Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Allocating Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab Fishery Resources, 38298-38301 [E6-10554]
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38298
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 129 / Thursday, July 6, 2006 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 300
[Docket No. 060215036–6178–02; I.D.
101501A]
RIN 0648–AU30
Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Guideline
Harvest Levels for the Guided
Recreational Halibut Fishery;
Correction
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; correcting
amendment.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This action corrects the
regulatory text of a final rule published
August 8, 2003, (FR Doc. 03–20285) that
implemented the guideline harvest level
(GHL) for the charter sport fishery for
Pacific halibut in waters off Alaska. This
action is necessary to correct a
typographical error in regulations
implementing the GHL.
DATES: July 6, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jason Gasper, NMFS, 907–586–7228 or
email at jason.gasper@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A final
rule published August 8, 2003, (68 FR
47256) implemented guideline harvest
level (GHL) measures for managing the
harvest of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus
stenolepis) in the charter sport fishery in
International Pacific Halibut
Commission (Commission) management
Area 2C and Area 3A in and off Alaska.
This correcting amendment revises the
regulation at 50 CFR 300.65(c)(2) to
change the reference to Commission
management from Area 3B to Area 3A.
Paragraph (c)(2) is set out as paragraph
(i)(2) in the August 8, 2003, rule and
was redesignated as paragraph (c)(2) on
April 1, 2005 (70 FR 16742).
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Need for Correction
Current text at § 300.65(c)(2)
incorrectly indicates that the GHL will
be established for Commission Area 3B.
This regulation states that ‘‘NMFS will
publish a notice in the Federal Register
on an annual basis establishing the GHL
for Area 2C and Area 3B for that
Calendar year within 30 days of
receiving information from the
Commission which establishes the
constant exploitation yield for that
year.’’ This regulation is not consistent
with § 300.65(c)(1), which provides for
the annual determination of GHLs for
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Area 2C and Area 3A based on the
constant exploitation yield (CEY) for
halibut in Area 2C and Area 3A. When
the Commission establishes the annual
CEY, § 300.65(c)(2) provides that NMFS
must notify the public of the GHLs by
publication of a notice in the Federal
Register, presumably for Area 2C and
Area 3A as prescribed in § 300.65(c)(1)
rather than for Area 2C and Area 3B as
currently stated in § 300.65(c)(2). The
regulation also is not consistent with
§ 300.65(c)(3) which codifies procedures
that NMFS takes if the GHL is exceeded
in Area 2C and Area 3A. Therefore, the
reference to Area 3B at § 300.65(c)(2) is
not consistent with the Commission
areas outlined in all other GHL
regulations at § 300.65(c). In addition,
the GHL was not intended to apply in
Area 3B as it was described in the
proposed rule (67 FR 3867, January 28,
2002), or in the preamble to the final
rule implementing the GHL (68 FR
47256, August 8, 2003). Reference to
Area 3B at § 300.65(c)(2) is a
typographical mistake. This rule issues
a correcting amendment to correct the
typographical error at § 300.65(c)(2) to
indicate Commission management Area
3A instead of Area 3B.
Classification
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), the
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
NOAA (AA), finds good cause to waive
the requirement to provide prior notice
and opportunity for public comment on
this correcting amendment to the GHL
regulations, as such procedures would
be unnecessary. Notice and comment is
unnecessary because this action makes
a minor, non-substantive change
correcting a Commission area in
§ 300.65(c)(2), which is itself a
ministerial provision requiring NOAA
to publish in the Federal Register notice
to the public of the GHLs set for Areas
2C and 3A pursuant to § 300.65(c)(1).
The rule does not make any substantive
change in the rights and obligations of
charter sport fishermen managed under
the GHL halibut regulations. No aspect
of this action is controversial and no
change in operating practices in the
fishery is required. Because this action
makes only the minor, non-substantive
changes to § 300.65(c)(2) described
above, this rule is not subject to the 30day delay in effective date requirement
of 5 U.S.C. 553(d).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300
Administrative practice and
procedure, Antarctica, Canada, Exports,
Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Imports,
Indians, Labeling, Marine resources,
Reporting and recordkeeping
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requirements, Russian Federation,
Transportation, Treaties, Wildlife.
Dated: June 29, 2006.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
Accordingly, 50 CFR part 300 is
corrected by making the following
correcting amendment:
I
PART 300—INTERNATIONAL
FISHERIES REGULATIONS
Subpart E—Pacific Halibut Fisheries
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR
part 300, subpart E, continues to read as
follows:
I
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773–773k.
2. In § 300.65, paragraph (c)(2) is
revised to read as follows:
I
§ 300.65 Catch sharing plan and domestic
management measures in waters in and off
Alaska.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(2) NMFS will publish a notice in the
Federal Register on an annual basis
establishing the GHL for Area 2C and
Area 3A for that Calendar year within
30 days of receiving information from
the Commission which establishes the
constant exploitation yield for that year.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. E6–10556 Filed 7–5–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 680
[Docket No. 060404093–6177–02; I.D.
033106A]
RIN 0648–AU24
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Allocating Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands King and Tanner
Crab Fishery Resources
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule
implementing changes to the regulations
for the Crab Rationalization Program.
This action is necessary to correct two
discrepancies in the scope of the
sideboard protections for Gulf of Alaska
(GOA) groundfish fisheries provided in
a previous rulemaking. Specifically, this
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 129 / Thursday, July 6, 2006 / Rules and Regulations
action would remove the sideboard
restrictions from vessels that did not
generate Bering Sea snow crab
(Chionoecetes opilio) quota share and
would apply the sideboards to federally
permitted vessels operating in the State
of Alaska (State) parallel fisheries. This
action is intended to promote the goals
and objectives of the Fishery
Management Plan for Bering Sea/
Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs
(FMP), the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), and other
applicable law.
DATES: Effective on August 7, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the regulatory
impact review/initial regulatory
flexibility analysis (RIR/IRFA) and Final
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA)
prepared for this action, and copies of
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Crab Fisheries Final Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) prepared for the
Crab Rationalization Program may be
obtained from the NMFS Alaska Region,
P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802,
Attn: Ellen Walsh, Records Officer, and
from the NMFS Alaska Region website
at https://www.fakr.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gretchen Harrington, 907–586–7228 or
gretchen.harrington@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January
2004, the U.S. Congress amended
section 313(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act through the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2004 (Public Law
108–199, section 801). As amended,
section 313(j)(1) requires the Secretary
of Commerce to approve and implement
by regulation the Crab Rationalization
Program (Program), as it was approved
by the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council). In June
2004, the Council consolidated its
actions on the Program into Amendment
18 to the FMP. Additionally, in June
2004, the Council developed
Amendment 19 to the FMP, which
represents minor changes necessary to
implement the Program. NMFS
published a final rule to implement
Amendments 18 and 19 on March 2,
2005 (70 FR 10174).
NMFS published the proposed rule
for the sideboard restriction regulatory
change in the Federal Register on April
24, 2006 (71 FR 20966), with a public
comment period through May 9, 2006.
NMFS received no public comments on
the proposed rule.
This final rule corrects two aspects of
the sideboard provisions in the
regulations implementing the Program.
One change removes the sideboard
limits from vessels that did not generate
Bering Sea snow crab quota share under
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the Program. The second change
clarifies that the sideboard protections
apply to federally permitted vessels that
fish in the State parallel groundfish
fisheries. These changes are necessary to
implement the Program’s sideboard
provisions. A description of this action
is provided in the preamble to the
proposed rule and is briefly summarized
here.
State parallel fisheries occur in State
waters but are opened at the same time
as Federal fisheries in Federal waters.
State parallel fishery harvests are
considered part of the Federal total
allowable catch (TAC) and federally
permitted vessels move between State
and Federal waters during the
concurrent parallel and Federal
fisheries. The State opens the parallel
fisheries through emergency order by
adopting the groundfish seasons,
bycatch limits, and allowable gear types
that apply in the adjacent Federal
fisheries.
Sideboard limits restrict the ability of
vessels whose histories resulted in
Bering Sea snow crab quota share, or
fishing under License Limitation
Program (LLP) licenses derived from
those vessels, to participate in GOA
groundfish fisheries. The purpose of the
sideboard limits is to prevent vessels
that traditionally participated in the
Bering Sea snow crab fishery from using
the flexibility of the Program to increase
their participation in the GOA
groundfish fisheries, and primarily the
GOA Pacific cod fishery. Historically,
the Bering Sea snow crab fishery and
GOA groundfish fisheries operated
concurrently from January through
March, meaning that a crab vessel
owner had to decide whether to fish for
Bering Sea snow crab or GOA
groundfish but could not participate
fully in both fisheries. With crab
rationalization, vessel owners have the
flexibility to fish for snow crab during
a greatly extended season, or to lease
their crab individual fishing quota (IFQ)
and not fish at all. This increased
flexibility for crab fishermen could lead
to increases in fishing effort in GOA
groundfish fisheries, especially the
Pacific cod fishery, and could negatively
affect the other participants in those
fisheries.
Need for Regulatory Changes
This action makes two changes to the
regulations governing sideboard
provisions for the GOA groundfish
fisheries at 50 CFR 680.22. The first
change removes the sideboard
restrictions from vessels whose histories
did not generate Bering Sea snow crab
quota share. The second change clarifies
that the sideboard restrictions apply to
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38299
federally permitted vessels that fish in
the State parallel groundfish fisheries.
The Council intended the sideboards
to apply to vessels that qualify for
Bering Sea snow crab quota share under
the Program. The proposed rule for the
Program included regulatory language to
this effect (69 FR 63200, October 29,
2004). However, this language was
changed in the final rule to apply the
sideboards to vessels that had snow crab
landings during the qualifying period.
This change has the unintended
consequence of applying the sideboards
to vessels that did not qualify for quota
share. This final rule changes the
regulatory language to reflect the
original language in the Program’s
proposed rule. NMFS received no
public comments on this aspect of the
Program’s proposed rule.
The existing regulations restrict
participation in Federal fisheries but not
in the adjacent State waters fisheries.
This omission in the regulations would
allow vessels whose history generated
quota share to increase their
participation in the groundfish fisheries.
This final rule changes the regulations
to clarify that the GOA groundfish
sideboard directed fishing closures
apply to federally permitted vessels
while fishing in the State parallel
fisheries.
NMFS finds it necessary to apply the
sideboard limits to federally permitted
vessels fishing in State parallel fisheries
in order to implement the FMP. Without
this regulatory change, vessels that
traditionally participated in the Bering
Sea snow crab fishery could use the
flexibility of the Program to increase
their participation in the GOA
groundfish fisheries, and primarily the
GOA Pacific cod fishery, because they
could circumvent the directed fishing
closures by fishing in State waters.
NMFS has notified the public that it
will implement the sideboard limits in
the State parallel fisheries in the
preamble to the proposed and final rules
for the Program and in the notice of
availability for Amendments 18 and 19.
Changes from the Proposed Rule
One non-substantive change was
made from the proposed rule to the final
rule. In § 680.22(f), the phrase ‘‘that are
required to have’’ was changed to
‘‘with’’ because the term ‘‘required’’
implied that a Federal Fisheries Permit
or LLP license was required in State
waters. The term ‘‘with’’ clarifies that
Federal regulations apply to vessels
operating under Federal permits.
Classification
NMFS has determined that the final
rule is consistent with the FMP, the
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Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable laws.
This final rule has been determined to
be not significant for purposes of
Executive Order 12866.
NMFS prepared a final regulatory
flexibility analysis (FRFA) as required
by section 604(a) of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA). The FRFA
describes the economic impact this rule
will have on small entities. A
description of the action, why it is being
considered, and the legal basis for it are
included at the beginning of this section
in the preamble and in the SUMMARY
section of the preamble. A summary of
the analysis follows. A copy of this
analysis is available from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
Issues Raised by Public Comments on
the IRFA
NMFS received no public comments
on the IRFA.
Need for and Objectives of this Action
This action is necessary to correct two
aspects of the sideboard provisions in
the regulations implementing the
Program that were inadvertently
misstated at 50 CFR 680.22.
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Number and Description of Small
Entities Directly Regulated by the Rule
One hundred and ninety five entities
are subject to the sideboard regulations
and fish in the GOA groundfish
fisheries. A fishing operation is
considered to be a small entity for RFA
purposes if its total annual gross
receipts, from all sources, is less than $4
million. The 2004 gross revenue data
from the State fishticket database is
readily available and includes revenue
from all fishing operations in Alaska
and adjacent EEZ waters. Based on these
data, as many as 189 of the 195 entities
may be considered small.
Description of Significant Alternatives
and a Description of Steps Taken to
Minimize the Significant Economic
Impacts on Small Entities
No significant alternatives to the
proposed rule exist that accomplish the
stated objectives, are consistent with
applicable statutes, and would
minimize the economic impact of the
proposed rule on small entities. A no
action alternative was considered, but
was rejected because it did not meet the
objectives of the Program’s sideboard
provisions. No significant adverse
effects are shown for this action.
The Council created the sideboards
with the expressed purpose of
restricting the owners of vessels
acquiring snow crab quota share from
using the resulting increased
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operational flexibility to expand their
participation in the already fully
subscribed GOA groundfish fisheries.
The proposed regulatory changes are
necessary owing to the introduction of
two inconsistencies that exist between
the Program provisions and the
language in the implementing
regulations. These corrections will
implement the sideboards as intended
by the Council.
Sideboards on Vessels Without Quota
Share
Six small entities, as defined for RFA
purposes, would be directly regulated
by the removal of the sideboard
provisions from vessels that did not
generate snow crab quota shares. These
entities are currently, although
inadvertently, subject to the economic
burden of the sideboard restrictions,
despite not having qualified for snow
crab quota shares. The proposed action
would lift this uncompensated burden
from these six small entities by
removing their sideboard restrictions.
Sideboards in the State Parallel
Groundfish Fisheries
As promulgated, the current
regulatory language may allow federally
permitted vessels to circumvent the
Program’s sideboards by fishing only in
the State parallel groundfish fisheries in
the GOA. Since the start of the 2006 A
season Pacific cod fishery (the first GOA
groundfish opening following
implementation of the current Program
provisions), no vessels prohibited by
these sideboard provisions from fishing
for Pacific cod have fished in the State
parallel fisheries. The fact that no
vessels currently are exploiting this
loophole in the regulations is testament
to the clear intent that the sideboards
apply to the State parallel fisheries, and
the plain language understanding of the
term ‘‘GOA.’’ This action proposes to
correct the sideboard provisions of the
Program’s implementing regulations, by
applying them to federally permitted
vessels fishing in State parallel
groundfish fisheries. Therefore, the
preferred action has no economic effects
beyond those considered in the EIS
prepared for the Program (see
ADDRESSES).
Sideboard restrictions prevent adverse
spillover effects in other fisheries from
an influx of effort from the rationalized
crab fisheries. The Crab Rationalization
Program, because it issued quota share
to vessel owners and provided them the
ability to form cooperatives, provides
these directly regulated entities
substantial economic benefits, as
discussed in the EIS prepared for the
Program (see ADDRESSES). As discussed
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in that analysis, the sideboard limits
prevent these participants from using
these benefits to increase their effort in
the GOA groundfish fisheries. The
sideboard restrictions provide the
sideboarded vessels the ability to
maintain their historic harvest levels in
GOA groundfish fisheries, and therefore,
do not make the sideboarded vessels
worse-off economically. Vessels with
minimal harvests in the snow crab
fisheries and substantial harvests in the
Pacific cod fishery would be exempt
from the sideboard restrictions, since
these vessels have little dependence on
the crab fisheries. In addition, vessels
with less than a minimum historic
harvest from GOA groundfish fisheries
are not permitted to participate in GOA
groundfish fisheries.
The proposed action does not likely
have the potential to impose
disproportionate impacts on small
entities, relative to large entities. The
regulatory change applying the
sideboard constraints to State waters
during the parallel fisheries would
provide all qualifying vessels, large and
small, a level playing field upon which
to operate, as had been the intention of
the Council from the outset. Because
this change merely rescinds an
unintentional and unexploited
regulatory loophole, the only possible
effect is to codify the commonly held
understanding among the fishing
industry of the sideboard rule.
This rule does not have the potential
to significantly reduce profits for small
entities. The absence of cost data
precludes quantitative estimation of
potential impacts on profitability,
although these would be expected to be
minimal, because no vessels chose to
exploit this loophole in the 2006 A
season (the first groundfish fishery after
sideboard implementation).
This regulation does not impose new
recordkeeping and reporting
requirements on any directly regulated
small entities.
Small Entity Compliance Guide
NMFS has posted a small entity
compliance guide on the Internet at
https://www.fakr.noaa.gov/
sustainablefisheries/crab/rat/
progfaq.htm to satisfy the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996, which requires a
plain language guide to assist small
entities in complying with this rule.
Contact NMFS to request a hard copy of
the guide (see ADDRESSES).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 680
Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 129 / Thursday, July 6, 2006 / Rules and Regulations
Dated: June 29, 2006.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
2. In § 680.22, paragraph (a)(1)(i) is
revised and paragraph (f) is added to
read as follows:
I
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part
680 as follows:
I
PART 680—SHELLFISH FISHERIES OF
THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE
OFF ALASKA
1. The authority citation for part 680
continues to read as follows:
I
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Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1862.
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§ 680.22 Sideboard protections for GOA
groundfish fisheries.
*
*
*
*
*
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(i) Any non-AFA vessel that made a
legal landing of Bering Sea snow crab
(C. opilio) between January 1, 1996, and
December 31, 2000, that generated any
amount of Bering Sea snow crab (C.
opilio) fishery QS; and
*
*
*
*
*
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38301
(f) Sideboard protections in the State
of Alaska parallel groundfish fisheries.
Vessels subject to the sideboard
restrictions under paragraph (a) of this
section, with a Federal Fisheries Permit
or LLP license, shall be subject to the
regulations of this section while
participating in any groundfish fishery
in State waters adjacent to the GOA
opened by the State of Alaska and for
which the State of Alaska adopts a
Federal fishing season.
[FR Doc. E6–10554 Filed 7–5–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 129 (Thursday, July 6, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38298-38301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10554]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 680
[Docket No. 060404093-6177-02; I.D. 033106A]
RIN 0648-AU24
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Allocating
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab Fishery Resources
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule implementing changes to the
regulations for the Crab Rationalization Program. This action is
necessary to correct two discrepancies in the scope of the sideboard
protections for Gulf of Alaska (GOA) groundfish fisheries provided in a
previous rulemaking. Specifically, this
[[Page 38299]]
action would remove the sideboard restrictions from vessels that did
not generate Bering Sea snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) quota share and
would apply the sideboards to federally permitted vessels operating in
the State of Alaska (State) parallel fisheries. This action is intended
to promote the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for
Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (FMP), the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act),
and other applicable law.
DATES: Effective on August 7, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the regulatory impact review/initial regulatory
flexibility analysis (RIR/IRFA) and Final Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (FRFA) prepared for this action, and copies of the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Crab Fisheries Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) prepared for the Crab Rationalization Program may be
obtained from the NMFS Alaska Region, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802,
Attn: Ellen Walsh, Records Officer, and from the NMFS Alaska Region
website at https://www.fakr.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gretchen Harrington, 907-586-7228 or
gretchen.harrington@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January 2004, the U.S. Congress amended
section 313(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act through the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-199, section 801). As
amended, section 313(j)(1) requires the Secretary of Commerce to
approve and implement by regulation the Crab Rationalization Program
(Program), as it was approved by the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council). In June 2004, the Council consolidated its actions
on the Program into Amendment 18 to the FMP. Additionally, in June
2004, the Council developed Amendment 19 to the FMP, which represents
minor changes necessary to implement the Program. NMFS published a
final rule to implement Amendments 18 and 19 on March 2, 2005 (70 FR
10174).
NMFS published the proposed rule for the sideboard restriction
regulatory change in the Federal Register on April 24, 2006 (71 FR
20966), with a public comment period through May 9, 2006. NMFS received
no public comments on the proposed rule.
This final rule corrects two aspects of the sideboard provisions in
the regulations implementing the Program. One change removes the
sideboard limits from vessels that did not generate Bering Sea snow
crab quota share under the Program. The second change clarifies that
the sideboard protections apply to federally permitted vessels that
fish in the State parallel groundfish fisheries. These changes are
necessary to implement the Program's sideboard provisions. A
description of this action is provided in the preamble to the proposed
rule and is briefly summarized here.
State parallel fisheries occur in State waters but are opened at
the same time as Federal fisheries in Federal waters. State parallel
fishery harvests are considered part of the Federal total allowable
catch (TAC) and federally permitted vessels move between State and
Federal waters during the concurrent parallel and Federal fisheries.
The State opens the parallel fisheries through emergency order by
adopting the groundfish seasons, bycatch limits, and allowable gear
types that apply in the adjacent Federal fisheries.
Sideboard limits restrict the ability of vessels whose histories
resulted in Bering Sea snow crab quota share, or fishing under License
Limitation Program (LLP) licenses derived from those vessels, to
participate in GOA groundfish fisheries. The purpose of the sideboard
limits is to prevent vessels that traditionally participated in the
Bering Sea snow crab fishery from using the flexibility of the Program
to increase their participation in the GOA groundfish fisheries, and
primarily the GOA Pacific cod fishery. Historically, the Bering Sea
snow crab fishery and GOA groundfish fisheries operated concurrently
from January through March, meaning that a crab vessel owner had to
decide whether to fish for Bering Sea snow crab or GOA groundfish but
could not participate fully in both fisheries. With crab
rationalization, vessel owners have the flexibility to fish for snow
crab during a greatly extended season, or to lease their crab
individual fishing quota (IFQ) and not fish at all. This increased
flexibility for crab fishermen could lead to increases in fishing
effort in GOA groundfish fisheries, especially the Pacific cod fishery,
and could negatively affect the other participants in those fisheries.
Need for Regulatory Changes
This action makes two changes to the regulations governing
sideboard provisions for the GOA groundfish fisheries at 50 CFR 680.22.
The first change removes the sideboard restrictions from vessels whose
histories did not generate Bering Sea snow crab quota share. The second
change clarifies that the sideboard restrictions apply to federally
permitted vessels that fish in the State parallel groundfish fisheries.
The Council intended the sideboards to apply to vessels that
qualify for Bering Sea snow crab quota share under the Program. The
proposed rule for the Program included regulatory language to this
effect (69 FR 63200, October 29, 2004). However, this language was
changed in the final rule to apply the sideboards to vessels that had
snow crab landings during the qualifying period. This change has the
unintended consequence of applying the sideboards to vessels that did
not qualify for quota share. This final rule changes the regulatory
language to reflect the original language in the Program's proposed
rule. NMFS received no public comments on this aspect of the Program's
proposed rule.
The existing regulations restrict participation in Federal
fisheries but not in the adjacent State waters fisheries. This omission
in the regulations would allow vessels whose history generated quota
share to increase their participation in the groundfish fisheries. This
final rule changes the regulations to clarify that the GOA groundfish
sideboard directed fishing closures apply to federally permitted
vessels while fishing in the State parallel fisheries.
NMFS finds it necessary to apply the sideboard limits to federally
permitted vessels fishing in State parallel fisheries in order to
implement the FMP. Without this regulatory change, vessels that
traditionally participated in the Bering Sea snow crab fishery could
use the flexibility of the Program to increase their participation in
the GOA groundfish fisheries, and primarily the GOA Pacific cod
fishery, because they could circumvent the directed fishing closures by
fishing in State waters. NMFS has notified the public that it will
implement the sideboard limits in the State parallel fisheries in the
preamble to the proposed and final rules for the Program and in the
notice of availability for Amendments 18 and 19.
Changes from the Proposed Rule
One non-substantive change was made from the proposed rule to the
final rule. In Sec. 680.22(f), the phrase ``that are required to
have'' was changed to ``with'' because the term ``required'' implied
that a Federal Fisheries Permit or LLP license was required in State
waters. The term ``with'' clarifies that Federal regulations apply to
vessels operating under Federal permits.
Classification
NMFS has determined that the final rule is consistent with the FMP,
the
[[Page 38300]]
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
NMFS prepared a final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) as
required by section 604(a) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The
FRFA describes the economic impact this rule will have on small
entities. A description of the action, why it is being considered, and
the legal basis for it are included at the beginning of this section in
the preamble and in the SUMMARY section of the preamble. A summary of
the analysis follows. A copy of this analysis is available from NMFS
(see ADDRESSES).
Issues Raised by Public Comments on the IRFA
NMFS received no public comments on the IRFA.
Need for and Objectives of this Action
This action is necessary to correct two aspects of the sideboard
provisions in the regulations implementing the Program that were
inadvertently misstated at 50 CFR 680.22.
Number and Description of Small Entities Directly Regulated by the Rule
One hundred and ninety five entities are subject to the sideboard
regulations and fish in the GOA groundfish fisheries. A fishing
operation is considered to be a small entity for RFA purposes if its
total annual gross receipts, from all sources, is less than $4 million.
The 2004 gross revenue data from the State fishticket database is
readily available and includes revenue from all fishing operations in
Alaska and adjacent EEZ waters. Based on these data, as many as 189 of
the 195 entities may be considered small.
Description of Significant Alternatives and a Description of Steps
Taken to Minimize the Significant Economic Impacts on Small Entities
No significant alternatives to the proposed rule exist that
accomplish the stated objectives, are consistent with applicable
statutes, and would minimize the economic impact of the proposed rule
on small entities. A no action alternative was considered, but was
rejected because it did not meet the objectives of the Program's
sideboard provisions. No significant adverse effects are shown for this
action.
The Council created the sideboards with the expressed purpose of
restricting the owners of vessels acquiring snow crab quota share from
using the resulting increased operational flexibility to expand their
participation in the already fully subscribed GOA groundfish fisheries.
The proposed regulatory changes are necessary owing to the introduction
of two inconsistencies that exist between the Program provisions and
the language in the implementing regulations. These corrections will
implement the sideboards as intended by the Council.
Sideboards on Vessels Without Quota Share
Six small entities, as defined for RFA purposes, would be directly
regulated by the removal of the sideboard provisions from vessels that
did not generate snow crab quota shares. These entities are currently,
although inadvertently, subject to the economic burden of the sideboard
restrictions, despite not having qualified for snow crab quota shares.
The proposed action would lift this uncompensated burden from these six
small entities by removing their sideboard restrictions.
Sideboards in the State Parallel Groundfish Fisheries
As promulgated, the current regulatory language may allow federally
permitted vessels to circumvent the Program's sideboards by fishing
only in the State parallel groundfish fisheries in the GOA. Since the
start of the 2006 A season Pacific cod fishery (the first GOA
groundfish opening following implementation of the current Program
provisions), no vessels prohibited by these sideboard provisions from
fishing for Pacific cod have fished in the State parallel fisheries.
The fact that no vessels currently are exploiting this loophole in the
regulations is testament to the clear intent that the sideboards apply
to the State parallel fisheries, and the plain language understanding
of the term ``GOA.'' This action proposes to correct the sideboard
provisions of the Program's implementing regulations, by applying them
to federally permitted vessels fishing in State parallel groundfish
fisheries. Therefore, the preferred action has no economic effects
beyond those considered in the EIS prepared for the Program (see
ADDRESSES).
Sideboard restrictions prevent adverse spillover effects in other
fisheries from an influx of effort from the rationalized crab
fisheries. The Crab Rationalization Program, because it issued quota
share to vessel owners and provided them the ability to form
cooperatives, provides these directly regulated entities substantial
economic benefits, as discussed in the EIS prepared for the Program
(see ADDRESSES). As discussed in that analysis, the sideboard limits
prevent these participants from using these benefits to increase their
effort in the GOA groundfish fisheries. The sideboard restrictions
provide the sideboarded vessels the ability to maintain their historic
harvest levels in GOA groundfish fisheries, and therefore, do not make
the sideboarded vessels worse-off economically. Vessels with minimal
harvests in the snow crab fisheries and substantial harvests in the
Pacific cod fishery would be exempt from the sideboard restrictions,
since these vessels have little dependence on the crab fisheries. In
addition, vessels with less than a minimum historic harvest from GOA
groundfish fisheries are not permitted to participate in GOA groundfish
fisheries.
The proposed action does not likely have the potential to impose
disproportionate impacts on small entities, relative to large entities.
The regulatory change applying the sideboard constraints to State
waters during the parallel fisheries would provide all qualifying
vessels, large and small, a level playing field upon which to operate,
as had been the intention of the Council from the outset. Because this
change merely rescinds an unintentional and unexploited regulatory
loophole, the only possible effect is to codify the commonly held
understanding among the fishing industry of the sideboard rule.
This rule does not have the potential to significantly reduce
profits for small entities. The absence of cost data precludes
quantitative estimation of potential impacts on profitability, although
these would be expected to be minimal, because no vessels chose to
exploit this loophole in the 2006 A season (the first groundfish
fishery after sideboard implementation).
This regulation does not impose new recordkeeping and reporting
requirements on any directly regulated small entities.
Small Entity Compliance Guide
NMFS has posted a small entity compliance guide on the Internet at
https://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/crab/rat/progfaq.htm to
satisfy the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996,
which requires a plain language guide to assist small entities in
complying with this rule. Contact NMFS to request a hard copy of the
guide (see ADDRESSES).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 680
Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
[[Page 38301]]
Dated: June 29, 2006.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part 680 as
follows:
PART 680--SHELLFISH FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF
ALASKA
0
1. The authority citation for part 680 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1862.
0
2. In Sec. 680.22, paragraph (a)(1)(i) is revised and paragraph (f) is
added to read as follows:
Sec. 680.22 Sideboard protections for GOA groundfish fisheries.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(i) Any non-AFA vessel that made a legal landing of Bering Sea snow
crab (C. opilio) between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 2000, that
generated any amount of Bering Sea snow crab (C. opilio) fishery QS;
and
* * * * *
(f) Sideboard protections in the State of Alaska parallel
groundfish fisheries. Vessels subject to the sideboard restrictions
under paragraph (a) of this section, with a Federal Fisheries Permit or
LLP license, shall be subject to the regulations of this section while
participating in any groundfish fishery in State waters adjacent to the
GOA opened by the State of Alaska and for which the State of Alaska
adopts a Federal fishing season.
[FR Doc. E6-10554 Filed 7-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
