Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands; Final 2023 and 2024 Harvest Specifications for Groundfish, 14926-14956 [2023-04877]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 230306–0065; RTID 0648–
XC365]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands; Final 2023 and 2024
Harvest Specifications for Groundfish
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; harvest specifications
and closures.
AGENCY:
NMFS announces final 2023
and 2024 harvest specifications,
apportionments, and prohibited species
catch allowances for the groundfish
fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands management area (BSAI). This
action is necessary to establish harvest
limits for groundfish during the
remainder of the 2023 and the start of
the 2024 fishing years and to
accomplish the goals and objectives of
the Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area
(FMP). The 2023 harvest specifications
supersede those previously set in the
final 2022 and 2023 harvest
specifications, and the 2024 harvest
specifications will be superseded in
early 2024 when the final 2024 and
2025 harvest specifications are
published. The intended effect of this
action is to conserve and manage the
groundfish resources in the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Management Area
(BSAI) in accordance with the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act; MSA).
DATES: Harvest specifications and
closures are effective from 1200 hours,
Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 10,
2023, through 2400 hours, A.l.t.,
December 31, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the
Alaska Groundfish Harvest
Specifications Final Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS), Record of
Decision (ROD), and the annual
Supplementary Information Reports
(SIRs) to the Final EIS prepared for this
action are available from https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska.
The 2022 Stock Assessment and Fishery
Evaluation (SAFE) report for the
groundfish resources of the BSAI, dated
November 2022, as well as the SAFE
reports for previous years, are available
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SUMMARY:
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from the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) at 1007
West Third Ave., Suite 400, Anchorage,
AK 99501, phone 907–271–2809, or
from the Council’s website at https://
www.npfmc.org/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Whitney, 907–586–7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal
regulations at 50 CFR part 679
implement the FMP and govern the
groundfish fisheries in the BSAI. The
Council prepared the FMP, and NMFS
approved it, under the MagnusonStevens Act. General regulations
governing U.S. fisheries also appear at
50 CFR part 600.
The FMP and its implementing
regulations require NMFS, after
consultation with the Council, to
specify annually the total allowable
catch (TAC) for each target species
category. The sum of all TACs for all
groundfish species in the BSAI must be
within the optimum yield (OY) range of
1.4 million to 2.0 million metric tons
(mt) (see § 679.20(a)(1)(i)(A) and
679.20(a)(2)). This final rule specifies
the sum of the TAC at 2.0 million mt for
2023 and 2.0 million mt for 2024. NMFS
also must specify apportionments of
TAC; prohibited species catch (PSC)
allowances and prohibited species quota
(PSQ) reserves established by § 679.21;
seasonal allowances of pollock, Pacific
cod, and Atka mackerel TAC; American
Fisheries Act allocations; Amendment
80 allocations; Community
Development Quota (CDQ) reserve
amounts established by
§ 679.20(b)(1)(ii); acceptable biological
catch (ABC) surpluses and reserves for
CDQ groups and any Amendment 80
cooperatives for flathead sole, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole; and halibut discard
mortality rates (DMRs). The final
harvest specifications set forth in Tables
1 through 22 of this action satisfy these
requirements.
Section 679.20(c)(3)(i) further requires
that NMFS consider public comment on
the proposed harvest specifications and,
after consultation with the Council,
publish final harvest specifications in
the Federal Register. The proposed
2023 and 2024 harvest specifications for
the groundfish fishery of the BSAI were
published in the Federal Register on
December 14, 2022 (87 FR 76435).
Comments were invited and accepted
through January 13, 2023. As discussed
in the Response to Comments section
below, NMFS received six letters raising
seventeen distinct comments during the
public comment period for the proposed
BSAI groundfish harvest specifications.
NMFS’s responses are addressed in the
Response to Comments section below.
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NMFS consulted with the Council on
the final 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications during the December
2022 Council meeting. After considering
public comments during public
meetings and public comments
submitted for the proposed rule (87 FR
76435), as well as biological and
socioeconomic data that were available
at the Council’s December 2022
meeting, NMFS implements in this final
rule the final 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications as recommended by the
Council.
ABC and TAC Harvest Specifications
The final ABC amounts for Alaska
groundfish are based on the best
available biological information,
including projected biomass trends,
information on assumed distribution of
stock biomass, and revised technical
methods used to calculate stock
biomass. In general, the development of
ABCs and overfishing levels (OFLs)
involves sophisticated statistical
analyses of fish populations. The FMP
specifies a series of six tiers to define
OFL and ABC amounts based on the
level of reliable information available to
fishery scientists. Tier 1 represents the
highest level of information quality
available, while Tier 6 represents the
lowest.
In December 2022, the Council, its
Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC), and its Advisory Panel (AP)
reviewed current biological and harvest
information about the condition of the
BSAI groundfish stocks. The Council’s
BSAI Groundfish Plan Team (Plan
Team) compiled and presented this
information in the 2022 SAFE report for
the BSAI groundfish fisheries, dated
November 2022 (see ADDRESSES). The
SAFE report contains a review of the
latest scientific analyses and estimates
of each species’ biomass and other
biological parameters, as well as
summaries of the available information
on the BSAI ecosystem and the
economic condition of groundfish
fisheries off Alaska. NMFS notified the
public of the comment period for these
harvest specifications—and of the
publication of the 2022 SAFE report—
in the proposed harvest specifications
(87 FR 76435, December 14, 2022). From
the data and analyses in the SAFE
report, the Plan Team recommended an
OFL and ABC for each species and
species group at the November 2022
Plan Team meeting.
In December 2022, the SSC, AP, and
Council reviewed the Plan Team’s
recommendations. The final TAC
recommendations were based on the
ABCs, and were adjusted for other
biological and socioeconomic
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
considerations, including maintaining
the sum of all the TACs within the
required OY range of 1.4 million to 2.0
million mt. As required by annual catch
limit rules for all fisheries (74 FR 3178,
January 16, 2009), none of the Council’s
recommended 2023 or 2024 TACs
exceed the final 2023 or 2024 ABCs for
any species or species group. NMFS
finds that the Council’s recommended
OFLs, ABCs, and TACs are consistent
with the preferred harvest strategy
outlined in the FMP and the biological
condition of groundfish stocks as
described in the 2022 SAFE report that
was approved by the Council. Therefore,
this final rule provides notification that
the Secretary of Commerce approves the
final 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications as recommended by the
Council.
The 2023 harvest specifications set in
this final action supersede the 2023
harvest specifications previously set in
the final 2022 and 2023 harvest
specifications (87 FR 11626, March 2,
2022). The 2024 harvest specifications
herein will be superseded in early 2024
when the final 2024 and 2025 harvest
specifications are published. Pursuant
to this final action, the 2023 harvest
specifications therefore will apply for
the remainder of the current year (2023),
while the 2024 harvest specifications
are projected only for the following year
(2024) and will be superseded in early
2024 by the final 2024 and 2025 harvest
specifications. Because this final action
(published in early 2023) will be
superseded in early 2024 by the
publication of the final 2024 and 2025
harvest specifications, it is projected
that this final action will implement the
harvest specifications for the BSAI for
approximately 1 year.
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Other Actions Affecting the 2023 and
2024 Harvest Specifications
State of Alaska Guideline Harvest Levels
For 2023 and 2024, the Board of
Fisheries (BOF) for the State of Alaska
(State) established the guideline harvest
level (GHL) for vessels using pot,
longline, jig, and hand troll gear in State
waters in the State’s Aleutian Islands
(AI) State waters sablefish registration
area that includes all State waters west
of Scotch Cap Light (164°44.72′ W
longitude) and south of Cape Sarichef
(54°36′ N latitude). The 2023 AI GHL is
set at 5 percent (865 mt) of the
combined 2023 Bering Sea subarea (BS)
and AI subarea ABC (mt). The 2024 AI
GHL is set at 5 percent (1,025 mt) of the
combined 2024 BS subarea and AI
subarea ABC (mt). The State’s AI
sablefish registration area includes areas
adjacent to parts of the Federal BS. The
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Council and its BSAI Groundfish Plan
Team (Plan Team), SSC, and AP
recommended that the sum of all State
and Federal waters sablefish removals
from the BS and AI not exceed the ABC
recommendations for sablefish in the BS
and AI. Accordingly, the Council
recommended, and NMFS approves,
that the 2023 and 2024 sablefish TACs
in the BS and AI account for the State’s
GHLs for sablefish caught in State
waters.
For 2023 and 2024, the BOF for the
State established the GHL for vessels
using pot gear in State waters in the BS
equal to 12 percent of the Pacific cod
ABC in the BS when the ABC is
between 125,000 mt and 150,000 mt.
For 2023, the BS Pacific cod ABC is
144,834 mt, and for 2024, it is 140,159
mt. Therefore, the GHL in the BS for pot
gear will be 12 percent for 2023 (17,380
mt) and 2024 (16,819 mt). Also, for 2023
and 2024, the BOF established an
additional GHL for vessels using jig gear
in State waters in the BS equal to 45 mt
of Pacific cod in the BS. The Council
and its Plan Team, SSC, and AP
recommended that the sum of all State
and Federal waters Pacific cod removals
from the BS not exceed the ABC
recommendations for Pacific cod in the
BS. Accordingly, the Council
recommended, and NMFS approves,
that the 2023 and 2024 Pacific cod TACs
in the BS account for the State’s GHLs
for Pacific cod caught in State waters in
the BS.
For 2023 and 2024, the BOF for the
State established the GHL in State
waters in the Aleutian Islands subarea
(AI) equal to 39 percent of the AI ABC.
The AI GHL will increase annually by
4 percent of the AI ABC, if 90 percent
of the GHL is harvested by November 15
of the preceding year, but may not
exceed 39 percent of the AI ABC or 15
million pounds (6,804 mt). For 2023 and
for 2024, 39 percent of the AI ABC is
5,387 mt. The Council and its Plan
Team, SSC, and AP recommended that
the sum of all State and Federal waters
Pacific cod removals from the AI not
exceed the ABC recommendations for
Pacific cod in the AI. Accordingly, the
Council recommended, and NMFS
approves, that the 2023 and 2024 Pacific
cod TACs in the AI account for the
State’s GHL of 5,387 mt for Pacific cod
caught in State waters in the AI.
Halibut Abundance-Based Management
for the Amendment 80 Program PSC
Limit
On December 9, 2022, NMFS
published a proposed rule (87 FR
75570), and an extension of public
comment (87 FR 75569), to implement
Amendment 123 to the FMP, which if
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14927
approved would establish abundancebased management of Amendment 80
Program PSC for Pacific halibut. The
proposed action would replace the
current Amendment 80 sector static
halibut PSC limit (1,745 mt) with a
process for annually setting the
Amendment 80 sector halibut PSC limit
based on the most recent halibut
abundance estimates from the
International Pacific Halibut
Commission setline survey and the
NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center
Eastern Bering Sea shelf trawl survey.
The annual process would use a table
with pre-established halibut abundance
ranges based on those surveys. The
annual Amendment 80 sector halibut
PSC limit would be set at the value
found at the intercept of the results from
the most recent surveys. Further details
are available in the proposed rule to
implement Amendment 123. If the FMP
amendment and its implementing
regulations are approved by the
Secretary of Commerce, the action is
anticipated to be effective in 2024. Until
effective, NMFS will continue to use the
current Amendment 80 halibut PSC
limit listed at § 679.21(b)(1) and
published in the harvest specifications.
Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Limited
Access Privilege Program
On February 9, 2023, NMFS
published a proposed rule to implement
Amendment 122 to the FMP, which if
approved would implement a limited
access privilege program called the
Pacific cod Trawl Cooperative (PCTC)
Program (88 FR 8592, February 9, 2023).
The PCTC Program would allocate quota
share (QS) to groundfish License
Limitation Program license holders and
to processors based on history during
the qualifying years. Under this
program, QS holders would be required
to join cooperatives annually.
Cooperatives would be allocated the
BSAI trawl catcher vessel (CV) sector’s
A and B season Pacific cod allocations
as an exclusive harvest privilege in the
form of cooperative quota, equivalent to
the aggregate QS of all cooperative
members. NMFS anticipates that the
regulations at § 679.20(a)(7)(viii) will be
removed through implementation of the
PCTC Program, if approved. Further
details are available in the proposed
rule to implement Amendment 122. If
the FMP amendment and its
implementing regulations are approved
by the Secretary of Commerce, the
action is anticipated to be effective in
2024. Until effective, NMFS will
continue the current management of the
BSAI trawl CV Pacific cod allocation.
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
Amendment 124 to the BSAI FMP for
Groundfish To Revise Individual Fishing
Quota (IFQ) Program Regulations
On November 23, 2022, NMFS
published a proposed rule (87 FR
71559) to implement Amendment 124 to
the FMP, which if approved would
allow jig gear as an authorized fishing
gear type in the BSAI sablefish IFQ and
CDQ fisheries. The Council’s intent in
recommending Amendment 124 is to
increase entry-level opportunities and
increase flexibility for IFQ holders. This
is because jig gear is a smaller
investment than other gear types and
does not require significant vessel
retrofits as with other gear.
Additionally, jig gear is already an
authorized gear type for the harvest of
halibut IFQ and CDQ and this action
would further align the authorized gear
types in the halibut and sablefish IFQ
and CDQ fisheries. Further details are
available in the proposed rule to
implement Amendment 124. If the FMP
amendment and its implementing
regulations are approved by the
Secretary of Commerce, the action is
anticipated to be effective for the 2023
IFQ and CDQ season.
Changes From the Proposed 2023 and
2024 Harvest Specifications for the
BSAI
The Council’s recommendations for
the proposed 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications (87 FR 76435, December
14, 2022) were based largely on
information contained in the 2021 SAFE
report for the BSAI groundfish fisheries.
Through the proposed harvest
specifications, NMFS notified the public
that these harvest specifications could
change, as the Council would consider
information contained in the 2022 SAFE
report; recommendations from the Plan
Team, SSC, and AP; and public
comments when making its
recommendations for final harvest
specifications at the December 2022
Council meeting. NMFS further notified
the public that, as required by the FMP
and its implementing regulations, the
sum of the TACs must be within the OY
range of 1.4 million and 2.0 million mt.
Information contained in the 2022
SAFE report indicates biomass changes
from the 2021 SAFE report for several
groundfish species. The 2022 SAFE
report was made available for public
review during the public comment
period for the proposed harvest
specifications. At the December 2022
Council meeting, the SSC recommended
the 2023 and 2024 OFLs and ABCs
based on the best and most recent
information contained in the 2022 SAFE
report. The SSC’s recommendation
resulted in an ABC sum total for all
BSAI groundfish species in excess of 2.0
million mt for both 2023 and 2024.
Based on larger spawning biomass
estimates, the Council recommends
final BS pollock TACs increase by
11,000 mt in 2023 and 13,000 mt in
2024 compared to the proposed 2023
and 2024 BS pollock TACs. The Council
also recommends increasing the BSAI
rock sole TAC by 11,000 mt in 2023 and
11,000 mt in 2024, and increasing the
flathead sole TAC by 10,000 mt in 2023
and 10,000 mt in 2024, compared to the
proposed 2023 and 2024 TACs. In terms
of tonnage, the Council recommends
reducing the TACs from the proposed
TACs of several species of lower
economic value to maintain an overall
total TAC within the required OY range
of 1.4 to 2.0 million mt with Alaska
plaice, arrowtooth flounder, northern
rockfish, and ‘‘other flatfish’’ having the
largest TAC decreases. In terms of
percentage, the largest TAC decreases
from the proposed TACs of lower
economically valued species were for
Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder,
Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder,
octopuses, ‘‘other flatfish,’’ northern
rockfish, and sharks. The Council
recommends lowering the TACs of both
BS and AI Pacific cod in 2023 and 2024
due to lower spawning biomasses.
The changes to TACs between the
proposed and final harvest
specifications are based on the most
recent scientific and socioeconomic
information and are consistent with the
FMP, regulatory obligations, and harvest
strategy as described in the proposed
and final harvest specifications,
including the required OY range of 1.4
million to 2.0 million mt. These changes
are compared in Table 1A.
Table 1 lists the Council’s
recommended final 2023 OFL, ABC,
TAC, initial TAC (ITAC), CDQ reserve
allocations, and non-specified reserves
of the BSAI groundfish species and
species groups; and Table 2 lists the
Council’s recommended final 2024 OFL,
ABC, TAC, ITAC, CDQ reserve
allocations, and non-specified reserves
of the BSAI groundfish species and
species groups. NMFS concurs in these
recommendations. These final 2023 and
2024 TAC amounts for the BSAI are
within the OY range established for the
BSAI and do not exceed the ABC for any
species or species group. The
apportionment of TAC amounts among
fisheries and seasons is discussed
below.
TABLE 1—FINAL 2023 OVERFISHING LEVEL (OFL), ACCEPTABLE BIOLOGICAL CATCH (ABC), TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH
(TAC), INITIAL TAC (ITAC), CDQ RESERVE ALLOCATION, AND NON-SPECIFIED RESERVES OF GROUNDFISH IN THE BSAI 1
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2023
Species
Area
Pollock 4 .................................................
Pacific cod 5 ...........................................
Sablefish 6 ..............................................
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Yellowfin sole ........................................
Greenland turbot ...................................
Arrowtooth flounder ...............................
Kamchatka flounder ..............................
Rock sole 7 ............................................
Flathead sole 8 .......................................
Alaska plaice .........................................
Other flatfish 9 ........................................
Pacific ocean perch ...............................
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BS ..........................
AI ...........................
Bogoslof ................
BS ..........................
AI ...........................
Alaska-wide ...........
BS ..........................
AI ...........................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BS ..........................
AI ...........................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BS ..........................
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OFL
ABC
TAC
3,381,000
52,383
115,146
172,495
18,416
47,390
n/a
n/a
404,882
4,645
n/a
n/a
98,787
8,946
166,034
79,256
40,823
22,919
50,133
n/a
1,910,000
43,413
86,360
144,834
13,812
40,502
8,417
8,884
378,499
3,960
3,338
622
83,852
7,579
121,719
65,344
33,946
17,189
42,038
11,903
1,300,000
19,000
300
127,409
8,425
n/a
7,996
8,440
230,000
3,960
3,338
622
15,000
7,579
66,000
35,500
17,500
4,500
37,703
11,903
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ITAC 2
1,170,000
17,100
300
113,776
7,524
n/a
6,597
6,858
205,390
3,366
2,837
529
12,750
6,442
58,938
31,702
14,875
3,825
33,157
10,118
10MRR1
CDQ 3
Nonspecified
reserves
130,000
1,900
........................
13,633
901
n/a
1,099
1,424
24,610
n/a
357
........................
1,605
........................
7,062
3,799
........................
........................
n/a
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
300
158
........................
........................
144
93
645
1,137
........................
........................
2,625
675
........................
1,785
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 1—FINAL 2023 OVERFISHING LEVEL (OFL), ACCEPTABLE BIOLOGICAL CATCH (ABC), TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH
(TAC), INITIAL TAC (ITAC), CDQ RESERVE ALLOCATION, AND NON-SPECIFIED RESERVES OF GROUNDFISH IN THE
BSAI 1—Continued
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2023
Species
Area
OFL
ABC
TAC
ITAC 2
CDQ 3
Nonspecified
reserves
Skates ...................................................
Sharks ...................................................
Octopuses .............................................
EAI .........................
CAI ........................
WAI ........................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
n/a .........................
CAI/WAI .................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BS ..........................
AI ...........................
BSAI ......................
BS/EAI ...................
CAI ........................
WAI ........................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
n/a
n/a
n/a
22,776
703
359
n/a
706
1,680
n/a
n/a
118,787
n/a
n/a
n/a
46,220
689
4,769
8,152
5,648
16,335
18,687
525
359
166
530
1,260
880
380
98,588
43,281
17,351
37,956
38,605
450
3,576
8,152
5,648
12,000
11,000
525
305
166
530
1,260
880
380
69,282
27,260
17,351
24,671
27,441
250
400
7,280
5,044
10,716
9,350
446
........................
141
451
1,071
748
323
61,869
24,343
15,494
22,031
23,325
213
340
872
604
1,284
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
7,413
2,917
1,857
2,640
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
1,650
79
54
25
80
189
132
57
........................
........................
........................
........................
4,116
38
60
Total ...............................................
................................
4,859,585
3,155,268
2,000,000
1,789,662
196,564
13,773
Northern rockfish ...................................
Blackspotted/Rougheye rockfish 10 .......
BS/EAI ...................................................
Shortraker rockfish ................................
Other rockfish 11 ....................................
Atka mackerel .......................................
Note: Regulatory areas and districts are defined at § 679.2 (BSAI=Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area, BS=Bering Sea subarea, AI=Aleutian Islands
subarea, EAI=Eastern Aleutian district, CAI=Central Aleutian district, WAI=Western Aleutian district).
1 These amounts apply to the entire BSAI management area unless otherwise specified. With the exception of pollock, and for the purpose of these harvest specifications, the Bering Sea subarea (BS) includes the Bogoslof District.
2 Except for pollock, the portion of the sablefish TAC allocated to fixed gear, and Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, yellowfin sole, rock sole, flathead sole,
Pacific cod, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch), 15 percent of each TAC is placed into a non-specified reserve (§ 679.20(b)(1)(i)). The ITAC for these species
is the remainder of the TAC after the subtraction of these reserves. For pollock and Amendment 80 species, ITAC is the non-CDQ allocation of TAC (see footnotes 3
and 4).
3 For the Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, Pacific cod, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch), 10.7 percent of the
TAC is reserved for use by CDQ participants (see §§ 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)). 20 percent of the sablefish TAC allocated to fixed gear, 7.5 percent of the sablefish TAC allocated to trawl gear, and 10.7 percent of the TACs for Bering Sea Greenland turbot and arrowtooth flounder are reserved for use by CDQ participants (see
§ 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) and (D)). Aleutian Islands Greenland turbot, ‘‘other flatfish,’’ Alaska plaice, Bering Sea Pacific ocean perch, Kamchatka flounder, northern rockfish, shortraker rockfish, blackspotted/rougheye rockfish, ‘‘other rockfish,’’ skates, sharks, and octopuses are not allocated to the CDQ program.
4 Under § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the annual BS pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second for the incidental
catch allowance (50,000 mt), is further allocated by sector for a pollock directed fishery as follows: inshore—50 percent; catcher/processor—40 percent; and
motherships—10 percent. Under § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2), the annual AI pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and
second for the incidental catch allowance (2,500 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a pollock directed fishery.
5 The BS Pacific cod TAC is set to account for the 12 percent, plus 45 mt, of the BS ABC for the State of Alaska’s (State) guideline harvest level in State waters of
the BS. The AI Pacific cod TAC is set to account for 39 percent of the AI ABC for the State guideline harvest level in State waters of the AI.
6 The sablefish OFL and ABC are Alaska-wide and include the Gulf of Alaska. The Alaska-wide sablefish OFL and ABC are included in the total OFL and ABC. The
BS and AI sablefish TACs are set to account for the 5 percent of the BS and AI ABC for the State of Alaska’s (State) guideline harvest level in State waters of the BS
and AI.
7 ‘‘Rock sole’’ includes Lepidopsetta polyxystra (Northern rock sole) and Lepidopsetta bilineata (Southern rock sole).
8 ‘‘Flathead sole’’ includes Hippoglossoides elassodon (flathead sole) and Hippoglossoides robustus (Bering flounder).
9 ‘‘Other flatfish’’ includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder, flathead sole, Greenland turbot,
Kamchatka flounder, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
10 ‘‘Blackspotted/Rougheye rockfish’’ includes Sebastes melanostictus (blackspotted) and Sebastes aleutianus (rougheye).
11 ‘‘Other rockfish’’ includes all Sebastes and Sebastolobus species except for dark rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, blackspotted/rougheye rockfish,
and shortraker rockfish.
TABLE 1a—COMPARISON OF FINAL 2023 AND 2024 WITH PROPOSED 2023 AND 2024 TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH IN THE
BSAI
[Amounts are in metric tons]
Area 1
Pollock ...................................................
BS ..........................
AI ...........................
Bogoslof ................
BS ..........................
AI ...........................
BS ..........................
AI ...........................
BSAI ......................
BS ..........................
AI ...........................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BS ..........................
Pacific cod .............................................
Sablefish ................................................
Yellowfin sole ........................................
Greenland turbot ...................................
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
2023 final
TAC
Species
Arrowtooth flounder ...............................
Kamchatka flounder ..............................
Rock sole ..............................................
Flathead sole .........................................
Alaska plaice .........................................
Other flatfish ..........................................
Pacific ocean perch ...............................
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:14 Mar 09, 2023
Jkt 259001
PO 00000
1,300,000
19,000
300
127,409
8,425
7,996
8,440
230,000
3,338
622
15,000
7,579
66,000
35,500
17,500
4,500
11,903
Frm 00059
2023
difference
from
proposed
2023
percentage
difference
from
proposed
11,000
....................
50
(6,050)
(5,371)
1,467
654
....................
(1,487)
(277)
(5,000)
(1,814)
11,000
10,000
(11,582)
(5,500)
1,947
0.9
....................
20.0
(4.5)
(38.9)
22.5
8.4
....................
(30.8)
(30.8)
(25.0)
(19.3)
20.0
39.2
(39.8)
(55.0)
19.6
2023 and
2024
proposed
TAC
1,289,000
19,000
250
133,459
13,796
6,529
7,786
230,000
4,825
899
20,000
9,393
55,000
25,500
29,082
10,000
9,956
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
E:\FR\FM\10MRR1.SGM
2024 final
TAC
1,302,000
19,000
300
123,295
8,425
9,676
9,793
230,656
2,836
528
15,000
7,435
66,000
35,500
18,000
4,500
11,700
10MRR1
2024
difference
from
proposed
2024
percentage
difference
from
proposed
13,000
....................
50
(10,164)
(5,371)
3,147
2,007
656
(1,989)
(371)
(5,000)
(1,958)
11,000
10,000
(11,082)
(5,500)
1,744
1.0
....................
20.0
(7.6)
(38.9)
48.2
25.8
0.3
(41.2)
(41.3)
(25.0)
(20.8)
20.0
39.2
(38.1)
(55.0)
17.5
14930
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 1a—COMPARISON OF FINAL 2023 AND 2024 WITH PROPOSED 2023 AND 2024 TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH IN THE
BSAI—Continued
[Amounts are in metric tons]
Species
2023 and
2024
proposed
TAC
2023 final
TAC
Area 1
2023
difference
from
proposed
2023
percentage
difference
from
proposed
2024 final
TAC
2024
percentage
difference
from
proposed
2024
difference
from
proposed
Skates ...................................................
Sharks ...................................................
Octopuses .............................................
EAI .........................
CAI ........................
WAI ........................
BSAI ......................
BS/EAI ...................
CAI/WAI .................
BSAI ......................
BS ..........................
AI ...........................
EAI/BS ...................
CAI ........................
WAI ........................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
8,152
5,648
12,000
11,000
359
166
530
880
380
27,260
17,351
24,671
27,441
250
400
7,774
5,722
10,500
17,000
334
183
541
919
394
25,000
15,470
20,488
30,000
500
700
378
(74)
1,500
(6,000)
25
(17)
(11)
(39)
(14)
2,260
1,881
4,183
(2,559)
(250)
(300)
4.9
(1.3)
14.3
(35.3)
7.5
(9.3)
(2.0)
(4.2)
(3.6)
9.0
12.2
20.4
(8.5)
(50.0)
(42.9)
8,013
5,551
13,000
11,000
388
182
530
880
380
30,000
15,218
21,637
27,927
250
400
239
(171)
2,500
(6,000)
54
(1)
(11)
(39)
(14)
5,000
(252)
1,149
(2,073)
(250)
(300)
3.1
(3.0)
23.8
(35.3)
16.2
(0.5)
(2.0)
(4.2)
(3.6)
20.0
(1.6)
5.6
(6.9)
(50.0)
(42.9)
Total ...............................................
BSAI ......................
2,000,000
2,000,000
....................
....................
2,000,000
....................
....................
Northern rockfish ...................................
Blackspotted and Rougheye rockfish ...
Shortraker rockfish ................................
Other rockfish ........................................
Atka mackerel .......................................
1 Bering
Sea subarea (BS), Aleutian Islands subarea (AI), Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI), Eastern Aleutian District (EAI), Central Aleutian District (CAI), and Western Aleutian District (WAI).
TABLE 2—FINAL 2024 OVERFISHING LEVEL (OFL), ACCEPTABLE BIOLOGICAL CATCH (ABC), TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH
(TAC), INITIAL TAC (ITAC), CDQ RESERVE ALLOCATION, AND NON-SPECIFIED RESERVES OF GROUNDFISH IN THE BSAI 1
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2024
Species
Area
Pollock 4 ................
Pacific cod 5 ..........
Sablefish 6 .............
Yellowfin sole ........
Greenland turbot ...
Arrowtooth flounder
Kamchatka flounder.
Rock sole 7 ............
Flathead sole 8 ......
Alaska plaice .........
Other flatfish 9 .......
Pacific ocean
perch.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Northern rockfish ..
Blackspotted/
Rougheye rock-.
fish 10 .................
Shortraker rockfish
Other rockfish 11 ....
Atka mackerel .......
Skates ...................
Sharks ...................
VerDate Sep<11>2014
OFL
ABC
TAC
BS .........................
AI ..........................
Bogoslof ................
BS .........................
AI ..........................
Alaska-wide ..........
BS .........................
AI ..........................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BS .........................
AI ..........................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
4,639,000
52,043
115,146
166,814
18,416
48,561
n/a
n/a
495,155
3,947
n/a
n/a
103,070
8,776
2,275,000
43,092
86,360
140,159
13,812
41,539
10,185
10,308
462,890
3,364
2,836
528
87,511
7,435
1,302,000
19,000
300
123,295
8,425
n/a
9,676
9,793
230,656
3,364
2,836
528
15,000
7,435
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BS .........................
EAI ........................
CAI ........................
WAI .......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BS/EAI ..................
CAI/WAI ................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
BS .........................
AI ..........................
BSAI ......................
EAI/BS ..................
CAI ........................
WAI .......................
BSAI ......................
BSAI ......................
196,011
81,167
43,328
22,919
49,279
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22,105
763
n/a
n/a
706
1,680
n/a
n/a
101,188
n/a
n/a
n/a
44,168
689
119,969
66,927
36,021
17,189
41,322
11,700
8,013
5,551
16,058
18,135
570
388
182
530
1,260
880
380
86,464
37,958
15,218
33,288
36,837
450
66,000
35,500
18,000
4,500
38,264
11,700
8,013
5,551
13,000
11,000
570
388
182
530
1,260
880
380
66,855
30,000
15,218
21,637
27,927
250
17:53 Mar 09, 2023
Jkt 259001
PO 00000
Frm 00060
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
CDQ 3
Nonspecified
reserves
1,171,800
17,100
300
110,102
7,524
n/a
4,112
2,081
205,976
2,859
2,411
449
12,750
6,320
130,200
1,900
........................
13,193
901
n/a
363
184
24,680
n/a
303
........................
1,605
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
363
184
........................
........................
122
79
645
1,115
58,938
31,702
15,300
3,825
33,667
9,945
7,156
4,957
11,609
9,350
485
330
155
451
1,071
748
323
59,702
26,790
13,590
19,322
23,738
213
7,062
3,799
........................
........................
n/a
........................
857
594
1,391
........................
86
........................
........................
2,700
675
........................
1,755
........................
........................
........................
1,650
58
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
7,153
3,210
1,628
2,315
........................
........................
27
80
189
132
57
........................
........................
........................
........................
4,189
38
ITAC 2
E:\FR\FM\10MRR1.SGM
10MRR1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
14931
TABLE 2—FINAL 2024 OVERFISHING LEVEL (OFL), ACCEPTABLE BIOLOGICAL CATCH (ABC), TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH
(TAC), INITIAL TAC (ITAC), CDQ RESERVE ALLOCATION, AND NON-SPECIFIED RESERVES OF GROUNDFISH IN THE
BSAI 1—Continued
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2024
Species
Area
OFL
ABC
ITAC 2
TAC
CDQ 3
Nonspecified
reserves
Octopuses .............
BSAI ......................
4,769
3,576
400
340
........................
60
Total ...............
...............................
6,219,700
3,590,412
2,000,000
1,779,703
194,185
13,928
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Note: Regulatory areas and districts are defined at § 679.2 (BSAI=Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area, BS=Bering Sea subarea, AI=Aleutian Islands subarea, EAI=Eastern Aleutian district, CAI=Central Aleutian district, WAI=Western Aleutian district).
1 These amounts apply to the entire BSAI management area unless otherwise specified. With the exception of pollock, and for the purpose of
these harvest specifications, the Bering Sea subarea (BS) includes the Bogoslof District.
2 Except for pollock, the portion of the sablefish TAC allocated to fixed gear, and Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, flathead sole, rock
sole, yellowfin sole, Pacific cod, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch), 15 percent of each TAC is put into a non-specified reserve
(§ 679.20(b)(1)(i)). The ITAC for these species is the remainder of the TAC after the subtraction of these reserves. For pollock and Amendment
80 species, ITAC is the non-CDQ allocation of TAC (see footnotes 3 and 4).
3 For the Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, Pacific cod, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean
perch), 10.7 percent of the TAC is reserved for use by CDQ participants (see §§ 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)). 20 percent of the sablefish TAC allocated to
fixed gear, 7.5 percent of the sablefish TAC allocated to trawl gear, and 10.7 percent of the TACs for Bering Sea Greenland turbot and
arrowtooth flounder are reserved for use by CDQ participants (see § 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) and (D)). The 2024 fixed gear portion of the sablefish
ITAC and CDQ reserve will not be specified until the final 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications. Aleutian Islands Greenland turbot, ‘‘other flatfish,’’ Alaska plaice, Bering Sea Pacific ocean perch, Kamchatka flounder, northern rockfish, shortraker rockfish, blackspotted/rougheye rockfish,
‘‘other rockfish,’’ skates, sharks, and octopuses are not allocated to the CDQ program.
4 Under § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the annual BS pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second
for the incidental catch allowance (50,000 mt), is further allocated by sector for a pollock directed fishery as follows: inshore—50 percent; catcher/processor—40 percent; and motherships—10 percent. Under § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2), the annual AI pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the
CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second for the incidental catch allowance (2,500 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a
pollock directed fishery.
5 The BS Pacific cod TAC is set to account for the 12 percent, plus 45 mt, of the BS ABC for the State of Alaska’s (State) guideline harvest
level in State waters of the BS. The AI Pacific cod TAC is set to account for 39 percent of the AI ABC for the State guideline harvest level in
State waters of the AI.
6 The sablefish OFL and ABC are Alaska-wide and include the Gulf of Alaska. The Alaska-wide sablefish OFL and ABC are included in the
total OFL and ABC. The BS and AI sablefish TACs are set to account for the 5 percent of the BS and AI ABC for the State of Alaska’s (State)
guideline harvest level in State waters of the BS and AI.
7 ‘‘Rock sole’’ includes Lepidopsetta polyxystra (Northern rock sole) and Lepidopsetta bilineata (Southern rock sole).
8 ‘‘Flathead sole’’ includes Hippoglossoides elassodon (flathead sole) and Hippoglossoides robustus (Bering flounder).
9 ‘‘Other flatfish’’ includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder, flathead sole, Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
10 ‘‘Blackspotted/Rougheye rockfish’’ includes Sebastes melanostictus (blackspotted) and Sebastes aleutianus (rougheye).
11 ‘‘Other rockfish’’ includes all Sebastes and Sebastolobus species except for dark rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish,
blackspotted/rougheye rockfish, and shortraker rockfish.
Groundfish Reserves and the Incidental
Catch Allowance (ICA) for Pollock, Atka
Mackerel, Flathead Sole, Rock Sole,
Yellowfin Sole, and AI Pacific Ocean
Perch
Section 679.20(b)(1)(i) requires that
NMFS reserve 15 percent of the TAC for
each target species (except for pollock,
fixed gear allocation of sablefish, and
Amendment 80 species) in a nonspecified reserve. Section
679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) requires that NMFS
allocate 20 percent of the fixed gear
allocation of sablefish to the fixed-gear
sablefish CDQ reserve for each subarea.
Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(D) requires that
NMFS allocate 7.5 percent of the trawl
gear allocations of sablefish in the BS
and AI and 10.7 percent of the BS
Greenland turbot and arrowtooth
flounder TACs to the respective CDQ
reserves. Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)
requires that NMFS allocate 10.7
percent of the TACs for Atka mackerel,
AI Pacific ocean perch, yellowfin sole,
rock sole, flathead sole, and Pacific cod
to the respective CDQ reserves. Section
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:14 Mar 09, 2023
Jkt 259001
679.20(b)(1)(ii)(A) also requires that 10
percent of the BS pollock TAC be
allocated to the pollock CDQ directed
fishing allowance (DFA). Section
679.20(b)(1)(ii)(A) requires that 10
percent of the AI pollock TAC be
allocated to the pollock CDQ DFA. The
entire Bogoslof District pollock TAC is
allocated as an ICA pursuant to
§ 679.20(a)(5)(ii) because the Bogoslof
District is closed to directed fishing for
pollock by regulation (§ 679.22(a)(7)(B)).
With the exception of the fixed gear
sablefish CDQ reserve, the regulations
do not further apportion the CDQ
allocations by gear.
Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(1),
NMFS allocates a pollock ICA of 50,000
mt of the BS pollock TAC after
subtracting the 10 percent CDQ DFA.
This allowance is based on NMFS’s
examination of the pollock incidental
catch, including the incidental catch by
CDQ vessels, in target fisheries other
than pollock from 2000 through 2022.
During this 23-year period, the pollock
incidental catch ranged from a low of
PO 00000
Frm 00061
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
2.2 percent in 2006 to a high of 4.6
percent in 2014, with a 23-year average
of 3 percent. Pursuant to
§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2)(i) and (ii), NMFS
establishes a pollock ICA of 2,500 mt of
the AI pollock TAC after subtracting the
10 percent CDQ DFA. This allowance is
based on NMFS’s examination of the
pollock incidental catch, including the
incidental catch by CDQ vessels, in
target fisheries other than pollock from
2003 through 2022. During this 20-year
period, the incidental catch of pollock
ranged from a low of 5 percent in 2006
to a high of 17 percent in 2014, with a
20-year average of 9 percent.
After subtracting the 10.7 percent
CDQ reserve and pursuant to
§ 679.20(a)(8) and (10), NMFS allocates
ICAs of 3,000 mt of flathead sole, 6,000
mt of rock sole, 4,000 mt of yellowfin
sole, 10 mt of WAI Pacific ocean perch,
60 mt of CAI Pacific ocean perch, 100
mt of Eastern Aleutian district (EAI)
Pacific ocean perch, 20 mt of Western
Aleutian district (WAI) Atka mackerel,
75 mt of Central Aleutian district (CAI)
E:\FR\FM\10MRR1.SGM
10MRR1
14932
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
Atka mackerel, and 800 mt of EAI and
BS Atka mackerel. These ICA
allowances are based on NMFS’s
examination of the incidental catch in
other target fisheries from 2003 through
2022.
The regulations do not designate the
remainder of the non-specified reserve
by species or species group. Any
amount of the reserve may be
apportioned to a target species that
contributed to the non-specified
reserves during the year, provided that
such apportionments are consistent
with § 679.20(a)(3) and do not result in
overfishing (see § 679.20(b)(1)(i)). The
Regional Administrator has determined
that the ITACs specified for one species
group listed in Tables 1 and 2 need to
be supplemented from the non-specified
reserve because U.S. fishing vessels
have demonstrated the capacity to catch
the full TAC allocations. Therefore, in
accordance with § 679.20(b), NMFS is
apportioning the amounts shown in
Table 3 from the non-specified reserve
to increase the ITAC for AI ‘‘other
rockfish’’ by 15 percent of the ‘‘other
rockfish’’ TAC in 2023 and 2024.
TABLE 3—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 APPORTIONMENT OF NON-SPECIFIED RESERVES TO ITAC CATEGORIES
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2023
reserve
amount
2023
ITAC
Species-area or subarea
2023 final
TAC
2024
reserve
amount
2024
ITAC
2024 final
TAC
Other rockfish-Aleutian Islands subarea ..........................
323
57
380
323
57
380
Total ..........................................................................
323
57
380
323
57
380
Allocation of Pollock TAC Under the
American Fisheries Act (AFA)
Section 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A) requires that
the BS pollock TAC be apportioned as
a DFA, after subtracting 10 percent for
the CDQ program and 50,000 mt for the
ICA in both 2023 and 2024, as follows:
50 percent to the inshore sector, 40
percent to the catcher/processor (CP)
sector, and 10 percent to the mothership
sector. In the BS, 45 percent of the DFAs
are allocated to the A season (January
20–June 10), and 55 percent of the DFAs
are allocated to the B season (June 10–
November 1) (§§ 679.20(a)(5)(i)(B)(1)
and 679.23(e)(2)). The AI directed
pollock fishery allocation to the Aleut
Corporation is the amount of pollock
TAC remaining in the AI after
subtracting 1,900 mt for the CDQ DFA
(10 percent) and 2,500 mt for the ICA
(§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2)). In the AI, the
total A season apportionment of the
TAC (including the AI directed fishery
allocation, the CDQ DFA, and the ICA)
may not exceed 40 percent of the ABC
for AI pollock, and the remainder of the
TAC is allocated to the B season
(§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(3)). Tables 4 and 5
list these 2023 and 2024 amounts.
Section 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(6) sets
harvest limits for pollock in the A
season (January 20 to June 10) in Areas
543, 542, and 541. NMFS establishes
harvest limits for pollock in the A
season in Area 541 of no more than 30
percent, in Area 542 of no more than 15
percent, and in Area 543 of no more
than 5 percent of the Aleutian Islands
pollock ABC.
Section 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4) also
includes several specific requirements
regarding BS pollock allocations. First,
it requires that 8.5 percent of the
pollock allocated to the CP sector be
available for harvest by AFA CVs with
CP sector endorsements, unless the
Regional Administrator receives a
cooperative contract that allows for the
distribution of harvest among AFA CPs
and AFA CVs in a manner agreed to by
all members. Second, AFA CPs not
listed in the AFA are limited to
harvesting not more than 0.5 percent of
the pollock allocated to the CP sector.
Tables 4 and 5 list the 2023 and 2024
allocations of pollock TAC. Table 20
lists the AFA CP prohibited species
sideboard limits, and Tables 21 and 22
list the AFA CV groundfish and
prohibited species sideboard limits. The
tables for the pollock allocations to the
BS inshore pollock cooperatives and
open access sector will be posted on the
Alaska Region website at https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/
sustainable-fisheries/alaska-groundfishfisheries-management.
Tables 4 and 5 also list seasonal
apportionments of pollock and harvest
limits within the Steller Sea Lion
Conservation Area (SCA). The harvest of
pollock within the SCA, as defined at
§ 679.22(a)(7)(vii), is limited to no more
than 28 percent of the annual pollock
DFA before 12 p.m. (noon), April 1, as
provided in § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(C). The A
season pollock SCA harvest limit will be
apportioned to each sector in proportion
to each sector’s allocated percentage of
the DFA.
TABLE 4—FINAL 2023 ALLOCATIONS OF POLLOCK TACS TO THE DIRECTED POLLOCK FISHERIES AND TO THE CDQ
DIRECTED FISHING ALLOWANCES (DFA) 1
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2023 A season 1
2023
Allocations
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Area and sector
Bering Sea subarea TAC 1 ......................................................................
CDQ DFA .................................................................................................
ICA 1 .........................................................................................................
Total Bering Sea non-CDQ DFA .............................................................
AFA Inshore .............................................................................................
AFA Catcher/Processors 3 .......................................................................
Catch by CPs ...................................................................................
Catch by CVs 3 .................................................................................
Unlisted CP Limit 4 ............................................................................
AFA Motherships .....................................................................................
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1,300,000
130,000
50,000
1,120,000
560,000
448,000
409,920
38,080
2,240
112,000
Sfmt 4700
A season
DFA
SCA harvest
limit 2
n/a
58,500
n/a
504,000
252,000
201,600
184,464
17,136
1,008
50,400
E:\FR\FM\10MRR1.SGM
10MRR1
n/a
36,400
n/a
313,600
156,800
125,440
n/a
n/a
n/a
31,360
2023 B season 1
B season
DFA
n/a
71,500
n/a
616,000
308,000
246,400
225,456
20,944
1,232
61,600
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
14933
TABLE 4—FINAL 2023 ALLOCATIONS OF POLLOCK TACS TO THE DIRECTED POLLOCK FISHERIES AND TO THE CDQ
DIRECTED FISHING ALLOWANCES (DFA) 1—Continued
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2023 A season 1
2023
Allocations
Area and sector
Excessive Harvesting Limit 5 ....................................................................
Excessive Processing Limit 6 ...................................................................
Aleutian Islands subarea ABC .................................................................
Aleutian Islands subarea TAC 1 ...............................................................
CDQ DFA .................................................................................................
ICA ...........................................................................................................
Aleut Corporation .....................................................................................
Area harvest limit 7 ...................................................................................
541 ....................................................................................................
542 ....................................................................................................
543 ....................................................................................................
Bogoslof District ICA 8 ..............................................................................
196,000
336,000
43,413
19,000
1,900
2,500
14,600
n/a
13,024
6,512
2,171
300
A season
DFA
2023 B season 1
SCA harvest
limit 2
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1,856
1,250
14,260
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
B season
DFA
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
44
1,250
340
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the Bering Sea subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and the ICA (50,000 mt,
4.27 percent), is allocated as a DFA as follows: inshore sector—50 percent, catcher/processor sector (CP)—40 percent, and mothership sector—
10 percent. In the Bering Sea subarea, 45 percent of the DFAs are allocated to the A season (January 20–June 10) and 55 percent of the DFAs
are allocated to the B season (June 10–November 1). When the AI pollock ABC equals or exceeds 19,000 mt, the annual TAC is equal to
19,000 mt (§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(1)). Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2), the Aleutian Islands subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the
CDQ DFA (10 percent) and second for the ICA (2,500 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a pollock directed fishery. In the Aleutian Islands subarea, the A season is allocated no more than 40 percent of the Aleutian Islands pollock ABC.
2 In the Bering Sea subarea, pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(C), no more than 28 percent of each sector’s annual DFA may be taken from the
SCA before 12 p.m. (noon), April 1.
3 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4), 8.5 percent of the allocation to listed CPs shall be available for harvest only by eligible catcher vessels
with a CP endorsement delivering to listed CPs, unless there is a CP sector cooperative for the year.
4 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4)(iii), the AFA unlisted catcher/processors are limited to harvesting not more than 0.5 percent of the catcher/
processor sector’s allocation of pollock.
5 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(6), NMFS establishes an excessive harvesting share limit equal to 17.5 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ
pollock DFAs.
6 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(7), NMFS establishes an excessive processing share limit equal to 30 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ
pollock DFAs.
7 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(6), NMFS establishes harvest limits for pollock in the A season in Area 541 of no more than 30 percent, in
Area 542 of no more than 15 percent, and in Area 543 of no more than 5 percent of the Aleutian Islands pollock ABC.
8 Pursuant to § 679.22(a)(7)(B), the Bogoslof District is closed to directed fishing for pollock. The amounts specified are for incidental catch
only and are not apportioned by season or sector.
TABLE 5—FINAL 2024 ALLOCATIONS OF POLLOCK TACS TO THE DIRECTED POLLOCK FISHERIES AND TO THE CDQ
DIRECTED FISHING ALLOWANCES (DFA) 1
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2024 A season 1
2024
Allocations
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Area and sector
Bering Sea subarea.
TAC1 ........................................................................................................
CDQ DFA .................................................................................................
ICA 1 .........................................................................................................
Total Bering Sea non-CDQ DFA .............................................................
AFA Inshore .............................................................................................
AFA Catcher/Processors 3 .......................................................................
Catch by CPs ...................................................................................
Catch by CVs 3 .................................................................................
Unlisted CP Limit 4 ............................................................................
AFA Motherships .....................................................................................
Excessive Harvesting Limit 5 ....................................................................
Excessive Processing Limit 6 ...................................................................
Aleutian Islands subarea ABC .................................................................
Aleutian Islands subarea TAC 1 ...............................................................
CDQ DFA .................................................................................................
ICA ...........................................................................................................
Aleut Corporation .....................................................................................
Area harvest limit 7 ...................................................................................
541 ....................................................................................................
542 ....................................................................................................
543 ....................................................................................................
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1,302,000
130,200
50,000
1,121,800
560,900
448,720
410,579
38,141
2,244
112,180
196,315
336,540
43,092
19,000
1,900
2,500
14,600
n/a
12,928
6,464
2,155
Sfmt 4700
A season
DFA
SCA harvest
limit 2
n/a
58,590
n/a
504,810
252,405
201,924
184,760
17,164
1,010
50,481
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1,841
1,250
14,146
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
E:\FR\FM\10MRR1.SGM
10MRR1
n/a
36,456
n/a
314,104
157,052
125,642
n/a
n/a
n/a
31,410
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
2024 B season 1
B season
DFA
n/a
71,610
n/a
616,990
308,495
246,796
225,818
20,978
1,234
61,699
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
59
1,250
454
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
14934
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 5—FINAL 2024 ALLOCATIONS OF POLLOCK TACS TO THE DIRECTED POLLOCK FISHERIES AND TO THE CDQ
DIRECTED FISHING ALLOWANCES (DFA) 1—Continued
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2024 A season 1
2024
Allocations
Area and sector
Bogoslof District ICA 8 ..............................................................................
A season
DFA
300
2024 B season 1
SCA harvest
limit 2
n/a
n/a
B season
DFA
n/a
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the Bering Sea subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and the ICA (50,000 mt,
4.27 percent), is allocated as a DFA as follows: inshore sector—50 percent, catcher/processor sector (CP)—40 percent, and mothership sector—
10 percent. In the Bering Sea subarea, 45 percent of the DFAs are allocated to the A season (January 20–June 10) and 55 percent of the DFAs
are allocated to the B season (June 10–November 1). When the AI pollock ABC equals or exceeds 19,000 mt, the annual TAC is equal to
19,000 mt (§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(1)). Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2), the Aleutian Islands subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the
CDQ DFA (10 percent) and second for the ICA (2,500 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a pollock directed fishery. In the Aleutian Islands subarea, the A season is allocated no more than 40 percent of the Aleutian Islands pollock ABC.
2 In the Bering Sea subarea, pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(C), no more than 28 percent of each sector’s annual DFA may be taken from the
SCA before 12 p.m. (noon), April 1.
3 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4), 8.5 percent of the allocation to listed CPs shall be available for harvest only by eligible catcher vessels
with a CP endorsement delivering to listed CPs, unless there is a CP sector cooperative for the year.
4 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4)(iii), the AFA unlisted catcher/processors are limited to harvesting not more than 0.5 percent of the catcher/
processor sector’s allocation of pollock.
5 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(6), NMFS establishes an excessive harvesting share limit equal to 17.5 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ
pollock DFAs.
6 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(7), NMFS establishes an excessive processing share limit equal to 30 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ
pollock DFAs.
7 Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(6), NMFS establishes harvest limits for pollock in the A season in Area 541 of no more than 30 percent, in
Area 542 of no more than 15 percent, and in Area 543 of no more than 5 percent of the Aleutian Islands pollock ABC.
8 Pursuant to § 679.22(a)(7)(B), the Bogoslof District is closed to directed fishing for pollock. The amounts specified are for incidental catch
only and are not apportioned by season or sector.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Allocation of the Atka Mackerel TACs
Section 679.20(a)(8) allocates the Atka
mackerel TACs to the Amendment 80
and BSAI trawl limited access sectors,
after subtracting the CDQ reserves, ICAs
for the BSAI trawl limited access sector
and non-trawl gear sector, and the jig
gear allocation (Tables 6 and 7). The
percentage of the ITAC for Atka
mackerel allocated to the Amendment
80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors
is listed in Table 33 to 50 CFR part 679
and in § 679.91. Pursuant to
§ 679.20(a)(8)(i), up to 2 percent of the
EAI and the BS Atka mackerel TAC may
be allocated to vessels using jig gear.
The percent of this allocation is
recommended annually by the Council
based on several criteria, including,
among other criteria, the anticipated
harvest capacity of the jig gear fleet. The
Council recommended, and NMFS
approves, a 0.5 percent allocation of the
Atka mackerel TAC in the EAI and BS
to the jig gear sector in 2023 and 2024.
Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(A) apportions
the Atka mackerel TAC, after
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Jkt 259001
subtraction of the jig gear allocation,
into two equal seasonal allowances.
Section 679.23(e)(3) sets the first
seasonal allowance for directed fishing
with trawl gear from January 20 through
June 10 (A season), and the second
seasonal allowance from June 10
through December 31 (B season).
Section 679.23(e)(4)(iii) applies Atka
mackerel seasons to CDQ Atka mackerel
trawl fishing. Within any fishing year,
any under harvest or over harvest of a
seasonal allowance may be added to or
subtracted from a subsequent seasonal
allowance (§ 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(B)). The
ICAs and jig gear allocations are not
apportioned by season.
Sections 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(i) and
(ii) limits Atka mackerel catch within
waters 0 nautical miles (nmi) to 20 nmi
of Steller sea lion sites listed in Table
6 to 50 CFR part 679 and located west
of 178° W longitude to no more than 60
percent of the annual TACs in Areas 542
and 543, and equally divides the annual
TACs between the A and B seasons as
defined at § 679.23(e)(3). Section
PO 00000
Frm 00064
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(2) requires that the
annual TAC in Area 543 will be no more
than 65 percent of the ABC in Area 543.
Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(D) requires that
any unharvested Atka mackerel A
season allowance that is added to the B
season be prohibited from being
harvested within waters 0 nmi to 20 nmi
of Steller sea lion sites listed in Table
6 to 50 CFR part 679 and located in
Areas 541, 542, and 543.
Tables 6 and 7 list these 2023 and
2024 Atka mackerel seasonal and area
allowances, and the sector allocations.
One Amendment 80 cooperative has
formed for the 2023 fishing year.
Because all Amendment 80 vessels are
part of the sole Amendment 80
cooperative, no allocation to the
Amendment 80 limited access sector is
required for 2023. The 2024 allocations
for Atka mackerel between Amendment
80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80
limited access sector will not be known
until eligible participants apply for
participation in the program by
November 1, 2023.
E:\FR\FM\10MRR1.SGM
10MRR1
14935
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 6—FINAL 2023 SEASONAL AND SPATIAL ALLOWANCES, GEAR SHARES, CDQ RESERVE, INCIDENTAL CATCH
ALLOWANCE, AND AMENDMENT 80 ALLOCATIONS OF THE BSAI ATKA MACKEREL TAC
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2023 Allocation by area
Sector 1
Season 2 3 4
TAC ..........................................................................................................
CDQ reserve ............................................................................................
Critical
Critical
Non-CDQ TAC .........................................................................................
ICA ...........................................................................................................
Jig 6 ..........................................................................................................
BSAI trawl limited access ........................................................................
Critical
Critical
Amendment 80 sector .............................................................................
Critical
Critical
n/a
Total
A
Habitat
B
Habitat
n/a
Total
Total
Total
A
Habitat
B
Habitat
Total
A
Habitat
B
Habitat
Eastern
Aleutian
district/Bering
Sea
27,260
2,917
1,458
n/a
1,458
n/a
24,343
800
118
2,343
1,171
n/a
1,171
n/a
21,083
10,541
n/a
10,541
n/a
Central
Aleutian
district 5
Western
Aleutian
district
17,351
1,857
928
557
928
557
15,494
75
........................
1,542
771
463
771
463
13,877
6,939
4,163
6,939
4,163
24,671
2,640
1,320
792
1,320
792
22,031
20
..............................
..............................
..............................
..............................
..............................
..............................
22,011
11,006
6,603
11,006
6,603
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii) allocates the Atka mackerel TACs, after subtracting the CDQ reserves, ICAs, and jig gear allocation, to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors. The allocation of the ITAC for Atka mackerel to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors is established in Table 33 to 50 CFR part 679 and § 679.91. The CDQ reserve is 10.7 percent of the TAC for use by CDQ participants (see § 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)).
2 Sections 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(A) and 679.22(a) establish temporal and spatial limitations for the Atka mackerel fishery.
3 The seasonal allowances of Atka mackerel are 50 percent in the A season and 50 percent in the B season.
4 Section 679.23(e)(3) authorizes directed fishing for Atka mackerel with trawl gear during the A season from January 20 to June 10 and the B
season from June 10 to December 31.
5 Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(i) limits no more than 60 percent of the annual TACs in Areas 542 and 543 to be caught inside of Steller sea
lion protection areas; section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(ii) equally divides the annual TACs between the A and B seasons as defined at
§ 679.23(e)(3); and section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(2) requires that the TAC in Area 543 shall be no more than 65 percent of ABC in Area 543.
6 Sections 679.2 and 679.20(a)(8)(i) require that up to 2 percent of the Eastern Aleutian Islands District and the Bering Sea subarea TAC be
allocated to jig gear after subtracting the CDQ reserve and the ICA. NMFS sets the amount of this allocation for 2023 at 0.5 percent. The jig
gear allocation is not apportioned by season.
TABLE 7—FINAL 2024 SEASONAL AND SPATIAL ALLOWANCES, GEAR SHARES, CDQ RESERVE, INCIDENTAL CATCH
ALLOWANCE, AND AMENDMENT 80 ALLOCATION OF THE BSAI ATKA MACKEREL TAC
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2024 Allocation by area
Sector 1
Season 2 3 4
TAC ..........................................................................................................
CDQ reserve ............................................................................................
Critical
Critical
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
non-CDQ TAC .........................................................................................
ICA ...........................................................................................................
Jig 6 ..........................................................................................................
BSAI trawl limited access ........................................................................
Critical
Critical
Amendment 80 sectors 7 ..........................................................................
Critical
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Sfmt 4700
n/a
Total
A
Habitat
B
Habitat
n/a
Total
Total
Total
A
Habitat
B
Habitat
Total
A
Habitat
B
Eastern
Aleutian
district/Bering
Sea 5
30,000
3,210
1,605
n/a
1,605
n/a
26,790
800
130
2,586
1,293
n/a
1,293
n/a
23,274
11,637
n/a
11,637
E:\FR\FM\10MRR1.SGM
Central
Aleutian
district 5
Western
Aleutian
district 5
15,218
1,628
814
488
814
488
13,590
75
........................
1,351
676
405
676
405
12,163
6,082
3,649
6,082
21,637
2,315
1,158
695
1,158
695
19,322
20
..............................
..............................
..............................
..............................
..............................
..............................
19,302
9,651
5,791
9,651
10MRR1
14936
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 7—FINAL 2024 SEASONAL AND SPATIAL ALLOWANCES, GEAR SHARES, CDQ RESERVE, INCIDENTAL CATCH
ALLOWANCE, AND AMENDMENT 80 ALLOCATION OF THE BSAI ATKA MACKEREL TAC—Continued
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2024 Allocation by area
Sector 1
Season 2 3 4
Eastern
Aleutian
district/Bering
Sea 5
Critical Habitat
Central
Aleutian
district 5
n/a
3,649
Western
Aleutian
district 5
5,791
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii) allocates the Atka mackerel TACs, after subtracting the CDQ reserves, ICAs, and jig gear allocation, to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors. The allocation of the ITAC for Atka mackerel to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors is established in Table 33 to 50 CFR part 679 and § 679.91. The CDQ reserve is 10.7 percent of the TAC for use by CDQ participants (see § 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)).
2 Sections 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(A) and 679.22(a) establish temporal and spatial limitations for the Atka mackerel fishery.
3 The seasonal allowances of Atka mackerel are 50 percent in the A season and 50 percent in the B season.
4 Section 679.23(e)(3) authorizes directed fishing for Atka mackerel with trawl gear during the A season from January 20 to June 10 and the B
season from June 10 to December 31.
5 Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(i) limits no more than 60 percent of the annual TACs in Areas 542 and 543 to be caught inside of Steller sea
lion protection areas; section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(ii) equally divides the annual TACs between the A and B seasons as defined at
§ 679.23(e)(3); and section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(2) requires that the TAC in Area 543 shall be no more than 65 percent of ABC in Area 543.
6 Sections 679.2 and 679.20(a)(8)(i) requires that up to 2 percent of the Eastern Aleutian Islands District and the Bering Sea subarea TAC be
allocated to jig gear after subtracting the CDQ reserve and the ICA. NMFS sets the amount of this allocation for 2024 at 0.5 percent. The jig
gear allocation is not apportioned by season.
7 The 2024 allocations for Atka mackerel between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be known
until eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1, 2023.
Allocation of the Pacific Cod TAC
The Council separated BSAI subarea
OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for Pacific cod
in 2014 (79 FR 12108, March 4, 2014).
Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C) allocates 10.7
percent of the BS TAC and the AI TAC
to the CDQ program. After CDQ
allocations have been deducted from the
respective BS and AI Pacific cod TACs,
the remaining BSAI Pacific cod TACs
are combined for calculating further
BSAI Pacific cod sector allocations. If
the non-CDQ Pacific cod TAC is or will
be reached in either the BS or the AI
subareas, NMFS will prohibit non-CDQ
directed fishing for Pacific cod in that
subarea as provided in
§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii).
Section 679.20(a)(7)(ii) allocates to the
non-CDQ sectors the Pacific cod TAC in
the combined BSAI, after subtracting
10.7 percent for the CDQ program, as
follows: 1.4 percent to vessels using jig
gear; 2.0 percent to hook-and-line or pot
CVs less than 60 ft (18.3 m) length
overall (LOA); 0.2 percent to hook-andline CVs greater than or equal to 60 ft
(18.3 m) LOA; 48.7 percent to hook-andline CPs; 8.4 percent to pot CVs greater
than or equal to 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA; 1.5
percent to pot CPs; 2.3 percent to AFA
trawl CPs; 13.4 percent to Amendment
80 sector; and 22.1 percent to trawl CVs.
The ICA for the hook-and-line and pot
sectors will be deducted from the
aggregate portion of Pacific cod TAC
allocated to the hook-and-line and pot
sectors. For 2023 and 2024, the Regional
Administrator establishes an ICA of 500
mt based on anticipated incidental catch
by these sectors in other fisheries.
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During the fishing year, NMFS may
reallocate unharvested Pacific cod
among sectors, consistent with the
reallocation hierarchy set forth at
§ 679.20(a)(7)(iii).
The ITAC allocation of Pacific cod to
the Amendment 80 sector is established
in Table 33 to 50 CFR part 679 and
§ 679.91. One Amendment 80
cooperative has formed for the 2023
fishing year. Because all Amendment 80
vessels are part of the sole Amendment
80 cooperative, no allocation to the
Amendment 80 limited access sector is
required for 2023. The 2024 allocations
for Pacific cod between Amendment 80
cooperatives and the Amendment 80
limited access sector will not be known
until eligible participants apply for
participation in the program by
November 1, 2023.
The sector allocations of Pacific cod
are apportioned into seasonal
allowances to disperse the Pacific cod
fisheries over the fishing year (see
§§ 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B), 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(A),
and 679.23(e)(5)). Tables 8 and 9 list the
non-CDQ sector and seasonal
allowances. In accordance with
§ 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(B) and (C), any unused
portion of a non-CDQ Pacific cod
seasonal allowance for any sector,
except the jig sector, will become
available at the beginning of that
sector’s next seasonal allowance.
Section 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B) sets forth the
CDQ Pacific cod gear allowances by
season, and CDQ groups are prohibited
from exceeding those seasonal
allowances (§ 679.7(d)(6)).
PO 00000
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Section 679.20(a)(7)(vii) requires that
the Regional Administrator establish an
Area 543 Pacific cod harvest limit based
on Pacific cod abundance in Area 543
as determined by the annual stock
assessment process. Based on the 2022
stock assessment, the Regional
Administrator determined for 2023 and
2024 the estimated amount of Pacific
cod abundance in Area 543 is 15.7
percent of the total AI abundance. To
calculate the Area 543 Pacific cod
harvest limit, NMFS first subtracts the
State GHL Pacific cod amount from the
AI Pacific cod ABC. Then NMFS
determines the harvest limit in Area 543
by multiplying the percentage of Pacific
cod estimated in Area 543 (15.7 percent)
by the remaining ABC for AI Pacific
cod. Based on these calculations, the
Area 543 harvest limit is 2,233 mt for
2023 and 2024.
On March 21, 2019, the final rule
adopting Amendment 113 to the FMP
(81 FR 84434, November 23, 2016) was
vacated by the U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia (Groundfish Forum
v. Ross, No. 16–2495 (D.D.C. March 21,
2019)), and the corresponding
regulations implementing Amendment
113 are no longer in effect. Therefore,
this final rule is not specifying amounts
for the AI Pacific Cod Catcher Vessel
Harvest Set-Aside Program (see
§ 679.20(a)(7)(viii)). NMFS anticipates
that in 2024 the regulations at
§ 679.20(a)(7)(viii) will be removed
through implementation of the PCTC
Program, if Amendment 122 and its
regulations are approved by the
Secretary of Commerce (described above
E:\FR\FM\10MRR1.SGM
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in Other Actions Affecting the 2023 and
2024 Harvest Specifications).
Based on the final 2023 and 2024
Pacific cod TACs, Table 8 and Table 9
list the CDQ and non-CDQ TAC
amounts; non-CDQ seasonal allowances
by gear; the sector allocations of Pacific
14937
cod; and the seasons set forth at
§ 679.23(e)(5).
TABLE 8—FINAL 2023 SECTOR ALLOCATIONS AND SEASONAL ALLOWANCES OF THE BSAI PACIFIC COD TAC
[Amounts are in metric tons]
Sector
2023 Share
of total
Percent
2023 Seasonal
apportionment
2023 Share
of sector
total
Season
BS TAC ........................................................
BS CDQ .......................................................
BS non-CDQ TAC .......................................
AI TAC .........................................................
AI CDQ ........................................................
AI non-CDQ TAC .........................................
Area 543 Western Aleutian Island Limit ......
Total BSAI non-CDQ TAC 1 .........................
Total hook-and-line/pot gear ........................
Hook-and-line/pot ICA 2 ...............................
Hook-and-line/pot sub-total ..........................
Hook-and-line catcher/processor .................
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
100
60.8
n/a
n/a
48.7
127,409
13,633
113,776
8,425
901
7,524
2,233
121,300
73,750
500
73,250
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
58,672
n/a ..................................................
see § 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B) .................
n/a ..................................................
n/a ..................................................
see § 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B) .................
n/a ..................................................
n/a ..................................................
n/a ..................................................
n/a ..................................................
see § 679.20(a)(7)(ii)(B) ................
n/a ..................................................
Jan 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10–Dec 31 ..............................
Hook-and-line catcher vessel ≥60 ft LOA ...
0.2
n/a
241
Jan 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10–Dec 31 ..............................
Pot catcher/processor ..................................
1.5
n/a
1,807
Jan 1–Jun 10 .................................
Sept 1–Dec 31 ..............................
Pot catcher vessel ≥60 ft LOA ....................
8.4
n/a
10,120
Jan 1–Jun 10 .................................
Sept 1–Dec 31 ..............................
Catcher vessel <60 ft LOA using hook-andline or pot gear.
Trawl catcher vessel ....................................
2.0
n/a
2,410
n/a ..................................................
22.1
26,807
n/a
Jan 20–Apr 1 .................................
Apr 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10–Nov 1 ................................
AFA trawl catcher/processor .......................
2.3
2,790
n/a
Amendment 80 ............................................
13.4
16,254
n/a
Jig ................................................................
1.4
1,698
n/a
Amount
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
29,923
28,750
123
118
922
886
5,161
4,959
n/a
19,837
2,949
4,021
2,092
Jan 20–Apr 1 .................................
Apr 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10–Nov 1 ................................
Jan 20–Apr 1 .................................
Apr 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10–Dec 31 ..............................
Jan 1–Apr 30 .................................
Apr 30–Aug 31 ..............................
Aug 31–Dec 31 .............................
697
12,191
4,064
1,019
340
340
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 The sector allocations and seasonal allowances for BSAI Pacific cod TAC are based on the sum of the BS and AI Pacific cod TACs, after the
subtraction of the reserves for the CDQ program. If the TAC for Pacific cod in either the AI or BS is or will be reached, then directed fishing for
non-CDQ Pacific cod in that subarea will be prohibited, even if a BSAI allowance remains (§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii)).
2 The ICA for the hook-and-line and pot sectors will be deducted from the aggregate portion of Pacific cod TAC allocated to the hook-and-line
and pot sectors. The Regional Administrator approves an ICA of 500 mt for 2023 based on anticipated incidental catch by these sectors in other
fisheries.
TABLE 9—FINAL 2024 SECTOR ALLOCATIONS AND SEASONAL ALLOWANCES OF THE BSAI PACIFIC COD TAC
[Amounts are in metric tons]
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Sector
BS TAC ........................................................
BS CDQ .......................................................
BS non-CDQ TAC .......................................
AI TAC .........................................................
AI CDQ ........................................................
AI non-CDQ TAC .........................................
Area 543 Western Aleutian Island Limit ......
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Percent
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n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
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123,295
13,193
110,102
8,425
901
7,524
2,233
Fmt 4700
2024 Seasonal
apportionment
2024 Share
of sector
total
Sfmt 4700
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Season
n/a ..................................................
see § 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B) .................
n/a ..................................................
n/a ..................................................
see § 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B) .................
n/a ..................................................
n/a ..................................................
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n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
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n/a
n/a
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 9—FINAL 2024 SECTOR ALLOCATIONS AND SEASONAL ALLOWANCES OF THE BSAI PACIFIC COD TAC—Continued
[Amounts are in metric tons]
Sector
2024 Seasonal
apportionment
2024 Share
of sector
total
2024 Share
total
Percent
Season
Amount
Total BSAI non-CDQ TAC 1 .........................
Total hook-and-line/pot gear ........................
Hook-and-line/pot ICA 2 ...............................
Hook-and-line/pot sub-total ..........................
Hook-and-line catcher/processor .................
n/a
60.8
n/a
n/a
48.7
117,626
71,517
500
71,017
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
56,883
n/a ..................................................
n/a ..................................................
see § 679.20(a)(7)(ii)(B) ................
n/a ..................................................
Jan 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10–Dec 31 ..............................
Hook-and-line catcher vessel ≥60 ft LOA ...
0.2
n/a
234
Jan 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10–Dec 31 ..............................
Pot catcher/processor ..................................
1.5
n/a
1,752
Jan 1–Jun 10 .................................
Sept 1–Dec 31 ..............................
Pot catcher vessel ≥60 ft LOA ....................
8.4
n/a
9,812
Jan 1–Jun 10 .................................
Sept 1–Dec 31 ..............................
Catcher vessel <60 ft LOA using hook-andline or pot gear.
Trawl catcher vessel ....................................
2.0
n/a
2,336
n/a ..................................................
22.1
25,995
n/a
Jan 20–Apr 1 .................................
Apr 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10–Nov 1 ................................
AFA trawl catcher/processor .......................
2.3
2,705
n/a
Amendment 80 ............................................
13.4
15,762
n/a
Jig ................................................................
1.4
1,647
n/a
Jan 20–Apr 1 .................................
Apr 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10–Nov 1 ................................
Jan 20–Apr 1 .................................
Apr 1–Jun 10 .................................
Jun 10-Dec 31 ...............................
Jan 1–Apr 30 .................................
Apr 30–Aug 31 ..............................
Aug 31–Dec 31 .............................
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
29,011
27,873
119
114
894
859
5,004
4,808
n/a
19,237
2,859
3,899
2,029
676
11,821
3,940
988
329
329
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 The sector allocations and seasonal allowances for BSAI Pacific cod TAC are based on the sum of the BS and AI Pacific cod TACs, after the
subtraction of the reserves for the CDQ program. If the TAC for Pacific cod in either the AI or BS is or will be reached, then directed fishing for
non-CDQ Pacific cod in that subarea will be prohibited, even if a BSAI allowance remains (§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii)).
2 The ICA for the hook-and-line and pot sectors will be deducted from the aggregate portion of Pacific cod TAC allocated to the hook-and-line
and pot sectors. The Regional Administrator approves an ICA of 500 mt for 2024 based on anticipated incidental catch by these sectors in other
fisheries.
Sablefish Gear Allocation
Sections 679.20(a)(4)(iii) and (iv)
require allocation of the sablefish TAC
for the BS and AI subareas between the
trawl gear and fixed gear sectors. Gear
allocations of the sablefish TAC for the
BS are 50 percent for trawl gear and 50
percent for fixed gear. Gear allocations
of the TAC for the AI are 25 percent for
trawl gear and 75 percent for fixed gear.
Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) requires that
NMFS apportions 20 percent of the
fixed gear allocation of sablefish TAC to
the CDQ reserve for each subarea. Also,
§ 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(D)(1) requires that in
the BS and AI 7.5 percent of the trawl
gear allocation of sablefish TAC from
the non-specified reserve, established
under § 679.20(b)(1)(i), be assigned to
the CDQ reserve.
The Council recommended that only
trawl sablefish TAC be established
biennially. The harvest specifications
for the fixed gear sablefish Individual
Fishing Quota (IFQ) fisheries are limited
to the 2023 fishing year to ensure those
fisheries are conducted concurrently
with the halibut IFQ fishery. Concurrent
sablefish and halibut IFQ fisheries
reduce the potential for discards of
halibut and sablefish in those fisheries.
The sablefish IFQ fisheries remain
closed at the beginning of each fishing
year until the final harvest
specifications for the sablefish IFQ
fisheries are in effect. Table 10 lists the
2023 and 2024 gear allocations of the
sablefish TAC and CDQ reserve
amounts.
TABLE 10—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 GEAR SHARES AND CDQ RESERVE OF BSAI SABLEFISH TACS
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
[Amounts are in metric tons]
Percent
of TAC
Subarea and gear
Bering Sea.
Trawl gear 1 .......................................
Fixed gear 2 .......................................
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2023 Share
of TAC
50
50
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3,998
3,998
Fmt 4700
2023
ITAC
2023 CDQ
reserve
3,398
3,198
Sfmt 4700
2024 Share
of TAC
300
800
E:\FR\FM\10MRR1.SGM
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n/a
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ITAC
4,112
n/a
2024 CDQ
reserve
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14939
TABLE 10—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 GEAR SHARES AND CDQ RESERVE OF BSAI SABLEFISH TACS—Continued
[Amounts are in metric tons]
Percent
of TAC
Subarea and gear
2023 Share
of TAC
2023
ITAC
2023 CDQ
reserve
2024 Share
of TAC
2024
ITAC
2024 CDQ
reserve
Total ...........................................
100
7,996
6,597
1,099
4,838
4,112
363
Aleutian Islands.
Trawl gear 1 .......................................
Fixed gear 2 .......................................
25
75
2,110
6,330
1,794
5,064
158
1,266
2,448
n/a
2,081
n/a
184
n/a
Total ...........................................
100
8,440
6,858
1,424
2,448
2,081
184
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 For the sablefish TAC allocated to vessels using trawl gear, 15 percent of TAC is apportioned to the non-specified reserve (§ 679.20(b)(1)(i)).
The ITAC for vessels using trawl gear is the remainder of the TAC after subtracting this reserve. In the BS and AI, 7.5 percent of the trawl gear
allocation of the TAC is assigned from the non-specified reserve to the CDQ reserve (§ 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(D)(1)).
2 For the portion of the sablefish TAC allocated to vessels using fixed gear, 20 percent of the allocated TAC for the BS and AI is reserved for
use by CDQ participants (§ 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B)). The ITAC for vessels using fixed gear is the remainder of the TAC after subtracting the CDQ reserve for each subarea. The Council recommended that specifications for the fixed gear sablefish IFQ fisheries be limited to 1 year.
Allocation of the AI Pacific Ocean
Perch, and BSAI Flathead Sole, Rock
Sole, and Yellowfin Sole TACs
Sections 679.20(a)(10)(i) and (ii)
require that NMFS allocate AI Pacific
ocean perch and BSAI flathead sole,
rock sole, and yellowfin sole ITACs
between the Amendment 80 sector and
the BSAI trawl limited access sector,
after subtracting 10.7 percent for the
CDQ reserves and ICAs for the BSAI
trawl limited access sector and vessels
using non-trawl gear. The allocations of
the ITACs for AI Pacific ocean perch
and BSAI flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole to the Amendment 80
sector are established in accordance
with Tables 33 and 34 to 50 CFR part
679 and § 679.91.
One Amendment 80 cooperative has
formed for the 2023 fishing year.
Because all Amendment 80 vessels are
part of the sole Amendment 80
cooperative, no allocation to the
Amendment 80 limited access sector is
required for 2023. The 2024 allocations
for Amendment 80 species between
Amendment 80 cooperatives and the
Amendment 80 limited access sector
will not be known until eligible
participants apply for participation in
the program by November 1, 2023.
Tables 11 and 12 list the 2023 and 2024
allocations of the AI Pacific ocean perch
and BSAI flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole TACs.
TABLE 11—FINAL 2023 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT QUOTA (CDQ) RESERVES, INCIDENTAL CATCH AMOUNTS (ICAS), AND
AMENDMENT 80 ALLOCATIONS OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS PACIFIC OCEAN PERCH AND BSAI FLATHEAD SOLE, ROCK
SOLE, AND YELLOWFIN SOLE TACS
[Amounts are in metric tons]
Pacific ocean perch
Sector
Eastern
Aleutian
district
TAC ..........................................................
CDQ .........................................................
ICA ...........................................................
BSAI trawl limited access ........................
Amendment 80 .........................................
Central
Aleutian
district
8,152
872
100
718
6,462
Western
Aleutian
district
5,648
604
60
498
4,485
12,000
1,284
10
214
10,492
Flathead sole
Rock sole
Yellowfin sole
BSAI
BSAI
BSAI
35,500
3,799
3,000
........................
28,702
66,000
7,062
6,000
........................
52,938
230,000
24,610
4,000
45,498
155,892
Note: Sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
TABLE 12—FINAL 2024 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT QUOTA (CDC) RESERVES, INCIDENTAL CATCH AMOUNTS (ICAS), AND
AMENDMENT 80 ALLOCATIONS OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS PACIFIC OCEAN PERCH AND BSAI FLATHEAD SOLE, ROCK
SOLE, AND YELLOWFIN SOLE TACS
[Amounts are in metric tons]
Pacific ocean perch
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Sector
Eastern
Aleutian
district
TAC ..........................................................
CDQ .........................................................
ICA ...........................................................
BSAI trawl limited access ........................
Amendment 80 1 ......................................
8,013
857
100
706
6,350
Central
Aleutian
district
Western
Aleutian
district
5,551
594
60
490
4,407
13,000
1,391
10
232
11,367
Flathead sole
Rock sole
Yellowfin sole
BSAI
BSAI
BSAI
35,500
3,799
3,000
........................
28,702
66,000
7,062
6,000
........................
52,938
230,656
24,680
4,000
45,733
156,243
Note: Sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 The 2024 allocations for Amendment 80 species between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not
be known until eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1, 2023.
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14940
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
Section 679.2 defines the ABC surplus
for flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole as the difference between
the annual ABC and TAC for each
species. Section 679.20(b)(1)(iii)
establishes ABC reserves for flathead
sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. The
ABC surpluses and the ABC reserves are
necessary to mitigate the operational
variability, environmental conditions,
and economic factors that may constrain
the CDQ groups and the Amendment 80
cooperatives from fully harvesting their
allocations and to improve the
likelihood of achieving and
maintaining, on a continuing basis, the
optimum yield in the BSAI groundfish
fisheries. NMFS, after consultation with
the Council, may set the ABC reserve at
or below the ABC surplus for each
species, thus maintaining the TAC at or
below ABC limits. An amount equal to
10.7 percent of the ABC reserves will be
allocated as CDQ ABC reserves for
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole. Section 679.31(b)(4) establishes the
annual allocations of CDQ ABC reserves
among the CDQ groups. The
Amendment 80 ABC reserves are the
ABC reserves minus the CDQ ABC
reserves. Section 679.91(i)(2) establishes
Amendment 80 cooperatives ABC
reserve to be the ratio of each
cooperatives’ quota share units and the
total Amendment 80 quota share units,
multiplied by the Amendment 80 ABC
reserve for each respective species.
Table 13 lists the 2023 and 2024 ABC
surplus and ABC reserves for BSAI
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole.
TABLE 13—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 ABC SURPLUS, ABC RESERVES, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT QUOTA (CDQ) ABC
RESERVES, AND AMENDMENT 80 ABC RESERVES IN THE BSAI FOR FLATHEAD SOLE, ROCK SOLE, AND YELLOWFIN SOLE
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2023 Flathead
sole
Sector
ABC ......................................................
TAC ......................................................
ABC surplus .........................................
ABC reserve .........................................
CDQ ABC reserve ...............................
Amendment 80 ABC reserve ...............
2023 Rock
sole
65,344
35,500
29,844
29,844
3,193
26,651
2023 Yellowfin
sole
2024 1 Flathead
sole
378,499
230,000
148,499
148,499
15,889
132,610
66,927
35,500
31,427
31,427
3,363
28,064
121,719
66,000
55,719
55,719
5,962
49,757
2024 1 Rock
sole
119,969
66,000
53,969
53,969
5,775
48,194
2024 1 Yellowfin
sole
462,890
230,656
232,234
232,234
24,849
207,385
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
1 The 2024 allocations for Amendment 80 species between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not
be known until eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1, 2023.
PSC Limits for Halibut, Salmon, Crab,
and Herring
Section 679.21, at paragraphs (b), (e),
(f), and (g), sets forth the BSAI PSC
limits. Pursuant to § 679.21(b)(1), the
annual BSAI halibut PSC limits total
3,515 mt. Section 679.21(b)(1) allocates
315 mt of the halibut PSC limit as the
PSQ reserve for use by the groundfish
CDQ Program, 1,745 mt of the halibut
PSC limit for the Amendment 80 sector,
745 mt of the halibut PSC limit for the
BSAI trawl limited access sector, and
710 mt of the halibut PSC limit for the
BSAI non-trawl sector.
Section 679.21(b)(1)(iii)(A) and (B)
requires apportionment of the BSAI
non-trawl halibut PSC limit into PSC
allowances among six fishery categories
in Table 17, and § 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(A)
and (B), (e)(3)(i)(B), and (e)(3)(iv)
requires apportionment of the trawl PSC
limits in Tables 15 and 16 into PSC
allowances among seven fishery
categories. These apportionments into
PSC allowances are based on the fishery
categories’ share of anticipated halibut
PSC during the fishing year and the
need to optimize the amount of total
groundfish harvested under the halibut
PSC limit for the non-trawl and trawl
sectors.
Pursuant to Section 3.6 of the FMP,
the Council recommends, and NMFS
agrees, that certain specified non-trawl
fisheries be exempt from the halibut
PSC limit. As in past years, after
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:14 Mar 09, 2023
Jkt 259001
consultation with the Council, NMFS
exempts the pot gear fishery, the jig gear
fishery, and the sablefish IFQ fixed gear
fishery categories from halibut bycatch
restrictions for the following reasons: (1)
the pot gear fisheries have low halibut
bycatch mortality; (2) NMFS estimates
halibut mortality for the jig gear fleet to
be negligible because of the small size
of the fishery and the selectivity of the
gear; and (3) the sablefish and halibut
IFQ fisheries have low halibut bycatch
mortality because the IFQ program
requires that legal-size halibut be
retained by vessels using fixed gear if a
halibut IFQ permit holder or a hired
master is aboard and is holding unused
halibut IFQ for that vessel category and
the IFQ regulatory area in which the
vessel is operating (§ 679.7(f)(11)).
The 2022 total groundfish catch for
the pot gear fishery in the BSAI was
21,177 mt, with an associated halibut
bycatch mortality of 25 mt. The 2022 jig
gear fishery harvested no groundfish.
Most vessels in the jig gear fleet are
exempt from observer coverage
requirements. As a result, observer data
are not available on halibut bycatch in
the jig gear fishery. As mentioned above,
NMFS estimates a negligible amount of
halibut bycatch mortality because of the
selective nature of jig gear and the low
mortality rate of halibut caught with jig
gear and released.
Under § 679.21(f)(2), NMFS annually
allocates portions of either 33,318,
PO 00000
Frm 00070
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
45,000, 47,591, or 60,000 Chinook
salmon PSC limits among the AFA
sectors, depending on past bycatch
performance, on whether Chinook
salmon bycatch incentive plan
agreements (IPAs) are formed and
approved by NMFS, and on whether
NMFS determines it is a low Chinook
salmon abundance year. NMFS will
determine that it is a low Chinook
salmon abundance year when
abundance of Chinook salmon in
western Alaska is less than or equal to
250,000 Chinook salmon. The State of
Alaska provides to NMFS an estimate of
Chinook salmon abundance using the 3System Index for western Alaska based
on the Kuskokwim, Unalakleet, and
Upper Yukon aggregate stock grouping.
If an AFA sector participates in an
approved IPA and has not exceeded its
performance standard under
§ 679.21(f)(6), and if it is not a low
Chinook salmon abundance year, then
NMFS will allocate a portion of the
60,000 Chinook salmon PSC limit to
that sector as specified in
§ 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(A). If no IPA is
approved, or if the sector has exceeded
its performance standard under
§ 679.21(f)(6), and if it is not a low
abundance year, then NMFS will
allocate a portion of the 47,591 Chinook
salmon PSC limit to that sector as
specified in § 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(C). If an
AFA sector participates in an approved
IPA and has not exceeded its
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performance standard under
§ 679.21(f)(6), in a low abundance year,
then NMFS will allocate a portion of the
45,000 Chinook salmon PSC limit to
that sector as specified in
§ 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(B). If no IPA is
approved, or if the sector has exceeded
its performance standard under
§ 679.21(f)(6), and if in a low abundance
year, then NMFS will allocate a portion
of the 33,318 Chinook salmon PSC limit
to that sector as specified in
§ 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(D).
NMFS has determined that 2022 was
a low Chinook salmon abundance year,
based on the State’s estimate that
Chinook salmon abundance in western
Alaska is less than 250,000 Chinook
salmon. Therefore, in 2023, the Chinook
salmon PSC limit is 45,000 Chinook
salmon, allocated to each sector as
specified in § 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(B). The
AFA sector Chinook salmon PSC
allocations are also seasonally
apportioned with 70 percent for the A
season pollock fishery, and 30 percent
for the B season pollock fishery
(§§ 679.21(f)(3)(i) and 679.23(e)(2)). In
2023, the Chinook salmon bycatch
performance standard under
§ 679.21(f)(6) is 33,318 Chinook salmon,
allocated to each sector as specified in
§ 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(D).
NMFS publishes the approved IPAs,
allocations, and reports at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/
sustainablefisheries/bycatch/
default.htm.
Section 679.21(g)(2)(i) specifies 700
fish as the 2023 and 2024 Chinook
salmon PSC limit for the AI pollock
fishery. Section 679.21(g)(2)(ii) allocates
7.5 percent, or 53 Chinook salmon, as
the AI PSQ reserve for the CDQ
program, and allocates the remaining
647 Chinook salmon to the non-CDQ
fisheries.
Section 679.21(f)(14)(i) specifies
42,000 fish as the 2023 and 2024 nonChinook salmon PSC limit for vessels
using trawl gear from August 15 through
October 14 in the Catcher Vessel
Operational Area (CVOA). Section
679.21(f)(14)(ii) allocates 10.7 percent,
or 4,494 non-Chinook salmon, in the
CVOA as the PSQ reserve for the CDQ
program, and allocates the remaining
37,506 non-Chinook salmon in the
CVOA to the non-CDQ fisheries. Section
679.21(f)(14)(iv) exempts from closures
in the Chum Salmon Savings Area trawl
vessels participating in directed fishing
for pollock and operating under an IPA
approved by NMFS.
PSC limits for crab and herring are
specified annually based on abundance
and spawning biomass. Section
679.21(e)(3)(i)(A)(1) allocates 10.7
percent from each trawl gear PSC limit
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specified for crab as a PSQ reserve for
use by the groundfish CDQ program.
Based on the most recent (2022)
survey data, the red king crab mature
female abundance is estimated at 8.004
million red king crabs, and the effective
spawning biomass is estimated at 19.607
million lbs (8,894 mt). Based on the
criteria set out at § 679.21(e)(1)(i), the
2023 and 2024 PSC limit of red king
crab in Zone 1 for trawl gear is 32,000
animals. This limit derives from the
mature female abundance estimate
below 8.4 million mature red king crab.
Section 679.21(e)(3)(ii)(B)(2)
establishes criteria under which NMFS
must specify an annual red king crab
bycatch limit for the Red King Crab
Savings Subarea (RKCSS) if the State
has established a GHL fishery for red
king crab in the Bristol Bay area in the
previous year. The State’s Department of
Fish and Game (ADF&G) and NMFS
have reviewed the final 2022 NMFS
trawl survey data for the Bristol Bay red
king crab stock. The stock is estimated
to be below the regulatory threshold for
opening a fishery. Therefore, the State
did not establish a GHL for the Bristol
Bay red king crab fishery, and the
fishery will remain closed for the 2022/
2023 crab season. Since the State did
not establish a GHL, NMFS and the
Council will not specify an amount of
the red king crab bycatch limit, annually
established under § 679.21(e)(1)(i), for
the RKCSS for 2023. Also, NMFS closed
directed fishing for groundfish for
vessels using non-pelagic trawl gear in
the RKCSS for 2023 (88 FR 3930,
January 23, 2023). NMFS and the
Council will assess the RKCSS bycatch
limit and closure for 2024 based on
whether the State’s ADF&G establishes
a GHL for the 2023/2024 red king crab
fishery in the Bristol Bay area.
Based on the most recent (2022)
survey data, Tanner crab (Chionoecetes
bairdi) abundance is estimated at 381
million animals. Pursuant to criteria set
out at § 679.21(e)(1)(ii), the calculated
2023 and 2024 C. bairdi crab PSC limit
for trawl gear is 830,000 animals in
Zone 1, and 2,520,000 animals in Zone
2. The limit in Zone 1 is based on the
abundance of C. bairdi estimated at 381
million animals, which is greater than
270 million animals but less than 400
million animals. The limit in Zone 2 is
based on the abundance of C. bairdi
estimated at 381 million animals, which
is greater than 290 million animals but
less than 400 million animals.
Pursuant to § 679.21(e)(1)(iii), the PSC
limit for trawl gear for snow crab
(Chionoecetes opilio) is based on total
abundance as indicated by the NMFS
annual bottom trawl survey. The C.
opilio crab PSC limit in the C. opilio
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14941
bycatch limitation zone (COBLZ) is set
at 0.1133 percent of the BS abundance
index minus 150,000 crabs, unless the
minimum or maximum PSC limit
applies. Based on the most recent (2022)
survey estimate of 2.584 billion animals,
the calculated C. opilio crab PSC limit
is 2,927,672 animals. Because 0.1133
percent multiplied by the total
abundance is less than 4.5 million, the
minimum PSC limit applies and the
PSC limit will be 4.350 million animals.
Pursuant to § 679.21(e)(1)(v), the PSC
limit of Pacific herring caught while
conducting any trawl operation for BSAI
groundfish is 1 percent of the annual
eastern BS herring biomass. The best
estimate of 2023 and 2024 herring
biomass is 344,379 mt. This amount was
developed by ADF&G based on biomass
for spawning aggregations. Therefore,
the herring PSC limit for 2023 and 2024
is 3,444 mt for all trawl gear as listed in
Tables 14 and 15.
Section 679.21(e)(3)(i)(A) requires that
crab PSQ reserves be subtracted from
the total trawl gear crab PSC limits. The
crab and halibut PSC limits apportioned
to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl
limited access sectors are listed in Table
35 to 50 CFR part 679. The resulting
2023 and 2024 allocations of PSC limit
to CDQ PSQ reserves, the Amendment
80 sector, and the BSAI trawl limited
access sector are listed in Table 14.
Pursuant to §§ 679.21(b)(1)(i),
679.21(e)(3)(vi), and 679.91(d) through
(f), crab and halibut trawl PSC limits
assigned to the Amendment 80 sector
are then further allocated to
Amendment 80 cooperatives as
cooperative quota. Crab and halibut PSC
cooperative quota assigned to
Amendment 80 cooperatives is not
allocated to specific fishery categories.
In 2023, there are no vessels in the
Amendment 80 limited access sector
and there is one Amendment 80
cooperative. The 2024 PSC allocations
between Amendment 80 cooperatives
and the Amendment 80 limited access
sector will not be known until eligible
participants apply for participation in
the program by November 1, 2023.
Sections 679.21(b)(2) and (e)(5)
authorize NMFS, after consulting with
the Council, to establish seasonal
apportionments of halibut and crab PSC
amounts for the BSAI trawl limited
access and non-trawl sectors to
maximize the ability of the fleet to
harvest the available groundfish TAC
and to minimize bycatch. The factors to
be considered are: (1) seasonal
distribution of prohibited species, (2)
seasonal distribution of target
groundfish species relative to prohibited
species distribution, (3) PSC bycatch
needs on a seasonal basis relevant to
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prohibited species biomass and
expected catches of target groundfish
species, (4) expected variations in
bycatch rates throughout the year, (5)
expected changes in directed groundfish
fishing seasons, (6) expected start of
apportionments in Tables 16 and 17 to
maximize harvest among gear types,
fisheries, and seasons while minimizing
bycatch of PSC.
fishing effort, and (7) economic effects
of establishing seasonal prohibited
species apportionments on segments of
the target groundfish industry. Based on
this criteria, the Council recommended
and NMFS approves the seasonal PSC
TABLE 14—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 APPORTIONMENT OF PROHIBITED SPECIES CATCH ALLOWANCES TO NON-TRAWL GEAR,
THE CDQ PROGRAM, AMENDMENT 80, AND THE BSAI TRAWL LIMITED ACCESS SECTORS
PSC species and area and zone 1
Halibut mortality (mt) BSAI ...........................
Herring (mt) BSAI ..........................................
Red king crab (animals) Zone 1 ...................
C. opilio (animals) COBLZ ............................
C. bairdi crab (animals) Zone 1 ....................
C. bairdi crab (animals) Zone 2 ....................
Total PSC
Non-trawl PSC
3,515
3,444
32,000
4,350,000
830,000
2,520,000
Trawl PSC
remaining
after
CDQ PSQ
CDQ PSQ
reserve 2
710
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
315
n/a
3,424
465,450
88,810
269,640
Amendment
80 sector 3
n/a
n/a
28,576
3,884,550
741,190
2,250,360
BSAI trawl
limited
access sector
1,745
n/a
14,282
1,909,256
312,115
532,660
745
n/a
8,739
1,248,494
348,285
1,053,394
BSAI PSC
limits not
allocated 3
........................
........................
5,555
726,799
80,790
664,306
1 Refer
to § 679.2 for definitions of areas and zones.
PSQ reserve for crab species is 10.7 percent of each crab PSC limit.
Amendment 80 Program reduced apportionment of the trawl PSC limits for crab below the total PSC limit. These reductions are not apportioned to other gear
types or sectors.
2 The
3 The
TABLE 15—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 HERRING AND RED KING CRAB SAVINGS SUBAREA PROHIBITED SPECIES CATCH
ALLOWANCES FOR ALL TRAWL SECTORS
Herring
(mt) BSAI
Fishery categories
Red king crab
(animals) zone 1
Yellowfin sole ...............................................................................................................................................
Rock sole/flathead sole/Alaska plaice/other flatfish 1 ..................................................................................
Greenland turbot/arrowtooth flounder/Kamchatka flounder/sablefish .........................................................
Rockfish .......................................................................................................................................................
Pacific cod ...................................................................................................................................................
Midwater trawl pollock .................................................................................................................................
Pollock/Atka mackerel/other species 2 3 ......................................................................................................
2023 Red king crab savings subarea non-pelagic trawl gear 4 ..................................................................
2024 Red king crab savings subarea non-pelagic trawl gear 5 ..................................................................
200
99
10
10
18
3,066
41
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
8,000
Total trawl PSC ....................................................................................................................................
3,444
32,000
Note: Species allowances may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 ‘‘Other flatfish’’ for PSC monitoring includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder,
flathead sole, Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
2 Pollock other than midwater trawl pollock, Atka mackerel, and ‘‘other species’’ fishery category.
3 ‘‘Other species’’ for PSC monitoring includes skates, sharks, and octopuses.
4 Section 679.21(e)(3)(ii)(B) establishes criteria under which an annual red king crab bycatch limit must be specified for the Red King Crab
Savings Subarea (RKCSS) if the State has established a GHL fishery for red king crab in the Bristol Bay area in the previous year. Based on the
final 2022 NMFS trawl survey data for the Bristol Bay red king crab stock, the State of Alaska closed the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery for the
2022/2023 crab season. NMFS and the Council will not specify the red king crab bycatch limit for the RKCSS in 2023, and pursuant to
§ 679.21(e)(3)(ii)(B)(1) directed fishing for groundfish is prohibited for vessels using non-pelagic trawl gear in the RKCSS for 2023.
5 If the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery remains closed in the 2023/2024 crab season, NMFS and the Council will not specify the red king crab
bycatch limit for the RKCSS in 2024. If the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery is open in the 2023/2024 crab season, NMFS, after consultation with
the Council, will specify an annual red king crab bycatch limit for the RKCSS, which is limited by regulation to up to 25 percent of the red king
crab PSC allowance and based on the need to optimize groundfish harvest relative to red king crab bycatch (§ 679.21(e)(3)(ii)(B)(2)).
TABLE 16—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 PROHIBITED SPECIES BYCATCH ALLOWANCES FOR THE BSAI TRAWL LIMITED ACCESS
SECTOR
Prohibited species and area and zone 1
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BSAI trawl limited access fisheries
Yellowfin sole .......................................................................
Rock sole/flathead sole/Alaska plaice/other flatfish 2 ..........
Greenland turbot/arrowtooth flounder/Kamchatka flounder/
sablefish ...........................................................................
Rockfish April 15–December 31 ..........................................
Pacific cod ............................................................................
Pollock/Atka mackerel/other species 3 .................................
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C. bairdi
(animals)
Halibut
mortality
(mt) BSAI
Red king crab
(animals)
zone 1
C. opilio
(animals)
COBLZ
Zone 1
Zone 2
265
........................
7,700
........................
1,192,179
........................
293,234
........................
1,005,879
........................
........................
5
300
175
........................
........................
975
65
........................
1,006
50,281
5,028
........................
........................
50,816
4,235
........................
849
42,424
4,243
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TABLE 16—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 PROHIBITED SPECIES BYCATCH ALLOWANCES FOR THE BSAI TRAWL LIMITED ACCESS
SECTOR—Continued
Prohibited species and area and zone 1
BSAI trawl limited access fisheries
Halibut
mortality
(mt) BSAI
Total BSAI trawl limited access PSC ...........................
Red king crab
(animals)
zone 1
745
8,739
C. bairdi
(animals)
C. opilio
(animals)
COBLZ
Zone 1
1,248,494
Zone 2
348,285
1,053,394
Note: Seasonal or sector allowances may not total precisely due to rounding.
1 Refer to § 679.2 for definitions of areas and zones.
2 ‘‘Other flatfish’’ for PSC monitoring includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder,
flathead sole, Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
3 ‘‘Other species’’ for PSC monitoring includes skates, sharks, and octopuses.
TABLE 17—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 HALIBUT PROHIBITED SPECIES BYCATCH ALLOWANCES FOR NON-TRAWL FISHERIES
Halibut mortality
(mt) BSAI
Catcher/
processor
Non-trawl fisheries
Seasons
Catcher vessel
All non-trawl
Pacific cod .......................................................
Non-Pacific cod non-trawl-Total ......................
Groundfish pot and jig .....................................
Sablefish fixed gear .........................................
Total Pacific cod .............................................
January 1–June 10 .........................................
June 10–August 15 .........................................
August 15–December 31 ................................
May 1–December 31 ......................................
n/a ...................................................................
n/a ...................................................................
648
388
162
98
n/a
n/a
n/a
13
9
2
2
n/a
n/a
n/a
661.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
49.
Exempt.
Exempt.
Total for all non-trawl PSC .......................
n/a ...................................................................
n/a
n/a
710.
Note: Seasonal or sector allowances may not total precisely due to rounding.
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Estimates of Halibut Biomass and Stock
Condition
The IPHC annually assesses the
abundance and potential yield of the
Pacific halibut stock using all available
data from the commercial and sport
fisheries, other removals, and scientific
surveys. Additional information on the
Pacific halibut stock assessment may be
found in the IPHC’s 2022 Pacific halibut
stock assessment (December 2022),
available on the IPHC website at
www.iphc.int. The IPHC considered the
2022 Pacific halibut stock assessment at
its January 2023 annual meeting when
it set the 2023 commercial halibut
fishery catch limits.
Halibut Discard Mortality Rates (DMRs)
To monitor halibut bycatch mortality
allowances and apportionments, the
Regional Administrator uses observed
halibut incidental catch rates, DMRs,
and estimates of groundfish catch to
project when a fishery’s halibut bycatch
mortality allowance or seasonal
apportionment is reached. Halibut
incidental catch rates are based on
observed estimates of halibut incidental
catch in the groundfish fishery. DMRs
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are estimates of the proportion of
incidentally caught halibut that do not
survive after being returned to the sea.
The cumulative halibut mortality that
accrues to a particular halibut PSC limit
is the product of a DMR multiplied by
the estimated halibut PSC. DMRs are
estimated using the best scientific
information available in conjunction
with the annual BSAI stock assessment
process. The DMR methodology and
findings are included as an appendix to
the annual BSAI groundfish SAFE
report.
In 2016, the DMR estimation
methodology underwent revisions per
the Council’s directive. An interagency
halibut working group (IPHC, Council,
and NMFS staff) developed improved
estimation methods that have
undergone review by the Plan Team,
SSC, and the Council. A summary of the
revised methodology is included in the
BSAI proposed 2017 and 2018 harvest
specifications (81 FR 87863, December
6, 2016), and the comprehensive
discussion of the working group’s
statistical methodology is available from
the Council (see ADDRESSES). The DMR
working group’s revised methodology is
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intended to improve estimation
accuracy, transparency, and
transferability used for calculating
DMRs. The working group will continue
to consider improvements to the
methodology used to calculate halibut
mortality, including potential changes
to the reference period (the period of
data used for calculating the DMRs).
The methodology continues to ensure
that NMFS is using DMRs that
accurately reflect halibut mortality,
which will inform the sectors of their
estimated halibut mortality and allow
sectors to respond with methods that
could reduce mortality and, eventually,
the DMR for that sector.
At the December 2022 meeting, the
SSC, AP, and the Council concurred
with the revised DMR estimation
methodology, and NMFS adopts for
2023 and 2024 the DMRs calculated
under the revised methodology, which
uses an updated 2-year reference period.
The final 2023 and 2024 DMRs in this
rule are unchanged from the DMRs in
the proposed 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications (87 FR 76435, December
14, 2022). Table 18 lists these final 2023
and 2024 DMRs.
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TABLE 18—2023 AND 2024 PACIFIC HALIBUT DISCARD MORTALITY RATES (DMR) FOR THE BSAI
Halibut discard
mortality rate
(percent)
Gear
Sector
Pelagic trawl ...............................................................................
Non-pelagic trawl ........................................................................
Non-pelagic trawl ........................................................................
Hook-and-line .............................................................................
Hook-and-line .............................................................................
Pot ..............................................................................................
All ................................................................................................
Mothership and catcher/processor .............................................
Catcher vessel ............................................................................
Catcher/processor ......................................................................
Catcher vessel ............................................................................
All ................................................................................................
Directed Fishing Closures
In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i),
the Regional Administrator may
establish a DFA for a species or species
group if the Regional Administrator
determines that any allocation or
apportionment of a target species has
been or will be reached. If the Regional
Administrator establishes a DFA, and
that allowance is or will be reached
before the end of the fishing year, NMFS
will prohibit directed fishing for that
species or species group in the specified
subarea, regulatory area, or district (see
§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii)). Similarly, pursuant
to § 679.21(b)(4) and (e)(7), if the
Regional Administrator determines that
a fishery category’s bycatch allowance
of halibut, red king crab, C. bairdi crab,
or C. opilio crab for a specified area has
been reached, the Regional
Administrator will prohibit directed
fishing for each species or species group
in that fishery category in the area
specified by regulation for the
remainder of the season or fishing year.
Based on historical catch patterns and
anticipated fishing activity, the Regional
Administrator has determined that the
groundfish allocation amounts in Table
19 will be necessary as incidental catch
to support other anticipated groundfish
fisheries for the 2023 and 2024 fishing
years. Consequently, in accordance with
§ 679.20(d)(1)(i), the Regional
Administrator establishes the DFA for
the species and species groups in Table
100
85
62
9
9
26
19 as zero mt. Therefore, in accordance
with § 679.20(d)(1)(iii), NMFS is
prohibiting directed fishing for these
sectors and species or species groups in
the specified areas effective at 1200
hours, A.l.t., March 10, 2023, through
2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 2024.
Also, for the BSAI trawl limited access
sector, bycatch allowances of halibut,
red king crab, C. bairdi crab, and C.
opilio crab listed in Table 19 are
insufficient to support directed
fisheries. Therefore, in accordance with
§ 679.21(b)(4)(i) and (e)(7), NMFS is
prohibiting directed fishing for these
sectors, species, and fishery categories
in the specified areas effective at 1200
hours, A.l.t., March 10, 2023, through
2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 2024.
TABLE 19—2023 AND 2024 DIRECTED FISHING CLOSURES 1
[Groundfish and halibut amounts are in metric tons. Crab amounts are in number of animals.]
2024 Incidental
catch allowance
Sector
Species
Bogoslof District .............................
Aleutian Islands subarea ................
Aleutian Islands subarea ................
All ..................................................
All ..................................................
All ..................................................
Aleutian Islands subarea ................
Eastern Aleutian District/Bering
Sea.
Eastern Aleutian District/Bering
Sea.
Eastern Aleutian District .................
Trawl non-CDQ .............................
Non-amendment 80, CDQ, and
BSAI trawl limited access.
All ..................................................
Pollock ......................................................................
Greenland Turbot .....................................................
ICA pollock ...............................................................
‘‘Other rockfish’’2 ......................................................
Sablefish ...................................................................
ICA Atka mackerel ....................................................
300
529
2,500
380
1,794
800
300
449
2,500
380
2,081
800
Blackspotted/Rougheye rockfish ..............................
305
330
ICA Pacific ocean perch ...........................................
100
100
ICA Atka mackerel ....................................................
ICA Pacific ocean perch ...........................................
ICA Atka mackerel ....................................................
ICA Pacific ocean perch ...........................................
Blackspotted/Rougheye rockfish ..............................
75
60
20
10
141
75
60
20
10
155
Sablefish ...................................................................
Pacific ocean perch ..................................................
‘‘Other rockfish’’ 2 ......................................................
ICA pollock ...............................................................
Shortraker rockfish ...................................................
Skates .......................................................................
Sharks .......................................................................
Octopuses .................................................................
ICA Pacific cod .........................................................
ICA flathead sole ......................................................
ICA rock sole ............................................................
ICA yellowfin sole .....................................................
Rock sole/flathead sole/other flatfish—halibut mortality, red king crab Zone 1, C. opilio COBLZ, C.
bairdi Zone 1 and 2.
Turbot/arrowtooth/Kamchatka/sablefish—halibut
mortality, red king crab Zone 1, C. opilio COBLZ,
C. bairdi Zone 1 and 2.
Rockfish—red king crab Zone 1 ...............................
3,398
10,118
748
50,000
451
23,325
213
340
500
3,000
6,000
4,000
............................
4,112
9,945
748
50,000
451
23,738
213
340
500
3,000
6,000
4,000
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
Central Aleutian District ..................
Western Aleutian District ................
Western and Central Aleutian Districts.
Bering Sea subarea .......................
Bering Sea subarea .......................
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands ....
Non-amendment 80, CDQ, and
BSAI trawl limited access.
Non-amendment 80, CDQ, and
BSAI trawl limited access.
Non-amendment 80, CDQ and
BSAI trawl limited access.
All ..................................................
Trawl non-CDQ .............................
All ..................................................
.......................................................
Hook-and-line and pot gear ..........
All ..................................................
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
2023 Incidental
catch allowance
Area
All ..................................................
BSAI trawl limited access .............
1 Maximum
retainable amounts may be found in Table 11 to 50 CFR part 679.
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14945
2 ‘‘Other rockfish’’ includes all Sebastes and Sebastolobus species except for dark rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, blackspotted/rougheye rockfish,
and shortraker rockfish.
Closures implemented under the final
2022 and 2023 BSAI harvest
specifications for groundfish (87 FR
11626, March 2, 2022) remain effective
under authority of these final 2023 and
2024 harvest specifications and until the
date specified in those closure
notifications. Closures are posted at the
following website under the Alaska
filter for Management Area: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/rules-andannouncements/bulletins. While these
closures are in effect, the maximum
retainable amounts at § 679.20(e) and (f)
apply at any time during a fishing trip.
These closures to directed fishing are in
addition to closures and prohibitions
found at 50 CFR part 679.
Listed AFA Catcher/Processor
Sideboard Limits
Pursuant to § 679.64(a), the Regional
Administrator is responsible for
restricting the ability of listed AFA CPs
to engage in directed fishing for
groundfish species other than pollock to
protect participants in other groundfish
fisheries from adverse effects resulting
from the AFA fishery and from fishery
cooperatives in the directed pollock
fishery. These restrictions are set out as
sideboard limits on catch. On February
8, 2019, NMFS published a final rule
(84 FR 2723) that implemented
regulations to prohibit non-exempt AFA
CPs from directed fishing for all
groundfish species or species groups
subject to sideboard limits (see
§ 679.20(d)(1)(iv)(D) and Table 54 to 50
CFR part 679). Section 679.64(a)(1)(v)
exempts AFA CPs from a yellowfin sole
sideboard limit because the final 2023
and 2024 aggregate ITAC of yellowfin
sole assigned to the Amendment 80
sector and BSAI trawl limited access
sector is greater than 125,000 mt.
Section 679.64(a)(2) and Tables 40
and 41 to 50 CFR part 679 establish a
formula for calculating PSC sideboard
limits for halibut and crab caught by
listed AFA CPs. The basis for these
sideboard limits is described in detail in
the final rules implementing the major
provisions of the AFA (67 FR 79692,
December 30, 2002) and Amendment 80
(72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007). PSC
species listed in Table 20 that are caught
by listed AFA CPs participating in any
groundfish fishery other than pollock
will accrue against the final 2023 and
2024 PSC sideboard limits for the listed
AFA CPs. Section 679.21(b)(4)(iii),
(e)(3)(v), and (e)(7) authorizes NMFS to
close directed fishing for groundfish
other than pollock for listed AFA CPs
once a final 2023 or 2024 PSC sideboard
limit listed in Table 20 is reached.
Pursuant to § 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(C) and
(e)(3)(ii)(C), halibut or crab PSC by
listed AFA CPs while fishing for pollock
will accrue against the PSC allowances
annually specified for the pollock/Atka
mackerel/‘‘other species’’ fishery
categories, according to
§ 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(B) and (e)(3)(iv).
TABLE 20—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 BSAI AFA LISTED CATCHER/PROCESSOR PROHIBITED SPECIES SIDEBOARD LIMITS
Ratio of
PSC catch to
total PSC
PSC species and area 1
Halibut mortality BSAI ..................................................................................................................
Red king crab Zone 1 ..................................................................................................................
C. opilio (COBLZ) ........................................................................................................................
C. bairdi Zone 1 ...........................................................................................................................
C. bairdi Zone 2 ...........................................................................................................................
1 Refer
2023 and
2024
PSC available
to trawl
vessels after
subtraction
of PSQ 2
n/a
0.0070
0.1530
0.1400
0.0500
n/a
28,576
3,884,550
741,190
2,250,360
2023 and
2024
AFA catcher/
processor
sideboard
limit 2
286
200
594,336
103,767
112,518
to § 679.2 for definitions of areas.
amounts are in metric tons of halibut mortality. Crab amounts are in numbers of animals.
2 Halibut
AFA Catcher Vessel Sideboard Limits
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Pursuant to § 679.64(b), the Regional
Administrator is responsible for
restricting the ability of AFA CVs to
engage in directed fishing for groundfish
species other than pollock to protect
participants in other groundfish
fisheries from adverse effects resulting
from the AFA fishery and from fishery
cooperatives in the pollock directed
fishery. On February 8, 2019, NMFS
published a final rule (84 FR 2723) that
implemented regulations to prohibit
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non-exempt AFA CVs from directed
fishing for a majority of the groundfish
species or species groups subject to
sideboard limits (see
§ 679.20(d)(1)(iv)(D) and Table 55 to 50
CFR part 679). Section 679.64(b)(6)
exempts AFA CVs from a yellowfin sole
sideboard limit because the final 2023
and 2024 aggregate ITAC of yellowfin
sole assigned to the Amendment 80
sector and BSAI trawl limited access
sector is greater than 125,000 mt. The
remainder of the sideboard limits for
non-exempt AFA CVs are in Table 21.
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Section 679.64(b)(3) and (b)(4) and
Tables 40 and 41 to 50 CFR part 679
establish formulas for setting AFA CV
groundfish and halibut and crab PSC
sideboard limits for the BSAI. The basis
for these sideboard limits is described in
detail in the final rules implementing
the major provisions of the AFA (67 FR
79692, December 30, 2002) and
Amendment 80 (72 FR 52668,
September 14, 2007). Table 21 lists the
final 2023 and 2024 AFA CV groundfish
sideboard limits.
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TABLE 21—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 BSAI PACIFIC COD SIDEBOARD LIMITS FOR AMERICAN FISHERIES ACT CATCHER
VESSELS (CVS)
[Amounts are in metric tons]
Ratio of 1997
AFA CV catch
to 1997 TAC
Fishery by area/gear/season
BSAI .....................................................................................
Trawl gear CV ......................................................................
Jan 20–Apr 1 ................................................................
Apr 1–Jun 10 ................................................................
Jun 10–Nov 1 ...............................................................
2023
initial TAC
n/a
n/a
0.8609
0.8609
0.8609
n/a
n/a
19,837
2,949
4,021
2023 AFA
catcher vessel
sideboard
limits
2024
initial TAC
n/a
n/a
17,078
2,539
3,462
n/a
n/a
19,237
2,859
3,899
2024 AFA
catcher vessel
sideboard
limits
n/a
n/a
16,561
2,461
3,357
Note: Section 679.64(b)(6) exempts AFA catcher vessels from a yellowfin sole sideboard limit because the 2023 and 2024 aggregate ITAC of
yellowfin sole assigned to the Amendment 80 sector and BSAI trawl limited access sector is greater than 125,000 mt.
Halibut and crab PSC limits listed in
Table 22 that are caught by AFA CVs
participating in any groundfish fishery
other than pollock will accrue against
the 2023 and 2024 PSC sideboard limits
for the AFA CVs. Section 679.21, at
(b)(4)(iii), (e)(3)(v), and (e)(7), authorizes
NMFS to close directed fishing for
groundfish other than pollock for AFA
CVs once a final 2023 or 2024 PSC
sideboard limit listed in Table 22 is
reached. Pursuant to § 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(C)
and (e)(3)(ii)(C), halibut or crab PSC by
AFA CVs while fishing for pollock will
accrue against the PSC allowances
annually specified for the pollock/Atka
mackerel/‘‘other species’’ fishery
categories under § 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(B)
and (e)(3)(iv).
TABLE 22—FINAL 2023 AND 2024 AMERICAN FISHERIES ACT CATCHER VESSEL PROHIBITED SPECIES CATCH SIDEBOARD
LIMITS FOR THE BSAI 1
PSC species and area 1
Target fishery category 2
Halibut .............................................................
Pacific cod trawl .............................................
Pacific cod hook-and-line or pot ....................
Yellowfin sole total .........................................
Rock sole/flathead sole/Alaska plaice/other
flatfish 4.
Greenland turbot/arrowtooth/Kamchatka/sablefish.
Rockfish ..........................................................
Pollock/Atka mackerel/other species 5 ...........
n/a ..................................................................
n/a ..................................................................
n/a ..................................................................
n/a ..................................................................
Red king crab Zone 1 .....................................
C. opilio COBLZ ..............................................
C. bairdi Zone 1 ..............................................
C. bairdi Zone 2 ..............................................
2023 and
2024
AFA catcher
vessel PSC
sideboard
limit 3
AFA catcher
vessel PSC
sideboard limit
ratio
2023 and
2024
PSC limit after
subtraction of
PSQ
reserves 3
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
887
2
101
228
n/a
n/a
........................
n/a
n/a
0.2990
0.1680
0.3300
0.1860
n/a
n/a
28,576
3,884,550
741,190
2,250,360
2
5
8,544
652,604
244,593
418,567
1 Refer
to § 679.2 for definitions of areas.
trawl fishery categories are defined at § 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(B) and (e)(3)(iv).
amounts are in metric tons of halibut mortality. Crab amounts are in numbers of animals.
4 ‘‘Other flatfish’’ for PSC monitoring includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder,
flathead sole, Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
5 ‘‘Other species’’ for PSC monitoring includes skates, sharks, and octopuses.
2 Target
3 Halibut
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Response to Comments
Comment 1: The proposed groundfish
harvest specifications do not consider
the current status of Chinook and chum
salmon.
Response: NMFS and the Council
considered the status of Chinook and
chum, and the harvest specifications
reflect adjustments based on
promulgated regulations. NMFS and the
Council have taken comprehensive
action through Amendments 91 and 110
to the FMP and implementing
regulations to reduce salmon bycatch in
the pollock trawl fishery because of the
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potential for negative impacts on
salmon stocks. Existing measures have
reduced salmon bycatch in the pollock
fishery compared with what they would
have been without the measures.
Regulations set limits on how many
Chinook salmon can be caught in a year
in the pollock fishery, and those
regulations require bycatch caps to be
calculated and implemented in the
annual harvest specifications. NMFS
annually allocates portions of either
33,318, 45,000, 47,591, or 60,000
Chinook salmon PSC limits among the
AFA sectors, depending on past bycatch
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performance, on whether Chinook
salmon bycatch incentive plan
agreements (IPAs) are formed and
approved by NMFS, and on whether
NMFS determines it is a low Chinook
salmon abundance year. NMFS will
determine that it is a low Chinook
salmon abundance year when
abundance of Chinook salmon in
western Alaska is less than or equal to
250,000 Chinook salmon. The State of
Alaska provides NMFS with an estimate
of Chinook salmon abundance using the
3-System Index for western Alaska
based on the Kuskokwim, Unalakleet,
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and Upper Yukon aggregate stock
grouping. For 2023, NMFS determined
it was a low abundance year based on
the State of Alaska’s 3-System Index. In
accordance with the regulations at
§ 679.21(f), NMFS has specified a
Chinook salmon PSC limit of 45,000
Chinook salmon, and a Chinook salmon
bycatch performance standard of 33,318.
Regulations also set limits on Chinook
PSC for the AI pollock fishery and nonChinook salmon PSC for vessels using
trawl gear from August 15 through
October 14 in the Catcher Vessel
Operational Area (CVOA)
(§ 679.21(f)(14) and (g)(2)). These are
static limits that are announced in the
groundfish harvest specifications.
NMFS acknowledges the western
Alaska salmon crisis and the impact it
is having on culture and food security
throughout western Alaska. Science
indicates climate change as the primary
driver of poor salmon returns in western
Alaska. The Council and NMFS are
committed to continued improvements
in bycatch management with a goal of
minimizing bycatch at all levels of
salmon and pollock abundance. NMFS
and the Council are currently engaged
in a comprehensive process to evaluate
existing measures and develop
alternatives that may be necessary to
further reduce chum salmon bycatch.
More information on this process can be
found at https://www.npfmc.org/
fisheries-issues/bycatch/salmonbycatch/. However, the Chinook and
chum salmon limits and the conditions
that affect the limits are set in
regulations, and changes to those
regulations are outside of the scope of
the annual harvest specification process.
NMFS believes that changes to bycatch
management of all PSC, including
Chinook and chum, are best
accomplished through the Council
process to recommend FMP
amendments and regulations that NMFS
would implement if consistent with the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the FMP, and
other applicable law.
Comment 2: The pollock allocations
do not allow for the sustainable harvest
of Western Alaska Chinook and chum
salmon. NMFS must address how the
pollock allocations will not have
significant impacts on salmon bycatch.
Response: NMFS recognizes the
significant importance of salmon for
Alaska Native people and tribes in terms
of food security, cultural practices, and
a way of life. NMFS manages salmon
bycatch in the pollock fishery through a
variety of tools, which include Chinook
salmon PSC limits, monitoring, and
IPAs to address Chinook and chum
bycatch. These tools apply at all levels
of pollock allocations.
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Please see the response to Comment 1
for a description of the Chinook salmon
PSC limits that constrain Chinook and
non-Chinook bycatch in the pollock
fishery.
To support bycatch management
goals, NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) has a
comprehensive monitoring program to
collect data on salmon bycatch. This
information is used to estimate how
many Chinook and chum salmon are
caught as bycatch from trawl vessels,
where those fish came from, and
whether a potential violation of law
occurred. To support catch and bycatch
data collection needs on catcher/
processors and motherships, two fishery
observers on board each vessel ensure
that every haul is monitored. All catcher
vessels in the Bering Sea pollock
fisheries are required to carry an
observer or an electronic monitoring
system on every trip. All salmon
bycatch must be delivered to the
shoreside processor and every pollock
delivery is monitored in entirety for
salmon bycatch to enable a full
accounting.
Under Amendments 91 and 110 to the
FMP and Federal regulation at 50 CFR
679.21 (Prohibited Species Bycatch
Management), the pollock fleet
participates in an industry-developed
contractual arrangement, called an
incentive plan agreement (IPA). An IPA
establishes an incentive program to
minimize bycatch at all levels of
Chinook and chum salmon abundance.
To ensure participants develop effective
IPAs, participants provide the Council
and NMFS an annual report that
describes the efforts each IPA is taking
to accomplish the intent of the program
that each vessel actively avoids Chinook
and chum salmon at all times while
fishing for pollock and, collectively, that
bycatch is minimized in each year. The
IPA system is designed to be flexible
and responsive, and can be tailored by
each sector to fit its operational needs.
The IPAs impose rewards for avoiding
Chinook salmon bycatch or penalties for
failure to avoid Chinook and chum
salmon bycatch at the vessel level. Since
implementation, all the participants in
the pollock fishery are currently
participating in IPAs.
In 2022, 8,324 Chinook salmon were
incidentally caught in the BSAI
groundfish fisheries with 6,337 Chinook
salmon out of the total attributed to the
BSAI pollock directed fisheries. Historic
Chinook catches are posted on the
NMFS website: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/
files/akro/chinook_salmon_
mortality2022.html.
In 2022, 245,269 chum salmon were
incidentally caught in the BSAI
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14947
groundfish fisheries with 242,375 chum
salmon out of the total attributed to the
BSAI pollock directed fisheries. Historic
non-Chinook salmon catches are posted
on the NMFS website: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/
files/akro/chum_salmon_
mortality2022.html.
NMFS has adult equivalence
estimates of the Chinook salmon that
would have returned to river systems
had they not been caught as bycatch in
the BS pollock fishery. The most recent
estimates of salmon bycatch, which use
the best available science, show that
estimated bycatch in the pollock fishery
is less than 3 percent of the Chinook
salmon returns and less than 1 percent
of the chum salmon returns in Western
Alaska. Since 2011, the peak estimate of
Chinook bycatch is less than 2 percent
of the Western Alaska returns, as stated
in the most recent Eastern BS pollock
SAFE Report.
Reducing the pollock TAC likely
would have an extremely small effect on
salmon returns, and therefore on inriver harvest opportunities, because of
the low level of bycatch of salmon in the
pollock fishery. The management
measure recommended by the Council
and implemented in regulation by
NMFS (the Chinook bycatch limit) sets
an overall limit on the number of
Chinook salmon taken as bycatch, as
well as a performance standard (which
is less than the overall limit to
incentivize reducing bycatch). The
pollock fleet is constrained by the limit
of Chinook salmon set in regulation,
regardless of the size of the pollock
harvest. Sectors are prohibited from
continuing to fish if their PSC limit has
been exceeded. Further, if the sector
exceeds its performance standard in 3 of
7 years, that sector becomes constrained
by the performance standard in future
years (meaning, the sector has a lower
PSC limit).
There is not currently an overall limit
on the number of chum salmon taken as
bycatch. Instead, chum salmon bycatch
is managed via IPAs in the pollock
fishing sectors, which provide
incentives for vessels to avoid salmon
bycatch under any condition of pollock
or salmon abundance. Consistent annual
genetic data show the majority of chum
bycatch is of Asian hatchery origin, and
thus does not affect returns to western
Alaska rivers. Nevertheless, the Council
is considering additional measures to
minimize chum salmon bycatch in the
future.
While 2022 was a relatively low TAC
for pollock, because of low recruitments
in previous years, the pollock TAC has
been relatively consistent since new
Chinook bycatch measures were
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implemented in 2011, and new Chinook
and chum bycatch measures were
implemented in 2016 (§ 679.21(f)):
https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/202203/bsai-harvest-specs-1986-present.pdf.
While pollock catches have been
consistent from year to year since 2011,
Chinook and chum bycatch has varied
independently of stable pollock TACs.
Comment 3: National Standard 1
states that NMFS and the Council must
consider social, economic, and
ecological factors when setting OY,
maximum sustainable yield (MSY), and
TAC. Under National Standard 1, there
must be a reduction in pollock TAC to
provide increased escapement and
subsistence opportunities for Western
Alaska villages.
Response: The Council and NMFS
have considered social, economic, and
ecological factors in setting OY, MSY,
and TAC, and the pollock TAC specified
in these final groundfish harvest
specification is consistent with the FMP
and National Standards. National
Standard 1 states that conservation and
management measures must prevent
overfishing while achieving on a
continuing basis the OY from the fishery
(16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(1)). The Council and
NMFS have previously determined and
set the MSY and OY for the groundfish
fishery of the BSAI management area,
with OY set in the FMP and in
regulation as a range of 1.4 million to
2.0 million mt (§ 679.20(a)(1)). It is
therefore outside the scope of the
harvest specifications process to
consider adjustments to the OY and
MSY.
In accordance with National Standard
1 and regulations, the SSC recommends
for each species and species group an
OFL and an ABC. The catch limits
(TAC) cannot exceed the ABC (50 CFR
600.310(f)(4)). TAC must be set equal to
or less than ABC, and ABC must be set
equal to or less than OFL (§ 600.310(f)(3)
and (4)). NMFS specifies TAC after
consultation with the Council, and
annual determinations of TAC are based
on review of both the biological
condition of the specific species or
species group and socioeconomic
conditions (§ 679.20(a)(2)–(3)). Here, for
2023, the Council has recommended a
BS pollock TAC of 1,300,000 mt, which
is 32 percent below the ABC of
1,910,000 mt. The ABC is 62 percent
less than the OFL of 3,381,000 mt. This
specification of OFL, ABC, and TAC is
consistent with National Standard 1
guidelines. The 2023 BS pollock TAC is
also 18,000 mt below the past 10-year
mean of BS pollock TACs. NMFS
concurs with the Council’s
recommended specification of the 2023
BS pollock TAC. This TAC is based on
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consideration of the biological condition
of the pollock stock, as reviewed in the
SAFE pollock chapter; the status of the
ecosystem, as reviewed in the Bering
Sea ecosystem status report (ESR); and
socioeconomic considerations, as
reviewed in the SAFE pollock chapter
and Economic Status Report. NMFS also
concurs with the Council that the
specification of all TACs at the upper
bound of 2.0 million mt is consistent
with National Standard 1, as well as the
FMP and the harvest strategy selected as
the preferred alternative in the EIS (see
response to Comment 5). The
specification of all TACs at 2.0 million
mt is consistent with historical pollock
allocations in years of high pollock
abundance. In addition, as explained in
response to Comment 2, reducing the
pollock TAC would not meaningfully
increase salmon returns to Western
Alaska given the small percentages of
salmon stocks taken as bycatch in the
pollock fishery and the constraining
PSC limit that applies at any level of
pollock harvest.
Comment 4: Even though pollock
catches salmon as bycatch, pollock TAC
increased while salmon returns have
decreased.
Response: Pollock TACs in the BS are
cyclical depending on pollock
recruitment. While the 2022 TAC was
lower than normal due to decreased
pollock abundance, the recommended
2023 TACs are similar to the historical
average TACs, and thus larger than the
2022 TAC. The best scientific
information available does not suggest
that a reduction in the pollock TAC
would measurably increase salmon
escapement to western Alaska (see
response to Comment 2). While salmon
bycatch in the pollock fishery may be a
contributing factor in the decline of
salmon, NMFS expects the numbers of
the ocean bycatch that would have
returned to western Alaska would be
relatively small due to ocean mortality
and the large number of other river
systems contributing to the total
Chinook or chum salmon bycatch. For
Chinook salmon, the bycatch expected
to have returned to western Alaska
rivers is less than 3 percent of coastal
western Alaska run size in recent years,
and less than 2 percent since 2011. For
2021, the estimate of bycaught salmon
that would have returned to Western
Alaska is 8,610 fish with an estimate of
7,705 fish from 2011 through 2020. For
chum salmon, the chum salmon bycatch
expected to have returned to western
Alaska rivers is less than 1 percent of
the coastal western Alaska run size in
recent years. For 2021, the number of
bycaught salmon expected to return to
Western Alaska is estimated to be
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Sfmt 4700
51,510 fish with an estimate of 49,290
fish annually from 2011 through 2020.
Comment 5: Explain how OY is
reached considering the decreased
salmon returns.
Response: The Council recommended
and NMFS set the OY as a range of 1.4
to 2 million mt. This OY is set forth in
the FMP and in regulation, and is based
on the sum of all TACs. NMFS has
therefore determined that, in any given
year, setting the TACs to fall within that
range provides the greatest overall
benefit to the Nation, particularly with
respect to food production and
recreational opportunities and taking
into account the protection of marine
ecosystems and relevant economic,
social, or ecological factors
(§ 600.310(e)(3)). Here, NMFS concurs
with the Council’s recommendation that
TACs fall within the upper bound (2
million mt). Setting TACs to meet the
upper bound of the OY range of 2.0
million mt, while also recognizing that
total TACs represent a 32 percent
reduction below total ABCs, balances
relevant National Standard 1
considerations. Setting TACs at the
higher bound of the OY will provide the
greatest benefit for the Nation based on
the benefits of maintaining viable
groundfish fisheries and contributions
to regional and local economies. That
total groundfish removals are 32 percent
below total ABC recognizes the benefits
that flow from that reduction, such as
protections afforded to marine
ecosystems, forage for ecosystem
components, and other ecological
factors (§ 600.310(e)(3)(iii)(A)–(B)).
NMFS has determined that further
reductions in TAC are not necessary. As
stated in the responses to previous
comments, the recommended TACs are
not expected to significantly affect the
returns of Chinook and chum salmon to
Western Alaska. Moreover, the pollock
fleet is constrained by a PSC limit that
applies regardless of fishing effort and
the catch limits (TAC) for pollock.
Therefore, for the 2023 and 2024
groundfish harvest specifications, the
OY is reached by adopting TACs whose
sum is within this range while not
exceeding the ABCs developed through
the SAFE reports and recommended by
the Council and SSC.
Comment 6: The harvest
specifications use an outdated EIS.
Response: Groundfish harvests are
managed subject to annual limits on the
retained and discarded amounts of each
species and species group. The ‘‘harvest
strategy’’ is the method used to calculate
the annual limits, referred to as ‘‘harvest
specifications,’’ and the process of
establishing them is referred to as the
‘‘specifications process.’’ NMFS
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prepared the Alaska Groundfish Harvest
Specifications Final Environmental
Impact Statement (Final EIS) to analyze
alternatives to implement the FMP’s
harvest strategy and specifications
process, which outlines the method and
process used to determine the annual
harvest specifications for the federally
managed groundfish fisheries in the
GOA and BSAI management areas.
NMFS also must specify PSC
allowances in the annual harvest
specifications.
A harvest strategy is needed for the
management of the groundfish fisheries
and the conservation of marine
resources, as required by the MagnusonStevens Act and as described in the
management policy, goals, and
objectives in the FMP (16 U.S.C.
1853(a)(15)). The purpose of the harvest
strategy is to provide for orderly and
controlled commercial fishing for
groundfish; promote sustainable
incomes to the fishing, fish processing,
and support industries; support
sustainable fishing communities; and
provide sustainable flows of fish
products to consumers. The harvest
strategy balances groundfish harvest in
the fishing year with ecosystem needs
(such as non-target fish stocks, marine
mammals, seabirds, and habitat).
NMFS concluded that the harvest
strategy provides the best balance
among relevant environmental, social,
and economic considerations and
allows for continued management of the
groundfish fisheries based on the most
recent, best scientific information.
While the specific numbers that the
harvest strategy produces may vary from
year to year, the methodology used for
the preferred harvest strategy remains
constant. NMFS has not changed the
harvest strategy or specifications
process from what was analyzed in the
Final EIS.
Each year the harvest strategy uses the
best scientific information available in
the annual SAFE reports to derive the
annual harvest specifications, which
include TACs and PSC limits. The SAFE
reports are available (see ADDRESSES).
Through this process, each year, the
Council’s Groundfish Plan Teams use
updated stock assessments to calculate
biomass, OFLs, and ABCs for each
species and species group for specified
management areas. The OFLs and ABCs
are published with the harvest
specifications, and provide the
foundation for the Council and NMFS to
develop the TACs. The OFLs and ABCs
reflect fishery science, applied in light
of the requirements of the FMPs. The
Council bases its TAC recommendations
on those of its AP, which are consistent
with the SSC’s OFL and ABC
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recommendations (meaning, the TAC
recommendations cannot exceed the
SSC’s ABC and OFL recommendations).
The Final EIS evaluates the
consequences of alternative harvest
strategies on ecosystem components and
on the ecosystem as a whole. The Final
EIS evaluates the alternatives for their
effects within the action area. The
environmental consequences of each
alternative were considered for target
species, non-specified species, forage
species, prohibited species, marine
mammals, seabirds, Essential Fish
Habitat, ecosystem relationships, the
economy, and environmental justice.
These considerations were evaluated
based on the conditions as they existed
at the time the EIS was developed.
However, each year since 2007 relevant
changes (new information, changed
circumstances, potential changes to the
action) are considered with the primary
purpose of evaluating the need to
supplement the Final EIS.
NEPA implementing regulations at 40
CFR 1502.9(d) instruct agencies to
prepare supplements to either draft or
final environmental impact statements
if: (i) The agency makes substantial
changes to the proposed action that are
relevant to environmental concerns; or
(ii) There are significant new
circumstances or information relevant to
environmental concerns and bearing on
the proposed action or its impacts.
Not every change requires a
supplemental EIS (SEIS); only those
changes that cause significantly
different effects from those already
studied require supplementary
consideration. The Supreme Court
directs that ‘‘an agency need not
supplement an EIS every time new
information comes to light after the EIS
is finalized. To require otherwise would
render agency decision making
intractable.’’ Marsh v. Oregon Nat. Res.
Council, 490 U.S. 360, 373 (1989). On
the other hand, if a major Federal action
remains to occur, and if new
information indicates that the remaining
action will affect the quality of the
human environment in a significant
manner or to a significant extent not
already considered, an SEIS must be
prepared. Ultimately, an agency is
required ‘‘to take a ‘hard look’ at the
new information to assess whether
supplementation might be necessary.’’
Norton v. S. Utah Wilderness All., 542
U.S. 55, 72–73 (2004).
NEPA implementing regulations at
§ 1502.9(d)(4) stipulate that an agency
may find that changes to the proposed
action are not substantial or new
circumstances or information relevant to
environmental concerns are not
significant and therefore do not require
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a supplement to an EIS. As stipulated
under 40 CFR 1507.3 and NOAA
Administrative Order 216–6A, NOAA’s
NEPA procedures are found in the
Policy and Procedures for Compliance
with the National Environmental Policy
Act and Related Authorities
(Companion Manual). Appendix C of
the Companion Manual authorizes the
use of a Supplementary Information
Report (SIR) to document a review of
new information or circumstances that
differ from that described in an existing
NEPA document to determine the
sufficiency of the existing analysis and
subsequent decision. The SIR contains
the rationale for and decision regarding
whether new information or
circumstances or changes to the action
are significant and thus whether an SEIS
is required. The SIR also looks at
reasonably foreseeable future actions to
gauge whether a future action,
individually or cumulatively, could
cause a substantial change in the action
or represent significant new
circumstances or new information that
would require an SEIS in the future.
A SIR for the Final EIS is prepared
each year to document the evaluation
and decision whether an SEIS is
necessary to implement the annual
groundfish harvest specifications. The
SIR analyzes the information contained
in the most recent SAFE reports and all
information available to NMFS and the
Council to determine whether an SEIS
should be prepared. The SAFE reports
represent the best scientific information
available for the harvest specifications.
Included in the SAFE reports are the
groundfish stock assessments, the
website for the ESR for the SAFE
reports, and the website for the
Economic Status Report for the SAFE
reports. To date, no annual SIR to the
EIS has concluded that an SEIS is
necessary. This is largely due to the
flexibility built into the process and the
alternatives evaluated (particularly the
preferred harvest strategy as
implemented) in the Final EIS. That
inherent flexibility allows for the
implementation of annual harvest
specifications that reflect new
information and changing
circumstances.
The preferred harvest strategy
analyzed in the Final EIS anticipated
that changes in information would be
used each year in setting the annual
harvest specification since the process is
flexible to adjust to new information on
stock abundance and environmental and
socioeconomic factors (like climate
change). Similarly, the FMP
contemplates ongoing consideration of
relevant factors through the
development of SAFE reports (Section
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3.2.2.2 of the FMP). The use of new
information from the SAFE reports
allows the Council and NMFS to
respond to changes in stock condition
and environmental and socioeconomic
factors in the BSAI and to adjust the
harvest specifications as necessary,
which is consistent with the preferred
harvest strategy from the Final EIS and
the FMP and which is consistent with
National Standard 2 of the MagnusonStevens Act to use the best scientific
information available (16 U.S.C.
1851(a)(2)).
Separate from the Final EIS, the
Council and NMFS prepared the Alaska
Groundfish Programmatic Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement
(PSEIS). The Council is currently
considering approaches, such as a
programmatic EIS, to provide a
comprehensive analysis of the impacts
of the Federal groundfish fisheries on
the human environment, with a view
towards creating more climate-resilient
Federal fisheries. This has involved an
ongoing discussion of the 2004 PSEIS.
The scope of, and changes from, the
2004 PSEIS are outside the scope of this
action.
Comment 7: The process of setting
OFLs and ABCs does not account for the
viability of all species in the BSAI.
Response: The process of setting OFLs
and ABCs is an expansive process that
accounts for the best scientific
information available on target species
as well as ecosystem considerations like
non-target species. The SSC and the
Council recommend OFLs and ABCs to
prevent overfishing as mandated in
National Standard 1 of the MSA. The
OFLs and ABCs apply only to targets of
directed fisheries. However, through
ecosystem considerations in both the
ESR for the SAFE and the NEPA
process, impacts on a wider range of
species is considered during the harvest
specification process. In addition, the
setting of OFLs and ABCs informs the
setting of TACs since the TAC cannot
exceed the ABC for each species and
species group. The sum of all TACs
must fall within the OY range. The OY
is based on the management objectives
of the FMP, as well as relevant social,
economic, and ecological factors
(§ 600.310(e)(3)). Ecological factors
include ecosystem component species,
forage fish stocks, other fisheries,
predator-prey or competitive
interactions, marine mammals,
threatened or endangered species, and
birds. The FMP addresses how the OY
for the BSAI groundfish fishery reflects
ecological factors (see, for example,
Section 3.2.2.2 and Section 4.6 of the
FMP). In this way, the annual harvest
specifications process results in annual
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OFLs, ABCs, and TACs that, although
set for target species only, are based on
consideration of ecosystem and
ecological factors, including species
other than target species. When
possible, stock assessment models
include information on ecosystem and
environmental effects to improve the
interpretation of historical information
and the precision of forecasts. NMFS is
committed to supporting science and
research to move us toward effective
ecosystem-based management.
Developing additional tools and
approaches for incorporating ecosystem
factors will allow us to deal with the
impacts of climate and other
environmental change on our marine
species.
Comment 8: The Secretary of
Commerce must minimize bycatch
under National Standard 9.
Response: National Standard 9 directs
that conservation and management
measures shall, to the extent practicable,
minimize bycatch. The Council and
NMFS develop and implement FMP
amendments and regulations for new
bycatch reduction measures. The
harvest specifications set PSC, or
bycatch, limits for salmon and crab
based on pre-existing frameworks set
out in regulation; each of these earlier
actions establishing a PSC, or bycatch,
limit considered and balanced all the
National Standards, including the
direction to minimize bycatch to the
extent practicable. Specifying bycatch
levels in the annual harvest
specifications consistent with the
existing PSC regulations is therefore
consistent with National Standard 9.
Comment 9: Under National
Standards 4 and 8, the Secretary must
allocate fishery resources fairly among
fishermen and adopt conservation and
management measures that account for
the importance of fishery resources to
communities. In the proposed harvest
specifications decision, the Secretary
has not provided a sufficient
consideration of the ecological,
economic, and social factors required
under National Standards 4 and 8.
Response: National Standard 4 states
that conservation and management
measures shall not discriminate
between residents of different states (16
U.S.C. 1851(a)(4)). The harvest
specifications do not discriminate or
differentiate among residents of
different states. The harvest
specifications further implement annual
allocations of fishing privileges among
fishermen. These allocations were
implemented in regulation through
previous rulemakings that considered
and balanced all the National Standards,
including National Standard 4. These
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harvest specifications are therefore
consistent with National Standard 4.
National Standard 8 states that
conservation and management measures
shall take into account the importance
of fishery resources to fishing
communities by utilizing economic and
social data in order to: (A) provide for
the sustained participation of such
communities, and (B) to the extent
practicable, minimize adverse economic
impacts on such communities (16 U.S.C.
1851(a)(8)). This is addressed in the
harvest specifications process at
§ 679.20(a)(3)(ii). TACs are set at or
below ABCs to prevent overfishing.
TACs are set within the OY range, a
range that the Council and NMFS
determined will provide the greatest
overall benefit to the National with
respect to food production and in
consideration of relevant economic and
social factors. The FMP’s definition of
OY recognized: ‘‘1. The OY range is not
likely to have any significant
detrimental impact on the industry. On
the contrary, specification of OY as a
constant range helps to create a stable
management environment in which the
industry can plan its activities
consistently, with an expectation that
each year’s total groundfish catch will
be at least 1.4 million mt. 2. The OY
range encompasses the annual catch
levels taken in the period immediately
prior to its implementation, during
which the fishery operated profitably.’’
TACs within this range will ensure the
sustained participation of fishing
communities. As addressed in the
response to Comment 5, NMFS concurs
with the Council’s recommendation that
TACs fall within the upper bound (2
million mt) and that further reductions
are not necessary.
In addition, many of the conservation
and management measures effectuated
through the annual harvest
specifications were implemented in
prior rulemakings that are outside of the
scope of the current specification
process to change. These would include
allocations to communities, use caps,
and limits on bycatch, which are set in
regulation. These regulations created
allocations, caps, and limits that are
addressed in the specification process
and specified in the annual
specifications. The prior rulemakings on
these conservation and management
measures considered and balanced all
the National Standards, including
National Standard 8. The final harvest
specifications are therefore consistent
with National Standard 8.
Comment 10: The current NEPA
analysis supporting the groundfish
harvest specifications does not consider
climate change.
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Response: The Final EIS analyzed
alternatives for an implementing
framework for the BSAI and GOA
harvest strategy and evaluated the
potential effects of those alternatives on
the human environment (see response to
Comment 6). The EIS examined existing
physical and oceanographic conditions
in the BSAI and GOA, and addressed
regime shifts, warming and loss of sea
ice, and acidification (Section 3.5 of the
Final EIS). Moreover, the framework
process for the preferred harvest strategy
under the Final EIS allows for the
effects of climate change to be
considered in the annual process for
setting the harvest specifications.
The annual ESR is part of the SAFE
reports that the Council and its Plan
Teams, SSC, and AP annually review
prior to the review of the stock
assessments and advancing
recommendations of the annual OFLs,
ABCs, and TACs. Contributions to the
ESR are developed by scientists and
fishery managers at NOAA, other U.S.
Federal and State agencies, academic
institutions, tribes, nonprofits, and other
sources. Ongoing research incorporated
into the ESR has increased our
understanding of the interactions among
ecosystem components, including how
they are impacted by changing
environmental conditions related to
climate change. The ESR, published
each December, informs annual harvest
recommendations. The purpose of the
ESR is to provide the Council, scientific
community, and the public with annual
information about ecosystem status and
trends. Information from the report is
integrated into the annual harvest
recommendations through inclusion in
stock assessment-specific risk tables and
is considered during the annual
groundfish and crab Plan Team
meetings and Council meetings. The
target audience for this report is the SSC
to provide context for setting the annual
OFLs and ABCs, and for the Council’s
final TAC recommendations for
groundfish and crab. This report
includes physical oceanography,
biological data, and socio-ecological
dimensions, primarily collected from
Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC)
surveys with collaboration from a range
of government and non-government
partners. There are many examples of
climate change considerations presented
in the ESR, such as reevaluating the
importance of survey distribution of
stocks like Pacific cod and pollock
based on water temperature.
In some instances, the Plan Teams
and SSC have recommended ABC
reductions based on climate change
considerations. Stock assessments use a
stock-assessment specific risk table that
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is applied by evaluating the severity of
four types of considerations that could
be used to support a scientific
recommendation to reduce the ABC
from the maximum permissible ABC.
The four considerations are assessmentrelated, population dynamics,
environmental/ecosystem, and fishery
performance. As one environmental/
ecosystem consideration, scientists
noted for one stock that patterns in
distribution, growth, and size were
associated with warmer ocean
conditions and the cumulative effects
from a series of recent warm years. That
consideration warranted an increased
level concern under the risk table. These
risk tables are now prepared as part of
the stock assessment process for
groundfish stocks and help inform the
setting of ABC (which in turn informs
the setting of TAC).
Finally, the FMP indicated that the
ongoing consideration of ecological
factors like climate change would be
addressed annually in the SAFE reports
(Section 3.2.2.2 of the FMP), as is
currently the case with the both
individual stock assessments and the
ESRs. As a result, the annual harvest
specifications process, which
implements the preferred harvest
strategy under the EIS, allows for the
consideration of the best scientific
information available on climate change
(16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(2)).
Comment 11: TACs should be set
using ecosystem management.
Response: Ecosystem considerations
inform the specification of TACs in a
variety of ways. As detailed in the SAFE
reports, ecosystem considerations are
incorporated into the harvest
specifications process. Information
about the ecosystem is included in the
groundfish stock assessments used to
determine the OFL and ABC, which in
turn inform the TAC, for all target
species and species groups in the BSAI.
When possible, stock assessment
models include information on
ecosystem and environmental effects to
improve the interpretation of historical
information and the precision of
forecasts. As explained in the response
to Comment 10, in some cases, ABCs
have been reduced from the assessment
model based on the ecosystem
considerations presented in the risk
tables. And, as explained in the
response to Comment 10, the annual
ESRs further allow for the consideration
of ecosystem factors during the process
to specify annual OFLs and ABCs for
target species and species groups.
NMFS is required to prevent
overfishing, so no TAC may exceed the
ABC as determined by the population
dynamics of any particular stock.
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However, in the BSAI, the TACs are not
set equal to ABCs. Both the FMP and
regulations limit the sum of the TACs
from the ecosystem at 2 million mt, so
the TACs are further reduced to meet
this limit in years of high ABCs. This
reduction in TACs to 2 million mt
reduces fishery removals and therefore
impacts on the ecosystem. For the 2023
harvest specifications, the total TAC has
been reduced by 1.2 million mt to
ensure the sum of all TACs is within the
OY range.
OY is the amount of fish that will
provide the greatest overall benefit to
the Nation, taking into account the
protection of marine ecosystems and
relevant economic, social, or ecological
factors (§ 600.310(e)(3)). OY is based on
the management objectives of the FMP,
as well as relevant ecological factors like
ecosystem component species, forage
fish stocks, other fisheries, predatorprey or competitive interactions, marine
mammals, threatened or endangered
species, and birds. The FMP addresses
how the OY for BSAI groundfish fishery
reflects ecosystem and ecological factors
(see, for example, Section 3.2.2.2 and
Section 4.6 of the FMP). The FMP
further indicated that the ongoing
consideration of ecosystem and
ecological factors relevant to OY would
be addressed annually in the SAFE
reports (Section 3.2.2.2 of the FMP).
Consistent with the FMP, the sum of the
TACs must be within the OY range, and
all TACs are informed by both
individual stock assessments (including
the risk tables) and the ESR for the
SAFE report, which are updated
annually to address ecosystem factors.
As a result, the harvest specification
process, including the specification of
TACs, considers best scientific
information available on ecosystem
factors. As noted above, NMFS is
committed to supporting science and
research to move us toward effective
ecosystem-based management and
developing additional tools and
approaches for incorporating ecosystem
factors.
Comment 12: Current evaluations fail
to account for the true environmental
cost of the pollock TAC for trawl
fishing.
Response: Ecosystem considerations,
as well as the impact on communities
and incidentally caught species, are
considered annually in the ESR to the
SAFE report as well as individual stock
SAFE reports. The chapter on pollock
includes discussions on the ecosystem
as well as sections titled ‘‘Ecosystem
effects on the EBS pollock stock’’ and
‘‘EBS pollock fishery effects on the
ecosystem.’’ The ecosystem is also
evaluated in the Final EIS, which in
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turn is annually evaluated in the SIR.
Additionally, the environmental
impacts of the pollock fishery have been
analyzed in a number of subsequent
NEPA documents, including the
Environmental Impact Statement for
Amendment 91 to the FMP and the
Environmental Assessment for
Amendment 110 to the FMP.
NMFS is required to achieve an OY
on a continuing basis. The FMP and
implementing regulations dictate an OY
of 1.4 to 2 million mt. In the BSAI, it
is currently not possible to reach that
range without the use of trawl gear.
Comment 13: The floor for
Chionoecedes opilio (C. opilio or snow
crab) PSC should be removed. Crab PSC
limits should be changed because they
fail to account for limitations identified
by scientists, such as recruitment
failures or other bottlenecks in aspects
of the current environmental conditions
that limit the reproductive ability of the
stock and because they do not provide
groundfish trawl sectors incentive to
move away from areas of high bycatch.
Response: The PSC limit for C. opilio
crab was developed and implemented
by Amendments 40 and 57 to the FMP.
The PSC limit for C. opilio crab is set
forth in regulation, which directs NMFS
to specify annually the limit based on
total abundance of C. opilio crab as
indicated by the NMFS annual bottom
trawl survey. The regulations direct that
the limit will be 0.1133 percent of total
abundance, minus 150,000 C. opilio
crabs, unless a minimum or maximum
limit specified in regulation applies
(§ 679.21(e)(1)(iii)). In these
specifications, NMFS has calculated and
specified the PSC limit for C. opilio crab
based on total abundance from the
NMFS annual bottom trawl survey. In
addition, in these groundfish harvest
specifications, the Council recommends
and NMFS adopts amounts of crab PSC
limits between trawl fishery categories
as outlined in § 679.21(e)(3). These
harvest specifications set forth the C.
opilio crab PSC limits consistent with
existing regulations. Any changes to the
floor for the C. opilio crab PSC limit is
beyond the scope of these annual
groundfish harvest specifications.
Changes to the C. opilio crab PSC limit
would need to be reviewed and
analyzed through the Council process in
an action separate from the groundfish
harvest specifications. To note, the
Council is working on developing
potential conservation and management
actions to improve crab bycatch
management and further reduce fishing
impacts on Bristol Bay red king crab and
Eastern Bering Sea C. opilio crab.
Similarly, PSC limits for Chionoecetes
bairdi (C. bairdi or Tanner crab) are set
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forth in regulations that dictate specific
C. bairdi crab PSC limits based on total
abundance of crabs as indicated by the
NMFS annual bottom trawl survey
(§ 679.21(e)(1)(ii)). In accordance with
these regulations, NMFS calculated the
applicable C. bairdi crab PSC limit
based on total abundance and specified
that PSC limit in these groundfish
harvest specifications. Any changes to
the regulations on crab PSC limits are
beyond the scope of these annual
groundfish harvest specifications.
Changes to the C. bairdi crab PSC limit
would need to be reviewed and
analyzed through the Council process in
an action separate from the groundfish
harvest specifications. Separate actions
for crab PSC will rely upon the crab
SAFE documents, which do consider
the impact of trawl bycatch on crab
abundance.
Comment 14: Catch levels of Pacific
cod should be increased to reduce
predation on crab.
Response: As discussed above, the
most recent scientific information
available from the 2022 stock
assessments is used to set the 2023 and
2024 OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for all
groundfish species, including BSAI
Pacific cod. The Council recommended,
and NMFS approved, the 2023 and 2024
BSAI Pacific cod TACs at the maximum
amounts available after setting aside the
amounts needed to support the State’s
GHL fisheries. This recommendation is
made to ensure that catch in Federal
and State waters does not exceed the
ABC. Further increasing Pacific cod
TACs could lead to overfishing, and
would violate the MSA and National
Standard 1 guidelines that direct that
catch (TAC) may not exceed fishing
level recommendations (OFL and ABC)
(16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(6)) and that
conservation and management measures
shall prevent overfishing (16 U.S.C.
1851(a)(1)).
Comment 15: NMFS should take a
precautionary approach to fisheries
management decisions, like the harvest
specifications decision.
Response: NMFS takes a
precautionary approach to fisheries
management in setting the annual
harvest specifications. NMFS’s primary
objective for fisheries management
decisions including the harvest
specifications process is the
conservation and management of fish
resources. Currently, no Alaska
groundfish species are known to be
experiencing overfishing.
Stock assessments provide important
scientific information necessary for the
conservation and management of fish
stocks. The stock assessments use a sixtiered system that accommodates
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different levels of reliable information
available to fishery scientists for
determining OFLs and ABCs. Fishery
scientists use the equations from an
appropriate tier to determine when a
stock is overfished according to the
reliability of information available. The
six-tiered system accomplishes three
basic functions: (1) It compensates for
uncertainty in estimating fishing
mortality rates at a level of MSY by
establishing fishing mortality rates more
conservatively as biological parameters
become more imprecise (less reliable);
(2) it relates fishing mortality rates
directly to biomass for stocks below
target abundance levels, so that fishing
mortality rates fall to zero should a
stock become critically depleted; and (3)
it maintains a buffer between the ABC
and the OFL to further minimize the
possibility of catches jeopardizing a
stock’s long term productivity. Also,
stock assessments use a risk table that
is applied by evaluating the severity of
four types of considerations that could
be used to support a scientific
recommendation to reduce the ABC
from the maximum permissible ABC.
The four considerations are assessmentrelated, population dynamics,
environmental/ecosystem, and fishery
performance.
For the harvest specifications, the
stock assessments that produce the
OFLs and ABCs have several levels of
review. The AFSC internally reviews
the stock assessment, and then the Plan
Team and SSC reviews the stock
assessment, which incorporates public
comment during public meetings. Also
several stock assessments are peer
reviewed using the Center for
Independent Experts, which is
important in ensuring the incorporation
of the best scientific information
available for the conservation and
management measures to ensure
sustainability of our Nation’s living
marine resources.
The annual determinations of TAC for
each species or species group may be
based on a review of the biological
condition of groundfish stocks. SAFE
documents prepared annually for the
Council and NMFS provide information
on historical catch trends; updated
estimates of the MSY of the groundfish
complex and its component species
groups; assessments of the stock
condition of each target species;
assessments of the multispecies and
ecosystem impacts of harvesting the
groundfish complex at current levels,
the assessed condition of stocks,
including consideration of rebuilding
depressed stocks; and alternative
harvesting strategies and related effects
on the component species group. The
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SAFE reports also include the
socioeconomic considerations that are
consistent with the goals of the FMPs
for the groundfish, including the need to
promote efficiency in the utilization of
fishery resources and minimize costs;
the need to manage for the optimum
marketable size of a species; the impact
of groundfish harvests on prohibited
species and the domestic target fisheries
that utilize these species; the desire to
enhance depleted stocks; the seasonal
access to the groundfish fishery by
domestic fishing vessels; the
commercial importance of a fishery to
local communities; the importance of a
fishery to subsistence users; and the
need to promote utilization of certain
species.
Comment 16: NMFS should take a
hard look at minimizing impacts to the
seafloor on essential crab habitat, and
minimizing unobserved mortality due to
fishing gear interactions. There should
be a hard look at all fishing gear groups
on how to best balance this approach.
Response: NMFS implements the
groundfish harvest specifications
process in accordance with the
regulations set forth at 50 CFR part 679,
which include regulations to close areas
to fishing to protect habitat, modify gear
to minimize impacts to the seafloor,
specify allocations to specific gear and
operational sectors, and limit PSC for
vessels using specific gear. These final
specifications are developed in
accordance with these regulations. Any
changes to the regulations to address
gear impacts are beyond the scope of the
groundfish harvest specifications
process. Separate from the groundfish
harvest specifications process, the
Council has recently taken action to
look at changes to reduce crab bycatch
mortality and how to estimate
unobserved mortality for crab stocks.
Comment 17: Industry has inequitable
access to the Council and NMFS.
Response: These final harvest
specifications were developed through a
public process that began with Plan
Team review at September and
November meetings, which are open to
the public. The SSC and Council review
occurred at their October and December
meetings. These meetings are also open
to the public. The public can comment
in writing and/or orally at these
meetings. Comments can be given inperson or virtually for online
participants. Finally, NMFS published
the proposed harvest specifications in
the Federal Register for 30 days of
public comment (87 FR 76435,
December 14, 2022). Included in both
the proposed and final specifications is
a person of contact and their telephone
number. Additionally, information to
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guide the public through the Council
and regulatory processes are available
on the Council web page (https://
www.npfmc.org/) and NMFS Alaska
Region web page (see ADDRESSES).
NMFS is cognizant that the Council
and regulatory processes may be
unfamiliar to newer participants and
interested individuals. NMFS will
endeavor to improve accessibility and
outreach to the public to help
individuals and interested participants
better understand Council and
regulatory processes and the
opportunities and methods for public
input.
Classification
NMFS is issuing this final rule
pursuant to section 305(d) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. Through
previous actions, the FMP and
regulations are designed to authorize
NMFS to take this action. See 50 CFR
part 679. The NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that the
final harvest specifications are
consistent with the FMP and with the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and other
applicable laws.
This action is authorized under 50
CFR 679.20 and is exempt from review
under Executive Order 12866 because it
only implements annual catch limits in
the BSAI.
NMFS prepared an EIS for the Alaska
groundfish harvest specifications and
alternative harvest strategies (see
ADDRESSES) and made it available to the
public on January 12, 2007 (72 FR
1512). On February 13, 2007, NMFS
issued the Record of Decision (ROD) for
the Final EIS. In January-February 2023,
NMFS prepared a Supplementary
Information Report (SIR) for this action
to provide a subsequent assessment of
the action and to address the need to
prepare a Supplemental EIS (SEIS) (40
CFR 1501.11(b); § 1502.9(d)(1)). Copies
of the Final EIS, ROD, and annual SIRs
for this action are available from NMFS
(see ADDRESSES). The Final EIS analyzes
the environmental, social, and economic
consequences of the groundfish harvest
specifications and alternative harvest
strategies on resources in the action
area. Based on the analysis in the Final
EIS, NMFS concluded that the preferred
alternative (Alternative 2) provides the
best balance among relevant
environmental, social, and economic
considerations and allows for continued
management of the groundfish fisheries
based on the most recent, best scientific
information. The preferred alternative is
a harvest strategy in which TACs are set
at a level within the range of ABCs
recommended by the Council’s SSC; the
sum of the TACs must achieve the OY
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14953
specified in the FMP. While the specific
numbers that the harvest strategy
produces may vary from year to year,
the methodology used for the preferred
harvest strategy remains constant.
The latest annual SIR evaluated the
need to prepare an SEIS for the 2023
and 2024 groundfish harvest
specifications. An SEIS must be
prepared if: (1) the agency makes
substantial changes in the proposed
action that are relevant to
environmental concerns; or (2)
significant new circumstances or
information exist relevant to
environmental concerns and bearing on
the proposed action or its impacts
(§ 1502.9(d)(1)). After reviewing the
information contained in the SIR and
SAFE report, the Regional
Administrator has determined that: (1)
approval of the 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications, which were set according
to the preferred harvest strategy in the
Final EIS, does not constitute a
substantial change in the action; and (2)
there are no significant new
circumstances or information relevant to
environmental concerns and bearing on
the action or its impacts that are not
addressed through the annual process of
using the preferred harvest strategy to
set the 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications. Additionally, the 2023
and 2024 harvest specifications will
result in environmental, social, and
economic impacts within the scope of
those analyzed and disclosed in the
Final EIS. Therefore, an SEIS is not
necessary to implement the 2023 and
2024 harvest specifications.
A final regulatory flexibility analysis
(FRFA) was prepared. Section 604 of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5
U.S.C. 604) requires that, when an
agency promulgates a final rule under 5
U.S.C. 553, after being required by that
section or any other law, to publish a
general notice of proposed rulemaking,
the agency shall prepare a FRFA. The
following constitutes the FRFA
prepared for these final 2023 and 2024
harvest specifications.
Section 604 of the RFA describes the
required contents of a FRFA: (1) a
statement of the need for, and objectives
of, the rule; (2) a statement of the
significant issues raised by the public
comments in response to the initial
regulatory flexibility analysis, a
statement of the assessment of the
agency of such issues, and a statement
of any changes made in the proposed
rule as a result of such comments; (3)
the response of the agency to any
comments filed by the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration in response to the
proposed rule, and a detailed statement
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of any change made to the proposed rule
in the final rule as a result of the
comments; (4) a description of and an
estimate of the number of small entities
to which the rule will apply or an
explanation of why no such estimate is
available; (5) a description of the
projected reporting, recordkeeping, and
other compliance requirements of the
rule, including an estimate of the classes
of small entities which will be subject
to the requirement and the type of
professional skills necessary for
preparation of the report or record; and
(6) a description of the steps the agency
has taken to minimize the significant
economic impact on small entities
consistent with the stated objectives of
applicable statutes, including a
statement of the factual, policy, and
legal reasons for selecting the alternative
adopted in the final rule and why each
one of the other significant alternatives
to the rule considered by the agency that
affect the impact on small entities was
rejected.
A description of this action, its
purpose, and its legal basis are included
at the beginning of the preamble to this
final rule and are not repeated here.
NMFS published the proposed rule on
December 14, 2022 (87 FR 76435).
NMFS prepared an Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) to
accompany the proposed action, and
included the IRFA in the proposed rule.
The comment period closed on January
13, 2023. No comments were received
on the IRFA or on the economic impacts
of the rule more generally. The Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration did not file
any comments on the proposed rule.
The entities directly regulated by this
action are those that harvest groundfish
in the exclusive economic zone of the
BSAI and in parallel fisheries within
State waters. These include entities
operating CVs and CPs within the action
area and entities receiving direct
allocations of groundfish.
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.
Using the most recent data available
(2021), the estimated number of directly
regulated small entities includes
approximately 146 CVs, 6 CPs, and 6
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CDQ groups. Some of these vessels are
members of AFA inshore pollock
cooperatives, Gulf of Alaska rockfish
cooperatives, or BSAI Crab
Rationalization Program cooperatives,
and, since under the RFA, the aggregate
gross receipts of all participating
members of the cooperative must meet
the ‘‘under $11 million’’ threshold, the
cooperatives are considered to be large
entities within the meaning of the RFA.
Thus, the estimate of 146 CVs may be
an overstatement of the number of small
entities. Average gross revenues in 2021
were $700,000 for small hook-and-line
vessels, $1.1 million for small pot
vessels, and $2.1 million for small trawl
vessels. Average gross revenues for CP
entities are confidential.
This final rule contains no
information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
This action implements the final 2023
and 2024 harvest specifications,
apportionments, and prohibited species
catch limits for the groundfish fishery of
the BSAI. This action is necessary to
establish harvest limits for groundfish
during the 2023 and 2024 fishing years
and is taken in accordance with the
FMP prepared by the Council pursuant
to the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The
establishment of the final harvest
specifications is governed by the
Council’s harvest strategy for the catch
of groundfish in the BSAI. The harvest
strategy was previously selected from
among five alternatives. Under this
preferred alternative harvest strategy,
TACs are set within the range of ABCs
recommended by the SSC; the sum of
the TACs must achieve the OY specified
in the FMP; and while the specific TAC
numbers that the harvest strategy
produces may vary from year to year,
the methodology used for the preferred
harvest strategy remains constant. This
final action implements the preferred
alternative harvest strategy previously
chosen by the Council to set TACs that
fall within the range of ABCs
recommended through the Council
harvest specifications process and as
recommended by the Council. This is
the method for determining TACs that
has been used in the past.
The final 2023 and 2024 TACs
associated with the preferred harvest
strategy are those recommended by the
Council in December 2022. OFLs and
ABCs for each species and species group
were based on recommendations
prepared by the Council’s Plan Team,
and reviewed by the Council’s SSC. The
Council’s TAC recommendations are
consistent with the SSC’s OFL and ABC
recommendations, and the sum of all
TACs remains within the OY for the
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BSAI consistent with
§ 679.20(a)(1)(i)(A). Because setting all
TACs equal to ABCs would cause the
sum of TACs to exceed an OY of 2
million mt, TACs for some species and
species groups are lower than the ABCs
recommended by the Plan Team and the
SSC.
The final 2023 and 2024 OFLs and
ABCs are based on the best available
biological information, including
projected biomass trends, information
on assumed distribution of stock
biomass, and revised technical methods
to calculate stock biomass. The final
2023 and 2024 TACs are based on the
best available biological and
socioeconomic information. The final
2023 and 2024 OFLs, ABCs, and TACs
are consistent with the biological
condition of groundfish stocks as
described in the 2022 SAFE report,
which is the most recent, completed
SAFE report. Accounting for the most
recent biological information to set the
final OFLs, ABCs, and TACs is
consistent with the objectives for this
action, as well as National Standard 2 of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C.
1851(a)(2)) that actions shall be based
on the best scientific information
available.
Under this action, the ABCs reflect
harvest amounts that are less than the
specified overfishing levels. The TACs
are within the range of ABCs
recommended by the SSC and do not
exceed the biological limits
recommended by the SSC (the ABCs
and OFLs). For some species and
species groups in the BSAI, the Council
recommended, and NMFS sets, TACs
equal to ABCs, which is intended to
maximize harvest opportunities in the
BSAI. However, NMFS cannot set TACs
for all species in the BSAI equal to their
ABCs due to the constraining OY limit
of 2 million mt. For this reason, some
final TACs are less than the final ABCs.
These specific reductions were
reviewed and recommended by the
Council’s AP, and then reviewed and
adopted by the Council as the Council’s
recommended final 2023 and 2024
TACs.
Based on the best available scientific
data, and in consideration of the
Council’s objectives for this action,
there are no significant alternatives that
have the potential to accomplish the
stated objectives of the MagnusonStevens Act and any other applicable
statutes and that have the potential to
minimize any significant adverse
economic impact of the final rule on
small entities. This action is
economically beneficial to entities
operating in the BSAI, including small
entities. The action specifies TACs for
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commercially-valuable species in the
BSAI and allows for the continued
prosecution of the fishery, thereby
creating the opportunity for fishery
revenue. After public process, during
which the Council solicited input from
stakeholders, the Council concluded
that these final harvest specifications
would best accomplish the stated
objectives articulated in the preamble
for this final rule and in applicable
statutes, and would minimize to the
extent practicable adverse economic
impacts on the universe of directly
regulated small entities.
Adverse impacts on marine mammals,
or endangered or threatened species,
resulting from fishing activities
conducted under this rule are discussed
in the Final EIS and its accompanying
annual SIRs (see ADDRESSES).
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
NOAA, finds good cause to waive the
30-day delay in the date of effectiveness
for this rule because delaying the
effective date of this final rule is
contrary to the public interest. The Plan
Team review of the 2022 SAFE report
occurred in November 2022, and based
on the 2022 SAFE report the Council
considered and recommended the final
harvest specifications in December
2022. Accordingly, NMFS’s review of
the final 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications could not begin until after
the December 2022 Council meeting,
and after the public had time to
comment on the proposed action.
For all fisheries not currently closed
because the TACs established under the
final 2022 and 2023 harvest
specifications (87 FR 11626, March 2,
2022) were not reached, it is possible
that they would be closed prior to the
expiration of a 30-day delayed
effectiveness period because their TACs
could be reached within that period. If
implemented immediately, this rule
would allow these fisheries to continue
fishing because some of the new TACs
implemented by this rule are higher
than the TACs under which they are
currently fishing.
In addition, immediate effectiveness
of this action is required to provide
consistent management and
conservation of fishery resources based
on the best available scientific
information. This is particularly
pertinent for those species that have
lower 2023 ABCs and TACs than those
established in the 2022 and 2023
harvest specifications (87 FR 11626,
March 2, 2022). If implemented
immediately, this rule would ensure
that NMFS can properly manage those
fisheries for which this rule sets lower
2023 ABCs and TACs based on the most
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recent biological information on the
condition of stocks.
Certain fisheries, such as those for
pollock, are intensive, fast-paced
fisheries. Other fisheries, such as those
for sablefish, flatfish, rockfish, Atka
mackerel, skates, sharks, and octopuses,
are critical as directed fisheries and as
incidental catch in other fisheries. U.S.
fishing vessels have demonstrated the
capacity to catch the TAC allocations in
many of these fisheries. If the date of
effectiveness of this final rule were to be
delayed 30 days and if a TAC were to
be reached during those 30 days, NMFS
would be required to close directed
fishing or prohibit retention for the
applicable species. Any delay in
allocating the final TACs in these
fisheries would cause confusion to the
industry and potential economic harm
through unnecessary discards, thus
undermining the intent of this rule.
Waiving the 30-day delay allows NMFS
to prevent economic loss to fishermen
that could otherwise occur should the
2023 TACs (previously set under the
2022 and 2023 harvest specifications) be
reached. Determining which fisheries
may close is nearly impossible because
these fisheries are affected by several
factors that cannot be predicted in
advance, including fishing effort,
weather, movement of fishery stocks,
and market price. Furthermore, the
closure of one fishery has a cascading
effect on other fisheries by freeing-up
fishing vessels, allowing them to move
from closed fisheries to open ones,
increasing the fishing capacity in those
open fisheries, and in turn causing them
to close at an accelerated pace.
In fisheries subject to declining
sideboard limits, a failure to implement
the updated sideboard limits before
initial season’s end could deny the
intended economic protection to the
non-sideboard limited sectors.
Conversely, in fisheries with increasing
sideboard limits, economic benefit
could be denied to the sideboardlimited sectors.
If these final harvest specifications are
not effective by March 10, 2023, which
is the start of the 2023 Pacific halibut
season as specified by the IPHC, the
fixed gear sablefish fishery will not
begin concurrently with the Pacific
halibut IFQ season. Delayed
effectiveness of this action would result
in confusion for sablefish harvesters and
economic harm from the unnecessary
discard of sablefish that are caught
along with Pacific halibut, as both fixed
gear sablefish and Pacific halibut are
managed under the same IFQ program.
Immediate effectiveness of these final
2023 and 2024 harvest specifications
will allow the sablefish IFQ fishery to
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14955
begin concurrently with the Pacific
halibut IFQ season.
Finally, immediate effectiveness also
would provide the fishing industry the
earliest possible opportunity to plan and
conduct its fishing operations with
respect to new information about TAC
limits. Therefore, NMFS finds good
cause to waive the 30-day delay in the
date of effectiveness for this rule under
5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
Small Entity Compliance Guide
Section 212 of the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of
1996 states that, for each rule or group
of related rules for which an agency is
required to prepare a FRFA, the agency
shall publish one or more guides to
assist small entities in complying with
the rule, and shall designate such
publications as ‘‘small entity
compliance guides.’’ The tables
contained in this final rule are provided
online and serve as the plain language
guide to assist small entities in
complying with this final rule as
required by the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of
1996. This final rule’s primary purpose
is to announce the final 2023 and 2024
harvest specifications and prohibited
species bycatch allowances for the
groundfish fisheries of the BSAI. This
action is necessary to establish harvest
limits and associated management
measures for groundfish during the 2023
and 2024 fishing years and is taken in
accordance with the FMP prepared by
the Council pursuant to the MagnusonStevens Act. This action directly affects
all fishermen who participate in the
BSAI fisheries. The specific amounts of
OFL, ABC, TAC, and PSC amounts are
provided in tables in this final rule to
assist the reader. This final rule also
contains plain language summaries of
the underlying relevant regulations
supporting the harvest specifications
and the harvest of groundfish in the
BSAI that the reader may find helpful.
Information to assist small entities in
complying with this final rule is
provided online. The OFL, ABC, TAC,
and PSC tables are individually
available online at https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/
sustainable-fisheries/alaska-groundfishharvest-specifications. Explanatory
information on the relevant regulations
supporting the harvest specifications is
found in footnotes to the tables. Harvest
specification changes are also available
from the same online source, which
includes applicable Federal Register
notices, information bulletins, and other
supporting materials. NMFS will
announce closures of directed fishing in
the Federal Register and information
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bulletins released by the Alaska Region.
Affected fishermen should keep
themselves informed of such closures.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 16 U.S.C.
1540(f); 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; 16 U.S.C.
3631 et seq.; Pub. L. 105–277; Pub. L. 106–
31; Pub. L. 106–554; Pub. L. 108–199; Pub.
L. 108–447; Pub. L. 109–241; Pub. L. 109–
479.
Dated: March 6, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–04877 Filed 3–9–23; 8:45 am]
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14926-14956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04877]
[[Page 14926]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 230306-0065; RTID 0648-XC365]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands; Final 2023 and 2024 Harvest Specifications for
Groundfish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; harvest specifications and closures.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications,
apportionments, and prohibited species catch allowances for the
groundfish fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management
area (BSAI). This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for
groundfish during the remainder of the 2023 and the start of the 2024
fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (FMP). The 2023 harvest specifications supersede those
previously set in the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications, and
the 2024 harvest specifications will be superseded in early 2024 when
the final 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications are published. The
intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish
resources in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI)
in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act; MSA).
DATES: Harvest specifications and closures are effective from 1200
hours, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), March 10, 2023, through 2400 hours,
A.l.t., December 31, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the Alaska Groundfish Harvest
Specifications Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Record of
Decision (ROD), and the annual Supplementary Information Reports (SIRs)
to the Final EIS prepared for this action are available from https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska. The 2022 Stock Assessment and
Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report for the groundfish resources of the
BSAI, dated November 2022, as well as the SAFE reports for previous
years, are available from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) at 1007 West Third Ave., Suite 400, Anchorage, AK 99501,
phone 907-271-2809, or from the Council's website at https://www.npfmc.org/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Whitney, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal regulations at 50 CFR part 679
implement the FMP and govern the groundfish fisheries in the BSAI. The
Council prepared the FMP, and NMFS approved it, under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. General regulations governing U.S. fisheries also appear
at 50 CFR part 600.
The FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS, after
consultation with the Council, to specify annually the total allowable
catch (TAC) for each target species category. The sum of all TACs for
all groundfish species in the BSAI must be within the optimum yield
(OY) range of 1.4 million to 2.0 million metric tons (mt) (see Sec.
679.20(a)(1)(i)(A) and 679.20(a)(2)). This final rule specifies the sum
of the TAC at 2.0 million mt for 2023 and 2.0 million mt for 2024. NMFS
also must specify apportionments of TAC; prohibited species catch (PSC)
allowances and prohibited species quota (PSQ) reserves established by
Sec. 679.21; seasonal allowances of pollock, Pacific cod, and Atka
mackerel TAC; American Fisheries Act allocations; Amendment 80
allocations; Community Development Quota (CDQ) reserve amounts
established by Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(ii); acceptable biological catch
(ABC) surpluses and reserves for CDQ groups and any Amendment 80
cooperatives for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole; and
halibut discard mortality rates (DMRs). The final harvest
specifications set forth in Tables 1 through 22 of this action satisfy
these requirements.
Section 679.20(c)(3)(i) further requires that NMFS consider public
comment on the proposed harvest specifications and, after consultation
with the Council, publish final harvest specifications in the Federal
Register. The proposed 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications for the
groundfish fishery of the BSAI were published in the Federal Register
on December 14, 2022 (87 FR 76435). Comments were invited and accepted
through January 13, 2023. As discussed in the Response to Comments
section below, NMFS received six letters raising seventeen distinct
comments during the public comment period for the proposed BSAI
groundfish harvest specifications. NMFS's responses are addressed in
the Response to Comments section below.
NMFS consulted with the Council on the final 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications during the December 2022 Council meeting. After
considering public comments during public meetings and public comments
submitted for the proposed rule (87 FR 76435), as well as biological
and socioeconomic data that were available at the Council's December
2022 meeting, NMFS implements in this final rule the final 2023 and
2024 harvest specifications as recommended by the Council.
ABC and TAC Harvest Specifications
The final ABC amounts for Alaska groundfish are based on the best
available biological information, including projected biomass trends,
information on assumed distribution of stock biomass, and revised
technical methods used to calculate stock biomass. In general, the
development of ABCs and overfishing levels (OFLs) involves
sophisticated statistical analyses of fish populations. The FMP
specifies a series of six tiers to define OFL and ABC amounts based on
the level of reliable information available to fishery scientists. Tier
1 represents the highest level of information quality available, while
Tier 6 represents the lowest.
In December 2022, the Council, its Scientific and Statistical
Committee (SSC), and its Advisory Panel (AP) reviewed current
biological and harvest information about the condition of the BSAI
groundfish stocks. The Council's BSAI Groundfish Plan Team (Plan Team)
compiled and presented this information in the 2022 SAFE report for the
BSAI groundfish fisheries, dated November 2022 (see ADDRESSES). The
SAFE report contains a review of the latest scientific analyses and
estimates of each species' biomass and other biological parameters, as
well as summaries of the available information on the BSAI ecosystem
and the economic condition of groundfish fisheries off Alaska. NMFS
notified the public of the comment period for these harvest
specifications--and of the publication of the 2022 SAFE report--in the
proposed harvest specifications (87 FR 76435, December 14, 2022). From
the data and analyses in the SAFE report, the Plan Team recommended an
OFL and ABC for each species and species group at the November 2022
Plan Team meeting.
In December 2022, the SSC, AP, and Council reviewed the Plan Team's
recommendations. The final TAC recommendations were based on the ABCs,
and were adjusted for other biological and socioeconomic
[[Page 14927]]
considerations, including maintaining the sum of all the TACs within
the required OY range of 1.4 million to 2.0 million mt. As required by
annual catch limit rules for all fisheries (74 FR 3178, January 16,
2009), none of the Council's recommended 2023 or 2024 TACs exceed the
final 2023 or 2024 ABCs for any species or species group. NMFS finds
that the Council's recommended OFLs, ABCs, and TACs are consistent with
the preferred harvest strategy outlined in the FMP and the biological
condition of groundfish stocks as described in the 2022 SAFE report
that was approved by the Council. Therefore, this final rule provides
notification that the Secretary of Commerce approves the final 2023 and
2024 harvest specifications as recommended by the Council.
The 2023 harvest specifications set in this final action supersede
the 2023 harvest specifications previously set in the final 2022 and
2023 harvest specifications (87 FR 11626, March 2, 2022). The 2024
harvest specifications herein will be superseded in early 2024 when the
final 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications are published. Pursuant to
this final action, the 2023 harvest specifications therefore will apply
for the remainder of the current year (2023), while the 2024 harvest
specifications are projected only for the following year (2024) and
will be superseded in early 2024 by the final 2024 and 2025 harvest
specifications. Because this final action (published in early 2023)
will be superseded in early 2024 by the publication of the final 2024
and 2025 harvest specifications, it is projected that this final action
will implement the harvest specifications for the BSAI for
approximately 1 year.
Other Actions Affecting the 2023 and 2024 Harvest Specifications
State of Alaska Guideline Harvest Levels
For 2023 and 2024, the Board of Fisheries (BOF) for the State of
Alaska (State) established the guideline harvest level (GHL) for
vessels using pot, longline, jig, and hand troll gear in State waters
in the State's Aleutian Islands (AI) State waters sablefish
registration area that includes all State waters west of Scotch Cap
Light (164[deg]44.72' W longitude) and south of Cape Sarichef
(54[deg]36' N latitude). The 2023 AI GHL is set at 5 percent (865 mt)
of the combined 2023 Bering Sea subarea (BS) and AI subarea ABC (mt).
The 2024 AI GHL is set at 5 percent (1,025 mt) of the combined 2024 BS
subarea and AI subarea ABC (mt). The State's AI sablefish registration
area includes areas adjacent to parts of the Federal BS. The Council
and its BSAI Groundfish Plan Team (Plan Team), SSC, and AP recommended
that the sum of all State and Federal waters sablefish removals from
the BS and AI not exceed the ABC recommendations for sablefish in the
BS and AI. Accordingly, the Council recommended, and NMFS approves,
that the 2023 and 2024 sablefish TACs in the BS and AI account for the
State's GHLs for sablefish caught in State waters.
For 2023 and 2024, the BOF for the State established the GHL for
vessels using pot gear in State waters in the BS equal to 12 percent of
the Pacific cod ABC in the BS when the ABC is between 125,000 mt and
150,000 mt. For 2023, the BS Pacific cod ABC is 144,834 mt, and for
2024, it is 140,159 mt. Therefore, the GHL in the BS for pot gear will
be 12 percent for 2023 (17,380 mt) and 2024 (16,819 mt). Also, for 2023
and 2024, the BOF established an additional GHL for vessels using jig
gear in State waters in the BS equal to 45 mt of Pacific cod in the BS.
The Council and its Plan Team, SSC, and AP recommended that the sum of
all State and Federal waters Pacific cod removals from the BS not
exceed the ABC recommendations for Pacific cod in the BS. Accordingly,
the Council recommended, and NMFS approves, that the 2023 and 2024
Pacific cod TACs in the BS account for the State's GHLs for Pacific cod
caught in State waters in the BS.
For 2023 and 2024, the BOF for the State established the GHL in
State waters in the Aleutian Islands subarea (AI) equal to 39 percent
of the AI ABC. The AI GHL will increase annually by 4 percent of the AI
ABC, if 90 percent of the GHL is harvested by November 15 of the
preceding year, but may not exceed 39 percent of the AI ABC or 15
million pounds (6,804 mt). For 2023 and for 2024, 39 percent of the AI
ABC is 5,387 mt. The Council and its Plan Team, SSC, and AP recommended
that the sum of all State and Federal waters Pacific cod removals from
the AI not exceed the ABC recommendations for Pacific cod in the AI.
Accordingly, the Council recommended, and NMFS approves, that the 2023
and 2024 Pacific cod TACs in the AI account for the State's GHL of
5,387 mt for Pacific cod caught in State waters in the AI.
Halibut Abundance-Based Management for the Amendment 80 Program PSC
Limit
On December 9, 2022, NMFS published a proposed rule (87 FR 75570),
and an extension of public comment (87 FR 75569), to implement
Amendment 123 to the FMP, which if approved would establish abundance-
based management of Amendment 80 Program PSC for Pacific halibut. The
proposed action would replace the current Amendment 80 sector static
halibut PSC limit (1,745 mt) with a process for annually setting the
Amendment 80 sector halibut PSC limit based on the most recent halibut
abundance estimates from the International Pacific Halibut Commission
setline survey and the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center Eastern
Bering Sea shelf trawl survey. The annual process would use a table
with pre-established halibut abundance ranges based on those surveys.
The annual Amendment 80 sector halibut PSC limit would be set at the
value found at the intercept of the results from the most recent
surveys. Further details are available in the proposed rule to
implement Amendment 123. If the FMP amendment and its implementing
regulations are approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the action is
anticipated to be effective in 2024. Until effective, NMFS will
continue to use the current Amendment 80 halibut PSC limit listed at
Sec. 679.21(b)(1) and published in the harvest specifications.
Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Limited Access Privilege Program
On February 9, 2023, NMFS published a proposed rule to implement
Amendment 122 to the FMP, which if approved would implement a limited
access privilege program called the Pacific cod Trawl Cooperative
(PCTC) Program (88 FR 8592, February 9, 2023). The PCTC Program would
allocate quota share (QS) to groundfish License Limitation Program
license holders and to processors based on history during the
qualifying years. Under this program, QS holders would be required to
join cooperatives annually. Cooperatives would be allocated the BSAI
trawl catcher vessel (CV) sector's A and B season Pacific cod
allocations as an exclusive harvest privilege in the form of
cooperative quota, equivalent to the aggregate QS of all cooperative
members. NMFS anticipates that the regulations at Sec.
679.20(a)(7)(viii) will be removed through implementation of the PCTC
Program, if approved. Further details are available in the proposed
rule to implement Amendment 122. If the FMP amendment and its
implementing regulations are approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the
action is anticipated to be effective in 2024. Until effective, NMFS
will continue the current management of the BSAI trawl CV Pacific cod
allocation.
[[Page 14928]]
Amendment 124 to the BSAI FMP for Groundfish To Revise Individual
Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program Regulations
On November 23, 2022, NMFS published a proposed rule (87 FR 71559)
to implement Amendment 124 to the FMP, which if approved would allow
jig gear as an authorized fishing gear type in the BSAI sablefish IFQ
and CDQ fisheries. The Council's intent in recommending Amendment 124
is to increase entry-level opportunities and increase flexibility for
IFQ holders. This is because jig gear is a smaller investment than
other gear types and does not require significant vessel retrofits as
with other gear. Additionally, jig gear is already an authorized gear
type for the harvest of halibut IFQ and CDQ and this action would
further align the authorized gear types in the halibut and sablefish
IFQ and CDQ fisheries. Further details are available in the proposed
rule to implement Amendment 124. If the FMP amendment and its
implementing regulations are approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the
action is anticipated to be effective for the 2023 IFQ and CDQ season.
Changes From the Proposed 2023 and 2024 Harvest Specifications for the
BSAI
The Council's recommendations for the proposed 2023 and 2024
harvest specifications (87 FR 76435, December 14, 2022) were based
largely on information contained in the 2021 SAFE report for the BSAI
groundfish fisheries. Through the proposed harvest specifications, NMFS
notified the public that these harvest specifications could change, as
the Council would consider information contained in the 2022 SAFE
report; recommendations from the Plan Team, SSC, and AP; and public
comments when making its recommendations for final harvest
specifications at the December 2022 Council meeting. NMFS further
notified the public that, as required by the FMP and its implementing
regulations, the sum of the TACs must be within the OY range of 1.4
million and 2.0 million mt.
Information contained in the 2022 SAFE report indicates biomass
changes from the 2021 SAFE report for several groundfish species. The
2022 SAFE report was made available for public review during the public
comment period for the proposed harvest specifications. At the December
2022 Council meeting, the SSC recommended the 2023 and 2024 OFLs and
ABCs based on the best and most recent information contained in the
2022 SAFE report. The SSC's recommendation resulted in an ABC sum total
for all BSAI groundfish species in excess of 2.0 million mt for both
2023 and 2024.
Based on larger spawning biomass estimates, the Council recommends
final BS pollock TACs increase by 11,000 mt in 2023 and 13,000 mt in
2024 compared to the proposed 2023 and 2024 BS pollock TACs. The
Council also recommends increasing the BSAI rock sole TAC by 11,000 mt
in 2023 and 11,000 mt in 2024, and increasing the flathead sole TAC by
10,000 mt in 2023 and 10,000 mt in 2024, compared to the proposed 2023
and 2024 TACs. In terms of tonnage, the Council recommends reducing the
TACs from the proposed TACs of several species of lower economic value
to maintain an overall total TAC within the required OY range of 1.4 to
2.0 million mt with Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder, northern
rockfish, and ``other flatfish'' having the largest TAC decreases. In
terms of percentage, the largest TAC decreases from the proposed TACs
of lower economically valued species were for Alaska plaice, arrowtooth
flounder, Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, octopuses, ``other
flatfish,'' northern rockfish, and sharks. The Council recommends
lowering the TACs of both BS and AI Pacific cod in 2023 and 2024 due to
lower spawning biomasses.
The changes to TACs between the proposed and final harvest
specifications are based on the most recent scientific and
socioeconomic information and are consistent with the FMP, regulatory
obligations, and harvest strategy as described in the proposed and
final harvest specifications, including the required OY range of 1.4
million to 2.0 million mt. These changes are compared in Table 1A.
Table 1 lists the Council's recommended final 2023 OFL, ABC, TAC,
initial TAC (ITAC), CDQ reserve allocations, and non-specified reserves
of the BSAI groundfish species and species groups; and Table 2 lists
the Council's recommended final 2024 OFL, ABC, TAC, ITAC, CDQ reserve
allocations, and non-specified reserves of the BSAI groundfish species
and species groups. NMFS concurs in these recommendations. These final
2023 and 2024 TAC amounts for the BSAI are within the OY range
established for the BSAI and do not exceed the ABC for any species or
species group. The apportionment of TAC amounts among fisheries and
seasons is discussed below.
Table 1--Final 2023 Overfishing Level (OFL), Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC), Total Allowable Catch (TAC), Initial TAC (ITAC), CDQ Reserve Allocation,
and Non-Specified Reserves of Groundfish in the BSAI \1\
[Amounts are in metric tons]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Area Nonspecified
OFL ABC TAC ITAC \2\ CDQ \3\ reserves
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pollock \4\....................... BS.................. 3,381,000 1,910,000 1,300,000 1,170,000 130,000 ..............
AI.................. 52,383 43,413 19,000 17,100 1,900 ..............
Bogoslof............ 115,146 86,360 300 300 .............. ..............
Pacific cod \5\................... BS.................. 172,495 144,834 127,409 113,776 13,633 ..............
AI.................. 18,416 13,812 8,425 7,524 901 ..............
Sablefish \6\..................... Alaska-wide......... 47,390 40,502 n/a n/a n/a ..............
BS.................. n/a 8,417 7,996 6,597 1,099 300
AI.................. n/a 8,884 8,440 6,858 1,424 158
Yellowfin sole.................... BSAI................ 404,882 378,499 230,000 205,390 24,610 ..............
Greenland turbot.................. BSAI................ 4,645 3,960 3,960 3,366 n/a ..............
BS.................. n/a 3,338 3,338 2,837 357 144
AI.................. n/a 622 622 529 .............. 93
Arrowtooth flounder............... BSAI................ 98,787 83,852 15,000 12,750 1,605 645
Kamchatka flounder................ BSAI................ 8,946 7,579 7,579 6,442 .............. 1,137
Rock sole \7\..................... BSAI................ 166,034 121,719 66,000 58,938 7,062 ..............
Flathead sole \8\................. BSAI................ 79,256 65,344 35,500 31,702 3,799 ..............
Alaska plaice..................... BSAI................ 40,823 33,946 17,500 14,875 .............. 2,625
Other flatfish \9\................ BSAI................ 22,919 17,189 4,500 3,825 .............. 675
Pacific ocean perch............... BSAI................ 50,133 42,038 37,703 33,157 n/a ..............
BS.................. n/a 11,903 11,903 10,118 .............. 1,785
[[Page 14929]]
EAI................. n/a 8,152 8,152 7,280 872 ..............
CAI................. n/a 5,648 5,648 5,044 604 ..............
WAI................. n/a 16,335 12,000 10,716 1,284 ..............
Northern rockfish................. BSAI................ 22,776 18,687 11,000 9,350 .............. 1,650
Blackspotted/Rougheye rockfish BSAI................ 703 525 525 446 .............. 79
\10\.
BS/EAI............................ n/a................. 359 359 305 .............. .............. 54
CAI/WAI............. n/a 166 166 141 .............. 25
Shortraker rockfish............... BSAI................ 706 530 530 451 .............. 80
Other rockfish \11\............... BSAI................ 1,680 1,260 1,260 1,071 .............. 189
BS.................. n/a 880 880 748 .............. 132
AI.................. n/a 380 380 323 .............. 57
Atka mackerel..................... BSAI................ 118,787 98,588 69,282 61,869 7,413 ..............
BS/EAI.............. n/a 43,281 27,260 24,343 2,917 ..............
CAI................. n/a 17,351 17,351 15,494 1,857 ..............
WAI................. n/a 37,956 24,671 22,031 2,640 ..............
Skates............................ BSAI................ 46,220 38,605 27,441 23,325 .............. 4,116
Sharks............................ BSAI................ 689 450 250 213 .............. 38
Octopuses......................... BSAI................ 4,769 3,576 400 340 .............. 60
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total......................... .................... 4,859,585 3,155,268 2,000,000 1,789,662 196,564 13,773
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Regulatory areas and districts are defined at Sec. 679.2 (BSAI=Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area, BS=Bering Sea subarea,
AI=Aleutian Islands subarea, EAI=Eastern Aleutian district, CAI=Central Aleutian district, WAI=Western Aleutian district).
\1\ These amounts apply to the entire BSAI management area unless otherwise specified. With the exception of pollock, and for the purpose of these
harvest specifications, the Bering Sea subarea (BS) includes the Bogoslof District.
\2\ Except for pollock, the portion of the sablefish TAC allocated to fixed gear, and Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, yellowfin sole, rock sole,
flathead sole, Pacific cod, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch), 15 percent of each TAC is placed into a non-specified reserve (Sec.
679.20(b)(1)(i)). The ITAC for these species is the remainder of the TAC after the subtraction of these reserves. For pollock and Amendment 80
species, ITAC is the non-CDQ allocation of TAC (see footnotes 3 and 4).
\3\ For the Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, Pacific cod, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch), 10.7
percent of the TAC is reserved for use by CDQ participants (see Sec. Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)). 20 percent of the sablefish TAC allocated to fixed
gear, 7.5 percent of the sablefish TAC allocated to trawl gear, and 10.7 percent of the TACs for Bering Sea Greenland turbot and arrowtooth flounder
are reserved for use by CDQ participants (see Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) and (D)). Aleutian Islands Greenland turbot, ``other flatfish,'' Alaska
plaice, Bering Sea Pacific ocean perch, Kamchatka flounder, northern rockfish, shortraker rockfish, blackspotted/rougheye rockfish, ``other
rockfish,'' skates, sharks, and octopuses are not allocated to the CDQ program.
\4\ Under Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the annual BS pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second
for the incidental catch allowance (50,000 mt), is further allocated by sector for a pollock directed fishery as follows: inshore--50 percent; catcher/
processor--40 percent; and motherships--10 percent. Under Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2), the annual AI pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the
CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second for the incidental catch allowance (2,500 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a
pollock directed fishery.
\5\ The BS Pacific cod TAC is set to account for the 12 percent, plus 45 mt, of the BS ABC for the State of Alaska's (State) guideline harvest level in
State waters of the BS. The AI Pacific cod TAC is set to account for 39 percent of the AI ABC for the State guideline harvest level in State waters of
the AI.
\6\ The sablefish OFL and ABC are Alaska-wide and include the Gulf of Alaska. The Alaska-wide sablefish OFL and ABC are included in the total OFL and
ABC. The BS and AI sablefish TACs are set to account for the 5 percent of the BS and AI ABC for the State of Alaska's (State) guideline harvest level
in State waters of the BS and AI.
\7\ ``Rock sole'' includes Lepidopsetta polyxystra (Northern rock sole) and Lepidopsetta bilineata (Southern rock sole).
\8\ ``Flathead sole'' includes Hippoglossoides elassodon (flathead sole) and Hippoglossoides robustus (Bering flounder).
\9\ ``Other flatfish'' includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder, flathead sole,
Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
\10\ ``Blackspotted/Rougheye rockfish'' includes Sebastes melanostictus (blackspotted) and Sebastes aleutianus (rougheye).
\11\ ``Other rockfish'' includes all Sebastes and Sebastolobus species except for dark rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, blackspotted/
rougheye rockfish, and shortraker rockfish.
Table 1a--Comparison of Final 2023 and 2024 With Proposed 2023 and 2024 Total Allowable Catch in the BSAI
[Amounts are in metric tons]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 2024
2023 and 2023 percentage 2024 percentage
Species Area \1\ 2023 final 2024 difference difference 2024 final difference difference
TAC proposed from from TAC from from
TAC proposed proposed proposed proposed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pollock............................. BS..................... 1,300,000 1,289,000 11,000 0.9 1,302,000 13,000 1.0
AI..................... 19,000 19,000 ........... ........... 19,000 ........... ...........
Bogoslof............... 300 250 50 20.0 300 50 20.0
Pacific cod......................... BS..................... 127,409 133,459 (6,050) (4.5) 123,295 (10,164) (7.6)
AI..................... 8,425 13,796 (5,371) (38.9) 8,425 (5,371) (38.9)
Sablefish........................... BS..................... 7,996 6,529 1,467 22.5 9,676 3,147 48.2
AI..................... 8,440 7,786 654 8.4 9,793 2,007 25.8
Yellowfin sole...................... BSAI................... 230,000 230,000 ........... ........... 230,656 656 0.3
Greenland turbot.................... BS..................... 3,338 4,825 (1,487) (30.8) 2,836 (1,989) (41.2)
AI..................... 622 899 (277) (30.8) 528 (371) (41.3)
Arrowtooth flounder................. BSAI................... 15,000 20,000 (5,000) (25.0) 15,000 (5,000) (25.0)
Kamchatka flounder.................. BSAI................... 7,579 9,393 (1,814) (19.3) 7,435 (1,958) (20.8)
Rock sole........................... BSAI................... 66,000 55,000 11,000 20.0 66,000 11,000 20.0
Flathead sole....................... BSAI................... 35,500 25,500 10,000 39.2 35,500 10,000 39.2
Alaska plaice....................... BSAI................... 17,500 29,082 (11,582) (39.8) 18,000 (11,082) (38.1)
Other flatfish...................... BSAI................... 4,500 10,000 (5,500) (55.0) 4,500 (5,500) (55.0)
Pacific ocean perch................. BS..................... 11,903 9,956 1,947 19.6 11,700 1,744 17.5
[[Page 14930]]
EAI.................... 8,152 7,774 378 4.9 8,013 239 3.1
CAI.................... 5,648 5,722 (74) (1.3) 5,551 (171) (3.0)
WAI.................... 12,000 10,500 1,500 14.3 13,000 2,500 23.8
Northern rockfish................... BSAI................... 11,000 17,000 (6,000) (35.3) 11,000 (6,000) (35.3)
Blackspotted and Rougheye rockfish.. BS/EAI................. 359 334 25 7.5 388 54 16.2
CAI/WAI................ 166 183 (17) (9.3) 182 (1) (0.5)
Shortraker rockfish................. BSAI................... 530 541 (11) (2.0) 530 (11) (2.0)
Other rockfish...................... BS..................... 880 919 (39) (4.2) 880 (39) (4.2)
AI..................... 380 394 (14) (3.6) 380 (14) (3.6)
Atka mackerel....................... EAI/BS................. 27,260 25,000 2,260 9.0 30,000 5,000 20.0
CAI.................... 17,351 15,470 1,881 12.2 15,218 (252) (1.6)
WAI.................... 24,671 20,488 4,183 20.4 21,637 1,149 5.6
Skates.............................. BSAI................... 27,441 30,000 (2,559) (8.5) 27,927 (2,073) (6.9)
Sharks.............................. BSAI................... 250 500 (250) (50.0) 250 (250) (50.0)
Octopuses........................... BSAI................... 400 700 (300) (42.9) 400 (300) (42.9)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total........................... BSAI................... 2,000,000 2,000,000 ........... ........... 2,000,000 ........... ...........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Bering Sea subarea (BS), Aleutian Islands subarea (AI), Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI), Eastern Aleutian District (EAI),
Central Aleutian District (CAI), and Western Aleutian District (WAI).
Table 2--Final 2024 Overfishing Level (OFL), Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC), Total Allowable Catch (TAC), Initial TAC (ITAC), CDQ Reserve Allocation,
and Non-Specified Reserves of Groundfish in the BSAI \1\
[Amounts are in metric tons]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Area Nonspecified
OFL ABC TAC ITAC \2\ CDQ \3\ reserves
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pollock \4\....................... BS.................. 4,639,000 2,275,000 1,302,000 1,171,800 130,200 ..............
AI.................. 52,043 43,092 19,000 17,100 1,900 ..............
Bogoslof............ 115,146 86,360 300 300 .............. ..............
Pacific cod \5\................... BS.................. 166,814 140,159 123,295 110,102 13,193 ..............
AI.................. 18,416 13,812 8,425 7,524 901 ..............
Sablefish \6\..................... Alaska-wide......... 48,561 41,539 n/a n/a n/a ..............
BS.................. n/a 10,185 9,676 4,112 363 363
AI.................. n/a 10,308 9,793 2,081 184 184
Yellowfin sole.................... BSAI................ 495,155 462,890 230,656 205,976 24,680 ..............
Greenland turbot.................. BSAI................ 3,947 3,364 3,364 2,859 n/a ..............
BS.................. n/a 2,836 2,836 2,411 303 122
AI.................. n/a 528 528 449 .............. 79
Arrowtooth flounder............... BSAI................ 103,070 87,511 15,000 12,750 1,605 645
Kamchatka flounder................ BSAI................ 8,776 7,435 7,435 6,320 .............. 1,115
Rock sole \7\..................... BSAI................ 196,011 119,969 66,000 58,938 7,062 ..............
Flathead sole \8\................. BSAI................ 81,167 66,927 35,500 31,702 3,799 ..............
Alaska plaice..................... BSAI................ 43,328 36,021 18,000 15,300 .............. 2,700
Other flatfish \9\................ BSAI................ 22,919 17,189 4,500 3,825 .............. 675
Pacific ocean perch............... BSAI................ 49,279 41,322 38,264 33,667 n/a ..............
BS.................. n/a 11,700 11,700 9,945 .............. 1,755
EAI................. n/a 8,013 8,013 7,156 857 ..............
CAI................. n/a 5,551 5,551 4,957 594 ..............
WAI................. n/a 16,058 13,000 11,609 1,391 ..............
Northern rockfish................. BSAI................ 22,105 18,135 11,000 9,350 .............. 1,650
Blackspotted/Rougheye rock-....... BSAI................ 763 570 570 485 86 58
BS/EAI.............. n/a 388 388 330
fish \10\........................ CAI/WAI............. n/a 182 182 155 .............. 27
Shortraker rockfish............... BSAI................ 706 530 530 451 .............. 80
Other rockfish \11\............... BSAI................ 1,680 1,260 1,260 1,071 .............. 189
BS.................. n/a 880 880 748 .............. 132
AI.................. n/a 380 380 323 .............. 57
Atka mackerel..................... BSAI................ 101,188 86,464 66,855 59,702 7,153 ..............
EAI/BS.............. n/a 37,958 30,000 26,790 3,210 ..............
CAI................. n/a 15,218 15,218 13,590 1,628 ..............
WAI................. n/a 33,288 21,637 19,322 2,315 ..............
Skates............................ BSAI................ 44,168 36,837 27,927 23,738 .............. 4,189
Sharks............................ BSAI................ 689 450 250 213 .............. 38
[[Page 14931]]
Octopuses......................... BSAI................ 4,769 3,576 400 340 .............. 60
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total......................... .................... 6,219,700 3,590,412 2,000,000 1,779,703 194,185 13,928
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Regulatory areas and districts are defined at Sec. 679.2 (BSAI=Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area, BS=Bering Sea subarea,
AI=Aleutian Islands subarea, EAI=Eastern Aleutian district, CAI=Central Aleutian district, WAI=Western Aleutian district).
\1\ These amounts apply to the entire BSAI management area unless otherwise specified. With the exception of pollock, and for the purpose of these
harvest specifications, the Bering Sea subarea (BS) includes the Bogoslof District.
\2\ Except for pollock, the portion of the sablefish TAC allocated to fixed gear, and Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, flathead sole, rock sole,
yellowfin sole, Pacific cod, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch), 15 percent of each TAC is put into a non-specified reserve (Sec.
679.20(b)(1)(i)). The ITAC for these species is the remainder of the TAC after the subtraction of these reserves. For pollock and Amendment 80
species, ITAC is the non-CDQ allocation of TAC (see footnotes 3 and 4).
\3\ For the Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, Pacific cod, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch), 10.7
percent of the TAC is reserved for use by CDQ participants (see Sec. Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)). 20 percent of the sablefish TAC allocated to fixed
gear, 7.5 percent of the sablefish TAC allocated to trawl gear, and 10.7 percent of the TACs for Bering Sea Greenland turbot and arrowtooth flounder
are reserved for use by CDQ participants (see Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) and (D)). The 2024 fixed gear portion of the sablefish ITAC and CDQ reserve
will not be specified until the final 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications. Aleutian Islands Greenland turbot, ``other flatfish,'' Alaska plaice,
Bering Sea Pacific ocean perch, Kamchatka flounder, northern rockfish, shortraker rockfish, blackspotted/rougheye rockfish, ``other rockfish,''
skates, sharks, and octopuses are not allocated to the CDQ program.
\4\ Under Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the annual BS pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second
for the incidental catch allowance (50,000 mt), is further allocated by sector for a pollock directed fishery as follows: inshore--50 percent; catcher/
processor--40 percent; and motherships--10 percent. Under Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2), the annual AI pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the
CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second for the incidental catch allowance (2,500 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a
pollock directed fishery.
\5\ The BS Pacific cod TAC is set to account for the 12 percent, plus 45 mt, of the BS ABC for the State of Alaska's (State) guideline harvest level in
State waters of the BS. The AI Pacific cod TAC is set to account for 39 percent of the AI ABC for the State guideline harvest level in State waters of
the AI.
\6\ The sablefish OFL and ABC are Alaska-wide and include the Gulf of Alaska. The Alaska-wide sablefish OFL and ABC are included in the total OFL and
ABC. The BS and AI sablefish TACs are set to account for the 5 percent of the BS and AI ABC for the State of Alaska's (State) guideline harvest level
in State waters of the BS and AI.
\7\ ``Rock sole'' includes Lepidopsetta polyxystra (Northern rock sole) and Lepidopsetta bilineata (Southern rock sole).
\8\ ``Flathead sole'' includes Hippoglossoides elassodon (flathead sole) and Hippoglossoides robustus (Bering flounder).
\9\ ``Other flatfish'' includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder, flathead sole,
Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
\10\ ``Blackspotted/Rougheye rockfish'' includes Sebastes melanostictus (blackspotted) and Sebastes aleutianus (rougheye).
\11\ ``Other rockfish'' includes all Sebastes and Sebastolobus species except for dark rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, blackspotted/
rougheye rockfish, and shortraker rockfish.
Groundfish Reserves and the Incidental Catch Allowance (ICA) for
Pollock, Atka Mackerel, Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, Yellowfin Sole, and
AI Pacific Ocean Perch
Section 679.20(b)(1)(i) requires that NMFS reserve 15 percent of
the TAC for each target species (except for pollock, fixed gear
allocation of sablefish, and Amendment 80 species) in a non-specified
reserve. Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) requires that NMFS allocate 20
percent of the fixed gear allocation of sablefish to the fixed-gear
sablefish CDQ reserve for each subarea. Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(D)
requires that NMFS allocate 7.5 percent of the trawl gear allocations
of sablefish in the BS and AI and 10.7 percent of the BS Greenland
turbot and arrowtooth flounder TACs to the respective CDQ reserves.
Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C) requires that NMFS allocate 10.7 percent of
the TACs for Atka mackerel, AI Pacific ocean perch, yellowfin sole,
rock sole, flathead sole, and Pacific cod to the respective CDQ
reserves. Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(A) also requires that 10 percent of
the BS pollock TAC be allocated to the pollock CDQ directed fishing
allowance (DFA). Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(A) requires that 10 percent
of the AI pollock TAC be allocated to the pollock CDQ DFA. The entire
Bogoslof District pollock TAC is allocated as an ICA pursuant to Sec.
679.20(a)(5)(ii) because the Bogoslof District is closed to directed
fishing for pollock by regulation (Sec. 679.22(a)(7)(B)). With the
exception of the fixed gear sablefish CDQ reserve, the regulations do
not further apportion the CDQ allocations by gear.
Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(1), NMFS allocates a pollock
ICA of 50,000 mt of the BS pollock TAC after subtracting the 10 percent
CDQ DFA. This allowance is based on NMFS's examination of the pollock
incidental catch, including the incidental catch by CDQ vessels, in
target fisheries other than pollock from 2000 through 2022. During this
23-year period, the pollock incidental catch ranged from a low of 2.2
percent in 2006 to a high of 4.6 percent in 2014, with a 23-year
average of 3 percent. Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2)(i) and
(ii), NMFS establishes a pollock ICA of 2,500 mt of the AI pollock TAC
after subtracting the 10 percent CDQ DFA. This allowance is based on
NMFS's examination of the pollock incidental catch, including the
incidental catch by CDQ vessels, in target fisheries other than pollock
from 2003 through 2022. During this 20-year period, the incidental
catch of pollock ranged from a low of 5 percent in 2006 to a high of 17
percent in 2014, with a 20-year average of 9 percent.
After subtracting the 10.7 percent CDQ reserve and pursuant to
Sec. 679.20(a)(8) and (10), NMFS allocates ICAs of 3,000 mt of
flathead sole, 6,000 mt of rock sole, 4,000 mt of yellowfin sole, 10 mt
of WAI Pacific ocean perch, 60 mt of CAI Pacific ocean perch, 100 mt of
Eastern Aleutian district (EAI) Pacific ocean perch, 20 mt of Western
Aleutian district (WAI) Atka mackerel, 75 mt of Central Aleutian
district (CAI)
[[Page 14932]]
Atka mackerel, and 800 mt of EAI and BS Atka mackerel. These ICA
allowances are based on NMFS's examination of the incidental catch in
other target fisheries from 2003 through 2022.
The regulations do not designate the remainder of the non-specified
reserve by species or species group. Any amount of the reserve may be
apportioned to a target species that contributed to the non-specified
reserves during the year, provided that such apportionments are
consistent with Sec. 679.20(a)(3) and do not result in overfishing
(see Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(i)). The Regional Administrator has determined
that the ITACs specified for one species group listed in Tables 1 and 2
need to be supplemented from the non-specified reserve because U.S.
fishing vessels have demonstrated the capacity to catch the full TAC
allocations. Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 679.20(b), NMFS is
apportioning the amounts shown in Table 3 from the non-specified
reserve to increase the ITAC for AI ``other rockfish'' by 15 percent of
the ``other rockfish'' TAC in 2023 and 2024.
Table 3--Final 2023 and 2024 Apportionment of Non-Specified Reserves to ITAC Categories
[Amounts are in metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 2024
Species-area or subarea 2023 ITAC reserve 2023 final 2024 ITAC reserve 2024 final
amount TAC amount TAC
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other rockfish-Aleutian Islands 323 57 380 323 57 380
subarea..........................
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total......................... 323 57 380 323 57 380
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allocation of Pollock TAC Under the American Fisheries Act (AFA)
Section 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A) requires that the BS pollock TAC be
apportioned as a DFA, after subtracting 10 percent for the CDQ program
and 50,000 mt for the ICA in both 2023 and 2024, as follows: 50 percent
to the inshore sector, 40 percent to the catcher/processor (CP) sector,
and 10 percent to the mothership sector. In the BS, 45 percent of the
DFAs are allocated to the A season (January 20-June 10), and 55 percent
of the DFAs are allocated to the B season (June 10-November 1)
(Sec. Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(B)(1) and 679.23(e)(2)). The AI directed
pollock fishery allocation to the Aleut Corporation is the amount of
pollock TAC remaining in the AI after subtracting 1,900 mt for the CDQ
DFA (10 percent) and 2,500 mt for the ICA (Sec.
679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2)). In the AI, the total A season apportionment
of the TAC (including the AI directed fishery allocation, the CDQ DFA,
and the ICA) may not exceed 40 percent of the ABC for AI pollock, and
the remainder of the TAC is allocated to the B season (Sec.
679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(3)). Tables 4 and 5 list these 2023 and 2024
amounts.
Section 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(6) sets harvest limits for pollock in
the A season (January 20 to June 10) in Areas 543, 542, and 541. NMFS
establishes harvest limits for pollock in the A season in Area 541 of
no more than 30 percent, in Area 542 of no more than 15 percent, and in
Area 543 of no more than 5 percent of the Aleutian Islands pollock ABC.
Section 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4) also includes several specific
requirements regarding BS pollock allocations. First, it requires that
8.5 percent of the pollock allocated to the CP sector be available for
harvest by AFA CVs with CP sector endorsements, unless the Regional
Administrator receives a cooperative contract that allows for the
distribution of harvest among AFA CPs and AFA CVs in a manner agreed to
by all members. Second, AFA CPs not listed in the AFA are limited to
harvesting not more than 0.5 percent of the pollock allocated to the CP
sector. Tables 4 and 5 list the 2023 and 2024 allocations of pollock
TAC. Table 20 lists the AFA CP prohibited species sideboard limits, and
Tables 21 and 22 list the AFA CV groundfish and prohibited species
sideboard limits. The tables for the pollock allocations to the BS
inshore pollock cooperatives and open access sector will be posted on
the Alaska Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/alaska-groundfish-fisheries-management.
Tables 4 and 5 also list seasonal apportionments of pollock and
harvest limits within the Steller Sea Lion Conservation Area (SCA). The
harvest of pollock within the SCA, as defined at Sec.
679.22(a)(7)(vii), is limited to no more than 28 percent of the annual
pollock DFA before 12 p.m. (noon), April 1, as provided in Sec.
679.20(a)(5)(i)(C). The A season pollock SCA harvest limit will be
apportioned to each sector in proportion to each sector's allocated
percentage of the DFA.
Table 4--Final 2023 Allocations of Pollock TACs to the Directed Pollock Fisheries and to the CDQ Directed
Fishing Allowances (DFA) \1\
[Amounts are in metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 A season \1\ 2023 B season \1\
2023 --------------------------------------------------
Area and sector Allocations SCA harvest
A season DFA limit \2\ B season DFA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bering Sea subarea TAC \1\.................. 1,300,000 n/a n/a n/a
CDQ DFA..................................... 130,000 58,500 36,400 71,500
ICA \1\..................................... 50,000 n/a n/a n/a
Total Bering Sea non-CDQ DFA................ 1,120,000 504,000 313,600 616,000
AFA Inshore................................. 560,000 252,000 156,800 308,000
AFA Catcher/Processors \3\.................. 448,000 201,600 125,440 246,400
Catch by CPs............................ 409,920 184,464 n/a 225,456
Catch by CVs \3\........................ 38,080 17,136 n/a 20,944
Unlisted CP Limit \4\................... 2,240 1,008 n/a 1,232
AFA Motherships............................. 112,000 50,400 31,360 61,600
[[Page 14933]]
Excessive Harvesting Limit \5\.............. 196,000 n/a n/a n/a
Excessive Processing Limit \6\.............. 336,000 n/a n/a n/a
Aleutian Islands subarea ABC................ 43,413 n/a n/a n/a
Aleutian Islands subarea TAC \1\............ 19,000 n/a n/a n/a
CDQ DFA..................................... 1,900 1,856 n/a 44
ICA......................................... 2,500 1,250 n/a 1,250
Aleut Corporation........................... 14,600 14,260 n/a 340
Area harvest limit \7\...................... n/a n/a n/a n/a
541..................................... 13,024 n/a n/a n/a
542..................................... 6,512 n/a n/a n/a
543..................................... 2,171 n/a n/a n/a
Bogoslof District ICA \8\................... 300 n/a n/a n/a
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the Bering Sea subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting the CDQ DFA (10
percent) and the ICA (50,000 mt, 4.27 percent), is allocated as a DFA as follows: inshore sector--50 percent,
catcher/processor sector (CP)--40 percent, and mothership sector--10 percent. In the Bering Sea subarea, 45
percent of the DFAs are allocated to the A season (January 20-June 10) and 55 percent of the DFAs are
allocated to the B season (June 10-November 1). When the AI pollock ABC equals or exceeds 19,000 mt, the
annual TAC is equal to 19,000 mt (Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(1)). Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2),
the Aleutian Islands subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and second for
the ICA (2,500 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a pollock directed fishery. In the Aleutian
Islands subarea, the A season is allocated no more than 40 percent of the Aleutian Islands pollock ABC.
\2\ In the Bering Sea subarea, pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(C), no more than 28 percent of each sector's
annual DFA may be taken from the SCA before 12 p.m. (noon), April 1.
\3\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4), 8.5 percent of the allocation to listed CPs shall be available for
harvest only by eligible catcher vessels with a CP endorsement delivering to listed CPs, unless there is a CP
sector cooperative for the year.
\4\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4)(iii), the AFA unlisted catcher/processors are limited to harvesting
not more than 0.5 percent of the catcher/processor sector's allocation of pollock.
\5\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(6), NMFS establishes an excessive harvesting share limit equal to 17.5
percent of the sum of the non-CDQ pollock DFAs.
\6\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(7), NMFS establishes an excessive processing share limit equal to 30
percent of the sum of the non-CDQ pollock DFAs.
\7\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(6), NMFS establishes harvest limits for pollock in the A season in
Area 541 of no more than 30 percent, in Area 542 of no more than 15 percent, and in Area 543 of no more than 5
percent of the Aleutian Islands pollock ABC.
\8\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.22(a)(7)(B), the Bogoslof District is closed to directed fishing for pollock. The
amounts specified are for incidental catch only and are not apportioned by season or sector.
Table 5--Final 2024 Allocations of Pollock TACs to the Directed Pollock Fisheries And to the CDQ Directed
Fishing Allowances (DFA) \1\
[Amounts are in metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024 A season \1\ 2024 B season \1\
2024 --------------------------------------------------
Area and sector Allocations SCA harvest
A season DFA limit \2\ B season DFA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bering Sea subarea..........................
TAC\1\...................................... 1,302,000 n/a n/a n/a
CDQ DFA..................................... 130,200 58,590 36,456 71,610
ICA \1\..................................... 50,000 n/a n/a n/a
Total Bering Sea non-CDQ DFA................ 1,121,800 504,810 314,104 616,990
AFA Inshore................................. 560,900 252,405 157,052 308,495
AFA Catcher/Processors \3\.................. 448,720 201,924 125,642 246,796
Catch by CPs............................ 410,579 184,760 n/a 225,818
Catch by CVs \3\........................ 38,141 17,164 n/a 20,978
Unlisted CP Limit \4\................... 2,244 1,010 n/a 1,234
AFA Motherships............................. 112,180 50,481 31,410 61,699
Excessive Harvesting Limit \5\.............. 196,315 n/a n/a n/a
Excessive Processing Limit \6\.............. 336,540 n/a n/a n/a
Aleutian Islands subarea ABC................ 43,092 n/a n/a n/a
Aleutian Islands subarea TAC \1\............ 19,000 n/a n/a n/a
CDQ DFA..................................... 1,900 1,841 n/a 59
ICA......................................... 2,500 1,250 n/a 1,250
Aleut Corporation........................... 14,600 14,146 n/a 454
Area harvest limit \7\...................... n/a n/a n/a n/a
541..................................... 12,928 n/a n/a n/a
542..................................... 6,464 n/a n/a n/a
543..................................... 2,155 n/a n/a n/a
[[Page 14934]]
Bogoslof District ICA \8\................... 300 n/a n/a n/a
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the Bering Sea subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting the CDQ DFA (10
percent) and the ICA (50,000 mt, 4.27 percent), is allocated as a DFA as follows: inshore sector--50 percent,
catcher/processor sector (CP)--40 percent, and mothership sector--10 percent. In the Bering Sea subarea, 45
percent of the DFAs are allocated to the A season (January 20-June 10) and 55 percent of the DFAs are
allocated to the B season (June 10-November 1). When the AI pollock ABC equals or exceeds 19,000 mt, the
annual TAC is equal to 19,000 mt (Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(1)). Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2),
the Aleutian Islands subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and second for
the ICA (2,500 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a pollock directed fishery. In the Aleutian
Islands subarea, the A season is allocated no more than 40 percent of the Aleutian Islands pollock ABC.
\2\ In the Bering Sea subarea, pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(C), no more than 28 percent of each sector's
annual DFA may be taken from the SCA before 12 p.m. (noon), April 1.
\3\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4), 8.5 percent of the allocation to listed CPs shall be available for
harvest only by eligible catcher vessels with a CP endorsement delivering to listed CPs, unless there is a CP
sector cooperative for the year.
\4\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4)(iii), the AFA unlisted catcher/processors are limited to harvesting
not more than 0.5 percent of the catcher/processor sector's allocation of pollock.
\5\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(6), NMFS establishes an excessive harvesting share limit equal to 17.5
percent of the sum of the non-CDQ pollock DFAs.
\6\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(7), NMFS establishes an excessive processing share limit equal to 30
percent of the sum of the non-CDQ pollock DFAs.
\7\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(6), NMFS establishes harvest limits for pollock in the A season in
Area 541 of no more than 30 percent, in Area 542 of no more than 15 percent, and in Area 543 of no more than 5
percent of the Aleutian Islands pollock ABC.
\8\ Pursuant to Sec. 679.22(a)(7)(B), the Bogoslof District is closed to directed fishing for pollock. The
amounts specified are for incidental catch only and are not apportioned by season or sector.
Allocation of the Atka Mackerel TACs
Section 679.20(a)(8) allocates the Atka mackerel TACs to the
Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors, after subtracting
the CDQ reserves, ICAs for the BSAI trawl limited access sector and
non-trawl gear sector, and the jig gear allocation (Tables 6 and 7).
The percentage of the ITAC for Atka mackerel allocated to the Amendment
80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors is listed in Table 33 to 50
CFR part 679 and in Sec. 679.91. Pursuant to Sec. 679.20(a)(8)(i), up
to 2 percent of the EAI and the BS Atka mackerel TAC may be allocated
to vessels using jig gear. The percent of this allocation is
recommended annually by the Council based on several criteria,
including, among other criteria, the anticipated harvest capacity of
the jig gear fleet. The Council recommended, and NMFS approves, a 0.5
percent allocation of the Atka mackerel TAC in the EAI and BS to the
jig gear sector in 2023 and 2024.
Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(A) apportions the Atka mackerel TAC, after
subtraction of the jig gear allocation, into two equal seasonal
allowances. Section 679.23(e)(3) sets the first seasonal allowance for
directed fishing with trawl gear from January 20 through June 10 (A
season), and the second seasonal allowance from June 10 through
December 31 (B season). Section 679.23(e)(4)(iii) applies Atka mackerel
seasons to CDQ Atka mackerel trawl fishing. Within any fishing year,
any under harvest or over harvest of a seasonal allowance may be added
to or subtracted from a subsequent seasonal allowance (Sec.
679.20(a)(8)(ii)(B)). The ICAs and jig gear allocations are not
apportioned by season.
Sections 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(i) and (ii) limits Atka mackerel
catch within waters 0 nautical miles (nmi) to 20 nmi of Steller sea
lion sites listed in Table 6 to 50 CFR part 679 and located west of
178[deg] W longitude to no more than 60 percent of the annual TACs in
Areas 542 and 543, and equally divides the annual TACs between the A
and B seasons as defined at Sec. 679.23(e)(3). Section
679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(2) requires that the annual TAC in Area 543 will be
no more than 65 percent of the ABC in Area 543. Section
679.20(a)(8)(ii)(D) requires that any unharvested Atka mackerel A
season allowance that is added to the B season be prohibited from being
harvested within waters 0 nmi to 20 nmi of Steller sea lion sites
listed in Table 6 to 50 CFR part 679 and located in Areas 541, 542, and
543.
Tables 6 and 7 list these 2023 and 2024 Atka mackerel seasonal and
area allowances, and the sector allocations. One Amendment 80
cooperative has formed for the 2023 fishing year. Because all Amendment
80 vessels are part of the sole Amendment 80 cooperative, no allocation
to the Amendment 80 limited access sector is required for 2023. The
2024 allocations for Atka mackerel between Amendment 80 cooperatives
and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be known until
eligible participants apply for participation in the program by
November 1, 2023.
[[Page 14935]]
Table 6--Final 2023 Seasonal and Spatial Allowances, Gear Shares, CDQ Reserve, Incidental Catch Allowance, and
Amendment 80 Allocations of the BSAI Atka Mackerel TAC
[Amounts are in metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 Allocation by area
--------------------------------------------------
Season \2\ \3\ Eastern
Sector \1\ \4\ Aleutian Central Western Aleutian
district/ Aleutian district
Bering Sea district \5\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAC......................................... n/a 27,260 17,351 24,671
CDQ reserve................................. Total 2,917 1,857 2,640
A 1,458 928 1,320
Critical n/a 557 792
Habitat
B 1,458 928 1,320
Critical n/a 557 792
Habitat
Non-CDQ TAC................................. n/a 24,343 15,494 22,031
ICA......................................... Total 800 75 20
Jig \6\..................................... Total 118 .............. .................
BSAI trawl limited access................... Total 2,343 1,542 .................
A 1,171 771 .................
Critical n/a 463 .................
Habitat
B 1,171 771 .................
Critical n/a 463 .................
Habitat
Amendment 80 sector......................... Total 21,083 13,877 22,011
A 10,541 6,939 11,006
Critical n/a 4,163 6,603
Habitat
B 10,541 6,939 11,006
Critical n/a 4,163 6,603
Habitat
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii) allocates the Atka mackerel TACs, after subtracting the CDQ reserves, ICAs, and jig
gear allocation, to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors. The allocation of the ITAC for
Atka mackerel to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors is established in Table 33 to 50 CFR
part 679 and Sec. 679.91. The CDQ reserve is 10.7 percent of the TAC for use by CDQ participants (see Sec.
679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)).
\2\ Sections 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(A) and 679.22(a) establish temporal and spatial limitations for the Atka mackerel
fishery.
\3\ The seasonal allowances of Atka mackerel are 50 percent in the A season and 50 percent in the B season.
\4\ Section 679.23(e)(3) authorizes directed fishing for Atka mackerel with trawl gear during the A season from
January 20 to June 10 and the B season from June 10 to December 31.
\5\ Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(i) limits no more than 60 percent of the annual TACs in Areas 542 and 543 to
be caught inside of Steller sea lion protection areas; section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(ii) equally divides the
annual TACs between the A and B seasons as defined at Sec. 679.23(e)(3); and section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(2)
requires that the TAC in Area 543 shall be no more than 65 percent of ABC in Area 543.
\6\ Sections 679.2 and 679.20(a)(8)(i) require that up to 2 percent of the Eastern Aleutian Islands District and
the Bering Sea subarea TAC be allocated to jig gear after subtracting the CDQ reserve and the ICA. NMFS sets
the amount of this allocation for 2023 at 0.5 percent. The jig gear allocation is not apportioned by season.
Table 7--Final 2024 Seasonal and Spatial Allowances, Gear Shares, CDQ Reserve, Incidental Catch Allowance, and
Amendment 80 Allocation of the BSAI Atka Mackerel TAC
[Amounts are in metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024 Allocation by area
--------------------------------------------------
Season \2\ \3\ Eastern
Sector \1\ \4\ Aleutian Central Western Aleutian
district/ Aleutian district \5\
Bering Sea \5\ district \5\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAC......................................... n/a 30,000 15,218 21,637
CDQ reserve................................. Total 3,210 1,628 2,315
A 1,605 814 1,158
Critical n/a 488 695
Habitat
B 1,605 814 1,158
Critical n/a 488 695
Habitat
non-CDQ TAC................................. n/a 26,790 13,590 19,322
ICA......................................... Total 800 75 20
Jig \6\..................................... Total 130 .............. .................
BSAI trawl limited access................... Total 2,586 1,351 .................
A 1,293 676 .................
Critical n/a 405 .................
Habitat
B 1,293 676 .................
Critical n/a 405 .................
Habitat
Amendment 80 sectors \7\.................... Total 23,274 12,163 19,302
A 11,637 6,082 9,651
Critical n/a 3,649 5,791
Habitat
B 11,637 6,082 9,651
[[Page 14936]]
Critical n/a 3,649 5,791
Habitat
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii) allocates the Atka mackerel TACs, after subtracting the CDQ reserves, ICAs, and jig
gear allocation, to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors. The allocation of the ITAC for
Atka mackerel to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors is established in Table 33 to 50 CFR
part 679 and Sec. 679.91. The CDQ reserve is 10.7 percent of the TAC for use by CDQ participants (see Sec.
679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)).
\2\ Sections 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(A) and 679.22(a) establish temporal and spatial limitations for the Atka mackerel
fishery.
\3\ The seasonal allowances of Atka mackerel are 50 percent in the A season and 50 percent in the B season.
\4\ Section 679.23(e)(3) authorizes directed fishing for Atka mackerel with trawl gear during the A season from
January 20 to June 10 and the B season from June 10 to December 31.
\5\ Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(i) limits no more than 60 percent of the annual TACs in Areas 542 and 543 to
be caught inside of Steller sea lion protection areas; section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(ii) equally divides the
annual TACs between the A and B seasons as defined at Sec. 679.23(e)(3); and section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(2)
requires that the TAC in Area 543 shall be no more than 65 percent of ABC in Area 543.
\6\ Sections 679.2 and 679.20(a)(8)(i) requires that up to 2 percent of the Eastern Aleutian Islands District
and the Bering Sea subarea TAC be allocated to jig gear after subtracting the CDQ reserve and the ICA. NMFS
sets the amount of this allocation for 2024 at 0.5 percent. The jig gear allocation is not apportioned by
season.
\7\ The 2024 allocations for Atka mackerel between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access
sector will not be known until eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1,
2023.
Allocation of the Pacific Cod TAC
The Council separated BSAI subarea OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for Pacific
cod in 2014 (79 FR 12108, March 4, 2014). Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)
allocates 10.7 percent of the BS TAC and the AI TAC to the CDQ program.
After CDQ allocations have been deducted from the respective BS and AI
Pacific cod TACs, the remaining BSAI Pacific cod TACs are combined for
calculating further BSAI Pacific cod sector allocations. If the non-CDQ
Pacific cod TAC is or will be reached in either the BS or the AI
subareas, NMFS will prohibit non-CDQ directed fishing for Pacific cod
in that subarea as provided in Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iii).
Section 679.20(a)(7)(ii) allocates to the non-CDQ sectors the
Pacific cod TAC in the combined BSAI, after subtracting 10.7 percent
for the CDQ program, as follows: 1.4 percent to vessels using jig gear;
2.0 percent to hook-and-line or pot CVs less than 60 ft (18.3 m) length
overall (LOA); 0.2 percent to hook-and-line CVs greater than or equal
to 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA; 48.7 percent to hook-and-line CPs; 8.4 percent
to pot CVs greater than or equal to 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA; 1.5 percent to
pot CPs; 2.3 percent to AFA trawl CPs; 13.4 percent to Amendment 80
sector; and 22.1 percent to trawl CVs. The ICA for the hook-and-line
and pot sectors will be deducted from the aggregate portion of Pacific
cod TAC allocated to the hook-and-line and pot sectors. For 2023 and
2024, the Regional Administrator establishes an ICA of 500 mt based on
anticipated incidental catch by these sectors in other fisheries.
During the fishing year, NMFS may reallocate unharvested Pacific cod
among sectors, consistent with the reallocation hierarchy set forth at
Sec. 679.20(a)(7)(iii).
The ITAC allocation of Pacific cod to the Amendment 80 sector is
established in Table 33 to 50 CFR part 679 and Sec. 679.91. One
Amendment 80 cooperative has formed for the 2023 fishing year. Because
all Amendment 80 vessels are part of the sole Amendment 80 cooperative,
no allocation to the Amendment 80 limited access sector is required for
2023. The 2024 allocations for Pacific cod between Amendment 80
cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be
known until eligible participants apply for participation in the
program by November 1, 2023.
The sector allocations of Pacific cod are apportioned into seasonal
allowances to disperse the Pacific cod fisheries over the fishing year
(see Sec. Sec. 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B), 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(A), and
679.23(e)(5)). Tables 8 and 9 list the non-CDQ sector and seasonal
allowances. In accordance with Sec. 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(B) and (C), any
unused portion of a non-CDQ Pacific cod seasonal allowance for any
sector, except the jig sector, will become available at the beginning
of that sector's next seasonal allowance. Section 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B)
sets forth the CDQ Pacific cod gear allowances by season, and CDQ
groups are prohibited from exceeding those seasonal allowances (Sec.
679.7(d)(6)).
Section 679.20(a)(7)(vii) requires that the Regional Administrator
establish an Area 543 Pacific cod harvest limit based on Pacific cod
abundance in Area 543 as determined by the annual stock assessment
process. Based on the 2022 stock assessment, the Regional Administrator
determined for 2023 and 2024 the estimated amount of Pacific cod
abundance in Area 543 is 15.7 percent of the total AI abundance. To
calculate the Area 543 Pacific cod harvest limit, NMFS first subtracts
the State GHL Pacific cod amount from the AI Pacific cod ABC. Then NMFS
determines the harvest limit in Area 543 by multiplying the percentage
of Pacific cod estimated in Area 543 (15.7 percent) by the remaining
ABC for AI Pacific cod. Based on these calculations, the Area 543
harvest limit is 2,233 mt for 2023 and 2024.
On March 21, 2019, the final rule adopting Amendment 113 to the FMP
(81 FR 84434, November 23, 2016) was vacated by the U.S. District Court
for the District of Columbia (Groundfish Forum v. Ross, No. 16-2495
(D.D.C. March 21, 2019)), and the corresponding regulations
implementing Amendment 113 are no longer in effect. Therefore, this
final rule is not specifying amounts for the AI Pacific Cod Catcher
Vessel Harvest Set-Aside Program (see Sec. 679.20(a)(7)(viii)). NMFS
anticipates that in 2024 the regulations at Sec. 679.20(a)(7)(viii)
will be removed through implementation of the PCTC Program, if
Amendment 122 and its regulations are approved by the Secretary of
Commerce (described above
[[Page 14937]]
in Other Actions Affecting the 2023 and 2024 Harvest Specifications).
Based on the final 2023 and 2024 Pacific cod TACs, Table 8 and
Table 9 list the CDQ and non-CDQ TAC amounts; non-CDQ seasonal
allowances by gear; the sector allocations of Pacific cod; and the
seasons set forth at Sec. 679.23(e)(5).
Table 8--Final 2023 Sector Allocations and Seasonal Allowances of the BSAI Pacific Cod TAC
[Amounts are in metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 Seasonal apportionment
Sector Percent 2023 Share of 2023 Share of -------------------------------
total sector total Season Amount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BS TAC.......................... n/a 127,409 n/a n/a................ n/a
BS CDQ.......................... n/a 13,633 n/a see Sec. n/a
679.20(a)(7)(i)(B).
BS non-CDQ TAC.................. n/a 113,776 n/a n/a................ n/a
AI TAC.......................... n/a 8,425 n/a n/a................ n/a
AI CDQ.......................... n/a 901 n/a see Sec. n/a
679.20(a)(7)(i)(B).
AI non-CDQ TAC.................. n/a 7,524 n/a n/a................ n/a
Area 543 Western Aleutian Island n/a 2,233 n/a n/a................ n/a
Limit.
Total BSAI non-CDQ TAC \1\...... 100 121,300 n/a n/a................ n/a
Total hook-and-line/pot gear.... 60.8 73,750 n/a n/a................ n/a
Hook-and-line/pot ICA \2\....... n/a 500 n/a see Sec. n/a
679.20(a)(7)(ii)(B
).
Hook-and-line/pot sub-total..... n/a 73,250 n/a n/a................ n/a
Hook-and-line catcher/processor. 48.7 n/a 58,672 Jan 1-Jun 10....... 29,923
Jun 10-Dec 31...... .........
28,750
Hook-and-line catcher vessel 0.2 n/a 241 Jan 1-Jun 10....... 123
[gteqt]60 ft LOA. Jun 10-Dec 31...... .........
118
Pot catcher/processor........... 1.5 n/a 1,807 Jan 1-Jun 10....... 922
Sept 1-Dec 31...... .........
886
Pot catcher vessel [gteqt]60 ft 8.4 n/a 10,120 Jan 1-Jun 10....... 5,161
LOA. Sept 1-Dec 31...... .........
4,959
Catcher vessel <60 ft LOA using 2.0 n/a 2,410 n/a................ n/a
hook-and-line or pot gear.
Trawl catcher vessel............ 22.1 26,807 n/a Jan 20-Apr 1....... 19,837
Apr 1-Jun 10....... .........
Jun 10-Nov 1....... 2,949
.........
4,021
AFA trawl catcher/processor..... 2.3 2,790 n/a Jan 20-Apr 1....... 2,092
Apr 1-Jun 10....... .........
Jun 10-Nov 1....... 697
Amendment 80.................... 13.4 16,254 n/a Jan 20-Apr 1....... 12,191
Apr 1-Jun 10....... .........
Jun 10-Dec 31...... 4,064
Jig............................. 1.4 1,698 n/a Jan 1-Apr 30....... 1,019
Apr 30-Aug 31...... 340
Aug 31-Dec 31...... 340
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ The sector allocations and seasonal allowances for BSAI Pacific cod TAC are based on the sum of the BS and
AI Pacific cod TACs, after the subtraction of the reserves for the CDQ program. If the TAC for Pacific cod in
either the AI or BS is or will be reached, then directed fishing for non-CDQ Pacific cod in that subarea will
be prohibited, even if a BSAI allowance remains (Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iii)).
\2\ The ICA for the hook-and-line and pot sectors will be deducted from the aggregate portion of Pacific cod TAC
allocated to the hook-and-line and pot sectors. The Regional Administrator approves an ICA of 500 mt for 2023
based on anticipated incidental catch by these sectors in other fisheries.
Table 9--Final 2024 Sector Allocations and Seasonal Allowances of the BSAI Pacific Cod TAC
[Amounts are in metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024 Seasonal apportionment
Sector Percent 2024 Share 2024 Share of -------------------------------
total sector total Season Amount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BS TAC.......................... n/a 123,295 n/a n/a................ n/a
BS CDQ.......................... n/a 13,193 n/a see Sec. n/a
679.20(a)(7)(i)(B).
BS non-CDQ TAC.................. n/a 110,102 n/a n/a................ n/a
AI TAC.......................... n/a 8,425 n/a n/a................ n/a
AI CDQ.......................... n/a 901 n/a see Sec. n/a
679.20(a)(7)(i)(B).
AI non-CDQ TAC.................. n/a 7,524 n/a n/a................ n/a
Area 543 Western Aleutian Island n/a 2,233 n/a n/a................ n/a
Limit.
[[Page 14938]]
Total BSAI non-CDQ TAC \1\...... n/a 117,626 n/a n/a................ n/a
Total hook-and-line/pot gear.... 60.8 71,517 n/a n/a................ n/a
Hook-and-line/pot ICA \2\....... n/a 500 n/a see Sec. n/a
679.20(a)(7)(ii)(B
).
Hook-and-line/pot sub-total..... n/a 71,017 n/a n/a................ n/a
Hook-and-line catcher/processor. 48.7 n/a 56,883 Jan 1-Jun 10....... 29,011
Jun 10-Dec 31...... .........
27,873
Hook-and-line catcher vessel 0.2 n/a 234 Jan 1-Jun 10....... 119
[gteqt]60 ft LOA. Jun 10-Dec 31...... .........
114
Pot catcher/processor........... 1.5 n/a 1,752 Jan 1-Jun 10....... 894
Sept 1-Dec 31...... .........
859
Pot catcher vessel [gteqt]60 ft 8.4 n/a 9,812 Jan 1-Jun 10....... 5,004
LOA. Sept 1-Dec 31...... .........
4,808
Catcher vessel <60 ft LOA using 2.0 n/a 2,336 n/a................ n/a
hook-and-line or pot gear.
Trawl catcher vessel............ 22.1 25,995 n/a Jan 20-Apr 1....... 19,237
Apr 1-Jun 10....... .........
Jun 10-Nov 1....... 2,859
.........
3,899
AFA trawl catcher/processor..... 2.3 2,705 n/a Jan 20-Apr 1....... 2,029
Apr 1-Jun 10....... .........
Jun 10-Nov 1....... 676
Amendment 80.................... 13.4 15,762 n/a Jan 20-Apr 1....... 11,821
Apr 1-Jun 10....... .........
Jun 10-Dec 31...... 3,940
Jig............................. 1.4 1,647 n/a Jan 1-Apr 30....... 988
Apr 30-Aug 31...... 329
Aug 31-Dec 31...... 329
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ The sector allocations and seasonal allowances for BSAI Pacific cod TAC are based on the sum of the BS and
AI Pacific cod TACs, after the subtraction of the reserves for the CDQ program. If the TAC for Pacific cod in
either the AI or BS is or will be reached, then directed fishing for non-CDQ Pacific cod in that subarea will
be prohibited, even if a BSAI allowance remains (Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iii)).
\2\ The ICA for the hook-and-line and pot sectors will be deducted from the aggregate portion of Pacific cod TAC
allocated to the hook-and-line and pot sectors. The Regional Administrator approves an ICA of 500 mt for 2024
based on anticipated incidental catch by these sectors in other fisheries.
Sablefish Gear Allocation
Sections 679.20(a)(4)(iii) and (iv) require allocation of the
sablefish TAC for the BS and AI subareas between the trawl gear and
fixed gear sectors. Gear allocations of the sablefish TAC for the BS
are 50 percent for trawl gear and 50 percent for fixed gear. Gear
allocations of the TAC for the AI are 25 percent for trawl gear and 75
percent for fixed gear. Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) requires that NMFS
apportions 20 percent of the fixed gear allocation of sablefish TAC to
the CDQ reserve for each subarea. Also, Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(D)(1)
requires that in the BS and AI 7.5 percent of the trawl gear allocation
of sablefish TAC from the non-specified reserve, established under
Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(i), be assigned to the CDQ reserve.
The Council recommended that only trawl sablefish TAC be
established biennially. The harvest specifications for the fixed gear
sablefish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) fisheries are limited to the
2023 fishing year to ensure those fisheries are conducted concurrently
with the halibut IFQ fishery. Concurrent sablefish and halibut IFQ
fisheries reduce the potential for discards of halibut and sablefish in
those fisheries. The sablefish IFQ fisheries remain closed at the
beginning of each fishing year until the final harvest specifications
for the sablefish IFQ fisheries are in effect. Table 10 lists the 2023
and 2024 gear allocations of the sablefish TAC and CDQ reserve amounts.
Table 10--Final 2023 and 2024 Gear Shares and CDQ Reserve of BSAI Sablefish TACs
[Amounts are in metric tons]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent of 2023 Share 2023 CDQ 2024 Share 2024 CDQ
Subarea and gear TAC of TAC 2023 ITAC reserve of TAC 2024 ITAC reserve
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bering Sea...................................................
Trawl gear \1\........................................... 50 3,998 3,398 300 4,838 4,112 363
Fixed gear \2\........................................... 50 3,998 3,198 800 n/a n/a n/a
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 14939]]
Total................................................ 100 7,996 6,597 1,099 4,838 4,112 363
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aleutian Islands.............................................
Trawl gear \1\........................................... 25 2,110 1,794 158 2,448 2,081 184
Fixed gear \2\........................................... 75 6,330 5,064 1,266 n/a n/a n/a
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total................................................ 100 8,440 6,858 1,424 2,448 2,081 184
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ For the sablefish TAC allocated to vessels using trawl gear, 15 percent of TAC is apportioned to the non-specified reserve (Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(i)).
The ITAC for vessels using trawl gear is the remainder of the TAC after subtracting this reserve. In the BS and AI, 7.5 percent of the trawl gear
allocation of the TAC is assigned from the non-specified reserve to the CDQ reserve (Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(D)(1)).
\2\ For the portion of the sablefish TAC allocated to vessels using fixed gear, 20 percent of the allocated TAC for the BS and AI is reserved for use by
CDQ participants (Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B)). The ITAC for vessels using fixed gear is the remainder of the TAC after subtracting the CDQ reserve for
each subarea. The Council recommended that specifications for the fixed gear sablefish IFQ fisheries be limited to 1 year.
Allocation of the AI Pacific Ocean Perch, and BSAI Flathead Sole, Rock
Sole, and Yellowfin Sole TACs
Sections 679.20(a)(10)(i) and (ii) require that NMFS allocate AI
Pacific ocean perch and BSAI flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole ITACs between the Amendment 80 sector and the BSAI trawl limited
access sector, after subtracting 10.7 percent for the CDQ reserves and
ICAs for the BSAI trawl limited access sector and vessels using non-
trawl gear. The allocations of the ITACs for AI Pacific ocean perch and
BSAI flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole to the Amendment 80
sector are established in accordance with Tables 33 and 34 to 50 CFR
part 679 and Sec. 679.91.
One Amendment 80 cooperative has formed for the 2023 fishing year.
Because all Amendment 80 vessels are part of the sole Amendment 80
cooperative, no allocation to the Amendment 80 limited access sector is
required for 2023. The 2024 allocations for Amendment 80 species
between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access
sector will not be known until eligible participants apply for
participation in the program by November 1, 2023. Tables 11 and 12 list
the 2023 and 2024 allocations of the AI Pacific ocean perch and BSAI
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole TACs.
Table 11--Final 2023 Community Development Quota (CDQ) Reserves, Incidental Catch Amounts (ICAs), and Amendment 80 Allocations of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific Ocean Perch and BSAI Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, and Yellowfin Sole TACs
[Amounts are in metric tons]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pacific ocean perch Flathead sole Rock sole Yellowfin sole
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sector Eastern Central Western
Aleutian Aleutian Aleutian BSAI BSAI BSAI
district district district
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAC..................................................... 8,152 5,648 12,000 35,500 66,000 230,000
CDQ..................................................... 872 604 1,284 3,799 7,062 24,610
ICA..................................................... 100 60 10 3,000 6,000 4,000
BSAI trawl limited access............................... 718 498 214 .............. .............. 45,498
Amendment 80............................................ 6,462 4,485 10,492 28,702 52,938 155,892
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
Table 12--Final 2024 Community Development Quota (CDC) Reserves, Incidental Catch Amounts (ICAs), and Amendment 80 Allocations of the Aleutian Islands
Pacific Ocean Perch and BSAI Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, and Yellowfin Sole TACs
[Amounts are in metric tons]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pacific ocean perch Flathead sole Rock sole Yellowfin sole
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sector Eastern Central Western
Aleutian Aleutian Aleutian BSAI BSAI BSAI
district district district
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAC..................................................... 8,013 5,551 13,000 35,500 66,000 230,656
CDQ..................................................... 857 594 1,391 3,799 7,062 24,680
ICA..................................................... 100 60 10 3,000 6,000 4,000
BSAI trawl limited access............................... 706 490 232 .............. .............. 45,733
Amendment 80 \1\........................................ 6,350 4,407 11,367 28,702 52,938 156,243
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ The 2024 allocations for Amendment 80 species between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be known until
eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1, 2023.
[[Page 14940]]
Section 679.2 defines the ABC surplus for flathead sole, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole as the difference between the annual ABC and TAC for
each species. Section 679.20(b)(1)(iii) establishes ABC reserves for
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. The ABC surpluses and the
ABC reserves are necessary to mitigate the operational variability,
environmental conditions, and economic factors that may constrain the
CDQ groups and the Amendment 80 cooperatives from fully harvesting
their allocations and to improve the likelihood of achieving and
maintaining, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield in the BSAI
groundfish fisheries. NMFS, after consultation with the Council, may
set the ABC reserve at or below the ABC surplus for each species, thus
maintaining the TAC at or below ABC limits. An amount equal to 10.7
percent of the ABC reserves will be allocated as CDQ ABC reserves for
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. Section 679.31(b)(4)
establishes the annual allocations of CDQ ABC reserves among the CDQ
groups. The Amendment 80 ABC reserves are the ABC reserves minus the
CDQ ABC reserves. Section 679.91(i)(2) establishes Amendment 80
cooperatives ABC reserve to be the ratio of each cooperatives' quota
share units and the total Amendment 80 quota share units, multiplied by
the Amendment 80 ABC reserve for each respective species. Table 13
lists the 2023 and 2024 ABC surplus and ABC reserves for BSAI flathead
sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
Table 13--Final 2023 and 2024 ABC Surplus, ABC Reserves, Community Development Quota (CDQ) ABC Reserves, and Amendment 80 ABC Reserves in the BSAI for
Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, and Yellowfin Sole
[Amounts are in metric tons]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 Flathead 2023 Yellowfin 2024 \1\ 2024 \1\ Rock 2024 \1\
Sector sole 2023 Rock sole sole Flathead sole sole Yellowfin sole
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC................................................... 65,344 121,719 378,499 66,927 119,969 462,890
TAC................................................... 35,500 66,000 230,000 35,500 66,000 230,656
ABC surplus........................................... 29,844 55,719 148,499 31,427 53,969 232,234
ABC reserve........................................... 29,844 55,719 148,499 31,427 53,969 232,234
CDQ ABC reserve....................................... 3,193 5,962 15,889 3,363 5,775 24,849
Amendment 80 ABC reserve.............................. 26,651 49,757 132,610 28,064 48,194 207,385
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 2024 allocations for Amendment 80 species between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be known until
eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1, 2023.
PSC Limits for Halibut, Salmon, Crab, and Herring
Section 679.21, at paragraphs (b), (e), (f), and (g), sets forth
the BSAI PSC limits. Pursuant to Sec. 679.21(b)(1), the annual BSAI
halibut PSC limits total 3,515 mt. Section 679.21(b)(1) allocates 315
mt of the halibut PSC limit as the PSQ reserve for use by the
groundfish CDQ Program, 1,745 mt of the halibut PSC limit for the
Amendment 80 sector, 745 mt of the halibut PSC limit for the BSAI trawl
limited access sector, and 710 mt of the halibut PSC limit for the BSAI
non-trawl sector.
Section 679.21(b)(1)(iii)(A) and (B) requires apportionment of the
BSAI non-trawl halibut PSC limit into PSC allowances among six fishery
categories in Table 17, and Sec. 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(A) and (B),
(e)(3)(i)(B), and (e)(3)(iv) requires apportionment of the trawl PSC
limits in Tables 15 and 16 into PSC allowances among seven fishery
categories. These apportionments into PSC allowances are based on the
fishery categories' share of anticipated halibut PSC during the fishing
year and the need to optimize the amount of total groundfish harvested
under the halibut PSC limit for the non-trawl and trawl sectors.
Pursuant to Section 3.6 of the FMP, the Council recommends, and
NMFS agrees, that certain specified non-trawl fisheries be exempt from
the halibut PSC limit. As in past years, after consultation with the
Council, NMFS exempts the pot gear fishery, the jig gear fishery, and
the sablefish IFQ fixed gear fishery categories from halibut bycatch
restrictions for the following reasons: (1) the pot gear fisheries have
low halibut bycatch mortality; (2) NMFS estimates halibut mortality for
the jig gear fleet to be negligible because of the small size of the
fishery and the selectivity of the gear; and (3) the sablefish and
halibut IFQ fisheries have low halibut bycatch mortality because the
IFQ program requires that legal-size halibut be retained by vessels
using fixed gear if a halibut IFQ permit holder or a hired master is
aboard and is holding unused halibut IFQ for that vessel category and
the IFQ regulatory area in which the vessel is operating (Sec.
679.7(f)(11)).
The 2022 total groundfish catch for the pot gear fishery in the
BSAI was 21,177 mt, with an associated halibut bycatch mortality of 25
mt. The 2022 jig gear fishery harvested no groundfish. Most vessels in
the jig gear fleet are exempt from observer coverage requirements. As a
result, observer data are not available on halibut bycatch in the jig
gear fishery. As mentioned above, NMFS estimates a negligible amount of
halibut bycatch mortality because of the selective nature of jig gear
and the low mortality rate of halibut caught with jig gear and
released.
Under Sec. 679.21(f)(2), NMFS annually allocates portions of
either 33,318, 45,000, 47,591, or 60,000 Chinook salmon PSC limits
among the AFA sectors, depending on past bycatch performance, on
whether Chinook salmon bycatch incentive plan agreements (IPAs) are
formed and approved by NMFS, and on whether NMFS determines it is a low
Chinook salmon abundance year. NMFS will determine that it is a low
Chinook salmon abundance year when abundance of Chinook salmon in
western Alaska is less than or equal to 250,000 Chinook salmon. The
State of Alaska provides to NMFS an estimate of Chinook salmon
abundance using the 3-System Index for western Alaska based on the
Kuskokwim, Unalakleet, and Upper Yukon aggregate stock grouping.
If an AFA sector participates in an approved IPA and has not
exceeded its performance standard under Sec. 679.21(f)(6), and if it
is not a low Chinook salmon abundance year, then NMFS will allocate a
portion of the 60,000 Chinook salmon PSC limit to that sector as
specified in Sec. 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(A). If no IPA is approved, or if
the sector has exceeded its performance standard under Sec.
679.21(f)(6), and if it is not a low abundance year, then NMFS will
allocate a portion of the 47,591 Chinook salmon PSC limit to that
sector as specified in Sec. 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(C). If an AFA sector
participates in an approved IPA and has not exceeded its
[[Page 14941]]
performance standard under Sec. 679.21(f)(6), in a low abundance year,
then NMFS will allocate a portion of the 45,000 Chinook salmon PSC
limit to that sector as specified in Sec. 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(B). If no
IPA is approved, or if the sector has exceeded its performance standard
under Sec. 679.21(f)(6), and if in a low abundance year, then NMFS
will allocate a portion of the 33,318 Chinook salmon PSC limit to that
sector as specified in Sec. 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(D).
NMFS has determined that 2022 was a low Chinook salmon abundance
year, based on the State's estimate that Chinook salmon abundance in
western Alaska is less than 250,000 Chinook salmon. Therefore, in 2023,
the Chinook salmon PSC limit is 45,000 Chinook salmon, allocated to
each sector as specified in Sec. 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(B). The AFA sector
Chinook salmon PSC allocations are also seasonally apportioned with 70
percent for the A season pollock fishery, and 30 percent for the B
season pollock fishery (Sec. Sec. 679.21(f)(3)(i) and 679.23(e)(2)).
In 2023, the Chinook salmon bycatch performance standard under Sec.
679.21(f)(6) is 33,318 Chinook salmon, allocated to each sector as
specified in Sec. 679.21(f)(3)(iii)(D).
NMFS publishes the approved IPAs, allocations, and reports at
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/bycatch/default.htm.
Section 679.21(g)(2)(i) specifies 700 fish as the 2023 and 2024
Chinook salmon PSC limit for the AI pollock fishery. Section
679.21(g)(2)(ii) allocates 7.5 percent, or 53 Chinook salmon, as the AI
PSQ reserve for the CDQ program, and allocates the remaining 647
Chinook salmon to the non-CDQ fisheries.
Section 679.21(f)(14)(i) specifies 42,000 fish as the 2023 and 2024
non-Chinook salmon PSC limit for vessels using trawl gear from August
15 through October 14 in the Catcher Vessel Operational Area (CVOA).
Section 679.21(f)(14)(ii) allocates 10.7 percent, or 4,494 non-Chinook
salmon, in the CVOA as the PSQ reserve for the CDQ program, and
allocates the remaining 37,506 non-Chinook salmon in the CVOA to the
non-CDQ fisheries. Section 679.21(f)(14)(iv) exempts from closures in
the Chum Salmon Savings Area trawl vessels participating in directed
fishing for pollock and operating under an IPA approved by NMFS.
PSC limits for crab and herring are specified annually based on
abundance and spawning biomass. Section 679.21(e)(3)(i)(A)(1) allocates
10.7 percent from each trawl gear PSC limit specified for crab as a PSQ
reserve for use by the groundfish CDQ program.
Based on the most recent (2022) survey data, the red king crab
mature female abundance is estimated at 8.004 million red king crabs,
and the effective spawning biomass is estimated at 19.607 million lbs
(8,894 mt). Based on the criteria set out at Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(i), the
2023 and 2024 PSC limit of red king crab in Zone 1 for trawl gear is
32,000 animals. This limit derives from the mature female abundance
estimate below 8.4 million mature red king crab.
Section 679.21(e)(3)(ii)(B)(2) establishes criteria under which
NMFS must specify an annual red king crab bycatch limit for the Red
King Crab Savings Subarea (RKCSS) if the State has established a GHL
fishery for red king crab in the Bristol Bay area in the previous year.
The State's Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and NMFS have reviewed
the final 2022 NMFS trawl survey data for the Bristol Bay red king crab
stock. The stock is estimated to be below the regulatory threshold for
opening a fishery. Therefore, the State did not establish a GHL for the
Bristol Bay red king crab fishery, and the fishery will remain closed
for the 2022/2023 crab season. Since the State did not establish a GHL,
NMFS and the Council will not specify an amount of the red king crab
bycatch limit, annually established under Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(i), for
the RKCSS for 2023. Also, NMFS closed directed fishing for groundfish
for vessels using non-pelagic trawl gear in the RKCSS for 2023 (88 FR
3930, January 23, 2023). NMFS and the Council will assess the RKCSS
bycatch limit and closure for 2024 based on whether the State's ADF&G
establishes a GHL for the 2023/2024 red king crab fishery in the
Bristol Bay area.
Based on the most recent (2022) survey data, Tanner crab
(Chionoecetes bairdi) abundance is estimated at 381 million animals.
Pursuant to criteria set out at Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(ii), the calculated
2023 and 2024 C. bairdi crab PSC limit for trawl gear is 830,000
animals in Zone 1, and 2,520,000 animals in Zone 2. The limit in Zone 1
is based on the abundance of C. bairdi estimated at 381 million
animals, which is greater than 270 million animals but less than 400
million animals. The limit in Zone 2 is based on the abundance of C.
bairdi estimated at 381 million animals, which is greater than 290
million animals but less than 400 million animals.
Pursuant to Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(iii), the PSC limit for trawl gear
for snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) is based on total abundance as
indicated by the NMFS annual bottom trawl survey. The C. opilio crab
PSC limit in the C. opilio bycatch limitation zone (COBLZ) is set at
0.1133 percent of the BS abundance index minus 150,000 crabs, unless
the minimum or maximum PSC limit applies. Based on the most recent
(2022) survey estimate of 2.584 billion animals, the calculated C.
opilio crab PSC limit is 2,927,672 animals. Because 0.1133 percent
multiplied by the total abundance is less than 4.5 million, the minimum
PSC limit applies and the PSC limit will be 4.350 million animals.
Pursuant to Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(v), the PSC limit of Pacific herring
caught while conducting any trawl operation for BSAI groundfish is 1
percent of the annual eastern BS herring biomass. The best estimate of
2023 and 2024 herring biomass is 344,379 mt. This amount was developed
by ADF&G based on biomass for spawning aggregations. Therefore, the
herring PSC limit for 2023 and 2024 is 3,444 mt for all trawl gear as
listed in Tables 14 and 15.
Section 679.21(e)(3)(i)(A) requires that crab PSQ reserves be
subtracted from the total trawl gear crab PSC limits. The crab and
halibut PSC limits apportioned to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl
limited access sectors are listed in Table 35 to 50 CFR part 679. The
resulting 2023 and 2024 allocations of PSC limit to CDQ PSQ reserves,
the Amendment 80 sector, and the BSAI trawl limited access sector are
listed in Table 14. Pursuant to Sec. Sec. 679.21(b)(1)(i),
679.21(e)(3)(vi), and 679.91(d) through (f), crab and halibut trawl PSC
limits assigned to the Amendment 80 sector are then further allocated
to Amendment 80 cooperatives as cooperative quota. Crab and halibut PSC
cooperative quota assigned to Amendment 80 cooperatives is not
allocated to specific fishery categories. In 2023, there are no vessels
in the Amendment 80 limited access sector and there is one Amendment 80
cooperative. The 2024 PSC allocations between Amendment 80 cooperatives
and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be known until
eligible participants apply for participation in the program by
November 1, 2023.
Sections 679.21(b)(2) and (e)(5) authorize NMFS, after consulting
with the Council, to establish seasonal apportionments of halibut and
crab PSC amounts for the BSAI trawl limited access and non-trawl
sectors to maximize the ability of the fleet to harvest the available
groundfish TAC and to minimize bycatch. The factors to be considered
are: (1) seasonal distribution of prohibited species, (2) seasonal
distribution of target groundfish species relative to prohibited
species distribution, (3) PSC bycatch needs on a seasonal basis
relevant to
[[Page 14942]]
prohibited species biomass and expected catches of target groundfish
species, (4) expected variations in bycatch rates throughout the year,
(5) expected changes in directed groundfish fishing seasons, (6)
expected start of fishing effort, and (7) economic effects of
establishing seasonal prohibited species apportionments on segments of
the target groundfish industry. Based on this criteria, the Council
recommended and NMFS approves the seasonal PSC apportionments in Tables
16 and 17 to maximize harvest among gear types, fisheries, and seasons
while minimizing bycatch of PSC.
Table 14--Final 2023 and 2024 Apportionment of Prohibited Species Catch Allowances to Non-Trawl Gear, the CDQ Program, Amendment 80, and the BSAI Trawl
Limited Access Sectors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trawl PSC BSAI trawl BSAI PSC
PSC species and area and zone \1\ Total PSC Non-trawl PSC CDQ PSQ remaining Amendment 80 limited access limits not
reserve \2\ after CDQ PSQ sector \3\ sector allocated \3\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halibut mortality (mt) BSAI............. 3,515 710 315 n/a 1,745 745 ..............
Herring (mt) BSAI....................... 3,444 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a ..............
Red king crab (animals) Zone 1.......... 32,000 n/a 3,424 28,576 14,282 8,739 5,555
C. opilio (animals) COBLZ............... 4,350,000 n/a 465,450 3,884,550 1,909,256 1,248,494 726,799
C. bairdi crab (animals) Zone 1......... 830,000 n/a 88,810 741,190 312,115 348,285 80,790
C. bairdi crab (animals) Zone 2......... 2,520,000 n/a 269,640 2,250,360 532,660 1,053,394 664,306
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Refer to Sec. 679.2 for definitions of areas and zones.
\2\ The PSQ reserve for crab species is 10.7 percent of each crab PSC limit.
\3\ The Amendment 80 Program reduced apportionment of the trawl PSC limits for crab below the total PSC limit. These reductions are not apportioned to
other gear types or sectors.
Table 15--Final 2023 and 2024 Herring and Red King Crab Savings Subarea
Prohibited Species Catch Allowances for all Trawl Sectors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Red king crab
Fishery categories Herring (mt) BSAI (animals) zone 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yellowfin sole.................... 200 n/a
Rock sole/flathead sole/Alaska 99 n/a
plaice/other flatfish \1\........
Greenland turbot/arrowtooth 10 n/a
flounder/Kamchatka flounder/
sablefish........................
Rockfish.......................... 10 n/a
Pacific cod....................... 18 n/a
Midwater trawl pollock............ 3,066 n/a
Pollock/Atka mackerel/other 41 n/a
species \2\ \3\..................
2023 Red king crab savings subarea n/a 0
non-pelagic trawl gear \4\.......
2024 Red king crab savings subarea n/a 8,000
non-pelagic trawl gear \5\.......
-------------------------------------
Total trawl PSC............... 3,444 32,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Species allowances may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ ``Other flatfish'' for PSC monitoring includes all flatfish species,
except for halibut (a prohibited species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth
flounder, flathead sole, Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, rock
sole, and yellowfin sole.
\2\ Pollock other than midwater trawl pollock, Atka mackerel, and
``other species'' fishery category.
\3\ ``Other species'' for PSC monitoring includes skates, sharks, and
octopuses.
\4\ Section 679.21(e)(3)(ii)(B) establishes criteria under which an
annual red king crab bycatch limit must be specified for the Red King
Crab Savings Subarea (RKCSS) if the State has established a GHL
fishery for red king crab in the Bristol Bay area in the previous
year. Based on the final 2022 NMFS trawl survey data for the Bristol
Bay red king crab stock, the State of Alaska closed the Bristol Bay
red king crab fishery for the 2022/2023 crab season. NMFS and the
Council will not specify the red king crab bycatch limit for the RKCSS
in 2023, and pursuant to Sec. 679.21(e)(3)(ii)(B)(1) directed
fishing for groundfish is prohibited for vessels using non-pelagic
trawl gear in the RKCSS for 2023.
\5\ If the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery remains closed in the 2023/
2024 crab season, NMFS and the Council will not specify the red king
crab bycatch limit for the RKCSS in 2024. If the Bristol Bay red king
crab fishery is open in the 2023/2024 crab season, NMFS, after
consultation with the Council, will specify an annual red king crab
bycatch limit for the RKCSS, which is limited by regulation to up to
25 percent of the red king crab PSC allowance and based on the need to
optimize groundfish harvest relative to red king crab bycatch (Sec.
679.21(e)(3)(ii)(B)(2)).
Table 16--Final 2023 and 2024 Prohibited Species Bycatch Allowances for the BSAI Trawl Limited Access Sector
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prohibited species and area and zone \1\
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSAI trawl limited access Halibut Red king crab C. opilio C. bairdi (animals)
fisheries mortality (mt) (animals) zone (animals) -------------------------------
BSAI 1 COBLZ Zone 1 Zone 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yellowfin sole.................. 265 7,700 1,192,179 293,234 1,005,879
Rock sole/flathead sole/Alaska .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
plaice/other flatfish \2\......
Greenland turbot/arrowtooth .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
flounder/Kamchatka flounder/
sablefish......................
Rockfish April 15-December 31... 5 .............. 1,006 .............. 849
Pacific cod..................... 300 975 50,281 50,816 42,424
Pollock/Atka mackerel/other 175 65 5,028 4,235 4,243
species \3\....................
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 14943]]
Total BSAI trawl limited 745 8,739 1,248,494 348,285 1,053,394
access PSC.................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Seasonal or sector allowances may not total precisely due to rounding.
\1\ Refer to Sec. 679.2 for definitions of areas and zones.
\2\ ``Other flatfish'' for PSC monitoring includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited
species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder, flathead sole, Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole.
\3\ ``Other species'' for PSC monitoring includes skates, sharks, and octopuses.
Table 17--Final 2023 And 2024 Halibut Prohibited Species Bycatch Allowances for Non-Trawl Fisheries
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halibut mortality (mt) BSAI
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catcher/
Non-trawl fisheries Seasons processor Catcher vessel All non-trawl
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pacific cod....................... Total Pacific cod.... 648 13 661.
January 1-June 10.... 388 9 n/a.
June 10-August 15.... 162 2 n/a.
August 15-December 31 98 2 n/a.
Non-Pacific cod non-trawl-Total... May 1-December 31.... n/a n/a 49.
Groundfish pot and jig............ n/a.................. n/a n/a Exempt.
Sablefish fixed gear.............. n/a.................. n/a n/a Exempt.
------------------------------------------------------
Total for all non-trawl PSC... n/a.................. n/a n/a 710.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Seasonal or sector allowances may not total precisely due to rounding.
Estimates of Halibut Biomass and Stock Condition
The IPHC annually assesses the abundance and potential yield of the
Pacific halibut stock using all available data from the commercial and
sport fisheries, other removals, and scientific surveys. Additional
information on the Pacific halibut stock assessment may be found in the
IPHC's 2022 Pacific halibut stock assessment (December 2022), available
on the IPHC website at www.iphc.int. The IPHC considered the 2022
Pacific halibut stock assessment at its January 2023 annual meeting
when it set the 2023 commercial halibut fishery catch limits.
Halibut Discard Mortality Rates (DMRs)
To monitor halibut bycatch mortality allowances and apportionments,
the Regional Administrator uses observed halibut incidental catch
rates, DMRs, and estimates of groundfish catch to project when a
fishery's halibut bycatch mortality allowance or seasonal apportionment
is reached. Halibut incidental catch rates are based on observed
estimates of halibut incidental catch in the groundfish fishery. DMRs
are estimates of the proportion of incidentally caught halibut that do
not survive after being returned to the sea. The cumulative halibut
mortality that accrues to a particular halibut PSC limit is the product
of a DMR multiplied by the estimated halibut PSC. DMRs are estimated
using the best scientific information available in conjunction with the
annual BSAI stock assessment process. The DMR methodology and findings
are included as an appendix to the annual BSAI groundfish SAFE report.
In 2016, the DMR estimation methodology underwent revisions per the
Council's directive. An interagency halibut working group (IPHC,
Council, and NMFS staff) developed improved estimation methods that
have undergone review by the Plan Team, SSC, and the Council. A summary
of the revised methodology is included in the BSAI proposed 2017 and
2018 harvest specifications (81 FR 87863, December 6, 2016), and the
comprehensive discussion of the working group's statistical methodology
is available from the Council (see ADDRESSES). The DMR working group's
revised methodology is intended to improve estimation accuracy,
transparency, and transferability used for calculating DMRs. The
working group will continue to consider improvements to the methodology
used to calculate halibut mortality, including potential changes to the
reference period (the period of data used for calculating the DMRs).
The methodology continues to ensure that NMFS is using DMRs that
accurately reflect halibut mortality, which will inform the sectors of
their estimated halibut mortality and allow sectors to respond with
methods that could reduce mortality and, eventually, the DMR for that
sector.
At the December 2022 meeting, the SSC, AP, and the Council
concurred with the revised DMR estimation methodology, and NMFS adopts
for 2023 and 2024 the DMRs calculated under the revised methodology,
which uses an updated 2-year reference period. The final 2023 and 2024
DMRs in this rule are unchanged from the DMRs in the proposed 2023 and
2024 harvest specifications (87 FR 76435, December 14, 2022). Table 18
lists these final 2023 and 2024 DMRs.
[[Page 14944]]
Table 18--2023 and 2024 Pacific Halibut Discard Mortality Rates (DMR)
for the BSAI
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halibut
discard
Gear Sector mortality rate
(percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pelagic trawl..................... All................. 100
Non-pelagic trawl................. Mothership and 85
catcher/processor.
Non-pelagic trawl................. Catcher vessel...... 62
Hook-and-line..................... Catcher/processor... 9
Hook-and-line..................... Catcher vessel...... 9
Pot............................... All................. 26
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Directed Fishing Closures
In accordance with Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(i), the Regional
Administrator may establish a DFA for a species or species group if the
Regional Administrator determines that any allocation or apportionment
of a target species has been or will be reached. If the Regional
Administrator establishes a DFA, and that allowance is or will be
reached before the end of the fishing year, NMFS will prohibit directed
fishing for that species or species group in the specified subarea,
regulatory area, or district (see Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iii)). Similarly,
pursuant to Sec. 679.21(b)(4) and (e)(7), if the Regional
Administrator determines that a fishery category's bycatch allowance of
halibut, red king crab, C. bairdi crab, or C. opilio crab for a
specified area has been reached, the Regional Administrator will
prohibit directed fishing for each species or species group in that
fishery category in the area specified by regulation for the remainder
of the season or fishing year.
Based on historical catch patterns and anticipated fishing
activity, the Regional Administrator has determined that the groundfish
allocation amounts in Table 19 will be necessary as incidental catch to
support other anticipated groundfish fisheries for the 2023 and 2024
fishing years. Consequently, in accordance with Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(i),
the Regional Administrator establishes the DFA for the species and
species groups in Table 19 as zero mt. Therefore, in accordance with
Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iii), NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for these
sectors and species or species groups in the specified areas effective
at 1200 hours, A.l.t., March 10, 2023, through 2400 hours, A.l.t.,
December 31, 2024. Also, for the BSAI trawl limited access sector,
bycatch allowances of halibut, red king crab, C. bairdi crab, and C.
opilio crab listed in Table 19 are insufficient to support directed
fisheries. Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 679.21(b)(4)(i) and
(e)(7), NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for these sectors,
species, and fishery categories in the specified areas effective at
1200 hours, A.l.t., March 10, 2023, through 2400 hours, A.l.t.,
December 31, 2024.
Table 19--2023 and 2024 Directed Fishing Closures \1\
[Groundfish and halibut amounts are in metric tons. Crab amounts are in number of animals.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 Incidental 2024 Incidental
Area Sector Species catch allowance catch allowance
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bogoslof District................ All................. Pollock............ 300 300
Aleutian Islands subarea......... All................. Greenland Turbot... 529 449
Aleutian Islands subarea......... All................. ICA pollock........ 2,500 2,500
``Other 380 380
rockfish''\2\.
Aleutian Islands subarea......... Trawl non-CDQ....... Sablefish.......... 1,794 2,081
Eastern Aleutian District/Bering Non-amendment 80, ICA Atka mackerel.. 800 800
Sea. CDQ, and BSAI trawl
limited access.
Eastern Aleutian District/Bering All................. Blackspotted/ 305 330
Sea. Rougheye rockfish.
Eastern Aleutian District........ Non-amendment 80, ICA Pacific ocean 100 100
CDQ, and BSAI trawl perch.
limited access.
Central Aleutian District........ Non-amendment 80, ICA Atka mackerel.. 75 75
CDQ, and BSAI trawl ICA Pacific ocean 60 60
limited access. perch.
Western Aleutian District........ Non-amendment 80, ICA Atka mackerel.. 20 20
CDQ and BSAI trawl ICA Pacific ocean 10 10
limited access. perch.
Western and Central Aleutian All................. Blackspotted/ 141 155
Districts. Rougheye rockfish.
Bering Sea subarea............... Trawl non-CDQ....... Sablefish.......... 3,398 4,112
Bering Sea subarea............... All................. Pacific ocean perch 10,118 9,945
``Other rockfish'' 748 748
\2\. 50,000 50,000
ICA pollock........
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.. .................... Shortraker rockfish 451 451
Skates............. 23,325 23,738
Sharks............. 213 213
Octopuses.......... 340 340
Hook-and-line and ICA Pacific cod.... 500 500
pot gear.
All................. ICA flathead sole.. 3,000 3,000
ICA rock sole...... 6,000 6,000
All................. ICA yellowfin sole. 4,000 4,000
BSAI trawl limited Rock sole/flathead ................ ................
access. sole/other
flatfish--halibut
mortality, red
king crab Zone 1,
C. opilio COBLZ,
C. bairdi Zone 1
and 2.
Turbot/arrowtooth/ ................ ................
Kamchatka/
sablefish--halibut
mortality, red
king crab Zone 1,
C. opilio COBLZ,
C. bairdi Zone 1
and 2.
Rockfish--red king ................ ................
crab Zone 1.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Maximum retainable amounts may be found in Table 11 to 50 CFR part 679.
[[Page 14945]]
\2\ ``Other rockfish'' includes all Sebastes and Sebastolobus species except for dark rockfish, Pacific ocean
perch, northern rockfish, blackspotted/rougheye rockfish, and shortraker rockfish.
Closures implemented under the final 2022 and 2023 BSAI harvest
specifications for groundfish (87 FR 11626, March 2, 2022) remain
effective under authority of these final 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications and until the date specified in those closure
notifications. Closures are posted at the following website under the
Alaska filter for Management Area: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/rules-and-announcements/bulletins. While these closures are in effect,
the maximum retainable amounts at Sec. 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any
time during a fishing trip. These closures to directed fishing are in
addition to closures and prohibitions found at 50 CFR part 679.
Listed AFA Catcher/Processor Sideboard Limits
Pursuant to Sec. 679.64(a), the Regional Administrator is
responsible for restricting the ability of listed AFA CPs to engage in
directed fishing for groundfish species other than pollock to protect
participants in other groundfish fisheries from adverse effects
resulting from the AFA fishery and from fishery cooperatives in the
directed pollock fishery. These restrictions are set out as sideboard
limits on catch. On February 8, 2019, NMFS published a final rule (84
FR 2723) that implemented regulations to prohibit non-exempt AFA CPs
from directed fishing for all groundfish species or species groups
subject to sideboard limits (see Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iv)(D) and Table 54
to 50 CFR part 679). Section 679.64(a)(1)(v) exempts AFA CPs from a
yellowfin sole sideboard limit because the final 2023 and 2024
aggregate ITAC of yellowfin sole assigned to the Amendment 80 sector
and BSAI trawl limited access sector is greater than 125,000 mt.
Section 679.64(a)(2) and Tables 40 and 41 to 50 CFR part 679
establish a formula for calculating PSC sideboard limits for halibut
and crab caught by listed AFA CPs. The basis for these sideboard limits
is described in detail in the final rules implementing the major
provisions of the AFA (67 FR 79692, December 30, 2002) and Amendment 80
(72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007). PSC species listed in Table 20 that
are caught by listed AFA CPs participating in any groundfish fishery
other than pollock will accrue against the final 2023 and 2024 PSC
sideboard limits for the listed AFA CPs. Section 679.21(b)(4)(iii),
(e)(3)(v), and (e)(7) authorizes NMFS to close directed fishing for
groundfish other than pollock for listed AFA CPs once a final 2023 or
2024 PSC sideboard limit listed in Table 20 is reached. Pursuant to
Sec. 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(C) and (e)(3)(ii)(C), halibut or crab PSC by
listed AFA CPs while fishing for pollock will accrue against the PSC
allowances annually specified for the pollock/Atka mackerel/``other
species'' fishery categories, according to Sec. 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(B)
and (e)(3)(iv).
Table 20--Final 2023 and 2024 BSAI AFA Listed Catcher/Processor Prohibited Species Sideboard Limits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 and 2024
PSC available 2023 and 2024
Ratio of PSC to trawl AFA catcher/
PSC species and area \1\ catch to total vessels after processor
PSC subtraction of sideboard
PSQ \2\ limit \2\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halibut mortality BSAI.......................................... n/a n/a 286
Red king crab Zone 1............................................ 0.0070 28,576 200
C. opilio (COBLZ)............................................... 0.1530 3,884,550 594,336
C. bairdi Zone 1................................................ 0.1400 741,190 103,767
C. bairdi Zone 2................................................ 0.0500 2,250,360 112,518
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Refer to Sec. 679.2 for definitions of areas.
\2\ Halibut amounts are in metric tons of halibut mortality. Crab amounts are in numbers of animals.
AFA Catcher Vessel Sideboard Limits
Pursuant to Sec. 679.64(b), the Regional Administrator is
responsible for restricting the ability of AFA CVs to engage in
directed fishing for groundfish species other than pollock to protect
participants in other groundfish fisheries from adverse effects
resulting from the AFA fishery and from fishery cooperatives in the
pollock directed fishery. On February 8, 2019, NMFS published a final
rule (84 FR 2723) that implemented regulations to prohibit non-exempt
AFA CVs from directed fishing for a majority of the groundfish species
or species groups subject to sideboard limits (see Sec.
679.20(d)(1)(iv)(D) and Table 55 to 50 CFR part 679). Section
679.64(b)(6) exempts AFA CVs from a yellowfin sole sideboard limit
because the final 2023 and 2024 aggregate ITAC of yellowfin sole
assigned to the Amendment 80 sector and BSAI trawl limited access
sector is greater than 125,000 mt. The remainder of the sideboard
limits for non-exempt AFA CVs are in Table 21.
Section 679.64(b)(3) and (b)(4) and Tables 40 and 41 to 50 CFR part
679 establish formulas for setting AFA CV groundfish and halibut and
crab PSC sideboard limits for the BSAI. The basis for these sideboard
limits is described in detail in the final rules implementing the major
provisions of the AFA (67 FR 79692, December 30, 2002) and Amendment 80
(72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007). Table 21 lists the final 2023 and
2024 AFA CV groundfish sideboard limits.
[[Page 14946]]
Table 21--Final 2023 and 2024 BSAI Pacific Cod Sideboard Limits for American Fisheries Act Catcher Vessels (CVs)
[Amounts are in metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 AFA 2024 AFA
Ratio of 1997 2023 initial catcher vessel 2024 initial catcher vessel
Fishery by area/gear/season AFA CV catch TAC sideboard TAC sideboard
to 1997 TAC limits limits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSAI............................ n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Trawl gear CV................... n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Jan 20-Apr 1................ 0.8609 19,837 17,078 19,237 16,561
Apr 1-Jun 10................ 0.8609 2,949 2,539 2,859 2,461
Jun 10-Nov 1................ 0.8609 4,021 3,462 3,899 3,357
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Section 679.64(b)(6) exempts AFA catcher vessels from a yellowfin sole sideboard limit because the 2023
and 2024 aggregate ITAC of yellowfin sole assigned to the Amendment 80 sector and BSAI trawl limited access
sector is greater than 125,000 mt.
Halibut and crab PSC limits listed in Table 22 that are caught by
AFA CVs participating in any groundfish fishery other than pollock will
accrue against the 2023 and 2024 PSC sideboard limits for the AFA CVs.
Section 679.21, at (b)(4)(iii), (e)(3)(v), and (e)(7), authorizes NMFS
to close directed fishing for groundfish other than pollock for AFA CVs
once a final 2023 or 2024 PSC sideboard limit listed in Table 22 is
reached. Pursuant to Sec. 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(C) and (e)(3)(ii)(C),
halibut or crab PSC by AFA CVs while fishing for pollock will accrue
against the PSC allowances annually specified for the pollock/Atka
mackerel/``other species'' fishery categories under Sec.
679.21(b)(1)(ii)(B) and (e)(3)(iv).
Table 22--Final 2023 and 2024 American Fisheries Act Catcher Vessel Prohibited Species Catch Sideboard Limits
for the BSAI \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023 and 2024
AFA catcher PSC limit 2023 and 2024
Target fishery category vessel PSC after AFA catcher
PSC species and area \1\ \2\ sideboard subtraction of vessel PSC
limit ratio PSQ reserves sideboard
\3\ limit \3\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halibut............................... Pacific cod trawl....... n/a n/a 887
Pacific cod hook-and- n/a n/a 2
line or pot.
Yellowfin sole total.... n/a n/a 101
Rock sole/flathead sole/ n/a n/a 228
Alaska plaice/other
flatfish \4\.
Greenland turbot/ n/a n/a ..............
arrowtooth/Kamchatka/
sablefish.
Rockfish................ n/a n/a 2
Pollock/Atka mackerel/ n/a n/a 5
other species \5\.
Red king crab Zone 1.................. n/a..................... 0.2990 28,576 8,544
C. opilio COBLZ....................... n/a..................... 0.1680 3,884,550 652,604
C. bairdi Zone 1...................... n/a..................... 0.3300 741,190 244,593
C. bairdi Zone 2...................... n/a..................... 0.1860 2,250,360 418,567
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Refer to Sec. 679.2 for definitions of areas.
\2\ Target trawl fishery categories are defined at Sec. 679.21(b)(1)(ii)(B) and (e)(3)(iv).
\3\ Halibut amounts are in metric tons of halibut mortality. Crab amounts are in numbers of animals.
\4\ ``Other flatfish'' for PSC monitoring includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited
species), Alaska plaice, arrowtooth flounder, flathead sole, Greenland turbot, Kamchatka flounder, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole.
\5\ ``Other species'' for PSC monitoring includes skates, sharks, and octopuses.
Response to Comments
Comment 1: The proposed groundfish harvest specifications do not
consider the current status of Chinook and chum salmon.
Response: NMFS and the Council considered the status of Chinook and
chum, and the harvest specifications reflect adjustments based on
promulgated regulations. NMFS and the Council have taken comprehensive
action through Amendments 91 and 110 to the FMP and implementing
regulations to reduce salmon bycatch in the pollock trawl fishery
because of the potential for negative impacts on salmon stocks.
Existing measures have reduced salmon bycatch in the pollock fishery
compared with what they would have been without the measures.
Regulations set limits on how many Chinook salmon can be caught in a
year in the pollock fishery, and those regulations require bycatch caps
to be calculated and implemented in the annual harvest specifications.
NMFS annually allocates portions of either 33,318, 45,000, 47,591, or
60,000 Chinook salmon PSC limits among the AFA sectors, depending on
past bycatch performance, on whether Chinook salmon bycatch incentive
plan agreements (IPAs) are formed and approved by NMFS, and on whether
NMFS determines it is a low Chinook salmon abundance year. NMFS will
determine that it is a low Chinook salmon abundance year when abundance
of Chinook salmon in western Alaska is less than or equal to 250,000
Chinook salmon. The State of Alaska provides NMFS with an estimate of
Chinook salmon abundance using the 3-System Index for western Alaska
based on the Kuskokwim, Unalakleet,
[[Page 14947]]
and Upper Yukon aggregate stock grouping. For 2023, NMFS determined it
was a low abundance year based on the State of Alaska's 3-System Index.
In accordance with the regulations at Sec. 679.21(f), NMFS has
specified a Chinook salmon PSC limit of 45,000 Chinook salmon, and a
Chinook salmon bycatch performance standard of 33,318.
Regulations also set limits on Chinook PSC for the AI pollock
fishery and non-Chinook salmon PSC for vessels using trawl gear from
August 15 through October 14 in the Catcher Vessel Operational Area
(CVOA) (Sec. 679.21(f)(14) and (g)(2)). These are static limits that
are announced in the groundfish harvest specifications.
NMFS acknowledges the western Alaska salmon crisis and the impact
it is having on culture and food security throughout western Alaska.
Science indicates climate change as the primary driver of poor salmon
returns in western Alaska. The Council and NMFS are committed to
continued improvements in bycatch management with a goal of minimizing
bycatch at all levels of salmon and pollock abundance. NMFS and the
Council are currently engaged in a comprehensive process to evaluate
existing measures and develop alternatives that may be necessary to
further reduce chum salmon bycatch. More information on this process
can be found at https://www.npfmc.org/fisheries-issues/bycatch/salmon-bycatch/. However, the Chinook and chum salmon limits and the
conditions that affect the limits are set in regulations, and changes
to those regulations are outside of the scope of the annual harvest
specification process. NMFS believes that changes to bycatch management
of all PSC, including Chinook and chum, are best accomplished through
the Council process to recommend FMP amendments and regulations that
NMFS would implement if consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
FMP, and other applicable law.
Comment 2: The pollock allocations do not allow for the sustainable
harvest of Western Alaska Chinook and chum salmon. NMFS must address
how the pollock allocations will not have significant impacts on salmon
bycatch.
Response: NMFS recognizes the significant importance of salmon for
Alaska Native people and tribes in terms of food security, cultural
practices, and a way of life. NMFS manages salmon bycatch in the
pollock fishery through a variety of tools, which include Chinook
salmon PSC limits, monitoring, and IPAs to address Chinook and chum
bycatch. These tools apply at all levels of pollock allocations.
Please see the response to Comment 1 for a description of the
Chinook salmon PSC limits that constrain Chinook and non-Chinook
bycatch in the pollock fishery.
To support bycatch management goals, NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) has a
comprehensive monitoring program to collect data on salmon bycatch.
This information is used to estimate how many Chinook and chum salmon
are caught as bycatch from trawl vessels, where those fish came from,
and whether a potential violation of law occurred. To support catch and
bycatch data collection needs on catcher/processors and motherships,
two fishery observers on board each vessel ensure that every haul is
monitored. All catcher vessels in the Bering Sea pollock fisheries are
required to carry an observer or an electronic monitoring system on
every trip. All salmon bycatch must be delivered to the shoreside
processor and every pollock delivery is monitored in entirety for
salmon bycatch to enable a full accounting.
Under Amendments 91 and 110 to the FMP and Federal regulation at 50
CFR 679.21 (Prohibited Species Bycatch Management), the pollock fleet
participates in an industry-developed contractual arrangement, called
an incentive plan agreement (IPA). An IPA establishes an incentive
program to minimize bycatch at all levels of Chinook and chum salmon
abundance. To ensure participants develop effective IPAs, participants
provide the Council and NMFS an annual report that describes the
efforts each IPA is taking to accomplish the intent of the program that
each vessel actively avoids Chinook and chum salmon at all times while
fishing for pollock and, collectively, that bycatch is minimized in
each year. The IPA system is designed to be flexible and responsive,
and can be tailored by each sector to fit its operational needs. The
IPAs impose rewards for avoiding Chinook salmon bycatch or penalties
for failure to avoid Chinook and chum salmon bycatch at the vessel
level. Since implementation, all the participants in the pollock
fishery are currently participating in IPAs.
In 2022, 8,324 Chinook salmon were incidentally caught in the BSAI
groundfish fisheries with 6,337 Chinook salmon out of the total
attributed to the BSAI pollock directed fisheries. Historic Chinook
catches are posted on the NMFS website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chinook_salmon_mortality2022.html.
In 2022, 245,269 chum salmon were incidentally caught in the BSAI
groundfish fisheries with 242,375 chum salmon out of the total
attributed to the BSAI pollock directed fisheries. Historic non-Chinook
salmon catches are posted on the NMFS website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chum_salmon_mortality2022.html.
NMFS has adult equivalence estimates of the Chinook salmon that
would have returned to river systems had they not been caught as
bycatch in the BS pollock fishery. The most recent estimates of salmon
bycatch, which use the best available science, show that estimated
bycatch in the pollock fishery is less than 3 percent of the Chinook
salmon returns and less than 1 percent of the chum salmon returns in
Western Alaska. Since 2011, the peak estimate of Chinook bycatch is
less than 2 percent of the Western Alaska returns, as stated in the
most recent Eastern BS pollock SAFE Report.
Reducing the pollock TAC likely would have an extremely small
effect on salmon returns, and therefore on in-river harvest
opportunities, because of the low level of bycatch of salmon in the
pollock fishery. The management measure recommended by the Council and
implemented in regulation by NMFS (the Chinook bycatch limit) sets an
overall limit on the number of Chinook salmon taken as bycatch, as well
as a performance standard (which is less than the overall limit to
incentivize reducing bycatch). The pollock fleet is constrained by the
limit of Chinook salmon set in regulation, regardless of the size of
the pollock harvest. Sectors are prohibited from continuing to fish if
their PSC limit has been exceeded. Further, if the sector exceeds its
performance standard in 3 of 7 years, that sector becomes constrained
by the performance standard in future years (meaning, the sector has a
lower PSC limit).
There is not currently an overall limit on the number of chum
salmon taken as bycatch. Instead, chum salmon bycatch is managed via
IPAs in the pollock fishing sectors, which provide incentives for
vessels to avoid salmon bycatch under any condition of pollock or
salmon abundance. Consistent annual genetic data show the majority of
chum bycatch is of Asian hatchery origin, and thus does not affect
returns to western Alaska rivers. Nevertheless, the Council is
considering additional measures to minimize chum salmon bycatch in the
future.
While 2022 was a relatively low TAC for pollock, because of low
recruitments in previous years, the pollock TAC has been relatively
consistent since new Chinook bycatch measures were
[[Page 14948]]
implemented in 2011, and new Chinook and chum bycatch measures were
implemented in 2016 (Sec. 679.21(f)): https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2022-03/bsai-harvest-specs-1986-present.pdf.
While pollock catches have been consistent from year to year since
2011, Chinook and chum bycatch has varied independently of stable
pollock TACs.
Comment 3: National Standard 1 states that NMFS and the Council
must consider social, economic, and ecological factors when setting OY,
maximum sustainable yield (MSY), and TAC. Under National Standard 1,
there must be a reduction in pollock TAC to provide increased
escapement and subsistence opportunities for Western Alaska villages.
Response: The Council and NMFS have considered social, economic,
and ecological factors in setting OY, MSY, and TAC, and the pollock TAC
specified in these final groundfish harvest specification is consistent
with the FMP and National Standards. National Standard 1 states that
conservation and management measures must prevent overfishing while
achieving on a continuing basis the OY from the fishery (16 U.S.C.
1851(a)(1)). The Council and NMFS have previously determined and set
the MSY and OY for the groundfish fishery of the BSAI management area,
with OY set in the FMP and in regulation as a range of 1.4 million to
2.0 million mt (Sec. 679.20(a)(1)). It is therefore outside the scope
of the harvest specifications process to consider adjustments to the OY
and MSY.
In accordance with National Standard 1 and regulations, the SSC
recommends for each species and species group an OFL and an ABC. The
catch limits (TAC) cannot exceed the ABC (50 CFR 600.310(f)(4)). TAC
must be set equal to or less than ABC, and ABC must be set equal to or
less than OFL (Sec. 600.310(f)(3) and (4)). NMFS specifies TAC after
consultation with the Council, and annual determinations of TAC are
based on review of both the biological condition of the specific
species or species group and socioeconomic conditions (Sec.
679.20(a)(2)-(3)). Here, for 2023, the Council has recommended a BS
pollock TAC of 1,300,000 mt, which is 32 percent below the ABC of
1,910,000 mt. The ABC is 62 percent less than the OFL of 3,381,000 mt.
This specification of OFL, ABC, and TAC is consistent with National
Standard 1 guidelines. The 2023 BS pollock TAC is also 18,000 mt below
the past 10-year mean of BS pollock TACs. NMFS concurs with the
Council's recommended specification of the 2023 BS pollock TAC. This
TAC is based on consideration of the biological condition of the
pollock stock, as reviewed in the SAFE pollock chapter; the status of
the ecosystem, as reviewed in the Bering Sea ecosystem status report
(ESR); and socioeconomic considerations, as reviewed in the SAFE
pollock chapter and Economic Status Report. NMFS also concurs with the
Council that the specification of all TACs at the upper bound of 2.0
million mt is consistent with National Standard 1, as well as the FMP
and the harvest strategy selected as the preferred alternative in the
EIS (see response to Comment 5). The specification of all TACs at 2.0
million mt is consistent with historical pollock allocations in years
of high pollock abundance. In addition, as explained in response to
Comment 2, reducing the pollock TAC would not meaningfully increase
salmon returns to Western Alaska given the small percentages of salmon
stocks taken as bycatch in the pollock fishery and the constraining PSC
limit that applies at any level of pollock harvest.
Comment 4: Even though pollock catches salmon as bycatch, pollock
TAC increased while salmon returns have decreased.
Response: Pollock TACs in the BS are cyclical depending on pollock
recruitment. While the 2022 TAC was lower than normal due to decreased
pollock abundance, the recommended 2023 TACs are similar to the
historical average TACs, and thus larger than the 2022 TAC. The best
scientific information available does not suggest that a reduction in
the pollock TAC would measurably increase salmon escapement to western
Alaska (see response to Comment 2). While salmon bycatch in the pollock
fishery may be a contributing factor in the decline of salmon, NMFS
expects the numbers of the ocean bycatch that would have returned to
western Alaska would be relatively small due to ocean mortality and the
large number of other river systems contributing to the total Chinook
or chum salmon bycatch. For Chinook salmon, the bycatch expected to
have returned to western Alaska rivers is less than 3 percent of
coastal western Alaska run size in recent years, and less than 2
percent since 2011. For 2021, the estimate of bycaught salmon that
would have returned to Western Alaska is 8,610 fish with an estimate of
7,705 fish from 2011 through 2020. For chum salmon, the chum salmon
bycatch expected to have returned to western Alaska rivers is less than
1 percent of the coastal western Alaska run size in recent years. For
2021, the number of bycaught salmon expected to return to Western
Alaska is estimated to be 51,510 fish with an estimate of 49,290 fish
annually from 2011 through 2020.
Comment 5: Explain how OY is reached considering the decreased
salmon returns.
Response: The Council recommended and NMFS set the OY as a range of
1.4 to 2 million mt. This OY is set forth in the FMP and in regulation,
and is based on the sum of all TACs. NMFS has therefore determined
that, in any given year, setting the TACs to fall within that range
provides the greatest overall benefit to the Nation, particularly with
respect to food production and recreational opportunities and taking
into account the protection of marine ecosystems and relevant economic,
social, or ecological factors (Sec. 600.310(e)(3)). Here, NMFS concurs
with the Council's recommendation that TACs fall within the upper bound
(2 million mt). Setting TACs to meet the upper bound of the OY range of
2.0 million mt, while also recognizing that total TACs represent a 32
percent reduction below total ABCs, balances relevant National Standard
1 considerations. Setting TACs at the higher bound of the OY will
provide the greatest benefit for the Nation based on the benefits of
maintaining viable groundfish fisheries and contributions to regional
and local economies. That total groundfish removals are 32 percent
below total ABC recognizes the benefits that flow from that reduction,
such as protections afforded to marine ecosystems, forage for ecosystem
components, and other ecological factors (Sec. 600.310(e)(3)(iii)(A)-
(B)).
NMFS has determined that further reductions in TAC are not
necessary. As stated in the responses to previous comments, the
recommended TACs are not expected to significantly affect the returns
of Chinook and chum salmon to Western Alaska. Moreover, the pollock
fleet is constrained by a PSC limit that applies regardless of fishing
effort and the catch limits (TAC) for pollock. Therefore, for the 2023
and 2024 groundfish harvest specifications, the OY is reached by
adopting TACs whose sum is within this range while not exceeding the
ABCs developed through the SAFE reports and recommended by the Council
and SSC.
Comment 6: The harvest specifications use an outdated EIS.
Response: Groundfish harvests are managed subject to annual limits
on the retained and discarded amounts of each species and species
group. The ``harvest strategy'' is the method used to calculate the
annual limits, referred to as ``harvest specifications,'' and the
process of establishing them is referred to as the ``specifications
process.'' NMFS
[[Page 14949]]
prepared the Alaska Groundfish Harvest Specifications Final
Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) to analyze alternatives to
implement the FMP's harvest strategy and specifications process, which
outlines the method and process used to determine the annual harvest
specifications for the federally managed groundfish fisheries in the
GOA and BSAI management areas. NMFS also must specify PSC allowances in
the annual harvest specifications.
A harvest strategy is needed for the management of the groundfish
fisheries and the conservation of marine resources, as required by the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and as described in the management policy, goals,
and objectives in the FMP (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(15)). The purpose of the
harvest strategy is to provide for orderly and controlled commercial
fishing for groundfish; promote sustainable incomes to the fishing,
fish processing, and support industries; support sustainable fishing
communities; and provide sustainable flows of fish products to
consumers. The harvest strategy balances groundfish harvest in the
fishing year with ecosystem needs (such as non-target fish stocks,
marine mammals, seabirds, and habitat).
NMFS concluded that the harvest strategy provides the best balance
among relevant environmental, social, and economic considerations and
allows for continued management of the groundfish fisheries based on
the most recent, best scientific information. While the specific
numbers that the harvest strategy produces may vary from year to year,
the methodology used for the preferred harvest strategy remains
constant. NMFS has not changed the harvest strategy or specifications
process from what was analyzed in the Final EIS.
Each year the harvest strategy uses the best scientific information
available in the annual SAFE reports to derive the annual harvest
specifications, which include TACs and PSC limits. The SAFE reports are
available (see ADDRESSES). Through this process, each year, the
Council's Groundfish Plan Teams use updated stock assessments to
calculate biomass, OFLs, and ABCs for each species and species group
for specified management areas. The OFLs and ABCs are published with
the harvest specifications, and provide the foundation for the Council
and NMFS to develop the TACs. The OFLs and ABCs reflect fishery
science, applied in light of the requirements of the FMPs. The Council
bases its TAC recommendations on those of its AP, which are consistent
with the SSC's OFL and ABC recommendations (meaning, the TAC
recommendations cannot exceed the SSC's ABC and OFL recommendations).
The Final EIS evaluates the consequences of alternative harvest
strategies on ecosystem components and on the ecosystem as a whole. The
Final EIS evaluates the alternatives for their effects within the
action area. The environmental consequences of each alternative were
considered for target species, non-specified species, forage species,
prohibited species, marine mammals, seabirds, Essential Fish Habitat,
ecosystem relationships, the economy, and environmental justice. These
considerations were evaluated based on the conditions as they existed
at the time the EIS was developed. However, each year since 2007
relevant changes (new information, changed circumstances, potential
changes to the action) are considered with the primary purpose of
evaluating the need to supplement the Final EIS.
NEPA implementing regulations at 40 CFR 1502.9(d) instruct agencies
to prepare supplements to either draft or final environmental impact
statements if: (i) The agency makes substantial changes to the proposed
action that are relevant to environmental concerns; or (ii) There are
significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental
concerns and bearing on the proposed action or its impacts.
Not every change requires a supplemental EIS (SEIS); only those
changes that cause significantly different effects from those already
studied require supplementary consideration. The Supreme Court directs
that ``an agency need not supplement an EIS every time new information
comes to light after the EIS is finalized. To require otherwise would
render agency decision making intractable.'' Marsh v. Oregon Nat. Res.
Council, 490 U.S. 360, 373 (1989). On the other hand, if a major
Federal action remains to occur, and if new information indicates that
the remaining action will affect the quality of the human environment
in a significant manner or to a significant extent not already
considered, an SEIS must be prepared. Ultimately, an agency is required
``to take a `hard look' at the new information to assess whether
supplementation might be necessary.'' Norton v. S. Utah Wilderness
All., 542 U.S. 55, 72-73 (2004).
NEPA implementing regulations at Sec. 1502.9(d)(4) stipulate that
an agency may find that changes to the proposed action are not
substantial or new circumstances or information relevant to
environmental concerns are not significant and therefore do not require
a supplement to an EIS. As stipulated under 40 CFR 1507.3 and NOAA
Administrative Order 216-6A, NOAA's NEPA procedures are found in the
Policy and Procedures for Compliance with the National Environmental
Policy Act and Related Authorities (Companion Manual). Appendix C of
the Companion Manual authorizes the use of a Supplementary Information
Report (SIR) to document a review of new information or circumstances
that differ from that described in an existing NEPA document to
determine the sufficiency of the existing analysis and subsequent
decision. The SIR contains the rationale for and decision regarding
whether new information or circumstances or changes to the action are
significant and thus whether an SEIS is required. The SIR also looks at
reasonably foreseeable future actions to gauge whether a future action,
individually or cumulatively, could cause a substantial change in the
action or represent significant new circumstances or new information
that would require an SEIS in the future.
A SIR for the Final EIS is prepared each year to document the
evaluation and decision whether an SEIS is necessary to implement the
annual groundfish harvest specifications. The SIR analyzes the
information contained in the most recent SAFE reports and all
information available to NMFS and the Council to determine whether an
SEIS should be prepared. The SAFE reports represent the best scientific
information available for the harvest specifications. Included in the
SAFE reports are the groundfish stock assessments, the website for the
ESR for the SAFE reports, and the website for the Economic Status
Report for the SAFE reports. To date, no annual SIR to the EIS has
concluded that an SEIS is necessary. This is largely due to the
flexibility built into the process and the alternatives evaluated
(particularly the preferred harvest strategy as implemented) in the
Final EIS. That inherent flexibility allows for the implementation of
annual harvest specifications that reflect new information and changing
circumstances.
The preferred harvest strategy analyzed in the Final EIS
anticipated that changes in information would be used each year in
setting the annual harvest specification since the process is flexible
to adjust to new information on stock abundance and environmental and
socioeconomic factors (like climate change). Similarly, the FMP
contemplates ongoing consideration of relevant factors through the
development of SAFE reports (Section
[[Page 14950]]
3.2.2.2 of the FMP). The use of new information from the SAFE reports
allows the Council and NMFS to respond to changes in stock condition
and environmental and socioeconomic factors in the BSAI and to adjust
the harvest specifications as necessary, which is consistent with the
preferred harvest strategy from the Final EIS and the FMP and which is
consistent with National Standard 2 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to use
the best scientific information available (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(2)).
Separate from the Final EIS, the Council and NMFS prepared the
Alaska Groundfish Programmatic Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (PSEIS). The Council is currently considering approaches,
such as a programmatic EIS, to provide a comprehensive analysis of the
impacts of the Federal groundfish fisheries on the human environment,
with a view towards creating more climate-resilient Federal fisheries.
This has involved an ongoing discussion of the 2004 PSEIS. The scope
of, and changes from, the 2004 PSEIS are outside the scope of this
action.
Comment 7: The process of setting OFLs and ABCs does not account
for the viability of all species in the BSAI.
Response: The process of setting OFLs and ABCs is an expansive
process that accounts for the best scientific information available on
target species as well as ecosystem considerations like non-target
species. The SSC and the Council recommend OFLs and ABCs to prevent
overfishing as mandated in National Standard 1 of the MSA. The OFLs and
ABCs apply only to targets of directed fisheries. However, through
ecosystem considerations in both the ESR for the SAFE and the NEPA
process, impacts on a wider range of species is considered during the
harvest specification process. In addition, the setting of OFLs and
ABCs informs the setting of TACs since the TAC cannot exceed the ABC
for each species and species group. The sum of all TACs must fall
within the OY range. The OY is based on the management objectives of
the FMP, as well as relevant social, economic, and ecological factors
(Sec. 600.310(e)(3)). Ecological factors include ecosystem component
species, forage fish stocks, other fisheries, predator-prey or
competitive interactions, marine mammals, threatened or endangered
species, and birds. The FMP addresses how the OY for the BSAI
groundfish fishery reflects ecological factors (see, for example,
Section 3.2.2.2 and Section 4.6 of the FMP). In this way, the annual
harvest specifications process results in annual OFLs, ABCs, and TACs
that, although set for target species only, are based on consideration
of ecosystem and ecological factors, including species other than
target species. When possible, stock assessment models include
information on ecosystem and environmental effects to improve the
interpretation of historical information and the precision of
forecasts. NMFS is committed to supporting science and research to move
us toward effective ecosystem-based management. Developing additional
tools and approaches for incorporating ecosystem factors will allow us
to deal with the impacts of climate and other environmental change on
our marine species.
Comment 8: The Secretary of Commerce must minimize bycatch under
National Standard 9.
Response: National Standard 9 directs that conservation and
management measures shall, to the extent practicable, minimize bycatch.
The Council and NMFS develop and implement FMP amendments and
regulations for new bycatch reduction measures. The harvest
specifications set PSC, or bycatch, limits for salmon and crab based on
pre-existing frameworks set out in regulation; each of these earlier
actions establishing a PSC, or bycatch, limit considered and balanced
all the National Standards, including the direction to minimize bycatch
to the extent practicable. Specifying bycatch levels in the annual
harvest specifications consistent with the existing PSC regulations is
therefore consistent with National Standard 9.
Comment 9: Under National Standards 4 and 8, the Secretary must
allocate fishery resources fairly among fishermen and adopt
conservation and management measures that account for the importance of
fishery resources to communities. In the proposed harvest
specifications decision, the Secretary has not provided a sufficient
consideration of the ecological, economic, and social factors required
under National Standards 4 and 8.
Response: National Standard 4 states that conservation and
management measures shall not discriminate between residents of
different states (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(4)). The harvest specifications do
not discriminate or differentiate among residents of different states.
The harvest specifications further implement annual allocations of
fishing privileges among fishermen. These allocations were implemented
in regulation through previous rulemakings that considered and balanced
all the National Standards, including National Standard 4. These
harvest specifications are therefore consistent with National Standard
4.
National Standard 8 states that conservation and management
measures shall take into account the importance of fishery resources to
fishing communities by utilizing economic and social data in order to:
(A) provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and
(B) to the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on
such communities (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(8)). This is addressed in the
harvest specifications process at Sec. 679.20(a)(3)(ii). TACs are set
at or below ABCs to prevent overfishing. TACs are set within the OY
range, a range that the Council and NMFS determined will provide the
greatest overall benefit to the National with respect to food
production and in consideration of relevant economic and social
factors. The FMP's definition of OY recognized: ``1. The OY range is
not likely to have any significant detrimental impact on the industry.
On the contrary, specification of OY as a constant range helps to
create a stable management environment in which the industry can plan
its activities consistently, with an expectation that each year's total
groundfish catch will be at least 1.4 million mt. 2. The OY range
encompasses the annual catch levels taken in the period immediately
prior to its implementation, during which the fishery operated
profitably.'' TACs within this range will ensure the sustained
participation of fishing communities. As addressed in the response to
Comment 5, NMFS concurs with the Council's recommendation that TACs
fall within the upper bound (2 million mt) and that further reductions
are not necessary.
In addition, many of the conservation and management measures
effectuated through the annual harvest specifications were implemented
in prior rulemakings that are outside of the scope of the current
specification process to change. These would include allocations to
communities, use caps, and limits on bycatch, which are set in
regulation. These regulations created allocations, caps, and limits
that are addressed in the specification process and specified in the
annual specifications. The prior rulemakings on these conservation and
management measures considered and balanced all the National Standards,
including National Standard 8. The final harvest specifications are
therefore consistent with National Standard 8.
Comment 10: The current NEPA analysis supporting the groundfish
harvest specifications does not consider climate change.
[[Page 14951]]
Response: The Final EIS analyzed alternatives for an implementing
framework for the BSAI and GOA harvest strategy and evaluated the
potential effects of those alternatives on the human environment (see
response to Comment 6). The EIS examined existing physical and
oceanographic conditions in the BSAI and GOA, and addressed regime
shifts, warming and loss of sea ice, and acidification (Section 3.5 of
the Final EIS). Moreover, the framework process for the preferred
harvest strategy under the Final EIS allows for the effects of climate
change to be considered in the annual process for setting the harvest
specifications.
The annual ESR is part of the SAFE reports that the Council and its
Plan Teams, SSC, and AP annually review prior to the review of the
stock assessments and advancing recommendations of the annual OFLs,
ABCs, and TACs. Contributions to the ESR are developed by scientists
and fishery managers at NOAA, other U.S. Federal and State agencies,
academic institutions, tribes, nonprofits, and other sources. Ongoing
research incorporated into the ESR has increased our understanding of
the interactions among ecosystem components, including how they are
impacted by changing environmental conditions related to climate
change. The ESR, published each December, informs annual harvest
recommendations. The purpose of the ESR is to provide the Council,
scientific community, and the public with annual information about
ecosystem status and trends. Information from the report is integrated
into the annual harvest recommendations through inclusion in stock
assessment-specific risk tables and is considered during the annual
groundfish and crab Plan Team meetings and Council meetings. The target
audience for this report is the SSC to provide context for setting the
annual OFLs and ABCs, and for the Council's final TAC recommendations
for groundfish and crab. This report includes physical oceanography,
biological data, and socio-ecological dimensions, primarily collected
from Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) surveys with collaboration
from a range of government and non-government partners. There are many
examples of climate change considerations presented in the ESR, such as
reevaluating the importance of survey distribution of stocks like
Pacific cod and pollock based on water temperature.
In some instances, the Plan Teams and SSC have recommended ABC
reductions based on climate change considerations. Stock assessments
use a stock-assessment specific risk table that is applied by
evaluating the severity of four types of considerations that could be
used to support a scientific recommendation to reduce the ABC from the
maximum permissible ABC. The four considerations are assessment-
related, population dynamics, environmental/ecosystem, and fishery
performance. As one environmental/ecosystem consideration, scientists
noted for one stock that patterns in distribution, growth, and size
were associated with warmer ocean conditions and the cumulative effects
from a series of recent warm years. That consideration warranted an
increased level concern under the risk table. These risk tables are now
prepared as part of the stock assessment process for groundfish stocks
and help inform the setting of ABC (which in turn informs the setting
of TAC).
Finally, the FMP indicated that the ongoing consideration of
ecological factors like climate change would be addressed annually in
the SAFE reports (Section 3.2.2.2 of the FMP), as is currently the case
with the both individual stock assessments and the ESRs. As a result,
the annual harvest specifications process, which implements the
preferred harvest strategy under the EIS, allows for the consideration
of the best scientific information available on climate change (16
U.S.C. 1851(a)(2)).
Comment 11: TACs should be set using ecosystem management.
Response: Ecosystem considerations inform the specification of TACs
in a variety of ways. As detailed in the SAFE reports, ecosystem
considerations are incorporated into the harvest specifications
process. Information about the ecosystem is included in the groundfish
stock assessments used to determine the OFL and ABC, which in turn
inform the TAC, for all target species and species groups in the BSAI.
When possible, stock assessment models include information on ecosystem
and environmental effects to improve the interpretation of historical
information and the precision of forecasts. As explained in the
response to Comment 10, in some cases, ABCs have been reduced from the
assessment model based on the ecosystem considerations presented in the
risk tables. And, as explained in the response to Comment 10, the
annual ESRs further allow for the consideration of ecosystem factors
during the process to specify annual OFLs and ABCs for target species
and species groups.
NMFS is required to prevent overfishing, so no TAC may exceed the
ABC as determined by the population dynamics of any particular stock.
However, in the BSAI, the TACs are not set equal to ABCs. Both the FMP
and regulations limit the sum of the TACs from the ecosystem at 2
million mt, so the TACs are further reduced to meet this limit in years
of high ABCs. This reduction in TACs to 2 million mt reduces fishery
removals and therefore impacts on the ecosystem. For the 2023 harvest
specifications, the total TAC has been reduced by 1.2 million mt to
ensure the sum of all TACs is within the OY range.
OY is the amount of fish that will provide the greatest overall
benefit to the Nation, taking into account the protection of marine
ecosystems and relevant economic, social, or ecological factors (Sec.
600.310(e)(3)). OY is based on the management objectives of the FMP, as
well as relevant ecological factors like ecosystem component species,
forage fish stocks, other fisheries, predator-prey or competitive
interactions, marine mammals, threatened or endangered species, and
birds. The FMP addresses how the OY for BSAI groundfish fishery
reflects ecosystem and ecological factors (see, for example, Section
3.2.2.2 and Section 4.6 of the FMP). The FMP further indicated that the
ongoing consideration of ecosystem and ecological factors relevant to
OY would be addressed annually in the SAFE reports (Section 3.2.2.2 of
the FMP). Consistent with the FMP, the sum of the TACs must be within
the OY range, and all TACs are informed by both individual stock
assessments (including the risk tables) and the ESR for the SAFE
report, which are updated annually to address ecosystem factors.
As a result, the harvest specification process, including the
specification of TACs, considers best scientific information available
on ecosystem factors. As noted above, NMFS is committed to supporting
science and research to move us toward effective ecosystem-based
management and developing additional tools and approaches for
incorporating ecosystem factors.
Comment 12: Current evaluations fail to account for the true
environmental cost of the pollock TAC for trawl fishing.
Response: Ecosystem considerations, as well as the impact on
communities and incidentally caught species, are considered annually in
the ESR to the SAFE report as well as individual stock SAFE reports.
The chapter on pollock includes discussions on the ecosystem as well as
sections titled ``Ecosystem effects on the EBS pollock stock'' and
``EBS pollock fishery effects on the ecosystem.'' The ecosystem is also
evaluated in the Final EIS, which in
[[Page 14952]]
turn is annually evaluated in the SIR. Additionally, the environmental
impacts of the pollock fishery have been analyzed in a number of
subsequent NEPA documents, including the Environmental Impact Statement
for Amendment 91 to the FMP and the Environmental Assessment for
Amendment 110 to the FMP.
NMFS is required to achieve an OY on a continuing basis. The FMP
and implementing regulations dictate an OY of 1.4 to 2 million mt. In
the BSAI, it is currently not possible to reach that range without the
use of trawl gear.
Comment 13: The floor for Chionoecedes opilio (C. opilio or snow
crab) PSC should be removed. Crab PSC limits should be changed because
they fail to account for limitations identified by scientists, such as
recruitment failures or other bottlenecks in aspects of the current
environmental conditions that limit the reproductive ability of the
stock and because they do not provide groundfish trawl sectors
incentive to move away from areas of high bycatch.
Response: The PSC limit for C. opilio crab was developed and
implemented by Amendments 40 and 57 to the FMP. The PSC limit for C.
opilio crab is set forth in regulation, which directs NMFS to specify
annually the limit based on total abundance of C. opilio crab as
indicated by the NMFS annual bottom trawl survey. The regulations
direct that the limit will be 0.1133 percent of total abundance, minus
150,000 C. opilio crabs, unless a minimum or maximum limit specified in
regulation applies (Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(iii)). In these specifications,
NMFS has calculated and specified the PSC limit for C. opilio crab
based on total abundance from the NMFS annual bottom trawl survey. In
addition, in these groundfish harvest specifications, the Council
recommends and NMFS adopts amounts of crab PSC limits between trawl
fishery categories as outlined in Sec. 679.21(e)(3). These harvest
specifications set forth the C. opilio crab PSC limits consistent with
existing regulations. Any changes to the floor for the C. opilio crab
PSC limit is beyond the scope of these annual groundfish harvest
specifications. Changes to the C. opilio crab PSC limit would need to
be reviewed and analyzed through the Council process in an action
separate from the groundfish harvest specifications. To note, the
Council is working on developing potential conservation and management
actions to improve crab bycatch management and further reduce fishing
impacts on Bristol Bay red king crab and Eastern Bering Sea C. opilio
crab.
Similarly, PSC limits for Chionoecetes bairdi (C. bairdi or Tanner
crab) are set forth in regulations that dictate specific C. bairdi crab
PSC limits based on total abundance of crabs as indicated by the NMFS
annual bottom trawl survey (Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(ii)). In accordance with
these regulations, NMFS calculated the applicable C. bairdi crab PSC
limit based on total abundance and specified that PSC limit in these
groundfish harvest specifications. Any changes to the regulations on
crab PSC limits are beyond the scope of these annual groundfish harvest
specifications. Changes to the C. bairdi crab PSC limit would need to
be reviewed and analyzed through the Council process in an action
separate from the groundfish harvest specifications. Separate actions
for crab PSC will rely upon the crab SAFE documents, which do consider
the impact of trawl bycatch on crab abundance.
Comment 14: Catch levels of Pacific cod should be increased to
reduce predation on crab.
Response: As discussed above, the most recent scientific
information available from the 2022 stock assessments is used to set
the 2023 and 2024 OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for all groundfish species,
including BSAI Pacific cod. The Council recommended, and NMFS approved,
the 2023 and 2024 BSAI Pacific cod TACs at the maximum amounts
available after setting aside the amounts needed to support the State's
GHL fisheries. This recommendation is made to ensure that catch in
Federal and State waters does not exceed the ABC. Further increasing
Pacific cod TACs could lead to overfishing, and would violate the MSA
and National Standard 1 guidelines that direct that catch (TAC) may not
exceed fishing level recommendations (OFL and ABC) (16 U.S.C.
1852(h)(6)) and that conservation and management measures shall prevent
overfishing (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(1)).
Comment 15: NMFS should take a precautionary approach to fisheries
management decisions, like the harvest specifications decision.
Response: NMFS takes a precautionary approach to fisheries
management in setting the annual harvest specifications. NMFS's primary
objective for fisheries management decisions including the harvest
specifications process is the conservation and management of fish
resources. Currently, no Alaska groundfish species are known to be
experiencing overfishing.
Stock assessments provide important scientific information
necessary for the conservation and management of fish stocks. The stock
assessments use a six-tiered system that accommodates different levels
of reliable information available to fishery scientists for determining
OFLs and ABCs. Fishery scientists use the equations from an appropriate
tier to determine when a stock is overfished according to the
reliability of information available. The six-tiered system
accomplishes three basic functions: (1) It compensates for uncertainty
in estimating fishing mortality rates at a level of MSY by establishing
fishing mortality rates more conservatively as biological parameters
become more imprecise (less reliable); (2) it relates fishing mortality
rates directly to biomass for stocks below target abundance levels, so
that fishing mortality rates fall to zero should a stock become
critically depleted; and (3) it maintains a buffer between the ABC and
the OFL to further minimize the possibility of catches jeopardizing a
stock's long term productivity. Also, stock assessments use a risk
table that is applied by evaluating the severity of four types of
considerations that could be used to support a scientific
recommendation to reduce the ABC from the maximum permissible ABC. The
four considerations are assessment-related, population dynamics,
environmental/ecosystem, and fishery performance.
For the harvest specifications, the stock assessments that produce
the OFLs and ABCs have several levels of review. The AFSC internally
reviews the stock assessment, and then the Plan Team and SSC reviews
the stock assessment, which incorporates public comment during public
meetings. Also several stock assessments are peer reviewed using the
Center for Independent Experts, which is important in ensuring the
incorporation of the best scientific information available for the
conservation and management measures to ensure sustainability of our
Nation's living marine resources.
The annual determinations of TAC for each species or species group
may be based on a review of the biological condition of groundfish
stocks. SAFE documents prepared annually for the Council and NMFS
provide information on historical catch trends; updated estimates of
the MSY of the groundfish complex and its component species groups;
assessments of the stock condition of each target species; assessments
of the multispecies and ecosystem impacts of harvesting the groundfish
complex at current levels, the assessed condition of stocks, including
consideration of rebuilding depressed stocks; and alternative
harvesting strategies and related effects on the component species
group. The
[[Page 14953]]
SAFE reports also include the socioeconomic considerations that are
consistent with the goals of the FMPs for the groundfish, including the
need to promote efficiency in the utilization of fishery resources and
minimize costs; the need to manage for the optimum marketable size of a
species; the impact of groundfish harvests on prohibited species and
the domestic target fisheries that utilize these species; the desire to
enhance depleted stocks; the seasonal access to the groundfish fishery
by domestic fishing vessels; the commercial importance of a fishery to
local communities; the importance of a fishery to subsistence users;
and the need to promote utilization of certain species.
Comment 16: NMFS should take a hard look at minimizing impacts to
the seafloor on essential crab habitat, and minimizing unobserved
mortality due to fishing gear interactions. There should be a hard look
at all fishing gear groups on how to best balance this approach.
Response: NMFS implements the groundfish harvest specifications
process in accordance with the regulations set forth at 50 CFR part
679, which include regulations to close areas to fishing to protect
habitat, modify gear to minimize impacts to the seafloor, specify
allocations to specific gear and operational sectors, and limit PSC for
vessels using specific gear. These final specifications are developed
in accordance with these regulations. Any changes to the regulations to
address gear impacts are beyond the scope of the groundfish harvest
specifications process. Separate from the groundfish harvest
specifications process, the Council has recently taken action to look
at changes to reduce crab bycatch mortality and how to estimate
unobserved mortality for crab stocks.
Comment 17: Industry has inequitable access to the Council and
NMFS.
Response: These final harvest specifications were developed through
a public process that began with Plan Team review at September and
November meetings, which are open to the public. The SSC and Council
review occurred at their October and December meetings. These meetings
are also open to the public. The public can comment in writing and/or
orally at these meetings. Comments can be given in-person or virtually
for online participants. Finally, NMFS published the proposed harvest
specifications in the Federal Register for 30 days of public comment
(87 FR 76435, December 14, 2022). Included in both the proposed and
final specifications is a person of contact and their telephone number.
Additionally, information to guide the public through the Council and
regulatory processes are available on the Council web page (https://www.npfmc.org/) and NMFS Alaska Region web page (see ADDRESSES).
NMFS is cognizant that the Council and regulatory processes may be
unfamiliar to newer participants and interested individuals. NMFS will
endeavor to improve accessibility and outreach to the public to help
individuals and interested participants better understand Council and
regulatory processes and the opportunities and methods for public
input.
Classification
NMFS is issuing this final rule pursuant to section 305(d) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. Through previous actions, the FMP and regulations
are designed to authorize NMFS to take this action. See 50 CFR part
679. The NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that the final
harvest specifications are consistent with the FMP and with the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
This action is authorized under 50 CFR 679.20 and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866 because it only implements annual
catch limits in the BSAI.
NMFS prepared an EIS for the Alaska groundfish harvest
specifications and alternative harvest strategies (see ADDRESSES) and
made it available to the public on January 12, 2007 (72 FR 1512). On
February 13, 2007, NMFS issued the Record of Decision (ROD) for the
Final EIS. In January-February 2023, NMFS prepared a Supplementary
Information Report (SIR) for this action to provide a subsequent
assessment of the action and to address the need to prepare a
Supplemental EIS (SEIS) (40 CFR 1501.11(b); Sec. 1502.9(d)(1)). Copies
of the Final EIS, ROD, and annual SIRs for this action are available
from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). The Final EIS analyzes the environmental,
social, and economic consequences of the groundfish harvest
specifications and alternative harvest strategies on resources in the
action area. Based on the analysis in the Final EIS, NMFS concluded
that the preferred alternative (Alternative 2) provides the best
balance among relevant environmental, social, and economic
considerations and allows for continued management of the groundfish
fisheries based on the most recent, best scientific information. The
preferred alternative is a harvest strategy in which TACs are set at a
level within the range of ABCs recommended by the Council's SSC; the
sum of the TACs must achieve the OY specified in the FMP. While the
specific numbers that the harvest strategy produces may vary from year
to year, the methodology used for the preferred harvest strategy
remains constant.
The latest annual SIR evaluated the need to prepare an SEIS for the
2023 and 2024 groundfish harvest specifications. An SEIS must be
prepared if: (1) the agency makes substantial changes in the proposed
action that are relevant to environmental concerns; or (2) significant
new circumstances or information exist relevant to environmental
concerns and bearing on the proposed action or its impacts (Sec.
1502.9(d)(1)). After reviewing the information contained in the SIR and
SAFE report, the Regional Administrator has determined that: (1)
approval of the 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications, which were set
according to the preferred harvest strategy in the Final EIS, does not
constitute a substantial change in the action; and (2) there are no
significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental
concerns and bearing on the action or its impacts that are not
addressed through the annual process of using the preferred harvest
strategy to set the 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications. Additionally,
the 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications will result in environmental,
social, and economic impacts within the scope of those analyzed and
disclosed in the Final EIS. Therefore, an SEIS is not necessary to
implement the 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications.
A final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) was prepared.
Section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 604)
requires that, when an agency promulgates a final rule under 5 U.S.C.
553, after being required by that section or any other law, to publish
a general notice of proposed rulemaking, the agency shall prepare a
FRFA. The following constitutes the FRFA prepared for these final 2023
and 2024 harvest specifications.
Section 604 of the RFA describes the required contents of a FRFA:
(1) a statement of the need for, and objectives of, the rule; (2) a
statement of the significant issues raised by the public comments in
response to the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, a statement of
the assessment of the agency of such issues, and a statement of any
changes made in the proposed rule as a result of such comments; (3) the
response of the agency to any comments filed by the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration in response to the
proposed rule, and a detailed statement
[[Page 14954]]
of any change made to the proposed rule in the final rule as a result
of the comments; (4) a description of and an estimate of the number of
small entities to which the rule will apply or an explanation of why no
such estimate is available; (5) a description of the projected
reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements of the
rule, including an estimate of the classes of small entities which will
be subject to the requirement and the type of professional skills
necessary for preparation of the report or record; and (6) a
description of the steps the agency has taken to minimize the
significant economic impact on small entities consistent with the
stated objectives of applicable statutes, including a statement of the
factual, policy, and legal reasons for selecting the alternative
adopted in the final rule and why each one of the other significant
alternatives to the rule considered by the agency that affect the
impact on small entities was rejected.
A description of this action, its purpose, and its legal basis are
included at the beginning of the preamble to this final rule and are
not repeated here.
NMFS published the proposed rule on December 14, 2022 (87 FR
76435). NMFS prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA)
to accompany the proposed action, and included the IRFA in the proposed
rule. The comment period closed on January 13, 2023. No comments were
received on the IRFA or on the economic impacts of the rule more
generally. The Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration did not file any comments on the proposed rule.
The entities directly regulated by this action are those that
harvest groundfish in the exclusive economic zone of the BSAI and in
parallel fisheries within State waters. These include entities
operating CVs and CPs within the action area and entities receiving
direct allocations of groundfish.
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.
Using the most recent data available (2021), the estimated number
of directly regulated small entities includes approximately 146 CVs, 6
CPs, and 6 CDQ groups. Some of these vessels are members of AFA inshore
pollock cooperatives, Gulf of Alaska rockfish cooperatives, or BSAI
Crab Rationalization Program cooperatives, and, since under the RFA,
the aggregate gross receipts of all participating members of the
cooperative must meet the ``under $11 million'' threshold, the
cooperatives are considered to be large entities within the meaning of
the RFA. Thus, the estimate of 146 CVs may be an overstatement of the
number of small entities. Average gross revenues in 2021 were $700,000
for small hook-and-line vessels, $1.1 million for small pot vessels,
and $2.1 million for small trawl vessels. Average gross revenues for CP
entities are confidential.
This final rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
This action implements the final 2023 and 2024 harvest
specifications, apportionments, and prohibited species catch limits for
the groundfish fishery of the BSAI. This action is necessary to
establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2023 and 2024
fishing years and is taken in accordance with the FMP prepared by the
Council pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The establishment of the
final harvest specifications is governed by the Council's harvest
strategy for the catch of groundfish in the BSAI. The harvest strategy
was previously selected from among five alternatives. Under this
preferred alternative harvest strategy, TACs are set within the range
of ABCs recommended by the SSC; the sum of the TACs must achieve the OY
specified in the FMP; and while the specific TAC numbers that the
harvest strategy produces may vary from year to year, the methodology
used for the preferred harvest strategy remains constant. This final
action implements the preferred alternative harvest strategy previously
chosen by the Council to set TACs that fall within the range of ABCs
recommended through the Council harvest specifications process and as
recommended by the Council. This is the method for determining TACs
that has been used in the past.
The final 2023 and 2024 TACs associated with the preferred harvest
strategy are those recommended by the Council in December 2022. OFLs
and ABCs for each species and species group were based on
recommendations prepared by the Council's Plan Team, and reviewed by
the Council's SSC. The Council's TAC recommendations are consistent
with the SSC's OFL and ABC recommendations, and the sum of all TACs
remains within the OY for the BSAI consistent with Sec.
679.20(a)(1)(i)(A). Because setting all TACs equal to ABCs would cause
the sum of TACs to exceed an OY of 2 million mt, TACs for some species
and species groups are lower than the ABCs recommended by the Plan Team
and the SSC.
The final 2023 and 2024 OFLs and ABCs are based on the best
available biological information, including projected biomass trends,
information on assumed distribution of stock biomass, and revised
technical methods to calculate stock biomass. The final 2023 and 2024
TACs are based on the best available biological and socioeconomic
information. The final 2023 and 2024 OFLs, ABCs, and TACs are
consistent with the biological condition of groundfish stocks as
described in the 2022 SAFE report, which is the most recent, completed
SAFE report. Accounting for the most recent biological information to
set the final OFLs, ABCs, and TACs is consistent with the objectives
for this action, as well as National Standard 2 of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(2)) that actions shall be based on the best
scientific information available.
Under this action, the ABCs reflect harvest amounts that are less
than the specified overfishing levels. The TACs are within the range of
ABCs recommended by the SSC and do not exceed the biological limits
recommended by the SSC (the ABCs and OFLs). For some species and
species groups in the BSAI, the Council recommended, and NMFS sets,
TACs equal to ABCs, which is intended to maximize harvest opportunities
in the BSAI. However, NMFS cannot set TACs for all species in the BSAI
equal to their ABCs due to the constraining OY limit of 2 million mt.
For this reason, some final TACs are less than the final ABCs. These
specific reductions were reviewed and recommended by the Council's AP,
and then reviewed and adopted by the Council as the Council's
recommended final 2023 and 2024 TACs.
Based on the best available scientific data, and in consideration
of the Council's objectives for this action, there are no significant
alternatives that have the potential to accomplish the stated
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and any other applicable
statutes and that have the potential to minimize any significant
adverse economic impact of the final rule on small entities. This
action is economically beneficial to entities operating in the BSAI,
including small entities. The action specifies TACs for
[[Page 14955]]
commercially-valuable species in the BSAI and allows for the continued
prosecution of the fishery, thereby creating the opportunity for
fishery revenue. After public process, during which the Council
solicited input from stakeholders, the Council concluded that these
final harvest specifications would best accomplish the stated
objectives articulated in the preamble for this final rule and in
applicable statutes, and would minimize to the extent practicable
adverse economic impacts on the universe of directly regulated small
entities.
Adverse impacts on marine mammals, or endangered or threatened
species, resulting from fishing activities conducted under this rule
are discussed in the Final EIS and its accompanying annual SIRs (see
ADDRESSES).
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the date
of effectiveness for this rule because delaying the effective date of
this final rule is contrary to the public interest. The Plan Team
review of the 2022 SAFE report occurred in November 2022, and based on
the 2022 SAFE report the Council considered and recommended the final
harvest specifications in December 2022. Accordingly, NMFS's review of
the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications could not begin until
after the December 2022 Council meeting, and after the public had time
to comment on the proposed action.
For all fisheries not currently closed because the TACs established
under the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications (87 FR 11626,
March 2, 2022) were not reached, it is possible that they would be
closed prior to the expiration of a 30-day delayed effectiveness period
because their TACs could be reached within that period. If implemented
immediately, this rule would allow these fisheries to continue fishing
because some of the new TACs implemented by this rule are higher than
the TACs under which they are currently fishing.
In addition, immediate effectiveness of this action is required to
provide consistent management and conservation of fishery resources
based on the best available scientific information. This is
particularly pertinent for those species that have lower 2023 ABCs and
TACs than those established in the 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications
(87 FR 11626, March 2, 2022). If implemented immediately, this rule
would ensure that NMFS can properly manage those fisheries for which
this rule sets lower 2023 ABCs and TACs based on the most recent
biological information on the condition of stocks.
Certain fisheries, such as those for pollock, are intensive, fast-
paced fisheries. Other fisheries, such as those for sablefish,
flatfish, rockfish, Atka mackerel, skates, sharks, and octopuses, are
critical as directed fisheries and as incidental catch in other
fisheries. U.S. fishing vessels have demonstrated the capacity to catch
the TAC allocations in many of these fisheries. If the date of
effectiveness of this final rule were to be delayed 30 days and if a
TAC were to be reached during those 30 days, NMFS would be required to
close directed fishing or prohibit retention for the applicable
species. Any delay in allocating the final TACs in these fisheries
would cause confusion to the industry and potential economic harm
through unnecessary discards, thus undermining the intent of this rule.
Waiving the 30-day delay allows NMFS to prevent economic loss to
fishermen that could otherwise occur should the 2023 TACs (previously
set under the 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications) be reached.
Determining which fisheries may close is nearly impossible because
these fisheries are affected by several factors that cannot be
predicted in advance, including fishing effort, weather, movement of
fishery stocks, and market price. Furthermore, the closure of one
fishery has a cascading effect on other fisheries by freeing-up fishing
vessels, allowing them to move from closed fisheries to open ones,
increasing the fishing capacity in those open fisheries, and in turn
causing them to close at an accelerated pace.
In fisheries subject to declining sideboard limits, a failure to
implement the updated sideboard limits before initial season's end
could deny the intended economic protection to the non-sideboard
limited sectors. Conversely, in fisheries with increasing sideboard
limits, economic benefit could be denied to the sideboard-limited
sectors.
If these final harvest specifications are not effective by March
10, 2023, which is the start of the 2023 Pacific halibut season as
specified by the IPHC, the fixed gear sablefish fishery will not begin
concurrently with the Pacific halibut IFQ season. Delayed effectiveness
of this action would result in confusion for sablefish harvesters and
economic harm from the unnecessary discard of sablefish that are caught
along with Pacific halibut, as both fixed gear sablefish and Pacific
halibut are managed under the same IFQ program. Immediate effectiveness
of these final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications will allow the
sablefish IFQ fishery to begin concurrently with the Pacific halibut
IFQ season.
Finally, immediate effectiveness also would provide the fishing
industry the earliest possible opportunity to plan and conduct its
fishing operations with respect to new information about TAC limits.
Therefore, NMFS finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the date
of effectiveness for this rule under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
Small Entity Compliance Guide
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule,
and shall designate such publications as ``small entity compliance
guides.'' The tables contained in this final rule are provided online
and serve as the plain language guide to assist small entities in
complying with this final rule as required by the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This final rule's primary
purpose is to announce the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications
and prohibited species bycatch allowances for the groundfish fisheries
of the BSAI. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits and
associated management measures for groundfish during the 2023 and 2024
fishing years and is taken in accordance with the FMP prepared by the
Council pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This action directly
affects all fishermen who participate in the BSAI fisheries. The
specific amounts of OFL, ABC, TAC, and PSC amounts are provided in
tables in this final rule to assist the reader. This final rule also
contains plain language summaries of the underlying relevant
regulations supporting the harvest specifications and the harvest of
groundfish in the BSAI that the reader may find helpful.
Information to assist small entities in complying with this final
rule is provided online. The OFL, ABC, TAC, and PSC tables are
individually available online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/alaska-groundfish-harvest-specifications.
Explanatory information on the relevant regulations supporting the
harvest specifications is found in footnotes to the tables. Harvest
specification changes are also available from the same online source,
which includes applicable Federal Register notices, information
bulletins, and other supporting materials. NMFS will announce closures
of directed fishing in the Federal Register and information
[[Page 14956]]
bulletins released by the Alaska Region. Affected fishermen should keep
themselves informed of such closures.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 1540(f); 16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 3631 et seq.; Pub. L. 105-277; Pub. L. 106-
31; Pub. L. 106-554; Pub. L. 108-199; Pub. L. 108-447; Pub. L. 109-
241; Pub. L. 109-479.
Dated: March 6, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-04877 Filed 3-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
