660.408—Annual actions.

(a) General. NMFS will annually establish or, as necessary, adjust management specifications for the commercial, recreational, and treaty Indian fisheries by publishing the action in the Federal Register under § 660.411. Management specifications are set forth in paragraphs (b) through (n) of this section.

(b) Allowable ocean harvest levels. The allowable ocean harvest for commercial, recreational, and treaty Indian fishing may be expressed in terms of season regulations expected to achieve a certain optimum harvest level or in terms of a particular number of fish. Procedures for determining allowable ocean harvest vary by species and fishery complexity, and are documented in the fishery management plan and Council documents.

(c) Allocation of ocean harvest levels— (1) Coho and chinook from the U.S.-Canada border to Cape Falcon— Initial allocation of coho and chinook salmon north of Cape Falcon, OR, will be based on the following schedule:

Allowable non-treaty ocean harvest (thousands of fish)	Percentage 1
Allowable non-treaty ocean harvest (thousands of fish)	Commercial	Recreational
Coho:
0-300	25	75
>300	60	40
Chinook:
0-100	50	50
>100-150	60	40
>150	70	30
Code of Federal Regulations 355
1 The percentage allocation is tiered and must be calculated in additive steps when the harvest level exceeds the initial tier. For example, for a total allowable ocean harvest of 150,000 chinook, the recreational allocation would be equal to 50 percent of 100,000 chinook plus 40 percent of 50,000 chinook or 50,000 20,000 = 70,000 chinook.

(ii) Deviations from allocation schedule. The initial allocation may be modified annually in accordance with paragraphs (c)(1)(iii) through (viii) of this section. These deviations from the allocation schedule provide flexibility to account for the dynamic nature of the fisheries and better achieve the allocation objectives and fishery allocation priorities in paragraphs (c)(1)(ix) and (x) of this section. Total allowable ocean harvest will be maximized to the extent possible consistent with treaty obligations, state fishery needs, and spawning requirements. Every effort will be made to establish seasons and gear requirements that provide troll and recreational fleets a reasonable opportunity to catch the available harvest. These may include single-species directed fisheries with landing restrictions for other species.

(iii) Preseason trades. Preseason species trades (chinook and coho) may be made if they are based upon the recommendation of the commercial and recreational Salmon Advisory Subpanel representatives for the area north of Cape Falcon; simultaneously benefit both the commercial and recreational fisheries or benefit one fishery without harming the other; and are supported by a socio-economic analysis that compares the impacts of the recommendation to those of the standard allocation schedule to determine the allocation that best meets the allocation objectives. This analysis will be made available to the public during the preseason process for establishing annual management measures. Preseason trades will use an exchange ratio of four coho to one chinook as a desirable guideline.

(iv) Commercial allocation. The commercial allowable ocean harvest of chinook and coho derived during the preseason allocation process may be varied by major subareas (i.e., north of Leadbetter Point and south of Leadbetter Point) if there is need to do so to decrease impacts on weak stocks. Deviations in each major subarea will generally not exceed 50 percent of the allowable ocean harvest of each species that would have been established without a geographic deviation in the distribution of the allowable ocean harvest. Deviation of more than 50 percent will be based on a conservation need to protect the weak stocks and will provide larger overall harvest for the entire fishery north of Cape Falcon than would have been possible without the deviation.

(v) Recreational allocation. The recreational allowable ocean harvest of chinook and coho derived during the preseason allocation process will be distributed among the four major recreational subareas as described in the coho and chinook distribution sections below. The Council may deviate from subarea quotas to meet recreational season objectives, based on agreement of representatives of the affected ports and/or in accordance with section 6.5.3.2 of the Pacific Coast Salmon Plan, regarding certain selective fisheries. Additionally, based upon the recommendation of the recreational Salmon Advisory Subpanel representatives for the area north of Cape Falcon, the Council will include criteria in its preseason salmon management recommendations to guide any inseason transfer of coho among the recreational subareas to meet recreational season duration objectives.

(A) Coho distribution. The preseason recreational allowable ocean harvest of coho north of Cape Falcon will be distributed to provide 50 percent to the area north of Leadbetter Point and 50 percent to the area south of Leadbetter Point. In years with no fishery in Washington State management area 4B, the distribution of coho north of Leadbetter Point will be divided to provide 74 percent to the subarea between Leadbetter Point and the Queets River (Westport), 5.2 percent to the subarea between Queets River and Cape Flattery (La Push), and 20.8 percent to the area north of the Queets River (Neah Bay). In years when there is an Area 4B (Neah Bay) fishery under state management, 25 percent of the numerical value of that fishery shall be added to the recreational allowable ocean harvest north of Leadbetter Point prior to applying the sharing percentages for Westport and La Push. The increase to Westport and La Push will be subtracted from the Neah Bay ocean share to maintain the same total harvest allocation north of Leadbetter Point. Each of the four recreational port area allocations will be rounded, to the nearest hundred fish, with the largest quotas rounded downward, if necessary, to sum to the preseason recreational allowable ocean harvest of coho north of Cape Falcon.

(B) Chinook distribution. Subarea distributions of chinook will be managed as guidelines based on calculations of the Salmon Technical Team with the primary objective of achieving all-species fisheries without imposing chinook restrictions (i.e., area closures or bag limit reductions). Chinook in excess of all-species fisheries needs may be utilized by directed chinook fisheries north of Cape Falcon or by negotiating a preseason species trade of chinook and coho between commercial and recreational allocations in accordance with paragraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section.

(vi) Inseason trades and transfers. Inseason transfers, including species trades of chinook and coho, may be permitted in either direction between commercial and recreational fishery quotas to allow for uncatchable fish in one fishery to be reallocated to the other. Fish will be deemed uncatchable by a respective commercial or recreational fishery only after considering all possible annual management actions to allow for their harvest that are consistent with the harvest management objectives specific in the fishery management plan including consideration of single species fisheries. Implementation of inseason transfers will require consultation with the pertinent commercial and recreational Salmon Advisory Subpanel representatives from the area involved and the Salmon Technical Team, and a clear establishment of available fish and impacts from the transfer. Inseason trades or transfers may vary from the guideline ratio of four coho to one chinook to meet the allocation objectives in paragraph (c)(1)(ix) of this section.

(vii) Other inseason provisions. Any increase or decrease in the recreational or commercial allowable ocean harvest resulting from an inseason restructuring of a fishery or other inseason management action does not require reallocation of the overall non-treaty allowable ocean harvest north of Cape Falcon between the recreational and commercial fisheries. Inseason redistribution of subarea quotas within the recreational fishery or the distribution of allowable coho catch transfers from the commercial fishery among subareas may deviate from the preseason distribution. Inseason management actions may be taken by the Regional Director to assure meeting the primary objective of achieving all-species fisheries without imposing chinook restrictions in each of the recreational subareas north of Cape Falcon. Such actions might include, but are not limited to: Closure from 0 to 3, 0 to 6, 3 to 200, or 5 to 200 nm from shore; closure from a point extending due west from Tatoosh Island for 5 nm, then south to a point due west of Umatilla Reef Buoy, then due east to shore; closure from North Head at the Columbia River mouth north to Leadbetter Point; change in species that may be landed; or other actions as prescribed in the annual management measures.

(viii) Selective fisheries. Deviations from the initial gear and port area allocations may be allowed to implement selective fisheries for marked salmon stocks as long as the deviations are within the constraints and process specified in section 6.5.3.2 of the Pacific Coast Salmon Plan.

(ix) Allocation objectives. The goal of allocating ocean harvest north of Cape Falcon is to achieve, to the greatest degree possible, the following objectives for the commercial and recreational fisheries. When deviation from the allocation schedule is being considered, these objectives will serve as criteria to help determine whether a user group will benefit from the deviation.

(A) Provide recreational opportunity by maximizing the duration of the fishing season while minimizing daily and area closures and restrictions on gear and daily limits.

(B) Maximize the value of the commercial harvest while providing fisheries of reasonable duration.

(x) Fishery allocation priorities. The following fishery allocation priorities will provide guidance in the preseason process of establishing final harvest allocations and structuring seasons that best achieve the allocation objectives. To the extent fish are provided to each fishery by the allocation schedule, these priorities do not favor one user group over the other and should be met simultaneously for each fishery. Seasons may be structured that deviate from these priorities consistent with the allocation objectives.

(A) At total allowable harvest levels up to 300,000 coho and 100,000 chinook: For the recreational fishery, provide coho for a late June through early September all-species season; provide chinook to allow access to coho and, if possible, a minimal chinook-only fishery prior to the all-species season; and adjust days per week and/or institute area restrictions to stabilize season duration. For the commercial fishery, provide chinook for a May and early June chinook season and provide coho for hooking mortality and/or access to a pink fishery, and ensure that part of the chinook season will occur after June 1.

(B) At total allowable harvest levels above 300,000 coho and above 100,000 chinook: For the recreational fishery, relax any restrictions in the all-species fishery and/or extend the all-species season beyond Labor Day as coho quota allows; provide chinook for a Memorial Day through late June chinook-only fishery; and adjust days per week to ensure continuity with the all-species season. For the commercial fishery, provide coho for an all-species season in late summer and/or access to a pink fishery; and leave adequate chinook from the May through June season to allow access to coho.

(2) Coho south of Cape Falcon— (i) Allocation schedule. Preseason allocation shares of coho salmon south of Cape Falcon, OR, will be determined by an allocation schedule, which is based on the following formula. The formula will be used to interpolate between allowable harvest levels as shown in the table below.

(A) Up to 350,000 allowable ocean harvest: The first 150,000 fish will be allocated to the recreational fishery. Additional fish will be allocated 66.7 percent to troll and 33.3 percent to recreational. The incidental coho mortality for a commercial all-salmon-except-coho fishery will be deducted from the troll allocation. If the troll allocation is insufficient for this purpose, the remaining number of coho needed for this estimated incidental coho mortality will be deducted from the recreational share.

(B) From 350,000 to 800,000 allowable ocean harvest: The recreational allocation is equal to 14 percent of the allowable harvest above 350,000 fish, plus 217,000 fish. The remainder of the allowable ocean harvest will be allocated to the troll fishery.

(C) Above 800,000 allowable ocean harvest: The recreational allocation is equal to 10 percent of the allowable harvest above 800,000 fish, plus 280,000 fish. The remainder of the allowable ocean harvest will be allocated to the troll fishery.

Allowable ocean harvest (thousands of fish)	Commercial		Recreational
Allowable ocean harvest (thousands of fish)	Number (thousands)	Percentage	Number (thousands)	Percentage
2,700	2,230	82.6	470	17.4
2,600	2,140	82.3	460	17.7
2,500	2,050	82.0	450	18.0
2,400	1,960	81.7	440	18.3
2,300	1,870	81.3	430	18.7
2,200	1,780	80.9	420	19.1
2,100	1,690	80.5	410	19.5
2,000	1,600	80.0	400	20.0
1,900	1,510	79.5	390	20.5
1,800	1,420	78.9	380	21.1
1,700	1,330	78.2	370	21.8
1,600	1,240	77.5	360	22.5
1,500	1,150	76.7	350	23.3
1,400	1,060	75.7	340	24.3
1,300	970	74.6	330	25.4
1,200	880	73.3	320	26.7
1,100	790	71.8	310	28.2
1,000	700	70.0	300	30.0
900	610	67.8	290	32.2
800	520	65.0	280	35.0
700	434	62.0	266	38.0
600	348	58.0	252	42.0
500	262	52.4	238	47.6
400	176	44.0	224	56.0
350	133	38.0	217	62.0
300	100	33.3	200	66.7
200	1 33	1 16.5	1 167	1 83.5
100	(1)	(1)	(1)	(1)
1 An incidental coho allowance associated with any commercial all-salmon-except-coho fishery will be deducted from the recreational share of coho during periods of low coho abundance when the commercial allocation of coho under the schedule would be insufficient to allow for incidental hooking mortality of coho in the commercial all-salmon-except-coho fishery.