[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 50, Volume 9] [Revised as of January 1, 2006] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 50CFR660.370] [Page 46-51] TITLE 50--WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) PART 660_FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES--Table of Contents Subpart G_West Coast Groundfish Fisheries Sec. 660.370 Specifications and management measures. (a) General. NMFS will establish and adjust specifications and management measures biennially or annually and during the fishing year. Management of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery will be conducted consistent with the standards and procedures in the PCGFMP and other applicable law. The PCGFMP is available from the Regional Administrator or the Council. Regulations under this subpart may be promulgated, removed, or revised during the fishing year. Any such action will be made according to the framework standards and procedures in the PCGFMP and other applicable law, and will be published in the Federal Register. (b) Biennial actions. The Pacific Coast Groundfish fishery is managed on a biennial, calendar year basis. Harvest specifications and management measures will be announced biennially, with the harvest specifications for each species or species group set for two sequential calendar years. In general, management measures are designed to achieve, but not exceed, the specifications, particularly optimum yields (harvest guidelines and quotas), commercial harvest guidelines and quotas, [[Page 47]] limited entry and open access allocations, or other approved fishery allocations, and to protect overfished and depleted stocks. (c) Routine management measures. In addition to the catch restrictions in Sec. Sec. 660.371 through 660.373, other catch restrictions that are likely to be adjusted on a biennial or more frequent basis may be imposed and announced by a single notification in the Federal Register if good cause exists under the APA to waive notice and comment, and if they have been designated as routine through the two-meeting process described in the PCGFMP. Routine management measures that may be revised during the fishing year via this process are implemented in paragraph (h) of this section and in Sec. Sec. 660.371 through 660.373, Sec. Sec. 660.381 through 660.385 and Tables 3-5 of this subpart. Most trip, bag, and size limits, and area closures in the groundfish fishery have been designated ``routine,'' which means they may be changed rapidly after a single Council meeting. Council meetings are held in the months of March, April, June, September, and November. Inseason changes to routine management measures are announced in the Federal Register pursuant to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Changes to trip limits are effective at the times stated in the Federal Register. Once a change is effective, it is illegal to take and retain, possess, or land more fish than allowed under the new trip limit. This means that, unless otherwise announced in the Federal Register, offloading must begin before the time a fishery closes or a more restrictive trip limit takes effect. The following catch restrictions have been designated as routine: (1) Commercial limited entry and open access fisheries--(i) Trip landing and frequency limits, size limits, all gear. Trip landing and frequency limits have been designated as routine for the following species or species groups: widow rockfish, canary rockfish, yellowtail rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, yelloweye rockfish, black rockfish, blue rockfish, splitnose rockfish, chilipepper rockfish, bocaccio, cowcod, minor nearshore rockfish or shallow and deeper minor nearshore rockfish, shelf or minor shelf rockfish, and minor slope rockfish; DTS complex which is composed of Dover sole, sablefish, shortspine thornyheads, and longspine thornyheads; petrale sole, rex sole, arrowtooth flounder, Pacific sanddabs, and the flatfish complex, which is composed of those species plus any other flatfish species listed at Sec. 660.302; Pacific whiting; lingcod; Pacific cod; spiny dogfish; and ``other fish'' as a complex consisting of all groundfish species listed at Sec. 660.302 and not otherwise listed as a distinct species or species group. Size limits have been designated as routine for sablefish and lingcod. Trip landing and frequency limits and size limits for species with those limits designated as routine may be imposed or adjusted on a biennial or more frequent basis for the purpose of keeping landings within the harvest levels announced by NMFS, and for the other purposes given in paragraphs (c)(1)(i)(A) and (B) of this section. (A) Trip landing and frequency limits. To extend the fishing season; to minimize disruption of traditional fishing and marketing patterns; to reduce discards; to discourage target fishing while allowing small incidental catches to be landed; to protect overfished species; to allow small fisheries to operate outside the normal season; and, for the open access fishery only, to maintain landings at the historical proportions during the 1984-88 window period. (B) Size limits. To protect juvenile fish; to extend the fishing season. (ii) Differential trip landing limits and frequency limits based on gear type, closed seasons. Trip landing and frequency limits that differ by gear type and closed seasons may be imposed or adjusted on a biennial or more frequent basis for the purpose of rebuilding and protecting overfished or depleted stocks. To achieve the rebuilding of an overfished or depleted stock, the Pacific whiting primary seasons described at Sec. 660.373(b), may be closed for any or all of the fishery sectors identified at Sec. 660.373(a) before the sector allocation is reached if any of the bycatch limits identified at Sec. 660.373(b)(4) are reached. (2) Recreational fisheries all gear types. Routine management measures for all groundfish species, separately or in any combination, include bag limits, size [[Page 48]] limits, time/area closures, boat limits, hook limits, and dressing requirements. All routine management measures on recreational fisheries are intended to keep landings within the harvest levels announced by NMFS, to rebuild and protect overfished or depleted species, and to maintain consistency with State regulations, and for the other purposes set forth in this section. (i) Bag limits. To spread the available catch over a large number of anglers; to protect and rebuild overfished species; to avoid waste. (ii) Size limits. To protect juvenile fish; to protect and rebuild overfished species; to enhance the quality of the recreational fishing experience. (iii) Season duration restrictions. To spread the available catch over a large number of anglers; to protect and rebuild overfished species; to avoid waste; to enhance the quality of the recreational fishing experience. (3) All fisheries, all gear types depth-based management measures. Depth-based management measures, particularly the setting of closed areas known as Groundfish Conservation Areas may be imposed on any sector of the groundfish fleet using specific boundary lines that approximate depth contours with latitude/longitude waypoints. Depth- based management measures and the setting of closed areas may be used to protect and rebuild overfished stocks. (d) Automatic actions. Automatic management actions may be initiated by the NMFS Regional Administrator without prior public notice, opportunity to comment, or a Council meeting. These actions are nondiscretionary, and the impacts must have been taken into account prior to the action. Unless otherwise stated, a single notice will be published in the Federal Register making the action effective if good cause exists under the APA to waive notice and comment. Automatic actions are used in the Pacific whiting fishery to close the fishery or reinstate trip limits when a whiting harvest guideline, commercial harvest guideline, or a sector's allocation is reached, or is projected to be reached; or to reapportion unused allocation to other sectors of the fishery. (e) Prohibited species. Groundfish species or species groups under the PCGFMP for which quotas have been achieved and/or the fishery closed are prohibited species. In addition, the following are prohibited species: (1) Any species of salmonid. (2) Pacific halibut. (3) Dungeness crab caught seaward of Washington or Oregon. (f) Exempted fisheries. U.S. vessels operating under an exempted fishing permit (EFP) issued under 50 CFR part 600 are also subject to restrictions in Sec. Sec. 660.301 through 660.394, unless otherwise provided in the permit. EFPs may include the collecting of scientific samples of groundfish species that would otherwise be prohibited for retention. (g) Applicability. Groundfish species harvested in the territorial sea (0-3 nm) will be counted toward the catch limitations in Sec. Sec. 660.370 through 660.385 and in Tables 1-5 of this subpart. (h) Fishery restrictions--(1) Commercial trip limits and recreational bag and boat limits. Commercial trip limits and recreational bag and boat limits defined in Sec. 660.302 and set in Sec. Sec. 660.371 through 660.373, Sec. Sec. 660.381 through 660.385 and Tables 3-5 of this subpart must not be exceeded. (2) Landing. As stated at 50 CFR 660.302 (in the definition of ``Landing''), once the offloading of any species begins, all fish aboard the vessel are counted as part of the landing and must be reported as such. Transfer of fish at sea is prohibited under Sec. 660.306(a)(12) unless a vessel is participating in the primary whiting fishery as part of the mothership or catcher-processor sectors, as described at Sec. 660.373(a). (3) Fishing ahead. Unless the fishery is closed, a vessel that has landed its cumulative or daily limit may continue to fish on the limit for the next legal period, so long as no fish (including, but not limited to, groundfish with no trip limits, shrimp, prawns, or other nongroundfish species or shellfish) are landed (offloaded) until the next legal period. Fishing ahead is not allowed during or before a closed period. (4) Weights and percentages. All weights are round weights or round- weight equivalents unless otherwise specified. Percentages are based on [[Page 49]] round weights, and, unless otherwise specified, apply only to legal fish on board. (5) Size limits, length measurement, and weight limits--(i) Size limits and length measurement. Unless otherwise specified, size limits in the commercial and recreational groundfish fisheries apply to the ``total length,'' which is the longest measurement of the fish without mutilation of the fish or the use of force to extend the length of the fish. No fish with a size limit may be retained if it is in such condition that its length has been extended or cannot be determined by these methods. For conversions not listed here, contact the state where the fish will be landed. (A) Whole fish. For a whole fish, total length is measured from the tip of the snout (mouth closed) to the tip of the tail in a natural, relaxed position. (B) ``Headed'' fish. For a fish with the head removed (``headed''), the length is measured from the origin of the first dorsal fin (where the front dorsal fin meets the dorsal surface of the body closest to the head) to the tip of the upper lobe of the tail; the dorsal fin and tail must be left intact. (C) Filets. A filet is the flesh from one side of a fish extending from the head to the tail, which has been removed from the body (head, tail, and backbone) in a single continuous piece. Filet lengths may be subject to size limits for some groundfish taken in the recreational fishery off California (see Sec. 660.384). A filet is measured along the length of the longest part of the filet in a relaxed position; stretching or otherwise manipulating the filet to increase its length is not permitted. (ii) Weight limits and conversions. The weight limit conversion factor established by the state where the fish is or will be landed will be used to convert the processed weight to round weight for purposes of applying the trip limit. Weight conversions provided herein are those conversions currently in use by the States of Washington, Oregon and California and may be subject to change by those states. Fishery participants should contact fishery enforcement officials in the state where the fish will be landed to determine that state's official conversion factor. To determine the round weight, multiply the processed weight times the conversion factor. (iii) Sablefish. The following conversion applies to both the limited entry and open access fisheries when trip limits are in effect for those fisheries. For headed and gutted (eviscerated) sablefish the weight conversion factor is 1.6 (multiply the headed and gutted weight by 1.6 to determine the round weight). (iv) Lingcod. The following conversions apply in both limited entry and open access fisheries. (A) For lingcod with the head removed, the minimum size limit is 19.5 inches (49.5 cm), which corresponds to 24 inches (61 cm) total length for whole fish. (B) The weight conversion factor for headed and gutted lingcod is 1.5. The conversion factor for lingcod that has only been gutted with the head on is 1.1. (6) Sorting. Under Sec. 660.306(a)(7), it is unlawful for any person to ``fail to sort, prior to the first weighing after offloading, those groundfish species or species groups for which there is a trip limit, size limit, quota, harvest guideline, or OY, if the vessel fished or landed in an area during a time when such trip limit, size limit, OY, or quota applied.'' The States of Washington, Oregon, and California may also require that vessels record their landings as sorted on their state fish tickets. This provision applies to both the limited entry and open access fisheries. The following species must be sorted in 2005 and 2006: (i) For vessels with a limited entry permit: (A) Coastwide - widow rockfish, canary rockfish, darkblotched rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, shortbelly rockfish, black rockfish, minor nearshore rockfish, minor shelf rockfish, minor slope rockfish, shortspine and longspine thornyhead, Dover sole, arrowtooth flounder, rex sole, petrale sole, arrowtooth flounder, other flatfish, lingcod, sablefish, and Pacific whiting (B) North of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat.--POP, yellowtail rockfish, and, for fixed gear, blue rockfish; (C) South of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat.--minor shallow nearshore rockfish, minor [[Page 50]] deeper nearshore rockfish, California scorpionfish, chilipepper rockfish, bocaccio rockfish, splitnose rockfish, Pacific sanddabs, and cabezon. (ii) For open access vessels (vessels without a limited entry permit): (A) Coastwide -widow rockfish, canary rockfish, darkblotched rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, black rockfish, minor nearshore rockfish, minor shelf rockfish, minor slope rockfish, Dover sole, arrowtooth flounder, petrale sole, rex sole, other flatfish, lingcod, sablefish, Pacific whiting, and Pacific sanddabs; (B) North of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat.--blue rockfish, POP, yellowtail rockfish; (C) South of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat.--minor shallow nearshore rockfish, minor deeper nearshore rockfish, chilipepper rockfish, bocaccio rockfish, splitnose rockfish, and cabezon; (D) South of Point Conception, CA--thornyheads. (7) Operating in both limited entry and open access fisheries. Open access trip limits apply to any fishing conducted with open access gear, even if the vessel has a valid limited entry permit with an endorsement for another type of gear. A vessel that operates in both the open access and limited entry fisheries is not entitled to two separate trip limits for the same species. If a vessel has a limited entry permit and uses open access gear, but the open access limit is smaller than the limited entry limit, the open access limit may not be exceeded and counts toward the limited entry limit. If a vessel has a limited entry permit and uses open access gear, but the open access limit is larger than the limited entry limit, the smaller limited entry limit applies, even if taken entirely with open access gear. (8) ``Crossover provisions,'' operating in north-south management areas with different trip limits. NMFS uses different types of management areas for West Coast groundfish management. One type of management area is the north-south management area, a large ocean area with northern and southern boundary lines wherein trip limits, seasons, and conservation areas follow a single theme. Within each north-south management area, there may be one or more conservation areas, detailed in Sec. Sec. 660.302 and 660.390 through 660.394. The provisions within this paragraph apply to vessels operating in different north-south management areas. Trip limits for a species or a species group may differ in different north-south management areas along the coast. The following ``crossover'' provisions apply to vessels operating in different geographical areas that have different cumulative or ``per trip'' trip limits for the same species or species group. Such crossover provisions do not apply to species that are subject only to daily trip limits, or to the trip limits for black rockfish off Washington (see Sec. 660.371). (i) Going from a more restrictive to a more liberal area. If a vessel takes and retains any groundfish species or species group of groundfish in an area where a more restrictive trip limit applies before fishing in an area where a more liberal trip limit (or no trip limit) applies, then that vessel is subject to the more restrictive trip limit for the entire period to which that trip limit applies, no matter where the fish are taken and retained, possessed, or landed. (ii) Going from a more liberal to a more restrictive area. If a vessel takes and retains a groundfish species or species group in an area where a higher trip limit or no trip limit applies, and takes and retains, possesses or lands the same species or species group in an area where a more restrictive trip limit applies, that vessel is subject to the more restrictive trip limit for the entire period to which that trip limit applies, no matter where the fish are taken and retained, possessed, or landed. (iii) Operating in two different areas where a species or species group is managed with different types of trip limits. During the fishing year, NMFS may implement management measures for a species or species group that set different types of trip limits (for example, per trip limits versus cumulative trip limits) for different areas. If a vessel fishes for a species or species group that is managed with different types of trip limits in two different areas within the same cumulative limit period, then that vessel is subject to the most restrictive overall cumulative limit for [[Page 51]] that species, regardless of where fishing occurs. (iv) Minor rockfish. Several rockfish species are designated with species-specific limits on one side of the 40[deg]10[min] N. lat. management line, and are included as part of a minor rockfish complex on the other side of the line. A vessel that takes and retains fish from a minor rockfish complex (nearshore, shelf, or slope) on both sides of a management line during a single cumulative limit period is subject to the more restrictive cumulative limit for that minor rockfish complex during that period. (A) If a vessel takes and retains minor slope rockfish north of 40[deg]10.00[min] N. lat., that vessel is also permitted to take and retain, possess or land splitnose rockfish up to its cumulative limit south of 38[deg] N. lat., even if splitnose rockfish were a part of the landings from minor slope rockfish taken and retained north of 40[deg]10.00[min] N. lat. (B) If a vessel takes and retains minor slope rockfish south of 40[deg]10.00[min] N. lat., that vessel is also permitted to take and retain, possess or land POP up to its cumulative limit north of 40[deg]10.00[min] N. lat., even if POP were a part of the landings from minor slope rockfish taken and retained south of 38[deg] N. lat. (C) If a trawl vessel takes and retains minor shelf rockfish south of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat., that vessel is also permitted to take and retain, possess, or land yellowtail rockfish up to its cumulative limits north of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat., even if yellowtail rockfish is part of the landings from minor shelf rockfish taken and retained south of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat. Yellowtail rockfish is included in overall shelf rockfish limits for limited entry fixed gear and open access gear groups. Widow rockfish is included in overall shelf rockfish limits for all gear groups. (D) If a trawl vessel takes and retains minor shelf rockfish north of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat., that vessel is also permitted to take and retain, possess, or land chilipepper rockfish up to its cumulative limits south of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat., even if chilipepper rockfish is part of the landings from minor shelf rockfish taken and retained north of 40[deg]10[min] N. lat. (v) ``DTS complex.'' There are differential trawl trip limits for the ``DTS complex'' north and south of the management line at 40[deg]10[min] N. lat. Vessels operating in the limited entry trawl fishery are subject to the crossover provisions in this paragraph when making landings that include any one of the four species in the ``DTS complex.'' (vi) Flatfish complex. There are differential trip limits for the flatfish complex (butter, curlfin, English, flathead, petrale, rex, rock, and sand soles, Pacific sanddab, and starry flounder) north and south of the management line at 40[deg]10[min] N. lat. Vessels operating in the limited entry trawl fishery are subject to the crossover provisions in this paragraph when making landings that include any one of the species in the flatfish complex. [69 FR 42351, July 15, 2004, as amended at 69 FR 77029, Dec. 23, 2004; 70 FR 8496, Feb. 17, 2006; 71 FR 15046, Mar. 27, 2006]