[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 199 (Monday, October 17, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-25616]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: October 17, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 675
[Docket No. 941089-4289; I.D. 092694A]
RIN 0648-AF02
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would implement Amendment 21a to the
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering
Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI), and would prohibit the
use of trawl gear in specified areas surrounding the Pribilof Islands.
This action is necessary to protect areas of biological importance to
certain crab stocks and to reduce interference with seabird and marine
mammal populations. It is intended to promote the objectives of the
FMP.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by November 28, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to Ronald J. Berg, Chief, Fisheries
Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK
99802 Attn: Lori Gravel, or delivered to the Federal Building, 709 West
9th Street, Juneau, AK. Copies of Amendment 21a and the environmental
assessment/regulatory impact review (EA/RIR) prepared for the amendment
are available from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, P.O.
Box 103136, Anchorage, AK 99510, telephone: 907-271-2809.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen R. Varosi, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fishing for groundfish by U.S. vessels in
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the BSAI is managed by NMFS
according to the FMP for the Groundfish Fishery of the BSAI. The FMP
was prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq.) (Magnuson Act), and is implemented by regulations
governing the U.S. groundfish fisheries at 50 CFR parts 675 and 676.
General regulations that pertain to U.S. fisheries are codified at 50
CFR part 620.
This action proposes regulations to implement Amendment 21a to the
FMP. If approved, this amendment would prohibit the use of trawl gear
in specified areas of the EEZ surrounding the Pribilof Islands. A
description of, and reasons for, the proposed measures are presented
below.
Fishing for groundfish using trawl gear is authorized in the waters
off St. Paul, St. George, Walrus, and Otter Islands (Pribilof Islands
area) under regulations at 50 CFR part 675. In addition to providing
habitat for commercially important groundfish, the Pribilof Islands
area provides the necessary habitat for blue king crab, juvenile
groundfish, Korean hair crab, marine mammals, seabirds, and their prey
species. The rocky benthic habitat immediately surrounding the Pribilof
Islands area provides essential food resources and protection for
juvenile crab and fish species, which are prey species for marine
mammals and seabirds.
NMFS trawl surveys indicate that during 1975, the historic
estimated abundance of blue king crab in the Pribilof Islands area
decreased significantly. During 1980-1992, the abundance decreased from
106 million animals to 10 million animals, according to the estimates
obtained from NMFS trawl surveys. Unlike other crab species, blue king
crab populations do not extend uniformly across the Bering Sea shelf,
but are found in isolated populations located in waters surrounding the
Pribilof, St. Matthew, and St. Lawrence Islands. As a result of the
decrease in crab abundance, commercial crab fisheries in the Pribilof
Islands area have not been authorized since 1987. Continued trawling
under the current FMP for groundfish in the Pribilof Islands area could
jeopardize the recovery of depressed blue king crab stocks and the
productivity of marine resources living in this habitat.
The Pribilof Islands area contributes an essential food resource of
prey species that allows for optimal foraging and breeding
opportunities for marine resources dependent on the habitat in this
area. Fish, crab, seabird, and marine mammal populations are dependent
on the habitat that the Pribilof Islands area provides. Although sea
lions and red-legged kittiwakes are listed as a threatened species and
as a candidate for threatened species, respectively, this action would
further protect these species. The northern fur seal is listed as
depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. During the breeding
season, approximately two-thirds of the northern fur seal population,
and an estimated 88 and 92 percent of red-legged kittiwakes and Alaskan
thick-billed murre, respectively, breed in the Pribilof Islands area.
The Pribilof Islands area also provides the rocky habitat necessary to
protect fish and crab populations during their juvenile stages.
In 1989, the Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association initiated a
proposal to establish areas closed to trawling in the Pribilof Islands
area. The intent of this proposal was to protect this unique habitat
and ecosystem so that it could contribute long-term benefits to the
fisheries surrounding the waters of the Pribilof Islands area.
At its meeting in September 1991, the Council requested that an
analysis be prepared to identify those areas needing protection. The
State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game prepared a draft EA/RIR for
that proposal. The Pribilof Islands habitat conservation area was
determined by the Council at its April 1992 meeting, based on an
analysis of the distribution of crab and groundfish species.
The analysis was released for public review on October 29, 1992,
and again in September 1993. During both review processes, the Council
recommended that additional alternatives be studied to define the areas
that would protect a majority of the species and habitat, while
providing access to groundfish resources. The analysis identified areas
of high blue king crab bycatch and low groundfish harvests.
The analysis indicated that the proposed Pribilof Islands habitat
conservation area would not significantly impact groundfish fishermen
because it would affect only 14 vessels in the entire BSAI groundfish
fleet and the operators of these vessels would have the opportunity to
fish in the remainder of the BSAI.
At its meeting in December 1993, the Council again reviewed the
draft EA/RIR and sent the document out for public review. At its
meeting in April 1994, the Council considered the testimony and
recommendations of its Advisory Panel, Scientific and Statistical
Committee, fishing industry representatives, and the general public on
alternative habitat protection zones and how these areas would be
defined, established, and managed. The Council reviewed information
about the distribution and habitat of blue king crab in the NMFS annual
trawl surveys, and on observer data. The proposed trawl closure
encompasses a major portion of the historic blue king crab distribution
during years of low abundance and during years when the population was
expanding.
Amendment 21a would prohibit trawling within the EEZ in an area
bounded by a straight line connecting the following pairs of
coordinates in the following order:
Latitude Longitude
57 deg.57.0' N. 168 deg.30.0' W.
56 deg.55.2' N. 168 deg.30.0' W.
56 deg.48.0' N. 169 deg.2.4' W.
56 deg.34.2' N. 169 deg.2.4' W.
56 deg.30.0' N. 169 deg.25.2' W.
56 deg.30.0' N. 169 deg.44.1' W.
56 deg.55.8' N. 170 deg.21.6' W.
57 deg.13.8' N. 171 deg.0.0' W.
57 deg.57.0' N. 171 deg.0.0' W.
57 deg.57.0' N. 168 deg.30.0' W.
The Council determined that this area protects most of the crab
habitat in the Pribilof Islands area, without significant adverse
impacts on trawl operations for groundfish. This action balances the
protection of the marine resources dependent on this habitat with the
needs of the groundfish fishery. The Council voted to recommend that
Amendment 21a, which prohibit trawling in this area, be submitted to
NMFS for approval.
Section 304(a)(1)(D) of the Magnuson Act requires the publication
of regulations proposed by a Council within 15 days of receipt of the
FMP amendments and regulations. At this time, NMFS has not determined
that the FMP amendment these regulations would implement are consistent
with the national standards, other provisions of the Magnuson Act, and
other applicable laws. NMFS, in making a final determination about the
FMP amendment and in implementing a final rule, will take into account
the data, views, and comments received during the comment period.
Classification
The Assistant General Counsel of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel of the Small Business Administration
that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The proposed
action would not have a significant economic impact on the fishing
industry because less than 3 percent of the Bering Sea groundfish is
harvested in the Pribilof Islands area by 14 vessels in the groundfish
fleet. The volume of groundfish historically caught in this area can be
harvested elsewhere in the Bering Sea. As a result, a regulatory
flexibility analysis was not prepared.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 675
Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: October 11, 1994.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
For reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 675 is proposed to
be amended as follows:
PART 675--GROUNDFISH OF THE BERING SEA AND ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AREA
1. The authority citation for part 675 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In Sec. 675.22, paragraph (i) is added to read as follows:
Sec. 675.22 Time and area closures.
* * * * *
(i) Time and area closure. Trawling is prohibited at all times
within the EEZ in the area bounded by a straight line connecting the
following pairs of coordinates in the following order:
Latitude Longitude
57 deg.57.0' N. 168 deg.30.0' W.
56 deg.55.2' N. 168 deg.30.0' W.
56 deg.48.0' N. 169 deg.2.4' W.
56 deg.34.2' N. 169 deg.2.4' W.
56 deg.30.0' N. 169 deg.25.2' W.
56 deg.30.0' N. 169 deg.44.1' W.
56 deg.55.8' N. 170 deg.21.6' W.
57 deg.13.8' N. 171 deg.0.0' W.
57 deg.57.0' N. 171 deg.0.0' W.
[FR Doc. 94-25616 Filed 10-12-94; 3:34 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-W