conception area); blue rockfish south of 42[deg]00[min] N. lat.; black 
rockfish north of Cape Falcon (46[deg]16[min] N. lat.); black rockfish 
south of 46[deg]16[min] N. lat.; canary rockfish; chilipepper rockfish 
off California and Oregon; darkblotched rockfish north of 
36[deg]00[min] N. lat.; and arrowtooth flounder. Stock assessment 
updates, those that run new data through an existing model without 
changing the model, were prepared for: English sole; widow rockfish; 
bocaccio south of 40[deg]30[min] N. lat. (Cape Mendocino); POP north of 
40[deg]30[min] N. lat.; and yelloweye. In addition to the 15 stock 
assessments, an academic exercise was conducted that investigated 
fluctuations in the shortbelly rockfish biomass through the use of a 
population model based on standard methodology and a variety of both 
traditional and untraditional data.
    Each new stock assessment includes a base model which is accepted 
by the reviewers. Because it is essential that uncertainty in the 
analysis be captured and transmitted to decision makers, alternative 
models are developed from the base model by bracketing the dominant 
dimension of uncertainty (e.g., stock-recruitment steepness or 
R0, natural mortality rate, survey catchability, recent 
year-class strength, weights on conflicting CPUE series, etc.) 
Alternative models show the contrast in management implications. Once a 
base model has been bracketed on either side by alternative model 
scenarios, which capture the overall degree of uncertainty in the 
assessment, a 2-way decision table analysis (states-of-nature versus 
management action) is used to present the repercussions of uncertainty. 
The SSC makes recommendations to the Council on the appropriateness of 
using the different stock assessments for management purposes, after 
which the Council considers adoption of the stock assessments, use of 
the stock assessment for the development of rebuilding analysis, and 
the ABCs resulting from the base model runs of the stock assessments.
    Species that had ABCs in 2007 and 2008 continue to have ABCs in 
2009 and 2010. Blue rockfish and longnose skate had been part of 
species complexes because they were less rigorously assessed. These two 
stocks have now had more quantitative stock assessments prepared. As a 
result of the new assessment, longnose skate is being removed from the 
other species complex and assigned species specific ABC values for the 
2009 and 2010 management cycle. However, blue rockfish will remain 
within the minor rockfish species group and its ABC contribution will 
revise the ABC values specified for the complex.
    For species that did not have new stock assessments prepared, the 
Council considered a single ABC derived from the base model of the most 
recent stock assessment or continued to use the results of rudimentary 
stock assessments, or the historical landings data. Species or species 
complexes without new stock assessments include: Lingcod; Pacific cod; 
cabezon; Dover sole; petrale sole; starry flounder; splitnose rockfish; 
yellowtail; shortspine thornyhead; longspine thornyhead; California 
scorpionfish; minor rockfish north of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat. minor 
rockfish south of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat.; ``other flatfish; and ``other 
fish''. Specific information on species without any new stock 
assessment information are provided in the footnotes to Table 1a and 
Table 2a in the proposed regulations. The stock assessment cycle and 
the process for adoption of a final ABC for Pacific whiting are 
detailed below.
    Species that are not overfished and had new stock assessments or 
stock assessment updates prepared and adopted for use in setting 
harvest specifications by the Council include: Sablefish; arrowtooth 
flounder; English sole; chilipepper rockfish; black rockfish north of 
46[deg]16[min] N. lat. (Cape Falcon); black Rockfish south of 
46[deg]16[min] N. lat.; longnose skate; and blue

[[Page 80520]]

rockfish. Specific information on the ABCs for species that are not 
overfished and have new stock assessments or assessment updates are 
provided in the footnotes to Table 1a and Table 2a.
    New assessments were prepared for each of the seven overfished 
species. The following stock assessment summaries pertain to species 
that have been declared overfished with either new stock assessments or 
stock assessment updates. In addition, the academic analysis of 
shortbelly rockfish is summarized in this section.

Bocaccio (Sebastes Paucispinis)

    A stock assessment update and a rebuilding analysis were prepared 
in 2007 for the bocaccio stock in the southern and central California 
area (the stock south of Cape Mendocino, CA). The last full assessment 
for bocaccio rockfish was conducted in 2003 and used the original Stock 
Synthesis I model. A stock assessment update followed in 2005. Like the 
2005 stock assessment update, the new stock assessment update followed 
the methodology and assumptions of the 2003 bocaccio assessment as 
closely as possible. Updated information on fishery landings, length 
compositions, and the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries 
Investigations (CalCoFI) juvenile survey were used to update the 
assessment. Although the three model approaches from the 2003 
assessment were included in the update (the three models are further 
described in the 2004-2005 proposed rule (69 FR 56550, September 21, 
2004)), the STATc model was again considered as the base model and was 
the focus of the update, with limited consideration given to the STARb1 
and STARb2 models.
    The results of the stock assessment update indicated that the 
bocaccio stock biomass has continued to increase. The 1999 year class 
is still a driving factor, and a larger than average 2003 year class 
appears to be evident based on updated length composition data from the 
southern California recreational fishery. The bocaccio stock was 
estimated to be at 12.7 percent of its unfished biomass in 2007.
    The SSC recognized that unresolved problems and major uncertainties 
identified in the 2003 assessment still remain, but endorsed the 
updated bocaccio stock assessment as being the best available science 
for the Council's management recommendations. The bocaccio ABC of 793 
metric tons (mt) for 2009 and 2010 was based on the STATc base model 
with an F50% FMSY proxy.

Canary Rockfish (Sebastes Pinniger)

    A new coastwide stock assessment was completed in 2007 for canary 
rockfish. The stock assessment, which used the stock synthesis II model 
(currently the standard model for west coast groundfish), included a 
number of major changes to the data and modeling approach. New data 
used in the model included fishery dependent age structure data from 
the port and on-board observer sampling programs; and, fishery 
independent data derived from the NMFS triennial bottom trawl survey, 
the Northwest Fisheries Science Center's trawl survey relative biomass 
indices and biological sampling, and the Southwest Fisheries Science 
Center/Northwest Fisheries Science Center/Pacific Whiting Conservation 
Cooperative coastwide prerecruit survey. Although the new data were not 
highly influential, they did address previously identified issues.
    In this assessment and in previous assessments, fishery selectivity 
(the probability that a fish of a certain length or age will be 
captured by a given gear) was modeled in multi-year time blocks with 
changes in selectivity allowed between blocks. In the new assessment, 
the time blocks for fishery selectivity were simplified. In contrast to 
the previous assessment, where blocks were defined arbitrarily to 
improve model fit, the current assessment defined selectivity blocks 
according to major management actions and known changes in fishing 
practices (e.g., the change to ``high-rise'' rockfish trawls in the 
late 1970s). The new approach was considered to be a more objective and 
rigorous approach to defining selectivity blocks. The results of the 
new assessment estimate the canary rockfish spawning biomass to be at 
32.4 percent of its unfished biomass in 2007. This is in contrast to 
the previous assessment which estimated the spawning biomass to be at 
9.4 percent in 2005. Fishing mortality rates have been less than 1 
percent since 2001, indicating that overfishing has not occurred since 
then. The rate of increase in the biomass is highly dependent on the 
level of productivity (the value used to define the stock-recruitment 
steepness has a major influence on stock productivity estimates). After 
a period of above average recruitment in the late 1980s and early 
1990s, recent stock recruitment has generally been low. The only 
estimates of higher recruitments were in 1999 and 2001. There is little 
information other than the pre-recruitment index to inform the 
assessment model about recruitment after 2002. As the larger 
recruitments from the late 1980s and early 1990s move through the 
population, the rate at which the biomass increases and the stock 
recovers may slow. In previous assessments, the stock-recruitment 
steepness was precisely estimated at a low value. Given the changes in 
the model structure, the stock-recruitment steepness could not be 
reliably estimated within the model. Therefore a less precise approach 
of using a higher valued ``prior'' distribution that was developed from 
a meta-analysis of U.S. west coast rockfishes was used in the base 
model.
    The SSC endorsed the base model and decision table, which included 
``high'' and ``low'' states of nature, as the best available science 
for Council decision-making. The SSC indicated that the ``low'' and 
``high'' states of nature should be considered to be equally likely and 
half as likely as the base-model. The canary rockfish ABC of 937 mt for 
2009 and 940 mt for 2010 are derived from the base model with an 
F50% FMSY proxy.

Cowcod (Sebastes levis)

    Cowcod in the Conception area was assessed in 2007. The 2007 
assessment was originally scheduled to be an update. However, a number 
of technical issues were raised and it was determined that a full 
assessment was most appropriate. An age-structured production model was 
used for the new assessment. The new stock assessment included 
substantial changes to both data and model structure.
    Gear selectivity, which had been mis-specified in the 2005 
assessment, was corrected and revised. The growth curve for cowcod was 
re-estimated based on corrected data. The commercial and recreational 
sectors were modeled as separate fisheries. The commercial landings 
from 1900 to 1968 were revised. The California Commercial Cooperative 
Groundfish Program (1969-1985) revised landings estimates were 
incorporated into the assessment. In addition, significant changes were 
made to the spatial stratification and the model used to develop the 
Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Logbook indices. The value used for 
the stock-recruitment steepness was changed.
    The estimated depletion of cowcod was strongly affected by the 
correction of technical errors. As a result of the model changes, the 
cowcod spawning biomass in 2005 was believed to be between 3.8 and 24.4 
percent of its unfished spawning biomass with the base model estimating 
the stock to be at 4.0 percent of its unfished biomass, rather than 
between 14 and 21 percent of its unfished spawning biomass as was

[[Page 80521]]

previously estimated in the 2005 assessment. The new assessment 
estimated the cowcod spawning biomass to be between 4.1 percent and 
27.3 percent of its unfished spawning biomass in 2007, with the base 
model estimate being 4.6 percent. The spawning biomass is estimated to 
be slowly increasing (by about 0.3 percent per year). An unresolved 
problem for the stock assessment was the lack of data on stock 
productivity and recent biomass trends. Indications of recent stock 
increases are inferred from the model but have not been confirmed by 
observations.
    The SSC endorsed the base model and the decision table based on the 
``low'' and ``high'' states of nature for Council decision making. The 
cowcod ABC of 13 mt for 2009 and 14 mt for 2010 ABC were based on the 
results of the stock assessment which was based on the STATc base model 
with an F50% FMSY proxy1.

Darkblotched Rockfish (Sebastes Crameri)

    In 2007, a new stock assessment was prepared for darkblotched 
rockfish in the combined U.S. Vancouver, Columbia, Eureka and Monterey 
areas. The stock synthesis model II was used for the stock assessment. 
The SSC indicated that changes to the darkblotched rockfish stock 
assessment model represented a substantial advancement. Changes to the 
stock assessment included: New and updated catch data; new and updated 
discard rate estimates; new data from the Northwest Fishery Science 
Center slope and shelf trawl surveys; conditional age-at-length data 
developed using consistent aging criteria; and data from a new 
generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) that allows the data for the 
various survey vessels to be combined into a single continuous time-
series of biomass indices. In addition, a full range of length 
compositions were used for discarded catch, rather than the average 
size, of discards. The new assessment eliminated Alaska Fishery Science 
Center slope trawl survey data from the ``super years'' (consisting of 
combined data from multiple years of partial coastal coverage), the 
1977 triennial shelf survey data, and the POP survey data from 1975-
1985. These data were removed because the data were unlikely to produce 
realistic selectivities and were relatively insignificant given all the 
other data available.
    The new stock assessment estimated the darkbloched rockfish stock 
to be at 22 percent of its unfished spawning biomass level in 2007. In 
comparison, the last assessment estimated the darkbloched rockfish 
stock to be 16 percent of its unfished spawning biomass in 2005. In 
recent years the stock has been rebuilding, with spawning output having 
increased by 68 percent over the last five years primarily due to 
strong 1999 and 2000 year-classes (fish in a stock born in the same 
year). The darkblotched rockfish spawning biomass appears to have 
increased steadily over the past 5 or 6 years. Since 2001, overfishing 
occurred only once, with estimated catch exceeding the ABC by 14 mt 
(5.8 percent) in 2004.
    The estimates of natural mortality (deaths in a fish stock caused 
by predation, pollution, senility, etc., but not fishing) were a major 
source of uncertainty in the stock assessment. The value used for 
natural mortality was not changed from the previous assessment. 
However, the decision tables presented in the analysis bracketed 
alternative states of nature for natural mortality. The largest change 
in modeling assumptions between the 2005 and 2007 stock assessments was 
the value of spawner-recruitment steepness (a parameter that has a 
major influence on stock productivity). During the review process, a 
disagreement occurred regarding the use of a fixed parameter at the 
median value of a ``prior'' distribution developed from a meta-analysis 
of U.S. west coast rockfishes and an estimate of steepness from within 
the assessment model using the prior distribution. The SSC recommended 
using a spawner-recruitment steepness value estimated within the stock 
assessment model because it incorporates what appears to be meaningful 
information from the current stock assessment into the productivity 
estimate.
    The SSC endorsed the darkblotched rockfish stock assessment as the 
best available science for setting 2009 and 2010 harvest 
specifications. The darkblotched rockfish ABC of 437 mt for 2009 and 
440 mt for 2010 are derived from the base model with an F50% 
FMSY proxy.

POP (Sebastes alutus)

    In 2007, a stock assessment update was prepared for POP (Pacific 
ocean perch) in the U.S. Vancouver and Columbia areas which used the 
same model as in the 2003 and 2005 assessments, a forward projection 
age-structured model. New information used in the stock assessment 
update included: Updated and new catch data for 2003-2006; updated and 
new fishery age composition data from 1999-2006; recalculated Northwest 
Fishery Science Center slope survey biomass indices and age 
compositions for 1999-2004; and new 2006 Northwest Fishery Science 
Center slope survey biomass indices and age compositions.
    The results of the stock assessment update estimated that the POP 
spawning biomass was at 27.5 percent of its unfished spawning biomass 
at the start of 2007. The POP biomass shows an increasing trend with 
indications of a strong 1999 year class in both the survey and fishery 
age composition data over several years. Assessment results are highly 
consistent with the previous assessment, except that a stronger 1999 
year class is estimated. The current assessment indicates that the 1999 
year class is the strongest since the 1960s.
    A number of sources of uncertainty are explicitly included in the 
stock assessment. For example, allowance is made for uncertainty in 
natural mortality, the parameters of the stock-recruitment 
relationship, and the survey catchability coefficients. Sensitivity 
analyses based upon alternative model structures and data set choices 
conducted during the 2003 and 2005 stock assessment process suggest 
that the overall uncertainty may be greater than that predicted by a 
single model specification. Other sources of uncertainty that are not 
included in the current model include: The degree of connection between 
the U.S. west coast and Canadian stock; the effect of climatic 
variables on recruitment, growth, and survival of POP; gender 
differences in growth and survival; a possible nonlinear relationship 
between individual spawner biomass and effective spawning output; and a 
more complicated relationship between age and maturity.
    The SSC determined that the Pacific Ocean perch assessment update 
complied with the terms of reference for updates and endorsed its use 
for Council decision-making. The POP ABC of 1,160 mt for 2009 and 1,173 
mt for 2010 are derived from the base model with an F50% 
FMSY proxy.

Widow Rockfish (Sebastes Entomelas)

    In 2007, a stock assessment update was conducted for widow rockfish 
in U.S. Vancouver, Columbia, Eureka, Monterey, and Conception areas. 
The widow rockfish stock in these areas is assumed to be a single mixed 
stock. The age-based population model used in 2005 was updated with new 
catch data, age compositions data, and catch-per-unit-of-effort time 
series data from 2005 and 2006.
    Since 2001, the widow rockfish biomass has shown an increasing 
trend with the results of the new stock

[[Page 80522]]

assessment estimating the spawning biomass to be at 35.5 percent of its 
unfished spawning biomass in 2007. This is in contrast to steady 
declines in the widow rockfish biomass that occurred between 1977 and 
2001. Like the 2005 stock assessment, the stock assessment update shows 
that the stock biomass may not have declined below the overfished 
species threshold of 25 percent of its unfished spawning biomass, as 
was estimated in previous assessments. Fishing mortality rates have 
been less than 6 percent since 2001, indicating that overfishing has 
not occurred since then.
    As with the previous stock assessment, a major source of 
uncertainty within the current stock assessment is the lack of a 
reliable abundance index (information obtained from samples or 
observations and used as a measure of the weight or number of fish 
which make up a stock) for widow rockfish. The primary source of 
information on trends in abundance of widow rockfish was fishery 
dependent information derived from the Oregon bottom trawl logbook 
data. Because the catch rates have been very low due to catch 
restrictions, no Oregon bottom trawl logbook data after 1999 can be 
used in the assessment. Based on the recommendation of the 2003 STAR 
panel, fishery independent data derived from the National Marine 
Fisheries Service triennial bottom trawl survey were used to develop an 
additional abundance index. Additional areas of uncertainty include: 
The estimated value used for natural mortality; estimates of stock 
recruitment relationships; the use of Santa Cruz juvenile survey data; 
and the relationship of the Canadian stock to the U.S. stock.
    The SSC endorsed the use of the assessment results by the Council 
in support of management decisions. The widow rockfish ABC of 7,728 mt 
for 2009 and 6,937 mt for 2010 are derived from the base model with an 
F50% FMSY proxy.

Yelloweye Rockfish (Sebastes Ruberrimus)

    A stock assessment update was prepared for yelloweye rockfish in 
2007 using the stock Synthesis II model. New catch data were added for 
2006, based on the Groundfish Management Team's bycatch scorecard. The 
catch histories for all fleets were updated for the period 1983-2005.
    In the process of updating data for use in the stock assessment 
update, several errors were identified in the data and input files used 
for the previous assessment. The errors included: A technical error in 
the definition of age and length classes, and the inclusion of 
Washington trawl-caught age compositions included in the age-
composition inputs for the Washington hook-and-line fishery. These 
problems were corrected in developing the 2007 base model. In addition, 
the natural mortality rate was revised upwards. The changes to the 
stock assessment model led to downward revisions in the amount of 
spawning biomass and the level of depletion, relative to the 2006 
assessment.
    The long-term biomass trajectory from the new stock assessment is 
very similar to that in the 2006 assessment. Spawning biomass declined 
steadily and rather rapidly, beginning in the early-1970s, with no 
indication of increase until roughly 2001. The amount of spawning 
biomass in all years is lower in the current base model than in the 
previous assessment, due to the correction of data/input errors 
discussed above. As a result of the new assessment, yelloweye rockfish 
was estimated to be at 14.5 percent of its unfished spawning biomass in 
2007.
    As in the previous assessments, the sparseness of the size and age 
composition data and the lack of a relevant fishery-independent survey 
has limited the ability to assess the status of the yelloweye rockfish 
resource. Further, due to catch restrictions since 2002, catch-per-
unit-effort data no longer reflect the real changes in population 
abundance, and discard estimates are highly uncertain. The current 
version of Stock Synthesis II model does not allow for the considerable 
uncertainty in estimated landings. This makes it difficult to evaluate 
the true uncertainty of model results. Internal estimates of standard 
error on depletion estimates were on the order of 2-2.5 percent and are 
likely to underestimate uncertainty.
    Overall, the update is consistent with the previous assessment and 
the SSC endorsed the update model with the revised natural mortality 
rate for use in status determination and management of the stock. The 
yelloweye rockfish ABC of 31 mt for 2009 and 32 mt for 2010 are derived 
from the base model with an F50% FMSY proxy.

Shortbelly Rockfish (Sebastes jordani)

    To understand the potential environmental determinants of 
fluctuations in the recruitment and abundance of an unexploited 
rockfish population in the California Current ecosystem, an academic 
assessment was conducted for shortbelly rockfish in 2007. The analysis, 
which was conducted by NMFS outside the Council process, was peer 
reviewed using a structure similar to the Council's stock assessment 
review process (external reviewers, including a Center for Independent 
Experts reviewer) and using the Council's terms of reference for 
groundfish stock assessments. Although the assessment does not fully 
satisfy the Council's terms of reference for groundfish stock 
assessments, the SSC indicated that it represented improved knowledge 
about shortbelly rockfish and might be suitable for management purposes 
in place of the previously used inferences from the hydroacoustic 
surveys conducted during 1977 and 1980. The SSC also noted that the 
assessment of shortbelly rockfish does improve knowledge about one of 
the non-commercial species included in the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP 
and hence provides information relevant to further understanding the 
ecosystem impacts on the fish populations managed by the Council, as 
well as the implications of the choice between static and dynamic 
unfished biomass. The shortbelly rockfish ABC of 6,950 mt for 2009 and 
2010 is 50 percent of the status quo ABC. Given the results of the 
academic assessment, an ABC of 6,950 mt is an amount at which the stock 
is projected to remain in a state of equilibrium.

OY-Setting Policies

    The Council recommends annual harvest levels, which are OYs, for 
the species or species groups that it manages. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 
requires the FMP to prevent overfishing while achieving, on a 
continuing basis, the OY from each fishery. Overfishing is defined in 
the National Standard Guidelines (50 CFR part 600, subpart D) as 
exceeding the fishing mortality rate (F) needed to produce MSY on a 
continuing basis.
    A biennial management cycle, adopted under Amendment 17 to the FMP, 
is being used to establish the 2009 and 2010 harvest specifications and 
management measures. At the beginning of the biennial management cycle, 
two one-year ABCs and OYs will be adopted for each species or species 
complex the Council proposes to manage. The annual OYs will be applied 
in the same manner as has been done in previous years. If an OY is not 
achieved or is exceeded in the first year, the underage or overage will 
not be transferred to the following year, as such a transfer could 
result in too much fishing or other management problems in the second 
year. Overages or underages are accounted for in subsequent stock 
assessments, which are populated with

[[Page 80523]]

historical total catch and other relevant data.
    The 2009 and 2010 OYs for species other than those managed with 
overfished species rebuilding plans are set at levels that are expected 
to prevent overfishing, equal to or less than their ABCs. For 
overfished species, the OYs are set at levels that allow the overfished 
species to rebuild as quickly as possible, taking into account the 
status and biology of the stock, the needs of fishing communities, and 
the interaction of the stock within the marine ecosystem. The specific 
OYs being adopted for overfished species are described below in ``OY 
Policies and Rebuilding Parameters for Overfished Species.''
    The ``40-10'' harvest policy is used to set OYs for species that 
are not managed under overfished species rebuilding plans. The 40-10 
harvest policy is designed to prevent stocks from becoming overfished. 
If a stock's spawning biomass is larger than the biomass needed to 
produce MSY (BMSY), the OY may be set equal to or less than 
ABC. The Council uses 40 percent as a default proxy for 
BMSY, also referred to as B40%. A stock with a 
current spawning biomass between 25 percent of the unfished level and 
BMSY (also referred to as the precautionary threshold) is 
said to be in the ``precautionary zone.'' The 40-10 harvest policy 
reduces the fishing mortality rate when a stock's biomass is at or 
below the precautionary threshold. The further the stock biomass is 
below the precautionary threshold, the greater the reduction in OY 
relative to the ABC. The slope of the line reduces the OY below 
B40% to zero at B10%. This is, in effect, a 
default rebuilding policy that is intended to foster a quicker return 
to the BMSY level than would occur with fishing at the ABC 
level. The OYs for stocks that have been declared overfished (where the 
stock biomass was below B25%, and where the stock has not 
yet rebuild to B40% or greater) are set in accordance with 
species-specific rebuilding plans that are designed to meet the 
rebuilding requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. For further 
information on the 40-10 harvest policy see Section 5.3 of the Pacific 
Coast Groundfish FMP.
    After considering appropriate analysis, the Council may recommend 
setting the OY higher than what the default OY harvest policy specifies 
as long as the OY does not exceed the ABC (which is set at 
FMSY); complies with the requirements of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act; and is consistent with the National Standard Guidelines. 
On a case-by-case basis, additional precautionary adjustments may be 
made to an OY if it is necessary to address uncertainty in the data or 
to reduce the risk of a stock or a co-occurring species from being 
overfished.
    If a stock falls below 25 percent of its unfished spawning biomass 
(B25%) and is declared overfished, the revised Magnuson-
Stevens Act requires the Council to develop and implement a rebuilding 
plan within two years from the declaration date. In addition, the 
Council has the discretion to make additional OY adjustments for stocks 
with only rudimentary stock assessments. For such stocks, the Council's 
policy is to set the OY at 75 percent of the ABC. For stocks that have 
not been quantitatively assessed and where the ABC is based on 
historical data, the OY policy is to set the OY at 50 percent of the 
ABC. For further information on precautionary adjustments for stocks 
that have not been quantitatively assessed, see the preamble discussion 
of the Annual Specification and Management Measures published on 
January 11, 2001 (66 FR 2338).

2009 and 2010 OYs for Healthy and Precautionary Zone Species

    Species that had OYs in 2007 and 2008 continue to have OYs in 2009 
and 2010. As stated above, the FMP provides guidance on setting harvest 
specifications based on a stock's estimated biomass level. For each 
species or species group where there was no new stock assessment or for 
those species where the FMP provided clear guidance on the harvest 
strategy, the Council considered a single combination of ABC/OY harvest 
levels for 2009 and 2010. These species included: Pacific cod; 
splitnose rockfish south; yellowtail rockfish north; shortspine 
thornyhead; longspine thornyhead; black rockfish north; Dover sole; 
petrale sole; starry flounder; English sole; and other flatfish. The 
Council recommended final adoption of the ABC/OYs values for these 
species at its April 2008 meeting. Further information on the OYs for 
these species can be found in the footnotes to Table 1a. and Table 2a. 
The Council considered alternative OYs for the following non-overfished 
species: Lingcod south of 42[deg] N. lat.; sablefish; shortbelly 
rockfish; chilipepper rockfish; black rockfish south of 42[deg] N. 
lat.; minor rockfish north and south of 40[deg]10' N. lat.; California 
scorpionfish; cabezon; arrowtooth flounder; longnose skate (a species 
within the other fish complex); and Pacific whiting.

Lingcod

    The latest lingcod stock assessment was prepared in 2005 and 
estimated the coastwide stock to be above 40 percent of unfished 
spawning biomass. Lingcod is therefore considered to be a healthy 
stock. When a stock is above 40 percent of its unfished spawning 
biomass, the FMP harvest policy allows the OY to be set equal to the 
ABC. Under Alternative 1, coastwide OYs of 5,205 mt in 2009 and 4,785 
in 2010 were derived by combining the 612 mt southern area (south of 
43[deg] N. lat.) status quo OY with the northern area (north of 43[deg] 
N. lat.) OYs of 4,593 mt in 2009 and 4,173 mt in 2010. The northern 
area OYs were derived from the 2005 assessment for the northern 
substock with the OYs set equal to the ABCs. The southern area status 
quo OY of 612 mt was the 2006 OY which had been used in 2007 and 2008 
as a precautionary measure to allow the southern portion of the stock 
to continue to increase in biomass. The Council recommended OY is OY 
Alternative 2 (5,278 mt in 2009 and 4,829 mt in 2010) which is based on 
the 2005 assessment with the coastwide OY that was set equal to the 
ABC. The Council recommended the coastwide OY under Alternative 2 as 
lingcod is considered to be a healthy stock coastwide.

Sablefish

    Under the Pacific coast groundfish FMP, sablefish is considered to 
be a precautionary zone stock because the most recent stock assessment 
estimated the stock to be at 38.3 percent of its unfished biomass 
coastwide. At its April 2008 meeting, the Council considered three 
alternative approaches for setting coastwide, northern and southern 
subarea (north and south of 36[deg] N. lat.) OYs for sablefish. 
Sablefish allocations are defined by the FMP and apply to the subareas 
north and south of 36[deg] N. lat. Therefore, the coastwide OY is 
proportioned to the subareas and used to define the subarea OYs.
    At its April 2008 meeting the Council considered three OY 
alternatives for sablefish. Alternative 1 was based on the ABC from the 
2007 sablefish stock assessment base model with the application of the 
40-10 harvest policy which resulted in a coastwide OY of 9,795 mt in 
2009 (9,452 mt north of 36[deg] N. lat., and 343 mt south of 36[deg] N. 
lat.) and 8,988 mt in 2010 (8,673 mt north of 36[deg] N. lat. and 315 
mt south of 36[deg] N. lat.) Apportionment of the OY to the northern 
and southern subareas was done by applying the average proportion of 
2000-2001 landings of sablefish north of 36[deg] N. lat. (96.5 percent) 
and south

[[Page 80524]]

of 36[deg] N. lat. (3.5 percent) to the coastwide OY value. Alternative 
2 was based on the ABC from the 2007 sablefish stock assessment base 
model with the application of the 40-10 harvest policy. The coastwide 
projected yield from the 2007 assessment was apportioned to the area 
north of 36[deg] N. lat. (72 percent) and the Conception area south of 
36[deg] N. lat. (28 percent) using the average 2003-2006 proportions 
estimated from the Northwest Fishery Science Center's shelf-slope trawl 
survey. The Conception area OY was then adjusted to 50 percent to 
account for greater assessment and survey uncertainty south of 36[deg] 
N. lat. To derive the coastwide OYs, the northern and southern area OYs 
were summed. The resulting coastwide OYs were 8,423 mt in 2009 (7,052 
mt north of 36[deg] N. lat., and 1,371 mt south of 36[deg] N. lat.) and 
7,729 mt in 2010 (6,471 mt north of 36[deg] N. lat. and 1,258 mt south 
of 36[deg] N. lat.) The third OY alternative considered by the Council 
(Alternative 3) was based on the ABC from the 2007 sablefish stock 
assessment's low abundance model with the application of the 40-10 
harvest policy. The subarea apportionment methodology used to derive OY 
Alternative 2 specifications was used under Alternative 3. The 
resulting coastwide OY for 2009 was 6,250 mt (5,233 mt north of 36[deg] 
N. lat., and 1,018 mt south of 36[deg] N. lat.) and for 2010 it was 
5,777 mt (4,837 mt north of 36[deg] N. lat., and 941 mt south of 
36[deg] N. lat.)
    The Council recommended that the coastwide and northern and 
southern subarea OY under Alternative 2 be adopted. The precautionary 
reduction in the southern OY results in a large OY for the Conception 
Area relative to recent catches. The Cowcod Conservation Area (CCA) 
closes a significant amount of the Conception Area to fishing and the 
area-swept biomass estimates for the Conception area are based on the 
assumption that catch rates outside of the CCAs are comparable to those 
inside (the survey does not sample within the CCAs). A precautionary 
reduction of 50 percent was used in the southern area to account for 
the uncertainty inherent in using a short time-series of relative 
abundance for setting the OY. The apportionment of biomass using the 
trawl survey data (Alternatives 2 and 3) incorporates the best 
available information on the sablefish stock distribution.

Shortbelly Rockfish

    In 2007 an academic assessment conducted for shortbelly rockfish 
indicated the shortbelly stock was healthy and estimated the spawning 
stock biomass to be at 67 percent of its unfished spawning biomass in 
2006. Based on the advice of the SSC, the Council used the academic 
assessment to develop two alternative approaches for establishing OYs 
for shortbelly rockfish. Under the first approach (Alternative 1) the 
status quo OY was reduced to 25 percent resulting in an OY of 3,475 mt 
in 2009 and 2010. The shortbelly rockfish stock would be expected to 
increase in abundance under the Alternative 1 harvest rate. Under the 
second approach (Alternative 2), the status quo OY was reduced to 50 
percent resulting in an OY of 6,950 mt in 2009 and 2010. The stock 
would be expected to remain in its current equilibrium under the 
Alternative 2 harvest rate. The Council recommended adoption of 
Alternative 2.

Chilipepper Rockfish

    The latest chilipepper stock assessment was prepared in 2007 and 
indicated that the stock was healthy. At its April 2008 meeting the 
Council considered 3 alternative approaches to setting OYs for 
chilipepper rockfish. Under the first approach (Alternative 1) the OY 
of 2,000 mt in 2009 and 2010, is less than the ABC and is a 
precautionary OY intended to reduce the potential catch of bocaccio 
which co-occur with chilipepper rockfish. The second alternative, 
Alternative 2 had OYs (2,099 mt in 2009 and 2010) based on the 
estimated MSY at an F50% SPR harvest rate as estimated in 
the 2007 assessment. The third approach, Alternative 3, had OYs (3,037 
mt in 2009 and 2,576 mt in 2010) that were set equal to the ABC for 
each year as projected by the base model in the 2007 assessme