Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Gulf of Alaska License Limitation Program, 15826-15841 [2011-6723]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15826-15841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6723]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

15 CFR Part 902

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 0912021424-1182-03]
RIN 0648-AY42


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Gulf of 
Alaska License Limitation Program

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to implement Amendment 86 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. This 
action adds a Pacific cod endorsement on licenses issued under the 
License Limitation Program (LLP) in specific management areas if those 
licenses have been used on vessels that met minimum recent landing 
requirements using non-trawl gear, commonly known as fixed gear. This 
action exempts vessels that use jig gear from the requirement to hold 
an LLP license, modifies the maximum length designation on a specific 
set of fixed gear licenses, and allows entities representing specific 
communities to receive a limited number of fixed-gear licenses with 
Pacific cod endorsements. This action is intended to promote the goals 
and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, the Fishery Management Plan, and other applicable law.

DATES: Effective April 21, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of Amendment 86, the Environmental 
Assessment (EA), Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the Final 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) for this action are available 
from https://www.regulations.gov or from the Alaska Region Web site at 
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this 
final rule may be submitted to NMFS, Alaska Region, P.O. Box 21668, 
Juneau, AK 99802-1668, Attn: Ellen Sebastian, Records Officer; in 
person at NMFS, Alaska Region, 709 West 9th Street, Room 420A, Juneau, 
AK; and by e-mail to OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov, or fax to 202-395-
7285.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenn Merrill, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on the License Limitation Program

    The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) manages the groundfish 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands Management Area (BSAI) and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) under the 
fishery management plans (FMPs) for groundfish in the respective areas. 
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) recommended, and 
NMFS approved, the FMPs under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
Regulations implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR part 679. General 
regulations governing U.S. fisheries also appear at 50 CFR part 600.
    The Council and NMFS have long sought to control the amount of 
fishing in the North Pacific Ocean to ensure that fisheries are 
conservatively managed and do not exceed established biological 
thresholds. One of the measures used by the Council and

[[Page 15827]]

NMFS is the license limitation program (LLP), which limits access to 
the groundfish, crab, and scallop fisheries in the BSAI and GOA. The 
LLP is intended to limit entry into federally managed fisheries. For 
groundfish, the LLP requires that persons hold and assign a license for 
each vessel that is used to fish in federally managed fisheries, with 
some limited exemptions. The Council initially envisioned the LLP as an 
early step in a long-term plan to establish a comprehensive 
rationalization program for groundfish in the North Pacific.
    The LLP for groundfish fisheries was recommended by the Council as 
Amendments 39 and 41 to the BSAI and GOA groundfish FMPs, respectively. 
The Council adopted the LLP for groundfish in June 1995, and NMFS 
approved Amendments 39 and 41 on September 12, 1997. NMFS published a 
final rule to implement the LLP on October 1, 1998 (63 FR 52642), and 
LLP licenses were required for Federal groundfish fisheries beginning 
on January 1, 2000. The preamble to the final rule implementing the 
groundfish LLP and the EA/RIR/FRFA prepared for this action describe 
the rationale and specific provisions of the LLP in greater detail (see 
ADDRESSES) and are not repeated here. The key components of the LLP are 
briefly summarized below.
    The LLP for groundfish establishes specific criteria that must be 
met to allow a person to deploy a vessel to directed fish in most 
federally managed groundfish fisheries. An LLP license must be assigned 
to each vessel that is used to participate in directed fishing for most 
groundfish species. The term directed fishing and the specific 
groundfish species for which an LLP license is required are defined in 
regulations at Sec.  679.2. Exceptions to the LLP license requirement 
apply if the vessel is less than 26 feet length overall (LOA) and 
fishing in the GOA; less than 32 feet LOA and fishing in the BSAI; or 
less than 60 feet LOA, using jig gear in the BSAI, and deploying no 
more than five jigging machines (See Sec.  679.4(k)(2)).
    Under the LLP, NMFS issues licenses that (1) endorse fishing 
activities in specific regulatory areas in the BSAI and GOA; (2) 
restrict the length of the vessel on which the LLP license may be used, 
known as the maximum length overall (MLOA); (3) designate the fishing 
gear that may be used on the vessel (i.e., trawl or non-trawl gear 
designations); and (4) designate the type of vessel operation permitted 
(i.e., LLP licenses designate whether the vessel to which the LLP is 
assigned may operate as a catcher vessel or as a catcher/processor). 
The endorsements for specific regulatory areas, gear designations, and 
vessel operational types are non-severable from the LLP license (i.e., 
once an LLP license is issued, the components of the LLP license cannot 
be transferred independently). By creating LLP licenses with these 
characteristics, the Council and NMFS limited the ability of a person 
to assign an LLP license that was derived from the historic landing 
activity of a vessel in one area using a specific fishing gear, or 
operational type, to be used in other areas, with other gears, or with 
other operational types in a manner that could expand fishing capacity. 
The preamble to the final rule implementing the groundfish LLP provides 
a more detailed explanation of the rationale for specific provisions in 
the LLP (October 1, 1998; 63 FR 52642).
    When the Council initially recommended the LLP, the Council 
intended that NMFS determine whether a vessel met a minimum number of 
landings to qualify the owner of that vessel to receive an LLP license 
with a specific gear, area, and operational type endorsement. However, 
the regulations that implemented the LLP used the phrase ``documented 
harvest'' instead of ``landing.'' NMFS asserted that the phrase 
documented harvest was synonymous with the phrase landing, and that the 
phrase documented harvest provided additional clarity to the public 
that the phrase landing did not. NMFS' assertion that these two phrases 
were synonymous was subsequently challenged in court (Trojan 
Partnership v. Gutierrez, 425 F. 3d 620 (9th Cir. 2005)). The Court 
held that these phrases were not synonymous. In order to be consistent 
with Council intent when originally implementing the LLP, as well as 
the specific criteria recommended by the Council for this action, this 
action uses landings, and not documented harvests, as the basis for 
determining whether an LLP license holder will meet the regulatory 
requirements for Amendment 86.
    The regulatory areas for which LLP licenses were issued include the 
Bering Sea (BS), Aleutian Islands (AI); Southeast Outside District 
(SEO); Central Gulf of Alaska (CG), which includes the West Yakutat 
District adjacent to the SEO; and Western Gulf of Alaska (WG). The 
documented harvest requirements established in the final rule 
implementing the LLP, for a specific area differed depending on the 
size of the vessel and the operational type of the vessel. The phrase 
``documented harvest'' is used in this description of the qualifying 
criteria for the LLP as originally implemented to be consistent with 
the terminology used in that final rule (October 1, 1998; 63 FR 52642). 
For example, for a vessel owner to receive an endorsement for non-trawl 
gear in the CG with a catcher/processor designation, a vessel must have 
met the minimum documented harvest requirements in the CG using non-
trawl gear and the documented harvests must have been caught and 
processed onboard the vessel.
    In 2000, NMFS issued groundfish LLP licenses with the appropriate 
regulatory area endorsements, gear, vessel length, and vessel 
operational type designations based on the documented harvests of 
vessels. NMFS issued more than 300 LLP licenses endorsed for trawl 
gear, and more than 1,000 licenses for non-trawl gear for use in the 
BSAI and GOA. Non-trawl gear is commonly known as fixed gear and 
includes hook-and-line, pot, and jig gear. In many cases trawl and 
fixed gear LLP licenses were endorsed for multiple regulatory areas 
(e.g., WG, CG, and BS) if a vessel met the minimum number of documented 
harvests in more than one area. Additionally, a number of LLP licenses 
were also designated for both trawl and fixed gear in cases where the 
vessel met the documented harvests requirements using both trawl and 
fixed gear.
    After LLP licenses were initially issued in 2000, NMFS became 
aware, through public testimony from fishing industry representatives 
and an independent review of landings data, that a substantial number 
of trawl and/or fixed gear endorsed LLP licenses were not being used 
for fishing in some, or all, of the regulatory areas for which they 
were endorsed. A variety of factors could result in the lack of use of 
an LLP license, including poor economic conditions in groundfish 
fisheries, choices by LLP license holders to focus on fisheries such as 
salmon or halibut that do not require the use of an LLP license, or 
other reasons specific to a license holder. LLP licenses that are valid 
but are not currently being used on a vessel are commonly known as 
``latent'' LLP licenses.
    In early 2007, the Council began reviewing the use of trawl-
endorsed LLP licenses in the GOA and BSAI. In April 2008, after more 
than a year of review, development of an analysis, and extensive public 
comment, the Council adopted Amendment 92 to the BSAI FMP and Amendment 
82 to the GOA FMP, both of which modified the LLP regarding eligibility 
criteria for trawl endorsements on LLP licenses. Amendments 92 and 82 
removed trawl endorsements from LLP licenses that did not meet specific 
landing requirements during 2000 through 2006.

[[Page 15828]]

NMFS published a notice of availability for Amendments 92 and 82 on 
December 12, 2008 (73 FR 75659). A proposed rule was published on 
December 30, 2008 (73 FR 79773). NMFS approved Amendments 92 and 82 on 
March 16, 2009, and published a final rule implementing them on August 
14, 2009 (74 FR 41080).
    In late 2007, the Council began a similar process of reviewing the 
use of LLP licenses endorsed for fixed gear in the GOA. This review was 
initiated primarily at the request of active GOA fixed gear fishery 
participants who were concerned that holders of latent fixed-gear 
endorsed LLP licenses could resume fishing under the licenses in the 
future and thereby adversely affect active GOA fixed gear LLP licenses 
holders' fishing operations as well as the biological health of the 
fishery. Specifically, fixed-gear participants were concerned about the 
potential effects of additional effort in the GOA Pacific cod fishery 
that could increase competition and overcapacity in the fishery. 
Pacific cod is the primary fishery targeted by vessels using fixed gear 
in the GOA. In both the CG and WG regulatory areas, approximately one-
fourth of the eligible LLP licenses were actively being used. The 
potential overcapacity from the remaining latent LLP licenses could 
have adverse effects on management of the fisheries. Increased fishery 
effort could make it more difficult for NMFS to close fisheries in a 
timely manner, thereby exceeding the total allowable catch (TAC) for a 
fishery.
    During the development of this action, the Council also received 
input from the public requesting modification to the LLP to establish 
minimum landing requirements that must be met to allow a vessel to 
continue to participate in the Pacific cod fixed-gear fisheries in the 
GOA consistent with the approach adopted by the Council in 2002, under 
Amendment 67 to the FMP for groundfish of the BSAI (April 15, 2002; 67 
FR 18129). Amendment 67 established a Pacific cod endorsement on LLP 
licenses that is required for vessels using hook-and-line and pot gear 
to participate in the directed fishery for Pacific cod in the BSAI. The 
term ``directed fishing'' is defined in regulation at Sec.  679.2 and 
includes retained catch of Pacific cod that exceeds a minimum 
proportion of the total retained catch onboard a vessel. In April 2009, 
after more than a year of review and extensive public comment, the 
Council recommended modifications to the LLP to revise eligibility 
criteria for fixed gear endorsements on LLP licenses. The Council 
amended its final action in December 2009 to incorporate a change in 
the specific method used to allocate Pacific cod endorsed LLP licenses 
for specific persons (see the description under Action 4 of this 
preamble for additional detail).

Notice of Availability and Proposed Rule

    NMFS published the notice of availability for Amendment 86 on July 
2, 2010 (75 FR 38452), with a public comment period that closed on 
August 31, 2010. NMFS published the proposed rule for this action on 
July 23, 2010 (75 FR 43118), with a public comment period that closed 
on September 7, 2010. Amendment 86 was approved by NMFS on September 
29, 2010. NMFS received two public comments from two unique persons on 
Amendment 86 and the proposed rule; these are summarized and responded 
to below. These comments did not result in any modification to the 
proposed rule.

Actions Implemented by Rule

    This rule implements four different actions, all of which were 
components of the Council's final action.
     Action 1: Establishes a GOA Pacific cod endorsement for 
fixed gear LLP licenses.
     Action 2: Exempts certain vessels using jig gear in the 
GOA from the requirement to carry an LLP license.
     Action 3: Modifies the MLOA of certain LLP licenses.
     Action 4: Allows specific GOA community entities to 
request and receive LLP licenses with a Pacific cod endorsement.
    The rationale and effects of these four actions are described in 
detail in the preamble to the proposed rule (July 23, 2010; 75 FR 
43118), and are briefly summarized here. For additional detail, please 
see the proposed rule preamble (See ADDRESSES).
Action 1: Establishes a Pacific Cod Endorsement for Fixed Gear LLP 
Licenses
    This rule assigns Pacific cod endorsements to LLP licenses that 
have met minimum landing requirements from January 1, 2002, through 
December 8, 2008, or that meet a specific exemption described below. 
This action preemptively reduces the potential adverse effects of 
overharvesting the GOA Pacific cod resource if latent LLP license 
holders became active in the fishery.

Criteria for Assigning a Pacific Cod Endorsement

    This rule assigns a Pacific cod fishery endorsement to an LLP 
license based on landings in the directed Pacific cod fishery in the 
GOA from January 1, 2002, through December 8, 2008, made by vessels 
operating under the authority of that LLP license. NMFS will assign 
Pacific cod endorsements that are designated for (1) hook-and-line, 
pot, or jig gear; (2) specific GOA regulatory areas (i.e., CG and WG); 
and (3) specific operational types (i.e., catcher vessels or catcher/
processors). LLP licenses with an MLOA of less than 60 feet have 
different landing requirements compared to LLP licenses with an MLOA 
equal to or greater than 60 feet. Table 1 summarizes the landing 
requirement criteria that must be met for each gear type, regulatory 
area, operational type, and MLOA of the LLP license.

                Table 1--Summary of Landing Requirements for a Fixed Gear Pacific Cod Endorsement
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                                                                                      Landing requirement in the
                                                 Operational                             Pacific cod  directed
       Regulatory area           Gear type         type of          MLOA of  LLP        fishery from January 1,
                                                 Pacific cod           license         2002, through December 8,
                                                 endorsement                                     2008
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CG..........................  Hook-and-line..  Catcher vessel.  < 60 feet...........  10 metric tons (mt).
                                                                >= 60 feet..........  50 mt.
                                               Catcher/         All.................  50 mt.
                                                Processor.
                              Jig*...........  Catcher vessel.  All.................  1 landing.
                                               Catcher/         All.................
                                                Processor.
                              Pot............  Catcher vessel.  < 60 feet...........  10 mt
                                                                >= 60 feet..........  50 mt.

[[Page 15829]]

 
                                               Catcher/         All.................  50 mt.
                                                Processor.
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WG..........................  Hook-and-line..  Catcher vessel.  < 60 feet...........  10 mt.
                                                                >= 60 feet..........  50 mt.
                                               Catcher/         All.................  50 mt.
                                                Processor.
                              Jig*...........  Catcher vessel.  All.................  1 landing.
                                               Catcher/         All.................
                                                Processor.
                              Pot............  Catcher vessel.  < 60 feet...........  10 mt.
                                                                >= 60 feet..........  50 mt.
                                               Catcher/         All.................  50 mt.
                                                Processor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* LLP licenses and Pacific cod endorsements will be required only if a vessel uses more than five jigging
  machines, five lines, and more than 30 hooks per line.

    A fixed gear LLP endorsement for Pacific cod reduces the risk that 
vessel operators could assign latent LLP licenses to other vessels, 
effectively reactivating those licenses and thereby increasing the 
amount of fixed gear effort in the Pacific cod fisheries. This 
additional effort could increase the harvest rate in the fixed-gear 
Pacific cod fishery as well as adversely affect currently active 
participants by increasing competition, diluting their potential gross 
revenues, and creating incentives for harvesters to race for fish in a 
potentially wasteful manner. This action effectively removes the 
potential for new effort in the fishery beyond currently active 
participants, as defined by this rule. This action provides additional 
control on fishing effort in the GOA Pacific cod fishery that is not 
provided under the current structure of the LLP.
    This action does not include modifications to SEO-endorsed licenses 
because fishing effort in this regulatory area is currently low. The 
risk of additional effort in the fishery from latent fixed gear LLP 
license holders was deemed to be unlikely by the Council given the 
relatively small number of eligible LLP licenses and the TAC for 
Pacific cod in the SEO. This action does not include the BS or AI 
regulatory areas because a Pacific cod endorsement requirement has 
already been established for LLP licenses using fixed gear in these 
areas under Amendment 67 to the BSAI FMP (April 15, 2002; 67 FR 18129).

Rationale for Landing Requirements

    The Council considered a range of options and alternatives to 
determine the minimum number of landings required to receive a Pacific 
cod endorsement. The range of years was selected by the Council based 
on the first year that NMFS could definitively assign landings data to 
a specific LLP license (2002), and a period year that represented the 
last year for which NMFS had data available on recent participation in 
the Pacific cod fisheries (December 8, 2008). The specific date of 
December 8, 2008, corresponds to the date that the Council selected as 
a control date after which landings would not be considered for 
purposes of qualifying for a Pacific cod endorsement. The Council 
recommended a control date to ensure that fishery participants did not 
engage in fishing practices for the sole purpose of qualifying for a 
Pacific cod endorsement, and to ensure that fishery landings represent 
sustained participation in the directed Pacific cod fishery. The 
Council balanced more recent participation against considerations of 
economic dependence and historical fishing practices when selecting the 
nearly 7-year time frame from January 1, 2002, through December 8, 
2008. Groundfish harvested incidentally by vessels participating in any 
other fishery are excluded for the purpose of determining recent 
participation for this action because it is not considered directed 
fishing for Pacific cod.
    The Council recommended that only catch from vessels fishing under 
the Federal TAC in either the Federal or parallel fishery would be 
included. The Federal TAC may be harvested in Federal waters, or in 
State of Alaska waters under a ``parallel fishery.'' A parallel fishery 
occurs when the State of Alaska opens state waters concurrent with the 
Federal fishing season to allow vessels to access the Federal TAC in 
both state and Federal waters. The Council recommended including this 
catch because both of these fisheries have participants that are 
subject to Federal regulation, and vessels transit between state and 
Federal waters when harvesting Pacific cod that is assigned to the TAC. 
Catch from vessels fishing in the State of Alaska's Guideline Harvest 
Limit GHL Pacific cod fishery would not be included as qualifying catch 
to meet the requirements for a Pacific cod endorsement because this 
catch is not federally managed, is not subject to the TAC, and is 
managed exclusively by the State of Alaska.
    After a review of groundfish catch history, the Council determined 
that different landing criteria should apply to different gear types, 
vessel operation types, and LLP MLOAs during the 7-year period from 
January 1, 2002, through December 8, 2008. The landing criteria 
recommended by the Council represent a minimal, but sufficient, amount 
of participation in the Pacific cod fishery to indicate some level of 
dependence on the fishery. The Council recommended that landing 
requirements apply to each regulatory area so that authority to fish 
Pacific cod could be removed only for those regulatory areas where 
minimum landing requirements were not met. Therefore, LLP licenses that 
were active in more than one regulatory area might meet the minimum 
landing requirements in one area but not another. The Council 
recommended this action to accomplish the goal of reducing the effects 
of potentially hundreds of new entrants into the Pacific cod fishery.
    The preamble to the proposed rule, and sections 2 and 3 of the EA/
RIR/FRFA prepared to support this rule contain a detailed description 
of the alternative landing requirements considered, and the rationale 
for the specific landing requirements chosen for each of the fixed gear 
types (see

[[Page 15830]]

ADDRESSES). That discussion is not repeated here.
    Under this rule, a Pacific cod endorsement is required on all LLP 
licenses assigned to vessels using fixed gear to directed fish for 
Pacific cod in the WGOA and CGOA. Catcher vessels that use jig gear and 
meet specific vessel size and gear requirements will be exempt from the 
requirement to use an LLP license with a Pacific cod endorsement. This 
exemption is described in detail under Action 2. Other than the 
exemption described under Action 2, all vessels using fixed gear that 
are required to have an LLP license when fishing under the Federal TAC 
in either Federal or state waters are required to have a Pacific cod 
endorsement on the LLP license when directed fishing for Pacific cod. 
However, this requirement does not apply to vessels fishing in the 
Pacific cod GHL fishery, which is managed exclusively by the State of 
Alaska.
    If a vessel, or vessels, to which an LLP license has been assigned 
meets minimum landings requirements applicable to a type of fixed gear 
and LLP license MLOA in a specific regulatory area during the period 
January 1, 2002, through December 8, 2008, then the LLP license used on 
that vessel, or vessels, will be assigned a Pacific cod fixed gear 
endorsement for those specific gear type(s) or specific regulatory 
area(s). An LLP license qualifies for more than one endorsement (i.e., 
pot, hook-and-line, and/or jig) if it has qualified landings using more 
than one gear type.
    In addition to issuing fixed gear endorsements based on directed 
harvests of Pacific cod during the January 1, 2002, through December 8, 
2008, period, NMFS will issue Pacific cod endorsements to a limited 
number of LLP licenses that meet specific conditions even if those LLP 
licenses did not meet the minimum landing requirements. Specifically, 
NMFS will assign Pacific cod endorsements to LLP licenses that 
currently (1) have a catcher/processor endorsement; (2) were assigned 
to vessels that did not meet minimum landing requirements to qualify 
for a Pacific cod endorsement for catcher/processors using hook-and-
line gear in either regulatory area where those LLP licenses are 
endorsed; and (3) were assigned to vessels that participated in 
industry efforts to reduce halibut prohibited species catch in the 
directed Pacific cod fishery in the GOA during 2006, 2007, or 2008.
    This provision is intended to ensure that LLP license holders who 
decided not to use their vessels in the GOA during 2006, 2007, or 2008 
will receive a Pacific cod endorsement. Specifically, this provision 
applies to LLP licenses that did not fish in the GOA in order to 
minimize halibut prohibited species catch. Hook-and-line catcher/
processors minimize bycatch through voluntary private contractual 
arrangements. NMFS has a record of all LLP licenses that were used on 
catcher/processor vessels participating in the voluntary private 
contractual arrangements from 2006 through 2008. A list of LLP 
licenses, based on the best available catch data, eligible for this 
exemption (and thus able to receive an endorsement) appears at table 2 
of this preamble.
    In some cases, an LLP license is eligible to receive an endorsement 
if it met the landing requirement in either the CG or WG, and it 
qualifies for the exemption in the other regulatory area if it did not 
otherwise meet the landing requirement in that area. Table 2 notes 
whether an LLP license qualifies for the exemption in an area, or 
qualifies under the landing requirements in an area. An LLP license is 
not eligible for an endorsement exemption to a regulatory area if that 
LLP license had not been assigned an endorsement for that area prior to 
this action.

           Table 2--LLP Licenses Qualifying for Hook-and-Line Catcher/Processor Endorsement Exemption
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Eligible for CG
        LLP License No.              endorsement                Eligible for WG endorsement exemption
                                      exemption
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LLG 1400.......................  Yes...............  No (Qualifies under landing requirements).
LLG 1713.......................  Yes...............  No (Not eligible for an endorsement).
LLG 1785.......................  Yes...............  No (Qualifies under landing requirements).
LLG 1916.......................  Yes...............  No (Qualifies under landing requirements).
LLG 2112.......................  Yes...............  Yes.
LLG 2783.......................  Yes...............  No (Not eligible for an endorsement).
LLG 2892.......................  Yes...............  No (Qualifies under landing requirements).
LLG 2958.......................  Yes...............  No (Not eligible for an endorsement).
LLG 3616.......................  Yes...............  No (Not eligible for an endorsement).
LLG 3617.......................  Yes...............  No (Qualifies under landing requirements).
LLG 3676.......................  Yes...............  No (Qualifies under landing requirements).
LLG 4823.......................  Yes...............  No (Qualifies under landing requirements).
LLG 2081.......................  No (Qualifies       Yes.
                                  under landing
                                  requirements).
LLG 3090.......................  No (Not eligible    Yes.
                                  for an
                                  endorsement).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table 2 indicates that under this exemption, NMFS will issue 12 CG 
and three WG endorsements. An LLP license that receives a Pacific cod 
hook-and-line catcher/processor endorsement under this exemption can 
only be assigned to a vessel participating in the Pacific cod offshore 
sector that is fishing in the regulatory area of the GOA for which the 
endorsement is received. Regulations at Sec.  679.2 define the inshore 
and offshore sector for Pacific cod. Current regulations assign the 
offshore sector of the GOA Pacific cod fishery 10 percent of the TAC in 
the CG and WG. The remaining 90 percent of the TAC will be assigned for 
vessels in the inshore sector.
    In this rule, NMFS implements the Council's recommendation that LLP 
licenses receiving an endorsement under this provision ``only be 
allowed to participate in the offshore fishery'' by requiring that 
vessels fishing in a regulatory area for which they receive an 
endorsement under this exemption register and fish only in the offshore 
sector in that area.
    The rule retains the requirement that vessel owners elect annually 
on their Federal Fisheries Permit application whether to participate in 
the inshore or the offshore sector of the GOA. Therefore, a vessel 
operator who is assigned an LLP license with a Pacific cod endorsement 
exemption cannot participate in the inshore sector in one regulatory 
area and the offshore sector in another regulatory area in the GOA 
during the same calendar year.
    This rule modifies regulations at Sec.  679.7 to clarify that once 
an LLP holder operates in either the inshore or the offshore sector in 
the GOA, any vessel to which that LLP license is

[[Page 15831]]

assigned cannot participate in the sector not selected for the 
remainder of the calendar year. This modification ensures that LLP 
license holders cannot alternate activities between the inshore and 
offshore sector, and potentially disadvantage other fishery 
participants who are only able to, or only choose to, annually 
participate in one sector. Additional detail on the inshore and 
offshore sector management is provided in the preamble to the proposed 
rule (see ADDRESSES). That discussion is not repeated here.

Determining Landings Assigned to an LLP License

    Starting in 2002, NMFS has required that an LLP license designate a 
specific vessel on which it was being used. This requirement provides 
NMFS the information necessary to assign landings to a specific LLP, 
and allows NMFS to verify the use of an LLP license on a specific 
vessel. When information about the use of an LLP license on a specific 
vessel is combined with vessel landings records, NMFS can determine how 
many landings may be assigned to a specific LLP license during the 
January 1, 2002, through December 8, 2008, qualifying period. If an LLP 
license is not assigned a sufficient amount or number of landings in a 
specific regulatory area by vessel operation type and gear type for 
that MLOA, then under this rule NMFS will not issue a Pacific cod 
endorsement for that LLP license, unless that LLP license is eligible 
for an exemption from landing requirements as previously described for 
specific hook-and-line catcher/processor endorsed LLP licenses.
    If a vessel was designated on more than one LLP license at the time 
of a creditable landing, NMFS will assign the credit for any of the 
vessel's landings to all LLP licenses assigned to, or ``stacked,'' on 
that vessel at that time. Therefore, NMFS may credit a single landing 
to more than one LLP license. Because NMFS' catch accounting system 
does not indicate how specific landings should be assigned to multiple 
LLP licenses assigned to a vessel at the time a landing was made, this 
provision should resolve any potential disputes that could arise about 
the assignment of specific landings.
    In order to receive a Pacific cod endorsement for either the CG or 
WG, an LLP holder with a valid LLP license will have to either 
demonstrate that it had sufficient cumulative landings of Pacific cod 
for fishing years 2002 through 2008, or that it landed a sufficient 
total amount of fish during that period, or that the LLP license holder 
qualifies for such an endorsement pursuant to the exception listed 
above.
Action 2: Exempt Certain Vessels Using Jig Gear From the Requirement to 
Carry an LLP License
    The second action under this rule exempts vessels using jig gear in 
the GOA from the requirement to be assigned an LLP license, provided 
those vessels do not use more than five jigging machines, more than one 
line per machine, and more than 30 hooks on any one line.
    This exemption is similar to an exemption that currently applies to 
jig gear vessels operating in the BSAI. Regulations at Sec.  679.4 
exempt vessels less than 60 ft LOA using a maximum of five jig 
machines, no more than one line per jig machine, and no more than 15 
hooks per line, from the requirements of the LLP in the BSAI. The 
restrictions on jig gear are consistent with the gear allowed in the 
GOA state waters Pacific cod jig fisheries. State regulations allow the 
use of up to 150 hooks for vessels participating in the state GHL 
fishery.
    Jig gear operators who meet the landing threshold described under 
Action 1 will receive a Pacific cod endorsement for jig gear that 
allows a vessel using an LLP license with this endorsement to use more 
than five jigging machines, more than five lines, and more than 30 
hooks per line.
    Additional detail on the rationale for the jig gear exemption is 
provided in the preamble to the proposed rule (see ADDRESSES). That 
discussion is not repeated here.
Action 3: Modifies the MLOA of Certain LLP Licenses
    The third action under this rule modifies the MLOA specified on 
certain LLP licenses that are eligible to receive a Pacific cod 
endorsement under two different scenarios.
    The first modification applies if (1) an LLP license has a 
specified MLOA greater than or equal to 60 feet; (2) that LLP license 
was consistently assigned to a single vessel under 60 feet LOA from 
January 1, 2002, through December 8, 2008; and (3) the vessel to which 
the LLP license was assigned met the landing thresholds applicable to 
LLP licenses with a specified MLOA under 60 feet. If these criteria are 
met, NMFS will issue a Pacific cod endorsement for the applicable gear 
type to the LLP license but modify the MLOA of the LLP license to match 
the LOA of the vessel to which the LLP license was assigned. In no case 
can the resulting MLOA specified on the LLP license be greater than 60 
feet. This modification ensures that vessel owners can continue to use 
the vessel and LLP licenses in the fisheries as they had during the 
January 1, 2002, through December 8, 2008, time period and the LLP 
licenses receive a Pacific cod endorsement applicable to the length of 
the vessel to which the LLP license was assigned. This modification 
reduces the overall MLOA specified on those LLP licenses that meet 
these criteria.
    To determine the MLOA that will be specified on the LLP license, 
NMFS will use the LOA of the vessel to which the LLP license is 
assigned on the effective date of this rule. If the LLP holder 
disagrees with the LOA on file with NMFS and wishes to provide data to 
NMFS to establish a different LOA for the vessel, this rule requires 
that the LLP license holder provide a survey conducted by a naval 
architect or marine surveyor independent from the vessel owner or LLP 
license holder to verify the LOA of the vessel. A vessel owner has 90 
days from the effective date of this rule to provide the survey to 
NMFS. NMFS will not assign a Pacific cod endorsement to an LLP license 
holder with a greater vessel LOA than that shown in NMFS' record unless 
a timely independent survey was submitted and received by NMFS. If no 
survey is provided within the 90-day time frame, NMFS will reissue the 
LLP license with the MLOA equal to the LOA of the vessel to which the 
LLP license was assigned based on the LOA on file with NMFS. No LLP 
license that receives a Pacific cod endorsement under this provision 
can have an MLOA greater than 60 feet under any circumstance to ensure 
that the intent of the Council's recommendation is met. This procedure 
provides an opportunity for an LLP license holder to amend NMFS' 
official record consistent with the appeals process described below in 
this preamble.
    This exemption applies only if an LLP license had been continuously 
assigned to a vessel under 60 feet LOA during that period. The 
redesignation of the MLOA on an LLP license that qualifies under this 
provision effectively prohibits the use of that LLP license on larger 
vessels that may have greater harvest capacity, but allows smaller 
vessels that had been assigned that LLP license to continue to operate 
in the Pacific cod fishery.
    The second modification of an LLP MLOA applies if an LLP license 
(1) is eligible to receive a pot catcher vessel Pacific cod 
endorsement, and (2) has a specified MLOA of less than 50 feet. If 
these criteria are met, NMFS will redesignate the MLOA of those LLP 
licenses to be 50 feet. This modification

[[Page 15832]]

ensures that a limited number of vessel owners who had recently 
purchased vessels that are longer than the MLOA of the LLP license that 
is eligible to receive the Pacific cod endorsement can continue to use 
those LLP licenses on their longer vessels. This recommendation is 
consistent with the Council's goals of providing continuing 
opportunities for recent fishery participants and minimizing the 
potential for active participants to expand effort in the GOA Pacific 
cod fishery.
    Additional detail on the rationale for both MLOA modifications is 
provided in the preamble to the proposed rule (see ADDRESSES). That 
discussion is not repeated here.
Action 4: Allows Specific Community Entities To Request and Receive LLP 
Licenses With a Pacific Cod Endorsement
    The fourth action under this rule allows entities representing 
specific communities in the WG and CG to request a limited number of 
non-transferrable Pacific cod endorsed LLP licenses. NMFS will issue 
licenses that are endorsed for hook-and-line or pot gear with an MLOA 
of 60 feet. Once the community entity receives the LLP license, the 
community entity can assign that LLP license for use on a vessel 
designated by the entity. Prior to receiving the LLP license, the 
community entity eligible to receive the LLP license must submit a 
detailed plan describing how it will assign the LLP license to a 
specific vessel.
    Previously, the Council recommended, and the Secretary approved, 
Amendment 66 to the GOA FMP, which implemented management measures to 
provide harvest opportunities to specific communities in the GOA (April 
30, 2004; 69 FR 23681). Under Amendment 66, the Council defined a 
specific suite of smaller GOA communities that have historically 
participated in GOA fisheries but may lack some of the infrastructure 
and population base that could facilitate participation by residents of 
those communities in GOA fisheries, as compared to larger communities. 
Under Amendment 66, a community quota entity (CQE) was authorized to 
purchase halibut and sablefish quota share on behalf of the community 
it represents, and assign the resulting annual individual fishing quota 
(IFQ) to specific members of the community that meet minimum residency 
standards and other requirements. The CQE is intended to serve the 
interests of the community as a whole by providing access to fishery 
resources for residents of the community.
    Communities eligible under Amendment 66 (1) have a population of 
less than 1,500 and at least 20 persons based on the 2000 United States 
Census; (2) are located on the GOA coast of the North Pacific Ocean; 
(3) have direct saltwater access; (4) lack direct road access to 
communities with a population greater than 1,500 persons; (5) have 
historic participation in the halibut and sablefish fisheries; and (6) 
are listed in Table 21 to part 679. Seventeen communities that meet 
these criteria are located in the CG, and four communities are located 
in the WG.
    The Council chose to rely on the six criteria listed above under 
Amendment 66 to determine coastal communities that may benefit from the 
ability to retain or expand participation opportunities in the GOA 
Pacific cod fishery for their residents. This rule provides the CQEs 
that represent these communities the opportunity to enhance their 
access to fishery resources by providing CQEs with a limited number of 
Pacific cod endorsed fixed-gear LLP licenses.
    The Council recommended that if an eligible community in the CG or 
WG forms a CQE under existing regulations at Sec.  679.41(l)(3), that 
CQE could apply to receive a specified number of Pacific cod endorsed 
fixed-gear LLP licenses. If a CQE submitted a complete application for 
LLP licenses, NMFS will issue the CQE new LLP licenses with the 
applicable gear and area endorsements. CQEs that have already formed 
and been approved by NMFS are eligible to apply to receive LLP 
licenses.
    If new CQE communities are identified that meet the criteria 
established under Amendment 66, the Council could choose to recommend 
that those communities be included as eligible to receive a Pacific cod 
endorsed LLP license if those CQEs represented a community in the CG or 
WG. Adding new CQE communities and specifying the number of Pacific cod 
endorsed LLP licenses that a community could receive would need to be 
undertaken in future rulemaking. In December 2010, the Council 
recommended that three additional communities be allowed to form CQE's 
based on the fact that they meet the criteria established under 
Amendment 66. Those communities would need to be added to the CQE 
eligibility list in Table 21 to part 679 under separate rulemaking. 
Only one of the three communities, Cold Bay, is located in the WG and 
would be eligible to receive a non-transferable Pacific cod endorsed 
LLP license. Cold Bay would not be eligible to receive an additional 
license until subsequent rule making is completed.
    The Council clarified that a CQE can request a Pacific cod endorsed 
LLP license only for the area in which that community is located. CQE 
communities in the WG could receive only WG endorsed LLP licenses, and 
CQE communities in the CG could receive only CG endorsed LLP licenses.
    In order to receive LLP licenses, the CQE must meet several 
requirements. Prior to requesting LLP licenses, the CQE must provide 
NMFS with a plan for soliciting and determining recipients of the LLP 
licenses issued to the CQE. Specifically, CQEs need to provide NMFS 
with (1) a statement describing the procedures that will be used to 
determine the distribution of LLP licenses to residents of the 
community represented by that CQE; (2) procedures used to solicit 
requests from residents to be assigned an LLP license; and (3) criteria 
used to determine the distribution of the use of LLP licenses among 
qualified community residents and the relative weighting of those 
criteria.
    Second, once the CQE has submitted the application to NMFS and the 
CQE has selected a potential recipient to use the LLP license, NMFS 
requires that the CQE provide a letter of authorization to the vessel 
operator listing the specific person(s) and the specific vessel 
eligible to use an LLP license held by the CQE during a calendar year. 
An LLP license issued to a CQE cannot designate more than one vessel 
per calendar year. The CQE can amend the authorization letter to add 
additional persons authorized to use the LLP license on a vessel. The 
person designated to use the LLP license issued to the CQE is required 
to be onboard the vessel while the vessel is used to directed fish for 
Pacific cod or any other species authorized by that license. A copy of 
the authorization letter and any amendments to the authorization letter 
must be provided to NMFS, and a copy of that authorization letter and 
any amendments must be maintained onboard the vessel assigned the CQE's 
LLP license. Likewise, NMFS requires that the authorization letter be 
provided on or before the date that the LLP license is used on a vessel 
during a calendar year. Any amendments to the authorization to 
designate new authorized persons must be provided to NMFS prior to 
those persons using the CQE's Pacific cod LLP.
    As part of this authorization letter, NMFS requires that the CQE 
attest that the persons authorized to use the LLP license meet 
residency requirements. Specifically, the CQE must attest that

[[Page 15833]]

the authorized person (1) is a citizen of the United States; and (2) 
has maintained a domicile in a CQE community in the CG or WG eligible 
to receive an LLP license endorsed for Pacific cod for the 12 
consecutive months immediately preceding the time when the assertion of 
residence is made; and (3) is not claiming residency in another 
community, state, territory, or country, with an exception made for 
residents of the Village of Seldovia. Consistent with the definition of 
a resident under Amendment 66, residents of the Village of Seldovia 
shall be considered to be eligible community residents of the City of 
Seldovia for the purposes of eligibility to serve as an authorized 
vessel operator.
    These requirements ensure that residents of communities receive the 
benefits of the LLP licenses issued to CQEs. Only one vessel can use a 
specific LLP license issued to a CQE per year to eliminate the 
potential that an LLP license could be used on multiple vessels. A CQE 
may not designate more than one vessel in cases of vessel loss. Because 
a CQE can designate a new vessel each year prior to the start of the 
fishing season, the effect of restricting the use of an LLP to only one 
vessel per year would not be expected to be a long-term constraint on 
fishing operations.
    The CQE must provide an authorization letter assigning a specific 
vessel and designating the person(s) authorized use of the LLP license. 
The authorization letter requires that the CQE attest to individuals' 
residency, but does not require individuals to submit proof of 
residency to NMFS in order to use the LLP license issued to the CQE.
    The Council identified the specific communities that would be 
eligible to receive LLP licenses if they formed a CQE. Those 
communities are listed in this final rule in Table 50 to part 679.
    Several limitations apply to any LLP license that a CQE would 
receive. These include (1) all LLP licenses issued are non-
transferable; (2) a limited number of LLP licenses can be issued to 
each CQE; (3) the LLP licenses have an MLOA of 60 feet; and (4) the LLP 
licenses have specific gear endorsements.
    The number of LLP licenses that each CQE can request on behalf of a 
community is based on information indicating the number of LLP licenses 
held by residents of each eligible community and the estimated number 
of LLP licenses that will be extinguished under the other provisions of 
this action.
    The number of LLP licenses that each CQE community can request is 
based on the Council's December 2009 action, and that number is listed 
in this final rule at Table 50 to part 679.
    This rule modifies regulations at Sec.  679.7(i)(1)(i), which limit 
to 10 the maximum number of LLP licenses that a person may hold, to 
fully implement the Council's intent to allow CQEs to provide harvest 
opportunities for local residents. This rule amends regulations at 
Sec.  679.7(i) to prohibit the CQE representing the City of Sand Point 
from holding more than 14 groundfish LLP licenses, rather than 
prohibiting the CQE representing Sand Point from holding more than 10 
groundfish LLP licenses. The limit on the number of LLP licenses that a 
CQE may hold includes all LLP licenses that a CQE may receive under the 
provisions of this rule, and any LLP licenses a CQE may receive by 
transfer under the provisions at Sec.  679. The provision at 
679.7(i)(1)(i) is specific to Sand Point and not for all CQE's.
    The LLP licenses issued will have a specified MLOA of 60 feet. The 
gear endorsements on LLP licenses that can be requested by a CQE 
generally represent the overall harvest patterns by vessels using hook-
and-line and pot gear within each regulatory area. NMFS will issue LLP 
licenses endorsed only for pot gear to CQEs representing communities in 
the WG. CQEs representing communities in the CG, including Yakutat, 
have the option of selecting what proportion of their LLP licenses 
would have a pot endorsement or a hook-and-line endorsement, provided 
the CQE notified NMFS within six months of the effective date of this 
rule of their choice. Selection of gear type is a one-time permanent 
choice. If a CQE does not notify NMFS within this time frame, then NMFS 
will issue any LLP licenses that are requested by a CQE so that half 
the LLP licenses issued to the CQE are endorsed for pot gear and half 
are endorsed for hook-and-line gear. In cases where the total number of 
groundfish licenses issued on behalf of a community listed in Table 50 
to part 679 is not even, NMFS will issue one more groundfish license 
with a pot gear Pacific cod endorsement than the number of groundfish 
licenses with a hook-and-line gear Pacific cod endorsement.
    CQEs must submit annual reports consistent with the annual report 
requirements established under Amendment 66. CQE annual reports must be 
submitted to NMFS and the governing body of the community that the CQE 
represents. The Council requested that the CQE provide information in 
the annual reports describing the use of LLP licenses during a calendar 
year. The annual report includes (1) the number of community residents 
requesting an LLP license from the CQE; (2) a description of the 
distribution of LLP licenses among community residents; (3) vessels 
assigned to use the LLP licenses; (4) the number and residency of crew 
employed on a vessel using the LLP license; and (5) the amount of 
payments made to CQEs for use of the LLP licenses, if any. These annual 
reports are due by January 31 for the prior fishing year for each 
community represented by the CQE for which those LLP licenses were 
granted.
    NMFS did not establish an appeal process for CQEs to receive LLP 
licenses. NMFS is not removing or otherwise restricting existing 
harvest opportunities available to CQEs, so no appeal process is 
required. This rule allows CQEs to request LLP licenses provided the 
specific requirements detailed here are met. If those conditions are 
not met, NMFS will not issue LLP licenses to the CQEs. A potential CQE 
does have an opportunity to challenge and appeal the decision to 
certify its designation for a specific community. That provision is 
described in regulation at Sec.  679.41(l)(3).
    Additional detail on the issuance of Pacific cod endorsed LLP 
licenses to CQEs is provided in the preamble to the proposed rule (see 
ADDRESSES). That discussion is not repeated here.

Process for Assigning New Pacific Cod Endorsements

    NMFS will create an official record with all relevant information 
necessary to assign landings to specific LLP licenses. Prior to 
modifying any LLP licenses, NMFS will notify all fixed gear LLP license 
holders of the status of their LLP license endorsements (i.e., the 
endorsements for specific fixed gear, operational types, and regulatory 
areas). Should an LLP license holder disagree with NMFS' official 
record, NMFS will provide an opportunity for a person to submit 
information to rebut the presumptions made by NMFS.
    The official record created by NMFS contains vessel landings data, 
and the LLP licenses to which those landings are attributed. Evidence 
of the number and amount of landings in the Pacific cod fishery is 
based only on legally submitted NMFS weekly production reports for 
catcher/processors and state fish tickets for catcher vessels. In order 
to ensure that landings in the directed Pacific cod fishery are 
properly attributed to an LLP license, NMFS will assign any delivery of 
Pacific cod up to seven days after the closure of the Pacific cod 
season to an LLP license. The seven-day period accommodates

[[Page 15834]]

any final deliveries. The official record includes the records of the 
specific LLP licenses assigned to vessels and other relevant 
information necessary to attribute landings to specific LLP licenses. 
NMFS presumes the official record is correct, and a person wishing to 
challenge the presumptions in the official record bears the burden of 
proof through an evidentiary and appeals process. Regulations 
pertaining to appeals are described under Sec.  679.43. A description 
of the official record and the appeals process is provided in the 
preamble to the proposed rule (see ADDRESSES). That discussion is not 
repeated here.

Public Comment

    NMFS received two comments during the public comment period for 
Amendment 86 and the proposed rule. One comment provided a general 
criticism of fishery management, and was not relevant to Amendment 86 
or the proposed rule. A second public comment noted that the proposed 
rule is consistent with the principles of Amendment 86, the needs, 
goals, and objectives of the GOA Pacific Cod fixed gear fishery, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), and 
other applicable laws. Neither comment raised issues requiring a 
specific response.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    NMFS makes two changes in the final rule to clarify specific 
regulatory provisions that were addressed in the preamble to the 
proposed rule, but that were not adequately described in the regulatory 
text. The first change adds a paragraph at Sec.  679.4(k)(10)(vi)(C)(9) 
to note that an LLP license with a Pacific cod endorsement issued to a 
CQE may not be assigned to more than one vessel per calendar year. This 
addition is consistent with text in the preamble and the Council's 
motion to the proposed rule noting that ``An LLP license issued to a 
CQE could not designate more than one vessel per calendar year'' (July 
23, 2010; 75 FR 43127). The preamble to the proposed rule also notes:

    The Council recommended that only one vessel be allowed to use a 
specific LLP license issued to a CQE per year to reduce the 
potential that an LLP license could be used on multiple vessels. 
Allowing multiple vessels to use an LLP license in a given year 
could increase competition for Pacific cod resources in waters 
surrounding these communities. The Council did not recommend 
allowing a CQE to designate more than one vessel in cases of vessel 
loss. This restriction would not be expected to prevent the ability 
of community residents to access Pacific cod resources through a CQE 
LLP license because a minimum of two LLP licenses can be issued to 
any one CQE. Because a CQE can designate a new vessel each year 
prior to the start of the fishing season, the effect of restricting 
the use of an LLP to only one vessel per year would not be expected 
to be a long-term constraint on fishing operations.

(July 23, 2010; 75 FR 43127)

    The added regulatory text at Sec.  679.4(k)(10)(vi)(C)(9) gives 
full effect to the clear intent expressed in the preamble to the 
proposed rule. This added regulatory text is consistent with, and a 
logical outgrowth of, the proposed rule.
    The second change to the regulatory text adds text at Sec.  
679.4(k)(10)(vi)(D) to specify that a CQE's authorization letter, or 
any subsequent amendments to that letter, must be sent to NMFS. The 
added text also specifies the address where that letter must be sent. 
This addition is consistent with the text in the preamble to the 
proposed rule that notes:

    NMFS would require that a copy of the authorization letter and 
any amendments to the authorization letter be provided to NMFS, and 
a copy of that authorization letter and any amendments would need to 
be maintained onboard the vessel assigned the CQE's LLP license. 
Likewise, NMFS would require that the authorization letter be 
provided on or before the date that the LLP license is used on a 
vessel during a calendar year. NMFS would also require that any 
amendments to the authorization to designate new authorized persons 
be provided to NMFS prior to those persons using the CQE's Pacific 
cod LLP.

(July 23; 2010, 75 FR 43127).

    The regulatory text in the proposed rule at Sec.  
679.4(k)(10)(vi)(D) noted that the CQE must provide a copy of the 
authorization letter and any amendments to that letter to the vessel 
operator, but failed to specify that NMFS must also receive the 
authorization letter and any amendments. This final rule clarifies the 
regulatory text at Sec.  679.4(k)(10)(vi)(D) to specify that that NMFS 
must also receive the authorization letter and any amendments. This 
clarification is consistent with the clear intent expressed in the 
preamble to the proposed rule and is consistent with, and a logical 
outgrowth of, the proposed rule.

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined 
that this rule is consistent with Amendment 86 to the Fishery 
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska, the MSA, and 
other applicable laws.

Executive Order 12866

    This rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of 
Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    A FRFA was prepared as required by section 604 of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 604). The FRFA describes the economic impact 
this final rule will have on small entities. The EA/RIR/FRFA prepared 
for this final rule is available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). The FRFA 
for this action explains the need for, and objectives of, the rule; 
notes that no public comments on the initial regulatory flexibility 
analysis were submitted; describes and estimates the number of small 
entities to which the rule will apply; describes projected reporting, 
recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements of the rule; and 
describes the steps the agency has taken to minimize the significant 
economic impact on small entities, including a statement of the 
factual, policy, and legal reasons for selecting the alternative 
adopted in the final rule and why each one of the other significant 
alternatives to the rule considered by the agency that affect the 
impact on small entities was rejected. The need for and objectives of 
this action; a summary of the comments and responses; a description of 
the action, its purpose, and its legal basis; and a statement of the 
factual, policy, and legal reasons for selecting the alternative 
implemented by this action are described elsewhere in this preamble and 
are not repeated here.
    The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on July 23, 
2010 (75 FR 43118). An Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) 
was prepared and described in the classification section of the 
preamble to the rule. The public comment period ended on September 7, 
2010. NMFS received two comments from two individuals. None of the 
comments directly addressed the IRFA.
    The entities directly regulated by this action are holders of LLP 
licenses endorsed for fixed-gear activity who conducted directed 
fishing for Pacific cod in the GOA. NMFS estimates that under this rule 
a maximum of 956 entities hold LLP licenses with fixed-gear 
endorsements designated for catcher vessel or catcher/processor 
operations may be affected by this rule; of these, an estimated 908 
small entities will be directly regulated by this action.
    The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established that a 
business involved in fish harvesting is a small business if it is 
independently owned

[[Page 15835]]

and operated, not dominant in its field of operation (including its 
affiliates), and if it has combined annual gross receipts not in excess 
of $4.0 million for all its affiliated operations worldwide. A seafood 
processor is a small business if it is independently owned and 
operated, not dominant in its field of operation, and employs 500 or 
fewer persons on a full-time, part-time, temporary, or other basis, at 
all its affiliated operations worldwide. Because the SBA does not have 
a size criterion for businesses that are involved in both the 
harvesting and processing of seafood products, NMFS has in the past 
applied, and continues to apply, SBA's fish harvesting criterion for 
these businesses because catcher/processors are first and foremost fish 
harvesting businesses. Therefore, a business involved in both the 
harvesting and processing of seafood products is a small business if it 
meets the $4.0 million criterion for fish harvesting operations. NMFS 
is reviewing its small entity size classification for all catcher/
processors in the United States. However, until new guidance is 
adopted, NMFS will continue to use the annual receipts standard for 
catcher/processors. Even if additional catcher/processors would have 
been identified as small entities under a revised small entity size 
classification, NMFS would have analyzed the effect on small entities 
using the same methods that were used in the IRFA prepared for the 
proposed rule. NMFS considered the effects of the proposed rule and 
attempted to reduce costs to all directly regulated entities regardless 
of the number of small entities.
    The EA/RIR/FRFA (see ADDRESSES) prepared for this action analyzed 
projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements 
on directly regulated entities. Under this final rule, NMFS will 
require additional reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance 
requirements. Specifically, CQEs must submit an application to receive 
fixed-gear LLP licenses endorsed for Pacific cod, the selection of 
fixed gear type by CQEs in the CG, a description of the methods used to 
assign any fixed gear LLP licenses received, a letter of authorization 
for persons using LLP licenses assigned to a CQE, and an annual re