Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; 2006 Georges Bank Fixed Gear Sector Operations Plan and Agreement and Allocation of Georges Bank Cod Total Allowable Catch, 48903-48906 [E6-13867]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 162 / Tuesday, August 22, 2006 / Proposed Rules
(quantitative measures of genetic or
morphological discontinuity may
provide evidence of this separation); or
(2) it is delimited by international
governmental boundaries within which
significant differences in control of
exploitation, management of habitat,
conservation status, or regulatory
mechanisms exist. The Service also
considers available scientific evidence
of a discrete population segment’s
significance to the taxon to which it
belongs. This consideration may
include, but is not limited to, the
following: (1) Persistence of the discrete
population segment in an ecological
setting unusual or unique for the taxon,
(2) evidence that loss of the discrete
population segment would result in a
significant gap in the range of a taxon,
(3) evidence that the discrete population
segment represents the only surviving
natural occurrence of a taxon that may
be more abundant elsewhere as an
introduced population outside its
historic range, or (4) evidence that the
discrete population segment differs
markedly from other populations of the
species in its genetic characteristics. We
request any additional information,
comments, and suggestions from the
public, State and Federal agencies,
Tribes, the scientific community,
industry or environmental entities, or
any other interested parties concerning
the status of the island night lizard, and
whether the island night lizard
populations constitute distinct
population segments.
If you wish to provide information or
comments relevant to the 12-month
finding or 5-year review, you may
submit your information, comments,
and materials to the Field Supervisor,
Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (see
ADDRESSES). Our practice is to make
comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for
public review during regular business
hours. Respondents may request that we
withhold their identity, as allowable by
law. If you wish to withhold your name
or address, you must state this request
prominently at the beginning of your
comment. However, we will not
consider anonymous comments. To the
extent consistent with applicable law,
we will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
Comments and materials received will
be available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business
hours at the above address.
A complete list of all references cited
in this finding is available, upon
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15:27 Aug 21, 2006
Jkt 208001
request, from the Carlsbad Fish and
Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES).
Author
The primary author of this document
is Sandy Vissman (see ADDRESSES).
Authority
The authority for this action is the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: July 11, 2006.
Benito A. Perez,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E6–13877 Filed 8–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 060808213–6213–01; I.D.
073106C]
RIN 0648–AU56
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Northeast Multispecies
Fishery; 2006 Georges Bank Fixed
Gear Sector Operations Plan and
Agreement and Allocation of Georges
Bank Cod Total Allowable Catch
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Framework Adjustment (FW)
42 to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and
FW 3 to the Monkfish FMP propose
creation of the Georges Bank (GB) Cod
Fixed Gear Sector (Fixed Gear Sector). If
approved in FW 42/FW 3, the Fixed
Gear Sector would be eligible for an
annual allocation of up to 20 percent of
the annual GB cod total allowable catch
(TAC). Therefore, in accordance with
the FMP, and pursuant to the
anticipated approval of FW 42/FW 3, a
representative of the Fixed Gear Sector
submitted an Operations Plan, Sector
Agreement (Contract), and
Environmental Assessment (EA), and
requested an allocation of GB cod to the
Fixed Gear Sector for fishing year 2006
(FY 2006).
The Administrator, Northeast Region,
NMFS (Regional Administrator), has
determined that documents submitted
by the Fixed Gear Sector comply with
the procedural regulations regarding an
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48903
annual Operations Plan and Sector
Contract. This noticedocument provides
interested parties an opportunity to
comment on the proposed Sector
Operations Plan and EA (prior to
approval or disapproval of FW 42,
which would authorize the formation of
the Fixed Gear Sector), and prior to final
approval or disapproval of the Sector
Operations Plan and allocation of GB
cod TAC to the Fixed Gear Sector for FY
2006. Comments regarding the
formation of the Fixed Gear Sector (as
opposed to the FY 2006 Operations Plan
and Sector Contract, which are the
subject of this proposed rule) should be
submitted as described in the proposed
rule for FW 42.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before September 21,
2006.
Written comments should
be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast
Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside
of the envelope ‘‘Comments on GB
Fixed Gear Sector Operations Plan.’’
Comments may also be sent via fax to
(978) 281–9135, or submitted via e-mail
to: fixedgearsector@NOAA.gov, or the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov.
Copies of the Sector Agreement and
the EA are available from the NE
Regional Office at the mailing address
specified above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas Warren, Fishery Policy Analyst,
phone (978) 281–9347, fax (978) 281–
9135, e-mail
Thomas.Warren@NOAA.gov.
ADDRESSES:
The
Regional Administrator has made a
preliminary determination that the
Fixed Gear Sector Contract and
Operations Plan is consistent with the
goals of the FMP and other applicable
law and is in compliance with the
regulations governing the development
and operation of a sector as specified
under 50 CFR 648.87. The final rule
implementing Amendment 13 (69 FR
22906, April 27, 2004) specified a
process for the formation of sectors
within the NE multispecies fishery and
the allocation of TAC for specific
groundfish species (or days-at-sea
(DAS)), implemented restrictions that
apply to all sectors, and authorized the
first sector of the FMP (GB Cod Hook
Sector).
If FW 42/FW 3 are approved as
proposed, the Fixed Gear Sector would
be an approved sector, and the
regulations that would apply to the
Fixed Gear Sector specify that: (1) Aall
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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vessels with a valid limited access NE
multispecies DAS permit are eligible to
participate in the Sector, provided they
have documented landings of GB cod
through valid dealer reports submitted
to NMFS of GB cod during FY 1996
through 2001 (regardless of gear fished);
(2) membership in the Sector is
voluntary, and each member would be
required to remain in the Sector for the
entire fishing year and could not fish
outside the NE multispecies DAS
program during the fishing year, unless
certain conditions are met; (3) vessels
fishing in the Sector (participating
vessels) would be confined to fishing in
the GB Cod Hook Sector Area, which is
that portion of the GB cod stock area
north of 39°00′ N. lat. and east of 71°40′
W. long; and (4) participating vessels
would be required to comply with all
pertinent Federal fishing regulations,
unless specifically exempted by a Letter
of Authorization, and the provisions of
an approved Operations Plan. This
current regulations that apply to all
sectors would also apply to the Fixed
Gear Sector.
Although FW 42/FW 3 would
establish the Fixed Gear Sector, in order
for GB cod to be allocated to the Fixed
Gear Sector and the Fixed Gear Sector
authorized to fish, the Fixed Gear Sector
must submit an Operations Plan and
Sector Contract to the Regional
Administrator annually for approval.
The Operations Plan and Sector
Contract must contain certain elements,
including a contract signed by all Sector
participants and a plan containing the
management rules that the Sector
participants agree to abide by in order
to avoid exceeding the allocated TAC.
An additional analysis of the impacts of
the Sector’s proposed operations may be
required in order to comply with the
National Environmental Policy Act.
Further, the public must be provided an
opportunity to comment on the
proposed Operations Plan and Sector
Contract. The regulations require that,
upon completion of the public comment
period, the Regional Administrator will
make a determination regarding
approval of the Sector Contract and
Operations Plan. If approved by the
Regional Administrator, participating
vessels would be authorized to fish
under the terms of the Operations Plan
and Sector Contract.
In anticipation of approval of the
Fixed Gear Sector in FW 42/FW 3, the
Fixed Gear Sector submitted an initial
version of the Operations Plan, Sector
Contract, and EA to NMFS on February
1, 2006. On June 13, 2006, the Fixed
Gear Sector submitted a revised version,
after making modifications to the
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Jkt 208001
Operations Plan and EA, and submitted
a final version on June 28, 2006.
The Sector Agreement would be
overseen by a Board of Directors and a
Sector Manager. The Sector Agreement
specifies, in accordance with
Amendment 13, that the Sector’s GB cod
TAC would be based upon the number
of Sector members and their historic
landings of GB cod. The GB cod TAC is
a ‘‘hard’’ TAC, meaning that, once the
TAC is reached, Sector vessels could not
fish under a DAS, possess or land GB
cod or other regulated species managed
under the FMP (regulated species), or
use gear capable of catching groundfish
(unless fishing under charter/party or
recreational regulations).
As of June 28, 2006, two prospective
Fixed Gear Sector members had signed
the 2006 Sector Contract. The GB cod
TAC calculation is based upon the
historic cod landings of the
participating Fixed Gear Sector vessels,
using all gear. The allocation percentage
is calculated by dividing the sum of
total landings of GB cod by Sector
members for FY 1996 through 2001, by
the sum of the total accumulated
landings of GB cod harvested by all NE
multispecies vessels for the same time
period (2,240,110 lb (1,016.1 mt)/
113,278,842 lb (51,382.4 mt)). The
resulting number is 1.98 percent. Based
upon these two prospective Sector
members, the Sector TAC of GB cod
would be 121 mt (1.98 percent of the
fishery-wide GB cod target TAC of 6,132
mt). The fishery-wide GB cod target
TAC of 6,132 mt is less than the GB cod
target TAC specified for 2006 (7,458 mt)
because the 7,458 mt includes Canadian
catch. That is, the fishery-wide GB cod
target TAC of 6,132 mt was calculated
by subtracting the GB cod TAC specified
for Canada under the U.S./Canada
Resource Sharing Understanding for FY
2006 (1,326 mt), from the overall GB cod
target TAC of 7,458 mt specified by the
New England Fishery Management
Council (Council) for FY 2006 (71 FR
25095, April 28, 2006). If prospective
members of the Sector change their
minds about participating in the Fixed
Gear Sector after the publication of this
notice and prior to a final decision by
the Regional Administrator, it is
possible that the total number of
participants in the Sector and the TAC
for the Sector may be reduced from the
numbers above.
The Fixed Gear Sector Agreement
contains procedures for the enforcement
of the Sector rules, a schedule of
penalties, and provides the authority to
the Fixed Gear Sector Manager to issue
stop fishing orders to members of the
Fixed Gear Sector. Participating vessels
would be required to land fish only in
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Sfmt 4702
designated landing ports and would be
required to provide the Sector Manager
with a copy of the Vessel Trip Report
(VTR) within 48 hrhours of offloading.
Dealers purchasing fish from
participating vessels would be required
to provide the Fixed Gear Sector
Manager with a copy of the dealer report
on a weekly basis. On a monthly basis,
the Fixed Gear Sector Manager would
transmit to NMFS a copy of the VTRs
and the aggregate catch information
from these reports. After 90 percent of
the Fixed Gear Sector’s allocation has
been harvested, the Fixed Gear Sector
Manager would be required to provide
NMFS with aggregate reports on a
weekly basis. A total of 1/12 of the
Fixed Gear Sector’s GB cod TAC, minus
a reserve, would be allocated to each
month of the fishing year. GB cod quota
that is not landed during a given month
would be rolled over into the following
month. Once the aggregate monthly
quota of GB cod is reached, for the
remainder of the month, participating
vessels could not fish under a NE
multispecies DAS, possess or land GB
cod or other regulated species, or use
gear capable of catching regulated NE
multispecies. Once the annual TAC of
GB cod is reached, Fixed Gear Sector
members could not fish under a NE
multispecies DAS, possess or land GB
cod or other regulated species, or use
gear capable of catching regulated NE
multispecies for the rest of the fishing
year. The harvest rules would not
preclude vessels from fishing under the
charter/party or recreational regulations,
provided the vessel fishes under the
applicable charter/party and
recreational rules on separate trips. For
each fishing trip, participating vessels
would be required to fish under the NE
multispecies DAS program to account
for any incidental groundfish species
that they may catch while fishing for GB
cod. In addition, participating vessels
would be required to call the Sector
Manager prior to leaving port. There
would be no trip limit for GB cod for
participating vessels. All legal-sized cod
caught would be retained and landed
and counted against the Fixed Gear
Sector’s aggregate allocation.
Participating vessels would not be
allowed to fish with or have on board
gear other than jigs, non-automated
demersal longline, handgear, or sink
gillnets, and participating Fixed Gear
Sector vessels fishing with hook gear
would be exempt from the GB Seasonal
Closure Area during May.
The Operations Plan submitted by the
Fixed Gear Sector proposes that Sector
members be allowed to fish in a
geographic area that extends farther
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south (south to 35° 00′ N. Lat.) and west
(to the coast) than does the area
specified in the FW 42 proposed rule,
which states that the Fixed Gear Sector
would fish only in the GB Cod Hook
Sector Area, which is substantially
smaller, and does not include the areas
to the south or west of GB. In FW 42,
the Council proposed that the Fixed
Gear Sector be required to fish in the GB
Cod Hook Sector Area, and included
such a requirement in the proposed
regulations, because the GB Cod Hook
Sector, which has very similar goals is
subject to this requirement (i.e.,
targeting GB cod). FW 42, which
proposes to create the GB Cod Fixed
Gear Sector, did not describe or define
a geographic area associated with the
Fixed Gear Sector. For both Amendment
13 and FW 42 (proposed), the
justification for defining the geographic
area in the regulations, in contrast to
defining the area only in the Operations
Plan, is that the area where a sector
fishes is one of the fundamental
attributes that defines a sector. Because
the Fixed Gear Sector Operations Plan
proposes a geographic area that is
different from that proposed in FW 42,
NMFS is particularly interested in
receiving public comments on this
subject.
The EA prepared for the Fixed Gear
Sector operations concludes that the
biological impacts of the Fixed Gear
Sector will be positive because the hard
TAC for GB cod will ensure that the
Fixed Gear Sector members will not be
contributing to overfishing of GB cod,
and the use of fixed gear will preclude
the use of other gear that may have
greater negative bycatch and habitat
impacts. Implementation of the Fixed
Gear Sector would have a positive
impact on essential fish habitat (EFH)
and bycatch by allowing a maximum
number of hook or gillnet vessels to
remain active in the fishery, rather than
converting to (or leasing DAS to) other
gear types that have greater impacts on
EFH. DAS will provide two means of
restricting both the landings and effort
of the Fixed Gear Sector. Monthly quota
targets would spread out the catch
throughout the fishing year and prevent
the harvest of the cod TAC in an
intensive manner. The prohibition on
discarding would reduce regulatory
discarding, and the elimination of the
daily trip limit would allows vessel to
operate more efficiently. The analysis of
economic impacts of the Fixed Gear
Sector concludes that Fixed Gear Sector
members would enable member
businesses to remain economically
viable by realizing higher economic
returns, if the Fixed Gear Sector were
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15:27 Aug 21, 2006
Jkt 208001
implemented. The EAEnvironmental
Assessment (EA) asserts that fishing in
accordance with the Sector Agreement
rules enables more adaptable and
efficient harvesting of GB cod with fixed
gear than would be possible if the
vessels were fishing in accordance with
the common pool (non-Sector) rules.
The social benefits of the Fixed Gear
Sector would accrue to Fixed Gear
Sector members, as well as the
Chatham/Harwichport, MA,
community, which is highly dependent
upon groundfish revenues. The EA
concludes that the self-governing nature
of the Fixed Gear Sector and the
development of rules by the Fixed Gear
Sector enables stewardship of the cod
resource by Fixed Gear Sector members.
The cumulative impacts of the Fixed
Gear Sector are expected to be positive
due to a positive biological impact,
neutral impact on habitat, and a positive
social and economic impact. In contrast,
the cumulative impact of the no action
alternative is estimated to be neutral,
with negative social and economic
impacts on the fixed gear fishery.
Should the Regional Administrator
approve the Sector Agreement as
proposed, a Letter of Authorization
would be issued to each member of the
Fixed Gear Sector exempting them,
conditional upon their compliance with
the Sector Agreement, from the GB cod
possession restrictions and the
requirements of the GOM trip limit
exemption program, as specified in
§ 648.86(b).
Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens
Act) require publication of this
notification to provide interested parties
the opportunity to comment on
proposed TAC allocations and plans of
operation of sectors.
Classification
At this time, NMFS has not made a
final determination that the measures
this proposed rule would implement are
consistent with the national standards
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other
applicable laws. NMFS, in making the
final determination, will take into
account the data, views, and comments
received during the comment period.
This proposed rule has been
determined to be not significant for the
purposes of Executive Order (E.O.)
12866.
This proposed rule does not contain
policies with federalism or ‘‘takings’’
implications as those terms are defined
in E.O. 13132 and E.O. 12630,
respectively.
An Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (IRFA) was prepared, which
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48905
has been modified by NMFS for this
action, as required by section 603 of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). Below
is a summary of the IRFA, which
describes the economic impact this
proposed rule, if adopted, would have
on small entities. A description of the
action, why it is being considered, and
the legal basis for this action are
contained in the preamble to this
proposed rule and in the Executive
Summary and section 3.0 of the EA
prepared for this action. The Proposed
Alternative would approve the
Operations Plan for the 2006 fishing
year and allocate a GB cod TAC of 121
mt to the Fixed Gear Sector. Once the
GB cod TAC is reached, participating
vessel would not be allowed to fish
under a DAS, possess or land GB cod,
or other regulated species managed
under the FMP, or use gear capable of
catching groundfish (unless fishing
under recreational or charter/party
regulations). Vessels intending to fish in
the Fixed Gear Sector this fishing year
may not fish for NE multispecies under
a groundfish DAS this fishing year until
the Sector Operations Plan is approved,
and Fixed Gear Sector vessels may use
either hook gear or gillnet gear only.
Under the proposed Operations Plan,
members using hook gear would be
exempt from the May GB Seasonal
Closure.
The Small Business Administration
(SBA) size standard for small
commercial fishing entities is $4 million
in gross sales, and the size standard for
small party/charter operators is $6.5
million. Available data for fishing year
2004 gross sales show that the
maximum gross sales for any single
commercial fishing vessel was $1.8
million, and the maximum gross sales
for any affected party/charter vessel was
$1.0 million. While an entity may own
multiple vessels, available data make it
difficult to determine which vessels
may be controlled by a single entity. For
this reason, each vessel is treated as a
single entity for purposes of size
determination and impact assessment.
This means that all commercial and
party/charter fishing entities would fall
under the SBA size standard for small
entities and, therefore, there is no
differential impact between large and
small entities.
Economic Impacts of the Proposed
Action
The fixed gear fishermen and the
Chatham/Harwichport communities are
dependaent upon GB cod and other
groundfish. The Amendment 13
restrictions that reduced the GB cod trip
limit had a disproportionate affect on
the Chatham fixed gear fishermen.
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According to Amendment 13,
Chatham’s overall community
dependence on multispecies as a
percentage of total fisheries revenues
from federally permitted vessels
averaged about 71 percent. Allocation of
cod TAC to a sector and the
development of alternative fishing
restrictions would mitigate the impacts
of Amendment 13. Specifically, the
proposed Operations Plan enables Fixed
Gear Sector members to fish under a set
of rules crafted by Sector members in
order to adapt to current economic and
fishing conditions. This rule would
enable Fixed Gear Sector members to
remain economically viable by
maximizing revenues and minimizing
expenses in the short term, and help to
maintain associated shoreside job
opportunities.
Because of the time elapsed between
the beginning of the fishing year on May
1, 2006, and the anticipated effective
date of FW 42, as well as the fact that
Sector members are not allowed to fish
during the fishing year prior to the
approval of the Sector Operations Plan,
many prospective members were forced
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15:27 Aug 21, 2006
Jkt 208001
to choose between fishing during the
summer and foregoing participation in
the Fixed Gear Sector for FY 2006, or to
abstain from fishing in order to preserve
eligibility to participate in the Fixed
Gear Sector. Because June, July, and
August are traditionally the most
profitable months of the fishing year,
many fishermen could not afford to not
fish, despite the economic benefits the
Sector has to offer. Many fishermen
make 50 percent or more of their annual
income in those 3 months alone.
Therefore, the number of vessels
participating in the Fixed Gear Sector in
FY 2006 is significantly lower than
anticipated.
Economic Impacts of Alternative to the
Proposed Action
Under the No Action alternative, all
Sector members would remain in the
common pool of vessels and fish under
all the rules implemented by
Amendment 13 and subsequent
Framework Adjustments, and there
would be no allocation of GB cod to the
Fixed Gear Sector. Because cod usually
represents a high proportion of total
fishing income for gillnet and hookgear
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vessels, revenues for such vessel owners
are very sensitive to changes in cod trip
limits. Under the scenario of reduced
DAS anticipated under FW 42 and a
restrictive daily trip limit that would be
in place under the no action alternative,
it is likely that Fixed Gear Sector vessels
would experience revenue losses. It is
more likely under the No Action
alternative that disruption to the
Chatham/Harwichport communities
would occur.
Description of the Projected Reporting,
Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance
Requirements of the Proposed Rule
This proposed rule contains no
collection-of-information requirement
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 16, 2006.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6–13867 Filed 8–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 22, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48903-48906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13867]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 060808213-6213-01; I.D. 073106C]
RIN 0648-AU56
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern
United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; 2006 Georges Bank Fixed
Gear Sector Operations Plan and Agreement and Allocation of Georges
Bank Cod Total Allowable Catch
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Framework Adjustment (FW) 42 to the Northeast (NE)
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and FW 3 to the Monkfish FMP
propose creation of the Georges Bank (GB) Cod Fixed Gear Sector (Fixed
Gear Sector). If approved in FW 42/FW 3, the Fixed Gear Sector would be
eligible for an annual allocation of up to 20 percent of the annual GB
cod total allowable catch (TAC). Therefore, in accordance with the FMP,
and pursuant to the anticipated approval of FW 42/FW 3, a
representative of the Fixed Gear Sector submitted an Operations Plan,
Sector Agreement (Contract), and Environmental Assessment (EA), and
requested an allocation of GB cod to the Fixed Gear Sector for fishing
year 2006 (FY 2006).
The Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator),
has determined that documents submitted by the Fixed Gear Sector comply
with the procedural regulations regarding an annual Operations Plan and
Sector Contract. This noticedocument provides interested parties an
opportunity to comment on the proposed Sector Operations Plan and EA
(prior to approval or disapproval of FW 42, which would authorize the
formation of the Fixed Gear Sector), and prior to final approval or
disapproval of the Sector Operations Plan and allocation of GB cod TAC
to the Fixed Gear Sector for FY 2006. Comments regarding the formation
of the Fixed Gear Sector (as opposed to the FY 2006 Operations Plan and
Sector Contract, which are the subject of this proposed rule) should be
submitted as described in the proposed rule for FW 42.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 21,
2006.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul,
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope
``Comments on GB Fixed Gear Sector Operations Plan.'' Comments may also
be sent via fax to (978) 281-9135, or submitted via e-mail to:
fixedgearsector@NOAA.gov, or the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov.
Copies of the Sector Agreement and the EA are available from the NE
Regional Office at the mailing address specified above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Warren, Fishery Policy
Analyst, phone (978) 281-9347, fax (978) 281-9135, e-mail
Thomas.Warren@NOAA.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Regional Administrator has made a
preliminary determination that the Fixed Gear Sector Contract and
Operations Plan is consistent with the goals of the FMP and other
applicable law and is in compliance with the regulations governing the
development and operation of a sector as specified under 50 CFR 648.87.
The final rule implementing Amendment 13 (69 FR 22906, April 27, 2004)
specified a process for the formation of sectors within the NE
multispecies fishery and the allocation of TAC for specific groundfish
species (or days-at-sea (DAS)), implemented restrictions that apply to
all sectors, and authorized the first sector of the FMP (GB Cod Hook
Sector).
If FW 42/FW 3 are approved as proposed, the Fixed Gear Sector would
be an approved sector, and the regulations that would apply to the
Fixed Gear Sector specify that: (1) Aall
[[Page 48904]]
vessels with a valid limited access NE multispecies DAS permit are
eligible to participate in the Sector, provided they have documented
landings of GB cod through valid dealer reports submitted to NMFS of GB
cod during FY 1996 through 2001 (regardless of gear fished); (2)
membership in the Sector is voluntary, and each member would be
required to remain in the Sector for the entire fishing year and could
not fish outside the NE multispecies DAS program during the fishing
year, unless certain conditions are met; (3) vessels fishing in the
Sector (participating vessels) would be confined to fishing in the GB
Cod Hook Sector Area, which is that portion of the GB cod stock area
north of 39[deg]00' N. lat. and east of 71[deg]40' W. long; and (4)
participating vessels would be required to comply with all pertinent
Federal fishing regulations, unless specifically exempted by a Letter
of Authorization, and the provisions of an approved Operations Plan.
This current regulations that apply to all sectors would also apply to
the Fixed Gear Sector.
Although FW 42/FW 3 would establish the Fixed Gear Sector, in order
for GB cod to be allocated to the Fixed Gear Sector and the Fixed Gear
Sector authorized to fish, the Fixed Gear Sector must submit an
Operations Plan and Sector Contract to the Regional Administrator
annually for approval. The Operations Plan and Sector Contract must
contain certain elements, including a contract signed by all Sector
participants and a plan containing the management rules that the Sector
participants agree to abide by in order to avoid exceeding the
allocated TAC. An additional analysis of the impacts of the Sector's
proposed operations may be required in order to comply with the
National Environmental Policy Act. Further, the public must be provided
an opportunity to comment on the proposed Operations Plan and Sector
Contract. The regulations require that, upon completion of the public
comment period, the Regional Administrator will make a determination
regarding approval of the Sector Contract and Operations Plan. If
approved by the Regional Administrator, participating vessels would be
authorized to fish under the terms of the Operations Plan and Sector
Contract.
In anticipation of approval of the Fixed Gear Sector in FW 42/FW 3,
the Fixed Gear Sector submitted an initial version of the Operations
Plan, Sector Contract, and EA to NMFS on February 1, 2006. On June 13,
2006, the Fixed Gear Sector submitted a revised version, after making
modifications to the Operations Plan and EA, and submitted a final
version on June 28, 2006.
The Sector Agreement would be overseen by a Board of Directors and
a Sector Manager. The Sector Agreement specifies, in accordance with
Amendment 13, that the Sector's GB cod TAC would be based upon the
number of Sector members and their historic landings of GB cod. The GB
cod TAC is a ``hard'' TAC, meaning that, once the TAC is reached,
Sector vessels could not fish under a DAS, possess or land GB cod or
other regulated species managed under the FMP (regulated species), or
use gear capable of catching groundfish (unless fishing under charter/
party or recreational regulations).
As of June 28, 2006, two prospective Fixed Gear Sector members had
signed the 2006 Sector Contract. The GB cod TAC calculation is based
upon the historic cod landings of the participating Fixed Gear Sector
vessels, using all gear. The allocation percentage is calculated by
dividing the sum of total landings of GB cod by Sector members for FY
1996 through 2001, by the sum of the total accumulated landings of GB
cod harvested by all NE multispecies vessels for the same time period
(2,240,110 lb (1,016.1 mt)/ 113,278,842 lb (51,382.4 mt)). The
resulting number is 1.98 percent. Based upon these two prospective
Sector members, the Sector TAC of GB cod would be 121 mt (1.98 percent
of the fishery-wide GB cod target TAC of 6,132 mt). The fishery-wide GB
cod target TAC of 6,132 mt is less than the GB cod target TAC specified
for 2006 (7,458 mt) because the 7,458 mt includes Canadian catch. That
is, the fishery-wide GB cod target TAC of 6,132 mt was calculated by
subtracting the GB cod TAC specified for Canada under the U.S./Canada
Resource Sharing Understanding for FY 2006 (1,326 mt), from the overall
GB cod target TAC of 7,458 mt specified by the New England Fishery
Management Council (Council) for FY 2006 (71 FR 25095, April 28, 2006).
If prospective members of the Sector change their minds about
participating in the Fixed Gear Sector after the publication of this
notice and prior to a final decision by the Regional Administrator, it
is possible that the total number of participants in the Sector and the
TAC for the Sector may be reduced from the numbers above.
The Fixed Gear Sector Agreement contains procedures for the
enforcement of the Sector rules, a schedule of penalties, and provides
the authority to the Fixed Gear Sector Manager to issue stop fishing
orders to members of the Fixed Gear Sector. Participating vessels would
be required to land fish only in designated landing ports and would be
required to provide the Sector Manager with a copy of the Vessel Trip
Report (VTR) within 48 hrhours of offloading. Dealers purchasing fish
from participating vessels would be required to provide the Fixed Gear
Sector Manager with a copy of the dealer report on a weekly basis. On a
monthly basis, the Fixed Gear Sector Manager would transmit to NMFS a
copy of the VTRs and the aggregate catch information from these
reports. After 90 percent of the Fixed Gear Sector's allocation has
been harvested, the Fixed Gear Sector Manager would be required to
provide NMFS with aggregate reports on a weekly basis. A total of 1/12
of the Fixed Gear Sector's GB cod TAC, minus a reserve, would be
allocated to each month of the fishing year. GB cod quota that is not
landed during a given month would be rolled over into the following
month. Once the aggregate monthly quota of GB cod is reached, for the
remainder of the month, participating vessels could not fish under a NE
multispecies DAS, possess or land GB cod or other regulated species, or
use gear capable of catching regulated NE multispecies. Once the annual
TAC of GB cod is reached, Fixed Gear Sector members could not fish
under a NE multispecies DAS, possess or land GB cod or other regulated
species, or use gear capable of catching regulated NE multispecies for
the rest of the fishing year. The harvest rules would not preclude
vessels from fishing under the charter/party or recreational
regulations, provided the vessel fishes under the applicable charter/
party and recreational rules on separate trips. For each fishing trip,
participating vessels would be required to fish under the NE
multispecies DAS program to account for any incidental groundfish
species that they may catch while fishing for GB cod. In addition,
participating vessels would be required to call the Sector Manager
prior to leaving port. There would be no trip limit for GB cod for
participating vessels. All legal-sized cod caught would be retained and
landed and counted against the Fixed Gear Sector's aggregate
allocation. Participating vessels would not be allowed to fish with or
have on board gear other than jigs, non-automated demersal longline,
handgear, or sink gillnets, and participating Fixed Gear Sector vessels
fishing with hook gear would be exempt from the GB Seasonal Closure
Area during May.
The Operations Plan submitted by the Fixed Gear Sector proposes
that Sector members be allowed to fish in a geographic area that
extends farther
[[Page 48905]]
south (south to 35[deg] 00' N. Lat.) and west (to the coast) than does
the area specified in the FW 42 proposed rule, which states that the
Fixed Gear Sector would fish only in the GB Cod Hook Sector Area, which
is substantially smaller, and does not include the areas to the south
or west of GB. In FW 42, the Council proposed that the Fixed Gear
Sector be required to fish in the GB Cod Hook Sector Area, and included
such a requirement in the proposed regulations, because the GB Cod Hook
Sector, which has very similar goals is subject to this requirement
(i.e., targeting GB cod). FW 42, which proposes to create the GB Cod
Fixed Gear Sector, did not describe or define a geographic area
associated with the Fixed Gear Sector. For both Amendment 13 and FW 42
(proposed), the justification for defining the geographic area in the
regulations, in contrast to defining the area only in the Operations
Plan, is that the area where a sector fishes is one of the fundamental
attributes that defines a sector. Because the Fixed Gear Sector
Operations Plan proposes a geographic area that is different from that
proposed in FW 42, NMFS is particularly interested in receiving public
comments on this subject.
The EA prepared for the Fixed Gear Sector operations concludes that
the biological impacts of the Fixed Gear Sector will be positive
because the hard TAC for GB cod will ensure that the Fixed Gear Sector
members will not be contributing to overfishing of GB cod, and the use
of fixed gear will preclude the use of other gear that may have greater
negative bycatch and habitat impacts. Implementation of the Fixed Gear
Sector would have a positive impact on essential fish habitat (EFH) and
bycatch by allowing a maximum number of hook or gillnet vessels to
remain active in the fishery, rather than converting to (or leasing DAS
to) other gear types that have greater impacts on EFH. DAS will provide
two means of restricting both the landings and effort of the Fixed Gear
Sector. Monthly quota targets would spread out the catch throughout the
fishing year and prevent the harvest of the cod TAC in an intensive
manner. The prohibition on discarding would reduce regulatory
discarding, and the elimination of the daily trip limit would allows
vessel to operate more efficiently. The analysis of economic impacts of
the Fixed Gear Sector concludes that Fixed Gear Sector members would
enable member businesses to remain economically viable by realizing
higher economic returns, if the Fixed Gear Sector were implemented. The
EAEnvironmental Assessment (EA) asserts that fishing in accordance with
the Sector Agreement rules enables more adaptable and efficient
harvesting of GB cod with fixed gear than would be possible if the
vessels were fishing in accordance with the common pool (non-Sector)
rules. The social benefits of the Fixed Gear Sector would accrue to
Fixed Gear Sector members, as well as the Chatham/Harwichport, MA,
community, which is highly dependent upon groundfish revenues. The EA
concludes that the self-governing nature of the Fixed Gear Sector and
the development of rules by the Fixed Gear Sector enables stewardship
of the cod resource by Fixed Gear Sector members. The cumulative
impacts of the Fixed Gear Sector are expected to be positive due to a
positive biological impact, neutral impact on habitat, and a positive
social and economic impact. In contrast, the cumulative impact of the
no action alternative is estimated to be neutral, with negative social
and economic impacts on the fixed gear fishery.
Should the Regional Administrator approve the Sector Agreement as
proposed, a Letter of Authorization would be issued to each member of
the Fixed Gear Sector exempting them, conditional upon their compliance
with the Sector Agreement, from the GB cod possession restrictions and
the requirements of the GOM trip limit exemption program, as specified
in Sec. 648.86(b).
Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) require publication of this
notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment
on proposed TAC allocations and plans of operation of sectors.
Classification
At this time, NMFS has not made a final determination that the
measures this proposed rule would implement are consistent with the
national standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable
laws. NMFS, in making the final determination, will take into account
the data, views, and comments received during the comment period.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of Executive Order (E.O.) 12866.
This proposed rule does not contain policies with federalism or
``takings'' implications as those terms are defined in E.O. 13132 and
E.O. 12630, respectively.
An Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was prepared,
which has been modified by NMFS for this action, as required by section
603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). Below is a summary of the
IRFA, which describes the economic impact this proposed rule, if
adopted, would have on small entities. A description of the action, why
it is being considered, and the legal basis for this action are
contained in the preamble to this proposed rule and in the Executive
Summary and section 3.0 of the EA prepared for this action. The
Proposed Alternative would approve the Operations Plan for the 2006
fishing year and allocate a GB cod TAC of 121 mt to the Fixed Gear
Sector. Once the GB cod TAC is reached, participating vessel would not
be allowed to fish under a DAS, possess or land GB cod, or other
regulated species managed under the FMP, or use gear capable of
catching groundfish (unless fishing under recreational or charter/party
regulations). Vessels intending to fish in the Fixed Gear Sector this
fishing year may not fish for NE multispecies under a groundfish DAS
this fishing year until the Sector Operations Plan is approved, and
Fixed Gear Sector vessels may use either hook gear or gillnet gear
only. Under the proposed Operations Plan, members using hook gear would
be exempt from the May GB Seasonal Closure.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) size standard for small
commercial fishing entities is $4 million in gross sales, and the size
standard for small party/charter operators is $6.5 million. Available
data for fishing year 2004 gross sales show that the maximum gross
sales for any single commercial fishing vessel was $1.8 million, and
the maximum gross sales for any affected party/charter vessel was $1.0
million. While an entity may own multiple vessels, available data make
it difficult to determine which vessels may be controlled by a single
entity. For this reason, each vessel is treated as a single entity for
purposes of size determination and impact assessment. This means that
all commercial and party/charter fishing entities would fall under the
SBA size standard for small entities and, therefore, there is no
differential impact between large and small entities.
Economic Impacts of the Proposed Action
The fixed gear fishermen and the Chatham/Harwichport communities
are dependaent upon GB cod and other groundfish. The Amendment 13
restrictions that reduced the GB cod trip limit had a disproportionate
affect on the Chatham fixed gear fishermen.
[[Page 48906]]
According to Amendment 13, Chatham's overall community dependence on
multispecies as a percentage of total fisheries revenues from federally
permitted vessels averaged about 71 percent. Allocation of cod TAC to a
sector and the development of alternative fishing restrictions would
mitigate the impacts of Amendment 13. Specifically, the proposed
Operations Plan enables Fixed Gear Sector members to fish under a set
of rules crafted by Sector members in order to adapt to current
economic and fishing conditions. This rule would enable Fixed Gear
Sector members to remain economically viable by maximizing revenues and
minimizing expenses in the short term, and help to maintain associated
shoreside job opportunities.
Because of the time elapsed between the beginning of the fishing
year on May 1, 2006, and the anticipated effective date of FW 42, as
well as the fact that Sector members are not allowed to fish during the
fishing year prior to the approval of the Sector Operations Plan, many
prospective members were forced to choose between fishing during the
summer and foregoing participation in the Fixed Gear Sector for FY
2006, or to abstain from fishing in order to preserve eligibility to
participate in the Fixed Gear Sector. Because June, July, and August
are traditionally the most profitable months of the fishing year, many
fishermen could not afford to not fish, despite the economic benefits
the Sector has to offer. Many fishermen make 50 percent or more of
their annual income in those 3 months alone. Therefore, the number of
vessels participating in the Fixed Gear Sector in FY 2006 is
significantly lower than anticipated.
Economic Impacts of Alternative to the Proposed Action
Under the No Action alternative, all Sector members would remain in
the common pool of vessels and fish under all the rules implemented by
Amendment 13 and subsequent Framework Adjustments, and there would be
no allocation of GB cod to the Fixed Gear Sector. Because cod usually
represents a high proportion of total fishing income for gillnet and
hookgear vessels, revenues for such vessel owners are very sensitive to
changes in cod trip limits. Under the scenario of reduced DAS
anticipated under FW 42 and a restrictive daily trip limit that would
be in place under the no action alternative, it is likely that Fixed
Gear Sector vessels would experience revenue losses. It is more likely
under the No Action alternative that disruption to the Chatham/
Harwichport communities would occur.
Description of the Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other
Compliance Requirements of the Proposed Rule
This proposed rule contains no collection-of-information
requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 16, 2006.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-13867 Filed 8-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
