Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; American Fisheries Act; Amendment 113, 50444-50459 [2016-18074]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 147 / Monday, August 1, 2016 / Proposed Rules
[FR Doc. 2016–18110 Filed 7–29–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 151113999–6620–01]
RIN 0648–BF54
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area;
American Fisheries Act; Amendment
113
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS proposes regulations to
implement Amendment 113 to the
Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area
(FMP). This proposed rule would
modify the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands (BSAI) Pacific cod fishery to set
aside a portion of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod total allowable catch for
harvest by vessels directed fishing for
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod and
delivering their catch for processing to
shoreside processors located on land
west of 170 W. longitude in the Aleutian
Islands (Aleutian Islands shoreplants).
The harvest set-aside would apply only
if specific notification and performance
requirements are met, and only during
the first few months of the fishing year.
This harvest set-aside would provide
the opportunity for vessels, Aleutian
Islands shoreplants, and the
communities where Aleutian Islands
shoreplants are located to receive
benefits from a portion of the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod fishery, while the
notification and performance
requirements would preserve an
opportunity for the complete harvest of
the BSAI Pacific cod resource should
complications arise with participation
in the harvest set-aside fishery. This
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SUMMARY:
proposed rule is intended to promote
the goals and objectives of Amendment
113, the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, and other applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on or before
August 31, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by NOAA–NMFS–2015–0155,
by any one of the following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20150155, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• 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.
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
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
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 113
to the FMP and the Environmental
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(collectively, Analysis) prepared for this
action may be obtained from https://
www.regulations.gov or from the Alaska
Region Web site at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
Written comments regarding the
burden-hour estimates or other aspects
of the collection-of-information
requirements contained in this proposed
rule may be submitted by mail to NMFS
at the above address; emailed to OIRA_
submission@omb.eop.gov; or faxed to
202–395–5806.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority for Action
NMFS manages the groundfish and
Pacific cod fisheries in the Exclusive
Economic Zone of the BSAI under the
FMP. The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council)
prepared, and the Secretary of
Commerce approved, the FMP pursuant
to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) and other
applicable laws. Regulations
implementing the FMP appear at 50
CFR part 679. General regulations that
pertain to U.S. fisheries appear at 50
CFR part 600.
The Council submitted Amendment
113 for review by the Secretary of
Commerce. A notice of availability of
Amendment 113 was published in the
Federal Register on July 19, 2016, with
comments invited through September
19, 2016. All relevant written comments
received by that time, whether
specifically directed to Amendment 113
or to this proposed rule, will be
considered in the decision to approve or
disapprove Amendment 113.
Background
This proposed rule would modify the
BSAI Pacific cod fishery to set aside a
portion of the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod total allowable catch (TAC) for
harvest by vessels directed fishing for
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod and
delivering their catch to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants for processing. The
harvest set-aside would apply only if
specific notification and performance
requirements are met, and only during
the first few months of the fishing year.
The following sections of this preamble
provide a description of (1) the BSAI
Pacific cod fishery; (2) the need for the
proposed rule; and (3) the proposed
rule.
To aid the reader, the following
glossary table (Table 1) lists the
abbreviations, acronyms, and other
technical terms most commonly used
throughout this document. These terms
are defined and discussed further in the
following sections of this preamble.
TABLE 1—GLOSSARY OF TERMS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND ACRONYMS FREQUENTLY USED IN THIS PROPOSED RULE
ABC ..............
AFA ..............
AI ..................
BS ................
BSAI .............
CDQ .............
Council .........
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acceptable biological catch.
American Fisheries Act.
Aleutian Islands subarea (see definition in § 679.2).
Bering Sea subarea (see definition in § 679.2).
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (see definition in § 679.2).
Western Alaska Community Development Quota.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
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Julie
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TABLE 1—GLOSSARY OF TERMS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND ACRONYMS FREQUENTLY USED IN THIS PROPOSED RULE—
Continued
CP ................
CV ................
DFA ..............
FMP ..............
GHL ..............
ICA ...............
LOA ..............
mt .................
NMFS ...........
OFL ..............
State .............
TAC ..............
catcher processor vessel.
catcher vessel.
directed fishing allowance.
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area.
guideline harvest level.
incidental catch allowance.
length overall.
metric ton.
National Marine Fisheries Service.
overfishing level.
State of Alaska.
total allowable catch.
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The BSAI Pacific Cod Fishery
Management of the BSAI Pacific Cod
Fishery
Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) is
one of the most abundant and valuable
groundfish species harvested in the
BSAI. Vessels harvest Pacific cod using
trawl and non-trawl gear. Non-trawl
gear includes hook-and-line, jig, and pot
gear. Vessels harvesting BSAI Pacific
cod operate as catcher vessels (CVs) that
harvest and deliver the fish for
processing, or as catcher processors
(CPs) that harvest and process the catch
on board.
The FMP and its implementing
regulations at § 679.20(c) require that,
after consultation with the Council,
NMFS specify an overfishing level
(OFL), an acceptable biological catch
(ABC), and a TAC for each target species
or species group of groundfish,
including Pacific cod, on an annual
basis. The OFL is the level above which
overfishing is occurring for a species or
species group. The ABC is the level of
a species’ or species group’s annual
catch that accounts for the scientific
uncertainty in the estimate of OFL, and
any other scientific uncertainty. Under
the FMP, the ABC is set below the OFL.
The TAC is the annual catch target for
a species or species group, derived from
the ABC by considering social and
economic factors and management
uncertainty, and in the case of BSAI
Pacific cod, after considering any
harvest allocations for guideline harvest
level (GHL) fisheries managed by the
State of Alaska (State) and occurring
within State waters. Under the FMP, the
TAC must be set lower than or equal to
the ABC.
The OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for BSAI
groundfish are specified through the
annual harvest specification process. A
detailed description of the annual
harvest specification process is
provided in the final 2016 and 2017
harvest specifications for groundfish of
the BSAI (81 FR 14773, March 18,
2016). The annual harvest specification
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process for BSAI Pacific cod is briefly
summarized here. Specific examples of
Pacific cod OFLs, ABCs, TACs, and
other apportionments of Pacific cod
used in this preamble are based on the
2017 specifications from the final 2016
and 2017 harvest specifications for
groundfish of the BSAI unless otherwise
noted.
For Pacific cod, the harvest
specifications establish an OFL, ABC,
and TAC for the Bering Sea subarea
(Bering Sea) of the BSAI, and a separate
OFL, ABC, and TAC for the Aleutian
Islands subarea (Aleutian Islands) of the
BSAI. Before the Pacific cod TACs are
established, the Council and NMFS
consider social and economic factors,
and management uncertainty, as well as
two factors that are particularly relevant
to BSAI Pacific cod: Pacific cod GHL
fisheries that occur in the State waters
of the BSAI, and an overall limit on the
maximum amount of TAC that can be
specified for BSAI groundfish.
Currently, the State manages two GHL
fisheries for Pacific cod, one that occurs
within State waters in the Bering Sea
and one that occurs within State waters
in the Aleutian Islands. Under current
State regulations, each year the Bering
Sea GHL fishery is limited to no more
than 6 percent of the ABC specified for
Pacific cod in the Bering Sea. The
Aleutian Islands GHL fishery is limited
to no more than 27 percent of the ABC
specified for Pacific cod in the Aleutian
Islands beginning in 2016, with annual
‘‘step-up’’ provisions that increase the
amount of the GHL fishery if it was fully
harvested in the previous year. The
Aleutian Islands GHL fishery can
increase to a maximum of 39 percent of
the Aleutian Islands ABC or to a
maximum of 15 million pounds (6,804
mt), whichever is less. Section 2.6.3 of
the Analysis provides additional
description of the GHL fisheries in the
BSAI. Pacific cod TACs are specified at
reduced levels that take into account the
GHL fisheries so that the combined
harvest limits from GHL fisheries and
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the TACs do not exceed the ABCs
specified for the Bering Sea or Aleutian
Islands.
The Council and NMFS also consider
requirements under the FMP and
regulations that limit the optimum yield
for BSAI groundfish. The FMP and
regulations establish 2.0 million metric
tons (mt) as the maximum optimum
yield of all BSAI groundfish species
combined (Section 3.2.2.2 of the FMP
and § 679.20(a)(1)). Under this
requirement, the sum of the TACs for all
groundfish species in the BSAI must be
specified within the optimum yield
range of 1.4 million to 2.0 million mt
(see § 679.20(a)(1)(i)). Typically, NMFS
specifies TACs for all BSAI groundfish
that total to 2 million mt, even though
summed ABCs for all BSAI groundfish
species can exceed the upper limit of
the optimum yield range. For example,
in 2016, the total ABCs for all BSAI
groundfish of 3.24 million mt
substantially exceeded the 2 million mt
limit for BSAI groundfish (81 FR 14773,
March 18, 2016). However, the Council
recommended and NMFS implemented
TACs that equaled 2 million mt for all
BSAI groundfish to ensure the 2 million
mt optimum yield limit was not
exceeded (81 FR 14773, March 18,
2016).
In 2016, the Pacific cod TACs for the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands were
reduced from their maximum
permissible limits (i.e., when the TAC is
set equal to ABC) to accommodate the
GHL fisheries and the 2 million mt limit
on BSAI groundfish TACs. The
combined ABCs for Pacific cod totaled
272,600 mt, and the combined TACs
totaled 251,519 mt (81 FR 14773, March
18, 2016).
Once the TACs are established,
regulations at § 679.20(a)(7)(i) allocate
10.7 percent of the Bering Sea Pacific
cod TAC and 10.7 percent of the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC to the
Community Development Quota (CDQ)
Program for the exclusive harvest by
Western Alaska CDQ groups. Section
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305(i) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
authorizes 65 communities organized
into six nonprofit corporations called
CDQ groups to receive exclusive harvest
privileges of groundfish, including
Pacific cod. Section 305(i) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act specifies the
methods for allocating these harvest
privileges. Once allocated, CDQ groups
must ensure that they do not exceed
their allocations. Section 2.6.1 of the
Analysis provides additional detail on
the CDQ Program and allocations to the
CDQ groups.
After subtraction of the CDQ
allocation from each TAC, NMFS
combines the remaining Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands TACs into one BSAI
non-CDQ TAC, which is available for
harvest by nine non-CDQ fishery
sectors. Regulations at
§ 679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A) define the nine
Pacific cod non-CDQ fishery sectors in
the BSAI and specify the percentage
allocated to each. The non-CDQ fishery
sectors are defined by a combination of
gear type (e.g., trawl, hook-and-line),
operation type (i.e., CV or CP), and
vessel size categories (e.g., vessels
greater than or equal to 60 ft in length
overall). Through the annual harvest
specifications process, NMFS allocates
an amount of the combined BSAI nonCDQ TAC to each of these nine nonCDQ fishery sectors. The nine non-CDQ
fishery sectors and the percentage of the
combined BSAI non-CDQ TAC allocated
to each sector are shown in Table 2 of
this preamble.
TABLE 2—ALLOCATIONS OF THE COMBINED BSAI NON-CDQ TAC TO THE NON-CDQ FISHERY SECTORS
Percentage
allocation of
the combined
BSAI nonCDQ TAC
Non-CDQ fishery sector
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Hook-and line catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 ft (18.3 m) length overall (LOA) ............................................................
Jig gear ................................................................................................................................................................................................
Pot catcher processors ........................................................................................................................................................................
Hook-and-line and pot catcher vessels less than 60 ft LOA ..............................................................................................................
American Fisheries Act (AFA) trawl catcher processors ....................................................................................................................
Pot catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 ft LOA .....................................................................................................................
Non-AFA trawl catcher processors (Amendment 80 CPs) .................................................................................................................
Trawl catcher vessels ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Hook-and-line catcher processors .......................................................................................................................................................
NMFS manages each of the non-CDQ
fishery sectors to ensure harvest of
Pacific cod does not exceed the overall
annual allocation made to each of the
non-CDQ fishery sectors. NMFS
monitors harvests that occur while
vessels are directed fishing for Pacific
cod (specifically targeting and retaining
Pacific cod above specific threshold
levels) and harvests that occur while
vessels are directed fishing in other
fisheries and incidentally catching
Pacific cod (e.g., the incidental catch of
Pacific cod in the directed pollock
fishery). Section 679.2 provides the
regulatory definition of ‘‘directed
fishing.’’ For the non-AFA trawl CP
sector, also known as the Amendment
80 sector, NMFS allocates exclusive
harvest privileges to non-CDQ fishery
participants that cannot be exceeded.
For other non-CDQ fishery sectors,
NMFS carefully tracks both directed and
incidental catch of Pacific cod. NMFS
takes appropriate management
measures, such as closing directed
fishing for a non-CDQ fishery sector, to
ensure that total directed fishing and
incidental fishing harvests do not
exceed that sector’s allocation. Section
2.6.6 of the Analysis describes NMFS’
management of the non-CDQ fishery
sectors.
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An allocation to a non-CDQ fishery
sector may be harvested in either the
Bering Sea or the Aleutian Islands,
subject to the non-CDQ Pacific cod TAC
specified for the Bering Sea or the
Aleutian Islands. If the non-CDQ Pacific
cod TAC is or will be reached in either
the Bering Sea or Aleutian Islands,
NMFS will prohibit directed fishing for
Pacific cod in that subarea for all nonCDQ fishery sectors (see
§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii)).
Allocations of Pacific cod to the CDQ
Program and to the non-CDQ fishery
sectors are further apportioned by
seasons. Season dates for the CDQ and
non-CDQ fishery sectors are established
at § 679.23(e)(5). In general, regulations
apportion CDQ and non-CDQ fishery
sector allocations among three seasons
that correspond to the early (A-season),
middle (B-season), and late (C-season)
portions of the year. The specific
seasonal dates established for the CDQ
Program and each of the non-CDQ
fishery sectors are provided in the final
2016 and 2017 harvest specifications for
groundfish of the BSAI (81 FR 14773,
March 18, 2016). Depending on the
specific CDQ Program or non-CDQ
fishery sector allocation, between 40
percent and 70 percent of the Pacific
cod allocation is apportioned to the A-
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0.2
1.4
1.5
2.0
2.3
8.4
13.4
22.1
48.7
season, historically the most lucrative
fishing season due to the presence of
valuable roe in the fish and the good
quality of the flesh during that time of
year.
The allocation of Pacific cod among
the CDQ Program and the nine non-CDQ
fishery sectors, as well as the seasonal
apportionment of those allocations,
create a large number of separate
sectoral-seasonal allocations. To help
ensure the efficient management of
these allocations, regulations allow
NMFS to reallocate (rollover) any
unused portion of a seasonal
apportionment from any non-CDQ
fishery sector (except the jig sector) to
that sector’s next season during the
current fishing year, unless the Regional
Administrator determines a non-CDQ
fishery sector will not be able to harvest
its allocation (see § 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(B)).
The 2017 ABCs, OFLs, TACs, CDQ
and non-CDQ fishery sector allocations,
and seasonal apportionments of BSAI
Pacific cod are shown in Table 3 of this
preamble. Table 3 of this preamble
includes data from Tables 2 and 9 in the
2016 and 2017 final harvest
specifications for the BSAI groundfish
fisheries (81 FR 14773, March 18, 2016).
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TABLE 3—PACIFIC COD OFL, ABC, AND TAC SPECIFICATIONS IN THE BSAI FOR 2017
Description of OFL, ABC, and TAC specification process
2017 Management area and allocation amount (in
metric tons)
Bering Sea
Specification of separate BS and AI OFLs,
ABCs.
Specification of TAC (considers GHL fisheries and 2.0 million mt limit).
CDQ Allocation of 10.7% of the TAC .........
Aleutian
Islands
BSAI
OFL ...........................................................
ABC ...........................................................
TAC ...........................................................
412,000
255,000
238,680
23,400
17,600
12,839
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
CDQ ..........................................................
25,539
1,374
N/A.
Season allocations are established depending on specific
gear
type
used
(See
§ 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B)).
N/A.
CDQ Seasonal Apportionment .................
Non-CDQ TAC (89.3% of the TAC) for
each.
Allocation of the combined BSAI non-CDQ
TAC to each of the non-CDQ fishery
sectors, and the seasonal apportionment
of that allocation.
Non-CDQ TAC ..........................................
213,141
11,465
Hook-and line catcher vessels greater
than or equal to 60 ft LOA.
N/A
N/A
A season: 228.
B season: 219.
Jig gear .....................................................
N/A
N/A
Pot catcher processors .............................
N/A
N/A
Hook-and-line and pot catcher vessels
less than 60 ft LOA.
AFA trawl catcher processors ..................
N/A
N/A
A season: 1,887.
B season: 629.
C season: 629.
A season: 1,712.
B season: 1,645.
All Year: 4,476.
N/A
N/A
Pot catcher vessels greater than or equal
to 60 ft LOA.
Non-AFA trawl catcher processors
(Amendment 80 CPs).
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Trawl catcher vessels ...............................
N/A
N/A
Hook-and-line catcher processors ............
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Seasonal Apportionment of CDQ Allocation.
N/A
N/A
Harvesting and Processing of Pacific
Cod in the Aleutian Islands
A variety of vessels using a variety of
gear types harvest the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod TAC. Trawl CV and trawl CP
vessels have been among the most active
participants in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery. The trawl CV fishery
sector harvested 55 percent of the
Pacific cod from the Aleutian Islands on
an average annual basis during 2003
through 2015 (Table 2–17 of the
Analysis), while trawl CP sectors, which
include the AFA and the Amendment
80 fishery sectors, harvested 29 percent
of the Pacific cod from the Aleutian
Islands on an average annual basis
during 2003 through 2015 (Table 2–10
of the Analysis). The hook-and-line CP
sector is the only other sector that has
consistently participated in the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod fishery annually.
The hook-and-line CP sector harvested
14 percent of the Pacific cod from the
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Aleutian Islands on an average annual
basis during 2003 through 2015 (Table
2–13 of the Analysis). Non-trawl CVs
have harvested only a very small
portion of the Pacific cod from the
Aleutian Islands: approximately 2
percent of the Pacific cod harvest on an
average annual basis during 2003
through 2015 (Table 2–20 of the
Analysis). Section 2.6.6 of the Analysis
provides additional detail on harvesting
in the Aleutian Islands.
Trawl CVs deliver their catch of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to several
types of processors in the Aleutian
Islands. Some trawl CVs deliver their
catch to CPs for processing on board the
CP. In this situation, the CP is acting as
a mothership. These CPs also harvest
and process their own catch of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod. Some trawl CVs
deliver their catch to stationary floating
processors anchored in specific
locations that receive and process catch
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224,606.
A season: 3,874.
B season: 1,291.
C season: 0.
A season: 9,587.
B season: 9,211.
A season: 22,573.
B season: 7,524.
C season: 0.
A season: 36,732.
B season: 5,460.
C season: 7,446.
A season: 55,581.
B season: 53,402.
C season: 228.
on board but do not harvest and process
their own catch. Some trawl CVs deliver
their catch to shoreside processing
facilities that are physically located on
land within the Aleutian Islands; these
facilities are defined as ‘‘Aleutian
Islands shoreplants’’ in this proposed
rule.
Currently, Aleutian Islands
shoreplants are located in the
communities of Adak and Atka, and
these shoreplants can receive deliveries
of Pacific cod from CVs. Although the
Atka shoreplant has not received and
processed Aleutian Islands Pacific cod,
the shoreplant in Adak has received and
processed relatively large amounts of
Pacific cod. The vast majority of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod delivered to
the Adak shoreplant comes from catch
harvested by trawl CVs (Table 2–32 of
the Analysis). The percentage of total
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod processed
by Aleutian Islands shoreplants has
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been highly variable, ranging from 0 to
49 percent since 2003 (Table 2–31 of the
Analysis). From 2003 through June
2015, the Adak shoreplant has received
an annual average of approximately 25
percent of the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod harvest (Table 2–31 of the
Analysis). Relatively small amounts of
Pacific cod harvested in the Aleutian
Islands have also been delivered to
shoreplants located outside the Aleutian
Islands, on average less than 1 percent
of the total amount of Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod harvested from 2003 through
June 2015. Section 2.7.1 of the Analysis
has additional detail on the delivery and
processing of Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod.
Harvesting and Processing in Adak
The development of a local CV fleet
has long been a goal of the local
leadership in Adak, but currently the
number of locally owned or locally
operated CVs is limited. A variety of
programs have been implemented to
encourage economic opportunities for
local CVs and processing operations.
Some of these programs include the
allocation of the Aleutian Islands
pollock TAC to the Aleut Corporation,
an Alaska Native tribal organization that
represents specific community interests
in Adak (70 FR 9856; March 1, 2005),
allocations of Western Aleutian Islands
golden king crab to the Adak
Community Development Corporation
under the BSAI Crab Rationalization
Program (70 FR 10174; March 2, 2005),
and the establishment of a Community
Quota Entity Program in the Aleutian
Islands that provides additional fishing
opportunities for residents of fishery
dependent communities in the Aleutian
Islands and sustains participation in the
halibut and sablefish IFQ fisheries (79
FR 8870; February, 14, 2014). Adak also
acts as a port of embarkation and
disembarkation for personnel on board
CPs and CVs harvesting groundfish in
the Aleutian Islands.
Despite only a having a small local CV
fleet, Adak has a substantial degree of
engagement in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery. Adak is home to a
large shoreplant. Pacific cod is the
primary species delivered to and
processed at the Adak shoreplant. The
Adak shoreplant has the capability to
process one million round pounds (454
mt) of Pacific cod daily. When
operational, the Adak shoreplant
primarily receives and processes Pacific
cod harvested from January through
March, the period corresponding to the
A season. Processing revenue from the
A-season Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
fishery has been the main source of
income for the Adak shoreplant (and the
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primary source of raw fish tax revenue
for the City of Adak). The processing of
A-season Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
has historically accounted for
approximately 75 percent of the Adak
shoreplant’s revenue. The Adak
shoreplant has not been operated
continuously over the last decade. In
some years, the facility has not received
any deliveries of groundfish, crab, or
halibut due to a variety of operational
and logistical challenges, as well as
changes in fishery management
measures. Section 2.6.8 of the Analysis
provides additional detail on Adak
shoreplant processing operations.
Harvesting and Processing in Atka
Vessels operating out of Atka
participate in halibut fisheries, and
receive groundfish allocations through
the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community
Development Association (APICDA)
CDQ group. As a member of APICDA,
Atka benefits from CDQ shares in a
number of commercial fisheries,
including Pacific cod. In 2016, APICDA
received an allocation of 15 percent, or
193 mt, of the Aleutian Islands CDQ
Pacific cod allocation, as well as
allocations of halibut, crab, and other
Aleutian Islands groundfish (See the
2016 CDQ Program allocation matrix
available at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/
files/reports/annualmatrix2016.pdf).
The Atka shoreplant primarily
processes halibut and sablefish. The
local commercial fleet primarily
harvests halibut, with limited harvests
of sablefish. However, the community
and processor have made substantial
infrastructure investments to make the
shoreplant a year-round operation with
the capacity to process Pacific cod.
Once completed, the processing
capacity of the Atka shoreplant is
anticipated to be approximately 400,000
round pounds (181 mt) of Pacific cod
per day. Section 2.6.8 of the Analysis
provides additional detail on Atka
shoreplant processing operations.
Since 2008, trawl CVs have primarily
delivered their catch of Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod to a small group of CPs that
operate as motherships (processing
Pacific cod delivered by trawl CVs). As
deliveries of Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod harvest from trawl CVs to CPs has
increased in recent years, the amount of
trawl CV harvest delivered to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants has decreased. From
2003 through 2007, an average of 69
percent of the annual trawl CV harvest
of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod was
delivered to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants (see Table 2–32 of the
Analysis), with the remainder of the
harvest delivered to CPs acting as
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motherships or to stationary floating
processors. From 2008 through June
2015, an average of 34 percent of the
annual trawl CV harvest of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod was delivered to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants, with the
remainder of the harvest delivered to
CPs acting as motherships or to
stationary floating processors (see Table
2–32 of the Analysis). Even if 2011 and
2015 (the years when the Aleutian
Islands shoreplants were not
operational) are removed from
consideration, an average of 45 percent
of the annual trawl CV harvest of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod was
delivered to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants from 2008 through June
2015, a reduction of approximately 35
percent in the annual average between
2003 and 2007. Additionally, CPs have
demonstrated the capacity to process
the entire harvest of Pacific cod in the
Aleutian Islands in years when no
Aleutian Islands shoreplant is in
operation. This proposed rule is
intended in part to mitigate the risk that
vessels, Aleutian Islands shoreplants,
and the communities in which they are
located will be preempted from
participating in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery.
Section 2.6 of the Analysis provides
additional description of the factors that
have affected the harvesting and
processing of Pacific cod in the Aleutian
Islands.
Need for This Proposed Rule
In 2008, the Council began to examine
the need for processing sideboards for
processing vessels operating in the
Aleutian Islands. As the Council
considered this issue over the next
several years, it recognized that several
other management actions under
consideration by the Council might
greatly affect any action to modify the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery.
Since 2008, Aleutian Islands fishing
communities, and specifically the
community of Adak and its shoreplant,
have lost their historical place in the
Pacific cod fishery. The amount of
Pacific cod being delivered to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants has been highly
variable and vulnerable, which is not
conducive to stable shoreside
operations. Several factors have
contributed to this instability, and
therefore the need for this proposed
action, including decreased Pacific cod
biomass in the Aleutian Islands subarea;
the establishment of separate OFLs,
ABCs, and TACs for Pacific cod in the
Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands
(referred to as the ‘‘BSAI TAC split’’);
changing Steller sea lion protection
measures; and changing fishing
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practices in part resulting from
rationalization programs.
By October 2013, decisions on some
of these other management actions were
completed, and the Council again
considered modifications to the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery at
its February 2014 meeting. After
receiving recommendations from the
Council’s Advisory Panel and testimony
from the public, the Council developed
a suite of alternatives and options for
consideration. The Council adopted its
preferred alternative for Amendment
113 at its October 2015 meeting.
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BSAI Pacific Cod Biomass Estimates
and TAC Split
Pacific cod biomass in the Aleutian
Islands declined steadily from about
2000 until 2014 (see Section 3.3 of the
Analysis), although the stock
assessment in 2015 indicated some
stabilization. Prior to 2011, the Pacific
cod stock assessment model for the
BSAI had been based on an abundance
estimate from the eastern Bering Sea
that was expanded to the entire BSAI.
In 2011, based on information that the
proportion of the combined BSAI
biomass in the Aleutian Islands subarea
might be smaller than previously
estimated, the Council requested a stock
assessment specific to Pacific cod in the
Aleutian Islands subarea. Prior to the
Aleutian Islands-specific stock
assessment, approximately 16 percent of
the Pacific cod biomass was attributed
to the Aleutian Islands; however, the
stock assessment revealed that the
actual distribution was in the 7 to 9
percent range. After considering the
combined effects of a declining Aleutian
Islands biomass of Pacific cod, revisions
to the stock assessment, and the
proportion of the stock attributed to the
Aleutian Islands, the Council
recommended splitting the BSAI Pacific
cod TAC between the two subareas. See
Section 3.3 of the Analysis for more
information about the BSAI TAC split.
The declining biomass, revised stock
assessment, and BSAI TAC split
resulted in a substantial decrease in the
TAC available for harvest in the
Aleutian Islands.
Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures
The western distinct population
segment of Steller sea lions was listed
as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act in 1990 (55 FR 49204,
November 26, 1990), and reclassified as
endangered in 1997 (62 FR 30772, June
5, 1997). Since then, NMFS has
restricted fishing with trawl gear near
Steller sea lion rookeries and managed
fisheries to limit and disperse harvest in
important Steller sea lion foraging areas.
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In 2011, NMFS increased the areas of
closure for directed fishing for Pacific
cod in the western Aleutian Islands to
ensure the fisheries were not likely to
jeopardize the continued existence of
the western distinct population segment
of Steller sea lions or adversely modify
their designated critical habitat. These
protection measures reduced harvest
opportunities for Pacific cod in the
Aleutian Islands, shifting more fishing
effort to the Bering Sea, which
contributed to the decline in deliveries
of Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants.
In 2014, NMFS implemented new
Steller sea lion protection measures in
the Aleutian Islands (79 FR 70286,
November 25, 2014) that are less
restrictive than the measures previously
in place; however, in that year NMFS
also split the BSAI TAC into separate
TACs for the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands subareas. While the BSAI TAC
split greatly reduced the potential
impacts of the Pacific cod fisheries on
Steller sea lion Pacific cod prey
resources, it also resulted in a
substantial reduction in the amount of
Pacific cod available for harvest in the
Aleutian Islands. Consequently,
implementation of the less restrictive
Steller sea lion protection measures in
2014 did not improve opportunities for
deliveries of Pacific cod to shoreside
processors that support communities in
the Aleutian Islands, given the effects of
the BSAI split.
Additional information about the
effects of Steller sea lion protection
measures on the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod fishery and Aleutian Islands
communities is available in Section 3.3
of the EIS prepared for the Steller sea
lion protection measures (Available at
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/
fisheries/sslpm-feis) and in Section 2.6.5
of the Analysis prepared for this
proposed rule.
Rationalization Programs
Some of the recent decline in
processing of Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod by Aleutian Islands shoreplants is
likely due to the reduction in Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod biomass, the BSAI
TAC split, and Steller sea lion
protection measures, but changes in
fishing behavior by the offshore sector,
starting with the implementation of two
types of rationalization programs in
2008, has also contributed to the decline
in Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
delivered and processed at Aleutian
Islands shoreplants. In 2008, both
Amendment 80 and Amendment 85
were implemented. Amendment 80
provided an allocation of the TACs for
six groundfish species, including Pacific
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cod, to facilitate the development of
cooperative arrangements among the
eligible non-pelagic trawl CPs, thus
allowing opportunities for consolidation
within the Amendment 80 sector and
allowing for increased processing
participation by the sector in other
fisheries such as Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod. Amendment 85 reduced the
allocation of BSAI Pacific cod to trawl
sectors from 47 percent to 37.8 percent
and further apportioned the BSAI
Pacific cod allocation among the
different trawl sectors.
As a result of the implementation of
Amendment 80 and Amendment 85, the
fishing behavior for the trawl sectors
changed in the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod fishery. Section 2.7.1 of the
Analysis shows that prior to 2008, a
majority of the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod processed by the offshore sector
came from CP harvest, but after 2008,
CV deliveries of Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod to CPs played a more significant
role in the offshore processing. The
percentage of the total CV deliveries of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to
shoreplants decreased from an annual
average of 69 percent prior to 2008, to
an annual average of 34 percent since
2008, with the remainder being
delivered to the offshore sector
(motherships and floating processors).
Before Amendment 80 to the FMP was
implemented in 2008, between 3 and 6
percent of the total BSAI Pacific cod
landings were made at Adak. However,
since 2012, the share of total BSAI
Pacific cod landings made at Adak has
been 1 to 2 percent. The flexibility of
Amendment 80 likely afforded the
offshore sector the ability to change its
fishing behavior in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery to lessen the impacts
of Amendment 85, a lower Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod biomass, and the
BSAI Pacific cod TAC split. When
compared to the offshore sector, the
Aleutian Islands shoreplants have little
ability to change their behavior to
reduce the impacts resulting from a
lower Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
biomass and the BSAI Pacific cod TAC
split, since the Aleutian Islands
shoreplants rely entirely on CV
deliveries of Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod. This disparity in flexibility
between the offshore sector and
Aleutian Islands shoreplants leaves the
Aleutian Islands shoreplants at a
significant disadvantage in adapting to
changes in the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod fishery.
Rationale for Action
Generally, this proposed rule would
establish a harvest set-aside in which a
portion of the Aleutian Islands Pacific
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cod TAC would be available for harvest
only by vessels directed fishing for
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod and
delivering their catch to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants for processing. The
harvest set-aside would apply only if
specific notification and performance
requirements are met, and only during
the first few months of the fishing year.
A detailed description of this proposed
rule is provided in the following section
of the preamble.
The Council determined and NMFS
agrees that a harvest set-aside is needed
for several reasons. First, the Council
acknowledged that the TAC for Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod was significantly
lower than predicted. Second, the
rationalization programs, and
particularly the Amendment 80
Program, have allowed an influx of
processing capacity into the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod fishery capable of
processing the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod TAC, exacerbating the need for
Council action to support Aleutian
Islands fishing communities. The
Council determined that without
Council action, there would be a
continued risk that fishing
communities, and particularly Aleutian
Islands shoreplants and the
communities in which they are located,
would not be able to sustain
participation in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery. This proposed rule
would maintain opportunities for
remote fishing communities to
participate in the Pacific cod fishery.
Third, the Council recognized that
multiple sectors have historically
participated in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery, but for the CP
sectors, the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
fishery contributed only 1 to 3 percent
of total first wholesale gross revenue in
recent years, compared to the
shoreplants (Adak), where almost all of
their total first wholesale gross revenue
was from Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
during the same period.
This proposed rule would strike a
balance between providing fishing
community protections and ensuring
that the fishery sectors have a
meaningful opportunity to fully harvest
their allocations by including several
thresholds to prevent Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod from being unharvested.
This proposed rule would provide
benefits and stability to fisherydependent fishing communities in the
Aleutian Islands and is responsive to
changes in management regimes like
rationalization programs that necessitate
putting protections in place to protect
other non-rationalized fisheries.
The Council also stressed that this
proposed rule would not affect any
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sector’s BSAI Pacific cod allocation or
the CDQ Pacific cod allocation in the
Aleutian Islands. Non-CDQ sectors
would continue to receive the
allocations established under
Amendment 85.
The Council recognized that neither
of the existing Aleutian Islands
shoreplants is currently processing
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod. However,
the Council also recognized that the
protection measures and harvest setaside in this proposed rule would
minimize the risk of exclusion from,
and maintain opportunities for
participation in, the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery by Aleutian Islands
harvesters, processors, and
communities.
This proposed rule would revise
regulations to provide additional
opportunities for harvesters to deliver
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants. The Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod TAC is not sufficient
to allow all sectors to prosecute the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery at
their historical levels. Without
protections, Aleutian Islands harvesters,
shoreplants, and fishing communities
could be preempted from the fishery by
the offshore sector. This proposed
action would create a set aside for
vessels delivering to shoreplants,
especially in low TAC years.
This proposed rule is intended to
provide benefits to harvesters delivering
to Aleutian Islands shoreplants, the
shoreplants, and the communities
where those shoreplants are located.
This objective is consistent with longstanding policies recommended by the
Council and regulations established by
NMFS to provide harvesting and
processing opportunities for
communities in the Aleutian Islands.
Because of their remote location and
limited economic alternatives, Aleutian
Islands communities rely on harvesting
and processing of the nearby fishery
resources to support and sustain their
communities. This proposed rule is
intended to be directly responsive to
National Standard 8 of the MagnusonStevens Act that states conservation and
management measures shall take into
account the importance of fishery
resources to fishing communities in
order to provide for the sustained
participation of such communities, and
to the extent practicable, minimize
adverse economic impacts on such
communities (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(8)).
Additional information on the history
leading up to this proposed action and
the Council’s purpose and need
statement are provided in Sections 2.3
and 2.2 of the Analysis, respectively.
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The following section of this
preamble describes how this proposed
rule would revise management of the
BSAI Pacific cod fishery to provide
harvesting and delivery opportunities
for Aleutian Islands communities, while
considering and accommodating the
harvesting and delivery patterns and
needs of other participants in the BSAI
Pacific cod fishery.
The Proposed Rule
This proposed rule would modify
several aspects of the BSAI Pacific cod
fishery. This proposed rule would set
aside a portion of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod non-CDQ TAC for harvest by
vessels directed fishing for Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod for processing by
Aleutian Islands shoreplants. However,
the harvest set-aside would apply only
if specific notification and performance
requirements are met, and only during
the first few months of the fishing year.
In order to implement Amendment
113, this proposed rule would:
• Define the term ‘‘Aleutian Islands
shoreplant’’ in regulation;
• Calculate and define the amount of
the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC
that would be available as a directed
fishing allowance (DFA) and the amount
that would be available as an incidental
catch allowance (ICA);
• Limit the amount of A-season
Pacific cod that could be harvested by
the trawl CV sector in the Bering Sea
prior to March 21 (Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation);
• Set aside some or all of the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ DFA for
harvest by vessels directed fishing for
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod for
processing by Aleutian Islands
shoreplants from January 1 to March 15
(Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside);
• Require that either the City of Adak
or the City of Atka annually provide
notification to NMFS prior to November
1 of its intent to process Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod during the upcoming
fishing year in order for the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside and the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation to be effective in the
upcoming fishing year; and
• Remove the Bering Sea Trawl CV ASeason Sector Limitation and the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside if
less than 1,000 mt of the harvest setaside is delivered to (i.e., landed at)
Aleutian Islands shoreplants by
February 28, or if the harvest set-aside
is fully taken before March 15.
The following sections provide greater
detail about the rationale for and effect
of the regulatory changes proposed in
this rule.
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Proposed Revisions to Definitions at
§ 679.2
This proposed rule would add a
definition to § 679.2 for ‘‘Aleutian
Islands shoreplant’’ to mean a
processing facility that is physically
located on land west of 170° W.
longitude within the State of Alaska.
This proposed definition is needed
because the existing term ‘‘shoreside
processor’’ in § 679.2 can include
processing vessels that are moored or
otherwise fixed in a location (i.e.,
stationary floating processors), but not
necessarily located on land. The
objective of this proposed rule is to
provide an opportunity for fishing
communities in the Aleutian Islands,
including the processors that are
physically located in Aleutian Islands
communities, to receive benefits from
the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery
at levels that are roughly equivalent to
the historic share of Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod that was harvested by CVs
and delivered to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants for processing. Given that
the definition of shoreside processor
does not exclude stationary floating
processors, and stationary floating
processors do not benefit or provide
stability to nearby communities to the
same extent as shoreplants, this
proposed definition would provide a
clear and consistent term for referencing
the shoreside processors located on land
within the Aleutian Islands.
Proposed Revisions to General
Limitations at § 679.20
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This proposed rule would add a new
paragraph (viii) to § 679.20(a)(7). This
new paragraph would include the
primary regulatory provisions of this
proposed rule. To aid the reader in
understanding how this proposed rule
would apply, NMFS provides examples
of the proposed Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside, harvest limitations,
and performance measures in this
section of the preamble using 2017
harvest specifications for BSAI Pacific
cod (81 FR 14773, March 18, 2016). For
the remainder of this preamble, unless
otherwise specified, all references refer
to non-CDQ allocations and
apportionments of BSAI Pacific cod.
Calculation of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific Cod Non-CDQ Incidental Catch
Allowance and Directed Fishing
Allowance
This proposed rule would require that
NMFS annually specify an ICA and a
DFA derived from the Aleutian Islands
non-CDQ TAC. Each year, during the
annual harvest specifications process
described at § 679.20(c), NMFS would
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specify an amount of Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod that NMFS estimates will be
taken as incidental catch when directed
fishing for non-CDQ groundfish other
than Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands.
This amount would be the Aleutian
Islands ICA and would be deducted
from the Aleutian Islands non-CDQ
TAC. The amount of the Aleutian
Islands non-CDQ TAC remaining after
subtraction of the Aleutian Islands ICA
would be the Aleutian Islands DFA.
NMFS would specify the Aleutian
Islands ICA and DFA so that NMFS
could clearly establish the amount of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod that would
be used in determining the amount of
the harvest set-aside described in the
following sections of this preamble. It
would also aid the public in knowing
how much of the Aleutian Islands nonCDQ TAC is available for directed
fishing prior to the start of fishing to aid
in the planning of fishery operations.
Although the amount of the Aleutian
Islands ICA may vary from year to year,
NMFS anticipates that an Aleutian
Islands ICA of 2,500 mt likely would be
needed to support incidental catch of
Pacific cod in other Aleutian Islands
non-CDQ directed groundfish fisheries.
NMFS examined recent levels of
incidental catch of Pacific cod in other
Aleutian Islands non-CDQ groundfish
fisheries from 2013 through 2015, and
has initially determined that 2,500 mt
should adequately account for
incidental catch if Amendment 113 is
approved and implemented. In future
years, NMFS would specify the Aleutian
Islands ICA in the annual harvest
specifications based on recent and
anticipated incidental catch of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod in other Aleutian
Islands non-CDQ directed groundfish
fisheries.
Using the 2017 Aleutian Islands nonCDQ TAC from Table 3 (11,465 mt), and
assuming an Aleutian Islands ICA of
2,500 mt, the 2017 Aleutian Islands
DFA would equal 8,965 mt (11,465
mt¥2,500 mt = 8,965 mt). Under this
proposed rule, the Aleutian Islands DFA
would be the maximum amount of
Pacific cod available for directed fishing
by all non-CDQ fishery sectors in all
seasons in the Aleutian Islands.
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation
As noted earlier in this preamble,
trawl CVs harvest almost all of the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod that is
received for processing by Aleutian
Islands shoreplants. Additionally, the
trawl CV sector can harvest its entire
allocation of BSAI Pacific cod in the
Bering Sea, and in recent years has
harvested its A-season BSAI Pacific cod
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allocation very early in the A season. In
the Bering Sea, the fishery starts in
earnest on January 20, with a peak in
fishing around mid-February, followed
by a slow decline in catch during
March. In the Aleutian Islands, the
season is significantly shorter, with
fishing effort ramping up during the last
two weeks in February and peaking in
early March, followed by a dramatic
decline in mid-March. The Pacific cod
fishery in the Aleutian Islands starts
later than in the Bering Sea in part
because of when Pacific cod aggregate in
the Aleutian Islands, allowing efficient
harvest by trawl vessels. Because the
trawl CV sector can harvest its entire Aseason allocation in the Bering Sea and
can harvest it very quickly, there may be
no Pacific cod available for harvest
during the A-season in the Aleutian
Islands. Setting aside an amount of the
BSAI trawl CV sector A-season
allocation for harvest and delivery in
the Aleutian Islands would provide the
opportunity for vessels, Aleutian Islands
shoreplants, and the communities
where Aleutian Islands shoreplants are
located to receive benefits from a
portion of the BSAI Pacific cod fishery.
In recent years, the trawl CV sector
has harvested its A-season BSAI Pacific
cod allocation very quickly, primarily
because the trawl CV sector has been
able to harvest almost its entire BSAI
Pacific cod allocation in the Bering Sea.
For example, in 2014, NMFS closed the
trawl CV sector to directed fishing on
March 16 (79 FR 15255; March 19,
2014). In 2015, NMFS closed the trawl
CV sector to directed fishing on
February 27 (80 FR 11332; March 3,
2015). This rapid rate of trawl CV
harvest in the Bering Sea restricts
potential harvesting and delivery
opportunities for trawl CVs that
participate in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery and Aleutian Islands
shoreplants during the lucrative Aseason.
To prevent the trawl CV sector from
harvesting its entire BSAI A-season
Pacific cod allocation in the Bering Sea
before vessels can harvest Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod for processing by
Aleutian Islands shoreplants, this
proposed rule would establish the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation to limit the amount of the
trawl CV sector’s A-season allocation
that can be harvested in the Bering Sea
prior to March 21. The Bering Sea Trawl
CV A-Season Sector Limitation would
ensure that some of the trawl CV
sector’s A-season allocation remains
available for harvest in the Aleutian
Islands by vessels that deliver their
catch of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants for
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processing. On March 21, the restriction
on Bering Sea harvest by the trawl CV
sector would be lifted and the
remainder, if any, of the BSAI trawl CV
A-season allocation could be harvested
in either the Bering Sea or the Aleutian
Islands (if still open to directed fishing
for Pacific cod) and delivered to any
eligible processor for processing.
After calculating the Aleutian Islands
ICA and DFA, NMFS would calculate
the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation and the amount of the
trawl CV sector A-season allocation that
could be harvested in the Bering Sea
prior to March 21. The Bering Sea Trawl
CV A-Season Sector Limitation would
be an amount equal to the lesser of
either the Aleutian Islands DFA (as
described above) or 5,000 mt. The
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation also would be equivalent to
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside, which would be the amount
reserved for harvest by vessels directed
fishing for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
for processing by Aleutian Islands
shoreplants, described in the following
section of this preamble. The amount of
the trawl CV sector’s A-season
allocation that could be harvested in the
Bering Sea prior to March 21 would be
the amount of Pacific cod that remained
after deducting the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation from the
BSAI trawl CV sector A-season
allocation listed in the annual harvest
specifications (and as determined at
§ 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(A)(1)(i)). NMFS would
specify the Bering Sea Trawl CV ASeason Sector Limitation and the
amount of the A-season trawl CV
allocation that could be harvested in the
Bering Sea prior to March 21 in the
annual harvest specifications.
The Council considered a range of
options on the amount of the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation,
and the specific date when the
limitation should be lifted. The Council
considered amounts for the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation
ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 mt. The
Council determined and NMFS agrees
that a maximum of 5,000 mt is the
appropriate amount because it
represents a large percentage of the total
amount of Pacific cod available to the
non-CDQ fishery sectors in recent years,
and is in the range necessary to provide
benefits to Aleutian Islands fishing
communities, including shoreplant
operations, when considered in
combination with the GHL A-season
harvest. Additionally, the Analysis
shows that 5,000 mt is the approximate
long-term average of the amount of
Pacific cod processed at Aleutian
Islands shoreplants between 2003 and
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2015, when Aleutian Islands
shoreplants were operational (Section
2.7.1.2 of the Analysis).
The Council also considered three
dates—March 1, 15, and 21—for when
the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation should be lifted.
Recent trawl CV sector harvest patterns
from 2014 and 2015 show that without
the limitation on harvests in the Bering
Sea in place until March 21, the entire
trawl CV allocation could be taken
before Aleutian Islands Pacific cod have
typically aggregated in early- or midMarch (see Section 2.7.1.1 of the
Analysis). The March 21 date would
best preserve the opportunity for vessels
to continue to fish in the Aleutian
Islands without having the entire Aseason trawl CV sector allocation taken
in the Bering Sea. The March 21 date
also would not occur so late in the year
that the trawl CV sector would be
precluded from fully harvesting its Aseason allocation. As shown in Table 30
in Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis, in
only 3 of the 13 years between 2003 and
2015 did the trawl CV sector take the
entire A-season (from January 20 until
April 1) to harvest its BSAI Pacific cod
A-season allocation. In the other years
during this period, on average, the trawl
CV sector A-season fishery closed on
March 15.
Using the 2017 Aleutian Islands nonCDQ TAC from Table 3 (11,465 mt), and
assuming an Aleutian Islands ICA of
2,500 mt, the Aleutian Islands DFA
would be 8,965 mt. With a DFA of 8,965
mt, the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation would be 5,000 mt,
because 5,000 mt is less than the DFA
of 8,965 mt. With a Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation of 5,000 mt,
the maximum amount of Pacific cod
that could be harvested in the Bering
Sea by the trawl CV sector during the Aseason prior to March 21 would be
31,732 mt (i.e., trawl CV sector A-season
allocation of 36,732 mt¥5,000 mt
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation = 31,732 mt maximum
permissible harvest by the trawl CV
sector in the Bering Sea prior to March
21). Conversely, if the 2017 Aleutian
Islands non-CDQ TAC was 5,500 mt,
with an Aleutian Islands ICA of 2,500
mt and a resulting Aleutian Islands DFA
of 3,000 mt, then the Bering Sea Trawl
CV A-Season Sector Limitation would
be 3,000 mt, because the DFA was less
than 5,000 mt, and the maximum
amount of Pacific cod that could be
harvested in the Bering Sea by the trawl
CV sector during the A-season prior to
March 21 would be 33,732 mt (trawl CV
sector A-season allocation of 36,732
mt¥Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
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Sector Limitation of 3,000 mt = 33,732
mt).
Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest
Set-Aside
This proposed rule would require that
all, or some portion, of the Aleutian
Islands DFA be set aside for harvest by
vessels directed fishing for Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod for processing by
Aleutian Islands shoreplants. This
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
would be available for harvest by
vessels using any authorized gear type
and that deliver their catch to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants for processing.
NMFS would account for harvest and
processing of Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod under the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside separate from, and in
addition to, its accounting of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod catch by the nine
non-CDQ fishery sectors established
under Amendment 85 to the FMP.
Because of this separate accounting, the
proposed Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside would not increase or
decrease the amount of BSAI Pacific cod
allocated to any of the non-CDQ fishery
sectors. The Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside would apply from
January 1 until March 15 of each year,
unless certain notification and
performance measures, described in the
following section of the preamble, are
not satisfied.
The amount of the Aleutian Islands
CV Harvest Set-Aside would be
calculated as described above for the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation. It would be an amount equal
to the lesser of either 5,000 mt or the
Aleutian Islands DFA. NMFS would
notify the public of the Aleutian Islands
CV Harvest Set-Aside through the
annual harvest specifications process.
When the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside is set equal to the
Aleutian Islands DFA, directed fishing
for Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands
could only be conducted by vessels that
deliver their catch of Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants for processing. Vessels that
do not want to deliver their directed
catch of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants for
processing would be prohibited from
directed fishing for Pacific cod in the
Aleutian Islands during the time the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
is in effect. These vessels would be
permitted to conduct directed fishing
for groundfish other than Pacific cod in
the Aleutian Islands during the time the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
is in effect and their harvests of Pacific
cod would accrue toward the Aleutian
Islands ICA. CPs would be permitted to
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conduct directed fishing for Pacific cod
in the Aleutian Islands during the time
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside side is in effect as long as they act
only as CVs and deliver their directed
catch of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants for
processing. CPs also would be permitted
to retain Aleutian Islands Pacific cod as
incidental catch while directed fishing
for groundfish other than Pacific cod
and those harvests of Pacific cod would
accrue toward the Aleutian Islands ICA.
When the Aleutian Islands DFA is
greater than 5,000 mt, and therefore the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
is set equal to 5,000 mt, the difference
between the DFA and the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would be
available for directed fishing by all nonCDQ fishery sectors with sufficient Aseason allocations and could be
processed by any eligible processor.
This difference would be called the
‘‘Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery.’’
In years when there would be both an
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
and an Aleutian Islands Unrestricted
Fishery, vessels could conduct directed
fishing for Pacific cod in the Aleutian
Islands and deliver their catch to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants or to any
eligible processor for processing as long
as the Aleutian Islands Unrestricted
Fishery is open to directed fishing. CPs
would be permitted to conduct directed
fishing for Pacific cod in the Aleutian
Islands as long as the Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery is open to directed
fishing. NMFS would determine
whether the Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery is sufficient to
support a directed fishery and would
notify the public through a notice in the
Federal Register.
While the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside is in effect, NMFS
would account for Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod caught by vessels and
delivered to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants for processing against the
appropriate fishery sector allocation, the
ICA or the DFA, and the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside or the
Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery.
For example, if a pot CV greater than 60
ft LOA conducted directed fishing for
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod and
delivered that catch to an Aleutian
Islands shoreplant for processing while
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside was in effect, NMFS would
deduct that Pacific cod from (1) the 60
ft LOA or greater pot CV sector’s Aseason allocation, and (2) that portion of
the Aleutian Islands DFA that is the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside.
If that same vessel conducted directed
fishing for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
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and delivered that catch offshore while
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside was in effect, NMFS would
deduct that Pacific cod from (1) the 60
ft LOA or greater pot CV sector’s Aseason allocation, and (2) that portion of
the Aleutian Islands DFA that is the
Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery (if
available). If no portion of the Aleutian
Islands DFA were available for the
Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery,
that catch would have to be delivered to
an Aleutian Islands shoreplant. If that
same vessel conducted directed fishing
for sablefish in the Aleutian Islands,
retained Pacific cod up to the maximum
retainable amount, and delivered its
sablefish and Pacific cod catch to an
Aleutian Islands shoreplant for
processing while the Aleutian Islands
CV Harvest Set-Aside was in effect,
NMFS would deduct that Pacific cod
from the Aleutian Islands ICA, and it
would not accrue toward the set-aside.
If certain notification and
performance measures are met, the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
would be in effect from January 1 until
March 15 of each year. If the entire setaside was harvested and delivered prior
to March 15, the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation and
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
would be lifted. The Aleutian Islands
CV Harvest Set-Aside would end at
noon on March 15 even if the entire setaside had not been harvested and
delivered to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants. When the set-aside ends,
any remaining Aleutian Islands DFA
could be harvested by any non-CDQ
fishery sector with remaining A-season
allocation, and the harvest could be
delivered to any eligible processor. If a
vessel had been directed fishing for
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, but had
not yet delivered that Pacific cod for
processing when the harvest set-aside
was lifted, that vessel could deliver its
Pacific cod to any eligible processor. If
a vessel had been directed fishing for
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, but had
not yet delivered that Pacific cod for
processing when the Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery closed, but the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
was still in effect, it would be required
to deliver that Pacific cod to an Aleutian
Islands shoreplant for processing or be
in violation of the directed fishing
closure.
The Council determined and NMFS
agrees that the March 15 date for lifting
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside is preferred for several reasons.
On average, March 15 represents the
average date of the peak of the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod fishery for CVs.
During the period analyzed (2003
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50453
through 2015), a significant portion of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod was not
delivered shoreside until mid-March
(see Table 2–37 of the Analysis).
Establishing a date much earlier than
March 15 to relieve the Aleutian Islands
CV Harvest Set-Aside would not meet
the Council’s goals to sustain
participation in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery by Aleutian Islands
communities. The protections afforded
by reserving a portion of the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ TAC for
vessels delivering to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants would be lifted before the
Pacific cod aggregated on the Aleutian
Islands fishing grounds.
The Council and NMFS considered
earlier dates by which to lift these
restrictions, but given historical
harvesting and delivery patterns for
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, the longer
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside remains in effect during the Aseason each year, the greater the
opportunity for complete harvest and
delivery of the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside. The March 15 date
provides greater social and economic
stability for Aleutian Islands fishing
communities than earlier dates.
Limiting the duration of the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside to March
15 also would provide an opportunity
for CPs to harvest Pacific cod, and for
CVs to harvest and deliver Pacific cod
to CPs or stationary floating processors,
before the end of the A season. The
proposed March 15 date balances the
opportunities for all participants.
Additional information is provided in
Section 2.7.2.4 of the Analysis.
The Council and NMFS considered
different maximum amounts for the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside:
3,000 mt, 5,000 mt, and 7,000 mt. For
reasons described under the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation
section of this preamble, they
determined 5,000 mt represents an
adequate and appropriate amount for
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside. Under this proposed rule, any
amount of the Aleutian Islands DFA
above the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside would be available to any
sector for directed fishing and could be
processed by any eligible processor. By
limiting the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside to a maximum of 5,000 mt,
additional harvesting and processing
opportunities would be provided to CPs,
and CVs delivering to CPs or stationary
floating processors, when the Aleutian
Islands DFA is greater than 5,000 mt.
Continuing with the example above
for calculating the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation, and using
amounts from the 2017 annual
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groundfish harvest specifications, the
Aleutian Islands DFA would be 8,965
mt after deducting the Aleutian Islands
ICA from the Aleutian Islands non-CDQ
TAC (11,465 mt¥2,500 mt = 8,965 mt).
Because the DFA is larger than 5,000 mt,
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside would be 5,000 mt. This would
also be the amount of the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation.
The remainder of the Aleutian Islands
DFA after deducting the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would be
available to any sector prior to March
15, and could be processed by any
eligible processor. For the example
described above, this Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery would be 3,965 mt
(8,965 mt¥5,000 mt = 3,965 mt). This
means that until March 15, 5,000 mt
could be harvested by vessels for
processing by Aleutian Islands
shoreplants, and 3,965 mt could be
harvested by vessels for processing by
any eligible processor.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
Measures To Prevent Stranding of
Aleutian Islands Non-CDQ Pacific Cod
TAC
Stranding is a term sometimes used to
describe TAC that remains unharvested
due to regulations. The Council
recommended performance measures to
prevent the stranding of Aleutian
Islands non-CDQ Pacific cod TAC.
These measures would make the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
available to other sectors if the set-aside
was not requested, if limited processing
occurred at Aleutian Islands
shoreplants, or if the Aleutian Islands
CV Harvest Set-Aside was taken before
March 15.
The first performance measure would
require that either the City Manager of
the City of Adak or the City Manager of
the City of Atka notify NMFS of its
intent to process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod in the upcoming fishing
year. If neither city submits such
notification to NMFS, the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation
and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside would not be in effect for the
upcoming fishing year. The Council’s
recommendation for this proposed
measure did not specify who from Adak
or Atka would be responsible for
notifying NMFS of the intent to process
Pacific cod. Therefore, NMFS proposes
that the City Manager would be the
person responsible for submitting the
required notification to NMFS because
both Adak and Atka have a person in
the role of City Manager. NMFS solicits
public comment on whether the City
Manager is the appropriate person to
provide such notification.
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The Council recommended allowing
the cities of Adak and Atka to
voluntarily notify NMFS prior to
November 1 if they do not intend to
process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod in
the upcoming year. NMFS considered
this recommendation, but decided it
was not necessary to state in
regulations. While Adak or Atka could
notify NMFS prior to November 1 that
it does not intend to process, there
would be no penalty if the city
reconsidered and decided later, but
before November 1, that it would
process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod and
notified NMFS accordingly.
This proposed rule would require
annual notification in the form of a
letter or memorandum signed by the
City Manager of the city intending to
process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod in
the upcoming fishing year. This signed
letter or memorandum would be the
official notification of intent. This
proposed rule would require that the
official notification of intent be
postmarked no later than October 31.
NMFS would require that the official
notification of intent be submitted to the
NMFS Alaska Regional Administrator
by certified mail through the United
States Postal Service. Certified mail
would provide the city with a proof of
postmark date and date of receipt by
NMFS Alaska Region. Because the
official notification of intent must be
postmarked by October 31, and NMFS
may not receive the official notification
of intent in a timely manner owing to
weather, flight schedules, and other
unpredictable circumstances with mail
service in remote Alaskan communities,
this proposed rule would also require
the City Manager to submit an electronic
copy of the official notification of intent
and the certified mail receipt with
postmark via email to NMFS. Email
submission of electronic copies of the
official notification of intent and the
certified mail receipt with postmark by
October 31 would provide NMFS with
the timely information it needs to
manage the upcoming fisheries. Email
notification would be in addition to
notification via certified U.S. Mail;
email notification would not replace the
requirement for notification through the
U.S. Postal Service.
A city’s notification of intent to
process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
would be required to contain the
following information: Date, name of
city, a statement of intent to process
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, statement
of calendar year during which the city
intends to process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod, and the signature of and
contact information for the City
Manager of the city whose shoreplant is
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
intending to process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod.
On or shortly after November 1, the
Regional Administrator would send a
signed and dated letter either
confirming receipt of the city’s
notification of their intent to process
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, or
informing the city that notification was
not received by the deadline.
Of the two notification dates
considered, November 1 and December
15, the Council preferred November 1
because it would provide more time for
offshore processors and non-Aleutian
Islands shoreplants to make the
necessary arrangements to harvest and
process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod if
no Aleutian Islands shoreplants would
be operating in the upcoming year. A
notification date of December 15 would
not give vessels and offshore processors
sufficient time to prepare for the harvest
and processing of the full amount of the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ
TAC if no Bering Sea Trawl CV ASeason Sector Limitation or Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside applied.
While this proposed rule would make
the set-aside available for processing by
any shoreplant west of 170° W.
longitude in the Aleutian Islands, the
Council recognized that only the City of
Adak and the City of Atka could be
prepared to process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod; therefore, the Council
specified that the notification
requirement would only be required
from either Adak or Atka and not
another city that might have an Aleutian
Islands shoreplant in the future. The
shoreplants in Adak and Atka are likely
to have the capacity to process sufficient
Pacific cod to meet the other
performance measures described below.
Although another Aleutian Islands
shoreplant may process Pacific cod from
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside, the set-aside would only go into
effect if Adak or Atka, or both,
submitted a notice of intent to process
in the upcoming fishing year. The
Council could consider requiring
notification from additional Aleutian
Island cities with shoreplants in the
future, if they develop and the need
arises.
The second performance measure
would remove the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation and the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
for the remainder of the A-season if less
than 1,000 mt of Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside is delivered to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants by
February 28. This proposed
performance measure is intended to
ensure that shoreside processing is
actually occurring at a time early
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enough in the A season to allow other
sectors to come into the fishery if it is
not. Under this proposed rule, there is
incentive for an Aleutian Islands city to
provide a notice of intent to process
Pacific cod, even if they are uncertain at
the time the notice of intent is due as
to whether they will do so, because
there is no penalty to the Aleutian
Islands city or shoreplant for stating
their intention to process, but then not
doing so. This performance measure
would release the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside and make the
remaining amount of the set-aside
available to other sectors if for some
reason, the Aleutian Islands shoreplant
were unable to process Pacific cod. The
Council chose 1,000 mt as the threshold
because in 9 of 11 years when the Adak
shoreplant was operational (the primary
Aleutian Islands shoreplant), it
processed 1,000 mt of Pacific cod by
February 28 (see Section 2.7.2.5 of the
Analysis). The Council chose February
28 as the date by which the minimum
processing threshold must be met
because it would lift the restrictions a
couple of weeks earlier than under the
set-aside, allowing enough time for
additional processing capacity to move
into the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
fishery in years when harvesters and
Aleutian Islands shoreplants are
operating at a level that is not likely to
result in the complete harvesting and
processing of the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside.
The third performance measure
would suspend the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation for the
remainder of the year if the entire
Aleutian Islands Harvest Set-Aside
(5,000 mt using the 2017 example) is
fully harvested and processed by
Aleutian Islands shoreplants before
March 15. This performance measure
would recognize that if the entire
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
is harvested and delivered, there would
be no reason to continue to restrict trawl
CV sector harvests in the Bering Sea
because the intent for the set-aside and
sector limitation would have been met.
Harvest Specifications Process To
Announce BSAI A-Season Pacific Cod
Limits Implemented by Amendment 113
NMFS typically publishes the
proposed harvest specifications for
groundfish of the BSAI in the Federal
Register in November each year (for
example, the proposed 2016–2017
harvest specifications are available at
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sites/
default/files/80fr76425.pdf). Following
a public comment period, the Council
modifies (if necessary) and adopts final
harvest specifications at its December
Council meeting and NMFS publishes
the final harvest specifications early in
the following year (for example, the
final 2016–2017 harvest specifications
are available at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/
files/81fr14773.pdf). For fisheries that
will begin before the final harvest
specifications are published, such as
BSAI A-season Pacific cod, NMFS
publishes a temporary rule to announce
and adjust (if necessary) the final
amounts for those fisheries. This
adjustment is typically published in the
Federal Register in late December or
early January (for example, see https://
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files/81fr184.pdf).
If this proposed rule is approved and
implemented, during the annual harvest
specifications process described above,
NMFS would publish in the proposed
harvest specifications the amounts for
the Aleutian Islands ICA, DFA, CV
Harvest Set-Aside, and Unrestricted
Fishery, as well as the Bering Sea Trawl
CV A-Season Sector Limitation, and the
amount available for harvest by trawl
CVs in the Bering Sea while the setaside is in effect. These amounts would
be published in a separate table to
supplement the table in the harvest
specifications that describes the final
gear shares and allowances of the BSAI
Pacific cod TAC for the upcoming year.
NMFS also would publish a notice in
the Federal Register shortly after
November 1 announcing whether the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
and Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation were going into effect
for the upcoming fishing year, and
whether the harvest limits in the
supplemental table would apply. If
necessary, NMFS would publish in the
Federal Register an adjustment of the
BSAI A-season Pacific cod limits for the
upcoming year after the Council adopts
the harvest specifications in December.
For 2017, NMFS proposes to amend
the 2017 harvest specifications by
adding the following table to the harvest
specifications. If Amendment 113 and
this proposed rule are approved, and if
NMFS receives timely notification of
intent to process from either Adak or
Atka, the harvest limits in Table 4
would be in effect in 2017.
TABLE 4—2017 BSAI A-SEASON PACIFIC COD LIMITS THAT WOULD BE EFFECTIVE UNDER AMENDMENT 113 TO THE
FMP IF EITHER THE CITY OF ADAK OR THE CITY OF ATKA NOTIFIED NMFS PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 1 OF ITS INTENT
TO PROCESS PACIFIC COD IN THE UPCOMING YEAR
Amount
(mt)
2017 Allocations under Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
AI non-CDQ TAC .................................................................................................................................................................................
AI ICA ..................................................................................................................................................................................................
AI DFA .................................................................................................................................................................................................
BSAI non-CDQ TAC ............................................................................................................................................................................
BSAI Trawl CV A-Season Allocation ...................................................................................................................................................
BSAI Trawl CV A-Season Allocation minus Sector Limitation (available prior to March 21) .............................................................
BS Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation ...........................................................................................................................................
AI CV Harvest Set-Aside .....................................................................................................................................................................
AI Unrestricted Fishery ........................................................................................................................................................................
Classification
Pursuant to Section 304(b)(1)(A) and
305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has
determined that Amendment 113 to the
FMP and this proposed rule are
consistent with the FMP, other
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provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law, subject to
further consideration of comments
received during the public comment
period.
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11,465
2,500
8,965
213,141
36,732
31,732
5,000
5,000
3,965
This proposed rule has been
determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
An Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (IRFA) was prepared for this
action, as required by Section 603 of the
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sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The
IRFA describes the economic impact the
proposed rule, if adopted, would have
on small entities. The IRFA describes
the reasons why this action is being
proposed; the objectives and legal basis
for the proposed rule; the number and
description of small entities directly
regulated by the proposed action; any
projected reporting, recordkeeping, or
other compliance requirements of the
proposed rule; any overlapping,
duplicative, or conflicting Federal rules;
impacts of the action on small entities;
and any significant alternatives to the
proposed rule that would accomplish
the stated objectives of the MagnusonStevens Act, and any other applicable
statutes, and would minimize any
significant adverse impacts of the
proposed rule on small entities.
Descriptions of the proposed action, its
purpose, and the legal basis are
contained earlier in this preamble and
are not repeated here. A summary of the
IRFA follows. A copy of the IRFA is
available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
Number and Description of Small
Entities Directly Regulated by the
Proposed Action
This proposed rule would directly
regulate three groups of entities. First,
this proposed rule would directly
regulate trawl CVs harvesting Pacific
cod in the BSAI because this proposed
rule could limit how much Pacific cod
those trawl CVs could harvest in the
Bering Sea, and it could prohibit trawl
CVs from participating in the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod fishery if they do not
deliver their Pacific cod catch to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants. Second,
this proposed rule would directly
regulate all non-trawl CVs who are
harvesting Pacific cod in the Aleutian
Islands because it could prohibit those
non-trawl CVs from participating in the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery if
they do not deliver their Pacific cod
catch to Aleutian Islands shoreplants.
Third, this proposed rule would directly
regulate all CPs harvesting Pacific cod
in the Aleutian Islands because this
proposed rule could limit how much
Pacific cod those CPs can harvest and
process in the Aleutian Islands. This
proposed rule would not directly
regulate the City of Adak or the City of
Atka because it does not impose a
requirement on those cities, and this
proposed rule would not directly
regulate entities participating in the
harvesting and processing of Pacific cod
managed under the GHL fisheries in the
Bering Sea or Aleutian Islands.
For RFA purposes only, NMFS has
established a small business size
standard for businesses, including their
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affiliates, whose primary industry is
commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2).
A business primarily engaged in
commercial fishing (NAICS code 11411)
is classified as a small business if it is
independently owned and operated, is
not dominant in its field of operation
(including its affiliates), and has
combined annual receipts not in excess
of $11 million for all its affiliated
operations worldwide.
Based on the best available and most
recent complete data from 2012 through
2014, between 10 and 16 CPs, and an
estimated 43 CVs (trawl and non-trawl)
could be directly regulated by this
action in the BSAI. Of these, no CP is
estimated to be a small entity, while 6
trawl CVs and 26 non-trawl CVs are
estimated to be small entities based on
the best available data on the gross
receipts from these entities and their
known affiliates. Therefore, a total of 32
vessels considered to be small entities
would be directly regulated by this
action. The IRFA assumes that each
vessel is a unique entity; therefore, the
total number of directly regulated
entities may be an overestimate because
some vessels are likely affiliated
through common ownership. These
potential affiliations are not known with
the best available data and cannot be
predicted.
Impacts of the Action on Small Entities
Under this proposed rule, a portion of
the Aleutian Islands non-CDQ Pacific
cod TAC would be reserved for CVs
harvesting Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
and delivering their catch to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants for processing
during a portion of the year. The trawl
CV sector has been the most active in
the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery
among all of the CV sectors. Therefore,
small entities in the trawl CV sector, as
well as other CVs in other sectors that
are small entities, that deliver Pacific
cod to Aleutian Islands shoreplants
would be likely to benefit from
implementation of this proposed rule.
Small entities in the trawl CV sector that
harvest Pacific cod exclusively in the
Bering Sea could experience some
negative effects because the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation
established by this proposed rule would
restrict the harvest of a portion of the
trawl CV sector allocation in the Bering
Sea for a portion of the year.
Description of Significant Alternatives
Considered
The RFA requires identification of
any significant alternatives to the
proposed rule that accomplish the
stated objectives of the proposed action,
consistent with applicable statutes, and
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that would minimize any significant
economic impact of the proposed rule
on small entities. The Council
considered a status quo alternative and
one action alternative with several
options and suboptions. The
combination of options and suboptions
under the action alternative effectively
provided a broad range of potential
alternative approaches to status quo
management. Under the status quo,
there would be a continued risk that
fishing communities in the Aleutian
Islands would not be able to sustainably
participate in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery. The action
alternative does not affect any non-CDQ
fishery sector’s Pacific cod allocation, or
the TAC of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod.
The action alternative would
accomplish the stated objectives of
prioritizing a portion of the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod TAC for harvest by
CVs that deliver their catch to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants for processing,
while minimizing adverse economic
impacts on small entities and the
potential for stranding a portion of the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC.
The Council considered a range of
dates, varying amounts of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod for the harvest setaside and Bering Sea sector limitation,
and a suite of mechanisms to relieve the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation and the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside under the action
alternative. The Council recommended
the proposed combination of dates,
harvest set-aside amounts, harvest
limitations, and provisions to relieve the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation and the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside that would give
fishery participants sufficient
opportunity to harvest and deliver
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to the
benefit of Aleutian Islands communities
and shoreplants without stranding the
trawl CV sector allocation or the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC. The
Council recommended and NMFS is
proposing selected options in the action
alternative such that if specific
notification or minimum harvest and
processing requirements are not met by
a specific date, the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation and the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
would either not go into effect in the
upcoming year, or they would be
relieved for the remainder of the year.
The Council considered and rejected
two options under the action
alternative. One option would have
required that if less than 50 percent of
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest SetAside had been landed at an Aleutian
Islands shoreplant by a given date,
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ranging from February 28 to March 15,
the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation and the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would be
lifted. Instead, the Council selected an
option that would require a minimum
weight (1,000 mt) rather than a
minimum percentage of the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside that must
be landed at an Aleutian Islands
shoreplant for processing by a given
date (February 28) for the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation
and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside to remain in place.
The Council also considered and
rejected an option that would have
exempted certain processing vessels
with a history of processing Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod in at least 12 out of
15 recent years from the proposed
restrictions on processing and would
have allowed them to process up to
2,000 mt of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
while the set-aside was in effect. This
option could have allowed up to 10
processing vessels to continue to
process Pacific cod during the A-season,
limiting the effectiveness of this
proposed rule to minimize the risk of a
diminished historical share of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod being delivered to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants and the
communities where those shoreplants
are located.
Federal Rules That May Duplicate,
Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed
Action
NMFS has not identified any
duplication, overlap, or conflict
between this proposed action and
existing Federal rules.
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Projected Recordkeeping and Reporting
Requirements
The recordkeeping, reporting, and
other compliance requirements would
be increased slightly under this
proposed rule. This proposed rule
contains new requirements for the cities
of Adak and Atka to provide notice to
NMFS of its intent to process Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod in the upcoming
fishing year in order for the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation
and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside to apply.
Collection-of-Information Requirements
This proposed rule contains
collection-of-information requirements
subject to review and approval by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA). These requirements have
been submitted to OMB for approval
under OMB Control Number 0648–
ANIP, a temporary new information
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collection that will be merged into OMB
Control Number 0648–0213 upon
approval by OMB. Public reporting
burden for Notification of Intent to
Process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod is
estimated to average 30 minutes per
individual response, including the time
for reviewing instructions, searching
existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection
of information.
Public comment is sought regarding:
Whether this proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
the accuracy of the burden estimate;
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information,
including through the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. Send comments
on these or any other aspects of the
collection of information to NMFS
Alaska Region at the ADDRESSES above,
and by email to OIRA_Submission@
omb.eop.gov, or fax to (202) 395–5806.
Notwithstanding any other provision
of the law, no person is required to
respond to, nor shall any person be
subject to a penalty for failure to comply
with, a collection of information subject
to the requirements of the PRA, unless
that collection of information displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
All currently approved NOAA
collections of information may be
viewed at: https://www.cio.noaa.gov/
services_programs/prasubs.html.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679
Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: July 26, 2016.
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 679 is proposed
to be amended as follows:
PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE
EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF
ALASKA
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR
part 679 continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et
seq.; 3631 et seq.; Pub. L. 108–447; Pub. L.
111–281.
2. In § 679.2, add a definition for
‘‘Aleutian Islands shoreplant’’ in
alphabetical order to read as follows:
■
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§ 679.2
50457
Definitions.
*
*
*
*
*
Aleutian Islands shoreplant means a
processing facility that is physically
located on land west of 170° W.
longitude within the State of Alaska.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 3. In § 679.20, add paragraph
(a)(7)(viii) to read as follows:
§ 679.20
General limitations.
*
*
*
*
*
(a) * * *
(7) * * *
(viii) Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside
Program—(A) Calculation of the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ
ICA and DFA. Each year, during the
annual harvest specifications process set
forth at paragraph (c) of this section,
NMFS will specify the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod non-CDQ incidental catch
allowance and directed fishing
allowance from the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod non-CDQ TAC as follows.
Shortly after November 1 of each year,
NMFS will announce through notice in
the Federal Register whether the ICA
and DFA will be in effect for the
upcoming fishing year.
(1) Aleutian Islands Pacific cod nonCDQ incidental catch allowance. Each
year, during the annual harvest
specifications process set forth at
paragraph (c) of this section, NMFS will
specify an amount of Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod that NMFS estimates will be
taken as incidental catch in non-CDQ
directed fisheries for groundfish other
than Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands.
This amount will be the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ incidental
catch allowance and will be deducted
from the aggregate portion of Pacific cod
TAC annually allocated to the non-CDQ
sectors identified in paragraph
(a)(7)(ii)(A) of this section.
(2) Aleutian Islands Pacific cod nonCDQ directed fishing allowance. Each
year, during the annual harvest
specifications process set forth at
paragraph (c) of this section, NMFS will
specify the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
non-CDQ directed fishing allowance.
The Aleutian Islands Pacific cod nonCDQ directed fishing allowance will be
the amount of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod TAC remaining after
subtraction of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod CDQ reserve and the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ
incidental catch allowance.
(B) Calculation of the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside and
Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery.
Each year, during the annual harvest
specifications process set forth at
paragraph (c) of this section, NMFS will
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specify the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside and the Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery. The Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside will be an
amount of Pacific cod equal to the lesser
of either the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod non-CDQ directed fishing allowance
as determined in paragraph
(a)(7)(viii)(A)(2) of this section or 5,000
mt. The Aleutian Islands Unrestricted
Fishery will be the amount of Pacific
cod that remains after deducting the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
from the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
non-CDQ directed fishing allowance as
determined in paragraph
(a)(7)(viii)(A)(2) of this section. Shortly
after November 1 of each year, NMFS
will announce through notice in the
Federal Register whether the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside and the
Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery
will be in effect for the upcoming
fishing year.
(C) Calculation of the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation.
Each year, during the annual harvest
specifications process set forth at
paragraph (c) of this section, NMFS will
specify the Bering Sea Trawl CV ASeason Sector Limitation and the
amount of the trawl CV sector’s Aseason allocation that could be
harvested in the Bering Sea subarea
prior to March 21. The Bering Sea Trawl
CV A-Season Sector Limitation will be
an amount of Pacific cod equal to the
lesser of either the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod non-CDQ directed fishing
allowance as determined in paragraph
(a)(7)(viii)(A)(2) of this section or 5,000
mt. The amount of the trawl CV sector’s
A-season allocation that could be
harvested in the Bering Sea subarea
prior to March 21 will be the amount of
Pacific cod that remains after deducting
the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation from the amount of
BSAI Pacific cod allocated to the trawl
CV sector A-season as determined in
paragraph (a)(7)(iv)(A)(1)(i) of this
section. Shortly after November 1 of
each year, NMFS will announce through
notice in the Federal Register whether
the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation will be in effect for
the upcoming fishing year.
(D) Annual notification of intent to
process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod—
(1) Submission of notification. The
provisions of paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(E) of
this section will apply if the City
Manager of either the City of Adak or
the City of Atka submits to NMFS a
timely and complete notification of its
intent to process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod during the upcoming fishing
year. This notification must be
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submitted annually to NMFS using the
methods described below.
(2) Submittal method. An official
notification of intent to process Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod during the upcoming
fishing year in the form of a letter or
memorandum signed by the City
Manager of either the City of Adak or
the City of Atka must be submitted by
certified mail through the United States
Postal Service to: NMFS Alaska Region,
Attn: Regional Administrator, P. O. Box
21668, Juneau, AK 99802. The City
Manager must also submit an electronic
copy of the official notification of intent
and the certified mail receipt with
postmark via email to
nmfs.akr.inseason@noaa.gov. Email
submission is in addition to submission
via U.S. Postal Service; email
submission does not replace the
requirement to submit an official
notification of intent via U.S. Postal
Service.
(3) NMFS confirmation. On or shortly
after November 1, the Regional
Administrator will send a signed and
dated letter to the City Manager of the
City of Adak or the City of Atka either
confirming NMFS’ receipt of its official
notification of intent to process Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod, or informing the city
that NMFS did not receive notification
by the deadline.
(4) Deadline. The official notification
of intent to process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod for the upcoming fishing
year must be postmarked no later than
October 31 of each fishing year in order
for the provisions of paragraph
(a)(7)(viii)(E) of this section to apply
during the upcoming fishing year.
Notifications of intent postmarked on or
after November 1 will not be accepted
by the Regional Administrator. The
electronic copy of the official
notification of intent and certified mail
receipt with postmark must be
submitted to NMFS via email dated no
later than October 31 of each fishing
year in order for the provisions of
paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(E) of this section to
apply during the upcoming fishing year.
(5) Contents of notification. A
notification of intent to process Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod for the upcoming
fishing year must contain the following
information:
(i) Date,
(ii) Name of city,
(iii) Statement of intent to process
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod,
(iv) Identification of the fishing year
during which the city intends to process
Aleutian Island Pacific cod, and
(v) Signature of and contact
information for the City Manager of the
city intending to process Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod.
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(E) Aleutian Islands community
protections for Pacific cod. If the City
Manager of the City of Adak or the City
Manager of the City of Atka submits a
timely and complete notification in
accordance with paragraph
(a)(7)(viii)(D) of this section, then the
following provisions will apply for the
fishing year following the submission of
the timely and complete notification:
(1) Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation. Prior to March 21, the
harvest of Pacific cod by the trawl CV
sector in the Bering Sea subarea is
limited to an amount equal to the trawl
CV sector A-season allocation as
determined in paragraph
(a)(7)(iv)(A)(1)(i) of this section minus
the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation as determined in
paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(C) of this section.
If, after the start of the fishing year, the
provisions of paragraphs
(a)(7)(viii)(E)(4) or (5) of this section are
met, this paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(E)(1) will
not apply for the remainder of the
fishing year.
(2) Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel
Harvest Set-Aside. Prior to March 15,
only catcher vessels that deliver their
catch of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants for
processing may directed fish for that
portion of the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod non-CDQ directed fishing allowance
that is specified as the Aleutian Islands
Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside in
paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(B) of this section.
If, after the start of the fishing year, the
provisions of paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(E)(4)
of this section are met, this paragraph
(a)(7)(viii)(E)(2) will not apply for the
remainder of the fishing year.
(3) Aleutian Islands Unrestricted
Fishery. Prior to March 15, vessels
otherwise authorized to directed fish for
Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands may
directed fish for that portion of the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ
directed fishing allowance that is
specified as the Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery as determined in
paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(B) of this section
and may deliver their catch to any
eligible processor.
(4) Minimum Aleutian Islands
shoreplant landing requirement. If less
than 1,000 mt of the Aleutian Islands
Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside is
landed at Aleutian Islands shoreplants
prior to February 28, then paragraphs
(a)(7)(viii)(E)(1) and (2) of this section
will not apply for the remainder of the
fishing year.
(5) Harvest of Aleutian Islands
Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside. If the
Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest
Set Aside is fully harvested prior to
March 15, then paragraph
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(a)(7)(viii)(E)(1) of this section will not
apply for the remainder of the fishing
year.
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[FR Doc. 2016–18074 Filed 7–29–16; 8:45 am]
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 147 (Monday, August 1, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50444-50459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18074]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 151113999-6620-01]
RIN 0648-BF54
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Management Area; American Fisheries Act; Amendment
113
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 113 to the
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Management Area (FMP). This proposed rule would modify the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Pacific cod fishery to set aside
a portion of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod total allowable catch for
harvest by vessels directed fishing for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
and delivering their catch for processing to shoreside processors
located on land west of 170 W. longitude in the Aleutian Islands
(Aleutian Islands shoreplants). The harvest set-aside would apply only
if specific notification and performance requirements are met, and only
during the first few months of the fishing year. This harvest set-aside
would provide the opportunity for vessels, Aleutian Islands
shoreplants, and the communities where Aleutian Islands shoreplants are
located to receive benefits from a portion of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery, while the notification and performance
requirements would preserve an opportunity for the complete harvest of
the BSAI Pacific cod resource should complications arise with
participation in the harvest set-aside fishery. This proposed rule is
intended to promote the goals and objectives of Amendment 113, the FMP,
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and other
applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on or before August 31, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2015-0155,
by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0155, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
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.
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 voluntarily submitted by the
commenter 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 113 to the FMP and the Environmental
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (collectively, Analysis) prepared for this action may be
obtained from https://www.regulations.gov or from the Alaska Region Web
site at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this
proposed rule may be submitted by mail to NMFS at the above address;
emailed to OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov; or faxed to 202-395-5806.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Scheurer, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority for Action
NMFS manages the groundfish and Pacific cod fisheries in the
Exclusive Economic Zone of the BSAI under the FMP. The North Pacific
Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared, and the Secretary of
Commerce approved, the FMP pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and other
applicable laws. Regulations implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR part
679. General regulations that pertain to U.S. fisheries appear at 50
CFR part 600.
The Council submitted Amendment 113 for review by the Secretary of
Commerce. A notice of availability of Amendment 113 was published in
the Federal Register on July 19, 2016, with comments invited through
September 19, 2016. All relevant written comments received by that
time, whether specifically directed to Amendment 113 or to this
proposed rule, will be considered in the decision to approve or
disapprove Amendment 113.
Background
This proposed rule would modify the BSAI Pacific cod fishery to set
aside a portion of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod total allowable
catch (TAC) for harvest by vessels directed fishing for Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod and delivering their catch to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants for processing. The harvest set-aside would apply only if
specific notification and performance requirements are met, and only
during the first few months of the fishing year. The following sections
of this preamble provide a description of (1) the BSAI Pacific cod
fishery; (2) the need for the proposed rule; and (3) the proposed rule.
To aid the reader, the following glossary table (Table 1) lists the
abbreviations, acronyms, and other technical terms most commonly used
throughout this document. These terms are defined and discussed further
in the following sections of this preamble.
Table 1--Glossary of Terms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms Frequently Used
in This Proposed Rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC......................... acceptable biological catch.
AFA......................... American Fisheries Act.
AI.......................... Aleutian Islands subarea (see definition
in Sec. 679.2).
BS.......................... Bering Sea subarea (see definition in Sec.
679.2).
BSAI........................ Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management
Area (see definition in Sec. 679.2).
CDQ......................... Western Alaska Community Development
Quota.
Council..................... North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
[[Page 50445]]
CP.......................... catcher processor vessel.
CV.......................... catcher vessel.
DFA......................... directed fishing allowance.
FMP......................... Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area.
GHL......................... guideline harvest level.
ICA......................... incidental catch allowance.
LOA......................... length overall.
mt.......................... metric ton.
NMFS........................ National Marine Fisheries Service.
OFL......................... overfishing level.
State....................... State of Alaska.
TAC......................... total allowable catch.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The BSAI Pacific Cod Fishery
Management of the BSAI Pacific Cod Fishery
Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) is one of the most abundant and
valuable groundfish species harvested in the BSAI. Vessels harvest
Pacific cod using trawl and non-trawl gear. Non-trawl gear includes
hook-and-line, jig, and pot gear. Vessels harvesting BSAI Pacific cod
operate as catcher vessels (CVs) that harvest and deliver the fish for
processing, or as catcher processors (CPs) that harvest and process the
catch on board.
The FMP and its implementing regulations at Sec. 679.20(c) require
that, after consultation with the Council, NMFS specify an overfishing
level (OFL), an acceptable biological catch (ABC), and a TAC for each
target species or species group of groundfish, including Pacific cod,
on an annual basis. The OFL is the level above which overfishing is
occurring for a species or species group. The ABC is the level of a
species' or species group's annual catch that accounts for the
scientific uncertainty in the estimate of OFL, and any other scientific
uncertainty. Under the FMP, the ABC is set below the OFL. The TAC is
the annual catch target for a species or species group, derived from
the ABC by considering social and economic factors and management
uncertainty, and in the case of BSAI Pacific cod, after considering any
harvest allocations for guideline harvest level (GHL) fisheries managed
by the State of Alaska (State) and occurring within State waters. Under
the FMP, the TAC must be set lower than or equal to the ABC.
The OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for BSAI groundfish are specified through
the annual harvest specification process. A detailed description of the
annual harvest specification process is provided in the final 2016 and
2017 harvest specifications for groundfish of the BSAI (81 FR 14773,
March 18, 2016). The annual harvest specification process for BSAI
Pacific cod is briefly summarized here. Specific examples of Pacific
cod OFLs, ABCs, TACs, and other apportionments of Pacific cod used in
this preamble are based on the 2017 specifications from the final 2016
and 2017 harvest specifications for groundfish of the BSAI unless
otherwise noted.
For Pacific cod, the harvest specifications establish an OFL, ABC,
and TAC for the Bering Sea subarea (Bering Sea) of the BSAI, and a
separate OFL, ABC, and TAC for the Aleutian Islands subarea (Aleutian
Islands) of the BSAI. Before the Pacific cod TACs are established, the
Council and NMFS consider social and economic factors, and management
uncertainty, as well as two factors that are particularly relevant to
BSAI Pacific cod: Pacific cod GHL fisheries that occur in the State
waters of the BSAI, and an overall limit on the maximum amount of TAC
that can be specified for BSAI groundfish.
Currently, the State manages two GHL fisheries for Pacific cod, one
that occurs within State waters in the Bering Sea and one that occurs
within State waters in the Aleutian Islands. Under current State
regulations, each year the Bering Sea GHL fishery is limited to no more
than 6 percent of the ABC specified for Pacific cod in the Bering Sea.
The Aleutian Islands GHL fishery is limited to no more than 27 percent
of the ABC specified for Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands beginning
in 2016, with annual ``step-up'' provisions that increase the amount of
the GHL fishery if it was fully harvested in the previous year. The
Aleutian Islands GHL fishery can increase to a maximum of 39 percent of
the Aleutian Islands ABC or to a maximum of 15 million pounds (6,804
mt), whichever is less. Section 2.6.3 of the Analysis provides
additional description of the GHL fisheries in the BSAI. Pacific cod
TACs are specified at reduced levels that take into account the GHL
fisheries so that the combined harvest limits from GHL fisheries and
the TACs do not exceed the ABCs specified for the Bering Sea or
Aleutian Islands.
The Council and NMFS also consider requirements under the FMP and
regulations that limit the optimum yield for BSAI groundfish. The FMP
and regulations establish 2.0 million metric tons (mt) as the maximum
optimum yield of all BSAI groundfish species combined (Section 3.2.2.2
of the FMP and Sec. 679.20(a)(1)). Under this requirement, the sum of
the TACs for all groundfish species in the BSAI must be specified
within the optimum yield range of 1.4 million to 2.0 million mt (see
Sec. 679.20(a)(1)(i)). Typically, NMFS specifies TACs for all BSAI
groundfish that total to 2 million mt, even though summed ABCs for all
BSAI groundfish species can exceed the upper limit of the optimum yield
range. For example, in 2016, the total ABCs for all BSAI groundfish of
3.24 million mt substantially exceeded the 2 million mt limit for BSAI
groundfish (81 FR 14773, March 18, 2016). However, the Council
recommended and NMFS implemented TACs that equaled 2 million mt for all
BSAI groundfish to ensure the 2 million mt optimum yield limit was not
exceeded (81 FR 14773, March 18, 2016).
In 2016, the Pacific cod TACs for the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands were reduced from their maximum permissible limits (i.e., when
the TAC is set equal to ABC) to accommodate the GHL fisheries and the 2
million mt limit on BSAI groundfish TACs. The combined ABCs for Pacific
cod totaled 272,600 mt, and the combined TACs totaled 251,519 mt (81 FR
14773, March 18, 2016).
Once the TACs are established, regulations at Sec. 679.20(a)(7)(i)
allocate 10.7 percent of the Bering Sea Pacific cod TAC and 10.7
percent of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC to the Community
Development Quota (CDQ) Program for the exclusive harvest by Western
Alaska CDQ groups. Section
[[Page 50446]]
305(i) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act authorizes 65 communities organized
into six nonprofit corporations called CDQ groups to receive exclusive
harvest privileges of groundfish, including Pacific cod. Section 305(i)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifies the methods for allocating these
harvest privileges. Once allocated, CDQ groups must ensure that they do
not exceed their allocations. Section 2.6.1 of the Analysis provides
additional detail on the CDQ Program and allocations to the CDQ groups.
After subtraction of the CDQ allocation from each TAC, NMFS
combines the remaining Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands TACs into one
BSAI non-CDQ TAC, which is available for harvest by nine non-CDQ
fishery sectors. Regulations at Sec. 679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A) define the
nine Pacific cod non-CDQ fishery sectors in the BSAI and specify the
percentage allocated to each. The non-CDQ fishery sectors are defined
by a combination of gear type (e.g., trawl, hook-and-line), operation
type (i.e., CV or CP), and vessel size categories (e.g., vessels
greater than or equal to 60 ft in length overall). Through the annual
harvest specifications process, NMFS allocates an amount of the
combined BSAI non-CDQ TAC to each of these nine non-CDQ fishery
sectors. The nine non-CDQ fishery sectors and the percentage of the
combined BSAI non-CDQ TAC allocated to each sector are shown in Table 2
of this preamble.
Table 2--Allocations of the Combined BSAI Non-CDQ TAC to the Non-CDQ
Fishery Sectors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage
allocation of
Non-CDQ fishery sector the combined
BSAI non-CDQ
TAC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hook-and line catcher vessels greater than or equal to 0.2
60 ft (18.3 m) length overall (LOA)....................
Jig gear................................................ 1.4
Pot catcher processors.................................. 1.5
Hook-and-line and pot catcher vessels less than 60 ft 2.0
LOA....................................................
American Fisheries Act (AFA) trawl catcher processors... 2.3
Pot catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 ft LOA.. 8.4
Non-AFA trawl catcher processors (Amendment 80 CPs)..... 13.4
Trawl catcher vessels................................... 22.1
Hook-and-line catcher processors........................ 48.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NMFS manages each of the non-CDQ fishery sectors to ensure harvest
of Pacific cod does not exceed the overall annual allocation made to
each of the non-CDQ fishery sectors. NMFS monitors harvests that occur
while vessels are directed fishing for Pacific cod (specifically
targeting and retaining Pacific cod above specific threshold levels)
and harvests that occur while vessels are directed fishing in other
fisheries and incidentally catching Pacific cod (e.g., the incidental
catch of Pacific cod in the directed pollock fishery). Section 679.2
provides the regulatory definition of ``directed fishing.'' For the
non-AFA trawl CP sector, also known as the Amendment 80 sector, NMFS
allocates exclusive harvest privileges to non-CDQ fishery participants
that cannot be exceeded. For other non-CDQ fishery sectors, NMFS
carefully tracks both directed and incidental catch of Pacific cod.
NMFS takes appropriate management measures, such as closing directed
fishing for a non-CDQ fishery sector, to ensure that total directed
fishing and incidental fishing harvests do not exceed that sector's
allocation. Section 2.6.6 of the Analysis describes NMFS' management of
the non-CDQ fishery sectors.
An allocation to a non-CDQ fishery sector may be harvested in
either the Bering Sea or the Aleutian Islands, subject to the non-CDQ
Pacific cod TAC specified for the Bering Sea or the Aleutian Islands.
If the non-CDQ Pacific cod TAC is or will be reached in either the
Bering Sea or Aleutian Islands, NMFS will prohibit directed fishing for
Pacific cod in that subarea for all non-CDQ fishery sectors (see Sec.
679.20(d)(1)(iii)).
Allocations of Pacific cod to the CDQ Program and to the non-CDQ
fishery sectors are further apportioned by seasons. Season dates for
the CDQ and non-CDQ fishery sectors are established at Sec.
679.23(e)(5). In general, regulations apportion CDQ and non-CDQ fishery
sector allocations among three seasons that correspond to the early (A-
season), middle (B-season), and late (C-season) portions of the year.
The specific seasonal dates established for the CDQ Program and each of
the non-CDQ fishery sectors are provided in the final 2016 and 2017
harvest specifications for groundfish of the BSAI (81 FR 14773, March
18, 2016). Depending on the specific CDQ Program or non-CDQ fishery
sector allocation, between 40 percent and 70 percent of the Pacific cod
allocation is apportioned to the A-season, historically the most
lucrative fishing season due to the presence of valuable roe in the
fish and the good quality of the flesh during that time of year.
The allocation of Pacific cod among the CDQ Program and the nine
non-CDQ fishery sectors, as well as the seasonal apportionment of those
allocations, create a large number of separate sectoral-seasonal
allocations. To help ensure the efficient management of these
allocations, regulations allow NMFS to reallocate (rollover) any unused
portion of a seasonal apportionment from any non-CDQ fishery sector
(except the jig sector) to that sector's next season during the current
fishing year, unless the Regional Administrator determines a non-CDQ
fishery sector will not be able to harvest its allocation (see Sec.
679.20(a)(7)(iv)(B)).
The 2017 ABCs, OFLs, TACs, CDQ and non-CDQ fishery sector
allocations, and seasonal apportionments of BSAI Pacific cod are shown
in Table 3 of this preamble. Table 3 of this preamble includes data
from Tables 2 and 9 in the 2016 and 2017 final harvest specifications
for the BSAI groundfish fisheries (81 FR 14773, March 18, 2016).
[[Page 50447]]
Table 3--Pacific Cod OFL, ABC, and TAC Specifications in the BSAI for 2017
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description of OFL, ABC, and TAC s2017 Management area and allocation amount (in metric
tons)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bering Sea Aleutian BSAI
Islands
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specification of separate BS and OFL..................... 412,000 23,400 N/A.
AI OFLs, ABCs. ABC..................... 255,000 17,600 N/A.
Specification of TAC (considers TAC..................... 238,680 12,839 N/A.
GHL fisheries and 2.0 million mt
limit).
CDQ Allocation of 10.7% of the CDQ..................... 25,539 1,374 N/A.
TAC.
--------------------------------
Seasonal Apportionment of CDQ CDQ Seasonal Season allocations are N/A.
Allocation. Apportionment. established depending on
specific gear type used (See
Sec. 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B)).
--------------------------------
Non-CDQ TAC (89.3% of the TAC) Non-CDQ TAC............. 213,141 11,465 224,606.
for each.
Allocation of the combined BSAI Hook-and line catcher N/A N/A A season: 228.
non-CDQ TAC to each of the non- vessels greater than or B season: 219.
CDQ fishery sectors, and the equal to 60 ft LOA.
seasonal apportionment of that
allocation.
Jig gear................ N/A N/A A season: 1,887.
B season: 629.
C season: 629.
Pot catcher processors.. N/A N/A A season: 1,712.
B season: 1,645.
Hook-and-line and pot N/A N/A All Year: 4,476.
catcher vessels less
than 60 ft LOA.
AFA trawl catcher N/A N/A A season: 3,874.
processors. B season: 1,291.
C season: 0.
Pot catcher vessels N/A N/A A season: 9,587.
greater than or equal B season: 9,211.
to 60 ft LOA.
Non-AFA trawl catcher N/A N/A A season: 22,573.
processors (Amendment B season: 7,524.
80 CPs). C season: 0.
Trawl catcher vessels... N/A N/A A season: 36,732.
B season: 5,460.
C season: 7,446.
Hook-and-line catcher N/A N/A A season: 55,581.
processors. B season: 53,402.
C season: 228.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harvesting and Processing of Pacific Cod in the Aleutian Islands
A variety of vessels using a variety of gear types harvest the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC. Trawl CV and trawl CP vessels have
been among the most active participants in the Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod fishery. The trawl CV fishery sector harvested 55 percent of the
Pacific cod from the Aleutian Islands on an average annual basis during
2003 through 2015 (Table 2-17 of the Analysis), while trawl CP sectors,
which include the AFA and the Amendment 80 fishery sectors, harvested
29 percent of the Pacific cod from the Aleutian Islands on an average
annual basis during 2003 through 2015 (Table 2-10 of the Analysis). The
hook-and-line CP sector is the only other sector that has consistently
participated in the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery annually. The
hook-and-line CP sector harvested 14 percent of the Pacific cod from
the Aleutian Islands on an average annual basis during 2003 through
2015 (Table 2-13 of the Analysis). Non-trawl CVs have harvested only a
very small portion of the Pacific cod from the Aleutian Islands:
approximately 2 percent of the Pacific cod harvest on an average annual
basis during 2003 through 2015 (Table 2-20 of the Analysis). Section
2.6.6 of the Analysis provides additional detail on harvesting in the
Aleutian Islands.
Trawl CVs deliver their catch of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to
several types of processors in the Aleutian Islands. Some trawl CVs
deliver their catch to CPs for processing on board the CP. In this
situation, the CP is acting as a mothership. These CPs also harvest and
process their own catch of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod. Some trawl CVs
deliver their catch to stationary floating processors anchored in
specific locations that receive and process catch on board but do not
harvest and process their own catch. Some trawl CVs deliver their catch
to shoreside processing facilities that are physically located on land
within the Aleutian Islands; these facilities are defined as ``Aleutian
Islands shoreplants'' in this proposed rule.
Currently, Aleutian Islands shoreplants are located in the
communities of Adak and Atka, and these shoreplants can receive
deliveries of Pacific cod from CVs. Although the Atka shoreplant has
not received and processed Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, the shoreplant
in Adak has received and processed relatively large amounts of Pacific
cod. The vast majority of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod delivered to the
Adak shoreplant comes from catch harvested by trawl CVs (Table 2-32 of
the Analysis). The percentage of total Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
processed by Aleutian Islands shoreplants has
[[Page 50448]]
been highly variable, ranging from 0 to 49 percent since 2003 (Table 2-
31 of the Analysis). From 2003 through June 2015, the Adak shoreplant
has received an annual average of approximately 25 percent of the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod harvest (Table 2-31 of the Analysis).
Relatively small amounts of Pacific cod harvested in the Aleutian
Islands have also been delivered to shoreplants located outside the
Aleutian Islands, on average less than 1 percent of the total amount of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod harvested from 2003 through June 2015.
Section 2.7.1 of the Analysis has additional detail on the delivery and
processing of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod.
Harvesting and Processing in Adak
The development of a local CV fleet has long been a goal of the
local leadership in Adak, but currently the number of locally owned or
locally operated CVs is limited. A variety of programs have been
implemented to encourage economic opportunities for local CVs and
processing operations. Some of these programs include the allocation of
the Aleutian Islands pollock TAC to the Aleut Corporation, an Alaska
Native tribal organization that represents specific community interests
in Adak (70 FR 9856; March 1, 2005), allocations of Western Aleutian
Islands golden king crab to the Adak Community Development Corporation
under the BSAI Crab Rationalization Program (70 FR 10174; March 2,
2005), and the establishment of a Community Quota Entity Program in the
Aleutian Islands that provides additional fishing opportunities for
residents of fishery dependent communities in the Aleutian Islands and
sustains participation in the halibut and sablefish IFQ fisheries (79
FR 8870; February, 14, 2014). Adak also acts as a port of embarkation
and disembarkation for personnel on board CPs and CVs harvesting
groundfish in the Aleutian Islands.
Despite only a having a small local CV fleet, Adak has a
substantial degree of engagement in the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
fishery. Adak is home to a large shoreplant. Pacific cod is the primary
species delivered to and processed at the Adak shoreplant. The Adak
shoreplant has the capability to process one million round pounds (454
mt) of Pacific cod daily. When operational, the Adak shoreplant
primarily receives and processes Pacific cod harvested from January
through March, the period corresponding to the A season. Processing
revenue from the A-season Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery has been
the main source of income for the Adak shoreplant (and the primary
source of raw fish tax revenue for the City of Adak). The processing of
A-season Aleutian Islands Pacific cod has historically accounted for
approximately 75 percent of the Adak shoreplant's revenue. The Adak
shoreplant has not been operated continuously over the last decade. In
some years, the facility has not received any deliveries of groundfish,
crab, or halibut due to a variety of operational and logistical
challenges, as well as changes in fishery management measures. Section
2.6.8 of the Analysis provides additional detail on Adak shoreplant
processing operations.
Harvesting and Processing in Atka
Vessels operating out of Atka participate in halibut fisheries, and
receive groundfish allocations through the Aleutian Pribilof Island
Community Development Association (APICDA) CDQ group. As a member of
APICDA, Atka benefits from CDQ shares in a number of commercial
fisheries, including Pacific cod. In 2016, APICDA received an
allocation of 15 percent, or 193 mt, of the Aleutian Islands CDQ
Pacific cod allocation, as well as allocations of halibut, crab, and
other Aleutian Islands groundfish (See the 2016 CDQ Program allocation
matrix available at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/reports/annualmatrix2016.pdf).
The Atka shoreplant primarily processes halibut and sablefish. The
local commercial fleet primarily harvests halibut, with limited
harvests of sablefish. However, the community and processor have made
substantial infrastructure investments to make the shoreplant a year-
round operation with the capacity to process Pacific cod. Once
completed, the processing capacity of the Atka shoreplant is
anticipated to be approximately 400,000 round pounds (181 mt) of
Pacific cod per day. Section 2.6.8 of the Analysis provides additional
detail on Atka shoreplant processing operations.
Since 2008, trawl CVs have primarily delivered their catch of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to a small group of CPs that operate as
motherships (processing Pacific cod delivered by trawl CVs). As
deliveries of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod harvest from trawl CVs to
CPs has increased in recent years, the amount of trawl CV harvest
delivered to Aleutian Islands shoreplants has decreased. From 2003
through 2007, an average of 69 percent of the annual trawl CV harvest
of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod was delivered to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants (see Table 2-32 of the Analysis), with the remainder of the
harvest delivered to CPs acting as motherships or to stationary
floating processors. From 2008 through June 2015, an average of 34
percent of the annual trawl CV harvest of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
was delivered to Aleutian Islands shoreplants, with the remainder of
the harvest delivered to CPs acting as motherships or to stationary
floating processors (see Table 2-32 of the Analysis). Even if 2011 and
2015 (the years when the Aleutian Islands shoreplants were not
operational) are removed from consideration, an average of 45 percent
of the annual trawl CV harvest of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod was
delivered to Aleutian Islands shoreplants from 2008 through June 2015,
a reduction of approximately 35 percent in the annual average between
2003 and 2007. Additionally, CPs have demonstrated the capacity to
process the entire harvest of Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands in
years when no Aleutian Islands shoreplant is in operation. This
proposed rule is intended in part to mitigate the risk that vessels,
Aleutian Islands shoreplants, and the communities in which they are
located will be preempted from participating in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery.
Section 2.6 of the Analysis provides additional description of the
factors that have affected the harvesting and processing of Pacific cod
in the Aleutian Islands.
Need for This Proposed Rule
In 2008, the Council began to examine the need for processing
sideboards for processing vessels operating in the Aleutian Islands. As
the Council considered this issue over the next several years, it
recognized that several other management actions under consideration by
the Council might greatly affect any action to modify the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod fishery.
Since 2008, Aleutian Islands fishing communities, and specifically
the community of Adak and its shoreplant, have lost their historical
place in the Pacific cod fishery. The amount of Pacific cod being
delivered to Aleutian Islands shoreplants has been highly variable and
vulnerable, which is not conducive to stable shoreside operations.
Several factors have contributed to this instability, and therefore the
need for this proposed action, including decreased Pacific cod biomass
in the Aleutian Islands subarea; the establishment of separate OFLs,
ABCs, and TACs for Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and the Aleutian
Islands (referred to as the ``BSAI TAC split''); changing Steller sea
lion protection measures; and changing fishing
[[Page 50449]]
practices in part resulting from rationalization programs.
By October 2013, decisions on some of these other management
actions were completed, and the Council again considered modifications
to the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery at its February 2014
meeting. After receiving recommendations from the Council's Advisory
Panel and testimony from the public, the Council developed a suite of
alternatives and options for consideration. The Council adopted its
preferred alternative for Amendment 113 at its October 2015 meeting.
BSAI Pacific Cod Biomass Estimates and TAC Split
Pacific cod biomass in the Aleutian Islands declined steadily from
about 2000 until 2014 (see Section 3.3 of the Analysis), although the
stock assessment in 2015 indicated some stabilization. Prior to 2011,
the Pacific cod stock assessment model for the BSAI had been based on
an abundance estimate from the eastern Bering Sea that was expanded to
the entire BSAI. In 2011, based on information that the proportion of
the combined BSAI biomass in the Aleutian Islands subarea might be
smaller than previously estimated, the Council requested a stock
assessment specific to Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands subarea.
Prior to the Aleutian Islands-specific stock assessment, approximately
16 percent of the Pacific cod biomass was attributed to the Aleutian
Islands; however, the stock assessment revealed that the actual
distribution was in the 7 to 9 percent range. After considering the
combined effects of a declining Aleutian Islands biomass of Pacific
cod, revisions to the stock assessment, and the proportion of the stock
attributed to the Aleutian Islands, the Council recommended splitting
the BSAI Pacific cod TAC between the two subareas. See Section 3.3 of
the Analysis for more information about the BSAI TAC split. The
declining biomass, revised stock assessment, and BSAI TAC split
resulted in a substantial decrease in the TAC available for harvest in
the Aleutian Islands.
Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures
The western distinct population segment of Steller sea lions was
listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1990 (55 FR
49204, November 26, 1990), and reclassified as endangered in 1997 (62
FR 30772, June 5, 1997). Since then, NMFS has restricted fishing with
trawl gear near Steller sea lion rookeries and managed fisheries to
limit and disperse harvest in important Steller sea lion foraging
areas. In 2011, NMFS increased the areas of closure for directed
fishing for Pacific cod in the western Aleutian Islands to ensure the
fisheries were not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the
western distinct population segment of Steller sea lions or adversely
modify their designated critical habitat. These protection measures
reduced harvest opportunities for Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands,
shifting more fishing effort to the Bering Sea, which contributed to
the decline in deliveries of Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants.
In 2014, NMFS implemented new Steller sea lion protection measures
in the Aleutian Islands (79 FR 70286, November 25, 2014) that are less
restrictive than the measures previously in place; however, in that
year NMFS also split the BSAI TAC into separate TACs for the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands subareas. While the BSAI TAC split greatly reduced
the potential impacts of the Pacific cod fisheries on Steller sea lion
Pacific cod prey resources, it also resulted in a substantial reduction
in the amount of Pacific cod available for harvest in the Aleutian
Islands. Consequently, implementation of the less restrictive Steller
sea lion protection measures in 2014 did not improve opportunities for
deliveries of Pacific cod to shoreside processors that support
communities in the Aleutian Islands, given the effects of the BSAI
split.
Additional information about the effects of Steller sea lion
protection measures on the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery and
Aleutian Islands communities is available in Section 3.3 of the EIS
prepared for the Steller sea lion protection measures (Available at
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/sslpm-feis) and in Section
2.6.5 of the Analysis prepared for this proposed rule.
Rationalization Programs
Some of the recent decline in processing of Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod by Aleutian Islands shoreplants is likely due to the
reduction in Aleutian Islands Pacific cod biomass, the BSAI TAC split,
and Steller sea lion protection measures, but changes in fishing
behavior by the offshore sector, starting with the implementation of
two types of rationalization programs in 2008, has also contributed to
the decline in Aleutian Islands Pacific cod delivered and processed at
Aleutian Islands shoreplants. In 2008, both Amendment 80 and Amendment
85 were implemented. Amendment 80 provided an allocation of the TACs
for six groundfish species, including Pacific cod, to facilitate the
development of cooperative arrangements among the eligible non-pelagic
trawl CPs, thus allowing opportunities for consolidation within the
Amendment 80 sector and allowing for increased processing participation
by the sector in other fisheries such as Aleutian Islands Pacific cod.
Amendment 85 reduced the allocation of BSAI Pacific cod to trawl
sectors from 47 percent to 37.8 percent and further apportioned the
BSAI Pacific cod allocation among the different trawl sectors.
As a result of the implementation of Amendment 80 and Amendment 85,
the fishing behavior for the trawl sectors changed in the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod fishery. Section 2.7.1 of the Analysis shows that
prior to 2008, a majority of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod processed
by the offshore sector came from CP harvest, but after 2008, CV
deliveries of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to CPs played a more
significant role in the offshore processing. The percentage of the
total CV deliveries of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to shoreplants
decreased from an annual average of 69 percent prior to 2008, to an
annual average of 34 percent since 2008, with the remainder being
delivered to the offshore sector (motherships and floating processors).
Before Amendment 80 to the FMP was implemented in 2008, between 3 and 6
percent of the total BSAI Pacific cod landings were made at Adak.
However, since 2012, the share of total BSAI Pacific cod landings made
at Adak has been 1 to 2 percent. The flexibility of Amendment 80 likely
afforded the offshore sector the ability to change its fishing behavior
in the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery to lessen the impacts of
Amendment 85, a lower Aleutian Islands Pacific cod biomass, and the
BSAI Pacific cod TAC split. When compared to the offshore sector, the
Aleutian Islands shoreplants have little ability to change their
behavior to reduce the impacts resulting from a lower Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod biomass and the BSAI Pacific cod TAC split, since the
Aleutian Islands shoreplants rely entirely on CV deliveries of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod. This disparity in flexibility between the offshore
sector and Aleutian Islands shoreplants leaves the Aleutian Islands
shoreplants at a significant disadvantage in adapting to changes in the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery.
Rationale for Action
Generally, this proposed rule would establish a harvest set-aside
in which a portion of the Aleutian Islands Pacific
[[Page 50450]]
cod TAC would be available for harvest only by vessels directed fishing
for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod and delivering their catch to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants for processing. The harvest set-aside would apply
only if specific notification and performance requirements are met, and
only during the first few months of the fishing year. A detailed
description of this proposed rule is provided in the following section
of the preamble.
The Council determined and NMFS agrees that a harvest set-aside is
needed for several reasons. First, the Council acknowledged that the
TAC for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod was significantly lower than
predicted. Second, the rationalization programs, and particularly the
Amendment 80 Program, have allowed an influx of processing capacity
into the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery capable of processing the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC, exacerbating the need for Council
action to support Aleutian Islands fishing communities. The Council
determined that without Council action, there would be a continued risk
that fishing communities, and particularly Aleutian Islands shoreplants
and the communities in which they are located, would not be able to
sustain participation in the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery. This
proposed rule would maintain opportunities for remote fishing
communities to participate in the Pacific cod fishery. Third, the
Council recognized that multiple sectors have historically participated
in the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery, but for the CP sectors,
the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery contributed only 1 to 3
percent of total first wholesale gross revenue in recent years,
compared to the shoreplants (Adak), where almost all of their total
first wholesale gross revenue was from Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
during the same period.
This proposed rule would strike a balance between providing fishing
community protections and ensuring that the fishery sectors have a
meaningful opportunity to fully harvest their allocations by including
several thresholds to prevent Aleutian Islands Pacific cod from being
unharvested. This proposed rule would provide benefits and stability to
fishery-dependent fishing communities in the Aleutian Islands and is
responsive to changes in management regimes like rationalization
programs that necessitate putting protections in place to protect other
non-rationalized fisheries.
The Council also stressed that this proposed rule would not affect
any sector's BSAI Pacific cod allocation or the CDQ Pacific cod
allocation in the Aleutian Islands. Non-CDQ sectors would continue to
receive the allocations established under Amendment 85.
The Council recognized that neither of the existing Aleutian
Islands shoreplants is currently processing Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod. However, the Council also recognized that the protection measures
and harvest set-aside in this proposed rule would minimize the risk of
exclusion from, and maintain opportunities for participation in, the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery by Aleutian Islands harvesters,
processors, and communities.
This proposed rule would revise regulations to provide additional
opportunities for harvesters to deliver Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants. The Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC is
not sufficient to allow all sectors to prosecute the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery at their historical levels. Without protections,
Aleutian Islands harvesters, shoreplants, and fishing communities could
be preempted from the fishery by the offshore sector. This proposed
action would create a set aside for vessels delivering to shoreplants,
especially in low TAC years.
This proposed rule is intended to provide benefits to harvesters
delivering to Aleutian Islands shoreplants, the shoreplants, and the
communities where those shoreplants are located. This objective is
consistent with long-standing policies recommended by the Council and
regulations established by NMFS to provide harvesting and processing
opportunities for communities in the Aleutian Islands.
Because of their remote location and limited economic alternatives,
Aleutian Islands communities rely on harvesting and processing of the
nearby fishery resources to support and sustain their communities. This
proposed rule is intended to be directly responsive to National
Standard 8 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act that states conservation and
management measures shall take into account the importance of fishery
resources to fishing communities in order to provide for the sustained
participation of such communities, and to the extent practicable,
minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities (16 U.S.C.
1851(a)(8)). Additional information on the history leading up to this
proposed action and the Council's purpose and need statement are
provided in Sections 2.3 and 2.2 of the Analysis, respectively.
The following section of this preamble describes how this proposed
rule would revise management of the BSAI Pacific cod fishery to provide
harvesting and delivery opportunities for Aleutian Islands communities,
while considering and accommodating the harvesting and delivery
patterns and needs of other participants in the BSAI Pacific cod
fishery.
The Proposed Rule
This proposed rule would modify several aspects of the BSAI Pacific
cod fishery. This proposed rule would set aside a portion of the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ TAC for harvest by vessels
directed fishing for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod for processing by
Aleutian Islands shoreplants. However, the harvest set-aside would
apply only if specific notification and performance requirements are
met, and only during the first few months of the fishing year.
In order to implement Amendment 113, this proposed rule would:
Define the term ``Aleutian Islands shoreplant'' in
regulation;
Calculate and define the amount of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod TAC that would be available as a directed fishing allowance
(DFA) and the amount that would be available as an incidental catch
allowance (ICA);
Limit the amount of A-season Pacific cod that could be
harvested by the trawl CV sector in the Bering Sea prior to March 21
(Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation);
Set aside some or all of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
non-CDQ DFA for harvest by vessels directed fishing for Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod for processing by Aleutian Islands shoreplants from
January 1 to March 15 (Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside);
Require that either the City of Adak or the City of Atka
annually provide notification to NMFS prior to November 1 of its intent
to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod during the upcoming fishing
year in order for the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside and the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation to be effective in the
upcoming fishing year; and
Remove the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation
and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside if less than 1,000 mt of
the harvest set-aside is delivered to (i.e., landed at) Aleutian
Islands shoreplants by February 28, or if the harvest set-aside is
fully taken before March 15.
The following sections provide greater detail about the rationale
for and effect of the regulatory changes proposed in this rule.
[[Page 50451]]
Proposed Revisions to Definitions at Sec. 679.2
This proposed rule would add a definition to Sec. 679.2 for
``Aleutian Islands shoreplant'' to mean a processing facility that is
physically located on land west of 170[deg] W. longitude within the
State of Alaska. This proposed definition is needed because the
existing term ``shoreside processor'' in Sec. 679.2 can include
processing vessels that are moored or otherwise fixed in a location
(i.e., stationary floating processors), but not necessarily located on
land. The objective of this proposed rule is to provide an opportunity
for fishing communities in the Aleutian Islands, including the
processors that are physically located in Aleutian Islands communities,
to receive benefits from the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery at
levels that are roughly equivalent to the historic share of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod that was harvested by CVs and delivered to Aleutian
Islands shoreplants for processing. Given that the definition of
shoreside processor does not exclude stationary floating processors,
and stationary floating processors do not benefit or provide stability
to nearby communities to the same extent as shoreplants, this proposed
definition would provide a clear and consistent term for referencing
the shoreside processors located on land within the Aleutian Islands.
Proposed Revisions to General Limitations at Sec. 679.20
This proposed rule would add a new paragraph (viii) to Sec.
679.20(a)(7). This new paragraph would include the primary regulatory
provisions of this proposed rule. To aid the reader in understanding
how this proposed rule would apply, NMFS provides examples of the
proposed Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside, harvest limitations,
and performance measures in this section of the preamble using 2017
harvest specifications for BSAI Pacific cod (81 FR 14773, March 18,
2016). For the remainder of this preamble, unless otherwise specified,
all references refer to non-CDQ allocations and apportionments of BSAI
Pacific cod.
Calculation of the Aleutian Islands Pacific Cod Non-CDQ Incidental
Catch Allowance and Directed Fishing Allowance
This proposed rule would require that NMFS annually specify an ICA
and a DFA derived from the Aleutian Islands non-CDQ TAC. Each year,
during the annual harvest specifications process described at Sec.
679.20(c), NMFS would specify an amount of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
that NMFS estimates will be taken as incidental catch when directed
fishing for non-CDQ groundfish other than Pacific cod in the Aleutian
Islands. This amount would be the Aleutian Islands ICA and would be
deducted from the Aleutian Islands non-CDQ TAC. The amount of the
Aleutian Islands non-CDQ TAC remaining after subtraction of the
Aleutian Islands ICA would be the Aleutian Islands DFA.
NMFS would specify the Aleutian Islands ICA and DFA so that NMFS
could clearly establish the amount of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod that
would be used in determining the amount of the harvest set-aside
described in the following sections of this preamble. It would also aid
the public in knowing how much of the Aleutian Islands non-CDQ TAC is
available for directed fishing prior to the start of fishing to aid in
the planning of fishery operations.
Although the amount of the Aleutian Islands ICA may vary from year
to year, NMFS anticipates that an Aleutian Islands ICA of 2,500 mt
likely would be needed to support incidental catch of Pacific cod in
other Aleutian Islands non-CDQ directed groundfish fisheries. NMFS
examined recent levels of incidental catch of Pacific cod in other
Aleutian Islands non-CDQ groundfish fisheries from 2013 through 2015,
and has initially determined that 2,500 mt should adequately account
for incidental catch if Amendment 113 is approved and implemented. In
future years, NMFS would specify the Aleutian Islands ICA in the annual
harvest specifications based on recent and anticipated incidental catch
of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod in other Aleutian Islands non-CDQ
directed groundfish fisheries.
Using the 2017 Aleutian Islands non-CDQ TAC from Table 3 (11,465
mt), and assuming an Aleutian Islands ICA of 2,500 mt, the 2017
Aleutian Islands DFA would equal 8,965 mt (11,465 mt-2,500 mt = 8,965
mt). Under this proposed rule, the Aleutian Islands DFA would be the
maximum amount of Pacific cod available for directed fishing by all
non-CDQ fishery sectors in all seasons in the Aleutian Islands.
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation
As noted earlier in this preamble, trawl CVs harvest almost all of
the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod that is received for processing by
Aleutian Islands shoreplants. Additionally, the trawl CV sector can
harvest its entire allocation of BSAI Pacific cod in the Bering Sea,
and in recent years has harvested its A-season BSAI Pacific cod
allocation very early in the A season. In the Bering Sea, the fishery
starts in earnest on January 20, with a peak in fishing around mid-
February, followed by a slow decline in catch during March. In the
Aleutian Islands, the season is significantly shorter, with fishing
effort ramping up during the last two weeks in February and peaking in
early March, followed by a dramatic decline in mid-March. The Pacific
cod fishery in the Aleutian Islands starts later than in the Bering Sea
in part because of when Pacific cod aggregate in the Aleutian Islands,
allowing efficient harvest by trawl vessels. Because the trawl CV
sector can harvest its entire A-season allocation in the Bering Sea and
can harvest it very quickly, there may be no Pacific cod available for
harvest during the A-season in the Aleutian Islands. Setting aside an
amount of the BSAI trawl CV sector A-season allocation for harvest and
delivery in the Aleutian Islands would provide the opportunity for
vessels, Aleutian Islands shoreplants, and the communities where
Aleutian Islands shoreplants are located to receive benefits from a
portion of the BSAI Pacific cod fishery.
In recent years, the trawl CV sector has harvested its A-season
BSAI Pacific cod allocation very quickly, primarily because the trawl
CV sector has been able to harvest almost its entire BSAI Pacific cod
allocation in the Bering Sea. For example, in 2014, NMFS closed the
trawl CV sector to directed fishing on March 16 (79 FR 15255; March 19,
2014). In 2015, NMFS closed the trawl CV sector to directed fishing on
February 27 (80 FR 11332; March 3, 2015). This rapid rate of trawl CV
harvest in the Bering Sea restricts potential harvesting and delivery
opportunities for trawl CVs that participate in the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod fishery and Aleutian Islands shoreplants during the
lucrative A-season.
To prevent the trawl CV sector from harvesting its entire BSAI A-
season Pacific cod allocation in the Bering Sea before vessels can
harvest Aleutian Islands Pacific cod for processing by Aleutian Islands
shoreplants, this proposed rule would establish the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation to limit the amount of the trawl CV sector's
A-season allocation that can be harvested in the Bering Sea prior to
March 21. The Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation would
ensure that some of the trawl CV sector's A-season allocation remains
available for harvest in the Aleutian Islands by vessels that deliver
their catch of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants for
[[Page 50452]]
processing. On March 21, the restriction on Bering Sea harvest by the
trawl CV sector would be lifted and the remainder, if any, of the BSAI
trawl CV A-season allocation could be harvested in either the Bering
Sea or the Aleutian Islands (if still open to directed fishing for
Pacific cod) and delivered to any eligible processor for processing.
After calculating the Aleutian Islands ICA and DFA, NMFS would
calculate the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation and the
amount of the trawl CV sector A-season allocation that could be
harvested in the Bering Sea prior to March 21. The Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation would be an amount equal to the lesser of
either the Aleutian Islands DFA (as described above) or 5,000 mt. The
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation also would be equivalent
to the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside, which would be the amount
reserved for harvest by vessels directed fishing for Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod for processing by Aleutian Islands shoreplants, described
in the following section of this preamble. The amount of the trawl CV
sector's A-season allocation that could be harvested in the Bering Sea
prior to March 21 would be the amount of Pacific cod that remained
after deducting the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation from
the BSAI trawl CV sector A-season allocation listed in the annual
harvest specifications (and as determined at Sec.
679.20(a)(7)(iv)(A)(1)(i)). NMFS would specify the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation and the amount of the A-season trawl CV
allocation that could be harvested in the Bering Sea prior to March 21
in the annual harvest specifications.
The Council considered a range of options on the amount of the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation, and the specific date
when the limitation should be lifted. The Council considered amounts
for the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation ranging from
3,000 to 7,000 mt. The Council determined and NMFS agrees that a
maximum of 5,000 mt is the appropriate amount because it represents a
large percentage of the total amount of Pacific cod available to the
non-CDQ fishery sectors in recent years, and is in the range necessary
to provide benefits to Aleutian Islands fishing communities, including
shoreplant operations, when considered in combination with the GHL A-
season harvest. Additionally, the Analysis shows that 5,000 mt is the
approximate long-term average of the amount of Pacific cod processed at
Aleutian Islands shoreplants between 2003 and 2015, when Aleutian
Islands shoreplants were operational (Section 2.7.1.2 of the Analysis).
The Council also considered three dates--March 1, 15, and 21--for
when the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation should be
lifted. Recent trawl CV sector harvest patterns from 2014 and 2015 show
that without the limitation on harvests in the Bering Sea in place
until March 21, the entire trawl CV allocation could be taken before
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod have typically aggregated in early- or
mid-March (see Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis). The March 21 date
would best preserve the opportunity for vessels to continue to fish in
the Aleutian Islands without having the entire A-season trawl CV sector
allocation taken in the Bering Sea. The March 21 date also would not
occur so late in the year that the trawl CV sector would be precluded
from fully harvesting its A-season allocation. As shown in Table 30 in
Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis, in only 3 of the 13 years between 2003
and 2015 did the trawl CV sector take the entire A-season (from January
20 until April 1) to harvest its BSAI Pacific cod A-season allocation.
In the other years during this period, on average, the trawl CV sector
A-season fishery closed on March 15.
Using the 2017 Aleutian Islands non-CDQ TAC from Table 3 (11,465
mt), and assuming an Aleutian Islands ICA of 2,500 mt, the Aleutian
Islands DFA would be 8,965 mt. With a DFA of 8,965 mt, the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation would be 5,000 mt, because 5,000 mt
is less than the DFA of 8,965 mt. With a Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation of 5,000 mt, the maximum amount of Pacific cod that
could be harvested in the Bering Sea by the trawl CV sector during the
A-season prior to March 21 would be 31,732 mt (i.e., trawl CV sector A-
season allocation of 36,732 mt-5,000 mt Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation = 31,732 mt maximum permissible harvest by the trawl
CV sector in the Bering Sea prior to March 21). Conversely, if the 2017
Aleutian Islands non-CDQ TAC was 5,500 mt, with an Aleutian Islands ICA
of 2,500 mt and a resulting Aleutian Islands DFA of 3,000 mt, then the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation would be 3,000 mt,
because the DFA was less than 5,000 mt, and the maximum amount of
Pacific cod that could be harvested in the Bering Sea by the trawl CV
sector during the A-season prior to March 21 would be 33,732 mt (trawl
CV sector A-season allocation of 36,732 mt-Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation of 3,000 mt = 33,732 mt).
Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside
This proposed rule would require that all, or some portion, of the
Aleutian Islands DFA be set aside for harvest by vessels directed
fishing for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod for processing by Aleutian
Islands shoreplants. This Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would
be available for harvest by vessels using any authorized gear type and
that deliver their catch to Aleutian Islands shoreplants for
processing. NMFS would account for harvest and processing of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod under the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
separate from, and in addition to, its accounting of Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod catch by the nine non-CDQ fishery sectors established under
Amendment 85 to the FMP. Because of this separate accounting, the
proposed Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would not increase or
decrease the amount of BSAI Pacific cod allocated to any of the non-CDQ
fishery sectors. The Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would apply
from January 1 until March 15 of each year, unless certain notification
and performance measures, described in the following section of the
preamble, are not satisfied.
The amount of the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would be
calculated as described above for the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation. It would be an amount equal to the lesser of either
5,000 mt or the Aleutian Islands DFA. NMFS would notify the public of
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside through the annual harvest
specifications process.
When the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside is set equal to the
Aleutian Islands DFA, directed fishing for Pacific cod in the Aleutian
Islands could only be conducted by vessels that deliver their catch of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands shoreplants for
processing. Vessels that do not want to deliver their directed catch of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands shoreplants for
processing would be prohibited from directed fishing for Pacific cod in
the Aleutian Islands during the time the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside is in effect. These vessels would be permitted to conduct
directed fishing for groundfish other than Pacific cod in the Aleutian
Islands during the time the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside is in
effect and their harvests of Pacific cod would accrue toward the
Aleutian Islands ICA. CPs would be permitted to
[[Page 50453]]
conduct directed fishing for Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands during
the time the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside side is in effect as
long as they act only as CVs and deliver their directed catch of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands shoreplants for
processing. CPs also would be permitted to retain Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod as incidental catch while directed fishing for groundfish
other than Pacific cod and those harvests of Pacific cod would accrue
toward the Aleutian Islands ICA.
When the Aleutian Islands DFA is greater than 5,000 mt, and
therefore the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside is set equal to
5,000 mt, the difference between the DFA and the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside would be available for directed fishing by all non-
CDQ fishery sectors with sufficient A-season allocations and could be
processed by any eligible processor. This difference would be called
the ``Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery.'' In years when there
would be both an Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside and an Aleutian
Islands Unrestricted Fishery, vessels could conduct directed fishing
for Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands and deliver their catch to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants or to any eligible processor for
processing as long as the Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery is open
to directed fishing. CPs would be permitted to conduct directed fishing
for Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands as long as the Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery is open to directed fishing. NMFS would determine
whether the Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery is sufficient to
support a directed fishery and would notify the public through a notice
in the Federal Register.
While the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside is in effect, NMFS
would account for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod caught by vessels and
delivered to Aleutian Islands shoreplants for processing against the
appropriate fishery sector allocation, the ICA or the DFA, and the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside or the Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery. For example, if a pot CV greater than 60 ft LOA
conducted directed fishing for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod and
delivered that catch to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant for processing
while the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside was in effect, NMFS
would deduct that Pacific cod from (1) the 60 ft LOA or greater pot CV
sector's A-season allocation, and (2) that portion of the Aleutian
Islands DFA that is the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside. If that
same vessel conducted directed fishing for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod
and delivered that catch offshore while the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside was in effect, NMFS would deduct that Pacific cod from (1)
the 60 ft LOA or greater pot CV sector's A-season allocation, and (2)
that portion of the Aleutian Islands DFA that is the Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery (if available). If no portion of the Aleutian
Islands DFA were available for the Aleutian Islands Unrestricted
Fishery, that catch would have to be delivered to an Aleutian Islands
shoreplant. If that same vessel conducted directed fishing for
sablefish in the Aleutian Islands, retained Pacific cod up to the
maximum retainable amount, and delivered its sablefish and Pacific cod
catch to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant for processing while the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside was in effect, NMFS would deduct
that Pacific cod from the Aleutian Islands ICA, and it would not accrue
toward the set-aside.
If certain notification and performance measures are met, the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would be in effect from January 1
until March 15 of each year. If the entire set-aside was harvested and
delivered prior to March 15, the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation and Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would be lifted.
The Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would end at noon on March 15
even if the entire set-aside had not been harvested and delivered to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants. When the set-aside ends, any remaining
Aleutian Islands DFA could be harvested by any non-CDQ fishery sector
with remaining A-season allocation, and the harvest could be delivered
to any eligible processor. If a vessel had been directed fishing for
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, but had not yet delivered that Pacific
cod for processing when the harvest set-aside was lifted, that vessel
could deliver its Pacific cod to any eligible processor. If a vessel
had been directed fishing for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, but had not
yet delivered that Pacific cod for processing when the Aleutian Islands
Unrestricted Fishery closed, but the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-
Aside was still in effect, it would be required to deliver that Pacific
cod to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant for processing or be in violation
of the directed fishing closure.
The Council determined and NMFS agrees that the March 15 date for
lifting the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside is preferred for
several reasons. On average, March 15 represents the average date of
the peak of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery for CVs. During
the period analyzed (2003 through 2015), a significant portion of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod was not delivered shoreside until mid-
March (see Table 2-37 of the Analysis). Establishing a date much
earlier than March 15 to relieve the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-
Aside would not meet the Council's goals to sustain participation in
the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery by Aleutian Islands
communities. The protections afforded by reserving a portion of the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ TAC for vessels delivering to
Aleutian Islands shoreplants would be lifted before the Pacific cod
aggregated on the Aleutian Islands fishing grounds.
The Council and NMFS considered earlier dates by which to lift
these restrictions, but given historical harvesting and delivery
patterns for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, the longer the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside remains in effect during the A-season each
year, the greater the opportunity for complete harvest and delivery of
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside. The March 15 date provides
greater social and economic stability for Aleutian Islands fishing
communities than earlier dates. Limiting the duration of the Aleutian
Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside to March 15 also would provide an
opportunity for CPs to harvest Pacific cod, and for CVs to harvest and
deliver Pacific cod to CPs or stationary floating processors, before
the end of the A season. The proposed March 15 date balances the
opportunities for all participants. Additional information is provided
in Section 2.7.2.4 of the Analysis.
The Council and NMFS considered different maximum amounts for the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside: 3,000 mt, 5,000 mt, and 7,000
mt. For reasons described under the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation section of this preamble, they determined 5,000 mt
represents an adequate and appropriate amount for the Aleutian Islands
CV Harvest Set-Aside. Under this proposed rule, any amount of the
Aleutian Islands DFA above the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
would be available to any sector for directed fishing and could be
processed by any eligible processor. By limiting the Aleutian Islands
CV Harvest Set-Aside to a maximum of 5,000 mt, additional harvesting
and processing opportunities would be provided to CPs, and CVs
delivering to CPs or stationary floating processors, when the Aleutian
Islands DFA is greater than 5,000 mt.
Continuing with the example above for calculating the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation, and using amounts from the 2017
annual
[[Page 50454]]
groundfish harvest specifications, the Aleutian Islands DFA would be
8,965 mt after deducting the Aleutian Islands ICA from the Aleutian
Islands non-CDQ TAC (11,465 mt-2,500 mt = 8,965 mt). Because the DFA is
larger than 5,000 mt, the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would
be 5,000 mt. This would also be the amount of the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation.
The remainder of the Aleutian Islands DFA after deducting the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would be available to any sector
prior to March 15, and could be processed by any eligible processor.
For the example described above, this Aleutian Islands Unrestricted
Fishery would be 3,965 mt (8,965 mt-5,000 mt = 3,965 mt). This means
that until March 15, 5,000 mt could be harvested by vessels for
processing by Aleutian Islands shoreplants, and 3,965 mt could be
harvested by vessels for processing by any eligible processor.
Measures To Prevent Stranding of Aleutian Islands Non-CDQ Pacific Cod
TAC
Stranding is a term sometimes used to describe TAC that remains
unharvested due to regulations. The Council recommended performance
measures to prevent the stranding of Aleutian Islands non-CDQ Pacific
cod TAC. These measures would make the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-
Aside available to other sectors if the set-aside was not requested, if
limited processing occurred at Aleutian Islands shoreplants, or if the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside was taken before March 15.
The first performance measure would require that either the City
Manager of the City of Adak or the City Manager of the City of Atka
notify NMFS of its intent to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod in
the upcoming fishing year. If neither city submits such notification to
NMFS, the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation and the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would not be in effect for the
upcoming fishing year. The Council's recommendation for this proposed
measure did not specify who from Adak or Atka would be responsible for
notifying NMFS of the intent to process Pacific cod. Therefore, NMFS
proposes that the City Manager would be the person responsible for
submitting the required notification to NMFS because both Adak and Atka
have a person in the role of City Manager. NMFS solicits public comment
on whether the City Manager is the appropriate person to provide such
notification.
The Council recommended allowing the cities of Adak and Atka to
voluntarily notify NMFS prior to November 1 if they do not intend to
process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod in the upcoming year. NMFS
considered this recommendation, but decided it was not necessary to
state in regulations. While Adak or Atka could notify NMFS prior to
November 1 that it does not intend to process, there would be no
penalty if the city reconsidered and decided later, but before November
1, that it would process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod and notified NMFS
accordingly.
This proposed rule would require annual notification in the form of
a letter or memorandum signed by the City Manager of the city intending
to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod in the upcoming fishing year.
This signed letter or memorandum would be the official notification of
intent. This proposed rule would require that the official notification
of intent be postmarked no later than October 31. NMFS would require
that the official notification of intent be submitted to the NMFS
Alaska Regional Administrator by certified mail through the United
States Postal Service. Certified mail would provide the city with a
proof of postmark date and date of receipt by NMFS Alaska Region.
Because the official notification of intent must be postmarked by
October 31, and NMFS may not receive the official notification of
intent in a timely manner owing to weather, flight schedules, and other
unpredictable circumstances with mail service in remote Alaskan
communities, this proposed rule would also require the City Manager to
submit an electronic copy of the official notification of intent and
the certified mail receipt with postmark via email to NMFS. Email
submission of electronic copies of the official notification of intent
and the certified mail receipt with postmark by October 31 would
provide NMFS with the timely information it needs to manage the
upcoming fisheries. Email notification would be in addition to
notification via certified U.S. Mail; email notification would not
replace the requirement for notification through the U.S. Postal
Service.
A city's notification of intent to process Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod would be required to contain the following information: Date, name
of city, a statement of intent to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod,
statement of calendar year during which the city intends to process
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, and the signature of and contact
information for the City Manager of the city whose shoreplant is
intending to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod.
On or shortly after November 1, the Regional Administrator would
send a signed and dated letter either confirming receipt of the city's
notification of their intent to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod,
or informing the city that notification was not received by the
deadline.
Of the two notification dates considered, November 1 and December
15, the Council preferred November 1 because it would provide more time
for offshore processors and non-Aleutian Islands shoreplants to make
the necessary arrangements to harvest and process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod if no Aleutian Islands shoreplants would be operating in
the upcoming year. A notification date of December 15 would not give
vessels and offshore processors sufficient time to prepare for the
harvest and processing of the full amount of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod non-CDQ TAC if no Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation or Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside applied.
While this proposed rule would make the set-aside available for
processing by any shoreplant west of 170[deg] W. longitude in the
Aleutian Islands, the Council recognized that only the City of Adak and
the City of Atka could be prepared to process Aleutian Islands Pacific
cod; therefore, the Council specified that the notification requirement
would only be required from either Adak or Atka and not another city
that might have an Aleutian Islands shoreplant in the future. The
shoreplants in Adak and Atka are likely to have the capacity to process
sufficient Pacific cod to meet the other performance measures described
below. Although another Aleutian Islands shoreplant may process Pacific
cod from the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside, the set-aside would
only go into effect if Adak or Atka, or both, submitted a notice of
intent to process in the upcoming fishing year. The Council could
consider requiring notification from additional Aleutian Island cities
with shoreplants in the future, if they develop and the need arises.
The second performance measure would remove the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-
Aside for the remainder of the A-season if less than 1,000 mt of
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside is delivered to Aleutian Islands
shoreplants by February 28. This proposed performance measure is
intended to ensure that shoreside processing is actually occurring at a
time early
[[Page 50455]]
enough in the A season to allow other sectors to come into the fishery
if it is not. Under this proposed rule, there is incentive for an
Aleutian Islands city to provide a notice of intent to process Pacific
cod, even if they are uncertain at the time the notice of intent is due
as to whether they will do so, because there is no penalty to the
Aleutian Islands city or shoreplant for stating their intention to
process, but then not doing so. This performance measure would release
the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside and make the remaining amount
of the set-aside available to other sectors if for some reason, the
Aleutian Islands shoreplant were unable to process Pacific cod. The
Council chose 1,000 mt as the threshold because in 9 of 11 years when
the Adak shoreplant was operational (the primary Aleutian Islands
shoreplant), it processed 1,000 mt of Pacific cod by February 28 (see
Section 2.7.2.5 of the Analysis). The Council chose February 28 as the
date by which the minimum processing threshold must be met because it
would lift the restrictions a couple of weeks earlier than under the
set-aside, allowing enough time for additional processing capacity to
move into the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery in years when
harvesters and Aleutian Islands shoreplants are operating at a level
that is not likely to result in the complete harvesting and processing
of the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside.
The third performance measure would suspend the Bering Sea Trawl CV
A-Season Sector Limitation for the remainder of the year if the entire
Aleutian Islands Harvest Set-Aside (5,000 mt using the 2017 example) is
fully harvested and processed by Aleutian Islands shoreplants before
March 15. This performance measure would recognize that if the entire
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside is harvested and delivered, there
would be no reason to continue to restrict trawl CV sector harvests in
the Bering Sea because the intent for the set-aside and sector
limitation would have been met.
Harvest Specifications Process To Announce BSAI A-Season Pacific Cod
Limits Implemented by Amendment 113
NMFS typically publishes the proposed harvest specifications for
groundfish of the BSAI in the Federal Register in November each year
(for example, the proposed 2016-2017 harvest specifications are
available at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/80fr76425.pdf). Following a public comment period, the Council modifies
(if necessary) and adopts final harvest specifications at its December
Council meeting and NMFS publishes the final harvest specifications
early in the following year (for example, the final 2016-2017 harvest
specifications are available at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/81fr14773.pdf). For fisheries that will begin before the
final harvest specifications are published, such as BSAI A-season
Pacific cod, NMFS publishes a temporary rule to announce and adjust (if
necessary) the final amounts for those fisheries. This adjustment is
typically published in the Federal Register in late December or early
January (for example, see https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/81fr184.pdf).
If this proposed rule is approved and implemented, during the
annual harvest specifications process described above, NMFS would
publish in the proposed harvest specifications the amounts for the
Aleutian Islands ICA, DFA, CV Harvest Set-Aside, and Unrestricted
Fishery, as well as the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation,
and the amount available for harvest by trawl CVs in the Bering Sea
while the set-aside is in effect. These amounts would be published in a
separate table to supplement the table in the harvest specifications
that describes the final gear shares and allowances of the BSAI Pacific
cod TAC for the upcoming year. NMFS also would publish a notice in the
Federal Register shortly after November 1 announcing whether the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside and Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation were going into effect for the upcoming fishing year,
and whether the harvest limits in the supplemental table would apply.
If necessary, NMFS would publish in the Federal Register an adjustment
of the BSAI A-season Pacific cod limits for the upcoming year after the
Council adopts the harvest specifications in December.
For 2017, NMFS proposes to amend the 2017 harvest specifications by
adding the following table to the harvest specifications. If Amendment
113 and this proposed rule are approved, and if NMFS receives timely
notification of intent to process from either Adak or Atka, the harvest
limits in Table 4 would be in effect in 2017.
Table 4--2017 BSAI A-Season Pacific Cod Limits That Would Be Effective
Under Amendment 113 to the FMP if Either the City of Adak or the City of
Atka Notified NMFS Prior to November 1 of Its Intent To Process Pacific
Cod in the Upcoming Year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 Allocations under Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-
Aside Amount (mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AI non-CDQ TAC.......................................... 11,465
AI ICA.................................................. 2,500
AI DFA.................................................. 8,965
BSAI non-CDQ TAC........................................ 213,141
BSAI Trawl CV A-Season Allocation....................... 36,732
BSAI Trawl CV A-Season Allocation minus Sector 31,732
Limitation (available prior to March 21)...............
BS Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation.................. 5,000
AI CV Harvest Set-Aside................................. 5,000
AI Unrestricted Fishery................................. 3,965
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classification
Pursuant to Section 304(b)(1)(A) and 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, the NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that Amendment 113
to the FMP and this proposed rule are consistent with the FMP, other
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law,
subject to further consideration of comments received during the public
comment period.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
An Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was prepared for
this action, as required by Section 603 of the
[[Page 50456]]
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The IRFA describes the economic
impact the proposed rule, if adopted, would have on small entities. The
IRFA describes the reasons why this action is being proposed; the
objectives and legal basis for the proposed rule; the number and
description of small entities directly regulated by the proposed
action; any projected reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance
requirements of the proposed rule; any overlapping, duplicative, or
conflicting Federal rules; impacts of the action on small entities; and
any significant alternatives to the proposed rule that would accomplish
the stated objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and any other
applicable statutes, and would minimize any significant adverse impacts
of the proposed rule on small entities. Descriptions of the proposed
action, its purpose, and the legal basis are contained earlier in this
preamble and are not repeated here. A summary of the IRFA follows. A
copy of the IRFA is available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
Number and Description of Small Entities Directly Regulated by the
Proposed Action
This proposed rule would directly regulate three groups of
entities. First, this proposed rule would directly regulate trawl CVs
harvesting Pacific cod in the BSAI because this proposed rule could
limit how much Pacific cod those trawl CVs could harvest in the Bering
Sea, and it could prohibit trawl CVs from participating in the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod fishery if they do not deliver their Pacific cod
catch to Aleutian Islands shoreplants. Second, this proposed rule would
directly regulate all non-trawl CVs who are harvesting Pacific cod in
the Aleutian Islands because it could prohibit those non-trawl CVs from
participating in the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery if they do
not deliver their Pacific cod catch to Aleutian Islands shoreplants.
Third, this proposed rule would directly regulate all CPs harvesting
Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands because this proposed rule could
limit how much Pacific cod those CPs can harvest and process in the
Aleutian Islands. This proposed rule would not directly regulate the
City of Adak or the City of Atka because it does not impose a
requirement on those cities, and this proposed rule would not directly
regulate entities participating in the harvesting and processing of
Pacific cod managed under the GHL fisheries in the Bering Sea or
Aleutian Islands.
For RFA purposes only, NMFS has established a small business size
standard for businesses, including their affiliates, whose primary
industry is commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business primarily
engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS code 11411) is classified as a
small business if it is independently owned and operated, is not
dominant in its field of operation (including its affiliates), and has
combined annual receipts not in excess of $11 million for all its
affiliated operations worldwide.
Based on the best available and most recent complete data from 2012
through 2014, between 10 and 16 CPs, and an estimated 43 CVs (trawl and
non-trawl) could be directly regulated by this action in the BSAI. Of
these, no CP is estimated to be a small entity, while 6 trawl CVs and
26 non-trawl CVs are estimated to be small entities based on the best
available data on the gross receipts from these entities and their
known affiliates. Therefore, a total of 32 vessels considered to be
small entities would be directly regulated by this action. The IRFA
assumes that each vessel is a unique entity; therefore, the total
number of directly regulated entities may be an overestimate because
some vessels are likely affiliated through common ownership. These
potential affiliations are not known with the best available data and
cannot be predicted.
Impacts of the Action on Small Entities
Under this proposed rule, a portion of the Aleutian Islands non-CDQ
Pacific cod TAC would be reserved for CVs harvesting Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod and delivering their catch to Aleutian Islands shoreplants
for processing during a portion of the year. The trawl CV sector has
been the most active in the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery among
all of the CV sectors. Therefore, small entities in the trawl CV
sector, as well as other CVs in other sectors that are small entities,
that deliver Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands shoreplants would be
likely to benefit from implementation of this proposed rule. Small
entities in the trawl CV sector that harvest Pacific cod exclusively in
the Bering Sea could experience some negative effects because the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation established by this
proposed rule would restrict the harvest of a portion of the trawl CV
sector allocation in the Bering Sea for a portion of the year.
Description of Significant Alternatives Considered
The RFA requires identification of any significant alternatives to
the proposed rule that accomplish the stated objectives of the proposed
action, consistent with applicable statutes, and that would minimize
any significant economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities.
The Council considered a status quo alternative and one action
alternative with several options and suboptions. The combination of
options and suboptions under the action alternative effectively
provided a broad range of potential alternative approaches to status
quo management. Under the status quo, there would be a continued risk
that fishing communities in the Aleutian Islands would not be able to
sustainably participate in the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery.
The action alternative does not affect any non-CDQ fishery sector's
Pacific cod allocation, or the TAC of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod. The
action alternative would accomplish the stated objectives of
prioritizing a portion of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC for
harvest by CVs that deliver their catch to Aleutian Islands shoreplants
for processing, while minimizing adverse economic impacts on small
entities and the potential for stranding a portion of the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod TAC.
The Council considered a range of dates, varying amounts of
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod for the harvest set-aside and Bering Sea
sector limitation, and a suite of mechanisms to relieve the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside under the action alternative. The Council recommended the
proposed combination of dates, harvest set-aside amounts, harvest
limitations, and provisions to relieve the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside that
would give fishery participants sufficient opportunity to harvest and
deliver Aleutian Islands Pacific cod to the benefit of Aleutian Islands
communities and shoreplants without stranding the trawl CV sector
allocation or the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC. The Council
recommended and NMFS is proposing selected options in the action
alternative such that if specific notification or minimum harvest and
processing requirements are not met by a specific date, the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside would either not go into effect in the upcoming year, or they
would be relieved for the remainder of the year.
The Council considered and rejected two options under the action
alternative. One option would have required that if less than 50
percent of the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside had been landed at
an Aleutian Islands shoreplant by a given date,
[[Page 50457]]
ranging from February 28 to March 15, the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside would
be lifted. Instead, the Council selected an option that would require a
minimum weight (1,000 mt) rather than a minimum percentage of the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside that must be landed at an
Aleutian Islands shoreplant for processing by a given date (February
28) for the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation and the
Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside to remain in place.
The Council also considered and rejected an option that would have
exempted certain processing vessels with a history of processing
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod in at least 12 out of 15 recent years from
the proposed restrictions on processing and would have allowed them to
process up to 2,000 mt of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod while the set-
aside was in effect. This option could have allowed up to 10 processing
vessels to continue to process Pacific cod during the A-season,
limiting the effectiveness of this proposed rule to minimize the risk
of a diminished historical share of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod being
delivered to Aleutian Islands shoreplants and the communities where
those shoreplants are located.
Federal Rules That May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the
Proposed Action
NMFS has not identified any duplication, overlap, or conflict
between this proposed action and existing Federal rules.
Projected Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
The recordkeeping, reporting, and other compliance requirements
would be increased slightly under this proposed rule. This proposed
rule contains new requirements for the cities of Adak and Atka to
provide notice to NMFS of its intent to process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod in the upcoming fishing year in order for the Bering Sea
Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation and the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest
Set-Aside to apply.
Collection-of-Information Requirements
This proposed rule contains collection-of-information requirements
subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). These requirements have
been submitted to OMB for approval under OMB Control Number 0648-ANIP,
a temporary new information collection that will be merged into OMB
Control Number 0648-0213 upon approval by OMB. Public reporting burden
for Notification of Intent to Process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod is
estimated to average 30 minutes per individual response, including the
time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing
the collection of information.
Public comment is sought regarding: Whether this proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall
have practical utility; the accuracy of the burden estimate; ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information, including through the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology. Send comments on
these or any other aspects of the collection of information to NMFS
Alaska Region at the ADDRESSES above, and by email to
OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov, or fax to (202) 395-5806.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays
a currently valid OMB control number. All currently approved NOAA
collections of information may be viewed at: https://www.cio.noaa.gov/services_programs/prasubs.html.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679
Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: July 26, 2016.
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 679 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA
0
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.; 3631 et seq.;
Pub. L. 108-447; Pub. L. 111-281.
0
2. In Sec. 679.2, add a definition for ``Aleutian Islands shoreplant''
in alphabetical order to read as follows:
Sec. 679.2 Definitions.
* * * * *
Aleutian Islands shoreplant means a processing facility that is
physically located on land west of 170[deg] W. longitude within the
State of Alaska.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 679.20, add paragraph (a)(7)(viii) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.20 General limitations.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(7) * * *
(viii) Aleutian Islands Pacific cod Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-
Aside Program--(A) Calculation of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-
CDQ ICA and DFA. Each year, during the annual harvest specifications
process set forth at paragraph (c) of this section, NMFS will specify
the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ incidental catch allowance and
directed fishing allowance from the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-
CDQ TAC as follows. Shortly after November 1 of each year, NMFS will
announce through notice in the Federal Register whether the ICA and DFA
will be in effect for the upcoming fishing year.
(1) Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ incidental catch
allowance. Each year, during the annual harvest specifications process
set forth at paragraph (c) of this section, NMFS will specify an amount
of Aleutian Islands Pacific cod that NMFS estimates will be taken as
incidental catch in non-CDQ directed fisheries for groundfish other
than Pacific cod in the Aleutian Islands. This amount will be the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ incidental catch allowance and
will be deducted from the aggregate portion of Pacific cod TAC annually
allocated to the non-CDQ sectors identified in paragraph (a)(7)(ii)(A)
of this section.
(2) Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ directed fishing
allowance. Each year, during the annual harvest specifications process
set forth at paragraph (c) of this section, NMFS will specify the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ directed fishing allowance. The
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ directed fishing allowance will be
the amount of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod TAC remaining after
subtraction of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod CDQ reserve and the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ incidental catch allowance.
(B) Calculation of the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside and
Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery. Each year, during the annual
harvest specifications process set forth at paragraph (c) of this
section, NMFS will
[[Page 50458]]
specify the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside and the Aleutian
Islands Unrestricted Fishery. The Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-Aside
will be an amount of Pacific cod equal to the lesser of either the
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ directed fishing allowance as
determined in paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(A)(2) of this section or 5,000 mt.
The Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery will be the amount of Pacific
cod that remains after deducting the Aleutian Islands CV Harvest Set-
Aside from the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ directed fishing
allowance as determined in paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(A)(2) of this
section. Shortly after November 1 of each year, NMFS will announce
through notice in the Federal Register whether the Aleutian Islands CV
Harvest Set-Aside and the Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery will be
in effect for the upcoming fishing year.
(C) Calculation of the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector
Limitation. Each year, during the annual harvest specifications process
set forth at paragraph (c) of this section, NMFS will specify the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation and the amount of the
trawl CV sector's A-season allocation that could be harvested in the
Bering Sea subarea prior to March 21. The Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season
Sector Limitation will be an amount of Pacific cod equal to the lesser
of either the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ directed fishing
allowance as determined in paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(A)(2) of this section
or 5,000 mt. The amount of the trawl CV sector's A-season allocation
that could be harvested in the Bering Sea subarea prior to March 21
will be the amount of Pacific cod that remains after deducting the
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation from the amount of BSAI
Pacific cod allocated to the trawl CV sector A-season as determined in
paragraph (a)(7)(iv)(A)(1)(i) of this section. Shortly after November 1
of each year, NMFS will announce through notice in the Federal Register
whether the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation will be in
effect for the upcoming fishing year.
(D) Annual notification of intent to process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod--(1) Submission of notification. The provisions of
paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(E) of this section will apply if the City
Manager of either the City of Adak or the City of Atka submits to NMFS
a timely and complete notification of its intent to process Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod during the upcoming fishing year. This notification
must be submitted annually to NMFS using the methods described below.
(2) Submittal method. An official notification of intent to process
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod during the upcoming fishing year in the
form of a letter or memorandum signed by the City Manager of either the
City of Adak or the City of Atka must be submitted by certified mail
through the United States Postal Service to: NMFS Alaska Region, Attn:
Regional Administrator, P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802. The City
Manager must also submit an electronic copy of the official
notification of intent and the certified mail receipt with postmark via
email to nmfs.akr.inseason@noaa.gov. Email submission is in addition to
submission via U.S. Postal Service; email submission does not replace
the requirement to submit an official notification of intent via U.S.
Postal Service.
(3) NMFS confirmation. On or shortly after November 1, the Regional
Administrator will send a signed and dated letter to the City Manager
of the City of Adak or the City of Atka either confirming NMFS' receipt
of its official notification of intent to process Aleutian Islands
Pacific cod, or informing the city that NMFS did not receive
notification by the deadline.
(4) Deadline. The official notification of intent to process
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod for the upcoming fishing year must be
postmarked no later than October 31 of each fishing year in order for
the provisions of paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(E) of this section to apply
during the upcoming fishing year. Notifications of intent postmarked on
or after November 1 will not be accepted by the Regional Administrator.
The electronic copy of the official notification of intent and
certified mail receipt with postmark must be submitted to NMFS via
email dated no later than October 31 of each fishing year in order for
the provisions of paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(E) of this section to apply
during the upcoming fishing year.
(5) Contents of notification. A notification of intent to process
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod for the upcoming fishing year must contain
the following information:
(i) Date,
(ii) Name of city,
(iii) Statement of intent to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod,
(iv) Identification of the fishing year during which the city
intends to process Aleutian Island Pacific cod, and
(v) Signature of and contact information for the City Manager of
the city intending to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod.
(E) Aleutian Islands community protections for Pacific cod. If the
City Manager of the City of Adak or the City Manager of the City of
Atka submits a timely and complete notification in accordance with
paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(D) of this section, then the following
provisions will apply for the fishing year following the submission of
the timely and complete notification:
(1) Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation. Prior to March
21, the harvest of Pacific cod by the trawl CV sector in the Bering Sea
subarea is limited to an amount equal to the trawl CV sector A-season
allocation as determined in paragraph (a)(7)(iv)(A)(1)(i) of this
section minus the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation as
determined in paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(C) of this section. If, after the
start of the fishing year, the provisions of paragraphs
(a)(7)(viii)(E)(4) or (5) of this section are met, this paragraph
(a)(7)(viii)(E)(1) will not apply for the remainder of the fishing
year.
(2) Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside. Prior to
March 15, only catcher vessels that deliver their catch of Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands shoreplants for processing may
directed fish for that portion of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-
CDQ directed fishing allowance that is specified as the Aleutian
Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside in paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(B)
of this section. If, after the start of the fishing year, the
provisions of paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(E)(4) of this section are met,
this paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(E)(2) will not apply for the remainder of
the fishing year.
(3) Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery. Prior to March 15,
vessels otherwise authorized to directed fish for Pacific cod in the
Aleutian Islands may directed fish for that portion of the Aleutian
Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ directed fishing allowance that is
specified as the Aleutian Islands Unrestricted Fishery as determined in
paragraph (a)(7)(viii)(B) of this section and may deliver their catch
to any eligible processor.
(4) Minimum Aleutian Islands shoreplant landing requirement. If
less than 1,000 mt of the Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-
Aside is landed at Aleutian Islands shoreplants prior to February 28,
then paragraphs (a)(7)(viii)(E)(1) and (2) of this section will not
apply for the remainder of the fishing year.
(5) Harvest of Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside.
If the Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set Aside is fully
harvested prior to March 15, then paragraph
[[Page 50459]]
(a)(7)(viii)(E)(1) of this section will not apply for the remainder of
the fishing year.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2016-18074 Filed 7-29-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
