[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36820-36823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17323]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 990630177-9177-01; I.D. 051099A]
RIN 0648-AK61
Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific;
Western Pacific Crustacean Fisheries; Bank-specific Harvest Guidelines
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 a regulatory
amendment under the framework procedures of the Fishery Management Plan
for the Crustacean Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. This rule
divides the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) lobster fishery into
four fishing grounds and allows the Southwest Regional Administrator,
NMFS (Regional Administrator) to allocate the annual NWHI harvest
guideline among these grounds for the 1999 season and beyond. Also,
this final rule allows a lobster vessel carrying an operational NMFS-
certified vessel monitoring system (VMS) unit to be within the boundary
of a fishing grounds immediately after it is closed, provided the
vessels is making steady progress to an open fishing grounds or back to
port. This rule is intended to protect the lobster resources at each
fishing ground, to provide better data on stocks, and to conserve the
resource.
DATES: Effective July 2, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact
Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) and the
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) for this action are
available from Kitty Simonds, Executive Director, Western Pacific
Fishery Management Council, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu,
HI 96813. Send comments
[[Page 36821]]
regarding the reporting burden estimate or any other aspect of the
collection-of-information requirements in this final rule, including
suggestions for reducing the burden, to Pacific Islands Area Office,
NMFS, 2570 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI, 96822-2396 and to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), Washington, D.C. 20503 (ATTN: NOAA Desk Officer).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kitty M. Simonds at 808-522-8220 or
Alvin Z. Katekaru, Fishery Management Specialist, Pacific Islands Area
Office, NMFS, at 808-973-2985.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule divides the NWHI lobster fishery
into four fishing grounds: Necker Island, Gardner Pinnacles, Maro Reef,
and all the remaining lobster banks combined, for the purpose of
allocating the annual NWHI lobster harvest guideline among them. Also,
the rule authorizes the Regional Administrator, in consultation with
the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), to allocate
the annual NWHI-wide lobster harvest among the four lobster fishing
grounds. Under this final rule, the harvest of lobster and the
possession of lobster traps on board a permitted lobster vessel will be
prohibited within a lobster fishing ground when the harvest guideline
allocation is determined to have been taken, unless the vessel has on
board an operational NMFS-certified VMS unit and is making steady
progress to another fishing ground that is open, or is returning to
port. Also, vessels with a VMS unit will not be subject to a specified
time by which their lobsters must be landed. Vessels not carrying an
operational VMS unit will be required to land their lobsters within a
specified time period, to be announced by the Regional Administrator,
following closure of the fishery, as provided by current regulations
(50 CFR 660.50).
The preamble of the proposed rule contained descriptions of the
alternatives considered, as well as the reasons for adopting the
preferred alternative; those reasons are not repeated here. (64 FR
29834, June 3, 1999). This final rule is intended to help prevent
localized depletion of the lobster populations at Necker Island,
Gardner Pinnacles, and Maro Reef; to promote broader distribution of
fishing effort among the remaining NWHI fishing grounds; to obtain
better data on the lobster stocks, which would allow for the
specification of additional fishing grounds as new information becomes
available; and to conserve the resource. The intent of the VMS
provision is to encourage lobster vessels to carry a VMS unit to allow
NMFS to monitor their location on a real-time basis.
No comments were received on the proposed rule. Therefore, the
final rule is unchanged from the proposed rule, with the exception of
one technical change. The proposed rule incorrectly referenced a
proposed change to Sec. 660.48(a)(7) when the change actually intended
was to Sec. 660.48(a)(8). The final rule makes the necessary
correction.
In a separate rule, appearing in today's Federal Register, NMFS
announces the allocation of the 1999 harvest guideline of 243,100
lobsters among each of the four fishing grounds.
Classification
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, for good cause,
waives the 30-day delay in effectiveness for this rule under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3) in order to ensure the health of the lobster resource in the
NWHI by preventing the potential for severe depletion of the lobster
population at any of the major fishing grounds: Necker Island, Gardner
Pinnacles, and Maro Reef, this fishing season. The rule should be in
effect by July 1, when the fishing season starts, or as soon as
possible thereafter. The allocation of the harvest guideline itself
does not require action by any fisherman; rather it directs when the
Regional Administrator must close each of the four fishing grounds. All
participants will be provided actual notification of this rule.
Therefore, delaying implementation of this rule would be contrary to
the public interest and unnecessary.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
NMFS prepared an EA/RIR/IRFA and a FRFA as part of the regulatory
impact review. No public comments were received on the initial
regulatory flexibility analysis (summarized in the Federal Register on
June 3, 1999, at 64 FR 29834). A summary of the FRFA follows. The final
rule establishes four fishing grounds: Necker Island, Gardner
Pinnacles, Maro Reef, and all the remaining lobster fishing banks
combined, for the purpose of allocating the annual NWHI lobster harvest
guideline among them. It is intended to protect the lobster resources
at each fishing ground, to provide better data on stocks, and to
conserve the resource. The preambles to the proposed and final rules
provide more details on the need for, and objectives of, this rule. The
final rule applies to the 12 individuals who have been issued the 15
permits in the NWHI limited entry crustacean fishery. All participants
in this fishery are small entities. No new reporting or recordkeeping
requirements are required by the rule. This action embodies several
steps taken to minimize the economic impact of the chosen measure on
small entities. First, the alternative implemented by this final rule
will result in long-term economic benefits to the fishery. Second, any
vessel with an operational NMFS-certified VMS unit on board is not
required to land lobsters by a specified time (thereby allowing
flexibility in the vessel's activities). Also, any vessel so equipped
may transit across a closed lobster fishing ground when it is making
steady progress to another fishing ground that is open or it is
returning to port. The reason for choosing the alternative implemented
by this rule is that it will best allow for the attainment of the
objectives of protecting lobster at each fishing ground, of providing
better data, and of conserving the resource. The Council considered
operating the fishery under a single annual harvest guideline, but
rejected this alternative because it would not provide a means of
limiting localized depletion. The Council considered Necker-Maro-
Gardner (only) bank-specific harvest guidelines but rejected this
alternative primarily because it would not afford bank-specific
protection to other NWHI banks, if needed. The Council considered
general area-specific harvest guidelines and full bank-specific harvest
guidelines but rejected these alternatives because a lack of data for
making these types of allocations may lead to mis-specified harvest
guidelines.
Based on the experience of the 1998 fishery which was managed under
an nearly identical rule, participants are expected to fish at the
Necker Island, Maro Reef, and Gardner Pinnacles fishing grounds until
each closes. Some fishing is expected to take place on the other
remaining lobster grounds in the NWHI (Table 1 of the RIR/IRFA and
FRFA). However, average catch per unit of effort rates are expected to
be lower than those at Necker Island, Gardner Pinnacles, and Maro Reef,
and the entire NWHI harvest may not be taken (22 percent of the total
harvest guideline was not taken in 1998). This will lead to lower
average gross revenues, as well as to slightly higher travel costs,
compared to the same harvest guidelines unallocated among banks (Table
2 of the RIR/IRFA and FRFA). However, this rule should result in long-
term economic benefits to the fishery as the resource increases with
improved fisheries management. A copy of the
[[Page 36822]]
FRFA is available from the Council (see ADDRESSES).
This rule contains a collection-of-information requirement
regarding VMS use and is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. (PRA).
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements
of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays a currently
valid OMB control number. The collection of this information has been
approved by OMB, under OMB control number 0648-0307. This rule's
collection-of-information burden is only for those persons who wish to
voluntarily use a VMS unit in the fishery. The collection is to query
through the VMS system a vessel to learn of its location before and
after the start of the season or closure of a fishing ground, which is
automatic with no action required by the vessel operator, except to
verify the VMS unit is operating. The burden associated with this
collection is estimated to require a response time of .033 seconds.
Permit holders whose vessels are not equipped with VMS would have the
option of installing new VMS in order to participate under this
regulatory option for the opening and closing of the lobster season and
transitting between fishing grounds. Send comments regarding the
collection-of-information burden or any other aspect of the information
collection to NMFS and OMB (see ADDRESSES).
An informal consultation under the Endangered Species Act was
concluded on June 7, 1999, to determine whether the effect on Hawaiian
monk seals from the fishery managed under this action is likely to be
adverse. As a result, the Regional Administrator determined that
fishing activities conducted under this rule are not likely to affect
adversely endangered or threatened species or critical habitat.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries,
Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives, Indians, Northern Mariana Islands,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: July 2, 1999.
Andrew A. Rosenberg,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended
as follows:
PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES AND IN THE WESTERN
PACIFIC
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. Section 660.12 is amended by adding the definition of ``Lobster
grounds'', in alphabetical order, to read as follows:
Sec. 660.12 Definitions.
* * * * *
Lobster grounds refers, singularly or collectively, to the
following four areas in Crustaceans Permit Area 1 that shall be used to
manage the lobster fishery:
(1) Necker Island Lobster Grounds--waters bounded by straight lines
connecting the following coordinates in the order presented: 24 deg.00'
N. lat., 165 deg.00' W. long.; 24 deg.00' N. lat., 164 deg. 00' W.
long.; 23 deg.00' N. lat., 164 deg.00' W. long.; and 23 deg.00' N.
lat., 165 deg.00' W. long.
(2) Gardner Pinnacles Lobster Grounds--waters bounded by straight
lines connecting the following coordinates in the order presented:
25 deg.20' N. lat., 168 deg.20' W. long.; 25 deg.20' N. lat., 167 deg.
40' W. long.; 24 deg.20' N. lat., 167 deg.40' W. long.; and 24 deg.20'
N. lat., 168 deg.20' W. long.
(3) Maro Reef Lobster Grounds--waters bounded by straight lines
connecting the following coordinates in the order presented: 25 deg.40'
N. lat., 171 deg.00' W. long.; 25 deg.40' N. lat., 170 deg. 20' W.
long.; 25 deg.00' N. lat., 170 deg.20' W. long.; and 25 deg.00' N.
lat., 171 deg.00' W. long.
(4) General NWHI Lobster Grounds--all waters within Crustaceans
Permit Area 1 except for the Necker Island, Gardner Pinnacles, and Maro
Reef Lobster Grounds.
* * * * *
3. Section 660.42 is amended by adding new paragraphs (a)(1)(vi)
and (a)(13) to read as follows:
Sec. 660.42 Prohibitions.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(vi) In a lobster grounds after closure of that grounds as
specified in Sec. 660.50(b).
* * * * *
(13) Possess, on a fishing vessel that has a limited access permit
issued under this subpart, any lobster trap in a lobster grounds that
is closed under Sec. 660.50(b), unless the vessel has an operational
VMS unit, certified by NMFS, on board.
* * * * *
4. Section 660.48 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(8) to read
as follows:
Sec. 660.48 Gear restrictions.
(a) * * *
(8) A vessel whose owner has a limited access permit issued under
this subpart and has on board an operational VMS unit certified by NMFS
may transit Crustaceans Permit Area 1, including Crustaceans Permit
Area 1 VMS Subarea, with lobster traps on board for the purpose of
moving to another lobster grounds or returning to port following the
closure date, as specified in Sec. 660.50, providing the vessel does
not stop or fish and is making steady progress to another lobster
grounds or back to port as determined by NMFS.
* * * * *
5. Section 660.50 is amended by revising paragraph (a) introductory
text, paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(3) and (b)(4), and adding new paragraph
(b)(5) to read as follows:
Sec. 660.50 Harvest limitation program.
(a) General. Harvest guidelines for the Necker Island Lobster
Grounds, Gardner Pinnacles Lobster Grounds, Maro Reef Lobster Grounds,
and General NWHI Lobster Grounds for Permit Area 1 will be set annually
for the calendar year and shall:
* * * * *
(b) Harvest guideline. (1) The Regional Administrator shall use
information from daily lobster catch reports and lobster sales reports
from previous years, and may use information from research sampling and
other sources to establish the annual harvest guideline in accordance
with the FMP after consultation with the Council.
* * * * *
(3) The Regional Administrator shall determine, on the basis of the
information reported to NMFS by the operator of each vessel fishing,
when the harvest guideline for each lobster ground will be reached.
(4) Notice of the date when the harvest guideline for a lobster
ground is expected to be reached and specification of the closure date
of the lobster grounds will be provided to each permit holder and/or
operator of each permitted vessel at least 24 hours in advance of the
closure. After a closure, the harvest of lobster in that lobster ground
is prohibited, and the possession of lobster traps on board the vessel
in that lobster ground is prohibited unless allowed under
Sec. 660.48(a)(8).
(5) With respect to the notification in paragraph (b)(4) of this
section, NMFS shall provide each permit holder and operator of each
permitted vessel with the following information, as appropriate:
[[Page 36823]]
(i) Determination of when the over-all harvest guideline for
Crustaceans Permit Area 1 will be reached;
(ii) Closure date after which harvest of lobster or possession of
lobster traps on board the vessel in a lobster grounds is prohibited;
(iii) Closure date after which the possession of lobster traps on
board the vessel in Crustaceans Permit Area 1 is prohibited by any
permitted vessel that is not operating a VMS unit certified by NMFS;
and
(iv) Specification of when further landings of lobster will be
prohibited by permitted vessels not carrying an operational VMS unit,
certified by NMFS, on board.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 99-17323 Filed 7-2-99; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
