[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 145 (Thursday, July 28, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45219-45220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19126]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648-BA18
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Limited Access Privilege Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment;
request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Amendment 93 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) would amend
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Amendment 80 Program to modify the
criteria for forming and participating in a harvesting cooperative.
This action is necessary to encourage greater participation in
harvesting cooperatives, which enable members to more efficiently
target species, avoid areas with undesirable bycatch, and improve the
quality of products produced. This action is intended to promote the
goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, the Fishery Management Plan, and other applicable law.
DATES: Comments on the amendments must be submitted on or before
September 26, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to James W. Balsiger, Ph.D., Administrator,
Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. You may submit comments,
identified by ``RIN 0648-BA18,'' by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802.
Fax: (907) 586-7557.
Hand delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9th
Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.
All comments received are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All
Personal Identifying Information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required
fields if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats only.
Copies of Amendment 93, the Environmental Assessment (EA),
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (IRFA)--collectively known as the Analysis--for this action
are available from the Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gwen Herrewig, (907) 586-7091.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each regional
fishery management council submit any fishery management plan amendment
it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial
approval by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). The Magnuson-Stevens
Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving a fishery management plan
amendment, immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register
announcing that the amendment is available for public review and
comment.
The Amendment 80 Program for Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (BSAI) groundfish fisheries was recommended by the
North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) in June 2006 as
Amendment 80 to the FMP. NMFS published a final rule to implement
Amendment 80 on September 14, 2007 (72 FR 52668), and fishing began
under the Amendment 80 Program in 2008.
The Amendment 80 Program is commonly known as a limited access
privilege program. Eligible fishery participants may receive exclusive
access to specific fishery resources if specific conditions are met.
Under the Amendment 80 Program, NMFS issues a quota share (QS) permit
to a person holding the catch history of an original qualifying non-
American Fisheries Act trawl catcher/processor that met specific
criteria designated by Congress under the Capacity Reduction Program
(CRP) (Pub. L. 108-447). NMFS determined that 28 vessels met the
criteria specified in the CRP. These vessels comprise the originally
qualifying Amendment 80 vessels. Each of the 28 originally qualifying
Amendment 80 vessels may be issued a QS permit by NMFS based on their
catch history of the six Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, Aleutian
Islands Pacific ocean perch, flathead sole, Pacific cod, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole) in the BSAI, if the Amendment 80 vessel owner applies
to NMFS to receive a QS permit.
Under the Amendment 80 Program, NMFS allocates a specific portion
of the BSAI total allowable catch (TAC) for harvest by QS holders, the
Amendment 80 sector, for each of the six defined Amendment 80 species.
In addition, NMFS allocates a specific portion of the allowable bycatch
of BSAI halibut, Bristol Bay red king crab, snow crab, and Tanner crab
to the Amendment 80 sector. This allowable bycatch is commonly known as
prohibited species catch (PSC) because these species may not be
retained, but are known to be incidentally taken in BSAI trawl
fisheries.
Each year, a person assigns each QS permit, Amendment 80 vessel,
and any associated license limitation program (LLP) licenses to either
an Amendment 80 cooperative, or the Amendment 80 limited access
fishery. Generally, the Amendment 80 Program is intended to facilitate
the formation of cooperatives that will receive exclusive harvest
privileges for a portion of the Amendment 80 species TAC and PSC known
as cooperative quota (CQ). A person who does not choose to join a
harvesting cooperative must fish in the Amendment 80 limited access
fishery, without an exclusive harvest privilege, and must continue to
race for fish with other participants in that fishery.
In order to form a cooperative, the cooperative must apply for a CQ
permit by November 1 of the year prior to fishing. The cooperative must
be comprised of:
At least three unique persons not affiliated with one
another through direct or indirect ownership of more than 10 percent;
and
At least nine (of the 28 potentially available) QS permits
in the Amendment 80 sector must be assigned to the cooperative.
Amendment 93 would result in two modifications to the Amendment 80
Program. First, it would allow a cooperative to form with a minimum of
two unique persons holding seven QS permits. The current requirement is
that a minimum of three unique persons and nine QS permits must be
assigned to a cooperative. Reducing the number of
[[Page 45220]]
unique persons and number of QS permits can provide additional
opportunities for QS holders to establish cooperative relationships
that could reduce the number of participants engaged in the race for
fish.
Second, Amendment 93 would require that a person holding multiple
QS permits, Amendment 80 vessels, and LLP licenses assign all of those
QS permits, vessels, and LLP licenses to either one or more
cooperatives or the limited access fishery. Under this proposed change,
an Amendment 80 QS permit holder would be prohibited from assigning
some QS permits to one or more cooperatives and some to the limited
access fishery. Under the current provisions, a vessel owner
participating in both a cooperative and the limited access fishery has
an incentive to exclude participants in the limited access fishery from
joining an existing cooperative or creating an additional cooperative
because the vessel owner could lose access to fish that would otherwise
be available in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery. This provision
would reduce the incentive for a cooperative member to exclude another
person from forming a cooperative in order to force them into a race
for fish in the limited access fishery. If approved, this provision
would not be applicable until the first fishing year 2 years after the
effective date of the final rule implementing Amendment 93. For
example, if the final rule became effective in October 2011, this
requirement would not apply until the start of the 2014 fishing year
and QS holders would have to assign all QS permits and vessels to
either a cooperative or the limited access fishery by the Amendment 80
annual cooperative application deadline of November 1, 2013.
Public comments are being solicited on proposed Amendment 93
through the end of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends to
publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register for public comment that
would implement Amendment 93, following NMFS evaluation under the
Magnuson-Stevens Act procedures. Public comments on the proposed rule
must be received by the close of the comment period on Amendment 93 to
be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 93. All
comments received by the end of the comment period on Amendment 93,
whether specifically directed to the FMP amendment or the proposed
rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on
Amendment 93. Comments received after the end of the public comment
period for Amendment 93, even if received within the comment period for
the proposed rule, will not be considered in the approval/disapproval
decision on the Amendment. To be considered, comments must be received
by NMFS, not just postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the close of
business on the last day of the comment period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.; 3631 et seq.;
Pub. L. 108-447.
Dated: July 25, 2011.
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-19126 Filed 7-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P