[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 20, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59029-59030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29677]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 960815223-6315-02; I.D. 081296A]
RIN 0648-AI70
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Allocations
of Pacific Cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 46 to the
Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery in the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Area (FMP). The measures established under
Amendment 46 and implemented by this final rule include: Allocation of
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) Pacific cod
total allowable catch (TAC) among vessels using trawl gear, fixed gear
(hook-and-line and pot), and jig gear; seasonal allowances of the fixed
gear allocation of Pacific cod; and procedures for unused portions of
one gear's allocation to be reallocated to other gear types. This
action is necessary to respond to socioeconomic needs of the fishing
industry that have been identified by the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) and is intended to further the goals and
objectives of the FMP.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 46 and the environmental assessment/
regulatory impact review (EA/RIR) prepared for Amendment 46 may be
obtained from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 West
Fourth Avenue, Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501; telephone: 907-271-2809.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent Lind, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pacific cod fishery in the exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) of the BSAI is managed by NMFS under the FMP. The
FMP was prepared by the Council under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson Act). Regulations governing the groundfish
fishery of the BSAI are set out at 50 CFR part 679. General regulations
governing fisheries in the EEZ are set out at 50 CFR part 600.
Background
At its June 1996 meeting, the Council adopted Amendment 46 and
recommended that NMFS prepare a rulemaking to implement the amendment.
A notice of availability of Amendment 46 was published in the Federal
Register on August 20, 1996 (61 FR 43035), and invited comment on the
amendment through October 15, 1996. No written comments were received
on the amendment. A proposed rule to implement Amendment 46 was
published in the Federal Register on August 22, 1996 (61 FR 43325).
Comments on the proposed rule were invited through October 3, 1996. One
written comment on the proposed rule was received and is responded to
in the Response to Comments section below.
Amendment 46 was approved by NMFS on November 7, 1996, under
section 304(b) of the Magnuson Act. This amendment establishes FMP
authority to: Allocate the BSAI Pacific cod TAC among vessels using
trawl gear, fixed gear, and jig gear; divide the fixed gear allocation
of Pacific cod into seasonal allowances; and reallocate unused portions
of one gear's allocation to other gear types. Upon reviewing the
reasons for Amendment 46, and the comments on the proposed rule to
implement it, NMFS has determined that this action is necessary for the
conservation and management of the BSAI Pacific cod fishery. Additional
information on this action may be found in the preamble to the proposed
rule and in the EA/RIR.
Management Measures
The following management measures are established by Amendment 46:
1. The BSAI Pacific cod TAC is allocated among gear types as
follows: Fixed gear, 51 percent; trawl gear, 47 percent; and jig gear,
2 percent.
2. The BSAI Pacific cod TAC allocated to vessels using trawl gear
is further allocated 50 percent to catcher vessels and 50 percent to
catcher/processors.
3. The BSAI Pacific cod TAC allocated to vessels using fixed gear
is divided into three seasons of 4 months each. The percentage of TAC
apportioned to each season will be determined by NMFS in consultation
with the Council according to the following criteria: The seasonal
distribution of prohibited species, the seasonal distribution of
Pacific cod relative to prohibited species distribution, the expected
variations in Pacific halibut bycatch rates throughout the fishing
year, and the economic effects of any seasonal allowance of Pacific cod
on the fixed gear fisheries.
4. NMFS may reallocate Pacific cod from vessels using trawl gear to
vessels using fixed gear and vice versa anytime during the fishing year
that the Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator),
determines that one gear group or the other would not be able to
harvest its allocation of Pacific cod.
5. Any portion of the Pacific cod TAC allocated to vessels using
jig gear and projected by NMFS to be unused by the end of the fishing
year will be reallocated to vessels using fixed gear on September 15 of
each fishing year.
6. Any unused fixed gear seasonal allocation will be reallocated in
a manner determined by NMFS in annual consultation with the Council to
promote the goals and objectives of the FMP. This measure could, for
example, allow NMFS to reallocate unused fixed gear allocation from the
first season to the third season when halibut bycatch rates, product
quality, and markets are most advantageous.
Response to Comments
One letter of comment was received on the proposed rule and is
summarized and responded to in the comment below:
Comment: We participated in the industry allocation negotiations
for Pacific cod and supported the allocation agreement arrived at by
the Council's industry negotiating committee. We continue to support
the industry agreement and have only one clarification to make
regarding NMFS' interpretation of the agreement in the proposed rule.
The proposed rule states that NMFS can reallocate unused portions
of the annual Pacific cod TAC that one gear group or the other would
not be able to harvest. From our perspective, the industry agreement
was based on an understanding that reallocations within the trawl
sector could be made, should that become necessary, and that type of
reallocation would have the highest priority. The factory trawler
sector's acceptance of the new 50/50 split of trawl sector allocation
between catcher vessels and factory trawlers, which represents a
smaller than historic share for factory trawlers, was in part based on
an expectation that NMFS would, as a matter of priority, first
reallocate any
[[Page 59030]]
Pacific cod TAC unused by one trawl sector to the other trawl sector.
This condition is important because the 50/50 trawl split is a new
feature and little or no understanding exists of how it will affect the
amount of Pacific cod available to the trawl sector as a whole.
Response: NMFS agrees. Language was added to the final rule to
clarify that any portion of a trawl gear allocation that is unused by
one sector of the trawl fleet will first be made available to the other
sector of the trawl fleet before being reallocated to other gear types.
Changes from the Proposed Rule
The only change from the proposed rule is the addition of a
paragraph at Sec. 679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A) to clarify that any trawl gear
allocation that is unused by one sector of the trawl fleet will first
be made available to the other sector of the trawl fleet before being
reallocated to other gear types.
Classification
The Regional Administrator determined that Amendment 46 is
necessary for the conservation and management of the BSAI Pacific cod
fishery and that it is consistent with the Magnuson Act and other
applicable laws.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of E.O. 12866.
The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of
the Small Business Administration when this rule was proposed, that it
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities. The comment received and the change made to the rule in
response thereto do not change the reason for that certification.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679
Fisheries, Reporting and Recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: November 13, 1996.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended
as follows:
PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.
2. In Sec. 679.20, paragraph (a)(7) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 679.20 General limitations.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(7) Pacific cod TAC, BSAI--(i) TAC by gear. (A) The BSAI TAC of
Pacific cod, after subtraction of reserves, will be allocated 2 percent
to vessels using jig gear, 51 percent to vessels using hook-and-line or
pot gear, and 47 percent to vessels using trawl gear.
(B) The portion of Pacific cod TAC allocated to trawl gear under
paragraph (a)(7)(i)(A) of this section will be further allocated 50
percent to catcher vessels and 50 percent to catcher/processors as
defined for the purposes of recordkeeping and reporting at Sec. 679.2.
(C) The Regional Director may establish separate directed fishing
allowances and prohibitions authorized under paragraph (d) of this
section for vessels harvesting Pacific cod using jig gear, hook-and-
line or pot gear, or trawl gear.
(ii) Unused gear allocations--(A) Reallocation within the trawl
sector. If, during a fishing year, the Regional Director determines
that either trawl catcher vessels or trawl catcher/processors will not
be able to harvest the entire amount of Pacific cod in the BSAI
allocated to those vessels under paragraph (a)(7)(i) or (a)(7)(ii)(B)
of this section, NMFS will first make the projected unused amount of
Pacific cod available to the other trawl vessel sector before any
reallocation to vessels using other gear types.
(B) Reallocation between gear types. If, during a fishing year, the
Regional Director determines that vessels using trawl gear or hook-and-
line or pot gear will not be able to harvest the entire amount of
Pacific cod in the BSAI allocated to those vessels under paragraphs
(a)(7)(i) or (a)(7)(iii) of this section, NMFS may reallocate the
projected unused amount of Pacific cod to vessels harvesting Pacific
cod using the other gear type(s) through notification in the Federal
Register.
(iii) Reallocation of TAC specified for jig gear. On September 15
of each year, the Regional Director will reallocate any projected
unused amount of Pacific cod in the BSAI allocated to vessels using jig
gear to vessels using hook-and-line or pot gear through notification in
the Federal Register.
(iv) Seasonal allowances--(A) Time periods. NMFS, after
consultation with the Council, may divide the TAC allocated to vessels
using hook-and-line or pot gear under paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this
section among the following three periods: January 1 through April 30,
May 1 through August 31, and September 1 through December 31.
(B) Factors to be considered. NMFS will base any seasonal allowance
of the Pacific cod allocation to vessels using hook-and-line and pot
gear on the following information:
(1) Seasonal distribution of Pacific cod relative to prohibited
species distribution.
(2) Variations in prohibited species bycatch rates in the Pacific
cod fisheries throughout the fishing year.
(3) Economic effects of any seasonal allowance of Pacific cod on
the hook-and-line and pot-gear fisheries.
(C) Unused seasonal allowances. Any unused portion of a seasonal
allowance of Pacific cod allocated to vessels using hook-and-line or
pot gear will be reallocated to the remaining seasons during the
current fishing year in a manner determined by NMFS, after consultation
with the Council.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 96-29677 Filed 11-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
