Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding the Reconsideration of the Allocation of Whiting

摘要

A court order issued February 21, 2012, remands for agency reconsideration the regulations addressing the initial allocation of whiting for the shorebased individual fishing quota (IFQ) fishery and the at-sea mothership fishery of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program (Program) and requires that NMFS implement revised regulations before the 2013 Pacific whiting fishing season begins on April 1, 2013. The purpose of this advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) is to announce that the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will be reconsidering the initial allocation of whiting at its April, June, and September 2012 meetings, and that NMFS is considering two rulemakings in response to the court order. The affected public should be aware of potential reallocation of whiting, as well as potential reallocation of a portion of the initial allocation of Quota Share (QS) for some incidentally caught, nonwhiting species. Additionally, this ANPR announces that the affected public should review, and if necessary, correct their data, which may be used for reconsideration and any reallocation that may occur.