Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Authorize Retention of Halibut in Pot Gear in the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands; Amendment 118, 43570-43573 [2019-18033]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 21, 2019 / Proposed Rules
§ 571.139 Standard No. 139; New
pneumatic radial tires for light vehicles.
Test
pressure
(kPa)
Tire application
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*
S2 Application. This standard
applies to new pneumatic radial tires for
use on motor vehicles (other than
motorcycles and low speed vehicles)
that have a gross vehicle weight rating
(GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less and
that were manufactured after 1975. This
standard does not apply to special tires
(ST) for trailers in highway service, tires
for use on farm implements (FI) in
agricultural service with intermittent
highway use, tires with rim diameters of
12 inches and below, T-type temporary
use spare tires with radial construction,
and light truck tires with a tread depth
of 18/32 inch or greater.
*
*
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S4.1.1 * * *
(a) Listed by manufacturer name or
brand name in a document furnished to
dealers of the manufacturer’s tires, to
any person upon request, and in
duplicate to the Docket Section (No.
NHTSA–2009–0117), National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, West
Building, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE,
Washington, DC 20590; or
*
*
*
*
*
S6.2.1.1.1 Mount the tire on a test
rim and inflate it to the pressure
specified for the tire in the following
table:
Test
pressure
(kPa)
Tire application
Passenger car tires:
Standard load ...................................
Extra load .........................................
Light truck tires with a nominal cross
section ≤295 mm (11.5 inches):
Load Range C ..................................
Load Range D ..................................
Load Range E ..................................
Light truck tires with a nominal cross
section >295 mm (11.5 inches):
Load Range C ..................................
Load Range D ..................................
Load Range E ..................................
220
260
320
410
500
230
320
410
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*
S6.3.1.1.1 Mount the tire on a test
rim and inflate it to the pressure
specified for the tire in the following
table:
Test
pressure
(kPa)
jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
Tire application
Passenger car tires:
Standard load ...................................
Extra load .........................................
Light truck tires with a nominal cross
section ≤295 mm (11.5 inches):
Load Range C ..................................
Load Range D ..................................
Load Range E ..................................
Light truck tires with a nominal cross
section >295 mm (11.5 inches):
Load Range C ..................................
Load Range D ..................................
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180
220
260
340
410
190
260
Load Range E ..................................
340
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*
S6.4.1.1.1 This test is conducted
following completion of the tire
endurance test using the same tire and
rim assembly tested in accordance with
S6.3 with the tire deflated to the
following appropriate pressure:
Test
pressure
(kPa)
Tire application
Passenger car tires:
Standard load ...................................
Extra load .........................................
Light truck tires with a nominal cross
section ≤295 mm (11.5 inches):
Load Range C ..................................
Load Range D ..................................
Load Range E ..................................
Light truck tires with a nominal cross
section >295 mm (11.5 inches):
Load Range C ..................................
Load Range D ..................................
Load Range E ..................................
140
160
200
260
320
150
200
260
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.5.
Heidi Renate King,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019–17813 Filed 8–20–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Parts 300, 600, and 679
RIN 0648–BI65
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Authorize Retention
of Halibut in Pot Gear in the Bering Sea
Aleutian Islands; Amendment 118
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery
management plan amendment; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council)
submitted Amendment 118 to the
Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area
(FMP) (Amendment 118) to the
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for
review. If approved, Amendment 118
would prohibit the use of pot gear in the
Pribilof Islands Habitat Conservation
Zone (PIHCZ) and a regulatory
SUMMARY:
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amendment would authorize the
retention of halibut in pot gear under
the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) and
Western Alaska Community
Development Quota (CDQ) Programs in
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
(BSAI). Amendment 118 is intended to
promote the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the FMP, the
Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982
(Halibut Act), and other applicable laws.
DATES: Comments must be received no
later than October 21, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2018–0134, by any of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20180134, 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. 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 118
to the FMP, the Environmental
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review
prepared for this action (the Analysis),
and the Finding of No Significant
Impact prepared for this action may be
obtained from www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephanie Warpinski, 907–586–7228 or
stephanie.warpinski@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Council has submitted Amendment 118
to the FMP to the Secretary for review.
If approved, Amendment 118 would
prohibit the use of pot gear in the
Pribilof Islands Habitat Conservation
Zone (PIHCZ). The regulatory
amendment associated with
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Amendment 118 would authorize the
use of pot gear, in addition to currently
authorized fishing gear, to fish IFQ or
CDQ halibut in the BSAI and would
authorize the retention of halibut in pots
in the IFQ or CDQ sablefish fishery in
the BSAI. Provided a permit holder on
board the fishing vessel also holds an
IFQ or CDQ halibut permit with
sufficient unused IFQ or CDQ halibut,
the permit holder would be required to
retain legal-size halibut. This action is
necessary to improve information for
future conservation and management
measures, improve efficiency of the IFQ
and CDQ sablefish and halibut fleets,
and reduce bycatch and fishery
interactions with whales and seabirds.
Amendment 118 is intended to promote
the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the FMP, the
Halibut Act, and other applicable laws.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
that each regional fishery management
council submit any fishery management
plan amendment it prepares to NMFS
for review and approval, disapproval, or
partial approval by the Secretary. The
Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires
that NMFS, upon receiving a fishery
management plan amendment,
immediately publish a document in the
Federal Register announcing that the
amendment is available for public
review and comment. This document
announces that proposed Amendment
118 to the FMP is available for public
review and comment.
The Council prepared, and the
Secretary approved, the FMP under the
authority of section 302(h)(1) and 303(b)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq. The FMP is implemented
by Federal regulations governing U.S.
fisheries at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
The Council is authorized to prepare
and recommend an FMP amendment for
the conservation and management of a
fishery covered under the FMP. The
conservation and management needs of
BSAI groundfish are directly related to
the management of the Pacific halibut
(Hippoglossus stenolepis) fishery by the
International Pacific Halibut
Commission (IPHC). Under the FMP,
Pacific halibut is not a target species but
is managed as a prohibited species.
Many of the management measures
contained in the FMP are for the express
purpose of mitigating adverse effects
from the trawl and fixed gear groundfish
fisheries on the halibut resource.
Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is
managed as a groundfish species under
the FMP, as well as under the IFQ
Program for the fixed gear Commercial
Fisheries for Pacific Halibut and
Sablefish in Waters in and off Alaska
(IFQ Program). The IFQ Program is a
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limited access privilege program
implemented by Amendment 15 to the
FMP in 1995 (58 FR 59375, November
9, 1993). The IFQ Program allocates
halibut and sablefish harvesting
privileges in terms of quota share (QS)
among U.S. fishermen. The FMP
specifies requirements for the initial
allocation of quota share in 1995, as
well as transfer, use, ownership, and
general provisions. A QS holder’s
allocation is given effect annually
through issuance of an IFQ permit. The
ratio of a person’s QS to the total
number of QS is multiplied by the fixed
gear sablefish total allowable catch
(TAC) or halibut annual commercial
catch limit to arrive at the annual IFQ.
The IFQ permit specifies the amount of
halibut or sablefish that each QS holder
may harvest in pounds.
The IPHC and NMFS manage fishing
for halibut through regulations at 50
CFR part 300, subpart E, established
under authority of the Halibut Act, 16
U.S.C. 773–773k. The Halibut Act
authorizes the Council to develop
halibut fishery regulations, including
limited access regulations, that are in
addition to, and not in conflict with,
approved IPHC regulations (16 U.S.C.
773c(c)). The Council has exercised this
authority in the development and
advancement of the IFQ Program.
The CDQ Program was implemented
in 1992, and in 1996, the MagnusonStevens Act was amended to include
provisions specific to the CDQ Program.
The purposes of the CDQ Program are
(1) to provide eligible western Alaska
villages with the opportunity to
participate and invest in fisheries in the
BSAI management area; (2) to support
economic development in western
Alaska; (3) to alleviate poverty and
provide economic and social benefits for
residents of western Alaska; and (4) to
achieve sustainable and diversified local
economies in western Alaska (16 U.S.C.
1855(i)(1)(A)).
If approved, Amendment 118 to the
FMP would prohibit the use of pot gear
in the PIHCZ. The regulatory
amendment would authorize the use of
pot gear to target BSAI IFQ or CDQ
halibut and would authorize retention
of halibut in longline and pot-and-line
pot gear used in the new BSAI IFQ or
CDQ halibut and existing IFQ or CDQ
sablefish fisheries. Currently, hook-andline gear is the only authorized gear
type in the IFQ and CDQ halibut fishery.
Amendment 118 would authorize IFQ
and CDQ fishermen to elect to use pot
gear in the IFQ or CDQ halibut or IFQ
or CDQ sablefish fisheries in the BSAI.
In addition, if a permit holder on board
the fishing vessel holds an IFQ or CDQ
halibut permit with sufficient unused
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IFQ or CDQ halibut, the permit holder
would be required to retain legal-size
halibut.
In recommending Amendment 118
and the proposed rule to implement the
Amendment, the Council determined,
and NMFS agrees, that prohibiting the
use of pot gear in the PIHCZ and
authorizing halibut retention in pot gear
in the BSAI is appropriate to improve
efficiency in the fleet because fishermen
would have more flexibility to use their
quota opportunistically and minimize
variable costs. In addition, the length of
the IFQ season makes it much less likely
that hook-and-line gear and longline pot
gear conflicts would occur or that
fishing grounds would be preempted for
extended periods. The Council and
NMFS therefore expect that gear
conflicts and grounds preemption
would occur in the same manner as
previously analyzed by the Council and
NMFS. Although hook-and-line and
longline pot gear may catch slightly
different sizes of halibut, the best
available information indicates that the
use of pot gear would not have a
significant impact on the halibut
resource (see Section 3.4 and 4.7.4 of
the Analysis).
Due to concern over additional pot
fishing activity in the PIHCZ and in the
Pribilof Islands Blue King Crab (PIBKC)
stock boundary area, the proposed
regulatory amendment to implement
Amendment 118 would require all
vessels deploying pot gear for retaining
IFQ or CDQ halibut or sablefish in pot
gear to use logbooks and VMS to ensure
consistency in monitoring fishery
behavior.
Pribilof Islands Blue King Crab
(PIBKC) (Lithodes aequispinus) are
overfished and experienced overfishing
most recently in 2016. Rebuilding the
PIBKC stock has been a Council priority
since 2002, when NMFS notified the
Council that the PIBKC stock was
overfished. NMFS initiated a rebuilding
plan in 2002, and when that rebuilding
plan did not rebuild PIBKC, a new
rebuilding plan was instituted in 2011.
As part of the rebuilding plan, in
October 2011 the Council recommended
closing the PIHCZ year-round to
directed fishing for Pacific cod with pot
gear. In 2014, Amendment 103 to the
FMP was published, prohibiting Pacific
cod pot gear in the PIHCZ to promote
bycatch reduction of PIBKC (79 FR
71344, December 2, 2014). No pot
fishing for Pacific cod has occurred
within the PIHCZ since 2015. Section
3.6 of the Analysis contains additional
detail on the status of PIBKC and the
rebuilding plans.
Bycatch of PIBKC in pot gear is a
concern in the BSAI, particularly in
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areas where PIBKC are concentrated.
The greatest concentration of PIBKC is
within the PIHCZ, which encloses the
Pribilof Islands. The PIHCZ, defined in
§ 679.22(a)(6) and shown in Figure 10 to
50 CFR part 679, is closed to all directed
fishing for groundfish using trawl gear,
and to directed fishing for Pacific cod
using pot gear. This existing pot gear
closure does not include fishing for
halibut and sablefish pot gear. If
approved, Amendment 118 would close
the PIHCZ to all groundfish and halibut
fishing with pot gear. Section 3.6 of the
Analysis provides more information
about PIBKC and the PIHCZ.
To help minimize the risk of
overfishing PIBKC, regulations at
§ 679.25 provide NMFS with inseason
management authority to make precise
closures to BSAI fisheries that use
bottom contact gear if a stock, in this
case PIBKC, approaches its acceptable
biological catch limit and is
approaching the overfishing level (OFL)
in the stock boundary area.
The IFQ and CDQ Programs already
include requirements for participants to
report specific information to NMFS
and other management agencies for
management, monitoring, and
enforcement purposes. In general,
vessels that fish IFQ and CDQ halibut
and sablefish must adhere to many of
the same requirements, although there
are some differences. There is overlap in
vessels that fish for IFQ halibut and
sablefish and vessels that fish CDQ
halibut and sablefish, particularly
among the larger vessels. A vessel can
retain both CDQ and IFQ species on the
same trip.
The purpose of authorizing pot gear to
target and retain halibut in the BSAI is
to maximize the ability of permit
holders to harvest their IFQ or CDQ by
increasing catch per unit and reducing
fishing costs. Some fishermen would
like to use pot gear because it is less
prone to whale depredation and seabird
interactions than hook-and-line gear.
Whales can remove fish from hook-andline gear and damage the gear. This
reduces catch rates, increases costs for
IFQ and CDQ fishermen, and impacts
fishing efficiency. Use of pot gear would
minimize whale depredation and
seabird interactions with fishing gear
and would minimize adverse impacts
on the IFQ fleet.
Killer whale (Orcinus orca)
depredation is most common in the
BSAI. Section 3.5 of the Analysis
provides the most recent information on
killer whale depredation in the sablefish
and halibut IFQ fishery, and Figure 11
in the Analysis shows a map of
observed depredation on sablefish
longline surveys. While depredation
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events are difficult to observe because
depredation occurs near the ocean floor
in deep water or during active gear
retrieval, fishery participants have
testified to the Council that depredation
continues to be a major cost to the IFQ
sablefish and halibut fishery, and
appears to be occurring more frequently
in the BSAI.
Participants in the BSAI IFQ fisheries
indicated to the Council and NMFS that
authorizing the use of pot gear for IFQ
halibut fishing would reduce the
adverse impacts of depredation for those
vessel operators who choose to switch
from hook-and-line to pot gear. The
Council and NMFS agree that
interactions with whales throughout the
BSAI could affect the ability of IFQ
permit holders to harvest sablefish and
halibut by reducing catch per unit of
effort and decreasing fishing costs.
If some portion of the IFQ or CDQ
halibut fleet switches from hook-andline gear to pot gear, interactions
between killer whales and the halibut
fishery would be expected to decrease,
and unaccounted halibut mortality due
to depredation would be expected to
decline. Because the amount of
depredation is not known with
certainty, the potential effects of
reduced depredation from this proposed
rule cannot be quantified.
Section 1.2 of the Analysis provides
additional information on the Council’s
development and recommendation of
Amendment 118 and the proposed rule.
The Council and NMFS considered all
the National Standards in section 301 of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C.
1851), but five national standards
figured prominently in their
consideration of Amendment 118:
National Standard 2, National Standard
5, National Standard 8, National
Standard 9, and National Standard 10.
Section 5 of the Analysis provides more
background on the National Standards.
National Standard 2. Amendment 118
would lessen a source of scientific
uncertainty in the assessment of
sablefish stock abundance and
marginally improve the information
available for future conservation and
management measures, consistent with
National Standard 2. To the extent
fishery participants choose to use pot
gear, this gear is likely to reduce the
amount of unaccounted mortality that
occurs when whales depredate on
sablefish, halibut, and other fish hooked
on hook-and-line gear.
National Standard 5. Amendment 118
considers efficiency consistent with
National Standard 5 by providing the
fleet with an additional tool, pot gear, to
directly address reduced catch per unit
of fishing effort and increased fishing
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costs due to whale depredation off of
hook-and-line gear.
National Standard 8. Amendment 118
recognizes the importance of the
sablefish and halibut fishery to BSAI
communities and their residents,
consistent with National Standard 8.
Amendment 118 would provide fishery
participants an option to use pot gear
and would allow vessels fishing for
sablefish with pot gear to retain their
halibut, which would potentially
improve fishing outcomes for vessels
fishing for IFQ or CDQ halibut or
sablefish. Amendment 118 would not
alter the management measures that are
designed to maintain the IFQ Program’s
diverse fleet; those measures include
area-specific quota, different quota
allocations for vessel size categories,
quota share use caps, and vessel IFQ
caps. Amendment 118 would sustain
community participation by reducing
uncertainty in stock abundance
estimation that results in improving
long term management of the resource.
National Standard 9. Amendment 118
would minimize bycatch, to the extent
practicable, consistent with National
Standard 9. Amendment 118 would
authorize the use of pot gear, a gear type
that is evidenced to reduce overall
bycatch across all species and
physically protect bycatch species from
whale depredation, thereby reducing
one source of bycatch mortality. In
addition, under Amendment 118, the
PIHCZ would be closed to all pot fishing
to protect the PIBKC stock from
overfishing.
National Standard 10. Amendment
118 would promote the safety of life at
sea, to the extent practicable, consistent
with National Standard 10. All vessels
over 79 feet would still be required to
maintain and abide by their stability
instructions for their vessel and gear.
Vessels are not being required to carry
any extra gear, and operators have the
option to participate in the opportunity
created by this action.
Amendment 118 would require that
all IFQ halibut caught in pot gear used
by a vessel to fish IFQ or CDQ halibut
or IFQ or CDQ sablefish in the BSAI be
retained when a permit holder on board
the vessel also holds an IFQ or CDQ
halibut permit with sufficient IFQ or
CDQ to cover the halibut harvest.
Regulations that implement the IFQ
Program in conjunction with FMPmanaged species are consistent with the
Halibut Act and the Magnuson Stevens
Act, respectively. Amendment 118 also
notes that requirements for retaining,
handling, and reporting halibut harvest
are established in regulation and
unchanged by this action.
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The FMP recognizes that discarding
incidental catches of fish is wasteful
and should be minimized. The FMP also
recognizes that halibut are not managed
as a target species, but as a prohibited
species, under the FMP. Therefore, to
remove the incentive to covertly target
halibut, the FMP prohibits retention of
halibut caught in target groundfish
fisheries, except for when authorized. In
the evaluation of retention of IFQ or
CDQ halibut in a pot gear fishery for IFQ
or CDQ halibut or IFQ or CDQ sablefish
in the BSAI, the Council balanced the
tenets of minimizing halibut discard
with the IFQ Program, and the Council
recommended retention of halibut in
pot gear used to fish IFQ or CDQ halibut
or IFQ or CDQ sablefish. Retention of
halibut caught with pot gear used to fish
IFQ or CDQ halibut or IFQ or CDQ
sablefish is consistent with general
provisions of the FMP.
The Council’s recommendation to
require retention of halibut in pot gear
was conditioned on the IPHC adopting
complementary regulations that would
allow NMFS to promulgate regulations
implementing the requirements
specified by the Council. The IPHC
approved the annual Pacific Halibut
Fishery Regulations in January 2019.
The 2019 annual regulations
recommended by the IPHC and
approved by the U.S. include approval
of harvest of halibut in pot gear as legal
gear for the commercial halibut fishery
in Alaska when NMFS regulations
permit the use of this gear to retain
halibut (84 FR 9243, March 14, 2019).
Amendment 118 to the FMP would
amend Table ES–2 and section 3.5.2.1.1
in the FMP to prohibit all pot gear in the
Pribilof Islands Habitat Conservation
Zone. NMFS is soliciting public
comments on proposed Amendment 118
through the end of the comment period
(see DATES). NMFS intends to publish in
the Federal Register and seek public
comment on a proposed rule that would
implement Amendment 118, following
NMFS’s evaluation of the proposed rule
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. All
comments received by the end of the
comment period on Amendment 118,
whether specifically directed to the
FMP amendment or the proposed rule,
will be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on Amendment
118. Comments received after that date
may not be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on Amendment
118. To be certain of consideration,
comments must be received, not just
postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by
the last day of the comment period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
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Dated: August 16, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–18033 Filed 8–20–19; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
RIN 0648–BI80
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the
Northeastern United States;
Amendment 8
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Availability of proposed fishery
management plan amendment; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
The New England Fishery
Management Council developed
Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring
Fishery Management Plan to specify a
long-term acceptable biological catch
control rule for herring and address
localized depletion and user group
conflict. This amendment would
establish an acceptable biological catch
control rule that accounts for herring’s
role in the ecosystem and prohibit
midwater trawling in inshore Federal
waters from the U.S./Canada border to
the Rhode Island/Connecticut border.
Amendment 8 is intended to support
sustainable management of the herring
resource and help ensure that herring is
available to minimize possible
detrimental biological impacts on
predators of herring and associated
socioeconomic impacts on other user
groups.
DATES: Public comments must be
received on or before October 21, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2019–0078, by any of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal.
1. Go to www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20190078;
2. Click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon
and complete the required fields; and
3. Enter or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Michael Pentony, Regional
SUMMARY:
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43573
Administrator, National Marine
Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the
outside of the envelope, ‘‘Comments on
Herring Amendment 8.’’
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 us. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. We will accept
anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in
the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
Copies of Amendment 8, including
the Environmental Impact Statement,
the Regulatory Impact Review, and the
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(EIS/RIR/IRFA) prepared in support of
this action are available from Thomas A.
Nies, Executive Director, New England
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
The supporting documents are also
accessible via the internet at: https://
www.nefmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carrie Nordeen, Fishery Policy Analyst,
phone: (978) 281–9272 or email:
Carrie.Nordeen@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The goal of the Atlantic Herring
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is to
manage the herring fishery at long-term
sustainable levels and objectives of the
FMP include providing for full
utilization of the optimum yield (OY)
and, to the extent practicable, controlled
opportunities for participants in other
New England and Mid-Atlantic
fisheries. The Herring FMP describes
OY as the amount of fish that will
provide the greatest overall benefit to
the Nation, particularly with respect to
food production and recreational
opportunities, taking into account the
protection of marine ecosystems,
including maintenance of a biomass that
supports the ocean ecosystem, predator
consumption of herring, and
biologically sustainable human harvest.
This includes recognition of the
importance of herring as one of many
forage species of fish, marine mammals,
and birds in the Greater Atlantic Region.
Consistent with these aims, the goals for
Amendment 8 are to: (1) Account for the
role of herring within the ecosystem,
E:\FR\FM\21AUP1.SGM
21AUP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 21, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43570-43573]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18033]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 300, 600, and 679
RIN 0648-BI65
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Authorize
Retention of Halibut in Pot Gear in the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands;
Amendment 118
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment;
request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
submitted Amendment 118 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish
of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) (Amendment
118) to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review. If approved,
Amendment 118 would prohibit the use of pot gear in the Pribilof
Islands Habitat Conservation Zone (PIHCZ) and a regulatory amendment
would authorize the retention of halibut in pot gear under the
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) and Western Alaska Community Development
Quota (CDQ) Programs in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI).
Amendment 118 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), the FMP, the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982
(Halibut Act), and other applicable laws.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than October 21, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2018-0134, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0134, 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. 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 118 to the FMP, the Environmental
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review prepared for this action (the
Analysis), and the Finding of No Significant Impact prepared for this
action may be obtained from www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Warpinski, 907-586-7228 or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council has submitted Amendment 118 to
the FMP to the Secretary for review. If approved, Amendment 118 would
prohibit the use of pot gear in the Pribilof Islands Habitat
Conservation Zone (PIHCZ). The regulatory amendment associated with
[[Page 43571]]
Amendment 118 would authorize the use of pot gear, in addition to
currently authorized fishing gear, to fish IFQ or CDQ halibut in the
BSAI and would authorize the retention of halibut in pots in the IFQ or
CDQ sablefish fishery in the BSAI. Provided a permit holder on board
the fishing vessel also holds an IFQ or CDQ halibut permit with
sufficient unused IFQ or CDQ halibut, the permit holder would be
required to retain legal-size halibut. This action is necessary to
improve information for future conservation and management measures,
improve efficiency of the IFQ and CDQ sablefish and halibut fleets, and
reduce bycatch and fishery interactions with whales and seabirds.
Amendment 118 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the FMP, the Halibut Act, and other applicable
laws.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each regional fishery
management council submit any fishery management plan amendment it
prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial
approval by the Secretary. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that
NMFS, upon receiving a fishery management plan amendment, immediately
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing that the
amendment is available for public review and comment. This document
announces that proposed Amendment 118 to the FMP is available for
public review and comment.
The Council prepared, and the Secretary approved, the FMP under the
authority of section 302(h)(1) and 303(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act,
16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. The FMP is implemented by Federal regulations
governing U.S. fisheries at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. The Council is
authorized to prepare and recommend an FMP amendment for the
conservation and management of a fishery covered under the FMP. The
conservation and management needs of BSAI groundfish are directly
related to the management of the Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus
stenolepis) fishery by the International Pacific Halibut Commission
(IPHC). Under the FMP, Pacific halibut is not a target species but is
managed as a prohibited species. Many of the management measures
contained in the FMP are for the express purpose of mitigating adverse
effects from the trawl and fixed gear groundfish fisheries on the
halibut resource.
Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is managed as a groundfish species
under the FMP, as well as under the IFQ Program for the fixed gear
Commercial Fisheries for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in Waters in and
off Alaska (IFQ Program). The IFQ Program is a limited access privilege
program implemented by Amendment 15 to the FMP in 1995 (58 FR 59375,
November 9, 1993). The IFQ Program allocates halibut and sablefish
harvesting privileges in terms of quota share (QS) among U.S.
fishermen. The FMP specifies requirements for the initial allocation of
quota share in 1995, as well as transfer, use, ownership, and general
provisions. A QS holder's allocation is given effect annually through
issuance of an IFQ permit. The ratio of a person's QS to the total
number of QS is multiplied by the fixed gear sablefish total allowable
catch (TAC) or halibut annual commercial catch limit to arrive at the
annual IFQ. The IFQ permit specifies the amount of halibut or sablefish
that each QS holder may harvest in pounds.
The IPHC and NMFS manage fishing for halibut through regulations at
50 CFR part 300, subpart E, established under authority of the Halibut
Act, 16 U.S.C. 773-773k. The Halibut Act authorizes the Council to
develop halibut fishery regulations, including limited access
regulations, that are in addition to, and not in conflict with,
approved IPHC regulations (16 U.S.C. 773c(c)). The Council has
exercised this authority in the development and advancement of the IFQ
Program.
The CDQ Program was implemented in 1992, and in 1996, the Magnuson-
Stevens Act was amended to include provisions specific to the CDQ
Program. The purposes of the CDQ Program are (1) to provide eligible
western Alaska villages with the opportunity to participate and invest
in fisheries in the BSAI management area; (2) to support economic
development in western Alaska; (3) to alleviate poverty and provide
economic and social benefits for residents of western Alaska; and (4)
to achieve sustainable and diversified local economies in western
Alaska (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)(1)(A)).
If approved, Amendment 118 to the FMP would prohibit the use of pot
gear in the PIHCZ. The regulatory amendment would authorize the use of
pot gear to target BSAI IFQ or CDQ halibut and would authorize
retention of halibut in longline and pot-and-line pot gear used in the
new BSAI IFQ or CDQ halibut and existing IFQ or CDQ sablefish
fisheries. Currently, hook-and-line gear is the only authorized gear
type in the IFQ and CDQ halibut fishery. Amendment 118 would authorize
IFQ and CDQ fishermen to elect to use pot gear in the IFQ or CDQ
halibut or IFQ or CDQ sablefish fisheries in the BSAI. In addition, if
a permit holder on board the fishing vessel holds an IFQ or CDQ halibut
permit with sufficient unused IFQ or CDQ halibut, the permit holder
would be required to retain legal-size halibut.
In recommending Amendment 118 and the proposed rule to implement
the Amendment, the Council determined, and NMFS agrees, that
prohibiting the use of pot gear in the PIHCZ and authorizing halibut
retention in pot gear in the BSAI is appropriate to improve efficiency
in the fleet because fishermen would have more flexibility to use their
quota opportunistically and minimize variable costs. In addition, the
length of the IFQ season makes it much less likely that hook-and-line
gear and longline pot gear conflicts would occur or that fishing
grounds would be preempted for extended periods. The Council and NMFS
therefore expect that gear conflicts and grounds preemption would occur
in the same manner as previously analyzed by the Council and NMFS.
Although hook-and-line and longline pot gear may catch slightly
different sizes of halibut, the best available information indicates
that the use of pot gear would not have a significant impact on the
halibut resource (see Section 3.4 and 4.7.4 of the Analysis).
Due to concern over additional pot fishing activity in the PIHCZ
and in the Pribilof Islands Blue King Crab (PIBKC) stock boundary area,
the proposed regulatory amendment to implement Amendment 118 would
require all vessels deploying pot gear for retaining IFQ or CDQ halibut
or sablefish in pot gear to use logbooks and VMS to ensure consistency
in monitoring fishery behavior.
Pribilof Islands Blue King Crab (PIBKC) (Lithodes aequispinus) are
overfished and experienced overfishing most recently in 2016.
Rebuilding the PIBKC stock has been a Council priority since 2002, when
NMFS notified the Council that the PIBKC stock was overfished. NMFS
initiated a rebuilding plan in 2002, and when that rebuilding plan did
not rebuild PIBKC, a new rebuilding plan was instituted in 2011. As
part of the rebuilding plan, in October 2011 the Council recommended
closing the PIHCZ year-round to directed fishing for Pacific cod with
pot gear. In 2014, Amendment 103 to the FMP was published, prohibiting
Pacific cod pot gear in the PIHCZ to promote bycatch reduction of PIBKC
(79 FR 71344, December 2, 2014). No pot fishing for Pacific cod has
occurred within the PIHCZ since 2015. Section 3.6 of the Analysis
contains additional detail on the status of PIBKC and the rebuilding
plans.
Bycatch of PIBKC in pot gear is a concern in the BSAI, particularly
in
[[Page 43572]]
areas where PIBKC are concentrated. The greatest concentration of PIBKC
is within the PIHCZ, which encloses the Pribilof Islands. The PIHCZ,
defined in Sec. 679.22(a)(6) and shown in Figure 10 to 50 CFR part
679, is closed to all directed fishing for groundfish using trawl gear,
and to directed fishing for Pacific cod using pot gear. This existing
pot gear closure does not include fishing for halibut and sablefish pot
gear. If approved, Amendment 118 would close the PIHCZ to all
groundfish and halibut fishing with pot gear. Section 3.6 of the
Analysis provides more information about PIBKC and the PIHCZ.
To help minimize the risk of overfishing PIBKC, regulations at
Sec. 679.25 provide NMFS with inseason management authority to make
precise closures to BSAI fisheries that use bottom contact gear if a
stock, in this case PIBKC, approaches its acceptable biological catch
limit and is approaching the overfishing level (OFL) in the stock
boundary area.
The IFQ and CDQ Programs already include requirements for
participants to report specific information to NMFS and other
management agencies for management, monitoring, and enforcement
purposes. In general, vessels that fish IFQ and CDQ halibut and
sablefish must adhere to many of the same requirements, although there
are some differences. There is overlap in vessels that fish for IFQ
halibut and sablefish and vessels that fish CDQ halibut and sablefish,
particularly among the larger vessels. A vessel can retain both CDQ and
IFQ species on the same trip.
The purpose of authorizing pot gear to target and retain halibut in
the BSAI is to maximize the ability of permit holders to harvest their
IFQ or CDQ by increasing catch per unit and reducing fishing costs.
Some fishermen would like to use pot gear because it is less prone to
whale depredation and seabird interactions than hook-and-line gear.
Whales can remove fish from hook-and-line gear and damage the gear.
This reduces catch rates, increases costs for IFQ and CDQ fishermen,
and impacts fishing efficiency. Use of pot gear would minimize whale
depredation and seabird interactions with fishing gear and would
minimize adverse impacts on the IFQ fleet.
Killer whale (Orcinus orca) depredation is most common in the BSAI.
Section 3.5 of the Analysis provides the most recent information on
killer whale depredation in the sablefish and halibut IFQ fishery, and
Figure 11 in the Analysis shows a map of observed depredation on
sablefish longline surveys. While depredation events are difficult to
observe because depredation occurs near the ocean floor in deep water
or during active gear retrieval, fishery participants have testified to
the Council that depredation continues to be a major cost to the IFQ
sablefish and halibut fishery, and appears to be occurring more
frequently in the BSAI.
Participants in the BSAI IFQ fisheries indicated to the Council and
NMFS that authorizing the use of pot gear for IFQ halibut fishing would
reduce the adverse impacts of depredation for those vessel operators
who choose to switch from hook-and-line to pot gear. The Council and
NMFS agree that interactions with whales throughout the BSAI could
affect the ability of IFQ permit holders to harvest sablefish and
halibut by reducing catch per unit of effort and decreasing fishing
costs.
If some portion of the IFQ or CDQ halibut fleet switches from hook-
and-line gear to pot gear, interactions between killer whales and the
halibut fishery would be expected to decrease, and unaccounted halibut
mortality due to depredation would be expected to decline. Because the
amount of depredation is not known with certainty, the potential
effects of reduced depredation from this proposed rule cannot be
quantified.
Section 1.2 of the Analysis provides additional information on the
Council's development and recommendation of Amendment 118 and the
proposed rule.
The Council and NMFS considered all the National Standards in
section 301 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1851), but five
national standards figured prominently in their consideration of
Amendment 118: National Standard 2, National Standard 5, National
Standard 8, National Standard 9, and National Standard 10. Section 5 of
the Analysis provides more background on the National Standards.
National Standard 2. Amendment 118 would lessen a source of
scientific uncertainty in the assessment of sablefish stock abundance
and marginally improve the information available for future
conservation and management measures, consistent with National Standard
2. To the extent fishery participants choose to use pot gear, this gear
is likely to reduce the amount of unaccounted mortality that occurs
when whales depredate on sablefish, halibut, and other fish hooked on
hook-and-line gear.
National Standard 5. Amendment 118 considers efficiency consistent
with National Standard 5 by providing the fleet with an additional
tool, pot gear, to directly address reduced catch per unit of fishing
effort and increased fishing costs due to whale depredation off of
hook-and-line gear.
National Standard 8. Amendment 118 recognizes the importance of the
sablefish and halibut fishery to BSAI communities and their residents,
consistent with National Standard 8. Amendment 118 would provide
fishery participants an option to use pot gear and would allow vessels
fishing for sablefish with pot gear to retain their halibut, which
would potentially improve fishing outcomes for vessels fishing for IFQ
or CDQ halibut or sablefish. Amendment 118 would not alter the
management measures that are designed to maintain the IFQ Program's
diverse fleet; those measures include area-specific quota, different
quota allocations for vessel size categories, quota share use caps, and
vessel IFQ caps. Amendment 118 would sustain community participation by
reducing uncertainty in stock abundance estimation that results in
improving long term management of the resource.
National Standard 9. Amendment 118 would minimize bycatch, to the
extent practicable, consistent with National Standard 9. Amendment 118
would authorize the use of pot gear, a gear type that is evidenced to
reduce overall bycatch across all species and physically protect
bycatch species from whale depredation, thereby reducing one source of
bycatch mortality. In addition, under Amendment 118, the PIHCZ would be
closed to all pot fishing to protect the PIBKC stock from overfishing.
National Standard 10. Amendment 118 would promote the safety of
life at sea, to the extent practicable, consistent with National
Standard 10. All vessels over 79 feet would still be required to
maintain and abide by their stability instructions for their vessel and
gear. Vessels are not being required to carry any extra gear, and
operators have the option to participate in the opportunity created by
this action.
Amendment 118 would require that all IFQ halibut caught in pot gear
used by a vessel to fish IFQ or CDQ halibut or IFQ or CDQ sablefish in
the BSAI be retained when a permit holder on board the vessel also
holds an IFQ or CDQ halibut permit with sufficient IFQ or CDQ to cover
the halibut harvest. Regulations that implement the IFQ Program in
conjunction with FMP-managed species are consistent with the Halibut
Act and the Magnuson Stevens Act, respectively. Amendment 118 also
notes that requirements for retaining, handling, and reporting halibut
harvest are established in regulation and unchanged by this action.
[[Page 43573]]
The FMP recognizes that discarding incidental catches of fish is
wasteful and should be minimized. The FMP also recognizes that halibut
are not managed as a target species, but as a prohibited species, under
the FMP. Therefore, to remove the incentive to covertly target halibut,
the FMP prohibits retention of halibut caught in target groundfish
fisheries, except for when authorized. In the evaluation of retention
of IFQ or CDQ halibut in a pot gear fishery for IFQ or CDQ halibut or
IFQ or CDQ sablefish in the BSAI, the Council balanced the tenets of
minimizing halibut discard with the IFQ Program, and the Council
recommended retention of halibut in pot gear used to fish IFQ or CDQ
halibut or IFQ or CDQ sablefish. Retention of halibut caught with pot
gear used to fish IFQ or CDQ halibut or IFQ or CDQ sablefish is
consistent with general provisions of the FMP.
The Council's recommendation to require retention of halibut in pot
gear was conditioned on the IPHC adopting complementary regulations
that would allow NMFS to promulgate regulations implementing the
requirements specified by the Council. The IPHC approved the annual
Pacific Halibut Fishery Regulations in January 2019. The 2019 annual
regulations recommended by the IPHC and approved by the U.S. include
approval of harvest of halibut in pot gear as legal gear for the
commercial halibut fishery in Alaska when NMFS regulations permit the
use of this gear to retain halibut (84 FR 9243, March 14, 2019).
Amendment 118 to the FMP would amend Table ES-2 and section
3.5.2.1.1 in the FMP to prohibit all pot gear in the Pribilof Islands
Habitat Conservation Zone. NMFS is soliciting public comments on
proposed Amendment 118 through the end of the comment period (see
DATES). NMFS intends to publish in the Federal Register and seek public
comment on a proposed rule that would implement Amendment 118,
following NMFS's evaluation of the proposed rule under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. All comments received by the end of the comment period on
Amendment 118, whether specifically directed to the FMP amendment or
the proposed rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval
decision on Amendment 118. Comments received after that date may not be
considered in the approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 118. To be
certain of consideration, comments must be received, not just
postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the last day of the comment
period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 16, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-18033 Filed 8-20-19; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
