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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 150 / Monday, August 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules
California coast, whereas bull kelp becomes more abundant farther north.
There are 87 geographical kelp beds along the California coast and Channel Islands. As of December 2020, each of the 87 kelp beds are designated as either: Open 33 beds, closed 18 beds, lease only 3 beds, and leasable 28
beds. California state marine parks and reserves are completely off limits to kelp harvesting, but there is limited kelp harvesting allowed in state marine conservation areas.
There is a herring roe-on-kelp fishery in Washington where kelp is harvested by hand from small vessels. The herring roe-on-kelp fishery occurs every year during the herring spawning season from late January until early June. The fishery takes place within Puget Sound, with regulated area closures.
There are various harvesting methods used for kelp, edible seaweed, or agar algae. Gear used for commercial harvest of kelp generally consists of a specially designed vessel with cutting mechanisms on the stern, and a conveyor system that places the cut kelp into a harvest bin. The blades are mounted at the base of the conveyor and lowered three feet into the kelp bed while the vessel moves slowly stern-first through the bed.
In the herring roe-on-kelp fishery, Macrocystis kelp is gathered and carefully placed in floating net pens or impoundments pounds in anticipation of a herring spawning event. Herring are seined, introduced to the pounds to spawn for about a week, and then released. The eggs stick to the kelp blades which are collected and layered with salt in totes.
The commercial harvesting of kelp, marine algae, and agar algae in California is managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife CDFW. A kelp harvest license is valid for 1 year at a time. Although the license includes edible seaweed and agar algae as well, the license applicant must choose which type of harvest they will be participating in. Harvesters must submit a harvest plan that must be approved prior to harvesting. A monthly harvest report has to be submitted to the CDFW on or before the 10th day of each month of harvest, even if harvest did not occur.
Harvesters are not allowed to cut attached kelp at a depth greater than 4
feet 1.2 m, but can collect unattached kelp. Vessels can collect up to 600 tons of kelp a day. Agar algae are cut no closer than 2 inches to the holdfast, and removal of the holdfast is prohibited.
Harvesters are not allowed to repetitively harvest from individual giant or bull kelp specimens, and the
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harvesting of kelp near sea otter rafting sites must be avoided.
Seaweed species of the genus Macrocystis is only allowed for harvesting for the herring spawn-onkelp fishery, if approved by the WDFW.
The herring spawn-on-kelp fishery is a limited entry fishery.
NMFS proposes to combine the Category III WA groundfish, bottomfish jig fishery and the hook and line component of the Category III CA
nearshore finfish live trap/hook-andline fishery, and name it the Category III
WA/OR/CA groundfish/finfish hook and line fishery. This proposed combined fishery will also include other groundfish/finfish hook and line fishing effort of fisheries not currently included on the LOF. The two currently named Category III fisheries do not account for a large amount of non-longline hook and line fishing effort, which includes numerous combinations of target species, gear, and spatial distribution along the West Coast. This fishery has 689 participants.
The groundfish/finfish hook and line fishery other than bottom longline targets close to 100 different species that generally live on or near the bottom.
There are over 60 different rockfish species with the primary species targeted in this fishery being black, vermilion, brown, and gopher rockfish.
Other important targeted species include lingcod, cabazon, greenling, and sablefish. Numerous other finfish/
groundfish are also landed.
Due to the variety of species, there is significant variation in the areas and depths where the gear is fished. Depths can range anywhere from 11722
fathoms 201,300 m. The locations where fishermen are allowed to fish for these species groups can be limited by conservation areas e.g., the Rockfish Conservation Area. The fishery operates year-round.
Hook and line gear includes several types of gear configurations including:
Troll, pole and line and vertical longline. There are Federal and state regulations which must be adhered to including various area and time closures e.g., Rockfish Critical Habitat. In some places, fishing is not allowed in certain districts over weekends and legal holidays. In California, troll lines cannot be fished in waters less than 1 nm from shore. Landing limits for different species over various time periods also typically apply. Other management restrictions regarding the number and configuration of lines and hooks that are allowed in different areas may also apply. Portions of this fishery are observed under the nearshore groundfish fixed gear fishery. Annual
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coverage from 20092018 for the entire nearshore groundfish fishery ranged from 4 to 8 percent.
NMFS proposes to combine and rename the Category III WA/OR bait shrimp, clam, hand, dive, or mechanical collection fishery and the Category III
OR/CA sea urchin, sea cucumber hand, dive, or mechanical collection fishery into two distinct gear-based Category III
fisheries: 1 The CA/OR/WA dive collection fishery and 2 the WA/OR/
CA hand/mechanical collection fishery.
As currently included on the LOF, there is overlap of fishing effort and target species between the two fisheries along the West Coast. Therefore, NMFS is proposing to combine these fisheries based on the harvesting methodologies potential risk to marine mammals.
NMFS proposes to aggregate the California, Oregon and Washington commercial dive fisheries into one Category III fishery, and aggregate the California, Oregon and Washington hand/mechanical collection fisheries into a separate Category III fishery.
The CA/OR/WA dive collection fisheries target primarily sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and other mollusks such as geoduck clams and occur in all three West Coast states. This fishery has 186
participants.
In California, the commercial take for red sea urchin is open for most of the year, but there are restrictions regarding certain areas or days of the week at times during the year. There are no seasonal restrictions on harvest of other sea urchin species. California sea cucumber may be collected year round;
warty sea cucumbers are not allowed to be collected from March 1 to June 15.
In Oregon, most of the state is open year round for sea urchin harvest.
However, the largest harvest area Orford Reef is open only November through April. The sea cucumber fishery occurs in various areas along the coast, but harvest from Orford Reef is prohibited May 1 through October 31.
Harvest of geoducks in Washington occurs exclusively within the inland waters of WA. The sea urchin fishery occurs October through February throughout the state, based mostly on gonad roe or uni condition and quality. There are numerous protected areas designated by the state of Washington where sea urchin fishing is prohibited. Specific sea cucumber harvest districts exist in the state, each with clearly defined open seasons.
SCUBA gear or a hookah rig are allowed in all three states where dive gear is used for commercial harvesting.
The hookah rig consists of an air compressor with supply hoses that distribute air to divers. Divers use
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