Fishery Management Plan for the Scallop Fishery Off Alaska; Amendment 13, 61996-61998 [2011-25908]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 194 / Thursday, October 6, 2011 / Rules and Regulations
year (FY) 2010 (May 1, 2011 through
April 30, 2012).
DATES: The effective date of the GB
yellowtail flounder specifications in the
final rule published April 25, 2011 (76
FR 23042) is extended through April 30,
2012. Comments are accepted through
November 7, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by FDMS Docket Number
NOAA–NMFS–2011–0237, by any one
of the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-rulemaking portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. To submit
comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
first click the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon,
then enter [NOAA–NMFS–2011–0237]
in the keyword search. Locate the
document you wish to comment on
from the resulting list and click on the
‘‘Submit a Comment’’ icon on the right
of that line.
• Mail: Paper, disk, or CD–ROM
comments should be sent to Patricia A.
Kurkul, Regional Administrator,
National Marine Fisheries Service, 55
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930–2276. Mark the outside of the
envelope: ‘‘Comments on NE
Multispecies GB Yellowtail Flounder
Specifications Emergency Rule
Extension.’’
• Fax: (978) 281–9135.
Instructions: Comments must be
submitted by one of the above methods
to ensure that the comments are
received, documented, and considered
by NMFS. Comments sent by any other
method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period, may not be
considered. All comments received are
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.
We 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 PDF
formats only.
Copies of the small entity compliance
guide are available from the Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast
Regional Office, at the address above.
Copies of the Environmental
Assessment (EA) prepared for this rule
may be found at the following Internet
address: https://www.regulations.gov.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas A. Warren, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281–9347, fax (978) 281–
9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This temporary final rule extends the
revised GB yellowtail flounder catch
limits implemented through emergency
authority as published in the FW 45
final rule on April 25, 2011 (76 FR
23042) in order to maintain those
measures through the end of FY 2010
(April 30, 2012). The April 25, 2011
final rule included detailed information
on the background and reasons for the
need to revise the GB yellowtail
flounder catch limits from those
originally proposed in the FW 45
proposed rule (76 FR 11858; March 3,
2011). The public had an opportunity to
comment on the April 25, 2011
emergency measures, but no comments
were submitted. We will again accept
public comment on both the
appropriateness of the emergency action
to date, and its extension.
The emergency specifications
extended through this final rule are the
revised GB yellowtail flounder catch
limits for FY 2011, as follows: A U.S.
ABC of 1,458 mt; a total ACL of 1,416
mt; a groundfish sub-ACL of 1,142 mt;
a scallop fishery sub-ACL of 200.8 mt;
and an Other ACL sub-component of 73
mt. The initial emergency action
modified GB yellowtail flounder catch
limits from those originally proposed as
a result of the passage of new legislation
(International Fisheries Agreement
Clarification Act).
Although the FW 45 final rule
contained preliminary information
regarding the more specific components
of the groundfish sub-ACL (the division
of the groundfish sub-ACL between
sectors and the common pool and the
Incidental Catch Total Allowable
Catches for common pool vessels), it did
not implement the final specification of
these components (and this rule does
not need to address those aspects of the
FMP). The components of the GB
yellowtail flounder groundfish sub-ACL
are specified in the final rule that
adjusted the FY 2011 groundfish subACL components for all stocks (76 FR
34903; June 15, 2011).
No comments were received on the
initial emergency rule.
Classification
We have determined that the
emergency specifications extended by
this temporary final rule are necessary
and are consistent with the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
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Management Act and other applicable
law.
The interim rule that this rule extends
was determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
This rule is exempt from the
procedures of the Regulatory Flexibility
Act to prepare a regulatory flexibility
analysis because the rule is issued
without opportunity for prior public
comment.
The supplemental Environmental
Assessment (EA) prepared for the initial
emergency action analyzed the impacts
of the emergency specifications for the
duration of a year (Supplemental EA,
Revised Georges Bank Yellowtail
Flounder Catch Limits for Fishing Year
2011; April 13, 2011). Therefore, the
impacts of this emergency action
extension have been analyzed, and are
within the scope of the Finding of No
Significant Impact.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 3, 2011.
Eric C. Schwaab,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–25936 Filed 10–5–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648–XA421
Fishery Management Plan for the
Scallop Fishery Off Alaska;
Amendment 13
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of agency decision.
AGENCY:
The National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces
approval of Amendment 13 to the
Fishery Management Plan for the
Scallop fishery off Alaska (FMP).
Amendment 13 implements an annual
catch limit (ACL) and accountability
measures (AMs) to prevent overfishing
in the target fishery for weathervane
scallops. Implementing these measures
requires revising the maximum
sustainable yield (MSY) and the
optimum yield (OY) for weathervane
scallops to account for total catch.
Amendment 13 also clarifies that, in the
absence of a statewide estimate of
spawning biomass for weathervane
scallops, the overfishing level (OFL) is
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 194 / Thursday, October 6, 2011 / Rules and Regulations
specified as the MSY. Under
Amendment 13, scallop species not
targeted in the fishery are classified as
Ecosystem Component (EC) species.
Amendment 13 is intended to promote
the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the FMP, and
other applicable laws. No changes in
Federal regulations are implemented by
this amendment.
DATES: The amendment was approved
on September 30, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of
Amendment 13 and the Environmental
Assessment prepared for this action may
be obtained from the NMFS Alaska
Region Web site at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Peggy Murphy or Gretchen Harrington,
907–586–7228.
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 or fishery management plan
amendment it prepares to NMFS for
review and approval, disapproval, or
partial approval by the Secretary of
Commerce. 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.
NMFS published the notice of
availability for Amendment 13 to the
FMP on July 11, 2011 (76 FR 40674),
with a comment period that ended on
September 9, 2011. NMFS received no
comments on Amendment 13.
NMFS determined that Amendment
13 to the FMP is consistent with the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and other
applicable laws and approved
Amendment 13 on September 30, 2011.
The July 11, 2011, notice of availability
(76 FR 40674) contains additional
information on this action. No changes
to Federal regulations are necessary to
implement this FMP amendment.
The Council developed the FMP
under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and
it was approved by the Secretary on July
26, 1995. The scallop fisheries in the
U.S. exclusive economic zone off Alaska
are jointly managed according to the
FMP and implementing regulations
issued by NMFS or the State of Alaska
(State). The FMP delegates many
management measures for the scallop
fisheries to the State with Federal
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oversight. Under the FMP, the State sets
a guideline harvest level (GHL) for each
scallop registration area and manages
each fishery inseason to the
corresponding GHL. The GHL is an
amount of harvest the managers
determine acceptable for the upcoming
fishing year. The GHL for each scallop
fishery is set within the applicable
guideline harvest range, which the State
has established in regulations.
The FMP covers all scallop stocks off
Alaska. Weathervane scallops are
currently the only scallop species
targeted in commercial fisheries. All
other scallop species, including pink,
spiny, and rock scallops, are not
targeted but occasionally occur as
bycatch in the weathervane scallop
fisheries.
Amendment 13 was unanimously
adopted by the Council in October 2010.
Amendment 13 (1) Revises the MSY and
OY to include all fishing mortality; (2)
specifies that the OFL equals the MSY
in the absence of a statewide estimate of
spawning biomass for weathervane
scallops; (3) specifies an acceptable
biological catch (ABC) control rule to
account for uncertainty in the OFL; (4)
sets the ACL equal to the ABC; (5)
specifies accountability measures to
prevent catch from exceeding the ACL
and to correct for an overage if the ACL
is exceeded; and (6) creates an EC
category for non-target scallop species.
With adoption of Amendment 13,
NMFS determines that the FMP
complies with the new requirements of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management
Reauthorization Act of 2007.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act
establishes, either expressly or by
logical extension, four basic
requirements that prompted the
Council’s recommendation to amend the
FMP. The Guidelines for National
Standard 1 of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act (50 CFR 600.310; NS 1 Guidelines)
provide guidance to regional fishery
management councils about how to
satisfy the obligations of the MagnusonStevens Act relative to preventing
overfishing and establishing an ABC
and ACL. The following is a summary
of these four requirements.
1. For stocks in the fishery, the FMP
must establish a mechanism for
specifying an ACL that will prevent
overfishing;
2. For each stock or stock complex in
the fishery, the FMP must establish an
ABC control rule that accounts for
relevant sources of scientific
uncertainty;
3. The Council’s Scientific and
Statistical Committee (SSC) must
provide the Council with scientific
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61997
advice on the ABC control rule and
periodic recommendations for
specifying the ABC for each stock or
stock complex in the fishery; and
4. The FMP must establish
accountability measures that prevent
exceeding the ACL and correct overages
of the ACL if they do occur.
The Council designed Amendment 13
to address these requirements while
maintaining the FMP’s cooperative State
and Federal management structure, to
the extent possible. Maximum
Sustainable Yield, Optimum Yield, and
Overfishing Level.
Previously, the FMP specified an
MSY and OY range that reflect only the
retained catch in the weathervane
scallop fishery. Amendment 13 revises
the retained catch MSY and OY range to
reflect total catch by encompassing all
sources of scallop fishing mortality,
including discards in the directed
scallop fishery, bycatch in the
groundfish fisheries, and mortality
associated with research surveys. The
statewide weathervane scallop MSY is
revised from 1.24 million pounds (562
metric tons) to 1.284 million pounds
(582 metric tons) of shucked meats. The
OY is estimated statewide with an
upper bound of the MSY. Amendment
13 revises the weathervane scallop OY
range to be 0 to 1.284 million pounds
(582 metric tons) of shucked meats.
Previously, the FMP specified an
overfishing control rule for weathervane
scallops stocks as a fishing rate in
excess of the natural mortality rate. If an
estimate of the statewide weathervane
scallop spawning biomass becomes
available, the overfishing control rule
would be applied to that estimate to
determine the OFL. An estimate of the
statewide weathervane scallop
spawning biomass is not currently
available, however, which prevents
application of the overfishing control
rule to annually determine the OFL.
Therefore, until such an estimate of
spawning biomass is available,
Amendment 13 specifies a default OFL
equal to the MSY of 1.284 million
pounds. The OFL will be set statewide
because the best available information
indicates that there is one statewide
stock of weathervane scallops and the
information necessary to set regional
OFLs is not available. In practice, the
statewide MSY has functioned as the
OFL since 1996. The average annual
weathervane scallop catch since 1996
has been less than half of the MSY.
Acceptable Biological Catch and
Annual Catch Limit
Amendment 13 establishes an ABC
control rule and sets the ACL equal to
the ABC. Annually, the ABC control
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 194 / Thursday, October 6, 2011 / Rules and Regulations
rule will be used to set the maximum
ABC for the statewide weathervane
scallop stock at 90 percent of the OFL.
This 10-percent buffer reduces the risk
of overfishing occurring in the
weathervane scallop fishery.
The ABC is set to account for the
scientific uncertainty in the estimate of
the OFL. Lacking a stock assessment
model, the sources of scientific
uncertainty in the scallop OFL estimate
are not directly quantifiable at this time.
Therefore, under Amendment 13,
scientific uncertainty in the OFL
estimate is incorporated in the size of
the buffer between the OFL and the
ABC.
Scientific and Statistical Committee
wreier-aviles on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with RULES
The Council’s SSC annually
establishes the ABC for weathervane
scallops through the following process.
The Scallop Plan Team meets shortly
after the scallop fishing season
concludes to compile the Stock
Assessment and Fishery Evaluation
(SAFE) report. The SAFE includes stock
assessments, fishery information, and
reference points. The Scallop Plan Team
will evaluate whether the total catch
exceeded the ACL in the previous
fishing season. The Scallop Plan Team
will then calculate the maximum ABC
using the ABC control rule for the
upcoming fishing season. The Scallop
Plan Team may recommend that the
SSC set an ABC lower than the
maximum ABC, but it should provide
an explanation for such a
recommendation.
The SSC will then review the SAFE
and recommendations from the Scallop
Plan Team. The SSC will set a statewide
ABC for the directed weathervane
scallop fishery prior to the beginning of
the fishing season. The SSC may set an
ABC lower than the maximum ABC
calculated using the ABC control rule,
but it must provide an explanation for
why a lower ABC was set.
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Accountability Measures
Amendment 13 establishes AMs to
prevent ACLs from being exceeded and
to correct overages of the ACL if they do
occur. First, under Amendment 13, the
State establishes the annual GHL for
each scallop management area at a level
sufficiently below the ACL so that the
sum of the directed scallop fishery
removals and estimated discard
mortality in directed scallop and
groundfish fisheries does not exceed the
ACL.
Second, NMFS expects that the
inseason management measures that
prevent catch from exceeding the GHL,
and have been a part of management of
the weathervane scallop fishery since
the inception of this FMP, will also
prevent catch from exceeding the ACL.
State management requires 100-percent
observer coverage of all vessels in the
weathervane scallop fishery. Fishery
observers provide inseason data on
catch and bycatch. Managers monitor
inseason fisheries landings and observer
data, and have the authority to close a
fishery inseason to prevent catch from
exceeding the GHL.
Third, if total catch does exceed the
ACL, State managers will account for
the overage through a downward
adjustment to the GHL in the following
season by an amount sufficient to
remedy the biological consequences of
the overage.
Ecosystem Component
Under the NS 1 Guidelines, all stocks
in an FMP are considered to be ‘‘in the
fishery,’’ unless they are identified as
EC species through an FMP amendment
process. Council review of the FMP
determined that weathervane scallops
are ‘‘in the fishery’’ as they are targeted
and retained for sale. Amendment 13
establishes an EC category in the FMP
that contains all non-targeted scallop
species, including pink or reddish
scallops, spiny scallops, and rock
scallops.
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Sfmt 9990
Non-targeted scallops have been
managed under the scallop FMP but are
not generally retained in commercial
scallop fisheries off Alaska. These nontarget scallop species occupy habitats at
different depths than the targeted
weathervane scallops; therefore, NMFS
does not anticipate that incidental catch
in the weathervane scallop fishery
would pose a serious risk to these
stocks. The best available scientific
information does not indicate that any
of the non-target scallop species are
overfished, subject to overfishing or
approaching an overfished condition, or
likely to become overfished if placed in
the EC category.
According to the NS 1 Guidelines, no
reference points are required for EC
species; however, under Amendment
13, these species will be monitored to
ensure they are not targeted and that
incidental catch does not reach a point
where there are concerns for the
sustainability of these stocks. Harvest
limits and related management
measures would be developed and
implemented prior to developing a
fishery for any of these species.
An Environmental Assessment was
prepared for Amendment 13 that
provides detailed descriptions of the
scallop fishery management
background, the purpose and need for
action, the management alternatives
evaluated to address this action, and the
environmental, social, and economic
impacts of the alternatives (see
ADDRESSES).
Response to Comments
NMFS did not receive any comments
on Amendment 13.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 30, 2011.
Eric C. Schwaab,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–25908 Filed 10–5–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 194 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61996-61998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25908]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648-XA421
Fishery Management Plan for the Scallop Fishery Off Alaska;
Amendment 13
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of agency decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces
approval of Amendment 13 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Scallop
fishery off Alaska (FMP). Amendment 13 implements an annual catch limit
(ACL) and accountability measures (AMs) to prevent overfishing in the
target fishery for weathervane scallops. Implementing these measures
requires revising the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and the optimum
yield (OY) for weathervane scallops to account for total catch.
Amendment 13 also clarifies that, in the absence of a statewide
estimate of spawning biomass for weathervane scallops, the overfishing
level (OFL) is
[[Page 61997]]
specified as the MSY. Under Amendment 13, scallop species not targeted
in the fishery are classified as Ecosystem Component (EC) species.
Amendment 13 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), the FMP, and other applicable laws. No changes in Federal
regulations are implemented by this amendment.
DATES: The amendment was approved on September 30, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of Amendment 13 and the Environmental
Assessment prepared for this action may be obtained from the NMFS
Alaska Region Web site at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Murphy or Gretchen Harrington,
907-586-7228.
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 or
fishery management plan amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and
approval, disapproval, or partial approval by the Secretary of
Commerce. 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.
NMFS published the notice of availability for Amendment 13 to the
FMP on July 11, 2011 (76 FR 40674), with a comment period that ended on
September 9, 2011. NMFS received no comments on Amendment 13.
NMFS determined that Amendment 13 to the FMP is consistent with the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws and approved Amendment
13 on September 30, 2011. The July 11, 2011, notice of availability (76
FR 40674) contains additional information on this action. No changes to
Federal regulations are necessary to implement this FMP amendment.
The Council developed the FMP under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and it was approved by the
Secretary on July 26, 1995. The scallop fisheries in the U.S. exclusive
economic zone off Alaska are jointly managed according to the FMP and
implementing regulations issued by NMFS or the State of Alaska (State).
The FMP delegates many management measures for the scallop fisheries to
the State with Federal oversight. Under the FMP, the State sets a
guideline harvest level (GHL) for each scallop registration area and
manages each fishery inseason to the corresponding GHL. The GHL is an
amount of harvest the managers determine acceptable for the upcoming
fishing year. The GHL for each scallop fishery is set within the
applicable guideline harvest range, which the State has established in
regulations.
The FMP covers all scallop stocks off Alaska. Weathervane scallops
are currently the only scallop species targeted in commercial
fisheries. All other scallop species, including pink, spiny, and rock
scallops, are not targeted but occasionally occur as bycatch in the
weathervane scallop fisheries.
Amendment 13 was unanimously adopted by the Council in October
2010. Amendment 13 (1) Revises the MSY and OY to include all fishing
mortality; (2) specifies that the OFL equals the MSY in the absence of
a statewide estimate of spawning biomass for weathervane scallops; (3)
specifies an acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule to account
for uncertainty in the OFL; (4) sets the ACL equal to the ABC; (5)
specifies accountability measures to prevent catch from exceeding the
ACL and to correct for an overage if the ACL is exceeded; and (6)
creates an EC category for non-target scallop species. With adoption of
Amendment 13, NMFS determines that the FMP complies with the new
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Reauthorization Act of 2007.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act establishes, either expressly or by
logical extension, four basic requirements that prompted the Council's
recommendation to amend the FMP. The Guidelines for National Standard 1
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (50 CFR 600.310; NS 1 Guidelines) provide
guidance to regional fishery management councils about how to satisfy
the obligations of the Magnuson-Stevens Act relative to preventing
overfishing and establishing an ABC and ACL. The following is a summary
of these four requirements.
1. For stocks in the fishery, the FMP must establish a mechanism
for specifying an ACL that will prevent overfishing;
2. For each stock or stock complex in the fishery, the FMP must
establish an ABC control rule that accounts for relevant sources of
scientific uncertainty;
3. The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) must
provide the Council with scientific advice on the ABC control rule and
periodic recommendations for specifying the ABC for each stock or stock
complex in the fishery; and
4. The FMP must establish accountability measures that prevent
exceeding the ACL and correct overages of the ACL if they do occur.
The Council designed Amendment 13 to address these requirements
while maintaining the FMP's cooperative State and Federal management
structure, to the extent possible. Maximum Sustainable Yield, Optimum
Yield, and Overfishing Level.
Previously, the FMP specified an MSY and OY range that reflect only
the retained catch in the weathervane scallop fishery. Amendment 13
revises the retained catch MSY and OY range to reflect total catch by
encompassing all sources of scallop fishing mortality, including
discards in the directed scallop fishery, bycatch in the groundfish
fisheries, and mortality associated with research surveys. The
statewide weathervane scallop MSY is revised from 1.24 million pounds
(562 metric tons) to 1.284 million pounds (582 metric tons) of shucked
meats. The OY is estimated statewide with an upper bound of the MSY.
Amendment 13 revises the weathervane scallop OY range to be 0 to 1.284
million pounds (582 metric tons) of shucked meats.
Previously, the FMP specified an overfishing control rule for
weathervane scallops stocks as a fishing rate in excess of the natural
mortality rate. If an estimate of the statewide weathervane scallop
spawning biomass becomes available, the overfishing control rule would
be applied to that estimate to determine the OFL. An estimate of the
statewide weathervane scallop spawning biomass is not currently
available, however, which prevents application of the overfishing
control rule to annually determine the OFL. Therefore, until such an
estimate of spawning biomass is available, Amendment 13 specifies a
default OFL equal to the MSY of 1.284 million pounds. The OFL will be
set statewide because the best available information indicates that
there is one statewide stock of weathervane scallops and the
information necessary to set regional OFLs is not available. In
practice, the statewide MSY has functioned as the OFL since 1996. The
average annual weathervane scallop catch since 1996 has been less than
half of the MSY.
Acceptable Biological Catch and Annual Catch Limit
Amendment 13 establishes an ABC control rule and sets the ACL equal
to the ABC. Annually, the ABC control
[[Page 61998]]
rule will be used to set the maximum ABC for the statewide weathervane
scallop stock at 90 percent of the OFL. This 10-percent buffer reduces
the risk of overfishing occurring in the weathervane scallop fishery.
The ABC is set to account for the scientific uncertainty in the
estimate of the OFL. Lacking a stock assessment model, the sources of
scientific uncertainty in the scallop OFL estimate are not directly
quantifiable at this time. Therefore, under Amendment 13, scientific
uncertainty in the OFL estimate is incorporated in the size of the
buffer between the OFL and the ABC.
Scientific and Statistical Committee
The Council's SSC annually establishes the ABC for weathervane
scallops through the following process. The Scallop Plan Team meets
shortly after the scallop fishing season concludes to compile the Stock
Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report. The SAFE includes
stock assessments, fishery information, and reference points. The
Scallop Plan Team will evaluate whether the total catch exceeded the
ACL in the previous fishing season. The Scallop Plan Team will then
calculate the maximum ABC using the ABC control rule for the upcoming
fishing season. The Scallop Plan Team may recommend that the SSC set an
ABC lower than the maximum ABC, but it should provide an explanation
for such a recommendation.
The SSC will then review the SAFE and recommendations from the
Scallop Plan Team. The SSC will set a statewide ABC for the directed
weathervane scallop fishery prior to the beginning of the fishing
season. The SSC may set an ABC lower than the maximum ABC calculated
using the ABC control rule, but it must provide an explanation for why
a lower ABC was set.
Accountability Measures
Amendment 13 establishes AMs to prevent ACLs from being exceeded
and to correct overages of the ACL if they do occur. First, under
Amendment 13, the State establishes the annual GHL for each scallop
management area at a level sufficiently below the ACL so that the sum
of the directed scallop fishery removals and estimated discard
mortality in directed scallop and groundfish fisheries does not exceed
the ACL.
Second, NMFS expects that the inseason management measures that
prevent catch from exceeding the GHL, and have been a part of
management of the weathervane scallop fishery since the inception of
this FMP, will also prevent catch from exceeding the ACL. State
management requires 100-percent observer coverage of all vessels in the
weathervane scallop fishery. Fishery observers provide inseason data on
catch and bycatch. Managers monitor inseason fisheries landings and
observer data, and have the authority to close a fishery inseason to
prevent catch from exceeding the GHL.
Third, if total catch does exceed the ACL, State managers will
account for the overage through a downward adjustment to the GHL in the
following season by an amount sufficient to remedy the biological
consequences of the overage.
Ecosystem Component
Under the NS 1 Guidelines, all stocks in an FMP are considered to
be ``in the fishery,'' unless they are identified as EC species through
an FMP amendment process. Council review of the FMP determined that
weathervane scallops are ``in the fishery'' as they are targeted and
retained for sale. Amendment 13 establishes an EC category in the FMP
that contains all non-targeted scallop species, including pink or
reddish scallops, spiny scallops, and rock scallops.
Non-targeted scallops have been managed under the scallop FMP but
are not generally retained in commercial scallop fisheries off Alaska.
These non-target scallop species occupy habitats at different depths
than the targeted weathervane scallops; therefore, NMFS does not
anticipate that incidental catch in the weathervane scallop fishery
would pose a serious risk to these stocks. The best available
scientific information does not indicate that any of the non-target
scallop species are overfished, subject to overfishing or approaching
an overfished condition, or likely to become overfished if placed in
the EC category.
According to the NS 1 Guidelines, no reference points are required
for EC species; however, under Amendment 13, these species will be
monitored to ensure they are not targeted and that incidental catch
does not reach a point where there are concerns for the sustainability
of these stocks. Harvest limits and related management measures would
be developed and implemented prior to developing a fishery for any of
these species.
An Environmental Assessment was prepared for Amendment 13 that
provides detailed descriptions of the scallop fishery management
background, the purpose and need for action, the management
alternatives evaluated to address this action, and the environmental,
social, and economic impacts of the alternatives (see ADDRESSES).
Response to Comments
NMFS did not receive any comments on Amendment 13.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 30, 2011.
Eric C. Schwaab,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-25908 Filed 10-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
