Fisheries off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Closure of the Pacific Whiting Primary Fishery for the Mothership Sector, 29431-29432 [E9-14609]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 118 / Monday, June 22, 2009 / Rules and Regulations
erowe on PROD1PC63 with RULES
Management Plan for the Reef Fish
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP).
The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council
and is implemented under the authority
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) by regulations
at 50 CFR part 622. Those regulations
set the commercial quota for deepwater
grouper in the Gulf of Mexico at 1.02
million lb (463,636 kg) for the current
fishing year, January 1 through
December 31, 2009.
Under 50 CFR 622.43(a), NMFS is
required to close the commercial fishery
for a species or species group when the
quota for that species or species group
is reached, or is projected to be reached,
by filing a notification to that effect with
the Office of the Federal Register. Based
on current statistics, NMFS has
determined that the available
commercial quota of 1.02 million lb
(463,636 kg) for deepwater grouper will
be reached on or before June 27, 2009.
Accordingly, NMFS is closing the
commercial deepwater grouper fishery
in the Gulf of Mexico EEZ from 12:01
a.m., local time, on June 27, 2009, until
12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1,
2010. The operator of a vessel with a
valid commercial vessel permit for Gulf
reef fish having deepwater grouper
aboard must have landed and bartered,
traded, or sold such deepwater grouper
prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, June 27,
2009.
During the closure, the bag and
possession limits specified in 50 CFR
622.39(b) apply to all harvest or
possession of deepwater grouper in or
from the Gulf of Mexico EEZ, and the
sale or purchase of deepwater grouper
taken from the EEZ is prohibited.
Vessels with commercial quantities of
reef fish on board are prohibited from
retaining a recreational bag limit. Thus
a vessel may only have a commercial
quantity of reef fish or a recreational bag
limit of reef fish. The prohibition on
sale or purchase does not apply to sale
or purchase of deepwater grouper that
were harvested, landed ashore, and sold
prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, June 27,
2009, and were held in cold storage by
a dealer or processor.
Classification
This action responds to the best
available information recently obtained
from the fishery. The Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA,
(AA), finds good cause to waive the
requirement to provide prior notice and
opportunity for public comment
pursuant to the authority set forth at 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such prior notice
and opportunity for public comment is
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:26 Jun 19, 2009
Jkt 217001
unnecessary and contrary to the public
interest. Such procedures would be
unnecessary because the rule itself has
already been subject to notice and
comment, and all that remains is to
notify the public of the closure.
Allowing prior notice and opportunity
for public comment is contrary to the
public interest because of the need to
immediately implement this action to
protect the fishery since the capacity of
the fishing fleet allows for rapid harvest
of the quota. Prior notice and
opportunity for public comment would
require time and would potentially
result in a harvest well in excess of the
established quota.
For the aforementioned reasons, the
AA also finds good cause to waive the
30-day delay in the effectiveness of this
action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
This action is taken under 50 CFR
622.43(a) and is exempt from review
under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 17, 2009.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9–14610 Filed 6–17–09; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 090428799–9802–01]
RIN 0648–XP82
Fisheries off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery;
Closure of the Pacific Whiting Primary
Fishery for the Mothership Sector
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Fishing restrictions.
SUMMARY: NMFS announces closure of
the primary season for the mothership
sector of the Pacific whiting fishery at
10:00 p.m. local time (l.t.) June 1, 2009.
The closure was necessary because the
mothership sector was projected to
reach its Pacific whiting harvest
guideline. This action is authorized by
regulations implementing the Pacific
Coast Groundfish Fishery Management
Plan (FMP), which governs the
groundfish fishery off Washington,
Oregon, and California. This action is
intended to keep the harvest of Pacific
whiting at the 2009 allocation levels.
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
29431
DATES: Effective from 10:00 p.m. l.t.
June 1, 2009, until the start of the 2010
primary season for the mothership
sector, unless modified, superseded or
rescinded.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Becky Renko at 206–526–6110.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
action is authorized by regulations
implementing the Pacific Coast
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
(FMP), which governs the groundfish
fishery off Washington, Oregon, and
California. The regulations at 50 CFR
660.323(a) established separate
allocations for the catcher/processor,
mothership, and shore based sectors of
the whiting fishery. The 2009
commercial Optimum Yield (OY) for
Pacific whiting is 81,939 mt. This is
calculated by deducting the 50,000–mt
tribal set-aside and 4,000–mt for
research catch and bycatch in nongroundfish fisheries from the 135,939
mt total catch OY. Each sector receives
a portion of the commercial OY, with
the catcher/processors getting 34
percent (27,859 mt), motherships getting
24 percent (19,665 mt), and the shorebased sector getting 42 percent (34,414
mt).
Regulations at 50 CFR 660.323 (c)
provide that if the Regional
Administrator determines that a portion
of the tribal set-aside or another sector’s
allocation will not be used during the
year, the Regional Administrator can
reapportion that Pacific whiting to other
sectors in proportion to their initial
allocations. At the Pacific Fishery
Management Council’s March 2009
meeting, the Makah Tribal
representatives stated their intent to
harvest only 23,789 mt of their 42,000
mt set-aside and asked that the
remaining 18,211 mt be reapportioned
to the non-tribal sectors of the fishery.
Therefore, the mothership sector
received an additional 5,823 mt,
resulting in a harvest guideline of
24,034 mt.
When each sector’s Pacific whiting
harvest allocation or harvest guideline is
reached, the primary season for that
sector is ended. The mothership sector
is composed of motherships and catcher
vessels that harvest whiting for delivery
to motherships. Motherships are vessels
that process, but do not harvest,
whiting. The regulations at 50 CFR
600.323 (a)(3)(i) describe the primary
season for vessels delivering to
motherships as the period(s) when atsea processing is allowed and the
fishery is open for the mothership
sector.
To prevent an allocation from being
exceeded, regulations at 50 CFR 660.323
E:\FR\FM\22JNR1.SGM
22JNR1
29432
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 118 / Monday, June 22, 2009 / Rules and Regulations
(e) allows closure of the commercial
whiting fisheries by actual notice to the
fishery participants. Actual notice
includes e-mail, internet, phone, fax,
letter or press release. NMFS provided
actual notice on June 1, 2009 by fax and
internet.
erowe on PROD1PC63 with RULES
NMFS Action
This action announces the closure of
the Pacific whiting primary season for
the mothership sector only. The best
available information on June 1, 2009,
indicated that the mothership harvest
guideline would be reached by 10:00
p.m. l.t. (2200 hours), June 1, 2009, at
which time the primary season for the
mothership sector ended and further atsea processing and receipt of whiting by
a mothership, or taking and retaining,
possessing, or landing of whiting by a
catcher boat in the mothership sector,
was prohibited. For the reasons stated
above, and in accordance with the
regulations at 50 CFR 660.323(b)(2),
NMFS herein announces that effective
10:00 p.m. l.t. June 1, 2009—(1) further
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:26 Jun 19, 2009
Jkt 217001
receiving or at-sea processing of whiting
by a mothership is prohibited. No
additional unprocessed whiting may be
brought on board after at-sea processing
is prohibited, but a mothership may
continue to process whiting that was on
board before at-sea processing was
prohibited, and (2) whiting may not be
taken and retained, possessed, or landed
by a catcher vessel participating in the
mothership sector.
Classification
This action is authorized by the
regulations implementing thegroundfish
FMP. The determination to take these
actions is based on the most recent data
available. The aggregate data upon
which the determinations are based are
available for public inspectionat the
office of the Regional Administrator (see
ADDRESSES) during business hours. The
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries
(AA), NMFS, finds good cause to waive
the requirement to provide prior notice
and opportunity for comment on this
action pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 (3)(b)(B),
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
because providing prior notice and
opportunity would be impracticable. It
would be impracticable because if this
restriction were delayed in order to
provide notice and comment, it would
allow the allocation for the mothership
sector of the fishery to be greatly
exceeded.
A delay to provide a cooling off
period also would be expected to cause
the fishery to exceed its allocation.
Therefore, good cause also exists to
waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness
requirement of 5 U.S.C. 553 (d)(3).
This action is taken under the
authority of 50 CFR 660.323(b)(4), and
is exempt from review under Executive
Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 16, 2009.
Kristen C. Koch,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9–14609 Filed 6–19–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
E:\FR\FM\22JNR1.SGM
22JNR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 118 (Monday, June 22, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29431-29432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-14609]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 090428799-9802-01]
RIN 0648-XP82
Fisheries off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish
Fishery; Closure of the Pacific Whiting Primary Fishery for the
Mothership Sector
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Fishing restrictions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces closure of the primary season for the
mothership sector of the Pacific whiting fishery at 10:00 p.m. local
time (l.t.) June 1, 2009. The closure was necessary because the
mothership sector was projected to reach its Pacific whiting harvest
guideline. This action is authorized by regulations implementing the
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which governs
the groundfish fishery off Washington, Oregon, and California. This
action is intended to keep the harvest of Pacific whiting at the 2009
allocation levels.
DATES: Effective from 10:00 p.m. l.t. June 1, 2009, until the start of
the 2010 primary season for the mothership sector, unless modified,
superseded or rescinded.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Renko at 206-526-6110.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is authorized by regulations
implementing the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
(FMP), which governs the groundfish fishery off Washington, Oregon, and
California. The regulations at 50 CFR 660.323(a) established separate
allocations for the catcher/processor, mothership, and shore based
sectors of the whiting fishery. The 2009 commercial Optimum Yield (OY)
for Pacific whiting is 81,939 mt. This is calculated by deducting the
50,000-mt tribal set-aside and 4,000-mt for research catch and bycatch
in non-groundfish fisheries from the 135,939 mt total catch OY. Each
sector receives a portion of the commercial OY, with the catcher/
processors getting 34 percent (27,859 mt), motherships getting 24
percent (19,665 mt), and the shore-based sector getting 42 percent
(34,414 mt).
Regulations at 50 CFR 660.323 (c) provide that if the Regional
Administrator determines that a portion of the tribal set-aside or
another sector's allocation will not be used during the year, the
Regional Administrator can reapportion that Pacific whiting to other
sectors in proportion to their initial allocations. At the Pacific
Fishery Management Council's March 2009 meeting, the Makah Tribal
representatives stated their intent to harvest only 23,789 mt of their
42,000 mt set-aside and asked that the remaining 18,211 mt be
reapportioned to the non-tribal sectors of the fishery. Therefore, the
mothership sector received an additional 5,823 mt, resulting in a
harvest guideline of 24,034 mt.
When each sector's Pacific whiting harvest allocation or harvest
guideline is reached, the primary season for that sector is ended. The
mothership sector is composed of motherships and catcher vessels that
harvest whiting for delivery to motherships. Motherships are vessels
that process, but do not harvest, whiting. The regulations at 50 CFR
600.323 (a)(3)(i) describe the primary season for vessels delivering to
motherships as the period(s) when at-sea processing is allowed and the
fishery is open for the mothership sector.
To prevent an allocation from being exceeded, regulations at 50 CFR
660.323
[[Page 29432]]
(e) allows closure of the commercial whiting fisheries by actual notice
to the fishery participants. Actual notice includes e-mail, internet,
phone, fax, letter or press release. NMFS provided actual notice on
June 1, 2009 by fax and internet.
NMFS Action
This action announces the closure of the Pacific whiting primary
season for the mothership sector only. The best available information
on June 1, 2009, indicated that the mothership harvest guideline would
be reached by 10:00 p.m. l.t. (2200 hours), June 1, 2009, at which time
the primary season for the mothership sector ended and further at-sea
processing and receipt of whiting by a mothership, or taking and
retaining, possessing, or landing of whiting by a catcher boat in the
mothership sector, was prohibited. For the reasons stated above, and in
accordance with the regulations at 50 CFR 660.323(b)(2), NMFS herein
announces that effective 10:00 p.m. l.t. June 1, 2009--(1) further
receiving or at-sea processing of whiting by a mothership is
prohibited. No additional unprocessed whiting may be brought on board
after at-sea processing is prohibited, but a mothership may continue to
process whiting that was on board before at-sea processing was
prohibited, and (2) whiting may not be taken and retained, possessed,
or landed by a catcher vessel participating in the mothership sector.
Classification
This action is authorized by the regulations implementing
thegroundfish FMP. The determination to take these actions is based on
the most recent data available. The aggregate data upon which the
determinations are based are available for public inspectionat the
office of the Regional Administrator (see ADDRESSES) during business
hours. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA), NMFS, finds good
cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity
for comment on this action pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 (3)(b)(B), because
providing prior notice and opportunity would be impracticable. It would
be impracticable because if this restriction were delayed in order to
provide notice and comment, it would allow the allocation for the
mothership sector of the fishery to be greatly exceeded.
A delay to provide a cooling off period also would be expected to
cause the fishery to exceed its allocation. Therefore, good cause also
exists to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness requirement of 5
U.S.C. 553 (d)(3).
This action is taken under the authority of 50 CFR 660.323(b)(4),
and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 16, 2009.
Kristen C. Koch,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-14609 Filed 6-19-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
