Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Amendment 13 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan; Annual Catch Limits, 37761-37763 [2011-16184]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 28, 2011 / Proposed Rules
requirements of § 635.5(b)(1)(ii) and
§ 635.5(b)(1)(iii).
(56) Fail to electronically submit an
Atlantic HMS dealer report through the
HMS electronic dealer reporting system
to report Atlantic bigeye, albacore,
yellowfin, and skipjack tunas,
swordfish, and sharks to NMFS in
accordance with § 635.5(b)(1)(iv), if
issued, or required to have obtained, a
Federal Atlantic HMS dealer permit
pursuant to § 635.4
*
*
*
*
*
(d) * * *
(11) First receive or attempt to first
receive Atlantic sharks without a valid
Federal Atlantic shark dealer or proxy
Atlantic shark identification workshop
certificate issued to the dealer or proxy
or fail to be certified for completion of
a NMFS Atlantic shark identification
workshop in violation of § 635.8.
*
*
*
*
*
(14) First receive or attempt to first
receive Atlantic sharks without making
available for inspection, at each of the
dealer’s places of business listed on the
dealer permit which first receives
Atlantic sharks, an original, valid dealer
or proxy Atlantic shark identification
workshop certificate issued by NMFS to
the dealer or proxy in violation of
§ 635.8(b), except that trucks or other
conveyances of the business must
possess a copy of such certificate.
*
*
*
*
*
(16) First receive or attempt to first
receive a shark or sharks or part of a
shark or sharks landed in excess of the
retention limits specified in § 635.24(a).
*
*
*
*
*
(e) * * *
(1) First receive or attempt to first
receive Atlantic swordfish from the
north or south Atlantic swordfish stock
without a Federal Atlantic swordfish
dealer permit as specified in § 635.4(g).
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2011–16208 Filed 6–27–11; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 110606318–1319–01]
RIN 0648–BA68
Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries;
Amendment 13 to the Coastal Pelagic
Species Fishery Management Plan;
Annual Catch Limits
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS issues this proposed
rule to implement Amendment 13 to the
Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery
Management Plan (FMP). This proposed
rule will implement parts of proposed
Amendment 13 to the CPS FMP, which
is intended to ensure the FMP is
consistent with advisory guidelines
published in Federal regulations.
Amendment 13 revises the framework
process currently in place to set and
adjust fishery specifications and
management measures and modifies this
framework to include the specification
new reference points such as annual
catch limit (ACL).
DATES: Comments must be received by
July 28, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by 0648–BA68, by any one of
the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal https://
www.regulations.gov.
• Mail: Rodney R. McInnis, Regional
Administrator, Southwest Region,
NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite
4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.
• Fax: (562) 980–4047, Attn: Joshua
Lindsay.
Instructions: All comments received
are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to https://
www.regulations.gov without change.
All Personal Identifying Information (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 prefer to remain
anonymous). You may submit
SUMMARY:
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37761
attachments to electronic comments will
be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel,
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats
only.
Copies of the CPS FMP as Amended
through Amendment 13 and the
Environmental Assessment/Regulatory
Impact Review for Amendment 13, are
available from Donald O. McIssac,
Executive Director, Pacific Fishery
Management Council, 7700 NE.
Ambassador Place, Suite 200, Portland,
OR 97220–1384 or the Southwest
Regional Office (see ADDRESSES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Joshua B. Lindsay, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, NMFS, at 562–980–4034 or
Mike Burner, Pacific Fishery
Management Council, at 503–820–2280.
The CPS
fishery in the U.S. exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) off the West Coast is
managed under the CPS FMP, which
was developed by the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council)
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (MSA). Species managed under the
CPS FMP include Pacific sardine,
Pacific mackerel, jack mackerel,
northern anchovy, market squid and
krill. The CPS FMP was approved by the
Secretary of Commerce and was
implemented by regulations that can be
found at 50 CFR part 660, subpart I.
The MSA was amended in 2007 to
include new requirements for ACLs and
accountability measures (AMs) and
other provisions regarding preventing
and ending overfishing and rebuilding
fisheries. On January 16, 2009, NMFS
revised its guidelines implementing
MSA National Standard 1 (74 FR 3178)
in response to these changes in the
MSA. The revised guidelines explain
NOAA’s interpretation of the new
statutory requirements for specifying
ACLs at such levels that overfishing
does not occur and that measures be
taken to ensure accountability with
these limits. The purpose of
Amendment 13 is to amend the CPS
FMP to ensure that it is consistent with
these revised advisory guidelines and to
comply with the statute. Specifically,
Amendment 13 would revise the
framework process to set and adjust
fishery specification and management
measures, and would establish a
framework for specifying new reference
points such as ACLs and AMs, as well
as other provisions for preventing
overfishing such as the potential setting
of annual catch targets (ACTs).
Additionally, Amendment 13 would
amend the FMP through the following
measures that are designed to better
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 28, 2011 / Proposed Rules
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account for scientific and management
uncertainty and to prevent overfishing:
• Modify the existing harvest control
rules for actively managed species to
include a buffer or reduction in
acceptable biological catch (ABC)
relative to overfishing limit (OFL) to
account for scientific uncertainty. This
buffer will be recommended during the
annual management cycle through a
combination of scientific advice from
the Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC) and a policy determination of the
Council.
• Maintain the default harvest control
rules for monitored stocks but modified
to specify the new management
reference points. ACLs would likely be
specified for multiple years until such
time as the species becomes actively
managed or new scientific information
becomes available. The current buffer of
a 75-percent reduction in the ABC
control rule (ABC equals 25 percent of
OFL/MSY) will remain in use until
recommended for modification by the
SSC and approved by the Council
through the annual harvest and
management specification process.
• Add a mechanism for the use of
sector-specific ACLs, ACTs and AMs.
Although not a change to the FMP,
the Council reaffirmed that all
management unit species (MUS)
currently in the FMP, including those
species categorized as monitored
species and prohibited harvest species
(krill) are ‘‘in the fishery’’ and will
remain as MUS. Amendment 13 also
adds Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii
pallasii) and jacksmelt (Atherinopsis
californiensis) to the FMP as ecosystem
component (EC) species. Although the
incidental catch of these species within
CPS fisheries is extremely small, the
intent of this action is to continue to
specifically monitor the catches of these
species and report catch estimates in the
annual Stock Assessment and Fishery
Evaluation report along with other
incidental catch. In addition to the
current ecological considerations in the
FMP, the amendment also adds
language to specify that the Council will
include ecological considerations when
reviewing and/or adopting status
determination criteria (SDCs), ACLs,
and ACTs.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this proposed rule is consistent
with Amendment 13, the MagnusonStevens Act and other applicable law,
subject to further consideration after
public comment.
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The Council and NMFS prepared an
EA for this amendment that discusses
the impact on the environment as a
result of this proposed rule. A copy of
the EA is available from the Council or
NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
This proposed rule has been
determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration that this
proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities as
follows:
The purpose of this action is to
implement parts of proposed
Amendment 13 to the CPS FMP which
is intended to ensure the FMP is
consistent with the recently revised
advisory guidelines implementing MSA
National Standard 1 (74 FR 3178).
Amendment 13 revises the framework
process currently in place to set and
adjust fishery specifications and
management measures and modifies this
framework to include the specification
new reference points such as ACL, ACT
and AM, as well as other provisions for
preventing overfishing.
The proposed action is not expected
to have substantial direct or indirect
socioeconomic impacts, because harvest
limits and management measures
influencing ex-vessel revenue and
personal income are not established
under the range of alternatives
considered. Instead, the proposed action
revises the framework used in
developing management reference
points. Additionally, for the current
actively managed species within the
FMP, Pacific sardine and Pacific
mackerel, for which annual harvest
limits have been set since 2001, the
control rules used in the setting of these
limits are not changing based on this
action. However, this action will modify
the management framework in place to
further ensure that overfishing does not
occur. Specific catch limits and
associated management measures will
continue to go through the appropriate
rulemaking process with environmental
and economic analysis where required.
A fishing vessel is considered a
‘‘small’’ business by the U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA) if its
annual receipts are not in excess of $4.0
million. Since all of the vessels fishing
for CPS have annual receipts below $4.0
million they would all be considered
small businesses under the SBA
standards. Therefore this rule will not
create disproportionate costs between
small and large vessels/businesses.
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NMFS has determined that this rule
will not result in a significant economic
impact to a substantial number of small
entities.
As a result, a regulatory flexibility
analysis is not required, and none has
been prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Administrative practice and
procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries,
Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives,
Indians, Northern Mariana Islands,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Dated: June 22, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50
CFR part 660 as follows:
PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST
COAST STATES
1. The authority citation for part 660
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. Amend § 660.502 by removing the
definition of ‘‘Monitored species (MS)’’
and revising the definition of ‘‘Harvest
guideline’’ to read as follows:
§ 660.502
Definitions.
*
*
*
*
*
Harvest guideline means a specified
numerical harvest objective that is not a
quota. Attainment of a harvest guideline
does not require complete closure of a
fishery. It is operationally similar to an
Annual Catch Target (ACT) (as defined
at § 600.310(f)(2)).
*
*
*
*
*
3. Revise § 660.508 as follows:
§ 660.508
Annual specifications.
(a) The Regional Administrator will
determine any harvest guideline, quota,
Annual Catch Limit (ACL) (defined at
§ 600.310(f)(2)) or Annual Catch Target
(ACT) (defined at § 600.310(f)(2)) in
accordance with the framework process
in the FMP.
(b) Any harvest guideline, quota, ACL,
or ACT, including any apportionment
between the directed fishery and setaside for incidental harvest, will be
published in the Federal Register.
(c) The announcement of each harvest
guideline, quota, ACL or ACT will
contain the following information if
available or applicable:
(1) The estimated biomass or MSY
proxy on which the harvest guideline,
quota, ACL or ACT was determined;
(2) The portion, if appropriate, of the
harvest guideline, quota, ACL or ACT
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 28, 2011 / Proposed Rules
set aside to allow for incidental harvests
after closure of the directed fishery;
(3) The estimated level of the
incidental trip limit that will be allowed
after the directed fishery is closed; and
(4) The allocation, if appropriate,
between Subarea A and Subarea B.
(d) As necessary, harvest guidelines,
quotas, OFLs (defined at § 600.310(f)(2)),
ABCs (defined at § 600.310(f)(2)), ACLs
or ACTs, will receive public review
according to the following procedure:
(1) Meetings will be held by the
Council’s CPSMT and AP, where the
estimated biomass and/or other
biological or management benchmarks
will be reviewed and public comments
received. Each of these meetings will be
announced in the Federal Register
before the date of the meeting, if
possible.
(2) All materials relating to the
estimated biomass and/or other
biological or management benchmarks
will be forwarded to the Council and its
Scientific and Statistical Committee and
will be available to the public from the
Regional Administrator when available.
(3) At a regular meeting of the
Council, the Council will review the
estimated biomass and/or other
biological or management benchmarks
and offer time for public comment. If
the Council requests a revision,
justification must be provided.
(4) The Regional Administrator will
review the Council’s recommendations,
justification, and public comments and
base his or her final decision on the
requirements of the FMP and other
applicable law.
4. Revise § 660.509 to read as follows:
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§ 660.509 Accountability measures
(season closures).
(a) General rule. When the directed
fishery allocation or incidental
allocation is reached for any CPS
species it shall be closed until the
beginning of the next fishing period or
season. Regional Administrator shall
announce in the Federal Register the
date of such closure, as well as any
incidental harvest level(s)
recommended by the Council and
approved by NMFS.
(b) Pacific Sardine. When the
allocation and reallocation levels for
Pacific sardine in § 660.511 (f)–(h) are
reached, the Pacific sardine fishery shall
be closed until either it re-opens per the
allocation scheme in § 660.511 (g) and
(h) or the beginning of the next fishing
season as stated in § 660.510 (a). The
Regional Administrator shall announce
in the Federal Register the date of the
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closure of the directed fishery for Pacific
sardine.
[FR Doc. 2011–16184 Filed 6–27–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648–AY53
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod
Allocations in the Gulf of Alaska;
Amendment 83
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of availability of
fishery management plan amendment;
request for comments.
AGENCY:
The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council submitted
Amendment 83 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Gulf of Alaska (FMP) to NMFS for
review. If approved, Amendment 83
would establish Pacific cod allocations
in the Central and Western Gulf of
Alaska regulatory areas among various
sectors and seasonal apportionments
thereof. This action also would limit
access to the Pacific cod parallel fishery
for Federal fishery participants. This
action is necessary to reduce the
uncertainty regarding the distribution of
Pacific cod catch, enhance stability
among the sectors, maintain processing
limits to protect coastal fishing
communities, and provide entry-level
opportunities for the jig sector. This
action is intended to promote the goals
and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, the FMP, and other applicable
laws.
DATES: Comments on the amendment
must be received on or before August
29, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sally
Bibb, Acting Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn:
Ellen Sebastian. You may submit
comments, identified by ‘‘RIN 0648–
AY53,’’ by any one of the following
methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal https://
www.regulations.gov.
• Fax: (907) 586–7557, Attn: Ellen
Sebastian.
SUMMARY:
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37763
• Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK
99802.
• Hand delivery to the Federal
Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room
420A, Juneau, AK.
All comments received are a part of
the public record. Comments will
generally be posted without change. All
Personal Identifying Information (for
example, name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be
publicly accessible. Do not submit
Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain
anonymous). You may submit
attachments to electronic comments in
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe PDF file formats only.
Electronic copies of the
Environmental Assessment/Regulatory
Impact Review/Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA)
prepared for this action may be obtained
from https://www.regulations.gov or from
the Alaska Region Web site at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Seanbob Kelly, 907–586–7228.
The
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that
each regional fishery management
council submit any fishery management
plan amendment it prepares to NMFS
for review and approval, disapproval, or
partial approval by the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary). The MagnusonStevens Act also requires that NMFS,
upon receiving a fishery management
plan amendment, immediately publish a
notice in the Federal Register
announcing that the amendment is
available for public review and
comment. This notice announces that
proposed Amendment 83 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Gulf of Alaska (FMP) is available for
public review and comment.
The groundfish fisheries in the
exclusive economic zone of the Gulf of
Alaska are managed under the FMP. The
FMP was prepared by the North Pacific
Fishery Management Council (Council)
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Pacific cod total allowable catch
(TAC) in the Gulf of Alaska is
apportioned on the basis of processor
component and season, as established
under Amendment 23 to the FMP (57
FR 23321, June 3, 1992). Since
implementation, 90 percent of the TAC
is allocated to vessels catching Pacific
cod for processing by the inshore
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 28, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37761-37763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16184]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 110606318-1319-01]
RIN 0648-BA68
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species
Fisheries; Amendment 13 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery
Management Plan; Annual Catch Limits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 13 to
the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This
proposed rule will implement parts of proposed Amendment 13 to the CPS
FMP, which is intended to ensure the FMP is consistent with advisory
guidelines published in Federal regulations. Amendment 13 revises the
framework process currently in place to set and adjust fishery
specifications and management measures and modifies this framework to
include the specification new reference points such as annual catch
limit (ACL).
DATES: Comments must be received by July 28, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 0648-BA68, by any one
of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal https://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Rodney R. McInnis, Regional Administrator, Southwest
Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.
Fax: (562) 980-4047, Attn: Joshua Lindsay.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov without
change. All Personal Identifying Information (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 prefer to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments
to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel,
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
Copies of the CPS FMP as Amended through Amendment 13 and the
Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review for Amendment 13, are
available from Donald O. McIssac, Executive Director, Pacific Fishery
Management Council, 7700 NE. Ambassador Place, Suite 200, Portland, OR
97220-1384 or the Southwest Regional Office (see ADDRESSES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua B. Lindsay, Sustainable
Fisheries Division, NMFS, at 562-980-4034 or Mike Burner, Pacific
Fishery Management Council, at 503-820-2280.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS fishery in the U.S. exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) off the West Coast is managed under the CPS FMP,
which was developed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (MSA). Species managed under the CPS FMP include Pacific sardine,
Pacific mackerel, jack mackerel, northern anchovy, market squid and
krill. The CPS FMP was approved by the Secretary of Commerce and was
implemented by regulations that can be found at 50 CFR part 660,
subpart I.
The MSA was amended in 2007 to include new requirements for ACLs
and accountability measures (AMs) and other provisions regarding
preventing and ending overfishing and rebuilding fisheries. On January
16, 2009, NMFS revised its guidelines implementing MSA National
Standard 1 (74 FR 3178) in response to these changes in the MSA. The
revised guidelines explain NOAA's interpretation of the new statutory
requirements for specifying ACLs at such levels that overfishing does
not occur and that measures be taken to ensure accountability with
these limits. The purpose of Amendment 13 is to amend the CPS FMP to
ensure that it is consistent with these revised advisory guidelines and
to comply with the statute. Specifically, Amendment 13 would revise the
framework process to set and adjust fishery specification and
management measures, and would establish a framework for specifying new
reference points such as ACLs and AMs, as well as other provisions for
preventing overfishing such as the potential setting of annual catch
targets (ACTs).
Additionally, Amendment 13 would amend the FMP through the
following measures that are designed to better
[[Page 37762]]
account for scientific and management uncertainty and to prevent
overfishing:
Modify the existing harvest control rules for actively
managed species to include a buffer or reduction in acceptable
biological catch (ABC) relative to overfishing limit (OFL) to account
for scientific uncertainty. This buffer will be recommended during the
annual management cycle through a combination of scientific advice from
the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and a policy
determination of the Council.
Maintain the default harvest control rules for monitored
stocks but modified to specify the new management reference points.
ACLs would likely be specified for multiple years until such time as
the species becomes actively managed or new scientific information
becomes available. The current buffer of a 75-percent reduction in the
ABC control rule (ABC equals 25 percent of OFL/MSY) will remain in use
until recommended for modification by the SSC and approved by the
Council through the annual harvest and management specification
process.
Add a mechanism for the use of sector-specific ACLs, ACTs
and AMs.
Although not a change to the FMP, the Council reaffirmed that all
management unit species (MUS) currently in the FMP, including those
species categorized as monitored species and prohibited harvest species
(krill) are ``in the fishery'' and will remain as MUS. Amendment 13
also adds Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii pallasii) and jacksmelt
(Atherinopsis californiensis) to the FMP as ecosystem component (EC)
species. Although the incidental catch of these species within CPS
fisheries is extremely small, the intent of this action is to continue
to specifically monitor the catches of these species and report catch
estimates in the annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation report
along with other incidental catch. In addition to the current
ecological considerations in the FMP, the amendment also adds language
to specify that the Council will include ecological considerations when
reviewing and/or adopting status determination criteria (SDCs), ACLs,
and ACTs.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with Amendment 13, the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other
applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
The Council and NMFS prepared an EA for this amendment that
discusses the impact on the environment as a result of this proposed
rule. A copy of the EA is available from the Council or NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
as follows:
The purpose of this action is to implement parts of proposed
Amendment 13 to the CPS FMP which is intended to ensure the FMP is
consistent with the recently revised advisory guidelines implementing
MSA National Standard 1 (74 FR 3178). Amendment 13 revises the
framework process currently in place to set and adjust fishery
specifications and management measures and modifies this framework to
include the specification new reference points such as ACL, ACT and AM,
as well as other provisions for preventing overfishing.
The proposed action is not expected to have substantial direct or
indirect socioeconomic impacts, because harvest limits and management
measures influencing ex-vessel revenue and personal income are not
established under the range of alternatives considered. Instead, the
proposed action revises the framework used in developing management
reference points. Additionally, for the current actively managed
species within the FMP, Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel, for which
annual harvest limits have been set since 2001, the control rules used
in the setting of these limits are not changing based on this action.
However, this action will modify the management framework in place to
further ensure that overfishing does not occur. Specific catch limits
and associated management measures will continue to go through the
appropriate rulemaking process with environmental and economic analysis
where required.
A fishing vessel is considered a ``small'' business by the U.S.
Small Business Administration (SBA) if its annual receipts are not in
excess of $4.0 million. Since all of the vessels fishing for CPS have
annual receipts below $4.0 million they would all be considered small
businesses under the SBA standards. Therefore this rule will not create
disproportionate costs between small and large vessels/businesses.
NMFS has determined that this rule will not result in a significant
economic impact to a substantial number of small entities.
As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required, and
none has been prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries,
Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives, Indians, Northern Mariana Islands,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: June 22, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50
CFR part 660 as follows:
PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. Amend Sec. 660.502 by removing the definition of ``Monitored
species (MS)'' and revising the definition of ``Harvest guideline'' to
read as follows:
Sec. 660.502 Definitions.
* * * * *
Harvest guideline means a specified numerical harvest objective
that is not a quota. Attainment of a harvest guideline does not require
complete closure of a fishery. It is operationally similar to an Annual
Catch Target (ACT) (as defined at Sec. 600.310(f)(2)).
* * * * *
3. Revise Sec. 660.508 as follows:
Sec. 660.508 Annual specifications.
(a) The Regional Administrator will determine any harvest
guideline, quota, Annual Catch Limit (ACL) (defined at Sec.
600.310(f)(2)) or Annual Catch Target (ACT) (defined at Sec.
600.310(f)(2)) in accordance with the framework process in the FMP.
(b) Any harvest guideline, quota, ACL, or ACT, including any
apportionment between the directed fishery and set-aside for incidental
harvest, will be published in the Federal Register.
(c) The announcement of each harvest guideline, quota, ACL or ACT
will contain the following information if available or applicable:
(1) The estimated biomass or MSY proxy on which the harvest
guideline, quota, ACL or ACT was determined;
(2) The portion, if appropriate, of the harvest guideline, quota,
ACL or ACT
[[Page 37763]]
set aside to allow for incidental harvests after closure of the
directed fishery;
(3) The estimated level of the incidental trip limit that will be
allowed after the directed fishery is closed; and
(4) The allocation, if appropriate, between Subarea A and Subarea
B.
(d) As necessary, harvest guidelines, quotas, OFLs (defined at
Sec. 600.310(f)(2)), ABCs (defined at Sec. 600.310(f)(2)), ACLs or
ACTs, will receive public review according to the following procedure:
(1) Meetings will be held by the Council's CPSMT and AP, where the
estimated biomass and/or other biological or management benchmarks will
be reviewed and public comments received. Each of these meetings will
be announced in the Federal Register before the date of the meeting, if
possible.
(2) All materials relating to the estimated biomass and/or other
biological or management benchmarks will be forwarded to the Council
and its Scientific and Statistical Committee and will be available to
the public from the Regional Administrator when available.
(3) At a regular meeting of the Council, the Council will review
the estimated biomass and/or other biological or management benchmarks
and offer time for public comment. If the Council requests a revision,
justification must be provided.
(4) The Regional Administrator will review the Council's
recommendations, justification, and public comments and base his or her
final decision on the requirements of the FMP and other applicable law.
4. Revise Sec. 660.509 to read as follows:
Sec. 660.509 Accountability measures (season closures).
(a) General rule. When the directed fishery allocation or
incidental allocation is reached for any CPS species it shall be closed
until the beginning of the next fishing period or season. Regional
Administrator shall announce in the Federal Register the date of such
closure, as well as any incidental harvest level(s) recommended by the
Council and approved by NMFS.
(b) Pacific Sardine. When the allocation and reallocation levels
for Pacific sardine in Sec. 660.511 (f)-(h) are reached, the Pacific
sardine fishery shall be closed until either it re-opens per the
allocation scheme in Sec. 660.511 (g) and (h) or the beginning of the
next fishing season as stated in Sec. 660.510 (a). The Regional
Administrator shall announce in the Federal Register the date of the
closure of the directed fishery for Pacific sardine.
[FR Doc. 2011-16184 Filed 6-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
