[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 221 (Monday, November 16, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 73002-73003]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25229]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 200610-0156; RTID 0648-XA570]
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2020 Tribal Fishery Allocations for
Pacific Whiting; Reapportionment Between Tribal and Non-Tribal Sectors
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Inseason reapportionment of tribal Pacific whiting allocation.
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SUMMARY: This document announces the reapportionment of 40,000 metric
tons of Pacific whiting from the tribal allocation to the non-tribal
commercial fishery sectors via automatic action on September 16, 2020.
This reapportionment is to allow full utilization of the Pacific
whiting resource.
DATES: The reapportionment of Pacific whiting went into effect at 12
p.m. local time, September 16, 2020, and is effective through December
31, 2020. Comments will be accepted through December 1, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2020-0027
by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2020-0027. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete
the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Barry A. Thom, Regional Administrator, West Coast
Region, NMFS, 1201 NE Lloyd Center Blvd., Suite #1100, Portland, OR
97232, Attn: Stacey Miller.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record. All personal identifying information (e.g., name,
address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise
sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will be
publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A''
in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to
electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe
PDF file formats only.
Electronic Access
This notice is accessible online at the Office of the Federal
Register's website at https://www.federalregister.gov/. Background
information and documents are available at the NMFS West Coast Region
website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/pacific-whiting#management.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stacey Miller (West Coast Region,
NMFS), phone: 503-231-6290 or email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Pacific Whiting
Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus) is a very productive species
with highly variable recruitment (the biomass of fish that mature and
enter the fishery each year) and a relatively short life span compared
to other groundfish species. Pacific whiting has the largest annual
allowable harvest levels (by volume) of the more than 90 groundfish
species managed under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management
Plan (FMP), which governs the groundfish fishery off Washington,
Oregon, and California. The coastwide Pacific whiting stock is managed
jointly by the United States and Canada, and mature Pacific whiting are
commonly available to vessels operating in U.S. waters from April
through December. Background on the stock assessment, and the
establishment of the 2020 Total Allowable Catch (TAC), for Pacific
whiting was provided in the final rule for the 2020 Pacific whiting
harvest specifications, published June 18, 2020 (85 FR 36803). Pacific
whiting is allocated to the Pacific Coast treaty tribes (tribal
fishery) and to three non-tribal commercial sectors: The catcher/
processor cooperative (C/P Coop), the mothership cooperative (MS Coop),
and the Shorebased Individual Fishery Quota (IFQ) Program.
This notice announces the reapportionment of 40,000 metric tons
(mt) of Pacific whiting from the tribal allocation to the non-tribal
commercial sectors on September 16, 2020. Regulations at 50 CFR
660.131(h) contain provisions that allow the Regional Administrator to
reapportion Pacific whiting from the tribal allocation, specified at 50
CFR 660.50, that will not be harvested by the end of the fishing year
to other sectors.
[[Page 73003]]
Pacific Whiting Reapportionment
For 2020, the Pacific Coast treaty tribes were allocated 74,342 mt
of Pacific whiting. The best available information on September 16,
2020, indicated that at least 40,000 mt of the tribal allocation would
not be harvested by December 31, 2020. As required under the 2017
Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7(a)(2) biological opinion on the
effects of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan on
listed salmonids, NMFS considered the number and bycatch rate of
Chinook salmon taken by the Pacific whiting fishery sectors prior to
reapportionment. Based on the best available information in early
September 2020, NMFS determined there was little risk that the
reapportionment would cause the Pacific whiting sector fisheries to
exceed the guideline limit of 11,000 Chinook salmon under current
regulations and practices. In early September, incidental take of
Chinook salmon by the non-tribal sector was 15 percent of the guideline
limit. While the incidental take of Chinook salmon was higher compared
to the same period in the previous year, the total take this year is
still well below the guideline limit.
To allow for increased utilization of the resource, on September
16, 2020, NMFS reapportioned 40,000 mt from the Tribal sector to the
Shorebased IFQ Program, C/P Coop, and MS Coop in proportion to each
sector's original allocation. Reapportioning this amount is expected to
allow for greater attainment of the TAC while not limiting tribal
harvest opportunities for the remainder of the year. NMFS provided
notice of the reapportionment on September 16, 2020, via emails sent
directly to fishing businesses and individuals. Reapportionment was
effective the same day as the notice.
The amounts of Pacific whiting available for 2020 before and after
the reapportionment are described in the table below.
Table 1--2020 Pacific Whiting Allocations
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Initial 2020 Final 2020
Sector allocation allocation
(mt) (mt)
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Tribal.................................. 74,342 34,342
C/P Coop................................ 118,649 132,249
MS Coop................................. 83,752 93,352
Shorebased IFQ Program.................. 146,567 163,367
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Classification
NOAA's Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA) finds that good
cause exists for this notification to be issued without affording prior
notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(B), because such notification would be impracticable and
contrary to the public interest. As previously noted, NMFS provided
actual notice of the reapportionment to fishery participants at the
time of the action. Prior notice and opportunity for public comment on
this reapportionment was impracticable because NMFS had insufficient
time to provide prior notice between the time the information about the
progress of the fishery needed to make this determination became
available and the time at which fishery modifications had to be
implemented in order to allow fishery participants access to the
available fish during the remainder of the fishing season. For the same
reasons, the AA also finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness for these actions, required under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
These actions are authorized by Sec. Sec. 660.55(i), 660.60(d) and
660.131(h) and are exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. and 16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.
Dated: November 10, 2020.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-25229 Filed 11-13-20; 8:45 am]
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