Quiero saber acerca de...

43496

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 150 / Monday, August 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1

and movement patterns of HMS. The presence of large scale ocean/climate conditions such as El Nino and La Nina can influence the movement of HMS
species considerably. A wide variety of depths within the water column may be targeted depending on species and other factors.
The main type of hook and line gear used for non-albacore HMS is troll gear, although other surface hook and line gear such as rod-and-reel and hand lines may be used. Troll gear typically includes one or more lines with lures or baited hooks attached that are drawn trolled through the water column at various depths, depending on species targeted.
All HMS require a Federal HMS
permit, and additional state permits may apply. All West Coast non-albacore hook and line fisheries are open access.
There are no limits to the number of species that can be landed, with the exception of bluefin tuna trip limits specified through the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. Logbooks are required for all fisheries targeting HMS, and some HMS fisheries are required to carry observers.
There are currently 124 participants in this fishery. Historically, there have been no documented marine mammal mortalities or injuries incidental to the components of this fishery. Therefore, this fishery is being proposed as a Category III fishery.
Fishery Name and Organizational Changes and Clarification NMFS proposes to remove the superscript 1 from the Main Hawaiian Islands MHI insular stock of false killer whale to indicate the stock is no longer driving the Category I
classification of the HI deep-set longline fishery. The total estimated annual M/
SI of the MHI insular stock of false killer whale in the HI deep-set longline fishery for the 5-year period of 2014
2018 is 0.03 animals, which represents 10 percent of PBR 0.3 Carretta et al., 2021.
NMFS corrects an administrative error in Table 1. NMFS adds the superscript 1 CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whales to indicate the stock is driving the Category II classification of the CA
coonstripe shrimp pot fishery. This fishery was reclassified in the 2020 LOF
85 FR 21079; April 16, 2020 based on one entangled humpback whale, but Table 1 did not indicate that the stock is driving the Category II classification.
NMFS proposes to rename the Category III WA/OR herring, smelt, squid purse seine or lampara fishery to the WA/OR herring, anchovy, smelt, squid purse seine or lampara fishery to
VerDate Sep<11>2014

16:39 Aug 06, 2021

Jkt 253001

indicate anchovy is a target species of this fishery. This fishery includes fishing for herring, anchovy, smelt, market squid, and other baitfish that occur in inland and coastal waters of Oregon and Washington, including bays and estuaries. Some portions of the fishery are generally open year round, but there are other variations depending on target species and gear type.
Fishermen use a variety of gear types in this fishery including: Purse seine, lampara net, drag seine, and dip bag net gear. A purse seine is a large wall of netting deployed around an entire school of fish. When a school of target species is located, a skiff will encircle the school with one end of the seine attached to it while the other end is attached to the fishing vessel itself.
Once the skiff circles back around to the vessel, the lead line at the bottom of the seine is pulled in pursing the net closed on the bottom preventing the fish from escaping when swimming downward.
Purse seine, drag seine, and lampara nets have a minimum mesh size of a 12inch 12.7 mm stretched. In Puget Sound, lampara nets are allowed to be up to 200 feet 60.96 m in length. The maximum length of purse seine nets varies by location with the smallest maximum length of 300 feet 91.44 m in inland Oregon to the largest allowable length of 1,400 feet in the offshore and coastal waters of Washington. Drag seines used in Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor, and the Lower Columbia River can be a maximum of 350 feet 106.68 m long with a 114 inch 31.75 mm minimum stretch measure net mesh size. Squid fishing in Washingtons waters involves dip net bags with a maximum diameter of 10 feet 3.05 m and maximum size of 18 feet 5.47 m, and a minimum mesh size of 1-inch 25.4 mm.
There is some overlap of the management of this fishery with the PFMCs Coastal Pelagic Species FMP in coastal and offshore waters. There are additional state regulations that govern the harvest of some species. State permits are generally required to fish for each species type and/or gear used within Washingtons coastal and inland waters e.g., Puget Sound herring lampara fishery license, smelt dip bag license. Many of the permits are open access, with some exceptions that include limited entry permits for herring fisheries on the Washington coast, and the Yaquina Bay herring roe purse seine fishery in Oregon.
Logbooks are required for some species/gear used in each state. Catch limits for individual landings or total fleet catch may apply. For example,
PO 00000

Frm 00068

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

both states limit the landing of anchovy to 5 metric tons mt daily, and to 10 mt weekly in Oregon this applies to anchovy caught within inland waters.
Other examples include that the Puget Sound herring fishery is closed by emergency regulation if the harvest exceeds 10 percent of the adult spawning biomass. There are limits on how much catch can be converted into fish meal or other products. Incidental bycatch of non-target species not including protected species may be allowed up to certain limits depending on the fishery type and the species incidentally caught.
NMFS proposes to rename the Category III WA salmon purse seine fishery to the WA salmon seine fishery to clarify that both purse seine and beach seine gear are used to target salmon in the Washington state salmon fishery. The fishery targets sockeye, Chinook, pink, coho, and chum salmon within Puget Sound, Washington. The purse seine fishery occurs in central Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, and Hood Canal. The fishery usually begins around mid-July and extends until early December, with individual regions opening and closing at different times within the overall fishing season. The beach seine salmon fishery is an experimental fishery targeting Chinook and coho that is only authorized in Hood Canal. The season runs from late July to late September, depending upon the region within the Hood Canal.
Purse seines may have a maximum length of 1,800 feet 548 m along the cork line, and the net and lead line combined cannot exceed 2,200 feet 670
m. The minimum mesh size of purse seine nets is 3.5 inches 88.9 mm and cannot be made of a twine-size smaller than 210/30d nylon, 12-thread cotton, or an equivalent diameter material. There are also specific requirements for the configuration of the cork line in the bunt. In some areas, a brailer and recovery box may be required.
Beach seining involves a net that is able to encircle a group of fish adjacent to a beach with one end of the net attached to a designated boat. The beach seine net cannot be longer than 990 feet 301 m, or more than 200 meshes in depth. The mesh must be between 3
76.2 mm and 4 101.6 mm inches and made of twine no smaller than 210/30d nylon, 12 thread cotton, or an equivalent material.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife WDFW, Puget Sound Treaty Tribes, and NMFS jointly manage salmon harvest in Washington. The salmon purse seine fishery requires a limited entry permit, which is transferable. The fishery is managed
E:FRFM09AUP1.SGM

09AUP1