Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; 2010 Sector Operations Plans and Contracts, and Allocation of Northeast Multispecies Annual Catch Entitlements, 68015-68027 [E9-30386]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules
23. In § 177.848, revise paragraph (c)
to read as follows:
§ 177.848 Segregation of hazardous
materials.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) In addition to the provisions of
paragraph (d) of this section and except
as provided in § 173.12(e) of this
subchapter, cyanides, cyanide mixtures
or solutions may not be stored, loaded
and transported with acids; Division 4.2
materials may not be stored, loaded and
transported with Class 8 liquids; and
Division 6.1 Packing Group I, Hazard
Zone A material may not be stored,
loaded and transported with Class 3
material, Class 8 liquids, and Division
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1 or 5.2 material.
*
*
*
*
*
PART 179—SPECIFICATIONS FOR
TANK CARS
24. The authority citation for part 179
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 5101–5128; 49 CFR
1.53.
25. Revise § 179.13 to read as follows:
wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with PROPOSALS_PART 1
§ 179.13 Tank car capacity and gross
weight limitation.
Except as provided in this section,
tank cars, built after November 30, 1970,
or any existing tank cars that are
converted, may not exceed 34,500
gallons (130,597 L) capacity or 263,000
pounds (119,295 kg) gross weight on
rail.
(a) For other than tank cars containing
poisonous-by-inhalation material, a tank
car may be loaded to a gross weight on
rail of up to 286,000 pounds (129,727
kg) upon approval by the Associate
Administrator for Safety, Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA). Tank
cars must conform to the conditions of
the approval and must be operated only
under controlled interchange conditions
agreed to by participating railroads.
(b) Tank cars containing poisonousby-inhalation material meeting the
applicable authorized tank car
specifications listed in § 173.244(a)(2) or
(3), or § 173.314(c) or (d) may have a
gross weight on rail of up to 286,000
pounds (129,727 kg). Tank cars
exceeding 263,000 pounds and up to
286,000 pounds gross weight on rail
must meet the requirements of AAR
Standard S–286, Free/Unrestricted
Interchange for 286,000 lb Gross Rail
Load Cars (IBR; see § 171.7 of this
subchapter). Any increase in weight
above 263,000 pounds may not be used
to increase the quantity of the contents
of the tank car.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:53 Dec 21, 2009
Jkt 220001
Issued in Washington, DC, on December 7,
2009 under authority delegated in 49 CFR
part 1.
Magdy El-Sibaie,
Acting Associate Administrator for
Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–30280 Filed 12–21–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–60–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 0912081429–91430–01]
RIN 0648–XS55
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Northeast Multispecies
Fishery; 2010 Sector Operations Plans
and Contracts, and Allocation of
Northeast Multispecies Annual Catch
Entitlements
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
SUMMARY: Amendment 13 to the
Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) established a
process for the formation of sectors and
for annual NMFS Northeast Regional
Administrator approval of proposed
sector operations. Proposed Amendment
16, currently under NMFS review, with
an expected implementation date of
May 1, 2010, if approved, would
significantly revise sector allocation
management measures and expand
sector management by authorizing up to
19 sectors for fishing year (FY) 2010.
Representatives from 17 sectors have
submitted operations plans and sector
contracts, and requested an allocation of
stocks regulated under the FMP for FY
2010 at this time, in order to be timely
considered for approval on a parallel
track with the review of Amendment 16.
NMFS received sector operations plans
and contracts from the Northeast
Fishery Sectors II through XIII, the
Sustainable Harvest Sector, the Tri-State
Sector, the Northeast Coastal
Communities Sector, the Georges Bank
(GB) Cod Fixed Gear Sector, and the
Port Clyde Community Groundfish
Sector. The intention of this action is to
provide interested parties an
opportunity to comment on the
proposed 17 sector agreements for FY
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
68015
2010 prior to final approval or
disapproval of the operations plans.
Because the approval and operation of
these sector proposals are conditional
on approval of proposed Amendment 16
measures, final action regarding the
approval of these proposals will not be
made unless and until a final decision
on Amendment 16 has been made.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before January 21, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by 0648–XS55, by any one of
the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov.
• Fax: (978) 281–9135, Attn: William
Whitmore.
• Mail: Paper, disk, or CD–ROM
comments should be sent to Patricia A.
Kurkul, Regional Administrator,
National Marine Fisheries Service, 55
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930. Mark the outside of the
envelope: ‘‘Comments on 2010 Sector
Operations Plans and Contracts.’’
Instructions: All comments received
are part of the public record and will
generally be posted to https://
www.regulations.gov without change.
No comments will be posted for public
viewing until after the comment period
has closed. All Personal Identifying
Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) 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). You may submit
attachments to electronic comments in
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe PDF file formats only.
Copies of the sector operations plans
and contracts and supplemental
environmental assessments (EA) are
available from the NMFS NE Regional
Office at the mailing address specified
above. An Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (IRFA) was prepared for this
proposed rule and is comprised of the
EAs, and the preamble and the
Classification sections of this proposed
rule.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William Whitmore, Sector Policy
Analyst, phone (978) 281–9182, fax
(978) 281–9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS
announces that the Administrator, NE
Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator),
has made a preliminary determination
that 17 sector operations plans and
E:\FR\FM\22DEP1.SGM
22DEP1
68016
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules
contracts, which were initially
submitted to NMFS on September 1,
2009, are consistent with the goals of
the FMP, as described in proposed
Amendment 16 and other applicable
laws, and are in compliance with the
proposed measures that would govern
the development and operation of a
sector as specified in Section 4.2.3 of
the Amendment 16 Final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS).
Background
The final rule implementing
Amendment 13 (69 FR 22906, April 27,
2004) specified a process for forming
sectors within the NE multispecies
fishery, implemented restrictions
applicable to all sectors, and authorized
allocation of a total allowable catch
(TAC) for specific groundfish species to
a sector. As approved in Amendment
13, sector operations plans and
contracts must contain certain elements,
including a contract signed by all sector
participants and an operations plan
containing rules that sector members
agree to abide by to avoid exceeding
their sector TAC. An environmental
assessment (EA), or other appropriate
analysis, must be prepared for each
sector that analyzes the individual and
cumulative impacts of all proposed
sector operations. Additionally, the
public must be provided an opportunity
to comment on each proposed sector
operations plan, sector contract, and EA.
The regulations require that, upon
completion of the public comment
period, the Regional Administrator must
make a determination regarding
approval of the sectors operations plans
and contracts.
While Amendment 13 implemented
the GB Cod Hook Sector in 2004, and
Framework Adjustment (FW) 42 (71 FR
62156, October 23, 2006) implemented
the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector in 2006,
Amendment 16, as proposed, would
revise and expand the rules for these
two existing sectors and authorize an
additional 17 new sectors, including the
Northeast Fishery Sectors II through
XIII, the Sustainable Harvest Sector, the
Tri-State Sector, the Northeast Coastal
Communities Sector, and the Port Clyde
Community Groundfish Sector. Because
the approval and operation of these
sector proposals are conditional on
approval of measures proposed in
Amendment 16, final action regarding
the approval of these proposals will not
be made unless and until a final
decision on Amendment 16 has been
made.
Representatives from 17 of the 19
sectors proposed in Amendment 16
have submitted operations plans and
sector contracts, and requested an
allocation of stocks regulated under the
FMP for FY 2010. As currently
proposed, one of these 17 sectors,
Northeast Fishery Sector IV, would
operate as a lease-only sector. Neither
the GB Cod Hook Sector nor Northeast
Fishery Sector I chose to submit an
operations plan and sector contract at
this time. FY 2010 would be the first
year of operation for 16 of the 17
sectors, if approved. Permit owners that
have indicated their intent to participate
in one of the proposed 17 sectors
account for 784 of the 1,480 eligible NE
multispecies permit holders,
representing approximately 95 percent
of the historical commercial NE
multispecies catch. Table 1 (below)
includes permit owners who joined a
sector as of September 1, 2009. The 784
permits specified above include
additional permit owners who enrolled
in a sector up through November 20,
2009. These permit owners have until
April 30, 2010, to withdraw from a
sector and fish in the common pool for
FY 2010. Further, additional permit
owners who wish to join a sector may
be included in the final sector rule,
provided that no significantly new
analysis is needed and the general
conclusions of the draft environmental
documents remain unchanged. This
proposed rule summarizes sector
requirements as proposed in
Amendment 16, details regulation
exemptions requested by sectors, and
summarizes the applicable
environmental analyses. Comments on
general sector provisions should be
addressed to the Amendment 16
proposed rulemaking; comments on
sector operations plans and EAs should
be submitted for this rulemaking (see
ADDRESSES).
Amendment 16 defines a sector as
‘‘[a] group of persons (three or more
persons, none of whom have an
ownership interest in the other two
persons in the sector) holding limited
access vessel permits who have
voluntarily entered into a contract and
agree to certain fishing restrictions for a
specified period of time, and which has
been granted a TAC(s) [sic] in order to
achieve objectives consistent with
applicable FMP goals and objectives.’’ A
sector’s TAC is also referred to as an
annual catch entitlement (ACE).
Regional Administrator approval is
required in order for the sectors to be
authorized to fish and to be allocated an
ACE for most stocks of regulated NE
multispecies and ocean pout during
each FY. Each individual sector’s ACE
for a particular stock would represent a
share of that stock’s annual catch limit
(ACL) available to commercial NE
multispecies vessels, based upon the
potential sector contributions (PSC) of
permits participating in that sector.
Sectors are self-selecting, meaning each
sector maintains the ability to choose its
members. Sectors may pool harvesting
resources and consolidate operations to
fewer vessels, if they desire.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF THE NUMBER OF PERMITS, MEMBERS, ACTIVE VESSELS, GEAR TYPE, AND AREA FISHED FOR THE
PROPOSED FY 2010 SECTORS *
Permits
enrolled
Sector
Number of
members
Number of
active
vessels
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Northeast Fishery Sector II .......
Northeast Fishery Sector III ......
75
74
22
30
20–25
25–30
Northeast
Northeast
Northeast
Northeast
Northeast
Northeast
Northeast
IV ......
V .......
VI ......
VII .....
VIII ....
IX ......
X .......
47
39
21
25
22
44
33
12
12
12
12
22
22
22
10–15
10–15
10–15
10–15
20–25
20–25
20–25
Northeast Fishery Sector XI ......
47
22
20–25
Northeast Fishery Sector XII .....
10
22
20–25
Fishery
Fishery
Fishery
Fishery
Fishery
Fishery
Fishery
VerDate Nov<24>2008
Sector
Sector
Sector
Sector
Sector
Sector
Sector
14:53 Dec 21, 2009
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Frm 00030
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Gear type fished
Regulated mesh areas
90% trawl, 10% gillnet ..............
5% trawl, 90% gillnet, 5%
longline.
Lease-only sector .....................
90% trawl, 10% gillnet ..............
90% trawl, 10% gillnet ..............
90% trawl, 10% gillnet ..............
90% trawl, 10% gillnet ..............
90% trawl, 10% gillnet ..............
90% trawl, 5% gillnet, 5%
longline.
10% trawl, 85% gillnet, 5%
longline.
90% trawl, 10% gillnet ..............
Sfmt 4702
E:\FR\FM\22DEP1.SGM
22DEP1
GOM, GB, and southern NE.
GOM, GB, and southern NE.
GOM, GB, and southern
Southern NE, GB.
GOM, GB, and southern
GOM, GB, and southern
GOM, GB, and southern
GOM, GB, and southern
GOM, GB, and southern
Primarily GOM.
Primarily GOM.
NE.
NE.
NE.
NE.
NE.
NE.
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules
68017
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF THE NUMBER OF PERMITS, MEMBERS, ACTIVE VESSELS, GEAR TYPE, AND AREA FISHED FOR THE
PROPOSED FY 2010 SECTORS *—Continued
Sector
Permits
enrolled
Number of
members
Number of
active
vessels
Northeast Fishery Sector XIII ....
Fixed Gear Sector .....................
31
88
10
54
15–22
35
Sustainable Harvest Sector .......
93
31
44
Port Clyde Sector ......................
Tri-State Sector .........................
39
16
29
13
26
14
Northeast Coastal Community
Sector.
19
19
17
Gear type fished
Regulated mesh areas
90% trawl, 10% gillnet ..............
75% gillnet, 20% longline, 5%
hook gear.
Trawl, gillnet, hook and line,
longlines **.
50% trawl, 50% gillnet ..............
90% trawl, 10% gillnet/trawl/
longline.
1 otter trawl, all others hook
gear.
GOM, GB, and southern NE.
GOM, GB, and southern NE.
GOM, GB, and southern NE.
GOM.
GOM, GB, and southern NE.
GOM, GB, and southern NE.
* The data in this table is from the sector operations plans and EAs submitted September 1, 2009, and is subject to change based on final sector rosters.
** No gear mix ratio was described in this sector’s EA.
Sector ACEs
wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with PROPOSALS_PART 1
Sectors can determine the percentage
of each stock’s ACL they will be
allocated based on the PSC of each
member’s permit. As of November 20,
2009, 784 of the 1,480 eligible NE
multispecies permits, which would
account for approximately 95 percent of
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:53 Dec 21, 2009
Jkt 220001
the historical commercial NE
multispecies landings during the
qualifying period selected by the New
England Fishery Management Council
(Council) in Amendment 16, have
enrolled in a sector. Permits enrolled in
a sector, and the vessels associated with
those permits, have until April 30, 2010,
to withdraw from a sector and fish in
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
the common pool for FY 2010. Table 2
details the ACE percentages each sector
would receive according to their
memberships as of November 20, 2009.
Tables 3a and 3b detail the ACEs (in
metric tons and tons) each sector would
be allocated based on their November
20, 2009 sector rosters for FY 2010.
E:\FR\FM\22DEP1.SGM
22DEP1
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:53 Dec 21, 2009
Jkt 220001
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Frm 00032
18.94
15.95
8.65
0.25
2.13
0.58
0.47
1.66
4.39
13.68
1.55
0.76
1.90
16.55
4.77
2.23
0.51
94.95
5.05
GOM
cod
5.47
1.18
4.71
3.14
2.73
6.29
7.36
12.14
0.83
0.40
0.05
7.40
28.08
15.28
0.21
1.11
0.16
96.53
3.47
GB
cod **
17.67
11.43
6.72
0.68
3.56
0.64
0.20
4.77
2.12
3.23
0.51
0.60
1.29
36.15
2.32
5.60
0.25
97.75
2.25
GOM
haddock
11.63
0.17
5.42
5.66
2.95
5.17
6.61
10.13
0.68
0.04
0.00
13.61
6.41
28.40
0.05
1.84
0.12
98.90
1.10
GB haddock **
19.32
9.01
7.20
1.70
2.26
5.26
7.29
9.19
9.71
2.21
0.59
3.17
1.83
10.37
1.07
4.79
0.46
95.43
4.57
1.70
0.05
2.16
9.71
2.10
16.90
15.93
17.68
1.34
0.00
0.00
14.15
0.01
7.42
0.00
5.41
0.84
95.40
4.60
GB
yellowtail
flounder
1.64
0.40
2.68
26.26
5.04
4.49
5.96
6.78
1.24
0.01
0.04
10.52
0.18
10.70
0.65
0.55
0.53
77.68
22.32
Southern
New
England/
MidAtlantic
yellowtail
flounder
12.26
6.82
5.65
0.55
3.78
0.77
0.64
3.81
1.41
9.28
0.14
2.22
7.81
35.73
4.35
1.29
0.46
96.98
3.02
Pollock
16.54
1.14
6.46
0.60
5.61
0.54
0.44
5.79
0.56
1.88
0.07
4.54
2.89
47.47
2.56
1.05
0.48
98.61
1.39
Redfish
6.10
4.51
7.97
0.52
4.37
0.77
0.51
4.09
0.91
4.85
0.11
1.81
5.92
43.44
4.63
5.66
0.90
97.07
2.93
White
hake
8.36
4.30
9.24
2.65
4.12
4.23
2.44
7.30
1.29
1.87
0.45
3.40
0.55
35.70
6.42
3.64
0.24
96.19
3.81
Plaice
19.88
10.89
7.63
0.71
3.39
3.23
3.36
2.55
12.19
2.13
0.45
1.59
2.24
6.75
2.06
7.49
0.47
87.01
12.99
GOM
winter
flounder
1.67
0.03
0.71
2.66
2.70
17.55
20.63
32.56
0.68
0.00
0.02
10.16
0.03
6.56
0.01
1.64
0.07
97.67
2.33
GB winter
flounder
13.27
2.96
9.28
2.97
4.71
4.11
3.13
7.53
1.93
1.86
0.34
4.50
0.80
31.50
4.43
3.34
0.27
96.91
3.09
Witch
flounder
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
GOM
cod
E:\FR\FM\22DEP1.SGM
22DEP1
Northeast Fishery Sector II .................................
Northeast Fishery Sector III ................................
Northeast Fishery Sector IV ................................
Northeast Fishery Sector V .................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VI ................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VII ...............................
Northeast Fishery Sector VIII ..............................
Northeast Fishery Sector IX ................................
Northeast Fishery Sector X .................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XI ................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XII ...............................
Northeast Fishery Sector XIII ..............................
Fixed Gear Sector ...............................................
Sustainable Harvest Sector ................................
Port Clyde Sector ................................................
Tri-State Sector ...................................................
Northeast Coastal Community Sector ................
All Sectors ...........................................................
Common Pool .....................................................
19
4
16
11
9
21
25
41
3
1
0
25
95
52
1
4
1
326
12
Eastern GB
cod
169
36
146
97
84
194
228
375
26
12
1
229
868
472
6
34
5
2984
108
Other
GB
cod
146
94
55
6
29
5
2
39
18
27
4
5
11
298
19
46
2
807
19
GOM
haddock
1394
20
650
678
354
620
792
1215
82
4
1
1632
768
3405
6
220
15
11856
132
Eastern GB
haddock
3308
48
1543
1610
840
1472
1881
2883
195
11
1
3872
1823
8081
14
522
34
28138
314
Other
GB
haddock
150
70
56
13
18
41
57
72
76
17
5
25
14
81
8
37
4
743
36
CC/GOM
yellowtail
flounder
17
0
22
97
21
169
159
177
13
0
0
141
0
74
0
54
8
953
46
GB
yellowtail
flounder
5
1
9
87
17
15
20
23
4
0
0
35
1
36
2
2
2
258
74
SNE/MA
yellowtail
flounder
337
187
155
15
104
21
18
105
39
255
4
61
215
982
120
35
13
2665
83
Pollock
1132
78
442
41
384
37
30
396
38
128
5
311
198
3250
175
72
33
6751
95
Redfish
156
115
204
13
112
20
13
105
23
124
3
46
151
1110
118
145
23
2481
75
White
hake
238
122
263
75
117
120
69
208
37
53
13
97
16
1017
183
104
7
2740
109
Plaice
31
17
12
1
5
5
5
4
19
3
1
3
4
11
3
12
1
137
20
GOM
winter
flounder
31
1
13
49
50
325
382
603
13
0
0
188
0
121
0
30
1
1809
43
GB
winter
flounder
113
25
79
25
40
35
27
64
16
16
3
38
7
268
38
28
2
826
26
Witch
flounder
* The data in this table is based on signed roster contracts as of November 30, 2009. Numbers are rounded to the nearest metric ton, but allocations are made in pounds. In some cases, this table shows a sector
allocated 0 metric tons, but that sector is allocated a small amount of that stock in pounds.
865
728
395
11
97
26
21
76
200
625
71
35
87
756
218
102
23
4336
230
Sector
TABLE 3A—PROPOSED ACE (IN METRIC TONS) EACH SECTOR WOULD RECEIVE BY STOCK FOR FY 2010 *
* The data in this table is based on signed roster contracts as of November 30, 2009.
** Eastern US/Canada cod and haddock percentages equal the PSC % of GB cod and GB haddock.
† Percentages have been rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent in this table, but thousandths of a percent are used in calculating ACEs in metric tons and tons. In some cases, this table shows a sector allocated 0% of an ACE, but that sector is allocated a small amount of that stock.
Northeast Fishery Sector II .............................................
Northeast Fishery Sector III ............................................
Northeast Fishery Sector IV ...........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector V ............................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VI ...........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VII ..........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VIII .........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector IX ...........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector X ............................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XI ...........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XII ..........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XIII .........................................
Fixed Gear Sector ..........................................................
Sustainable Harvest Sector ............................................
Port Clyde Sector ...........................................................
Tri-State Sector ...............................................................
Northeast Coastal Community Sector ............................
All Sectors .......................................................................
Common Pool .................................................................
Sector
Cape
cod/
GOM
yellowtail
flounder
TABLE 2—PERCENTAGE (%) OF THE PROPOSED ACE EACH SECTOR WOULD RECEIVE BY STOCK FOR FY 2010*†
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Frm 00033
20
4
18
12
10
23
27
45
3
1
0
28
105
57
1
4
1
360
13
Eastern
GB
cod
187
40
161
107
93
214
251
414
28
13
2
252
957
521
7
38
5
3289
119
Other
GB
cod
161
104
61
6
32
6
2
43
19
29
5
5
12
329
21
51
2
889
20
GOM
haddock
1537
22
717
748
390
684
873
1339
90
5
1
1798
847
3753
6
243
16
13069
146
Eastern
GB
haddock
3647
53
1701
1774
926
1622
2073
3178
215
12
1
4268
2009
8908
15
576
38
31016
346
Other
GB
haddock
166
77
62
15
19
45
63
79
83
19
5
27
16
89
9
41
4
819
39
CC/GOM
yellowtail
flounder
19
1
24
107
23
186
175
195
15
0
0
156
0
82
0
60
9
1051
51
GB
yellowtail
flounder
6
1
10
96
18
16
22
25
5
0
0
39
1
39
2
2
2
285
82
SNE/MA
yellowtail
flounder
371
207
171
17
115
23
19
116
43
281
4
67
237
1083
132
39
14
2938
91
Pollock
1248
86
487
46
423
41
33
437
42
142
6
343
218
3582
193
79
36
7442
105
Redfish
172
127
225
15
123
22
14
115
26
137
3
51
167
1224
130
159
25
2735
82
White
hake
263
135
290
83
129
133
77
229
41
59
14
107
17
1121
201
114
8
3020
120
Plaice
35
19
13
1
6
6
6
4
21
4
1
3
4
12
4
13
1
151
23
GOM
winter
flounder
34
1
15
54
55
358
421
665
14
0
0
207
1
134
0
33
1
1994
48
GB
winter
flounder
125
28
87
28
44
39
29
71
18
17
3
42
7
296
42
31
3
910
29
Witch
flounder
* The data in this table is based on signed roster contracts as of November 30, 2009. Numbers are rounded to the nearest metric ton, but allocations are made in pounds. In some cases, this table shows a sector
allocated 0 metric tons, but that sector is allocated a small amount of that stock in pounds.
954
803
436
13
107
29
23
84
221
689
78
38
96
833
240
112
25
4780
254
GOM
cod
TABLE 3b—POUNDAGE OF ACE (IN TONS) BY STOCK PROPOSED FOR EACH SECTOR FOR FY 2010 *
Northeast Fishery Sector II .........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector III ........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector IV ........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector V .........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VI ........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VII .......................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VIII ......................................
Northeast Fishery Sector IX ........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector X .........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XI ........................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XII .......................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XIII ......................................
Fixed Gear Sector .......................................................
Sustainable Harvest Sector ........................................
Port Clyde Sector ........................................................
Tri-State Sector ...........................................................
Northeast Coastal Community Sector ........................
All Sectors ...................................................................
Common Pool .............................................................
Sector
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Sector Operations Plans and Contracts
All sectors must, on an annual basis,
submit an operations plan, sector
contract, and EA to NMFS for the
following FY. On September 1, 2009, 17
sectors submitted an operations plan
and contract for FY 2010 to NMFS. Each
sector operations plan contains the rules
under which each sector would fish.
The sector contract provides the legal
contract that binds members to a sector
and its operations plan.
While each sector conducts fishing
activities according to its approved
operations plan, Section 4.2.3 of the
Amendment 16 FEIS contains numerous
provisions that, if approved, would
apply to all sector operations plans and
sector members. All permit holders with
a valid limited access NE multispecies
days-at-sea (DAS) permit as of May 1,
2008, are eligible to participate in a
sector, including those permits
currently held in confirmation of permit
history. While membership in each
sector is voluntary, each member (and
their permits associated with the sector)
must remain with the sector for the
entire FY, and cannot fish in the NE
multispecies DAS program outside of
the sector (i.e., in the common pool)
during the FY. Participating vessels
would be required to comply with all
pertinent Federal fishing regulations,
unless specifically exempted by a letter
of authorization (LOA) issued by the
Regional Administrator, as part of the
approval of a sector’s operations plan, as
described further below. Sector
operations plans may be amended inseason if a change is necessary and
agreed to by NMFS, provided the
change does not require a modification
to the Amendment 16 regulations. These
changes would be included in updated
LOAs issued to sector members.
As proposed in Amendment 16,
sectors would be allocated all largemesh groundfish stocks for which
members have landings history, with
the exception of Atlantic halibut, ocean
pout, windowpane flounder, Atlantic
wolffish, and Southern New England/
Mid-Atlantic winter flounder. Sector
vessels would be required to retain all
legal-sized allocated groundfish. Catch
of all allocated groundfish stocks by a
sector’s vessels would count against the
sector’s ACE, unless the catch is an
element of a separate ACL subcomponent, such as groundfish catch in
exempted fisheries, or catch of
yellowtail flounder in the Atlantic sea
scallop fishery. Sector vessels fishing for
monkfish, skate, lobster (with non-trap
gear) and spiny dogfish (outside an
exempted fishery) would have their
groundfish catch (including discards) on
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14:53 Dec 21, 2009
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those trips debited against the sector’s
ACE, unless the vessel is fishing for
such species under the provisions of a
NE multispecies exempted fishery.
Discard rates applied to sectors would
be determined by NMFS through at-sea
monitoring.
Amendment 16 proposes that ACE
could be transferred between sectors,
although ACE transfers to or from
common pool vessels would be
prohibited. Each sector would be
required to ensure that its ACE is not
exceeded during the FY. Sectors would
be required to develop independent
third-party dockside monitoring
programs. During FY 2010, 50 percent of
trips by each sector would be randomly
selected for dockside monitoring to
verify at the time it is weighed by the
dealer and to certify the landings
weights are accurate as reported by the
dealer. Sectors would be required to
monitor their landings and available
ACE and submit weekly catch reports to
NMFS. In addition, the sector manager
would be required to provide NMFS
with aggregate sector reports on a daily
basis when either 80 percent of any one
of the sector’s groundfish ACEs are
reached, or when, for two consecutive
weekly reporting periods, 20 percent or
more of the remaining portion of any
ACE is harvested, whichever occurs
first. Once a sector’s ACE for a
particular stock is caught, a sector
would be required to cease all fishing
operations in that stock area until it
could acquire additional ACE for that
stock. Each sector would be required to
submit an annual report to NMFS and
the Council within 60 days of the end
of the FY detailing the sector’s catch
(landings and discards by the sector),
enforcement actions, and pertinent
information necessary to evaluate the
biological, economic, and social impacts
from the sector.
Sector contracts provide procedures
to enforce the sector operations plan,
explain sector monitoring and reporting
requirements, present a schedule of
penalties, and provide authority to
sector managers to issue stop fishing
orders to sector members. Sector
members could be held jointly and
severally liable for ACE overages,
discarding of legal-sized fish, and/or
misreporting of catch (landings or
discards). Each sector contract
submitted for FY 2010 states that the
sector would withhold an initial reserve
from each member’s individual
allocation to prevent the sector from
exceeding its ACE. Each sector contract
also details the method for initial ACE
allocation to sector members; for FY
2010, each sector has proposed that
each sector member could harvest an
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amount of fish equal to the proportion
of PSC that each individual member’s
permit contributed to the sector’s ACE.
Amendment 16 proposes several
‘‘universal’’ exemptions that are
applicable to all sectors. These universal
exemptions include exemptions from
trip limits on allocated stocks, the GB
Seasonal Closed Area, NE multispecies
DAS restrictions, the requirement to use
a 6.5-inch (16.51-cm) mesh codend
when fishing with selective gear on GB,
and portions of the Gulf of Maine
(GOM) Rolling Closure Areas. Sectors
may request additional exemptions from
Amendment 16 regulations in their
sector operations plan. However, sector
vessels would not be allowed
exemptions from several NE
multispecies management measures,
including year-round closed areas,
permitting restrictions, gear restrictions
designed to minimize habitat impacts,
and reporting requirements (not
including DAS reporting requirements).
Proposed Exemptions
In addition to the universal
exemptions proposed in Amendment
16, sectors have requested several
additional exemptions from the NE
multispecies regulations in their sector
operations plans. The requests include
exemptions from the: (1) 120-day block
out of the fishery required for Day
gillnet vessels; (2) 20-day spawning
block out of the fishery required for all
vessels; (3) limitation on the number of
gillnets imposed on Day gillnet vessels;
(4) prohibition on a vessel hauling
another vessel’s gillnet gear; (5)
limitation on the number of gillnets that
may be hauled on GB when fishing
under a groundfish/monkfish DAS; (6)
limits on the number of hooks that may
be fished; and (7) DAS Leasing Program
length and horsepower restrictions.
NMFS is soliciting public comment on
these exemptions and is especially
interested in receiving comments on the
exemption requests from the Day gillnet
120-day block out requirement, the 20day spawning block out requirement,
and the limitation on the number of
gillnets imposed on Day gillnet vessels,
because of particular concerns regarding
the impacts of these exemptions.
1. 120-Day Block Requirement Out of
the Fishery for Day Gillnet Vessels
This measure was implemented in
1996 under Amendment 7 (61 FR 27709,
May 31, 1996) to help ensure that Day
gillnet management measures were
comparable to effort controls placed on
other fishing gear types. Regulations at
50 CFR § 648.82(j)(1)(ii) require that
each NE multispecies gillnet vessel
declared into the Day gillnet category
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declare and take 120 days out of the
non-exempt gillnet fishery. Each period
of time taken must be a minimum of 7
consecutive days, and at least 21 of the
120 days must be taken between June 1
and September 30. Six sectors requested
an exemption from this Day gillnet
requirement, arguing that this measure
was designed to control fishing effort
and, therefore, is no longer necessary
because sectors are restricted to a hard
TAC (i.e., ACE) for each groundfish
stock, which limits overall fishing
mortality. Exemption from the Day
gillnet 120-day block requirement is
being requested by Northeast Fishery
Sectors III and XI, the GB Cod Fixed
Gear Sector, the Sustainable Harvest
Sector, the Tri-State Sector, and the Port
Clyde Community Groundfish Sector.
The Tri-State Sector initially requested
this exemption in the first draft of its
sector operations plan, and later
removed the request from their
operations plan after no gillnet vessels
committed to the sector. After sector
rosters were re-opened on October 30,
2009, additional gillnet vessels joined
the Tri-State Sector. Therefore, while
there is an exemption request in the
sector’s most final operations plan, an
analysis for this exemption is not in the
sector’s EA. The Tri-State Sector’s EA
would contain the necessary analysis for
this exemption request in their final EA,
which would be available to the public
on publication of the sector final rule.
Similar analysis for this exemption can
be found in the EAs prepared for the
other sectors requesting an exemption
from the Day gillnet 120-day block
requirement.
Depending on the selectivity and
catch rates of the vessels requesting this
exemption, sector vessels that are no
longer subject to the 120-day block
requirement could increase their catch
per unit effort (CPUE) and reduce the
number of days that fixed gear is in the
water. However, NMFS is concerned
about this exemption because, if some
vessels are not selective and/or if they
catch less fish, CPUE could decrease
and more fixed gear could be deployed.
Similarly, protected species (such as
harbor porpoise and humpback whales)
could benefit from less fishing effort and
fewer gear days, but, conversely, could
be negatively impacted by an increase in
gear days and more fishing effort.
Impacts to protected species also
depend on spatial and temporal changes
in fixed gear location and how these
changes interact with protected species.
Additionally, it is possible that this
fixed gear exemption could allow sector
vessels to ‘‘hold’’ additional bottom
ground, disadvantaging common pool
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vessels. Moreover, gillnet gear that is
not tended regularly could increase
ghost fishing (i.e., gear that could
continue to catch fish or entangle
protected resources if loose or lost).
2. 20-Day Spawning Block
The Northeast Coastal Communities
Sector, the Sustainable Harvest Sector,
and the Tri-State Sector are requesting
exemption from the 20-day spawning
block requirement out of the fishery.
Regulations at § 648.82(g) require
vessels to declare out and be out of the
NE multispecies DAS program for a 20day period each calendar year between
March 1 and May 31, when spawning is
most prevalent in the GOM. The sectors
argue that an exemption from the 20-day
spawning block requirement would
allow for greater fishing flexibility and
could increase efficiency and reduce
overall gear time in the water. Sectors
requesting an exemption from the 20day spawning block requirement state
that this measure, while designed to
control fishing effort on spawning fish
stocks, is ineffective and no longer
necessary because each sector would
utilize an ACE to restrict its fishing
effort. The sectors claim that the ability
for a vessel owner to select any 20-day
period (between March 1 and May 31)
out of the fishery, as allowed under the
current regulations, makes the measure
ineffective for protecting spawning
stocks.
This regulation was developed to
protect spawning groundfish stocks and,
therefore, NMFS is seeking public
comment about potential biological
impacts this exemption could bring to
spawning stocks, including the
disruption of spawning aggregations.
3. Limitation on the Number of Gillnets
for Day Gillnet Vessels
Current gear restrictions in the
groundfish regulated mesh areas (RMA)
restrict Day gillnet vessels from fishing
more than: 100 gillnets (of which no
more than 50 can be roundfish gillnets)
in the GOM RMA (§ 648.80(a)(3)(iv)); 50
gillnets in the GB RMA
(§ 648.80(a)(4)(iv)); and 75 gillnets in the
Mid-Atlantic RMA (§ 648.80(b)(2)(iv)).
These restrictions were implemented in
1996 under Amendment 7 and revised
in Amendment 13 to prevent an
uncontrolled increase in the number of
nets being fished, and thus,
undermining the applicable effort
controls. The Sustainable Harvest Sector
is requesting that their vessels be
allowed to fish up to 150 nets (any
combination of flatfish or roundfish
nets) in each of the RMAs. The current
regulations require either one or two
tags per net depending on the type of
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68021
gillnet and RMA fished. Because vessels
under this exemption would no longer
be restricted by the number of roundfish
or flatfish nets in each area (up to 150
nets), the Sustainable Harvest Sector is
also requesting that the two tag per net
requirement be replaced with one tag
per net. This exemption would increase
the number of gillnets that could be
fished per permit in the Sustainable
Harvest Sector by 50 percent in the
GOM RMA, by 200 percent in the GB
RMA, and by 100 percent in the SNE
RMA. The Sustainable Harvest Sector
rationalizes that, because this measure
was designed to control fishing effort, it
is no longer necessary, since the sector
is restricted to an ACE for each stock
that caps overall fishing effort.
The concern raised by NMFS
regarding potential increased gear under
item number 1 (an exemption from the
120-day block out requirement) are
applicable for this exemption request as
well.
4. Prohibition on a Vessel Hauling
Another Vessel’s Gillnet Gear
Northeast Fishery Sectors III and XI
are requesting exemption from current
regulations that prohibit one vessel from
hauling another vessel’s gillnet gear
(§§ 648.14(k)(6)(ii)(A) and 648.84). The
sectors requesting this exemption
believe that the regulations pertaining to
gear marking controls and setting and
hauling responsibilities are no longer
necessary, because the sector would be
confined to an ACE for each stock and
that ‘‘community’’ fixed gear would
allow fishermen greater flexibility. In
addition, the sectors argue that shared
fixed-gear fishing effort could
potentially reduce the amount of gillnet
gear in the water and minimize the use
of gear to ‘‘hold’’ additional bottom
ground. Pursuant to a request by NMFS,
the sectors requesting this exemption
have proposed that all vessels
participating in community fixed gear
be jointly liable for any violations
associated with that gear.
5. Limitation on the Number of Gillnets
That May Be Hauled on GB When
Fishing Under a Groundfish/Monkfish
DAS
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector
requests an exemption from the limit on
the number of gillnets that may be
hauled on GB when fishing under a
groundfish/monkfish DAS. Current
regulations at § 648.80(a)(4)(iv), which
prohibit Day gillnet vessels fishing on a
groundfish DAS from possessing,
deploying, fishing, or hauling more than
50 nets on GB, were implemented as a
groundfish mortality control under
Amendment 13. The GB Cod Fixed Gear
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Sector proposes that this exemption
would increase efficiency of its gillnet
vessels by allowing them to haul
additional nets per trip—nets which are
already permitted in the water under the
Monkfish FMP. The sector argues that
this would allow additional
opportunities to tend gear and would
likely reduce gear soak time. This
exemption does not permit the use of
additional nets; it would only allow nets
deployed under existing net limits,
according to the Monkfish FMP, to be
hauled more efficiently by vessels
dually permitted under both FMPs.
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6. Limitation on the Number of Hooks
That May Be Fished
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector
requests an exemption from the number
of hooks that a vessel may fish on a
given fishing trip, claiming that this
measure, which was initially
implemented through an interim action
(67 FR 50292, August 1, 2002) and made
permanent through Amendment 13, was
designed to control fishing effort and,
therefore, is no longer necessary because
the sector is restricted to an ACE for
each stock, which caps mortality from
fishing. Current regulations (§ 648.80)
prohibit vessels from fishing or
possessing more than 2,000 rigged
hooks in the GOM RMA, more than
3,600 rigged hooks in the GB RMA,
more than 2,000 rigged hooks in the
SNE RMA, or 4,500 rigged hooks in the
MA RMA.
Again, the concerns raised by NMFS
regarding potential increased gear under
items number 1 and number 3, which
also could potentially allow additional
fixed gear to be fished, are applicable for
this exemption request as well.
However, the potential problems
associated with longline/hook gear
would likely result in lesser impacts
than those associated with gillnets. For
example, the potential for gear
interaction between protected resources
and longline/hook gear is much lower
than the interaction potential from
gillnet gear. Also, while it is possible for
lost longline/hook gear to ghost fish, the
resulting impacts would likely be less
than impacts from a gillnet ghost
fishing.
7. Length and Horsepower Restrictions
on DAS Leasing
While Amendment 16 would exempt
sector vessels from the requirement to
use NE multispecies DAS to harvest
groundfish, some sector vessels would
still need to use NE multispecies DAS
under specific circumstances, e.g., the
Monkfish FMP includes a requirement
that limited access monkfish Category C
and D vessels harvesting more than the
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incidental monkfish catch must fish
under both a monkfish and a groundfish
DAS. Therefore, sector vessels may still
use, and lease, NE multispecies DAS.
The Sustainable Harvest Sector and
Tri-State Sector have requested an
exemption from the DAS Leasing
Program length and horsepower
restrictions in their operations plans,
within their individual sectors as well
with other sectors. The sectors
requesting an exemption for the DAS
leasing specifications state that sector
ACEs eliminate the need to use vessel
characteristics to control fishing effort
and that removal of this restriction
would allow sector vessels more
flexibility. It is important to note that,
because this exemption was only
requested by the Sustainable Harvest
Sector and Tri-State Sector, if approved,
only these two sectors would be exempt
from the DAS Leasing Program length
and horsepower restrictions. Thus, this
exemption would not apply to the other
approved sectors and therefore, leasing
under this exemption could only occur
between the Sustainable Harvest Sector
and the Tri-State Sector.
Details of the justifications for the
proposed exemptions and analyses of
the potential impacts of the operations
plans are contained in the sector EAs.
Requested Exemptions for Which There
Are Serious Concerns
After completing an initial review of
17 sector operations plans and contracts
submitted September 1, 2009, NMFS
provided each sector with comments,
including an assessment of which
exemption requests NMFS would likely
disapprove because of serious concerns
with negative environmental impacts
that could result from granting the
exemption. Some of the sectors chose to
remove these exemption requests from
their operations plans, while other
sectors did not. After reconsideration,
NMFS has decided to include all of
these exemption requests of serious
concern in the proposed rule, and
moreover, is soliciting public comment
on these requests. If public comment on
these exemptions of serious concern
provides additional support that
convinces NMFS to change its earlier
stance on such requests, the sector
operations plans and EAs would be
revised accordingly. If necessary, NMFS
would submit a supplemental EA.
Of central concern to NMFS are
exemption requests from the GOM
Rolling Closure Areas beyond the
proposed Amendment 16 universal
exemption areas, the 72-hr observer
notification requirement for NMFSfunded at-sea monitoring coverage, the
Atlantic halibut one-fish trip limit
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during the Maine seasonal halibut
fishery, the vessel monitoring system
(VMS) reporting requirements, the use
of electronic vessel trip reports (VTRs)
in replace of paper VTRs, the minimum
6-inch (16.51-cm) spacing requirement
for de-hookers, and the minimum fish
size requirements, as discussed further
below.
1. GOM Rolling Closure Areas
Amendment 16 proposes universal
sector exemptions from portions of the
current GOM Rolling Closure Areas. Six
of the Northeast Fishery Sectors and the
Sustainable Harvest Sector requested
additional exemptions from these
rolling closures, specifically from
statistical blocks 124, 125, 132, and 133
in April; and block 138 in May. At its
November meeting, the Council
endorsed the sector’s request for an
exemption to the rolling closure for
block 138. In Amendment 16, the
Council voted to exempt sectors from
the GOM Rolling Closure Areas, with
the exception of portions of these areas
that the Council believed should remain
closed to protect spawning aggregations.
The Council tasked the Groundfish Plan
Development Team (PDT) with
reviewing and analyzing the existing
GOM Rolling Closure Areas to
determine which areas should remain
closed, but stipulated that sectors may
request specific exemptions from the
GOM Rolling Closure Areas in their
sector operations plans.
The sectors requesting this exemption
make the argument that, because they
are restricted to an ACE for each
groundfish stock that caps overall
fishing mortality, exemptions to the
rolling area closures should be granted
because they are mortality closures. The
Sustainable Harvest sector contends that
statistical block 138, from which they
are requesting an exemption during the
month of May, does not overlap with
any areas regulated by the Atlantic
Large Whale Take Reduction Plan
(ALWTRP) and that trawl gear, which
would be the primary fishing gear
utilized by the sector, is not regulated
by the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction
Plan (HPTRP). The six Northeast
Fishery Sectors requesting exemption
from statistical blocks 124, 125, 132,
and 133 in April contend that their
members have a vast amount of
experience and knowledge identifying
spawning aggregations of fish and that
eliminating access to these additional
rolling closure areas requested in this
exemption would prematurely end
commercial access to the haddock
stocks, which are fully rebuilt, in those
areas. The Northeast Fishery Sectors
further commented that they have
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wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with PROPOSALS_PART 1
designed a strategy to minimize the
impacts to spawning fish while
promoting benefits to sector members.
Under this strategy, Northeast Fishery
Sector vessels would fish on rotating
schedules to limit daily effort, would
utilize a sentinel vessel to survey the
area for the presence of spawning fish,
and would utilize a bycatch/spawning
fish notification system through an
onboard computer system to reduce the
potential for sector vessels to
overharvest spawning stocks of fish.
Northeast Fishery Sectors requesting
this exemption would restrict the
harvesting of GOM cod in these areas by
capping the percentage of the sector’s
available ACE that could be taken
during the requested exemption period.
Trawling vessels would minimize their
gear impacts by reducing the time that
they tow their nets along the bottom. In
addition to abiding by all Federal
fishing regulations, sector vessels would
adhere to all applicable Massachusetts
Department of Marine Fisheries cod
conservation measures. Finally, the
Northeast Fishery Sectors contend that
vessels fishing in the requested
exemption areas would provide
additional data, which could improve
scientific knowledge for the purpose of
protecting spawning cod.
NMFS is seeking public comment
about these additional exemption
requests from the GOM Rolling Closure
Areas due to the ancillary benefits the
GOM RCAs provide to spawning fish in
the GOM, as well as the protection these
areas afford harbor porpoise and other
marine mammals.
2. 72-Hour Observer Notification
Requirement
Vessels are currently required to call
into the Northeast Fisheries Observer
Program 72 hours prior to leaving for a
trip into a special management program
(§ 648.85). Eight of the 12 Northeast
Fishery Sectors and the GB Cod Fixed
Gear Sector are requesting exemption
from this requirement, arguing that, if
they can hire an at-sea monitor through
a private contract arrangement with a
NMFS-approved observer company that
can respond in less time, they should be
able to do so. NMFS is proposing to
reduce this requirement from 72 hr to 48
hr in the proposed rule for Amendment
16.
This notification requirement is
necessary because of the additional
logistical demands imposed on the
NMFS Observer Program resulting from
the increased NMFS funded at-sea
monitoring program for all groundfish
vessels. An exemption from the observer
notification requirement is of significant
concern due to the difficulties this
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would pose for the NMFS Observer
Program to maintain a random selection
of observer coverage. Lastly, an observer
from the NMFS Observer Program is
required to gather more data than an atsea monitor, thus this exemption would
reduce the amount of fisheries data
available to managers.
3. Halibut One-Fish Trip Limit
The Northeast Coastal Communities
Sector has requested an exemption from
the NE multispecies FMP one-fish per
trip Atlantic halibut possession limit in
order to allow member vessels to
participate in the State of Maine’s
halibut fishery, which has a 50-fish
seasonal limit. The sector rationalizes
that because halibut mortality would be
controlled by existing state regulations,
including area restrictions, seasonal
restrictions, a minimum size limit, a
minimum trip limit, a minimum hook
size, and tagging requirements,
mortality would remain consistent with
previous fishing practices.
The Atlantic halibut stock is currently
overfished and experiencing
overfishing. The NE multispecies FMP
includes a rebuilding program for
Atlantic halibut that permits a one-fish
per trip possession limit to prevent a
targeted fishery while minimizing
discards. Allowing an exemption from
the one-fish halibut trip limit
specifically to allow sector vessels to
participate in a targeted halibut fishery
would be inconsistent with the
rebuilding program of the FMP.
4. VMS Requirements
All 12 of the Northeast Fishery
Sectors request a VMS exemption that
would allow a central sector server to
relay member vessel catch reports and
logbook data to NMFS. Currently, catch
data are sent directly from the vessel to
NMFS through VMS. The sector
anticipates that, in order to facilitate
electronic data transmission from its
vessels to a sector-operated data
collection and distribution Web portal,
an administrative exemption may be
necessary to allow the server to relay
catch reports and logbook data on behalf
of sector member vessels. Thus, under
this exemption, catch data would go
from the vessel to a central server
maintained by the sector, and the
sector’s server would then relay the data
to NMFS.
NMFS’ Office of Law Enforcement has
raised serious concerns about this
exemption request, given that the chain
of custody of catch information would
be interrupted and, therefore, open to
tampering. Until such time that NMFS
can ensure that the flow of information
under such an exemption is tamper-
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68023
proof, this type of reporting exemption
would be difficult to approve.
5. Electronic VTRs (eVTRs)
All of the Northeast Fishery Sectors,
as well as the Sustainable Harvest and
Tri-State Sectors, requested permission
to use eVTRs in place of paper VTRs to
transmit catch data to NMFS. A pilot
study is currently being developed that
would use eVTRs as well as paper VTRs
to determine the viability of eVTRs as a
replacement to the paper version.
Should the pilot study, which will
include both sector and common pool
vessels, determine that eVTRs can fulfill
all necessary requirements, this option
could be considered at a later date.
However, NMFS considers it premature
to allow eVTRs without first
determining the viability of this
electronic report.
6. Fairlead Roller Spacing on DeHookers
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector
requested an exemption from the
prohibition on the use of de-hookers
(crucifiers) with less than 6-inch (15.24cm) spacing between the fairlead rollers.
The sector argues that a prohibition on
de-hookers requires a modification to
longline gear haulers that is inefficient
and unnecessary. De-hookers with a
spacing of less than 6 inches (15.24-cm)
were originally prohibited in the 2002
interim rule, and then included in
Amendment 13, to discourage dehooking strategies that may reduce
survival rates of discarded fish.
NMFS believes that this exemption
request is not warranted because the
current prohibition minimizes the
mortality of discarded fish.
7. Minimum Fish Size Requirements
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector and
the Tri-State Sector requested an
exemption from the minimum
groundfish fish size requirements.
Current regulations specify minimum
size (total length) for nine groundfish
species: Cod, haddock, pollock, witch
flounder, yellowtail flounder, American
plaice, Atlantic halibut, winter flounder,
and Acadian redfish. The GB Cod Fixed
Gear sector argues that allowing full
retention of all catch would eliminate
discards and increase profitability
without additional mortality. Further,
the sector contends that, because 100percent discard mortality is presently
assumed by NMFS, and because the
sector’s ACE, which would cap the
sector’s catch, would be debited for all
discards, the sectors should be allowed
to land fish less than the current
minimum fish size. The Tri-State Sector,
which requests an exemption from the
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Federal minimum fish size requirements
for American plaice and witch flounder,
states that many of these fish that their
member vessels catch are less than one
inch (2.54-cm) smaller than the current
minimum fish size requirements and are
already dead when discarded, thus
making the requirement of discarding
sub-legal fish wasteful.
NMFS has a serious concern about
exempting vessels from the minimum
fish size, as this would present
significant enforcement issues by
allowing two different fish sizes in the
marketplace. NMFS is also concerned
that this exemption could potentially
increase the targeting of juvenile fish.
Requested Exemptions Previously
Prohibited or Included in Amendment
16
Exemptions requested by several
sectors for increased access to Special
Access Programs (SAPs), inter-sector
DAS leasing, and a decrease in the
minimum mesh size requirements for
gillnets, are either specifically
prohibited in Amendment 16 or are
already included in the Amendment 16
proposed rule. Accordingly, these
exemptions are not proposed in this
rule.
As previously stated, Amendment 16
prohibits sectors from requesting
exemptions from year-round closed
areas, permitting restrictions, gear
restrictions designed to minimize
habitat impacts, and reporting
requirements (excluding DAS reporting
requirements). The Closed Area II
Yellowtail Flounder SAP and the
Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP are
both programs that provide seasonal
access to year-round closed areas.
Exemptions that would expand access
to these year-round closures would be
prohibited under Amendment 16.
Exemption requests to authorize intersector DAS leasing, year-round access to
the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, and a
decrease in the minimum mesh size
requirements for gillnets in the GOM
from January to April are all proposed
in Amendment 16. In addition, an
exemption from regulations pertaining
to the possession of additional nets
while using either a haddock separator
trawl or a Ruhle trawl is being proposed
in the Amendment 16 regulations as a
correction, since this omission in the
current regulations is the result of an
administrative oversight in a previous
rulemaking.
Northeast Fishery Sector IV, which
would operate as a lease-only sector,
originally requested a suite of
exemptions similar to those requested
by other Northeast Fishery Sectors.
However, because the permitted vessels
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14:53 Dec 21, 2009
Jkt 220001
within Northeast Fishery Sector IV (the
transferor) would undertake no actual
fishing operations, the exemption
requests would not be applicable and
are, therefore, moot and not proposed in
this rule.
Sector EAs
In order to comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act, an EA was
prepared for each operations plan. All
sector EAs are tiered from the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for Amendment 16 to the NE
Multispecies FMP. The EA for each
sector examines the biological,
economic, and social impacts unique to
each sector’s proposed operations,
including requested exemptions, and
provides a cumulative effects analysis
(CEA) that addresses the combined
impact of the direct and indirect effects
of a particular sector and the other
proposed sectors. The summary findings
of each EA conclude that each sector
would produce similar effects that have
non-significant impacts. An analysis of
aggregate sector impacts was also
conducted. Visit https://
www.regulations.gov to view the EAs
prepared for each of the 17 sectors that
this rule would implement.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has
determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the NE Multispecies
FMP, other provisions of the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law,
subject to further consideration after
public comment.
Because this proposed rule contains
no implementing regulations, it is
exempt from review under Executive
Order (E.O.) 12866.
An initial regulatory flexibility
analysis (IRFA) was prepared as
required by § 603 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA). The IRFA
describes the economic impact that the
proposed rule, if adopted, would have
on small entities. The IRFA consists of
this section and the preamble of this
proposed rule, and the EAs prepared for
this action. A description of the action,
why it is being considered, and the legal
basis for this action are contained in the
preamble to this proposed rule and in
Sections 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 of the EAs
prepared for this action. A summary of
the analysis follows. A copy of this
analysis is available from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
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Economic Impacts on Regulated Small
Entities Enrolled in a Sector
This proposed action would affect
regulated entities engaged in
commercial fishing for groundfish that
have elected to join any one of the 17
proposed sectors that have submitted
operations plans for FY 2010. Any
limited access Federal permit under the
NE Multispecies FMP is eligible to join
a sector (Table 4). The Small Business
Administration (SBA) size standard for
commercial fishing (NAICS code
114111) is $4 million in sales. Available
data indicate that, based on 2005–2007
average conditions, median gross annual
sales by commercial fishing vessels
were just over $200,000, and no single
fishing entity earned more than $2
million annually. Since available data
are not adequate to identify affiliated
vessels, each operating unit is
considered a small entity for purposes
of the RFA, and, therefore, there is no
differential impact between small and
large entities. As of November 20, 2009,
a total of 784 of 1,480 eligible permits
elected to join a sector. Table 4 presents
a summary of the number and percent
of individual and active permits
currently enrolled in a sector for FY
2010. Since individuals may withdraw
from a sector at any time prior to the
beginning of FY 2010, the number of
permits participating in sectors on May
1, 2010, and the resulting sector ACE
allocations, may change.
Joining a sector is voluntary. This
means that the decision whether or not
to join a sector may be based upon
which option—joining a sector or
fishing under effort controls in the
common pool—offers the greater
economic advantage. Since sectors
would be granted certain universal
exemptions, and may request and be
granted additional exemptions from
regulatory measures that will apply to
common pool vessels, sector vessels
would be afforded greater flexibility.
Sector members would no longer have
groundfish catch limited by DAS
allocations and would, instead, be
limited by their available ACE. In this
manner the economic incentive changes
from maximizing the value of
throughput of all species on a DAS to
maximizing the value of the sector ACE.
This change places a premium on
timing of landings to market conditions,
as well as changes in the selectivity and
composition of species landed on
fishing trips.
Unlike common pool vessels, sectors
bear the administrative costs associated
with preparing an EA, as well as the
costs associated with sector
management, dockside monitoring, and
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at-sea monitoring. The magnitude of the
administrative costs for sector formation
and operation is estimated to range from
$60,000 to $150,000 per sector, and the
potential cost for dockside and at-sea
monitoring ranges from $13,500 to
$17,800 per vessel. These estimates
serve to illustrate the fact that the
potential administrative costs associated
with joining a sector may be expected to
influence a vessel owner’s decision. The
majority of these administrative costs
would be subsidized by NMFS in FY
2010. Whether these subsidies, which
include providing financial support for
preparation of sector EAs, dockside
monitoring, and at-sea monitoring, will
continue beyond FY 2010 is not known.
Nevertheless, these subsidies may make
joining a sector a more attractive
economic alternative for FY 2010.
The substantial changes affecting
vessels that choose to join a sector make
it difficult to assess the economic
impact on these fishing businesses. The
only sector that has submitted an
operations plan for FY 2010 that has
been operating since a sector allocation
was first authorized in 2004 is the GB
Cod Hook Sector. The average revenue
per sector member increased from
$61,000 in FY 2004 to $112,000 in FY
2008. Comparative analysis of vessels
using similar gear that did not join a
sector suggests that vessels that joined
the sector were more technically
efficient. Whether this difference in
efficiency was because of the flexibility
associated with regulatory exemptions,
or due to a self-selection effect, is
unknown. Nevertheless, available
information suggests that economic
performance among sector vessels may
be expected to improve relative to
common pool vessels that remain under
effort controls.
Small entity impacts may differ
depending on sector-specific operations
plans. The number of permits that have
enrolled in each sector, as well as the
operating characteristics of the sector,
may have an economic affect on sector
68025
members (Table 1). Sector enrollment in
each of the 17 sectors varies from 10 to
54 members and the number of permits
enrolled in a sector ranges from 10 to
93. The allocation to any given sector is
based on the combined sum of the PSC
for each stock associated with all
permits enrolled in a sector. All sector
operations plans would convert the total
ACE into an individual catch share
proportional to the PSC that each
member brings to the sector. This share
would be allocated to the member to be
fished by that member or traded to
another sector member.
Sector operations plans include a
number of harvesting rules designed to
track catches, as required, but also
contain provisions that would require
advance notification of when the sector
or sector member may be approaching a
harvest share limit or the sector’s ACE
for a given stock. This system may
provide the information needed to allow
sector members to more fully utilize
their harvest share.
TABLE 4—SUMMARY OF THE NUMBER AND PERCENT OF INDIVIDUAL AND ACTIVE PERMITS FOR CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN
A SECTOR FOR FY 2010
Number of
individual
permits *
Sector
Percent of
individual
permits
Number of
active
permits *
Percent of
active
permits **
Northeast Fishery Sector II ..............................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector III .............................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector IV ............................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector V .............................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VI ............................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VII ...........................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector VIII ..........................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector IX ............................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector X .............................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XI ............................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XII ...........................................................................
Northeast Fishery Sector XIII ..........................................................................
Fixed Gear Sector ...........................................................................................
Sustainable Harvest Sector .............................................................................
Port Clyde Sector ............................................................................................
Tri-State Sector ................................................................................................
Northeast Coastal Community Sector .............................................................
75
74
47
39
21
25
22
44
33
47
10
31
88
93
39
16
19
5.1
5.0
3.2
2.6
1.4
1.7
1.5
3.0
2.2
3.2
0.7
2.1
5.9
6.3
2.6
1.1
1.3
44
47
0
34
9
19
16
22
27
37
6
25
39
44
27
14
17
7.3
7.8
0.0
5.7
1.5
3.2
2.7
3.7
4.5
6.2
1.0
4.2
6.5
7.3
4.5
2.3
2.8
All Sectors ................................................................................................
723
48.9
427
71.0
Common Pool ...........................................................................................
757
51.1
174
29.0
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* Number of permits in each sector is from sector operation plans and EAs submitted September 1, 2009.
** In 2007, 601 limited access multispecies vessels and 138 open access vessels landed groundfish.
Economic Impacts of Exemptions
Requested in the Proposed Action That
Are Not flagged as ‘‘Requested
Exemptions for Which There Are
Serious Concerns’’
The EIS for Amendment 16 to the NE
Multispecies FMP compares economic
impacts of sector measures with
common pool measures, and analyzes
costs and benefits of the universal
exemptions. This proposed rule
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Jkt 220001
provides further discussion on the
additional exemptions requested by
sectors. Several additional exemptions
requested by various sectors could
provide economic incentives to enroll in
a sector. All exemptions requested by
the sectors are intended to provide
positive social and economic effects to
sector members and ports.
Exemption from the Day gillnet 120day block requirement out of the fishery
is requested by Northeast Fishery
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Sectors III and XI, the GB Cod Fixed
Gear Sector, the Sustainable Harvest
Sector, the Tri-State Sector, and the Port
Clyde Sector. Existing regulations
require that vessels using gillnet gear
remove all gear from the water for 120
days per year. Since the time out from
fishing is up to the vessel owner to
decide (with some restrictions), many
affected vessel owners have purchased
more than one vessel such that one may
be used while the other is taking its 120-
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules
day block out of the groundfish fishery,
to provide for sustained fishing income.
Acquiring a second vessel adds the
expense of outfitting another vessel with
gear and maintaining that vessel. The
exemption from the 120-day block
would allow sector members to realize
the cost savings associated with retiring
the redundant vessel.
Northeast Fishery Sectors III and XI
are requesting exemption from the
prohibition on a vessel hauling gear that
was set by another vessel. The
community fixed gear exemption would
allow sector vessels in the Day gillnet
category to effectively pool gillnet gear
that may be hauled or set by sector
members. This provision would reduce
the total amount of gear that would have
to be purchased and maintained by
participating sector members resulting
in some uncertain level of cost savings,
along with a possible reduction in total
gear fished.
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector is
requesting exemption from the number
of hooks that may be fished, and
exemption from the limitation on the
number of gillnets that may be hauled
on GB when fishing under a groundfish/
monkfish DAS. These exemptions
would provide vessel owners with the
flexibility to adapt the number of hooks
fished to existing fishing and market
conditions. This exemption would also
provide an opportunity to improve
vessel profitability. The exemption from
the number of hooks that may be fished
has been granted to the GB Cod Hook
Sector every year since 2004.
The Northeast Coastal Communities
Sector, Sustainable Harvest Sector, and
Tri-State Sector are requesting
exemption from the required 20-day
spawning block out of the fishery.
Exemption from the 20-day spawning
block would improve flexibility to
match trip planning decisions to
existing fishing and market conditions.
Although vessel owners currently have
the flexibility to schedule their 20-day
block according to business needs and
may use that opportunity to perform
routine or scheduled maintenance,
vessel owners may prefer to schedule
these activities at other times of the
year, or may have unexpected repairs.
Removing this requirement may not
have a significant impact, but would
still provide vessel owners with greater
opportunity to make more efficient use
of their vessel.
The Sustainable Harvest Sector is
requesting an exemption from the limit
on the number of nets (not to exceed
150) that may be deployed by Day
gillnet vessels. This would provide
greater flexibility to deploy fishing gear
by participating sector members
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14:53 Dec 21, 2009
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according to operational and market
needs.
The Sustainable Harvest Sector and
Tri-State Sector request exemptions
from regulations that currently limit
leasing of DAS to vessels within
specified length and horsepower
restrictions. Current restrictions create a
system in which a small vessel may
lease DAS from virtually any other
vessel, but is limited in the number of
vessels that small vessels may lease to.
The opposite is true for larger vessels.
Exemption from these restrictions
would allow greater flexibility to lease
DAS between vessels of different sizes.
The efficiency gains of doing so are
uncertain and may be limited because
the exemption would only apply to TriState Sector and Sustainable Harvest
Sector members. Since DAS would not
be required while fishing for groundfish,
the economic importance of this
exemption would be associated with the
need to use groundfish DAS when
fishing in other fisheries, for example,
monkfish.
Economic Impacts of Requested
Exemptions for which there are Serious
Concerns
There are several requested
exemptions about which NMFS has
serious concerns. NMFS has informed
the sector managers of these concerns.
These exemption requests are from the
GOM Rolling Closure Areas beyond the
proposed Amendment 16 universal
exemption areas, the 72-hr observer
notification requirements for NMFSfunded at-sea monitoring, the Atlantic
halibut one-fish trip limit during the
Maine seasonal halibut fishery, the VMS
reporting requirements, the paper VTR
requirement, the prohibition on dehookers, and the minimum fish size
requirements. The economic impacts of
not approving these exemptions are
provided below.
In addition to the universal rolling
closure exemptions as described in
Section 4.2.3.9 of Amendment 16, six of
the Northeast Fishery Sectors and the
Sustainable Harvest Sector requested
additional exemptions from GOM
Rolling Closure Areas. These include
statistical blocks 124, 125, 132, and 133
in April; and block 138 in May. The
Council voted to exempt sectors from
the GOM Rolling Closure Areas, with
the exception of portions that the
Council believes should remain closed
to protect cod spawning aggregations.
Exempting sector vessels from
additional rolling closures beyond the
universal exemptions proposed by the
Council in Amendment 16 would likely
result in improved profitability, since
higher catch rates would mean that the
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Sfmt 4702
same amount of groundfish could be
caught at a lower cost. However, the
additional rolling closure area blocks
requested for exemption were
specifically not exempted by the
Council because these areas provide
ancillary benefits to spawning fish and,
in addition, provide protection for
harbor porpoise and other marine
mammals.
Eight of the Northeast Fishery Sectors
and the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector
requested an exemption from the 72-hr
observer notification requirements for
NMFS-funded at-sea monitoring. The
economic impacts of providing an
exemption to the 72-hr observer
notification requirement are uncertain,
but this exemption could provide vessel
owners with additional flexibility when
planning and preparing for fishing trips.
However, logistical constrains on the
NMFS Northeast Observer Program
would make granting this exemption
very difficult. NMFS is proposing to
reduce this requirement from 72 hr to 48
hr in Amendment 16.
The Northeast Coastal Communities
Sector requested an exemption that
would allow members to fish under
Maine state regulations for halibut while
fishing in state waters. The exemption
would provide additional fishing
opportunities to improve sector member
profitability. The potential to realize any
improved profitability would be limited
by Maine state regulations that restrict
the number of halibut that may be
landed during a prescribed season to 50
fish per person. The halibut stock
remains overfished; thus, allowing an
exemption from the halibut trip limit
specifically to allow sector vessels to
participate in a targeted halibut fishery
would be inconsistent with the
rebuilding program of the FMP.
All of the Northeast Fishery Sectors
requested an exemption from the
requirement that vessels transmit
reports directly to NMFS via VMS. The
economic impacts of providing an
exemption from this requirement are
uncertain. The exemption would likely
provide the sector as a whole with some
flexibility to more efficiently handle the
flow of information between the sector
and NMFS in meeting the reporting
requirements. Nonetheless, allowing
vessels to submit required reports and
declarations to a third party, rather than
to NMFS directly, creates significant
enforcement problems with the chain of
custody of information. Denial of this
exemption would not preclude sector
member vessels from transmitting hails
through the sector server for the purpose
of dockside monitoring program
requirements.
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All of the Northeast Fishery Sectors,
as well as the Sustainable Harvest and
Tri-State Sectors, requested permission
to use eVTRs in place of paper VTRs to
transmit catch data to NMFS. While this
exemption would likely reduce the
administrative burden on sectors, NMFS
believes it is still premature, as an eVTR
system that would address all of the
needs of NMFS has not yet been
developed. A pilot study is currently
being developed that would use eVTRs
as well as paper VTRs to determine the
viability of eVTRs as a replacement to
the paper version. Should the pilot
study determine that eVTRs can fulfill
all necessary requirements, this option
could be considered at a later date.
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector
requested an exemption from the
prohibition on the use of de-hookers
with less than 6-inch (15.24-cm) spacing
between the fairlead rollers. Not
granting this exemption would require
modification of long-line gear haulers
that are already in use. Exemption from
this requirement would provide affected
vessel owners with greater flexibility to
rig their vessels to maximize operational
efficiency. However, the interim final
rule implemented in 2002, and
Amendment 13 in 2004, prohibited dehookers with spacing less than 6 inches
(15.24 cm) to discourage de-hooking
strategies that may reduce survival of
discarded fish. Additionally, National
Standard 9 requires that NMFS
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minimize the mortality of bycatch that
cannot be avoided.
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector and
the Tri-State Sector requested
exemption from existing regulations that
provide for minimum fish sizes for
several different species. Any fish
caught that is below the minimum size
must be discarded. To the extent that
some portion of these fish would
otherwise be marketable, exemption
from minimum fish sizes would
improve economic efficiency of member
vessel owners. Since all discarded fish
are assumed dead and would count
against the sector’s ACE, opportunities
to maximize retention of any marketable
fish would increase the total value of
the ACE. The magnitude of this
potential benefit is uncertain, since the
marketability of smaller size fish is
unknown. Yet an exemption from the
minimum fish size requirement presents
significant enforcement issues by
allowing two different fish sizes in the
marketplace. Moreover, this exemption
could potentially increase targeting of
juvenile fish.
Economic Impacts of the Alternative to
the Proposed Action
Under the No Action alternative, none
of the FY 2010 sector operations plans
would be approved, and no sector
would be approved to operate in FY
2010. While the sectors could remain
authorized under proposed Amendment
16, under the No Action alternative for
this rule, no sector would receive a LOA
PO 00000
Frm 00041
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
68027
to fish or an allocation to fish. Under
this scenario, vessels would remain in
the common pool and fish under the
common pool regulations in the FMP.
Because of effort control changes
proposed in both Amendment 16 and
Framework 44, it is likely that vessels
enrolled in a sector for FY 2010 and
forced to fish in the common pool
would experience revenue losses in
comparison to the proposed action. It is
more likely under the No Action
alternative that the ports and fishing
communities where sectors plan to land
their fish would be negatively impacted.
Description of the Projected Reporting,
Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance
Requirements of the Proposed Rule
This proposed rule contains no
collection-of-information requirement
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act require publication of
this notification to provide interested
parties the opportunity to comment on
proposed sector operations plans and
TAC allocations.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 16, 2009.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9–30386 Filed 12–21–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\22DEP1.SGM
22DEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 22, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 68015-68027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30386]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 0912081429-91430-01]
RIN 0648-XS55
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern
United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; 2010 Sector Operations
Plans and Contracts, and Allocation of Northeast Multispecies Annual
Catch Entitlements
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Amendment 13 to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) established a process for the formation of
sectors and for annual NMFS Northeast Regional Administrator approval
of proposed sector operations. Proposed Amendment 16, currently under
NMFS review, with an expected implementation date of May 1, 2010, if
approved, would significantly revise sector allocation management
measures and expand sector management by authorizing up to 19 sectors
for fishing year (FY) 2010.
Representatives from 17 sectors have submitted operations plans and
sector contracts, and requested an allocation of stocks regulated under
the FMP for FY 2010 at this time, in order to be timely considered for
approval on a parallel track with the review of Amendment 16. NMFS
received sector operations plans and contracts from the Northeast
Fishery Sectors II through XIII, the Sustainable Harvest Sector, the
Tri-State Sector, the Northeast Coastal Communities Sector, the Georges
Bank (GB) Cod Fixed Gear Sector, and the Port Clyde Community
Groundfish Sector. The intention of this action is to provide
interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed 17 sector
agreements for FY 2010 prior to final approval or disapproval of the
operations plans. Because the approval and operation of these sector
proposals are conditional on approval of proposed Amendment 16
measures, final action regarding the approval of these proposals will
not be made unless and until a final decision on Amendment 16 has been
made.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before January 21, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 0648-XS55, by any one
of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: William Whitmore.
Mail: Paper, disk, or CD-ROM comments should be sent to
Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the
outside of the envelope: ``Comments on 2010 Sector Operations Plans and
Contracts.''
Instructions: All comments received are part of the public record
and will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov without
change. No comments will be posted for public viewing until after the
comment period has closed. All Personal Identifying Information (for
example, name, address, etc.) 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). You may submit attachments to electronic
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file
formats only.
Copies of the sector operations plans and contracts and
supplemental environmental assessments (EA) are available from the NMFS
NE Regional Office at the mailing address specified above. An Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was prepared for this proposed
rule and is comprised of the EAs, and the preamble and the
Classification sections of this proposed rule.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Whitmore, Sector Policy
Analyst, phone (978) 281-9182, fax (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS announces that the Administrator, NE
Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary
determination that 17 sector operations plans and
[[Page 68016]]
contracts, which were initially submitted to NMFS on September 1, 2009,
are consistent with the goals of the FMP, as described in proposed
Amendment 16 and other applicable laws, and are in compliance with the
proposed measures that would govern the development and operation of a
sector as specified in Section 4.2.3 of the Amendment 16 Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).
Background
The final rule implementing Amendment 13 (69 FR 22906, April 27,
2004) specified a process for forming sectors within the NE
multispecies fishery, implemented restrictions applicable to all
sectors, and authorized allocation of a total allowable catch (TAC) for
specific groundfish species to a sector. As approved in Amendment 13,
sector operations plans and contracts must contain certain elements,
including a contract signed by all sector participants and an
operations plan containing rules that sector members agree to abide by
to avoid exceeding their sector TAC. An environmental assessment (EA),
or other appropriate analysis, must be prepared for each sector that
analyzes the individual and cumulative impacts of all proposed sector
operations. Additionally, the public must be provided an opportunity to
comment on each proposed sector operations plan, sector contract, and
EA. The regulations require that, upon completion of the public comment
period, the Regional Administrator must make a determination regarding
approval of the sectors operations plans and contracts.
While Amendment 13 implemented the GB Cod Hook Sector in 2004, and
Framework Adjustment (FW) 42 (71 FR 62156, October 23, 2006)
implemented the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector in 2006, Amendment 16, as
proposed, would revise and expand the rules for these two existing
sectors and authorize an additional 17 new sectors, including the
Northeast Fishery Sectors II through XIII, the Sustainable Harvest
Sector, the Tri-State Sector, the Northeast Coastal Communities Sector,
and the Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector. Because the approval
and operation of these sector proposals are conditional on approval of
measures proposed in Amendment 16, final action regarding the approval
of these proposals will not be made unless and until a final decision
on Amendment 16 has been made.
Representatives from 17 of the 19 sectors proposed in Amendment 16
have submitted operations plans and sector contracts, and requested an
allocation of stocks regulated under the FMP for FY 2010. As currently
proposed, one of these 17 sectors, Northeast Fishery Sector IV, would
operate as a lease-only sector. Neither the GB Cod Hook Sector nor
Northeast Fishery Sector I chose to submit an operations plan and
sector contract at this time. FY 2010 would be the first year of
operation for 16 of the 17 sectors, if approved. Permit owners that
have indicated their intent to participate in one of the proposed 17
sectors account for 784 of the 1,480 eligible NE multispecies permit
holders, representing approximately 95 percent of the historical
commercial NE multispecies catch. Table 1 (below) includes permit
owners who joined a sector as of September 1, 2009. The 784 permits
specified above include additional permit owners who enrolled in a
sector up through November 20, 2009. These permit owners have until
April 30, 2010, to withdraw from a sector and fish in the common pool
for FY 2010. Further, additional permit owners who wish to join a
sector may be included in the final sector rule, provided that no
significantly new analysis is needed and the general conclusions of the
draft environmental documents remain unchanged. This proposed rule
summarizes sector requirements as proposed in Amendment 16, details
regulation exemptions requested by sectors, and summarizes the
applicable environmental analyses. Comments on general sector
provisions should be addressed to the Amendment 16 proposed rulemaking;
comments on sector operations plans and EAs should be submitted for
this rulemaking (see ADDRESSES).
Amendment 16 defines a sector as ``[a] group of persons (three or
more persons, none of whom have an ownership interest in the other two
persons in the sector) holding limited access vessel permits who have
voluntarily entered into a contract and agree to certain fishing
restrictions for a specified period of time, and which has been granted
a TAC(s) [sic] in order to achieve objectives consistent with
applicable FMP goals and objectives.'' A sector's TAC is also referred
to as an annual catch entitlement (ACE). Regional Administrator
approval is required in order for the sectors to be authorized to fish
and to be allocated an ACE for most stocks of regulated NE multispecies
and ocean pout during each FY. Each individual sector's ACE for a
particular stock would represent a share of that stock's annual catch
limit (ACL) available to commercial NE multispecies vessels, based upon
the potential sector contributions (PSC) of permits participating in
that sector. Sectors are self-selecting, meaning each sector maintains
the ability to choose its members. Sectors may pool harvesting
resources and consolidate operations to fewer vessels, if they desire.
Table 1--Summary of the Number of Permits, Members, Active Vessels, Gear Type, and Area Fished for the Proposed
FY 2010 Sectors *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
Sector Permits Number of active Gear type fished Regulated mesh
enrolled members vessels areas
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast Fishery Sector II..... 75 22 20-25 90% trawl, 10% GOM, GB, and
gillnet. southern NE.
Northeast Fishery Sector III.... 74 30 25-30 5% trawl, 90% GOM, GB, and
gillnet, 5% southern NE.
longline.
Northeast Fishery Sector IV..... 47 12 10-15 Lease-only sector.. GOM, GB, and
southern NE.
Northeast Fishery Sector V...... 39 12 10-15 90% trawl, 10% Southern NE, GB.
gillnet.
Northeast Fishery Sector VI..... 21 12 10-15 90% trawl, 10% GOM, GB, and
gillnet. southern NE.
Northeast Fishery Sector VII.... 25 12 10-15 90% trawl, 10% GOM, GB, and
gillnet. southern NE.
Northeast Fishery Sector VIII... 22 22 20-25 90% trawl, 10% GOM, GB, and
gillnet. southern NE.
Northeast Fishery Sector IX..... 44 22 20-25 90% trawl, 10% GOM, GB, and
gillnet. southern NE.
Northeast Fishery Sector X...... 33 22 20-25 90% trawl, 5% GOM, GB, and
gillnet, 5% southern NE.
longline.
Northeast Fishery Sector XI..... 47 22 20-25 10% trawl, 85% Primarily GOM.
gillnet, 5%
longline.
Northeast Fishery Sector XII.... 10 22 20-25 90% trawl, 10% Primarily GOM.
gillnet.
[[Page 68017]]
Northeast Fishery Sector XIII... 31 10 15-22 90% trawl, 10% GOM, GB, and
gillnet. southern NE.
Fixed Gear Sector............... 88 54 35 75% gillnet, 20% GOM, GB, and
longline, 5% hook southern NE.
gear.
Sustainable Harvest Sector...... 93 31 44 Trawl, gillnet, GOM, GB, and
hook and line, southern NE.
longlines **.
Port Clyde Sector............... 39 29 26 50% trawl, 50% GOM.
gillnet.
Tri-State Sector................ 16 13 14 90% trawl, 10% GOM, GB, and
gillnet/trawl/ southern NE.
longline.
Northeast Coastal Community 19 19 17 1 otter trawl, all GOM, GB, and
Sector. others hook gear. southern NE.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The data in this table is from the sector operations plans and EAs submitted September 1, 2009, and is subject
to change based on final sector rosters.
** No gear mix ratio was described in this sector's EA.
Sector ACEs
Sectors can determine the percentage of each stock's ACL they will
be allocated based on the PSC of each member's permit. As of November
20, 2009, 784 of the 1,480 eligible NE multispecies permits, which
would account for approximately 95 percent of the historical commercial
NE multispecies landings during the qualifying period selected by the
New England Fishery Management Council (Council) in Amendment 16, have
enrolled in a sector. Permits enrolled in a sector, and the vessels
associated with those permits, have until April 30, 2010, to withdraw
from a sector and fish in the common pool for FY 2010. Table 2 details
the ACE percentages each sector would receive according to their
memberships as of November 20, 2009. Tables 3a and 3b detail the ACEs
(in metric tons and tons) each sector would be allocated based on their
November 20, 2009 sector rosters for FY 2010.5
[[Page 68018]]
Table 2--Percentage (%) of the Proposed ACE Each Sector Would Receive by Stock for FY 2010*[dagger]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern
New
GB Cape cod/ GB England/ GOM
Sector GOM cod GB cod GOM haddock GOM yellowtail Mid- Pollock Redfish White Plaice winter GB winter Witch
** haddock ** yellowtail flounder Atlantic hake flounder flounder flounder
flounder yellowtail
flounder
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast Fishery Sector II.................. 18.94 5.47 17.67 11.63 19.32 1.70 1.64 12.26 16.54 6.10 8.36 19.88 1.67 13.27
Northeast Fishery Sector III................. 15.95 1.18 11.43 0.17 9.01 0.05 0.40 6.82 1.14 4.51 4.30 10.89 0.03 2.96
Northeast Fishery Sector IV.................. 8.65 4.71 6.72 5.42 7.20 2.16 2.68 5.65 6.46 7.97 9.24 7.63 0.71 9.28
Northeast Fishery Sector V................... 0.25 3.14 0.68 5.66 1.70 9.71 26.26 0.55 0.60 0.52 2.65 0.71 2.66 2.97
Northeast Fishery Sector VI.................. 2.13 2.73 3.56 2.95 2.26 2.10 5.04 3.78 5.61 4.37 4.12 3.39 2.70 4.71
Northeast Fishery Sector VII................. 0.58 6.29 0.64 5.17 5.26 16.90 4.49 0.77 0.54 0.77 4.23 3.23 17.55 4.11
Northeast Fishery Sector VIII................ 0.47 7.36 0.20 6.61 7.29 15.93 5.96 0.64 0.44 0.51 2.44 3.36 20.63 3.13
Northeast Fishery Sector IX.................. 1.66 12.14 4.77 10.13 9.19 17.68 6.78 3.81 5.79 4.09 7.30 2.55 32.56 7.53
Northeast Fishery Sector X................... 4.39 0.83 2.12 0.68 9.71 1.34 1.24 1.41 0.56 0.91 1.29 12.19 0.68 1.93
Northeast Fishery Sector XI.................. 13.68 0.40 3.23 0.04 2.21 0.00 0.01 9.28 1.88 4.85 1.87 2.13 0.00 1.86
Northeast Fishery Sector XII................. 1.55 0.05 0.51 0.00 0.59 0.00 0.04 0.14 0.07 0.11 0.45 0.45 0.02 0.34
Northeast Fishery Sector XIII................ 0.76 7.40 0.60 13.61 3.17 14.15 10.52 2.22 4.54 1.81 3.40 1.59 10.16 4.50
Fixed Gear Sector............................ 1.90 28.08 1.29 6.41 1.83 0.01 0.18 7.81 2.89 5.92 0.55 2.24 0.03 0.80
Sustainable Harvest Sector................... 16.55 15.28 36.15 28.40 10.37 7.42 10.70 35.73 47.47 43.44 35.70 6.75 6.56 31.50
Port Clyde Sector............................ 4.77 0.21 2.32 0.05 1.07 0.00 0.65 4.35 2.56 4.63 6.42 2.06 0.01 4.43
Tri-State Sector............................. 2.23 1.11 5.60 1.84 4.79 5.41 0.55 1.29 1.05 5.66 3.64 7.49 1.64 3.34
Northeast Coastal Community Sector........... 0.51 0.16 0.25 0.12 0.46 0.84 0.53 0.46 0.48 0.90 0.24 0.47 0.07 0.27
All Sectors.................................. 94.95 96.53 97.75 98.90 95.43 95.40 77.68 96.98 98.61 97.07 96.19 87.01 97.67 96.91
Common Pool.................................. 5.05 3.47 2.25 1.10 4.57 4.60 22.32 3.02 1.39 2.93 3.81 12.99 2.33 3.09
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The data in this table is based on signed roster contracts as of November 30, 2009.
** Eastern US/Canada cod and haddock percentages equal the PSC % of GB cod and GB haddock.
[dagger] Percentages have been rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent in this table, but thousandths of a percent are used in calculating ACEs in metric tons and tons. In some cases,
this table shows a sector allocated 0% of an ACE, but that sector is allocated a small amount of that stock.
Table 3a--Proposed ACE (in Metric Tons) Each Sector Would Receive by Stock for FY 2010 *
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Eastern Other CC/GOM GB SNE/MA GOM GB
Sector GOM Eastern GB GOM GB GB yellowtail yellowtail yellowtail Pollock Redfish White Plaice winter winter Witch
cod GB cod cod haddock haddock haddock flounder flounder flounder hake flounder flounder flounder
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast Fishery Sector II........... 865 19 169 146 1394 3308 150 17 5 337 1132 156 238 31 31 113
Northeast Fishery Sector III.......... 728 4 36 94 20 48 70 0 1 187 78 115 122 17 1 25
Northeast Fishery Sector IV........... 395 16 146 55 650 1543 56 22 9 155 442 204 263 12 13 79
Northeast Fishery Sector V............ 11 11 97 6 678 1610 13 97 87 15 41 13 75 1 49 25
Northeast Fishery Sector VI........... 97 9 84 29 354 840 18 21 17 104 384 112 117 5 50 40
Northeast Fishery Sector VII.......... 26 21 194 5 620 1472 41 169 15 21 37 20 120 5 325 35
Northeast Fishery Sector VIII......... 21 25 228 2 792 1881 57 159 20 18 30 13 69 5 382 27
Northeast Fishery Sector IX........... 76 41 375 39 1215 2883 72 177 23 105 396 105 208 4 603 64
Northeast Fishery Sector X............ 200 3 26 18 82 195 76 13 4 39 38 23 37 19 13 16
Northeast Fishery Sector XI........... 625 1 12 27 4 11 17 0 0 255 128 124 53 3 0 16
Northeast Fishery Sector XII.......... 71 0 1 4 1 1 5 0 0 4 5 3 13 1 0 3
Northeast Fishery Sector XIII......... 35 25 229 5 1632 3872 25 141 35 61 311 46 97 3 188 38
Fixed Gear Sector..................... 87 95 868 11 768 1823 14 0 1 215 198 151 16 4 0 7
Sustainable Harvest Sector............ 756 52 472 298 3405 8081 81 74 36 982 3250 1110 1017 11 121 268
Port Clyde Sector..................... 218 1 6 19 6 14 8 0 2 120 175 118 183 3 0 38
Tri-State Sector...................... 102 4 34 46 220 522 37 54 2 35 72 145 104 12 30 28
Northeast Coastal Community Sector.... 23 1 5 2 15 34 4 8 2 13 33 23 7 1 1 2
All Sectors........................... 4336 326 2984 807 11856 28138 743 953 258 2665 6751 2481 2740 137 1809 826
Common Pool........................... 230 12 108 19 132 314 36 46 74 83 95 75 109 20 43 26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The data in this table is based on signed roster contracts as of November 30, 2009. Numbers are rounded to the nearest metric ton, but allocations are made in pounds. In some cases, this
table shows a sector allocated 0 metric tons, but that sector is allocated a small amount of that stock in pounds.
[[Page 68019]]
Table 3b--Poundage of ACE (in Tons) by Stock Proposed for Each Sector for FY 2010 *
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Eastern Other CC/GOM GB SNE/MA GOM GB
Sector GOM Eastern GB GOM GB GB yellowtail yellowtail yellowtail Pollock Redfish White Plaice winter winter Witch
cod GB cod cod haddock haddock haddock flounder flounder flounder hake flounder flounder flounder
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast Fishery Sector II........... 954 20 187 161 1537 3647 166 19 6 371 1248 172 263 35 34 125
Northeast Fishery Sector III.......... 803 4 40 104 22 53 77 1 1 207 86 127 135 19 1 28
Northeast Fishery Sector IV........... 436 18 161 61 717 1701 62 24 10 171 487 225 290 13 15 87
Northeast Fishery Sector V............ 13 12 107 6 748 1774 15 107 96 17 46 15 83 1 54 28
Northeast Fishery Sector VI........... 107 10 93 32 390 926 19 23 18 115 423 123 129 6 55 44
Northeast Fishery Sector VII.......... 29 23 214 6 684 1622 45 186 16 23 41 22 133 6 358 39
Northeast Fishery Sector VIII......... 23 27 251 2 873 2073 63 175 22 19 33 14 77 6 421 29
Northeast Fishery Sector IX........... 84 45 414 43 1339 3178 79 195 25 116 437 115 229 4 665 71
Northeast Fishery Sector X............ 221 3 28 19 90 215 83 15 5 43 42 26 41 21 14 18
Northeast Fishery Sector XI........... 689 1 13 29 5 12 19 0 0 281 142 137 59 4 0 17
Northeast Fishery Sector XII.......... 78 0 2 5 1 1 5 0 0 4 6 3 14 1 0 3
Northeast Fishery Sector XIII......... 38 28 252 5 1798 4268 27 156 39 67 343 51 107 3 207 42
Fixed Gear Sector..................... 96 105 957 12 847 2009 16 0 1 237 218 167 17 4 1 7
Sustainable Harvest Sector............ 833 57 521 329 3753 8908 89 82 39 1083 3582 1224 1121 12 134 296
Port Clyde Sector..................... 240 1 7 21 6 15 9 0 2 132 193 130 201 4 0 42
Tri-State Sector...................... 112 4 38 51 243 576 41 60 2 39 79 159 114 13 33 31
Northeast Coastal Community Sector.... 25 1 5 2 16 38 4 9 2 14 36 25 8 1 1 3
All Sectors........................... 4780 360 3289 889 13069 31016 819 1051 285 2938 7442 2735 3020 151 1994 910
Common Pool........................... 254 13 119 20 146 346 39 51 82 91 105 82 120 23 48 29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The data in this table is based on signed roster contracts as of November 30, 2009. Numbers are rounded to the nearest metric ton, but allocations are made in pounds. In some cases, this
table shows a sector allocated 0 metric tons, but that sector is allocated a small amount of that stock in pounds.
[[Page 68020]]
Sector Operations Plans and Contracts
All sectors must, on an annual basis, submit an operations plan,
sector contract, and EA to NMFS for the following FY. On September 1,
2009, 17 sectors submitted an operations plan and contract for FY 2010
to NMFS. Each sector operations plan contains the rules under which
each sector would fish. The sector contract provides the legal contract
that binds members to a sector and its operations plan.
While each sector conducts fishing activities according to its
approved operations plan, Section 4.2.3 of the Amendment 16 FEIS
contains numerous provisions that, if approved, would apply to all
sector operations plans and sector members. All permit holders with a
valid limited access NE multispecies days-at-sea (DAS) permit as of May
1, 2008, are eligible to participate in a sector, including those
permits currently held in confirmation of permit history. While
membership in each sector is voluntary, each member (and their permits
associated with the sector) must remain with the sector for the entire
FY, and cannot fish in the NE multispecies DAS program outside of the
sector (i.e., in the common pool) during the FY. Participating vessels
would be required to comply with all pertinent Federal fishing
regulations, unless specifically exempted by a letter of authorization
(LOA) issued by the Regional Administrator, as part of the approval of
a sector's operations plan, as described further below. Sector
operations plans may be amended in-season if a change is necessary and
agreed to by NMFS, provided the change does not require a modification
to the Amendment 16 regulations. These changes would be included in
updated LOAs issued to sector members.
As proposed in Amendment 16, sectors would be allocated all large-
mesh groundfish stocks for which members have landings history, with
the exception of Atlantic halibut, ocean pout, windowpane flounder,
Atlantic wolffish, and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter
flounder. Sector vessels would be required to retain all legal-sized
allocated groundfish. Catch of all allocated groundfish stocks by a
sector's vessels would count against the sector's ACE, unless the catch
is an element of a separate ACL sub-component, such as groundfish catch
in exempted fisheries, or catch of yellowtail flounder in the Atlantic
sea scallop fishery. Sector vessels fishing for monkfish, skate,
lobster (with non-trap gear) and spiny dogfish (outside an exempted
fishery) would have their groundfish catch (including discards) on
those trips debited against the sector's ACE, unless the vessel is
fishing for such species under the provisions of a NE multispecies
exempted fishery. Discard rates applied to sectors would be determined
by NMFS through at-sea monitoring.
Amendment 16 proposes that ACE could be transferred between
sectors, although ACE transfers to or from common pool vessels would be
prohibited. Each sector would be required to ensure that its ACE is not
exceeded during the FY. Sectors would be required to develop
independent third-party dockside monitoring programs. During FY 2010,
50 percent of trips by each sector would be randomly selected for
dockside monitoring to verify at the time it is weighed by the dealer
and to certify the landings weights are accurate as reported by the
dealer. Sectors would be required to monitor their landings and
available ACE and submit weekly catch reports to NMFS. In addition, the
sector manager would be required to provide NMFS with aggregate sector
reports on a daily basis when either 80 percent of any one of the
sector's groundfish ACEs are reached, or when, for two consecutive
weekly reporting periods, 20 percent or more of the remaining portion
of any ACE is harvested, whichever occurs first. Once a sector's ACE
for a particular stock is caught, a sector would be required to cease
all fishing operations in that stock area until it could acquire
additional ACE for that stock. Each sector would be required to submit
an annual report to NMFS and the Council within 60 days of the end of
the FY detailing the sector's catch (landings and discards by the
sector), enforcement actions, and pertinent information necessary to
evaluate the biological, economic, and social impacts from the sector.
Sector contracts provide procedures to enforce the sector
operations plan, explain sector monitoring and reporting requirements,
present a schedule of penalties, and provide authority to sector
managers to issue stop fishing orders to sector members. Sector members
could be held jointly and severally liable for ACE overages, discarding
of legal-sized fish, and/or misreporting of catch (landings or
discards). Each sector contract submitted for FY 2010 states that the
sector would withhold an initial reserve from each member's individual
allocation to prevent the sector from exceeding its ACE. Each sector
contract also details the method for initial ACE allocation to sector
members; for FY 2010, each sector has proposed that each sector member
could harvest an amount of fish equal to the proportion of PSC that
each individual member's permit contributed to the sector's ACE.
Amendment 16 proposes several ``universal'' exemptions that are
applicable to all sectors. These universal exemptions include
exemptions from trip limits on allocated stocks, the GB Seasonal Closed
Area, NE multispecies DAS restrictions, the requirement to use a 6.5-
inch (16.51-cm) mesh codend when fishing with selective gear on GB, and
portions of the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure Areas. Sectors may
request additional exemptions from Amendment 16 regulations in their
sector operations plan. However, sector vessels would not be allowed
exemptions from several NE multispecies management measures, including
year-round closed areas, permitting restrictions, gear restrictions
designed to minimize habitat impacts, and reporting requirements (not
including DAS reporting requirements).
Proposed Exemptions
In addition to the universal exemptions proposed in Amendment 16,
sectors have requested several additional exemptions from the NE
multispecies regulations in their sector operations plans. The requests
include exemptions from the: (1) 120-day block out of the fishery
required for Day gillnet vessels; (2) 20-day spawning block out of the
fishery required for all vessels; (3) limitation on the number of
gillnets imposed on Day gillnet vessels; (4) prohibition on a vessel
hauling another vessel's gillnet gear; (5) limitation on the number of
gillnets that may be hauled on GB when fishing under a groundfish/
monkfish DAS; (6) limits on the number of hooks that may be fished; and
(7) DAS Leasing Program length and horsepower restrictions. NMFS is
soliciting public comment on these exemptions and is especially
interested in receiving comments on the exemption requests from the Day
gillnet 120-day block out requirement, the 20-day spawning block out
requirement, and the limitation on the number of gillnets imposed on
Day gillnet vessels, because of particular concerns regarding the
impacts of these exemptions.
1. 120-Day Block Requirement Out of the Fishery for Day Gillnet Vessels
This measure was implemented in 1996 under Amendment 7 (61 FR
27709, May 31, 1996) to help ensure that Day gillnet management
measures were comparable to effort controls placed on other fishing
gear types. Regulations at 50 CFR Sec. 648.82(j)(1)(ii) require that
each NE multispecies gillnet vessel declared into the Day gillnet
category
[[Page 68021]]
declare and take 120 days out of the non-exempt gillnet fishery. Each
period of time taken must be a minimum of 7 consecutive days, and at
least 21 of the 120 days must be taken between June 1 and September 30.
Six sectors requested an exemption from this Day gillnet requirement,
arguing that this measure was designed to control fishing effort and,
therefore, is no longer necessary because sectors are restricted to a
hard TAC (i.e., ACE) for each groundfish stock, which limits overall
fishing mortality. Exemption from the Day gillnet 120-day block
requirement is being requested by Northeast Fishery Sectors III and XI,
the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector, the Sustainable Harvest Sector, the Tri-
State Sector, and the Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector. The Tri-
State Sector initially requested this exemption in the first draft of
its sector operations plan, and later removed the request from their
operations plan after no gillnet vessels committed to the sector. After
sector rosters were re-opened on October 30, 2009, additional gillnet
vessels joined the Tri-State Sector. Therefore, while there is an
exemption request in the sector's most final operations plan, an
analysis for this exemption is not in the sector's EA. The Tri-State
Sector's EA would contain the necessary analysis for this exemption
request in their final EA, which would be available to the public on
publication of the sector final rule. Similar analysis for this
exemption can be found in the EAs prepared for the other sectors
requesting an exemption from the Day gillnet 120-day block requirement.
Depending on the selectivity and catch rates of the vessels
requesting this exemption, sector vessels that are no longer subject to
the 120-day block requirement could increase their catch per unit
effort (CPUE) and reduce the number of days that fixed gear is in the
water. However, NMFS is concerned about this exemption because, if some
vessels are not selective and/or if they catch less fish, CPUE could
decrease and more fixed gear could be deployed. Similarly, protected
species (such as harbor porpoise and humpback whales) could benefit
from less fishing effort and fewer gear days, but, conversely, could be
negatively impacted by an increase in gear days and more fishing
effort. Impacts to protected species also depend on spatial and
temporal changes in fixed gear location and how these changes interact
with protected species. Additionally, it is possible that this fixed
gear exemption could allow sector vessels to ``hold'' additional bottom
ground, disadvantaging common pool vessels. Moreover, gillnet gear that
is not tended regularly could increase ghost fishing (i.e., gear that
could continue to catch fish or entangle protected resources if loose
or lost).
2. 20-Day Spawning Block
The Northeast Coastal Communities Sector, the Sustainable Harvest
Sector, and the Tri-State Sector are requesting exemption from the 20-
day spawning block requirement out of the fishery. Regulations at Sec.
648.82(g) require vessels to declare out and be out of the NE
multispecies DAS program for a 20-day period each calendar year between
March 1 and May 31, when spawning is most prevalent in the GOM. The
sectors argue that an exemption from the 20-day spawning block
requirement would allow for greater fishing flexibility and could
increase efficiency and reduce overall gear time in the water. Sectors
requesting an exemption from the 20-day spawning block requirement
state that this measure, while designed to control fishing effort on
spawning fish stocks, is ineffective and no longer necessary because
each sector would utilize an ACE to restrict its fishing effort. The
sectors claim that the ability for a vessel owner to select any 20-day
period (between March 1 and May 31) out of the fishery, as allowed
under the current regulations, makes the measure ineffective for
protecting spawning stocks.
This regulation was developed to protect spawning groundfish stocks
and, therefore, NMFS is seeking public comment about potential
biological impacts this exemption could bring to spawning stocks,
including the disruption of spawning aggregations.
3. Limitation on the Number of Gillnets for Day Gillnet Vessels
Current gear restrictions in the groundfish regulated mesh areas
(RMA) restrict Day gillnet vessels from fishing more than: 100 gillnets
(of which no more than 50 can be roundfish gillnets) in the GOM RMA
(Sec. 648.80(a)(3)(iv)); 50 gillnets in the GB RMA (Sec.
648.80(a)(4)(iv)); and 75 gillnets in the Mid-Atlantic RMA (Sec.
648.80(b)(2)(iv)). These restrictions were implemented in 1996 under
Amendment 7 and revised in Amendment 13 to prevent an uncontrolled
increase in the number of nets being fished, and thus, undermining the
applicable effort controls. The Sustainable Harvest Sector is
requesting that their vessels be allowed to fish up to 150 nets (any
combination of flatfish or roundfish nets) in each of the RMAs. The
current regulations require either one or two tags per net depending on
the type of gillnet and RMA fished. Because vessels under this
exemption would no longer be restricted by the number of roundfish or
flatfish nets in each area (up to 150 nets), the Sustainable Harvest
Sector is also requesting that the two tag per net requirement be
replaced with one tag per net. This exemption would increase the number
of gillnets that could be fished per permit in the Sustainable Harvest
Sector by 50 percent in the GOM RMA, by 200 percent in the GB RMA, and
by 100 percent in the SNE RMA. The Sustainable Harvest Sector
rationalizes that, because this measure was designed to control fishing
effort, it is no longer necessary, since the sector is restricted to an
ACE for each stock that caps overall fishing effort.
The concern raised by NMFS regarding potential increased gear under
item number 1 (an exemption from the 120-day block out requirement) are
applicable for this exemption request as well.
4. Prohibition on a Vessel Hauling Another Vessel's Gillnet Gear
Northeast Fishery Sectors III and XI are requesting exemption from
current regulations that prohibit one vessel from hauling another
vessel's gillnet gear (Sec. Sec. 648.14(k)(6)(ii)(A) and 648.84). The
sectors requesting this exemption believe that the regulations
pertaining to gear marking controls and setting and hauling
responsibilities are no longer necessary, because the sector would be
confined to an ACE for each stock and that ``community'' fixed gear
would allow fishermen greater flexibility. In addition, the sectors
argue that shared fixed-gear fishing effort could potentially reduce
the amount of gillnet gear in the water and minimize the use of gear to
``hold'' additional bottom ground. Pursuant to a request by NMFS, the
sectors requesting this exemption have proposed that all vessels
participating in community fixed gear be jointly liable for any
violations associated with that gear.
5. Limitation on the Number of Gillnets That May Be Hauled on GB When
Fishing Under a Groundfish/Monkfish DAS
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector requests an exemption from the limit
on the number of gillnets that may be hauled on GB when fishing under a
groundfish/monkfish DAS. Current regulations at Sec. 648.80(a)(4)(iv),
which prohibit Day gillnet vessels fishing on a groundfish DAS from
possessing, deploying, fishing, or hauling more than 50 nets on GB,
were implemented as a groundfish mortality control under Amendment 13.
The GB Cod Fixed Gear
[[Page 68022]]
Sector proposes that this exemption would increase efficiency of its
gillnet vessels by allowing them to haul additional nets per trip--nets
which are already permitted in the water under the Monkfish FMP. The
sector argues that this would allow additional opportunities to tend
gear and would likely reduce gear soak time. This exemption does not
permit the use of additional nets; it would only allow nets deployed
under existing net limits, according to the Monkfish FMP, to be hauled
more efficiently by vessels dually permitted under both FMPs.
6. Limitation on the Number of Hooks That May Be Fished
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector requests an exemption from the number
of hooks that a vessel may fish on a given fishing trip, claiming that
this measure, which was initially implemented through an interim action
(67 FR 50292, August 1, 2002) and made permanent through Amendment 13,
was designed to control fishing effort and, therefore, is no longer
necessary because the sector is restricted to an ACE for each stock,
which caps mortality from fishing. Current regulations (Sec. 648.80)
prohibit vessels from fishing or possessing more than 2,000 rigged
hooks in the GOM RMA, more than 3,600 rigged hooks in the GB RMA, more
than 2,000 rigged hooks in the SNE RMA, or 4,500 rigged hooks in the MA
RMA.
Again, the concerns raised by NMFS regarding potential increased
gear under items number 1 and number 3, which also could potentially
allow additional fixed gear to be fished, are applicable for this
exemption request as well. However, the potential problems associated
with longline/hook gear would likely result in lesser impacts than
those associated with gillnets. For example, the potential for gear
interaction between protected resources and longline/hook gear is much
lower than the interaction potential from gillnet gear. Also, while it
is possible for lost longline/hook gear to ghost fish, the resulting
impacts would likely be less than impacts from a gillnet ghost fishing.
7. Length and Horsepower Restrictions on DAS Leasing
While Amendment 16 would exempt sector vessels from the requirement
to use NE multispecies DAS to harvest groundfish, some sector vessels
would still need to use NE multispecies DAS under specific
circumstances, e.g., the Monkfish FMP includes a requirement that
limited access monkfish Category C and D vessels harvesting more than
the incidental monkfish catch must fish under both a monkfish and a
groundfish DAS. Therefore, sector vessels may still use, and lease, NE
multispecies DAS.
The Sustainable Harvest Sector and Tri-State Sector have requested
an exemption from the DAS Leasing Program length and horsepower
restrictions in their operations plans, within their individual sectors
as well with other sectors. The sectors requesting an exemption for the
DAS leasing specifications state that sector ACEs eliminate the need to
use vessel characteristics to control fishing effort and that removal
of this restriction would allow sector vessels more flexibility. It is
important to note that, because this exemption was only requested by
the Sustainable Harvest Sector and Tri-State Sector, if approved, only
these two sectors would be exempt from the DAS Leasing Program length
and horsepower restrictions. Thus, this exemption would not apply to
the other approved sectors and therefore, leasing under this exemption
could only occur between the Sustainable Harvest Sector and the Tri-
State Sector.
Details of the justifications for the proposed exemptions and
analyses of the potential impacts of the operations plans are contained
in the sector EAs.
Requested Exemptions for Which There Are Serious Concerns
After completing an initial review of 17 sector operations plans
and contracts submitted September 1, 2009, NMFS provided each sector
with comments, including an assessment of which exemption requests NMFS
would likely disapprove because of serious concerns with negative
environmental impacts that could result from granting the exemption.
Some of the sectors chose to remove these exemption requests from their
operations plans, while other sectors did not. After reconsideration,
NMFS has decided to include all of these exemption requests of serious
concern in the proposed rule, and moreover, is soliciting public
comment on these requests. If public comment on these exemptions of
serious concern provides additional support that convinces NMFS to
change its earlier stance on such requests, the sector operations plans
and EAs would be revised accordingly. If necessary, NMFS would submit a
supplemental EA.
Of central concern to NMFS are exemption requests from the GOM
Rolling Closure Areas beyond the proposed Amendment 16 universal
exemption areas, the 72-hr observer notification requirement for NMFS-
funded at-sea monitoring coverage, the Atlantic halibut one-fish trip
limit during the Maine seasonal halibut fishery, the vessel monitoring
system (VMS) reporting requirements, the use of electronic vessel trip
reports (VTRs) in replace of paper VTRs, the minimum 6-inch (16.51-cm)
spacing requirement for de-hookers, and the minimum fish size
requirements, as discussed further below.
1. GOM Rolling Closure Areas
Amendment 16 proposes universal sector exemptions from portions of
the current GOM Rolling Closure Areas. Six of the Northeast Fishery
Sectors and the Sustainable Harvest Sector requested additional
exemptions from these rolling closures, specifically from statistical
blocks 124, 125, 132, and 133 in April; and block 138 in May. At its
November meeting, the Council endorsed the sector's request for an
exemption to the rolling closure for block 138. In Amendment 16, the
Council voted to exempt sectors from the GOM Rolling Closure Areas,
with the exception of portions of these areas that the Council believed
should remain closed to protect spawning aggregations. The Council
tasked the Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT) with reviewing and
analyzing the existing GOM Rolling Closure Areas to determine which
areas should remain closed, but stipulated that sectors may request
specific exemptions from the GOM Rolling Closure Areas in their sector
operations plans.
The sectors requesting this exemption make the argument that,
because they are restricted to an ACE for each groundfish stock that
caps overall fishing mortality, exemptions to the rolling area closures
should be granted because they are mortality closures. The Sustainable
Harvest sector contends that statistical block 138, from which they are
requesting an exemption during the month of May, does not overlap with
any areas regulated by the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan
(ALWTRP) and that trawl gear, which would be the primary fishing gear
utilized by the sector, is not regulated by the Harbor Porpoise Take
Reduction Plan (HPTRP). The six Northeast Fishery Sectors requesting
exemption from statistical blocks 124, 125, 132, and 133 in April
contend that their members have a vast amount of experience and
knowledge identifying spawning aggregations of fish and that
eliminating access to these additional rolling closure areas requested
in this exemption would prematurely end commercial access to the
haddock stocks, which are fully rebuilt, in those areas. The Northeast
Fishery Sectors further commented that they have
[[Page 68023]]
designed a strategy to minimize the impacts to spawning fish while
promoting benefits to sector members. Under this strategy, Northeast
Fishery Sector vessels would fish on rotating schedules to limit daily
effort, would utilize a sentinel vessel to survey the area for the
presence of spawning fish, and would utilize a bycatch/spawning fish
notification system through an onboard computer system to reduce the
potential for sector vessels to overharvest spawning stocks of fish.
Northeast Fishery Sectors requesting this exemption would restrict the
harvesting of GOM cod in these areas by capping the percentage of the
sector's available ACE that could be taken during the requested
exemption period. Trawling vessels would minimize their gear impacts by
reducing the time that they tow their nets along the bottom. In
addition to abiding by all Federal fishing regulations, sector vessels
would adhere to all applicable Massachusetts Department of Marine
Fisheries cod conservation measures. Finally, the Northeast Fishery
Sectors contend that vessels fishing in the requested exemption areas
would provide additional data, which could improve scientific knowledge
for the purpose of protecting spawning cod.
NMFS is seeking public comment about these additional exemption
requests from the GOM Rolling Closure Areas due to the ancillary
benefits the GOM RCAs provide to spawning fish in the GOM, as well as
the protection these areas afford harbor porpoise and other marine
mammals.
2. 72-Hour Observer Notification Requirement
Vessels are currently required to call into the Northeast Fisheries
Observer Program 72 hours prior to leaving for a trip into a special
management program (Sec. 648.85). Eight of the 12 Northeast Fishery
Sectors and the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector are requesting exemption from
this requirement, arguing that, if they can hire an at-sea monitor
through a private contract arrangement with a NMFS-approved observer
company that can respond in less time, they should be able to do so.
NMFS is proposing to reduce this requirement from 72 hr to 48 hr in the
proposed rule for Amendment 16.
This notification requirement is necessary because of the
additional logistical demands imposed on the NMFS Observer Program
resulting from the increased NMFS funded at-sea monitoring program for
all groundfish vessels. An exemption from the observer notification
requirement is of significant concern due to the difficulties this
would pose for the NMFS Observer Program to maintain a random selection
of observer coverage. Lastly, an observer from the NMFS Observer
Program is required to gather more data than an at-sea monitor, thus
this exemption would reduce the amount of fisheries data available to
managers.
3. Halibut One-Fish Trip Limit
The Northeast Coastal Communities Sector has requested an exemption
from the NE multispecies FMP one-fish per trip Atlantic halibut
possession limit in order to allow member vessels to participate in the
State of Maine's halibut fishery, which has a 50-fish seasonal limit.
The sector rationalizes that because halibut mortality would be
controlled by existing state regulations, including area restrictions,
seasonal restrictions, a minimum size limit, a minimum trip limit, a
minimum hook size, and tagging requirements, mortality would remain
consistent with previous fishing practices.
The Atlantic halibut stock is currently overfished and experiencing
overfishing. The NE multispecies FMP includes a rebuilding program for
Atlantic halibut that permits a one-fish per trip possession limit to
prevent a targeted fishery while minimizing discards. Allowing an
exemption from the one-fish halibut trip limit specifically to allow
sector vessels to participate in a targeted halibut fishery would be
inconsistent with the rebuilding program of the FMP.
4. VMS Requirements
All 12 of the Northeast Fishery Sectors request a VMS exemption
that would allow a central sector server to relay member vessel catch
reports and logbook data to NMFS. Currently, catch data are sent
directly from the vessel to NMFS through VMS. The sector anticipates
that, in order to facilitate electronic data transmission from its
vessels to a sector-operated data collection and distribution Web
portal, an administrative exemption may be necessary to allow the
server to relay catch reports and logbook data on behalf of sector
member vessels. Thus, under this exemption, catch data would go from
the vessel to a central server maintained by the sector, and the
sector's server would then relay the data to NMFS.
NMFS' Office of Law Enforcement has raised serious concerns about
this exemption request, given that the chain of custody of catch
information would be interrupted and, therefore, open to tampering.
Until such time that NMFS can ensure that the flow of information under
such an exemption is tamper-proof, this type of reporting exemption
would be difficult to approve.
5. Electronic VTRs (eVTRs)
All of the Northeast Fishery Sectors, as well as the Sustainable
Harvest and Tri-State Sectors, requested permission to use eVTRs in
place of paper VTRs to transmit catch data to NMFS. A pilot study is
currently being developed that would use eVTRs as well as paper VTRs to
determine the viability of eVTRs as a replacement to the paper version.
Should the pilot study, which will include both sector and common pool
vessels, determine that eVTRs can fulfill all necessary requirements,
this option could be considered at a later date. However, NMFS
considers it premature to allow eVTRs without first determining the
viability of this electronic report.
6. Fairlead Roller Spacing on De-Hookers
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector requested an exemption from the
prohibition on the use of de-hookers (crucifiers) with less than 6-inch
(15.24-cm) spacing between the fairlead rollers. The sector argues that
a prohibition on de-hookers requires a modification to longline gear
haulers that is inefficient and unnecessary. De-hookers with a spacing
of less than 6 inches (15.24-cm) were originally prohibited in the 2002
interim rule, and then included in Amendment 13, to discourage de-
hooking strategies that may reduce survival rates of discarded fish.
NMFS believes that this exemption request is not warranted because
the current prohibition minimizes the mortality of discarded fish.
7. Minimum Fish Size Requirements
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector and the Tri-State Sector requested an
exemption from the minimum groundfish fish size requirements. Current
regulations specify minimum size (total length) for nine groundfish
species: Cod, haddock, pollock, witch flounder, yellowtail flounder,
American plaice, Atlantic halibut, winter flounder, and Acadian
redfish. The GB Cod Fixed Gear sector argues that allowing full
retention of all catch would eliminate discards and increase
profitability without additional mortality. Further, the sector
contends that, because 100-percent discard mortality is presently
assumed by NMFS, and because the sector's ACE, which would cap the
sector's catch, would be debited for all discards, the sectors should
be allowed to land fish less than the current minimum fish size. The
Tri-State Sector, which requests an exemption from the
[[Page 68024]]
Federal minimum fish size requirements for American plaice and witch
flounder, states that many of these fish that their member vessels
catch are less than one inch (2.54-cm) smaller than the current minimum
fish size requirements and are already dead when discarded, thus making
the requirement of discarding sub-legal fish wasteful.
NMFS has a serious concern about exempting vessels from the minimum
fish size, as this would present significant enforcement issues by
allowing two different fish sizes in the marketplace. NMFS is also
concerned that this exemption could potentially increase the targeting
of juvenile fish.
Requested Exemptions Previously Prohibited or Included in Amendment 16
Exemptions requested by several sectors for increased access to
Special Access Programs (SAPs), inter-sector DAS leasing, and a
decrease in the minimum mesh size requirements for gillnets, are either
specifically prohibited in Amendment 16 or are already included in the
Amendment 16 proposed rule. Accordingly, these exemptions are not
proposed in this rule.
As previously stated, Amendment 16 prohibits sectors from
requesting exemptions from year-round closed areas, permitting
restrictions, gear restrictions designed to minimize habitat impacts,
and reporting requirements (excluding DAS reporting requirements). The
Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder SAP and the Eastern U.S./Canada
Haddock SAP are both programs that provide seasonal access to year-
round closed areas. Exemptions that would expand access to these year-
round closures would be prohibited under Amendment 16.
Exemption requests to authorize inter-sector DAS leasing, year-
round access to the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, and a decrease in the
minimum mesh size requirements for gillnets in the GOM from January to
April are all proposed in Amendment 16. In addition, an exemption from
regulations pertaining to the possession of additional nets while using
either a haddock separator trawl or a Ruhle trawl is being proposed in
the Amendment 16 regulations as a correction, since this omission in
the current regulations is the result of an administrative oversight in
a previous rulemaking.
Northeast Fishery Sector IV, which would operate as a lease-only
sector, originally requested a suite of exemptions similar to those
requested by other Northeast Fishery Sectors. However, because the
permitted vessels within Northeast Fishery Sector IV (the transferor)
would undertake no actual fishing operations, the exemption requests
would not be applicable and are, therefore, moot and not proposed in
this rule.
Sector EAs
In order to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, an
EA was prepared for each operations plan. All sector EAs are tiered
from the Environmental Impact Statement
