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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

CFR Citation: 50 CFR Part 648

Docket ID: [Docket No. 071004577-7578-01]

RIN ID: RIN 0648-AW13

NOTICE: PROPOSED RULES

ACTION: Fisheries of the Northeastern United States:

DOCUMENT ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

SUBJECT CATEGORY: Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Total Allowable Catches for Eastern Georges Bank Cod, Eastern Georges Bank Haddock, and Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder in the U.S./Canada Management Area for Fishing Year 2008

DATES: Comments must be received by February 4, 2008.

DOCUMENT SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 2008 fishing year (FY) Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for Eastern Georges Bank (GB) cod, Eastern GB haddock, and GB yellowtail flounder in the U.S./Canada Management Area, as recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council). These TACs may be adjusted during FY 2008, if NMFS determines that the harvest of these stocks in FY 2007 exceeded the TACs specified for FY 2007. NMFS is also considering for the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, postponing the FY 2008 opening until August 1, 2008, allowing longline gear vessels during the May through July period, and setting a cap on the cod caught by such vessels during this period at 5 percent of the cod TAC. The intent of this action is to provide for the conservation and management of those three stocks of fish.

SUMMARY: Northeast Multispecies Fishery, Total Allowable Catches for Eastern Georges Bank Cod, etc.,

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

The Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) specifies a procedure for setting annual hard TAC levels (i.e., the fishery or area closes when a TAC is reached) for Eastern GB cod, Eastern GB haddock, and GB yellowtail flounder in the U.S./Canada Management Area. The regulations governing the annual development of TACs (Sec. 648.85(a)(2)) were implemented by Amendment 13 to the FMP (69 FR 22906; April 27, 2004) in order to be consistent with the U.S./Canada Resource Sharing Understanding (Understanding), which is an informal (i.e. nonbinding) understanding between the United States and Canada that outlines a process for the management of the shared GB groundfish resources. The Understanding specifies an allocation of TAC for these three stocks for each country, based on a formula that considers historical catch percentages and current resource distribution.

Annual TACs are determined through a process involving the Council, the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee (TMGC), and the U.S./ Canada Transboundary Resources Steering Committee (Sec.
648.85(a)(2)(i)). In September 2007, the TMGC approved the 2007 Guidance Document for Eastern GB cod, Eastern GB haddock, and GB yellowtail flounder, which included recommended U.S. TACs for these stocks. The recommended 2008 TACs were based upon the most recent stock assessments (Transboundary Resource Assessment Committee (TRAC) Status Reports for 2007), and the fishing mortality strategy shared by both the United States and Canada. The strategy is to maintain a low to neutral (less than 50 percent) risk of exceeding the fishing mortality limit reference (Fref = 0.18, 0.26, and 0.25, for cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder, respectively). When stock conditions are poor, fishing mortality rates (F) should be further reduced to promote rebuilding.

For Eastern GB cod, the TMGC concluded that the most appropriate combined Canada/USA TAC for Eastern Georges Bank cod for the 2008 fishing year is 2,300 mt. This corresponds to a low risk (less than 25%) of exceeding the Fref of 0.18 in 2008 and that stock biomass will not increase from 2008 to 2009, though that increase is estimated to be nominal. The annual allocation shares between countries for 2008 are based on a combination of historical
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catches (20% weighting) and resource distribution based on trawl surveys (80% weighting). Combining these factors entitles the USA to 29% and Canada to 71%, resulting in a national quota of 667 mt for the USA and 1,633 mt for Canada.

For Eastern GB haddock, the TMGC concluded that the most appropriate combined Canada/USA TAC for Eastern Georges Bank haddock for the 2008 fishing year is 23,000 mt. This represents a low risk (less than 25%) of exceeding the Fref of 0.26. Adult biomass is projected to peak at 159,000 mt in 2008, reflecting the recruitment and growth of the exceptional 2003 year class, and then decline to 146,000 mt in 2009. The annual allocation shares between countries for 2008 are based on a combination of historical catches (20% weighting) and resource distribution based on trawl surveys (80% weighting). Combining these factors entitles the USA to 35% and Canada to 65%, resulting in a national quota of 8,050 mt for the USA and 14,950 mt for Canada.

For GB yellowtail flounder, the TMGC concluded that the most appropriate combined Canada/USA TAC for the 2008 fishing year is 2,500 mt. This corresponds to an F of 0.17, lower than the Fref of 0.25. With a catch of 2,500 mt in 2008, the age 3+ biomass is expected to increase by 22%. The annual allocation shares between countries for 2008 are based on a combination of historical catches (20% weighting) and resource distribution based on trawl surveys (80% weighting). Combining these factors entitles the USA to 78% and Canada to 22%, resulting in a national quota of 1,950 mt for the USA and 550 mt for Canada.

On September 18, 2007, the Council approved, consistent with the 2007 Guidance Document, the following U.S. TACs recommended by the

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Thomas Warren, Fishery Policy Analyst, (978) 2819347, fax (978) 2819135, email Thomas.Warren@NOAA.gov.