660.385—Washington coastal tribal fisheries management measures.

In 1994, the United States formally recognized that the four Washington coastal treaty Indian tribes (Makah, Quileute, Hoh, and Quinault) have treaty rights to fish for groundfish in the Pacific Ocean, and concluded that, in general terms, the quantification of those rights is 50 percent of the harvestable surplus of groundfish that pass through the tribes usual and accustomed fishing areas (described at § 660.324 ). Measures implemented to minimize adverse impacts to groundfish EFH, as described in § 660.306, do not apply to tribal fisheries in their usual and accustomed fishing areas (described in § 660.324 ). Treaty fisheries operating within tribal allocations are prohibited from operating outside ususal and accustomed fishing areas. Tribal fishery allocations for sablefish and whiting, are provided in paragraphs (a) and (e) of this section, respectively, and the tribal harvest guideline for black rockfish is provided in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. Trip limits for certain species were recommended by the tribes and the Council and are specified here with the tribal allocations.

(a) Sablefish. The tribal allocation is 694 mt per year. This allocation is, for each year, 10 percent of the Monterey through Vancouver area (North of 36° N. lat.) OY, less 1.6 percent estimated discard mortality.

(b) Rockfish. The tribes will require full retention of all overfished rockfish species and all other marketable rockfish species during treaty fisheries.

(1) Black Rockfish. For the commercial harvest of black rockfish off Washington State, a harvest guideline of: 30,000 lb (13,608 kg) north of Cape Alava, WA (48°10′ N. lat.) and 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) between Destruction Island, WA (47°40′ N. lat.) and Leadbetter Point, WA (46°38.17′ N. lat.). There are no tribal harvest restrictions for black rockfish in the area between Cape Alava and Destruction Island.

(2) Thornyheads. The tribes will manage their fisheries to the limited entry trip limits in place at the beginning on the year for both shortspine and longspine thornyheads as follows:

(i) Trawl gear. (A) Shortspine thornyhead cumulative trip limits are as follows:

(1) Small and large footrope trawl gear-17,000 lb (7,711-kg) per 2 months.

(2) Selective flatfish trawl gear- 3,000-lb (1,361-kg) per 2 months.

(3) Multiple bottom trawl gear- 3,000-lb (1,361-kg) per 2 months.

(B) Longspine thornyhead cumulative trip limits are as follows:

(1) Small and large footrope trawl gear- 22,000-lb (9,979-kg) per 2 months.

(2) Selective flatfish trawl gear-5,000-lb (2,268-kg) per 2 months.

(3) Multiple bottom trawl gear-5,000-lb (2,268-kg) per 2 months.