Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Small Vessel Exemptions; License Limitation Program, 7816-7817 [2015-02890]
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7816
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 29 / Thursday, February 12, 2015 / Proposed Rules
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648–XD682
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Small Vessel
Exemptions; License Limitation
Program
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of availability of
fishery management plan amendments;
request for comments.
AGENCY:
The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) has
submitted to the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) Amendment 108 to the
Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area
(BSAI FMP), Amendment 100 to the
Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA
FMP), and Amendment 46 to the
Fishery Management Plan for Bering
Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner
Crabs (Crab FMP). If approved, these
amendments would correct text
omissions in the BSAI FMP, the GOA
FMP, and the Crab FMP. These
amendments would make the fishery
management plan (FMP) texts that
establish vessel length limits for small
vessels exempted from the license
limitation program (LLP) in the Bering
Sea and Aleutian Islands Management
Area (BSAI) groundfish and king and
Tanner crab fisheries, and the Gulf of
Alaska (GOA) groundfish fisheries,
consistent with the original intent of the
LLP, current operations in the fisheries,
and Federal regulations. This action
would promote the goals and objectives
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, the
FMPs, and other applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on
Amendment 108 to the BSAI FMP,
Amendment 100 to the GOA FMP, and
Amendment 46 to the Crab FMP on or
before April 13, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2015–0161, by any of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-
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0161, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit 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.
Instructions: 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 by NMFS. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on www.regulations.gov
without change. All Personal Identifying
Information (e.g., name, address),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/
A’’ in the required fields, if you wish to
remain anonymous).
Electronic copies of Amendment 108
to the BSAI FMP, Amendment 100 to
the GOA FMP, Amendment 46 to the
Crab FMP, and the analysis prepared for
this action are available from the Alaska
Region NMFS Web site at https://
www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/regs/
summary.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Seanbob Kelly, 907–271–5195.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that
each regional fishery management
council submit proposed amendments
to a fishery management plan to the
Secretary for review and approval,
disapproval, or partial approval. The
Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires
that, upon receiving an FMP
amendment, the Secretary immediately
publish in the Federal Register a notice
that the amendment is available for
public review and comment. This notice
announces that proposed Amendment
108 to the BSAI FMP, Amendment 100
to the GOA FMP, and Amendment 46 to
the Crab FMP are available for public
review and comment. No changes to
Federal regulations would be necessary
to implement the proposed
amendments.
Amendment 108 to the BSAI FMP,
Amendment 100 to the GOA FMP, and
Amendment 46 to the Crab FMP were
adopted by the Council on December 15,
2014. If approved by the Secretary, the
FMP amendments would modify the
following sections: Amendment 108
would amend Table ES–2 and Section
3.3.1 of the BSAI FMP; Amendment 100
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
would amend Table ES–2 and Section
3.3.1 of the GOA FMP; and Amendment
46 would amend Section 8.1.4.2 of the
Crab FMP.
Background
In 1998, the Secretary implemented
the LLP to place an upper limit on the
number of vessels that could be
deployed in the crab and groundfish
(other than sablefish) fisheries off
Alaska. The LLP was originally
intended to address concerns that the
harvesting fleet had expanded beyond
the size necessary to harvest efficiently
the optimum yield of the fisheries off
Alaska. The LLP established several
exemptions to the requirement that a
vessel be named on an LLP license,
including an exemption for small
vessels. The LLP was established by
Amendment 39 to the BSAI FMP,
Amendment 41 to the GOA FMP, and
Amendment 5 to the Crab FMP, which
were implemented by NMFS on October
1, 1998 (63 FR 52642). Additional
information about the LLP can be found
in the preamble to the proposed rule for
these amendments (62 FR 43866,
August 15, 1997).
The Council and the Secretary
intended that the LLP would retain the
vessel length limits that were
established for the small vessel
exemption from the vessel moratorium
program (60 FR 40763; August 10, 1995)
as an exemption from the LLP; however,
the vessel length limits for the small
vessel exemption that were included in
the FMPs do not mirror the vessel
moratorium small vessel exemption.
The current FMP texts do not carry out
the Council’s and the Secretary’s intent
that vessels that were exempted from
the moratorium also would be exempt
from the LLP and are not consistent
with the Federal regulations that
implement the LLP. The FMP text
authorizing the LLP modified the GOA
FMP text from ‘‘vessels 26 ft or less
LOA’’ to ‘‘vessels less than 26 ft LOA,’’
modified the Crab FMP text from
‘‘vessels 32 ft or less LOA’’ to vessels ‘‘<
32’’’ and modified the BSAI FMP text
from ‘‘vessels 32 ft or less LOA’’ to
‘‘vessels less than 32 ft LOA’’. The
revised FMP texts omit vessels that are
exactly 26 ft (7.9 m) LOA or 32 ft (9.8
m) LOA. The omitted text is necessary
for consistency with Federal regulations
that exempt from the LLP vessels that
do ‘‘not exceed 26 ft (7.9 m) LOA’’ in
the GOA and vessels that do ‘‘not
exceed 32 ft (9.8 m) LOA’’ in the BSAI;
the Crab FMP only applies to the BSAI.
Additional information can be found in
the analysis prepared for this action
(See ADDRESSES).
E:\FR\FM\12FEP1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 29 / Thursday, February 12, 2015 / Proposed Rules
If approved by the Secretary,
proposed Amendment 108 to the BSAI
FMP, proposed Amendment 100 to the
GOA FMP, and proposed Amendment
46 to the Crab FMP would correct the
omissions in each FMP by adding ‘‘or
equal to’’ to the length limits.
Specifically, these FMP amendments
would add vessels 26 ft (7.9 m) LOA in
the GOA and vessels 32 ft (9.8 m) LOA
in the BSAI, including BSAI Crab, to the
LLP exemption. Since the
implementation of the LLP, fisheries in
the BSAI and GOA have been conducted
according to Federal regulations and not
the FMP texts; therefore, there would be
no impact to license holders and no
change to fishing behavior or fisheries
management in the U.S. Exclusive
Economic Zone off Alaska if these
amendments are approved. These
amendments are necessary to make the
three FMPs consistent with the original
intent of the Council and Secretary,
current operations in the fisheries, and
Federal regulations. The inconsistencies
among FMP text, regulatory text, and
Council and Secretarial intent were not
identified until August 2014.
Public comments are being solicited
on the proposed FMP amendments and
must be received by the end of the
comment period (see DATES) on
Amendment 108 to the BSAI FMP,
Amendment 100 to the GOA FMP, and
Amendment 46 to the Crab FMP to be
considered in the approval/disapproval
decision on each amendment. All
comments received by the end of the
comment period will be considered in
the approval/disapproval decision on
the amendments. To be considered,
comments must be received, not just
postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by
the end of the comment period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 6, 2015.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–02890 Filed 2–11–15; 8:45 am]
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Jkt 235001
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 680
[Docket No. 130820737–5111–01]
RIN 0648–BD61
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone off Alaska; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization
Program; Amendment 45; Pacific Cod
Sideboard Allocations in the Gulf of
Alaska
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS issues a proposed rule
that would implement Amendment 45
to the Fishery Management Plan for
Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and
Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP). If approved,
Amendment 45 would establish, for a
limited period of time, a process for
NMFS to permanently remove Pacific
cod catch limits, known as sideboard
limits, which are applicable to certain
hook-and-line catcher/processors in the
Central and Western Gulf of Alaska
(GOA) Regulatory Areas. This action
would authorize NMFS to remove these
Pacific cod sideboard limits in the
Central and/or Western GOA if all
eligible participants in the hook-andline catcher/processor sector in a
regulatory area sign and submit a
request that NMFS remove the
sideboard limit. Each eligible
participant would be required to submit
the request to NMFS within 1 year of
the date of publication of a final rule
implementing Amendment 45, if it is
approved by the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary). This action is necessary to
provide participants in the Central and
Western GOA hook-and-line catcher/
processor sectors with an opportunity to
cooperatively coordinate harvests of
Pacific cod through private arrangement
to the participants’ mutual benefit,
which would remove the need for
sideboard limits in these regulatory
areas. This action is intended to
promote the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Crab FMP,
and other applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on or before
March 16, 2015.
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4702
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7817
You may submit comments,
identified by NOAA-NMFS-2013-0133,
by any of the following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20130133, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit 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.
Instructions: 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 by NMFS. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. 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, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
Electronic copies of the following
documents may be obtained from
https://www.regulations.gov or from the
NMFS Alaska Region Web site at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov:
• The Regulatory Impact Review/
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(RIR/IRFA), and the Categorical
Exclusion prepared for this action
(collectively referred to as the
‘‘Analysis’’);
• The Harvest Specifications
Supplemental Information Report (SIR)
prepared for the final 2014 and 2015
harvest specifications;
• The Final Environmental
Assessment/Final RIR/Initial IRFA for
Amendment 83 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP) Allocation of
Pacific cod Among Sectors in the
Western and Central GOA; and
• The Alaska Groundfish Harvest
Specifications Final Environmental
Impact Statement (Harvest
Specifications EIS).
Written comments regarding the
burden-hour estimates or other aspects
of the collection-of-information
requirements contained in this action
may be submitted to NMFS at the above
address and by email to OIRA_
ADDRESSES:
E:\FR\FM\12FEP1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7816-7817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02890]
[[Page 7816]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648-XD682
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Small Vessel
Exemptions; License Limitation Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of availability of fishery management plan
amendments; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has
submitted to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) Amendment 108 to the
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP), Amendment 100 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP), and
Amendment 46 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian
Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP). If approved, these amendments
would correct text omissions in the BSAI FMP, the GOA FMP, and the Crab
FMP. These amendments would make the fishery management plan (FMP)
texts that establish vessel length limits for small vessels exempted
from the license limitation program (LLP) in the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) groundfish and king and Tanner
crab fisheries, and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) groundfish fisheries,
consistent with the original intent of the LLP, current operations in
the fisheries, and Federal regulations. This action would promote the
goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, the FMPs, and other applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on Amendment 108 to the BSAI FMP, Amendment 100
to the GOA FMP, and Amendment 46 to the Crab FMP on or before April 13,
2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2015-0161, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0161, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon,
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Submit 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.
Instructions: 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 by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All Personal Identifying
Information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information,
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter
``N/A'' in the required fields, if you wish to remain anonymous).
Electronic copies of Amendment 108 to the BSAI FMP, Amendment 100
to the GOA FMP, Amendment 46 to the Crab FMP, and the analysis prepared
for this action are available from the Alaska Region NMFS Web site at
https://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/regs/summary.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seanbob Kelly, 907-271-5195.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each regional
fishery management council submit proposed amendments to a fishery
management plan to the Secretary for review and approval, disapproval,
or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that, upon
receiving an FMP amendment, the Secretary immediately publish in the
Federal Register a notice that the amendment is available for public
review and comment. This notice announces that proposed Amendment 108
to the BSAI FMP, Amendment 100 to the GOA FMP, and Amendment 46 to the
Crab FMP are available for public review and comment. No changes to
Federal regulations would be necessary to implement the proposed
amendments.
Amendment 108 to the BSAI FMP, Amendment 100 to the GOA FMP, and
Amendment 46 to the Crab FMP were adopted by the Council on December
15, 2014. If approved by the Secretary, the FMP amendments would modify
the following sections: Amendment 108 would amend Table ES-2 and
Section 3.3.1 of the BSAI FMP; Amendment 100 would amend Table ES-2 and
Section 3.3.1 of the GOA FMP; and Amendment 46 would amend Section
8.1.4.2 of the Crab FMP.
Background
In 1998, the Secretary implemented the LLP to place an upper limit
on the number of vessels that could be deployed in the crab and
groundfish (other than sablefish) fisheries off Alaska. The LLP was
originally intended to address concerns that the harvesting fleet had
expanded beyond the size necessary to harvest efficiently the optimum
yield of the fisheries off Alaska. The LLP established several
exemptions to the requirement that a vessel be named on an LLP license,
including an exemption for small vessels. The LLP was established by
Amendment 39 to the BSAI FMP, Amendment 41 to the GOA FMP, and
Amendment 5 to the Crab FMP, which were implemented by NMFS on October
1, 1998 (63 FR 52642). Additional information about the LLP can be
found in the preamble to the proposed rule for these amendments (62 FR
43866, August 15, 1997).
The Council and the Secretary intended that the LLP would retain
the vessel length limits that were established for the small vessel
exemption from the vessel moratorium program (60 FR 40763; August 10,
1995) as an exemption from the LLP; however, the vessel length limits
for the small vessel exemption that were included in the FMPs do not
mirror the vessel moratorium small vessel exemption. The current FMP
texts do not carry out the Council's and the Secretary's intent that
vessels that were exempted from the moratorium also would be exempt
from the LLP and are not consistent with the Federal regulations that
implement the LLP. The FMP text authorizing the LLP modified the GOA
FMP text from ``vessels 26 ft or less LOA'' to ``vessels less than 26
ft LOA,'' modified the Crab FMP text from ``vessels 32 ft or less LOA''
to vessels ``< 32''' and modified the BSAI FMP text from ``vessels 32
ft or less LOA'' to ``vessels less than 32 ft LOA''. The revised FMP
texts omit vessels that are exactly 26 ft (7.9 m) LOA or 32 ft (9.8 m)
LOA. The omitted text is necessary for consistency with Federal
regulations that exempt from the LLP vessels that do ``not exceed 26 ft
(7.9 m) LOA'' in the GOA and vessels that do ``not exceed 32 ft (9.8 m)
LOA'' in the BSAI; the Crab FMP only applies to the BSAI. Additional
information can be found in the analysis prepared for this action (See
ADDRESSES).
[[Page 7817]]
If approved by the Secretary, proposed Amendment 108 to the BSAI
FMP, proposed Amendment 100 to the GOA FMP, and proposed Amendment 46
to the Crab FMP would correct the omissions in each FMP by adding ``or
equal to'' to the length limits. Specifically, these FMP amendments
would add vessels 26 ft (7.9 m) LOA in the GOA and vessels 32 ft (9.8
m) LOA in the BSAI, including BSAI Crab, to the LLP exemption. Since
the implementation of the LLP, fisheries in the BSAI and GOA have been
conducted according to Federal regulations and not the FMP texts;
therefore, there would be no impact to license holders and no change to
fishing behavior or fisheries management in the U.S. Exclusive Economic
Zone off Alaska if these amendments are approved. These amendments are
necessary to make the three FMPs consistent with the original intent of
the Council and Secretary, current operations in the fisheries, and
Federal regulations. The inconsistencies among FMP text, regulatory
text, and Council and Secretarial intent were not identified until
August 2014.
Public comments are being solicited on the proposed FMP amendments
and must be received by the end of the comment period (see DATES) on
Amendment 108 to the BSAI FMP, Amendment 100 to the GOA FMP, and
Amendment 46 to the Crab FMP to be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on each amendment. All comments received by the
end of the comment period will be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on the amendments. To be considered, comments must
be received, not just postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the end
of the comment period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 6, 2015.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-02890 Filed 2-11-15; 8:45 am]
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