Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2023-2024 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments, 4910-4919 [2023-01571]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 17 / Thursday, January 26, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
good cause (5 U.S.C. 553(d)). There is
good cause to allow this 60-day delay of
the November 30, 2022, final rule’s
effective date to go into effect
immediately because the November 30,
2022, final rule would go into effect on
January 30, 2023, if this rule delaying
the effective date were itself not to
become effective for 30 days. That result
would create the same issues as
discussed above, i.e., prevent the
Service from performing its functions,
create confusion and disruption in the
Act’s section 7(a)(2) consultation
process, result in unnecessary delays in
project approvals, and thwart the
conservation purposes of the Act.
Additionally, the northern long-eared
bat is unlikely to be harmed by this
delay because the species will continue
to be protected under the Act as a
threatened species and it is hibernating
throughout the vast majority of its range
(typically through the end of March)
during this time.
We, therefore, conclude that we have
good cause to issue this final rule,
effective immediately, delaying the
effective date of the November 30, 2022,
final rule (87 FR 73488) from January
30, 2023, to March 31, 2023.
III. Authority
The authorities for this action are 16
U.S.C. 1361–1407, 1531–1544, and
4201–4245, unless otherwise noted; and
5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.
Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–01656 Filed 1–25–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 221206–0261]
RIN 0648–BM02
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;
Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery;
2023–2024 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.
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AGENCY:
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This final rule announces
routine inseason adjustments to
management measures in commercial
and recreational groundfish fisheries.
This action is intended to allow fishing
vessels to access more abundant
groundfish stocks while protecting
rebuilding stocks.
DATES: This final rule is effective
January 26, 2023.
ADDRESSES: 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/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
Sean Matson, phone: 206–526–6187 or
email: sean.matson@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Background
The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery
Management Plan (PCGFMP) and its
implementing regulations at title 50 in
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
part 660, subparts C through G, regulate
fishing for over 90 species of groundfish
seaward of Washington, Oregon, and
California. The Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council)
develops groundfish harvest
specifications and management
measures for 2-year periods (biennia).
NMFS published the final rule to
implement harvest specifications and
management measures for the 2023–
2024 biennium for most species
managed under the PCGFMP on
December 16, 2022 (87 FR 77007). The
management measures set at the start of
the biennial harvest specifications cycle
help the various sectors of the fishery
attain, but not exceed, the catch 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 November 2022 meeting, the
Council recommended modifying fixed
gear trip limits for limited entry (LE)
and open access (OA) sablefish, north of
36° N latitude, for LE canary rockfish
north and south of 40°10′ N latitude,
and for LE and OA lingcod north of 42°
N latitude; as well as modifying bag
limits in the Oregon recreational longleader fishery, after updated information
regarding projected catch and
attainment became available, as well as
requests from industry. Pacific Coast
groundfish fisheries are managed using
harvest specifications or limits (e.g.,
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overfishing limits [OFL], acceptable
biological catch [ABC], annual catch
limits [ACL] and harvest guidelines
[HG]) recommended biennially by the
Council and based on the best scientific
information available at that time (50
CFR 660.60(b)). During development of
the harvest specifications, the Council
also recommends management measures
(e.g., trip limits, area closures, and bag
limits) that are meant to control catch so
as not to exceed the harvest
specifications. The harvest
specifications and management
measures developed for the 2023–2024
biennium used data through the 2021
fishing year. Each of the adjustments to
management measures discussed below
are based on updated fisheries
information that was unavailable when
the analysis for the current harvest
specifications was completed. As new
fisheries data becomes available,
adjustments to management measures
are projected so as to help harvesters
achieve but not exceed the harvest
limits.
Sablefish
Sablefish is an important commercial
species on the West Coast with vessels
targeting sablefish with both trawl and
fixed gear (longlines and pots/traps).
Sablefish is managed with separate
ACLs for the two areas north and south
of 36° N lat. The 2023 ACLs for the
North and South are 8,486 mt and 2,338
mt, respectively.
At the November 2022 Council
meeting, the Council’s Groundfish
Management Team (GMT) received
requests from industry members and
members of the Council’s Groundfish
Advisory Subpanel (GAP) to examine
the potential to increase sablefish trips
limits for the fixed gear, LE and OA
fisheries north of 36° N lat. The intent
of increasing trip limits is to increase
harvest opportunities for vessels
targeting sablefish. To evaluate potential
increases to sablefish trip limits for the
LE and OA fisheries, the GMT made
model-based landings projections under
current regulations and alternative
sablefish trip limits, including the limits
ultimately recommended by the
Council, through the remainder of 2023.
Table 1 shows the projected sablefish
landings by fishery, relevant sablefish
allocations, and the projected
attainment as a percentage of the
landing target, under both the current
trip limits and the Council’s
recommended adjusted trip limits.
These projections were based on the
most recent catch information available
through late October 2022. Since
industry did not request changes to
sablefish trip limits for either the LE or
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OA fishery south of 36° N lat., NMFS
and the Council did not consider trip
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limit changes for those southern
fisheries at this time.
TABLE 1—PROJECTED LANDINGS, ALLOCATION, AND PROJECTED PERCENTAGE OF SABLEFISH ATTAINED THROUGH 2023
BY TRIP LIMIT AND FISHERY
[Values in parentheses show uncertainty range]
Fishery
Projected
landings
(mt)
Trip limits
LE North of 36° N lat ........
OA North of 36° N lat .......
Current: 2,400 lb/week, not to
months.
Recommended: 4,500 lb/week,
lb/two months.
Current: 2,000 lb/week, not to
months.
Recommended: 3,000 lb/week,
lb/two months.
As shown in Table 1, under the
current trip limits, the models predict
landings of sablefish will be at 36
percent, or 151 mt of the 417 mt landing
target (the target is the allocation share
converted to landings, reduced for
discard mortality) for LE fishery north of
36° N lat.; and 47 percent, or 322 mt of
the 687 mt landing target, for the OA
fishery north of 36° N lat. Under the
Council’s recommended trip limits,
sablefish attainment is projected to
increase in the LE and OA fisheries
north of 36° N lat., to 61 and 65 percent,
respectively.
Trip limit increases for sablefish are
intended to increase attainment of the
non-trawl HG. The proposed trip limit
increases do not change projected
impacts to co-occurring overfished
species compared to the impacts
anticipated in the 2023–2024 harvest
specifications because the projected
impacts to those species assume that the
entire sablefish ACL is harvested.
Landing
target
(mt)
Projected target
attainment
(percent)
exceed 4,800 lb/two
151 (117–186)
417
36 (28–45)
not to exceed 9,000
253 (196–310)
..............................
61 (47–74)
exceed 4,000 lb/two
322 (278–367)
687
47 (40–53)
not to exceed 6,000
448 (386–509)
..............................
65 (56–74)
Therefore, the Council recommended
and NMFS is implementing, by
modifying Tables 2 North and South to
part 660, subpart E, and Tables 3 North
and South to part 660, subpart F, trip
limit changes for the LE sablefish
fishery north of 36° N lat. and trip limit
changes for the OA sablefish fishery
north of 36° N lat. as shown above in
Table 1. These changes will start with
Period 1 (January and February) and
remain in place through the end of 2023
and beyond, unless otherwise modified.
Canary Rockfish
Prior to the November 2022 meeting,
the GMT received a request from the
GAP to increase the canary rockfish OA
north of 40°10′ N lat. trip limit both to
enable a viable alternative to potentially
limited Dungeness crab fishing
opportunities at the beginning of the
year, and to better align with the
yellowtail rockfish trip limit in order to
reduce regulatory discarding of canary
rockfish. The 2023 coastwide ACL for
canary rockfish is 1,284 mt.
To evaluate potential increases to
canary rockfish trip limits, the GMT
made model-based landings projections
under current regulations and
alternative trip limits, including the
limits ultimately recommended by the
Council, for the LE and OA fisheries
throughout the 2023 fishing year. The
GMT evaluated changes to the trip
limits for canary rockfish both north and
south of 40°10′ N lat. Table 2 shows the
projected canary rockfish landings, the
canary rockfish allocations, and the
projected attainment percentage by
fishery under both the current trip
limits and the Council’s recommended
adjusted trip limits for north of 40°10′
N lat. and Table 3 shows the same
metrics for south of 40°10′ N lat. These
projections were based on the most
recent catch information available
through late October 2022.
TABLE 2—PROJECTED LANDINGS AND ATTAINMENT FOR CANARY ROCKFISH, FOR THE 2023 FISHING YEAR BY FISHERY,
AREA, AND TRIP LIMIT, UNDER CURRENT REGULATIONS
Fishery
Projected
landings
(mt)
Trip limit
LE North of 40°10′ N lat .................................
OA North of 40°10′ N lat .................................
LE South of 40°10′ N lat .................................
OA South of 40°10′ N lat ................................
3,000
1,000
3,500
1,500
lb/two
lb/two
lb/two
lb/two
months
months
months
months
.......................................
.......................................
.......................................
.......................................
4.2
5.2
5.9
12.2
Projected sum
landings
(mt)
Percent
attainment
2023 non-trawl
share
(121.2 mt)
27.5
........................
........................
........................
23
........................
........................
........................
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TABLE 3—PROJECTED LANDINGS AND ATTAINMENT FOR CANARY ROCKFISH, FOR THE 2023 FISHING YEAR BY FISHERY,
AREA, AND TRIP LIMIT, UNDER COUNCIL-RECOMMENDED TRIP LIMITS
Projected
landings
(mt)
Fishery
Trip limit
LE North of 40°10′ N lat .................................
4,000 lb/two months .......................................
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Projected sum
landings
(mt)
Percent
attainment
2023 non-trawl
share
(121.2 mt)
39
32
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TABLE 3—PROJECTED LANDINGS AND ATTAINMENT FOR CANARY ROCKFISH, FOR THE 2023 FISHING YEAR BY FISHERY,
AREA, AND TRIP LIMIT, UNDER COUNCIL-RECOMMENDED TRIP LIMITS—Continued
Projected
landings
(mt)
Fishery
Trip limit
OA North of 40°10′ N lat .................................
LE South of 40°10′ N lat .................................
OA South of 40°10′ N lat ................................
2,000 lb/two months .......................................
4,000 lb/two months .......................................
2,000 lb/two months .......................................
Under the current trip limits, the
model predicts catches of canary
rockfish coastwide will total 27.5 mt
(including discard mortality), which is
23 percent of the 2023 non-trawl
commercial share of canary rockfish
(121.2 mt). Under the Council’s
recommended trip limits, canary
rockfish mortality is expected to
increase to 39 mt coastwide (including
discard mortality), which is 32 percent
of the 2023 non-trawl commercial share
of canary rockfish.
Trip limit increases for canary
rockfish are intended to increase
attainment of the non-trawl commercial
share. The proposed trip limit increases
do not change projected impacts to cooccurring overfished species compared
to the impacts anticipated in the 2023–
2024 harvest specifications because the
projected impacts to those species
assume that the entire canary rockfish
ACL is harvested. Therefore, the
Council recommended and NMFS is
implementing, by modifying Tables 2
North and South to part 660, subpart E,
and Tables 3 North and South to part
660, subpart F, trip limit changes for LE
canary rockfish north and south of
40°10′ N lat. and trip limit changes for
OA canary rockfish fishery north and
south of 40°10′ N lat. as shown above in
Tables 2 and 3. These changes will start
with Period 1 (January and February)
and remain in place through the end of
2023 and beyond, unless otherwise
modified.
Lingcod
For the November 2022 meeting, the
GMT also received a request to continue
the lingcod trip limits north of 42° N lat.
at the same levels from Period 6 of 2022,
in order to continue the effect of
reduced regulatory discarding and
increased economic opportunity.
10.4
6.8
16.2
Projected sum
landings
(mt)
Percent
attainment
2023 non-trawl
share
(121.2 mt)
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
Lingcod is managed with an ACL north
of 40°10′ N lat. and an ACL south of
40°10′ N lat. The 2023 ACL for lingcod
north of 40°10′ N lat. is 4,378 mt.
To evaluate potential impacts of the
requested increases to lingcod trip
limits north of 42° N lat., the GMT made
model-based landings projections under
current regulations and alternative trip
limits, including the limits ultimately
recommended by the Council, for the LE
and OA fisheries for 2023. Table 4
shows the projected lingcod landings,
the lingcod allocations, the projected
attainment percentage, and
accompanying estimated yelloweye
rockfish impacts by fishery, under both
the current trip limits and the Council’s
recommended adjusted trip limits for
north of 42° N lat. These projections
were based on the most recent catch
information available through October
2022.
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TABLE 4—PROJECTED LANDINGS OF LINGCOD, LINGCOD ALLOCATION, PROJECTED PERCENTAGE OF LINGCOD NORTH OF
42° N LAT. ATTAINED THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR BY TRIP LIMIT AND FISHERY, TOGETHER WITH PROJECTED
YELLOWEYE ROCKFISH IMPACTS
Projected
lingcod
landings
(mt)
Fishery
Trip limits
LE North of 42° N lat ...................
OA North of 42° N lat ..................
LE North of 42° N lat ...................
OA North of 42° N lat ..................
Current: 5,000 lb/two months ................
Current: 2,500 lb/month .........................
Recommended: 7,000 lb/two months ....
Recommended: 3,500/month ................
Under the current trip limits, the
model predicts catches of lingcod north
of 42° N lat. will total 134.7 mt, which
is 5.2 percent of the 2023 non-trawl
allocation of lingcod (2,573.8 mt). Under
the Council’s recommended trip limits,
lingcod mortality north of 42° N lat. is
expected to increase to 159.4 mt, which
is 6.2 percent of the 2023 non-trawl
allocation of lingcod (2,573.8 mt).
Trip limit increases for lingcod are
intended to marginally increase
attainment of the non-trawl allocation.
The proposed trip limit increases do not
appreciably change projected impacts to
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24.3
110.4
30.0
129.4
co-occurring rebuilding species
(yelloweye rockfish) compared to the
impacts anticipated in the 2023–2024
harvest specifications (Table 4). At the
higher level of the lingcod non-trawl
allocation, projected impacts to
yelloweye rockfish are still projected to
be the same under either current or
recommended trip limits (3.9 mt), due a
projection of yelloweye bycatch levels
assuming the entire lingcod allocation is
attained, in the harvest specifications
analysis.
Therefore, the Council recommended
and NMFS is implementing, by
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Non-trawl
lingcod
allocation
(mt)
Projected
lingcod
attainment
(percent)
Projected
yelloweye
rockfish
impacts
(mt)
2,573.8
........................
2573.8
........................
5.2
........................
6.2
........................
1.11
........................
1.32
........................
modifying Table 2 North to part 660,
subpart E, and Table 3 North to part
660, subpart F, trip limit changes for LE
and OA lingcod north of 42° N lat. as
shown above in Table 4. These changes
will start with Period 1 (January and
February) and remain in place through
the end of 2023 and beyond, unless
otherwise modified.
Oregon Recreational Long-Leader
Fishery
At the November 2022 Council
meeting, the GMT and ODFW received
requests from members of industry and
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the GAP, to examine the potential for
increasing the daily bag limit in the
Oregon recreational long-leader fishery
to more than the current 10 fish per day.
Increasing the daily bag limit is
intended to encourage additional
anglers to participate in the long-leader
fishery, in order to reduce effort on
nearshore stocks such as black, China,
copper, and quillback rockfishes
because the 2023–24 harvest limits for
many nearshore rockfish stocks are very
small. At the same time, Oregon
experienced record groundfish effort in
2022, which fits within a continuing
trend of high effort since 2015 forward,
and implies similar fishery behavior in
2023. Impacts of the proposed action
were analyzed by ODFW staff, and the
Council ultimately recommended the
daily bag limit in the Oregon
4913
recreational long-leader fishery to be
increased from 10 to 15 fish per day.
ODFW staff presented an analysis in
which they deterministically projected
2023 catch by expanding results of the
long-leader EFP (2018–2022), to
simulate potential catch under a 15 fish
per day limit. The results appear in
Table 5. ODFW staff found that the
increases in catch were small and well
within relevant harvest specifications.
TABLE 5—ODFW’S PROJECTED ANNUAL IMPACTS IN MT (SALMON = COUNTS), FOR 15 FISH AND 10 FISH PER DAY BAG
LIMIT USING LONG-LEADER GEAR a
Projected
average catch
(recommended)
Species
Yellowtail RF ............................................................................................
Widow RF ................................................................................................
Canary RF ...............................................................................................
Silvergray RF ...........................................................................................
Redstripe RF ............................................................................................
Greenstriped RF ......................................................................................
Chillipepper RF ........................................................................................
Deacon RF ...............................................................................................
Black RF ..................................................................................................
Blue RF ....................................................................................................
Yelloweye RF (discard mortality) .............................................................
Quillback RF ............................................................................................
Bocaccio ..................................................................................................
Vermilion RF ............................................................................................
Copper RF ...............................................................................................
Chinook Salmon ......................................................................................
Coho Salmon ...........................................................................................
23.58
4.47
12.84
0.12
0.02
0.01
0.02
0.14
0.01
0.01
0.2
0
1.89
0
0
32
217
Potential max
additional
impacts
(proj. max¥
current avg.)
Hist. avg.
with 10 fish
limit
(current)
Projected max
(recommended)
39.87
10.24
17.13
0.22
0.03
0.02
0.09
0.33
0.03
0.03
0.29
0
4.11
0
0
96
561
15.72
2.98
8.56
0.08
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.09
0.01
0.01
0.13
0
1.26
0
0
21
145
24.15
7.26
8.58
0.14
0.01
0.01
0.08
0.24
0.03
0.03
0.16
0
2.85
0
0
75
416
a Columns from left to right: Species; Projected average catch w/15 fish per day limit (recommended); Projected maximum catch with 15 fish
per day limit (recommended); Historical average catch using 10 fish per day limit (current); Potential maximum additional impacts (difference between Projected Maximum and Historical average under 10-fish limit (current), column 3 minus column 4).
Using a conservative approach (risk
averse), using the difference between
the expanded (1.5x) maximum annual
actual catch from the 5-year period, and
subtracting the average actual catch
from the same period, ODFW staff
provided an estimate of ‘‘Potential
maximum additional impacts’’ (far right
column, Table 5), as projections of
maximum potential additional catch as
a result of increasing the bag limit from
10 to 15 fish. As evidence of
inconsequential impacts to the ACLs,
the analysis also compared the
‘‘potential maximum additional
impacts’’, with the amount of uncaught
fish for each species, in the most recent
fishing year (2021), noting that for
species other than yellowtail, canary,
widow, and yelloweye rockfish, the
projected maximum impacts were less
than 0.3 mt, and thus were not
presented (Table 6). For those species
with projected maximum catch greater
than 0.3 mt, 2021 catch statistics (most
recent complete data year available)
showed sizable buffers in attainment of
the non-trawl allocation, which would
easily absorb the projected additional
mortality of this action (Table 6).
TABLE 6—2021 HARVEST SPECIFICATIONS, SECTOR-SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS, AND MORTALITY ESTIMATES, AND 2023
PROJECTIONS (RIGHT COLUMN) FOR YELLOWTAIL, WIDOW, CANARY, YELLOWEYE, AND BOCACCIO ROCKFISHES
Species
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Yellowtail .........................................
Widow ..............................................
Canary .............................................
Yelloweye ........................................
Bocaccio north of 40°10′ N lat ........
Total
mortality
ACL
6,050
14,725
1,338
50
221
2,931
10,880
562
18
89
The proposed bag limit increases do
not appreciably change projected
impacts to co-occurring rebuilding
species (yelloweye rockfish) compared
to the impacts anticipated in the 2023–
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Percent of
ACL
attainment
Non-trawl
allocation
48
74
42
36
40
Non-trawl
mort.
601.5
400
351.6
37.9
N/A
96
11.5
178.3
16.7
N/A
2024 harvest specifications (Table 6).
Therefore the Council recommended,
and NMFS is implementing, trip limit
changes for the Oregon recreational
long-leader fishery from 10 to 15 fish
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% of non-trawl
allocation
OR rec.
HG
16
3
51
44
N/A
N/A
N/A
65.06
6.9
N/A
OR rec.
mort.
Potential max
addition.
impacts
28
3.6
38.5
3.3
0.5
per day, by modifying 50 CFR part
660.360, subpart G, paragraph
(c)(2)(iii)(A)(Marine fish) to maintain
the previous restrictions, and place a
separate bag limit on the long-leader
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24.2
7.3
8.6
0.16
2.9
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 17 / Thursday, January 26, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
fishery only. The new paragraph text
will read: ‘‘(A) Marine fish. The bag
limit is 10 marine fish per day, which
includes rockfish, kelp greenling,
cabezon and other groundfish species;
except the daily bag limit in the longleader gear fishery is 15 fish per day.
The bag limit of marine fish excludes
Pacific halibut, salmonids, tuna, perch
species, sturgeon, sanddabs, flatfish,
lingcod, striped bass, hybrid bass,
offshore pelagic species and baitfish
(herring, smelt, anchovies and sardines).
The minimum size for cabezon retained
in the Oregon recreational fishery is 16
in (41 cm) total length.’’ These changes
will be effective beginning in January,
2023 and remain in place through the
end of 2023 and beyond, unless
otherwise modified.
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Classification
This final rule makes routine inseason
adjustments to groundfish fishery
management measures, based on the
best scientific information available,
consistent with the PCGFMP and its
implementing regulations.
This action is taken under the
authority of 50 CFR 660.60(c) 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 Dr. Sean
Matson in NMFS West Coast Region (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT,
above), or view at the NMFS West Coast
Groundfish website: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/westcoast-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 management measures in
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15:54 Jan 25, 2023
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this document increase trip limits for
fisheries in Washington, Oregon, and
California to allow additional economic
opportunity while keeping catch within
allocations established by the 2023–
2024 harvest specifications. The trip
limit increases are for the LE and OA
sectors for sablefish north of 36° N lat.,
canary rockfish, and lingcod north of
42° N lat. Over the year 2023, these
changes are projected to potentially
increase economic value of the fisheries
by $989,793 for sablefish, $71,025 for
canary, and $122,777 for lingcod, as
well as reduce regulatory discards in
these fisheries. The increases to bag
limits in the Oregon recreational longleader fishery are needed to encourage
seaward effort redistribution, in order to
prevent conservation issues in the
nearshore. No aspect of this action is
controversial, and changes of this nature
were anticipated in the final rule for the
2023–2024 harvest specifications and
management measures which published
on December 16, 2022 (87 FR 77007).
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, because it is
unlikely the new regulations would
publish and could be implemented in
time to realize the projected benefits to
fishing communities and the resource. A
delay in implementation could also
contribute to conservation issues with
nearshore rockfish species, without
swift implementation incentives for
seaward redistribution of recreational
fishing effort in the Oregon recreational
long-leader fishery. 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.
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Therefore, 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 fisheries by increasing
opportunity and allowing greater
economic benefit. These adjustments
were requested by the Council’s
advisory bodies, as well as members of
industry during the Council’s November
2022 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 2023–2024 (87 FR
77007).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, and Indian
Fisheries.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 U.S.C.
773 et seq., and 16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.
Dated: January 23, 2023.
Kelly Denit,
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. Revise Table 2 (North) to part 660,
subpart E, to read as follows:
■
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\26JAR1.SGM
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4915
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 17 / Thursday, January 26, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
Table 2 (North) to Part 660, Subpart E -- Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas and Trip Limits for Limited Entry Fixed Gear North of 40°10' N lat.
Other limits and reauirements annlv -- Read ,&660, 1 0 throuah 660.399 before usina this table
JAN-FEB
I MAR-APR I MAY-JUN I JUL-AUG
Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) 11 :
1 North of 46°16' N lat.
shoreline - 100 Im line 11
2 46°16' N lat. -40°10' N lat.
30 Im line 11 -100 Im line 11
I
SEP-OCT
I
1/16/2023
NOV-DEC
See §§660.60 and 660.230 for additional gear, trip limit and conservation area requirements and restrictions. See §§660.70-660.74 and §§660.76660.79 for conservation area descriptions and coordinates (including RCAs, YRCAs, CCAs, Farallon Islands, Cordell Bank, and EFHCAs).
State trio limits and seasons mav be more restrictive than Federal trio limits or seasons, oarticularlv in waters off Oreaon and California.
Minor Slope Rockfish" & Darkblotched
rockfish
4 Pacific ocean perch
3
8,000 lb/ 2 months
3,600 lb/ 2 months
5 Sablefish
4,500 lb/week, not to exceed 9,000 lb /2 months
6 Lonaspine thornvhead
7 Shortspine thornyhead
8 Dover sole, arrowtooth flounder, petrale
9
-I
10,000 lb/ 2 months
I
2,000 lb/ 2 months
sole, English sole, starry flounder,
2,500 lb/ 2 months
10,000 lb/ month
10 Other Flatfish 3171
Whitina
10,000 lb/trio
Minor Shelf Rockfish 21
800 lb/ month
Widow rockfish
4,000 lb/ 2 months
Yellowtail rockfish
3,000 lb/ month
Canarv rockfish
4,000 lb/ 2 months
Yelloweye rockfish
CLOSED
Minor Nearshore Rockfish Oreaon black/blue/deacon rockfish & black rockfish"
5,000 lb/ 2 months, no more than 1,200 lb of which may be species other than black rockfish or blue/deacon
18
North of 42°00' N lat.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
rockfish3,1
19
42°00' N lat. - 40° 10' N lat. 2,000 lb/ 2 months, of which no more than 75 lb may be quillback rockfish, and of which no more than 75 lb may be
Minor Nearshore Rockfish
copper rockfish
20
42°00' N lat. - 40° 10' N lat.
Black Rockfish
21 Linacod51
22
23
7,000 lb/ 2 months
North of 42°00' N lat.
42°00' N lat. - 40° 10' N lat.
26
27
28
29
m
N
-z
0
--,
:::r
7,000 lb/ 2 months
2, 000 lb/ 2 months
1,000 lb/ 2 months
24 Pacific cod
25 Spiny dogfish
)>
m
r-
200,000 lb/ 2 months
Lonanose skate
Other Fish 61& Cabezon in California
Oregon Cabezon/Kelp Greenling
Bia skate
I
150,000 lb/2
months
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
I
100,000 lb/ 2 months
1/ The Rockfish Conservation Area is an area closed to fishing by particular gear types, bounded by lines specifically defined by latitude
and longitude coordinates set out at§§ 660.71-660.74. This RCA is not defined by depth contours (with the exception of the 20-fm
depth contour boundary south of 42° N lat.), and the boundary lines that define the RCA may close areas that are deeper or shallower
than the depth contour. Vessels that are subject to RCA restrictions may not fish in the RCA, or operate in the RCA for any purpose
other than transiting.
2/ Minor Shelf and Slope Rockfish complexes are defined at § 660.11. Bocaccio, chilipepper and cowcod are included in the trip limits for Minor Shelf Rockfish. Splitnose rockfish is included
in the trip limits for Minor Slope Rockfish.
3/ "Other flatfish" are defined at § 660.11 and include butter sole, curlfin sole, flathead sole, Pacific sanddab, rex sole, rock sole, and sand sole.
4/ For black rockfish north of Cape Aiava (48°09.50' N lat.), and between Destruction Is. (47°40' N lat.) and Leadbetter Pnt. (46°38.17' N lat.), there is an additional limit
of 100 lb or 30 percent by weight of all fish on board, whichever is greater, per vessel, per fishing trip.
5/ The minimum size limit for lingcod is 22 inches (56 cm) total length North of 42° N lat. and 24 inches (61 cm) total length South of 42° N lat.
6/ "Other Fish" are defined at§ 660.11 and inclu::le kelp greenling off California and leopard shark.
7/ LEFG vessels may be allowed to fish inside groundfish conservation areas using hook and line only. See§ 660.230 (d) of the regulations for more information.
To convert pounds to kilograms, divide by 2.20462, the number of pounds in one kilogram.
3. Revise Table 2 (South) to part 660,
subpart E, to read as follows:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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■
4916
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 17 / Thursday, January 26, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
Table 2 (South) to Part 660, Subpart E -- Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas and Trip Limits for Limited Entry Fixed Gear South of 40°10' N lat.
Other limits and reauirements annlv -- Read E,&660.1 O throuah 660.399 before usina this table
1/16/2023
JAN-FEB
MAY-JUN
JUL-AUG
SEP-OCT
NOV-DEC
I MAR-APR
I
I
I
I
Rockfish Conservation Area IRCAl 11 :
1 40°10' N lat. - 38°57.5' N lat.
40 fm line 11 -125 fm line 11
2 38°57.5' N lat. -34°27' N lat.
3 South of 34°27' N lat.
100 fm line 11 - 150 fm line 11 (also aoolies around islandsl
50 fm line 11 -125 fm line 11
See §§660.60 and 660.230 for additional gear, trip limit and conservation area requirements and restrictions. See §§660.70-660.74 and §§660.76660.79 for conservation area descriptions and coordinates (including RCAs, YRCAs, CCAs, Farallon Islands, Cordell Banks, and EFHCAs).
State trip limits and seasons may be more restrictive than Federal trip limits or seasons, particularly in waters off Oregon and California.
21
4 Minor Slope rockfish & Darkblotched
40,000 lb/ 2 months, of which no more than 6,000 lb may be blackgill rockfish
rockfish
s Solitnose rockfish
40,000 lb/ 2 months
6 Sablefish
7
40°10' N lat. - 36°00' N lat.
8
South of 36°00' N lat.
4,500 lb/ week, not to exceed 9,000 lb /2 months
2,500 lb/ week
10,000 lb/2 months
9 Longspine thornyhead
10 Shortsoine thornvhead
11
40°10' N lat. -34°27' N lat.
12
South of 34 °27' N lat.
13 Dover sole, arrowtooth flounder, petrale
24
25
26
27
28
29
2,500 lb/ 2 months
3,000 lb/ 2 months
14 sole, English sole, starry flounder,
15 Other Flatfish~
16 Whitina
17 Minor Shelf Rockfish 21
18
40°10' N lat. -34°27'
19
South of 34 °27'
20 Widow
21
40°10' N lat. -34°27'
22
South of 34 °27'
23 Chilipepper
-I
I
2,000 lb/ 2 months
>
CD
r
m
10,000 lb/ month
10,000 lb/ trip
N
N lat.
N lat.
8,000 lb/ 2 months, of which no more than 500 lb mav be vermilion
5,000 lb/ 2 months, of which no more than 3,000 lb mav be vermilion
N lat.
N lat.
10,000 lb/2 months
8,000 lb/ 2 months
40°10' N lat. -34°27' N lat.
South of 34 °27' N lat.
10,000 lb. / 2 months
8,000 lb./ 2 months
4,000 lb/ 2 months
CLOSED
CLOSED
CLOSED
6,000 lb/ 2 months
-CJ)
Canary rockfish
Yelloweye rockfish
Cowcod
Bronzespotted rockfish
30 Bocaccio
31 Minor Nearshore Rockfish
0
C:
:::r
32
Shallow nearshore41
2,000 lb/ 2 months
33
Deeper nearshore51
2,000 lb/ 2 months, of which no more than 75 lb may be quillback rockfish, and of which no more than 75 lb may be
copper rockfish
34 California Scorpionfish
35 Linacod~
36 Pacific cod
37 Spiny dogfish
200,000 lb/ 2 months
I
38 Longnose skate
39 Other Fish 71 & Cabezon in California
40 Big Skate
3,500 lb/ 2 months
1,600 lb/ 2 months
1,000 lb/ 2 months
150,000 lb/2
months
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
I
100,000 lb/ 2 months
1/ The Rockfish Conservation Area 1s an area closed to fishing by particular gear types, bounded by lines specifically defined by latitude
and longitude coordinates set out at§§ 660.71-660.74. This RCA is not defined by depth contours (with the exception of the 20-fm
depth contour boundary south of 42° N lat.), and the boundary lines that define the RCA may close areas that are deeper or shallower
than the depth contour. Vessels that are subject to RCA restrictions may not fish in the RCA, or operate in the RCA for any purpose
other than transiting.
2/ Minor Shelf and Slope Rockfish complexes are defined at§ 660.11. Pacific ocean perch is included in the trip limits for Minor Slope Rockfish. Blackgill rockfish have a
species specific trip sub-limit within the Minor Slope Rockfish cumulative limit. Yellowtail rockfish are included in the trip limits for Minor Shelf Rockfish. Bronzespotted
rockfish have a species specific trip limit.
3/ "Other Flatfish" are defined at § 660.11 and include butter sole, curlfin sole, flathead sole, Pacific sanddab, rex sole, rock sole, and sand sole.
4/ "Shallow Nearshore" are defined at § 660.11 under "Groundfish" (7)(0(8)(1).
5/ "Deeper Nearshore" are defined at § 660.11 under "Groundfish" (7)(Q(B)(2).
6/ The commercial mimimum size limit for lingcod is 24 inches (61 cm) total length South of 42° N lat.
7/ "Other Fish" are defined at§ 660.11 and include kelp greenling off California and leopard shark.
6/ LEFG vessels may be allowed to fish inside groundfish conservation areas using hook and line only. See § 660.230 (d) of the regulations for more information.
To convert pounds to kilograms, divide by 2.20462, the number of pounds in one kilogram.
4. Revise Table 3 (North) to part 660,
subpart F, to read as follows:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:54 Jan 25, 2023
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■
4917
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 17 / Thursday, January 26, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
Table 3 (North) to Part 660, Subpart F -- Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas and Trip Lirrits for Open Access Gears North of 40°10' N lat.
Other limits and requirements apply -- Read §§660.1 O through 660.399 before using this table
JAN-FEB
I
Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA)":
1 North of 46°16' N lat. I
2 46°16' N lat. - 40°10' N lat.
I
I
MAR-APR
I
I
I
1/16/2023
MAY-JUN
I
I
I
JUL-AUG
I
I
I
SEP-OCT
I
I
I
NOV-DEC
I
shoreline - 100 Im line"
30 fm line 11 - 100 fm line 11
See §§660.60, 660.330 and 660.333 for additional gear, trip lirrit and conservation area requirements and restrictions. See §§660.70-660.74 and §§660.76660.79 for conservation area descriptions and coordinates (including RCAs, YRCAs, CCAs, Farallon Islands, Cordell Bank, and EFHCAs).
State trio limits and seasons ma be more restrictive than Federal trio limits or seasons, oarticularlv in waters off Oreaon and California.
3
Minor Slope Rockfish 21 & Darkblotched
rockfish
2,000 lb/ month
4 Pacific ocean perch
100 lb/ month
5 Sablefish
3,000 lb/ week, not to exceed 6,000 lb/ 2 months
6 Shortpine thornyheads
7 Lonasoine thornvheads
8 Dover sole, arrowtooth flounder, petrale
50 lb/month
50 lb/month
9 sole, English sole, starry flounder, other
5,000 lb/ month
10
Flatfish 3171
11 Whiting
300 lb/ month
12 Minor Shelf Rockfish 21
13 Widow rockfish
14 Yellowtail rockfish
15 Canarv rockfish
16 Yelloweye rockfish
17 Minor Nearshore Rockfish, Oregon black/blue/deacon rockfish, & black rockfish
18
North of 42°00' N lat.
19
42°00' N lat. - 40°1 0' N lat.
Minor Nearshore Rockfish
20
42°00' N lat. - 40°1 0' N lat.
Black rockfish
21 Lingcodw
22
23
24 Pacific cod
800 lb/ month
2,000 lb/2 months
1,500 lb/ month
2,000 lb/2 months
CLOSED
-I
)>
5,000 lb/ 2 months, no more than 1,200 lb of \o\lhich may be species other than black rockfish or blue/deacon rockfish 41
2,000 lb/ 2 months, of \o\lhich no more than 75 lb may be quillback rockfish, and of \o\lhich no more than 75 lb may be
copper rockfish
2s Spiny dogfish
200,000 lb/ 2 months
I
1,000 lb/ month
1,000 lb/ 2 months
150,000 lb/ 2
months
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
I
w
0
....-,
3,500 lb/ month
North of 42°00' N lat.
m
--z
7,000 lb/2 months
42°00' N lat. - 40° 10' N lat.
m
r
100,000 lb/ 2 months
:::r
,.....
Longnose skate
Big skate
other Fish~ & Cabezon in California
Oreaon Cabezon/Kelo Greenlina
SALMON TROLL (subject to RCAs when retaining all species of groundffsh, except for yellowtaif rockfish and lingcod, as described below)
Salmon trailers may retain and land up to 500 lb ofyel/owtai/ rockfish per month as long as salmon is on board, both
within and outside of the RCA. Salmon trollers may retain and land up to 1 lingcod per 2 Chinook per trip, plus 1
lingcod per trip, up to a triplimitof10 lingcod, on a trip where any ffshing occurs within the RCA. The lingcod limit
only applies during times when lingcod retention is allowed, and is not "CLOSED." Theses limits are within the per
31 North
month limits described in the table above, and not in addition to those limits. All groundfish species are subject to the
open access limits, seasons, size limits and RCA restrictions listed in the table above, unless otherwise stated here.
26
27
28
29
30
32 PINK SHRIMP NON-GROUNDFISH TRAWL (not subject to RCAs)
Effective April 1 - October 31: Groundfish: 500 lb/day, multiplied by the number of days of the trip, not to exceed 1,500
lb/trip. The following sublimits also apply and are counted toward the overall 500 lb/day and 1,500 lb/trip groundfish limits:
lingcod 300 lb/month (minimum 24 inch size limit); sablefish 2,000 lb/month; canary, thomyheads and yelloweye rockfish
are PROHIBITED. All other groundfish species taken are managed under the overall 500 lb/day and 1,500 lb/trip
groundfish limits. Landings of these species count toward the per day and per trip groundfish limits and do not have
species-specific limits. The amount of groundfish landed may not exceed the amount of pink shrimp landed.
33 North
1/ The Rockfish Conservation Area Is an area closed to fishing by particular gear types, bounded by Imes specifically defined by latitl.Kte
arx:t longitude coordinates set out at§§ 660.71-660.74. This RCA is not defined by depth contours (with the exception of the 20-fm
depth contour boundary south of 42° N lat.), and the boundary lines that define the RCA may close areas that are deeper or shallower
than the depth contour. Vessels that are subject to RCA restrictions may not fish in the RCA, or operate in the RCA for any purpose
other than transiting.
2/ Minor Shelf and Slope Rockfish complexes are defined at§ 660.11. Bocaccio, ctilipepper and cowcod rockfishes are included in the trip lirrits for Minor Shelf Rockfish. Splitnose
rockfish is included in the trip limits for Minor Slope Rockfish.
3/ "Other flatfish" are defined at § 660.11 and include butter sole, curlfin sole, flathead sole, Pacific sarx:tdab, rex sole, rock sole, arx:t sand sole.
4/ For black rockfish north of Cape Aiava (48°09.50' N lat.), and between Destruction Is. (47°40' N lat.) and Leadbetter Pnt. (46°38.17' N lat.),
there is an additional lirrit of 100 lbs or 30 percent by weight of all fish on board, whichever is greater, per vessel, per fisting trip.
5/ The rririmum size lirrit for lingcod is 22 inches (56 cm) total length North of 420 N lat. arx:t 24 inches (61 cm) total length South of 42° N lat.
6/ "Other fish" are defined at§ 660.11 and include kelp greenling off California and leopard shark.
7/ Open access vessels may be allowed to fish inside grourx:tfish conservation areas using hook and line only. See§ 660.330 (d) of the regulations for more information.
To convert pounds to kilograms, divide by 2.20462, the number of pounds in one kilogram.
5. Revise Table 3 (South) to part 660,
subpart F, to read as follows:
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15:54 Jan 25, 2023
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4918
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 17 / Thursday, January 26, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
Table 3 (South) to Part 660, Subpart F -- Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas and Trip Limits for Open Access Gears South of 40°1 O' N lat.
Other limits and requirements apply -- Read§! 660.10 through 660.399 before using this table
1/16/2023
JAN-FEB
MAR-APR
MAY-JUN
JUL-AUG
SEP-OCT
NOV-DEC
I
I
I
I
I
Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) 11:
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
40 fm line 11 - 125 fm line 11
1 40°10' N lat. - 38°57.5' N lat.
2 38°57.5' N lat. -34°27' N lat.
50 Im line 11 -125fm line 11
3 South of 34 °27' N lat.
100 fm line 11 - 150 fm line 11 (also annlies around islands\
See §§660.60 and 660.230 for additional gear, trip lirrit and conservation area requirements and restrictions. See §§660.70-660.74 and §§660.76-660.79 for
conservation area descriptions and coordinates (including RCAs, YRCAs, CCAs, Farallon Islands, Cordell Banks, and EFHCAs).
State trip limits and seasons ma be more restrictive than Federal trip limits or seasons, particularly in waters off Oregon and California.
21
4 Minor Slope Rockfish & Darkblotched
10,000 lb/ 2 months, of which no more than 2,500 lb may be blackgill rockfish
rockfish
5 Splitnose rockfish
6 Sablefish
200 lb/ month
7
40·10· N lat.-36°00' N lat.
3,000 lb/ week, not to exceed 6,000 lb/ 2 months
8
South of 36°00' N lat.
2,000 lb/ week, not to exceed 6,000 lb/ 2 months
9 Shortpine thornyheads
10
50 lb/month
12
50 lb/month
40°1 0' N lat. - 34 °27' N lat.
11 Lonasoine thornvheads
40°10' N lat. - 34 °27' N lat.
13 Shortpine thornyheads and longspine
thornyheads
14
South of 34°27' N lat.
15 Dover sole, arrowtooth flounder, petrale
16 sole, English sole, starry flounder, other
17 Flatfish 3181
18 Whiting
19 Minor Shelf Rockfish 21
20
40° 10' N lat. - 34°27' N lat.
21
-I
)>
m
r
100 lb/ day, no more than 1,000 lb/ 2 months
m
5,000 lb/ month
w
300 lb/ month
4,000 lb/ 2 months, of v,,,,tiich no more than 400 lb mav be vermilion
3,000 lb/ 2 months, of which no more than 1,200 lb may be venmilion
South of 34°27' N lat.
22 Widow rockfish
24
25 Chilipepper
26
27
South of 34°27' N lat.
6,000 lb/ 2 months
4,000 lb/ 2 months
40°1 0' N lat. - 34 °27' N lat.
South of 34 °27' N lat.
6,000 lb/ 2 months
4,000 lb/ 2 months
28 Canary rockfish
29 Yelloweve rockfish
30 Cowcod
31 Bronzespotted rockfish
32 Bocaccio
33 Minor Nearshore Rockfish
34
Shallow nearshore41
35
Deeper nearshore51
copper rockfish
200,000 lb/ 2 months
I
3,500 lb/ 2 months
700 lb/ month
1,000 lb/ 2 months
150,000 lb/ 2
months
I
100,000 lb/2 months
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
42 Other Fish 71 & Cabezon in California
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2,000 lb/ 2 months
40 Longnose skate
41 Big skate
15:54 Jan 25, 2023
....
:::r
-
2,000 lb/ 2 months, of which no more than 75 lb may be quillback rockfish, and of \o\lhich no more than 75 lb may be
39 Spiny dogfish
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en
2,000 lb/2 months
CLOSED
CLOSED
CLOSED
4,000 lb/2 months
36 California Scorpionfish
37 Lingcod61
38 Pacific cod
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0
40° 10' N lat. - 34°27' N lat.
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23
4919
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 17 / Thursday, January 26, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
Table 3 (South) Continued
Other limits and requirements apply -- Read§! 660.10 through 660.399 before using this table
JAN-FEB
MAR-APR
MAY-JUN
JUL-AUG
SEP-OCT
I
I
I
I
Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) 11:
11
11
43140°10' N lat. - 38°57.5' N lat.
40 fm line - 125 fm line
44138°57.5' N lat. -34°27' N lat.
50 Im line 11 -125fm line 11
45 South of 34 °27' N lat.
100 Im line" - 150 Im line" (also applies around islands)
1/16/2023
NOV-DEC
I
I
See §§660.60 and 660.230 for additional gear, trip lirrit and conservation area requirements and restrictions. See §§660.70-660.74 and §§660.76-660.79 for
conservation area descriptions and coordinates (including RCAs, YRCAs, CCAs, Farallon Islands, Cordell Banks, and EFHCAs).
46 SALMON TROLL (subject to RCAs when retaining all species of groundfish, except for yellowtail rockfish, as described below)
Salmon trailers may retain and land up to 1 lb of yellm,vtail rockfish for every 2 lb of Chinook salmon landed, \o\lith a
cumulative limit of 200 lb/month, both within and outside of the RCA This limit is within the 4,000 lb per 2 month limit for
South of 40°1 O' N lat. minor shelf rockfish bet\oveen 40°1 0' and 34 °27' N lat., and not in addition to that limit. All groundfish species are subject
to the open access limits, seasons, size limits and RCA restrictions listed in the table above, unless otherwise stated
here.
47
40°10' N lat. - 38°00' N lat.
51
38°00' N lat. - 34°27' N lat.
52
South of 34°27' N lat.
100fmline 11 200fm line 11
I
100 fm line
11
-150 fm line 11
100 fm line
100 fm line
11
11
11
I
100 fm line 11 200fm line 11
-150 fm line
-150 fm line 11
South
i,-.
C/)
C:
:::r
0
0
:::,
:::,
C:
CD
54 PINK SHRIMP NON-GROUNDFISH TRAWL GEAR (not subject to RCAs)
55
r
m
0
Groundfish: 300 lb/trip. Species-specific limits described in the table above also apply and are counted toward the 300 lb
groundfish per trip limit. The amount of groundfish landed may not exceed the amount of the target species landed,
except that the amount of spiny dogfish landed may exceed the amount of target species landed. Spiny dogfish are
limited by the 300 lb/trip overall groundfish limit. The daily trip limits for sablefish coaslwide and thornyheads south of Pt.
Conception and the overall groundfish "per trip" limit may not be multiplied by the number of days of the trip. Vessels
participating in the California halibut fishery south of 38°57.50' N lat. are allowed to (1) land up to 100 lb/day of
groundfish without the ratio requirement, provided that at least one California halibut is landed and (2) land up to 3,000
lb/month of flatfish, no more than 300 lb of which may be species other than Pacific sanddabs, sand sole, starry flounder,
rock sole, curlfin sole, or California scorpionfish (California scorpionfish is also subject to the trip limits and closures in
line29).
53
)>
m
w
48 RIDGEBACK PRAWN AND, SOUTH OF 38°57.50' N lat., CA HALIBUT AND SEA CUCUMBER NON-GROUNDFISH TRAWL
49 NON-GROUNDFISH TRAWL Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) for CA Halibut, Sea Cucumber & Ridgeback Prawn:
50
-I
Effective April 1 - October 31: Groundfish: 500 lb/day, multiplied by the number of days of the trip, not to exceed 1,500
lb/trip. The following sublimits also apply and are counted toward the overall 500 lb/ day and 1,500 lb/ trip groundfish
limits: lingcod 300 lb/ month (minimum 24 inch size limit); sablefish 2,000 lb/ month; canary rockfish, thornyheads and
yelloweye rockfish are PROHIBITED. All other groundfish species taken are managed under the overall SOD lb/day and
1,500 lb/ trip groundfish limits. Landings of all groundfish species count toward the per day, per trip or other speciesspecific sublimits described here and the species-specific limits described in the table above do not apply. The amount
of groundfish landed may not exceed the amount of pink shrimp landed.
C.
1/ The Rocl<fish Conservation Area is an area closed to fishing by particular gear types, bounded by lines specifically defined by latitu::te
arr::I longitude coordinates set out at§§ 660.71-660.74. This RCA is not defined by depth contours (with the exception of the 20-fm
depth contour boundary south of 42° N lat.), and the boundary lines that define the RCA may close areas that are deeper or shallower
than the depth contour. Vessels that are subject to RCA restrictions may not fish in the RCA, or operate in the RCA for any purpose
other than transiting.
2/ Minor Shelf and Slope Rockfish cof'Tl)lexes are defined at§ 660.11. Pacific ocean perch is included in the trip limits for rrinor slope rockfish. Blackgill rockfish have
a species specific trip sub-lirrit within the rrinor slope rocl<fish currulative limits. Yellowtail rocldish is included in the trip lirrits for rrinor shelf rockfish. Bronzespotted rockfish
have a species specific trip lilTit.
3/ "Other flatfish" are defined at § 660.11 and include butter sole, curlfin sole, flathead sole, Pacific sarr::ldab, rex sole, rock sole, arr::I sand sole.
4/ "Shallow Nearshore" are defined at § 660.11 under "Groundfish" (7)(Q(B)(1).
5/ "Deeper Nearahore" are defined at § 660.11 under "Groundfish" (7)(Q(B)(2).
6/ The commercial mirrimum size lilTit for lingcod is 24 inches (61 cm) total length South of 42° N lat.
71 "Other fish" are defined at § 660.11 and includes kelp greenling off California and leopard shark.
8/ Open access vessels may be allowed to fish inside grourr::lfish conservation areas using hook and line only. See§ 660.330 (d) of the regulations for more information.
To convert pounds to kilograms, divide by 2.20462, the number of pounds in one kilogram.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:54 Jan 25, 2023
Jkt 259001
other groundfish species; except the
daily bag limit in the long-leader gear
fishery is 15 fish per day. The bag limit
of marine fish excludes Pacific halibut,
salmonids, tuna, perch species,
sturgeon, sanddabs, flatfish, lingcod,
striped bass, hybrid bass, offshore
pelagic species and baitfish (herring,
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 9990
smelt, anchovies and sardines). The
minimum size for cabezon retained in
the Oregon recreational fishery is 16 in
(41 cm) total length.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2023–01571 Filed 1–23–23; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–C
E:\FR\FM\26JAR1.SGM
26JAR1
ER26JA23.006</GPH>
6. In § 660.360, revise paragraph
(c)(2)(iii)(A) to read as follows:
(c) * * *
(2) * * *
(iii) * * *
(A) Marine fish. The bag limit is 10
marine fish per day, which includes
rockfish, kelp greenling, cabezon and
■
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4910-4919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01571]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 221206-0261]
RIN 0648-BM02
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2023-2024 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 and recreational groundfish
fisheries. This action is intended to allow fishing vessels to access
more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting rebuilding stocks.
DATES: This final rule is effective January 26, 2023.
ADDRESSES: 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/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Sean Matson, phone: 206-526-6187
or email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP) and
its implementing regulations at title 50 in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), part 660, subparts C through G, regulate fishing for
over 90 species of groundfish seaward of Washington, Oregon, and
California. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) develops
groundfish harvest specifications and management measures for 2-year
periods (biennia). NMFS published the final rule to implement harvest
specifications and management measures for the 2023-2024 biennium for
most species managed under the PCGFMP on December 16, 2022 (87 FR
77007). The management measures set at the start of the biennial
harvest specifications cycle help the various sectors of the fishery
attain, but not exceed, the catch 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 November 2022 meeting, the Council recommended modifying
fixed gear trip limits for limited entry (LE) and open access (OA)
sablefish, north of 36[deg] N latitude, for LE canary rockfish north
and south of 40[deg]10' N latitude, and for LE and OA lingcod north of
42[deg] N latitude; as well as modifying bag limits in the Oregon
recreational long-leader fishery, after updated information regarding
projected catch and attainment became available, as well as requests
from industry. 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]) recommended biennially by the Council and
based on the best scientific information available at that time (50 CFR
660.60(b)). During development of the harvest specifications, the
Council also recommends management measures (e.g., trip limits, area
closures, and bag limits) that are meant to control catch so as not to
exceed the harvest specifications. The harvest specifications and
management measures developed for the 2023-2024 biennium used data
through the 2021 fishing year. Each of the adjustments to management
measures discussed below are based on updated fisheries information
that was unavailable when the analysis for the current harvest
specifications was completed. As new fisheries data becomes available,
adjustments to management measures are projected so as to help
harvesters achieve but not exceed the harvest limits.
Sablefish
Sablefish is an important commercial species on the West Coast with
vessels targeting sablefish with both trawl and fixed gear (longlines
and pots/traps). Sablefish is managed with separate ACLs for the two
areas north and south of 36[deg] N lat. The 2023 ACLs for the North and
South are 8,486 mt and 2,338 mt, respectively.
At the November 2022 Council meeting, the Council's Groundfish
Management Team (GMT) received requests from industry members and
members of the Council's Groundfish Advisory Subpanel (GAP) to examine
the potential to increase sablefish trips limits for the fixed gear, LE
and OA fisheries north of 36[deg] N lat. The intent of increasing trip
limits is to increase harvest opportunities for vessels targeting
sablefish. To evaluate potential increases to sablefish trip limits for
the LE and OA fisheries, the GMT made model-based landings projections
under current regulations and alternative sablefish trip limits,
including the limits ultimately recommended by the Council, through the
remainder of 2023. Table 1 shows the projected sablefish landings by
fishery, relevant sablefish allocations, and the projected attainment
as a percentage of the landing target, under both the current trip
limits and the Council's recommended adjusted trip limits. These
projections were based on the most recent catch information available
through late October 2022. Since industry did not request changes to
sablefish trip limits for either the LE or
[[Page 4911]]
OA fishery south of 36[deg] N lat., NMFS and the Council did not
consider trip limit changes for those southern fisheries at this time.
Table 1--Projected Landings, Allocation, and Projected Percentage of Sablefish Attained Through 2023 by Trip
Limit and Fishery
[Values in parentheses show uncertainty range]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Projected target
Fishery Trip limits Projected Landing target attainment
landings (mt) (mt) (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LE North of 36[deg] N lat...... Current: 2,400 lb/ 151 (117-186) 417 36 (28-45)
week, not to exceed
4,800 lb/two months.
Recommended: 4,500 lb/ 253 (196-310) ................. 61 (47-74)
week, not to exceed
9,000 lb/two months.
OA North of 36[deg] N lat...... Current: 2,000 lb/ 322 (278-367) 687 47 (40-53)
week, not to exceed
4,000 lb/two months.
Recommended: 3,000 lb/ 448 (386-509) ................. 65 (56-74)
week, not to exceed
6,000 lb/two months.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As shown in Table 1, under the current trip limits, the models
predict landings of sablefish will be at 36 percent, or 151 mt of the
417 mt landing target (the target is the allocation share converted to
landings, reduced for discard mortality) for LE fishery north of
36[deg] N lat.; and 47 percent, or 322 mt of the 687 mt landing target,
for the OA fishery north of 36[deg] N lat. Under the Council's
recommended trip limits, sablefish attainment is projected to increase
in the LE and OA fisheries north of 36[deg] N lat., to 61 and 65
percent, respectively.
Trip limit increases for sablefish are intended to increase
attainment of the non-trawl HG. The proposed trip limit increases do
not change projected impacts to co-occurring overfished species
compared to the impacts anticipated in the 2023-2024 harvest
specifications because the projected impacts to those species assume
that the entire sablefish ACL is harvested. Therefore, the Council
recommended and NMFS is implementing, by modifying Tables 2 North and
South to part 660, subpart E, and Tables 3 North and South to part 660,
subpart F, trip limit changes for the LE sablefish fishery north of
36[deg] N lat. and trip limit changes for the OA sablefish fishery
north of 36[deg] N lat. as shown above in Table 1. These changes will
start with Period 1 (January and February) and remain in place through
the end of 2023 and beyond, unless otherwise modified.
Canary Rockfish
Prior to the November 2022 meeting, the GMT received a request from
the GAP to increase the canary rockfish OA north of 40[deg]10' N lat.
trip limit both to enable a viable alternative to potentially limited
Dungeness crab fishing opportunities at the beginning of the year, and
to better align with the yellowtail rockfish trip limit in order to
reduce regulatory discarding of canary rockfish. The 2023 coastwide ACL
for canary rockfish is 1,284 mt.
To evaluate potential increases to canary rockfish trip limits, the
GMT made model-based landings projections under current regulations and
alternative trip limits, including the limits ultimately recommended by
the Council, for the LE and OA fisheries throughout the 2023 fishing
year. The GMT evaluated changes to the trip limits for canary rockfish
both north and south of 40[deg]10' N lat. Table 2 shows the projected
canary rockfish landings, the canary rockfish allocations, and the
projected attainment percentage by fishery under both the current trip
limits and the Council's recommended adjusted trip limits for north of
40[deg]10' N lat. and Table 3 shows the same metrics for south of
40[deg]10' N lat. These projections were based on the most recent catch
information available through late October 2022.
Table 2--Projected Landings and Attainment for Canary Rockfish, for the 2023 Fishing Year by Fishery, Area, and
Trip Limit, Under Current Regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent
attainment
Fishery Trip limit Projected Projected sum 2023 non-trawl
landings (mt) landings (mt) share (121.2
mt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LE North of 40[deg]10' N lat.......... 3,000 lb/two months..... 4.2 27.5 23
OA North of 40[deg]10' N lat.......... 1,000 lb/two months..... 5.2 .............. ..............
LE South of 40[deg]10' N lat.......... 3,500 lb/two months..... 5.9 .............. ..............
OA South of 40[deg]10' N lat.......... 1,500 lb/two months..... 12.2 .............. ..............
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 3--Projected Landings and Attainment for Canary Rockfish, for the 2023 Fishing Year by Fishery, Area, and
Trip Limit, Under Council-Recommended Trip Limits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent
attainment
Fishery Trip limit Projected Projected sum 2023 non-trawl
landings (mt) landings (mt) share (121.2
mt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LE North of 40[deg]10' N lat.......... 4,000 lb/two months..... 5.6 39 32
[[Page 4912]]
OA North of 40[deg]10' N lat.......... 2,000 lb/two months..... 10.4 .............. ..............
LE South of 40[deg]10' N lat.......... 4,000 lb/two months..... 6.8 .............. ..............
OA South of 40[deg]10' N lat.......... 2,000 lb/two months..... 16.2 .............. ..............
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the current trip limits, the model predicts catches of canary
rockfish coastwide will total 27.5 mt (including discard mortality),
which is 23 percent of the 2023 non-trawl commercial share of canary
rockfish (121.2 mt). Under the Council's recommended trip limits,
canary rockfish mortality is expected to increase to 39 mt coastwide
(including discard mortality), which is 32 percent of the 2023 non-
trawl commercial share of canary rockfish.
Trip limit increases for canary rockfish are intended to increase
attainment of the non-trawl commercial share. The proposed trip limit
increases do not change projected impacts to co-occurring overfished
species compared to the impacts anticipated in the 2023-2024 harvest
specifications because the projected impacts to those species assume
that the entire canary rockfish ACL is harvested. Therefore, the
Council recommended and NMFS is implementing, by modifying Tables 2
North and South to part 660, subpart E, and Tables 3 North and South to
part 660, subpart F, trip limit changes for LE canary rockfish north
and south of 40[deg]10' N lat. and trip limit changes for OA canary
rockfish fishery north and south of 40[deg]10' N lat. as shown above in
Tables 2 and 3. These changes will start with Period 1 (January and
February) and remain in place through the end of 2023 and beyond,
unless otherwise modified.
Lingcod
For the November 2022 meeting, the GMT also received a request to
continue the lingcod trip limits north of 42[deg] N lat. at the same
levels from Period 6 of 2022, in order to continue the effect of
reduced regulatory discarding and increased economic opportunity.
Lingcod is managed with an ACL north of 40[deg]10' N lat. and an ACL
south of 40[deg]10' N lat. The 2023 ACL for lingcod north of 40[deg]10'
N lat. is 4,378 mt.
To evaluate potential impacts of the requested increases to lingcod
trip limits north of 42[deg] N lat., the GMT made model-based landings
projections under current regulations and alternative trip limits,
including the limits ultimately recommended by the Council, for the LE
and OA fisheries for 2023. Table 4 shows the projected lingcod
landings, the lingcod allocations, the projected attainment percentage,
and accompanying estimated yelloweye rockfish impacts by fishery, under
both the current trip limits and the Council's recommended adjusted
trip limits for north of 42[deg] N lat. These projections were based on
the most recent catch information available through October 2022.
Table 4--Projected Landings of Lingcod, Lingcod Allocation, Projected Percentage of Lingcod North of 42[deg] N
Lat. Attained Through the End of the Year by Trip Limit and Fishery, Together With Projected Yelloweye Rockfish
Impacts
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-trawl Projected Projected
Projected lingcod lingcod yelloweye
Fishery Trip limits lingcod allocation attainment rockfish
landings (mt) (mt) (percent) impacts (mt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LE North of 42[deg] N lat..... Current: 5,000 24.3 2,573.8 5.2 1.11
lb/two months.
OA North of 42[deg] N lat..... Current: 2,500 110.4 .............. .............. ..............
lb/month.
LE North of 42[deg] N lat..... Recommended: 30.0 2573.8 6.2 1.32
7,000 lb/two
months.
OA North of 42[deg] N lat..... Recommended: 129.4 .............. .............. ..............
3,500/month.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the current trip limits, the model predicts catches of
lingcod north of 42[deg] N lat. will total 134.7 mt, which is 5.2
percent of the 2023 non-trawl allocation of lingcod (2,573.8 mt). Under
the Council's recommended trip limits, lingcod mortality north of
42[deg] N lat. is expected to increase to 159.4 mt, which is 6.2
percent of the 2023 non-trawl allocation of lingcod (2,573.8 mt).
Trip limit increases for lingcod are intended to marginally
increase attainment of the non-trawl allocation. The proposed trip
limit increases do not appreciably change projected impacts to co-
occurring rebuilding species (yelloweye rockfish) compared to the
impacts anticipated in the 2023-2024 harvest specifications (Table 4).
At the higher level of the lingcod non-trawl allocation, projected
impacts to yelloweye rockfish are still projected to be the same under
either current or recommended trip limits (3.9 mt), due a projection of
yelloweye bycatch levels assuming the entire lingcod allocation is
attained, in the harvest specifications analysis.
Therefore, the Council recommended and NMFS is implementing, by
modifying Table 2 North to part 660, subpart E, and Table 3 North to
part 660, subpart F, trip limit changes for LE and OA lingcod north of
42[deg] N lat. as shown above in Table 4. These changes will start with
Period 1 (January and February) and remain in place through the end of
2023 and beyond, unless otherwise modified.
Oregon Recreational Long-Leader Fishery
At the November 2022 Council meeting, the GMT and ODFW received
requests from members of industry and
[[Page 4913]]
the GAP, to examine the potential for increasing the daily bag limit in
the Oregon recreational long-leader fishery to more than the current 10
fish per day. Increasing the daily bag limit is intended to encourage
additional anglers to participate in the long-leader fishery, in order
to reduce effort on nearshore stocks such as black, China, copper, and
quillback rockfishes because the 2023-24 harvest limits for many
nearshore rockfish stocks are very small. At the same time, Oregon
experienced record groundfish effort in 2022, which fits within a
continuing trend of high effort since 2015 forward, and implies similar
fishery behavior in 2023. Impacts of the proposed action were analyzed
by ODFW staff, and the Council ultimately recommended the daily bag
limit in the Oregon recreational long-leader fishery to be increased
from 10 to 15 fish per day.
ODFW staff presented an analysis in which they deterministically
projected 2023 catch by expanding results of the long-leader EFP (2018-
2022), to simulate potential catch under a 15 fish per day limit. The
results appear in Table 5. ODFW staff found that the increases in catch
were small and well within relevant harvest specifications.
Table 5--ODFW's Projected Annual Impacts in mt (Salmon = Counts), for 15 Fish and 10 Fish per Day Bag Limit
Using Long-Leader Gear \a\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Potential max
Projected Hist. avg. additional
Species average catch Projected max with 10 fish impacts (proj.
(recommended) (recommended) limit max- current
(current) avg.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yellowtail RF............................... 23.58 39.87 15.72 24.15
Widow RF.................................... 4.47 10.24 2.98 7.26
Canary RF................................... 12.84 17.13 8.56 8.58
Silvergray RF............................... 0.12 0.22 0.08 0.14
Redstripe RF................................ 0.02 0.03 0.01 0.01
Greenstriped RF............................. 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01
Chillipepper RF............................. 0.02 0.09 0.02 0.08
Deacon RF................................... 0.14 0.33 0.09 0.24
Black RF.................................... 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.03
Blue RF..................................... 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.03
Yelloweye RF (discard mortality)............ 0.2 0.29 0.13 0.16
Quillback RF................................ 0 0 0 0
Bocaccio.................................... 1.89 4.11 1.26 2.85
Vermilion RF................................ 0 0 0 0
Copper RF................................... 0 0 0 0
Chinook Salmon.............................. 32 96 21 75
Coho Salmon................................. 217 561 145 416
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Columns from left to right: Species; Projected average catch w/15 fish per day limit (recommended);
Projected maximum catch with 15 fish per day limit (recommended); Historical average catch using 10 fish per
day limit (current); Potential maximum additional impacts (difference between Projected Maximum and Historical
average under 10-fish limit (current), column 3 minus column 4).
Using a conservative approach (risk averse), using the difference
between the expanded (1.5x) maximum annual actual catch from the 5-year
period, and subtracting the average actual catch from the same period,
ODFW staff provided an estimate of ``Potential maximum additional
impacts'' (far right column, Table 5), as projections of maximum
potential additional catch as a result of increasing the bag limit from
10 to 15 fish. As evidence of inconsequential impacts to the ACLs, the
analysis also compared the ``potential maximum additional impacts'',
with the amount of uncaught fish for each species, in the most recent
fishing year (2021), noting that for species other than yellowtail,
canary, widow, and yelloweye rockfish, the projected maximum impacts
were less than 0.3 mt, and thus were not presented (Table 6). For those
species with projected maximum catch greater than 0.3 mt, 2021 catch
statistics (most recent complete data year available) showed sizable
buffers in attainment of the non-trawl allocation, which would easily
absorb the projected additional mortality of this action (Table 6).
Table 6--2021 Harvest Specifications, Sector-Specific Allocations, and Mortality Estimates, and 2023 Projections (Right Column) for Yellowtail, Widow,
Canary, Yelloweye, and Bocaccio Rockfishes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent of Potential max
Species ACL Total ACL Non-trawl Non-trawl % of non-trawl OR rec. HG OR rec. addition.
mortality attainment allocation mort. allocation mort. impacts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yellowtail.......................... 6,050 2,931 48 601.5 96 16 N/A 28 24.2
Widow............................... 14,725 10,880 74 400 11.5 3 N/A 3.6 7.3
Canary.............................. 1,338 562 42 351.6 178.3 51 65.06 38.5 8.6
Yelloweye........................... 50 18 36 37.9 16.7 44 6.9 3.3 0.16
Bocaccio north of 40[deg]10' N lat.. 221 89 40 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.5 2.9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed bag limit increases do not appreciably change
projected impacts to co-occurring rebuilding species (yelloweye
rockfish) compared to the impacts anticipated in the 2023-2024 harvest
specifications (Table 6). Therefore the Council recommended, and NMFS
is implementing, trip limit changes for the Oregon recreational long-
leader fishery from 10 to 15 fish per day, by modifying 50 CFR part
660.360, subpart G, paragraph (c)(2)(iii)(A)(Marine fish) to maintain
the previous restrictions, and place a separate bag limit on the long-
leader
[[Page 4914]]
fishery only. The new paragraph text will read: ``(A) Marine fish. The
bag limit is 10 marine fish per day, which includes rockfish, kelp
greenling, cabezon and other groundfish species; except the daily bag
limit in the long-leader gear fishery is 15 fish per day. The bag limit
of marine fish excludes Pacific halibut, salmonids, tuna, perch
species, sturgeon, sanddabs, flatfish, lingcod, striped bass, hybrid
bass, offshore pelagic species and baitfish (herring, smelt, anchovies
and sardines). The minimum size for cabezon retained in the Oregon
recreational fishery is 16 in (41 cm) total length.'' These changes
will be effective beginning in January, 2023 and remain in place
through the end of 2023 and beyond, unless otherwise modified.
Classification
This final rule makes routine inseason adjustments to groundfish
fishery management measures, based on the best scientific information
available, consistent with the PCGFMP and its implementing regulations.
This action is taken under the authority of 50 CFR 660.60(c) 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 Dr. Sean Matson in NMFS
West Coast Region (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above), or view
at the NMFS West Coast Groundfish website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/west-coast-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 management measures in this document
increase trip limits for fisheries in Washington, Oregon, and
California to allow additional economic opportunity while keeping catch
within allocations established by the 2023-2024 harvest specifications.
The trip limit increases are for the LE and OA sectors for sablefish
north of 36[deg] N lat., canary rockfish, and lingcod north of 42[deg]
N lat. Over the year 2023, these changes are projected to potentially
increase economic value of the fisheries by $989,793 for sablefish,
$71,025 for canary, and $122,777 for lingcod, as well as reduce
regulatory discards in these fisheries. The increases to bag limits in
the Oregon recreational long-leader fishery are needed to encourage
seaward effort redistribution, in order to prevent conservation issues
in the nearshore. No aspect of this action is controversial, and
changes of this nature were anticipated in the final rule for the 2023-
2024 harvest specifications and management measures which published on
December 16, 2022 (87 FR 77007).
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, because it is unlikely the new
regulations would publish and could be implemented in time to realize
the projected benefits to fishing communities and the resource. A delay
in implementation could also contribute to conservation issues with
nearshore rockfish species, without swift implementation incentives for
seaward redistribution of recreational fishing effort in the Oregon
recreational long-leader fishery. 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.
Therefore, 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 fisheries by
increasing opportunity and allowing greater economic benefit. These
adjustments were requested by the Council's advisory bodies, as well as
members of industry during the Council's November 2022 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 2023-2024 (87 FR 77007).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, and Indian Fisheries.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 16
U.S.C. 7001 et seq.
Dated: January 23, 2023.
Kelly Denit,
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.
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2. Revise Table 2 (North) to part 660, subpart E, to read as follows:
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3. Revise Table 2 (South) to part 660, subpart E, to read as follows:
[[Page 4916]]
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4. Revise Table 3 (North) to part 660, subpart F, to read as follows:
[[Page 4917]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR26JA23.004
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5. Revise Table 3 (South) to part 660, subpart F, to read as follows:
[[Page 4918]]
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[[Page 4919]]
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6. In Sec. 660.360, revise paragraph (c)(2)(iii)(A) to read as
follows:
(c) * * *
(2) * * *
(iii) * * *
(A) Marine fish. The bag limit is 10 marine fish per day, which
includes rockfish, kelp greenling, cabezon and other groundfish
species; except the daily bag limit in the long-leader gear fishery is
15 fish per day. The bag limit of marine fish excludes Pacific halibut,
salmonids, tuna, perch species, sturgeon, sanddabs, flatfish, lingcod,
striped bass, hybrid bass, offshore pelagic species and baitfish
(herring, smelt, anchovies and sardines). The minimum size for cabezon
retained in the Oregon recreational fishery is 16 in (41 cm) total
length.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-01571 Filed 1-23-23; 4:15 pm]
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