Fisheries off the West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Trip Limit Adjustments

The NMFS announces changes to the following limited entry and open access trip limits in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery: limited entry trawl for the ("DTS complex") (Dover sole, thornyheads, and sablefish) species, petrale sole, other flatfish, and arrowtooth flounder; limited entry trawl and open access for minor slope rockfish; limited entry trawl, fixed gear and open access for widow rockfish, yellowtail rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, other flatfish, minor shelf rockfish, canary rockfish, bocaccio rockfish, chilipepper rockfish, minor nearshore rockfish, and lingcod. In addition, this document defines measures that may be taken to keep recreational harvests of bocaccio and canary rockfish off California within the 2001 allocations. This document also announces the last cumulative trip limit period in 2001 for the "B" platoon, those limited entry trawl vessels designated to take their cumulative trip limits two weeks out of phase with the rest of the fleet. These actions, which are authorized under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), are intended to assist the fisheries in achieving optimum yield (OY) while protecting overfished and depleted stocks.