Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 660 [Docket No. 060824226-6322-02] RIN 0648-AX30 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments to groundfish management measures; request for comments. SUMMARY: This final rule announces inseason changes to management measures in the Pacific Coast groundfish fisheries including: trip limit adjustments; the reopening of the Pacific whiting primary seasons for the shore-based, catcher/processor, and mothership sectors; bycatch limit increases; and modifications to the trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas. These routine actions, are authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), and are intended to allow fisheries to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks. DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) October 10, 2008. Comments on this action must be received no later than October 29, 2008. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-AX30 by any of the following methods: Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov . Fax: 206-526-6736, Attn: Becky Renko. Mail: D. Robert Lohn, Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, Attn: Becky Renko, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070. Instructions: All comments received are a part of t…