[Federal Register: December 31, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 251)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 79889-79890]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31de02-20]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 021112272-2328-02; I.D. 110202D]
RIN 0648-AP88
Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific;
Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a regulation to implement the annual harvest
guideline for Pacific sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off
the Pacific coast for the fishing season January 1, 2003, through
December 31, 2003. This harvest guideline has been calculated according
to the regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS)
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest levels
for Pacific sardine off the Pacific coast.
DATES: Effective January 30, 2003, through December 31, 2003.
ADDRESSES: The report Stock Assessment of Pacific Sardine with
Management Recommendations for 2003 may be obtained from Rodney R.
McInnis, Acting Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean
Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James J. Morgan, Southwest Region,
NMFS, 562-980-4036.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP, which was implemented by
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register on December 15,
1999 (64 FR 69888), divides management unit species into two
categories: actively managed and monitored. Harvest guidelines for
actively managed species (Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel) are
based on formulas applied to current biomass estimates. Biomass
estimates are not calculated for species that are only monitored (jack
mackerel, northern anchovy, and market squid).
At a public meeting each year, the biomass for each actively
managed species is reviewed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council's
(Council) Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (Team). The biomass,
harvest guideline, and status of the fisheries are then reviewed at a
public meeting of the Council's CPS Advisory Subpanel (Subpanel). This
information is also reviewed by the Council's Scientific and
Statistical Committee (SSC). The Council reviews reports from the Team,
Subpanel, and SSC, and then, after providing time for public comment,
makes its recommendation to NMFS. The annual harvest guideline and
season structure are published by NMFS in the Federal Register as soon
as practicable before the beginning of the appropriate fishing season.
The Pacific sardine season begins on January 1 and ends on December 31
of each year.
The Team meeting took place at the Southwest Regional Office in
Long Beach, CA on October 8, 2002. A public meeting between the Team
and the Subpanel was held at the same location that afternoon. The
Council reviewed the report at its October-November meeting in Foster
City, CA, where comments from its advisory bodies and the public were
heard. A proposed rule was published in the Federal Register
[[Page 79890]]
on November 25, 2002 (67 FR 7053), requesting public comments. The
public comment period ended on December 10, 2002, and no comments were
received.
Based on a biomass estimate of 999,871 metric tons (mt), the
harvest guideline for Pacific sardine for January 1, 2003, through
December 31, 2003, is 110,908 mt.
The FMP allocates the harvest guideline one-third for Subarea A,
which is north of 35[deg]40' N. lat. (Pt. Piedras Blancas, CA) to the
Canadian border, and two-thirds for Subarea B, which is south of
35[deg]40' N. lat. to the Mexican border. The harvest off Oregon and
Washington has increased from 1 mt in 1998 to almost 38,000 mt in 2002.
This expansion of sardine fisheries to the Pacific northwest has
fostered a review of the current allocation system in the FMP with the
aim of developing the most equitable distribution of the available
resource between all users. The Council has directed its Team to
analyze several alternatives to the current allocation system; however,
unless and until the FMP is amended, the current allocation system will
remain in effect. Therefore, the northern allocation for 2003 is 36,969
mt; the southern allocation is 73,939 mt. All Pacific sardine harvested
beginning January 1, 2003, will be credited toward the 2003 harvest
guideline.
When an allocation or the harvest guideline is reached, a landing
allowance of sardine of up to 45 percent by weight of any landing of
CPS is authorized by the FMP. An incidental allowance prevents
fishermen from being cited for a violation when sardine occur in
schools of other CPS, and it minimizes bycatch of sardine if sardine
are inadvertently caught while fishing for other CPS. The Council
recommended that the 45 percent incidental allowance be applied when an
allocation or harvest guideline is reached.
The sardine population was estimated using a modified version of
the integrated stock assessment model called Catch at Age Analysis of
Sardine Two Area Model (CANSAR TAM). CANSAR-TAM is a forward-casting,
age-structured analysis using fishery dependent and fishery independent
data to obtain annual estimates of sardine abundance, year-class
strength, and age-specific fishing mortality for 1983 through 2002. The
modification of CANSAR-TAM was developed to account for the expansion
of the Pacific sardine stock northward to include waters off the
northwest Pacific coast. Information on the fishery and the stock
assessment are found in the report Stock Assessment of Pacific Sardine
with Management Recommendations for 2003 (see ADDRESSES).
The formula in the FMP uses the following factors to determine the
harvest guideline:
1. The biomass of age one sardine and above. For 2003, this
estimate is 999,871 mt.
2. The cutoff. This is the biomass level below which no commercial
fishery is allowed. The FMP established this level at 150,000 mt.
3. The portion of the sardine biomass that is in U.S. waters. For
2003, this estimate is 87 percent, based on the average of larval
distribution obtained from scientific cruises and the distribution of
the resource obtained from logbooks of fish-spotters.
4. The harvest fraction. This is the percentage of the biomass
above 150,000 mt that may be harvested. The fraction used varies (5-15
percent) with current ocean temperatures. A higher fraction is used for
warmer ocean temperatures, which favor the production of Pacific
sardine, and a lower fraction is used for cooler temperatures. For
2003, the fraction was 15 percent based on three seasons of sea surface
temperature at Scripps Pier, CA.
Based on the estimated biomass of 999,871 mt and the formula in the
FMP, a harvest guideline of 110,908 mt was determined for the fishery
beginning January 1, 2003. The harvest guideline is allocated one-third
for Subarea A, which is north of 35[deg]40' N. lat. (Pt. Piedras
Blancas, CA) to the Canadian border, and two-thirds for Subarea B,
which is south of 35[deg]40' N. lat. to the Mexican border. The
northern allocation is 36,969 mt; the southern allocation is 73,939 mt.
If an allocation or the harvest guideline is reached, up to 45 percent
by weight of Pacific sardine may be landed in any landing of Pacific
mackerel, jack mackerel, northern anchovy, or market squid.
Classification
These final specifications are issued under the authority of, and
NMFS has determined that they are in accordance with, the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and the
regulations implementing the FMP at 50 CFR part 660, subpart I.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that the proposed rule for this action would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The factual basis for the certification was published in the proposed
rule. No comments were received regarding the economic impacts of this
action. As a result, no regulatory flexibility analysis was prepared.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 24, 2002.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-32952 Filed 12-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S