Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; 2006 Management Measures and a Temporary Rule

NMFS establishes fishery management measures for the 2006 ocean salmon fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and California and the 2007 salmon seasons opening earlier than May 1, 2007. The temporary rule for emergency action, under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), implements the 2006 annual management measures for the west coast ocean salmon fisheries for the area from Cape Falcon, OR, to Point Sur, CA, from May 1 to August 31, 2006. The emergency rule is required because Klamath River fall Chinook (KRFC) are projected to not meet their conservation objective, or escapement floor, of 35,000 adult natural spawners established in the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (Salmon FMP). Specific fishery management measures vary by fishery and by area. The measures establish fishing areas, seasons, quotas, legal gear, recreational fishing days and catch limits, possession and landing restrictions, and minimum lengths for salmon taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (3-200 nm) off Washington, Oregon, and California. The management measures are intended to prevent overfishing and to apportion the ocean harvest equitably among treaty Indian, non- treaty commercial, and recreational fisheries. The measures are also intended to allow a portion of the salmon runs to escape the ocean fisheries in order to provide for spawning escapement and to provide for inside fisheries (fisheries occurring in state internal waters).