81 FR 36184 - Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; 2016 Management Measures; Correction

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 108 (June 6, 2016)

On May 2, 2016, NMFS published a final rule to implement fishery management measures for the 2016 ocean salmon fisheries off the coast of the states of Washington, Oregon, and California under the jurisdiction of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (Council). This correction changes the minimum size table for the commercial salmon fishery from Point Arena to Pigeon Point, CA, and the description of the tribal area and boundaries for the treaty Indian fisheries for the Quileute Nation; these were incorrect in the original rule.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 108 (Monday, June 6, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36184-36185]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13233]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 151117999-6440-02]
RIN 0648-BF56


Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; 
2016 Management Measures; Correction

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: On May 2, 2016, NMFS published a final rule to implement 
fishery management measures for the 2016 ocean salmon fisheries off the 
coast of the states of Washington, Oregon, and California under the 
jurisdiction of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (Council). 
This correction changes the minimum size table for the commercial 
salmon fishery from Point Arena to Pigeon Point, CA, and the 
description of the tribal area and boundaries for the treaty Indian 
fisheries for the Quileute Nation; these were incorrect in the original 
rule.

DATES: This correction is effective June 6, 2016, until the effective 
date of the 2017 management measures, which will be published in the 
Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Mundy at 206-526-4323.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Need for Correction

    On May 2, 2016, NMFS published a final rule (81 FR 26157) that 
implemented the fishery management measures for the 2016 ocean salmon 
fisheries off the coasts of the states of Washington, Oregon, and 
California under the jurisdiction of the Council. Subsequent to filing 
this rule with the Office of the Federal Register, two typographical 
errors were noted.
    On page 26164, the table under the subheading ``B. Minimum Size,'' 
for the area ``Point Arena to Pigeon Point,'' two time periods are 
listed that incorrectly exclude the date September 1. This is 
inconsistent with the management measures described in the related text 
within the rule. Additionally, these size restrictions are intended to 
be consistent with the commercial salmon fisheries managed by the State 
of California. This rule corrects the table to be consistent with the 
management measures described in the text of the final rule, and as 
adopted and recommended by

[[Page 36185]]

the Council and as implemented by the State of California.
    On page 26169, in the first column, under the subheading ``C.1. 
Tribe and Area Boundaries,'' in the fourth paragraph, an incorrect 
latitude was provided for the Queets River. This latitude is intended 
to be consistent with usual and accustomed fishing areas established by 
a recent court ruling (United States v. Washington, 2:09-sp-00001-RSM 
(W.D. Wash. Sept. 3, 2015)). This latitude is listed correctly 
elsewhere in the rule, and should be consistent throughout the rule to 
avoid confusion. This rule corrects the latitude for the Queets River 
to be consistent with the rest of the management measures and the 
currently defined usual and accustomed fishing area for the Quileute 
Nation.
    The states, tribes, and Pacific Fishery Management Council staff 
have been notified of these corrections. These corrections have been 
made in the fishery booklet provided to the public by NMFS West Coast 
Region. Therefore, these corrections are anticipated by the public and 
the regulatory agencies and their implementation will cause no harm.

Correction

    In the Federal Register of May 2, 2016 (81 FR 26157), make the 
following corrections:
    1. On page 26164, under the subheading ``B. Minimum Size,'' the 
table for minimum size limits in the 2016 commercial salmon fisheries 
is corrected in its entirety to read as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Chinook                          Coho
       Area (when open)       ----------------------------------------------------------------        Pink
                                Total length      Head-off      Total length      Head-off
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North of Cape Falcon, OR.....            28.0            21.5  ..............  ..............  None.
Cape Falcon to OR/CA border..            28.0            21.5  ..............  ..............  None.
OR/CA border to Humboldt                 28.0            21.5  ..............  ..............  None.
 South Jetty.
Horse Mountain to Point Arena            27.0            20.5  ..............  ..............  None.
Point Arena to Pigeon Point:
    Prior to September 1.....            27.0            20.5  ..............  ..............  None.
    September 1 and                      26.0            19.5  ..............  ..............  None.
     thereafter.
Pigeon Point to U.S./Mexico              27.0            20.5  ..............  ..............  None.
 border.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metric equivalents: 28.0 in = 71.1 cm, 27.0 in = 68.6 cm, 26.0 in = 66.0 cm, 21.5 in = 54.6 cm, 20.5 in = 52.1
  cm, 19.5 in = 49.5 cm, 16.0 in = 40.6 cm, and 12.0 in = 30.5 cm.

    2. On page 26169, first column, under the subheading ``C.1. Tribe 
and Area Boundaries,'' the fourth paragraph is corrected to read as 
follows:
    QUILEUTE--That portion of the FMA between 48[deg]10'00'' N. lat. 
(Cape Alava.) and 47[deg]31'42'' N. lat. (Queets River) and east of 
125[deg]44'00'' W. long.

Classification

    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries (AA) finds there is good cause to waive prior notice and an 
opportunity for public comment on this action, as notice and comment 
would be unnecessary and contrary to public interest. Notice and 
comment are unnecessary and contrary to the public interest because 
this action corrects inadvertent errors in regulations for a fishery 
that opened on May 1, and immediate notice of the error and correction 
is necessary to prevent confusion among participants in the fishery 
that could result from the existing conflict between state and tribal 
regulations and the final rule. This error was noticed by NMFS on April 
29, 2016, after the final rule had been filed with the Office of the 
Federal Register. To effectively correct the error, this correction 
must be done as soon as possible, as the tribal fisheries commenced May 
1. There is not sufficient time for a notice and comment rulemaking as 
the fishery has begun. In addition, this action makes only minor 
changes that the states and tribes are already aware of.
    This correction will not affect the results of analyses conducted 
to support management decisions in the salmon fishery nor change the 
total catch of salmon. No change in operating practices in the fishery 
is required. For the same reasons, the AA has determined that good 
cause exists to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(d). Because prior notice and an opportunity for public 
comment are not required to be provided for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, 
or any other law, the analytical requirements of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., are not applicable. Accordingly, 
no Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is required for this rule and none 
has been prepared.
    This final rule is not significant under Executive Order 12866.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 773-773k; 1801 et seq.

    Dated: May 23, 2016.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-13233 Filed 6-3-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P