International Fisheries; Western and Central Pacific Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species; Fishing Effort Limits in Purse Seine Fisheries for 2015, 29220-29223 [2015-12286]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 98 (Thursday, May 21, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29220-29223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12286]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 150406346-5346-01]
RIN 0648-BF03


International Fisheries; Western and Central Pacific Fisheries 
for Highly Migratory Species; Fishing Effort Limits in Purse Seine 
Fisheries for 2015

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Interim rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This interim rule establishes a limit for calendar year 2015 
on fishing effort by U.S. purse seine vessels in the U.S. exclusive 
economic zone (U.S. EEZ) and on the high seas between the latitudes of 
20[deg] N. and 20[deg] S. in the area of application of the Convention 
on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in 
the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention). The limit is 1,828 
fishing days. This action is necessary for the United States to 
implement provisions of a conservation and management measure adopted 
by the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly 
Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC 
or Commission) and to satisfy the obligations of the United States 
under the Convention, to which it is a Contracting Party.

DATES: Effective on May 21, 2015; comments must be submitted in writing 
by June 5, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2015-0058, and the regulatory

[[Page 29221]]

impact review (RIR) prepared for the interim rule, by either of the 
following methods:
     Electronic submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
    1. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0058,
    2. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, 
and
    3. Enter or attach your comments.

--OR--

     Mail: Submit written comments to Michael D. Tosatto, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO), 
1845 Wasp Blvd., Building 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
might 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 and 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).
    Copies of the RIR and the environmental assessment prepared for 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) purposes are available at 
www.regulations.gov or may be obtained from Michael D. Tosatto, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS PIRO (see address above).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Graham, NMFS PIRO, 808-725-5032.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background on the Convention

    A map showing the boundaries of the area of application of the 
Convention (Convention Area), which comprises the majority of the 
western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), can be found on the WCPFC Web 
site at: www.wcpfc.int/doc/convention-area-map. The Convention focuses 
on the conservation and management of highly migratory species (HMS) 
and the management of fisheries for HMS. The objective of the 
Convention is to ensure, through effective management, the long-term 
conservation and sustainable use of HMS in the WCPO. To accomplish this 
objective, the Convention established the Commission. The Commission 
includes Members, Cooperating Non-members, and Participating 
Territories (hereafter, collectively ``members''). The United States is 
a Member. American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands are Participating Territories.
    As a Contracting Party to the Convention and a Member of the 
Commission, the United States is obligated to implement the decisions 
of the Commission. The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention 
Implementation Act (16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.; WCPFC Implementation Act) 
authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the 
Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Department in which the 
United States Coast Guard is operating (currently the Department of 
Homeland Security), to promulgate such regulations as may be necessary 
to carry out the obligations of the United States under the Convention, 
including implementation of the decisions of the Commission. The WCPFC 
Implementation Act further provides that the Secretary of Commerce 
shall ensure consistency, to the extent practicable, of fishery 
management programs administered under the WCPFC Implementation Act and 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA; 16 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), as well as other specific laws (see 16 U.S.C. 
6905(b)). The Secretary of Commerce has delegated the authority to 
promulgate regulations under the WCPFC Implementation Act to NMFS.

WCPFC Decision on Tropical Tunas

    At its Eleventh Regular Session, in December 2014, the WCPFC 
adopted Conservation and Management Measure (CMM) 2014-01, 
``Conservation and Management Measure for Bigeye, Yellowfin and 
Skipjack Tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.'' CMM 2014-01 
is the most recent in a series of CMMs for the management of tropical 
tuna stocks under the purview of the Commission. It is a successor to 
CMM 2013-01, adopted in December 2013. These and other CMMs are 
available at: www.wcpfc.int/conservation-and-management-measures.
    The stated general objective of CMM 2014-01 and several of its 
predecessor CMMs is to ensure that the stocks of bigeye tuna (Thunnus 
obesus), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), and skipjack tuna 
(Katsuwonus pelamis) in the WCPO are, at a minimum, maintained at 
levels capable of producing their maximum sustainable yield as 
qualified by relevant environmental and economic factors. The CMM 
includes specific objectives for each of the three stocks: For each, 
the fishing mortality rate is to be reduced to or maintained at levels 
no greater than the fishing mortality rate associated with maximum 
sustainable yield.
    CMM 2014-01 went into effect February 3, 2015, and is generally 
applicable for the 2015-2017 period. The CMM includes provisions for 
purse seine vessels, longline vessels, and other types of vessels that 
fish for HMS. The CMM's provisions for purse seine vessels include 
limits on the allowable number of fishing vessels, limits on the 
allowable level of fishing effort, restrictions on the use of fish 
aggregating devices, requirements to retain all bigeye tuna, yellowfin 
tuna, and skipjack tuna except in specific circumstances, and 
requirements to carry vessel observers.
    The provisions of CMM 2014-01 apply on the high seas and in EEZs in 
the Convention Area; they do not apply in territorial seas or 
archipelagic waters.
    Paragraphs 20-27 of CMM 2014-01 require that WCPFC members limit 
the amount of fishing effort by purse seine vessels in certain areas of 
the Convention Area between the latitudes of 20[deg] N. and 20[deg] S. 
Paragraph 23 contains the relevant provisions for the U.S. EEZ, and 
paragraph 25 contains the relevant provisions for U.S. fishing vessels 
on the high seas.
    Paragraph 23 of CMM 2014-01 requires coastal members like the 
United States to ``establish effort limits, or equivalent catch limits 
for purse seine fisheries within their EEZs that reflect the 
geographical distributions of skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye tunas, 
and are consistent with the objectives for those species.'' It further 
states, ``Those coastal States that have already notified limits to the 
Commission shall restrict purse seine effort and/or catch within their 
EEZs in accordance with those limits.'' The United States has regularly 
notified the Commission of its purse seine effort limits for the U.S. 
EEZ since the limits were first established in 2009 (in a final rule 
published August 4, 2009; 74 FR 38544). Accordingly, the applicable 
limit for the U.S. EEZ is the same as that implemented by NMFS since 
2009, which is 558 fishing days per year. Under paragraph 23 of CMM 
2014-01, this limit is applicable from 2015 through 2017.
    Paragraph 25 of CMM 2014-01 requires that U.S. purse seine fishing 
effort on the high seas in 2015 be limited to 1,270 fishing days. It 
does not include limits for the years after 2015, instead stating that 
the Commission will review the 2015 limits in 2015 and agree on limits 
for later years.

[[Page 29222]]

The Action

    This interim rule is limited to implementing CMM 2014-01's 
provisions on allowable levels of fishing effort by purse seine vessels 
on the high seas and in the U.S. EEZ in the Convention Area, and only 
for 2015. The CMM's other provisions would be implemented through one 
or more separate rules, as appropriate. NMFS is implementing the 2015 
purse seine effort limits separately from other provisions of the CMM 
to ensure that the limits go into effect in U.S. regulations before the 
prescribed limits are exceeded by the fleet. Based on preliminary data 
available to date, NMFS expects that this could occur as early as June.
    As in previous rules to implement similar Commission-mandated 
limits on purse seine fishing effort, this interim rule continues to 
implement the applicable limits for the U.S. EEZ (paragraph 23 of CMM 
2014-01) and the high seas (paragraph 25 of CMM 2014-01) such that they 
apply to a single area, without regard to the boundary between the U.S. 
EEZ and the high seas. The separation in CMM 2014-01 of the high seas-
related provisions from the EEZ-related provisions does not reflect 
differing management needs or objectives in the two respective areas, 
but instead reflects where, under the CMM, the management 
responsibility for the two areas lies. CMM 2014-01 puts the 
responsibility to limit fishing effort in EEZs on coastal States, while 
the responsibility to limit fishing effort in areas of high seas is put 
on flag States. In this case, the United States is both a coastal State 
and a flag State and will satisfy its dual responsibilities by 
implementing a rule that combines the two areas for the purpose of 
limiting purse seine fishing effort. NMFS considered both the action 
alternative that would combine the two areas and another alternative 
that would not (see the EA and the RIR for comparisons of the two 
alternatives). Because both alternatives would accomplish the objective 
of controlling fishing effort by the required amount (i.e., by U.S. 
purse seine vessels operating on the high seas and by purse seine 
vessels in areas under U.S. jurisdiction, collectively), and because 
the alternative of combining the two areas is expected to result in 
greater operational flexibility to affected purse seine vessels and 
lesser adverse economic impacts, NMFS is implementing the alternative 
that would combine the two areas. This combined area (within the 
Convention Area between the latitudes of 20[deg] N. and 20[deg] S.) is 
referred to in U.S. regulations as the Effort Limit Area for Purse 
Seine, or ELAPS (see 50 CFR 300.211).
    The 2015 purse seine fishing effort limit for the ELAPS is 
formulated as in previous rules to establish limits for the ELAPS: The 
applicable limit for the U.S. EEZ portion of the ELAPS, 558 fishing 
days per year, is combined with the applicable limit for the high seas 
portion of the ELAPS, 1,270 fishing days per year, resulting in a 
combined limit of 1,828 fishing days in the ELAPS for calendar year 
2015.
    The meaning of ``fishing day'' is defined at 50 CFR 300.211; that 
is, any day in which a fishing vessel of the United States equipped 
with purse seine gear searches for fish, deploys a FAD, services a FAD, 
or sets a purse seine, with the exception of setting a purse seine 
solely for the purpose of testing or cleaning the gear and resulting in 
no catch.
    As established in existing regulations for purse seine fishing 
effort limits in the ELAPS, NMFS will monitor the number of fishing 
days spent in the ELAPS using data submitted in logbooks and other 
available information. If and when NMFS determines that the limit of 
1,828 fishing days is expected to be reached by a specific future date, 
it will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the 
purse seine fishery in the ELAPS will be closed starting on a specific 
future date and will remain closed until the end of calendar year 2015. 
NMFS will publish that notice at least seven days in advance of the 
closure date (see 50 CFR 300.223(a)(2)). Starting on the announced 
closure date, and for the remainder of calendar year 2015, it will be 
prohibited for U.S. purse seine vessels to fish in the ELAPS (see CFR 
300.223(a)(3)).
    This interim rule is being issued without prior notice or prior 
public comment because of the unusually high level of U.S. purse seine 
fishing effort in the ELAPS so far in 2015. To satisfy the 
international obligations of the United States as a Contracting Party 
to the Convention, NMFS must establish the applicable limits for 2015 
before they are exceeded, which, based on preliminary data available to 
date, NMFS expects could occur as early as June of 2015. NMFS would not 
be able to establish the applicable limits for 2015 if it issued and 
considered public comments on a proposed rule prior to issuing a final 
rule. Nonetheless, NMFS will consider public comments on this interim 
rule and issue a final rule, as appropriate. NMFS is particularly 
interested in comments related to whether the Commission-mandated purse 
seine fishing effort limit for the high seas should be combined with 
the Commission-mandated purse seine fishing effort limit for the U.S. 
EEZ, as NMFS has done in this interim rule, or whether NMFS should 
establish separate limits for the high seas and the U.S. EEZ.

Petition for Rulemaking

    On May 12, 2015, as this interim rule was being finalized for 
publication, NMFS received a petition for rulemaking from Tri Marine 
Management Company, LLC. The company requested, first, that NOAA 
undertake an emergency rulemaking to implement the 2015 ELAPS limits 
for fishing days on the high seas, and second, that NOAA issue a rule 
exempting from that high seas limit any U.S.-flagged purse seine vessel 
that, pursuant to contract or declaration of intent, delivers or will 
deliver at least 50 percent of its catch to tuna processing facilities 
based in American Samoa. NMFS will consider and respond to the petition 
separately from this interim rule.

Classification

    The Administrator, Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, has determined 
that this interim rule is consistent with the WCPFC Implementation Act 
and other applicable laws.

Administrative Procedure Act

    There is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice 
and the opportunity for public comment on this action, because prior 
notice and the opportunity for public comment would be contrary to the 
public interest. This rule establishes a limit on purse seine fishing 
effort for 2015 that is identical to the limit in place for 2014. 
Affected entities have been subject to fishing effort limits in the 
affected area--the ELAPS--since 2009, and are expecting imminent 
publication of the 2015 fishing effort limits. Because the amount of 
U.S. purse seine fishing effort in the ELAPS so far in 2015 has been 
greater than in prior years, it is critical that NMFS publish the limit 
for 2015 as soon as possible to ensure it is not exceeded and the 
United States complies with its international legal obligations with 
respect to CMM 2014-01. Based on preliminary data available to date, 
NMFS expects that the applicable limit of 1,828 fishing days in the 
ELAPS could be reached as early as June of 2015. Delaying this rule to 
allow for advance notice and public comment would bring a substantial 
risk that more than 1,828 fishing days would be spent in the ELAPS in 
2015, constituting non-compliance by the United States with respect to 
the purse seine fishing effort

[[Page 29223]]

limit provisions of CMM 2014-01. Because a delay in implementing this 
limit for 2015 could result in the United States violating its 
international legal obligations with respect to the purse seine fishing 
effort limit provisions of CMM 2014-01, which are important for the 
conservation and management of tropical tuna stocks in the WCPO, 
allowing advance notice and the opportunity for public comment would be 
contrary to the public interest. NMFS will, however, consider public 
comments received on this interim rule and issue a final rule, as 
appropriate.
    For the reasons articulated above, there is also good cause under 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effective date for this 
rule. As described above, NMFS must implement the purse seine fishing 
effort provisions of CMM 2014-01 as soon as possible, in order to 
ensure that the applicable effort limits are not exceeded. These 
fishing effort provisions are intended to reduce or otherwise control 
fishing pressure on bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, and skipjack tuna in 
the WCPO in order to maintain or restore those stocks at levels capable 
of producing maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis. Failure 
to immediately implement these provisions could result in excessive 
fishing pressure on these stocks, in violation of international and 
domestic legal obligations.

Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA)

    NMFS has determined that this rule will be implemented in a manner 
consistent, to the maximum extent practicable, with the enforceable 
policies of the approved coastal zone management programs of American 
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the 
State of Hawaii. These determinations have been submitted for review by 
the responsible territorial and state agencies under section 307 of the 
CZMA.

Executive Order 12866

    This interim rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not 
required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the 
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq., are inapplicable. Therefore, no final regulatory flexibility 
analysis was required and none has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300

    Administrative practice and procedure, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, 
Marine resources, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Treaties.

    Dated: May 15, 2015.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 300 is amended 
as follows:

PART 300--INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES REGULATIONS

Subpart O--Western and Central Pacific Fisheries for Highly 
Migratory Species

0
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 300, subpart O, continues to 
read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.



0
2. In Sec.  300.223, paragraph (a)(1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  300.223  Purse seine fishing restrictions.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) For calendar year 2015 there is a limit of 1,828 fishing days.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2015-12286 Filed 5-20-15; 8:45 am]
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