Control Date for Qualifying Landings History in the Western Gulf of Alaska Trawl Groundfish Fisheries, 17340-17341 [2013-06542]
Download as PDF
17340
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 55 / Thursday, March 21, 2013 / Proposed Rules
margate, combined, as estimated by the
SRD, reach or are projected to reach the
commercial complex ACL of 218,539 lb
(99,128 kg), round weight, the AA will
file a notification with the Office of the
Federal Register to close the commercial
sector for this complex for the
remainder of the fishing year. * * *
*
*
*
*
*
(ii) * * * If recreational landings for
white grunt, sailor’s choice, tomtate,
and margate, as estimated by the SRD,
exceed the recreational ACL of 588,113
lb (266,764 kg), round weight, then
during the following fishing year,
recreational landings will be monitored
for a persistence in increased landings
and, if necessary, the AA will file a
notification with the Office of the
Federal Register, to reduce the length of
the following recreational fishing season
for this complex by the amount
necessary to ensure recreational
landings do not exceed the recreational
ACL in the following fishing year. * * *
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2013–06417 Filed 3–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 130215145–3145–01]
RIN 0648–BD01
Control Date for Qualifying Landings
History in the Western Gulf of Alaska
Trawl Groundfish Fisheries
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed
rulemaking (ANPR); control date.
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: At the request of the North
Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council), this notice announces a
control date of March 1, 2013, that may
be used as a reference for future
management actions applicable to, but
not limited to, qualifying landings and
permit history for an allocation-based
management or catch share program in
the Western Gulf of Alaska (GOA) trawl
groundfish fisheries. This notice is
intended to discourage speculative entry
into the fisheries while the Council
considers whether and how allocations
of fishing privileges should be
developed under a future management
program. The Council selected the
control date based on previous fishing
VerDate Mar<14>2013
14:39 Mar 20, 2013
Jkt 229001
activity in the Western GOA groundfish
fisheries, in which the majority of the
fishery has concluded by March 1 each
year. This notice is publishing close to
the control date of March 1, 2013, and
so will not either prompt speculation in
advance of its publication, or
disadvantage any fishers regarding their
fishing activity after the control date,
but before publication. This notice is
also intended to promote awareness of
possible rulemaking and provide notice
to the public that any accumulation of
landings history in the Western GOA
trawl groundfish fisheries occurring
after the control date may not be
credited for purposes of making any
allocation under a future management
program.
DATES: March 1, 2013, shall be known
as the control date for the Western GOA
trawl groundfish fisheries and may be
used as a reference for allocations in a
future management program that is
consistent with the Council’s objectives
and applicable Federal laws.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rachel Baker: 907–586–7228 or
rachel.baker@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS
manages the groundfish fisheries in the
U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of
the GOA under the Fishery Management
Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of
Alaska (FMP). The Council prepared,
and NMFS approved, the FMP under
the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (MSA), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and
implementing the FMP appear at 50
CFR parts 600 and 679.
This advance notice of proposed
rulemaking would apply to owners and
operators of catcher vessels and catcher/
processors participating in Federal
fisheries prosecuted with trawl gear in
the Western Reporting Area of the GOA.
The Western Reporting Area, defined at
§ 679.2 and shown in Figure 3 to 50 CFR
part 679, includes the Western
Regulatory Area (Statistical Area 610).
The Council and NMFS annually
establish biological thresholds and
annual total allowable catch limits for
groundfish species to sustainably
manage the groundfish fisheries in the
GOA. To achieve these objectives,
NMFS requires vessel operators
participating in GOA groundfish
fisheries to comply with various
restrictions, such as fishery closures, to
maintain catch within specified total
allowable catch limits. The GOA
groundfish fishery restrictions also
include prohibited species catch (PSC)
limits for species that are generally
required to be discarded when
PO 00000
Frm 00041
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
harvested. When harvest of a PSC
species reaches the specified PSC limit
for that fishery, NMFS closes directed
fishing for the target groundfish species,
even if the total allowable catch limit for
that species has not been harvested.
The Council and NMFS have long
sought to control the amount of fishing
in the North Pacific Ocean to ensure
that fisheries are conservatively
managed and do not exceed established
biological thresholds. One of the
measures used by the Council and
NMFS is the license limitation program
(LLP), which limits access to the
groundfish, crab, and scallop fisheries
in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
and the GOA. The LLP is intended to
limit entry into federally managed
fisheries. For groundfish, the LLP
requires that persons hold and assign a
license to each vessel that is used to fish
in federally managed fisheries, with
some limited exemptions. The preamble
to the final rule implementing the
groundfish LLP provides a more
detailed explanation of the rationale for
specific provisions in the LLP (October
1, 1998; 63 FR 52642).
Over the past few years, the Council
has recommended amendments to the
FMP to reduce the use of PSC in the
GOA fisheries. Under Amendment 93 to
the FMP, the Council recommended,
and NMFS approved, Chinook PSC
limits in the GOA pollock (Theragra
chalcogramma) trawl fisheries (77 FR
42629, July 20, 2012). In June 2012, the
Council recommended an FMP
amendment to reduce Pacific halibut
(Hippoglossus stenolepis) PSC limits for
the trawl and longline fisheries in the
Central GOA and Western GOA. This
series of actions reflects the Council’s
commitment to reduce PSC in the GOA
fisheries. Participants in these fisheries
have raised concerns that the current
limited access management system
creates a substantial disincentive for
participants to take actions to reduce
PSC usage, particularly if those actions
could reduce target catch rates.
Additionally, any participants who
choose not to take actions to reduce PSC
usage stand to gain additional target
catch by continuing to harvest
groundfish at a higher catch rate, at the
expense of any vessels engaged in PSC
avoidance. In February 2013, the
Council unanimously adopted a
purpose and need statement, and goals
and objectives, to support the
development of a management system
that would remove this disincentive to
reduce PSC usage in Western GOA trawl
groundfish fisheries.
The Council intends to develop a
management program that would
replace the current limited access
E:\FR\FM\21MRP1.SGM
21MRP1
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 55 / Thursday, March 21, 2013 / Proposed Rules
management program with allocations
of allowable harvest (catch shares) to
individuals, cooperatives, or other
entities. The goal of the program is to
improve stock conservation by creating
vessel-level and/or cooperative-level
incentives to control and reduce PSC,
and to create accountability measures
for participants when utilizing target,
secondary, and PSC species. The
Council also intends for the program to
improve operational efficiencies, reduce
incentives to fish during unsafe
conditions, and support the continued
participation of coastal communities
that are dependent on the fisheries. The
Council intends to develop an analysis
of alternatives for a catch share
management program that meets its
goals and objectives. In developing the
alternatives for analysis, the Council
will consider how other fishery
management programs have considered
and applied MSA catch share provisions
to meet similar goals and objectives.
The Council announced a control date
of March 1, 2013, to reduce the
incentive for, and dampen the effect of,
speculative entry into the Western GOA
trawl groundfish fisheries in
anticipation of the future management
program. The Council intended to
establish a control date as soon as
possible after its February 2013 decision
to initiate development of a new
management program for the Western
GOA groundfish trawl fisheries. The
Council selected the control date
because it anticipated that the majority
of the 2013 Western GOA trawl
groundfish fishery would be concluded
by March 1, 2013. The Council stated
that it may not credit any catch history
in those fisheries after the control date
for purposes of making allocations
under a future management program.
The control date may be used as a
reference for future management
measures in determining how to credit
landings and permit history acquired
before or after this date for purposes of
establishing an allocation-based
management program. The
establishment of a control date,
however, does not obligate the Council
to use this control date or take any
action or prevent the Council from
selecting another control date or
imposing limits on permits acquired
prior to the control date. Accordingly,
this notification is intended to promote
awareness that the Council may develop
a catch share management program to
achieve its objectives for the Western
GOA trawl fisheries; to provide notice to
the public that any current or future
accumulation of fishing privilege
interests in the Western GOA trawl
VerDate Mar<14>2013
14:39 Mar 20, 2013
Jkt 229001
fisheries may be affected, restricted, or
even nullified; and to discourage
speculative participation and behavior
in the fisheries while the Council
considers whether and how fishing
privileges should be assigned or
allocated in the future. Any measures
the Council considers may require
changes to the FMP. Such measures may
be adopted in a future amendment to
the FMP, which would include
opportunity for further public
participation and comment.
NMFS encourages public
participation in the Council’s
development of the Western GOA trawl
groundfish fisheries catch share
management program. Please consult
the Council’s Web site at https://
www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc/
for information on public participation
in the Council’s decision-making
process.
This notification and control date do
not impose any legal obligations,
requirements, or expectation.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 18, 2013.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
performing the functions and duties of the
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013–06542 Filed 3–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 680
[Docket No. 120806311–3213–01]
RIN 0648–BC25
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization
Program
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS issues a proposed rule
that would implement Amendment 42
to the Fishery Management Plan for
Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and
Tanner Crabs (FMP). If approved, these
regulations would revise the annual
economic data reports (EDRs) currently
required of participants in the Crab
Rationalization Program (CR Program)
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
17341
fisheries. The EDRs include cost,
revenue, ownership, and employment
data that the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) and
NMFS use to study the economic
impacts of the CR Program on
harvesters, processors, and affected
communities. This proposed action is
necessary to eliminate redundant
reporting requirements, standardize
reporting across participants, and
reduce participants’ costs associated
with the data collection. This action 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.
DATES: Comments must be received no
later than April 22, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by FDMS Docket Number
NOAA–NMFS–2012–0111, 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. To submit
comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
first click the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon,
then enter NOAA–NMFS–2012–0111 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 that line.
• Mail: Address written comments to
Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn:
Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O.
Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668.
• Fax: Address written comments to
Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn:
Ellen Sebastian. Fax comments to 907–
586–7557.
• Hand delivery to the Federal
Building: Address written comments to
Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn:
Ellen Sebastian. Deliver comments to
709 West 9th Street, Room 420A,
Juneau, AK.
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
a part of the public record and will
generally be posted for public viewing
on https://www.regulations.gov without
change. All personal identifying
E:\FR\FM\21MRP1.SGM
21MRP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 55 (Thursday, March 21, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17340-17341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06542]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 130215145-3145-01]
RIN 0648-BD01
Control Date for Qualifying Landings History in the Western Gulf
of Alaska Trawl Groundfish Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR); control date.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: At the request of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council), this notice announces a control date of March 1, 2013, that
may be used as a reference for future management actions applicable to,
but not limited to, qualifying landings and permit history for an
allocation-based management or catch share program in the Western Gulf
of Alaska (GOA) trawl groundfish fisheries. This notice is intended to
discourage speculative entry into the fisheries while the Council
considers whether and how allocations of fishing privileges should be
developed under a future management program. The Council selected the
control date based on previous fishing activity in the Western GOA
groundfish fisheries, in which the majority of the fishery has
concluded by March 1 each year. This notice is publishing close to the
control date of March 1, 2013, and so will not either prompt
speculation in advance of its publication, or disadvantage any fishers
regarding their fishing activity after the control date, but before
publication. This notice is also intended to promote awareness of
possible rulemaking and provide notice to the public that any
accumulation of landings history in the Western GOA trawl groundfish
fisheries occurring after the control date may not be credited for
purposes of making any allocation under a future management program.
DATES: March 1, 2013, shall be known as the control date for the
Western GOA trawl groundfish fisheries and may be used as a reference
for allocations in a future management program that is consistent with
the Council's objectives and applicable Federal laws.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Baker: 907-586-7228 or
rachel.baker@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the
U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the GOA under the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP). The Council
prepared, and NMFS approved, the FMP under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), 16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and
implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
This advance notice of proposed rulemaking would apply to owners
and operators of catcher vessels and catcher/processors participating
in Federal fisheries prosecuted with trawl gear in the Western
Reporting Area of the GOA. The Western Reporting Area, defined at Sec.
679.2 and shown in Figure 3 to 50 CFR part 679, includes the Western
Regulatory Area (Statistical Area 610).
The Council and NMFS annually establish biological thresholds and
annual total allowable catch limits for groundfish species to
sustainably manage the groundfish fisheries in the GOA. To achieve
these objectives, NMFS requires vessel operators participating in GOA
groundfish fisheries to comply with various restrictions, such as
fishery closures, to maintain catch within specified total allowable
catch limits. The GOA groundfish fishery restrictions also include
prohibited species catch (PSC) limits for species that are generally
required to be discarded when harvested. When harvest of a PSC species
reaches the specified PSC limit for that fishery, NMFS closes directed
fishing for the target groundfish species, even if the total allowable
catch limit for that species has not been harvested.
The Council and NMFS have long sought to control the amount of
fishing in the North Pacific Ocean to ensure that fisheries are
conservatively managed and do not exceed established biological
thresholds. One of the measures used by the Council and NMFS is the
license limitation program (LLP), which limits access to the
groundfish, crab, and scallop fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands and the GOA. The LLP is intended to limit entry into federally
managed fisheries. For groundfish, the LLP requires that persons hold
and assign a license to each vessel that is used to fish in federally
managed fisheries, with some limited exemptions. The preamble to the
final rule implementing the groundfish LLP provides a more detailed
explanation of the rationale for specific provisions in the LLP
(October 1, 1998; 63 FR 52642).
Over the past few years, the Council has recommended amendments to
the FMP to reduce the use of PSC in the GOA fisheries. Under Amendment
93 to the FMP, the Council recommended, and NMFS approved, Chinook PSC
limits in the GOA pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) trawl fisheries (77
FR 42629, July 20, 2012). In June 2012, the Council recommended an FMP
amendment to reduce Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) PSC
limits for the trawl and longline fisheries in the Central GOA and
Western GOA. This series of actions reflects the Council's commitment
to reduce PSC in the GOA fisheries. Participants in these fisheries
have raised concerns that the current limited access management system
creates a substantial disincentive for participants to take actions to
reduce PSC usage, particularly if those actions could reduce target
catch rates. Additionally, any participants who choose not to take
actions to reduce PSC usage stand to gain additional target catch by
continuing to harvest groundfish at a higher catch rate, at the expense
of any vessels engaged in PSC avoidance. In February 2013, the Council
unanimously adopted a purpose and need statement, and goals and
objectives, to support the development of a management system that
would remove this disincentive to reduce PSC usage in Western GOA trawl
groundfish fisheries.
The Council intends to develop a management program that would
replace the current limited access
[[Page 17341]]
management program with allocations of allowable harvest (catch shares)
to individuals, cooperatives, or other entities. The goal of the
program is to improve stock conservation by creating vessel-level and/
or cooperative-level incentives to control and reduce PSC, and to
create accountability measures for participants when utilizing target,
secondary, and PSC species. The Council also intends for the program to
improve operational efficiencies, reduce incentives to fish during
unsafe conditions, and support the continued participation of coastal
communities that are dependent on the fisheries. The Council intends to
develop an analysis of alternatives for a catch share management
program that meets its goals and objectives. In developing the
alternatives for analysis, the Council will consider how other fishery
management programs have considered and applied MSA catch share
provisions to meet similar goals and objectives.
The Council announced a control date of March 1, 2013, to reduce
the incentive for, and dampen the effect of, speculative entry into the
Western GOA trawl groundfish fisheries in anticipation of the future
management program. The Council intended to establish a control date as
soon as possible after its February 2013 decision to initiate
development of a new management program for the Western GOA groundfish
trawl fisheries. The Council selected the control date because it
anticipated that the majority of the 2013 Western GOA trawl groundfish
fishery would be concluded by March 1, 2013. The Council stated that it
may not credit any catch history in those fisheries after the control
date for purposes of making allocations under a future management
program. The control date may be used as a reference for future
management measures in determining how to credit landings and permit
history acquired before or after this date for purposes of establishing
an allocation-based management program. The establishment of a control
date, however, does not obligate the Council to use this control date
or take any action or prevent the Council from selecting another
control date or imposing limits on permits acquired prior to the
control date. Accordingly, this notification is intended to promote
awareness that the Council may develop a catch share management program
to achieve its objectives for the Western GOA trawl fisheries; to
provide notice to the public that any current or future accumulation of
fishing privilege interests in the Western GOA trawl fisheries may be
affected, restricted, or even nullified; and to discourage speculative
participation and behavior in the fisheries while the Council considers
whether and how fishing privileges should be assigned or allocated in
the future. Any measures the Council considers may require changes to
the FMP. Such measures may be adopted in a future amendment to the FMP,
which would include opportunity for further public participation and
comment.
NMFS encourages public participation in the Council's development
of the Western GOA trawl groundfish fisheries catch share management
program. Please consult the Council's Web site at https://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc/ for information on public
participation in the Council's decision-making process.
This notification and control date do not impose any legal
obligations, requirements, or expectation.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 18, 2013.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, performing the functions and
duties of the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-06542 Filed 3-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P