[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 1 (Monday, January 3, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60-65]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-34030]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 991223349-9349-01; I.D. 122199A]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Area; Interim 2000 Harvest Specifications for
Groundfish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Interim 2000 harvest specifications for groundfish; associated
management measures.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues interim 2000 total allowable catch (TAC) amounts
for each category of groundfish, Community Development Quota (CDQ)
amounts, and prohibited species catch (PSC) amounts for the groundfish
fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI).
Without interim specifications in effect on January 1, the groundfish
fisheries would not be able to open on that date, which would result in
unnecessary closures and disruption within the fishing industry. This
action is necessary to conserve and manage the groundfish resources of
the BSAI and is intended to implement the goals and objectives of the
Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Area (FMP).
EFFECTIVE DATE: Effective 0001 hours, Alaska local time (A.l.t.),
January 1, 2000, until the effective date of the final 2000 harvest
specifications for BSAI groundfish, which will be published in the
Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared for
this action and the Preliminary 2000 Stock Assessment and Fishery
Evaluation (SAFE) report, dated September 1999, is available from the
North Pacific Fishery Management Council, West 4th Avenue, Suite 306,
Anchorage, AK 99510-2252 (907-271-2809).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Capron, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Federal regulations at 50 CFR part 679 implement the FMP and govern
the groundfish resources of the BSAI. The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) prepared the FMP, and NMFS approved it,
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
General regulations that also pertain to the U.S. fisheries appear at
subpart H of 50 CFR part 600.
The Council met in October 1999 to review scientific information
concerning groundfish stocks. The Council adopted for public review the
preliminary SAFE Report for the 2000 BSAI groundfish fisheries. The
preliminary SAFE Report, dated September 1999, provides an update on
the status of stocks. Copies of the SAFE Report are available from the
Council (see ADDRESSEES). The Council recommended a proposed total
acceptable biological catch (ABC) of 2,247,846 mt and a proposed total
TAC of 2 million metric tons (mt) for the 2000 fishing year. The
proposed TAC amounts for each species were based on the best available
biological and socioeconomic information.
In accordance with Sec. 679.20(c)(1), NMFS published in the Federal
Register proposed harvest specifications and associated management
measures for groundfish in the BSAI for the 2000 fishing year (64 FR
69464 December 13, 1999). That document contains a detailed discussion
of the proposed 2000 TACs, initial TACs (ITACs) and related
apportionments, ABC amounts, overfishing levels, PSC amounts, and
associated management measures of the BSAI groundfish fishery.
This action provides interim harvest specifications and
apportionments thereof for the 2000 fishing year that will become
available on January 1, 2000, and remain in effect until superseded by
the final 2000 harvest
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specifications. Background information concerning the 2000 groundfish
harvest specification process upon which this interim action is based
is provided in the above mentioned proposed specification document.
NMFS intends to initiate rulemaking that would affect the pollock
fisheries. That rulemaking will include: (1) An FMP amendment to
implement the American Fisheries Act as contained within the Omnibus
Appropriations Bill for FY 99; Pub. L. No. 105-277 (AFA), and (2) A
regulatory amendment to implement reasonable and prudent alternatives
to avoid jeopardizing the continued existence of the endangered western
population of Steller sea lions or adversely modifying its critical
habitat. Because each of these rulemakings would affect the allocation
and apportionment of the pollock TAC, these interim specifications
provide pollock TAC amounts under the general allocative scheme as
defined by the AFA itself, but do not specify apportionments of that
interim TAC. Apportionments will be addressed in each of these
rulemakings individually and in the final 2000 specifications and will
be effective prior to the start of the pollock fishery which is
scheduled to open on January 20, 2000.
Establishment of Interim TACs
Regulations at Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(i) require that 15 percent of the
TAC for each target species or species group, except for the hook-and-
line and pot gear allocation of sablefish, be placed in a non-specified
reserve. The AFA supersedes this provision for pollock by requiring
that the TAC for this species be fully allocated among the CDQ program,
incidental catch allowance, and inshore, catcher/processor, and
mothership directed fishery allowances.
Regulations at Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(iii) require that one-half of each
TAC amount placed in the non-specified reserve be allocated to the
groundfish CDQ reserve and that 20 percent of the hook-and-line and pot
gear allocation of sablefish be allocated to the fixed gear sablefish
CDQ reserve. Section 206(a) of the AFA requires that 10 percent of the
pollock TAC be allocated to the pollock CDQ reserve. With the exception
of the hook-and-line and pot gear sablefish CDQ reserve, the CDQ
reserves are not further apportioned by gear. Regulations at
Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(i) also require that 7.5 percent of each PSC limit,
with the exception of herring, be withheld as a PSQ reserve for the CDQ
fisheries. Regulations governing the management of the CDQ and PSQ
reserves are set forth at Secs. 679.30 and 679.31.
Regulations at Sec. 679.20(c)(2) provide that interim
specifications become effective at 0001 hours, A.l.t., January 1, and
remain in effect until superseded by the final groundfish harvest
specifications. The regulations further provide that the interim
specifications will be established as one-fourth of each proposed ITAC
amount and apportionment thereof (not including the first seasonal
allowance of pollock and Atka mackerel), one-fourth of each prohibited
species catch (PSC) allowance established under Sec. 679.21, and the
first seasonal allowance of pollock and Atka mackerel TAC. As stated in
the proposed specifications publication (64 FR 69464 December 13,
1999), no harvest of groundfish was authorized prior to the effective
date of this action implementing the interim specifications.
Apportionment of Pollock TAC to Vessels Using Nonpelagic Trawl Gear
Regulations at Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(B) authorize NMFS, in
consultation with the Council, to limit the amount of pollock that may
be taken in the directed fishery for pollock using nonpelagic trawl
gear. At its June 1998 meeting, the Council adopted management measures
that, if approved by NMFS, would prohibit the use of nonpelagic trawl
gear in the directed fishery for pollock and reduce specified
prohibited species bycatch limits by amounts equal to anticipated
savings in bycatch or bycatch mortality that would be expected from
this prohibition. If NMFS approves these measures, a rule to implement
them could be effective by mid-2000. NMFS, therefore, proposed to
allocate 0 mt of the BSAI pollock TAC to the directed fishery for
pollock with nonpelagic trawl gear, in order to reduce unnecessary
bycatch in the 2000 pollock fishery and to carry out the Council's
intent for this fishery. As a result of this proposed specification, 0
mt of BSAI pollock are available to the directed fishery for pollock
with nonpelagic trawl gear on an interim basis.
Interim 2000 BSAI Groundfish Harvest Specifications
Table 1 provides interim TAC and CDQ amounts and apportionments
thereof. Regulations at Sec. 679.20(c)(2)(ii) do not provide for an
interim specification for the non-trawl sablefish CDQ reserve or for
sablefish managed under the Individual Fishing Quota program. As a
result, fishing for the non-trawl allocation of CDQ sablefish and
sablefish harvested with fixed gear is prohibited until the effective
date of the final 2000 groundfish specifications.
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Interim Allocation of PSC Limits for Crab, Halibut, and Herring
Under Sec. 679.21(e), annual PSC limits are specified for red king
crab, Chionoecetes bairdi Tanner crab, and C. opilio crab in applicable
Bycatch Limitation Zones (see Sec. 679.2) of the Bering Sea subarea,
and for Pacific halibut and Pacific herring throughout the BSAI.
Regulations under Sec. 679.21(e) authorize the apportionment of each
PSC limit into PSC allowances for specified fishery categories. Under
Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(i), 7.5 percent of each PSC limit specified for
halibut, crab, and salmon is reserved as a PSQ reserve for use by the
groundfish CDQ program.
Regulations at Sec. 679.20(c)(2)(ii) provide that one-fourth of
each proposed PSC and PSQ allowance be made available on an interim
basis for harvest at the beginning of the fishing year, until
superseded by the final harvest specifications. The fishery specific
interim PSC allowances for halibut and crab are specified in Table 2
and are in effect at 0001 hours, A.l.t., January 1, 2000.
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Prior to the beginning of the 2000 fishing year, NMFS will
implement fishery closures based on these interim specifications if the
Regional Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS, determines that interim
TAC amounts are required as incidental catch to support other
anticipated groundfish fisheries or if the PSC allowance for a fishery
has been reached. NMFS may implement other closures at the time the
final 2000 harvest specifications are implemented or during the 2000
fishing year, as necessary for effective management.
Classification
This action is authorized under 50 CFR 679.20 and is exempt from
review under E.O. 12866.
NMFS has prepared an EA for this action which describes the impact
on the human environment that would result from implementation of the
interim specifications. In December 1998, NMFS issued a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on the groundfish TAC
specifications and PSC limits under the BSAI and Gulf of Alaska (GOA)
groundfish FMPs. In July 1999, the District Court for the Western
District of Washington held that the 1998 SEIS did not adequately
address aspects of the BSAI and GOA FMPs. Notwithstanding the
deficiencies the court noted in the 1998 SEIS, NMFS believes that the
discussion of impacts and alternatives in the 1998 SEIS is directly
applicable to this interim action and the EA for the interim 2000
harvest specifications, which ``tiers off'' (incorporates by reference)
the 1998 SEIS.
Pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), NMFS has
completed a consultation on the effects of the 1999 to 2002 pollock and
Atka mackerel fisheries on listed species, including the Steller sea
lion, and designated critical habitat. The Biological Opinion prepared
for this consultation, dated December 3, 1998, concluded that the Atka
mackerel fisheries in the BSAI are not likely to jeopardize the
continued existence of Steller sea lions or adversely modify their
designated critical habitat. However, the Biological Opinion concluded
that the pollock fisheries in the BSAI and the GOA would cause jeopardy
and adverse modification.
NMFS is developing a proposed rule to implement permanent
reasonable and prudent alternatives (RPAs) to avoid the likelihood that
the pollock fisheries off Alaska will jeopardize the continued
existence of the western population of Steller sea lions or adversely
modify its critical habitat. Emergency measures which implemented RPAs
for 1999, are in effect until December 31, 1999 (July 21, 1999, 64 FR
39087). Regulations implementing permanent RPAs must be effective prior
to the start of the BSAI and GOA pollock fisheries which are scheduled
to open on January 20, 2000, or NMFS will be obligated under the ESA to
close all fishing for pollock until such measures can be implemented.
NMFS has also completed consultations on the effects of the 2000
BSAI groundfish fisheries on listed species, including the Steller sea
lion and salmon, and on designated critical habitat. These
consultations were completed December 23, 1999 and December 22, 1999
respectively.
A biological opinion on the BSAI hook-and-line groundfish fishery
and the BSAI trawl groundfish fishery for the ESA listed short-tailed
albatross was issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in
March 1999. The conclusion continued the no jeopardy determination and
the incidental take statement expressing the requirement to immediately
reinitiate consultations if incidental takes exceed four short-tailed
albatross over two years' time (1999-2000).
In order for the BSAI groundfish fishing season to begin on January
1 (see Sec. 679.23), Sec. 679.20(c)(2) requires NMFS to establish
interim harvest specifications to be effective on January 1 and to
remain in effect until superseded by the filing of final harvest
specifications with the Office of the Federal Register. Without interim
specifications in effect on January 1, the groundfish fisheries would
not be able to open on that date, which would result in unnecessary
closures and disruption within the fishing industry. NMFS anticipates
that the interim specifications will be in effect for only a short
period of time before they are superseded by the final specifications.
The proposed specifications were published as a proposed rule in the
Federal Register on December 13, 1999 (64 FR 69464). Regulations at
Sec. 679.20(c)(2)(ii) require that the interim TACs be established at
specified fractional amounts of the proposed harvest specifications.
Accordingly, the opportunity for public comment on the proposed
specifications provides opportunity for comment on these interim
specifications. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA),
finds for good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) that the need to
establish interim TAC limitations and other restrictions on fisheries
in the BSAI, effective on January 1, 2000, makes it impracticable and
contrary to the public interest to provide prior notice and opportunity
for public comment on this rule. Likewise, the AA finds for good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) that the need to establish interim TAC levels
and other management measures in the BSAI, effective on January 1,
2000, makes it impractical and contrary to the public interest to delay
the effective date of the limits and measures for 30 days.
Because these interim specifications are not required to be issued
with prior notice and opportunity for public comment, the analytical
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act do not apply.
Consequently, no regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., and 3631 et seq.
Dated: December 27, 1999.
Penelope D. Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisherie's
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-34030 Filed 12-28-99; 4:25 pm]
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