Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2019-2020 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments, 43736-43742 [2020-15629]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 139 / Monday, July 20, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
adopted frequency band-specific service
rules at the time the license is granted,
the licensee will be required to comply
with the technical requirements in
paragraphs (b)(2) through (4) of this
section, notwithstanding the frequency
bands specified in these sections:
§§ 25.143(b)(2)(ii) (except NGSO FSS
systems) and (iii), 25.204(e), and
25.210(f) and (i).
*
*
*
*
*
(4) For all small satellite licensees, for
which the application was filed
pursuant to § 25.122 or § 25.123,
authorizing operations in a frequency
band for which the Commission has not
adopted frequency-band specific service
rules at the time the license is granted,
the licensee will not be required to
comply with the technical requirements
specified in this section.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2020–12013 Filed 7–17–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 180625576–8999–02]
RIN 0648–BJ95
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;
Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery;
2019–2020 Biennial Specifications and
Management Measures; Inseason
Adjustments
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments
to biennial groundfish management
measures.
AGENCY:
This final rule announces
routine inseason adjustments to
management measures in commercial
groundfish fisheries. This action is
intended to allow commercial fishing
vessels to access more abundant
SUMMARY:
groundfish stocks while protecting
overfished and depleted stocks.
DATES: This final rule is effective July
20, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Karen Palmigiano, phone: 206–526–
4491 or email: karen.palmigiano@
noaa.gov.
Electronic Access
This rule is accessible via the internet
at the Office of the Federal Register
website at https://
www.federalregister.gov. Background
information and documents are
available at the Pacific Fishery
Management Council’s website at https://
www.pcouncil.org/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery
Management Plan (PCGFMP) and its
implementing regulations at 50 CFR part
660, subparts C through G, regulate
fishing for over 90 species of groundfish
off the coasts of Washington, Oregon,
and California. The Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council)
develops groundfish harvest
specifications and management
measures for two-year periods (i.e., a
biennium). NMFS published the final
rule to implement harvest specifications
and management measures for the
2019–2020 biennium for most species
managed under the PCGFMP on
December 12, 2018 (83 FR 63970).
Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries are
managed using harvest specifications or
limits (e.g., overfishing limits [OFL],
acceptable biological catch [ABC],
annual catch limits [ACL] and harvest
guidelines [HG]) based on the best
scientific information available at that
time (50 CFR 660.60(b)). The harvest
specifications and mitigation measures
developed for the 2019–2020 biennium
used data through the 2017 fishing year.
In general, the management measures
(e.g., trip limits, area closures, and bag
limits) set at the start of the biennial
harvest specifications cycle help catch
in the various sectors of the fishery
reach, but not exceed, the limits for each
stock. The Council, in coordination with
Pacific Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and
the States of Washington, Oregon, and
California, recommends adjustments to
the management measures during the
fishing year to achieve this goal. At its
June 10–19, 2020 meeting, the Council
recommended increasing the limited
entry fixed gear (LEFG) and open access
(OA) trip limits for bocaccio south of
40°10′ North latitude (N lat.). Each of
the adjustments discussed below are
based on updated fisheries information
that was unavailable when the Council
completed the initial analysis for the
current harvest specifications.
Bocaccio is managed with stockspecific harvest specifications south of
40°10′ N lat. and within the Minor Shelf
Rockfish complex north of 40°10′ N lat.
NMFS declared bocaccio overfished in
1999, and implemented a rebuilding
plan for the stock in 2000. NMFS
declared bocaccio officially rebuilt in
2017, and implemented new, higher
catch limits for the first time in 2019.
For example, the ACL for bocaccio
increased from 741 metric tons (mt) in
2018 to 2,097 mt in 2019. For 2020, the
bocaccio ACL south of 40°10′ N lat. is
2,011 mt with a fishery HG of 1,965 mt.
The non-trawl allocation is 1,197.8 mt.
At the June 2020 Council meeting,
members of the Groundfish Advisory
SubPanel (GAP) notified the Council
and the Groundfish Management Team
(GMT) of increased interactions with
bocaccio and the desire for higher trip
limits to reduce the need to discard. The
most recent bocaccio attainment
estimates for 2020 suggest that around
13.5 percent or 162.1 mt of bocaccio
will be attained by the non-trawl sector
out of the 1,197.8 mt non-trawl
allocation for south of 40°10′ N lat., the
GAP requested the GMT examine
potential increases to the bocaccio trip
limits for the LEFG and OA sectors
south of 40°10′ N lat.
To assist the Council in evaluating
potential trip limit increases for the
LEFG and OA sectors targeting bocaccio
south of 40°10′ N lat., the GMT analyzed
projected attainment under the current
status quo trip limits and increased trip
limits (Table 1).
TABLE 1—STATUS QUO AND PROPOSED INCREASED LEFG AND OA TRIP LIMITS FOR BOCACCIO SOUTH OF 40°10′ N LAT
Option
Sector
Option 1: Status
Quo Trip Limits.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Geographic area
Jan–Feb
Mar–Apr
May–Jun
Jul–Aug
Sep–Oct
LE .............
40°10′ to 34°27′ N
lat.
LE .............
South of 34°27′ N
lat.
1,500 lb (680 kg)/2
months.
CLOSED ............
1,500 lb (680 kg)/2 months
OA ............
South of 34°27′ N
lat.
500 lb/2 months .....
CLOSED ............
500 lb (227 kg)/2 months
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1,500 lb (680 kg)/2 months
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20JYR1
Nov–Dec
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 139 / Monday, July 20, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 1—STATUS QUO AND PROPOSED INCREASED LEFG AND OA TRIP LIMITS FOR BOCACCIO SOUTH OF 40°10′ N
LAT—Continued
Option
Sector
Geographic area
Option 2: Increased
Trip Limits.
LE .............
40°10′ to 34°27′ N
lat.
LE .............
South of 34°27′ N
lat.
1,500 lb (680 kg)/2
months.
CLOSED ............
1,500 lb (680 kg)/2
months.
6,000 lb (2,722 kg)/2 months
OA ............
South of 34°27′ N
lat.
500 lb (227 kg)/2
months.
CLOSED ............
500 lb (227 kg)/2
months.
4,000 lb (1,814 kg)/2 months
In 2018, when the Council
recommended bocaccio trip limits for
the 2019–20 harvest specifications,
bocaccio had only just been rebuilt and
few data points existed to provide
projected annual catch data under the
current trip limits. Based on the limited
data available at that time, attainment of
boccacio by the non-trawl commercial
fishery in 2020 was projected to be
around 3.5 mt of the 1,197.8 mt nontrawl allocation.
Jan–Feb
Mar–Apr
May–Jun
Jul–Aug
1,500 lb (680 kg)/2 months
The GMT updated the projected
attainments under the current status quo
trip limits (Option 1) and examined
potential impacts under increased trip
limits (Option 2) with additional catch
data from the 2018 and 2019 fishing
years. Based on updated model
projections attainment of bocaccio,
under the current status quo trip limits
in the LEFG and OA fisheries, is
projected to be 19.1 mt, or 1.5 percent
of the non-trawl allocation (1,197.8 mt)
and less than one percent of the
Sep–Oct
Nov–Dec
6,000 lb (2,722 kg)/2 months
bocaccio ACL (2,011 mt) for south of
40°10′ N lat. Increasing the trip limits
for the LEFG and OA fisheries south of
40°10′ N lat. for the remainder of the
fishing year is projected to increase
attainment of bocaccio for the LEFG and
OA fisheries by 39.7 mt over Option 1,
and the overall attainment of bocaccio is
projected to increase from 162.1 mt, or
13.5 percent, to 201.8 mt, or 16.8
percent, of the non-trawl HG and 10
percent of the ACL south of 40°10′ N lat.
(Table 2).
TABLE 2—PROJECTED MORTALITY FOR STATUS QUO AND OPTION 2 TRIP LIMITS FOR THE LEFG AND OA SECTORS
TARGETING BOCACCIO SOUTH OF 40°10′ N LAT
Projected
attainment
(mt)
Option
Sector
Geographic area
Option 1: Status Quo Trip Limits .........
LE .............
LE .............
OA ............
40°10′ to 34°27′ N lat .........................
South of 34°27′ N lat ..........................
South of 34°27′ N lat ..........................
Total
Option 2: Increased Trip Limits ...........
LE .............
LE .............
OA ............
Classification
NMFS issues tis action pursuant to
section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. This action is required by 50 CFR
660.60(c), which was issued pursuant to
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:30 Jul 17, 2020
Jkt 250001
40°10′ to 34°27′ N lat .........................
South of 34°27′ N lat ..........................
South of 34°27′ N lat ..........................
23.6
7.9
27.3
Frm 00057
162.1
13.5
201.8
16.8
Non-trawl
allocation
(mt)
1,197.8
ACL
(mt)
2,011
58.8
section 304(b), and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
The aggregate data upon which these
actions are based are available for public
inspection by contacting Karen
Palmigiano in NMFS West Coast Region
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT,
above), or view at the NMFS West Coast
Groundfish website: https://
www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/
fisheries/groundfish/.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b), NMFS
finds good cause to waive prior public
notice and an opportunity for public
comment on this action, as notice and
comment would be impracticable and
contrary to the public interest. The
adjustments to bocaccio management
measures in this document ease
restrictive trip limits on commercial
fisheries in California to allow fisheries
to harvest more fish while still staying
within harvest limits. No aspect of this
action is controversial, and changes of
PO 00000
Percentage of
non-trawl
allocation
attained
19.1
Total
Trip limit increases for bocaccio are
intended to allow for increased
attainment of the non-trawl allocation
(1,197.8 mt), while also providing the
incentive for vessels targeting cooccurring species, such as chilipepper
rockfish, to land their bocaccio catch
instead of discarding. Therefore, the
Council recommended and NMFS is
implementing, by modifying Table 2
(South) to part 660, Subpart E, an
increase to the bocaccio trip limits for
the LEFG fishery south of 40°10′ N lat.,
and by modifying Table 3 (South) to
part 660, Subpart F, an increase to the
bocaccio trip limits for the OA fishery
south of 40°10′ N lat.
11.0
2.7
5.4
Non-trawl
projected
attainment
(mt)
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
this nature were anticipated in the final
rule for the 2019–2020 harvest
specifications and management
measures which published on December
12, 2018 (83 FR 63970).
At its June 2020 meeting, the Council
recommended the increases to the
commercial trip limits for the LEFG and
OA sectors be implemented as soon as
possible so that harvesters may be able
to take advantage of these higher limits
and reduce unnecessary discarding of
bocaccio. Each of the adjustments to
commercial management measures in
this rule will create more harvest
opportunity and allow fishermen to
catch species that are currently under
attained without causing any impacts to
the fishery that were not anticipated
during development of the 2019–20
biennial harvest specifications. Each of
these recommended adjustments also
rely on new catch data that were not
available and thus not considered
E:\FR\FM\20JYR1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 139 / Monday, July 20, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
during the 2019–2020 biennial harvest
specifications process. New catch
information through the end of the 2019
fishing year used to inform model
projections estimates that attainment of
bocaccio will again be very low in 2020
and, even with these increases to trip
limits, sectors are unlikely to come close
to attaining their shares of the bocaccio
ACL. These adjustments to management
measures could provide up to an
additional $189,000 in ex-vessel
revenue to harvesters and would reduce
the unnecessary discarding of bocaccio.
Additional economic benefits would
also be seen for processors and the
fishing support businesses; however,
these are more difficult to quantify.
Delaying implementation to allow for
public comment would likely reduce
the economic benefits to the commercial
fishing industry and the businesses that
rely on that industry. If the notice and
comment rulemaking process took 90
days to complete, the increase would
not be in place until October when the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:30 Jul 17, 2020
Jkt 250001
majority of the fishing year is over.
Therefore, providing a comment period
for this action could significantly limit
the economic benefits to the fishery, and
would hamper the achievement of
optimum yield from the affected
fisheries.
The NMFS finds reason to waive the
30-day delay in effectiveness pursuant
to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) so that this final
rule may become effective upon
publication in the Federal Register. The
adjustments to management measures in
this document affect commercial
fisheries by increasing opportunity and
relieving participants of the more
restrictive trip limits. These adjustments
were requested by the Council’s
advisory bodies, as well as members of
industry during the Council’s June 2020
meeting, and recommended
unanimously by the Council. No aspect
of this action is controversial, and
changes of this nature were anticipated
in the biennial harvest specifications
and management measures established
PO 00000
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through a notice and comment
rulemaking for 2019–2020 (82 FR 63970;
December 12, 2018).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, and Indian
fisheries.
Dated: July 15, 2020.
He´le`ne M.N. Scalliet,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended
as follows:
PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST
COAST STATES
1. The authority citation for part 660
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16
U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.
2. Table 2 (South) to part 660, subpart
E is revised to read as follows:
■
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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43741
3. Table 3 (South) to part 660, subpart
F is revised to read as follows:
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ER20JY20.002</GPH>
■
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[FR Doc. 2020–15629 Filed 7–17–20; 8:45 am]
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BILLING CODE 3510–22–C
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 139 (Monday, July 20, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43736-43742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15629]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 180625576-8999-02]
RIN 0648-BJ95
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2019-2020 Biennial Specifications and
Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments to biennial groundfish
management measures.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This final rule announces routine inseason adjustments to
management measures in commercial groundfish fisheries. This action is
intended to allow commercial fishing vessels to access more abundant
groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks.
DATES: This final rule is effective July 20, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Palmigiano, phone: 206-526-4491
or email: [email protected].
Electronic Access
This rule is accessible via the internet at the Office of the
Federal Register website at https://www.federalregister.gov. Background
information and documents are available at the Pacific Fishery
Management Council's website at https://www.pcouncil.org/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP) and
its implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 660, subparts C through G,
regulate fishing for over 90 species of groundfish off the coasts of
Washington, Oregon, and California. The Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) develops groundfish harvest specifications and
management measures for two-year periods (i.e., a biennium). NMFS
published the final rule to implement harvest specifications and
management measures for the 2019-2020 biennium for most species managed
under the PCGFMP on December 12, 2018 (83 FR 63970).
Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries are managed using harvest
specifications or limits (e.g., overfishing limits [OFL], acceptable
biological catch [ABC], annual catch limits [ACL] and harvest
guidelines [HG]) based on the best scientific information available at
that time (50 CFR 660.60(b)). The harvest specifications and mitigation
measures developed for the 2019-2020 biennium used data through the
2017 fishing year. In general, the management measures (e.g., trip
limits, area closures, and bag limits) set at the start of the biennial
harvest specifications cycle help catch in the various sectors of the
fishery reach, but not exceed, the limits for each stock. The Council,
in coordination with Pacific Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and the States
of Washington, Oregon, and California, recommends adjustments to the
management measures during the fishing year to achieve this goal. At
its June 10-19, 2020 meeting, the Council recommended increasing the
limited entry fixed gear (LEFG) and open access (OA) trip limits for
bocaccio south of 40[deg]10' North latitude (N lat.). Each of the
adjustments discussed below are based on updated fisheries information
that was unavailable when the Council completed the initial analysis
for the current harvest specifications.
Bocaccio is managed with stock-specific harvest specifications
south of 40[deg]10' N lat. and within the Minor Shelf Rockfish complex
north of 40[deg]10' N lat. NMFS declared bocaccio overfished in 1999,
and implemented a rebuilding plan for the stock in 2000. NMFS declared
bocaccio officially rebuilt in 2017, and implemented new, higher catch
limits for the first time in 2019. For example, the ACL for bocaccio
increased from 741 metric tons (mt) in 2018 to 2,097 mt in 2019. For
2020, the bocaccio ACL south of 40[deg]10' N lat. is 2,011 mt with a
fishery HG of 1,965 mt. The non-trawl allocation is 1,197.8 mt.
At the June 2020 Council meeting, members of the Groundfish
Advisory SubPanel (GAP) notified the Council and the Groundfish
Management Team (GMT) of increased interactions with bocaccio and the
desire for higher trip limits to reduce the need to discard. The most
recent bocaccio attainment estimates for 2020 suggest that around 13.5
percent or 162.1 mt of bocaccio will be attained by the non-trawl
sector out of the 1,197.8 mt non-trawl allocation for south of
40[deg]10' N lat., the GAP requested the GMT examine potential
increases to the bocaccio trip limits for the LEFG and OA sectors south
of 40[deg]10' N lat.
To assist the Council in evaluating potential trip limit increases
for the LEFG and OA sectors targeting bocaccio south of 40[deg]10' N
lat., the GMT analyzed projected attainment under the current status
quo trip limits and increased trip limits (Table 1).
Table 1--Status Quo and Proposed Increased LEFG and OA Trip Limits for Bocaccio South of 40[deg]10' N lat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option Sector Geographic area Jan-Feb Mar-Apr May-Jun Jul-Aug Sep-Oct Nov-Dec
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option 1: Status Quo Trip LE.......... 40[deg]10' to 1,500 lb (680 kg)/2 months
Limits. 34[deg]27' N
lat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LE.......... South of 1,500 lb (680 CLOSED............ 1,500 lb (680 kg)/2 months
34[deg]27' N kg)/2 months.
lat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OA.......... South of 500 lb/2 months CLOSED............ 500 lb (227 kg)/2 months
34[deg]27' N
lat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 43737]]
Option 2: Increased Trip LE.......... 40[deg]10' to 1,500 lb (680 kg)/2 months
Limits. 34[deg]27' N
lat.
6,000 lb (2,722 kg)/2 months
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LE.......... South of 1,500 lb (680 CLOSED............ 1,500 lb (680 6,000 lb (2,722 kg)/2 months
34[deg]27' N kg)/2 months. kg)/2 months.
lat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OA.......... South of 500 lb (227 kg)/ CLOSED............ 500 lb (227 kg)/ 4,000 lb (1,814 kg)/2 months
34[deg]27' N 2 months. 2 months.
lat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2018, when the Council recommended bocaccio trip limits for the
2019-20 harvest specifications, bocaccio had only just been rebuilt and
few data points existed to provide projected annual catch data under
the current trip limits. Based on the limited data available at that
time, attainment of boccacio by the non-trawl commercial fishery in
2020 was projected to be around 3.5 mt of the 1,197.8 mt non-trawl
allocation.
The GMT updated the projected attainments under the current status
quo trip limits (Option 1) and examined potential impacts under
increased trip limits (Option 2) with additional catch data from the
2018 and 2019 fishing years. Based on updated model projections
attainment of bocaccio, under the current status quo trip limits in the
LEFG and OA fisheries, is projected to be 19.1 mt, or 1.5 percent of
the non-trawl allocation (1,197.8 mt) and less than one percent of the
bocaccio ACL (2,011 mt) for south of 40[deg]10' N lat. Increasing the
trip limits for the LEFG and OA fisheries south of 40[deg]10' N lat.
for the remainder of the fishing year is projected to increase
attainment of bocaccio for the LEFG and OA fisheries by 39.7 mt over
Option 1, and the overall attainment of bocaccio is projected to
increase from 162.1 mt, or 13.5 percent, to 201.8 mt, or 16.8 percent,
of the non-trawl HG and 10 percent of the ACL south of 40[deg]10' N
lat. (Table 2).
Table 2--Projected Mortality for Status Quo and Option 2 Trip Limits for the LEFG and OA Sectors Targeting Bocaccio South of 40[deg]10' N lat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-trawl Percentage of
Projected projected non-trawl Non-trawl ACL
Option Sector Geographic area attainment attainment allocation allocation (mt)
(mt) (mt) attained (mt)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option 1: Status Quo Trip Limits...... LE................... 40[deg]10' to 34[deg]27' 11.0 162.1 13.5 1,197.8 2,011
N lat.
LE................... South of 34[deg]27' N 2.7
lat.
OA................... South of 34[deg]27' N 5.4
lat.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Total 19.1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option 2: Increased Trip Limits....... LE................... 40[deg]10' to 34[deg]27' 23.6 201.8 16.8
N lat.
LE................... South of 34[deg]27' N 7.9
lat.
OA................... South of 34[deg]27' N 27.3
lat.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Total 58.8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trip limit increases for bocaccio are intended to allow for
increased attainment of the non-trawl allocation (1,197.8 mt), while
also providing the incentive for vessels targeting co-occurring
species, such as chilipepper rockfish, to land their bocaccio catch
instead of discarding. Therefore, the Council recommended and NMFS is
implementing, by modifying Table 2 (South) to part 660, Subpart E, an
increase to the bocaccio trip limits for the LEFG fishery south of
40[deg]10' N lat., and by modifying Table 3 (South) to part 660,
Subpart F, an increase to the bocaccio trip limits for the OA fishery
south of 40[deg]10' N lat.
Classification
NMFS issues tis action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 660.60(c), which was
issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866.
The aggregate data upon which these actions are based are available
for public inspection by contacting Karen Palmigiano in NMFS West Coast
Region (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above), or view at the
NMFS West Coast Groundfish website: https://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/groundfish/.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b), NMFS finds good cause to waive prior
public notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as
notice and comment would be impracticable and contrary to the public
interest. The adjustments to bocaccio management measures in this
document ease restrictive trip limits on commercial fisheries in
California to allow fisheries to harvest more fish while still staying
within harvest limits. No aspect of this action is controversial, and
changes of this nature were anticipated in the final rule for the 2019-
2020 harvest specifications and management measures which published on
December 12, 2018 (83 FR 63970).
At its June 2020 meeting, the Council recommended the increases to
the commercial trip limits for the LEFG and OA sectors be implemented
as soon as possible so that harvesters may be able to take advantage of
these higher limits and reduce unnecessary discarding of bocaccio. Each
of the adjustments to commercial management measures in this rule will
create more harvest opportunity and allow fishermen to catch species
that are currently under attained without causing any impacts to the
fishery that were not anticipated during development of the 2019-20
biennial harvest specifications. Each of these recommended adjustments
also rely on new catch data that were not available and thus not
considered
[[Page 43738]]
during the 2019-2020 biennial harvest specifications process. New catch
information through the end of the 2019 fishing year used to inform
model projections estimates that attainment of bocaccio will again be
very low in 2020 and, even with these increases to trip limits, sectors
are unlikely to come close to attaining their shares of the bocaccio
ACL. These adjustments to management measures could provide up to an
additional $189,000 in ex-vessel revenue to harvesters and would reduce
the unnecessary discarding of bocaccio. Additional economic benefits
would also be seen for processors and the fishing support businesses;
however, these are more difficult to quantify. Delaying implementation
to allow for public comment would likely reduce the economic benefits
to the commercial fishing industry and the businesses that rely on that
industry. If the notice and comment rulemaking process took 90 days to
complete, the increase would not be in place until October when the
majority of the fishing year is over. Therefore, providing a comment
period for this action could significantly limit the economic benefits
to the fishery, and would hamper the achievement of optimum yield from
the affected fisheries.
The NMFS finds reason to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) so that this final rule may become
effective upon publication in the Federal Register. The adjustments to
management measures in this document affect commercial fisheries by
increasing opportunity and relieving participants of the more
restrictive trip limits. These adjustments were requested by the
Council's advisory bodies, as well as members of industry during the
Council's June 2020 meeting, and recommended unanimously by the
Council. No aspect of this action is controversial, and changes of this
nature were anticipated in the biennial harvest specifications and
management measures established through a notice and comment rulemaking
for 2019-2020 (82 FR 63970; December 12, 2018).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, and Indian fisheries.
Dated: July 15, 2020.
H[eacute]l[egrave]ne M.N. Scalliet,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended
as follows:
PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., and
16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.
0
2. Table 2 (South) to part 660, subpart E is revised to read as
follows:
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
[[Page 43739]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR20JY20.000
[[Page 43740]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR20JY20.001
[[Page 43741]]
0
3. Table 3 (South) to part 660, subpart F is revised to read as
follows:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR20JY20.002
[[Page 43742]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR20JY20.003
[FR Doc. 2020-15629 Filed 7-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-C
