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UNITED 8TATE8 DEPART^/IENT OF COMMEPCE 

 National Oo*anlc and Atmoapharic AdmlnlatratJon 



NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE 

 1335 EHSt-WBBt. Highway 

 Silver Spring MD 20910 



THE DIRECTOR 



APR 2 19» 



Mr. Phillip M. Anderson 



Chairman 



Pacific Fishery Management Council 



Portland, Oregon 97201 



Dear Mr. Anderson: 



The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) , with the 

 concurrence of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration, has made a final determination to partially 

 disapprove the Pacific Fishery Management Council's 

 recommendation for a permanent allocation of Pacific whiting. We 

 have, however, approved the Council's recommendation for a 

 30,000-metric-ton (mt) reserve to be released with preference to 

 shoreside processors, but only for the 1993 season. The balance 

 of the 1993 harvest guideline is available to all vessels 

 regardless of where the whiting is processed. 



NMFS appreciates the economic stress experienced recently by 

 many small and medium-sized towns along the west coast. However, 

 the socioeconomic data provided by the Council and the public do 

 not justify implementing the Council's recommendation 

 guaranteeing permanently an annual allocation to the shoreside 

 processing sector substantially greater than its historical usage 

 at the expense of the competing at-sea processing sector. The 

 Council's recommendation for an initial allocation of 50,000 mt 

 to the shoreside sector with a reserve of 30,000 mt and sliding 

 scale beginning at 110,000 mt would have resulted in an 

 allocation of up to 105,200 mt or 74 percent of the 1993 harvest 

 guideline being reserved for shorebased operations. 



There is sufficient justification for providing a lesser 

 degree of protection for the shoreside processing sector to 

 prevent preemption of harvesting and processing opportunities by 

 catcher/processor vessels and motherships. Voluminous public 

 comment was received and considered on the options identified in 

 the notice of proposed rulemaking. The decision to approve only 

 the reserve allows for open competition early in the whiting 

 season while ensuring at least 30,000 mt for the shoreside 

 sector, depending upon anticipated use of whiting by shoreside 

 processors during the fishing year. This decision addresses the 

 issue of preemption in 1993, guarantees a minimum shoreside 

 allocation approaching the percentage of the harvest guideline 



THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR i^^H^^I 



FOR FISHERIES ^^^^^^V' 



