Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Application for an Exempted Fishing Permit, 12113-12115 [E9-6350]
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12113
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 54 / Monday, March 23, 2009 / Notices
pipe, from Korea covering the period of
review (POR) of August 1, 2003 through
July 31, 2004 to reflect the Final
Remand Results.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Scott Lindsay, AD/CVD Operations,
Office 6, Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202)
482–0780.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Background
This matter arose from a challenge to
Oil Country Tubular Goods, Other Than
Drill Pipe, from Korea: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 71 FR 13091 (March 14, 2006)
(Final Results), and accompanying
Issues and Decision Memorandum
covering the POR of August 1, 2003
through July 31, 2004. In the Final
Results, the Department found that the
use of third country sales to a non–
market economy, the People’s Republic
of China (PRC) in this case, were
inappropriate for determining normal
value, because these sales were not
representative. Id. As such, in
calculating normal value for SeAH Steel
Corp. Ltd. (SeAH), the Department used
SeAH’s third country sales to Canada,
and in calculating normal value for
Husteel Co. Ltd. (Husteel), the
Department used constructed value.
Therefore, SeAH was assigned a rate of
6.84 percent, and Husteel was assigned
a rate of 12.30 percent. Id.
In Husteel Co., Ltd. and SeAH Steel
Corporation Ltd. v. United States,
Consol. Ct. No. 06–00075, Slip Op. 06–
2 (May 15, 2007 CIT), the CIT remanded
the Department’s Final Results holding
that Department did not adequately
explain its basis for finding that the
prices of HuSteel’s and SeAH’s
(collectively plaintiffs) sales to the PRC
were not representative pursuant to
section 773(a)(1)(B)(ii)(I) of the Tariff
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
Specifically, the CIT found that the
Department failed to explain: (1) why
plaintiffs’ sales should be treated as
sales into a non–market economy
(NME); and (2) why the Department
treated plaintiffs’ price data differently
than it treats price data for sales from
market economy suppliers to NME
respondents in its NME dumping cases.
On October 30, 2007, the Department
issued its Results of Redetermination on
Remand Pursuant to Husteel Co., Ltd.
and SeAH Steel Corporation Ltd. v.
United States, Consol. Ct. No. 06–00075,
Slip Op. 06–2 (May 15, 2007 CIT),
(Remand Results I). In Remand Results
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15:28 Mar 20, 2009
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I, the Department continued to find
Plaintiffs’ sales into the PRC were not
representative of section
773(a)(1)(B)(ii)(I) of the Act and
provided additional support for this
determination.
In Husteel Company, Ltd., and SeAH
Corp., Ltd., v. United States, Consol. Ct.
No. 06–00075, Slip Op. 08–62 (CIT June
2, 2008) (HuSteel vs United States II),
the CIT remanded the Department’s
Remand Results I, holding that the
Department’s finding, that sales into an
NME are not representative, was not
supported by substantial record
evidence. The CIT directed the
Department to either present persuasive
record evidence that plaintiffs’ sales
into the PRC were not representative
within the meaning of 19 U.S.C.
§ 1677b(a)(1)(B)(ii)(I), or find the sales
into the PRC to be representative, and
then recalculate and assign the plaintiffs
new antidumping duty assessment rates.
On August 29, 2008, the Department
issued its final results of
redetermination pursuant to Husteel vs
United States II. See Results of
Redetermination on Remand Pursuant
to Husteel Company, Ltd., and SeAH
Corp., Ltd., v. United States (August 29,
2008) (Remand Results II). The remand
redetermination explained that, in
accordance with the CIT’s instructions,
after finding sales to the PRC to be
representative, the Department
recalculated the assessment rate for
SeAH and Husteel. Specifically, the
Department determined SeAH’s new
weighted–average margin to be 0.59
percent, and Husteel’s new weighted–
average margin to be 0.62 percent.
However, in the Remand Results II for
Husteel, the Department inadvertently
treated certain Korean inventory
carrying costs as if they were
denominated in U.S. dollars when they,
in fact, had been denominated in
Korean won. Therefore, in Husteel
Company Ltd. and SeAH Corp. Ltd., v.
United States, Consol. Ct. No. 06–
000075, Slip Op. 08–127 (CIT November
21, 2008), the CIT upheld the
Department’s Remand Results II, with
the exception of the calculation of
certain inventory carrying costs. The
CIT ordered the Department to correct
its calculation of Husteel’s Korean
inventory carrying costs. In accordance
with the CIT’s order, the Department
corrected its calculation with regard to
Husteel’s Korean inventory carrying
costs. See Final Remand Results. As a
result, Husteel’s new dumping margin is
now de minimis (i.e., less than 0.50
percent) and SeAH’s margin remains
0.59 percent.
On January 29, 2009, consistent with
the decision in Timken Co. v. United
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Sfmt 4703
States, 893 F.2d 337 (Fed. Cir. 1990), the
Department notified the public that the
CIT’s decision was not in harmony with
Department’s final results. See Oil
Country Tubular Goods, Other Than
Drill Pipe, From Korea: Notice of Court
Decision Not in Harmony with Final
Results of Administrative Review, 74 FR
5147 (January 29, 2009). There was no
appeal of the CIT’s decision to the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
filed within the appeal period.
Therefore, the CIT’s decision is now
final and conclusive.
Amended Final Results of the Review
As the litigation in this case has
concluded, the Department is amending
the Final Results to reflect the results of
our remand redetermination. The
revised dumping margin in the
amended final results is as follows:
Exporter/Manufacturer
Husteel Company, Ltd ..
SeAH Corp., Ltd. ..........
Weighted–Average
Margin (Percent)
de minimis
0.59
The Department will instruct U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
liquidate entries of OCTG from Korea
during the review period at the
assessment rate the Department
calculated for the final results of review,
as amended. Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.106(c)(2), we will instruct CBP to
liquidate without regard to antidumping
duties any entries for which the
assessment rate is de minimis. We
intend to issue assessment instructions
to CBP 15 days after the date of
publication of these amended final
results of review.
This notice is published in
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and
777(i) of the Act.
Dated: March March 13, 2009.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–6326 Filed 3–20–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XN80
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone off Alaska; Application for an
Exempted Fishing Permit
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
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12114
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 54 / Monday, March 23, 2009 / Notices
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for
exempted fishing permit.
SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt
of an exempted fishing permit (EFP)
application from the Best Use
Cooperative (BUC). If granted, this
permit would allow three BUC vessels
to remove halibut from a codend on the
deck, and release those fish back to the
water after determining the physical
condition of the halibut with the
International Pacific Halibut
Commission method for predicting
halibut mortality. The EFP would allow
operators of BUC non–pelagic trawl
vessels to study methods for reducing
halibut mortality in trawl fisheries by
evaluating various fishing and handling
practices. This activity has the potential
to promote the objectives of the
Magnuson–Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act by
assessing techniques for reducing
halibut discard mortality in non–pelagic
trawl fisheries. Comments will be
accepted at the April 1 to April 7, 2009,
North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) meeting in
Anchorage, AK.
DATES: Interested persons may comment
on the EFP application during the
Council’s April 1 to April 7, 2009,
meeting in Anchorage, AK.
ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be
held at the Hilton Hotel, 500 West Third
Avenue, Anchorage, AK.
Copies of the EFP application and the
basis for a categorical exclusion under
the National Environmental Policy Act
are available by writing to the Alaska
Region, NMFS, P. O. Box 21668, Juneau,
AK 99802, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. The
application also is available from the
Alaska Region, NMFS website at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff
Hartman, 907–586–7442 or
jeff.hartman@noaa.gov.
NMFS
manages the domestic groundfish
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Management Area (BSAI) under
the Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the BSAI (FMP), which
the Council prepared under the
Magnuson–Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act.
Regulations governing the groundfish
fisheries of the BSAI appear at 50 CFR
parts 600 and 679. The FMP and the
implementing regulations at
§ 600.745(b) and § 679.6 allow the
NMFS Regional Administrator to
authorize, for limited experimental
purposes, fishing that would otherwise
be prohibited. Procedures for issuing
dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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15:28 Mar 20, 2009
Jkt 217001
EFPs are contained in the implementing
regulations.
The International Pacific Halibut
Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage
fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus
stenolepis) through regulations
established under the authority of the
Convention between the United States
and Canada for the Preservation of the
Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific
Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention) and
the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982
(Halibut Act). The IPHC promulgates
regulations pursuant to the Convention.
The IPHC’s regulations are subject to
approval by the Secretary of State with
concurrence from the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary).
NMFS has received an application
from the Best Use Cooperative (BUC) for
an EFP that would allow them to
evaluate methods to improve discard
survival of incidentally caught halibut.
This study could assist that sector in
reducing halibut mortality in the non–
pelagic trawl gear fishery.
Background
Regulations implemented by the IPHC
allow Pacific halibut to be commercially
harvested by the directed North Pacific
longline fishery only. Halibut caught
incidentally in other fisheries, such as
non–pelagic trawl fisheries, must be
sampled by observers, and returned to
the ocean as soon as possible.
Regulations implementing the FMP
establish annual halibut bycatch
mortality limits, also referred to as
halibut prohibited species catch (PSC)
limit, for the groundfish fisheries.
Fisheries close when they reach their
seasonal or annual halibut PSC limit
even if the allowable catch of
groundfish is not yet caught. In the case
of the Bering Sea flatfish fishery,
seasons have been closed before the
fishery quotas have been reached to
prevent the fishery from reaching the
halibut PSC limit. Reducing halibut
mortality and assuring that each halibut
returned to the sea has the highest
possible chance of survival are therefore
high priorities for the IPHC’s, the
Council’s, and NMFS’s management
goals for both halibut and groundfish.
Before halibut are returned to the sea,
the catch of halibut as well as other
groundfish must first be estimated by
at–sea observers. A number of
regulations assure that observer
estimates of halibut and groundfish
catch are credible, accurate, and without
bias. For example, NMFS requires that
all catch be made available for sampling
by an observer; prohibits tampering
with observer samples; prohibits
removal of halibut from a cod end, bin,
or conveyance system prior to being
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
observed and counted by an at–sea
observer; and prohibits fish (including
halibut) from remaining on deck unless
an observer is present.
With the implementation of
Amendment 80 to the FMP on
September 14, 2007 (72 FR 52668),
allocation of halibut PSC amounts was
modified for vessels in the Amendment
80 sector, but halibut mortality
continued to limit fishing in some
fisheries. The Amendment 80 sector
received an initial allocation of 2,525
metric tons (mt) of halibut PSC in 2008,
but that allocation will decrease by 50
mt per year until it reaches 2,325 mt in
2012 and subsequent years. This
amount is further allocated between the
BUC and the Amendment 80 limited
access fishery. In certain years, this
amount of halibut PSC allocated to the
Amendment 80 sector is less than the
sector’s historic catch; therefore, finding
ways to continue to improve halibut
survival is important for this sector.
The EFP applicant proposes to assess
various fishing practices and their effect
on halibut survival. It would allow
researchers onboard the three catcher
processor vessels to sort halibut
removed from a codend on the deck of
the vessel, and release those fish back to
the water after determining the physical
condition of the halibut using standard
IPHC viability methods for predicting
mortality of individual fish. Fishing
under the EFP would occur in two
phases during 2009. In May and June,
Phase I fishing would allow sorting of
halibut on deck to determine practices
for reducing halibut mortality. Later in
the year, Phase II would apply the
halibut mortality saved in Phase I to
allow additional EFP catch of
groundfish and halibut within the
BUC’s allocation.
This proposed action would exempt
the participating vessels from:
1. the prohibition to conduct any
fishing when the fishery is closed due
to reaching the limit for halibut
Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) under
§ 679.7(a)(2);
2. the prohibition to bias the sampling
procedure employed by an observer
through sorting of catch before
sampling, at § 679.7(g)(2);
3. the prohibition to exceed an
amount of halibut cooperative quota
(CQ) assigned to an Amendment 80
cooperative at § 679.7(o)(4)(v);
4. a requirement to weigh all catch by
an Amendment 80 vessel on a NMFS–
approved scale at § 679.27(j)(5)(ii);
5. the requirement for all catch to be
made available for sampling at
§ 679.93(c)(1); and
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23MRN1
dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 54 / Monday, March 23, 2009 / Notices
6. the requirement for halibut to not
be allowed on deck without an observer
present at § 679.93(c)(5).
The exemptions to § 679.7(a)(2) and
(o)(4) would be needed only if the BUC
were to reach the 2009 Amendment 80
cooperative apportionment of halibut
mortality (1,793 mt). In the event that
BUC reaches this amount, the BUC’s
directed fishery for groundfish would
close. If the amount of halibut mortality
savings estimated under this EFP shows
less mortality than the amount
estimated using standard 2009 halibut
discard mortality rates established for
the Bering Sea trawl fisheries (February
17, 2009, 74 FR 7333), BUC may be
allowed to continue fishing for
groundfish species later in the year,
with some limitations. The BUC would
be required to submit a report to NMFS
and the IPHC of the estimated halibut
mortality saved during the Phase I
agency review and determination of
halibut savings. After review and
approval by NMFS, the BUC may be
allowed to do subsequent EFP fishing at
the end of the year as Phase II fishing
under the EFP. The BUC would be
limited to no more than the BUC’s
Amendment 80 groundfish allocation.
The additional amount of halibut caught
would not exceed the amount of the
halibut mortality savings under the EFP,
or BUC’s 2009 allocation of halibut PSC.
This EFP would apply for the period
of time required to complete the
experiment in Phase I and potentially in
subsequent fishing in Phase II, during
2009, in areas of the BSAI open to
directed fishing by the BUC. The EFP
activities would be of limited scope and
duration and would not be expected to
change the nature or duration of the
groundfish fishery, fishing practices or
gear used, or the amount or species of
fish caught by the BUC.
The activities that would be
conducted under this EFP are not
expected to have a significant impact on
the human environment as detailed in
the categorical exclusion issued for this
action (see ADDRESSES).
In accordance with § 679.6, NMFS has
determined that the proposal warrants
further consideration and has forwarded
the application to the Council to initiate
consultation. The Council will consider
the EFP application during its April
2009 meeting, which will be held at the
Hilton Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. The
applicant has been invited to appear in
support of the application.
Public Comments
Interested persons may comment on
the application at the April 2009
Council meeting during public
testimony. Information regarding the
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15:28 Mar 20, 2009
Jkt 217001
meeting is available at the Council’s
website at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc/
council.htm. Copies of the application
and categorical exclusion are available
for review from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 17, 2009.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9–6350 Filed 3–20–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XO19
Permits; Foreign Fishing
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of foreign
fishing application; request for
comments.
SUMMARY: NMFS publishes for public
review and comment information
regarding a permit application for
transshipment of Atlantic herring by
Canadian vessels, submitted under
provisions of the Magnuson–Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson–Stevens Act).
DATES: Comments must be received by
April 6, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Send comments or requests
for a copy of the application to Mi Ae
Kim, Trade and Marine Stewardship
Division, Office of International Affairs,
NMFS, 1315 East–West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD. Comments on this notice
may also be submitted by e–mail to
nmfs.foreignfishing@noaa.gov. Include
in the subject line the following
document identifier: RIN 0648–XO19.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mi
Ae Kim, Office of International Affairs,
(301) 713–9090.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 204(d) of the Magnuson–
Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1824(d))
authorizes the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) to issue a transshipment
permit authorizing a vessel other than a
vessel of the United States to engage in
fishing consisting solely of transporting
fish or fish products at sea from a point
within the United States Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) or, with the
concurrence of a state, within the
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
12115
boundaries of that state to a point
outside the United States. In addition,
Public Law 104–297, section 105(e)
directs the Secretary to issue section
204(d) permits for up to 14 Canadian
transport vessels to receive Atlantic
herring harvested by United States
fishermen and to be used in sardine
processing. Transshipment must occur
from within the boundaries of the State
of Maine or within the portion of the
EEZ east of the line 69 degrees 30
minutes west and within 12 nautical
miles from the seaward boundary of that
State.
Section 204(d)(3)(D) of the
Magnuson–Stevens Act provides that an
application may not be approved until
the Secretary determines that ‘‘no owner
or operator of a vessel of the United
States which has adequate capacity to
perform the transportation for which the
application is submitted has indicated
... an interest in performing the
transportation at fair and reasonable
rates.’’ NMFS is publishing this notice
as part of its effort to make such a
determination with respect to the
application described below.
Section 204(d)(3)(B) of the
Magnuson–Stevens Act provides that an
application may not be approved until
the Secretary determines that ‘‘the
applicant will comply with the
requirements described in section
201(c)(2) with respect to activities
authorized by any permit issued
pursuant to the application.’’ Section
201(c)(2) identifies multiple
requirements related to monitoring,
compliance, and enforcement, such as
allowing authorized officers to board
and inspect vessels, installation and use
of position–fixing and identification
equipment, and stationing of observers.
Summary of Application
NMFS received an application
requesting authorization for 10
Canadian transport vessels to receive
transfers of herring from United States
purse seine vessels, stop seines, and
weirs for the purpose of transporting the
herring to Canada for processing. The
transshipment operations will occur
within the boundaries of the State of
Maine or within the portion of the EEZ
east of the line 69 degrees 30 minutes
west and within 12 nautical miles from
the seaward boundary of that State.
Interested U.S. vessel owners and
operators may obtain a copy of the
complete application from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 54 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12113-12115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6350]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XN80
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Application
for an Exempted Fishing Permit
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
[[Page 12114]]
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for exempted fishing permit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt of an exempted fishing permit
(EFP) application from the Best Use Cooperative (BUC). If granted, this
permit would allow three BUC vessels to remove halibut from a codend on
the deck, and release those fish back to the water after determining
the physical condition of the halibut with the International Pacific
Halibut Commission method for predicting halibut mortality. The EFP
would allow operators of BUC non-pelagic trawl vessels to study methods
for reducing halibut mortality in trawl fisheries by evaluating various
fishing and handling practices. This activity has the potential to
promote the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act by assessing techniques for reducing halibut discard
mortality in non-pelagic trawl fisheries. Comments will be accepted at
the April 1 to April 7, 2009, North Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) meeting in Anchorage, AK.
DATES: Interested persons may comment on the EFP application during the
Council's April 1 to April 7, 2009, meeting in Anchorage, AK.
ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be held at the Hilton Hotel, 500
West Third Avenue, Anchorage, AK.
Copies of the EFP application and the basis for a categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act are available by
writing to the Alaska Region, NMFS, P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802,
Attn: Ellen Sebastian. The application also is available from the
Alaska Region, NMFS website at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Hartman, 907-586-7442 or
jeff.hartman@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the domestic groundfish
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI)
under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the BSAI (FMP),
which the Council prepared under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act. Regulations governing the groundfish
fisheries of the BSAI appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. The FMP and
the implementing regulations at Sec. 600.745(b) and Sec. 679.6 allow
the NMFS Regional Administrator to authorize, for limited experimental
purposes, fishing that would otherwise be prohibited. Procedures for
issuing EFPs are contained in the implementing regulations.
The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage
fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) through
regulations established under the authority of the Convention between
the United States and Canada for the Preservation of the Halibut
Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention) and
the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act). The IPHC
promulgates regulations pursuant to the Convention. The IPHC's
regulations are subject to approval by the Secretary of State with
concurrence from the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary).
NMFS has received an application from the Best Use Cooperative
(BUC) for an EFP that would allow them to evaluate methods to improve
discard survival of incidentally caught halibut. This study could
assist that sector in reducing halibut mortality in the non-pelagic
trawl gear fishery.
Background
Regulations implemented by the IPHC allow Pacific halibut to be
commercially harvested by the directed North Pacific longline fishery
only. Halibut caught incidentally in other fisheries, such as non-
pelagic trawl fisheries, must be sampled by observers, and returned to
the ocean as soon as possible. Regulations implementing the FMP
establish annual halibut bycatch mortality limits, also referred to as
halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limit, for the groundfish
fisheries. Fisheries close when they reach their seasonal or annual
halibut PSC limit even if the allowable catch of groundfish is not yet
caught. In the case of the Bering Sea flatfish fishery, seasons have
been closed before the fishery quotas have been reached to prevent the
fishery from reaching the halibut PSC limit. Reducing halibut mortality
and assuring that each halibut returned to the sea has the highest
possible chance of survival are therefore high priorities for the
IPHC's, the Council's, and NMFS's management goals for both halibut and
groundfish.
Before halibut are returned to the sea, the catch of halibut as
well as other groundfish must first be estimated by at-sea observers. A
number of regulations assure that observer estimates of halibut and
groundfish catch are credible, accurate, and without bias. For example,
NMFS requires that all catch be made available for sampling by an
observer; prohibits tampering with observer samples; prohibits removal
of halibut from a cod end, bin, or conveyance system prior to being
observed and counted by an at-sea observer; and prohibits fish
(including halibut) from remaining on deck unless an observer is
present.
With the implementation of Amendment 80 to the FMP on September 14,
2007 (72 FR 52668), allocation of halibut PSC amounts was modified for
vessels in the Amendment 80 sector, but halibut mortality continued to
limit fishing in some fisheries. The Amendment 80 sector received an
initial allocation of 2,525 metric tons (mt) of halibut PSC in 2008,
but that allocation will decrease by 50 mt per year until it reaches
2,325 mt in 2012 and subsequent years. This amount is further allocated
between the BUC and the Amendment 80 limited access fishery. In certain
years, this amount of halibut PSC allocated to the Amendment 80 sector
is less than the sector's historic catch; therefore, finding ways to
continue to improve halibut survival is important for this sector.
The EFP applicant proposes to assess various fishing practices and
their effect on halibut survival. It would allow researchers onboard
the three catcher processor vessels to sort halibut removed from a
codend on the deck of the vessel, and release those fish back to the
water after determining the physical condition of the halibut using
standard IPHC viability methods for predicting mortality of individual
fish. Fishing under the EFP would occur in two phases during 2009. In
May and June, Phase I fishing would allow sorting of halibut on deck to
determine practices for reducing halibut mortality. Later in the year,
Phase II would apply the halibut mortality saved in Phase I to allow
additional EFP catch of groundfish and halibut within the BUC's
allocation.
This proposed action would exempt the participating vessels from:
1. the prohibition to conduct any fishing when the fishery is
closed due to reaching the limit for halibut Prohibited Species Catch
(PSC) under Sec. 679.7(a)(2);
2. the prohibition to bias the sampling procedure employed by an
observer through sorting of catch before sampling, at Sec.
679.7(g)(2);
3. the prohibition to exceed an amount of halibut cooperative quota
(CQ) assigned to an Amendment 80 cooperative at Sec. 679.7(o)(4)(v);
4. a requirement to weigh all catch by an Amendment 80 vessel on a
NMFS-approved scale at Sec. 679.27(j)(5)(ii);
5. the requirement for all catch to be made available for sampling
at Sec. 679.93(c)(1); and
[[Page 12115]]
6. the requirement for halibut to not be allowed on deck without an
observer present at Sec. 679.93(c)(5).
The exemptions to Sec. 679.7(a)(2) and (o)(4) would be needed only
if the BUC were to reach the 2009 Amendment 80 cooperative
apportionment of halibut mortality (1,793 mt). In the event that BUC
reaches this amount, the BUC's directed fishery for groundfish would
close. If the amount of halibut mortality savings estimated under this
EFP shows less mortality than the amount estimated using standard 2009
halibut discard mortality rates established for the Bering Sea trawl
fisheries (February 17, 2009, 74 FR 7333), BUC may be allowed to
continue fishing for groundfish species later in the year, with some
limitations. The BUC would be required to submit a report to NMFS and
the IPHC of the estimated halibut mortality saved during the Phase I
agency review and determination of halibut savings. After review and
approval by NMFS, the BUC may be allowed to do subsequent EFP fishing
at the end of the year as Phase II fishing under the EFP. The BUC would
be limited to no more than the BUC's Amendment 80 groundfish
allocation. The additional amount of halibut caught would not exceed
the amount of the halibut mortality savings under the EFP, or BUC's
2009 allocation of halibut PSC.
This EFP would apply for the period of time required to complete
the experiment in Phase I and potentially in subsequent fishing in
Phase II, during 2009, in areas of the BSAI open to directed fishing by
the BUC. The EFP activities would be of limited scope and duration and
would not be expected to change the nature or duration of the
groundfish fishery, fishing practices or gear used, or the amount or
species of fish caught by the BUC.
The activities that would be conducted under this EFP are not
expected to have a significant impact on the human environment as
detailed in the categorical exclusion issued for this action (see
ADDRESSES).
In accordance with Sec. 679.6, NMFS has determined that the
proposal warrants further consideration and has forwarded the
application to the Council to initiate consultation. The Council will
consider the EFP application during its April 2009 meeting, which will
be held at the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. The applicant has
been invited to appear in support of the application.
Public Comments
Interested persons may comment on the application at the April 2009
Council meeting during public testimony. Information regarding the
meeting is available at the Council's website at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc/council.htm. Copies of the application
and categorical exclusion are available for review from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 17, 2009.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-6350 Filed 3-20-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
