Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program; Amendment 88, 45217-45219 [2011-19125]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 145 / Thursday, July 28, 2011 / Proposed Rules
Flooding source(s)
Location of referenced elevation **
* Elevation in feet (NGVD)
+ Elevation in feet
(NAVD)
# Depth in feet
above ground
∧ Elevation in
meters (MSL)
Effective
45217
Communities affected
Modified
Village of Bellevue
Maps are available for inspection at the Peoria County Planning and Zoning Department, 324 Main Street, Room 301, Peoria, IL 61602.
Village of Kingston Mines
Maps are available for inspection at the Peoria County Planning and Zoning Department, 324 Main Street, Room 301, Peoria, IL 61602.
Village of Mapleton
Maps are available for inspection at the Peoria County Planning and Zoning Department, 324 Main Street, Room 301, Peoria, IL 61602.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No.
97.022, ‘‘Flood Insurance.’’)
Dated: July 8, 2011.
Sandra K. Knight,
Deputy Federal Insurance and Mitigation
Administrator, Mitigation, Department of
Homeland Security, Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2011–19042 Filed 7–27–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–12–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648–BA97
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Central Gulf of Alaska
Rockfish Program; Amendment 88
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 National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces
that the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) has
submitted Amendment 88 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Gulf of Alaska (FMP) for review by the
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). If
approved, Amendment 88 would
establish the Central Gulf of Alaska
Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program).
This proposed program would allocate
exclusive harvest privileges to a select
group of License Limitation Program
(LLP) license holders who used trawl
gear to target Pacific ocean perch,
pelagic shelf rockfish, and northern
rockfish during specific qualifying
years. Amendment 88 would modify the
FMP to retain the conservation,
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SUMMARY:
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management, safety, and economic
gains realized under the Rockfish Pilot
Program and viability of the Gulf of
Alaska fisheries. This action is
necessary to replace particular Rockfish
Pilot Program regulations that are
scheduled to expire at the end of 2011.
This action is intended to promote the
goals and objectives of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, the FMP, and other
applicable law.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 88
must be received on or before
September 26, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Glenn
Merrill, Assistant Regional
Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries,
Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: Ellen
Sebastian. You may submit comments,
identified by RIN 0648–BA97, by any
one of the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at
https://www.regulations.gov.
• Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK
99802.
• Fax: 907–586–7557.
• Hand delivery to the Federal
Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room
420A, Juneau, AK.
All comments received are a part of
the public record and will generally be
posted to https://www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may be publicly accessible. Do not
submit confidential business
information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft
Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe
portable document file (pdf) formats
only.
Electronic copies of Amendment 88 to
the FMP, the Regulatory Impact Review,
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the Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis, and the Environmental
Assessment, prepared for this action are
available from https://
wwww.regulations.gov or from the
Alaska Region Web site at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gwen Herrewig, 907–586–7091.
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 document announces
that proposed Amendment 88 to the
FMP is available for public review and
comment.
The groundfish fisheries in the
exclusive economic zone of Alaska are
managed under the GOA FMP and the
Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area.
These fishery management plans were
prepared by the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) under
the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Amendment 88 is necessary to replace
Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Rockfish
Pilot Program (Pilot Program)
regulations that are scheduled to expire
December 31, 2011. The Pilot Program
was recommended by the Council in
June 2005 as Amendment 68 to the
Central GOA FMP. Section 802 of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act of
2004 (Pub. L. 108–199) granted NMFS
specific authority to manage Central
GOA rockfish fisheries, and directed the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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45218
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 145 / Thursday, July 28, 2011 / Proposed Rules
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Secretary, in consultation with the
Council, to develop a program that
recognizes the historical participation of
fishing vessels and fish processors in
the Central GOA rockfish fishery.
Regulations implementing Amendment
68 were published on November 20,
2006 (71 FR 67210), and are located at
50 CFR Part 679. Fishing began under
the Pilot Program on May 1, 2007.
The Council designed the Pilot
Program to be used as a demonstration
program for a long term Central GOA
rockfish program. The Rockfish Program
proposed in Amendment 88 meets the
requirements for limited access
privileges in section 303A of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. Amendment 88
would allow for the proposed Rockfish
Program to retain the conservation,
safety, and economic gains realized
under the Pilot Program. It would be
similar in the implementation,
management, monitoring, and
enforcement developed under the Pilot
Program. It would also resolve
identified issues in the management and
viability of the fisheries.
Central GOA Rockfish Program
The Rockfish Program would provide
exclusive harvesting privileges for
vessels using trawl gear to harvest a
specific set of rockfish species and
associated species incidentally
harvested to those rockfish in the
Central GOA, an area from 147° W. long.
to 159° W. long. The granting of
exclusive harvesting is commonly called
rationalization. The rockfish primary
species rationalized under the Rockfish
Program are northern rockfish, Pacific
ocean perch, and pelagic shelf rockfish.
The incidentally harvested groundfish
taken in the primary rockfish fisheries
and which also are rationalized under
the Rockfish Program are called the
secondary species. The secondary
species are Pacific cod, rougheye
rockfish, shortraker rockfish, and
sablefish that are harvested by vessels
using trawl gear. In addition to these
secondary species, the Rockfish Program
would allocate a portion of the halibut
bycatch mortality limit annually
specified for the GOA trawl fisheries to
Rockfish Program participants. This
allocation of bycatch mortality could be
used by Rockfish Program participants
during harvest activities in the fisheries
rationalized under the Rockfish
Program.
The Rockfish Program would
continue to assign quota share (QS) and
cooperative quota (CQ) to participants
for primary and secondary species,
allow a participant holding an LLP
license with Rockfish QS to form a
rockfish cooperative with other persons,
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and allow holders of catcher/processor
LLP licenses to opt-out of the fishery.
The entry level fishery would continue
for harvesters who are not eligible for
the Rockfish Program and would be
directed fishing for rockfish primary
species using longline gear only.
Additionally, the Rockfish Program
continues to establish sideboard limits,
as well as monitoring and enforcement
provisions.
If approved, the proposed Rockfish
Program would be effective from
January 1, 2012, through December 31,
2021. The Council reviewed and
considered the duration of the permits
under section 303A of the MagnusonStevens Act. All permits would expire
after 10 years but would be renewed
unless the Council takes action to
discontinue the Rockfish Program. A
formal review of the Rockfish Program
by the Council would take place 3 years
after the implementation of the program
to determine if the program is
functioning as intended.
Even though the two programs are
similar, the proposed Rockfish Program
would change some provisions that
were implemented under the Pilot
Program. In summary, the proposed
Rockfish Program would:
• Change the qualifying years for
eligibility for QS from 1996 through
2002 under the Pilot Program to 2000
though 2006 under the Rockfish
Program;
• Utilize data from the new qualifying
years to determine the allocation of QS
and sideboard limits;
• Maintain a small portion of the
annual allocation of primary rockfish
species for persons not receiving QS to
fish in an entry level fishery. The
Rockfish Program would restrict the
entry level fishery to longline gear only
and discontinue the entry level trawl
fishery; however, the Rockfish Program
would allow participants in the Pilot
Program entry level trawl fishery to
qualify for QS;
• Relax the requirements to form a
cooperative so that a person holding QS
would not need to form an association
with a specific processor and so that a
minimum number of QS holders is not
required to form a cooperative;
• Modify the required location where
harvesters in cooperatives may deliver
rockfish. Under the Rockfish Program,
cooperatives could only deliver catch to
shorebased processors operating within
the boundaries of the City of Kodiak—
the traditional rockfish delivery port;
• Require that QS holders form a
cooperative to be able to fish in the
Rockfish Program and discontinue the
limited access fishery ‘‘race for fish’’
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
that QS holders could participate in
under the Pilot Program;
• Simplify sideboards and add slight
modifications to sideboards for catcher
processors;
• Implement a cost recovery program;
• Establish a catch monitoring and
control plan specialist to monitor
deliveries; and
• Be authorized for 10 years, from
January 1, 2012, until December 31,
2021.
Proposed Amendment 88 would
continue management of Central GOA
rockfish through an exclusive harvest
privilege. Greater security for harvesters
in cooperatives would continue to be
realized under the Rockfish Program.
Although participants that opt out of
participating in cooperatives and
participants in the entry level fishery
would not receive a guaranteed annual
catch amount, most harvesters would
participate in a cooperative that receives
a CQ allocation. A CQ allocation would
continue to provide incentives to focus
on quality, promote a slower paced
fishery, enhance safety by providing a
vessel operator more flexibility to
choose when to fish, and provide greater
stability for processors by spreading out
production over a greater period of time.
Public comments are being solicited
on proposed Amendment 88 to the GOA
FMP through the end of the comment
period (see DATES). NMFS intends to
publish this action in the Federal
Register and seek public comment on a
proposed rule that would implement
Amendment 88, following NMFS’
evaluation of the proposed rule under
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Public
comments on the proposed rule must be
received by the end of the comment
period for Amendment 88 to be
considered in the approval/disapproval
decision on Amendment 88. All
comments received by the end of the
comment period on Amendment 88,
whether specifically directed to the
GOA FMP amendment or the proposed
rule will be considered in the FMP
approval/disapproval decision.
Comments received after that date will
not be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on the
amendment. To be considered,
comments must be received, not just
postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by
the close of business on the last day of
the comment period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et
seq., 3631 et seq.; and Pub. L. 108–447.
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 145 / Thursday, July 28, 2011 / Proposed Rules
Dated: July 25, 2011.
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–19125 Filed 7–27–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648–BA18
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area;
Limited Access Privilege Program
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery
management plan amendment; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
Amendment 93 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (FMP) would amend
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Amendment 80 Program to modify the
criteria for forming and participating in
a harvesting cooperative. This action is
necessary to encourage greater
participation in harvesting cooperatives,
which enable members to more
efficiently target species, avoid areas
with undesirable bycatch, and improve
the quality of products produced. 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: Comments on the amendments
must be submitted on or before
September 26, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to James W.
Balsiger, Ph.D., Administrator, Alaska
Region, NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian.
You may submit comments, identified
by ‘‘RIN 0648–BA18,’’ by any one of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at
https://www.regulations.gov.
• Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK
99802.
• Fax: (907) 586–7557.
• Hand delivery to the Federal
Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room
420A, Juneau, AK.
All comments received are a part of
the public record and will generally be
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SUMMARY:
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15:49 Jul 27, 2011
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posted to https://www.regulations.gov
without change. All Personal Identifying
Information (e.g., name, address)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may be publicly accessible. Do not
submit Confidential Business
Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in the required
fields if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft
Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe
portable document file (pdf) formats
only.
Copies of Amendment 93, the
Environmental Assessment (EA),
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(IRFA)—collectively known as the
Analysis—for this action are available
from the Alaska Region Web site at
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gwen Herrewig, (907) 586–7091.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.
The Amendment 80 Program for
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (BSAI) groundfish
fisheries was recommended by the
North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) in June 2006 as
Amendment 80 to the FMP. NMFS
published a final rule to implement
Amendment 80 on September 14, 2007
(72 FR 52668), and fishing began under
the Amendment 80 Program in 2008.
The Amendment 80 Program is
commonly known as a limited access
privilege program. Eligible fishery
participants may receive exclusive
access to specific fishery resources if
specific conditions are met. Under the
Amendment 80 Program, NMFS issues a
quota share (QS) permit to a person
holding the catch history of an original
qualifying non-American Fisheries Act
trawl catcher/processor that met specific
criteria designated by Congress under
the Capacity Reduction Program (CRP)
(Pub. L. 108–447). NMFS determined
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Fmt 4702
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45219
that 28 vessels met the criteria specified
in the CRP. These vessels comprise the
originally qualifying Amendment 80
vessels. Each of the 28 originally
qualifying Amendment 80 vessels may
be issued a QS permit by NMFS based
on their catch history of the six
Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel,
Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch,
flathead sole, Pacific cod, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole) in the BSAI, if the
Amendment 80 vessel owner applies to
NMFS to receive a QS permit.
Under the Amendment 80 Program,
NMFS allocates a specific portion of the
BSAI total allowable catch (TAC) for
harvest by QS holders, the Amendment
80 sector, for each of the six defined
Amendment 80 species. In addition,
NMFS allocates a specific portion of the
allowable bycatch of BSAI halibut,
Bristol Bay red king crab, snow crab,
and Tanner crab to the Amendment 80
sector. This allowable bycatch is
commonly known as prohibited species
catch (PSC) because these species may
not be retained, but are known to be
incidentally taken in BSAI trawl
fisheries.
Each year, a person assigns each QS
permit, Amendment 80 vessel, and any
associated license limitation program
(LLP) licenses to either an Amendment
80 cooperative, or the Amendment 80
limited access fishery. Generally, the
Amendment 80 Program is intended to
facilitate the formation of cooperatives
that will receive exclusive harvest
privileges for a portion of the
Amendment 80 species TAC and PSC
known as cooperative quota (CQ). A
person who does not choose to join a
harvesting cooperative must fish in the
Amendment 80 limited access fishery,
without an exclusive harvest privilege,
and must continue to race for fish with
other participants in that fishery.
In order to form a cooperative, the
cooperative must apply for a CQ permit
by November 1 of the year prior to
fishing. The cooperative must be
comprised of:
• At least three unique persons not
affiliated with one another through
direct or indirect ownership of more
than 10 percent; and
• At least nine (of the 28 potentially
available) QS permits in the
Amendment 80 sector must be assigned
to the cooperative.
Amendment 93 would result in two
modifications to the Amendment 80
Program. First, it would allow a
cooperative to form with a minimum of
two unique persons holding seven QS
permits. The current requirement is that
a minimum of three unique persons and
nine QS permits must be assigned to a
cooperative. Reducing the number of
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 145 (Thursday, July 28, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45217-45219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19125]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648-BA97
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Central Gulf
of Alaska Rockfish Program; Amendment 88
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of availability of fishery management plan
amendment; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces that
the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted
Amendment 88 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf
of Alaska (FMP) for review by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). If
approved, Amendment 88 would establish the Central Gulf of Alaska
Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program). This proposed program would
allocate exclusive harvest privileges to a select group of License
Limitation Program (LLP) license holders who used trawl gear to target
Pacific ocean perch, pelagic shelf rockfish, and northern rockfish
during specific qualifying years. Amendment 88 would modify the FMP to
retain the conservation, management, safety, and economic gains
realized under the Rockfish Pilot Program and viability of the Gulf of
Alaska fisheries. This action is necessary to replace particular
Rockfish Pilot Program regulations that are scheduled to expire at the
end of 2011. This action is intended to promote the goals and
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, the FMP, and other applicable law.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 88 must be received on or before September
26, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional
Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn:
Ellen Sebastian. You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-BA97,
by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at https://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802.
Fax: 907-586-7557.
Hand delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9th
Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.
All comments received are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov without change. All
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats only.
Electronic copies of Amendment 88 to the FMP, the Regulatory Impact
Review, the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, and the
Environmental Assessment, prepared for this action are available from
https://wwww.regulations.gov or from the Alaska Region Web site at
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gwen Herrewig, 907-586-7091.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 Magnuson-Stevens
Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving a fishery management plan
amendment, immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register
announcing that the amendment is available for public review and
comment. This document announces that proposed Amendment 88 to the FMP
is available for public review and comment.
The groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of Alaska
are managed under the GOA FMP and the Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area.
These fishery management plans were prepared by the North Pacific
Fishery Management Council (Council) under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Amendment 88 is necessary to replace Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA)
Rockfish Pilot Program (Pilot Program) regulations that are scheduled
to expire December 31, 2011. The Pilot Program was recommended by the
Council in June 2005 as Amendment 68 to the Central GOA FMP. Section
802 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108-199)
granted NMFS specific authority to manage Central GOA rockfish
fisheries, and directed the
[[Page 45218]]
Secretary, in consultation with the Council, to develop a program that
recognizes the historical participation of fishing vessels and fish
processors in the Central GOA rockfish fishery. Regulations
implementing Amendment 68 were published on November 20, 2006 (71 FR
67210), and are located at 50 CFR Part 679. Fishing began under the
Pilot Program on May 1, 2007.
The Council designed the Pilot Program to be used as a
demonstration program for a long term Central GOA rockfish program. The
Rockfish Program proposed in Amendment 88 meets the requirements for
limited access privileges in section 303A of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Amendment 88 would allow for the proposed Rockfish Program to retain
the conservation, safety, and economic gains realized under the Pilot
Program. It would be similar in the implementation, management,
monitoring, and enforcement developed under the Pilot Program. It would
also resolve identified issues in the management and viability of the
fisheries.
Central GOA Rockfish Program
The Rockfish Program would provide exclusive harvesting privileges
for vessels using trawl gear to harvest a specific set of rockfish
species and associated species incidentally harvested to those rockfish
in the Central GOA, an area from 147[deg] W. long. to 159[deg] W. long.
The granting of exclusive harvesting is commonly called
rationalization. The rockfish primary species rationalized under the
Rockfish Program are northern rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and
pelagic shelf rockfish. The incidentally harvested groundfish taken in
the primary rockfish fisheries and which also are rationalized under
the Rockfish Program are called the secondary species. The secondary
species are Pacific cod, rougheye rockfish, shortraker rockfish, and
sablefish that are harvested by vessels using trawl gear. In addition
to these secondary species, the Rockfish Program would allocate a
portion of the halibut bycatch mortality limit annually specified for
the GOA trawl fisheries to Rockfish Program participants. This
allocation of bycatch mortality could be used by Rockfish Program
participants during harvest activities in the fisheries rationalized
under the Rockfish Program.
The Rockfish Program would continue to assign quota share (QS) and
cooperative quota (CQ) to participants for primary and secondary
species, allow a participant holding an LLP license with Rockfish QS to
form a rockfish cooperative with other persons, and allow holders of
catcher/processor LLP licenses to opt-out of the fishery. The entry
level fishery would continue for harvesters who are not eligible for
the Rockfish Program and would be directed fishing for rockfish primary
species using longline gear only. Additionally, the Rockfish Program
continues to establish sideboard limits, as well as monitoring and
enforcement provisions.
If approved, the proposed Rockfish Program would be effective from
January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2021. The Council reviewed and
considered the duration of the permits under section 303A of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. All permits would expire after 10 years but would
be renewed unless the Council takes action to discontinue the Rockfish
Program. A formal review of the Rockfish Program by the Council would
take place 3 years after the implementation of the program to determine
if the program is functioning as intended.
Even though the two programs are similar, the proposed Rockfish
Program would change some provisions that were implemented under the
Pilot Program. In summary, the proposed Rockfish Program would:
Change the qualifying years for eligibility for QS from
1996 through 2002 under the Pilot Program to 2000 though 2006 under the
Rockfish Program;
Utilize data from the new qualifying years to determine
the allocation of QS and sideboard limits;
Maintain a small portion of the annual allocation of
primary rockfish species for persons not receiving QS to fish in an
entry level fishery. The Rockfish Program would restrict the entry
level fishery to longline gear only and discontinue the entry level
trawl fishery; however, the Rockfish Program would allow participants
in the Pilot Program entry level trawl fishery to qualify for QS;
Relax the requirements to form a cooperative so that a
person holding QS would not need to form an association with a specific
processor and so that a minimum number of QS holders is not required to
form a cooperative;
Modify the required location where harvesters in
cooperatives may deliver rockfish. Under the Rockfish Program,
cooperatives could only deliver catch to shorebased processors
operating within the boundaries of the City of Kodiak--the traditional
rockfish delivery port;
Require that QS holders form a cooperative to be able to
fish in the Rockfish Program and discontinue the limited access fishery
``race for fish'' that QS holders could participate in under the Pilot
Program;
Simplify sideboards and add slight modifications to
sideboards for catcher processors;
Implement a cost recovery program;
Establish a catch monitoring and control plan specialist
to monitor deliveries; and
Be authorized for 10 years, from January 1, 2012, until
December 31, 2021.
Proposed Amendment 88 would continue management of Central GOA
rockfish through an exclusive harvest privilege. Greater security for
harvesters in cooperatives would continue to be realized under the
Rockfish Program. Although participants that opt out of participating
in cooperatives and participants in the entry level fishery would not
receive a guaranteed annual catch amount, most harvesters would
participate in a cooperative that receives a CQ allocation. A CQ
allocation would continue to provide incentives to focus on quality,
promote a slower paced fishery, enhance safety by providing a vessel
operator more flexibility to choose when to fish, and provide greater
stability for processors by spreading out production over a greater
period of time.
Public comments are being solicited on proposed Amendment 88 to the
GOA FMP through the end of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends
to publish this action in the Federal Register and seek public comment
on a proposed rule that would implement Amendment 88, following NMFS'
evaluation of the proposed rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Public
comments on the proposed rule must be received by the end of the
comment period for Amendment 88 to be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on Amendment 88. All comments received by the end
of the comment period on Amendment 88, whether specifically directed to
the GOA FMP amendment or the proposed rule will be considered in the
FMP approval/disapproval decision. Comments received after that date
will not be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on the
amendment. To be considered, comments must be received, not just
postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the close of business on the
last day of the comment period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., 3631 et seq.;
and Pub. L. 108-447.
[[Page 45219]]
Dated: July 25, 2011.
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-19125 Filed 7-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
