Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish; Limited Access Privilege Programs, 76605-76606 [E8-29927]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 17, 2008 / Proposed Rules
(c) Issuance and renewal of the Letter
of Authorization will be based on a
determination that the total number of
marine mammals taken by the activity
as a whole will have no more than a
negligible impact on the affected species
or stock of marine mammal(s).
§ 218.17 Renewal of Letters of
Authorization.
(a) A Letter of Authorization issued
under § 216.106 of this chapter and
§ 218.16 for the activity identified in
§ 218.10(c) will be renewed annually
upon:
(1) Notification to NMFS that the
activity described in the application
submitted under § 218.15 will be
undertaken and that there will not be a
substantial modification to the
described work, mitigation or
monitoring undertaken during the
upcoming 12 months;
(2) Timely receipt of the monitoring
reports required under § 218.14(b); and
(3) A determination by the NMFS that
the mitigation, monitoring and reporting
measures required under § 218.13 and
the Letter of Authorization issued under
§ 216.106 of this chapter and § 218.16,
were undertaken and will be undertaken
during the upcoming annual period of
validity of a renewed Letter of
Authorization.
(b) If a request for a renewal of a
Letter of Authorization issued under
§ 216.106 of this chapter and § 218.17
indicates that a substantial modification
to the described work, mitigation or
monitoring undertaken during the
upcoming season will occur, the NMFS
will provide the public a period of 30
days for review and comment on the
request. Review and comment on
renewals of Letters of Authorization are
restricted to:
(1) New cited information and data
indicating that the determinations made
in this document are in need of
reconsideration, and
(2) Proposed changes to the mitigation
and monitoring requirements contained
in these regulations or in the current
Letter of Authorization.
(c) A notice of issuance or denial of
a renewal of a Letter of Authorization
will be published in the Federal
Register.
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
§ 218.18 Modifications to Letters of
Authorization.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph
(b) of this section, no substantive
modification (including withdrawal or
suspension) to the Letter of
Authorization by NMFS, issued
pursuant to § 216.106 of this chapter
and § 218.16 and subject to the
provisions of this subpart shall be made
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:09 Dec 16, 2008
Jkt 217001
until after notification and an
opportunity for public comment has
been provided. For purposes of this
paragraph, a renewal of a Letter of
Authorization under § 218.17, without
modification (except for the period of
validity), is not considered a substantive
modification.
(b) If the Assistant Administrator
determines that an emergency exists
that poses a significant risk to the wellbeing of the species or stocks of marine
mammals specified in § 218.10(b), a
Letter of Authorization issued pursuant
to § 216.106 of this chapter and § 218.16
may be substantively modified without
prior notification and an opportunity for
public comment. Notification will be
published in the Federal Register
within 30 days subsequent to the action.
[FR Doc. E8–29761 Filed 12–16–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648–AX25
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska
Groundfish; Limited Access Privilege
Programs
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery
management plan amendments; request
for comments.
SUMMARY: Amendment 90 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area and Amendment 78
to the Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska would
modify the Fishery Management Plans
(FMPs) to allow unlimited post–delivery
transfers of cooperative quota. This
action is necessary to mitigate potential
overages, reduce enforcement costs, and
provide for more precise total allowable
catch management. This action is
intended to promote the goals and
objectives of the Magnuson–Stevens
Act, the FMPs, and other applicable
laws.
DATES: Comments on the amendment
must be submitted on or before February
17, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue
Salveson, Assistant Regional
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
76605
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn:
Ellen Sebastian. You may submit
comments, identified by ‘‘RIN 0648–
AX25,’’ by any one of the following
methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
FederaleRulemaking Portal website at
https://www.regulations.gov.
• Mail: P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK
99802.
• Fax: (907) 586–7557.
• Hand delivery to the Federal
Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room
420A, Juneau, AK.
All comments received are a part of
the public record and will generally be
posted to https://www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may be publicly accessible. Do not
submit confidential business
information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft
Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe
portable document file (pdf) formats
only.
Copies of Amendments 90 and 78, the
Regulatory Impact Review/Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analyses (RIR/
IRFAs) for this action, and the
Categorical Exclusion prepared for the
amendments may be obtained from the
NMFS Alaska Region at the address
above or from the Alaska Region website
at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. The
proposed rule to implement
Amendments 90 and 78 to the FMPs
was categorically excluded from the
need to prepare an environmental
assessment under the National
Environmental Policy Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Glenn Merrill, 907–586–7459, or Julie
Scheurer, 907–586–7356.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Magnuson–Stevens Act requires that
each regional fishery management
council submit any fishery management
plan amendment it prepares to NMFS
for review and approval, disapproval, or
partial approval by the Secretary of
Commerce. The Magnuson–Stevens Act
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving
a fishery management plan amendment,
immediately publish a notice in the
Federal Register announcing that the
amendment is available for public
review and comment. This notice
announces that proposed Amendment
90 to the Fishery Management Plan for
E:\FR\FM\17DEP1.SGM
17DEP1
76606
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 17, 2008 / Proposed Rules
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area and
proposed Amendment 78 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Gulf of Alaska are available for public
review and comment.
Amendments 90 and 78 would make
minor changes to the FMPs to allow
unlimited transfers of cooperative quota
(CQ) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Management Area (BSAI)
Amendment 80 Program and the Central
Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program
(Rockfish Program) to cover harvesting
overages. These two programs are
commonly known as limited access
privilege programs because the
participants in these fisheries may
receive exclusive access to fishery
resources if specific conditions are met.
Under the Amendment 80 Program,
NMFS issued quota share (QS) to
persons based on their qualifying
harvest histories using specific trawl
catcher/processor vessels in six BSAI
non–pollock groundfish fisheries during
1998 through 2004. Under the Rockfish
Program, NMFS issued QS to persons
based on their qualifying harvest
histories using trawl catcher vessel and
trawl catcher/processors in several
Central Gulf of Alaska rockfish fisheries
and associated species that are
harvested during those rockfish fisheries
based during 1996 through 2002. Each
year, the person issued QS may choose
to participate in a competitive limited
access fishery with all other non–
cooperative participants who hold QS,
or may participate in a fishery
cooperative with other QS holders.
The total amount of QS assigned to all
members of a cooperative yields
cooperative quota (CQ), an exclusive
annual harvest privilege in specific
fisheries. In addition, a cooperative also
receives CQ that may be used for the
incidental catch of a specific amount
crab or halibut. Incidentally caught crab
or halibut cannot be retained, processed,
or sold, and are commonly called
prohibited species catch (PSC).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:09 Dec 16, 2008
Jkt 217001
The Amendment 80 Program and the
Rockfish Program allow cooperatives to
transfer their unused CQ among
cooperatives. Transfers allow
cooperatives to tailor their operations to
specific harvesting conditions. All
transfers must be approved by NMFS
before they become effective. Under
existing regulations, a cooperative in
either the Amendment 80 Program or
the Rockfish Program is prohibited from
catching groundfish or PSC that exceeds
the amount of CQ that is issued to that
cooperative. This prohibits a
cooperative and its members from
having a negative CQ balance for a given
species, and subsequently transferring
CQ from another cooperative to rectify
a negative CQ balance. A transfer of CQ
after fish have been landed is commonly
known as a post–delivery transfer.
If a harvester catches more groundfish
or PSC CQ than the amount of CQ that
the cooperative holds, that cooperative
has violated existing regulations,
commonly known as an overage.
Overages can occur either through
deliberate actions, or more commonly
through unintentional errors. Generally,
smaller overages are subject to forfeiture
of the overage, with larger or repeat
violations subject to additional penalties
at the discretion of NOAA Office for
Law Enforcement.
Amendments 90 and 78, if approved,
would allow post–delivery transfers to
cover overages of CQ. There would be
no limit on the size of a post–delivery
transfer nor on the number of post–
delivery transfers a cooperative could
undertake. However, a harvester who
has assigned his vessel to a cooperative
would be prohibited from beginning a
new fishing trip if the CQ account for
any groundfish or PSC species assigned
to a cooperative was zero or negative. A
cooperative would be prohibited from
having a negative balance in its CQ
account after the end of a calendar year.
The Council recommended
Amendments 90 and 78 to the FMPs to
improve the fleet’s flexibility, reduce
PO 00000
Frm 00039
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
the potential number of violations for
overages, reduce enforcement costs, and
allow more complete harvest of
allocations.
The RIR/IRFAs prepared for this
action describes in detail the costs and
benefits of the proposed amendment
(see ADDRESSES for availability). All of
the directly regulated entities would be
expected to benefit from this action
relative to the status quo because the
proposed amendment would allow
greater flexibility and a longer time
period over which to account for
overages.
Public comments are being solicited
on proposed Amendments 90 and 78
through the end of the comment period
(see DATES). NMFS intends to publish in
the Federal Register and seek public
comment on a proposed rule that would
implement Amendments 90 and 78,
following NMFS( evaluation of the
proposed rule under the Magnuson–
Stevens Act. Public comments on the
proposed rule must be received by the
end of the comment period on
Amendments 90 and 78 to be
considered in the approval/disapproval
decision on Amendments 90 and 78. All
comments received by the end of the
comment period on Amendments 90
and 78, whether specifically directed to
the FMP amendments or the proposed
rule, will be considered in the decision
to approve or disapprove the
amendments. Comments received after
that date will not be considered in the
decision on the amendments. To be
considered, comments must be received,
not just postmarked or otherwise
transmitted, by the close of business on
the last day of the comment period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 11, 2008.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8–29927 Filed 12–16–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
E:\FR\FM\17DEP1.SGM
17DEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 17, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76605-76606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29927]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648-AX25
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish; Limited Access
Privilege Programs
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendments;
request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Amendment 90 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area and Amendment 78 to
the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska would
modify the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) to allow unlimited post-
delivery transfers of cooperative quota. This action is necessary to
mitigate potential overages, reduce enforcement costs, and provide for
more precise total allowable catch management. This action is intended
to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
FMPs, and other applicable laws.
DATES: Comments on the amendment must be submitted on or before
February 17, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS,
Attn: Ellen Sebastian. You may submit comments, identified by ``RIN
0648-AX25,'' by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the FederaleRulemaking Portal website at https://
www.regulations.gov.
Mail: P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802.
Fax: (907) 586-7557.
Hand delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9\th\
Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.
All comments received are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov without change. All
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats only.
Copies of Amendments 90 and 78, the Regulatory Impact Review/
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analyses (RIR/IRFAs) for this action,
and the Categorical Exclusion prepared for the amendments may be
obtained from the NMFS Alaska Region at the address above or from the
Alaska Region website at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. The proposed
rule to implement Amendments 90 and 78 to the FMPs was categorically
excluded from the need to prepare an environmental assessment under the
National Environmental Policy Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenn Merrill, 907-586-7459, or Julie
Scheurer, 907-586-7356.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each
regional fishery management council submit any fishery management plan
amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or
partial approval by the Secretary of Commerce. The Magnuson-Stevens Act
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving a fishery management plan
amendment, immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register
announcing that the amendment is available for public review and
comment. This notice announces that proposed Amendment 90 to the
Fishery Management Plan for
[[Page 76606]]
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area and
proposed Amendment 78 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of
the Gulf of Alaska are available for public review and comment.
Amendments 90 and 78 would make minor changes to the FMPs to allow
unlimited transfers of cooperative quota (CQ) in the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) Amendment 80 Program and the
Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program) to cover
harvesting overages. These two programs are commonly known as limited
access privilege programs because the participants in these fisheries
may receive exclusive access to fishery resources if specific
conditions are met.
Under the Amendment 80 Program, NMFS issued quota share (QS) to
persons based on their qualifying harvest histories using specific
trawl catcher/processor vessels in six BSAI non-pollock groundfish
fisheries during 1998 through 2004. Under the Rockfish Program, NMFS
issued QS to persons based on their qualifying harvest histories using
trawl catcher vessel and trawl catcher/processors in several Central
Gulf of Alaska rockfish fisheries and associated species that are
harvested during those rockfish fisheries based during 1996 through
2002. Each year, the person issued QS may choose to participate in a
competitive limited access fishery with all other non-cooperative
participants who hold QS, or may participate in a fishery cooperative
with other QS holders.
The total amount of QS assigned to all members of a cooperative
yields cooperative quota (CQ), an exclusive annual harvest privilege in
specific fisheries. In addition, a cooperative also receives CQ that
may be used for the incidental catch of a specific amount crab or
halibut. Incidentally caught crab or halibut cannot be retained,
processed, or sold, and are commonly called prohibited species catch
(PSC).
The Amendment 80 Program and the Rockfish Program allow
cooperatives to transfer their unused CQ among cooperatives. Transfers
allow cooperatives to tailor their operations to specific harvesting
conditions. All transfers must be approved by NMFS before they become
effective. Under existing regulations, a cooperative in either the
Amendment 80 Program or the Rockfish Program is prohibited from
catching groundfish or PSC that exceeds the amount of CQ that is issued
to that cooperative. This prohibits a cooperative and its members from
having a negative CQ balance for a given species, and subsequently
transferring CQ from another cooperative to rectify a negative CQ
balance. A transfer of CQ after fish have been landed is commonly known
as a post-delivery transfer.
If a harvester catches more groundfish or PSC CQ than the amount of
CQ that the cooperative holds, that cooperative has violated existing
regulations, commonly known as an overage. Overages can occur either
through deliberate actions, or more commonly through unintentional
errors. Generally, smaller overages are subject to forfeiture of the
overage, with larger or repeat violations subject to additional
penalties at the discretion of NOAA Office for Law Enforcement.
Amendments 90 and 78, if approved, would allow post-delivery
transfers to cover overages of CQ. There would be no limit on the size
of a post-delivery transfer nor on the number of post-delivery
transfers a cooperative could undertake. However, a harvester who has
assigned his vessel to a cooperative would be prohibited from beginning
a new fishing trip if the CQ account for any groundfish or PSC species
assigned to a cooperative was zero or negative. A cooperative would be
prohibited from having a negative balance in its CQ account after the
end of a calendar year. The Council recommended Amendments 90 and 78 to
the FMPs to improve the fleet's flexibility, reduce the potential
number of violations for overages, reduce enforcement costs, and allow
more complete harvest of allocations.
The RIR/IRFAs prepared for this action describes in detail the
costs and benefits of the proposed amendment (see ADDRESSES for
availability). All of the directly regulated entities would be expected
to benefit from this action relative to the status quo because the
proposed amendment would allow greater flexibility and a longer time
period over which to account for overages.
Public comments are being solicited on proposed Amendments 90 and
78 through the end of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends to
publish in the Federal Register and seek public comment on a proposed
rule that would implement Amendments 90 and 78, following NMFS(
evaluation of the proposed rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Public
comments on the proposed rule must be received by the end of the
comment period on Amendments 90 and 78 to be considered in the
approval/disapproval decision on Amendments 90 and 78. All comments
received by the end of the comment period on Amendments 90 and 78,
whether specifically directed to the FMP amendments or the proposed
rule, will be considered in the decision to approve or disapprove the
amendments. Comments received after that date will not be considered in
the decision on the amendments. To be considered, comments must be
received, not just postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the close of
business on the last day of the comment period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 11, 2008.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-29927 Filed 12-16-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
