Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Cost Recovery Fee Notice for the Western Alaska Community Development Quota and Trawl Limited Access Privilege Programs, 73540-73542 [2022-26071]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73540-73542]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26071]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC403]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea 
and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Cost Recovery Fee Notice for the 
Western Alaska Community Development Quota and Trawl Limited Access 
Privilege Programs

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of standard prices and fee percentage.

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SUMMARY: NMFS publishes standard prices and fee percentages for cost 
recovery for the Amendment 80 Program, the American Fisheries Act (AFA) 
Program, the Aleutian Islands Pollock (AIP) Program, and the Western 
Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program in the Bering Sea 
Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. The fee percentages for 2022 
are 0.87 percent for the Amendment 80 Program, 0.32 percent for the AFA 
inshore cooperatives, 0 percent for the AIP program, and 0.85 percent 
for the CDQ Program. This notice is intended to provide the 2022 
standard prices and fee percentages to calculate the required payment 
for cost recovery fees due by December 31, 2022.

DATES: The standard prices and fee percentages are valid on November 
30, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charmaine Weeks, Fee Coordinator, 907-
586-7231.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes and requires that NMFS 
collect cost recovery fees for limited access privilege programs and 
the CDQ Program. Cost recovery fees recover NMFS' actual costs directly 
related to its management, data collection, and enforcement of the 
programs. Section 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act mandates that cost 
recovery fees not exceed 3 percent of the annual ex-vessel value of 
fish harvested under any program subject to a cost recovery fee and 
that the fee be collected either at the time of landing, filing of a 
landing report, or sale of such fish during a fishing season or in the 
last quarter of the calendar year in which the fish is harvested.
    NMFS manages the Amendment 80 Program, AFA Program, and AIP Program 
as limited access privilege programs. On January 5, 2016, NMFS 
published a final rule to implement cost recovery for these three 
limited access privilege programs and the CDQ program (81 FR 150, 
January 5, 2016). The designated representative (for the purposes of 
cost recovery) for each program is responsible for submitting the fee 
payment to NMFS on or before the due date of December 31 of the year in 
which the landings were made. The total dollar amount of the fee due is 
determined by multiplying the NMFS published fee percentage by the ex-
vessel value of all landings under the program made during the fishing 
year. NMFS publishes this notice of the fee percentages for the 
Amendment 80, AFA, AIP, and CDQ programs in the Federal Register by 
December 1 each year.

Standard Prices

    The fee liability is based on the ex-vessel value of fish harvested 
in each program. For purposes of calculating cost recovery fees, NMFS 
calculates a standard ex-vessel price (standard price) for each 
species. A standard price is determined using information on landings 
purchased (volume) and ex-vessel value paid (value). For most 
groundfish species, NMFS annually summarizes volume and value 
information for landings of all fishery species subject to cost 
recovery to estimate a standard price for each species. The standard 
prices are described in U.S. dollars per pound for landings made during 
the year. The standard prices for all species in the Amendment 80, AFA, 
AIP, and CDQ programs are provided in Table 1. Each landing made under 
each program is multiplied by the appropriate standard price to arrive 
at an ex-vessel value for each landing. These values are summed 
together to arrive at the ex-vessel value of each program (fishery 
value).

[[Page 73541]]



                     Table 1--Standard Ex-Vessel Prices by Species for the 2022 Fishing Year
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                                                                                                 Standard  ex-
                Species                          Gear type               Reporting period      vessel price  per
                                                                                                   pound  ($)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arrowtooth flounder....................  All......................  January to December......               0.23
Atka mackerel..........................  All......................  January to December......               0.23
Flathead sole..........................  All......................  January to December......               0.19
Greenland turbot.......................  All......................  January to December......               0.68
CDQ halibut............................  Fixed gear...............  January to December......               6.86
Pacific cod............................  Fixed gear...............  January to December......               0.48
                                         Trawl gear...............  January to December......               0.45
Pacific ocean perch....................  All......................  January to December......               0.18
Pollock................................  All......................  January to December......               0.16
Rock sole..............................  All......................  January to March.........               0.21
                                         All......................  April to December........               0.18
Sablefish..............................  Fixed gear...............  January to December......               2.18
                                         Trawl gear...............  January to December......               0.77
Yellowfin sole.........................  All......................  January to December......               0.19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fee Percentage

    NMFS calculates the fee percentage each year according to the 
factors and methods described at 50 CFR 679.33(c)(2), 679.66(c)(2), 
679.67(c)(2), and 679.95(c)(2). NMFS determines the fee percentage that 
applies to landings made during the year by dividing the total costs 
directly related to the management, data collection, and enforcement of 
each program (direct program costs) during the year by the fishery 
value. NMFS captures direct program costs through an established 
accounting system that allows staff to track labor, travel, contracts, 
rent, and procurement. For 2022, the direct program costs were tracked 
from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 (the end of the fiscal 
year). The 2022 fee percentages for the AFA and Western Alaska CDQ 
Programs are more than the fee percentages calculated for them in 2021. 
The 2022 fee percentage for the Amendment 80 Program is less than the 
fee percentage calculated for it in 2021. The 2022 percentage for the 
AIP Program is zero because there was no AIP fishery in 2022, thus no 
associated harvest.
    NMFS will provide an annual report that summarizes direct program 
costs for each of the programs in early 2023. NMFS calculates the 
fishery value as described earlier under the Standard Prices section of 
this notice.

Amendment 80 Program Standard Prices and Fee Percentage

    The Amendment 80 Program allocates total allowable catches (TACs) 
of groundfish species, other than Bering Sea pollock, to identified 
trawl catcher/processors in the BSAI. The Amendment 80 Program 
allocates a portion of the BSAI TACs of six species: Atka mackerel, 
Pacific cod, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, and Aleutian 
Islands Pacific ocean perch. In recent years, participants in the 
Amendment 80 sector have established a cooperative to harvest these 
allocations. Each Amendment 80 cooperative is responsible for payment 
of the cost recovery fee for fish landed under the Amendment 80 
Program. Cost recovery requirements for the Amendment 80 Program are at 
50 CFR 679.95.
    For most Amendment 80 species, NMFS annually summarizes volume and 
value information for landings of all fishery species subject to cost 
recovery in order to estimate a standard price for each fishery 
species. Regulations specify that for rock sole, NMFS shall calculate a 
separate standard price for two periods, January 1 through March 31 and 
April 1 through October 31, which has historically accounted for a 
substantial difference in estimated rock sole prices during the first 
quarter of the year relative to the remainder of the year. The volume 
and value information are obtained from the First Wholesale Volume and 
Value Report submitted by catcher/processors that harvested Amendment 
80 or CDQ species, and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel Volume and Value 
Report submitted by shoreside processors and motherships that processed 
landings of BSAI or CDQ Pacific cod.
    Using the fee percentage formula described generally above, the 
estimated percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 
2022 calendar year is 0.87 percent for the Amendment 80 Program. For 
2022, NMFS applied the fee percentage to each Amendment 80 species 
landing that was debited from an Amendment 80 cooperative quota 
allocation between January 1 and December 31 to calculate the Amendment 
80 fee liability for each Amendment 80 cooperative. The 2022 fee 
payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2022. 
Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set forth 
in 50 CFR 679.95(a)(3)(iv).

AFA Standard Price and Fee Percentages

    The AFA Program allocates the Bering Sea directed pollock fishery 
TAC to three sectors: catcher/processor, mothership, and inshore. Each 
sector has established cooperatives to harvest the sector's exclusive 
allocation. In 2022, each cooperative for the inshore sector is 
responsible for paying the fee for Bering Sea pollock landed under the 
AFA Program. Cost recovery requirements for the AFA sectors are found 
at 50 CFR 679.66.
    NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most 
recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of 
Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report and compiled 
in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings 
data. Due to the time required to compile the data, there is a 1-year 
delay between the gross earnings data year and the fishing year to 
which it is applied. For example, NMFS used 2021 gross earnings data to 
calculate the standard price for 2022 pollock landings.
    Under the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated 
percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2022 
calendar year is 0.32 percent for the AFA inshore sector. To calculate 
the 2022 fee liabilities, NMFS applied the respective fee percentages 
to the landings of Bering Sea pollock debited from each cooperative's 
fishery allocation that

[[Page 73542]]

occurred between January 1 and December 31. The 2022 fee payments must 
be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2022. Payment must be 
made in accordance with the payment methods set forth in 50 CFR 
679.66(a)(4)(iv).

AIP Program Standard Price and Fee Percentage

    The AIP Program allocates the Aleutian Islands directed pollock 
fishery TAC to the Aleut Corporation, consistent with the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108-109) and implementing 
regulations. Annually, prior to the start of the pollock season, the 
Aleut Corporation provides NMFS with the identity of its designated 
representative for harvesting the Aleutian Islands directed pollock 
fishery TAC. The same individual is responsible for the submission of 
all cost recovery fees for pollock landed under the AIP Program. Cost 
recovery requirements for the AIP Program are at 50 CFR 679.67.
    NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most 
recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of 
Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report and compiled 
in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings data 
for Aleutian Islands pollock. As explained above, due to the time 
required to compile the data, there is a 1-year delay between the gross 
earnings data year and the fishing year to which it is applied.
    For the 2022 fishing year, the Aleut Corporation did not select any 
participants to harvest or process the Aleutian Islands directed 
pollock fishery TAC, and most of that TAC was reallocated to the Bering 
Sea directed pollock fishery TAC. Since there was no fishery for the 
AIP Program in 2022, the fee percentage is zero.

CDQ Standard Price and Fee Percentage

    The CDQ Program was implemented in 1992 to provide access to BSAI 
fishery resources to villages located in Western Alaska. Section 305(i) 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act identifies 65 villages eligible to 
participate in the CDQ Program and the six CDQ groups to represent 
these villages. CDQ groups receive exclusive harvesting privileges of 
the TACs for a broad range of crab species, groundfish species, and 
halibut. NMFS implemented a CDQ cost recovery program for the BSAI crab 
fisheries in 2005 (70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005) and published the cost 
recovery fee percentage for the 2021/2022 crab fishing year on July 12, 
2022 (87 FR 41292, July 12, 2022). This notice provides the cost 
recovery fee percentage for the CDQ Program with respect to groundfish 
and halibut. Each CDQ group is subject to cost recovery fee 
requirements and the designated representative of each CDQ group is 
responsible for submitting payment for their CDQ group. Cost recovery 
requirements for the CDQ Program are at 50 CFR 679.33.
    For most CDQ groundfish species, NMFS annually summarizes volume 
and value information for landings of all fishery species subject to 
cost recovery in order to estimate a standard price for each fishery 
species. The volume and value information are obtained from the First 
Wholesale Volume and Value Report and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel Volume 
and Value Report. For CDQ halibut and fixed-gear sablefish, NMFS 
calculates the standard prices using information from the Individual 
Fishing Quota (IFQ) Ex-Vessel Volume and Value Report, which collects 
information on both IFQ and CDQ volume and value.
    Using the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated 
percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2022 
calendar year is 0.85 percent for the CDQ Program. For 2022, NMFS 
applied the calculated CDQ fee percentage to all CDQ groundfish and 
halibut landings made between January 1 and December 31 to calculate 
the CDQ fee liability for each CDQ group. The 2022 fee payments must be 
submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2022. Payment must be made 
in accordance with the payment methods set forth in 50 CFR 
679.33(a)(3)(iv).
    Authority:16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: November 23, 2022.
Sasha Ann Pryborowski,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-26071 Filed 11-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P