Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Cost Recovery Program, 43792-43793 [2019-18127]
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43792
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 163 / Thursday, August 22, 2019 / Notices
Fifth, a copy of this Order shall be
delivered to Ali Herz and shall be
published in the Federal Register.
Sixth, this Order is effective
immediately and shall remain in effect
until October 31, 2026.
Issued this 13th day of August, 2019.
Karen H. Nies-Vogel,
Director, Office of Exporter Services.
[FR Doc. 2019–18073 Filed 8–21–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–33–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XV033
New England Fishery Management
Council; Public Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; public meeting.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The New England Fishery
Management Council (Council) is
scheduling a public meeting of its
Groundfish Advisory Panel to consider
actions affecting New England fisheries
in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Recommendations from this group will
be brought to the full Council for formal
consideration and action, if appropriate.
DATES: This meeting will be held on
Monday, September 16, 2019 at 9 a.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the Hilton Garden Inn, 100 Boardman
Street, Boston, MA 02129; phone: (617)
567–6789.
Council address: New England
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management
Council; telephone: (978) 465–0492.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Agenda
The Groundfish Advisory Panel will
review the draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) and recommend
preliminary preferred alternatives, as
well as discuss draft alternatives
focusing on (1) 2020 total allowable
catches for U.S./Canada stocks of
Eastern Georges Bank (GB) cod, Eastern
GB haddock, and GB yellowtail flounder
and (2) revisions to the GB cod
Incidental Catch TAC to remove the
allocation to the Closed Area I (CAI)
Haddock Special Access Program (SAP).
The Advisory Panel will also discuss a
draft list of possible groundfish
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:37 Aug 21, 2019
Jkt 247001
priorities for 2020 and will also receive
an update on the Commercial Electronic
Vessel Trip Reporting (eVTR) Omnibus
Framework, which proposes to
implement electronic VTRs for all
vessels with commercial permits for
species managed by the Mid-Atlantic
and New England Fishery Management
Councils. They will also make
recommendations to the Groundfish
Committee, and discuss other business
as necessary.
Although non-emergency issues not
contained in this agenda may come
before this group for discussion, those
issues may not be the subject of formal
action during these meetings. Action
will be restricted to those issues
specifically listed in this notice and any
issues arising after publication of this
notice that require emergency action
under section 305(c) of the MagnusonStevens Act, provided the public has
been notified of the Council’s intent to
take final action to address the
emergency.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for
sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, at
(978) 465–0492, at least 5 days prior to
the meeting date. This meeting will be
recorded. Consistent with 16 U.S.C.
1852, a copy of the recording is
available upon request.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 16, 2019.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–18071 Filed 8–21–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XH050
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization
Cost Recovery Program
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of fee percentage.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS publishes notification
of a 1.70 percent fee for cost recovery
under the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Crab Rationalization Program.
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
This action is intended to provide
holders of crab allocations with the
2019/2020 crab fishing year fee
percentage so they can calculate the
required cost recovery fee payment that
must be submitted by July 31, 2020.
DATES: The Crab Rationalization
Program Registered Crab Receiver
permit holder is responsible for
submitting the fee liability payment to
NMFS by July 31, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Doug Duncan, (907) 586–7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
NMFS Alaska Region administers the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab
Rationalization Program (Program) in
the North Pacific. Fishing under the
Program began on August 15, 2005.
Regulations implementing the Program
can be found at 50 CFR part 680.
The Program is a limited access
privilege program authorized by section
313(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Program
includes a cost recovery provision to
collect fees to recover the actual costs
directly related to the management, data
collection, and enforcement of the
Program. The Program implemented
under the authority of section 313(j) is
consistent with the cost recovery
provisions included under section
304(d)(2)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. NMFS developed the cost recovery
provision to conform to statutory
requirements and to reimburse the
agency for the actual costs directly
related to the management, data
collection, and enforcement of the
Program. The cost recovery provision
allows collection of 133 percent of the
actual management, data collection, and
enforcement costs up to 3 percent of the
ex-vessel value of crab harvested under
the Program. The Program provides that
a proportional share of fees charged be
forwarded to the State of Alaska for
reimbursement of its share of
management and data collection costs
for the Program.
A crab allocation holder generally
incurs a cost recovery fee liability for
every pound of crab landed. Catcher
vessel and processor quota shareholders
split the cost recovery fees equally with
each paying half, while catcher/
processor quota shareholders pay the
full fee percentage for crab processed at
sea. The crab allocations subject to cost
recovery include Individual Fishing
Quota, Crew Individual Fishing Quota,
Individual Processing Quota,
Community Development Quota, and
the Adak community allocation. The
E:\FR\FM\22AUN1.SGM
22AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 163 / Thursday, August 22, 2019 / Notices
Registered Crab Receiver (RCR) permit
holder must collect the fee liability from
the crab allocation holder who is
landing crab. Additionally, the RCR
permit holder must collect their own fee
liability for all crab delivered to the
RCR. The RCR permit holder is
responsible for submitting this payment
to NMFS on or before July 31, in the
year following the crab fishing year in
which landings of crab were made.
The dollar amount of the fee due is
determined by multiplying the fee
percentage (not to exceed 3 percent) by
the ex-vessel value of crab debited from
the allocation. Specific details on the
Program’s cost recovery provision may
be found in the implementing
regulations at 50 CFR 680.44.
Fee Percentage
Each year, NMFS calculates and
publishes in the Federal Register the fee
percentage according to the factors and
methodology described at § 680.44(c)(2).
The formula for determining the fee
percentage is the ‘‘direct program costs’’
divided by ‘‘value of the fishery,’’ where
‘‘direct program costs’’ are the direct
program costs for the Program for the
previous fiscal year, and ‘‘value of the
fishery’’ is the ex-vessel value of the
catch subject to the crab cost recovery
fee liability for the current year. Fee
collections for any given year may be
less than, or greater than, the actual
costs and fishery value for that year,
because, by regulation, the fee
percentage is established in the first
quarter of a crab fishery year based on
the fishery’s value and costs in the prior
year.
According to the fee percentage
formula described above, the estimated
percentage of costs to value for the
2018/2019 fishery was 1.70 percent.
Therefore, the fee percentage will be
1.70 percent for the 2019/2020 crab
fishing year. This is a decrease of 0.15
percent from the 2018/2019 fee
percentage of 1.85 percent (83 FR 34119,
July 19, 2018). Direct program costs for
managing the fishery decreased by 0.7
percent from 2017/2018 to 2018/2019,
while fishery value increased 8.5
percent, resulting in the decreased fee
percentage. Similar to previous years,
the largest direct program costs were
incurred by the Alaska Department of
Fish and Game and the NOAA Office of
Law Enforcement.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1862; Pub. L. 109–
241; Pub. L. 109–479.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:37 Aug 21, 2019
Jkt 247001
Dated: August 15, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–18127 Filed 8–21–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XV034
New England Fishery Management
Council; Public Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; public meeting.
AGENCY:
43793
species managed by the Mid-Atlantic
and New England Fishery Management
Councils. The committee will also
review Groundfish Plan Development
Team, Groundfish Advisory Panel, and
Transboundary Management Guidance
Committee recommendations and make
recommendations to the Council, and
discuss other business as necessary. A
Closed Session will be held for
Committee members only to review the
Recreation Advisory Panel and
Groundfish Advisory Panel applications
for 2020–22 and provide
recommendations.
Although non-emergency issues not
contained in this agenda may come
before this group for discussion, those
issues may not be the subject of formal
action during these meetings. Action
will be restricted to those issues
specifically listed in this notice and any
issues arising after publication of this
notice that require emergency action
under section 305(c) of the MagnusonStevens Act, provided the public has
been notified of the Council’s intent to
take final action to address the
emergency.
SUMMARY: The New England Fishery
Management Council (Council) is
scheduling a public meeting of its
Groundfish Committee to consider
actions affecting New England fisheries
in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Recommendations from this group will
be brought to the full Council for formal
consideration and action, if appropriate.
DATES: This meeting will be held on
Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 9 a.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the Hilton Garden Inn, 100 Boardman
Street, Boston, MA 02129; phone: (617)
567–6789.
Council address: New England
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management
Council; telephone: (978) 465–0492.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: August 16, 2019.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
Agenda
[FR Doc. 2019–18072 Filed 8–21–19; 8:45 am]
The committee will review the draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
and recommend preliminary preferred
alternatives, as well as discuss draft
alternatives focusing on (1) 2020 total
allowable catches for U.S./Canada
stocks of Eastern Georges Bank (GB)
cod, Eastern GB haddock, and GB
yellowtail flounder and (2) revisions to
the GB cod Incidental Catch TAC to
remove the allocation to the Closed Area
I (CAI) Haddock Special Access Program
(SAP). The committee will also discuss
a draft list of possible groundfish
priorities for 2020 and will also receive
an update on the Commercial Electronic
Vessel Trip Reporting (eVTR) Omnibus
Framework, which proposes to
implement electronic VTRs for all
vessels with commercial permits for
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for
sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, at
(978) 465–0492, at least 5 days prior to
the meeting date. This meeting will be
recorded. Consistent with 16 U.S.C.
1852, a copy of the recording is
available upon request.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XR022
Marine Mammals; File No. 22884
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
Mark Baumgartner, Ph.D., Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, MS No. 33,
Biology Department, Woods Hole, MA
E:\FR\FM\22AUN1.SGM
22AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43792-43793]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18127]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XH050
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Cost Recovery Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of fee percentage.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS publishes notification of a 1.70 percent fee for cost
recovery under the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization
Program. This action is intended to provide holders of crab allocations
with the 2019/2020 crab fishing year fee percentage so they can
calculate the required cost recovery fee payment that must be submitted
by July 31, 2020.
DATES: The Crab Rationalization Program Registered Crab Receiver permit
holder is responsible for submitting the fee liability payment to NMFS
by July 31, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Duncan, (907) 586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
NMFS Alaska Region administers the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Crab Rationalization Program (Program) in the North Pacific. Fishing
under the Program began on August 15, 2005. Regulations implementing
the Program can be found at 50 CFR part 680.
The Program is a limited access privilege program authorized by
section 313(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Program includes a cost
recovery provision to collect fees to recover the actual costs directly
related to the management, data collection, and enforcement of the
Program. The Program implemented under the authority of section 313(j)
is consistent with the cost recovery provisions included under section
304(d)(2)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS developed the cost
recovery provision to conform to statutory requirements and to
reimburse the agency for the actual costs directly related to the
management, data collection, and enforcement of the Program. The cost
recovery provision allows collection of 133 percent of the actual
management, data collection, and enforcement costs up to 3 percent of
the ex-vessel value of crab harvested under the Program. The Program
provides that a proportional share of fees charged be forwarded to the
State of Alaska for reimbursement of its share of management and data
collection costs for the Program.
A crab allocation holder generally incurs a cost recovery fee
liability for every pound of crab landed. Catcher vessel and processor
quota shareholders split the cost recovery fees equally with each
paying half, while catcher/processor quota shareholders pay the full
fee percentage for crab processed at sea. The crab allocations subject
to cost recovery include Individual Fishing Quota, Crew Individual
Fishing Quota, Individual Processing Quota, Community Development
Quota, and the Adak community allocation. The
[[Page 43793]]
Registered Crab Receiver (RCR) permit holder must collect the fee
liability from the crab allocation holder who is landing crab.
Additionally, the RCR permit holder must collect their own fee
liability for all crab delivered to the RCR. The RCR permit holder is
responsible for submitting this payment to NMFS on or before July 31,
in the year following the crab fishing year in which landings of crab
were made.
The dollar amount of the fee due is determined by multiplying the
fee percentage (not to exceed 3 percent) by the ex-vessel value of crab
debited from the allocation. Specific details on the Program's cost
recovery provision may be found in the implementing regulations at 50
CFR 680.44.
Fee Percentage
Each year, NMFS calculates and publishes in the Federal Register
the fee percentage according to the factors and methodology described
at Sec. 680.44(c)(2). The formula for determining the fee percentage
is the ``direct program costs'' divided by ``value of the fishery,''
where ``direct program costs'' are the direct program costs for the
Program for the previous fiscal year, and ``value of the fishery'' is
the ex-vessel value of the catch subject to the crab cost recovery fee
liability for the current year. Fee collections for any given year may
be less than, or greater than, the actual costs and fishery value for
that year, because, by regulation, the fee percentage is established in
the first quarter of a crab fishery year based on the fishery's value
and costs in the prior year.
According to the fee percentage formula described above, the
estimated percentage of costs to value for the 2018/2019 fishery was
1.70 percent. Therefore, the fee percentage will be 1.70 percent for
the 2019/2020 crab fishing year. This is a decrease of 0.15 percent
from the 2018/2019 fee percentage of 1.85 percent (83 FR 34119, July
19, 2018). Direct program costs for managing the fishery decreased by
0.7 percent from 2017/2018 to 2018/2019, while fishery value increased
8.5 percent, resulting in the decreased fee percentage. Similar to
previous years, the largest direct program costs were incurred by the
Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the NOAA Office of Law
Enforcement.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1862; Pub. L. 109-241; Pub. L. 109-479.
Dated: August 15, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-18127 Filed 8-21-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P