[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 218 (Thursday, November 9, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67305-67309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-28676]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 300 and 679
[Docket No. 000616184-0290-02; I.D. 050500A]
RIN 0648-AK74
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Sitka
Pinnacles Marine Reserve
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to implement Amendment 59 to the
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP) and
to make changes to the regulations governing the Individual Fishing
Quota (IFQ) commercial fishery and halibut sport fishery. This action
designates an unusually productive and fragile 2.5 square nautical mile
(nm) area of habitat as the Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve (Reserve)
and closes this area to groundfish fishing and anchoring by commercial
groundfish vessels, to halibut fishing and anchoring by IFQ halibut
fishing vessels, to sport fishing for halibut, and to anchoring by any
vessel if halibut is on board. The intent of this action is to protect
an area containing important fish habitat from the effects of fishing
and anchoring and to create a groundfish reserve.
DATES: Effective December 11, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact
Review/Initial Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR/IRFA) and the Final
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) prepared for this action may be
obtained from the Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK
99802-1668, Attn: Lori Gravel, or by calling the Alaska Region, NMFS,
at 907-586-7228. Send comments on any ambiguity or unnecessary
complexity arising from the language used in this final rule to the
Regional Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS, 709 West Ninth Street,
Federal Office Building, Suite 453, Juneau, AK 99801.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nina Mollett, 907-586-7228; fax 907-
586-7465.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The domestic groundfish fisheries of the
Gulf of Alaska (GOA) are managed by NMFS under the FMP. The FMP was
prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act). Regulations governing the domestic groundfish
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of the GOA appear at 50 CFR
parts 600 and 679. Regulations governing the IFQ halibut fisheries in
the exclusive economic zone of the GOA appear at 50 CFR part 679.
Regulations governing the domestic halibut fisheries appear at 50 CFR
300.60 to 300.65, which supplements the annual fishery management
measures adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC)
under the Convention between the United States and Canada for the
Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and
Bering Sea.
Amendment 59 was submitted to NMFS for review and a notice of
availability of the FMP amendment was published on May 12, 2000 (65 FR
30559), with comments on the FMP amendment invited through July 11,
2000. Amendment 59 was approved by NMFS on August 9, 2000. The proposed
rule to implement Amendment 59 was published on June 26, 2000 (64 FR
39342). The public comment period ended on August 10, 2000. One letter
of comments was received on Amendment 59 and its implementing
regulations. A summary of this letter and NMFS' response is provided in
the ``Response to Comments'' section.
Background
The Sitka Pinnacles area, in the Southeast Outside District of the
GOA near Cape Edgecumbe, provides highly productive habitat for many
species at different stages of their life cycles. Information collected
during manned submersible surveys of groundfish habitat by the Alaska
Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) indicates that the diversity and
density of fish around the Sitka Pinnacles are much greater than the
typical eastern continental shelf of the GOA. The pinnacles habitat is
fragile, and the concentration of fishes in a relatively small, compact
space can lend itself to overfishing of certain species, particularly
lingcod, at sensitive life stages.
The Sitka Pinnacles (also called the Cape Edgecumbe Pinnacles)
consist of two large volcanic cones that rise abruptly off the
seafloor. The top of one is within 70 meters (229.6 feet) of the sea
surface, and the other within 40 meters (131.2 feet). The area from sea
surface to seafloor provides a variety of rich habitat suitable for
different species. The field of boulders on the bottom provides a
spawning bed for
[[Page 67306]]
lingcod and refuge for large numbers of such commercially valuable
species as yelloweye and tiger rockfish, and of such non-commercial
species as prowfish. The flat, irregular tops of the pinnacles are used
as a feeding platform by juvenile and adult rockfish and by huge
concentrations of lingcod. The walls of the pinnacles, covered with
algae, anemones, and other organisms, provide shelter to large numbers
of juvenile and adult bottom-dwelling rockfish. Finally, schooling
species, such as yellowtail and widow rockfish, feed along the pinnacle
walls and in the water column between the top of the pinnacles and the
surface.
Since 1997, when the State of Alaska (State) initially proposed
this action to the Council, NMFS, ADF&G, and the IPHC have cooperated
on creating the Reserve, as different species are managed under
different jurisdictions (see Table 1).
The Sitka Pinnacles Table 1--Agency Actions to Close Fisheries off Cape Edgecumbe
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Species Agency Law
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Commercial and recreational fishing ADF&G.......................... These fisheries are closed under 5 AAC
for lingcod and black rockfish 28.150.
Groundfish NMFS........................... Closed by Amd. 59 and regulatory
amendments at 50 CFR 679.2 and Sec.
679.22.
Halibut NMFS and IPHC.................. Closed by regulatory amendments at 50 CFR
300.63 and Sec. 679.22.
Scallops ADF&G.......................... Under Amd. 3 to the Fishery Management
Plan for Scallop Fisheries off Alaska,
NMFS delegates responsibility to the
State for managing the scallop fishery.
Scallop dredging has been closed under 5
AAC 38.120 in the ``Central Southeast
Outside'' area, including the Sitka
Pinnacles, since July, 1994.
Commercial and Recreational Salmon NMFS and ADF&G................. The Alaska State Board of Fish considered
closure to salmon fishing at its February
2000 meeting and rejected the proposal.
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The area has been used for fishing, especially with hook-and-line
gear, for decades. In the late 1980s, a directed fishery for lingcod
developed on the pinnacles. The high density and aggressive feeding
behavior of lingcod made them extremely susceptible to capture; hourly
catch rates of lingcod at the site exceeded catch rates in the
surrounding area by threefold. In 1991, the State of Alaska (State)
began attempting to preserve lingcod populations in nearby State waters
(the Sitka Pinnacles are in Federal waters) through closures during
winter when male lingcod are nest guarding and, in 1994, through
spring/summer in-season closures of State-regulated fishing in areas
that included the pinnacles. In 1995, the pinnacles area was included
in the winter closure as well. In 1997, ADF&G issued an emergency order
closing the area to all State-regulated groundfish fishing for the
entire season. However, the sport fishery was not affected by any of
the State's management actions and continued to take lingcod and
Pacific halibut. In May 1998, the commercial and sportfish divisions of
ADF&G submitted joint proposals to the State's Board of Fish and the
Council to close the Sitka Pinnacles area. The Board of Fish closed the
area to fishing for lingcod and black rockfish, which are species under
its jurisdiction. It took up the question of closing the area to
commercial and recreational salmon fishing in February 2000 but
rejected the proposal.
This action has two parts:
1. Implementation of Amendment 59; Designation of Sitka Pinnacles
Marine Reserve and Closure to Groundfish Fishing and Anchoring
This action complements State regulations by designating a 2.5
square nm area of the GOA as the Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve and
closing this area to groundfish fishing or anchoring by vessels
required to have a Federal fisheries permit under Sec. 679.4(b).
2. Regulatory amendment for halibut
The Pacific halibut fishery is managed by the IPHC, under the
Northern Pacific Halibut Act. The Act states that the Regional Fishery
Management Council with authority for a geographic area may develop
regulations governing U.S. waters ``which are in addition to, and not
in conflict with, regulations adopted by the Commission'' (16 U.S.C.
773c(c)). Pursuant to this authority, this action closes the Reserve to
fishing for halibut or anchoring by vessels required to have on board
an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) halibut permit under Sec. 679.4(d).
Also pursuant to this authority, this action closes the area to sport
fishing for halibut as defined at Sec. 300.61, or anchoring by any
vessel having halibut on board.
The combined effect of State and Federal regulations will allow the
Sitka Pinnacles ecosystem to maintain its natural level of production
by eliminating the harvest or bycatch of fish during critical portions
of their life history. The prohibition on anchoring will prevent
degradation of the area's fragile habitat.
Response to Comments
One letter was received during the public comment period. It was
from the Center for Marine Conservation (CMC). CMC's comments are
summarized and responded to as follows:
Comment: CMC supported the closure generally with certain
reservations: (1) It would have preferred an ``ecosystem-based
management strategy'' including designation of the reserve as a Habitat
Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) to the ``species-specific strategy''
adopted by NMFS; (2) it supports a ban on all anchoring in the
pinnacles area; (3) it supports closing a larger area to fishing that
would include a buffer zone around
[[Page 67307]]
the pinnacles, noting that initial State-regulated closures designated
a 3.1 square nm area.
Response: (1) The Reserve is being considered by the Council for
HAPC designation as part of a broader HAPC amendment, which is
undergoing a public planning process. (2) NMFS agrees that the
anchoring prohibition is selective, not comprehensive. However, NMFS'
authority under the Magnuson-Stevens Act is limited to the regulation
of fishing vessels. Thus, NMFS does not have authority to prohibit
anchoring by non fishing vessels. NMFS has delegated the management of
commercial and sport salmon fishing to the State. NMFS has corresponded
with the State over the possibility of prohibiting anchoring by salmon
fishing vessels. (3) Initial state-regulated closures designated a 3.1
square nm area around the pinnacles. The discrepancy is due to an
initial miscalculation of the area, which has been corrected. The area
is actually 2.5 square nm. The area delineated has remained the same
dimension and includes the entire area around the pinnacles recommended
by the State in its initial presentation to the Council, as described
in the final rule. A larger closed area would lead to greater impacts
on fishermen and would have less community support. The 2.5 square nm
closure adequately protects the discrete habitat area surrounding the
Sitka Pinnacles.
Classification
This action has been determined to be not significant under
Executive Order12866. No new reporting, recordkeeping, or compliance
requirements are imposed by this final rule.
NMFS has prepared an FRFA that describes the impact this final rule
is expected to have on small entities. A copy of this analysis is
available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). At the upper limit, the total
number of entities that could be affected by this action is estimated
at 2,618, which includes 1,048 fixed gear groundfish vessels and 1,570
halibut vessels, based on 1998 data for vessels that fished in the GOA.
This figure does not include trawl vessels, which are already
prohibited from fishing in this area under Amendment 41 (63 FR 8356,
February 19, 1998). Of the non-trawl vessels, the great majority (90
percent) are catcher vessels under 60 feet in length overall (as
opposed to larger catcher vessels and catcher-processors). The
necessary data on ownership, affiliation, contractual relationships,
and the rest from which to conclusively determine which of these
operations are ``small entities'' for Regulatory Flexibility Act
purposes are not available, and some of these 2,618 vessels might not
qualify under Small Business Administration criteria. However, for the
purposes of the FRFA analysis, all of these groundfish and commercial
halibut vessels are assumed to be small entities, given the nature of
the fisheries they participate in and the unlikelihood that many of
them have annual gross revenues in excess of $3 million. This
simplifying assumption avoids the risk of understating the potential
impact on small entities.
Realistically, the assumption that all vessels fishing in the GOA
could be affected greatly inflates the estimate of vessels whose
opportunity to fish could potentially be affected by this final rule.
The closure is in Statistical Area (S.A.) 355631. Information from the
State's Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission fish ticket data shows
that, in 1998, 97 vessels fished for groundfish in S. A. 355631. The
NMFS IFQ landings database shows that 67 vessels caught IFQ halibut in
1998 in S. A. 355631 (4.2 percent of halibut vessels). Therefore, 157
is a more realistic estimate of the universe of commercial groundfish
and halibut vessels that fish in the vicinity and whose opportunity to
fish could potentially be affected by the final rule.
The total landings of State and federally managed species in 1998
in S. A. 355631, based on fish ticket data, were 748,378 lb (or about
0.14 percent of the total landings in the GOA that year). The total
amount of halibut landed in S. A. 355631 was 409,000 lb, or 0.9 percent
of the total landed in the GOA, a percentage which remained consistent
from 1995 to 1998. The closure area itself is less than 1 percent of S.
A. 355631 (2.5 sq nm out of a total of 466 sq nm). The historical
poundage of groundfish and halibut taken in the closure area cannot be
ascertained with any further accuracy, however, because the data built
from fish tickets give only statistical areas and not exact catch
locations.
In addition to the commercial fishing vessels, 588 charter vessels,
owned by 397 unique businesses, fished for halibut in 1988 in IPHC Area
2C, in which the Sitka Pinnacles are located. Of the charter vessels,
364 were homeported in Sitka, and 191 of the Sitka vessels targeted
bottomfish, including Pacific halibut. Opportunities of charter boat
operators, as well as individual anglers, to fish for Pacific halibut
could be affected by this action. But few, if any, of these charter
boats have been fishing on the pinnacles since the State closed the
area to fishing for lingcod and State-managed rockfish species in the
summer of 1998. The aggregations of lingcod present on the pinnacles
were an incentive to travel to this site. Although halibut may be found
near the Sitka Pinnacles, they do not aggregate there in any greater
numbers than elsewhere in S. A. 355631.
The actual number of vessels affected by the rule will be even
smaller than the number outlined. Few fishing vessels currently use the
area. Most, if not all, groundfish and halibut fishermen have
voluntarily avoided the pinnacles area for the past 2 years, since
ADF&G regulations prohibiting the take of groundfish species under its
jurisdiction took effect. Local fishermen have been supportive of
protecting the Sitka Pinnacles.
If any vessels continue to fish in the reserve, they are not likely
to be adversely affected by the closure to any significant extent, as
the area constitutes less than 1 percent of the grounds in S. A. 355631
and less than .001 percent of the total available fishing grounds in
the GOA (about 340,000 sq nm). Some long-term advantage may accrue to
fishermen in terms of fishing opportunity in nearby areas because
leaving an area of notably high biological importance and productivity
(e.g., unique breeding, spawning, rearing habitat) undisturbed has the
potential of increasing production through a spillover effect in
adjacent areas that remain open to fishing. Any such benefits from
increased production, however, could be offset in an open-access
situation because increased catch per unit effort in adjacent areas
could lead to crowding externalities. The preferred alternative
selected, under which salmon fishing would continue to be allowed, was
chosen in order to reduce the potential impact on small entities. The
State Board of Fish considered and rejected closing the area to salmon
fishing at its February 2000 meeting in order to minimize unwarranted
adverse impacts on numerous salmon vessels that fish in the GOA.
In summary, the cost to small entities of implementing the final
rule is expected to be quite low, as the area being proposed for
closure constitutes an extremely small percentage of available fishing
grounds, and few, if any, vessels have been fishing in the area since
ADF&G promulgated regulations prohibiting fishing for groundfish
species under its jurisdiction in 1998. No total allowable catch quotas
will be changed by the rule, and NMFS does not anticipate a reduction
in catch for any species as a result of this rulemaking.
The Environmental Assessment concluded that implementing the
[[Page 67308]]
amendment is not likely to affect the quality of the human environment.
The President has directed Federal agencies to use plain language
in their communication with the public, including regulations. To
comply with this directive, we seek public comment on any ambiguity or
unnecessary complexity arising from the language used in this final
rule. Such comments should be sent to the Alaska Regional Administrator
(see ADDRESSES).
List of Subjects
50 CFR Part 300
Administrative practice and procedure, Exports, Fish, Fisheries,
Marine resources.
50 CFR Part 679
Alaska, Fisheries, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Dated: November 1, 2000.
William T. Hogarth,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, 50 CFR parts 300 and 679
are amended as follows:
PART 300--INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES REGULATIONS
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 300, subpart E, continues
to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 - 773k.
2. In subpart E, Pacific Halibut Fisheries, Sec. 300.63, paragraph
(e) is added to read as follows:
Sec. 300.63 Catch sharing plans, local area management plans, and
domestic management measures.
* * * * *
(e) Prohibition on halibut fishing and anchoring in the Sitka
Pinnacles Marine Reserve. (1) For purposes of this paragraph (e), the
Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve means an area totaling 2.5 square nm off
Cape Edgecumbe, defined by straight lines connecting the following
points in a counterclockwise manner:
56 deg.55.0'N lat., 135 deg.54.0'W long;
56 deg.57.0'N lat., 135 deg.54.0'W long;
56 deg.57.0'N lat., 135 deg.57.0'W long;
56 deg.55.5'N lat., 135 deg.57.0'W long.
(2) No person shall engage in sport fishing, as defined in Sec.
300.61, for halibut within the Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve.
(3) No person shall anchor a vessel within the Sitka Pinnacles
Marine Reserve if halibut is on board.
PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA
3. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., and 3631 et seq.
4. In Sec. 679.2, a new definition for the ``Sitka Pinnacles Marine
Reserve'' is added in alphabetical order, to read as follows:
Sec. 679.2 Definitions.
* * * * *
Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve means an area totaling 2.5 square nm
in the GOA, off Cape Edgecumbe, in Statistical Area 650. See Figure 18
to this part.
* * * * *
5. In Sec. 679.22, paragraph (b)(5) is added to read as follows:
Sec. 679.22 Closures.
* * * * *
(b)* * *
(5) Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve. (i) No vessel required to have
a Federal fisheries permit under Sec. 679.4(b) may fish for groundfish
or anchor in the Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve, as described in Figure
18 to this part.
(ii) No vessel required to have on board an IFQ halibut permit
under Sec. 679.4(d) may fish for halibut or anchor in the Sitka
Pinnacles Marine Reserve, as described in Figure 18 to this part.
* * * * *
6. In part 679, Figure 18 is added to read as follows:
Figure 18 to Part 679-Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR09NO00.011
b. Coordinates
An area totaling 2.5 square nm off Cape Edgecumbe, defined by
straight lines connecting the following points in a counterclockwise
manner:
56 deg.55.5'N lat., 135 deg.54.0'W long;
56 deg.57.0'N lat., 135 deg.54.0'W long;
56 deg.57.0'N lat., 135 deg.57.0'W long;
56 deg.55.5'N lat., 135 deg.57.0'W long.
[FR Doc. 00-28676 Filed 11-09-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-C