[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 222 (Wednesday, November 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72049-72052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29451]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XD294
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Application
for an Exempted Fishing Permit
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for exempted fishing permit.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt of an exempted fishing permit
(EFP) application from the Alaska Seafood Cooperative (AKSC). If
granted, this permit would allow up to five AKSC-member Amendment 80
vessels to conduct experimental fishing in two subareas of the Bering
Sea that are closed to fishing with trawl gear. Under the permit,
experimental fishing with non-pelagic trawl gear would be authorized in
Reporting Area 516 of Zone 1 that is otherwise closed to all trawl gear
and the Red King Crab Savings Area (RKCSA) that is otherwise closed to
non-pelagic trawl gear. The AKSC would collect data on crab prohibited
species catch (PSC) rates during commercial groundfish fishing
operations inside the Area 516 seasonal closure, the RKCSA, and
adjacent areas that are currently open to non-pelagic trawling. The
objective of the EFP is to evaluate PSC rates and overall catch of
target species in the above-mentioned closed areas compared with the
areas currently open to fishing with trawl gear. This experiment has
the potential to promote the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act.
DATES: Submit comments on this EFP application on or before December
15, 2015.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will
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consider the EFP application at its meeting to be held December 9,
2015, through December 15, 2015, in Anchorage, AK.
ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be held at the Anchorage Hilton
Hotel, 500 W. 3rd Avenue, Anchorage, AK, 99501. The agenda for the
Council meeting is available at http://legistar2.granicus.com/npfmc/meetings/2015/12/932_A_North_Pacific_Council_15-12-07_Meeting_Agenda.pdf.
You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2015-0138, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0138, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau,
AK 99802-1668.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information,
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
Electronic copies of the EFP application and the categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act are available
from the Alaska Region, NMFS Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Hartman, 907-586-7442.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the domestic groundfish
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI)
under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP), which the Council prepared
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
Regulations governing the BSAI groundfish fisheries appear at 50 CFR
parts 600 and 679. The FMP and the implementing regulations, Sec.
600.745(b) and Sec. 679.6, allow the NMFS Regional Administrator to
authorize, for limited experimental purposes, fishing that would
otherwise be prohibited. Procedures for issuing EFPs are contained in
the implementing regulations.
Background
BSAI groundfish harvests are managed subject to annual limits on
groundfish and PSC. Pacific halibut, Pacific herring, Pacific salmon
and steelhead, king crab (including red king crab), and Tanner crab are
prohibited species under the FMP. Participants in the BSAI non-pelagic
trawl fisheries catch PSC incidentally--primarily crab and halibut.
The directed red king crab pot fishery is one of the most important
shellfish fisheries in the Bering Sea. Current regulations for
harvesting red king crab in the crab pot fishery may be found in 50 CFR
part 680. Red king crab is also caught incidentally as PSC in Bering
Sea groundfish non-pelagic trawl fisheries. PSC (including red king
crab) in the non-pelagic trawl fisheries must be minimized to the
extent practicable and if caught, immediately returned to the ocean
with a minimum of injury.
The Council and NMFS have implemented FMP amendments, dating back
to the 1980s and 1990s to reduce the amount of red king crab PSC in
trawl fisheries, including the BSAI non-pelagic trawl fishery. For
example, the Area 516 red king crab seasonal closure for all trawl gear
(FMP Amendment 10) was implemented in 1987 (52 FR 8592, March 19,
1987). FMP amendment 37, (61 FR 65985, December 16, 1996) was
implemented in 1997, to create the red king crab savings area (RKCSA)
along with other measures to conserve concentrations of Bristol Bay red
king crab. The management and structure of the non-pelagic trawl
fisheries in the Bering Sea have changed since these red king crab
closure areas were implemented. In 2007, NMFS implemented Amendment 80
to the FMP (72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007). Amendment 80 established
a catch share program to allocate specific non-pelagic groundfish
species among specific defined participants (the Amendment 80 sector)
and facilitate the formation of Amendment 80 cooperatives among those
participants. The Amendment 80 sector is comprised of 19 active vessels
in 2015, and is the largest component of the non-pelagic trawl fishery.
With the implementation of Amendment 80 to the FMP in 2008, vessels
operating in Amendment 80 cooperatives were able to develop tools to
reduce incidental catch of crab PSC.
Since the implementation of Amendment 80, participants in Amendment
80 cooperatives have reduced the amount of red king crab bycatch
through improved fishing practices that are possible now that
participants in the Amendment 80 cooperative receive an allocation of
specific groundfish species. These exclusive allocations provide
opportunities for Amendment 80 cooperative participants to slow or
otherwise change their fishing operations to avoid red king crab
bycatch. These modified fishing practices are not practicable when
vessels are not provided an exclusive harvest allocation and are racing
with other vessels to harvest their groundfish as soon as possible.
Although Amendment 80 cooperatives have undoubtedly helped to
reduce red king crab PSC in the sector's target fisheries, a
combination of closed areas and PSC limits currently regulate red king
crab PSC in trawl fisheries, including the Amendment 80 sector. For
example, the Area 516 of Zone 1 in the Bering Sea sub area closes
annually to all trawl gear, including Amendment 80 vessels from March
15 through June 15, Sec. 679.22(a)(2).
Regulations for groundfish fishing in the RKCSA, Sec.
679.22(a)(3), close directed fishing for non-pelagic trawl gear in a
portion of the Bering sea subarea defined in Figure 11 to 50 CFR part
679. Non-pelagic trawl gear is used by all Amendment 80 vessels in the
Bering Sea.
PSC limits for red king crab (Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(i)) specify the
annual PSC allowance of red king crab for all trawl vessels while
engaged in directed fishing for groundfish in Zone 1. Approximately 50
percent of the Zone 1 red king crab PSC limit is apportioned to the
Amendment 80 sector, and distributed as an allowance of crab to each
Amendment 80 cooperative. In 2015, the Zone 1 red king crab PSC
allowance for the AKSC is 30,834 animals.
The Zone 1 red king crab PSC allowance, allowed the Amendment 80
cooperatives to assign voluntary, vessel-level apportionments of PSC to
vessels fishing in Zone 1. With these voluntary apportionments, vessel
owners and operators in the sector began to share information about
individual vessel PSC rates and avoid areas with high PSC rates for red
king crab. The primary result of the improved crab avoidance and
management tools is that AKSC and the remaining Amendment 80 sector
vessels have consistently stayed well
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under the Zone 1 red king crab PSC allowance. While the potential
exists for crab PSC allowances and closure areas to constrain allocated
catch in some Amendment 80 target fisheries, the Amendment 80 sector
continues to actively explore how to further reduce crab PSC while
preserving target fishery harvest opportunities.
Exempted Fishing Permit Application
On October 2, 2015, the AKSC, an Amendment 80 cooperative,
submitted an application for an EFP. The EFP would allow up to five
AKSC-member Amendment 80 vessels to conduct field tests in two subareas
of the Bering Sea that are closed to trawl directed fisheries. Those
two subareas are Reporting Area 516 of Zone 1, which is closed to all
trawl gear Sec. 679.22(a)(2), and the RKCSA, which is closed to non-
pelagic trawl gear under Sec. 679.22(a)(3). If granted, this EFP would
allow AKSC to collect data on crab bycatch rates during commercial
fishing operations on five groundfish fishing vessels (targeting mostly
flatfish) inside the Area 516 seasonal closure, the RKCSA, and adjacent
areas that are currently open to non-pelagic trawl gear. The principle
objective of the EFP is to evaluate whether flatfish and other
groundfish trawling in the above-mentioned closed areas under the
existing PSC allowance for crab would result in reduced PSC rates for
crab or other species, or a change in overall catch of target species
compared with the status quo. This data will inform assessment of the
effectiveness of these two crab closures.
The applicant proposes to begin EFP fishing in early February 2016
and end by mid-May 2016. EFP fishing would begin again in late January
2017 and end by mid-May 2017. The EFP would be in place over two
winter/spring seasons to increase the chance that data collections will
occur in different environmental conditions that are expected to affect
crab and flatfish abundance and location.
To ensure data are available for valid comparisons of catch rates
inside and outside the closed areas, participating vessels would fish
both inside the closed areas and in adjacent areas outside the closed
areas (as proportionally as possible) over the course of their Zone 1
rock sole and yellowfin sole fishing each year of the EFP. Adjacent
areas against which rates inside the closed areas will be assessed will
be selected based on similarities in the general depth and type of
substrates that were test trawled in the RKCSA and Area 516 closures.
To help ensure differences in bycatch rates reflect differences in
relative abundance rather than the attributes of trawl gear used, the
vessels participating in the EFP will keep their ground gear
configuration (e.g. size of trawl net and width of footropes) as
consistent as possible inside and outside of the closed areas.
Under the EFP, sea samplers would be required for monitoring and
data collection. Sea samplers are NMFS-certified observers that conduct
activities under an EFP rather than normal observer activities on an
Amendment 80 vessel.
The sea samplers will conduct a census of all crab for all EFP tows
inside the red king crab closed areas and in adjacent areas outside the
red king crab closed areas. The census data will include a record of
size and sex of each individual. Temperature and depth data will be
collected by sea samplers for each tow. Sea samplers will also collect
fishing operational information such as tow speed and tow length. AKSC
will compare catch rates on different EFP vessels when fishing in
similar areas to evaluate the degree to which individual differences in
a specific vessel are impacting catch rates.
To ensure observer sampling duties are undisturbed, expanded crab
data collection under the census will be conducted in a manner that is
completely separate from current observer sampling protocols. To
accomplish this, the crab census will occur after all the catch passes
over the vessel's flow scale and the observer has completed all
sampling of unsorted catch for all Bering Sea EFP hauls.
The five vessels authorized to participate in this EFP would be
required to comply with all the aggregate target species allocations
that apply to the rest of the Amendment 80 sector, and would operate
under the Amendment 80 crab and halibut PSC allowances available
through membership in the AKSC. These allowances will apply to all EFP
and non-EFP fishing during the year.
Under the EFP, the AKSC and the member EFP vessels would be limited
to the amount of aggregate groundfish allocations currently in
regulation at 50 CFR part 679. Further, the amount of red king crab PSC
accrued by the AKSC and under the EFP would not exceed the AKSC's 2016
or 2017 red king crab allowance. All other crab limits and halibut
mortality limits will continue to apply to the EFP activities, and are
subject to review and approval by NMFS.
At the end of EFP fishing in 2016, AKSC would be required to submit
to NMFS a preliminary report of the EFP results on PSC use inside and
outside of the closed areas and by target fishery. At the end of EFP
fishing in 2017, a final, comprehensive EFP report would be submitted.
The proposed action would exempt participating AKSC vessels from
selected 50 CFR part 679 closed areas and PSC handling requirements.
Should the Regional Administrator issue a permit based on this EFP
application, the conditions of the permit will be designed to minimize
PSC, and any potential for biasing estimates of groundfish or PSC.
Vessels participating in EFP fishing would be exempt from, at minimum,
the following regulations:
1. Closure to directed fishing by trawl gear in Reporting Area 516
of Zone 1 in the Bering Sea Subarea from March 15 through June 15, at
Sec. 679.22(a)(2).
2. closure to directed fishing by non-pelagic trawl gear in the
RKCSA at Sec. 679.22(a)(3).
3. that the operator of each vessel, after allowing for sampling by
an observer, return all prohibited species, or parts thereof, to the
sea immediately, with a minimum of injury, regardless of its condition
at Sec. 679.21(b)(2)(ii).
The EFP would be valid upon issuance in 2016 until either the end
of designated EFP fishing in 2017 or until the AKSC Zone 1 red king
crab PSC allowance is reached in areas of the BSAI open to directed
fishing by the Amendment 80 cooperatives. EFP-authorized fishing
activities would not be expected to change the nature or duration of
the groundfish fishery, gear used, or the amount or species of fish
caught by the Amendment 80 cooperatives.
The fieldwork that would be conducted under this EFP is not
expected to have a significant impact on the human environment as
detailed in the categorical exclusion prepared for this action (see
ADDRESSES).
In accordance with Sec. 679.6, NMFS has determined that the
application warrants further consideration and has forwarded the
application to the Council to initiate consultation. The Council is
scheduled to consider the EFP application during its December 2015
meeting, which will be held at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel, Anchorage,
AK. The EFP application will also be provided to the Council's
Scientific and Statistical Committee for review at the December Council
meeting. The applicant has been invited to appear in support of the
application.
Public Comments
Interested persons may comment on the EFP application at the
December 2015 Council meeting during public testimony. Information
regarding the
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meeting is available at the Council's Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc/council.htm. Comments also may be
submitted directly to NMFS (see ADDRESSES) by the end of the comment
period (see DATES). Copies of the application and categorical exclusion
are available for review from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 13, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-29451 Filed 11-17-15; 8:45 am]
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