Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Western Pacific Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries; Guam Bottomfish Management Measures, 64474-64477 [E6-18506]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 212 (Thursday, November 2, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64474-64477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18506]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 060724200-6275-02; I.D. 071106G]
RIN 0648-AT94


Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Western Pacific Bottomfish and 
Seamount Groundfish Fisheries; Guam Bottomfish Management Measures

AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:  Final rule.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 9 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish 
Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP) that prohibits large 
vessels, i.e., those 50 ft (15.2 m) or longer, from fishing for 
bottomfish in Federal waters within 50 nm (92.6 km) around Guam, and 
establishes Federal permitting and reporting requirements for these 
large bottomfish fishing vessels. This final rule is intended to 
maintain viable participation and bottomfish catch rates by small 
vessels in the fishery, to maintain traditional patterns of the 
bottomfish supply to local Guam markets, to provide for the collection 
of adequate fishery information for effective management, and to reduce 
the risk of local depletion of deepwater bottomfish stocks near Guam.

DATES:  This final rule is effective December 4, 2006, except for the 
revisions to Sec.  665.14 and Sec.  665.61, which require approval by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA). When OMB approval is received, the effective date will be 
announced in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES:  Copies of the FMP amendment, including an Environmental 
Assessment (EA), regulatory impact review (RIR) and final regulatory 
flexibility analysis (FRFA) may be obtained from William L. Robinson, 
Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani 
Boulevard, Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700. Written comments 
regarding the burden-hour estimates or other aspects of the collection-
of-information requirements contained in this final rule may be 
submitted to William L. Robinson (see ADDRESSES), or to David Rostker, 
OMB, by e-mail to David--Rostker@omb.eop.gov, or by fax to 202-395-
7285.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Robert Harman, NMFS PIR, 808-944-
2271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This Federal Register document is also accessible via the Internet 
at the web site of the Office of the Federal Register: 
www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/.

Background

    The bottomfish fishery that operates in Federal waters around Guam 
is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Bottomfish and 
Seamount Groundfish Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP). 
Aside from restrictions on the use of certain destructive fishing 
methods, such as bottom trawling, bottom set nets, poisons, and 
explosives, that apply to the bottomfish fisheries throughout the 
western Pacific, the fishery is mostly unregulated at this time. 
Potential developments in the fishery, however, led the Western Pacific 
Fishery Management Council to recommend the management measures in this 
final rule.
    The Guam-based bottomfish fishery is a mix of subsistence, 
recreational, and limited commercial fishing from primarily small boats 
on nearshore slopes. There is a potential component of the fishery, 
however, in which fishermen in relatively large vessels (i.e., greater 
than 50 ft or 15.2 m in length) target deep-slope fish species, 
particularly onaga (longtail red snapper, or flame snapper, Etelis 
coruscans). This fishery is currently inactive, but several vessels 
have operated in the past. The fish were caught on offshore banks in 
Federal waters, landed at Guam's commercial port and, rather than 
entering the local market, were exported by air to foreign markets. The 
activity occurred on some or all of Guam's southern banks, including 
Galvez, 11-Mile, Santa Rosa, White Tuna, and Baby Banks. Most of the 
vessels fishing on these southern banks targeted the shallow-water 
bottomfish complex, but some targeted the deep-water complex. The banks 
to the north of Guam, including Rota Bank, and far to the west of Guam, 
including Bank A, appear not to have been fished.
    The potential for renewed large-vessel bottomfish fishing activity 
prompted concerns about fishery information being inadequate for 
effective management, about the potential for small-vessel catch rates 
declining to non-viable levels, about threats to sustained 
participation by smaller vessels in the fishery, about disruptions to 
traditional patterns of supply of bottomfish products to the local 
market, and about localized depletion of bottomfish stocks.
    Based on the current FMP reporting and management requirements, 
existing data collection programs can provide adequate information 
about Guam's inshore bottomfish fisheries that are conducted by smaller 
vessels. Thus, this final rule does not establish additional data 
collection requirements on smaller vessels.
    There is no evidence, to date, that the bottomfish stocks around 
Guam are currently subject to overfishing or are being overfished. 
Deepwater bottomfish species, however, have life history 
characteristics (slow growth, relatively low productivity and limited 
migration ranges) that make local fish stocks sensitive to fishing 
pressure, and severe local depletion can result in reduced productivity 
of the stock as a whole.
    Closing areas to potential large vessel bottomfish fishing reduces 
the risk of

[[Page 64475]]

local depletion of deepwater bottomfish stocks in those areas. This 
final rule redirects possible large-vessel bottomfish fishing to areas 
greater than 50 nm (92.6 km) from Guam, displacing some potential 
fishing pressure on the nearshore slope and banks to areas that have 
higher bottomfish abundance and experience lower fishing pressure from 
smaller boats.
    This final rule intends to ensure that adequate information is 
routinely collected from the large-vessel, export-oriented bottomfish 
fishery that might take place in Federal waters around Guam, to 
maintain adequate opportunities for small-scale commercial, 
recreational, and subsistence bottomfish fishermen in Federal waters 
around Guam, to provide for sustained community participation by 
smaller vessels in the Guam bottomfish fishery, to encourage consistent 
availability of fresh, locally-caught deepwater bottomfish products to 
Guam consumers, and to reduce the potential risk of local depletion of 
deepwater bottomfish stocks near Guam.
    Additional background information on this final rule may be found 
in the preamble to the proposed rule published on August 14, 2006 (71 
FR 46441), and is not repeated here.

Comments and Responses

    On July 24, 2006, NMFS published in the Federal Register an 
announcement on the availability of the subject FMP amendment (71 FR 
41770), and on August 14, 2006, NMFS published a notice of the proposed 
rule (71 FR 46441). The public comment period for both notices ended on 
September 22, 2006. NMFS received one comment from the public, and 
responds to this comment, as follows:
    Comment 1: The commentor expressed support for the proposed rule 
out of a concern for the impact of large vessels fishing in the area, 
and for marine resources.
    Response. Comment noted; NMFS is also concerned about the potential 
for large bottomfish vessels to locally deplete bottomfish stocks. The 
final rule establishes an area closed to large bottomfish vessels. This 
measure is intended to prevent overfishing of bottomfish around Guam.

Changes to the Proposed Rule

    In this final rule, several minor editorial changes were made to 
the proposed rule. In the time since the proposed rule for this action 
was published on August 14, 2006, another final rule, referred to as 
the ``omnibus'' rule, was published. The omnibus rule, published on 
September 12, 2006 (71 FR 53605), made changes under three western 
Pacific FMPs to the regulatory text in several sections of 50 CFR Part 
665. Those changes necessitated minor adjustments in the regulatory 
text contained in this final rule. Specifically, the instructions for 
Sec.  665.14(a) were modified in this final rule to include omnibus 
rule requirements for fishing record forms for the Pacific Remote 
Island Areas (PRIA). The instructions for Sec.  665.61(a)(1) were 
modified in this final rule to include omnibus rule requirements for 
PRIA permits. Finally, the instructions for Sec.  665.62 were modified 
in this final rule to renumber the new paragraphs to account for 
omnibus rule prohibitions.
    In the proposed rule, the coordinates for the closed area boundary 
contained several errors. Proposed Point GU-1-A (14[deg]23'43'' N., 
144[deg]27'36' E.) was incorrectly positioned within EEZ waters around 
the CNMI, and was moved to coincide with the boundary separating the 
EEZ waters around Guam from those waters around the CNMI. The new point 
GU-1-A is located at 14[deg]16' N., 144[deg]17' E. Moving point GU-1-A 
to coincide with the boundary put it very close to proposed point GU-1-
B (14[deg]10' N., 144[deg]11' E.), removing the need for point GU-1-B 
in defining the closed area. Thus, point GU-1-B was eliminated. 
Proposed point H (12[deg] 35' N., 144[deg]15' E.) introduced an 
unintended and unnecessary jog in the boundary, and was removed to 
straighten the boundary. The final coordinates were renumbered, and 
they accurately define the area that is approximately 50 nm from Guam's 
shoreline, and take into account the boundary between Guam and the 
CNMI.
    Other instructions are unchanged from the proposed rule.

Classification

    The NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA) determined that 
this FMP amendment is necessary for the conservation and management of 
the affected fisheries, and that the amendment is consistent with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) and other applicable laws.
    NMFS prepared an EA for this FMP amendment, and the AA concluded 
that there will be no significant impact on the human environment as a 
result of this rule. NMFS determined that the preferred management 
alternative has the greatest likelihood of achieving the purpose and 
need for this Federal action. In addition, all beneficial and adverse 
impacts of the proposed action have been addressed to reach the 
conclusion of no significant impacts. A copy of the EA is available 
from William L. Robinson (see ADDRESSES).
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    Consistent with section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, NMFS 
prepared a FRFA for Amendment 9, as described below. This FRFA 
incorporates the initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) 
prepared for Amendment 9. The preamble to the proposed rule included a 
detailed summary of the analyses contained in the IRFA, and that 
discussion is not repeated in its entirety here.
    A statement of the need for, and objectives of, the rule is 
provided in the preambles to the proposed rule and to this final rule, 
and is not repeated here. There were no comments received on the IRFA.
    The Small Business Administration defines a commercial fishing 
business as a small entity if annual gross receipts are less than $4.0 
million. All bottomfish vessels impacted by this rulemaking are 
considered to be small entities under this definition. Therefore, there 
are no economic impacts resulting from disproportionality between large 
and small vessels.

Number of Affected Small Entities

    This final rule is expected to adversely impact as many as 1 3 
bottomfish vessels of length greater than 50 ft (15.2 m) (large 
vessels) that have previously operated, but are not currently 
operating, in Federal waters within 50 nm (92.6 km) of Guam. 
Alternative 3, which would implement a trip limit on onaga, and 
alternative 4, which would implement limited access, would impact 100 
300 bottom fish vessels operating in Federal waters around Guam, 
regardless of their size.

Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements

    This final rule would implement permitting, recordkeeping, and 
reporting requirements for large vessels engaged in the fishery. The 
costs associated with obtaining permits and keeping and reporting 
information in logbooks would be minimal. The annual personnel cost for 
potential respondents is estimated at $62 per year. This was derived by 
multiplying the number of hours of burden per year (2.5 hr) times an 
hourly cost rate of $25, the estimated range of hourly wage rates for 
fishermen harvesting bottomfish in the western Pacific. There is no 
``start up'' capital cost for complying with the reporting requirement. 
The estimated cost to potential respondents, other than

[[Page 64476]]

personnel cost, is about $20 per respondent per year. This cost 
includes telephone charges and other incidental costs associated with 
sending the logbook forms to NMFS after each trip.

Minimizing Economic Impacts on Small Entities

    NMFS rejected alternatives imposing trip limits for onaga or a 
limited access system, in addition to the permitting, recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements for large vessels, because these alternatives 
would have had economic impacts on all participants in the fishery and 
were not necessary to meet the objectives of FMP Amendment 9. NMFS 
instead chose the alternative that would best achieve the objectives of 
FMP Amendment 9, including the continued economic viability of the 
small boat fishery, an alternative which focused on large vessel 
participants. Because data on costs and revenues for large vessels are 
not available, the economic impacts to the profitability of the 1 3 
vessels that could potentially be impacted by this rulemaking cannot be 
directly estimated. Implementation of the rule would require the 
affected vessels to search elsewhere for new bottomfish grounds, or to 
change gear and enter another fishery. Regardless of their choice, it 
is likely that these vessels would experience adverse economic impacts 
in the form of reductions in potential profitability under this final 
rule. The extent of the impacts would depend on the opportunity costs 
of each individual vessel relative to the profits previously earned in 
the bottomfish fishery off of Guam.

Small Entity Compliance Guide

    Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for 
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish 
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule, 
and shall designate such publications as ``small entity compliance 
guides.'' The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is 
required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of 
this rulemaking process, a small entity compliance guide was prepared. 
The guide will be sent to all large vessels that have historic landings 
in this fishery. In addition, copies of this final rule and guide will 
be made available by William L. Robinson (see ADDRESSES), and at the 
following web site: https://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/pir/index.htm.
    This final rule contains revisions to collection-of- information 
requirements subject to the PRA under OMB control numbers 0648-0214 and 
0648-0490. The revisions to these collection-of-information 
requirements have not yet been approved, but OMB approval is expected 
in the near future. NMFS will publish a notice when these requirements 
are cleared by OMB and are, therefore, effective (see DATES). The 
public reporting burden for these requirements is estimated to be 30 
min for a new permit application, and 5 min for completing a fishing 
logbook each day. It is estimated that up to three vessels may be 
subject to the reporting requirement at any given time, and that each 
vessel will fish, on average, no more than 50 days/yr, resulting in a 
total paperwork burden of approximately 14 hr/yr. These estimates 
include time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data 
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and 
reviewing the collection of information.
    Send comments regarding these burden estimates or any other aspect 
of this data collection, including suggestions for reducing the burden, 
to William L. Robinson, NMFS PIR (see ADDRESSES), or by e-mail to 
David--Rostker@omb.eop.gov, or fax to 202-395-7285.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, and no person shall be subject to penalty for 
failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665

    Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries, 
Fishing, Guam, Hawaii, Hawaiian natives, Northern Mariana Islands, 
Pacific Remote Island Areas, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: October 27, 2006.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 665 is amended as 
follows:

PART 665--FISHERIES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 665 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

0
2. In Sec.  665.12, add the definition of ``Guam bottomfish permit'' 
and revise the definition of ``Large vessel'' as follows:


Sec.  665.12  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Guam bottomfish permit means the permit required by Sec.  
665.61(a)(4) to use a large vessel to fish for, land, or transship 
bottomfish management unit species shoreward of the outer boundary of 
the Guam subarea of the bottomfish fishery management area.
* * * * *
    Large vessel means, as used in Sec. Sec.  665.22, 665.37, 665.38, 
665.61, 665.62, and 665.70, any vessel equal to or greater than 50 ft 
(15.2 m) in length overall.
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  665.13, revise paragraph (f)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  665.13  Permits and fees.

* * * * *
    (f) Fees. (1) PIRO will not charge a fee for a permit issued under 
subpart D or F of this part, for a Ho'omalu Zone limited access permit, 
or for a Guam bottomfish permit issued under Sec.  665.61.
* * * * *

0
4. In Sec.  665.14, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  665.14  Reporting and recordkeeping.

    (a) Fishing record forms. The operator of any fishing vessel 
subject to the requirements of Sec. Sec.  665.21, 665.41, 665.61(a)(4), 
665.81, or 665.602 must maintain on board the vessel an accurate and 
complete record of catch, effort, and other data on report forms 
provided by the Regional Administrator. All information specified on 
the forms must be recorded on the forms within 24 hr after the 
completion of each fishing day. Each form must be signed and dated by 
the fishing vessel operator. For the fisheries managed under Sec.  
Sec.  665.21, 665.41, 665.61(a)(4), and 665.81, the original logbook 
form for each day of the fishing trip must be submitted to the Regional 
Administrator within 72 hr of each landing of MUS, unless the fishing 
was authorized under a PRIA troll and handline permit, a PRIA 
crustaceans fishing permit, or a PRIA precious corals fishing permit, 
in which case the original logbook form for each day of fishing within 
the PRIA EEZ waters must be submitted to the Regional Administrator 
within 30 days of each landing of MUS. For fisheries managed under 
Sec.  665.602, the original logbook form for each day of the fishing 
trip must be submitted to the Regional Administrator within 30 days of 
each landing of MUS.
* * * * *

[[Page 64477]]


0
5. In Sec.  665.61, revise paragraph (a)(1) and add paragraph (a)(4) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  665.61  Permits.

    (a) Applicability. (1) The owner of any vessel used to fish for 
bottomfish management unit species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands 
Subarea, Pacific Remote Island Areas Subarea, or Guam Subarea must have 
a permit issued under this section and the permit must be registered 
for use with that vessel.
* * * * *
    (4) A fishing vessel of the United States must be registered for 
use under a Guam bottomfish permit if that vessel is a large vessel and 
is used to fish for, land, or transship bottomfish management unit 
species shoreward of the outer boundary of the Guam subarea of the 
bottomfish fishery management area.
* * * * *

0
6. In Sec.  665.62, add paragraphs (g), (h), and (i) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  665.62  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (g) Use a large vessel that does not have a valid Guam bottomfish 
permit registered for use with that vessel to fish for, land, or 
transship bottomfish management unit species shoreward of the outer 
boundary of the Guam subarea of the bottomfish fishery management area 
in violation of Sec.  665.61(a).
    (h) Use a large vessel to fish for bottomfish management unit 
species within the Guam large vessel bottomfish prohibited area, as 
defined in Sec.  665.70(b).
    (i) Land or transship, shoreward of the outer boundary of the Guam 
subarea of the bottomfish fishery management area, bottomfish 
management unit species that were harvested in violation of Sec.  
665.62(h).

0
7. Under subpart E, add a new Sec.  665.70 to read as follows:


Sec.  665.70  Bottomfish fishery area management.

    (a) Large vessel bottomfish prohibited area. A large vessel of the 
United States may not be used to fish for bottomfish management unit 
species in any large vessel bottomfish prohibited area as defined in 
paragraph (b) of this section.
    (b) Guam large vessel bottomfish prohibited area (Area GU-1). The 
large vessel bottomfish prohibited area around Guam means the waters of 
the US EEZ surrounding Guam that are enclosed by straight lines 
connecting the following coordinates in the order listed:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Point                       N. lat.        E. long.
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                  GU-1-A                      14[deg]16'     144[deg]17'
                  GU-1-B                     13[deg] 50'    143[deg] 52'
                  GU-1-C                     13[deg] 17'    143[deg] 46'
                  GU-1-D                     12[deg] 50'    143[deg] 54'
                  GU-1-E                     12[deg] 30'    144[deg] 14'
                  GU-1-F                     12[deg] 25'    144[deg] 51'
                  GU-1-G                     12[deg] 57'    145[deg] 33'
                  GU-1-H                     13[deg] 12'    145[deg] 43'
                  GU-1-I                     13[deg] 29'    145[deg] 48'
                                                    44''            27''
                  GU-1-A                     14[deg] 16'    144[deg] 17'
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. E6-18506 Filed 11-1-06; 8:45 am]
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