International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna Fisheries; Restrictions for 2007 Purse Seine and Longline Fisheries in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, 30711-30714 [E7-10718]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 106 / Monday, June 4, 2007 / Rules and Regulations
services authorized by an I/T/U
consistent with part 136 of this title or
section 503(a) of the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act (IHCIA), Public Law
94–437, as amended, 25 U.S.C. 1653(a).
(j) No additional charges. A payment
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shall constitute payment in full and the
hospital or its agent may not impose any
additional charge—
(1) On the individual for I/T/U
authorized items and services; or
(2) For information requested by the
I/T/U or its agent or fiscal intermediary
for the purposes of payment
determinations or quality assurance.
§ 136.31 Authorization by urban Indian
organization.
An urban Indian organization may
authorize for purchase items and
services for an eligible urban Indian (as
those terms are defined in 25 U.S.C.
1603(f) and (h)) according to section 503
of the IHCIA and applicable regulations.
Services and items furnished by
Medicare-participating inpatient
hospitals shall be subject to the payment
methodology set forth in § 136.30.
§ 136.32
Disallowance.
(a) If it is determined that a hospital
has submitted inaccurate information
for payment, such as admission,
discharge or billing data, an I/T/U may
as appropriate—
(1) Deny payment (in whole or in
part) with respect to any such services,
and;
(2) Disallow costs previously paid,
including any payments made under
any methodology authorized under this
subpart. The recovery of payments made
in error may be taken by any method
authorized by law.
(b) For cost based payments
previously issued under this subpart, if
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significantly below the computed rate
actually paid, the computed rate may be
retrospectively adjusted. The recovery
of overpayments made as a result of the
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services is amending 42 CFR Chapter
IV, as set forth below:
I
Subpart B—Essentials of Provider
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4. A new § 489.29 is added to subpart
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I
§ 489.29 Special requirements concerning
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and (h)).
(b) Hospitals and critical access
hospitals may not refuse service to an
individual on the basis that the payment
for such service is authorized under
programs described in paragraph (a) of
this section.
[FR Doc. 07–2740 Filed 6–1–07; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
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PART 489—PROVIDER AGREEMENTS
AND SUPPLIER APPROVAL
International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna
Fisheries; Restrictions for 2007 Purse
Seine and Longline Fisheries in the
Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean
3. The authority citation for part 489
continues to read as follows:
AGENCY:
I
Authority: Sec. 1102 and 1871 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1302 and 1395hh).
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National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce.
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ACTION:
30711
Final rule.
SUMMARY: NMFS publishes this final
rule to implement the 2007 management
measures to reduce overfishing of the
eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP)
tuna stocks in 2007, consistent with
recommendations by the Inter-American
Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) that
have been approved by the Department
of State (DOS) under the Tuna
Conventions Act. The U.S. purse seine
fishery for yellowfin, bigeye, and
skipjack tunas in the ETP will be closed
for a 6–week period beginning August 1,
2007, through September 11, 2007. The
longline fishery for bigeye tuna will
close when a 500 metric ton (mt) limit
has been reached. These actions are
taken to limit fishing mortality caused
by purse seine fishing and longline
fishing in the ETP and contribute to
long-term conservation of the tuna
stocks at levels that support healthy
fisheries.
DATES: The 2007 purse seine fishery
closure for yellowfin, bigeye, and
skipjack tunas is effective on 12:00 a.m.
Pacific Time, August 1, 2007, through
11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, September 11,
2007. For 2007, NMFS will close the
bigeye longline fishery through
appropriate procedures to ensure that
the bigeye longline tuna catch does not
exceed 500 mt.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the regulatory
impact review/final regulatory
flexibility analysis (FRFA) may be
obtained from the Southwest Regional
Administrator, Southwest Region,
NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard,
Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802–
4213.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J.
Allison Routt, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, Southwest Region, NMFS,
(562) 980–4030.
This Federal Register document is
also accessible via the Internet at the
Office of the Federal Register’s website
at https://www.gpoaccess.gov/
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
United States is a member of the IATTC,
which was established by international
agreement through the Convention for
the Establishment of an Inter-American
Tropical Tuna Commission
(Convention), which was signed in
1949. The IATTC was established to
ensure the effective international
conservation and management of highly
migratory species of fish in the ETP. For
the purposes of these closures, the ETP
is defined to include the waters
bounded by the coast of the Americas,
the 40° N. and 40° S. parallels, and the
150° W. meridian. The IATTC has
maintained a scientific research and
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fishery monitoring program for many
years and annually assesses the status of
stocks of tuna and the fisheries to
determine appropriate harvest limits or
other measures to prevent
overexploitation of the stocks and
promote viable fisheries.
In June 2006, the IATTC adopted a
Resolution for a Program on the
Conservation of Tuna in the Eastern
Pacific Ocean for 2007. The June 2006
resolution is a 1–year program on the
conservation of tuna in the ETP for
2007. This resolution offers a choice for
closing the purse seine fishery: either a
6–week closure beginning August 1,
2007, or a 6–week closure beginning
November 20, 2007. The resolution of
June 2006 incorporated flexibility for
nations to administer the purse seine
closure in accordance with national
legislation and national sovereignty.
The selected measure should reduce
overfishing in a manner that is fair,
equitable, and readily enforceable.
A proposed rule to carry out the
IATTC-recommended and DOSapproved closures for the ETP purse
seine and longline tuna fisheries for
2007 was published in the Federal
Register on February 26, 2007 (72 FR
8333). Under the Tuna Conventions Act,
16 U.S.C. 951–961 and 971 et seq.,
NMFS must publish regulations to carry
out IATTC recommendations and
resolutions that have been approved by
DOS.
For the target tuna stocks (yellowfin,
bigeye, and skipjack) of this resolution,
NMFS believes there may be a modest
biological advantage for choosing one
closure period over the other because
the summer closure would foreclose
opportunistic fishing by the southern
California small purse seine fleet. This
fleet does not fish for the target tuna
stocks during the winter months when
the target tuna stocks are not available
within the range of the fleet’s smaller
vessels. NMFS also looked at possible
economic advantages for determining
which closure period to select. As
discussed in response to comment 2,
NMFS believes there may be value in
evaluating whether a summer closure
may be less of an economic burden to
U.S. interests than a winter closure. For
2007, NMFS has selected the closure
beginning August 1, 2007, through
September, 11, 2007. All purse seine
gear used to target yellowfin, bigeye,
and skipjack tunas must be out of the
water in the ETP and no yellowfin,
bigeye, or skipjack tunas may be
retained for the 6–week period
beginning August 1, 2007, through
September 11, 2007.
This final rule also provides that the
U.S. longline fishery for bigeye tuna in
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the ETP will close for the remainder of
the calendar year 2007 after the catch of
bigeye by U.S. longline vessels reaches
500 mt. This closure will prohibit deepset longline gear from being deployed
and retaining bigeye tuna in the ETP.
Longline vessels will not be subjected to
this closure if the permit holder declares
to NMFS under the Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) for the Pelagic
Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region
that they intend to shallow-set to target
swordfish (50 CFR 665.23). NMFS will
close the longline fishery through
appropriate procedures so that the 500
mt limit is not exceeded. These actions
ensure that U.S. vessels fish in
accordance with the conservation and
management measures that the IATTC
recommended in June 2006.
Comments and Responses
During the comment period for the
proposed rule, NMFS received four
comments. Comments were received
from tuna vessel owners, tuna industry
organizations, and a member of the
public. Key issues and concerns are
summarized below and responded to as
follows:
Timing of the Closures
Comment 1: Comments supporting
the closure period of August 1, 2007,
through September 11, 2007, were
received from U.S. large-scale purse
seine vessel owners. They noted that in
past years, they chose not to fish during
the winter as inclement weather on the
normal fishing grounds makes fishing
difficult and there was an expectation
that they could secure dockyard space
and conduct vessel repairs during this
period. However, during the winter
closures in the ETP for years 2004–2006,
vessel owners wasted much time in
securing dockyard space due to
competition for space with other
nations. They expressed an interest in
using the summer closure for one year
to determine if vessel repairs could be
conducted more efficiently during the
summer closure period relative to past
experience.
Response: NMFS understands that the
U.S. large-scale purse seine vessel
owners prefer the summer closure for
2007 as they envision that this choice
may have economic benefits that have
not been realized during the past three
years when U.S. purse seine vessels
were subject to a winter closure. In
addition to the potential for a modest
conservation benefit, discussed above,
adopting the summer closure option for
2007 would allow NMFS to evaluate
whether an economic benefit can be
realized.
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Comment 2: Two commenters
expressed a preference for the winter
closure for 2007. These comments stated
that their ETP operations are based in
Ecuador, and Ecuador in past years has
chosen the summer closure. Assuming
Ecuador’s preferred closure will again
be the summer period and the United
States chooses the winter closure, this
will provide some consistent
distribution of their fish supply
throughout the year. If the United States
chooses the summer closure and
Ecuador chooses the summer closure for
2007, their concern is that their fish
supply opportunities will be limited.
Response: In the years 2004 - 2006,
nations party to the IATTC evenly
choose the summer and winter closure
periods. NMFS believes as in years past,
nations party to the IATTC will again
evenly choose the summer and winter
closure periods and that the global
supply of tuna will be balanced and
available for purchase to market. At this
time, the United States cannot
anticipate the closure period Ecuador
will select for 2007. Consequently, the
U.S. closure period may or may not
coincide with Ecuador’s.
2007 U.S. Longline Catch
Comment 3: A commenter stated that
longlines should be banned
permanently and totally forever, but
noted that the longline season, as
outlined, should be closed at a
minimum of August 1 through
December 1. The commenter added that
the failure to adequately stem
overfishing is reflected by this paucity
of closure.
Response: The longline tuna fishery
closure in the ETP was negotiated on a
multilateral basis and strikes a balance
between the many competing interests.
The nations party to the IATTC prefer
to set national quotas rather than time/
area closures for this gear type. This
final rule provides that the U.S. longline
fishery for bigeye tuna in the ETP will
close for the remainder of the calendar
year 2007 when the catch by U.S.
longline vessels reaches 500 mt.
Classification
This action is consistent with the
Tuna Conventions Act and with the
regulations governing the Pacific Tuna
Fisheries at 50 CFR 300.25.
This final rule has been determined to
be not significant for the purposes of
Executive Order 12866.
An FRFA was prepared that describes
the economic impacts of this final rule.
A copy of this analysis is available from
NMFS (see ADDRESSES). Responses to
comments received on the economic
impact of the proposed rule were
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provided above. A summary of the
FRFA follows.
A description of the need for and
objectives of this rule is included in the
preamble and not repeated here.
The purse seine closure applies to the
U.S. tuna purse seine fleet that targets
yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tunas.
The fleet consists of five to ten small
vessels (carrying capacity below 400
short tons (363 mt)) and one to two large
vessels (carrying capacity 400 short tons
(363 mt) or greater). The large vessels
usually fish outside U.S. waters and
deliver their catch to foreign ports or
transship to processors outside the
mainland United States. The large
vessels are categorized as large business
entities (revenues in excess of $4
million per year). A large purse seine
vessel typically generates 4,000 to 5,000
mt of tuna valued at between $4 and $5
million per year. The closure should not
significantly affect the operations of the
one to two large vessels because they are
capable of fishing, and do fish, in other
areas that would remain open.
The small vessels are categorized as
small business entities (average annual
revenues below $4 million per year).
They fish out of California in the U.S.
EEZ most of the year for small pelagic
fish (Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel)
and for market squid in summer. Some
small vessels harvest yellowfin and
skipjack tunas seasonally when they are
available. The southern California purse
seine fishery opportunistically fishes for
tropical tunas when the tropical tunas
migrate further north and within range
of these vessels, which are not equipped
for long-range excursions. Specifically,
yellowfin and skipjack tunas
intermittently migrate within range of
these vessels. However, predicting their
movements is uncertain. Tuna landings
reported by the Pacific States Marine
Fisheries Commission show that since
2001, yellowfin and skipjack tunas can
be landed by this southern California
purse seine fishery during the months of
August, September, and October,
although the bulk of these landings
occur in September. However, this is
not always the case. For example,
neither yellowfin nor skipjack tunas
ventured close enough to the range of
the southern California small purse
seine fleet in 2006 resulting in zero
landings. For the summer purse seine
fishery closure option, this fishery
would be precluded from fishing in
August and for 11 days in September
which still provides the fishery the
opportunity to operate for the remainder
of September as well as the month of
October. In addition, the southern
California small purse seine fleet
periodically lands albacore and bluefin
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tunas which are not covered under the
IATTC resolution of June 2006 and
therefore can be fished during either
closure option. It appears that bluefin
tuna may also be the preferred species
targeted by this fleet as bluefin provide
a higher ex-vessel value than either
yellowfin or skipjack tunas.
The existing California based longline
fishery, which consists of one vessel,
targets bigeye tuna. For the tuna
longline fleet operating out of Hawaii,
there is a maximum of 164 permits
available, and 125 active longline
vessels participated in the fishery in
2005. The California and Hawaii
longline fleets are categorized as small
business entities (average annual
revenues below $4 million per year).
The Hawaii longline fleet, which targets
bigeye tuna and swordfish, has
traditionally operated outside the
boundaries of the ETP. However, in
recent years, some vessels of the tuna
longline fleet operating out of Hawaii
have operated within the boundaries of
the ETP. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, the
California and Hawaii based longline
fishery was limited to 150 mt of bigeye
tuna in the ETP. For each of these three
years, the 150 mt limit was reached in
the ETP and the longline fishery for
bigeye tuna was closed. A closure
would affect operations of both longline
fleets. However, the California based
longline fleet is capable of fishing for
other species of fish with other gear
types in the ETP which should mitigate
the effects of any closure. For example,
the closure has occurred in the past
several years beginning in the summer
months when North Pacific albacore
tuna appear on the west coast and
vessels can switch to surface troll gear
to participate in that fishery. Similarly,
the Hawaii based longline fleet also
fishes for swordfish and can also direct
its efforts at bigeye tuna outside the
ETP. Because both fleets are capable of
fishing for other species, or in the case
of the Hawaii longline fleet, in other
areas outside the ETP that would remain
open, they have the opportunity to
continue to fish during the closure.
This rule does not impose reporting or
recordkeeping requirements, and the
compliance requirements for the closure
areas are as described at the outset of
this summary.
NMFS considered three alternatives
for this final rule: a 6–week summer
closure of the purse seine fishery from
August 1 through September 20 of 2007,
a 6–week winter closure of the purse
seine fishery from November 20 through
December 31, 2007, or no closures at all.
The summer closure best satisfies the
objectives of the resolution and the
statute to conserve tuna stocks by
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30713
prohibiting purse seine fishing for the
target tuna stocks during the only time
when the small purse seine fleet out of
southern California might engage in
opportunistic fishing for yellowfin,
bigeye, and skipjack tuna. The
opportunistic chance for the southern
California small purse seine fleet to
target yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack
tunas is not available in the winter as
the tropical tunas do not migrate within
the range of these vessels, which are not
equipped for long-range excursions,
during the winter season. While such
fishing is only a very small portion of
the overall catch of these species, NMFS
believes that by foreclosing this
additional fishing opportunity, the
summer closure may provide a slightly
greater conservation benefit than the
winter closure.
The August 1 – September 11 closure
alternative may have a slightly greater
economic impact on small entities than
the November 20 December 31 closure
because the additional fishing
opportunity for the southern California
small purse seine fleet will not be
available during the closure period,
though this impact is not expected to be
significant. The southern California
small purse seine fishery normally
fishes for coastal pelagic species such as
Pacific sardines, Pacific mackerel and
market squid. Fishing for these species
of fish is not affected by this closure. In
recent years, the seasonal tuna harvest
has amounted to no more than 5–7% of
the total catch for these vessels. The
seasonal tuna catch is also intermittent
- as stated previously, neither yellowfin
nor skipjack tunas ventured close
enough to the range of the southern
California small purse seine fleet in
2006 resulting in zero landings. Based
on an average since 2001, the economic
impact on small entities in the
California small purse seine fleet who
opportunistically are able to target
yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tunas is
less than $0.5 million. Because the
opportunity to fish seasonally for
yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tuna will
be available after the closure, during the
latter half of September and for the
month of October, the economic impact
is likely to be less than $0.5 million on
average. The ex-vessel value of all small
purse seine vessels fishing for coastal
pelagic species was $43.5 million in
2005. Therefore NMFS does not believe
that the summer closure and an average
of less than $0.5 million not realized for
the southern California small purse
seine fleet will be significant.
NMFS considered the option of a 6–
week closure during the winter season
beginning on November 20, 2007. Given
that NMFS believes the summer closure
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may provide a slightly greater
conservation benefit than the winter
closure, and that NMFS believes it is
reasonable to evaluate whether the
winter closure will allow fishery
participants to realize an economic
benefit pertaining to vessel operations,
NMFS did not choose this alternative.
NMFS also considered the alternative
of not implementing the 2006 IATTC
Tuna Conservation Resolution. This
alternative would have imposed no
economic costs on small entities.
However, failure to implement measures
that have been agreed to pursuant to the
Convention would violate the United
States’ obligations under the
Convention, and would violate the Tuna
Conventions Act.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951–961 and 971 et
seq.
Dated: May 29, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7–10718 Filed 6–1–07; 8:45 am]
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50 CFR Part 300
[Docket No. 070326070–7110–02; I.D.
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RIN 0648–AV47
Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Guided Sport
Charter Vessel Fishery for Halibut
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule to
restrict the harvest of halibut by persons
fishing on a guided sport charter vessel
in International Pacific Halibut
Commission (IPHC) Regulatory Area 2C.
The current sport fishing catch or bag
limit of two halibut per day is changed
for a person sport fishing on a charter
vessel in Area 2C. The final rule would
require at least one of the two fish taken
in a day to be no more than 32 inches
(81.3 cm) in length. This regulatory
change is necessary to reduce the
halibut harvest in the charter vessel
sector while minimizing negative
impacts on this sector, its sport fishing
clients, and the coastal communities
that serve as home ports for the fishery.
The intended effect of this action is a
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reduction in the poundage of halibut
harvested by the guided sport charter
vessel sector in Area 2C.
DATES: Effective June 1, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the
Environmental Assessment, Regulatory
Impact Review, and Final Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/FRFA)
prepared for this action are available
from: NMFS, Alaska Region, P.O. Box
21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668, Attn:
Ellen Sebastian, Records Officer; NMFS,
Alaska Region, 709 West 9th Street,
Room 420, Juneau, AK; or NMFS Alaska
Region Website at https://
www.fakr.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay
Ginter, telephone (907) 586–7228, email jay.ginter@noaa.gov; or Jason
Gasper, telephone (907) 586–7228, email jason.gasper@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IPHC
and NMFS manage fishing for Pacific
halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis)
through regulations established under
the authority of the Northern Pacific
Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act). The
IPHC promulgates regulations governing
the Pacific halibut fishery under the
Convention between the United States
and Canada for the Preservation of the
Halibut Fishery of the North Pacific
Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention),
signed in Ottawa, Ontario, on March 2,
1953, as amended by a Protocol
Amending the Convention signed at
Washington, D.C., on March 29, 1979.
The IPHC’s regulations are subject to
approval by the Secretary of State with
concurrence of the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary). Approved
regulations developed by the IPHC are
published as annual management
measures pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62.
The annual management measures for
2007 were published on March 14, 2007
(72 FR 11792).
The Halibut Act provides the
Secretary with the authority and general
responsibility to carry out the
requirement of the Convention and
Halibut Act. Regulations that are not in
conflict with approved IPHC regulations
may be recommended by the North
Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) and implemented by the
Secretary through NMFS to allocate
harvesting privileges among U.S.
fishermen in and off of Alaska. The
Council has exercised this authority,
most notably in the development of its
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program,
codified at 50 CFR part 679, and
subsistence halibut fishery management
measures, codified at 50 CFR 300.65.
The Council also has been developing a
regulatory program to manage the
guided sport charter vessel fishery for
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halibut and is continuing this work.
This program could include harvest
restrictions in regulatory Area 2C and
3A for 2008, and a moratorium on new
entry into the Area 2C and Area 3A
charter vessel fishery.
Background and Need for Action
The background and need for this
action were described in the preamble
of the proposed rule published in the
Federal Register on April 6, 2007 (72 FR
17071). In summary, this final rule will
reduce sport fishing mortality of halibut
in the Area 2C charter vessel sector to
a level comparable to the level that
would have been achieved by the onefish bag limit recommended by the
IPHC. Of the alternatives analyzed in
the EA/RIR/FRFA, the alternative
selected for the final rule is expected to
provide the necessary level of harvest
reduction while also reducing adverse
impacts on the charter fishery, its sport
fishing clients, the coastal communities
served by the charter sector, and on the
fisheries for other species.
The harvest of halibut occurs in three
basic fisheries the commercial, sport,
and subsistence fisheries. An additional
amount of fishing mortality occurs as
bycatch, wastage, and incidental catch
while targeting other species. The IPHC
annually determines the amount of
halibut that may be removed from a
regulatory area without causing
biological conservation concerns for the
entire Pacific halibut stock. In
Convention waters in and off Alaska,
the IPHC sets an annual catch limit
specific for the commercial fishery.
Thus, to maintain conservation goals,
the IPHC reduces commercial catch
when other sources of fishing mortality
(e.g., sport fishing) grow. Although most
of the non-commercial uses of halibut
have been stable, growth in the charter
vessel fishery in recent years,
particularly in Area 2C, has resulted in
a shift of the halibut resource away from
the commercial fishery to the charter
fishery. Moreover, the rate of growth in
the charter vessel sector in Area 2C has
made it difficult for the IPHC to forecast
future removals of halibut in the charter
vessel sector and set appropriate
commercial harvest limits.
The IPHC addressed the increase in
the harvest of halibut by the charter
vessel fishery at its annual meeting in
January 2007. The IPHC adopted a
motion to reduce the daily bag limit for
anglers fishing on charter vessels in
Areas 2C and 3A from two halibut to
one halibut per day during certain time
periods. Specifically, the IPHC
recommended a one-fish bag limit apply
to guided anglers in Area 2C from June
15 through July 30, and in Area 3A from
E:\FR\FM\04JNR1.SGM
04JNR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 106 (Monday, June 4, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30711-30714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10718]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 300
[Docket No. 070215036-7107-02; I.D. 012307A]
RIN 0648-AU79
International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna Fisheries; Restrictions for
2007 Purse Seine and Longline Fisheries in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Ocean
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS publishes this final rule to implement the 2007
management measures to reduce overfishing of the eastern tropical
Pacific Ocean (ETP) tuna stocks in 2007, consistent with
recommendations by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)
that have been approved by the Department of State (DOS) under the Tuna
Conventions Act. The U.S. purse seine fishery for yellowfin, bigeye,
and skipjack tunas in the ETP will be closed for a 6-week period
beginning August 1, 2007, through September 11, 2007. The longline
fishery for bigeye tuna will close when a 500 metric ton (mt) limit has
been reached. These actions are taken to limit fishing mortality caused
by purse seine fishing and longline fishing in the ETP and contribute
to long-term conservation of the tuna stocks at levels that support
healthy fisheries.
DATES: The 2007 purse seine fishery closure for yellowfin, bigeye, and
skipjack tunas is effective on 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time, August 1, 2007,
through 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, September 11, 2007. For 2007, NMFS
will close the bigeye longline fishery through appropriate procedures
to ensure that the bigeye longline tuna catch does not exceed 500 mt.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the regulatory impact review/final regulatory
flexibility analysis (FRFA) may be obtained from the Southwest Regional
Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite
4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J. Allison Routt, Sustainable
Fisheries Division, Southwest Region, NMFS, (562) 980-4030.
This Federal Register document is also accessible via the Internet
at the Office of the Federal Register's website at https://
www.gpoaccess.gov/
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States is a member of the IATTC,
which was established by international agreement through the Convention
for the Establishment of an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
(Convention), which was signed in 1949. The IATTC was established to
ensure the effective international conservation and management of
highly migratory species of fish in the ETP. For the purposes of these
closures, the ETP is defined to include the waters bounded by the coast
of the Americas, the 40[deg] N. and 40[deg] S. parallels, and the
150[deg] W. meridian. The IATTC has maintained a scientific research
and
[[Page 30712]]
fishery monitoring program for many years and annually assesses the
status of stocks of tuna and the fisheries to determine appropriate
harvest limits or other measures to prevent overexploitation of the
stocks and promote viable fisheries.
In June 2006, the IATTC adopted a Resolution for a Program on the
Conservation of Tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean for 2007. The June
2006 resolution is a 1-year program on the conservation of tuna in the
ETP for 2007. This resolution offers a choice for closing the purse
seine fishery: either a 6-week closure beginning August 1, 2007, or a
6-week closure beginning November 20, 2007. The resolution of June 2006
incorporated flexibility for nations to administer the purse seine
closure in accordance with national legislation and national
sovereignty. The selected measure should reduce overfishing in a manner
that is fair, equitable, and readily enforceable.
A proposed rule to carry out the IATTC-recommended and DOS-approved
closures for the ETP purse seine and longline tuna fisheries for 2007
was published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2007 (72 FR
8333). Under the Tuna Conventions Act, 16 U.S.C. 951-961 and 971 et
seq., NMFS must publish regulations to carry out IATTC recommendations
and resolutions that have been approved by DOS.
For the target tuna stocks (yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack) of
this resolution, NMFS believes there may be a modest biological
advantage for choosing one closure period over the other because the
summer closure would foreclose opportunistic fishing by the southern
California small purse seine fleet. This fleet does not fish for the
target tuna stocks during the winter months when the target tuna stocks
are not available within the range of the fleet's smaller vessels. NMFS
also looked at possible economic advantages for determining which
closure period to select. As discussed in response to comment 2, NMFS
believes there may be value in evaluating whether a summer closure may
be less of an economic burden to U.S. interests than a winter closure.
For 2007, NMFS has selected the closure beginning August 1, 2007,
through September, 11, 2007. All purse seine gear used to target
yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tunas must be out of the water in the
ETP and no yellowfin, bigeye, or skipjack tunas may be retained for the
6-week period beginning August 1, 2007, through September 11, 2007.
This final rule also provides that the U.S. longline fishery for
bigeye tuna in the ETP will close for the remainder of the calendar
year 2007 after the catch of bigeye by U.S. longline vessels reaches
500 mt. This closure will prohibit deep-set longline gear from being
deployed and retaining bigeye tuna in the ETP. Longline vessels will
not be subjected to this closure if the permit holder declares to NMFS
under the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Pelagic Fisheries of
the Western Pacific Region that they intend to shallow-set to target
swordfish (50 CFR 665.23). NMFS will close the longline fishery through
appropriate procedures so that the 500 mt limit is not exceeded. These
actions ensure that U.S. vessels fish in accordance with the
conservation and management measures that the IATTC recommended in June
2006.
Comments and Responses
During the comment period for the proposed rule, NMFS received four
comments. Comments were received from tuna vessel owners, tuna industry
organizations, and a member of the public. Key issues and concerns are
summarized below and responded to as follows:
Timing of the Closures
Comment 1: Comments supporting the closure period of August 1,
2007, through September 11, 2007, were received from U.S. large-scale
purse seine vessel owners. They noted that in past years, they chose
not to fish during the winter as inclement weather on the normal
fishing grounds makes fishing difficult and there was an expectation
that they could secure dockyard space and conduct vessel repairs during
this period. However, during the winter closures in the ETP for years
2004-2006, vessel owners wasted much time in securing dockyard space
due to competition for space with other nations. They expressed an
interest in using the summer closure for one year to determine if
vessel repairs could be conducted more efficiently during the summer
closure period relative to past experience.
Response: NMFS understands that the U.S. large-scale purse seine
vessel owners prefer the summer closure for 2007 as they envision that
this choice may have economic benefits that have not been realized
during the past three years when U.S. purse seine vessels were subject
to a winter closure. In addition to the potential for a modest
conservation benefit, discussed above, adopting the summer closure
option for 2007 would allow NMFS to evaluate whether an economic
benefit can be realized.
Comment 2: Two commenters expressed a preference for the winter
closure for 2007. These comments stated that their ETP operations are
based in Ecuador, and Ecuador in past years has chosen the summer
closure. Assuming Ecuador's preferred closure will again be the summer
period and the United States chooses the winter closure, this will
provide some consistent distribution of their fish supply throughout
the year. If the United States chooses the summer closure and Ecuador
chooses the summer closure for 2007, their concern is that their fish
supply opportunities will be limited.
Response: In the years 2004 - 2006, nations party to the IATTC
evenly choose the summer and winter closure periods. NMFS believes as
in years past, nations party to the IATTC will again evenly choose the
summer and winter closure periods and that the global supply of tuna
will be balanced and available for purchase to market. At this time,
the United States cannot anticipate the closure period Ecuador will
select for 2007. Consequently, the U.S. closure period may or may not
coincide with Ecuador's.
2007 U.S. Longline Catch
Comment 3: A commenter stated that longlines should be banned
permanently and totally forever, but noted that the longline season, as
outlined, should be closed at a minimum of August 1 through December 1.
The commenter added that the failure to adequately stem overfishing is
reflected by this paucity of closure.
Response: The longline tuna fishery closure in the ETP was
negotiated on a multilateral basis and strikes a balance between the
many competing interests. The nations party to the IATTC prefer to set
national quotas rather than time/area closures for this gear type. This
final rule provides that the U.S. longline fishery for bigeye tuna in
the ETP will close for the remainder of the calendar year 2007 when the
catch by U.S. longline vessels reaches 500 mt.
Classification
This action is consistent with the Tuna Conventions Act and with
the regulations governing the Pacific Tuna Fisheries at 50 CFR 300.25.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for the
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
An FRFA was prepared that describes the economic impacts of this
final rule. A copy of this analysis is available from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES). Responses to comments received on the economic impact of
the proposed rule were
[[Page 30713]]
provided above. A summary of the FRFA follows.
A description of the need for and objectives of this rule is
included in the preamble and not repeated here.
The purse seine closure applies to the U.S. tuna purse seine fleet
that targets yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tunas. The fleet consists
of five to ten small vessels (carrying capacity below 400 short tons
(363 mt)) and one to two large vessels (carrying capacity 400 short
tons (363 mt) or greater). The large vessels usually fish outside U.S.
waters and deliver their catch to foreign ports or transship to
processors outside the mainland United States. The large vessels are
categorized as large business entities (revenues in excess of $4
million per year). A large purse seine vessel typically generates 4,000
to 5,000 mt of tuna valued at between $4 and $5 million per year. The
closure should not significantly affect the operations of the one to
two large vessels because they are capable of fishing, and do fish, in
other areas that would remain open.
The small vessels are categorized as small business entities
(average annual revenues below $4 million per year). They fish out of
California in the U.S. EEZ most of the year for small pelagic fish
(Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel) and for market squid in summer.
Some small vessels harvest yellowfin and skipjack tunas seasonally when
they are available. The southern California purse seine fishery
opportunistically fishes for tropical tunas when the tropical tunas
migrate further north and within range of these vessels, which are not
equipped for long-range excursions. Specifically, yellowfin and
skipjack tunas intermittently migrate within range of these vessels.
However, predicting their movements is uncertain. Tuna landings
reported by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission show that
since 2001, yellowfin and skipjack tunas can be landed by this southern
California purse seine fishery during the months of August, September,
and October, although the bulk of these landings occur in September.
However, this is not always the case. For example, neither yellowfin
nor skipjack tunas ventured close enough to the range of the southern
California small purse seine fleet in 2006 resulting in zero landings.
For the summer purse seine fishery closure option, this fishery would
be precluded from fishing in August and for 11 days in September which
still provides the fishery the opportunity to operate for the remainder
of September as well as the month of October. In addition, the southern
California small purse seine fleet periodically lands albacore and
bluefin tunas which are not covered under the IATTC resolution of June
2006 and therefore can be fished during either closure option. It
appears that bluefin tuna may also be the preferred species targeted by
this fleet as bluefin provide a higher ex-vessel value than either
yellowfin or skipjack tunas.
The existing California based longline fishery, which consists of
one vessel, targets bigeye tuna. For the tuna longline fleet operating
out of Hawaii, there is a maximum of 164 permits available, and 125
active longline vessels participated in the fishery in 2005. The
California and Hawaii longline fleets are categorized as small business
entities (average annual revenues below $4 million per year). The
Hawaii longline fleet, which targets bigeye tuna and swordfish, has
traditionally operated outside the boundaries of the ETP. However, in
recent years, some vessels of the tuna longline fleet operating out of
Hawaii have operated within the boundaries of the ETP. In 2004, 2005,
and 2006, the California and Hawaii based longline fishery was limited
to 150 mt of bigeye tuna in the ETP. For each of these three years, the
150 mt limit was reached in the ETP and the longline fishery for bigeye
tuna was closed. A closure would affect operations of both longline
fleets. However, the California based longline fleet is capable of
fishing for other species of fish with other gear types in the ETP
which should mitigate the effects of any closure. For example, the
closure has occurred in the past several years beginning in the summer
months when North Pacific albacore tuna appear on the west coast and
vessels can switch to surface troll gear to participate in that
fishery. Similarly, the Hawaii based longline fleet also fishes for
swordfish and can also direct its efforts at bigeye tuna outside the
ETP. Because both fleets are capable of fishing for other species, or
in the case of the Hawaii longline fleet, in other areas outside the
ETP that would remain open, they have the opportunity to continue to
fish during the closure.
This rule does not impose reporting or recordkeeping requirements,
and the compliance requirements for the closure areas are as described
at the outset of this summary.
NMFS considered three alternatives for this final rule: a 6-week
summer closure of the purse seine fishery from August 1 through
September 20 of 2007, a 6-week winter closure of the purse seine
fishery from November 20 through December 31, 2007, or no closures at
all. The summer closure best satisfies the objectives of the resolution
and the statute to conserve tuna stocks by prohibiting purse seine
fishing for the target tuna stocks during the only time when the small
purse seine fleet out of southern California might engage in
opportunistic fishing for yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tuna. The
opportunistic chance for the southern California small purse seine
fleet to target yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tunas is not available
in the winter as the tropical tunas do not migrate within the range of
these vessels, which are not equipped for long-range excursions, during
the winter season. While such fishing is only a very small portion of
the overall catch of these species, NMFS believes that by foreclosing
this additional fishing opportunity, the summer closure may provide a
slightly greater conservation benefit than the winter closure.
The August 1 - September 11 closure alternative may have a slightly
greater economic impact on small entities than the November 20 December
31 closure because the additional fishing opportunity for the southern
California small purse seine fleet will not be available during the
closure period, though this impact is not expected to be significant.
The southern California small purse seine fishery normally fishes for
coastal pelagic species such as Pacific sardines, Pacific mackerel and
market squid. Fishing for these species of fish is not affected by this
closure. In recent years, the seasonal tuna harvest has amounted to no
more than 5-7% of the total catch for these vessels. The seasonal tuna
catch is also intermittent - as stated previously, neither yellowfin
nor skipjack tunas ventured close enough to the range of the southern
California small purse seine fleet in 2006 resulting in zero landings.
Based on an average since 2001, the economic impact on small entities
in the California small purse seine fleet who opportunistically are
able to target yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tunas is less than $0.5
million. Because the opportunity to fish seasonally for yellowfin,
bigeye, and skipjack tuna will be available after the closure, during
the latter half of September and for the month of October, the economic
impact is likely to be less than $0.5 million on average. The ex-vessel
value of all small purse seine vessels fishing for coastal pelagic
species was $43.5 million in 2005. Therefore NMFS does not believe that
the summer closure and an average of less than $0.5 million not
realized for the southern California small purse seine fleet will be
significant.
NMFS considered the option of a 6-week closure during the winter
season beginning on November 20, 2007. Given that NMFS believes the
summer closure
[[Page 30714]]
may provide a slightly greater conservation benefit than the winter
closure, and that NMFS believes it is reasonable to evaluate whether
the winter closure will allow fishery participants to realize an
economic benefit pertaining to vessel operations, NMFS did not choose
this alternative.
NMFS also considered the alternative of not implementing the 2006
IATTC Tuna Conservation Resolution. This alternative would have imposed
no economic costs on small entities. However, failure to implement
measures that have been agreed to pursuant to the Convention would
violate the United States' obligations under the Convention, and would
violate the Tuna Conventions Act.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951-961 and 971 et seq.
Dated: May 29, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-10718 Filed 6-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
