Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Yellowfin Sole Management in the Groundfish Fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, 26237-26251 [2018-12034]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 6, 2018 / Proposed Rules
26237
recordkeeping requirements, Research,
Television.
§ 74.1204 Protection of FM broadcast, FM
Translator and LP100 stations.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
*
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Rules
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Federal Communications
Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR
part 74 as follows:
PART 74—EXPERIMENTAL RADIO,
AUXILIARY, SPECIAL BROADCAST
AND OTHER PROGRAM
DISTRIBUTIONAL SERVICES
1. The authority citation for part 74
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 302a, 303, 307,
309, 310, 336 and 554.
2. Section 74.1201 is amended by
adding paragraph (k) to read as follows:
■
§ 74.1201
Definitions.
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(k) Listener complaint. A complaint
that is signed by the listener and
contains the following information:
(1) Full name and contact
information;
(2) A clear, concise, and accurate
description of the location where the
interference is alleged or predicted to
occur;
(3) A statement that the complainant
listens to the desired station at least
twice a month; and
(4) A statement that the complainant
has no legal, financial, or familial
affiliation with the desired station.
■ 3. Section 74.1203 is amended by
revising paragraph (a)(3) to read as
follows:
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§ 74.1203
Interference.
(a) * * *
(3) The direct reception by the public
of the off-the-air signals of any full
service station or previously authorized
secondary station. Interference will be
considered to occur whenever reception
of a regularly used signal, as
demonstrated by six or more listener
complaints as defined in § 74.1201(k)
and a map plotting specific listener
addresses in relation to the relevant
station contours, is impaired by the
signals radiated by the FM translator or
booster station, regardless of the quality
of such reception or the channel on
which the protected signal is
transmitted; except that no listener
complaint will be considered actionable
if the alleged interference occurs outside
the desired station’s 54 dBm contour.
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■ 4. Section 74.1204 is amended by
revising paragraph (f) to read as follows:
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(f) An application for an FM translator
station will not be accepted for filing
even though the proposed operation
would not involve overlap of field
strength contours with any other station,
as set forth in paragraph (a) of this
section, if grant of the authorization will
result in interference to the reception of
a regularly used, off-the-air signal of any
authorized co-channel, first, second or
third adjacent channel broadcast station,
including previously authorized
secondary service stations, within the
54 dBm field strength contour of the
desired station, as demonstrated by six
or more listener complaints, as defined
in § 74.1201(k), as well as a map
plotting specific listener addresses in
relation to the relevant station contours.
*
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■ 5. Section 74.1233 is amended by
revising paragraph (a)(1) to read as
follows:
§ 74.1233 Processing FM translator and
booster station applications.
(a) * * *
(1) In the first group are applications
for new stations or for major changes in
the facilities of authorized stations. For
FM translator stations, a major change
is:
(i) Any change in frequency (output
channel) except:
(A) Changes to first, second or third
adjacent channels, or intermediate
frequency channels; or
(B) Upon a showing of interference to
or from any other broadcast station,
remedial changes to any frequency; or
(ii) Any change in antenna location
where the station would not continue to
provide 1 mV/m service to some portion
of its previously authorized 1 mV/m
service area.
(iii) In addition, any change in
frequency relocating a station from the
non-reserved band to the reserved band,
or from the reserved band to the nonreserved band, will be considered major.
All other changes will be considered
minor. All major changes are subject to
the provisions of §§ 73.3580 and 1.1104
of this chapter pertaining to major
changes.
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[FR Doc. 2018–11964 Filed 6–5–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
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50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 170630613–8489–01]
RIN 0648–BH02
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Yellowfin Sole
Management in the Groundfish
Fisheries of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands
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 116 to the
Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area
(BSAI FMP). If approved, Amendment
116 would limit access to the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Trawl
Limited Access Sector (TLAS) yellowfin
sole directed fishery by vessels that
deliver their catch of yellowfin sole to
motherships for processing. This
proposed rule would establish eligibility
criteria based on historical participation
in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery, issue an endorsement
to those groundfish License Limitation
Program (LLP) licenses that meet the
eligibility criteria, and authorize
delivery of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole to
motherships by only those vessels
designated on a groundfish LLP license
that is endorsed for the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery.
This proposed action is necessary to
prevent increased catcher vessel
participation from reducing the benefits
the fishery provides to historic and
recent participants, mitigate the risk that
a ‘‘race for fish’’ could develop, and
help to maintain the consistently low
rates of halibut bycatch in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery.
This proposed rule is intended to
promote the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act,
Amendment 116, the BSAI FMP, and
other applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on or before
July 6, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by FDMS
Docket Number NOAA–NMFS–2017–
0083, by any of the following methods:
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 6, 2018 / Proposed Rules
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20170083, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn:
Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O.
Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668.
Instructions: Comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period, may not be
considered by NMFS. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/
A’’ in the required fields if you wish to
remain anonymous).
Electronic copies of Amendment 116
and the draft Environmental
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review
prepared for this action (collectively the
‘‘Analysis’’) may be obtained from
www.regulations.gov. Electronic copies
of Amendments 80 and 39 to the BSAI
FMP, and the Environmental
Assessments/Regulatory Impact
Reviews prepared for those actions also
may be obtained from
www.regulations.gov.
Written comments regarding the
burden-hour estimates or other aspects
of the collection-of-information
requirements contained in this rule may
be submitted by mail to NMFS at the
above address; and by email to OIRA_
Submission@omb.eop.gov or by fax to
(202)–395–5806.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bridget Mansfield, 907–586–7228 or
bridget.mansfield@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Authority for Action
NMFS manages the groundfish
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone
of the BSAI under the BSAI FMP. The
North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) prepared the BSAI
FMP under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq. Regulations governing U.S.
fisheries and implementing the BSAI
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FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and
679.
This proposed rule would implement
Amendment 116 to the BSAI FMP. The
Council submitted Amendment 116 for
review by the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary), and a Notice of Availability
(NOA) of Amendment 116 was
published in the Federal Register on
May 18, 2018, with comments invited
through July 17, 2018. Comments
submitted on this proposed rule by the
end of the comment period (See DATES)
will be considered by NMFS and
addressed in the response to comments
in the final rule. Comments submitted
on this proposed rule may address
Amendment 116 or this proposed rule.
However, all comments addressing
Amendment 116 must be received by
July 17, 2018, to be considered in the
approval/disapproval decision on
Amendment 116. Commenters do not
need to submit the same comments on
both the NOA and this proposed rule.
All relevant written comments received
by July 17, 2018, whether specifically
directed to the FMP amendment, this
proposed rule, or both, will be
considered by NMFS in the approval/
disapproval decision for Amendment
116 and addressed in the response to
comments in the final rule.
Background
In June 2017, the Council adopted
Amendment 116. If approved by the
Secretary, Amendment 116 would
require that a vessel be designated on a
groundfish LLP license with a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement for that vessel to be used
to harvest yellowfin sole in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
and deliver that catch to a mothership.
The terms ‘‘directed fishery’’ and
‘‘mothership’’ are defined at 50 CFR
679.2. A groundfish LLP license would
be eligible for such an endorsement if it
is credited with at least one qualifying
landing, where the term ‘‘qualifying
landing’’ would be defined under this
proposed rule as a legal trip target
landing in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery made to a
mothership in any one year from 2008
through 2015. Under this proposed rule,
the term ‘‘trip target’’ would be defined
as a groundfish species that is retained
in an amount greater than the retained
amount of any other groundfish species
for that trip. For those vessels used to
make a qualifying landing, only one
groundfish LLP license on which the
vessel was designated during the
qualifying period would be eligible to
receive the endorsement under this
proposed rule. If a vessel that made at
least one legal trip target landing in the
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BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery from 2008 through 2015
(qualifying period) was designated on
more than one groundfish LLP license
during the qualifying period, the vessel
owner would be required to select one
groundfish LLP license that would
receive credit for the qualifying
landing(s) and receive a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement.
The following sections of this
preamble provide a description of (1)
the LLP, the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery, and related
management programs; (2) the need for
this proposed rule; and (3) the proposed
eligibility criteria and process for
obtaining new endorsements
authorizing delivery of BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery catch to
motherships.
Description of the License Limitation
Program, the BSAI TLAS Yellowfin
Sole Directed Fishery, and Related
Management Programs
License Limitation Program
The Council and NMFS have long
sought to control the amount of fishing
effort in the BSAI groundfish fisheries to
ensure that the fisheries are
conservatively managed and do not
exceed established biological
thresholds. One of the measures used by
the Council and NMFS to control
fishing effort is the LLP, which limits
access to the groundfish fisheries in the
BSAI. With some limited exceptions,
the LLP requires that persons hold and
designate on a groundfish LLP license
each vessel that is used to fish in
Federally managed groundfish fisheries.
The LLP is intended to prevent
unlimited entry into groundfish
fisheries managed under the BSAI FMP.
The LLP for BSAI groundfish fisheries
was recommended by the Council as
Amendment 39 to the BSAI FMP. The
Council adopted the LLP for BSAI
groundfish in June 1995, and NMFS
approved Amendment 39 on September
12, 1997. NMFS published the final rule
to implement the LLP on October 1,
1998 (63 FR 52642), and fishing under
the LLP began on January 1, 2000. The
preamble to the final rule implementing
the BSAI groundfish LLP and the EA/
RIR/IRFA prepared for that action
describe the rationale and specific
provisions of the LLP in greater detail
(see ADDRESSES) and are not repeated
here.
The key components of the LLP are
briefly summarized as follows. The
BSAI groundfish LLP established
specific criteria that must be met to
allow a vessel to receive a groundfish
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LLP license and continue to be eligible
to fish in directed groundfish fisheries
managed under the BSAI FMP. Vessels
under 32 feet length overall (LOA) in
the BSAI, and vessels using jig gear in
the BSAI that are less than 60 feet LOA
and that deploy no more than five
jigging machines are exempt from the
requirements to have a groundfish LLP
license.
Under the LLP, NMFS issued licenses
that (1) endorse fishing activities in
specific regulatory areas in the BSAI; (2)
restrict the length of the vessel on which
the LLP license may be used; (3)
designate the fishing gear that may be
used on the vessel (i.e., trawl or nontrawl gear designations); and (4)
designate the type of vessel operation
permitted (i.e., specify whether the
vessel designated on the LLP license
may operate as a catcher vessel or as a
catcher/processor). LLP licenses are
issued so that the endorsements for
specific regulatory areas, gear
designations, and vessel operational
types are non-severable from the LLP
license (i.e., once issued, the
components of the LLP license cannot
be transferred independently). By
creating LLP licenses with these
characteristics, the Council and NMFS
limited the ability of a person to use an
assigned LLP license—which was
derived from the historic fishing activity
in one area with a specific fishing gear
or operational type—in other areas, with
other gears, or for other operational
types. The Council’s intent of such
limitation was to curtail the ability of
the LLP license holder to expand fishing
capacity, which could decrease the
benefits derived by the existing
participants from those other fisheries.
The preamble to the final rule
implementing the BSAI groundfish LLP
provides a more detailed explanation of
the rationale for specific provisions in
the LLP (63 FR 52642, October 1, 1998).
In order to receive a BSAI groundfish
LLP license, a vessel owner had to meet
minimum landing requirements with
the vessel during a specific time frame.
Specifically relevant to this proposed
rule, a vessel owner received a BSAI
groundfish LLP license endorsed for a
specific regulatory area in the BSAI (the
Bering Sea (BS), the Aleutian Islands
(AI), or both) if that vessel met specific
harvesting and landing requirements for
that specific regulatory area during the
qualifying periods established in the
final rule implementing the LLP (63 FR
52642, October 1, 1998). NMFS issued
groundfish LLP licenses with a catcher
vessel (CV) operation type if a vessel
caught but did not process its catch atsea during the specific qualifying
periods; and NMFS issued groundfish
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LLP licenses with a catcher/processor
(CP) endorsement if a vessel caught and
processed its own catch at-sea during
the specific qualifying periods (63 FR
52642, October 1, 1998). As an example,
in order to receive a groundfish LLP
endorsed for trawl gear in the AI with
a CP designation, a vessel must have
met the minimum groundfish harvesting
and landing requirements for the AI
using trawl gear during the qualifying
period, and must have processed the
qualifying catch on board the vessel.
BSAI TLAS Yellowfin Sole Directed
Fishery and Amendment 80
The yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera)
is one of the most abundant flatfish
species in the eastern Bering Sea and is
the target of the largest flatfish fishery
in the United States. They inhabit the
eastern Bering Sea shelf and are
considered one stock. Abundance in the
Aleutian Islands region is negligible.
The BSAI yellowfin sole directed
fishery was historically managed under
a total allowable catch (TAC) limit that
could be harvested by eligible vessels.
In 1998, regulations allocated a portion
of the TAC to the Community
Development Quota (CDQ) Program (63
FR 8356, February 19, 1998). The
allocation of the BSAI yellowfin sole
TAC was further modified in the late
2000s when the Council recommended
and NMFS approved and implemented
Amendment 80 to the BSAI FMP (72 FR
52668, September 14, 2007).
Along with other measures,
Amendment 80 allocated six BSAI nonpollock groundfish species among two
trawl fishery sectors. The six species,
known as ‘‘Amendment 80 species,’’
include Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean
perch, BSAI Atka mackerel, BSAI
flathead sole, BSAI Pacific cod, BSAI
rock sole, and BSAI yellowfin sole.
These species are allocated for harvest
between the Amendment 80 sector,
comprised of specific vessels identified
under Amendment 80, and all other
BSAI trawl fishery participants not in
the Amendment 80 sector. The other
BSAI trawl fishery participants include
American Fisheries Act (AFA) CPs, AFA
CVs, and non-AFA CVs. Collectively,
this group of other, or non-Amendment
80, trawl fishery participants comprises
the BSAI TLAS. The BSAI TLAS is
defined at 50 CFR 679.2. The BSAI
TLAS fisheries are conducted in the
BSAI using trawl gear, using nonAmendment 80 vessels designated on a
non-Amendment 80 LLP license, and do
not include CDQ groundfish fisheries or
fishing for CDQ groundfish.
Each year, NMFS allocates the initial
total allowable catch (ITAC) of the six
Amendment 80 species, as well as crab
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and halibut prohibited species catch
(PSC) limits, between the Amendment
80 sector and the BSAI TLAS.
Allocations made to the Amendment 80
sector are exclusive to the Amendment
80 sector and not subject to harvest in
other fishery sectors. The Amendment
80 sector is precluded from harvesting
Amendment 80 species allocated to the
BSAI TLAS. The Council’s intent in
establishing the BSAI TLAS was to
provide harvesting opportunities for
AFA CPs, AFA CVs, and non-AFA CVs.
The ITAC represents the amount of
TAC for each Amendment 80 species
that is available for harvest after
allocations to the CDQ program and the
incidental catch allowance (ICA) have
been subtracted. The ICA is an amount
set aside for the incidental harvest of
each Amendment 80 species by nonAmendment 80 vessels targeting other
groundfish species in non-trawl
fisheries and in the BSAI TLAS
fisheries. The annual proportion of
yellowfin sole ITAC allocated to the
Amendment 80 sector and the BSAI
TLAS depends on the amount at which
the yellowfin sole ITAC is set. As the
amount of ITAC for BSAI yellowfin sole
increases, the proportion of the ITAC
assigned to the BSAI TLAS also
increases.
To further accommodate yellowfin
sole harvest opportunities for the BSAI
TLAS, the Amendment 80 Program
relieves AFA sideboard limits for
yellowfin sole when the yellowfin sole
ITAC is equal to or greater than 125,000
metric tons (mt). The lifting of AFA
sideboard limits for yellowfin sole
allows AFA vessels to increase their
yellowfin sole TLAS harvest,
particularly in periods of reduced
availability of pollock. Implementation
of the AFA included the establishment
of harvesting and processing limits,
known as sideboards, to protect vessels
and processors in other, non-pollock
fisheries from spillover effects resulting
from the rationalization and
privatization of the BSAI pollock
fishery. The need for AFA sideboard
limits for yellowfin sole was reduced
with Amendment 80, because most of
the yellowfin sole ITAC is allocated to
the Amendment 80 sector for exclusive
harvest, and AFA vessels no longer
directly compete with the Amendment
80 sector for yellowfin sole. Since 2008,
the yellowfin sole ITAC has been higher
than 125,000 mt, so yellowfin sole
sideboard limits have not been in place
for AFA vessels since implementation of
Amendment 80. Additional detail on
the rationale for the specific allocations
in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
fishery, and the management of AFA
sideboards is provided in the final rule
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implementing Amendment 80 (72 FR
52668, September 14, 2007).
Although the Council was clear in its
intent to prohibit Amendment 80
vessels from harvesting Amendment 80
species allocated to the BSAI TLAS, the
Council did not specifically address
during its development of Amendment
80 whether Amendment 80 vessels
should be eligible to serve as processing
platforms for the BSAI TLAS sector. A
vessel that receives and processes
groundfish from other vessels is referred
to as a ‘‘mothership’’ (see definition at
50 CFR 679.2). Although Amendment
80 vessels operate as CPs in the
Amendment 80 sector (i.e., the vessels
catch and process their own catch),
Amendment 80 vessels meet the
regulatory definition of a mothership
when they receive and process catch
from catcher vessels fishing in the BSAI
TLAS fisheries.
The final rule implementing
Amendment 80 clarified that
Amendment 80 vessels could be used as
motherships for catcher vessels fishing
in the BSAI TLAS fisheries, based on
public comments received on the
proposed rule to implement
Amendment 80, further analysis by
NMFS, and the lack of clearly stated
Council intent to the contrary. The final
rule implementing Amendment 80
modified the proposed regulations to
permit this activity, noted that this
revision accommodated one
Amendment 80 vessel that had
historically been used as a mothership,
and acknowledged that the revision
provided for potential future growth in
the use of Amendment 80 vessels as
motherships in the BSAI TLAS. A
detailed description of the Council’s
intent and NMFS’ actions regarding
limitations of Amendment 80 vessels
catching, receiving, and processing fish
assigned to the BSAI TLAS is provided
in the proposed rule (72 FR 30052, May
30, 2007) and in the final rule
implementing Amendment 80 (72 FR
52668, September 14, 2007).
Increased Participation in the Offshore
BSAI TLAS Yellowfin Sole Directed
Fishery
The current BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery is almost entirely
an offshore fishery composed of two
primary groups: (1) AFA CPs, and (2)
AFA and non-AFA CVs delivering
yellowfin sole to AFA and Amendment
80 CPs operating as motherships.
Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis
considered by the Council for this
action noted that two stationary floating
processors participated in the fishery as
motherships prior to 2009. Although
those processors did not participate in
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the fishery after 2008, data from
landings to those vessels were included
in the analysis of impacts of the
alternatives. For purposes of this
proposed rule a stationary floating
processor is considered a mothership. In
this preamble, NMFS uses the term
‘‘offshore sector’’ when referring to
vessels that are harvesting BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole and either delivering that
catch to motherships for processing or
processing their own catch. AFA CPs
participate in the offshore sector by (1)
catching and processing yellowfin sole
(i.e., operating as a CP); (2) receiving
and processing deliveries of yellowfin
sole from CVs (i.e., operating as a
mothership); or (3) catching and
delivering their harvest to other CPs
operating as motherships for processing
(i.e., operating as a CV). No AFA CPs
have operated solely as motherships
(i.e., vessels that do not harvest fish and
only receive catch for processing) in the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery since it began in 2008.
The BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC
was not fully harvested during the first
five years of the fishery (2008 through
2012) due to limited fishing effort
combined with high allocations. During
this five-year period, harvests ranged
from a low of 31 percent of the TAC in
2009 to a high of 87 percent of the TAC
in 2010. Since 2013, the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole TAC has been more fully
harvested with at least 93 percent of the
TAC harvested in each year (Section
2.6.1.2 of the Analysis).
Since implementation of the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery in
2008, the number of AFA CPs actively
fishing and processing has ranged from
8 to 12 vessels. Until 2015, AFA CPs
harvested about 85 percent of the total
catch in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery. However, the
percentage of total catch harvested by
AFA CPs has diminished each year
since 2015, and comprised
approximately 42 percent of the total
harvest in 2017. Harvest patterns of
AFA CPs also have changed since the
inception of the fishery. From 2008 to
2010, participating AFA CPs fished from
January 20th through February and
occasionally into March or April each
year. Starting in 2011, prosecution of
the fishery by AFA CPs developed into
two distinct fishing patterns. The first
pattern consists of most participating
AFA CPs fishing for only two weeks
beginning January 20th each year. The
second pattern generally consists of two
AFA CPs fishing all year. Section 2.7.1.1
of the Analysis provides additional
detail on the participation and
harvesting patterns in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery.
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From 2008 through 2014, the annual
number of AFA and non-AFA CVs
participating in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole offshore sector ranged
from zero to three vessels. The annual
number of participating CVs increased
to six in 2015 and to nine in 2016. In
2017, eight CVs participated in the
fishery, with one CV being a new
entrant to the fishery. The CV share of
the total BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery harvest rose from an
average of 17 percent each year from
2008 through 2014 to 45 percent in
2015, 48 percent in 2016, and 58
percent in 2017 (Section 2.7.1.1 of the
Analysis).
Harvest patterns for CVs in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
have also changed over time. In 2008,
participating CVs fished BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole from March until
December. After the first year of the
fishery, CVs fished BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole in April, September, and
October. Starting in 2012, CVs fished
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole until the
season ended or NMFS closed the
fishery to directed fishing. From 2012
through 2015, this meant that CVs
fished in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery throughout most of the
year. However, in 2016 and 2017, the
fishing season was significantly
shortened, with NMFS closing the
fishery in June and May, respectively,
due to the TAC being reached. Section
2.7.1.1 of the Analysis provides
additional detail on the participation
and harvesting patterns in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole fishery.
CPs operating as motherships take
deliveries of harvested BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole from CVs and CPs acting
as CVs for at-sea processing. Only one
Amendment 80 CP acting as a
mothership participated in the fishery
from 2008 through 2014. From 2015
through 2017, the number of CPs
operating as motherships and receiving
catch from CVs expanded to seven
vessels. In 2017, six Amendment 80 CPs
and one AFA CP operated as
motherships for CVs in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery. The
increased use of Amendment 80 vessels
operating as motherships has increased
opportunities for CV deliveries. This
increased opportunity is demonstrated
by the increased number of CVs that
participated in 2015 through 2017, and
the higher proportion of BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole catch that was harvested
by CVs in 2015 through 2017 relative to
previous years. Section 2.7.1.1 of the
Analysis provides additional detail on
the factors affecting mothership patterns
in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
fishery.
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The potential exists for additional
motherships and CVs to participate in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery. Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis
estimates that up to seven additional
Amendment 80 CPs could enter the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole offshore
sector as motherships based on a range
of factors described in the Analysis.
These motherships could provide
processing capacity for up to 21
additional CVs. These estimates likely
represent the maximum potential
expansion of capacity in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery. Section
2.7.1.1 of the Analysis provides
additional detail on the potential for
new motherships and CVs to enter the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery.
Halibut Bycatch in the BSAI TLAS
Yellowfin Sole Directed Fishery
NMFS monitors the bycatch of halibut
in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery against the halibut PSC
limits established for the fishery, and
will close or otherwise restrict trawl
harvests of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole if
halibut PSC limits are projected to be
reached. Fishery closures due to
reaching halibut PSC limits can occur
before the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
TAC is fully harvested, thereby reducing
overall revenue to vessel operators and
crew. To avoid this outcome, vessel
operators may accelerate fishing
operations to maximize harvest of
yellowfin sole before the halibut PSC
limit is reached.
The halibut PSC limit for the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
ranged between 162 to 241 mt from
2008 through 2014, with the halibut
PSC limit being exceeded in 2013 by 18
mt. In 2014, 60 mt of halibut PSC was
reapportioned from the BSAI TLAS
Pacific cod fishery to the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery to allow the
fishery to remain open for the rest of the
year for participants to harvest the
remaining BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
TAC. From 2015 through 2017, the
halibut PSC limit was between 150 to
167 mt, but it was not reached in any
of these years before the fishery closed
when the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
TAC was fully harvested. Halibut
mortality rates for the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery for 2008
through 2017 ranged from 1.11 to 6.55
kg halibut per mt groundfish, with a
generally increasing trend from 2010
through 2016, followed by a drop in
2017.
Need for Action
Given the recent and dramatic
increases in CV and mothership
participation that have occurred in the
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BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery and the expectation of additional
capacity entering the fishery, the
Council identified three management
and conservation concerns that it
wanted to address with Amendment
116: (1) The likelihood of decreasing
benefits from the fishery for long-time,
historic, and recent participants given
the increasing number of participants in
the fishery and shorter fishing seasons;
(2) an increased risk of a race for fish;
and (3) the potential for higher halibut
bycatch. The Council noted the increase
in the number of participating CVs
combined with recent lower BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole allocations was resulting
in a fully utilized fishery with
increasingly shorter fishing seasons.
Shorter fishing seasons can be more
difficult for NMFS to manage catch
within established limits and increase
the incentives for vessels to harvest
quickly in order to harvest a greater
share of the TAC before it is fully
harvested and the fishery is closed. This
‘‘race for fish’’ may result in fishing
with less care and the potential for
increased halibut PSC rates which could
lead to closure of the fishery before the
TAC is fully harvested. Public testimony
to the Council included concerns that
the shorter fishing season was having a
negative effect on access to the fishery
by CVs that participated in the fishery
prior to 2015.
In order to address these concerns, the
Council determined that management
measures are needed that would limit
access to the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery by vessels harvesting
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole and
delivering their catch to a mothership
for processing. Specifically, the Council
recommended as its preferred
alternative for Amendment 116 that a
vessel would be eligible to participate in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery and deliver its catch to a
mothership only if that vessel was
designated on a groundfish LLP license
that has been credited with at least one
trip target landing in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery made to
a mothership or catcher/processor in
any one year from 2008 through 2015.
The Council recognized that this
eligibility criterion may qualify more
groundfish LLP licenses than vessels
with a qualifying landing, because some
vessels with a qualifying landing may
have been designated on more than one
groundfish LLP license during the
qualifying period. Therefore, the
Council also recommended that if a
vessel with a qualifying landing was
designated on more than one groundfish
LLP license during the qualifying
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26241
period, only those groundfish LLP
licenses on which the vessel was
designated, when the vessel was used to
make at least one trip target landing in
a BSAI TLAS fishery from 2008 through
2015, would be eligible to be credited
with a qualifying landing. In such cases,
the vessel owner would be required to
select one of these eligible groundfish
LLP licenses to receive credit with the
qualifying landings. Under the proposed
rule, groundfish LLP licenses that meet
the eligibility criteria and are credited
with a qualifying landing would receive
from NMFS a groundfish LLP
endorsement that would authorize
participation in the offshore BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery. Vessels
not designated on groundfish LLP
licenses that receive the endorsement
would be prohibited from participating
in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery and delivering their
catch to a mothership for processing.
The Council determined and NMFS
agrees that limiting CV access to the
offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery is necessary to ease the
likelihood of increased harvesting
pressure and the shortening of the
fishing season, mitigate the risk that a
‘‘race for fish’’ could continue to
develop and accelerate, and help to
maintain the consistently low rates of
halibut bycatch in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery. The
Council also determined, and NMFS
agrees, that this proposed rule would
reasonably balance the need to limit
additional future and very recent
speculative entry to the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery to help
control the pace of fishing with the need
to provide continued access and
benefits to historic, long time and more
recent participants.
The Council determined and NMFS
agrees that the proposed action would
likely prevent the fishing season from
shortening further because it removes
the ability for additional capacity to
enter the fishery and harvest the TAC or
reach halibut PSC limits more quickly.
As described in Section 2.7.1.2 of the
Analysis, the fishing seasons in 2016
and 2017 were the shortest on record for
this fishery at the time of the highest
levels of CV participation and with CVs
harvesting the highest proportion of the
fishery’s TAC. The pace of fishing
during those fishing seasons may have
increased due to additional speculative
entry and concerns by ongoing
participants about the increasing
competition. This proposed rule could
help lengthen the fishing season and
mitigate a ‘‘race for fish’’ by limiting the
eligible groundfish LLP licenses, such
that participation is generally
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representative of the 2015 fishing year,
when the season lasted until late in the
year. This proposed rule also could help
lengthen the fishing season and mitigate
a ‘‘race for fish’’ by allowing eligible
CVs more flexibility in fishing
operations through predictable levels of
competition. That flexibility may help
improve fishing efficiency and reduce
halibut PSC in the fishery by allowing
vessels to take steps to reduce halibut
PSC, such as leaving or avoiding areas
of high halibut concentration. At a
minimum, the proposed action is
expected to minimize further negative
impact on the resources that could
occur if CV participation in the fishery
were maintained at 2016 levels or
allowed to continue to increase. The
proposed action may also help to
facilitate voluntary best practices
agreements between CVs and AFA CPs
in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery to avoid halibut PSC.
The Council also considered whether
this proposed action could have adverse
impacts on other fisheries, specifically
the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery, if
CVs or motherships were displaced
from participation in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery. As described in
Section 2.7.2.1 of the Analysis and later
in this preamble, the Council
concluded, and NMFS agrees, that such
adverse impacts are not likely.
Under the LLP, a license can be
transferred to a different vessel that is
eligible to be designated on that LLP
license, but only one vessel can be
designated on an LLP license at any
given time. Additionally, a vessel may
be designated on more than one LLP
license at one time. Therefore, the
number of eligible groundfish LLP
licenses presented in this proposed rule
and the Analysis represents the
maximum number of CVs that NMFS
currently has determined would be
eligible to conduct directed fishing for
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole. If
Amendment 116 is approved and this
proposed rule is finalized, fewer and/or
different CVs designated on groundfish
LLP licenses with a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement may be used to conduct
directed fishing for BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole and deliver the catch to
a mothership. The Analysis uses the
current groundfish LLP license vessel
designations to describe the likely
impacts of the proposed action, because
it is not possible to know how the vessel
designations on groundfish LLP licenses
may change in the future.
The Council considered a range of
options that would qualify a groundfish
LLP license for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery endorsement,
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including: (1) How eligible landings
would be determined; (2) the range of
years during which eligible landings
would need to be made (i.e., qualifying
period); (3) the number of years during
the qualifying period in which eligible
landings would need to be made; and
(4) whether the requirement for a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement would be removed under
specific TAC conditions. In addition to
other factors considered and addressed
in the Analysis, the Council and NMFS
considered the proposed action’s
consistency with allocations initially
made under the Amendment 80
Program, its potential impacts on the
BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery, and
whether this proposed action would
constitute a limited access privilege
program as that term is defined under
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The
following briefly summarizes these
options and key considerations.
Why are qualifying landings based on
trip target rather than directed fishing?
At its February 2017 meeting, the
Council clarified that eligibility criteria
should be based on trip target landings
rather than directed fishing landings.
Directed fishing is defined as any
fishing activity that results in retention
of an amount of a species on board a
vessel that is greater than the maximum
retainable amount for that species (see
definition at 50 CFR 679.2). Under this
definition, a vessel may be targeting and
retaining Pacific cod but also retaining
incidentally caught yellowfin sole at an
amount that exceeds the maximum
retainable amount for yellowfin sole.
NMFS would consider the vessel to be
directed fishing for Pacific cod and
directed fishing for yellowfin sole in
such a situation. Thus, limiting access
to the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery based on a history of
directed fishing activity could result in
CVs meeting minimum landings
requirements based on incidental catch
of yellowfin sole.
Under this proposed rule, ‘‘trip
target’’ would be defined as a landing in
which the amount of retained BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole is greater than the
retained amount of any other groundfish
species for that trip. The Council’s
intent with this action is to provide
endorsements to those CVs that were
intentionally targeting yellowfin sole in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery and not to provide endorsements
to CVs that were intentionally targeting
other groundfish species but retaining
their incidental catch of yellowfin sole.
Using trip target to determine eligibility
would limit the potential for a vessel to
qualify for participation in the BSAI
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TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
based on the vessel’s incidental catch of
yellowfin sole. This is consistent with
previous eligibility criteria for limiting
access to some fisheries based on trip
target, rather than directed fishing
activity. In the case of this proposed
action, the use of trip target to establish
qualification for the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement would result in the same
number of LLP licenses qualifying for
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement as there were CVs
that participated in the fishery for any
one year during the proposed qualifying
period.
Why was the range of qualifying years
selected?
The Council considered two ranges of
years for determining qualifying
landings; 2008 through 2015 and 2008
through 2016. The Council selected
2008 as the start of both qualifying
periods because 2008 was the first year
of the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery. The Council ended one
qualifying period with 2015, because
2015 is the year the Council initiated
the analysis for Amendment 116 and the
last year of participation in the fishery
prior to the Council’s announced
control date of October 13, 2015. The
Council ended the other qualifying
period with 2016 to allow consideration
of the most recent participants based on
public testimony. In determining the
two options for a qualifying period, the
Council also took into consideration
participation in the fishery prior to 2008
and during 2017. The Council selected
2008 through 2015 as its preferred
qualifying period for eligibility for a
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement. In selecting the
2008 through 2015 period, the Council
considered the potential for future entry
of capacity into the fishery, while also
recognizing existing participation.
Under the 2008 through 2015
qualifying period that had at least one
qualifying landing made in any one year
during the period, the Analysis
indicates that a total of eight LLP
licenses would be eligible to receive a
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement. Under the 2008
through 2016 qualifying period with at
least one qualifying landing made in
any one year during the period, ten LLP
licenses would be eligible to receive a
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement. The Council was
aware of the potential for additional
effort to enter the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery while the Council
considered Amendment 116, and was
aware that additional or speculative
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effort could enter the fishery to establish
some history in it, which could impact
existing participants in the fishery by
further shortening the fishing season
and increasing the ‘‘race for fish’’ (see
Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis for a
description of fishing patterns and
seasons).
To dampen the effect of additional or
speculative entry into the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery, the
Council adopted a control date of
October 13, 2015, which was published
by NMFS in the Federal Register (80 FR
72408, November 19, 2015). Although
control dates are not binding on future
Council actions, the Council clearly
indicated when it adopted the control
date that this control date could be used
to limit ‘‘future access to the offshore
sector of the BSAI TLAS for yellowfin
sole.’’ The Council also clearly noted
that the control date was intended to
‘‘promote awareness that the Council
may develop a future management
action,’’ and ‘‘to provide notice to the
public that any current or future access
to the offshore sector of the BSAI trawl
limited access fishery for yellowfin sole
may be affected or restricted; and to
discourage speculative participation and
behavior in the fishery while the
Council considers whether to initiate a
management action to further limit
access to the fishery.’’ The selection of
the 2008 through 2015 qualifying period
is consistent with the Council’s clearly
stated policy objectives and the public
was clearly noticed that catch in 2016
may not be considered.
After the Council established the
control date in 2015, the number of
participating CVs increased from six in
2015 to nine in 2016, which is triple the
maximum level of CV participation from
2008 through 2014 and nearly four
times the average level of CV
participation from 2008 through 2014. It
is also a 33 percent increase over CV
participation in 2015. Because the
Council identified in 2015 the recent
increase in CVs participating in the
fishery to be the primary cause of
shortened fishing seasons and the
resulting ‘‘race for fish,’’ the Council
was concerned that the even greater
increase in CV participation after 2015
would further shorten the fishing
season, increasing the risk of a ‘‘race for
fish.’’ The Council considered, but
rejected, ending the qualifying period in
either 2016 or 2017, because the pace of
fishing and harvest pressure increased
in those years concurrent with the trend
of increasing CV participation,
including two vessels that participated
in 2016 and another in 2017 that had
never before been used to participate in
the fishery. Those factors caused the
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fishery to close in June in 2016 and in
May in 2017, compared to the
November closure in 2015, which was
more typical of previous season lengths.
Based on the same factors, NMFS also
determined that the 2008–2015
qualifying period best addresses the
need to reduce fishing pressure and
help to control the pace of fishing
within the fishery.
Why select only one year, not two years,
of participation?
In conjunction with its determination
that 2008 through 2015 was the
appropriate qualifying period, the
Council also determined that that
qualifying period coupled with one year
for participation would result in an
adequate number of qualifying
groundfish LLP licenses and CVs to
prosecute the offshore fishery at a pace
similar to the pace of the fishery
through 2015. The Council considered
two options addressing the frequency of
qualifying landings in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery during
the qualifying period. One option would
have required qualifying landings to be
made in any two years during the
qualifying period. The other option
would require qualifying landings to be
made in any one year during the
qualifying period. The one year option
would limit the number of CVs in the
offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery to eight. While this
option would allow two more CVs to
participate than participated in 2015, it
would still allow the fishery to be fully
prosecuted without the risk of
continued increase in harvest pressure
that could continue to shorten the
fishing season or increase Pacific
halibut PSC rates. The Council did not
choose the two-year requirement,
because under both qualifying periods it
would have substantially limited
participation in a manner that is not
reflective of the current harvest patterns
in the fishery. Specifically, the two-year
option would have limited the number
of CVs in the offshore BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery to three
CVs owned by one company, which
raised some concerns about its
consistency with National Standard 4.
Further, this option would have
excluded at least one historic
participant under both qualifying
periods, which would not be consistent
with the Council’s intent to provide
continued access and benefits to historic
participants. In addition, a more
restrictive option is not needed to
promote conservation. The Council
determined, and NMFS agrees, that
requiring a qualifying landing in any
one qualifying year during the
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26243
qualifying period of 2008 through 2015
effectively limits the potential for an
increasingly challenging ‘‘race for fish’’
and the recent growth in the CV sector.
Why are no options needed for new CV
entrants during periods of high BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole allocation?
The Council considered a range of
options that would have removed the
requirements for CVs to have a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement to deliver to the offshore
sector if the TAC allocated to the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole fishery was above
specific amounts (see Sections 2.7.2.2
and 2.7.2.3 of the Analysis). However,
the Council concluded, and NMFS
agrees, that options that would provide
for new CV entrants during periods of
high BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
allocations are not needed or
appropriate. Sections 2.7.2.2 and 2.7.2.3
of the Analysis note that CVs were able
to enter the offshore BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery from
2008 through 2015 under a wide range
of TACs and market conditions, and
those CVs that participated in the
fishery during that time period would
receive endorsements under this
proposed rule.
The Council also determined and
NMFS agrees that relieving the limit to
entry into the offshore BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery by CVs
could exacerbate the conditions that
could lead to a ‘‘race for fish’’ and could
increase halibut PSC mortality rates in
the fishery. Further, an option for new
entrants could create difficulties during
the annual TAC setting process, as
eligible CVs and new CV entrants
negotiate a BSAI yellowfin sole TAC
recommendation to the Council each
year. This would complicate the
determination of whether there would
be a directed fishery for new CV
entrants each year. The Council also
considered the potential for
participation in the offshore BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery by CVs
currently active in the Gulf of Alaska,
but without recent participation in the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery.
However, the Council determined that it
is not necessary to provide fishing
opportunities for these CVs in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole fishery, because
these CVs have extensive flatfish
resources in the GOA that have
remained unharvested. NMFS agrees
with the Council’s finding. Therefore,
no such provision is included in this
proposed action.
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Why change the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole policy as implemented under the
Amendment 80 Program?
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As explained earlier, the Council and
NMFS recognized at the time
Amendment 80 was implemented that
participation by Amendment 80 vessels
as motherships in the offshore BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
could continue or even increase.
However, the proportion of the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
catch now being harvested by CVs that
deliver their catch to Amendment 80
vessels operating as motherships is
substantially greater than it was at the
time the Amendment 80 Program was
implemented. The final rule for the
Amendment 80 Program (72 FR 52668,
September 14, 2007) notes that only 1
Amendment 80 vessel was receiving
and processing catch delivered from one
CV in the BSAI Pacific cod fishery prior
to the implementation of the
Amendment 80 Program. No
Amendment 80 vessel was receiving
catch from CVs participating in the
BSAI yellowfin sole fishery at the time
the Amendment 80 Program was
implemented in 2008. In 2017, 6
Amendment 80 CPs and one AFA CP
operated as motherships in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole fishery. However,
from 2003 through 2014, no more than
two CP vessels participated as
motherships in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery in any one year
(Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis). Section
2.7.1.1 of the Analysis notes that much
of the increase in participation by CVs
is due to an increase in the number of
Amendment 80 vessels operating as
motherships.
The Council determined, and NMFS
agrees, that it is appropriate to review
the policies adopted for the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery under
the Amendment 80 Program and the
fishing operations in that fishery, and
take action, if necessary, as fishing
patterns change from those observed at
the time the Amendment 80 Program
was implemented. As a result, the
Council concluded, and NMFS agrees, it
is necessary to limit access by CVs
targeting BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole for
delivery to vessels operating as
motherships.
How would the proposed action limit
potential adverse impacts in the BSAI
TLAS Pacific cod fishery?
The Council had information on, and
heard public testimony about, the
potential impacts of this proposed
action on the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod
fishery. As noted Section 2.7.2.1 of the
Analysis, most of the CVs that
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participate in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery also participate in
the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery, and
a CV that would not receive a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement for its groundfish LLP
license under this proposed rule may
enter or increase its participation in the
BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery. New or
increased participation in the BSAI
TLAS Pacific cod fishery would only
occur if there is a perceived economic
benefit to doing so. A spillover effect
into the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery
may be more likely when there are
fewer CVs that have an LLP license with
an endorsement to participate in the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery. This proposed action would
limit the number of groundfish LLP
licenses, and therefore the number of
CVs, that could be used to harvest BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole and deliver to a
mothership, and any potential spillover
effect into the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod
fishery would most likely come from
vessels that have participated in the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery, but would be excluded under
this proposed rule. Under this proposed
rule up to eight CVs could participate in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery. The maximum number of CVs
that participated in the fishery from
2008 through 2017 is eleven individual
vessels, with a maximum of nine
participating in any one year. The
proposed rule would allow eight vessels
to participate under groundfish LLP
licenses endorsed for the fishery. While
the remaining three vessels could
increase BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery
participation, they might also decline to
participate in that fishery if there is no
perceived economic benefit. At this time
it is not possible to predict a definitive
outcome.
Does this proposed action constitute a
Limited Access Privilege (LAP) Program?
The Council determined during its
February 2017 meeting, and NMFS
concurs, that this proposed action does
not meet the definition of a LAP
Program included in section 303A of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C.
1853a). Section 3 of the MagnusonStevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1802) defines a
LAP as a Federal permit issued as part
of a limited access system under section
303A to harvest a quantity of fish
expressed by a unit or units
representing a portion of the TAC of the
fishery that may be received or held for
exclusive use by a person and includes
an individual fishing quota but does not
include community development
quotas.
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This proposed action would limit the
number of groundfish LLP licenses and
therefore the number of CVs that could
be used to harvest BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole and deliver that harvest to a
mothership, but it would not assign a
portion of the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
TAC for exclusive use by a person. An
individual owner of a groundfish LLP
license that would receive an
endorsement would not be allocated a
specific amount of BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole that would be for the
owner’s exclusive use. All vessels
eligible to participate in the offshore
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery, both CPs and CVs designated on
groundfish LLP licenses with the
proposed endorsement, would continue
to compete with each other in
harvesting the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole TAC and do not act together as one
entity. Additionally, although CVs have
not historically delivered their catch of
yellowfin sole to shore-based processing
plants, this proposed action does not
preclude CVs from conducting directed
fishing for BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
and delivering that harvest to shorebased processing plants. This proposed
action does not limit the amount of
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole that could be
harvested by a CV designated on a
groundfish LLP license that has a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole endorsement;
rather, it limits the number of CVs that
are eligible to participate in the directed
fishery and deliver their harvest to a
mothership. This proposed action does
not limit CPs participating in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole fishery or assign a
portion of the TAC for exclusive use by
CPs. Finally, NMFS will maintain the
ability to reallocate BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole TAC to the Amendment
80 sector if NMFS determines that it
will go unharvested.
How will this action help reduce halibut
PSC?
In fisheries where circumstances
motivate fishermen to race against each
other to harvest as much fish as they can
before the annual catch limit or the PSC
limit is reached and the fishery closes
for the season, participants can have a
substantial disincentive to take actions
to reduce bycatch use and waste,
particularly if those actions could
reduce groundfish catch rates. In a ‘‘race
for fish,’’ participants who choose not to
take actions to reduce bycatch and
waste stand to gain additional
groundfish catch by continuing to
harvest at a higher bycatch rate, at the
expense of any vessels engaged in
bycatch avoidance. By limiting CV
access to the offshore BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery and reducing
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pressure to harvest the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole TAC quickly, this
proposed action would help to reduce
incentives for a ‘‘race for fish’’ and
provide participating CVs more
flexibility in fishing operations,
allowing them to better avoid halibut
PSC.
Additionally, industry participants
have testified to the Council that some
companies participating in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
reduce halibut mortality in the fishery
through implementing ‘‘best practices’’
agreements designed to reduce halibut
mortality. Such testimony indicated that
these agreements have included halibut
mortality target rates, real-time reporting
of locations with high halibut PSC, or
informal apportionment of remaining
halibut mortality among vessels fishing
late in the year. Limiting the number of
CVs in this fishery may provide a better
opportunity to implement best practices
agreements, because participation in the
fishery would be more stable and
predictable over the long term. That
stability and predictability could
facilitate better communication among
participants. Section 2.7.1.2 of the
Analysis provides additional detail on
halibut PSC management practices in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery.
Section 3.2.2.1 of the Analysis
concluded that this proposed rule
would not affect annual halibut PSC
limits, but does have the potential to
help participants maintain or reduce
halibut PSC in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole fishery, as described above. While
such savings are not guaranteed or
predictable due to the suite of variables
that can affect halibut PSC and rates in
this fishery, the proposed action
addresses concerns that increasing entry
could make halibut PSC increase, is
expected to maintain halibut PSC at
current levels, and may even create a
management environment in which the
participants are able to work together to
reduce halibut PSC. Additionally, the
Council and NMFS do not expect any
negative effects on halibut from this
proposed rule because halibut PSC
limits for this fishery would continue to
be established each year, and the fishery
would be closed if NMFS determines
that the halibut PSC limit will be
reached before the yellowfin sole TAC
is reached.
Proposed Action
This proposed rule would implement
Amendment 116 to the BSAI FMP. This
proposed rule would establish eligibility
criteria for, and a process to issue, a new
endorsement to groundfish LLP licenses
that would authorize vessels designated
on those licenses and operating in the
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BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery to deliver BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole catch to a mothership. Regulations
at § 679.2 define a mothership as a
vessel that receives and processes
groundfish from other vessels. Under
this proposed rule, any vessel that meets
the mothership definition at § 679.2 or
has a mothership designation on its
Federal Fishery Permit, including CPs
and stationary floating processors, will
be considered a mothership for this
action. For purposes of simplicity, this
preamble uses the term ‘‘BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement’’ to mean an endorsement
on a groundfish LLP license that would
allow the vessel designated on that LLP
license to deliver its catch of BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole to a mothership for
processing.
Under this proposed action, NMFS
would issue a BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery endorsement to a
groundfish LLP license with a Bering
Sea trawl endorsement if: (1) The
groundfish LLP license is credited with
at least one legal trip target landing in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery, and (2) the credited legal trip
target landing was to a mothership in
any one year of the qualifying period
from 2008 through 2015. If a vessel that
made at least one trip target landing in
the BSAI TLAS directed fishery during
the qualifying period was designated on
more than one groundfish LLP license
during the qualifying period, the vessel
owner would be required to select one
groundfish LLP license to receive credit
with the qualifying landings made by
that vessel during the qualifying period.
Where a vessel that made at least one
trip target landing in the BSAI TLAS
directed fishery from 2008 through 2015
was designated on more than one
groundfish LLP license during the
qualifying period, all groundfish LLP
licenses on which the vessel was
designated when it was used to make a
trip target landing in a BSAI TLAS
fishery during the qualifying period
would be eligible to receive credit with
the qualifying landings made by the
vessel. However, none of these
groundfish LLP licenses would be
credited with a qualifying landing and
receive an endorsement from NMFS
until the vessel owner notifies NMFS
and identifies which single groundfish
LLP license is to be credited with the
qualifying landing(s).
Based on the information provided in
the Analysis and the official record,
NMFS has determined that ten
groundfish LLP licenses would be
eligible to be credited with qualifying
landing(s) and receive a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
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endorsement. Two were the sole
groundfish LLP license on which a
vessel that made a qualifying landing
during the qualifying period was
designated. Therefore, under this
proposed rule, those two groundfish
LLP licenses would be credited with a
qualifying landing and receive a BSAI
TLAS directed fishery endorsement.
The remaining eight eligible groundfish
LLP licenses were each one of two
groundfish LLP licenses designated on a
vessel that made qualifying landings
during the qualifying period; therefore,
those eight groundfish LLP licenses
would be eligible to be credited with a
qualifying landing and receive an
endorsement. For any of those eight
groundfish LLP licenses to be credited
with a qualifying landing and receive an
endorsement, the vessel owner would
be required to select one groundfish LLP
license that NMFS is to credit with all
qualifying landings made by that vessel.
Up to six of those eight groundfish LLP
licenses could be credited with a
qualifying landing and receive an
endorsement from NMFS. Therefore,
NMFS anticipates that a total of eight
groundfish LLP licenses could receive a
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement under the proposed
rule, resulting in up to eight vessels that
could participate in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery and
deliver their catch to a mothership.
This provision would ensure that in
cases where a vessel was designated on
more than one groundfish LLP license
during the qualifying period when one
or more qualifying BSAI TLAS trip
target landings were made, only one of
those groundfish LLP licenses would be
credited with the qualifying landing(s).
Because NMFS does not require vessel
owners and operators to specify how
specific landings should be credited to
multiple groundfish LLP licenses on
which the same vessel was designated,
this provision would resolve any
disputes that may arise about the
assignment of specific landings by
having the vessel owner identify one
groundfish LLP license to credit with
the qualifying landing(s).
Any vessel designated on a
groundfish LLP license with a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement would be authorized to
deliver catch of BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole in the directed fishery to a
mothership. This proposed rule would
not preclude a vessel with a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement from delivering catch of
yellowfin sole that is harvested in the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery to a shore-based processing
plant. This proposed rule also would
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not preclude a vessel without a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement from delivering incidental
catch of yellowfin sole that is caught
while participating in other directed
fisheries to a mothership for processing.
For example, a vessel without a BSAI
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement could participate in the
BSAI TLAS Pacific cod directed fishery
and deliver its directed catch of Pacific
cod with its incidental catch of BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole to a mothership,
provided that the vessel has met all
applicable requirements to participate
in the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod directed
fishery and the incidental catch of BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole is at or under the
maximum retainable amount (MRA) for
yellowfin sole. Finally, this proposed
action would not preclude a vessel from
participating as a CP and processing its
own catch in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery. Under this
proposed rule a vessel that does not
have a BSAI Trawl Limited Access
Sector yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement would be prohibited from
delivering yellowfin sole harvested with
trawl gear in the BSAI Trawl Limited
Access Sector yellowfin sole directed
fishery to a mothership, as defined at
§ 679.2. The following sections of this
preamble describe how NMFS proposes
to determine a trip target landing, credit
qualifying landings to a groundfish LLP
license, and issue BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery endorsements.
Determining and Crediting Trip Target
Landings
NMFS can determine which and how
many landings, where landing means
offloading fish (50 CFR 679.2), were
made by a vessel designated on a
specific groundfish LLP license during a
particular timeframe. Regulations at 50
CFR 679.4(k) require an LLP license
holder to designate a specific vessel on
which the license will be used. This
requirement allows NMFS to credit
landings to a specific LLP license.
NMFS also collects vessel landings data,
which includes information on the
species and amounts landed. From these
data, NMFS has created an official
record with all relevant information
necessary to determine legal trip target
landings that can be credited to BSAI
groundfish LLP licenses.
The official record created by NMFS
contains vessel landings data and the
groundfish LLP licenses to which those
landings are credited. Evidence of the
number and amount of trip target
landings of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole is
based on legally submitted NMFS
weekly production reports for CPs and
State of Alaska fish tickets for CVs.
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Historically, NMFS has used only these
two data sources to determine the
specific amount and location of
landings, and NMFS proposes to
continue to do so under this action. The
official record includes the records of
specific groundfish LLP licenses,
including vessels designated on them,
and other relevant information
necessary to credit landings to specific
groundfish LLP licenses. NMFS
presumes the official record is correct,
and a person wishing to challenge the
presumptions in the official record
would bear the burden of proof through
an evidentiary and appeals process.
In order for a groundfish LLP license
to receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement and be
authorized to conduct directed fishing
for BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole and
deliver that catch to a mothership,
NMFS would first have to determine
that the groundfish LLP license is an
eligible license and then would have to
determine that the eligible license can
be credited with one or more qualifying
landings. Under this proposed rule,
NMFS would identify as eligible those
groundfish LLP licenses with a Bering
Sea trawl endorsement and those
vessels using trawl gear operating under
the authority of that groundfish LLP
license when (1) the vessel was used to
make a trip target landing in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
during any year from 2008 through 2015
and (2) the catch from that trip target
landing of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
was delivered to a mothership for
processing.
Based on the official record, NMFS
has identified ten groundfish LLP
licenses that would be eligible to be
credited with qualifying landings. Two
of these eligible groundfish LLP licenses
were the sole groundfish LLP license on
which a given vessel was designated at
the time the vessel made qualifying
landings of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole.
Therefore, NMFS would credit these
two groundfish LLP licenses with the
qualifying landings under this proposed
rule. NMFS proposes to list these two
groundfish LLP licenses in Table 52 to
part 679. The remaining eight eligible
groundfish LLP licenses were not the
sole groundfish LLP license on which a
given vessel was designated at the time
the vessel made at least one trip target
in the BSAI TLAS fishery during the
qualifying period. Because this
proposed rule would require in such
cases that the vessel owner specify one
groundfish LLP license to receive credit
with the qualified landing(s) made by
that vessel, NMFS would not be able to
credit these groundfish LLP licenses
until NMFS receives notification from
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the vessel owner which groundfish LLP
license should be credited with the
qualifying landing(s). NMFS proposes to
list in Table 53 to part 679 the eight
groundfish LLP licenses that would be
eligible for, but would not be credited
with, qualifying landings until
notification from the vessel owner is
received by NMFS. The proposed
notification process is described in the
following section.
The groundfish LLP licenses
identified in proposed Tables 52 and 53
to 50 CFR part 679 represent the
groundfish LLP licenses that NMFS has
determined would be eligible for an
endorsement at this time. Additional
groundfish LLP licenses may qualify for
an endorsement through the proposed
administrative adjudicative process
described below. NMFS is proposing to
list the groundfish LLP licenses it has
determined are eligible to receive the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement to help facilitate
the ability of the public to review their
catch records and determine if
additional groundfish LLP licenses may
be eligible to receive the endorsement.
NMFS specifically requests public
comment on the groundfish LLP
licenses listed in proposed Tables 52
and 53 to part 679.
If a holder of a groundfish LLP license
believes the groundfish LLP license
would meet the eligibility criteria, but
the license is not listed in proposed
Tables 52 or 53 to part 679, or if a
license holder disagrees with the
groundfish LLP license to which NMFS
would assign the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery endorsement, the
holder would have the opportunity to
challenge NMFS’ determination as
described in the following section of the
preamble.
Proposed Process for Issuing BSAI TLAS
Yellowfin Sole Directed Fishery
Endorsements
NMFS has determined the groundfish
LLP licenses identified in proposed
Table 52 can be credited with qualifying
landings based on the official record
and would receive a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole endorsement under
Amendment 116 and this proposed rule.
If Amendment 116 is approved and this
proposed rule is finalized, NMFS would
issue a notification of eligibility and a
revised groundfish LLP license with a
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement to the holders of
the groundfish LLP licenses identified
in proposed Table 52, using the address
on record at the time the notification is
sent.
NMFS has determined the groundfish
LLP licenses identified in proposed
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Table 53 are eligible to be credited with
qualifying landings based on the official
record. However, the vessels that made
qualifying landings while designated on
these groundfish LLP licenses were
designated on more than one groundfish
LLP license during the qualifying
period. Therefore, none of the
groundfish LLP licenses in proposed
Table 53 can be credited with qualifying
landings until the owner of the vessel
designated on those groundfish LLP
licenses identifies which groundfish
LLP license is to be credited with the
qualifying landings. Under this
proposed rule, NMFS would mail the
vessel owner a notification of eligibility
for those groundfish LLP licenses, using
the address on record at the time the
notification is sent. The notice would
ask the vessel owner to submit to NMFS
a written request to credit the qualifying
landings, in accordance with proposed
regulations at § 679.4(k)(14)(v)(F), to one
groundfish LLP license selected by the
vessel owner from the list of eligible
groundfish LLP licenses provided by
NMFS in the notice. NMFS would also
send a notification of eligibility to the
holders of each of those groundfish LLP
licenses identified in proposed Table 53
using the address on record at the time
the notification is sent. NMFS would
issue a revised groundfish LLP license
with a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement to the
holder of the groundfish LLP license
selected by the vessel owner in the
written request to NMFS. NMFS would
also send a notification to the holder of
the groundfish LLP license not selected
by the vessel owner to be credited with
qualifying landings, using the address
on record at the time the notification is
sent, informing the holder that the
groundfish LLP license was not credited
with a qualifying landing and would not
receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
endorsement. NMFS would provide a
single, 30-day evidentiary period from
the date that notification is sent for a
groundfish LLP license holder to submit
any information or evidence to
demonstrate that the information
contained in the official record is
inconsistent with the holder’s records.
For all those groundfish LLP licenses
with a Bering Sea trawl designation, but
not listed in either proposed Table 52 or
53, NMFS would notify the holders that
the groundfish LLP license is not
eligible for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement based on
the official record, using the address on
record at the time the notification is
sent. NMFS would provide the holder
with an opportunity to submit
information to NMFS to rebut the
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official record. NMFS would provide a
single, 30-day evidentiary period from
the date that notification is sent for a
groundfish LLP license holder to submit
any information or evidence to
demonstrate that the information
contained in the official record is
inconsistent with the holder’s records.
Under this proposed rule, a
groundfish LLP license holder who
submits claims that are inconsistent
with information in the official record
would have the burden of proving that
the submitted claims are correct. NMFS
would not accept claims that are
inconsistent with the official record,
unless they are supported by clear,
written documentation. NMFS would
evaluate all additional information or
evidence submitted within the 30-day
evidentiary period. If NMFS determines
that the additional information or
evidence proves that the groundfish LLP
license holder’s claims are correct,
NMFS would amend the official record
in accordance with that information or
evidence. However, if, after the 30-day
evidentiary period, NMFS determines
that the additional information or
evidence does not prove that the
groundfish LLP license holder’s claims
were correct, NMFS would deny the
claim. NMFS would notify the applicant
that the additional information or
evidence did not meet the burden of
proof to overcome the official record
through an initial administrative
determination (IAD).
NMFS’ IAD would indicate the
deficiencies and discrepancies in the
information or evidence submitted in
support of the claim. NMFS’ IAD would
indicate which claims could not be
approved based on the available
information or evidence, and provide
information on how an applicant could
appeal an IAD. The former procedure
for appealing an IAD to the NMFS’
Alaska Office of Administrative Appeals
was described at § 679.43. However,
NMFS has centralized the appeals
process in the National Appeals Office,
which operates out of NMFS’
headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. The
National Appeals Office is now charged
with processing appeals that were filed
with the Office of Administrative
Appeals, Alaska Region. The procedure
for appealing an IAD through the
National Appeals Office is at 15 CFR
part 906 (79 FR 7056, February 6, 2014).
During the pendency of an
administrative adjudication leading to a
final agency action, NMFS would issue
an interim (temporary, non-transferable)
license to an applicant who was
authorized to participate in the fishery
in the year before the IAD is issued and
who makes a credible claim to eligibility
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for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery
endorsement. An applicant who was
issued a license the previous year would
be eligible for a non-transferable interim
license pending the resolution of his or
her claim pursuant to the license
renewal provisions of 5 U.S.C. 558. The
non-transferable, interim license would
authorize the applicant to deliver BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole to a mothership for
processing and would be effective until
final agency action on the appeal. At
that time, the person who appealed
would receive either a transferable
license with the endorsement or a
transferrable license without the
endorsement, depending on the final
agency action.
The following provides a brief
summary of the regulatory changes that
would be made by this proposed rule.
This proposed rule would add
§ 679.4(k)(14) to include the provisions
that are necessary to qualify for, and
receive, a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement.
This proposed rule would add
§ 679.7(i)(11) to prohibit the delivery of
yellowfin sole harvested with trawl gear
in the BSAI TLAS directed fishery to a
mothership without a copy of a valid
LLP with a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement except as
provided in § 679.4(k)(2). Section
679.4(k)(2) lists the specific conditions
under which vessels are not required to
be designated on LLP licenses to harvest
groundfish. None of the vessels
currently exempted from the
requirements to be designated on an
LLP license under § 679.4(k)(2)
participate in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery.
This proposed rule would add Table
52 to part 679 to list those groundfish
LLP licenses that NMFS has determined
would be eligible, would be credited
with qualifying landings, and would
receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement under this
proposed rule.
This proposed rule would also add
Table 53 to part 679. Table 53 would list
those pairs of groundfish LLP licenses
that NMFS has determined would be
eligible to be credited with qualifying
landings, such that each pair was
designated on the same vessel that made
the qualifying landings. Because only
one groundfish LLP license could be
credited with the qualifying landings,
the owner of the vessel designated on
the pair of groundfish LLP licenses
would notify NMFS which one
groundfish LLP license of the pair
should be credited with the qualifying
landings. Upon receipt of the written
notification from the vessel owner,
NMFS would credit the qualifying
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landings to the one groundfish LLP
license of the pair selected by the vessel
owner and issue it a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement.
Classification
Pursuant to sections 304(b) and 305(d)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this proposed rule is consistent
with Amendment 116, the BSAI FMP,
other provisions of the MagnusonStevens 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 the
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)
An RIR was prepared to assess all
costs and benefits of available regulatory
alternatives. A copy of this analysis is
available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
The Council recommended Amendment
116 based on those measures that
maximized net benefits to the Nation.
Specific aspects of the economic
analysis are discussed below in the
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
section.
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Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(IRFA)
This IRFA was prepared for this
proposed rule, as required by section
603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(RFA), to describe why this action is
being proposed; the objectives and legal
basis for the proposed rule; the number
of small entities to which the proposed
rule would apply; any projected
reporting and recordkeeping
requirements of the proposed rule; any
overlapping, duplicative, or conflicting
Federal rules; and any significant
alternatives to the proposed rule that
would accomplish the stated objectives,
consistent with applicable statutes, and
that would minimize any significant
adverse economic 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.
Number and Description of Small
Entities Regulated by This Proposed
Action
The directly regulated entities under
this proposed rule are (1) holders of
groundfish LLP licenses that authorize a
vessel designated on the LLP license to
harvest groundfish using trawl gear in
the Bering Sea and (2) vessel owners
that must choose one of two LLP
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licenses on which the vessel was
designated during the qualifying period.
Based on the best available and most
recent complete data from 2008 through
2017, 163 groundfish LLP license
holders and five vessel owners would be
directly regulated by this proposed
action.
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.
The RFA requires consideration of
affiliations between entities for the
purpose of assessing whether an entity
is classified as small. The AFA pollock
and Amendment 80 cooperatives are
types of affiliation between entities. All
of the AFA and Amendment 80
cooperatives have gross annual revenues
that are substantially greater than $11
million. Therefore, NMFS considers
members in these cooperatives
‘‘affiliated’’ large (non-small) entities for
RFA purposes.
Of the 163 groundfish LLP license
holders directly regulated by the
proposed action, 128 were members of
an AFA cooperative and 26 were
members of an Amendment 80
cooperative in 2017. Therefore, NMFS
considers those 154 groundfish LLP
license holders to be ‘‘affiliated’’ large
(non-small) entities for RFA purposes.
All of the groundfish LLP licenses with
designated vessels that participated in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery and delivered catch to a
mothership from 2008 through 2017
were affiliated with either an AFA or an
Amendment 80 cooperative in 2017.
NMFS therefore considers these LLP
license holders to be ‘‘affiliated’’ large
(non-small) entities for RFA purposes.
The remaining nine groundfish LLP
license holders are not affiliated with
AFA or Amendment 80 cooperatives
and are assumed to be small entities
directly regulated by this action for
purposes of the RFA. All five vessel
owners who are considered regulated
entities under this proposed rule were
affiliated with either an AFA pollock or
an Amendment 80 cooperative in 2017.
Therefore, NMFS considers them
‘‘affiliated’’ large (non-small) entities for
RFA purposes. This IRFA assumes that
each vessel owner and each groundfish
LLP license holder is a unique entity;
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therefore, the total number of directly
regulated entities may be an
overestimate because some vessel
owners and groundfish LLP license
holders are likely affiliated through
common ownership. These potential
affiliations are not known with the best
available data and cannot be predicted.
Impacts of This Action on Small Entities
Under this proposed rule, access to
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery by vessels that deliver their
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery catch to a mothership for
processing would be limited to only
those vessels designated on a groundfish
LLP license with a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement. However, no small
entities would qualify to hold a
groundfish LLP license with such an
endorsement. None of the nine LLP
license holders who are considered
small entities regulated under this
proposed rule are expected to be
adversely impacted by this proposed
rule. Based on a review of fishery data
from 2008 through 2017, none of those
nine groundfish LLP licenses had
designated on it a vessel that delivered
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery catch to a mothership for
processing. This proposed rule would
not limit existing delivery patterns by
vessels designated on those nine LLP
licenses. This proposed rule would limit
the future opportunity for the holders of
these nine LLP licenses to deliver BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
catch to a mothership for processing.
The lack of any quantitative data on
potential future delivery patterns makes
it impossible to rigorously assess the
expected economic impact of limiting
these nine LLP license holders from
future deliveries of BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery catch to
a mothership for processing.
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 provided a
reasonable range of potential alternative
approaches to status quo management.
Under the status quo, there would be
a risk of continued increasing harvest
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effort resulting in shorter fishing
seasons and higher halibut PSC rates.
The action alternative would
accomplish the stated objectives of
prioritizing a portion of the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole TAC for harvest by
historic participants that deliver their
catch to motherships for processing and
maintaining a steady fishing pace and
season duration, while minimizing
adverse economic impacts on small
entities and the potential for increasing
harvest effort that shortens fishing
seasons and increases Pacific halibut
PSC rates. The action alternative does
not affect any sector’s BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole allocation or the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole TAC.
The Council considered a range of
dates, varying levels of participation,
and a suite of mechanisms to provide
greater harvesting and processing
opportunities for CVs to deliver to
offshore processors during periods of
high BSAI yellowfin sole TAC. The
Council recommended the proposed
combination of dates and participation
level to relieve the recent increase in
harvest pressure and rate and give
historic fishery participants sufficient
opportunity to harvest and deliver BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole to motherships
without increasing the risk of shorter
fishing seasons and higher Pacific
halibut PSC rates.
The Council and NMFS considered
two alternatives. Alternative 1, the no
action alternative, would not limit
access by catcher vessels to the offshore
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery. Alternative 2 would limit access
by CVs to the offshore BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery.
Under Alternative 2, two options with
four and eight suboptions, respectively,
were considered. The suboptions under
Option 1 would limit access to the
fishery to CVs with qualifying deliveries
to a mothership from 2008 through 2015
in either any one or any two years or
from 2008 through 2016 in either any
one or any two years. Suboptions under
Option 2.1 would allow all CVs with
BSAI trawl endorsements access to the
fishery when the TAC assigned to the
BSAI TLAS is equal to or greater than
an amount in a range of suboptions from
15,000 mt through 30,000 mt.
Suboptions under Option 2.2 would
limit access to the fishery by CVs that
do not meet landings qualifications
under Option 1 to a portion of the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole TAC equal to or
greater than an amount in a range of
suboptions from 15,000 mt through
30,000 mt. The combination of options
and suboptions under Alternative 2
provided the Council and NMFS with a
broad range of alternative policy
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considerations relative to the no action
alternative (Alternative 1). The
proposed rule incorporates the preferred
option and suboption under Alternative
2 which would limit access to the
fishery to CVs with qualifying deliveries
to a mothership from 2008 through 2015
in any one year, because that
combination would best prevent
increased catcher vessel participation
from reducing the benefits the fishery
provides to historic and recent
participants, mitigate the risk that a
‘‘race for fish’’ could develop, and help
to maintain the consistently low rates of
halibut bycatch in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery.
Federal Rules That May Duplicate,
Overlapping, or Conflict With the
Proposed Action
No duplication, overlap, or conflict
between this proposed action and
existing Federal rules has been
identified.
Projected Recordkeeping and Reporting
Requirements
This proposed rule does not add
additional reporting or recordkeeping
requirements for the vessels that choose
to submit an appeal. An appeal process
exists for LLP license endorsement
issuance. No small entity is subject to
reporting requirements that are in
addition to or different from the
requirements that apply to all directly
regulated entities. No unique
professional skills are needed for the
LLP license or vessel owners or
operators to comply with the reporting
and recordkeeping requirements
associated with this proposed rule. This
proposed rule would not implement or
increase any fees that NMFS collects
from directly regulated entities. The
Analysis prepared for this action
identifies no operational costs of the
endorsement (see ADDRESSES).
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. These requirements have been
submitted to OMB for approval under a
temporary new information collection,
to be merged after approval with OMB
Control Number 0648–0334. The public
reporting burden for the collection-ofinformation requirements in this
proposed rule is estimated to average
two hours per response for a one-time
Election to Assign Qualifying Landings
to an LLP license and 4 hours per
response to submit an appeal, which
includes the time for reviewing
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26249
instructions, searching existing data
sources, gathering and maintaining the
data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information.
Public comment is sought regarding
(1) 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;
(2) the accuracy of the burden estimate;
(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (4) 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 law, no person is required to respond
to, and no person shall be subject to
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: May 31, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For 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 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 § 679.4, add paragraph (k)(14) to
read as follows:
■
§ 679.4
Permits.
*
*
*
*
*
(k) * * *
(14) Yellowfin sole trawl limited
access sector (TLAS) directed fishery
endorsement in the BSAI—(i) General.
In addition to other requirements of this
part, and unless specifically exempted
in paragraph (k)(2) of this section, a
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vessel must be designated on a
groundfish LLP license that has a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement in order to conduct
directed fishing for yellowfin sole with
trawl gear in the BSAI Trawl Limited
Access Sector fishery and deliver the
catch to a mothership as defined at
§ 679.2. A vessel designated on a
groundfish LLP license with trawl and
catcher/processor vessel designations
and a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement may
operate as a catcher vessel and deliver
its catch of yellowfin sole harvested in
the directed BSAI TLAS fishery to a
mothership, or operate as a catcher/
processor and catch and process its own
catch in this fishery.
(ii) Eligibility requirements for a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement.
(A) A groundfish LLP license is
eligible to receive a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement if the groundfish LLP
license:
(1) Had a vessel designated on it, in
any year from 2008 through 2015, that
made at least one legal trip target
landing of yellowfin sole in the BSAI
TLAS directed fishery to a mothership
as defined at § 679.2 in any one year
from 2008 through 2015, inclusive,
where a trip target is the groundfish
species for which the retained amount
of that groundfish species is greater than
the retained amount of any other
groundfish species for that trip;
(2) Has a Bering Sea area endorsement
and a trawl gear designation; and
(3) Is credited by NMFS with a legal
trip target landing specified in
paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this
section.
(B) If a vessel specified in paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section was
designated on more than one groundfish
LLP license from 2008 through 2015 and
made at least one legal trip target
landing in a BSAI TLAS directed fishery
from 2008 through 2015, the vessel
owner must specify to NMFS only one
of those groundfish LLP licenses to
receive credit with the legal trip target
landing(s) specified in paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section.
(iii) Explanations for BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement.
(A) NMFS will determine whether a
groundfish LLP license is eligible to
receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement under
paragraph (k)(14)(ii) of this section
based only on information contained in
the official record described in
paragraph (k)(14)(v) of this section.
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(B) NMFS will credit a groundfish
LLP license with a legal trip target
landing specified in paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section if that
groundfish LLP license was the only
groundfish LLP license on which the
vessel was designated from 2008
through 2015. If a vessel that made at
least one legal trip target landing
specified in paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1)
of this section was designated on more
than one groundfish LLP license from
2008 through 2015 and made at least
one legal trip target landing in a BSAI
TLAS directed fishery from 2008
through 2015, the vessel owner must
notify NMFS which one of those
groundfish LLP licenses NMFS is to
credit with the legal trip target
landing(s) specified in paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section.
(C) Trip target landings will be
determined based on round weight
equivalents.
(iv) Exemptions to BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole endorsements. Any vessel
exempted from the License Limitation
Program at paragraph (k)(2) of this
section is exempted from the
requirement to have a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole endorsement to deliver
catch of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole to a
mothership for processing.
(v) BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
participation official record.
(A) The official record will contain all
information used by the Regional
Administrator that is necessary to
administer the requirements described
in paragraph (k)(14) of this section.
(B) The official record is presumed to
be correct. A groundfish LLP license
holder has the burden to prove
otherwise.
(C) Only legal landings as defined in
§ 679.2 and documented on State of
Alaska fish tickets or NMFS weekly
production reports will be used to
determine legal trip target landings
under paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this
section.
(vi) Process for issuing BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole endorsements.
(A) NMFS will issue to the holder of
each groundfish LLP license endorsed to
use trawl gear in the Bering Sea and
designated in Column A of Table 52 to
this part a notice of eligibility to receive
a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement and a revised
groundfish LLP license with a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement.
(B) NMFS will issue to the holder of
each groundfish LLP license endorsed to
use trawl gear in the Bering Sea and
designated in Column A of Table 53 to
this part a notice of eligibility to be
credited with a legal trip target landing
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
specified in (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this
section.
(1) NMFS will also issue to the owner
of the vessel designated on the
groundfish LLP licenses in Column A of
Table 53 a notice of eligibility for the
two listed groundfish LLP licenses to be
credited with a legal trip target landing
specified in (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this
section. The notice to the vessel owner
will provide instructions for the vessel
owner to select the one groundfish LLP
license that NMFS is to credit with the
legal trip target landing specified in
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section.
(2) The holder of a groundfish LLP
license in Column A of Table 53 will
receive a revised groundfish LLP license
with a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement if:
(i) The owner of the vessel designated
on the groundfish LLP license requests
in writing that NMFS credit that
groundfish LLP license with the legal
trip target landing specified in
paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this
section;
(ii) The vessel owner, or the
authorized agent, signs the request;
(iii) The written request is submitted
to NMFS using one of the following
methods: Mail at Regional
Administrator, c/o Restricted Access
Management Program, NMFS, P.O. Box
21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668; fax at
907–586–7352; or hand delivery or
carrier at NMFS, Room 713, 709 West
9th Street, Juneau, AK 99801.
(iv) NMFS receives the written request
and credits the groundfish LLP license
with the legal trip target landing
specified in paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1)
of this section; and
(3) The holder of a groundfish LLP
license in Column A of Table 53 that is
not selected by the vessel owner will
receive a notice, using the address on
record at the time the notification is
sent, informing the holder that the
groundfish LLP license was not selected
by the vessel owner, will not be credited
with a legal trip target landing, and will
not receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
endorsement. The notice will inform the
holder of the groundfish LLP license of
the timing and process through which
the holder can provide additional
information or evidence to amend or
challenge the information in the official
record of this section as specified in
paragraphs (k)(14)(ii)(D) and (E) of this
section.
(C) NMFS will issue to the holder of
a groundfish LLP license with a Bering
Sea trawl designation and that is not
listed in either proposed Table 52 or 53
a notice informing that holder that the
groundfish LLP license is not eligible to
be credited with a legal trip target
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landing or receive a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement based on the official
record, using the address on record at
the time the notification is sent. The
notice specified in paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(C) will inform the holder of
the groundfish LLP license of the timing
and process through which the holder
can provide additional information or
evidence to amend or challenge the
information in the official record of this
section, as specified in paragraphs
(k)(14)(ii)(D) and (E) of this section.
(D) The Regional Administrator will
specify by letter a 30-day evidentiary
period during which an applicant may
provide additional information or
evidence to amend or challenge the
information in the official record. A
person will be limited to one 30-day
evidentiary period. Additional
information or evidence received after
the 30-day evidentiary period specified
in the letter has expired will not be
considered for purposes of the initial
administrative determination (IAD).
(E) The Regional Administrator will
prepare and send an IAD to the
applicant following the expiration of the
30-day evidentiary period, if the
Regional Administrator determines that
the information or evidence provided by
the person fails to support the person’s
claims and is insufficient to rebut the
presumption that the official record is
correct, or if the additional information,
evidence, or revised application is not
provided within the time period
specified in the letter that notifies the
applicant of his or her 30-day
evidentiary period. The IAD will
indicate the deficiencies with the
information or evidence submitted. The
IAD will also indicate which claims
cannot be approved based on the
available information or evidence. A
person who receives an IAD may appeal
pursuant to 15 CFR part 906. NMFS will
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issue a non-transferable interim license
that is effective until final agency action
on the IAD to an applicant who avails
himself or herself of the opportunity to
appeal an IAD and who has a credible
claim to eligibility for a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole endorsement.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 3. In § 679.7, add paragraph (i)(11) to
read as follows;
§ 679.7
5. Add Table 53 to part 679 to read as
follows:
■
TABLE 53 TO PART 679—GROUNDFISH
LLP LICENSES THAT REQUIRE
QUALIFIED LANDINGS ASSIGNMENT
TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A BSAI TRAWL
LIMITED ACCESS SECTOR YELLOWFIN SOLE DIRECTED FISHERY
ENDORSEMENT
[X indicates that Column A applies]
Prohibitions.
*
*
*
*
*
(i) * * *
(11) Prohibitions specific to the BSAI
Trawl Limited Access Sector yellowfin
sole directed fishery. Deliver yellowfin
sole harvested with trawl gear in the
BSAI Trawl Limited Access Sector
yellowfin sole directed fishery to a
mothership as defined at § 679.2
without a legible copy of a valid
groundfish LLP license with a BSAI
Trawl Limited Access Sector yellowfin
sole directed fishery endorsement,
except as provided in § 679.4(k)(2).
*
*
*
*
*
■ 4. Add Table 52 to part 679 to read as
follows:
TABLE 52 TO PART 679—GROUNDFISH
LLP LICENSES ELIGIBLE FOR A BSAI
TRAWL LIMITED ACCESS SECTOR
YELLOWFIN SOLE DIRECTED FISHERY ENDORSEMENT
Column A
Column B
A single vessel was designated
on the following pairs of
groundfish LLP licenses
during the qualifying period
identified in 50
CFR 679.4(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1)
The owner of the
vessel designated
on the pair of LLP
licenses in
Column A must
notify NMFS
which
LLP license from
each pair in
Column A is to be
credited with
qualifying landing(s) under 50
CFR 679.4
(k)(14)(vi)(2)
LLG
LLG
LLG
LLG
LLG
3838
3902
3714
1820
3741
and
and
and
and
and
LLG
LLG
LLG
LLG
LLG
Column A
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
Column B
The Holder of Groundfish
License Number
Is eligible under
50 CFR
679.4(k)(14)(ii) to
be assigned an
Endorsement for
the BSAI Trawl
Limited Access
Sector Yellowfin
Sole Fishery
LLG 3944 ..................................
LLG 2913 ..................................
X
X
Frm 00027
Fmt 4702
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2702
3826
1667
3741
3714
..........
..........
..........
..........
..........
X
X
X
X
X
[FR Doc. 2018–12034 Filed 6–5–18; 8:45 am]
[X indicates that Column A applies]
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 6, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26237-26251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12034]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 170630613-8489-01]
RIN 0648-BH02
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Yellowfin
Sole Management in the Groundfish Fisheries of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands
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 116 to the
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP). If approved, Amendment 116 would
limit access to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Trawl
Limited Access Sector (TLAS) yellowfin sole directed fishery by vessels
that deliver their catch of yellowfin sole to motherships for
processing. This proposed rule would establish eligibility criteria
based on historical participation in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery, issue an endorsement to those groundfish License
Limitation Program (LLP) licenses that meet the eligibility criteria,
and authorize delivery of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole to motherships by
only those vessels designated on a groundfish LLP license that is
endorsed for the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery.
This proposed action is necessary to prevent increased catcher
vessel participation from reducing the benefits the fishery provides to
historic and recent participants, mitigate the risk that a ``race for
fish'' could develop, and help to maintain the consistently low rates
of halibut bycatch in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery.
This proposed rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Amendment
116, the BSAI FMP, and other applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on or before July 6, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by FDMS
Docket Number NOAA-NMFS-2017-0083, by any of the following methods:
[[Page 26238]]
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0083, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau,
AK 99802-1668.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information,
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
Electronic copies of Amendment 116 and the draft Environmental
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review prepared for this action
(collectively the ``Analysis'') may be obtained from
www.regulations.gov. Electronic copies of Amendments 80 and 39 to the
BSAI FMP, and the Environmental Assessments/Regulatory Impact Reviews
prepared for those actions also may be obtained from
www.regulations.gov.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this
rule may be submitted by mail to NMFS at the above address; and by
email to [email protected] or by fax to (202)-395-5806.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Mansfield, 907-586-7228 or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority for Action
NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic
zone of the BSAI under the BSAI FMP. The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) prepared the BSAI FMP under the authority
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing
U.S. fisheries and implementing the BSAI FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600
and 679.
This proposed rule would implement Amendment 116 to the BSAI FMP.
The Council submitted Amendment 116 for review by the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary), and a Notice of Availability (NOA) of Amendment
116 was published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2018, with
comments invited through July 17, 2018. Comments submitted on this
proposed rule by the end of the comment period (See DATES) will be
considered by NMFS and addressed in the response to comments in the
final rule. Comments submitted on this proposed rule may address
Amendment 116 or this proposed rule. However, all comments addressing
Amendment 116 must be received by July 17, 2018, to be considered in
the approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 116. Commenters do not
need to submit the same comments on both the NOA and this proposed
rule. All relevant written comments received by July 17, 2018, whether
specifically directed to the FMP amendment, this proposed rule, or
both, will be considered by NMFS in the approval/disapproval decision
for Amendment 116 and addressed in the response to comments in the
final rule.
Background
In June 2017, the Council adopted Amendment 116. If approved by the
Secretary, Amendment 116 would require that a vessel be designated on a
groundfish LLP license with a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement for that vessel to be used to harvest yellowfin sole in the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery and deliver that catch to a
mothership. The terms ``directed fishery'' and ``mothership'' are
defined at 50 CFR 679.2. A groundfish LLP license would be eligible for
such an endorsement if it is credited with at least one qualifying
landing, where the term ``qualifying landing'' would be defined under
this proposed rule as a legal trip target landing in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery made to a mothership in any one year
from 2008 through 2015. Under this proposed rule, the term ``trip
target'' would be defined as a groundfish species that is retained in
an amount greater than the retained amount of any other groundfish
species for that trip. For those vessels used to make a qualifying
landing, only one groundfish LLP license on which the vessel was
designated during the qualifying period would be eligible to receive
the endorsement under this proposed rule. If a vessel that made at
least one legal trip target landing in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery from 2008 through 2015 (qualifying period) was
designated on more than one groundfish LLP license during the
qualifying period, the vessel owner would be required to select one
groundfish LLP license that would receive credit for the qualifying
landing(s) and receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement.
The following sections of this preamble provide a description of
(1) the LLP, the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery, and related
management programs; (2) the need for this proposed rule; and (3) the
proposed eligibility criteria and process for obtaining new
endorsements authorizing delivery of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery catch to motherships.
Description of the License Limitation Program, the BSAI TLAS Yellowfin
Sole Directed Fishery, and Related Management Programs
License Limitation Program
The Council and NMFS have long sought to control the amount of
fishing effort in the BSAI groundfish fisheries to ensure that the
fisheries are conservatively managed and do not exceed established
biological thresholds. One of the measures used by the Council and NMFS
to control fishing effort is the LLP, which limits access to the
groundfish fisheries in the BSAI. With some limited exceptions, the LLP
requires that persons hold and designate on a groundfish LLP license
each vessel that is used to fish in Federally managed groundfish
fisheries. The LLP is intended to prevent unlimited entry into
groundfish fisheries managed under the BSAI FMP.
The LLP for BSAI groundfish fisheries was recommended by the
Council as Amendment 39 to the BSAI FMP. The Council adopted the LLP
for BSAI groundfish in June 1995, and NMFS approved Amendment 39 on
September 12, 1997. NMFS published the final rule to implement the LLP
on October 1, 1998 (63 FR 52642), and fishing under the LLP began on
January 1, 2000. The preamble to the final rule implementing the BSAI
groundfish LLP and the EA/RIR/IRFA prepared for that action describe
the rationale and specific provisions of the LLP in greater detail (see
ADDRESSES) and are not repeated here.
The key components of the LLP are briefly summarized as follows.
The BSAI groundfish LLP established specific criteria that must be met
to allow a vessel to receive a groundfish
[[Page 26239]]
LLP license and continue to be eligible to fish in directed groundfish
fisheries managed under the BSAI FMP. Vessels under 32 feet length
overall (LOA) in the BSAI, and vessels using jig gear in the BSAI that
are less than 60 feet LOA and that deploy no more than five jigging
machines are exempt from the requirements to have a groundfish LLP
license.
Under the LLP, NMFS issued licenses that (1) endorse fishing
activities in specific regulatory areas in the BSAI; (2) restrict the
length of the vessel on which the LLP license may be used; (3)
designate the fishing gear that may be used on the vessel (i.e., trawl
or non-trawl gear designations); and (4) designate the type of vessel
operation permitted (i.e., specify whether the vessel designated on the
LLP license may operate as a catcher vessel or as a catcher/processor).
LLP licenses are issued so that the endorsements for specific
regulatory areas, gear designations, and vessel operational types are
non-severable from the LLP license (i.e., once issued, the components
of the LLP license cannot be transferred independently). By creating
LLP licenses with these characteristics, the Council and NMFS limited
the ability of a person to use an assigned LLP license--which was
derived from the historic fishing activity in one area with a specific
fishing gear or operational type--in other areas, with other gears, or
for other operational types. The Council's intent of such limitation
was to curtail the ability of the LLP license holder to expand fishing
capacity, which could decrease the benefits derived by the existing
participants from those other fisheries. The preamble to the final rule
implementing the BSAI groundfish LLP provides a more detailed
explanation of the rationale for specific provisions in the LLP (63 FR
52642, October 1, 1998).
In order to receive a BSAI groundfish LLP license, a vessel owner
had to meet minimum landing requirements with the vessel during a
specific time frame. Specifically relevant to this proposed rule, a
vessel owner received a BSAI groundfish LLP license endorsed for a
specific regulatory area in the BSAI (the Bering Sea (BS), the Aleutian
Islands (AI), or both) if that vessel met specific harvesting and
landing requirements for that specific regulatory area during the
qualifying periods established in the final rule implementing the LLP
(63 FR 52642, October 1, 1998). NMFS issued groundfish LLP licenses
with a catcher vessel (CV) operation type if a vessel caught but did
not process its catch at-sea during the specific qualifying periods;
and NMFS issued groundfish LLP licenses with a catcher/processor (CP)
endorsement if a vessel caught and processed its own catch at-sea
during the specific qualifying periods (63 FR 52642, October 1, 1998).
As an example, in order to receive a groundfish LLP endorsed for trawl
gear in the AI with a CP designation, a vessel must have met the
minimum groundfish harvesting and landing requirements for the AI using
trawl gear during the qualifying period, and must have processed the
qualifying catch on board the vessel.
BSAI TLAS Yellowfin Sole Directed Fishery and Amendment 80
The yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera) is one of the most abundant
flatfish species in the eastern Bering Sea and is the target of the
largest flatfish fishery in the United States. They inhabit the eastern
Bering Sea shelf and are considered one stock. Abundance in the
Aleutian Islands region is negligible. The BSAI yellowfin sole directed
fishery was historically managed under a total allowable catch (TAC)
limit that could be harvested by eligible vessels. In 1998, regulations
allocated a portion of the TAC to the Community Development Quota (CDQ)
Program (63 FR 8356, February 19, 1998). The allocation of the BSAI
yellowfin sole TAC was further modified in the late 2000s when the
Council recommended and NMFS approved and implemented Amendment 80 to
the BSAI FMP (72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007).
Along with other measures, Amendment 80 allocated six BSAI non-
pollock groundfish species among two trawl fishery sectors. The six
species, known as ``Amendment 80 species,'' include Aleutian Islands
Pacific ocean perch, BSAI Atka mackerel, BSAI flathead sole, BSAI
Pacific cod, BSAI rock sole, and BSAI yellowfin sole. These species are
allocated for harvest between the Amendment 80 sector, comprised of
specific vessels identified under Amendment 80, and all other BSAI
trawl fishery participants not in the Amendment 80 sector. The other
BSAI trawl fishery participants include American Fisheries Act (AFA)
CPs, AFA CVs, and non-AFA CVs. Collectively, this group of other, or
non-Amendment 80, trawl fishery participants comprises the BSAI TLAS.
The BSAI TLAS is defined at 50 CFR 679.2. The BSAI TLAS fisheries are
conducted in the BSAI using trawl gear, using non-Amendment 80 vessels
designated on a non-Amendment 80 LLP license, and do not include CDQ
groundfish fisheries or fishing for CDQ groundfish.
Each year, NMFS allocates the initial total allowable catch (ITAC)
of the six Amendment 80 species, as well as crab and halibut prohibited
species catch (PSC) limits, between the Amendment 80 sector and the
BSAI TLAS. Allocations made to the Amendment 80 sector are exclusive to
the Amendment 80 sector and not subject to harvest in other fishery
sectors. The Amendment 80 sector is precluded from harvesting Amendment
80 species allocated to the BSAI TLAS. The Council's intent in
establishing the BSAI TLAS was to provide harvesting opportunities for
AFA CPs, AFA CVs, and non-AFA CVs.
The ITAC represents the amount of TAC for each Amendment 80 species
that is available for harvest after allocations to the CDQ program and
the incidental catch allowance (ICA) have been subtracted. The ICA is
an amount set aside for the incidental harvest of each Amendment 80
species by non-Amendment 80 vessels targeting other groundfish species
in non-trawl fisheries and in the BSAI TLAS fisheries. The annual
proportion of yellowfin sole ITAC allocated to the Amendment 80 sector
and the BSAI TLAS depends on the amount at which the yellowfin sole
ITAC is set. As the amount of ITAC for BSAI yellowfin sole increases,
the proportion of the ITAC assigned to the BSAI TLAS also increases.
To further accommodate yellowfin sole harvest opportunities for the
BSAI TLAS, the Amendment 80 Program relieves AFA sideboard limits for
yellowfin sole when the yellowfin sole ITAC is equal to or greater than
125,000 metric tons (mt). The lifting of AFA sideboard limits for
yellowfin sole allows AFA vessels to increase their yellowfin sole TLAS
harvest, particularly in periods of reduced availability of pollock.
Implementation of the AFA included the establishment of harvesting and
processing limits, known as sideboards, to protect vessels and
processors in other, non-pollock fisheries from spillover effects
resulting from the rationalization and privatization of the BSAI
pollock fishery. The need for AFA sideboard limits for yellowfin sole
was reduced with Amendment 80, because most of the yellowfin sole ITAC
is allocated to the Amendment 80 sector for exclusive harvest, and AFA
vessels no longer directly compete with the Amendment 80 sector for
yellowfin sole. Since 2008, the yellowfin sole ITAC has been higher
than 125,000 mt, so yellowfin sole sideboard limits have not been in
place for AFA vessels since implementation of Amendment 80. Additional
detail on the rationale for the specific allocations in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery, and the management of AFA sideboards is
provided in the final rule
[[Page 26240]]
implementing Amendment 80 (72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007).
Although the Council was clear in its intent to prohibit Amendment
80 vessels from harvesting Amendment 80 species allocated to the BSAI
TLAS, the Council did not specifically address during its development
of Amendment 80 whether Amendment 80 vessels should be eligible to
serve as processing platforms for the BSAI TLAS sector. A vessel that
receives and processes groundfish from other vessels is referred to as
a ``mothership'' (see definition at 50 CFR 679.2). Although Amendment
80 vessels operate as CPs in the Amendment 80 sector (i.e., the vessels
catch and process their own catch), Amendment 80 vessels meet the
regulatory definition of a mothership when they receive and process
catch from catcher vessels fishing in the BSAI TLAS fisheries.
The final rule implementing Amendment 80 clarified that Amendment
80 vessels could be used as motherships for catcher vessels fishing in
the BSAI TLAS fisheries, based on public comments received on the
proposed rule to implement Amendment 80, further analysis by NMFS, and
the lack of clearly stated Council intent to the contrary. The final
rule implementing Amendment 80 modified the proposed regulations to
permit this activity, noted that this revision accommodated one
Amendment 80 vessel that had historically been used as a mothership,
and acknowledged that the revision provided for potential future growth
in the use of Amendment 80 vessels as motherships in the BSAI TLAS. A
detailed description of the Council's intent and NMFS' actions
regarding limitations of Amendment 80 vessels catching, receiving, and
processing fish assigned to the BSAI TLAS is provided in the proposed
rule (72 FR 30052, May 30, 2007) and in the final rule implementing
Amendment 80 (72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007).
Increased Participation in the Offshore BSAI TLAS Yellowfin Sole
Directed Fishery
The current BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery is almost
entirely an offshore fishery composed of two primary groups: (1) AFA
CPs, and (2) AFA and non-AFA CVs delivering yellowfin sole to AFA and
Amendment 80 CPs operating as motherships. Section 2.7.1.1 of the
Analysis considered by the Council for this action noted that two
stationary floating processors participated in the fishery as
motherships prior to 2009. Although those processors did not
participate in the fishery after 2008, data from landings to those
vessels were included in the analysis of impacts of the alternatives.
For purposes of this proposed rule a stationary floating processor is
considered a mothership. In this preamble, NMFS uses the term
``offshore sector'' when referring to vessels that are harvesting BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole and either delivering that catch to motherships for
processing or processing their own catch. AFA CPs participate in the
offshore sector by (1) catching and processing yellowfin sole (i.e.,
operating as a CP); (2) receiving and processing deliveries of
yellowfin sole from CVs (i.e., operating as a mothership); or (3)
catching and delivering their harvest to other CPs operating as
motherships for processing (i.e., operating as a CV). No AFA CPs have
operated solely as motherships (i.e., vessels that do not harvest fish
and only receive catch for processing) in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery since it began in 2008.
The BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC was not fully harvested during the
first five years of the fishery (2008 through 2012) due to limited
fishing effort combined with high allocations. During this five-year
period, harvests ranged from a low of 31 percent of the TAC in 2009 to
a high of 87 percent of the TAC in 2010. Since 2013, the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole TAC has been more fully harvested with at least 93
percent of the TAC harvested in each year (Section 2.6.1.2 of the
Analysis).
Since implementation of the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery in 2008, the number of AFA CPs actively fishing and processing
has ranged from 8 to 12 vessels. Until 2015, AFA CPs harvested about 85
percent of the total catch in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery. However, the percentage of total catch harvested by AFA CPs
has diminished each year since 2015, and comprised approximately 42
percent of the total harvest in 2017. Harvest patterns of AFA CPs also
have changed since the inception of the fishery. From 2008 to 2010,
participating AFA CPs fished from January 20th through February and
occasionally into March or April each year. Starting in 2011,
prosecution of the fishery by AFA CPs developed into two distinct
fishing patterns. The first pattern consists of most participating AFA
CPs fishing for only two weeks beginning January 20th each year. The
second pattern generally consists of two AFA CPs fishing all year.
Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis provides additional detail on the
participation and harvesting patterns in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
fishery.
From 2008 through 2014, the annual number of AFA and non-AFA CVs
participating in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole offshore sector ranged
from zero to three vessels. The annual number of participating CVs
increased to six in 2015 and to nine in 2016. In 2017, eight CVs
participated in the fishery, with one CV being a new entrant to the
fishery. The CV share of the total BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery harvest rose from an average of 17 percent each year from 2008
through 2014 to 45 percent in 2015, 48 percent in 2016, and 58 percent
in 2017 (Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis).
Harvest patterns for CVs in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery have also changed over time. In 2008, participating CVs fished
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole from March until December. After the first
year of the fishery, CVs fished BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole in April,
September, and October. Starting in 2012, CVs fished BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole until the season ended or NMFS closed the fishery to
directed fishing. From 2012 through 2015, this meant that CVs fished in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery throughout most of the
year. However, in 2016 and 2017, the fishing season was significantly
shortened, with NMFS closing the fishery in June and May, respectively,
due to the TAC being reached. Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis provides
additional detail on the participation and harvesting patterns in the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery.
CPs operating as motherships take deliveries of harvested BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole from CVs and CPs acting as CVs for at-sea processing.
Only one Amendment 80 CP acting as a mothership participated in the
fishery from 2008 through 2014. From 2015 through 2017, the number of
CPs operating as motherships and receiving catch from CVs expanded to
seven vessels. In 2017, six Amendment 80 CPs and one AFA CP operated as
motherships for CVs in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery.
The increased use of Amendment 80 vessels operating as motherships has
increased opportunities for CV deliveries. This increased opportunity
is demonstrated by the increased number of CVs that participated in
2015 through 2017, and the higher proportion of BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole catch that was harvested by CVs in 2015 through 2017 relative to
previous years. Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis provides additional
detail on the factors affecting mothership patterns in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery.
[[Page 26241]]
The potential exists for additional motherships and CVs to
participate in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery. Section
2.7.1.1 of the Analysis estimates that up to seven additional Amendment
80 CPs could enter the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole offshore sector as
motherships based on a range of factors described in the Analysis.
These motherships could provide processing capacity for up to 21
additional CVs. These estimates likely represent the maximum potential
expansion of capacity in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery.
Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis provides additional detail on the
potential for new motherships and CVs to enter the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole fishery.
Halibut Bycatch in the BSAI TLAS Yellowfin Sole Directed Fishery
NMFS monitors the bycatch of halibut in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery against the halibut PSC limits established for
the fishery, and will close or otherwise restrict trawl harvests of
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole if halibut PSC limits are projected to be
reached. Fishery closures due to reaching halibut PSC limits can occur
before the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC is fully harvested, thereby
reducing overall revenue to vessel operators and crew. To avoid this
outcome, vessel operators may accelerate fishing operations to maximize
harvest of yellowfin sole before the halibut PSC limit is reached.
The halibut PSC limit for the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery ranged between 162 to 241 mt from 2008 through 2014, with the
halibut PSC limit being exceeded in 2013 by 18 mt. In 2014, 60 mt of
halibut PSC was reapportioned from the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery to
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery to allow the fishery to remain
open for the rest of the year for participants to harvest the remaining
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC. From 2015 through 2017, the halibut PSC
limit was between 150 to 167 mt, but it was not reached in any of these
years before the fishery closed when the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC
was fully harvested. Halibut mortality rates for the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery for 2008 through 2017 ranged from 1.11
to 6.55 kg halibut per mt groundfish, with a generally increasing trend
from 2010 through 2016, followed by a drop in 2017.
Need for Action
Given the recent and dramatic increases in CV and mothership
participation that have occurred in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery and the expectation of additional capacity entering
the fishery, the Council identified three management and conservation
concerns that it wanted to address with Amendment 116: (1) The
likelihood of decreasing benefits from the fishery for long-time,
historic, and recent participants given the increasing number of
participants in the fishery and shorter fishing seasons; (2) an
increased risk of a race for fish; and (3) the potential for higher
halibut bycatch. The Council noted the increase in the number of
participating CVs combined with recent lower BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
allocations was resulting in a fully utilized fishery with increasingly
shorter fishing seasons. Shorter fishing seasons can be more difficult
for NMFS to manage catch within established limits and increase the
incentives for vessels to harvest quickly in order to harvest a greater
share of the TAC before it is fully harvested and the fishery is
closed. This ``race for fish'' may result in fishing with less care and
the potential for increased halibut PSC rates which could lead to
closure of the fishery before the TAC is fully harvested. Public
testimony to the Council included concerns that the shorter fishing
season was having a negative effect on access to the fishery by CVs
that participated in the fishery prior to 2015.
In order to address these concerns, the Council determined that
management measures are needed that would limit access to the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery by vessels harvesting BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole and delivering their catch to a mothership for
processing. Specifically, the Council recommended as its preferred
alternative for Amendment 116 that a vessel would be eligible to
participate in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery and
deliver its catch to a mothership only if that vessel was designated on
a groundfish LLP license that has been credited with at least one trip
target landing in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery made to
a mothership or catcher/processor in any one year from 2008 through
2015. The Council recognized that this eligibility criterion may
qualify more groundfish LLP licenses than vessels with a qualifying
landing, because some vessels with a qualifying landing may have been
designated on more than one groundfish LLP license during the
qualifying period. Therefore, the Council also recommended that if a
vessel with a qualifying landing was designated on more than one
groundfish LLP license during the qualifying period, only those
groundfish LLP licenses on which the vessel was designated, when the
vessel was used to make at least one trip target landing in a BSAI TLAS
fishery from 2008 through 2015, would be eligible to be credited with a
qualifying landing. In such cases, the vessel owner would be required
to select one of these eligible groundfish LLP licenses to receive
credit with the qualifying landings. Under the proposed rule,
groundfish LLP licenses that meet the eligibility criteria and are
credited with a qualifying landing would receive from NMFS a groundfish
LLP endorsement that would authorize participation in the offshore BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery. Vessels not designated on
groundfish LLP licenses that receive the endorsement would be
prohibited from participating in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery and delivering their catch to a mothership for processing.
The Council determined and NMFS agrees that limiting CV access to
the offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery is necessary to
ease the likelihood of increased harvesting pressure and the shortening
of the fishing season, mitigate the risk that a ``race for fish'' could
continue to develop and accelerate, and help to maintain the
consistently low rates of halibut bycatch in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery. The Council also determined, and NMFS agrees,
that this proposed rule would reasonably balance the need to limit
additional future and very recent speculative entry to the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery to help control the pace of fishing
with the need to provide continued access and benefits to historic,
long time and more recent participants.
The Council determined and NMFS agrees that the proposed action
would likely prevent the fishing season from shortening further because
it removes the ability for additional capacity to enter the fishery and
harvest the TAC or reach halibut PSC limits more quickly. As described
in Section 2.7.1.2 of the Analysis, the fishing seasons in 2016 and
2017 were the shortest on record for this fishery at the time of the
highest levels of CV participation and with CVs harvesting the highest
proportion of the fishery's TAC. The pace of fishing during those
fishing seasons may have increased due to additional speculative entry
and concerns by ongoing participants about the increasing competition.
This proposed rule could help lengthen the fishing season and mitigate
a ``race for fish'' by limiting the eligible groundfish LLP licenses,
such that participation is generally
[[Page 26242]]
representative of the 2015 fishing year, when the season lasted until
late in the year. This proposed rule also could help lengthen the
fishing season and mitigate a ``race for fish'' by allowing eligible
CVs more flexibility in fishing operations through predictable levels
of competition. That flexibility may help improve fishing efficiency
and reduce halibut PSC in the fishery by allowing vessels to take steps
to reduce halibut PSC, such as leaving or avoiding areas of high
halibut concentration. At a minimum, the proposed action is expected to
minimize further negative impact on the resources that could occur if
CV participation in the fishery were maintained at 2016 levels or
allowed to continue to increase. The proposed action may also help to
facilitate voluntary best practices agreements between CVs and AFA CPs
in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery to avoid halibut PSC.
The Council also considered whether this proposed action could have
adverse impacts on other fisheries, specifically the BSAI TLAS Pacific
cod fishery, if CVs or motherships were displaced from participation in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery. As described in Section 2.7.2.1
of the Analysis and later in this preamble, the Council concluded, and
NMFS agrees, that such adverse impacts are not likely.
Under the LLP, a license can be transferred to a different vessel
that is eligible to be designated on that LLP license, but only one
vessel can be designated on an LLP license at any given time.
Additionally, a vessel may be designated on more than one LLP license
at one time. Therefore, the number of eligible groundfish LLP licenses
presented in this proposed rule and the Analysis represents the maximum
number of CVs that NMFS currently has determined would be eligible to
conduct directed fishing for BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole. If Amendment 116
is approved and this proposed rule is finalized, fewer and/or different
CVs designated on groundfish LLP licenses with a BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery endorsement may be used to conduct directed
fishing for BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole and deliver the catch to a
mothership. The Analysis uses the current groundfish LLP license vessel
designations to describe the likely impacts of the proposed action,
because it is not possible to know how the vessel designations on
groundfish LLP licenses may change in the future.
The Council considered a range of options that would qualify a
groundfish LLP license for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement, including: (1) How eligible landings would be determined;
(2) the range of years during which eligible landings would need to be
made (i.e., qualifying period); (3) the number of years during the
qualifying period in which eligible landings would need to be made; and
(4) whether the requirement for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement would be removed under specific TAC conditions. In
addition to other factors considered and addressed in the Analysis, the
Council and NMFS considered the proposed action's consistency with
allocations initially made under the Amendment 80 Program, its
potential impacts on the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery, and whether
this proposed action would constitute a limited access privilege
program as that term is defined under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The
following briefly summarizes these options and key considerations.
Why are qualifying landings based on trip target rather than directed
fishing?
At its February 2017 meeting, the Council clarified that
eligibility criteria should be based on trip target landings rather
than directed fishing landings. Directed fishing is defined as any
fishing activity that results in retention of an amount of a species on
board a vessel that is greater than the maximum retainable amount for
that species (see definition at 50 CFR 679.2). Under this definition, a
vessel may be targeting and retaining Pacific cod but also retaining
incidentally caught yellowfin sole at an amount that exceeds the
maximum retainable amount for yellowfin sole. NMFS would consider the
vessel to be directed fishing for Pacific cod and directed fishing for
yellowfin sole in such a situation. Thus, limiting access to the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery based on a history of directed
fishing activity could result in CVs meeting minimum landings
requirements based on incidental catch of yellowfin sole.
Under this proposed rule, ``trip target'' would be defined as a
landing in which the amount of retained BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole is
greater than the retained amount of any other groundfish species for
that trip. The Council's intent with this action is to provide
endorsements to those CVs that were intentionally targeting yellowfin
sole in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery and not to
provide endorsements to CVs that were intentionally targeting other
groundfish species but retaining their incidental catch of yellowfin
sole. Using trip target to determine eligibility would limit the
potential for a vessel to qualify for participation in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery based on the vessel's incidental catch
of yellowfin sole. This is consistent with previous eligibility
criteria for limiting access to some fisheries based on trip target,
rather than directed fishing activity. In the case of this proposed
action, the use of trip target to establish qualification for the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement would result in the
same number of LLP licenses qualifying for the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement as there were CVs that participated in the
fishery for any one year during the proposed qualifying period.
Why was the range of qualifying years selected?
The Council considered two ranges of years for determining
qualifying landings; 2008 through 2015 and 2008 through 2016. The
Council selected 2008 as the start of both qualifying periods because
2008 was the first year of the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery. The Council ended one qualifying period with 2015, because
2015 is the year the Council initiated the analysis for Amendment 116
and the last year of participation in the fishery prior to the
Council's announced control date of October 13, 2015. The Council ended
the other qualifying period with 2016 to allow consideration of the
most recent participants based on public testimony. In determining the
two options for a qualifying period, the Council also took into
consideration participation in the fishery prior to 2008 and during
2017. The Council selected 2008 through 2015 as its preferred
qualifying period for eligibility for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement. In selecting the 2008 through 2015
period, the Council considered the potential for future entry of
capacity into the fishery, while also recognizing existing
participation.
Under the 2008 through 2015 qualifying period that had at least one
qualifying landing made in any one year during the period, the Analysis
indicates that a total of eight LLP licenses would be eligible to
receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement. Under
the 2008 through 2016 qualifying period with at least one qualifying
landing made in any one year during the period, ten LLP licenses would
be eligible to receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement. The Council was aware of the potential for additional
effort to enter the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery while the
Council considered Amendment 116, and was aware that additional or
speculative
[[Page 26243]]
effort could enter the fishery to establish some history in it, which
could impact existing participants in the fishery by further shortening
the fishing season and increasing the ``race for fish'' (see Section
2.7.1.1 of the Analysis for a description of fishing patterns and
seasons).
To dampen the effect of additional or speculative entry into the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery, the Council adopted a
control date of October 13, 2015, which was published by NMFS in the
Federal Register (80 FR 72408, November 19, 2015). Although control
dates are not binding on future Council actions, the Council clearly
indicated when it adopted the control date that this control date could
be used to limit ``future access to the offshore sector of the BSAI
TLAS for yellowfin sole.'' The Council also clearly noted that the
control date was intended to ``promote awareness that the Council may
develop a future management action,'' and ``to provide notice to the
public that any current or future access to the offshore sector of the
BSAI trawl limited access fishery for yellowfin sole may be affected or
restricted; and to discourage speculative participation and behavior in
the fishery while the Council considers whether to initiate a
management action to further limit access to the fishery.'' The
selection of the 2008 through 2015 qualifying period is consistent with
the Council's clearly stated policy objectives and the public was
clearly noticed that catch in 2016 may not be considered.
After the Council established the control date in 2015, the number
of participating CVs increased from six in 2015 to nine in 2016, which
is triple the maximum level of CV participation from 2008 through 2014
and nearly four times the average level of CV participation from 2008
through 2014. It is also a 33 percent increase over CV participation in
2015. Because the Council identified in 2015 the recent increase in CVs
participating in the fishery to be the primary cause of shortened
fishing seasons and the resulting ``race for fish,'' the Council was
concerned that the even greater increase in CV participation after 2015
would further shorten the fishing season, increasing the risk of a
``race for fish.'' The Council considered, but rejected, ending the
qualifying period in either 2016 or 2017, because the pace of fishing
and harvest pressure increased in those years concurrent with the trend
of increasing CV participation, including two vessels that participated
in 2016 and another in 2017 that had never before been used to
participate in the fishery. Those factors caused the fishery to close
in June in 2016 and in May in 2017, compared to the November closure in
2015, which was more typical of previous season lengths. Based on the
same factors, NMFS also determined that the 2008-2015 qualifying period
best addresses the need to reduce fishing pressure and help to control
the pace of fishing within the fishery.
Why select only one year, not two years, of participation?
In conjunction with its determination that 2008 through 2015 was
the appropriate qualifying period, the Council also determined that
that qualifying period coupled with one year for participation would
result in an adequate number of qualifying groundfish LLP licenses and
CVs to prosecute the offshore fishery at a pace similar to the pace of
the fishery through 2015. The Council considered two options addressing
the frequency of qualifying landings in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery during the qualifying period. One option would have
required qualifying landings to be made in any two years during the
qualifying period. The other option would require qualifying landings
to be made in any one year during the qualifying period. The one year
option would limit the number of CVs in the offshore BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery to eight. While this option would allow
two more CVs to participate than participated in 2015, it would still
allow the fishery to be fully prosecuted without the risk of continued
increase in harvest pressure that could continue to shorten the fishing
season or increase Pacific halibut PSC rates. The Council did not
choose the two-year requirement, because under both qualifying periods
it would have substantially limited participation in a manner that is
not reflective of the current harvest patterns in the fishery.
Specifically, the two-year option would have limited the number of CVs
in the offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery to three CVs
owned by one company, which raised some concerns about its consistency
with National Standard 4. Further, this option would have excluded at
least one historic participant under both qualifying periods, which
would not be consistent with the Council's intent to provide continued
access and benefits to historic participants. In addition, a more
restrictive option is not needed to promote conservation. The Council
determined, and NMFS agrees, that requiring a qualifying landing in any
one qualifying year during the qualifying period of 2008 through 2015
effectively limits the potential for an increasingly challenging ``race
for fish'' and the recent growth in the CV sector.
Why are no options needed for new CV entrants during periods of high
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole allocation?
The Council considered a range of options that would have removed
the requirements for CVs to have a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement to deliver to the offshore sector if the TAC
allocated to the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery was above specific
amounts (see Sections 2.7.2.2 and 2.7.2.3 of the Analysis). However,
the Council concluded, and NMFS agrees, that options that would provide
for new CV entrants during periods of high BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
allocations are not needed or appropriate. Sections 2.7.2.2 and 2.7.2.3
of the Analysis note that CVs were able to enter the offshore BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery from 2008 through 2015 under a wide
range of TACs and market conditions, and those CVs that participated in
the fishery during that time period would receive endorsements under
this proposed rule.
The Council also determined and NMFS agrees that relieving the
limit to entry into the offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery by CVs could exacerbate the conditions that could lead to a
``race for fish'' and could increase halibut PSC mortality rates in the
fishery. Further, an option for new entrants could create difficulties
during the annual TAC setting process, as eligible CVs and new CV
entrants negotiate a BSAI yellowfin sole TAC recommendation to the
Council each year. This would complicate the determination of whether
there would be a directed fishery for new CV entrants each year. The
Council also considered the potential for participation in the offshore
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery by CVs currently active in
the Gulf of Alaska, but without recent participation in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery. However, the Council determined that it is not
necessary to provide fishing opportunities for these CVs in the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole fishery, because these CVs have extensive flatfish
resources in the GOA that have remained unharvested. NMFS agrees with
the Council's finding. Therefore, no such provision is included in this
proposed action.
[[Page 26244]]
Why change the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole policy as implemented under the
Amendment 80 Program?
As explained earlier, the Council and NMFS recognized at the time
Amendment 80 was implemented that participation by Amendment 80 vessels
as motherships in the offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery could continue or even increase. However, the proportion of the
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery catch now being harvested by
CVs that deliver their catch to Amendment 80 vessels operating as
motherships is substantially greater than it was at the time the
Amendment 80 Program was implemented. The final rule for the Amendment
80 Program (72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007) notes that only 1
Amendment 80 vessel was receiving and processing catch delivered from
one CV in the BSAI Pacific cod fishery prior to the implementation of
the Amendment 80 Program. No Amendment 80 vessel was receiving catch
from CVs participating in the BSAI yellowfin sole fishery at the time
the Amendment 80 Program was implemented in 2008. In 2017, 6 Amendment
80 CPs and one AFA CP operated as motherships in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery. However, from 2003 through 2014, no more than
two CP vessels participated as motherships in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole fishery in any one year (Section 2.7.1.1 of the Analysis). Section
2.7.1.1 of the Analysis notes that much of the increase in
participation by CVs is due to an increase in the number of Amendment
80 vessels operating as motherships.
The Council determined, and NMFS agrees, that it is appropriate to
review the policies adopted for the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery under the Amendment 80 Program and the fishing operations in
that fishery, and take action, if necessary, as fishing patterns change
from those observed at the time the Amendment 80 Program was
implemented. As a result, the Council concluded, and NMFS agrees, it is
necessary to limit access by CVs targeting BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole for
delivery to vessels operating as motherships.
How would the proposed action limit potential adverse impacts in the
BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery?
The Council had information on, and heard public testimony about,
the potential impacts of this proposed action on the BSAI TLAS Pacific
cod fishery. As noted Section 2.7.2.1 of the Analysis, most of the CVs
that participate in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery also
participate in the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery, and a CV that would
not receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement for
its groundfish LLP license under this proposed rule may enter or
increase its participation in the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery. New or
increased participation in the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery would only
occur if there is a perceived economic benefit to doing so. A spillover
effect into the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery may be more likely when
there are fewer CVs that have an LLP license with an endorsement to
participate in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery. This
proposed action would limit the number of groundfish LLP licenses, and
therefore the number of CVs, that could be used to harvest BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole and deliver to a mothership, and any potential spillover
effect into the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery would most likely come
from vessels that have participated in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery, but would be excluded under this proposed rule. Under
this proposed rule up to eight CVs could participate in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery. The maximum number of CVs that
participated in the fishery from 2008 through 2017 is eleven individual
vessels, with a maximum of nine participating in any one year. The
proposed rule would allow eight vessels to participate under groundfish
LLP licenses endorsed for the fishery. While the remaining three
vessels could increase BSAI TLAS Pacific cod fishery participation,
they might also decline to participate in that fishery if there is no
perceived economic benefit. At this time it is not possible to predict
a definitive outcome.
Does this proposed action constitute a Limited Access Privilege (LAP)
Program?
The Council determined during its February 2017 meeting, and NMFS
concurs, that this proposed action does not meet the definition of a
LAP Program included in section 303A of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16
U.S.C. 1853a). Section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1802)
defines a LAP as a Federal permit issued as part of a limited access
system under section 303A to harvest a quantity of fish expressed by a
unit or units representing a portion of the TAC of the fishery that may
be received or held for exclusive use by a person and includes an
individual fishing quota but does not include community development
quotas.
This proposed action would limit the number of groundfish LLP
licenses and therefore the number of CVs that could be used to harvest
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole and deliver that harvest to a mothership, but
it would not assign a portion of the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC for
exclusive use by a person. An individual owner of a groundfish LLP
license that would receive an endorsement would not be allocated a
specific amount of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole that would be for the
owner's exclusive use. All vessels eligible to participate in the
offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery, both CPs and CVs
designated on groundfish LLP licenses with the proposed endorsement,
would continue to compete with each other in harvesting the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole TAC and do not act together as one entity. Additionally,
although CVs have not historically delivered their catch of yellowfin
sole to shore-based processing plants, this proposed action does not
preclude CVs from conducting directed fishing for BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole and delivering that harvest to shore-based processing plants. This
proposed action does not limit the amount of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
that could be harvested by a CV designated on a groundfish LLP license
that has a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole endorsement; rather, it limits the
number of CVs that are eligible to participate in the directed fishery
and deliver their harvest to a mothership. This proposed action does
not limit CPs participating in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery or
assign a portion of the TAC for exclusive use by CPs. Finally, NMFS
will maintain the ability to reallocate BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC to
the Amendment 80 sector if NMFS determines that it will go unharvested.
How will this action help reduce halibut PSC?
In fisheries where circumstances motivate fishermen to race against
each other to harvest as much fish as they can before the annual catch
limit or the PSC limit is reached and the fishery closes for the
season, participants can have a substantial disincentive to take
actions to reduce bycatch use and waste, particularly if those actions
could reduce groundfish catch rates. In a ``race for fish,''
participants who choose not to take actions to reduce bycatch and waste
stand to gain additional groundfish catch by continuing to harvest at a
higher bycatch rate, at the expense of any vessels engaged in bycatch
avoidance. By limiting CV access to the offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole fishery and reducing
[[Page 26245]]
pressure to harvest the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC quickly, this
proposed action would help to reduce incentives for a ``race for fish''
and provide participating CVs more flexibility in fishing operations,
allowing them to better avoid halibut PSC.
Additionally, industry participants have testified to the Council
that some companies participating in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery reduce halibut mortality in the fishery through
implementing ``best practices'' agreements designed to reduce halibut
mortality. Such testimony indicated that these agreements have included
halibut mortality target rates, real-time reporting of locations with
high halibut PSC, or informal apportionment of remaining halibut
mortality among vessels fishing late in the year. Limiting the number
of CVs in this fishery may provide a better opportunity to implement
best practices agreements, because participation in the fishery would
be more stable and predictable over the long term. That stability and
predictability could facilitate better communication among
participants. Section 2.7.1.2 of the Analysis provides additional
detail on halibut PSC management practices in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole fishery.
Section 3.2.2.1 of the Analysis concluded that this proposed rule
would not affect annual halibut PSC limits, but does have the potential
to help participants maintain or reduce halibut PSC in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole fishery, as described above. While such savings are not
guaranteed or predictable due to the suite of variables that can affect
halibut PSC and rates in this fishery, the proposed action addresses
concerns that increasing entry could make halibut PSC increase, is
expected to maintain halibut PSC at current levels, and may even create
a management environment in which the participants are able to work
together to reduce halibut PSC. Additionally, the Council and NMFS do
not expect any negative effects on halibut from this proposed rule
because halibut PSC limits for this fishery would continue to be
established each year, and the fishery would be closed if NMFS
determines that the halibut PSC limit will be reached before the
yellowfin sole TAC is reached.
Proposed Action
This proposed rule would implement Amendment 116 to the BSAI FMP.
This proposed rule would establish eligibility criteria for, and a
process to issue, a new endorsement to groundfish LLP licenses that
would authorize vessels designated on those licenses and operating in
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery to deliver BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole catch to a mothership. Regulations at Sec. 679.2 define
a mothership as a vessel that receives and processes groundfish from
other vessels. Under this proposed rule, any vessel that meets the
mothership definition at Sec. 679.2 or has a mothership designation on
its Federal Fishery Permit, including CPs and stationary floating
processors, will be considered a mothership for this action. For
purposes of simplicity, this preamble uses the term ``BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement'' to mean an endorsement on
a groundfish LLP license that would allow the vessel designated on that
LLP license to deliver its catch of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole to a
mothership for processing.
Under this proposed action, NMFS would issue a BSAI TLAS yellowfin
sole directed fishery endorsement to a groundfish LLP license with a
Bering Sea trawl endorsement if: (1) The groundfish LLP license is
credited with at least one legal trip target landing in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery, and (2) the credited legal trip target
landing was to a mothership in any one year of the qualifying period
from 2008 through 2015. If a vessel that made at least one trip target
landing in the BSAI TLAS directed fishery during the qualifying period
was designated on more than one groundfish LLP license during the
qualifying period, the vessel owner would be required to select one
groundfish LLP license to receive credit with the qualifying landings
made by that vessel during the qualifying period.
Where a vessel that made at least one trip target landing in the
BSAI TLAS directed fishery from 2008 through 2015 was designated on
more than one groundfish LLP license during the qualifying period, all
groundfish LLP licenses on which the vessel was designated when it was
used to make a trip target landing in a BSAI TLAS fishery during the
qualifying period would be eligible to receive credit with the
qualifying landings made by the vessel. However, none of these
groundfish LLP licenses would be credited with a qualifying landing and
receive an endorsement from NMFS until the vessel owner notifies NMFS
and identifies which single groundfish LLP license is to be credited
with the qualifying landing(s).
Based on the information provided in the Analysis and the official
record, NMFS has determined that ten groundfish LLP licenses would be
eligible to be credited with qualifying landing(s) and receive a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement. Two were the sole
groundfish LLP license on which a vessel that made a qualifying landing
during the qualifying period was designated. Therefore, under this
proposed rule, those two groundfish LLP licenses would be credited with
a qualifying landing and receive a BSAI TLAS directed fishery
endorsement. The remaining eight eligible groundfish LLP licenses were
each one of two groundfish LLP licenses designated on a vessel that
made qualifying landings during the qualifying period; therefore, those
eight groundfish LLP licenses would be eligible to be credited with a
qualifying landing and receive an endorsement. For any of those eight
groundfish LLP licenses to be credited with a qualifying landing and
receive an endorsement, the vessel owner would be required to select
one groundfish LLP license that NMFS is to credit with all qualifying
landings made by that vessel. Up to six of those eight groundfish LLP
licenses could be credited with a qualifying landing and receive an
endorsement from NMFS. Therefore, NMFS anticipates that a total of
eight groundfish LLP licenses could receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement under the proposed rule, resulting in up
to eight vessels that could participate in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery and deliver their catch to a mothership.
This provision would ensure that in cases where a vessel was
designated on more than one groundfish LLP license during the
qualifying period when one or more qualifying BSAI TLAS trip target
landings were made, only one of those groundfish LLP licenses would be
credited with the qualifying landing(s). Because NMFS does not require
vessel owners and operators to specify how specific landings should be
credited to multiple groundfish LLP licenses on which the same vessel
was designated, this provision would resolve any disputes that may
arise about the assignment of specific landings by having the vessel
owner identify one groundfish LLP license to credit with the qualifying
landing(s).
Any vessel designated on a groundfish LLP license with a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement would be authorized to
deliver catch of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole in the directed fishery to a
mothership. This proposed rule would not preclude a vessel with a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement from delivering catch
of yellowfin sole that is harvested in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery to a shore-based processing plant. This proposed rule
also would
[[Page 26246]]
not preclude a vessel without a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery endorsement from delivering incidental catch of yellowfin sole
that is caught while participating in other directed fisheries to a
mothership for processing. For example, a vessel without a BSAI
yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement could participate in the
BSAI TLAS Pacific cod directed fishery and deliver its directed catch
of Pacific cod with its incidental catch of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole to
a mothership, provided that the vessel has met all applicable
requirements to participate in the BSAI TLAS Pacific cod directed
fishery and the incidental catch of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole is at or
under the maximum retainable amount (MRA) for yellowfin sole. Finally,
this proposed action would not preclude a vessel from participating as
a CP and processing its own catch in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery. Under this proposed rule a vessel that does not have
a BSAI Trawl Limited Access Sector yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement would be prohibited from delivering yellowfin sole
harvested with trawl gear in the BSAI Trawl Limited Access Sector
yellowfin sole directed fishery to a mothership, as defined at Sec.
679.2. The following sections of this preamble describe how NMFS
proposes to determine a trip target landing, credit qualifying landings
to a groundfish LLP license, and issue BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsements.
Determining and Crediting Trip Target Landings
NMFS can determine which and how many landings, where landing means
offloading fish (50 CFR 679.2), were made by a vessel designated on a
specific groundfish LLP license during a particular timeframe.
Regulations at 50 CFR 679.4(k) require an LLP license holder to
designate a specific vessel on which the license will be used. This
requirement allows NMFS to credit landings to a specific LLP license.
NMFS also collects vessel landings data, which includes information on
the species and amounts landed. From these data, NMFS has created an
official record with all relevant information necessary to determine
legal trip target landings that can be credited to BSAI groundfish LLP
licenses.
The official record created by NMFS contains vessel landings data
and the groundfish LLP licenses to which those landings are credited.
Evidence of the number and amount of trip target landings of BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole is based on legally submitted NMFS weekly production
reports for CPs and State of Alaska fish tickets for CVs. Historically,
NMFS has used only these two data sources to determine the specific
amount and location of landings, and NMFS proposes to continue to do so
under this action. The official record includes the records of specific
groundfish LLP licenses, including vessels designated on them, and
other relevant information necessary to credit landings to specific
groundfish LLP licenses. NMFS presumes the official record is correct,
and a person wishing to challenge the presumptions in the official
record would bear the burden of proof through an evidentiary and
appeals process.
In order for a groundfish LLP license to receive a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement and be authorized to
conduct directed fishing for BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole and deliver that
catch to a mothership, NMFS would first have to determine that the
groundfish LLP license is an eligible license and then would have to
determine that the eligible license can be credited with one or more
qualifying landings. Under this proposed rule, NMFS would identify as
eligible those groundfish LLP licenses with a Bering Sea trawl
endorsement and those vessels using trawl gear operating under the
authority of that groundfish LLP license when (1) the vessel was used
to make a trip target landing in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery during any year from 2008 through 2015 and (2) the catch from
that trip target landing of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole was delivered to a
mothership for processing.
Based on the official record, NMFS has identified ten groundfish
LLP licenses that would be eligible to be credited with qualifying
landings. Two of these eligible groundfish LLP licenses were the sole
groundfish LLP license on which a given vessel was designated at the
time the vessel made qualifying landings of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole.
Therefore, NMFS would credit these two groundfish LLP licenses with the
qualifying landings under this proposed rule. NMFS proposes to list
these two groundfish LLP licenses in Table 52 to part 679. The
remaining eight eligible groundfish LLP licenses were not the sole
groundfish LLP license on which a given vessel was designated at the
time the vessel made at least one trip target in the BSAI TLAS fishery
during the qualifying period. Because this proposed rule would require
in such cases that the vessel owner specify one groundfish LLP license
to receive credit with the qualified landing(s) made by that vessel,
NMFS would not be able to credit these groundfish LLP licenses until
NMFS receives notification from the vessel owner which groundfish LLP
license should be credited with the qualifying landing(s). NMFS
proposes to list in Table 53 to part 679 the eight groundfish LLP
licenses that would be eligible for, but would not be credited with,
qualifying landings until notification from the vessel owner is
received by NMFS. The proposed notification process is described in the
following section.
The groundfish LLP licenses identified in proposed Tables 52 and 53
to 50 CFR part 679 represent the groundfish LLP licenses that NMFS has
determined would be eligible for an endorsement at this time.
Additional groundfish LLP licenses may qualify for an endorsement
through the proposed administrative adjudicative process described
below. NMFS is proposing to list the groundfish LLP licenses it has
determined are eligible to receive the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement to help facilitate the ability of the
public to review their catch records and determine if additional
groundfish LLP licenses may be eligible to receive the endorsement.
NMFS specifically requests public comment on the groundfish LLP
licenses listed in proposed Tables 52 and 53 to part 679.
If a holder of a groundfish LLP license believes the groundfish LLP
license would meet the eligibility criteria, but the license is not
listed in proposed Tables 52 or 53 to part 679, or if a license holder
disagrees with the groundfish LLP license to which NMFS would assign
the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement, the holder
would have the opportunity to challenge NMFS' determination as
described in the following section of the preamble.
Proposed Process for Issuing BSAI TLAS Yellowfin Sole Directed Fishery
Endorsements
NMFS has determined the groundfish LLP licenses identified in
proposed Table 52 can be credited with qualifying landings based on the
official record and would receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
endorsement under Amendment 116 and this proposed rule. If Amendment
116 is approved and this proposed rule is finalized, NMFS would issue a
notification of eligibility and a revised groundfish LLP license with a
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement to the holders of
the groundfish LLP licenses identified in proposed Table 52, using the
address on record at the time the notification is sent.
NMFS has determined the groundfish LLP licenses identified in
proposed
[[Page 26247]]
Table 53 are eligible to be credited with qualifying landings based on
the official record. However, the vessels that made qualifying landings
while designated on these groundfish LLP licenses were designated on
more than one groundfish LLP license during the qualifying period.
Therefore, none of the groundfish LLP licenses in proposed Table 53 can
be credited with qualifying landings until the owner of the vessel
designated on those groundfish LLP licenses identifies which groundfish
LLP license is to be credited with the qualifying landings. Under this
proposed rule, NMFS would mail the vessel owner a notification of
eligibility for those groundfish LLP licenses, using the address on
record at the time the notification is sent. The notice would ask the
vessel owner to submit to NMFS a written request to credit the
qualifying landings, in accordance with proposed regulations at Sec.
679.4(k)(14)(v)(F), to one groundfish LLP license selected by the
vessel owner from the list of eligible groundfish LLP licenses provided
by NMFS in the notice. NMFS would also send a notification of
eligibility to the holders of each of those groundfish LLP licenses
identified in proposed Table 53 using the address on record at the time
the notification is sent. NMFS would issue a revised groundfish LLP
license with a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement to
the holder of the groundfish LLP license selected by the vessel owner
in the written request to NMFS. NMFS would also send a notification to
the holder of the groundfish LLP license not selected by the vessel
owner to be credited with qualifying landings, using the address on
record at the time the notification is sent, informing the holder that
the groundfish LLP license was not credited with a qualifying landing
and would not receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole endorsement. NMFS
would provide a single, 30-day evidentiary period from the date that
notification is sent for a groundfish LLP license holder to submit any
information or evidence to demonstrate that the information contained
in the official record is inconsistent with the holder's records.
For all those groundfish LLP licenses with a Bering Sea trawl
designation, but not listed in either proposed Table 52 or 53, NMFS
would notify the holders that the groundfish LLP license is not
eligible for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement
based on the official record, using the address on record at the time
the notification is sent. NMFS would provide the holder with an
opportunity to submit information to NMFS to rebut the official record.
NMFS would provide a single, 30-day evidentiary period from the date
that notification is sent for a groundfish LLP license holder to submit
any information or evidence to demonstrate that the information
contained in the official record is inconsistent with the holder's
records.
Under this proposed rule, a groundfish LLP license holder who
submits claims that are inconsistent with information in the official
record would have the burden of proving that the submitted claims are
correct. NMFS would not accept claims that are inconsistent with the
official record, unless they are supported by clear, written
documentation. NMFS would evaluate all additional information or
evidence submitted within the 30-day evidentiary period. If NMFS
determines that the additional information or evidence proves that the
groundfish LLP license holder's claims are correct, NMFS would amend
the official record in accordance with that information or evidence.
However, if, after the 30-day evidentiary period, NMFS determines that
the additional information or evidence does not prove that the
groundfish LLP license holder's claims were correct, NMFS would deny
the claim. NMFS would notify the applicant that the additional
information or evidence did not meet the burden of proof to overcome
the official record through an initial administrative determination
(IAD).
NMFS' IAD would indicate the deficiencies and discrepancies in the
information or evidence submitted in support of the claim. NMFS' IAD
would indicate which claims could not be approved based on the
available information or evidence, and provide information on how an
applicant could appeal an IAD. The former procedure for appealing an
IAD to the NMFS' Alaska Office of Administrative Appeals was described
at Sec. 679.43. However, NMFS has centralized the appeals process in
the National Appeals Office, which operates out of NMFS' headquarters
in Silver Spring, MD. The National Appeals Office is now charged with
processing appeals that were filed with the Office of Administrative
Appeals, Alaska Region. The procedure for appealing an IAD through the
National Appeals Office is at 15 CFR part 906 (79 FR 7056, February 6,
2014). During the pendency of an administrative adjudication leading to
a final agency action, NMFS would issue an interim (temporary, non-
transferable) license to an applicant who was authorized to participate
in the fishery in the year before the IAD is issued and who makes a
credible claim to eligibility for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole fishery
endorsement. An applicant who was issued a license the previous year
would be eligible for a non-transferable interim license pending the
resolution of his or her claim pursuant to the license renewal
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 558. The non-transferable, interim license would
authorize the applicant to deliver BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole to a
mothership for processing and would be effective until final agency
action on the appeal. At that time, the person who appealed would
receive either a transferable license with the endorsement or a
transferrable license without the endorsement, depending on the final
agency action.
The following provides a brief summary of the regulatory changes
that would be made by this proposed rule.
This proposed rule would add Sec. 679.4(k)(14) to include the
provisions that are necessary to qualify for, and receive, a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement.
This proposed rule would add Sec. 679.7(i)(11) to prohibit the
delivery of yellowfin sole harvested with trawl gear in the BSAI TLAS
directed fishery to a mothership without a copy of a valid LLP with a
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement except as
provided in Sec. 679.4(k)(2). Section 679.4(k)(2) lists the specific
conditions under which vessels are not required to be designated on LLP
licenses to harvest groundfish. None of the vessels currently exempted
from the requirements to be designated on an LLP license under Sec.
679.4(k)(2) participate in the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed
fishery.
This proposed rule would add Table 52 to part 679 to list those
groundfish LLP licenses that NMFS has determined would be eligible,
would be credited with qualifying landings, and would receive a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement under this proposed
rule.
This proposed rule would also add Table 53 to part 679. Table 53
would list those pairs of groundfish LLP licenses that NMFS has
determined would be eligible to be credited with qualifying landings,
such that each pair was designated on the same vessel that made the
qualifying landings. Because only one groundfish LLP license could be
credited with the qualifying landings, the owner of the vessel
designated on the pair of groundfish LLP licenses would notify NMFS
which one groundfish LLP license of the pair should be credited with
the qualifying landings. Upon receipt of the written notification from
the vessel owner, NMFS would credit the qualifying
[[Page 26248]]
landings to the one groundfish LLP license of the pair selected by the
vessel owner and issue it a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement.
Classification
Pursuant to sections 304(b) and 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act,
the NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule
is consistent with Amendment 116, the BSAI 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
the purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)
An RIR was prepared to assess all costs and benefits of available
regulatory alternatives. A copy of this analysis is available from NMFS
(see ADDRESSES). The Council recommended Amendment 116 based on those
measures that maximized net benefits to the Nation. Specific aspects of
the economic analysis are discussed below in the Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis section.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA)
This IRFA was prepared for this proposed rule, as required by
section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), to describe why
this action is being proposed; the objectives and legal basis for the
proposed rule; the number of small entities to which the proposed rule
would apply; any projected reporting and recordkeeping requirements of
the proposed rule; any overlapping, duplicative, or conflicting Federal
rules; and any significant alternatives to the proposed rule that would
accomplish the stated objectives, consistent with applicable statutes,
and that would minimize any significant adverse economic 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.
Number and Description of Small Entities Regulated by This Proposed
Action
The directly regulated entities under this proposed rule are (1)
holders of groundfish LLP licenses that authorize a vessel designated
on the LLP license to harvest groundfish using trawl gear in the Bering
Sea and (2) vessel owners that must choose one of two LLP licenses on
which the vessel was designated during the qualifying period. Based on
the best available and most recent complete data from 2008 through
2017, 163 groundfish LLP license holders and five vessel owners would
be directly regulated by this proposed action.
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.
The RFA requires consideration of affiliations between entities for
the purpose of assessing whether an entity is classified as small. The
AFA pollock and Amendment 80 cooperatives are types of affiliation
between entities. All of the AFA and Amendment 80 cooperatives have
gross annual revenues that are substantially greater than $11 million.
Therefore, NMFS considers members in these cooperatives ``affiliated''
large (non-small) entities for RFA purposes.
Of the 163 groundfish LLP license holders directly regulated by the
proposed action, 128 were members of an AFA cooperative and 26 were
members of an Amendment 80 cooperative in 2017. Therefore, NMFS
considers those 154 groundfish LLP license holders to be ``affiliated''
large (non-small) entities for RFA purposes. All of the groundfish LLP
licenses with designated vessels that participated in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery and delivered catch to a mothership
from 2008 through 2017 were affiliated with either an AFA or an
Amendment 80 cooperative in 2017. NMFS therefore considers these LLP
license holders to be ``affiliated'' large (non-small) entities for RFA
purposes. The remaining nine groundfish LLP license holders are not
affiliated with AFA or Amendment 80 cooperatives and are assumed to be
small entities directly regulated by this action for purposes of the
RFA. All five vessel owners who are considered regulated entities under
this proposed rule were affiliated with either an AFA pollock or an
Amendment 80 cooperative in 2017. Therefore, NMFS considers them
``affiliated'' large (non-small) entities for RFA purposes. This IRFA
assumes that each vessel owner and each groundfish LLP license holder
is a unique entity; therefore, the total number of directly regulated
entities may be an overestimate because some vessel owners and
groundfish LLP license holders are likely affiliated through common
ownership. These potential affiliations are not known with the best
available data and cannot be predicted.
Impacts of This Action on Small Entities
Under this proposed rule, access to the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery by vessels that deliver their BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery catch to a mothership for processing would be limited
to only those vessels designated on a groundfish LLP license with a
BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement. However, no
small entities would qualify to hold a groundfish LLP license with such
an endorsement. None of the nine LLP license holders who are considered
small entities regulated under this proposed rule are expected to be
adversely impacted by this proposed rule. Based on a review of fishery
data from 2008 through 2017, none of those nine groundfish LLP licenses
had designated on it a vessel that delivered BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery catch to a mothership for processing. This proposed
rule would not limit existing delivery patterns by vessels designated
on those nine LLP licenses. This proposed rule would limit the future
opportunity for the holders of these nine LLP licenses to deliver BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery catch to a mothership for
processing. The lack of any quantitative data on potential future
delivery patterns makes it impossible to rigorously assess the expected
economic impact of limiting these nine LLP license holders from future
deliveries of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery catch to a
mothership for processing.
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 provided a
reasonable range of potential alternative approaches to status quo
management.
Under the status quo, there would be a risk of continued increasing
harvest
[[Page 26249]]
effort resulting in shorter fishing seasons and higher halibut PSC
rates. The action alternative would accomplish the stated objectives of
prioritizing a portion of the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC for harvest
by historic participants that deliver their catch to motherships for
processing and maintaining a steady fishing pace and season duration,
while minimizing adverse economic impacts on small entities and the
potential for increasing harvest effort that shortens fishing seasons
and increases Pacific halibut PSC rates. The action alternative does
not affect any sector's BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole allocation or the BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole TAC.
The Council considered a range of dates, varying levels of
participation, and a suite of mechanisms to provide greater harvesting
and processing opportunities for CVs to deliver to offshore processors
during periods of high BSAI yellowfin sole TAC. The Council recommended
the proposed combination of dates and participation level to relieve
the recent increase in harvest pressure and rate and give historic
fishery participants sufficient opportunity to harvest and deliver BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole to motherships without increasing the risk of
shorter fishing seasons and higher Pacific halibut PSC rates.
The Council and NMFS considered two alternatives. Alternative 1,
the no action alternative, would not limit access by catcher vessels to
the offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery. Alternative 2
would limit access by CVs to the offshore BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery.
Under Alternative 2, two options with four and eight suboptions,
respectively, were considered. The suboptions under Option 1 would
limit access to the fishery to CVs with qualifying deliveries to a
mothership from 2008 through 2015 in either any one or any two years or
from 2008 through 2016 in either any one or any two years. Suboptions
under Option 2.1 would allow all CVs with BSAI trawl endorsements
access to the fishery when the TAC assigned to the BSAI TLAS is equal
to or greater than an amount in a range of suboptions from 15,000 mt
through 30,000 mt. Suboptions under Option 2.2 would limit access to
the fishery by CVs that do not meet landings qualifications under
Option 1 to a portion of the BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole TAC equal to or
greater than an amount in a range of suboptions from 15,000 mt through
30,000 mt. The combination of options and suboptions under Alternative
2 provided the Council and NMFS with a broad range of alternative
policy considerations relative to the no action alternative
(Alternative 1). The proposed rule incorporates the preferred option
and suboption under Alternative 2 which would limit access to the
fishery to CVs with qualifying deliveries to a mothership from 2008
through 2015 in any one year, because that combination would best
prevent increased catcher vessel participation from reducing the
benefits the fishery provides to historic and recent participants,
mitigate the risk that a ``race for fish'' could develop, and help to
maintain the consistently low rates of halibut bycatch in the BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery.
Federal Rules That May Duplicate, Overlapping, or Conflict With the
Proposed Action
No duplication, overlap, or conflict between this proposed action
and existing Federal rules has been identified.
Projected Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
This proposed rule does not add additional reporting or
recordkeeping requirements for the vessels that choose to submit an
appeal. An appeal process exists for LLP license endorsement issuance.
No small entity is subject to reporting requirements that are in
addition to or different from the requirements that apply to all
directly regulated entities. No unique professional skills are needed
for the LLP license or vessel owners or operators to comply with the
reporting and recordkeeping requirements associated with this proposed
rule. This proposed rule would not implement or increase any fees that
NMFS collects from directly regulated entities. The Analysis prepared
for this action identifies no operational costs of the endorsement (see
ADDRESSES).
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. These requirements have been
submitted to OMB for approval under a temporary new information
collection, to be merged after approval with OMB Control Number 0648-
0334. The public reporting burden for the collection-of-information
requirements in this proposed rule is estimated to average two hours
per response for a one-time Election to Assign Qualifying Landings to
an LLP license and 4 hours per response to submit an appeal, which
includes 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 (1) 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; (2) the accuracy of the burden estimate; (3)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (4) 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
[email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required
to respond to, and no person shall be subject to 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: May 31, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For 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 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. 679.4, add paragraph (k)(14) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.4 Permits.
* * * * *
(k) * * *
(14) Yellowfin sole trawl limited access sector (TLAS) directed
fishery endorsement in the BSAI--(i) General. In addition to other
requirements of this part, and unless specifically exempted in
paragraph (k)(2) of this section, a
[[Page 26250]]
vessel must be designated on a groundfish LLP license that has a BSAI
TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement in order to conduct
directed fishing for yellowfin sole with trawl gear in the BSAI Trawl
Limited Access Sector fishery and deliver the catch to a mothership as
defined at Sec. 679.2. A vessel designated on a groundfish LLP license
with trawl and catcher/processor vessel designations and a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement may operate as a catcher
vessel and deliver its catch of yellowfin sole harvested in the
directed BSAI TLAS fishery to a mothership, or operate as a catcher/
processor and catch and process its own catch in this fishery.
(ii) Eligibility requirements for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
directed fishery endorsement.
(A) A groundfish LLP license is eligible to receive a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement if the groundfish LLP
license:
(1) Had a vessel designated on it, in any year from 2008 through
2015, that made at least one legal trip target landing of yellowfin
sole in the BSAI TLAS directed fishery to a mothership as defined at
Sec. 679.2 in any one year from 2008 through 2015, inclusive, where a
trip target is the groundfish species for which the retained amount of
that groundfish species is greater than the retained amount of any
other groundfish species for that trip;
(2) Has a Bering Sea area endorsement and a trawl gear designation;
and
(3) Is credited by NMFS with a legal trip target landing specified
in paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section.
(B) If a vessel specified in paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this
section was designated on more than one groundfish LLP license from
2008 through 2015 and made at least one legal trip target landing in a
BSAI TLAS directed fishery from 2008 through 2015, the vessel owner
must specify to NMFS only one of those groundfish LLP licenses to
receive credit with the legal trip target landing(s) specified in
paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section.
(iii) Explanations for BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement.
(A) NMFS will determine whether a groundfish LLP license is
eligible to receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement under paragraph (k)(14)(ii) of this section based only on
information contained in the official record described in paragraph
(k)(14)(v) of this section.
(B) NMFS will credit a groundfish LLP license with a legal trip
target landing specified in paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section
if that groundfish LLP license was the only groundfish LLP license on
which the vessel was designated from 2008 through 2015. If a vessel
that made at least one legal trip target landing specified in paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section was designated on more than one
groundfish LLP license from 2008 through 2015 and made at least one
legal trip target landing in a BSAI TLAS directed fishery from 2008
through 2015, the vessel owner must notify NMFS which one of those
groundfish LLP licenses NMFS is to credit with the legal trip target
landing(s) specified in paragraph (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section.
(C) Trip target landings will be determined based on round weight
equivalents.
(iv) Exemptions to BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole endorsements. Any
vessel exempted from the License Limitation Program at paragraph (k)(2)
of this section is exempted from the requirement to have a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole endorsement to deliver catch of BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole
to a mothership for processing.
(v) BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole participation official record.
(A) The official record will contain all information used by the
Regional Administrator that is necessary to administer the requirements
described in paragraph (k)(14) of this section.
(B) The official record is presumed to be correct. A groundfish LLP
license holder has the burden to prove otherwise.
(C) Only legal landings as defined in Sec. 679.2 and documented on
State of Alaska fish tickets or NMFS weekly production reports will be
used to determine legal trip target landings under paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section.
(vi) Process for issuing BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole endorsements.
(A) NMFS will issue to the holder of each groundfish LLP license
endorsed to use trawl gear in the Bering Sea and designated in Column A
of Table 52 to this part a notice of eligibility to receive a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement and a revised groundfish
LLP license with a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement.
(B) NMFS will issue to the holder of each groundfish LLP license
endorsed to use trawl gear in the Bering Sea and designated in Column A
of Table 53 to this part a notice of eligibility to be credited with a
legal trip target landing specified in (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this
section.
(1) NMFS will also issue to the owner of the vessel designated on
the groundfish LLP licenses in Column A of Table 53 a notice of
eligibility for the two listed groundfish LLP licenses to be credited
with a legal trip target landing specified in (k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this
section. The notice to the vessel owner will provide instructions for
the vessel owner to select the one groundfish LLP license that NMFS is
to credit with the legal trip target landing specified in
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section.
(2) The holder of a groundfish LLP license in Column A of Table 53
will receive a revised groundfish LLP license with a BSAI TLAS
yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement if:
(i) The owner of the vessel designated on the groundfish LLP
license requests in writing that NMFS credit that groundfish LLP
license with the legal trip target landing specified in paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section;
(ii) The vessel owner, or the authorized agent, signs the request;
(iii) The written request is submitted to NMFS using one of the
following methods: Mail at Regional Administrator, c/o Restricted
Access Management Program, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668;
fax at 907-586-7352; or hand delivery or carrier at NMFS, Room 713, 709
West 9th Street, Juneau, AK 99801.
(iv) NMFS receives the written request and credits the groundfish
LLP license with the legal trip target landing specified in paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) of this section; and
(3) The holder of a groundfish LLP license in Column A of Table 53
that is not selected by the vessel owner will receive a notice, using
the address on record at the time the notification is sent, informing
the holder that the groundfish LLP license was not selected by the
vessel owner, will not be credited with a legal trip target landing,
and will not receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole endorsement. The notice
will inform the holder of the groundfish LLP license of the timing and
process through which the holder can provide additional information or
evidence to amend or challenge the information in the official record
of this section as specified in paragraphs (k)(14)(ii)(D) and (E) of
this section.
(C) NMFS will issue to the holder of a groundfish LLP license with
a Bering Sea trawl designation and that is not listed in either
proposed Table 52 or 53 a notice informing that holder that the
groundfish LLP license is not eligible to be credited with a legal trip
target
[[Page 26251]]
landing or receive a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole directed fishery
endorsement based on the official record, using the address on record
at the time the notification is sent. The notice specified in paragraph
(k)(14)(ii)(C) will inform the holder of the groundfish LLP license of
the timing and process through which the holder can provide additional
information or evidence to amend or challenge the information in the
official record of this section, as specified in paragraphs
(k)(14)(ii)(D) and (E) of this section.
(D) The Regional Administrator will specify by letter a 30-day
evidentiary period during which an applicant may provide additional
information or evidence to amend or challenge the information in the
official record. A person will be limited to one 30-day evidentiary
period. Additional information or evidence received after the 30-day
evidentiary period specified in the letter has expired will not be
considered for purposes of the initial administrative determination
(IAD).
(E) The Regional Administrator will prepare and send an IAD to the
applicant following the expiration of the 30-day evidentiary period, if
the Regional Administrator determines that the information or evidence
provided by the person fails to support the person's claims and is
insufficient to rebut the presumption that the official record is
correct, or if the additional information, evidence, or revised
application is not provided within the time period specified in the
letter that notifies the applicant of his or her 30-day evidentiary
period. The IAD will indicate the deficiencies with the information or
evidence submitted. The IAD will also indicate which claims cannot be
approved based on the available information or evidence. A person who
receives an IAD may appeal pursuant to 15 CFR part 906. NMFS will issue
a non-transferable interim license that is effective until final agency
action on the IAD to an applicant who avails himself or herself of the
opportunity to appeal an IAD and who has a credible claim to
eligibility for a BSAI TLAS yellowfin sole endorsement.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 679.7, add paragraph (i)(11) to read as follows;
Sec. 679.7 Prohibitions.
* * * * *
(i) * * *
(11) Prohibitions specific to the BSAI Trawl Limited Access Sector
yellowfin sole directed fishery. Deliver yellowfin sole harvested with
trawl gear in the BSAI Trawl Limited Access Sector yellowfin sole
directed fishery to a mothership as defined at Sec. 679.2 without a
legible copy of a valid groundfish LLP license with a BSAI Trawl
Limited Access Sector yellowfin sole directed fishery endorsement,
except as provided in Sec. 679.4(k)(2).
* * * * *
0
4. Add Table 52 to part 679 to read as follows:
Table 52 to Part 679--Groundfish LLP Licenses Eligible for a BSAI Trawl
Limited Access Sector Yellowfin Sole Directed Fishery Endorsement
[X indicates that Column A applies]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Column A Column B
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is eligible under
50 CFR
679.4(k)(14)(ii)
to be assigned an
The Holder of Groundfish License Number Endorsement for
the BSAI Trawl
Limited Access
Sector Yellowfin
Sole Fishery
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LLG 3944............................................ X
LLG 2913............................................ X
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0
5. Add Table 53 to part 679 to read as follows:
Table 53 to Part 679--Groundfish LLP Licenses that Require Qualified
Landings Assignment to be Eligible for a BSAI Trawl Limited Access
Sector Yellowfin Sole Directed Fishery Endorsement
[X indicates that Column A applies]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Column A Column B
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The owner of the
vessel designated
on the pair of LLP
licenses in Column
A must notify NMFS
A single vessel was designated on the following which LLP license
pairs of groundfish LLP licenses during the from each pair in
qualifying period identified in 50 CFR Column A is to be
679.4(k)(14)(ii)(A)(1) credited with
qualifying
landing(s) under
50 CFR 679.4
(k)(14)(vi)(2)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LLG 3838 and LLG 2702............................... X
LLG 3902 and LLG 3826............................... X
LLG 3714 and LLG 1667............................... X
LLG 1820 and LLG 3741............................... X
LLG 3741 and LLG 3714............................... X
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. 2018-12034 Filed 6-5-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P