[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 106 (Friday, May 31, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27312-27314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-13661]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Parts 672 and 675
[Docket No. 900833-1095; I.D. 052396A]
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Area; Bycatch Rate Standards for the Second Half of 1996
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Pacific halibut and red king crab bycatch rate standards;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces Pacific halibut and red king crab bycatch rate
standards for the second half of 1996. This action is necessary to
implement the bycatch rate standards for vessel operators who
participate in the Alaska groundfish trawl fisheries under the vessel
incentive program. The intent of this action is to reduce prohibited
species bycatch rates and promote conservation of groundfish and other
fishery resources.
DATES: Effective 12:01 a.m., Alaska local time (A.l.t.), July 1, 1996,
through 12 midnight, A.l.t., December 31, 1996. Comments on this action
must be received at the following address no later than 4:30 p.m.,
A.l.t., June 30, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Ronald J. Berg, Chief,
Fisheries Management Division, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-
1668, Attn: Lori Gravel; or be delivered to 709 West 9th Street,
Federal Building, Room 401, Juneau, AK.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan J. Salveson, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The domestic groundfish fisheries in the
exclusive economic zone of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
management area (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) are managed by NMFS
according to the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area and the Fishery Management
Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMPs). The FMPs were
prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
under the authority of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management
Act. The FMPs are implemented by regulations for the U.S. fisheries at
50 CFR parts 672, 675, and 676. General regulations that also pertain
to the U.S. fisheries appear at 50 CFR part 620. Regulations that
establish observer coverage requirements are set out at 50 CFR part
677. Bycatch rate standards and the vessel incentive program are
described at Sec. 675.26. Halibut and red king crab bycatch rate
standards for the first half of 1996 were published in the Federal
Register on November 29, 1995 (60 FR 61213). As required by
Secs. 672.26(c) and 675.26(c), the Director of the Alaska Region, NMFS
(Regional Director), has established the bycatch rate standards for the
second half of 1996 (July 1 through December 31). These standards were
approved by the Council at its April 1996 meeting and are set out in
Table 1. The bycatch rate standards are based on the following
information:
1. Previous years' average observed bycatch rates.
2. Immediately preceding season's average observed bycatch rates.
3. The bycatch allowances and associated fishery closures specified
under Secs. 672.20(f) and 675.21.
4. Anticipated groundfish harvests.
5. Anticipated seasonal distribution of fishing effort for
groundfish.
6. Other information and criteria deemed relevant by the Regional
Director.
Table 1.--Bycatch Rate Standards by Fishery for the Second Half of 1996
for Purposes of the Vessel Incentive Program in the BSAI and GOA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bycatch
Fishery rate
standard
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halibut bycatch rate standards
(kilogram of halibut/metric ton of groundfish catch)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSAI Midwater pollock........................................ 1.0
BSAI Bottom pollock.......................................... 5.0
[[Page 27313]]
BSAI Yellowfin sole.......................................... 5.0
BSAI Other trawl............................................. 30.0
GOA Midwater pollock......................................... 1.0
GOA Other trawl.............................................. 40.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 1 red king crab bycatch rates standards
(number of crab/metric ton of groundfish catch)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSAI yellowfin sole.......................................... 2.5
BSAI Other trawl............................................. 2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bycatch Rate Standards for Pacific Halibut
The halibut bycatch rate standards for the 1996 trawl fisheries are
unchanged from those implemented in 1995. The Regional Director based
standards for the second half of 1996 on anticipated seasonal fishing
effort for groundfish species and 1993-96 halibut bycatch rates
observed in the trawl fisheries included under the incentive program.
In determining these bycatch rate standards, the Regional Director
recognized that directed fishing for BSAI Pacific cod by vessels using
trawl gear is closed until October 25, 1996 (61 FR 24730, May 16,
1996). Given the present status of halibut bycatch in the yellowfin
sole fishery, the Regional Director anticipates that this fishery will
close by early June due to halibut bycatch restrictions. The fishery
will remain closed until August 15 when the remainder of its halibut
bycatch allowance becomes available. The Regional Director also
considered the fact that August 15 is opening date of the 1996 Bering
Sea pollock `B' season (Sec. 675.23(e)) and that the Council has
requested that NMFS initiate rulemaking to delay this date until
September 1. NMFS anticipates that a proposed rule to implement a
pollock `B' season delay will be published in the Federal Register for
public review and comment by mid-June 1996.
The halibut bycatch rate standards for the BSAI yellowfin sole and
``bottom pollock'' trawl fisheries are each set at 5 kilogram (kg)
halibut/metric ton (mt) of groundfish. These standards approximate the
average annual rates observed on trawl vessels participating in these
fisheries since 1992.
The halibut bycatch rate standard for the BSAI and GOA midwater
pollock fisheries (1 kg halibut/mt of groundfish) is higher than the
bycatch rates normally experienced by vessels participating in these
fisheries. This standard is intended to encourage vessel operators to
maintain off-bottom trawl operations and limit further bycatch of
halibut in the pollock fishery when halibut bycatch restrictions at
Secs. 672.20(f) and 675.21(c)(1) prohibit directed fishing for pollock
by vessels using non-pelagic trawl gear.
A bycatch rate standard of 30 kg halibut/mt of groundfish is
established for the BSAI ``other trawl'' fishery. This standard has
remained unchanged since 1992. A bycatch rate standard of 40 kg
halibut/mt of groundfish is established for the GOA ``other trawl''
fishery, which is unchanged since 1994. The considerations that support
these bycatch rate standards for the ``other trawl'' fisheries are
unchanged from previous years and are discussed in the Federal Register
publications of 1995 bycatch rate standards (60 FR 2905, January 12,
1995, and 60 FR 27425, May 24, 1995).
Observer data collected from the 1995 GOA ``other trawl'' fishery
show average third and fourth quarter halibut bycatch rates of 18 and
48 kg halibut/mt of groundfish, respectively. The first quarter rate
from 1996 was lower, at 15 kg halibut/mt of groundfish. Observer data
from the 1995 BSAI ``other trawl'' fishery show third and fourth
quarter halibut bycatch rates of 10 and 21 kg halibut/mt of groundfish,
respectively. The first quarter rate from the 1996 BSAI ``other trawl''
fishery was 10 kg halibut/mt of groundfish.
Bycatch Rate Standards for Red King Crab
The red king crab bycatch rate standard for the yellowfin sole and
``other trawl'' fisheries in Zone 1 of the Bering Sea subarea is 2.5
crab/mt of groundfish during the second half of 1996. This standard has
remained unchanged since 1992.
The red king crab savings area (RKCSA) in Zone 1 has been closed to
fishing with trawl gear since the beginning of the 1996 trawl season
(60 FR 63451, December 11, 1995; 61 FR 8889, March 6, 1996). This
closure will remain effective through June 15, 1996. The closure of the
RKCSA has significantly reduced red king crab bycatch rates in the BSAI
trawl fisheries during the first half of 1996. Through early May, the
rock sole/flathead sole/other flatfish fishery category had taken only
9 percent of its annual red king crab bycatch allowance. The Pacific
cod and yellowfin sole fisheries had taken only 25 percent and less
than 1 percent, respectively, of their bycatch allowances. As a result,
NMFS does not anticipate that the red king bycatch allowances specified
for the 1996 trawl fisheries (61 FR 4311, February 5, 1996) will be
reached. Furthermore, bycatch rates should remain low given that
intensive flatfish or Pacific cod trawl fisheries in Zone 1 are not
anticipated for the remainder of the year. Nonetheless, as in past
years, the Regional Director is maintaining the 2.5 red king crab/mt of
groundfish bycatch rate standard to support any exploratory fishing in
Zone 1 by vessel operators attempting to avoid relatively high halibut
and C. bairdi bycatch rates typically experienced in other areas of the
BSAI.
The Regional Director has determined that the bycatch rate
standards set out in Table 1 are appropriately based on the information
and considerations necessary for such determinations under
Secs. 672.26(c) and 675.26(c). These bycatch rate standards may be
revised and published in the Federal Register when deemed appropriate
by the Regional Director, pending his consideration of the information
set forth at Secs. 672.26(c)(2)(v) and 675.26(c)(2)(v).
Classification
This action is taken under 50 CFR 672.26 and 675.26 and is exempt
from review under E.O. 12866.
[[Page 27314]]
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 24, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-13661 Filed 5-28-96; 4:25 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-W
