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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 150 / Monday, August 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules through season openings, mesh size limits, and limits regarding the amount of time and effort allowed each day or night within the various areas. A
portion of the fishery is managed by the Fraser River Panel, which is composed of representatives from the U.S. and Canada. A Fish Friendly best fishing practices workshop has to be attended by fishermen in order to fish in certain areas. The take of certain salmon species is prohibited in specific areas, and they have to be released immediately if captured.
Participation in the beach seine fishery involves acquiring a beach seine permit from WDFW available since 2009. The permit holder must participate on the designated vessel in the open fishery. WDFW may require a logbook to be submitted to prove participation. Only a few permits are issued each year. All non-target fish must be released. WDFW deploys observers for this fishery.
For both the purse seine and beach seine fisheries, every fisherman is required to report lost netting to the WDFW. For these fisheries, emergency regulations and in-season changes can occur based on stock allocations and conservation objectives.
NMFS proposes to combine the Category III CA halibut hook and line/
handline fishery and Category III CA
white seabass hook and line/handline fishery, and name it the Category III CA
halibut, white seabass, and yellowtail hook and line/handline fishery. This combination is based on considerable overlap in spatial distribution of target species, participants, landings and gear used in the fisheries. There are 388
participants in the fishery.
This fishery targets California halibut, white seabass, and yellowtail, although a mix of other species are also taken simultaneously including groundfish and pelagic species. Effort generally takes place in less than 55 fathoms 100
m of water, and within 3 nm of the shoreline. The fishery is active all along the coast of California, although much of the effort for certain species occurs in the Southern California Bight.
The hook and line gear used includes several types of gear configurations:
Troll, pole and line and longline. There are two types of longline gear that may be used in this fishery. The first one being a bottom longline with a main line extending horizontally along the seafloor with short lines attached to it at intervals, each culminating into a baited hook. The second type is called a vertical longline with a line that is weighted on the bottom end that is anchored to the seafloor, attached to a buoy or buoys on the top end at the sea
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surface that suspends the line vertically.
Attached to the main vertical line are short lines at intervals, each culminating into baited hooks.
This is an open access fishery requiring a Resident Commercial Fishing License. A Commercial Ocean Enhancement Stamp is required for commercial fishermen who take, possess, or land any white sea bass south of Point Arguello. Other Federal and state regulations can be applicable depending on which species are caught and landed. Any gear that is not attached to the vessel must be attached to buoys floating on the surface and marked on the upper half with a commercial fishing license identification number at least 2 inches 50.8 mm in height. Only a certain number of lines and hooks per line, and different types of hook and line gear configurations, are allowed in each of the districts especially where effort may occur less than 1 nm from shore e.g., troll lines, longline gear cannot be fished in waters less than 1 nm from shore.
Troll and hand lines are limited to 900 feet 274 m or less; only longlines can exceed this limit. All hooks present have to be below the upper one third of any vertical longline gear used. There are exemptions within certain districts to the number hooks that may be used in conjunction with certain gear types if the target species consists of at least 80
percent of the total catch.
NMFS proposes to rename the Category III WA/OR Pacific halibut longline fishery to the WA/OR/CA
Pacific halibut longline fishery to clarify there is also Pacific halibut longline fishing effort in California. The Pacific halibut commercial fishery occurs within 10 regulatory areas 3 major areas 2, 3, and 4 divided further into subareas throughout the North Pacific Ocean within the exclusive economic zone EEZ, established by the International Pacific Halibut Commission IPHC. The use of longlines to target Pacific halibut occurs along the Continental U.S. West Coast excluding Alaska in what is known as Area 2A, which includes the entire EEZ
off of Washington, Oregon, and California.
Fishermen usually target Pacific halibut at depths of 15150 fathoms 27274 meters where they prefer to hang out in current calming hydraulic relief zones such as depressions, valleys, and rock formations at the bottom of the sea. Fishing may occur anytime between IPHCs season dates from mid-March through midNovember. The Area 2A non-tribal directed commercial fishery usually
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occurs in summer, generally from June July, although in some years it could be extended until August. Landing Pacific halibut as incidental catch during the sablefish longline fishery is allowed, but only for vessels participating in the sablefish Limited Entry fixed gear fishery from April 1 to October 31 with a valid license from the IPHC.
A long main line is used that consists of a lead core that allows it to sink to the ocean floor. The main line is made of nylon or a polyurethane-blend roughly 516 inch 7.9 mm in width. The main line or ground line can be up to 1.5 nautical miles long and set on the bottom with an anchor 2550 pounds 1122 kg at each end. Hooks are attached to the main line every 34 feet 91121 cm with a gangion made of nylon or monofilament line connected with a snap or tied on. The most common hooks used are size 16/0 circle hooks baited with live squid, mackerel heads, or artificial bait resembling sardine or anchovy. Pacific halibut is also incidentally caught with fixed gear longline in the sablefish fishery, which uses similar gear.
Pacific halibut fishing off the U.S.
West Coast used to be managed solely by the IPHC through the PFMC Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan CSP. The routine management of the non-tribal commercial directed Pacific halibut fishery is being transitioned from the IPHC to the PFMC and NMFS. The IPHC
will continue to set the total allowable catch for Pacific halibut, and the PFMC
will continue to develop a CSP.
This is an open access fishery requiring permits obtained from the IPHC whether targeted or caught incidentally in fixed gear longline sablefish fisheries, with strict size and catch limits. Logbooks are required for vessels that have an overall length of 26
feet 7.9 m or more. If catch limits are reached before the official closure dates, the fishery will be closed. There are no individual fishing quotas in this fishery, but there are landing ratios for the incidental catch fisheries and vessel limits per opener for the directed commercial fishery. In 2017 and 2018, observer coverage of the directed derby fishery was 8 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
NMFS proposes to rename the Category III WA/CA kelp fishery to the CA/WA kelp, seaweed, and algae fishery to clarify that in addition to kelp, other species of edible marine plants are commercially harvested in waters off the U.S. West Coast. The two species of kelp that are predominantly harvested are giant kelp and bull kelp. Giant kelp is the most common kelp species found along the southern and central
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