Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications, 24269-24271 [2018-11208]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 102 / Friday, May 25, 2018 / Proposed Rules
that complies with the provisions of the
CAA and applicable Federal regulations.
42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions,
EPA’s role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of
the CAA. Accordingly, this action
merely approves State law as meeting
Federal requirements and does not
impose additional requirements beyond
those imposed by State law. For that
reason, this action:
• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ subject to review by the Office
of Management and Budget under
Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• Does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Does not contain any unfunded
mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4);
• Does not have Federalism
implications as specified in Executive
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999);
• Is not an economically significant
regulatory action based on health or
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of
Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because
application of those requirements would
be inconsistent with the CAA; and
• Does not provide EPA with the
discretionary authority to address, as
appropriate, disproportionate human
health or environmental effects, using
practicable and legally permissible
methods, under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, the SIP is not approved
to apply on any Indian reservation land
or in any other area where EPA or an
Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the rule does not have
tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
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List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Volatile organic
compounds.
Dated: May 16, 2018.
Cathy Stepp,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2018–11313 Filed 5–24–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 180320301–8301–01]
RIN 0648–XG121
Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries;
Annual Specifications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement
annual management measures and catch
limits for the northern subpopulation of
Pacific sardine (hereafter, Pacific
sardine), for the fishing year from July
1, 2018, through June 30, 2019. The
proposed action would prohibit directed
commercial fishing for Pacific sardine
off the coasts of Washington, Oregon,
and California, except in the live bait,
tribal, or minor directed fisheries, or as
incidental catch in other fisheries. The
incidental harvest of Pacific sardine
would initially be limited to 40-percent
by weight of all fish per trip when
caught with other CPS or up to 2 metric
tons (mt) when caught with non-CPS.
The proposed annual catch limit (ACL)
for the 2018–2019 Pacific sardine
fishing year is 7,000 mt. This proposed
rule is intended to conserve and manage
the Pacific sardine stock off the U.S.
West Coast.
DATES: Comments must be received by
June 11, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2018–0044, by any of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20180044, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
PO 00000
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24269
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Barry A. Thom, Regional Administrator,
West Coast Region, NMFS, 501 W Ocean
Blvd., Ste. 4200, Long Beach, CA
90802–4250; Attn: Joshua Lindsay.
• 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, etc.),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter
‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish
to remain anonymous).
Copies of the report ‘‘Assessment of
Pacific Sardine Resource in 2018 for
U.S.A. Management in 2017–2018’’ are
available https://www.pcouncil.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/03/G5a_Stock_
Assessment_Rpt_Full_ElectricOnly_
Apr2017BB.pdf, and may be obtained
from the West Coast Region (see
ADDRESSES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Joshua Lindsay, West Coast Region,
NMFS, (562) 980–4034, joshua.lindsay@
noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS
manages the Pacific sardine fishery in
the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
off the Pacific coast (California, Oregon,
and Washington) in accordance with the
Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery
Management Plan (FMP). The FMP and
its implementing regulations require
NMFS to set annual catch levels for the
Pacific sardine fishery based on the
annual specification framework and
control rules in the FMP. These control
rules include the harvest guideline (HG)
control rule, which, in conjunction with
the overfishing limit (OFL) and
acceptable biological catch (ABC) rules
in the FMP, are used to manage harvest
levels for Pacific sardine, in accordance
with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq.
During public meetings each year, the
Southwest Fishery Science Center
(SWFSC) presents the estimated
biomass for Pacific sardine to the Pacific
Fishery Management Council’s
(Council) CPS Management Team
(Team), the Council’s CPS Advisory
Subpanel (Subpanel) and the Council’s
Scientific and Statistical Committee
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 102 / Friday, May 25, 2018 / Proposed Rules
(SSC). The Team, Subpanel and SSC
review the biomass and the status of the
fishery, and make applicable catch limit
and additional management measure
recommendations. Following Council
review and public comment, the
Council adopts a biomass estimate and
makes its catch limit and any in-season
accountability measure
recommendations to NMFS. Annual
specifications published in the Federal
Register establish these catch limits and
management measures for each Pacific
sardine fishing year. This rule proposes
the Council’s recommended catch limits
for the 2018–2019 fishing year, as well
as management measures to ensure that
harvest does not exceed those limits,
and adoption of an OFL and ABC that
is established after taking into
consideration uncertainty surrounding
the current estimate of biomass for
Pacific sardine.
According to the FMP, the quota for
the principal commercial fishery is
determined using the FMP-specified HG
formula. The HG formula in the CPS
FMP is HG = [(Biomass-CUTOFF) *
FRACTION * DISTRIBUTION] with the
parameters described as follows:
1. Biomass. The estimated stock
biomass of Pacific sardine age one and
above. For the 2018–2019 management
season, this is 52,065 mt.
2. CUTOFF. This is the biomass level
below which no HG is set. The FMP
established this level at 150,000 mt.
3. DISTRIBUTION. The average
portion of the Pacific sardine biomass
estimated in the EEZ off the Pacific
coast is 87 percent.
4. FRACTION. The temperaturevarying harvest fraction is the
percentage of the biomass above 150,000
mt that may be harvested.
As described above, the Pacific
sardine HG control rule, the primary
mechanism for setting the annual
directed commercial fishery quota,
includes a CUTOFF parameter, which
has been set as a biomass level of
150,000 mt. This amount is subtracted
from the annual biomass estimate before
calculating the applicable HG for the
fishing year. Since this year’s biomass
estimate is below that value, the formula
results in an HG of zero, and no Pacific
sardine are available for the primary
commercial directed fishery during the
2018–2019 fishing season.
At the April 2018 Council meeting,
the Council’s SSC approved, and the
Council adopted, the SWFSC’s
‘‘Assessment of the Pacific Sardine
Resource in 2018 for U.S. Management
in 2018–2019’’, available here: https://
www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/
2017/03/G5a_Stock_Assessment_Rpt_
Full_ElectricOnly_Apr2017BB.pdf. The
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resulting Pacific sardine biomass
estimate of 52,065 mt was adopted as
the best available science for setting
harvest specifications. Based on
recommendations from its SSC and
other advisory bodies, the Council
recommended, and NMFS is proposing,
an OFL of 11,324 mt, an ABC of 9,436
mt, and a prohibition on Pacific sardine
catch, unless it is harvested as part of
the live bait, tribal, or minor directed
fisheries, or as incidental catch in other
fisheries. As an additional management
measure, the Council also
recommended, and NMFS is proposing,
an ACL of 7,000 mt.
Because Pacific sardine is known to
school with other CPS stocks, the
Council recommended, and NMFS is
proposing, incidental catch limits to
allow for the continued prosecution of
these other important CPS fisheries.
Furthermore, the Council
recommended, and NMFS is proposing,
the following automatic inseason
actions to reduce the potential for both
targeting and discard of Pacific sardine
in these fisheries:
• An incidental per landing by weight
allowance of 40 percent Pacific sardine
in non-treaty CPS fisheries until a total
of 2,500 mt of Pacific sardine has been
landed; and
• A reduction of the incidental per
landing allowance to 20 percent for the
remainder of the 2018–2019 fishing year
once 2,500 mt Pacific sardine has been
landed.
Additionally, the Council
recommended, and NMFS is proposing,
a 2-mt incidental per landing allowance
in non-CPS fisheries.
The NMFS West Coast Regional
Administrator would publish a notice in
the Federal Register to announce when
catch reaches the incidental limits as
well as any changes to allowable
incidental catch percentages.
Additionally, to ensure that the
regulated community is informed of any
closure, NMFS would make
announcements through other means
available, including fax, email, and mail
to fishermen, processors, and state
fishery management agencies.
In each of the previous six fishing
years, the Quinault Indian Nation
requested, and NMFS approved, a setaside for the exclusive right to harvest
Pacific sardine in the Quinault Usual
and Accustomed Fishing Area off the
coast of Washington State, pursuant to
the 1856 Treaty of Olympia (Treaty with
the Quinault). For the 2018–2019
fishing year, the Quinault Indian Nation
has requested, and NMFS is proposing,
a tribal set-aside of 800 mt. This is the
same amount that was requested and
approved for the 2017–2018 season.
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Sfmt 4702
At the April 2018 meeting, the
Council also voted in support of two
exempted fishing permit (EFP)
proposals requesting an exemption from
the prohibition to directly harvest
Pacific sardine. This action accounts for
the potential of NMFS approval of up to
610 mt of the ACL to be harvested for
EFP activities.
Detailed information on the fishery
and the stock assessment are found in
the report ‘‘Assessment of the Pacific
Sardine Resource in 2018 for U.S.
Management in 2018–2019’’ (see
ADDRESSES).
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this proposed rule is consistent
with the CPS FMP, other provisions of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable law, subject to further
consideration after public comment.
This proposed rule is exempt from the
procedures of E.O. 12866 because this
action contains no implementing
regulations.
Pursuant to Executive Order 13175,
this proposed rule was developed after
meaningful consultation and
collaboration with the tribal
representative on the Council who has
agreed with the provisions that apply to
tribal vessels.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration that this
proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities,
for the following reasons:
For Regulatory Flexibility Act (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.
The purpose of this proposed rule is
to conserve the Pacific sardine stock by
preventing overfishing, so that directed
fishing may occur in future years. This
will be accomplished by implementing
the 2018–2019 annual specifications for
Pacific sardine in the U.S. EEZ off the
Pacific coast. The small entities that
would be affected by the proposed
action are the vessels that would be
expected to harvest Pacific sardine as
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 102 / Friday, May 25, 2018 / Proposed Rules
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part of the West Coast CPS small purse
seine fleet if the fishery were open. In
2014, the last year that a directed fishery
for Pacific sardine was allowed, there
were approximately 81 vessels
permitted to operate in the directed
sardine fishery component of the CPS
fishery off the U.S. West Coast; 58
vessels in the Federal CPS limited entry
fishery off California (south of 39° N
lat.); and a combined 23 vessels in
Oregon and Washington’s state Pacific
sardine fisheries. The average annual
per vessel revenue in 2014 for those
vessels was well below the threshold
level of $11 million; therefore, all of
these vessels are considered small
businesses under the RFA. Because each
affected vessel is a small business, this
proposed rule is considered to equally
affect all of these small entities in the
same manner. Therefore, this rule
would not create disproportionate costs
between small and large vessels/
businesses.
The CPS FMP and its implementing
regulations require NMFS to annually
set an OFL, ABC, ACL, and HG or
annual catch target (ACT) for the Pacific
sardine fishery based on the specified
harvest control rules in the FMP applied
to the current stock biomass estimate for
that year. The derived annual HG is the
level typically used to manage the
principal commercial sardine fishery
and is the harvest level NMFS typically
uses for profitability analysis each year.
As stated above, the CPS FMP dictates
that when the estimated biomass drops
below a certain level (150,000 mt) there
is no HG. Therefore, for the purposes of
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17:49 May 24, 2018
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profitability analysis, this action is
essentially proposing an HG of zero for
the 2018–2019 Pacific sardine fishing
season (July 1, 2018, through June 30,
2019). The estimated biomass used for
management during the preceding
fishing year (2017–2018) was also below
150,000 mt. Therefore, NMFS did not
implement a HG for the 2017–2018
fishing year, thereby prohibiting the
primary commercial directed Pacific
sardine fishery. Since there is again no
directed fishing for the 2018–2019
fishing year, this proposed rule will not
change the potential profitability as
compared to the previous fishing year.
The revenue derived from harvesting
Pacific sardine is typically only one of
the sources of fishing revenue for the
commercial vessels that participate in
this fishery. As a result, the economic
impact to the fleet from the proposed
action cannot be viewed in isolation.
From year to year, depending on market
conditions and availability of fish, most
CPS/sardine vessels supplement their
income by harvesting other species.
Many vessels in California also harvest
anchovy, mackerel, and in particular,
squid, making Pacific sardine only one
component of a multi-species CPS
fishery. Additionally, some sardine
vessels that operate off of Oregon and
Washington also fish for salmon in
Alaska or squid in California during
times of the year when sardine are not
available. The purpose of the incidental
catch limits proposed in this action are
to ensure the vessels impacted by a
prohibition on directly harvesting
sardine can still access these other
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24271
profitable fisheries while still
minimizing Pacific sardine harvest.
These proposed incidental allowances
are similar to those implemented last
year and should not restrict access to
those other fisheries.
CPS vessels typically rely on multiple
species for profitability because
abundance of Pacific sardine, like the
other CPS stocks, is highly associated
with ocean conditions and seasonality.
Variability in ocean conditions and
season results in variability in the
timing and location of CPS harvest
throughout the year. Because each
species responds to ocean conditions in
its own way, not all CPS stocks are
likely to be abundant at the same time.
Therefore, as abundance levels and
markets fluctuate, the CPS fishery as a
whole has relied on a group of species
for its annual revenues.
Therefore the proposed action, if
adopted, will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. As a result, an
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is
not required, and none has been
prepared.
This action does not contain a
collection-of-information requirement
for purposes of the Paper Reduction Act.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 21, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–11208 Filed 5–24–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24269-24271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11208]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 180320301-8301-01]
RIN 0648-XG121
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species
Fisheries; Annual Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement annual management measures and
catch limits for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine
(hereafter, Pacific sardine), for the fishing year from July 1, 2018,
through June 30, 2019. The proposed action would prohibit directed
commercial fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington,
Oregon, and California, except in the live bait, tribal, or minor
directed fisheries, or as incidental catch in other fisheries. The
incidental harvest of Pacific sardine would initially be limited to 40-
percent by weight of all fish per trip when caught with other CPS or up
to 2 metric tons (mt) when caught with non-CPS. The proposed annual
catch limit (ACL) for the 2018-2019 Pacific sardine fishing year is
7,000 mt. This proposed rule is intended to conserve and manage the
Pacific sardine stock off the U.S. West Coast.
DATES: Comments must be received by June 11, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2018-0044, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0044, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Barry A. Thom, Regional
Administrator, West Coast Region, NMFS, 501 W Ocean Blvd., Ste. 4200,
Long Beach, CA 90802-4250; Attn: Joshua Lindsay.
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, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
Copies of the report ``Assessment of Pacific Sardine Resource in
2018 for U.S.A. Management in 2017-2018'' are available https://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/G5a_Stock_Assessment_Rpt_Full_ElectricOnly_Apr2017BB.pdf, and may be
obtained from the West Coast Region (see ADDRESSES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Lindsay, West Coast Region,
NMFS, (562) 980-4034, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the Pacific sardine fishery in
the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast
(California, Oregon, and Washington) in accordance with the Coastal
Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP and its
implementing regulations require NMFS to set annual catch levels for
the Pacific sardine fishery based on the annual specification framework
and control rules in the FMP. These control rules include the harvest
guideline (HG) control rule, which, in conjunction with the overfishing
limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) rules in the FMP, are
used to manage harvest levels for Pacific sardine, in accordance with
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
During public meetings each year, the Southwest Fishery Science
Center (SWFSC) presents the estimated biomass for Pacific sardine to
the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) CPS Management Team
(Team), the Council's CPS Advisory Subpanel (Subpanel) and the
Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee
[[Page 24270]]
(SSC). The Team, Subpanel and SSC review the biomass and the status of
the fishery, and make applicable catch limit and additional management
measure recommendations. Following Council review and public comment,
the Council adopts a biomass estimate and makes its catch limit and any
in-season accountability measure recommendations to NMFS. Annual
specifications published in the Federal Register establish these catch
limits and management measures for each Pacific sardine fishing year.
This rule proposes the Council's recommended catch limits for the 2018-
2019 fishing year, as well as management measures to ensure that
harvest does not exceed those limits, and adoption of an OFL and ABC
that is established after taking into consideration uncertainty
surrounding the current estimate of biomass for Pacific sardine.
According to the FMP, the quota for the principal commercial
fishery is determined using the FMP-specified HG formula. The HG
formula in the CPS FMP is HG = [(Biomass-CUTOFF) * FRACTION *
DISTRIBUTION] with the parameters described as follows:
1. Biomass. The estimated stock biomass of Pacific sardine age one
and above. For the 2018-2019 management season, this is 52,065 mt.
2. CUTOFF. This is the biomass level below which no HG is set. The
FMP established this level at 150,000 mt.
3. DISTRIBUTION. The average portion of the Pacific sardine biomass
estimated in the EEZ off the Pacific coast is 87 percent.
4. FRACTION. The temperature-varying harvest fraction is the
percentage of the biomass above 150,000 mt that may be harvested.
As described above, the Pacific sardine HG control rule, the
primary mechanism for setting the annual directed commercial fishery
quota, includes a CUTOFF parameter, which has been set as a biomass
level of 150,000 mt. This amount is subtracted from the annual biomass
estimate before calculating the applicable HG for the fishing year.
Since this year's biomass estimate is below that value, the formula
results in an HG of zero, and no Pacific sardine are available for the
primary commercial directed fishery during the 2018-2019 fishing
season.
At the April 2018 Council meeting, the Council's SSC approved, and
the Council adopted, the SWFSC's ``Assessment of the Pacific Sardine
Resource in 2018 for U.S. Management in 2018-2019'', available here:
https://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/G5a_Stock_Assessment_Rpt_Full_ElectricOnly_Apr2017BB.pdf. The resulting
Pacific sardine biomass estimate of 52,065 mt was adopted as the best
available science for setting harvest specifications. Based on
recommendations from its SSC and other advisory bodies, the Council
recommended, and NMFS is proposing, an OFL of 11,324 mt, an ABC of
9,436 mt, and a prohibition on Pacific sardine catch, unless it is
harvested as part of the live bait, tribal, or minor directed
fisheries, or as incidental catch in other fisheries. As an additional
management measure, the Council also recommended, and NMFS is
proposing, an ACL of 7,000 mt.
Because Pacific sardine is known to school with other CPS stocks,
the Council recommended, and NMFS is proposing, incidental catch limits
to allow for the continued prosecution of these other important CPS
fisheries. Furthermore, the Council recommended, and NMFS is proposing,
the following automatic inseason actions to reduce the potential for
both targeting and discard of Pacific sardine in these fisheries:
An incidental per landing by weight allowance of 40
percent Pacific sardine in non-treaty CPS fisheries until a total of
2,500 mt of Pacific sardine has been landed; and
A reduction of the incidental per landing allowance to 20
percent for the remainder of the 2018-2019 fishing year once 2,500 mt
Pacific sardine has been landed.
Additionally, the Council recommended, and NMFS is proposing, a 2-mt
incidental per landing allowance in non-CPS fisheries.
The NMFS West Coast Regional Administrator would publish a notice
in the Federal Register to announce when catch reaches the incidental
limits as well as any changes to allowable incidental catch
percentages. Additionally, to ensure that the regulated community is
informed of any closure, NMFS would make announcements through other
means available, including fax, email, and mail to fishermen,
processors, and state fishery management agencies.
In each of the previous six fishing years, the Quinault Indian
Nation requested, and NMFS approved, a set-aside for the exclusive
right to harvest Pacific sardine in the Quinault Usual and Accustomed
Fishing Area off the coast of Washington State, pursuant to the 1856
Treaty of Olympia (Treaty with the Quinault). For the 2018-2019 fishing
year, the Quinault Indian Nation has requested, and NMFS is proposing,
a tribal set-aside of 800 mt. This is the same amount that was
requested and approved for the 2017-2018 season.
At the April 2018 meeting, the Council also voted in support of two
exempted fishing permit (EFP) proposals requesting an exemption from
the prohibition to directly harvest Pacific sardine. This action
accounts for the potential of NMFS approval of up to 610 mt of the ACL
to be harvested for EFP activities.
Detailed information on the fishery and the stock assessment are
found in the report ``Assessment of the Pacific Sardine Resource in
2018 for U.S. Management in 2018-2019'' (see ADDRESSES).
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the CPS FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after
public comment.
This proposed rule is exempt from the procedures of E.O. 12866
because this action contains no implementing regulations.
Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, this proposed rule was developed
after meaningful consultation and collaboration with the tribal
representative on the Council who has agreed with the provisions that
apply to tribal vessels.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities,
for the following reasons:
For Regulatory Flexibility Act (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.
The purpose of this proposed rule is to conserve the Pacific
sardine stock by preventing overfishing, so that directed fishing may
occur in future years. This will be accomplished by implementing the
2018-2019 annual specifications for Pacific sardine in the U.S. EEZ off
the Pacific coast. The small entities that would be affected by the
proposed action are the vessels that would be expected to harvest
Pacific sardine as
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part of the West Coast CPS small purse seine fleet if the fishery were
open. In 2014, the last year that a directed fishery for Pacific
sardine was allowed, there were approximately 81 vessels permitted to
operate in the directed sardine fishery component of the CPS fishery
off the U.S. West Coast; 58 vessels in the Federal CPS limited entry
fishery off California (south of 39[deg] N lat.); and a combined 23
vessels in Oregon and Washington's state Pacific sardine fisheries. The
average annual per vessel revenue in 2014 for those vessels was well
below the threshold level of $11 million; therefore, all of these
vessels are considered small businesses under the RFA. Because each
affected vessel is a small business, this proposed rule is considered
to equally affect all of these small entities in the same manner.
Therefore, this rule would not create disproportionate costs between
small and large vessels/businesses.
The CPS FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS to
annually set an OFL, ABC, ACL, and HG or annual catch target (ACT) for
the Pacific sardine fishery based on the specified harvest control
rules in the FMP applied to the current stock biomass estimate for that
year. The derived annual HG is the level typically used to manage the
principal commercial sardine fishery and is the harvest level NMFS
typically uses for profitability analysis each year. As stated above,
the CPS FMP dictates that when the estimated biomass drops below a
certain level (150,000 mt) there is no HG. Therefore, for the purposes
of profitability analysis, this action is essentially proposing an HG
of zero for the 2018-2019 Pacific sardine fishing season (July 1, 2018,
through June 30, 2019). The estimated biomass used for management
during the preceding fishing year (2017-2018) was also below 150,000
mt. Therefore, NMFS did not implement a HG for the 2017-2018 fishing
year, thereby prohibiting the primary commercial directed Pacific
sardine fishery. Since there is again no directed fishing for the 2018-
2019 fishing year, this proposed rule will not change the potential
profitability as compared to the previous fishing year.
The revenue derived from harvesting Pacific sardine is typically
only one of the sources of fishing revenue for the commercial vessels
that participate in this fishery. As a result, the economic impact to
the fleet from the proposed action cannot be viewed in isolation. From
year to year, depending on market conditions and availability of fish,
most CPS/sardine vessels supplement their income by harvesting other
species. Many vessels in California also harvest anchovy, mackerel, and
in particular, squid, making Pacific sardine only one component of a
multi-species CPS fishery. Additionally, some sardine vessels that
operate off of Oregon and Washington also fish for salmon in Alaska or
squid in California during times of the year when sardine are not
available. The purpose of the incidental catch limits proposed in this
action are to ensure the vessels impacted by a prohibition on directly
harvesting sardine can still access these other profitable fisheries
while still minimizing Pacific sardine harvest. These proposed
incidental allowances are similar to those implemented last year and
should not restrict access to those other fisheries.
CPS vessels typically rely on multiple species for profitability
because abundance of Pacific sardine, like the other CPS stocks, is
highly associated with ocean conditions and seasonality. Variability in
ocean conditions and season results in variability in the timing and
location of CPS harvest throughout the year. Because each species
responds to ocean conditions in its own way, not all CPS stocks are
likely to be abundant at the same time. Therefore, as abundance levels
and markets fluctuate, the CPS fishery as a whole has relied on a group
of species for its annual revenues.
Therefore the proposed action, if adopted, will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
As a result, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not
required, and none has been prepared.
This action does not contain a collection-of-information
requirement for purposes of the Paper Reduction Act.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 21, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-11208 Filed 5-24-18; 8:45 am]
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