Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Amendment 122 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program, 53704-53745 [2023-16526]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 8, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53704-53745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16526]



[[Page 53703]]

Vol. 88

Tuesday,

No. 151

August 8, 2023

Part IV





Department of Commerce





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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration





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15 CFR Part 902

50 CFR Part 679





Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Amendment 122 to 
the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands Management Area; Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative 
Program; Final Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 151 / Tuesday, August 8, 2023 / 
Rules and Regulations

[[Page 53704]]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

15 CFR Part 902

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 230728-0179]
RIN 0648-BL08


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Amendment 
122 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands Management Area; Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 122 to the 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). Amendment 122 establishes the 
Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program (PCTC Program or Program), a 
limited access privilege program (LAPP) to harvest Pacific cod in the 
BSAI trawl catcher vessel (CV) sector. The PCTC Program allocates 
Pacific cod harvest quota to qualifying groundfish License Limitation 
Program (LLP) license holders and qualifying processors and requires 
participants to form cooperatives to harvest the quota. This action is 
necessary to increase the value of the fishery, minimize bycatch to the 
extent practicable, provide for the sustained participation of fishery-
dependent communities, ensure the sustainability and viability of the 
resource, and promote safety and stability in the harvesting and 
processing sectors. This action is intended to promote the goals and 
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the BSAI FMP, and other applicable law.

DATES: This rule is effective on September 7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the Environmental Assessment (EA), the 
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the Social Impact Analysis 
(collectively referred to as the ``Analysis''), and the Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) prepared for this final rule may be obtained 
from https://www.regulations.gov in docket number NOAA-NMFS-2022-0072 
or from the NMFS Alaska Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this 
final rule may be submitted to NMFS Alaska Region, P.O. Box 21668, 
Juneau, AK 99802-1668, Attn: Gretchen Harrington; and to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find the particular information 
collection by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Warpinski, 907-586-7228 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS published a Notice of Availability for 
Amendment 122 in the Federal Register on December 30, 2022 (87 FR 
80519), with public comments invited through February 28, 2023. NMFS 
published a proposed rule to implement Amendment 122 in the Federal 
Register on February 9, 2023 (88 FR 8592) with public comments invited 
through March 13, 2023. The Secretary of Commerce approved Amendment 
122 on March 24, 2023 after considering information from the public and 
determining that Amendment 122 is consistent with the BSAI FMP, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws. NMFS received 16 
comment letters on Amendment 122 and the proposed rule. A summary of 
the comments and NMFS' responses are provided under the heading 
``Comments and Responses'' below.

Background

    The following background sections describe the PCTC Program and 
this final rule. A detailed description of the PCTC Program and its 
development is provided in the preamble to the proposed rule and in the 
Analysis.

I. Pacific Cod Management in the BSAI

    Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) is one of the most abundant and 
valuable groundfish species harvested in the BSAI. Vessels harvest 
Pacific cod using trawl and non-trawl gear. Vessels harvesting BSAI 
Pacific cod operate as CVs that harvest and deliver the fish for 
processing or as catcher/processors (CPs) that harvest and process the 
catch on board.
    The overfishing level (OFL), acceptable biological catch (ABC), and 
total allowable catch (TAC) for BSAI groundfish are specified through 
the annual harvest specification process. A detailed description of the 
annual harvest specification process is provided in the final 2023 and 
2024 harvest specifications for groundfish of the BSAI (88 FR 14926, 
March 10, 2023). For Pacific cod, the harvest specifications establish 
separate OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for the Bering Sea (BS) subarea and the 
Aleutian Islands (AI) subarea of the BSAI. Allocations of Pacific cod 
to the Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program sector and to the non-
CDQ fishery sectors are further apportioned by seasons. Season dates 
for the CDQ and non-CDQ fishery sectors are established at 50 CFR 
679.23(e)(5). In general, regulations apportion trawl gear allocations 
among three seasons that correspond to January 20-April 1 (A season), 
April 1-June 10 (B season), and June 10-November 1 (C season).
    The trawl CV sector is apportioned 22.1 percent of the BSAI Pacific 
cod non-CDQ TAC, which is further divided into seasonal allowances 
between the A, B, and C seasons. A season is issued 74 percent of the 
trawl CV sector's total apportionment, B season is issued 11 percent, 
and C season is issued 15 percent. After NMFS deducts estimated 
incidental catch from the trawl CV sector apportionment, each seasonal 
allowance is assigned to the trawl CV sector as a BSAI directed fishing 
allowance (DFA).
    NMFS implemented the Groundfish License Limitation Program (LLP) in 
1998 (63 FR 52642, Oct. 1, 1998) and issued LLP licenses to qualifying 
participants based on historical participation in the Federal 
groundfish fisheries off Alaska. A groundfish LLP license authorizes a 
vessel to participate in a directed fishery for groundfish in the BSAI 
in accordance with specific area and species endorsements, vessel and 
gear designations, and the maximum length overall (MLOA), or any 
exemption from the MLOA, specified on the license. All Federal Pacific 
cod harvesting activity in the BSAI requires an LLP license and the 
correct endorsements.
    AI endorsements issued to certain LLP licenses under Amendment 92 
to the BSAI FMP were intended to facilitate shoreside deliveries of 
Pacific cod to AI communities and provide additional harvest 
opportunities for non-American Fisheries Act (AFA) trawl vessels who 
had demonstrated a dependence on AI groundfish resources. The AI 
endorsements issued to LLP licenses used by non-AFA trawl CVs less than 
60 ft (18.3 m) length overall (LOA) are severable from the LLP license 
and transferable to another LLP licenses with a MLOA under 60 ft (18.3 
m) LOA. The transferability provision was intended to allow smaller 
vessels operational flexibility and avoid stranding an AI endorsement 
on an LLP

[[Page 53705]]

license being used by a vessel that no longer fished in the AI. No 
other area endorsement in the LLP can be transferred separately from an 
LLP license.

II. PCTC Program Overview

    The PCTC Program implements a complex suite of measures to improve 
fishery conditions for all participants. This Program establishes 
criteria for harvesters and processors in the BSAI trawl CV sector 
Pacific cod fishery to qualify for and receive quota share (QS), 
criteria for allocating QS in the initial year of implementation, and 
criteria for the transfer of QS. QS holders are required to join a 
cooperative (harvesters) or associate with a cooperative (processors). 
The aggregate QS of cooperative members and associated processors 
yields an exclusive harvest privilege for PCTC Program cooperatives, 
which NMFS will issue as cooperative quota (CQ) each year. CQ 
represents a portion of the A and B season BSAI trawl CV sector Pacific 
cod DFA. Of the total annual CQ, 77.5 percent is derived from QS issued 
to LLP licenses, and 22.5 percent is derived from QS issued to 
processors. The DFA for the C season remains available for harvest as a 
limited access fishery open to all CVs with the required trawl gear and 
area endorsements on the LLP license assigned to the vessel.
    The PCTC Program includes ownership and use caps to prevent a 
permit holder from acquiring an excessive share of the fishery as 
required under Magnuson-Stevens Act section 303A(c)(5)(D). No person is 
permitted to hold more than 5 percent of harvester-issued QS or 20 
percent of processor-issued QS. In addition, no vessel is allowed to 
harvest more than 5 percent of the annual CQ, and no company is allowed 
to process more than 20 percent of the annual CQ. The PCTC Program also 
includes legacy exemptions for persons over these ownership and use 
caps at the time of PCTC Program implementation, allowing participants 
to maintain levels of historical participation rather than forcing 
divestiture.
    The PCTC Program reduces the halibut and crab Prohibited Species 
Catch (PSC) limits for participating trawl CVs during the A and B 
seasons. NMFS will apportion halibut and crab PSC limits to PCTC 
Program cooperatives during the annual harvest specifications process 
based on the percentage of total BSAI Pacific cod CQ allocated to each 
cooperative.
    To support the sustained participation of AI communities in the 
Pacific cod trawl CV fishery, cooperatives are required to collectively 
set-aside 12 percent of the A season CQ for delivery to an Aleutian 
Islands shoreplant (AI CQ set-aside) during years in which an AI 
community representative notifies NMFS of their intent to process 
Pacific cod.
    The following sections describe the primary management measures 
included in the PCTC Program. Each Program element is discussed in 
further detail in the preamble to the proposed rule prepared for this 
action (88 FR 8592, February 9, 2023).

III. Quota Share for Harvesters and Processors

    NMFS established a PCTC Program official record containing all 
necessary information concerning legal landings of Pacific cod during 
the qualifying period, vessel and processor ownership, LLP license 
holdings, and any other information needed for assigning QS. NMFS will 
use the PCTC Program official record as of December 31, 2022 to 
establish the initial pool of QS that will be distributed to eligible 
harvesters and processors.

A. Initial Allocation of Quota Share for Harvesters

    Under the PCTC Program, NMFS will assign QS to eligible LLP 
licenses. ``Eligible PCTC Program LLP license'' means an LLP license 
that has qualifying catch history (i.e., was assigned to a vessel that 
made qualifying legal landings) of targeted trawl CV BSAI Pacific cod 
during the qualifying years. The amount of QS allocated to individual 
LLP licenses is determined by historic participation relative to other 
LLP licenses, as described below.
    ``Legal landings'' means the retained catch of Pacific cod caught 
by a CV using trawl gear in the BSAI during the directed fishing season 
for Pacific cod that was: (1) made in compliance with state and Federal 
regulations in effect at that time, (2) recorded on a State of Alaska 
fish ticket or shoreside logbook for shoreside deliveries or in 
observer data for mothership deliveries, and (3) was the predominately 
retained species on the fishing trip (i.e., Pacific cod was targeted). 
A legal landing must have been authorized by either (1) an LLP license 
participating in the A or B season of a Federal or parallel State water 
groundfish fishery during the qualifying years 2009 to 2019, or (2) an 
LLP license with a transferable AI endorsement that, prior to receiving 
that AI endorsement, participated in the AI parallel fishery from 
January 20, 2004 through September 13, 2009. NMFS determines which LLP 
license(s) were assigned to CVs that harvested and offloaded Pacific 
cod that met all legal landings requirements. Legal landings for the 
PCTC Program do not include landings in the CDQ fishery, in the State 
of Alaska Guideline Harvest Level fishery, or made during the C season 
by vessels participating in a Federal or parallel State water fishery.
    Under this final rule, the Regional Administrator will allocate 
PCTC Program QS to an LLP license holder who submits a timely 
Application for PCTC Program QS that is approved by NMFS. For each LLP 
license without a transferable AI endorsement, NMFS will assign a 
specific number of PCTC Program QS units based on the BSAI trawl CV 
Pacific cod legal landings of that LLP license using information from 
the PCTC Program official record according to the following procedures:
    (1) Determine the BSAI trawl CV Pacific cod legal landings 
authorized by an LLP license for each calendar year from 2009 through 
2019.
    (2) Drop from consideration the calendar year in which the LLP 
license had the least amount of legal landings. If an LLP license had 
one or more years with zero harvest, drop one of those years.
    (3) Sum the Pacific cod legal landings for the 10 years in which 
each LLP license had the most landings. This yields the QS units for 
each LLP license.
    For each LLP license with a transferable AI endorsement, NMFS will 
assign a specific number of PCTC Program QS units based on the legal 
landings of each vessel that was used to generate the transferable AI 
endorsement and subsequent legal landings authorized by the LLP license 
associated with the endorsement using information from the PCTC Program 
official record according to the following procedures:
    (1) Determine the BSAI trawl CV Pacific cod legal landings for each 
vessel used to generate the transferable AI endorsement from January 
20, 2004 through September 13, 2009 and the LLP license associated with 
that transferable AI endorsement from September 14, 2009 through the 
end of 2019.
    (2) Drop from consideration the calendar year which the vessel used 
to generate the transferable AI endorsement (January 20, 2004-September 
13, 2009) or the associated LLP license (2009-2019) and during which 
the vessel had the least amount of legal landings. If a vessel or LLP 
license had one or more years with zero harvest, drop one of those 
years.

[[Page 53706]]

    (3) Sum the Pacific cod legal landings of the highest fifteen years 
for each LLP license with transferable AI endorsement. This yields the 
QS units for each LLP license with a transferable AI endorsement.
    After the QS units for the LLP licenses with and without 
transferable AI endorsements are determined under part 3 of each 
scenario above, NMFS sums all harvester QS units to calculate the 
harvesters' total QS pool. NMFS will then determine what portion of the 
77.5 percent of the A and B season DFA allocated as harvester QS is 
represented by each LLP license's QS units. To do so, NMFS will divide 
each LLP license's total QS units by the sum ([Sigma]) of all QS units 
for all eligible LLP licenses based on the PCTC Program official record 
as presented in the following equation:

LLP license's QS units/([Sigma] QS units for all LLP licenses) x 100 
= Percentage of the total harvester QS pool allocated to that 
eligible LLP license.

    The result (quotient) of this equation is the percentage of the 
total harvesters' portion of PCTC Program QS allocation (which is 77.5 
percent of the A and B season DFA) that a QS holder can assign to a 
cooperative each year.
    NMFS will not divide QS among LLP licenses. The current LLP license 
owner is entitled to all QS derived from the LLP license and 
transferable AI endorsement catch history, unless compensation was 
required by a private agreement associated with the sale of the LLP 
license.
    Some legal landings during 2009 through 2019 were made by vessels 
with two or more associated LLP licenses. In these cases, NMFS will 
assign the qualifying catch history to a single LLP license in one of 
two ways. First, the LLP license owners may come to an agreement 
regarding the division of qualifying catch history and submit this 
agreement to NMFS when they apply for QS. Second, if no agreement is 
provided by the LLP license holders, the owner of the vessel that made 
the qualifying catch can assign the history to one of the LLP licenses 
that authorized the catch.

B. Initial Allocation of Quota Share for Processors

    ``Eligible PCTC Program processor'' means a processing facility 
with an active Federal Fisheries Permit (FFP) or Federal Processing 
Permit (FPP) (subject to eligibility requirements under Amendment 120 
to the BSAI FMP to limit CPs acting as mothership) that has 
historically received Pacific cod legal landings during the PCTC 
Program qualifying years. NMFS will issue QS to the owner of an 
eligible PCTC Program processor based on deliveries of legal landings 
in the Federal BSAI Pacific cod trawl fishery in the A and B seasons 
for each calendar year from 2009 through 2019, with the calendar year 
in which the processor received the least amount of legal landings 
dropped from the calculation. Owners of eligible PCTC Program 
processors must submit a timely and complete Application for PCTC 
Program QS.
    Processors that are no longer active (i.e., no longer hold an FPP 
or FFP upon the effective date of this final rule) will not be issued 
QS. The processing history associated with those processors will be 
deducted from the total amount of eligible processing history during 
the qualifying years when calculating the distribution of QS to 
processors.
    NMFS will assign a specific number of PCTC Program QS units to each 
processor's PCTC Program QS permit based on the qualifying legal 
landings delivered to the processor using information from the PCTC 
Program official record according to the following procedures:
    (1) Determine the BSAI trawl CV Pacific cod legal landings in the A 
and B seasons delivered to each eligible processor for each calendar 
year from 2009 through 2019.
    (2) Drop from consideration the calendar year in which the 
processor received the least amount of legal landings. If a processor 
had one or more years with zero processing of Pacific cod legal 
landings, drop one of those years.
    (3) Sum the Pacific cod legal landings of the highest 10 years for 
each eligible processor. This yields the QS units for each processor.
    (4) Divide the QS units for each eligible processor by the sum 
([Sigma]) of all QS units for all processors based on the PCTC official 
record as presented in the following equation:

Processor's QS units/[Sigma] all processor QS units x 100 = 
Percentage of the total processor QS allocation for that processor.

    The result (quotient) of this equation is the percentage of the 
total processors' portion of PCTC Program QS allocation (which is 22.5 
percent of the A and B season DFA) that a QS holder can assign to a 
cooperative each year.

             Table 1--PCTC Program Initial QS Pool in Units
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         PCTC Program initial QS pool in
                Species                               units
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pacific cod (Holders of LLP Licenses     [Sigma] highest 10 years of
 with no transferable AI endorsement).    BSAI Pacific cod catch history
                                          in metric tons in the PCTC
                                          official record as of December
                                          31, 2022 for LLP license
                                          holders.
Pacific cod (Holders of LLP licenses     [Sigma] highest 15 years of
 with a transferable AI endorsement).     BSAI Pacific cod catch history
                                          in metric tons in the PCTC
                                          official record as of December
                                          31, 2022 for holders of LLP
                                          licenses with a transferable
                                          AI endorsement.
Pacific cod (All processors)...........  [Sigma] highest 10 years BSAI
                                          Pacific cod processing history
                                          in metric tons in the PCTC
                                          official record as of December
                                          31, 2022 for that BSAI Pacific
                                          cod for eligible processors.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Application for PCTC Program QS

    A person must submit an Application for PCTC Program QS in order to 
receive an initial allocation of PCTC QS. NMFS requires an application 
to ensure that QS is assigned to the appropriate person(s) and to 
provide a process for resolving claims of legal landings that are 
contrary to the PCTC Program official record. Once a person submits an 
Application for PCTC Program QS that is approved by NMFS, that person 
will not need to resubmit an application for QS in future years. NMFS 
will post a list of the eligible PCTC Program LLP license holders and 
the eligible PCTC Program processors on the NMFS Alaska Region web page 
(see ADDRESSES).
    NMFS will mail an application package to the address on record for 
all potentially eligible LLP license holders and processors. This 
package will include a letter informing potentially eligible LLP 
license holders and processors whether NMFS has determined they are 
eligible to receive QS, and if so, the amount of QS calculated by NMFS 
based on qualifying catch or processing history from the PCTC Program 
official record.
    Applications will also be available on the NMFS Alaska Region web 
page (see

[[Page 53707]]

ADDRESSES), and interested persons can also contact NMFS RAM to request 
an application package.
    An Application for PCTC Program QS can be submitted electronically 
or by mail as indicated in the instructions provided on the 
application. A completed Application for PCTC Program QS must be 
received by NMFS no later than 1700 hours AKST on October 10, 2023, or 
if sent by U.S. mail, postmarked by that time. Objective written 
evidence of timely application will be considered proof of a timely 
application. If participants do not submit an application by the 
deadline, they will forfeit their PCTC Program QS.
    If a participant agrees with the PCTC Program official record 
summary, they still must submit an Application for PCTC Program QS by 
the deadline.
    If a participant did not receive an application package from NMFS, 
they may still apply for QS by submitting an Application for PCTC 
Program QS and providing evidence of qualifying participation in the 
BSAI trawl CV sector Pacific cod fishery by the application deadline.
    If a participant would like to receive QS and does not agree with 
the PCTC Program official record summary, they must complete an 
Application for PCTC Program QS by the application deadline and provide 
evidence of any claims of participation that are contrary to the 
official record.
    If an LLP license holder's PCTC Program official record summary 
includes shared catch history, the participants with shared catch 
history must execute an agreement specifying the amount of shared catch 
history to assign to each LLP license. If NMFS does not receive an 
agreement, the owner of the catcher vessel designated on the LLP 
licenses at the time of harvest will determine the amount of QS 
assigned to each permit.

D. QS Application Review and Appeals

    If any applicant disagrees with NMFS's initial calculations and 
provides documentation with their Application for PCTC Program QS to 
support a claim of catch history that is different from the PCTC 
Program official record, NMFS will determine whether such documentation 
is sufficient to amend the official record. If so, NMFS will issue QS 
to the applicant. If not, NMFS will inform the applicant that the 
submitted documentation was insufficient and provide the applicant with 
a 30-day evidentiary period to further support their claims. After the 
close of the 30-day evidentiary period, NMFS will make its final 
decision about the official record and issue an initial administrative 
determinations (IAD) to the applicant. Applicants who disagree with the 
IAD may appeal NMFS's decision through the NOAA National Appeals Office 
according to the procedures found at 50 CFR 679.43.
    NMFS will identify in an IAD any deficiencies or discrepancies in 
the application, including any deficiencies in the information or 
evidence submitted to support an applicant's claims challenging the 
official record. NMFS's IAD will state which claims cannot be approved 
based on the available information or evidence and provide information 
on how an applicant can appeal an IAD. An applicant who appeals an IAD 
will not receive QS for contested landings data unless and until the 
appeal is resolved in the applicant's favor. Once NMFS has approved an 
Application for PCTC Program QS in its entirety, NMFS will assign QS 
units to an applicant's LLP license or issue a processor a PCTC Program 
QS permit with a specified number of QS units.
    For the 2024 fishing season, NMFS will issue CQ to cooperatives 
based on the QS held by cooperative members at the time of CQ issuance. 
Any ongoing appeals or QS transfers allowed under the 90-day transfer 
window for AFA non-exempt CVs will apply to subsequent fishing years.

E. Transferring QS

    Under the PCTC Program, QS holders may transfer QS concurrently 
with the transfer of the LLP license, AI endorsement, or processor PCTC 
Program QS permit. In order to transfer QS, a QS holder must submit to 
NMFS an Application for Transfer of License Limitation Program 
Groundfish/Crab License or the Application for Transfer of Pacific Cod 
Trawl Cooperative Program Quota Share (QS) for Processors. Transfer of 
QS requires approval by NMFS to properly track ownership caps. For 
harvesters, QS may be transferred with an LLP license or a transferable 
AI endorsement to another person through the existing LLP transfer 
provisions described in regulations at 50 CFR 679.4(k)(7). Each 
application must include any additional information needed for the 
transfer of QS, including amount of QS to be transferred (generally all 
QS attached to the license), the transferee, and the sale price of QS. 
Applications are available on the NMFS Alaska Region web page (see 
ADDRESSES). Complete applications can be submitted to NMFS 
electronically.
    To facilitate cooperative formation under the PCTC Program in the 
first year, QS transfers submitted after November 1 and prior to the 
start of PCTC Program fishing season will be applied to the following 
year, meaning if a transfer was submitted in December 2023, the 
transfer would not be applied until after the PCTC Program fishing 
season ends in 2024.
    Under Amendment 92, the AI endorsements issued to LLP licenses used 
by non-AFA trawl CVs less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA are severable from 
the LLP license they were initially issued and transferable to another 
LLP licenses with a MLOA under 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA. NMFS modified the 
LLP license transfer regulations to clarify the process for 
transferring an AI endorsement independent of the LLP license. As part 
of the application process, a person must specify the LLP license to 
which the transferred AI area endorsement will be assigned.
    Once PCTC Program QS is issued, the QS units will remain attached 
to the associated LLP license or processor's PCTC Program QS permit in 
most circumstances and cannot be severed or otherwise transferred 
independently. There are several limited exceptions to non-
severability: (1) QS can be fully or partially transferred during the 
limited 90-day transfer provision for non-exempt AFA CVs; (2) QS 
attached to LLP licenses with a transferable AI endorsement can be 
transferred along with the endorsement to another LLP license that 
meets the criteria for a transferable AI endorsement (endorsements 
cannot be stacked on a single LLP); (3) if a participant qualifies for 
a legacy exemption and receives an initial allocation of QS in excess 
of the ownership cap, that participant's QS can be split during a 
transfer to prevent any recipient from exceeding a cap; and (4) QS can 
be separated from a processor QS permit in any transfer of processor-
held QS if necessary to prevent any transferee from exceeding an 
ownership or use cap.
Ninety Day Transfer Window for Non-Exempt AFA LLP Holders
    For LLP licenses associated with AFA non-exempt vessels, within 90 
days of initial issuance of QS, the owner of the LLP license may 
transfer QS to another LLP license associated with an AFA non-exempt 
vessel. These QS transfers are subject to the QS ownership cap. This 
provision allows LLP license holders that engaged in AFA sideboard 
harvesting agreements during the qualifying period to transfer 
resulting QS back to the originating LLP license.
    The transferor and the transferee must submit to NMFS a letter, 
signed by both persons, as evidence of their agreement to transfer the 
QS in this one-time

[[Page 53708]]

opportunity. In the letter, they must explain how much QS will be 
transferred and to which LLP license or licenses. If only one party 
submits evidence of an agreement, the QS will remain with the LLP 
license to which it was initially assigned.

F. QS Ownership Caps

    The PCTC program includes QS ownership caps to prevent a permit 
holder from acquiring an excessive share of the fishery as required 
under Magnuson-Stevens Act Section 303A(c)(5)(D). Individual ownership 
caps for both harvesters and processors are calculated using the 
``individual and collective rule'' which means a person is deemed to 
own QS in the same percentage that person owns or uses the relevant 
license, permit, or vessel. If a person owns QS equal to the cap, NMFS 
will not approve a transfer of additional QS to that person. The PCTC 
Program also includes CQ use caps, described in sections IV.E and IV.F.
Harvester QS Ownership Cap--5 Percent
    With the exception of persons qualifying for the legacy exemption, 
no person is permitted to individually or collectively own more than 5 
percent of the aggregate QS units initially assigned to eligible LLP 
licenses. The number of QS units is based on the PCTC Program official 
record. When QS is transferred, the person receiving the transfer is 
prohibited from holding or using QS over the 5 percent cap. This QS 
ownership cap limits the amount of QS assigned to an LLP license that 
can be held or controlled by a single entity. Processor QS does not 
count toward this ownership cap.
Processor QS Ownership Cap--20 Percent
    With the exception of persons qualifying for the legacy exemption, 
no person is permitted to individually or collectively own more than 20 
percent of the aggregate QS units initially assigned to QS permits held 
by eligible processors. Processor QS ownership caps are necessarily 
higher than harvester-held QS caps because the total number of eligible 
processors is significantly less than the number of harvesters. This 
cap is applied at the aggregate company or firm level (not the 
individual facility level). The processor QS ownership cap limits the 
amount of processor-held QS that can be held or controlled by a single 
entity.
Legacy Exemption From the Ownership Caps
    Under the PCTC Program, persons over the cap at the time of QS 
issuance are granted non-transferable legacy exemptions. Because the 
ownership caps fall well short of excessive shares in the fishery and 
allocating QS based on status quo levels of participation would not 
result in any participant holding an excessive share of limited access 
privileges, the Program grants legacy exemptions to participants whose 
initial QS allocations exceed the ownership caps. The legacy exemptions 
are intended to preserve stability in the fishery rather than force 
longtime participants to divest and reduce their reliance on the 
fishery. However, legacy exemptions are unique to persons receiving 
initial QS allocations and cannot be transferred. All future purchasers 
of QS would be subject to the ownership caps.

G. Transferring QS in Excess of the Ownership Caps

    NMFS will not approve transfers of an LLP license with QS or a PCTC 
Program QS permit if the transfer would cause a person to exceed the 5 
percent harvester QS ownership cap or the 20 percent processor QS 
ownership cap.
    For LLP licenses and PCTC Program QS permit holders that are 
initially issued QS greater than the ownership cap (i.e., for persons 
granted a legacy exemption from the ownership cap), the LLP license 
holder or QS permit holder may sever the amount of QS over the cap from 
the permit (and, once severed, transfer to one or more buyers) at the 
time of transfer. This provision allows the transfer of an LLP license 
or PCTC Program QS permit subject to a legacy exemption without the 
transferee exceeding a QS ownership cap. In addition, for QS assigned 
to a processor holding a PCTC Program QS permit--even if the transferor 
does not hold QS in excess of any cap--QS can be divided or transferred 
separately from that processor permit if a sale will otherwise result 
in the transferee exceeding an ownership cap.
    If a QS holder has a legacy exemption from the QS ownership cap, 
NMFS will not approve a QS transfer to that person unless and until 
that person's holdings of QS are reduced to an amount below the QS 
ownership cap.

IV. PCTC Program Cooperatives

    The PCTC Program is a cooperative-based program that requires 
harvesters to join a cooperative each year and processors to associate 
with a cooperative each year to benefit from QS holdings. NMFS will 
issue cooperatives annual CQ derived from the QS held by the harvesters 
that join the cooperative and associated processors. Under the Program, 
cooperative members are expected to coordinate their fishing 
operations, potentially reduce operational expenses, and increase the 
quality and revenue from the product, among other benefits.

A. Requirements for Forming a Cooperative

    Under the PCTC Program, forming a cooperative requires at least 
three LLP licenses with QS. Annually, each cooperative must associate 
with at least one permitted processor. There is no limitation on the 
number of LLP licenses that may join a single cooperative, the number 
of processors a cooperative can associate with, or on the amount of QS 
a single cooperative can control. There is also no limit on the number 
of cooperatives that may form, but each LLP license may only be 
assigned to one cooperative. A person may hold multiple LLP licenses, 
meaning that an individual who holds three or more LLP licenses may 
form a cooperative in association with a processor.
    An LLP license holder may change cooperatives and processor 
associations may change annually without penalty. However, an LLP 
license holder with QS may not change cooperatives and cooperatives may 
not change their processor associations during the PCTC Program fishing 
season. If an LLP license is sold or transferred during the season, it 
will remain with the cooperative until the end of the season. Inter-
cooperative formation is allowed and an inter-cooperative agreement 
(see section IV.B) is required to implement the AI set-aside and to 
allow for efficient transfer of CQ or PSC limits between cooperatives.
    NMFS will issue annual CQ to each cooperative based on the 
aggregate QS held by all cooperative members and associated processors. 
CQ constitutes an exclusive harvest privilege for the A and B seasons. 
NMFS will issue CQ by season and rely on the cooperatives to ensure the 
seasonal limits are not exceeded. Any unused A season CQ may be 
harvested during the B season. Cooperative members will determine their 
own harvest strategy, including which vessels can harvest the CQ.
    CQ is not designated for the BS or AI subareas separately, but may 
be harvested from either area because the non-CDQ Pacific cod sector 
allocations are BSAI wide. If the non-CDQ Pacific cod TAC is or will be 
reached in either the BS or the AI subareas, NMFS will

[[Page 53709]]

prohibit non-CDQ directed fishing for Pacific cod in that subarea as 
provided at Sec.  679.20(d)(1)(iii). However, NMFS will annually 
establish a separate AI DFA to support the calculation of the AI set-
aside. For more information, see Section VI of this preamble. Under 
certain conditions, cooperatives would be required to collectively set 
aside 12 percent of the A season CQ for delivery to an AI shoreplant as 
described further under the AI Community Protections section below.
    Cooperatives are limited in the manner in which they distribute CQ 
derived from processor-held QS for harvest by cooperative vessels. To 
address vertically integrated companies where a processing company may 
also own LLP licenses or CVs within a cooperative, CQ derived from 
processor-held QS must be divided among cooperative harvesting CVs 
proportionately to the QS attached to LLP licenses on board the CVs. In 
other words, a cooperative should not allow a CV or LLP license owned 
by a processor to harvest a greater proportion of the CQ resulting from 
processor-held QS than the LLP license will have brought into the 
cooperative absent any processor-held QS. Each cooperative will monitor 
this provision and include reporting on harvest of CQ resulting from 
processor-held QS in the PCTC Program cooperative annual report to the 
North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council).

B. Application for PCTC Program Cooperative Quota (CQ)

    All participants in the Program must organize into cooperatives, 
and the cooperative must submit a complete Application for PCTC Program 
CQ prior to the November 1 deadline each year to receive an annual CQ 
permit. If the cooperative fails to submit a timely application for CQ, 
NMFS will not issue CQ to the cooperative for that fishing year.
    NMFS will process the application for CQ and, if approved, issue a 
CQ permit and apportioned amounts of annual crab PSC and halibut PSC 
limits to the cooperative. NMFS will use these applications to issue CQ 
permits, establish annual cooperative accounts for catch accounting 
purposes, and identify specific harvester vessels for each cooperative. 
As with other LAPPs, the information received in this application is 
annually used to review ownership and control information for various 
QS holders to ensure that QS and CQ use caps are not exceeded. 
Processors that receive deliveries of CQ but do not hold a QS permit do 
not need to be listed on the application for CQ.
    The Application for PCTC Program CQ is available on the NMFS Alaska 
Region website and may be submitted electronically through the NMFS 
online system or the NMFS Alaska Region website. The following list 
summarizes the information that is required:
     PCTC Program LLP license identification numbers;
     Processor-held PCTC Program QS permit number(s) and name 
of the processor that holds that each QS permit;
     PCTC Program QS ownership documentation;
     PCTC Program cooperative business address or identifier 
identification;
     Members of the PCTC Program cooperative and the associated 
processor that holds a QS permit;
     Trawl vessel identification, including the name(s) and 
USCG documentation number of vessel(s) eligible to harvest the CQ 
issued to the PCTC Program cooperative;
     A copy of the business license issued by the state in 
which the PCTC cooperative is registered as a business entity;
     A copy of the articles of incorporation or partnership 
agreement of the PCTC Program cooperative;
     A list of the names of all persons, to the individual 
level, holding an ownership interest in the LLP licenses that join the 
cooperative and the percentage ownership each person and individual 
holds in each LLP license;
     A list of trawl CVs eligible to harvest a portion of that 
cooperative's CQ;
     A copy of the cooperative agreement signed by the members 
of the PCTC Program cooperative, which must include, at a minimum, the 
following terms: (1) QS holders affiliated with processors cannot 
participate in price setting negotiations except as permitted by 
antitrust law; (2) monitoring provisions, including sideboard 
protections in the GOA, sufficient to ensure compliance with the PCTC 
Program; and (3) a provision that specifies the obligations of PCTC QS 
holders who are members of the cooperative to ensure the full payment 
of cost recovery fees that may be due;
     A copy of the inter-cooperative agreement that provides 
the plan for coordinating harvest and delivery of the AI CQ set-aside;
     Designated representative and cooperative members' 
signatures and certification; and
     Authorization for the designated representative to act on 
behalf of the cooperative to complete the application.

C. Issuing PCTC CQ

    NMFS will review the CQ applications for accurate information, 
including cooperative and inter-cooperative agreements, ownership and 
use caps, and payment of any fees, including cost recovery. If 
approved, NMFS will issue a CQ permit to the cooperative. NMFS will 
issue CQ permits after the annual harvest specifications are 
recommended by the Council for the upcoming year. Permits will 
generally be issued in early January for the fishing year starting 
January 20. The CQ permit will list the metric tons of Pacific cod by A 
and B season that the cooperative may harvest, the metric tons of 
apportioned halibut PSC, and the number of each species of crab PSC 
that the cooperative may use during the fishing year.
    NMFS will issue CQ for A and B seasons separately, with total CQ 
issued to all cooperatives in each season equal to the DFA. The 
remaining TAC for the trawl CV sector will be the incidental catch 
allowance (ICA) for Pacific cod caught as bycatch in other fisheries, 
such as pollock.

D. Processors in Cooperatives

    A person holding a PCTC Program QS permit is required to associate 
with a cooperative to use their QS. This creates an economic incentive 
for the processors that hold QS to either associate with a cooperative 
on an annual basis or sell their permit to a processor that will 
associate with a cooperative. Processor-held QS that is not associated 
with a specific cooperative will be distributed as CQ among all the 
cooperatives that form in a given year in the same proportion as the CQ 
assigned to each cooperative. A cooperative may associate with a 
processor that does not hold QS.

E. Vessel CQ Use Cap--5 Percent

    A vessel use cap restricts the CQ that can be consolidated and 
harvested by one vessel during the year. The PCTC Program includes a 5 
percent vessel use cap for CVs. With the exception of persons 
qualifying under the legacy exemption, no vessel is permitted to 
harvest more than 5 percent of the annual CQ issued in the fishery. A 
vessel designated on an LLP license that receives QS in excess of the 
QS ownership cap at the time of QS issuance will be granted a legacy 
exemption from the vessel use cap because that vessel would have 
harvested over 5 percent of the total A and B season trawl CV sector 
Pacific cod allocation during the qualifying years. The legacy 
exemption applies to the

[[Page 53710]]

vessel designated on an LLP license that yields more than 5 percent of 
the QS at the time of initial allocation. This legacy exemption is not 
transferable if the LLP license is transferred to a new owner.

F. Processor CQ Use Cap--20 Percent

    A processor's CQ use cap protects against excessive consolidation 
of processing activity by limiting a person (i.e., company or firm) to 
processing no more than 20 percent of the annual CQ using the 
individual and collective rule, with the exception of persons 
qualifying under the legacy exemption. The processor CQ use cap is 
calculated based on the total CQ issued under the PCTC Program and not 
just QS initially issued to processors. This ensures that a processing 
company is limited to processing a specific percentage of the total 
PCTC Program allocation. A person over the cap at the time of QS 
issuance--i.e., a processor that, on average, processed more than 20 
percent of the total A and B season trawl CV sector Pacific cod 
allocation during the qualifying years--is granted a non-transferable 
legacy exemption.

G. CQ and PSC Transfers

    Under this Program, a cooperative may transfer all or part of its 
CQ to another cooperative for harvest subject to the limitations 
imposed by the use caps. Transfers of CQ are for a single year's annual 
allocation. The underlying QS remains with the LLP license. This CQ 
transfer provision provides flexibility for cooperatives to transfer 
Pacific cod for harvest or PSC to support cooperative fishing. The 
ability to transfer PSC allows cooperatives to account for unforeseen 
circumstances, but the incentive to avoid hitting a cooperative PSC 
limit remains because of the cost of acquiring PSC from another 
cooperative.
    This final rule allows post-delivery transfers of CQ, but all 
transfers must be completed prior to August 1, after the close of the B 
season. At the end of the fishing season, remaining CQ may be 
consolidated into fewer cooperatives (and for harvest by fewer vessels) 
due to the requirement that a vessel may not begin a fishing trip 
without unharvested CQ. Consolidation of CQ to a smaller number of 
cooperatives toward the end of the fishing season facilitates ``sweep 
up'' trips to complete the season's harvests.
    To transfer CQ and associated PSC limits between cooperatives, the 
cooperative must use the NMFS online system on the NMFS Alaska Region 
website, which allows for automated review and approval of transfer 
requests within use cap constraints. NMFS will not approve a CQ 
transfer if the transfer would result in a CV exceeding the use cap. A 
transfer of CQ is not effective until approved by NMFS.

H. Cooperative Reports

    Under the PCTC Program, the Council has requested cooperatives to 
provide voluntary annual reports. Consistent with other cooperative 
programs developed by the Council, these reports shall include specific 
information on the structure, function, and operation of the 
cooperatives.
    Each year, the Council will receive reports outlining the 
cooperatives' performance at one of its regularly scheduled meetings. 
These reports will be used by the Council and NMFS to ensure the 
program is functioning as intended and to solicit timely information on 
issues that may need to be addressed by the Council. The Council 
requested that each cooperative report include information on CQ 
leasing activities and any penalties issued, harvest of CQ resulting 
from processor-held QS, cooperative membership, cooperative management, 
and performance (including implementation of the AI CQ set-aside when 
in effect).

V. Prohibited Species Catch Limits

    NMFS will annually apportion halibut and crab PSC limits to PCTC 
Program cooperatives based on the percentage of total CQ allocated to 
their cooperative. During the A and B seasons, NMFS will monitor PSC 
use at the sector level, and cooperatives will manage PSC use at the 
cooperative level. Cooperative vessels are prohibited from fishing 
under the Program if a halibut PSC limit is reached for the cooperative 
or from fishing in a crab bycatch limitation zone if a crab PSC limit 
is reached in that relevant area. PSC limits may be transferred between 
cooperatives using the NMFS online system to cover any overages or to 
allow a cooperative to continue harvesting Pacific cod.

A. Halibut PSC

    Annually, NMFS will apportion the halibut PSC limit assigned to the 
BSAI trawl limited access sector Pacific cod fishery to the trawl CV 
and AFA CP sectors; 98 percent will be apportioned to the trawl CV 
sector and 2 percent will be apportioned to AFA CP sector. The specific 
percentage of the total halibut PSC limit assigned to the trawl limited 
access sector may change annually. NMFS will then apportion the halibut 
PSC limit to the trawl CV sector for the A, B, and C season. Of the 
halibut PSC limit apportioned to the trawl CV sector, 95 percent will 
be available for the PCTC Program in the A and B seasons and 5 percent 
is available for the C season.
    To implement the halibut PSC reduction under the Program, NMFS will 
annually apply a fixed percentage reduction to the A and B season PSC 
apportionment derived from the overall trawl CV sector halibut PSC 
apportionment. The total halibut PSC reduction under the Program is 25 
percent, which will be phased in over two years. In the first year of 
the Program, NMFS will apply a 12.5 percent reduction to the A and B 
season trawl CV sector halibut PSC apportionment in the annual harvest 
specifications after the Council recommends and NMFS approves the BSAI 
trawl limited access sector's PSC limit apportionments to fishery 
categories. In the second year of the Program and every year 
thereafter, NMFS will apply a 25 percent reduction to the A and B 
season trawl CV sector halibut PSC apportionment. Any amount of the 
PCTC Program PSC limit remaining after the B season will be reallocated 
to the trawl CV limited access fishery in the C season. Because the 
annual halibut PSC limit for the Program is not a fixed amount 
established in regulation and, instead, is determined annually through 
the harvest specification process, NMFS must apply the 25 percent 
reduction to the A and B season apportionment of the trawl CV sector 
apportionment to implement the overall PSC reductions under the 
Program.

B. Crab PSC

    The annual crab PSC limits available to the BSAI trawl limited 
access sector Pacific cod fishery category will be apportioned between 
the trawl CV sector and the AFA CP sector based on the proportion of 
BSAI Pacific cod allocated to the two sectors: 90.6 percent to BSAI 
trawl CVs and 9.4 percent to AFA CPs. Of the crab PSC limit apportioned 
to the trawl CV sector, 95 percent will be available for the PCTC 
Program (A and B seasons) and 5 percent will be available for the C 
season. NMFS will then reduce the crab PSC limits by 35 percent during 
the A and B seasons for the PCTC Program. As with halibut PSC, any 
amount of the PCTC Program PSC limit remaining after the B season will 
be reallocated to the C season trawl CV limited access fishery.

VI. AI Community Protections

    Under the PCTC Program, cooperatives are required to collectively 
set aside an amount of CQ equal to 12

[[Page 53711]]

percent of the overall A season CQ for delivery to an Aleutian Islands 
shoreplant (AI CQ set-aside) during years in which an AI community 
representative notifies NMFS of their intent to process Pacific cod. 
The term ``Aleutian Islands shoreplant'' means a processing facility 
that is physically located on land west of 170[deg] W. longitude within 
the State of Alaska. The rationale and need for this provision is 
explained in detail in the preamble to the proposed rule and in Section 
2.9.6 of the Analysis prepared for this action (see ADDRESSES).
    The AI CQ set-aside provides additional incentives for harvesters 
to deliver AI Pacific cod to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant. The AI CQ 
set-aside is designed to provide benefits and stability to fishery-
dependent fishing communities in the AI when a shoreplant is operating 
and is responsive to lingering effects caused by changes in management 
regimes such as rationalization programs. Without the AI CQ set-aside, 
AI harvesters, shoreplants, and fishing communities could be preempted 
from the fishery by the offshore sector. The AI CQ set-aside is 
especially beneficial to AI communities in low TAC years when harvest 
can otherwise fully occur in the BS, preventing any cod deliveries in 
the AI.
    This final rule does not affect any sector's BSAI Pacific cod 
allocation or the CDQ Pacific cod allocation in the AI. Non-CDQ sectors 
continue to receive annual allocations as established under Amendment 
85 to the BSAI FMP (72 FR 50787, September 4, 2007). The performance of 
this AI CQ set-aside provision will be evaluated in the periodic 
reviews of the Program.

A. Managing the AI CQ Set-Aside

    The AI CQ set-aside provision for AI processors requires 
cooperatives to set-aside an amount of annual CQ for delivery to an 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant if the city of Adak or Atka files a notice 
of intent to process that year. The AI CQ set-aside is in effect and 
available for delivery to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant during the A 
and B seasons unless all notices of the intent to process are withdrawn 
by the AI communities. If all notices of intent to process are 
withdrawn, any remaining portion of the AI CQ set-aside will be 
available for cooperatives to deliver to any processor.
    Cooperatives will manage the AI CQ set-aside through an inter-
cooperative agreement. This agreement will ensure annual coordination 
between the cooperatives and shoreplants that are operating in the AI 
and guarantee that the AI CQ set-aside is available for delivery to the 
Aleutian Islands shoreplants. This reduces the management burden on 
NMFS and relies on the cooperatives to organize annual fishing 
activity.
    Each year, the cooperative must submit a copy of the inter-
cooperative agreement with the Application for PCTC Program CQ to NMFS 
that describes (1) how the AI CQ set-aside would be administered by the 
cooperatives, (2) how the cooperatives intend to harvest the AI CQ set-
aside, and (3) how cooperatives would ensure that CVs less than 60 ft 
(18.3 m) LOA assigned to an LLP license with a transferable AI 
endorsement have the opportunity to harvest 10 percent of the AI CQ 
set-aside for delivery to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant. Each 
cooperative is required to provide the cooperative's plan for 
coordinating harvest and delivery of the AI CQ set-aside to an Aleutian 
Islands shoreplant regardless of whether that cooperative intends to 
harvest any amount of the AI CQ set-aside.
    For the calendar year 2023, to provide for implementation of the 
Program during its first year, NMFS will allow each cooperative to 
submit the inter-cooperative agreement on or before December 31, 2023, 
after the November 1 deadline for the Application for PCTC Program CQ.

B. Intent To Process and Eligibility for AI CQ Set-Aside

    This final rule allows the representative of the City of Adak or 
the City of Atka to submit an annual notice of intent to process PCTC 
Program Pacific cod in the upcoming fishing year to the NMFS Regional 
Administrator no later than October 15 of the year prior to fishing. 
Submission of the notice of intent by October 15 provides NMFS inseason 
management with the timely information it needs to manage the upcoming 
fisheries and notify the cooperatives that the AI CQ set-aside is in 
effect for the upcoming year. If neither Adak nor Atka submit a notice 
of intent to process by October 15, cooperatives are not required to 
set aside CQ for delivery to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant in the 
subsequent fishing season.
    A city's notice of intent to process Pacific cod must contain the 
following information: date, name of city, a statement of intent to 
process Pacific cod, statement of calendar year during which the city 
intends to process Pacific cod, and the contact information for the 
city representative where the relevant shoreplant is located.
    On or before November 30, the Regional Administrator will notify 
the representative of Adak or Atka confirming receipt of their notice 
of intent to process Pacific cod. Shortly after receipt of a notice of 
intent to process Pacific cod, NMFS will announce through notice in the 
Federal Register whether the AI CQ set-aside is in effect for the 
upcoming fishing year.
    Even if Adak or Atka is uncertain at the time the notice of intent 
is due as to whether an Aleutian Islands shoreplant will be 
operational, there would be no penalty to Adak or Atka or the 
shoreplant for stating their intention to process but then later 
withdrawing that notice of intent. Adak or Atka would be allowed to 
withdraw their notice of intent at any time after submitting it to 
NMFS. In the event that both Adak and Atka withdraw their notices of 
intent to process during the A or B season, NMFS will publish a notice 
in the Federal Register announcing that the AI CQ set-aside is no 
longer in effect and remove the delivery requirement. The remaining 
portion of the AI CQ set-aside would be available for harvest without 
restrictions on delivery location.
    NMFS will monitor the implementation of the AI CQ set-aside 
throughout the A and B seasons. NMFS will consider the number and 
frequency of deliveries to Aleutian Islands shoreplants as well as the 
season timing and remaining CQ to be harvested. As soon as practicable, 
if the Regional Administrator determines that Aleutian Islands 
shoreplants authorized under the PCTC Program will not process the 
entire AI set-aside, the Regional Administrator may publish a notice in 
the Federal Register to remove the delivery requirement for some or all 
of the projected unused AI CQ set-aside.

C. AI DFA

    The Council and NMFS annually establish separate OFLs, ABCs, and 
TACs for the AI and BS subareas; however, the non-CDQ sector 
allocations (including the PCTC Program allocations) remain BSAI-wide 
allocations. Each year, during the annual harvest specifications 
process described at Sec.  679.20(c), NMFS will specify an ICA and a 
DFA derived from the AI non-CDQ TAC. The amount of AI Pacific cod that 
NMFS estimates will be taken as incidental catch when directed fishing 
for non-CDQ groundfish other than Pacific cod in the AI subarea will be 
the AI ICA. The amount of the AI ICA may vary from year to year, and in 
future years, NMFS will specify the AI ICA in the annual harvest 
specifications based on recent and anticipated

[[Page 53712]]

incidental catch of AI Pacific cod in other AI non-CDQ directed 
groundfish fisheries. The amount of the AI non-CDQ TAC remaining after 
subtraction of the AI ICA will be the AI DFA.
    NMFS will specify the AI ICA and DFA so that NMFS can clearly 
establish the amount of the AI CQ set-aside. It will also aid the 
public in knowing how much of the AI non-CDQ TAC is available for 
directed fishing prior to the start of fishing to aid in the planning 
of fishery operations.
    The amount of the annual AI CQ set-aside for delivery to an 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant is equal to the lesser of either the AI 
Pacific cod non-CDQ DFA or 12 percent of the A season CQ and is in 
effect during the A and B seasons. When the AI CQ set-aside is equal to 
the AI DFA, directed fishing for Pacific cod in the AI may be conducted 
only by PCTC Program vessels that deliver their catch of AI Pacific cod 
to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant. However, if the AI DFA is greater 
than the AI CQ set-aside (and thus the set-aside is equal to 12 percent 
of the A season CQ), the difference between the AI DFA and the AI CQ 
set-aside may be available for directed fishing by all PCTC Program 
vessels with no restrictions on where that CQ must be delivered and 
processed.

VII. C Season Limited Access Fishery

    The C season apportionment--which is 15 percent of the total annual 
allocation to the BSAI Pacific cod trawl CV sector--remains a limited 
access fishery open to all trawl CVs with LLP license endorsements to 
harvest Pacific cod in the BS and/or AI with trawl gear. The C season 
limited access fishery, which occurs June 10 through November 1, 
continues to be managed as it is under status quo conditions and 
remains unchanged by this final rule.
    Although directed fishing for Pacific cod in the C season is an 
important part of the annual fishing plan for some trawl CVs, most of 
the trawl CV C season catch is incidental to other directed fishing. In 
the fall, as directed fishing for Pacific cod that opens on September 1 
for the hook-and-line and pot sectors progresses, NMFS estimates any 
BSAI trawl CV C season allocation, including any unused amounts of PCTC 
Pacific cod and PSC limits rolled over to the C season, will be 
available for reallocation to other sectors. In some years, projected 
unused amounts of the trawl CV Pacific cod TAC will be available to 
reallocate, and NMFS may make a reallocation in late September or 
October. In other years, there may not be any projected unused amounts, 
and NMFS will wait until after directed fishing for pollock and Pacific 
cod by the trawl CV sector closes. In that circumstance, reallocations 
will occur in November or December. When the BS and AI Pacific cod TACs 
are higher, trawl CV C season Pacific cod may go unused and can be 
reallocated to other sectors. For projected unused PSC limits, the 
Regional Administrator may reallocate a portion of crab PSC or halibut 
PSC to Amendment 80 cooperatives if the amount assigned to the BSAI 
trawl limited access sector is not projected to be harvested or used 
(Sec.  679.91(f)).
    To help ensure efficient allocation management, NMFS may rollover 
any unused portion of a seasonal apportionment from any non-CDQ fishery 
sector (except the jig sector) to that sector's next season during the 
current fishing year (Sec.  679.20(a)(7)(iv)(B) and (C)).
    Under the PCTC Program, the cooperatives are granted harvest 
privileges in the A and B seasons of the BSAI Pacific cod fishery. 
Those harvest privileges alter the reallocation structure from the 
trawl CV sector prior to the C season since rollovers of unused CQ and 
PSC limits to other sectors will not occur until the close of the 
annual PCTC fishing year (the end of the B season).

VIII. Additional PCTC Program Provisions

A. Sideboard Limits in the PCTC Program

    The PCTC Program modifies existing GOA sideboard limits and 
associated GOA halibut PSC limits for non-exempt AFA vessels and LLP 
license holders and closes directed fishing where sideboard limits are 
too small to support a directed fishery. All GOA non-exempt AFA CVs and 
associated AFA LLP licenses are sideboarded in aggregate for all GOA 
groundfish fishing activity and for GOA halibut PSC based on their GOA 
catch history during the qualifying period, except when participating 
in the Central Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) Rockfish Program. The existing 
sideboards apply to non-exempt AFA vessels as defined at Sec.  
679.64(b)(2). The PCTC Program modifies the calculation of the existing 
sideboard limits for these non-exempt AFA CVs based on the GOA catch 
history. LLP licenses associated with non-exempt AFA CVs are also 
subject to the revised sideboard limits regardless of which vessel is 
named on the LLP.
    GOA sideboards are currently calculated for non-exempt AFA CVs 
based on the ratio of catch to the TAC during the years 1995-1997. The 
PCTC Program modifies the calculation of the sideboard ratios for non-
exempt AFA CVs that will be used in the annual GOA harvest 
specifications, looking at the ratio of catch to the TAC in the 
qualifying years of 2009-2019 (as shown in Table 2).

[[Page 53713]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR08AU23.008

    In addition, the ratio used to apportion GOA halibut PSC limits is 
modified and the five seasonal apportionments based on that sideboard 
ratio is reduced to a single aggregate annual amount. Providing an 
aggregate annual halibut PSC limit provides greater flexibility for the 
AFA vessels and LLP licenses to assign halibut PSC limits to those GOA 
groundfish sideboard fisheries that have the greatest value. Table 3 
shows the new aggregate GOA halibut PSC limit ratio based on catch 
history during the qualifying period 2009-2019 that will be used 
annually in the GOA harvest specifications table after the effective 
date of this final rule.

    Table 3--GOA Halibut PSC Limit Ratio Aggregated at the Season and
  Complex Level for All AFA Non-Exempt CVs and Associated LLP Licenses
                       Under the Qualifying Period
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Qualifying
                 GOA Halibut PSC Limit                    period (2009-
                                                              2019)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PSC Limit Ratio........................................            .072
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additionally, this final rule closes directed fishing to all GOA 
non-exempt AFA CVs and LLP licenses for the following species 
categories: Southeast Outside district of the Eastern GOA pollock, 
Western GOA shallow-water flatfish, Central and Eastern GOA deep-water 
flatfish, Central GOA dusky rockfish, and Eastern GOA and Central GOA 
Pacific ocean perch. NMFS will no longer publish AFA Program sideboard 
limits for these specific species or species groups in the Federal 
Register as part of the annual groundfish harvest specifications and 
instead this final rule specifies in regulation at Sec.  
679.64(b)(4)(ii) that directed fishing for these species is closed to 
non-exempt AFA CVs.
    The Council directed cooperatives to (1) ensure GOA AFA exempt and 
non-AFA CVs and CVs assigned to under 60 ft (18.3 m) LLP licenses with 
AI transferrable endorsements do not lease their CQ as a condition of 
benefiting from a GOA sideboard exemption, (2) implement a penalty 
structure for violations, and (3) report leasing activities and 
penalties issued in the cooperative's annual report to the Council. The 
cooperative can allow leasing for (1) AFA GOA-exempt CVs, non-AFA CVs, 
and CVs assigned to under 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA LLP licenses with a 
transferable AI endorsement with less than 300 metric tons of average 
annual qualifying catch history, and (2) CVs assigned to the LLP 
license that only fishes in the CGOA Rockfish Program during the 
calendar year. Additionally, NMFS requires cooperatives to include 
information about the cooperative's plan to monitor CQ leasing 
activities, including into

[[Page 53714]]

GOA fisheries, in the Application for PCTC Program CQ.

B. Changes to Existing BSAI Sideboard Limits for AFA CVs

    This final rule revises the BSAI Pacific cod and halibut PSC 
sideboard limits for AFA trawl CVs specified at Sec.  679.64(b)(4)(i) 
and in Table 40 to part 679 to only apply in the C season. The BSAI 
Pacific cod sideboard limit is no longer necessary in the A and B 
seasons because directed fishing in the BSAI for Pacific cod is now 
managed under the PCTC Program. NMFS removes the halibut PSC sideboard 
limits for AFA trawl CVs because the PCTC Program establishes lower PSC 
limits for PCTC Program participants. This final rule does not change 
the BSAI crab PSC sideboard limit for AFA trawl CVs specified at Sec.  
679.64(b)(4)(i) and Table 41 to part 679.

C. At-Sea Processing Sideboard Limit

    This final rule implements a sideboard limit on the amount of CQ 
that can be processed by a CP designated on a groundfish LLP license 
with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement. This sideboard 
limit is assigned to each LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl 
mothership endorsement that authorizes the CP to act as a mothership in 
the BSAI Pacific cod fishery as listed in Table 57 to part 679. The 
Council recommended that each eligible CP acting as a mothership can 
process up to 125 percent of the eligible CP's processing history 
during the qualifying years (with no drop year). This at-sea processing 
sideboard limit is permanently attached to the associated LLP license 
and applies to the processing activity of any associated vessel.
    The data used to calculate the at-sea processing sideboard limits 
and the resulting sideboard limit assigned to each LLP license is 
confidential. Each LLP license holder is responsible for coordinating 
with any cooperative to ensure the applicable processing limit is not 
exceeded. The at-sea processing sideboard limit is not an allocation 
and the PCTC Program does not require that this amount be delivered to 
CPs acting as a mothership, but it provides an upper bound on how much 
CQ may be delivered.
    The at-sea processing sideboard limit is consistent with Amendment 
120 (84 FR 70064, December 20, 2019) that restricted the number of CPs 
that are eligible to operate as a mothership receiving and processing 
Pacific cod from CVs in the BSAI non-CDQ Pacific cod directed fishery 
using trawl gear. Under Amendment 120, NMFS issued a BSAI Pacific cod 
trawl mothership endorsement to two LLP licenses but did not include a 
limit on the amount of BSAI Pacific cod that can be processed because 
it was not thought that any one processor could increase their capacity 
significantly under the LLP management system. However, under this 
rationalized, slower paced, cooperative fishing Program, the Council 
and NMFS determined it may be possible for continued mothership 
processing growth beyond historical patterns, so the Council 
recommended that a processing limit be established for each LLP license 
listed in Table 57 to part 679. For more information on processing 
limits for the mothership sector, please see section 2.9.5 of the 
Analysis (see ADDRESSES).
    Annually, NMFS will calculate the at-sea processing sideboard 
limit, expressed as a percentage of the aggregate CQ that would apply 
to each LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership 
endorsement and notify the LLP license holder upon issuance of initial 
allocations. This final rule does not change the regulations pertaining 
to the transfer of LLP licenses as specified at Sec.  679.4(k)(7) nor 
the process to change the designated vessel on an LLP license as 
specified at Sec.  679.4(k)(7)(vii). Each LLP license subject to this 
at-sea processing sideboard limit is prohibited from exceeding the 
processing limit as specified in regulations at Sec.  679.133(b)(2).

D. Cost Recovery

    The PCTC Program is a LAPP established under the provisions of 
Section 303A of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 
requires that NMFS collect fees from limited access privilege holders 
to cover the actual costs of management, data collection and analysis, 
and enforcement activities associated with LAPPs. Cost recovery fees 
may not exceed three percent of the ex-vessel value of the fish 
harvested under the LAPP. NMFS will assess a fee on the ex-vessel value 
of PCTC Program Pacific cod harvested by cooperatives in the BSAI. 
Halibut and crab PSC are not subject to a cost recovery fee because PSC 
cannot be retained for sale and, therefore, does not have an ex-vessel 
value.
    The annual PCTC Program cost recovery process builds on other 
existing cost recovery requirements implemented under other programs. 
NMFS annually receives information used to calculate Pacific cod 
standard prices in the existing BSAI Pacific cod Ex-vessel Volume and 
Value Report, which is submitted in early November of each year. NMFS 
will use this existing data source to calculate standard prices used to 
determine the annual PCTC Program fishery value, which will be used to 
calculate the annual PCTC Program cost recovery fee percentage. NMFS 
will begin tracking PCTC Program management costs upon the effective 
date of this final rule. PCTC Program landings will be made in the A 
and B seasons, which extends from January 20 to June 10.
    The following is an example to illustrate the data NMFS will use in 
the annual PCTC Program cost recovery process using the year 2025. The 
PCTC Program fishing year will have landings subject to cost recovery 
starting on January 20, 2025 and ending on June 10, 2025. NMFS will 
calculate standard prices derived from the volume and value report 
submitted by November 10, 2024 for landings made in 2024. Finally, NMFS 
will use the management costs from July 2024 through June 2025 to 
calculate the 2025 fee percentage. By no later than July 31, 2025, the 
Regional Administrator will publish a notice announcing the standard 
prices and fee percentage in the Federal Register and send invoices to 
cooperatives.
    NMFS will send each cooperative a fee liability letter to inform 
each cooperative of the fee percentage applied to the current year's 
landings and the total amount due (fee liability). The letter will 
include a summary explaining the fee liability determination including 
the current fee percentage and details of CQ pounds debited from CQ 
allocations by permit, date, and prices.
    Fees must be paid by August 31 of each year. NMFS requires that all 
payments be submitted electronically in U.S. dollars through the NMFS 
Alaska Region website. Instructions for electronic payment are made 
available on the payment website and through a fee liability summary 
letter NMFS will mail to the cooperative.
    Each cooperative is responsible for paying cost recovery fees 
assessed on cooperative landings. Failure to pay cost recovery fee 
liabilities on time will result in NMFS not approving a cooperative's 
application for a CQ permit the following year until full payment of 
the fee liability is received by NMFS. NMFS will not issue a CQ permit 
until NMFS receives a complete application for CQ and confirmation of 
the full payment of any cost recovery fee liability. Communication with 
NMFS using the contact information provided in the fee liability letter 
will provide ample opportunity for cooperative to

[[Page 53715]]

reconcile accounts. However, if the account is not reconciled and the 
individual does not pay, NMFS will send an IAD to the cooperative. The 
IAD would state that the cooperative's estimated fee liability due from 
the cooperative had not been paid. The cooperative may appeal the IAD. 
The appeals process is described at Sec.  679.43. A cooperative who 
appeals an IAD would not receive a new CQ permit unless the appeal was 
resolved in the applicant's favor.
    The agency may pursue collection of the unpaid fees if the formal 
determination is not appealed and the account remains unpaid or under-
paid 30 days after fees are due (August 31 of each year). The Regional 
Administrator will continue to prohibit issuance of a CQ permit for any 
subsequent calendar years until NMFS receives the unpaid fees.

E. Monitoring Provisions

    This final rule establishes requirements for observer coverage and 
other monitoring and enforcement provisions to ensure that fleet-wide 
harvests under the PCTC Program are effectively monitored and that 
catches remain within allocations. These requirements include full 
observer coverage for CVs harvesting CQ (except for CVs delivering 
unsorted codends to motherships, as explained below) and requirements 
for communications equipment to facilitate observer data entry and 
electronic transmission to NMFS. These monitoring provisions are 
designed to maximize the quality of data used to estimate PCTC Program 
catch and bycatch, including PSC. Shoreside processors are required to 
report landings data to NMFS electronically through eLandings. 
Estimates of at-sea discards and PSC would be derived solely from 
observer data.
    All vessels used to harvest CQ are required to carry equipment to 
facilitate at-sea electronic transmission of observer data to NMFS. 
This final rule modifies regulations at Sec.  679.51(e)(1)(iii)(A) to 
explicitly require vessel operators to allow an observer to use the 
vessel's existing communications equipment for confidential entry, 
transmission, and receipt of work-related messages.
    All vessels participating in the PCTC Program are required to 
provide an onboard computer that meets minimum specifications for use 
by an observer. Currently, NMFS uses and installs custom software 
(ATLAS) on the vessel's computer, and this software application is used 
by observers to enter the data they collect. The ATLAS software 
contains business rules that perform many quality control and data 
validation checks automatically, which dramatically increases the 
quality of the preliminary data. After the observer data are entered 
into the ATLAS software, they are transmitted to NMFS.
    At-sea transmission of observer data improves data quality. To 
minimize impacts to small vessel operators, the requirements for non-
AFA trawl CVs to install equipment necessary to facilitate at-sea 
observer data transmission become effective three years after the 
effective date of this final rule. Though the installation of equipment 
to facilitate at-sea data transmission on non-AFA vessels will not be 
required immediately upon implementation of the Program, this final 
rule clarifies that if a vessel already has equipment capable of 
facilitating at-sea data transmission, that equipment must be made 
available to the observer for use in transmitting work-related messages 
including collected data.
    This final rule requires motherships receiving unsorted codends 
from a PCTC Program CV to comply with catch monitoring requirements 
specified at Sec.  679.93(c) for Amendment 80 vessels and CPs. These 
requirements are already applicable to Amendment 80 CPs acting as 
motherships and would continue to apply when acting as a mothership to 
process PCTC Program CQ. This final rule does not alter existing 
observer coverage requirements for trawl CVs delivering unsorted 
codends to a mothership in the BSAI. A trawl CV delivering unsorted 
codends to a mothership is not required to carry an observer because 
the catch is not brought on board the CV and not available for observer 
sampling. Rather, the catch is sorted and sampled by observers aboard 
the mothership.
    Motherships receiving deliveries from PCTC Program CVs are required 
to have at least two observers aboard the mothership, at least one of 
whom will be required to be endorsed as a lead level 2 observer. More 
than two observers are required to be aboard if the observer workload 
restriction would otherwise preclude sampling as required. All PCTC 
Program catch, except halibut sorted on deck by vessels participating 
in the halibut deck sorting described at Sec.  679.120, must be weighed 
on a NMFS-approved scale in compliance with the scale requirements at 
Sec.  679.28(b). Each haul must be weighed separately and all catch 
made available for sampling by an observer.
    This Program establishes catch monitoring requirements for all 
shoreside processors receiving deliveries from CVs harvesting PCTC 
Program CQ. All groundfish landings made to a shoreside processors must 
be sorted; weighed on a scale approved by the State of Alaska as 
described at Sec.  679.28(c); and be made available for sampling by an 
observer, NMFS staff, or any individual authorized by NMFS. Any of 
these persons must be allowed to test any scale used to weigh 
groundfish to determine its accuracy.

F. PCTC Program Review

    The Council will review the PCTC Program five years after 
implementation to determine if the Program is functioning as intended, 
as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This review and evaluation by 
the Council will include an assessment of the program objectives. 
Specifically, the Council will review whether the allocation of Pacific 
cod is fair and equitable given participation in the fishery, 
historical investments in and dependence upon the fishery, and 
employment in the harvesting and processing sectors. The Council will 
also assess performance of the Program based on changes in annual 
cooperative formation, changes in product value, the number and 
distribution of processing facilities, and stability or use of annual 
processor associations with harvesting cooperatives. The focus of these 
reviews will be the impact of this action on the harvesting and 
processing sectors, as well as on fishery dependent communities. The 
Council will also assess whether the needs for management and 
enforcement, as well as data collection and analysis, are adequately 
met.
Comments and Responses
    NMFS received 16 comment letters on the NOA and the proposed rule. 
NMFS has summarized and responded to the 55 unique comments below. The 
comments were from individuals, local government representatives, 
Alaska Native corporations, and industry participants including 
harvesters and processors.
Comments in Support
    Comment 1: Several commenters expressed support for Amendment 122 
and timely implementation of the PCTC Program in 2024. The PCTC Program 
will maintain or improve harvesting and processing participation in the 
Pacific cod fishery, it provides fair and equitable allocation of QS to 
harvesters and processors. It will reduce environmental impacts of the 
fishery, and it will promote conservation and sustainability.
    Response: NMFS acknowledges this comment.

[[Page 53716]]

    Comment 2: This rule is important to recover and conserve our 
mammals. This rule will help ensure the productivity and sustainability 
of fisheries.
    Response: NMFS acknowledges this comment.
    Comment 3: Limiting the amount of Pacific cod that fisheries are 
allowed to harvest is good because it balances economics with the 
sustainability of the environment.
    Response: NMFS specifies the OFL, ABC, and TAC for BSAI Pacific cod 
through the annual harvest specification process as further explained 
in Section I of this preamble. For Pacific cod, the harvest 
specifications establish separate OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for the BS 
subarea and the AI subarea of the BSAI. Allocations of Pacific cod to 
the CDQ Program and to the non-CDQ fishery sectors are further 
apportioned by seasons. The PCTC Program allocates the available 
Pacific cod to the various trawl harvesters during the A and B season; 
this action does not change the overall amount of Pacific cod that is 
expected to be harvested annually.
    Comment 4: Amendment 122 and the efforts by the Council to 
establish the PCTC Program are supported because they recognize 
processing history as well as investments in the fishery and 
acknowledge what a shift a catch share program can have on 
relationships between harvesters and processors. The qualifying years 
are appropriate and were well-supported throughout the Council's 
lengthy process to establish Amendment 122. The commenter supports 
actions by the Council that do the least amount of harm to the overall 
participants in the BSAI cod fishery.
    Response: NMFS acknowledges this comment.
Conservation
    Comment 5: Pelagic, or midwater, trawlers use nets within the water 
column between the surface and seabed. Pelagic trawling is considered 
more sustainable because of the belief that their nets do not make 
contact with the seabed, but pollock midwater trawlers make contact 
with the seabed 40-70 percent of the time they are completing a trawl. 
The Council is focusing on Pacific cod because of the impact of benthic 
trawls (also known as nonpelagic or bottom trawls) on the seabed and 
non-target species without fully considering whether pelagic trawls in 
more ecologically sensitive areas may have a more significant overall 
impact.
    Response: Under the PCTC Program, vessels will use nonpelagic trawl 
gear, as defined at Sec.  679.2, to harvest CQ. Nonpelagic trawl gear--
trawl gear that targets fish species near the ocean floor--is different 
than pelagic trawl gear, which targets fish species in the water 
column. This comment addresses management issues that are beyond the 
scope of Amendment 122 and this regulatory action. This action is not 
intended to modify authorized gear types, including nonpelagic trawl 
gear used in the PCTC Program, or address their use in sensitive areas. 
Modifications to authorized gear types or use in sensitive areas would 
need to be addressed in a separate regulatory action developed through 
the Council process. Section 3.1.2 of the Analysis states that previous 
analyses have found no substantial adverse effects to habitat in the 
BSAI caused by fishing activities. Any effects continue to be limited 
by the amount of the groundfish TACs and by the existing habitat 
conservation and protection measures. Overall, the combination of the 
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects on habitat for both living and 
non-living substrates, benthic biodiversity, and habitat suitability 
are not likely to be significant under this action.
    Comment 6: It is important to understand the destruction of 
trawling despite its efficiency. Effort can be made to fish more 
sustainably. Trawling in Alaska should be done less in order to protect 
Pacific cod, other species, and the ocean floor.
    Response: NMFS manages the BSAI Pacific cod fishery based on the 
best scientific information available. To ensure conservation of the 
resource, the status of the Pacific cod stock is reviewed by NMFS and 
the Council each year through a public scientific review process before 
the TAC is allocated. The Council and NMFS analyzed the environmental 
impacts of Amendment 122 and concluded that it would not result in a 
significant impact on the human environment as presented in the 
Analysis and FONSI prepared for this action (see ADDRESSES). This 
action is not intended to modify authorized gear types.
Quota Share for Harvesters and Processors
    Comment 7: In recommending Amendment 122 and this Program, the 
Council intended for NMFS to consider specific area endorsements on 
each LLP license at the time of harvest in determining how to attribute 
qualifying catch history to an LLP license in the situation when there 
were two or more LLP licenses associated with the vessel. The language 
in the proposed rule does not clearly indicate that only the LLP 
license with the appropriate area endorsement would receive the 
resulting qualifying catch history.
    Response: NMFS agrees and clarifies that specific area endorsements 
are considered when determining how to attribute qualifying catch 
history to LLP licenses. In determining how to attribute catch history 
when two or more LLP licenses were associated with a vessel, NMFS 
considers the area endorsements on each of the LLP licenses at the time 
fishing occurred.
    An LLP license will only be eligible for qualifying catch history 
in an area if it had the endorsement for that area at the time of 
harvest. In the event more than one LLP license associated with a 
vessel had the area endorsement for where the catch occurred, the 
vessel owner will decide how to assign QS to the LLP licenses. In the 
event only one LLP license associated with a vessel had the area 
endorsement for where the catch occurred, despite there being more than 
one LLP license associated with the vessel at the time fishing began, 
only the LLP license with the correct area endorsement will receive the 
resulting qualifying catch history. The vessel owner would not decide 
how this portion of the QS would be assigned between LLP licenses. For 
example, say a vessel had qualifying catch history in the BS and AI and 
was named on two LLP licenses at the time the landing occurred. One LLP 
license had a BS endorsement and the other LLP license had BS and AI 
endorsements. In this scenario, fishing history in the BS would be 
considered shared catch between the two LLP licenses (because both LLP 
licenses had the appropriate endorsements authorizing the fishing 
activity) and fishing history in the AI is considered qualifying catch 
history only for LLP license with the AI endorsement.
    Comment 8: NMFS should use ``target'' catch in the official record 
to determine initial QS issued to harvesters and processors.
    Response: NMFS agrees. Under the PCTC Program, NMFS determines QS 
allocations based on legal landings of target Pacific cod. The trawl CV 
sector can have significant incidental catch of Pacific cod in other 
fisheries like pollock and yellowfin sole, and historical amounts of 
incidental catch have been variable. The Council recommended that the 
PCTC Program not include incidental catch in the calculations for QS.
    Comment 9: Will NMFS issue a PCTC Program QS permit to the owner of 
a processing facility that is no longer operational, based on the 
qualifying processing history at that facility?

[[Page 53717]]

    Response: No. NMFS will not issue a PCTC Program QS permit to the 
owner of an inactive processing facility (i.e., the facility is not 
authorized by an FPP or FFP upon the effective date of this final rule) 
based on the qualifying processing history at that facility. Upon 
approval of an Application for PCTC Program QS, NMFS will issue a PCTC 
Program QS permit to the owner of a processing facility with an active 
FPP or qualifying FFP. For a person (i.e. processing firm) to receive a 
PCTC Program QS permit, it requires two things: (1) processing history 
in the fishery during the qualifying years and (2) a currently valid 
FPP or FFP (in the case of an eligible CP with a Pacific cod mothership 
endorsement).
    Comment 10: Does the firm that operated the Adak facility in 2013 
get credit for the Adak facility's processing history if the firm does 
not hold an FPP for that facility now, but does operate one or more 
facilities in the BS each with its own FPP?
    Response: No. Processing history is facility specific. A firm will 
not receive a PCTC Program QS permit for a facility that does not have 
a current FPP. The processing history associated with that facility 
will be deducted from the total amount of eligible processing history 
during the qualifying years when calculating the distribution of QS to 
processors.
    A person may own more than one processing facility with qualifying 
processing history and an FPP or FFP and therefore may receive more 
than one PCTC Program QS permit. A firm that operated a processing 
facility that is no longer active would be eligible to receive a PCTC 
QS permit for a different facility if it holds a valid FPP for that 
facility and that facility has qualifying processing history.
    Comment 11: How would a new processor become eligible to receive a 
PCTC Program QS permit in order to annually associate with a 
cooperative?
    Response: A processor would need to have an active FPP and purchase 
QS from an existing PCTC Program QS permit holder under the QS transfer 
provisions in this final rule.
    Note that any processor with an FPP can process CQ. There is not a 
requirement to hold a PCTC Program QS permit or associate with a 
cooperative for a processor to receive deliveries and process CQ. 
Further, any shoreside processor, stationary floating processor, or 
mothership, including an eligible CP with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl 
mothership endorsement, may associate with a cooperative regardless of 
whether or not the processor holds a PCTC Program QS permit. For PCTC 
Program QS permit holders, the only way to receive benefits from a PCTC 
Program QS permit is to associate annually with a cooperative.
    Comment 12: Include the years 2004 through 2009 in the PCTC Program 
official record to determine an initial QS allocation to an Aleutian 
Islands shoreplant, similar to the catch history for determining 
initial allocations to CV LLP licenses with a transferable AI 
endorsement.
    Response: Even if the PCTC Program included 2004 through 2009 in 
the qualifying years, the Aleutian Islands shoreplant is ineligible for 
an initial QS allocation because it does not have an active FPP.
    The QS issued to processors is divided among eligible processors 
based on the percentage of legal landings of Pacific cod they processed 
during the A and B seasons during the qualifying years compared to the 
total legal landings of BSAI Pacific cod processed by all eligible 
processors. Because processing facilities will be issued QS based on 
deliveries of this catch history, the Council chose to award QS based 
on processing history by considering the time frame of 2009-2019, the 
same time frame used for the majority of CVs. The Council did not 
recommend a variation in the qualifying years for any processor either 
in the BS or AI.
    The Council and NMFS considered several different options for the 
range of qualifying years including an option that would have included 
catch history years from 2004 through 2019. The Council selected 2009 
through 2019 as representative of history for the vast majority of CVs 
because these years reflect current and historical participation and 
are consistent with the Council's approach to awarding QS based on 
catch history in other rationalization programs. The Council decided 
against history earlier than 2009 for the majority of catch history 
because that was prior to the implementation of Amendment 85 to the 
BSAI FMP. Amendment 85 established sector allocations for Pacific and 
separate TAC splits for the Pacific cod stock, which changed fishery 
management and operations.
    The one exception to the qualifying years is for LLP licenses with 
a transferable AI endorsement that, prior to receiving that AI 
endorsement through Amendment 92 to the BSAI FMP, participated in the 
AI parallel fishery from January 20, 2004 through September 13, 2009 
without an LLP license. Eight vessels met the criteria for eligibility 
to receive these transferable AI endorsements based on their fishing 
activity in parallel fisheries where they did not qualify for an LLP 
license but still fished in federal waters.
    Comment 13: The degree to which an LLP license holder will benefit 
from dropping a year of catch history from the calculation for initial 
QS allocations will depend upon the consistency of their annual 
participation in the fishery. An LLP holder with one or more years of 
low or no legal landings will benefit from dropping that year more than 
an LLP license holder with consistently high annual participation.
    Response: The Council and NMFS considered a range of drop years 
from zero to two years. The range of qualifying years is 11 years, and 
unforeseen events have occurred for many fishery participants. The 
Council recommended and NMFS is implementing a provision to drop one 
year of catch history from the initial allocation as a fair way to 
remove one year that may not be representative of typical participation 
in the fishery.
    Comment 14: Clarify that QS can only be used if the QS holder 
annually joins or associates with a cooperative.
    Response: QS holders must annually join or associate with a 
cooperative in order for their QS to generate the CQ necessary to 
harvest Pacific cod in the BSAI trawl sector.
    Comment 15: To acquire QS that would attract vessels to deliver to 
a processor that does not receive an initial allocation of QS (such as 
an Aleutian Islands shoreplant), a processor would need to purchase an 
LLP license with attached QS. This creates a barrier to entry into the 
PCTC Program because LLP licenses have a very high market price and QS 
is only a small portion of that value. Because QS is only a small part 
of an LLP license's value, this makes it functionally impossible for an 
Adak processor to purchase QS that it would need to use in lieu of an 
initial allocation of QS to attract vessels.
    Response: A new entrant may acquire either harvester QS by 
purchasing an LLP license with associated QS or by purchasing a 
processor-held PCTC Program QS permit. It is not yet clear what the 
market may be for processor PCTC Program QS permits. Generally, QS is 
non-severable from the LLP license or PCTC Program QS permit except in 
situations where an ownership cap would be exceeded upon transfer. 
Regulations specifying transfer provisions and limitations for QS are 
specified in regulations at Sec.  679.130(j) and ownership caps are at 
Sec.  679.133.
    This PCTC Program does not create a closed class of processors who 
may process CQ. Any shoreside processor, stationary floating processor, 
mothership, and eligible CPs with a

[[Page 53718]]

BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement, may receive and process 
CQ. A processor is not required to associate with a cooperative to 
receive deliveries and process CQ.

Aleutian Islands CQ Set-Aside

    Comment 16: Establish a minimum annual AI CQ set-aside amount equal 
to 5,000 metric tons. This is the amount of Pacific cod determined to 
be the minimum amount necessary to support a processing plant in the AI 
under Amendment 113 to the BSAI FMP. Amendment 113 was implemented in 
2016 to provide a 5,000 metric tons set-aside delivery requirement of 
Pacific cod for shoreplants in the communities of Adak and Atka, 
considered to be the minimum necessary to support the regional economy. 
Without a floor of 5,000 metric tons of Pacific cod, the volume of fish 
may not meet the minimum viable amount for the processing plant to 
operate in Adak.
    Response: Shortly after the court's vacatur of Amendment 113, the 
Council initiated action to rationalize the BSAI trawl CV Pacific cod 
fishery and included options to meet the objective of supporting 
sustained participation by AI communities in the Pacific cod trawl CV 
fishery. The Council recommended and this final rule implements 
community protections for Adak and Atka in the form of a set-aside 
provision. Under the PCTC Program, cooperatives are required to 
collectively set-aside 12 percent of the A season CQ for delivery to an 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant during years in which a community 
representative notifies NMFS of their intent to process Pacific cod. 
The AI CQ set-aside provides opportunity for Pacific cod landings to 
support an Aleutian Islands shoreplant that, in conjunction with other 
fishery landings and allocations, such as the AI pollock fishery, 
benefit the communities of Adak and Atka. This final rule strikes a 
balance between supporting fishery-dependent communities and ensuring 
that the fishery sectors have a meaningful opportunity to fully harvest 
their allocations by including several measures to prevent AI Pacific 
cod from going unharvested.
    This provision is different from the set-aside implemented under 
Amendment 113 but is intended achieve a similar goal. The Council 
considered maintaining the 5,000 metric tons floor similar to Amendment 
113, but ultimately decided against it to maintain the same allocation 
criteria for all processors and to address concerns about leasing the 
5,000 metric tons floor in years when there was not an active Aleutian 
Islands shoreplant. In addition, all the allocations under the PCTC 
Program are based on percentages of the TAC, not static numbers. This 
allows for flexibility in years of low TAC.
    Comment 17: Clarify regulations at Sec.  679.132(c)(4) governing 
the AI CQ set-aside provision to direct the Regional Administrator to 
remove the delivery requirement rather than allow the Regional 
Administrator to remove the delivery requirement if the Regional 
Administrator determines that Aleutian Islands shoreplants will not 
process the entire AI CQ set-aside.
    Response: NMFS agrees that the proposed regulatory language needed 
to be clarified. NMFS removed language at Sec.  679.132(c)(4) regarding 
reallocating the projected unused AI set-aside to PCTC Program 
cooperatives in proportion to the amount of CQ that each PCTC Program 
cooperative received in the initial allocation of CQ for the remainder 
of the A and B seasons. This language is not applicable to the PCTC 
Program because the cooperatives manage the AI CQ set-aside.
    However, NMFS maintained in the regulations that the Regional 
Administrator may remove the delivery requirement for some or all of 
the projected unused AI CQ set-aside if the Regional Administrator 
determines that Aleutian Islands shoreplants will not process the 
entire AI CQ set-aside. NMFS will monitor the cooperative's 
implementation of the AI CQ set-aside throughout the A and B seasons. 
NMFS will consider the number and frequency of deliveries to Aleutian 
Islands shoreplants as well as the season timing and remaining CQ to be 
harvested. The Regional Administrator will use this information to 
determine if it is appropriate to remove the delivery requirement for 
some or all of the projected unused AI CQ set-aside.
    Comment 18: Modify regulations at Sec.  679.132(c)(4) to clarify 
that if both communities of Adak and Atka file a notice of intent to 
process, the delivery requirement would be in effect until both 
communities withdraw their notice of intent.
    Response: NMFS agrees and has modified regulations at Sec.  
679.132(c)(5) and (6). In the event all notices of intent to process 
are withdrawn, the Regional Administrator will remove the AI CQ set-
aside delivery requirement for that calendar year by publishing a 
notice in the Federal Register.
    Comment 19: Reject the AI CQ set-aside as inconsistent with 
National Standard 4. All cooperative members get the benefit of both A 
and B season CQ allocations. However, an Aleutian Islands shoreplant 
only gets a ``reservation'' for 12 percent of the A season CQ. This 
takes care of the issue of giving a disproportionate share of 
processor-held CQ to company boats, but it still allows processors to 
attract new vessels with volume rather than price using CQ off a 
company boat to attract independent boats with a double share of CQ, 
which an Adak processor cannot do because it does not get any CQ. This 
means an Adak processor cannot offer a single share match, let alone a 
double share, leaving the Adak plant operator at an insurmountable 
competitive disadvantage.
    Response: NMFS disagrees that the allocations of QS under the PCTC 
Program are inconsistent with National Standard 4. National Standard 4 
states that ``Conservation and management measures shall not 
discriminate between residents of different states. If it becomes 
necessary to allocate or assign fishing privileges among various United 
States fishermen, such allocation shall be (a) fair and equitable to 
all such fishermen; (b) reasonably calculated to promote conservation; 
and (c) carried out in such manner that no particular individual, 
corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of such 
privilege.''
    In considering whether an allocation is fair and equitable under 
National Standard 4, NMFS assesses whether the allocation is rationally 
connected to achieving OY in the fishery, would maximize overall net 
benefits, and achieve the objectives of the FMP. In addition, NMFS 
considers the relative impacts of various allocations in light of 
status quo conditions. Here, the PCTC Program allocates QS to 
processors based on two objective criteria: (1) historic participation 
in the fishery and (2) an active processing license that demonstrates 
ongoing participation. This second criteria provides some reasonable 
assurance any allocated privileges will be utilized and OY will 
continue to be achieved in the fishery. There is currently no active 
processor (with an active FPP) in Adak that could be allocated QS based 
on historic participation, and operations at the Adak plant have been 
inconsistent. As a result, under the processor-held QS eligibility 
criteria alone, AI communities would not receive QS under this program.
    However, the Council and NMFS recognize that providing some degree 
of support to AI communities remains a management objective. Therefore, 
this rule includes a set-aside for AI communities that would require 
cooperatives to deliver an amount of annual CQ equal to the lesser of 
either 12 percent of their A season CQ or the

[[Page 53719]]

AI DFA, to an Adak or Atka if, in the future, there is an active 
shoreplant in the AI capable of receiving deliveries of Pacific cod. 
The AI CQ set-aside provision is rationally connected to a management 
objective of supporting AI fishing communities, while recognizing that 
there is currently no active processing facility in Adak to which NMFS 
could allocate privileges.
    NMFS disagrees that the PCTC Program allocations are not fair and 
equitable because they do not place AI communities on the same footing 
as active processors. The fact that the AI CQ set-aside is based on 
total A season CQ is immaterial to fairness and equity--that simply 
provides a basis for calculating the amount of the set-aside in any 
given year. The set-aside remains in effect through the B season, and 
it is intended to mandate deliveries of an amount of Pacific cod to 
Aleutian Islands shoreplants through the B season whenever Aleutian 
Islands shoreplants are operating.
    Comment 20: Given the historic uncertainty that AI communities have 
faced when trying to access fish, it is good that the Council ensured 
protections for Aleutian Islands shoreplants within the PCTC Program. 
However, there should be more clarity over whether processors in the 
western Aleutian Islands, including Adak, would be required to join a 
cooperative after signaling the Adak's intention to process fish in a 
given year. It appears that Adak would not be required to join a 
cooperative to receive the AI CQ set-aside, but rather that 
cooperatives are responsible for delivering the set-aside to AI 
processors. Adak should not be required to join a cooperative to 
receive fish for processing.
    Response: An Aleutian Islands shoreplant is not required to 
associate with a cooperative to receive deliveries of CQ. An Aleutian 
Islands shoreplant may choose to associate with a cooperative, but that 
is not required to receive the benefits of processing Pacific cod under 
the AI CQ set-aside provision of the PCTC Program. An Aleutian Islands 
shoreplant with an active FPP may purchase QS in the future and 
associate with a cooperative by bringing the QS into the cooperative.
    Comment 21: Correctly describe all references to the amount of the 
AI CQ set-aside as 12 percent of the PCTC Program A season CQ rather 
than 12.5 percent.
    Response: In the preamble to the proposed rule describing the PRA 
requirements needed for this Program, NMFS erroneously described the AI 
CQ set-aside as 12.5 percent instead of 12 percent and has corrected 
the issue in the final rule. All other references to the AI CQ set-
aside in the proposed and final rule correctly described it as 12 
percent of A season CQ or the AI DFA, whichever is less.
    Comment 22: For the community of Adak, the 5 year PCTC Program 
review is more likely to be an autopsy report unless there are 
significant changes to the AI CQ set-aside component prior to 
publication of a final rule. Access to Pacific cod is crucial for the 
economic success of the Aleutian Islands shoreplant. Access to Pacific 
cod means the Aleutian Islands shoreplant can support AI harvesters of 
multiple species. Without Aleutian Islands shoreplant access to Pacific 
cod, these harvesters are essentially stranded. There is no other 
community or processing facility in Alaska that is more dependent on 
Pacific cod than Adak. Pacific cod has accounted for the overwhelming 
majority of landings in Adak since the plant opened in 1999. Adak is 
unique in this regard; the pollock fishery (not Pacific cod) is the 
primary fishery for Bering Sea processors.
    Response: The Aleutian Islands shoreplants have a unique processing 
history for many reasons, and their remote coastal location is a 
challenge both for plant operations and harvester deliveries. NMFS 
understands that Pacific cod has been crucial to the economic success 
of Aleutian Islands shoreplants, but Aleutian Islands shoreplants have 
not always been open to accept deliveries, as shown in the past few 
years. Without an active AI processor, there is no entity to which NMFS 
could allocate QS on the same terms as other processors. The PCTC 
Program instead implements an AI CQ set-aside element that provides an 
opportunity for AI communities to benefit from the PCTC Program in 
years when an active processor is able to accept deliveries.
    Comment 23: The recommendation by the Council to adopt an AI CQ 
set-aside instead of a QS allocation fails to meet National Standard 8 
and does not adequately respond to the problem statement relative to 
the dependence of the community of Adak on the AI Pacific cod fishery.
    Response: NMFS disagrees that the AI CQ set-aside is inconsistent 
with National Standard 8. National Standard 8 states ``Conservation and 
management measures shall, consistent with the conservation 
requirements of this Act (including the prevention of overfishing and 
rebuilding of overfished stocks), take into account the importance of 
fishery resources to fishing communities by utilizing economic and 
social data that meet the requirement of paragraph (2) [i.e., National 
Standard 2], 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.''
    The AI CQ set-aside is intended to provide for the sustained 
participation of AI communities in the event there is an operational 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant in future years. Currently, no operating 
shoreplant is open to accept deliveries of Pacific cod. Even if the 
plant were open, without the PCTC Program AI CQ set-aside vessels, 
would have no obligation to deliver Pacific cod to AI communities. 
Compared to current conditions, the PCTC Program will provide for the 
sustained participation of AI communities and minimize adverse economic 
impacts on AI communities to the extent practicable by ensuring these 
communities will receive deliveries of Pacific cod in years when an 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant is in operation and able to take 
deliveries.
    The Council and NMFS took into account the importance of fishery 
resources to fishing communities, including but not limited to Adak. 
The PCTC Program is designed to provide for the sustained participation 
of many different fishing communities (i.e., those communities 
substantially engaged in and/or dependent on the fishery), and features 
a history-based approach for initial allocation of QS that would be 
made in proportion to historical levels of participation in the fishery 
during the qualifying period.
    Comment 24: The recommendation by the Council to adopt an AI CQ 
set-aside instead of a QS allocation fails to meet the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act 303A LAPP standards.
    Response: NMFS disagrees that the PCTC Program fails to meet the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act 303A LAPP standards. The PCTC Program is 
authorized by section 303A of the MSA. The QS issued under the PCTC 
Program would qualify as a permit (per MSA 303A(b)(1)) and would give 
the permittee exclusive access to those fish while the permit is held.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act LAPP provisions in Section 303A(c)(5)(A) 
require that the Council ensure fair and equitable initial allocations, 
including consideration of (1) current and historical harvests, (2) 
employment in the harvesting and processing sectors, (3) investments in 
and dependence on the fishery, and (4) the current and historical 
participation of fishing communities. The Council developed and NMFS 
implemented the PCTC Program after considerable debate and

[[Page 53720]]

review of the Analysis prepared to support Amendment 122 and this final 
rule. Any harvesters based in AI communities will receive QS 
allocations just like other participants. And all processors are 
subject to the same objective criteria for initial allocations of QS. 
The AI CQ set-aside was a means of providing some support to AI 
communities despite there being no active processor with history in the 
fishery to which NMFS could allocate QS. No communities are being 
allocated QS under the PCTC program.
    Comment 25: Disapprove Option 6.1 (a CQ set-aside to Aleutians 
Islands shoreplants) and instead adopt the structure of Option 6.2 (an 
allocation to Aleutian Islands shoreplants). Adak currently does not 
have a processor operating the facility. It has not been possible to 
attract an operator, in large part because of the lack of leverage and 
barriers to entry inherent in the PCTC Program. The Council's 
recommendation of Option 6.1 rather than 6.2 creates a fundamental 
structural flaw.
    Response: The Council recommended Amendment 122, including option 
6.1, due to the unique characteristics of the AI communities and the 
difficulties in maintaining an open plant each year. Option 6.1 creates 
the set-aside of 12 percent of the A season CQ for delivery to AI 
shoreplants. The AI CQ set-aside is designed to be in place during the 
trawl CV sector Pacific cod A and B seasons. Cooperatives are 
responsible for submitting a plan to coordinate the harvest and 
delivery of the set-aside. The Council did not select Option 6.2 based, 
in part, on concerns about ability to lease CQ in years that the 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant was not operational, which was not the 
intent of the Council in providing processing opportunities for the AI 
communities. The Aleutian Islands shoreplants are the only processing 
plants that have a set-aside mechanism.
    Similarly to other business relationships between harvesters and 
processors, a processing plant will need to offer competitive prices to 
harvesters. This is true for processing plants in all of Alaska's 
federal fisheries.
    Comment 26: An Adak entity needs to be able to associate with a 
cooperative to have a seat at the table. Vessels have disincentives to 
work with Adak because those vessels would be walking away from their 
pro-rata share of the 22.5 percent processor CQ. This is asymmetrical 
and probably disadvantages Adak. There is no limit on the number of LLP 
licenses that may join a single cooperative, the number of processors a 
cooperative could associate with, nor on the amount of QS a single 
cooperative could control.
    Response: An Aleutian Islands shoreplant is not required to 
associate with a cooperative, but it may associate with a cooperative 
whether or not it holds a PCTC Program QS permit. In addition, CVs 
harvesting CQ may deliver to any shoreside processor, including an 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant, regardless of whether or not that 
processor holds a PCTC Program QS permit and regardless of whether or 
not the processor is associated with a PCTC Program cooperative.
    Cooperatives may form annually in association with a federally 
permitted processor to harvest their CQ. That processor must hold an 
active FPP or FFP, but they are not required to also hold QS. This 
extends to all active processors, including potential Aleutian Islands 
shoreplants. However, processors do not form cooperatives and will not 
be members of cooperatives under the PCTC Program. In addition, 
associating with a processor in Adak would not require a cooperative to 
forego access to processor-held QS. Though each cooperative is required 
to associate with at least one processor, there is no limit on the 
number of processors with which a cooperative may associate.
    Regarding incentives to deliver to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant, 
cooperatives are required to annually submit an inter-cooperative 
agreement that describes, (1) how the AI CQ set-aside would be 
administered by the cooperatives; (2) how the cooperatives intend to 
harvest the AI CQ set-aside; and (3) how cooperatives would ensure that 
CVs less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA assigned to an LLP license with a 
transferable AI trawl endorsement have the opportunity to harvest 10 
percent of the AI CQ set-aside for delivery to an Aleutian Islands 
shoreplant. In years the AI CQ set-aside is in effect, refusing to work 
with an Aleutian Islands shoreplant could mean the cooperatives forfeit 
12 percent of their A season CQ. Therefore, NMFS expects the 
cooperatives will have an incentive to work with an Aleutian Islands 
shoreplant.
    Comment 27: Each cooperative is required to set aside 12 percent of 
its CQ (independent of where the members' catch history was earned or 
whether they have AI LLP endorsements). This is unnecessarily 
burdensome for all parties; an Adak processor will have to deal with 
each cooperative individually under some very constrained deadlines.
    Response: The cooperatives are required to collectively set aside 
12 percent of the A season CQ and come up with a delivery strategy 
through an inter-cooperative agreement. The cooperatives will have an 
incentive to come up with a plan that works for all parties to ensure 
CQ would not go unharvested when the set-aside is in effect. Aleutian 
Islands shoreplants will need to work with cooperatives but the 
cooperative system allows the flexibility to work with one cooperative 
or with all cooperatives. It is possible the inter-cooperative 
agreement could designate one cooperative (or more) to coordinate 
deliveries with Adak so long as 12 percent of the total A season CQ is 
delivered to the Aleutian Islands shoreplants.
    Comment 28: The definition of an Aleutian Islands shoreplant needs 
to recognize that the Aleut Corporation's lease to an operator includes 
buildings and land connecting to the dock as well as the dock itself. 
The final rule should affirm that a stationary floating processor that 
is moored to a dock that is physically integrated into processing 
operations on land qualifies as being ``land based'' west of 170 
degrees.
    Response: The Council selected a specific definition for an 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant, similar to Amendment 113, based on public 
testimony and the analysis to prevent stationary floating processors 
from relocating to Adak and competing with the shoreplant. The 
definition of an Aleutian Islands shoreplant does not include a 
stationary floating processor at this time.
    Comment 29: Use caps apply at the firm level, as they should. 
However, the analysis shows that the fishery will be dominated by a 
couple major companies who will be grandfathered over the cap. 
Meanwhile Aleutian Islands shoreplants will be effectively capped at 12 
percent by the structure of the cooperative AI CQ set-aside. Because 
the AI CQ set-aside is not an allocation, the structure of the program 
means the 12 percent is also very likely to be a ceiling with Aleutian 
Islands shoreplants effectively capped at 12 percent, which is far less 
than their historical average.
    Response: NMFS disagrees that the 12 percent AI CQ set-aside is a 
ceiling. The Council designed the community protection measures to 
benefit Adak and Atka if their plant is operational and accepting 
deliveries for that year. The 12 percent AI CQ set-aside is a minimum 
delivery requirement in years when an Aleutian Islands shoreplant is 
operational. Defining the set-aside as a percentage of CQ rather than a 
fixed amount avoids disproportionate impacts on other PCTC Program 
participants in years of low TAC (as opposed to the

[[Page 53721]]

static 5,000 metric tons delivery requirement under Amendment 113).
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires use caps in development of a LAPP 
to prevent any person from holding, acquiring, or using an excessive 
share of limited access privileges. One of the use caps in the PCTC 
Program is a firm level processor cap that no company may process more 
than 20 percent of the CQ (Sec.  679.133(a)(4) and (5)). This 
processing cap does not apply to Aleutian Islands shoreplants when the 
AI intent to process is in effect.
    Comment 30: Without a tag identifying whether a unit of CQ was 
designated as part of the AI CQ set-aside, it will be difficult for the 
Regional Administrator to know inseason whether the AI CQ set-aside 
will be harvested. If any Pacific cod delivered to an AI shoreplant is 
assumed to accrue against the set-aside until the 12 percent amount has 
been delivered, that introduces further complexities that serve to make 
the 12 percent a de-facto cap.
    Response: All CQ caught in the PCTC Program will be accounted for 
at the dock, except deliveries to motherships, and NMFS would consider 
all CQ landed to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant to count toward the AI 
CQ set-aside. There is no need to tag each unit of CQ as part of the 
set-aside or not part of the set-aside, because NMFS will track all 
deliveries of Pacific cod, and cooperatives will not be able to deliver 
more than 88 percent of A season CQ to anywhere other than an Aleutian 
Islands shoreplant.
    Once 12 percent of A season CQ has been landed at an Aleutian 
Islands shoreplant, cooperatives could continue to deliver to AI 
communities but would no longer be required to. In contrast, once 88 
percent of A season CQ had been delivered elsewhere, vessels could 
deliver CQ only to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant. If the cooperatives 
fail to deliver 12 percent of A season CQ to an Aleutian Islands 
shoreplant, the remainder of the set-aside would remain in place for 
the B season rather than being rolled over as CQ with no restrictions 
on delivery. The operating Aleutian Islands shoreplant may accept 
deliveries of CQ harvested in either the BS or the AI. The cooperatives 
would monitor the conditions and terms of the inter-cooperative 
agreement to ensure those provisions are followed.
    Comment 31: The proposed rule appears to only limit CVs in the BS, 
implying that the CVs could erode the AI CQ set-aside by fishing in the 
AI. Section 679.132(a)(4) outlines the DFA limitations and seems to 
deal with that by indicating CVs delivering to an Aleutian Islands 
shoreplant are the only vessels allowed to access the DFA. NMFS should 
take a very careful review of the text to confirm that the language 
captures the intent of the AI CQ set-aside.
    Response: When the AI CQ set-aside is in effect and set equal to 
the AI non-CDQ DFA, directed fishing for Pacific cod in the AI may be 
conducted only by PCTC Program CVs that deliver their catch to an 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant. However, when the AI DFA is greater than 
the set-aside (i.e. greater than 12 percent of A season CQ), the amount 
of the DFA in excess of the set-aside could be harvested by vessels 
delivering to any processor. That would not erode the set-aside, which 
would remain at 12 percent of A season CQ and apply to all CVs. 
Cooperatives may not deliver more than the A season CQ minus the AI CQ 
set-aside established under Sec.  679.132 to processors in the BS 
subarea when the AI CQ set-aside is in effect.
    Comment 32: When the AI CQ set-aside is equal to the AI DFA, 
directed fishing for Pacific cod in the AI may be conducted only by CVs 
that deliver their catch of AI Pacific cod to Aleutian Islands 
shoreplants. This is a crucial element of making the AI CQ set-aside 
work under either set-aside option.
    Response: NMFS acknowledges the comment in support of the AI CQ 
set-aside structure. In years when the AI CQ set-aside is equal to the 
AI DFA, all CQ harvested in the AI must be delivered to an Aleutian 
Islands shoreplant unless the Regional Administrator removes the AI CQ 
set-aside because there is no operational processor.
    Comment 33: How can NMFS guarantee that the cooperatives will 
comply with the AI CQ set-aside and what are the consequences if the 
cooperatives fail to comply? Who negotiates and must submit to the 
inter-cooperative agreement?
    Response: The Council recommended, and this final rule implements, 
a requirement for all PCTC Program cooperatives to form an inter-
cooperative agreement that includes an AI CQ set-aside delivery 
agreement. It is the intention of the Council and NMFS that 
cooperatives will negotiate with one another to ensure delivery occurs 
consistent with the AI CQ set-aside provision.
    Failure to come to any agreement would result in NMFS withholding 
CQ. NMFS will not issue CQ to cooperatives until the inter-cooperative 
agreement is submitted to NMFS with the cooperative application.
    If cooperatives fail to implement the agreement and do not deliver 
the AI CQ set-aside, the cooperatives would lose access to that portion 
of the CQ in that year, as it could only be harvested and delivered to 
an AI shoreplant.
Antitrust Concerns With the AI CQ Set-Aside
    Comment 34: The AI CQ set-aside may have antitrust implications 
between the processing plant operators and the cooperatives because it 
would force the Aleutian Islands shoreplant to expose its fish prices 
and marketing plans to its competitors prior to the season. Amendment 
122 creates an opportunity for competitively sensitive information to 
flow back to competing processors, and it may also align the 
cooperatives' incentives with those of competing processors (and lead 
to other strategic behavior that undermines competition). The 
opportunity for collusion is so significant that this may rise to the 
level of a ``per se'' violation of the Sherman Act.
    Response: NMFS disagrees that the PCTC Program would result in per 
se antitrust violations. These same concerns were raised prior to the 
publication of the proposed action to the Department of Justice (DOJ) 
Antitrust Division, which has expertise in the administration of 
federal antitrust laws. DOJ did not inform NMFS that the Program would 
result in any per se antitrust violations. All catch share programs 
create some potential for anticompetitive behavior, but participants 
are required to comply with antitrust laws in order to retain their 
fishing privileges. Pursuant to Magnuson-Stevens Act section 
303A(c)(1)(K), NMFS would revoke the limited access privileges of any 
participant found to have violated federal antitrust laws.
    Comment 35: Explain how the Council and NMFS intend to manage the 
cooperatives to avoid potential antitrust law violations. The 
difference between direct allocation and AI CQ set-aside is 
competitively significant if Adak is required to join a cooperative to 
receive fish for processing. An inter-cooperative agreement controls 
the terms for how a set-aside for Aleutian Islands shoreplants will be 
administered, clearly putting the Aleut Corporation at a competitive 
disadvantage and raising antitrust concerns. Further, the proposed plan 
does not provide any active governmental supervision of the market-
allocation arrangement to ensure fair treatment of the Aleut 
Corporation. The Aleut Corporation plant would be a loser in this 
unlawful market allocation agreement and would be forced to accept 
products delivered under an inter-cooperative agreement.

[[Page 53722]]

    Response: The cooperatives are responsible for management of the 
cooperative system. All cooperatives are intended to only conduct and 
coordinate harvest activities of members and are not Fishermen's 
Collective Marketing Act (FCMA) cooperatives. An Aleutian Islands 
shoreplant would not be required to join a cooperative to receive CQ 
for processing. And, because cooperatives would be required to deliver 
a fixed percentage of CQ to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant when 
operational, it is possible that shoreplant may have some leverage in 
negotiating deliveries. NMFS does not regulate market prices. However, 
as stated above, the Magnuson-Stevens Act allows for NMFS to revoke and 
redistribute any LAPP held by any person found to have violated the 
antitrust laws of the United States.
Impacts to Adak
    Comment 36: Reject the FONSI prepared for the EA analyzing the 
impacts of Amendment 122 and conduct an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS). There are real impacts to the human environment of Adak from the 
lack of processing in the community. The most recent major positive 
impact to the economy was the implementation of Amendment 113. The loss 
of Amendment 113 and the closure of the Adak plant have already led to 
the collapse of the local economy and the likely closure of the Adak 
school in 2024. This loss of the processing facility and its prolonged 
closure will have sociological impacts on the community. Each year that 
fish processing does not occur, the community loses residents, 
including families with school-age children.
    Amendment 122 will not likely restore plant operations, revive the 
local economy, or reopen the school. NMFS must adequately analyze a 
solution to provide relief and the environment to allow fish processing 
to occur in Adak to ensure consequences of existing conditions are 
identified and mitigated. Amendment 122 will have negative impacts and 
likely lead to prolonged closure of the processing facility.
    The FONSI is incorrect when it states that Amendment 122 would not 
have any effect on the health of minority or low-income communities. 
Adak is a small, remote, island community with significant Unangax 
population and heritage. According to the Internal Revenue Service, 
Adak is a Qualified Opportunity Zone, which is defined as ``an 
economically distressed community.'' It would be difficult to argue 
that Adak is not a ``minority or low-income community.''
    These effects should be well-documented in an EIS as these impacts 
need to be studied in detail in order for NMFS and the Council to know 
the full and true impacts Amendment 122 will have on Adak.
    Response: The PCTC Program includes provisions designed to 
facilitate processing activity that could benefit the economy in Adak 
and Atka. With respect to providing for the sustained participation of 
fishing communities (i.e., those communities substantially engaged in 
and/or dependent on the fishery), the PCTC Program features a history-
based approach for initial allocation of QS in proportion to historical 
levels of participation in the fishery to address fairness and equity.
    NMFS acknowledges that there are circumstances unique to Adak and 
that the processing facility, which is important to the local economy, 
was relying on Amendment 113. However, after a court struck down 
Amendment 113 and the plant closed, the Council had to consider means 
of providing some benefits in the future if a plant were to open again 
while recognizing there is no operating business that could currently 
hold QS.
    NMFS prepared an Analysis in compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to determine whether the environmental 
impact of the proposed action was significant. The Analysis also 
analyzed social and economic impacts of the alternatives, including 
access to fishing activity, compared to status quo conditions. Section 
2.10.5 of the Analysis discussed the impact of the proposed action on 
fishing communities. Based on the Analysis, NMFS concluded that 
Amendment 122 and this final rule will not have a significant impact on 
the human environment. NMFS has determined that Amendment 122 will not 
have significant adverse impacts on the City of Adak.
    NMFS anticipates there will be beneficial economic effects compared 
to status quo because the AI CQ set-aside provision is designed to 
provide Pacific cod deliveries to Adak and Atka in years when there is 
an operational processor. Because the EA demonstrates there will be no 
significant impacts on the human environment compared to current 
conditions--as opposed to in comparison to a different program not 
currently under consideration--NMFS is not required to prepare an EIS 
under the requirements of NEPA. Additionally, the Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA state in 40 CFR 
1502.16(b) that economic or social effects by themselves do not require 
preparation of an EIS.
    Comment 37: The success or failure of the Aleut Corporation owned 
processing plant has direct and real impacts to all 4,000 of the 
shareholders; the economic impact of decisions made for Adak reach far 
wider than the community alone. Harm to the economic stability for the 
population of Adak would result in significant health impacts.
    Response: NMFS anticipates beneficial effects on the health and the 
environment of minority or low-income communities like Adak may be 
expected as a result of this action, compared to status quo. For Adak 
specifically, the AI CQ set-aside provision is designed to provide 
Pacific cod deliveries to Adak and Atka in years when there is an 
operational processor. As a result, this action includes provisions 
designed to facilitate processing activity that might not otherwise 
occur and could benefit the economy in Adak and Atka. Sections 2.10.5 
and 2.10.8 of the Analysis prepared for this action provide additional 
detail (See ADDRESSES).
PCTC Program Cooperatives
    Comment 38: Clarify that a cooperative can associate with any 
permitted processor regardless of whether that processor holds QS, 
subject to some limitations on CPs acting as motherships.
    Response: NMFS agrees with this clarification. There is nothing 
that precludes cooperatives from associating with a permitted processor 
that does not hold QS. Additionally, cooperatives may deliver Pacific 
cod harvested with CQ to any federally-permitted processor, whether or 
not it is associated with the cooperative.
    Comment 39: Only target catch should count against CQ. Taking the 
ICA off the top gives extra fish to boats that have Pacific cod bycatch 
in other fisheries.
    Response: NMFS concurs that only target catch counts against CQ. 
Pacific cod caught incidentally in other target fisheries contribute to 
the Pacific cod ICA. The Regional Administrator will annually determine 
the amount of the A and B season ICA needed in other trawl CV target 
fisheries and deduct that amount from the trawl CV TAC. The ICA is 
determined based on the ICA rates in previous years and the projected 
amount necessary for the current year. After deducting the ICA, the 
remaining TAC is the DFA, which will be fully allocated as Pacific cod 
CQ for the A and B season under the PCTC Program.
    Comment 40: For clarity, modify the last sentence of Sec.  
679.131(j)(3)(i) to

[[Page 53723]]

mirror the preamble and Council motion to clarify that all processors 
with an eligible FPP or FFP are eligible to process CQ under this 
program (regardless of whether or not they are issued processor-held 
QS), subject to eligibility requirements under Amendment 120 to limit 
CPs acting as motherships and subject to the at-sea processing limits 
placed on such CPs under Sec.  679.133(b)(2) of this rule.
    Response: NMFS agrees and has modified language at Sec.  
679.131(j)(3)(i) to include this clarifying change. The specific 
modification in the table adds that ``all processors'' would include 
processors with an FFP subject to eligibility requirements under 
Amendment 120 to limit CPs acting as motherships as described at Sec.  
679.133(b)(2).
    Comment 41: Clarify whether (1) a vessel can be listed as eligible 
to harvest in a cooperative other than the cooperative to which it 
assigned its QS and (2) a vessel can deliver its CQ to a processor if 
it is a member of another processor's cooperative?
    Response: NMFS agrees that a vessel (as identified by its FFP) can 
be listed on multiple cooperative applications as an eligible harvester 
despite the vessel owner not holding QS as a member of each 
cooperative. Each LLP license and associated QS may only be listed on 
one cooperative application and the LLP license holder is therefore a 
``member'' of that cooperative.
    Vessels may deliver CQ to a different processor than the processor 
associated with their cooperative. There is not a closed class of 
processors eligible to receive deliveries of CQ, meaning a vessel may 
deliver some or all of the CQ to multiple processors.
    Comment 42: Cooperative reports must be mandatory to provide 
accountability, as cooperatives must `ensure/guarantee' the PCTC 
Program achieves its objective of supporting sustained participation by 
fishery dependent communities as stated in the problem statement.
    Response: There is precedent in other programs, such as the 
Rockfish Program, for relying on voluntary cooperative reporting to the 
Council, and several reasons to maintain that practice here. The annual 
cooperative reports to the Council contain the information that the 
Council requested to determine whether the PCTC Program is meeting its 
goals and objectives. Voluntary reports reduce the reporting burden on 
cooperatives and their members without sacrificing providing critical 
data to the Council.
    NMFS separately collects the information that it needs to manage 
the fishery. Voluntary cooperative reports to the Council also reduce 
the time NMFS spends collecting and storing the annual reports and 
eliminates the need to modify regulations for a mandatory report that 
are burdensome and do not provide information necessary to manage the 
fishery.
    Comment 43: In terms of use of the CQ held in the cooperative, the 
preamble of the proposed rule is correct and explicit that a 
cooperative cannot assign a greater proportion of the CQ resulting from 
processor-held QS to an LLP license owned by that processor for harvest 
by a vessel owned by that processor than the LLP license would have 
brought into the cooperative absent any processor-held QS. Part II.F of 
the preamble to the proposed rule also states the Council intended 
processor-held QS to be divided among cooperative CVs proportionately 
to the QS attached to LLP licenses on board the harvesting vessel, but 
the only restriction in the Council's preferred alternative is relative 
to processor-held QS used on vessels that are owned by the processor. 
In all other cases, it is up to the cooperative, in partnership with 
its associated processor, to determine how best to optimize harvest 
within the cooperative to meet the objectives of the program.
    Response: This final rule establishes use caps to limit the amount 
of CQ a vessel can harvest at Sec.  679.133. To address vertically 
integrated companies where a processing company may also own LLP 
licenses or CVs, the Council intended processor held QS to be divided 
among cooperative CVs proportionately to the QS attached to LLP 
licenses onboard the harvesting vessel. In other words, a cooperative 
should not allow a CV or LLP license owned by that processor to harvest 
a greater proportion of the CQ resulting from processor-held QS than 
the LLP license would have brought into the cooperative absent any 
processor-held QS. The Council specified that the cooperative will 
monitor this provision and include reporting on harvest of CQ resulting 
from processor-held QS in the PCTC Program cooperative annual report.
    The Council also directed that each cooperative's annual report 
provide information on CQ leasing activities and any penalties issued 
and harvest of CQ resulting from processor-held QS. Additionally, NMFS 
requires cooperatives to include information about the cooperative's 
plan to monitor CQ leasing activities and the use of CQ derived from 
processor held QS within the cooperative, in the Application for PCTC 
Program CQ.
    Comment 44: Clarify the terms ``affiliated with'' and ``ownership 
of a vessel'' with respect to the use of CQ derived from processor-held 
QS.
    Response: NMFS defines affiliation and control at Sec.  679.2 
Affiliation for the purpose of defining AFA, Rockfish Program, and PCTC 
Program. See the response to Comment 43 for more discussion about 
processor-held QS used in a cooperative with a processor owned vessel.
Prohibited Species Catch Limits
    Comment 45: There is no requirement that the cooperatives will set 
aside a proportionate amount of PSCs for the CVs that agree to take on 
the obligation of harvesting the AI CQ set-aside for delivery to an 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant. NMFS should make it explicit that initial 
distribution of PSC limits include pro-rata amounts to the AI CQ set-
aside and require that the inter-cooperative agreement and each 
cooperative agreement contain provisions mandating initial distribution 
of PSC pro-rata to the individual's QS percentage.
    Response: NMFS requires an inter-cooperative agreement signed by 
all cooperatives prior to issuing CQ each year. The cooperatives must 
agree in the inter-cooperative agreement which cooperatives will 
deliver the AI CQ set-aside to the Aleutian Islands shoreplants. In 
that agreement, cooperatives should confirm that there would be 
sufficient CQ and PSC set aside to accomplish deliveries. The Council 
recommended a cooperative system to manage the CQ and PSC limits 
allocated within the PCTC Program. NMFS anticipates that each 
cooperative will maximize its usage of CQ and PSC limits to the extent 
practicable, including adhering to delivery requirements to Aleutian 
Islands shoreplants in years the AI CQ set-aside is in effect.
    Comment 46: Be explicit that the total halibut PSC limit reduction 
is 25 percent, but in the first year, NMFS will apply a 12.5 percent 
reduction. This is consistent with the Council motion.
    Response: NMFS clarified this change in the final rule preamble and 
confirms that this provision aligns with the Council's description of 
the PSC limit reduction described in the analysis. To clarify, the 
total halibut PSC reduction is 25 percent, phased in over two years. 
NMFS will reduce the halibut PSC for the PCTC Program by 12.5 percent 
in the first year of the Program, and will apply a 25 percent reduction 
to halibut PSC in the second year and each year thereafter.

[[Page 53724]]

    Comment 47: An Aleutian Islands shoreplant needs to be able to 
associate with a cooperative in order to be able to access transfers of 
PSC limits.
    Response: NMFS disagrees. Cooperatives can process their Pacific 
cod at any processor, subject to the at-sea processing sideboard limit 
specified at Sec.  679.133(b)(2). Processors do not need access to PSC 
limits; only harvesters do.
Inter-Cooperative Agreement
    Comment 48: NMFS should make the PCTC Program official record or a 
list of LLP license holder information available to the inter-
cooperative manager when application packages are sent out.
    Response: NMFS will publish a list of LLP license holders and 
processors who are expected to qualify for QS under the PCTC Program on 
the Alaska Region website with the publication of this final rule in 
the Federal Register.
    Comment 49: The proposed rule states that all participants in the 
Program would be required to organize a cooperative prior to the 
November 1 deadline each year. Does the inter-cooperative agreement 
need to be in place by November 1st? Where are the application 
requirements for the inter-cooperative agreement? In the proposed rule, 
it appears that the individual cooperative applications would simply 
include a copy of the inter-cooperative agreement that defines how the 
AI CQ set-aside will be harvested.
    Response: Inter-cooperative formation needs to occur prior to 
November 1. There are no application requirements for the inter-
cooperative agreement; however, cooperatives must include a copy of the 
inter-cooperative agreement in order for their CQ application to be 
approved, and that agreement must specify how the AI CQ set-aside would 
be harvested.
    For the first year, NMFS is making a change to the deadline to 
accommodate timing concerns. For the calendar year 2023 only, each 
cooperative must submit the inter-cooperative agreement to NMFS prior 
to December 31, 2023, described at Sec.  679.131 (a)(4)(viii). Inter-
cooperative formation would be allowed and an inter-cooperative 
agreement would be required to implement the AI set-aside and to allow 
for efficient transfers of CQ or PSC limits between cooperatives.
    Comment 50: The proposed rule does not provide any guidance on how 
an inter-cooperative agreement would be agreed upon by the cooperative 
members.
    Response: The Council recommended a cooperative-based structure for 
implementation of the PCTC Program based on public testimony. NMFS 
interprets this to mean that the cooperatives will structure their 
inter-cooperative agreement in a way that satisfies the AI CQ set-aside 
requirements without further guidance from NMFS on cooperative 
management. There is precedent set for cooperative systems using 
agreements like this, including in other North Pacific catch share 
programs. Because an inter-cooperative agreement will be required in 
order for NMFS to approve applications for CQ, NMFS does not anticipate 
additional procedural guardrails are necessary to encourage 
cooperatives to negotiate this required agreement.
Use Caps
    Comment 51: It is problematic to provide information down to the 
individual ownership level for certain types of ownerships structures, 
such as publicly-held companies. In order to effectively enforce 
ownership and use caps, the preamble to the proposed rule would require 
a list of all persons, to the individual level, holding an ownership 
interest in the LLP licenses that join the cooperative. The classic 
case is a publicly traded owner. Because individual ownership is 
constantly changing and there is little public disclosure of individual 
owners, it would be impossible for a publicly traded company to submit 
an ownership list to the individual level. Similarly, a company such as 
American Seafoods, with a complex ownership structure and private 
equity investment, does not have access to ownership information to the 
individual level.
    Revise the proposed standard to require the same information down 
to the individual level for any person having an ownership interest in 
excess of five percent. If based on that information NMFS has any 
concerns about compliance with ownership and use caps, the Agency can 
be authorized to request additional ownership information.
    Response: The Application for PCTC CQ, the Application for Transfer 
of LLP Groundfish/Crab License, and the Application for Transfer of 
PCTC QS for Processors include fields to enter the names of all 
persons, to the individual level, holding an ownership interest in the 
LLP licenses or QS permit. Federal regulations at Sec.  697.2 defines 
person as any individual (whether or not a citizen or national of the 
United States), any corporation, partnership, association, or other 
non-individual entity (whether or not organized, or existing under the 
laws of any state), and any Federal, state, local, or foreign 
government or any entity of any such aforementioned governments.
    This collection of information is necessary to monitor compliance 
with the use caps on CQ and the ownership caps on QS. NMFS does not 
currently monitor ownership of publicly traded companies beyond the 
person (i.e., beyond the company level), consistent with other Alaska 
catch share programs. Collections of information remain unmodified from 
the proposed rule.
At-Sea Processing Sideboard Limit
    Comment 52: A mothership vessel operator receiving an unsorted 
codend or ``haul'' should be allowed to assign the appropriate 
management program code rather than NMFS determining that the catch 
would be assigned to the PCTC Program based on the retained catch 
composition as proposed in regulations at Sec.  679.20. Allowing the 
vessel operator to designate which hauls are PCTC Program hauls would 
be consistent with the current practice of evaluating the catch 
composition prior to determining if a haul is CDQ or non-CDQ (open 
access).
    Response: NMFS agrees. Based on this comment, NMFS changed Sec.  
679.5(c)(6)(v)(J) in the final rule. Rather than considering any 
unsorted codend that is delivered to a mothership to be CQ during the 
applicable PCTC Program season that is in the Pacific cod target 
fishery, the final rule implements a method similar to how catch in an 
unsorted codend is assigned to a CDQ group. The mothership will have 2 
hours after completion of weighing all catch in the haul on the 
mothership to assign a haul to the PCTC Program.
    Comment 53: The two CPs acting as motherships to process CQ should 
be allowed to share processing sideboards within a cooperative or by an 
inter-cooperative agreement. In Amendment 122, the Council adopted 
further restrictions on these two vessels, limiting each vessel to 
processing no more than 125 percent of its average Pacific cod 
processing history over the years 2009-2019. However, the Council did 
not address the issue of flexibility between the two motherships with 
respect to sideboard usage.
    It is critical that final rule include this flexibility. It is 
critical that the second mothership be able to provide markets if the 
first mothership breaks down. It is critical that the two motherships 
be able to work together as either of them nears its sideboard limit to 
provide at least a single market for those fishermen who have no 
delivery alternatives.
    The solution is to include in the final rule a provision that 
allows either of the

[[Page 53725]]

two motherships to exceed its individual sideboard based on a written 
agreement submitted to NMFS transferring a portion of its annual 
sideboard to the other mothership. The result would be that the total 
mothership sideboard would remain in full effect but the individual 
sideboards could be shared on a voluntary basis between the two 
motherships in the same manner that CQ can be shared within and among 
different cooperatives.
    Response: The PCTC Program does not limit who may process Pacific 
cod, but it does place specific limits on the amount of CQ that may be 
processed by different operation types. This final rule includes the 
sideboard limit on the amount of CQ that can be delivered by trawl CVs 
to a CP designated on an LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl 
mothership endorsement. This final rule establishes an at-sea 
processing sideboard limit of 125 percent of the eligible CP's 
processing history which allows some opportunity for additional 
offshore processing relative to the historical annual average for each 
operation. This provision allows two eligible CPs acting as a 
mothership to process up to 125 percent of their individual average 
Pacific cod processing history during the qualifying years of 2009 
through 2019 with no years dropped.
    This provision is not an allocation, and the Council did not 
recommend a sideboard that would function as a joint processing 
sideboard limit for the CP sector. Rather, any remaining CQ that 
exceeds a vessel's at-sea processing sideboard limit may be delivered 
to any other processor, including a shoreside processor.
    Comment 54: Issue the at-sea processing sideboard limit applicable 
to a CP designated on a groundfish LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod 
trawl mothership endorsement as a new permit or as a transferable 
endorsement that could be transferred separately from the LLP license 
(i.e., similar to the provisions that currently apply to certain AI 
transferable endorsements for smaller vessels).
    Response: The Council recommended maintaining the long-standing 
policy that sideboard limits are not sector allocations and therefore 
should not be transferable.
    Comment 55: Revise the regulations at Sec.  679.133(b)(2) to 
accurately reflect how at-sea processing sideboards are determined. The 
first option sets the sideboard at 125 percent of the relevant 
processing history. The second option sets it to 125 percent of the 
catch history of certain catcher vessels but only up to 125 percent of 
the processor's relevant processing history. In effect, the outcome 
under each option will always be that each mothership's sideboard will 
equal 125 percent of that vessel's relevant processing history. For 
drafting simplicity, ease of future analysis and implementation, we 
recommend that the proposed language to determine sideboard amounts be 
revised to reflect only option 1.
    Response: NMFS agrees and has revised regulations at Sec.  
679.133(b)(2) to reflect that NMFS will establish a sideboard limit for 
each LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement 
not to exceed 125 percent of a CP's processing history. Processing 
Pacific cod by a CP acting as a mothership is limited by eligibility 
requirements under Amendment 120 and subject to the at-sea processing 
limits placed on such CPs under Sec.  679.133(b)(2).
Changes From Proposed Rule to Final Rule
    This final rule includes the following substantive changes from the 
proposed to final rule to address public comment, clarify regulatory 
language, or to correct inadvertent errors in the proposed regulations. 
Throughout the regulatory text, NMFS also made technical and grammar 
edits to correct regulatory cross references, use consistent terms, 
remove redundancy, and promote clarity.
    At Sec.  679.2, NMFS modified the definition for PCTC Program 
cooperative to add that a cooperative associates with a processor under 
the requirements at Sec.  679.131. NMFS also modified the definition 
for PCTC Program participants to include those harvesters and 
processors who receive, hold, or use PCTC Program QS. This change was 
necessary to include future Program participants who do not receive 
initial allocations. NMFS removed the definition for PCTC Program CQ 
because it was duplicative and the content is covered by the definition 
of Cooperative Quota (CQ).
    At Sec.  679.5(c)(6)(v)(J)(1), NMFS clarified the timing 
requirements for a mothership to designate a haul as PCTC Program 
management code based on comment 52 and added a requirement to record 
the observer's haul number in the mothership daily cumulative 
production logbook (DCPL). The final rule implements a method similar 
to the regulation that is used for assigning an unsorted codend to a 
CDQ group. The mothership will have 2 hours after completion of 
weighing all catch in the haul on the mothership to assign a haul to 
the PCTC Program. Also, NMFS changed the final rule to require the 
mothership to report the observer's haul number in the Mothership DCPL 
by 2400 hours, A.l.t., each day to record the previous day's delivery 
information. This change is necessary to accurately account for PCTC 
catch separate from other management programs.
    At Sec.  679.7(m)(2)(i), NMFS removed the phrase ``while fishing 
under a CQ permit issued to a PCTC Program cooperative'' to ensure that 
motherships and shoreside processors would not be excluded from the 
prohibition against failing to follow the catch monitoring 
requirements. At Sec.  679.7(m)(4)(ii), NMFS clarified that it is 
unlawful for the manager of a shoreside processor or stationary 
floating processor to process any groundfish delivered by a CV fishing 
under the authority of a CQ permit not weighed on a scale approved by 
the State of Alaska. NMFS removed Sec.  679.7(m)(5)(i), Fail to retain 
any Pacific cod caught by a vessel when that vessel is fishing under 
the authority of a CQ permit, because improved retention/improved 
utilization (IR/IU) regulations at Sec.  679.27(c)(2) already apply. 
NMFS removed Sec.  679.7(m)(5)(iv) Operate a vessel fishing under the 
authority of a CQ permit issued to a PCTC Program cooperative and have 
any Pacific cod aboard the vessel unless those fish were harvested 
under the authority of a CQ permit, because this prohibition would 
prevent a mothership from possessing CDQ Program Pacific cod onboard 
the vessels at the same time as participating in the PCTC Program. This 
is not necessary because this final rule allows each haul delivered to 
a mothership to be assigned a management program code. NMFS also 
removed references to joint and several liability for violations 
because existing agency regulations at 15 CFR 904.107 address joint and 
several liability for any civil penalties issued.
    NMFS changed to Table 56 to part 679 to include Central GOA dusky 
rockfish and Central GOA Pacific ocean perch sideboard limits for non-
exempt AFA CVs. This regulatory change was inadvertently left out in 
the proposed rule; however it was correctly described in the preamble 
to the proposed rule at Section VIII.A and in Table 3.
    The proposed rule had erroneously removed the harvesting sideboards 
for AFA vessels at Sec.  679.64(b)(3)(ii), (iv), and (4)(ii). In the 
final rule, NMFS added these paragraphs back in the regulations. At 
Sec.  679.64(b)(3)(ii), NMFS specified that the BSAI Pacific cod 
harvesting sideboard applies only to C season. At Sec. Sec.  
679.64(b)(3)(iv) and 679.64(b)(4)(ii), NMFS corrected the regulation to 
state that non-exempt AFA

[[Page 53726]]

CVs and the associated LLP licenses are also sideboarded upon 
implementation of the PCTC Program. At Sec.  679.64(b)(4)(ii), NMFS 
also corrected the Gulf of Alaska halibut PSC limit for the non-exempt 
AFA CVs and associated LLP licenses.
    At Sec.  679.130(e), NMFS added that a PCTC Program processor 
eligible to receive an initial allocation of QS includes a processor 
that holds a valid FFP and an LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl 
mothership endorsement.
    NMFS moved the paragraphs on the non-severability of Pacific cod 
legal landings and the exception provisions from Sec.  679.130(f)(4) to 
Sec.  679.130(i)(5), and made changes to the headings for consistency 
and convention. NMFS added that Pacific cod legal landings are non-
severable from transferable AI endorsements. NMFS clarified in Sec.  
679.130(i)(5)(i) that, if multiple LLP licenses authorized catch by a 
vessel, the LLP license holders must submit to NMFS an agreement 
specifying the amount of shared catch history to assign to each LLP 
license with the application for PCTC Program QS.
    At Sec.  679.130(j)(3), NMFS clarified several transfer 
requirements for processor-held PCTC Program QS permits. First, 
processors that received an initial QS allocation must have an active 
FPP or FFP to receive benefits from their QS through associating with a 
cooperative. Second, any transfer of QS in excess of the ownership cap 
must be to another PCTC Program QS permit holder who remains below the 
ownership cap or a new processor with an active FPP. PCTC Program QS 
permits issued to shoreside processors can only be transferred to other 
shoreside processors that hold an FPP.
    NMFS also added language to specify transfer restrictions for PCTC 
Program QS permits initially issued to an FFP holder. CPs acting as 
motherships may transfer their QS permit to the onshore or offshore 
sector, subject to eligibility requirements under Amendment 120 to 
limit CPs acting as motherships (i.e. may transfer QS permits to 
processors that hold a valid FPP or a valid FFP in addition to an LLP 
license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement).
    At Sec.  679.131(a)(1)(i), NMFS clarified that QS assigned to LLP 
licenses and PCTC Program QS permits held by a processor must be 
assigned to a cooperative through a CQ permit to use the CQ derived 
from that QS to catch Pacific cod, crab PSC, or halibut PSC assigned to 
the PCTC Program. NMFS removed the terms ``process or receive'' because 
the PCTC Program does not require a processor to hold QS or CQ to 
process or receive Pacific cod from cooperatives.
    At Sec.  679.131(a)(4)(viii), NMFS modified the text to accommodate 
cooperative formation prior to the first year of the PCTC Program in 
response to comment 49. NMFS will allow, for the calendar year 2023 
only, for each cooperative to submit the inter-cooperative agreement to 
NMFS prior to December 31, 2023. This single year variation will give 
cooperatives additional time to come to an agreement after publication 
of the final rule. In all years after 2023, the inter-cooperative 
agreement must be submitted with the cooperative application no later 
than November 1 of each calendar year. The inter-cooperative agreement 
is required before NMFS issues CQ to each cooperative and fishing 
begins in A season (January 20). The inter-cooperative agreement must 
be submitted regardless of whether an Adak or Atka files a notice of 
intent to process with NMFS per Sec.  679.132(b).
    At Sec.  679.131(i), NMFS modified language to reflect language in 
other catch share programs when referring to the NMFS online system 
used for inter-cooperative transfers. Instead of being specific to the 
current program, eFish, NMFS used ``online system'' to account for any 
future application naming conventions.
    At Sec.  679.131(j)(3)(i), NMFS clarified that in order for a 
cooperative to associate with a processor with an FFP, the vessel must 
be named on an LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership 
endorsement in response to comment 40.
    At Sec.  679.132(b)(5)(ii), NMFS modified this text to clarify that 
cooperatives must ensure that the PCTC Program harvests from the BS do 
not exceed the minimum AI CQ set-aside.
    At Sec.  679.132(c)(3) and (4), NMFS clarified language pertaining 
to the Regional Administrator removing the delivery requirement and the 
process for withdrawing a notice of intent to process, in response to 
comments 17 and 18. NMFS removed language at Sec.  679.132(c)(4) 
regarding removing the projected unused AI set-aside to PCTC Program 
cooperatives in proportion to the amount of CQ that each PCTC Program 
cooperative received in the initial allocation of CQ for the remainder 
of the A and B seasons. NMFS maintained in the regulations that the 
Regional Administrator may remove the delivery requirement for some or 
all of the projected unused AI CQ set-aside if the Regional 
Administrator determines that Aleutian Islands shoreplants will not 
process the entire AI CQ set-aside.
    NMFS also removed language limiting when the City of Adak or City 
of Atka could withdraw their notice of intent to process. A notice of 
intent to process may be withdrawn at any time after it is submitted to 
NMFS. NMFS clarified that all notices of intent must be withdrawn for 
NMFS to remove the delivery requirements applicable when the AI CQ set-
aside is in effect.
    At Sec.  679.133(a)(6)(iv), NMFS added language to exempt an 
Aleutian Islands shoreplant from processor use caps when the AI CQ set-
aside is in effect.
    At Sec.  679.133(b)(2), based on comment 55, NMFS modified the text 
to reflect the Council recommendation that NMFS establish a sideboard 
limit for each LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership 
endorsement not to exceed 125 percent of the CP's processing history. 
Processing Pacific cod by a CP acting as a mothership is limited by 
eligibility requirements under Amendment 120.
    At Sec.  679.135(d)(2)(iv), NMFS clarified that if a cooperative 
does not pay its cost recovery fees and a member of that cooperative 
leaves and joins another cooperative, NMFS will withhold any CQ 
generated by that person's QS until the original cooperative pays its 
delinquent cost recovery fee.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 
Assistant Administrator (AA) has determined that this final rule is 
consistent with Amendment 122 to the BSAI FMP, other provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
    NMFS prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for this action and 
the AA concluded that there will be no significant impact on the human 
environment as a result of this rule. This action creates a LAPP to 
rationalize the BSAI Pacific cod trawl CV sector A and B seasons but 
will not result in significant changes to amount, timing, or location 
of total harvest, or result in other changes that would significantly 
impact the quality of the human environment. A copy of the EA is 
available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

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 final regulatory

[[Page 53727]]

flexibility analysis, 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 agency 
shall explain the actions a small entity is required to take to comply 
with a rule or group of rules. The preambles to the proposed rule and 
this final rule include a detailed description of the actions necessary 
to comply with this rule, and as part of this rulemaking process, NMFS 
included on its website a summary of compliance requirements that 
serves as the small entity compliance guide: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/commercial-fishing/pacific-cod-trawl-cooperative-program. This action does not require any additional 
compliance from small entities that is not described in the small 
entity compliance guide or the preambles to the proposed rule and this 
final rule. Copies of the proposed rule and this final rule are 
available from the NMFS website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA)

    This FRFA incorporates the initial regulatory flexibility analysis 
(IRFA), a summary of the significant issues raised by the public 
comments in response to the IRFA, NMFS' responses to those comments, 
and a summary of the analyses completed to support this action.
    Section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires that, 
when an agency promulgates a final rule under section 553 of Title 5 of 
the U.S. Code, after being required by that section or any other law to 
publish a general notice of proposed rulemaking, the agency shall 
prepare a FRFA. Section 604 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 IRFA, a statement of the assessment of the agency of 
such issues, and a statement of any changes made to 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 (SBA) in response to the proposed rule, and a detailed 
statement 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 
that 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 this final rule and why each one of the other significant 
alternatives to the rule considered by the agency which affect the 
impact on small entities was rejected.
    A description of this final rule and the need for and objectives of 
this rule are contained in the preamble to this final rule and the 
preamble to the proposed rule (88 FR 8592, February 9, 2023) and are 
not repeated here.

Public and Chief Counsel for Advocacy Comments on the IRFA

    An IRFA was prepared in the Classification section of the preamble 
to the proposed rule. The Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA did not 
file any comments on the proposed rule. NMFS received no comments 
specifically on the IRFA.

Number and Description of Small Entities Regulated by This Final Rule

    This final rule directly regulates owners and operators of 
harvesters and processors that participate in the BSAI trawl CV Pacific 
cod fishery including (1) trawl CVs, (2) shoreside processors, (3) 
floating processors, (4) trawl CPs acting as motherships, and (5) small 
government jurisdictions in the AI. This rule may also impact observer 
providers that support the BSAI trawl CV Pacific cod fishery, but they 
are indirectly impacted. Therefore, observer providers are not 
considered directly regulated entities in the IRFA prepared for this 
action.
    A small business includes any firm that is independently owned and 
operated and not dominant in its field of operation. Businesses 
classified as primarily engaged in commercial fishing are considered 
small entities if they have less than 11 million dollars in annual 
gross receipts for all businesses in the commercial fishing industry 
(NAICS 11411). The RFA requires consideration of affiliations between 
entities for the purpose of assessing whether an entity is classified 
as small. The AFA pollock cooperatives, which make up a subset of the 
entities regulated under this final rule, are types of affiliation 
between entities. All of the AFA cooperatives have gross annual 
revenues that are substantially greater than 11 million dollars. 
Therefore, NMFS considers members in these cooperatives to be 
``affiliated'' large (non-small) entities for RFA purposes. The 
eligible AFA entities are large entities based on those affiliations. 
The remaining 13 trawl CVs would be considered small entities. This 
count includes five trawl CVs that are greater than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA 
and eight CVs that are less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA with a transferable 
AI endorsement.
    Though CPs engage in both fish harvesting and fish processing 
activities, since at least 1993, NMFS Alaska Region has considered CPs 
to be predominantly engaged in fish harvesting rather than fish 
processing. Under this classification, the threshold of 11 million 
dollars in annual gross receipts is the appropriate threshold to apply 
to identify any CPs that are small entities. All the CPs that are 
directed regulated by this action do not meet the SBA definition of a 
small entity due to cooperative affiliation.
    Under the SBA's size standard for ``seafood product preparation and 
packaging'' (NAICS code 311710), seafood processors are considered 
small entities if they are independently owned and operated, not 
dominant in their field of operation, and have a combined annual 
employment of fewer than 750 employees. Of the plants that took 
deliveries of Pacific cod from 2017 through 2019 that are currently in 
business, one firm would be considered a small entity.
    The RFA defines ``small governmental jurisdiction'' as the 
government of a city, county, town, school district or special district 
with a population of less than 50,000 people. Two small governmental 
jurisdictions are directly regulated under the action. Adak and Atka 
would be required to submit a notice of their intent to process to NMFS 
to receive a portion of the AI CQ set-aside described in Section V of 
this preamble. The set-aside amount is intended to benefit the AI 
communities, and participation by these communities is voluntary.

Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Other Compliance Requirements

    This action implements new recordkeeping, reporting, and compliance 
requirements and revises existing requirements. These requirements are 
necessary for the management and monitoring of the PCTC Program.
    All PCTC program participants are required to provide additional

[[Page 53728]]

information to NMFS for management purposes. Each harvester is required 
to track harvests to avoid exceeding their allocation. As in other 
North Pacific rationalized fisheries, processors provide catch 
recording data to managers to monitor harvest of allocations. 
Processors are required to record deliveries and processing activities 
to aid in the Program administration.
    To participate in the Program, persons are required to complete 
application forms, transfer forms, reporting requirements, and 
monitoring requirements. These requirements impose costs on small 
entities in gathering the required information and completing the 
information collections.
    NMFS has estimated the costs of complying with the requirements 
based on information such as the burden hours per response, number of 
responses per year, and wage rate estimates from industry or the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics. Persons are required to complete many of the 
requirements at the start of the Program, such as the application to 
participate in the Program. Persons are required to complete some 
requirements every year, such as the cooperative application. 
Additionally, reporting for purposes of catch accounting or transfer of 
CQ among cooperatives is completed more frequently. The impacts of 
these changes are described in more detail in Sections 2.10.7 and 
2.10.12 of the Analysis prepared for this final rule (see ADDRESSES).
    New requirements for the PCTC Program include the Application for 
PCTC Program QS, applications for transfer of QS during the 90-day 
transfer window, the Application for PCTC Program CQ, the Application 
for Transfer of PCTC Program QS for Processors, the AI notice of intent 
to process, inter-cooperative transfers, the appeals process, and cost 
recovery fee.
    The initial allocation process requires all eligible harvesters and 
processors who want to participate in the PCTC Program to submit an 
Application for PCTC Program QS to receive QS. This application is 
needed to determine the allocation of QS to eligible LLP licenses and 
to eligible processors. For harvesters, NMFS will use the Catch 
Accounting System data to determine how much Pacific cod was harvested 
using the LLP license authorizing a CV and ask the current LLP license 
holder to verify the catch estimate. For processors NMFS will use the 
Catch Accounting System data to determine the amount of qualifying 
Pacific cod delivered to the processor, and the processors will verify 
the estimates. That information will also be used to determine whether 
the QS holder complies with the ownership and use cap limitations 
imposed under the program. Allowing persons to harvest a given 
percentage of the fishery is anticipated to allow harvesters to avoid 
fishing in bad weather conditions, improving safety of the fleet. The 
fleet is also expected to be able to deliver a consistently higher 
quality product. Quality improvements are expected to result from 
shorter times between harvest and processing and less damage to the 
fish in the holds by not fishing in bad weather.
    In addition, the initial allocation process has a 90-day transfer 
window to allow persons to transfer QS between non-exempt AFA LLP 
licenses under certain conditions to honor private contracts and 
agreements associated with harvest of the AFA Pacific cod sideboard 
limits. This transfer window allows persons to resolve any disputes or 
request QS transfers between LLP licenses. After the 90-day window for 
these transfers has closed, QS cannot be separated from an LLP license 
or transferable AI endorsement unless necessary to prevent exceedances 
of the ownership or use caps, or if required by an operation of law.
    The PCTC Program includes a standardized appeals process. The 
appeals process provides participants the required opportunity to 
dispute the catch and processing history records in the Catch 
Accounting System that are used to determine a person's allocation of 
QS. The appeals process is in addition to the 90-day transfer window 
discussed above and open to all participants.
    Each year the cooperative manager for each cooperative will be 
required to submit an Application for PCTC Program CQ that identifies 
the LLP licenses and processor QS permits named to the cooperative and 
the vessels allowed to harvest the CQ. This application includes the 
inter-cooperative agreement that defines how the AI CQ set-aside will 
be harvested during years it is in effect. The Council requests that 
cooperatives submit an annual cooperative report to the Council.
    The Application of Transfer of PCTC Program QS for Processors will 
be required for eligible processors to transfer their QS to other 
processors. Processor QS assigned to a processor-held PCTC Program QS 
permit established under the PCTC program may be transferred through 
the NMFS online system with approval by NMFS.
    The PCTC program requires the cooperatives to set aside 12 percent 
of their A season CQ allocation for delivery to Aleutian Islands 
shoreplants in years that a representative from the City of Adak or the 
City of Atka files a valid intent to process with NMFS. The notice of 
intent to process is necessary for NMFS and the cooperatives to know 
whether the regulations established for the set-aside are in effect 
during the A and B seasons. If a notice of intent to process is filed, 
it also triggers additional reporting in the cooperative report to the 
Council.
    The PCTC Program is a LAPP, and therefore NMFS is required to 
collect fees for the PCTC Program under sections 303A and 304(d)(2) of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Section 304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
limits the cost recovery fee so that it may not exceed 3 percent of the 
ex-vessel value of the Pacific cod harvested under the PCTC Program. 
Ex-vessel volume and value reports currently being used to establish an 
average annual price for BSAI trawl caught Pacific cod will be used to 
establish the standard price, and no additional collection of price 
data will be necessary. NMFS uses this information to meet the required 
provisions in sections 303A and 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act that 
require NMFS to collect these fees associated with recoverable costs.
    In addition to the new requirements, the PCTC Program revises 
existing requirements.
    If LLP license holders want to transfer their LLP license or 
transferable AI endorsement and the associated PCTC Program QS, they 
must fill out an Application to Transfer a Groundfish or Crab LLP 
License. This form is revised to collect information on the PCTC QS 
transaction, including QS prices, amount transferred, and whether there 
are multiple transferees in the event ownership caps would otherwise be 
exceeded. Information is added to the LLP license transfer form 
identifying how PCTC QS would be distributed to the other LLP licenses 
if the original holder of the LLP license was assigned QS that was over 
the 5 percent ownership cap and qualified for the legacy exemption.
    The PCTC Program requires updating ATLAS data transmission to 
enable the timely electronic entry, archival, and transmission of 
observer data for at-sea operations and shorebased processing plants.
    This rule requires that all vessels submit logbooks when fishing in 
the PCTC program. All CVs greater than or equal to 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA 
currently submit logbooks. Some CVs that participate in the AI Pacific 
cod fishery

[[Page 53729]]

are less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA and may already file logbooks when 
fishing for Pacific cod. Many already complete logbooks based on their 
participation in other programs. However, a small number of CVs less 
than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA that do not currently submit a logbook will 
need to begin submitting a logbook if they choose to participate in the 
PCTC Program.

Description of Significant Alternatives That Minimize Adverse Impacts 
on Small Entities

    The Council and NMFS considered an extensive and elaborate suite of 
alternatives, options, and sub-options as it designed and evaluated a 
quota share program for the BSAI Pacific cod trawl CV sector, including 
a ``no action'' alternative. The Analysis presents the complete set of 
alternatives, in various combinations with the complex suite of 
elements and options. The Council selected a preferred alternative that 
includes a suite of elements and options to manage the BSAI trawl CV 
Pacific cod sector. The alternatives included no action (Alternative 1) 
and action to implement a cooperative-style LAPP for the BSAI Pacific 
cod trawl CV sector (Alternatives 2a and 2b and Alternative 3, which is 
the Council's recommended action).
    In general, the recommended LAPP includes allocations of QS to 
groundfish LLP licenses based on the legal landings of targeted BSAI 
Pacific cod in a Federal fishery during a range of qualifying years 
included in the options. The action also allocates QS to a processors 
based on processing history of legal landings of BSAI Pacific cod 
harvested in a Federal fishery and deducted from the BSAI trawl CV 
sector apportionment during the qualifying years. One alternative 
considered but not selected included gear conversion, which would have 
authorized BSAI Pacific cod quota associated with trawl CV LLP licenses 
to be fished annually by CVs using pot gear. In the end, the Council 
did not include the gear conversion element in its preferred 
alternative due to concerns over the possibility of high crab PSC in 
pot gear for red king crab (Zone 1) and C. opilio.
    A second option considered but removed was a cooperative formation 
approach based on existing AFA and non-AFA membership. The AFA vessels 
and non-AFA vessels would have formed their cooperatives independently 
of each other. A person owning both an AFA vessel and non-AFA vessel 
would have been required to join the AFA cooperative for the AFA vessel 
and the non-AFA cooperative for the non-AFA vessel. Allowing only an 
AFA and non-AFA cooperative was rejected by the Council after 
considering the obstacles it would create under the various program 
elements being considered by the Council and withdrawal of industry 
support for the option. Integrating multiple processors, the potential 
limitation on competition, and reduced cooperative formation choice 
were ultimately the issues associated with the two cooperative approach 
that led to it being removed from consideration. The recommended action 
allows a cooperative to associate with one or more processor(s). This 
approach reduces antitrust concerns that were raised to the Council 
under the AFA and non-AFA cooperative structure.
    The alternatives discussed in this section constitute the suite of 
``significant alternatives,'' under this action, for purposes of the 
RFA. Based upon the best available scientific data, and consideration 
of the objectives of this action, NMFS did not identify alternatives to 
the action 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 rule on small entities. After public process, the Council 
concluded that the PCTC Program would best accomplish the stated 
objectives articulated in the problem statement and applicable 
statutes, and minimize to the extent practicable adverse economic 
impacts on the universe of directly regulated small entities.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule contains collection of information requirements 
subject to review and approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA). This final rule contains new collections of information for the 
PCTC Program under new OMB Control Number 0648-0811 and revises 
requirements for collections of information under existing OMB Control 
Numbers 0648-0213 (Alaska Region Logbook and Activity Family of Forms); 
-0318 (North Pacific Observer Program); -0334 (Alaska License 
Limitation Program for Groundfish, Crab, and Scallops); -0711 (Alaska 
Cost Recovery and Fee Programs); -0678 (North Pacific Fishery 
Management Council Cooperative Annual Reports); and -0515 (Alaska 
Interagency Electronic Reporting System). However, because the 
collection of information authorized by OMB Control Number 0648-0515 is 
concurrently being revised in a separate action, the revisions to that 
collection of information in this rule will be assigned a temporary 
control number, 0648-0812, that will later be merged into 0648-0515. 
The existing collections of information under OMB Control Numbers 0648-
0330 (NMFS Alaska Region Scale & Catch Weighing Requirements) and 0648-
0445 (NMFS Alaska Region Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) Program) will 
also provide information needed to implement the PCTC Program and will 
continue to apply. This rule does not make changes to these two 
collections of information. The public reporting burden estimates 
provided below for these collections of information include the time 
for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering 
and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information.
OMB Control Number 0648-0811
    This rule creates new collection of information requirements to 
implement PCTC Program. The new collections of information authorize 
applications and processes used by the PCTC Program cooperatives, 
processors, LLP license holders, and community representatives to apply 
for permits, to transfer CQ and QS, to manage fishing and processor 
activity, and to appeal agency decisions. These new collections are 
necessary for NMFS to implement, monitor, and enforce the PCTC Program. 
The data is used to ensure that program participants adhere to all 
harvesting, processing, ownership, and use limits.
    The public reporting burden per individual response is estimated to 
average 2 hours for the Application for Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative 
Program Quota Share, 2 hours for the Application for Pacific Cod Trawl 
Cooperative Program Cooperative Quota, 2 hours for the Application for 
Transfer of Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program Quota Share for 
Processors, 10 minutes for the Application for Inter-Cooperative 
Transfer of Cooperative Quota, 30 minutes for the notification of 
intent to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, 2 hours for the 
application to transfer QS during the 90-day transfer window for non-
exempt AFA LLP license holders, and 4 hours for appeals.
OMB Control Number 0648-0213
    This rule revises the existing requirements for the collection of 
information 0648-0213 related to logbooks because CVs participating in 
the PCTC Program are required to submit a CV trawl gear daily fishing 
logbook. Some CVs less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA that do not currently 
submit this logbook will need to begin doing so

[[Page 53730]]

to participate in the PCTC Program. The revision to this collection of 
information adds as new respondents the CVs less than 60 ft (18.3 m) 
LOA that will need to start using the CV trawl gear daily fishing 
logbook. CVs participating in the PCTC Program have the option of using 
either the paper logbook approved under this collection or the 
electronic option, which is approved under OMB Control Number 0648-
0515. The PCTC Program does not change the information collected by 
this logbook. This rule requires CPs and shoreside processors 
authorized as processors in the PCTC Program to submit a product 
transfer report. However, no changes are needed to the respondents or 
responses for this report because all expected respondents are 
currently submitting it. The public reporting burden per individual 
response is estimated to average 18 minutes for the Catcher Vessel 
Trawl Daily Fishing Log and 20 minutes for the Product Transfer Report.
OMB Control Number 0648-0318
    This rule revises the existing requirements for the collection of 
information 0648-0318 related to the North Pacific Observer Program 
because all vessels participating in the PCTC program are required to 
have a computer onboard and use ATLAS to submit observer data to NMFS. 
This increases the number of vessels that need to provide observers 
access to a computer with ATLAS installed. PCTC Program participants 
have up to three years to install communication equipment to facilitate 
electronic transmission of observer data to NMFS. Most vessels comply 
with this requirement by allowing NMFS to install ATLAS on an existing 
computer on the vessel. Many, if not all, of the vessels that will need 
to install ATLAS already have a computer that meets the minimum 
requirements, and they will incur costs only if they choose to purchase 
an additional computer. Estimated costs to purchase and install the 
data transmission system vary from about $5,000 to $37,000, depending 
on what a vessel needs to install. This rule also revises the existing 
requirements in this collection because CVs that choose to participate 
in the PCTC Program are required to be in the full observer coverage 
category instead of the partial observer coverage category. These CVs 
will no longer be required to use ODDS to log fishing trips; therefore, 
this decreases the number of respondents that log trips in ODDS. The 
public reporting burden per individual response is estimated to average 
15 minutes to log a trip in ODDS.
OMB Control Number 0648-0334
    This rule revises the existing requirements for the collection of 
information 0648-0334 related to the LLP license and the transferable 
AI endorsement to include PCTC Program QS information on the 
groundfish/crab LLP license transfer application form. The public 
reporting burden per individual response is estimated to average 1 hour 
for the Application for Transfer LLP Groundfish/Crab License.
OMB Control Number 0648-0812
    This rule revises the collection of information under OMB Control 
Number 0648-0515 associated with electronic reporting. However, due to 
multiple concurrent actions for that collection, the collection-of-
information requirements will be assigned a temporary control number, 
0648-0812, that will later be merged into OMB Control Number 0648-0515.
    PCTC Program participants need to use eLandings to submit landings 
and production information, which is approved under control number OMB 
0648-0515. CVs participating in the PCTC Program are required to submit 
a CV trawl gear daily fishing logbook and may use either the electronic 
logbook approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0515 or the paper 
logbook approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0213. CVs greater than 
60 ft (18.3 m) LOA are already required to maintain logbooks but this 
is a new requirement for CVs less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA. Some CVs 
less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA that do not currently submit the logbook 
will need to begin doing so. The temporary control number covers the 
revisions necessary to -0515 for the CVs that choose to submit 
electronic logbooks. The PCTC Program does not change the information 
collected by this logbook but does increase the number of participants 
required to submit it. The public reporting burden per individual 
response is estimated to average 15 minutes for the CV electronic 
logbook.
    A change from the proposed rule to the final rule adds a new 
reporting requirement for the mothership daily cumulative production 
logbook, which is approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0515. This 
revision to -0515 for the mothership logbook is included in this 
temporary control number. No changes are needed to the respondents or 
responses for the mothership logbook because all expected respondents 
are currently submitting it. No change was made to the public reporting 
burden because the estimate allows for differences in the time needed 
to complete and submit the information. The public reporting burden per 
individual response is estimated to average 15 minutes for the 
mothership logbook.
OMB Control Number 0648-0678
    This rule revises the existing collection of information under 
0648-0678 because the Council requests PCTC Program cooperatives submit 
a voluntary annual cooperative report to the Council. This revision 
adds the PCTC Program cooperatives as new respondents that will submit 
an annual cooperative report. The public reporting burden per 
individual response is estimated to average 18 hours for the PCTC 
Program annual report.
OMB Control Number 0648-0711
    This rule revises the existing requirements for the collection of 
information 0648-0711 related to cost recovery because the PCTC Program 
is a LAPP that is subject to a cost recovery fee under Magnuson-Stevens 
Act 303A. This revision adds the PCTC Program cooperatives as new 
respondents that will submit a cost recovery fee to NMFS. The rule 
requires PCTC Program processors to submit an annual Pacific Cod Ex-
vessel Volume and Value Report; however, this does not change the 
respondents or responses for this report because all expected 
respondents are currently submitting it. The public reporting burden 
per individual response is estimated to average 1 minute for the PCTC 
cost recovery fee and 1 minute for the Pacific Cod Ex-vessel Volume and 
Value Report.
Public Comments
    We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment 
on proposed and continuing information collections, which helps us 
assess the impact of our information collection requirements and 
minimize the public's reporting burden. Written comments and 
recommendations for these information collections should be submitted 
on the following website: www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find the 
particular information collection by using the search function and 
entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty 
for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

[[Page 53731]]

List of Subjects

15 CFR Part 902

    Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 28, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS amends 15 CFR part 
902 and 50 CFR part 679 as follows:

Title 15--Commerce and Foreign Trade

PART 902--NOAA INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE 
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT: OMB CONTROL NUMBERS

0
1. The authority citation for part 902 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.


0
2. Amend Sec.  902.1, in the table in paragraph (b), under ``50 CFR'', 
by:
0
a. Revising the entry for ``679.4'';
0
b. Adding in numerical order an entry for ``679.5(x)'';
0
c. Revising the entry for ``679.7'';
0
d. Adding in numerical order an entry for ``679.7(m)'';
0
e. Revising the entry for ``679.51''; and
0
f. Adding in numerical order entries for ``679.130'' through 
``679.132'', ``679.134'', and ``679.135''.
    The revisions and additions read as follows:


Sec.  902.1  OMB control numbers assigned pursuant to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
CFR part or section where the
   information  collection      Current OMB control number  (all numbers
    requirement is located                 begin with 0648-)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
50 CFR.......................  .........................................
 
                              * * * * * * *
679.4........................  -0206, -0272, -0334, -0393, -0513, -0545,
                                -0565, -0665, and -0811.
 
                              * * * * * * *
679.5(x).....................  -0811.
 
                              * * * * * * *
679.7........................  -0206, -0269, -0272, -0316, -0318, -0330,
                                -0334, -0393, -0445, -0513, -0514, -
                                0545, -0565, and -0811.
 
                              * * * * * * *
679.7(m).....................  -0811
 
                              * * * * * * *
679.51.......................  -0206, -0269, -0272, -0318, -0401, -0513,
                                -0545, -0565, and -0811.
 
                              * * * * * * *
679.130......................  -0811.
679.131......................  -0811.
679.132......................  -0811.
679.134......................  -0811.
679.135......................  -0811.
 
                              * * * * * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA

0
3. The authority citation for part 679 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., 3631 et seq.; 
Pub. L. 108-447; Pub. L. 111-281.

0
4. Amend Sec.  679.2 by:
0
a. Removing the definition of ``Affiliation for the purpose of defining 
AFA and the Rockfish Program'';
0
b. Adding in alphabetical order a definition for ``Affiliation for the 
purpose of defining AFA, Rockfish Program, and PCTC Program'';
0
c. Republishing the definition of ``Aleutian Islands shoreplant'';
0
d. Revising the definitions of ``Cooperative quota (CQ)'' and ``CQ 
permit''; and
0
e. Adding in alphabetical order definitions for ``NMFS Alaska Region 
website,'' ``Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative (PCTC) Program,'' ``PCTC 
Program cooperative,'' ``PCTC Program harvester QS pool,'' ``PCTC 
Program official record,'' ``PCTC Program participants,'' ``PCTC 
Program processor QS pool'', ``PCTC Program QS unit,'' and ``PCTC 
Program quota share (QS)''.
    The additions and revisions read as follows:


 Sec.  679.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Affiliation for the purpose of defining AFA, Rockfish Program, and 
PCTC Program means a relationship between two or more individuals, 
corporations, or other business concerns, except CDQ groups, in which 
one concern directly or indirectly owns a 10 percent or greater 
interest in another, exerts control over another, or has the power to 
exert control over another; or a third individual, corporation, or 
other business concern directly or indirectly owns a 10 percent or 
greater interest in both, exerts control over both, or has the power to 
exert control over both.
    (1) What is 10 percent or greater ownership? For the purpose of 
determining affiliation, 10 percent or greater ownership is deemed to 
exist if an individual, corporation, or other business concern directly 
or indirectly owns 10 percent or greater interest in a

[[Page 53732]]

second corporation or other business concern.
    (2) What is an indirect interest? An indirect interest is one that 
passes through one or more intermediate entities. An entity's 
percentage of indirect interest in a second entity is equal to the 
entity's percentage of direct interest in an intermediate entity 
multiplied by the intermediate entity's direct or indirect interest in 
the second entity.
    (3) What is control? For the purpose of determining affiliation, 
control is deemed to exist if an individual, corporation, or other 
business concern has any of the following relationships or forms of 
control over another individual, corporation, or other business 
concern:
    (i) Controls 10 percent or more of the voting stock of another 
corporation or business concern;
    (ii) Has the authority to direct the business of the entity that 
owns the fishing vessel or processor. The authority to direct the 
business of the entity does not include the right to simply participate 
in the direction of the business activities of an entity that owns a 
fishing vessel or processor;
    (iii) Has the authority in the ordinary course of business to limit 
the actions of or to replace the chief executive officer, a majority of 
the board of directors, any general partner or any person serving in a 
management capacity of an entity that holds 10 percent or greater 
interest in a fishing vessel or processor. Standard rights of minority 
shareholders to restrict the actions of the entity are not included in 
this definition of control provided they are unrelated to day-to-day 
business activities. These rights include provisions to require the 
consent of the minority shareholder to sell all or substantially all 
the assets, to enter into a different business, to contract with the 
major investors or their affiliates, or to guarantee the obligations of 
majority investors or their affiliates;
    (iv) Has the authority to direct the transfer, operation, or 
manning of a fishing vessel or processor. The authority to direct the 
transfer, operation, or manning of a vessel or processor does not 
include the right to simply participate in such activities;
    (v) Has the authority to control the management of or to be a 
controlling factor in the entity that holds 10 percent or greater 
interest in a fishing vessel or processor;
    (vi) Absorbs all the costs and normal business risks associated 
with ownership and operation of a fishing vessel or processor;
    (vii) Has the responsibility to procure insurance on the fishing 
vessel or processor, or assumes any liability in excess of insurance 
coverage;
    (viii) Has the authority to control a fishery cooperative through 
10 percent or greater ownership or control over a majority of the 
vessels in the cooperative, has the authority to appoint, remove, or 
limit the actions of or replace the chief executive officer of the 
cooperative, or has the authority to appoint, remove, or limit the 
actions of a majority of the board of directors of the cooperative. In 
such instance, all members of the cooperative are considered affiliates 
of the individual, corporation, or other business concern that exerts 
control over the cooperative; or
    (ix) Has the ability through any other means whatsoever to control 
the entity that holds 10 percent or greater interest in a fishing 
vessel or processor.
* * * * *
    Aleutian Islands shoreplant means a processing facility that is 
physically located on land west of 170[deg] W. longitude within the 
State of Alaska.
* * * * *
    Cooperative quota (CQ)--(1) For purposes of the Amendment 80 
Program means:
    (i) The annual catch limit of an Amendment 80 species that may be 
caught by an Amendment 80 cooperative while fishing under a CQ permit;
    (ii) The amount of annual halibut and crab PSC that may be used by 
an Amendment 80 cooperative while fishing under a CQ permit.
    (2) For purposes of the Rockfish Program means:
    (i) The annual catch limit of a rockfish primary species or 
rockfish secondary species that may be harvested by a rockfish 
cooperative while fishing under a CQ permit;
    (ii) The amount of annual halibut PSC that may be used by a 
rockfish cooperative in the Central GOA while fishing under a CQ permit 
(see rockfish halibut PSC in this section).
    (3) For purposes of the PCTC Program means:
    (i) The annual catch limit of Pacific cod that may be caught by a 
PCTC Program cooperative while fishing under a CQ permit;
    (ii) The amount of annual halibut and crab PSC that may be used by 
a PCTC Program cooperative while fishing under a CQ permit.
* * * * *
    CQ permit means a permit issued to an Amendment 80 cooperative 
under Sec.  679.4(o)(2), a rockfish cooperative under Sec.  
679.4(n)(1), or a PCTC Program cooperative under Sec.  679.131(a).
* * * * *
    NMFS Alaska Region website means https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska.
* * * * *
    Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative (PCTC) Program means the Pacific Cod 
Trawl Cooperative Program as implemented under subpart L of this part.
* * * * *
    PCTC Program cooperative means a group of eligible Pacific cod 
harvesters who have chosen to form a cooperative and associate with a 
processor under the requirements at Sec.  679.131 in order to combine 
and harvest fish collectively under a CQ permit issued by NMFS.
    PCTC Program harvester QS pool means the sum of Pacific cod QS 
units assigned to LLP licenses established for the PCTC Program fishery 
based on the PCTC Program official record.
    PCTC Program official record means information used by NMFS 
necessary to determine eligibility to participate in the PCTC Program 
and assign specific harvest privileges or limits to PCTC Program 
participants based on Pacific cod legal landings as defined at Sec.  
679.130.
    PCTC Program participants means those PCTC Program harvesters and 
processors who receive, hold, or use PCTC Program QS.
    PCTC Program processor QS pool means the sum of PCTC Program QS 
units assigned to processor permits issued under the PCTC Program based 
on the PCTC Program official record.
    PCTC Program QS unit means a single share of the PCTC Program QS 
pool based on Pacific cod legal landings.
    PCTC Program quota share (QS) means QS units issued by NMFS 
expressed in metric tons, derived from the Pacific cod legal landings 
assigned to an LLP license or PCTC Program QS permit held by a 
processor and used as the basis for the issuance of annual CQ.
* * * * *

0
5. Amend Sec.  679.4 by adding paragraphs (a)(1)(xvi), (k)(16), and (q) 
to read as follows:


Sec.  679.4  Permits.

    (a) * * *
    (1) * * *

[[Page 53733]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Permit is in effect       For more
If program permit or card type      from issue date     information, see
              is:                 through the end of:         . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
(xvi) PCTC Program:
    (A) PCTC Program QS permit  10 Years..............  Paragraph (q) of
     (for processors).                                   this section.
    (B) PCTC Program CQ permit  Until expiration date   Paragraph (q) of
                                 shown on permit.        this section.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    (k) * * *
    (16) PCTC Program. In addition to other requirements of this part, 
an LLP license holder must have PCTC Program QS assigned to their 
groundfish LLP license to join a PCTC Program cooperative to harvest 
Pacific cod.
* * * * *
    (q) PCTC Program permits--(1) PCTC Program cooperative quota 
permits. (i) A CQ permit is issued annually to a PCTC Program 
cooperative that submits a complete and timely application for CQ as 
described at Sec.  679.131 that is approved by the Regional 
Administrator. A CQ permit authorizes a PCTC Program cooperative to 
participate in the PCTC Program. The CQ permit will indicate the amount 
of Pacific cod that may be harvested by the PCTC Program cooperative, 
and the amount of halibut PSC and crab PSC that may be used by the PCTC 
Program cooperative. The CQ permit will list the members of the PCTC 
Program cooperative, the trawl catcher vessels that are authorized to 
fish under the CQ permit for that cooperative, and the PCTC Program 
processor(s) with whom that cooperative is associated.
    (ii) A CQ permit is valid only until the end of the BSAI Pacific 
cod B season for the year in which the CQ permit is issued;
    (iii) A legible copy of a valid CQ permit must be carried on board 
the vessel(s) used by the PCTC Program cooperative.
    (2) PCTC Program quota share permits for processors. (i) NMFS will 
issue PCTC Program QS permits to eligible processors if the owner(s) 
submits to the Regional Administrator a completed application for PCTC 
Program QS as described at Sec.  679.130 that is subsequently approved.
    (ii) A processor may associate the QS assigned to the PCTC Program 
QS permit with a PCTC Program cooperative as described at Sec.  
679.131.

0
6. Amend Sec.  679.5 by:
0
a. Adding paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(G);
0
b. Revising paragraph (a)(4)(i)
0
c. Adding paragraph (c)(6)(v)(J)(1) and reserved paragraph 
(c)(6)(v)(J)(2); and
0
d. Adding paragraph (x).
    The additions and revision read as follows:


Sec.  679.5  Recordkeeping and reporting (R&R).

    (a) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (iii) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If harvest made under .  Record the . . .         For more information,
 . . program                                       see . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    (G) PCTC Program Cooperative number subpart L to this part.
* * * * *
    (4) * * *
    (i) Catcher vessels less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA. Except for 
vessels using pot gear as described in paragraph (c)(3)(i)(B)(1) of 
this section or vessels participating in the PCTC Program as described 
in paragraph (x) of this section, the owner and operator of a catcher 
vessel less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA are not required to comply with the 
R&R requirements of this section, but must comply with the vessel 
activity report described at paragraph (k) of this section.
* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (6) * * *
    (v) * * *
    (J) * * *
    (1) For the PCTC Program, enter the observer's haul number for each 
catcher vessel delivery of an unsorted codend by 2400 hours, A.l.t., 
each day to record the previous day's delivery information.
    (2) [Reserved]
* * * * *
    (x) PCTC Program. The owners and operators of catcher vessels and 
processors authorized as participants in the PCTC Program must comply 
with the applicable R&R requirements of this section and must assign 
all catch to a PCTC Program cooperative at the time of catch or receipt 
of groundfish. Owners of catcher vessels and processors authorized as 
participants in the PCTC Program must ensure that their designated 
representatives or employees comply with applicable R&R requirements as 
described at Sec.  679.134.

0
7. Amend Sec.  679.7 b adding paragraph (m) to read as follows:


Sec.  679.7  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (m) PCTC Program--(1) General. (i) Name an LLP license in more than 
one Application for PCTC Program CQ in a fishing year.
    (ii) Use a vessel to catch or receive a PCTC Program cooperative's 
Pacific cod when that vessel was not listed on the Application for PCTC 
Program CQ.
    (iii) Fail to comply with any other requirement or restriction 
specified in this part or violate any provision of this part.
    (2) Vessel owners and operators participating in the PCTC Program. 
(i) Fail to follow the catch monitoring requirements detailed at Sec.  
679.134.
    (ii) Operate a vessel that is subject to a sideboard limit detailed 
at Sec.  679.133, as applicable, and fail to follow the catch 
monitoring requirements detailed at Sec.  679.134.
    (iii) Exceed the ownership or use caps specified at Sec.  679.133.
    (3) VMS. (i) Operate a vessel in a PCTC Program cooperative and 
fail to use functioning VMS equipment as described at Sec.  679.134.
    (ii) Operate a vessel that is subject to a sideboard limit detailed 
at Sec.  679.133 and fail to use functioning VMS equipment as described 
at Sec.  679.134.
    (4) PCTC Program processors. (i) Take deliveries of, or process, 
PCTC Program Pacific cod harvested by a catcher vessel fishing under 
the authority of a CQ permit unless the processor has an FPP or FFP and 
LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement.
    (ii) For the manager of a shoreside processor or stationary 
floating processor to process any groundfish delivered by a catcher 
vessel fishing under the authority of a CQ permit not weighed on a 
scale approved by the State of Alaska.
    (iii) Fail to submit a timely and complete Pacific cod Ex-vessel 
Volume and Value Report as required under Sec.  679.5(u)(1).
    (iv) Use a catcher/processor designated on an LLP license with a 
BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement to sort, process, or 
discard any species, except halibut sorted on deck by vessels 
participating in halibut deck sorting described at Sec.  679.120, 
before the total catch is weighed on a

[[Page 53734]]

scale that meets the requirements of Sec.  679.28(b).
    (v) Use a catcher/processor designated on an LLP license with a 
BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement to process Pacific cod in 
excess of the at-sea processing sideboard limit defined at Sec.  
679.133(b)(2) and assigned to the LLP license.
    (vi) Process an amount of Pacific cod that exceeds use caps 
specified at Sec.  679.133.
    (5) PCTC Program cooperatives. (i) Harvest PCTC Program Pacific 
cod, use halibut PSC, or use crab PSC assigned to a PCTC Program 
cooperative in the BSAI without having on board a legible copy of valid 
CQ permit.
    (ii) Begin a fishing trip for PCTC Program Pacific cod with any 
vessel named in a PCTC Program cooperative if the total amount of 
unharvested PCTC Program Pacific cod on a CQ permit currently held by 
that cooperative is zero or less.
    (iii) Have a negative balance in a CQ account after the end of the 
calendar year for which a CQ permit was issued.
    (iv) Fail to submit a PCTC Program cost recovery fee payment as 
required under Sec.  679.135.
* * * * *

0
8. Amend Sec.  679.20 by revising paragraph (a)(7)(viii) and adding 
paragraph (e)(3)(vi) to read as follows:


Sec.  679.20  General limitations.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (7) * * *
    (viii) Aleutian Islands CQ set-aside provisions. During the annual 
harvest specifications process, the Regional Administrator will 
establish the PCTC Program Aleutian Islands CQ set-aside through the 
process set forth at Sec.  679.132.
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (vi) For a catcher/processor with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl 
mothership endorsement that receives an unsorted codend delivered by a 
catcher vessel authorized to harvest and that is assigned to PCTC 
Program Pacific cod, the maximum retainable amount for each species or 
species group applies at any time for the duration of the fishing trip 
and must be applied to only the PCTC Program hauls during a fishing 
trip.
* * * * *

0
9. Amend Sec.  679.21 by revising paragraphs (b)(1)(ii)(B) introductory 
text, (b)(1)(ii)(B)(5), (b)(2)(iii)(A) and (B), (b)(4)(i)(B), 
(e)(3)(iv) introductory text, and (e)(3)(iv)(E) and adding paragraph 
(e)(7)(v) to read as follows:


Sec.  679.21  Prohibited species bycatch management.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (B) Trawl fishery categories. For purposes of apportioning the 
trawl PSC limit set forth under paragraph (b)(1)(ii)(A)(1) of this 
section among trawl fisheries, the following fishery categories are 
specified and defined in terms of round-weight equivalents of those 
groundfish species or species groups for which a TAC has been specified 
under Sec.  679.20.
* * * * *
    (5) Pacific cod fishery. Fishing with trawl gear during any weekly 
reporting period that results in a retained aggregate amount of Pacific 
cod that is greater than the retained amount of any other groundfish 
fishery category defined under this paragraph (b)(1)(ii)(B). This 
Pacific cod fishery is further apportioned between the PCTC Program, 
the trawl catcher vessel limited access C season, and AFA catcher/
processors as established at Sec.  679.131(c) and (d).
* * * * *
    (2) * * *
    (iii) * * *
    (A) Unused seasonal apportionments. Unused seasonal apportionments 
of trawl fishery PSC allowances made under this paragraph (b)(2) will 
be added to the respective fishery PSC allowance for the next season 
during a current fishing year except for the Pacific cod fishery 
apportionment to the PCTC Program, which follows the regulations at 
Sec.  679.131(c) and (d).
    (B) Seasonal apportionment exceeded. If a seasonal apportionment of 
a trawl fishery PSC allowance made under this paragraph (b)(2) is 
exceeded, the amount by which the seasonal apportionment is exceeded 
will be deducted from the respective apportionment for the next season 
during a current fishing year except for the Pacific cod fishery 
apportionment to the PCTC Program, which follows the regulations at 
Sec.  679.131(c) and (d).
* * * * *
    (4) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) Closures. Except as provided in paragraph (b)(4)(i)(A) of this 
section, if, during the fishing year, the Regional Administrator 
determines that U.S. fishing vessels participating in any of the trawl 
fishery categories listed in paragraphs (b)(1)(ii)(B)(2) through (6) of 
this section will catch the halibut PSC allowance, or seasonal 
apportionment thereof, specified for that fishery category under 
paragraph (b)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section, NMFS will publish in the 
Federal Register a document to close the entire BSAI to directed 
fishing for each species and/or species group in that fishery category 
for the remainder of the year or for the remainder of the season. This 
does not apply to allocations to the PCTC Program specified at Sec.  
679.133(b).
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (iv) Trawl fishery categories. For purposes of apportioning trawl 
PSC limits for crab and herring among fisheries, other than crab PSC CQ 
assigned to an Amendment 80 cooperative, the following fishery 
categories are specified and defined in terms of round-weight 
equivalents of those groundfish species or species groups for which a 
TAC has been specified under Sec.  679.20.
* * * * *
    (E) Pacific cod fishery. Fishing with trawl gear during any weekly 
reporting period that results in a retained aggregate amount of Pacific 
cod that is greater than the retained amount of any other groundfish 
fishery category defined under this paragraph (e)(3)(iv). The Pacific 
cod fishery is further apportioned between the PCTC Program, the trawl 
catcher vessel limited access C season, and AFA catcher/processors as 
established at Sec.  679.131(d).
* * * * *
    (7) * * *
    (v) This paragraph (e)(7) does not apply to apportionments to the 
PCTC Program as described at Sec.  679.130.
* * * * *

0
10. Amend Sec.  679.51 by:
0
a. Revising paragraph (a)(2)(i)(C)(4);
0
b. Adding paragraphs (a)(2)(i)(C)(5) and (a)(2)(vi)(G);
0
c. Revising paragraphs (e)(1)(iii)(A) and (e)(1)(iii)(B) introductory 
text; and
0
d. Adding paragraph (e)(1)(iii)(D).
    The revisions and additions read as follows:


Sec.  679.51  Observer and Electronic Monitoring System requirements 
for vessels and plants.

    (a) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) * * *
    (4) Using trawl gear in the BSAI if the vessel has been placed in 
the full observer coverage category under paragraph (a)(4) of this 
section; or
    (5) Participating in the PCTC Program.
* * * * *
    (vi) * * *

[[Page 53735]]

    (G) PCTC Program motherships. A mothership that receives unsorted 
codends from catcher vessels harvesting Pacific cod under the PCTC 
Program must have at least two observers aboard the mothership, at 
least one of whom must be endorsed as a lead level 2 observer. More 
than two observers must be aboard if the observer workload restriction 
would otherwise preclude sampling as required.
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (iii) * * *
    (A) Observer use of equipment. Allow an observer to use the 
vessel's communications equipment and personnel, on request, for the 
confidential entry, transmission, and receipt of work-related messages 
(including electronic transmission of data), at no cost to the observer 
or the United States.
    (B) Equipment, software, and data transmission requirements. The 
operator of a catcher/processor (except for a catcher/processor placed 
in the partial observer coverage category under paragraph (a)(3) of 
this section), mothership, catcher vessel 125 ft (38.1 m) LOA or longer 
(except for a catcher vessel fishing for groundfish with pot gear), or 
a catcher vessel participating in the PCTC Program (except for 
paragraph (e)(1)(iii)(D) of this section) must provide the following 
equipment, software and data transmission capabilities:
* * * * *
    (D) PCTC Program. The operator of a non-AFA catcher vessel 
participating in the PCTC Program is not required to comply with 
paragraph (e)(1)(iii)(B)(3) of this section to provide data 
transmission capability until September 7, 2026. However, once any non-
AFA catcher vessel in the PCTC Program is capable of at-sea data 
transmission, the operator must comply.
* * * * *

0
11. Amend Sec.  679.64 by revising paragraphs (b)(3)(ii) and (iv), 
removing and reserving paragraph (b)(4)(i), and revising paragraph 
(b)(4)(ii).
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  679.64  Harvesting sideboard limits in other fisheries.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (ii) BSAI Pacific cod. The AFA catcher vessel groundfish harvest 
limit for BSAI Pacific cod will be equal to the retained catch of BSAI 
Pacific cod in 1997 by AFA catcher vessels not exempted under paragraph 
(b)(2)(i)(A) of this section divided by the BSAI Pacific cod TAC 
available to catcher vessels in 1997; multiplied by the BSAI Pacific 
cod TAC available to catcher vessels in the year or season in which the 
harvest limit will be in effect. This limit is in effect only for C 
season.
* * * * *
    (iv) GOA groundfish. The non-exempt AFA catcher vessels and the 
associated LLP licenses groundfish harvest limit for each GOA 
groundfish species or species group will be equal to the aggregate 
retained catch of that groundfish species or species group from 2009 
through 2019 by AFA catcher vessels not exempted under paragraph 
(b)(2)(ii) of this section; divided by the sum of the TACs of that 
species or species group available to catcher vessels from 2009 through 
2019; multiplied by the TAC available to catcher vessels in the year or 
season in which the harvest limit will be in effect.
* * * * *
    (4) * * *
    (ii) The non-exempt AFA catcher vessels and the associated LLP 
licenses PSC bycatch limit for halibut in the GOA will be an annual 
amount based on a static ratio of 0.072 derived from the aggregate 
retained groundfish catch by non-exempt AFA CVs in each PSC target 
category from 2009 through 2019.
* * * * *

0
12. Add subpart L, consisting of Sec. Sec.  679.130 through 679.135, to 
read as follows:
Subpart L--Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program
Sec.
679.130 Allocation, use, and transfer of PCTC Program QS permits.
679.131 PCTC Program annual harvester privileges.
679.132 Aleutian Islands CQ set-aside provisions in the PCTC 
Program.
679.133 PCTC Program ownership caps, use caps, and sideboard limits.
679.134 PCTC Program permits, catch monitoring, catch accounting, 
and recordkeeping and reporting.
679.135 PCTC Program cost recovery.

Subpart L--Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program


Sec.  679.130  Allocation, use, and transfer of PCTC Program QS 
permits.

    (a) Applicable areas and seasons. (1) The PCTC Program applies to 
the Pacific cod trawl catcher vessel sector in the BSAI as defined at 
Sec.  679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A).
    (2) The following fishing seasons apply to fishing under this 
subpart subject to other provisions of this part:
    (i) Fishing by vessels participating in a cooperative is authorized 
for the PCTC Program A season from 1200 hours, A.l.t., January 20 
through 1200 hours, A.l.t., April 1.
    (ii) Fishing by vessels participating in a cooperative is 
authorized for the PCTC Program B season from 1200 hours, A.l.t., April 
1 through 1200 hours, A.l.t., June 10.
    (iii) The PCTC Program does not apply to the Pacific cod trawl 
catcher vessel C season, as defined at Sec.  679.23(e)(5)(ii)(C)(1).
    (b) Pacific cod legal landings. Pacific cod legal landings means 
the retained catch of Pacific cod caught using trawl gear in a 
management area in the BSAI by a catcher vessel during the directed 
fishing season for Pacific cod that:
    (1) Was made in compliance with State and Federal regulations in 
effect at that time; and
    (2) Was recorded on a State of Alaska fish ticket for shoreside 
deliveries or in observer data for mothership deliveries; and
    (3) Was the predominately retained species on the fishing trip; and
    (4) Was authorized by:
    (i) An LLP license and caught in the A or B season of a Federal or 
parallel groundfish fishery during the qualifying years 2009 through 
2019; or
    (ii) An LLP license with a transferable AI endorsement prior to 
receiving the AI endorsement and was caught in a parallel fishery 
between January 20, 2004, and September 13, 2009; and
    (5) Was not made in a CDQ fishery; and
    (6) Was not made in a State of Alaska GHL fishery.
    (c) Eligible PCTC Program harvesters. NMFS will assign Pacific cod 
legal landings to an LLP license only if the qualifying Pacific cod 
legal landings of BSAI trawl catcher vessel Pacific cod were made under 
the authority of a fully transferable LLP license endorsed for BS or AI 
Pacific cod with a trawl gear designation from 2009 through 2019 or 
under the authority of an LLP license endorsed for Pacific cod with a 
trawl gear designation prior to earning a transferable AI endorsement 
from 2004 through September 13, 2009;
    (d) Assigning trawl catcher vessel Pacific cod legal landings to an 
LLP license. (1) NMFS will assign Pacific cod legal landings to an LLP 
license in the form of PCTC Program QS only if the holder of the LLP 
license that authorized those landings submits a timely and complete 
application for PCTC Program QS under paragraph (h) of this section 
that is approved by NMFS.
    (2) NMFS will assign Pacific cod legal landings to an LLP license 
that meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section.

[[Page 53736]]

    (3) NMFS will reissue LLP licenses to eligible harvesters that 
specify the number of PCTC Program QS units assigned to their LLP 
licenses.
    (e) Eligible PCTC Program processors. NMFS will assign legal 
landings to an eligible PCTC Program processor if the processor 
operates under the authority of either a valid FPP or FFP and holds an 
LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement, and 
received deliveries of legal landings of Pacific cod from the trawl 
catcher vessel sector from 2009 through 2019. A processor is ineligible 
to receive PCTC Program QS if it does not hold an active FFP or FPP as 
of September 7, 2023.
    (f) Assigning Pacific cod processing history to an eligible 
processor. (1) NMFS will assign Pacific cod processing history to a 
processor in the form of PCTC Program QS only if the FFP or FPP holder 
submits a timely and complete application for PCTC Program QS that is 
approved by NMFS pursuant to paragraph (h) of this section.
    (2) NMFS will assign Pacific cod processing history based on legal 
landings delivered to a processor authorized by an FPP or FFP that 
meets the requirements of this section.
    (3) For the initial allocation of PCTC Program QS, qualifying 
processing history is attached to the processor at the time legal 
landings were received.
    (4) An eligible processor will be issued a PCTC Program QS permit 
that specifies the number of QS units assigned to that processor.
    (g) PCTC Program official record. (1) The PCTC Program official 
record will contain information used by the Regional Administrator to 
determine:
    (i) The amount of Pacific cod legal landings as defined at in this 
section assigned to an LLP license;
    (ii) The amount of Pacific cod processing history of legal landings 
as defined at Sec.  679.130 assigned to an FPP or FFP;
    (iii) The amount of PCTC Program QS resulting from Pacific cod 
legal landings assigned to an LLP license held by an eligible 
harvester, or QS resulting from Pacific cod processing history assigned 
to an FPP or FFP held by an eligible processor;
    (iv) The amount of Pacific cod sideboard ratios assigned to LLP 
licenses;
    (v) Eligibility to participate in the PCTC Program; and
    (vi) QS assigned to PCTC Program participants.
    (2) The PCTC Program official record is presumed to be correct. An 
applicant participating in the PCTC Program has the burden to prove 
otherwise.
    (3) Only Pacific cod legal landings and processing history of legal 
landings, as described in paragraph (b) of this section, shall be used 
to establish an allocation of PCTC Program QS. Evidence of legal 
landings shall be limited to documentation of state or Federal catch 
reports that indicate the amount of Pacific cod harvested, the 
groundfish reporting area in which it was caught, the vessel and gear 
type used to catch it, and the date of harvesting, landing, or 
reporting.
    (h) Application for PCTC Program quota share--(1) Submission of an 
application for PCTC Program quota share. A person who wishes to 
receive QS to participate in the PCTC Program as an eligible harvester 
or an eligible processor must submit a timely and complete application 
for PCTC Program QS. An application form will be provided by NMFS or 
available from NMFS Alaska Region website as defined at Sec.  679.2. 
The acceptable submittal methods will be described on the application 
form.
    (2) Deadline. A completed application for PCTC Program QS must be 
received by NMFS no later than 1700 hours, A.l.t., on October 10, 2023, 
or if sent by U.S. mail, postmarked by that time. Objective written 
evidence of timely application will be considered proof of a timely 
application.
    (3) Contents of application. A timely and complete application must 
contain the information specified on the application for PCTC Program 
QS with all required documentation attached.
    (i) Additional required documentation for LLP license holders. 
Vessel names, ADF&G vessel registration numbers, and USCG documentation 
numbers of all vessels that fished under the authority of each LLP 
license, including dates when landings were made under the authority of 
an LLP license from 2009 through 2019 or under the authority of an LLP 
license prior to earning a transferable AI endorsement from 2004-2019;
    (ii) Additional required documentation for processors. Processor 
name, FFP or FPP number, and location of processing plant, including 
dates when landings were made under the authority of an LLP license 
from 2009 through 2019;
    (iii) The applicant must sign and date the application certifying 
under penalty of perjury that all information is true and correct. If 
the application is completed by a designated representative, then 
explicit authorization signed by the applicant must accompany the 
application.
    (4) Application evaluation. The Regional Administrator will 
evaluate applications and compare all claims of catch history or 
processing history in an application with the information in the PCTC 
Program official record. Application claims that are consistent with 
information in the PCTC Program official record will be approved by the 
Regional Administrator. Application claims that are inconsistent with 
the PCTC Program official record will not be approved unless supported 
by documentation sufficient to substantiate such claims. An applicant 
who submits claims of catch history or processing history that are 
inconsistent with the official record without sufficient evidence, or 
an applicant who fails to submit the information specified in paragraph 
(d) of this section, will be provided a single 30-day evidentiary 
period to submit the specified information, submit evidence to verify 
their claims of catch or processing history, or submit a revised 
application consistent with information in the PCTC Program official 
record. An applicant who claims catch or processing history that is 
inconsistent with information in the PCTC Program official record has 
the burden of proving that the submitted claims are correct. Any claims 
that remain unsubstantiated after the 30-day evidentiary period will be 
denied. All applicants will be notified of NMFS's final application 
determinations by an initial administrative determination (IAD), which 
will inform applicants of their appeal rights under 15 CFR part 906.
    (5) Appeals. An applicant may appeal an IAD under the provisions in 
15 CFR part 906.
    (i) Assigning PCTC Program QS to Harvesters and Processors. The 
Regional Administrator will assign PCTC Program QS only to an eligible 
harvester or eligible processor who submits a timely application for 
PCTC Program QS that is approved by NMFS.
    (1) Calculation of PCTC Program QS allocation to LLP licenses 
without a transferable AI endorsement. NMFS will assign a specific 
amount of PCTC Program QS units to each LLP license based on the 
Pacific cod legal landings of each LLP license using information from 
the PCTC Program official record according to the following procedures:
    (i) Determine the Pacific cod legal landings for each LLP license 
for each calendar year from 2009 through 2019.
    (ii) Select the 10 calendar years from the qualifying time period 
with the highest amount of legal landings for each LLP license, 
including years with zero metric tons if necessary.
    (iii) Sum the Pacific cod legal landings of the highest 10 years 
for each LLP license. This yields the PCTC

[[Page 53737]]

Program QS units (in metric tons) for each LLP license.
    (2) Calculation of PCTC Program QS allocation to LLP licenses with 
a transferable AI endorsement. NMFS will assign a specific amount of 
PCTC Program QS units to each LLP license with a transferable AI 
endorsement based on the Pacific cod legal landings of each using 
information from the PCTC Program official record according to the 
following procedures:
    (i) Determine the Pacific cod legal landings for each LLP license 
with a transferable AI endorsement for each calendar year from 2004 
through 2019.
    (ii) Select the fifteen calendar years that yield the highest 
amount of legal landings for each LLP license, including years with 
zero metric tons if necessary.
    (iii) Sum the Pacific cod legal landings of the highest fifteen 
years for each LLP license with transferable AI endorsement. This 
yields the PCTC Program QS units (in metric tons) for each LLP license 
with a transferable AI endorsement.
    (3) Official record date. The initial PCTC Program QS pool for all 
LLP licenses, with and without a transferable AI endorsement, is the 
sum of the sum of the PCTC Program QS units assigned to all LLP 
licenses in metric tons based on the PCTC Program official record as of 
December 31, 2022.
    (4) Calculation of PCTC Program QS allocation to processors. NMFS 
will assign a specific amount of PCTC Program QS units to each eligible 
processor based on the Pacific cod legal landings delivered to each FPP 
or FFP using information from the PCTC Program official record 
according to the following procedures:
    (i) Sum the Pacific cod legal landings delivered to each FPP or FFP 
for each calendar year from 2009 through 2019;
    (ii) Select the ten calendar years that yield the highest amount of 
legal landings delivered to each FPP or FFP, including years with zero 
metric tons if necessary;
    (iii) Sum the Pacific cod legal landings of the highest 10 years 
for each FPP or FFP. This yields the QS units for each eligible 
processor, which will be specified on a PCTC Program QS permit for that 
processor;
    (iv) The PCTC Program QS pool for processors is the sum of all QS 
units assigned to processors in metric tons based on the PCTC official 
record as of December 31, 2022.
    (5) Non-severability and exceptions. Pacific cod legal landings are 
non-severable from the LLP license, transferable AI endorsement, or FPP 
to which those Pacific cod legal landings are assigned in the PCTC 
Program official record except under the following provisions:
    (i) If multiple LLP licenses authorized catch by a vessel, the LLP 
license holders must submit to NMFS an agreement specifying the amount 
of shared catch history to assign to each LLP license with the 
application for PCTC Program QS. In the absence of an agreement, the 
owner of the vessel that made the catch will assign qualifying catch 
history to each LLP license.
    (ii) For the LLP licenses associated with non-exempt AFA catcher 
vessels, within 90 days of initial issuance of PCTC Program QS, the 
owners of the LLP licenses that are associated with AFA non-exempt 
catcher vessels that engaged in fish transfer agreements during the 
qualifying periods may transfer PCTC Program QS to other LLP licenses 
associated with AFA non-exempt vessels, subject to the ownership cap at 
Sec.  679.133.
    (A) NMFS will execute permanent transfers of PCTC Program QS 
between eligible LLP licenses during the 90-day transfer provision upon 
request. The transferor and transferee must show they agree to the one-
time permanent transfer of PCTC Program QS, or show a transfer is 
authorized by an operation of law (e.g., a court order). Requests to 
transfer PCTC Program QS must specify which LLP license is transferring 
PCTC Program QS, which LLP license is receiving PCTC Program QS, and 
the amount of PCTC Program QS to be transferred.
    (B) After the expiration of the 90-day transfer provision, PCTC 
Program QS will no longer be severable from the LLP license to which it 
is assigned unless authorized by the transfer rules specified in 
paragraph (j) or modification is supported by an operation of law.
    (j) Transfer of PCTC Program QS. (1) Transfer of an LLP license 
with PCTC Program QS. A person may transfer an LLP license and the PCTC 
Program QS assigned to that LLP license under the provisions at Sec.  
679.4(k)(7), provided that the LLP license is not assigned PCTC Program 
QS in excess of the ownership cap specified at Sec.  679.133 at the 
time of transfer.
    (2) Transfer of PCTC Program QS assigned to LLP licenses that 
exceeds PCTC Program QS ownership caps.
    (i) If an LLP license receives an initial allocation of PCTC 
Program QS that exceeds an ownership cap specified at Sec.  679.133(a), 
upon transfer of the LLP license, the LLP license holder may transfer 
the amount of PCTC Program QS in excess of the ownership cap separately 
from the LLP license and assign it to one or more LLP licenses. 
However, a transfer will not be approved by NMFS if that transfer would 
cause the receiving LLP license to exceed an ownership cap specified at 
Sec.  679.133(a).
    (ii) Prior to the transfer of an LLP license that received an 
initial allocation of PCTC Program QS that exceeds an ownership cap 
specified at Sec.  679.133(a), the LLP license holder must transfer the 
PCTC Program QS that is in excess of the ownership cap separately from 
that LLP license and assign it to one or more LLP licenses. On 
completion of the transfer of PCTC Program QS, the LLP license that was 
initially allocated an amount of PCTC Program QS in excess of the 
ownership cap may not exceed any ownership cap specified at Sec.  
679.133(a).
    (iii) Any PCTC Program QS associated with the LLP license that is 
in excess of the ownership cap may be assigned to another LLP license 
through the application used to transfer LLP licenses, and only if the 
application is approved as specified at Sec.  679.4(k)(7).
    (iv) PCTC Program QS that is transferred from an LLP license that 
was initially allocated an amount of PCTC Program QS in excess of the 
ownership cap specified at Sec.  679.133(a) and assigned to another LLP 
license may not be severed from the receiving LLP license.
    (3) Transfer of processor PCTC Program QS Permits. A person may 
transfer a PCTC Program QS permit to another processor with an active 
FPP issued under Sec.  679.4. A transfer of processor-held PCTC Program 
QS may not cause the receiver of the permit to exceed the ownership cap 
specified at Sec.  679.133(a) at the time of transfer. A PCTC Program 
QS permit held by a processor and associated QS may be transferred only 
if the application for transfer of PCTC Program QS permit is filled out 
entirely. A PCTC Program QS permit initially issued to an FFP holder 
may be transferred to a processor with an active FPP issued under Sec.  
679.4 or to a processor with an active FFP that authorizes a vessel 
named on an LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership 
endorsement.
    (4) Transfer of PCTC Program QS assigned to a processor-held PCTC 
Program QS permit that exceeds PCTC Program ownership caps.
    (i) If a PCTC Program QS permit receives an initial allocation of 
QS that exceeds an ownership cap specified at Sec.  679.133(a), the 
processor may transfer QS in excess of the ownership cap separately 
from that PCTC Program QS permit and assign it to the PCTC Program QS 
permit of one or more processors with an active FPP or FFP.

[[Page 53738]]

However, a transfer will not be approved by NMFS if that transfer would 
cause the receiving processor to exceed an ownership cap specified at 
Sec.  679.133(a).
    (ii) Prior to the transfer of a PCTC Program QS permit that 
received an initial allocation of QS that exceeds an ownership cap 
specified at Sec.  679.133(a), the permit holder must transfer the QS 
that is in excess of the ownership cap separately from that PCTC 
Program QS permit and assign it to one or more PCTC Program QS permits. 
On completion of the transfer of QS, the PCTC Program QS permit that 
was initially allocated an amount of QS in excess of the ownership cap 
may not exceed any ownership cap specified at Sec.  679.133(a).
    (iii) Any QS associated with the PCTC Program QS permit held by a 
processor that is in excess of an ownership cap may be transferred only 
if the application for transfer of PCTC Program QS permit is filled out 
entirely.


Sec.  679.131  PCTC Program annual harvester privileges.

    (a) Assigning CQ to a PCTC Program cooperative--(1) General. (See 
also Sec.  679.4(q)). (i) Every calendar year, PCTC Program QS assigned 
to LLP licenses and PCTC Program QS permits held by a PCTC Program 
processor must be assigned to a PCTC Program cooperative through a CQ 
permit to use the CQ derived from that PCTC Program QS to catch Pacific 
cod, crab PSC, or halibut PSC assigned to the PCTC Program.
    (ii) NMFS will issue a CQ permit to a PCTC Program cooperative 
based on the aggregate PCTC Program QS of all LLP licenses and 
associated processors designated on an application for CQ that is 
approved by the Regional Administrator as described under paragraph 
(a)(4) of this section.
    (iii) Processors must associate with a PCTC Program cooperative for 
the PCTC Program QS assigned to that processor's PCTC Program QS permit 
to be issued to a PCTC Program cooperative as CQ.
    (2) PCTC Program QS issued after issuance of CQ or Pacific cod 
trawl catcher vessel sector TAC. Any PCTC Program QS assigned to an LLP 
license or PCTC Program QS permit after NMFS has issued CQ for a 
calendar year will not result in any additional CQ being issued to a 
PCTC Program cooperative even if that QS holder has assigned their LLP 
license or PCTC Program QS permit to a PCTC Program cooperative for 
that calendar year.
    (3) Failure to designate QS to a PCTC Program cooperative. Failure 
to designate an LLP license with PCTC Program QS or a PCTC Program QS 
permit on a timely and complete application for CQ that is approved by 
the Regional Administrator as described under paragraph (a)(4) of this 
section, will result in the Regional Administrator not assigning that 
QS to a PCTC Program cooperative for the applicable calendar year.
    (4) Application for PCTC Program CQ. PCTC Program cooperatives must 
submit a complete application by November 1 to receive CQ that includes 
the following:
    (i) PCTC Program cooperative identification, including but not 
limited to the name of the cooperative and the taxpayer identification 
number;
    (ii) PCTC Program QS holders and ownership documentation;
    (iii) PCTC Program cooperative member vessels and LLP licenses;
    (iv) PCTC Program cooperative associated processors;
    (v) Vessels with FFPs on which the CQ issued to the PCTC Program 
cooperative will be used;
    (vi) Certification of cooperative representative;
    (vii) An attached copy of the membership agreement or contract that 
includes the following terms:
    (A) How the cooperative intends to harvest its CQ;
    (B) The obligations of QS holders who are members of a PCTC Program 
cooperative to ensure the full payment of PCTC Program fee liabilities 
that may be due;
    (C) How cooperatives monitor and report leasing activity in GOA 
fisheries; and
    (D) For a cooperative intending to harvest any amount of the CQ 
set-aside, the cooperative's plan for coordinating harvest and delivery 
of the CQ set-aside with an Aleutian Islands shoreplant as defined 
Sec.  679.2.
    (viii) Each year, all cooperatives must establish an inter-
cooperative agreement. This inter-cooperative agreement must be 
included as part of each annual cooperative application and is required 
before NMFS will issue CQ. The inter-cooperative agreement must 
establish how the cooperatives intend to harvest the CQ set-aside in 
years when it applies and ensure harvests in the BS do not exceed the 
minimum set-aside as specified at Sec.  679.132(a)(4)(i). For the 
calendar year 2023, NMFS will allow each cooperative to submit the 
inter-cooperative agreement prior to December 31, 2023.
    (b) Allocations of Pacific cod to the PCTC Program--(1) General. 
Each calendar year, the Regional Administrator will determine the 
amount of the BSAI trawl catcher vessel sector's Pacific cod A and B 
season allocations that will be assigned to the PCTC Program as 
follows:
    (i) Incidental catch allowance (ICA). For the A and B seasons, the 
Regional Administrator will establish an ICA to account for projected 
incidental catch of Pacific cod by trawl catcher vessels engaged in 
directed fishing for groundfish other than PCTC Program Pacific cod.
    (ii) Directed fishing allowance (DFA). The remaining trawl catcher 
vessel sector's Pacific cod A and B season allocations are established 
as a DFA for the PCTC Program.
    (2) Calculation--(i) Determination of Pacific cod trawl catcher 
vessel TAC allocated to the PCTC Program. NMFS will determine the 
Pacific cod trawl catcher vessel TAC in a calendar year in the annual 
harvest specification process at Sec.  679.20.
    (ii) Annual apportionment of Pacific cod trawl catcher vessel TAC. 
The annual apportionment of Pacific cod in the A and B seasons between 
the PCTC Program DFA and the ICA in a given calendar year is 
established in the annual harvest specifications.
    (3) Allocations of Pacific Cod DFA to PCTC Program--(i) Harvester 
percentage of DFA. NMFS will assign 77.5 percent of the PCTC Program 
DFA to the QS attached to LLP licenses assigned to PCTC Program 
cooperatives. Each LLP license's QS units will correspond to a portion 
of the DFA according to the following equation: (LLP license QS units/
(sum of all LLP license QS units)) x (.775 x DFA).
    (ii) Processor percentage of DFA. NMFS will assign 22.5 percent of 
the PCTC Program DFA to the QS attached to PCTC Program QS permits 
assigned to PCTC Program cooperatives. Each QS permit's QS units will 
correspond to a portion of the DFA according to the following equation: 
(PCTC Program QS permit QS units/(sum of all PCTC Program QS permit QS 
units)) x (.225 x DFA).
    (4) Allocation of CQ to PCTC Program cooperatives--(i) General. 
Annual CQ will be issued to each PCTC Program cooperative by NMFS based 
on the aggregate QS attached to LLP licenses and PCTC Program QS 
permits that are assigned to the cooperative. NMFS will issue CQ by A 
and B season and cooperatives will ensure the seasonal limits are not 
exceeded. Unused A season CQ may be rolled over to the B season. Annual 
CQ may be harvested from either BS or AI subareas subject to any 
limitations on BS harvest when the AI set-aside is in effect.
    (ii) CQ allocation to PCTC Program cooperatives. The amount of CQ 
that is

[[Page 53739]]

issued to a PCTC Program cooperative is calculated according to the 
following formula:

CQ derived from QS assigned to LLP holders = [(.775 x DFA)
x (Total LLP license QS units assigned to that cooperative/sum of 
all LLP license QS units)]
CQ derived from QS assigned to PCTC Program QS permit holders = 
[(.225 x DFA)
x (Total PCTC Program Permit QS units assigned to that cooperative/
sum of all PCTC Program QS permit QS units)]
The total CQ issued to that cooperative =
CQ derived from LLP license holders +
CQ derived from PCTC Program QS permit holders

    (iii) Issuance of CQ. A and B season trawl catcher vessel Pacific 
cod sector DFAs will be issued to PCTC Program cooperatives as CQ. 
Annual CQ for each PCTC cooperative will include separate A and B 
season CQ.
    (iv) AI set-aside. When in effect, the AI set-aside will be 
established annually as specified further at Sec.  679.132.
    (c) Allocations of halibut PSC--(1) Halibut PSC limit for the PCTC 
Program. NMFS specifies the overall halibut PSC limit for the PCTC 
Program for each calendar year in the harvest specifications pursuant 
to the procedures specified at Sec.  679.21(b). NMFS calculates the 
halibut PSC limit according to the formula described in this paragraph. 
NMFS assigns that halibut PSC limit to PCTC Program cooperatives 
pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section.
    (i) Multiply the halibut PSC limit apportioned to the BSAI trawl 
limited access sector's Pacific cod fishery category by 98 percent, 
which yields the halibut PSC apportioned to the trawl catcher vessel 
sector. The remaining 2 percent is apportioned to the AFA catcher/
processor sector as specified at Sec.  679.21(b)(4).
    (ii) Assign 95 percent of the trawl catcher vessel sector's halibut 
PSC limit to the A and B seasons and 5 percent to the C season.
    (iii) Each year after apportioning halibut PSC to the trawl catcher 
vessel sector for the A and B season, apply one of the following 
reductions to the A and B season trawl catcher vessel halibut PSC limit 
to determine the overall PCTC Program halibut PSC limit:
    (A) In the first year of the PCTC Program, reduce the A and B 
season halibut PSC limit by 12.5 percent.
    (B) In the second year, and each year thereafter, reduce the A and 
B season halibut PSC limit by 25 percent.
    (2) Halibut PSC assigned to each PCTC Program cooperative. For each 
calendar year, the amount of halibut PSC assigned to a cooperative is 
determined by the following procedure and the amount will be specified 
on the CQ permit:
    (i) Divide the amount of CQ units assigned to each PCTC Program 
cooperative by the amount of CQ allocated to all cooperatives. This 
yields the percentage of CQ units held by each cooperative.
    (ii) Multiply the overall PCTC Program halibut PSC limit by the 
percentage of the CQ assigned to a cooperative. This yields the amount 
of halibut PSC issued to that cooperative as CQ.
    (3) Use of halibut PSC in the PCTC Program. Halibut PSC limits 
assigned to the CQ permit issued to a PCTC Program cooperative may only 
be used by the members of that PCTC Program cooperative while 
harvesting CQ in the BSAI. Any halibut PSC used by a cooperative must 
be deducted from the amount of halibut PSC on its CQ permit. Halibut 
PSC limits for cooperatives are not subject to seasonal apportionment 
under Sec.  679.21. Halibut PSC limits are issued to the PCTC Program 
for the duration of the A and B seasons. Unused halibut PSC limits may 
be reapportioned to the C season.
    (d) Allocations of crab PSC--(1) Crab PSC limits for the PCTC 
Program. NMFS specifies the overall crab PSC limit for the PCTC Program 
for each calendar year in the harvest specifications pursuant to the 
procedures specified at Sec.  679.21(e). NMFS calculates the crab PSC 
limit according to the formula described in this paragraph. NMFS then 
assigns that crab PSC limit to PCTC Program cooperatives with CQ 
pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section.
    (i) Multiply the crab PSC limit apportioned to the BSAI trawl 
limited access sector's Pacific cod fishery category by 90.6 percent, 
which yields the percentage of crab PSC apportioned to the trawl 
catcher vessel sector. The remaining 9.4 percent goes to the AFA 
catcher/processor sector as specified at Sec.  679.21(b)(4).
    (ii) Assign 95 percent of the trawl catcher vessel sector's crab 
PSC limit to the A and B seasons and 5 percent to the C season.
    (iii) Reduce the A and B season trawl catcher vessel crab PSC limit 
by 35 percent to determine the overall PCTC Program crab PSC limit.
    (2) Crab PSC assigned to each PCTC Program cooperative. For each 
calendar year, the amount of crab PSC limit assigned to a cooperative 
is determined by the following procedure and the amount will be 
specified on the CQ permit:
    (i) Divide the amount of CQ assigned to each PCTC Program 
cooperative by the total CQ assigned to all cooperatives. This yields 
the percentage of CQ held by that cooperative.
    (ii) Multiply the overall PCTC Program crab PSC limit by the 
percentage of the CQ pool assigned to a cooperative. This yields the 
crab PSC limit issued to that cooperative as CQ.
    (3) Use of crab PSC in the PCTC Program. Crab PSC limits assigned 
to the CQ permit issued to a PCTC Program cooperative may only be used 
by the members of that PCTC Program cooperative while harvesting CQ in 
the BSAI. Any crab PSC used by a cooperative must be deducted from the 
amount of crab PSC limit on its CQ permit. Crab PSC limits for 
cooperatives are not subject to seasonal apportionment under Sec.  
679.21. Crab PSC limits are issued to the PCTC Program for the duration 
of the A and B seasons. Unused crab PSC limits may be reapportioned to 
the C season.
    (e) Transfer of PSC limits. Halibut and crab PSC limits are 
transferable between cooperatives according to the same rules 
established for CQ in paragraph (i) of this section.
    (f) Non-allocated Groundfish species. The PCTC Program allocations 
are for directed fishing for Pacific cod by trawl catcher vessels. All 
groundfish species not allocated to PCTC Program cooperatives are 
managed to the maximum retainable amounts (MRAs), as described under 
Sec.  679.20(e).
    (g) Rollover of Pacific cod. If, after June 10, the Regional 
Administrator determines that reallocating a portion of the Pacific cod 
ICA or DFA from the PCTC Program to the BSAI trawl limited access 
sector C season is appropriate, the Regional Administrator may do so 
through notification in the Federal Register consistent with 
regulations at Sec.  679.20(a)(7)(iii).
    (h) Rollover of PSC to the C Season. If, after June 10, the 
Regional Administrator determines that reallocating a portion of the 
halibut or crab PSC limits from the PCTC Program to the BSAI trawl 
limited access sector C season is appropriate, the Regional 
Administrator may do so through notification in the Federal Register 
consistent with regulations at Sec.  679.91(f)(4) and (5).
    (i) Process for inter-cooperative transfer of CQ. NMFS will process 
an application through the NMFS online system for an inter-cooperative 
transfer of CQ, including PSC, provided that all information is 
completed by the transferor and transferee, with all applicable fields 
accurately filled in,

[[Page 53740]]

and all required documentation is provided.
    (j) PCTC Program cooperatives--(1) General. This section governs 
the formation and operation of PCTC Program cooperatives. The 
regulations in this section apply only to PCTC Program cooperatives 
that have formed for the purpose of applying for and fishing with CQ 
issued annually by NMFS. PCTC Program cooperatives and cooperative 
members are responsible for ensuring the conduct of cooperatives is 
consistent with any relevant State or Federal antitrust laws. 
Membership in a cooperative is voluntary. No person may be required to 
join a cooperative. Any LLP license holder with PCTC Program QS may 
join a PCTC Program cooperative and assign their QS to that 
cooperative. Members may leave a cooperative, but any CQ derived from 
the QS held by that member will remain with that cooperative for the 
duration of the calendar year.
    (2) Legal and organizational requirements. A PCTC Program 
cooperative must meet the following legal and organizational 
requirements before it is eligible to receive CQ:
    (i) Each PCTC Program cooperative must be formed as a partnership, 
corporation, or other legal business entity that is registered under 
the laws of one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia;
    (ii) Each PCTC Program cooperative must appoint an individual as 
the designated representative to act on the cooperative's behalf and to 
serve as a contact point for NMFS for questions regarding the operation 
of the cooperative. The designated representative may be a member of 
the cooperative, or some other individual designated by the cooperative 
to act on its behalf;
    (iii) Each PCTC Program cooperative must submit a timely and 
complete application for CQ; and
    (iv) Each PCTC Program cooperative must meet the mandatory 
requirements established in paragraph (j)(3) of this section.
    (3) Elements of PCTC Program cooperatives. The following table 
describes the necessary elements to form and operate a PCTC Program 
cooperative:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Who may join or associate with a     Any PCTC Program QS holder
 PCTC Program cooperative?.               named on a timely and complete
                                          application for CQ for that
                                          calendar year that is approved
                                          by NMFS. Individuals who are
                                          not QS holders may be employed
                                          by, or serve as the designated
                                          representative of, a
                                          cooperative, but cannot be
                                          members of the cooperative.
                                          Any processor with an FPP may
                                          associate with a cooperative.
                                          A processor with an FFP must
                                          be named on an LLP license
                                          with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl
                                          mothership endorsement.
(ii) What is the minimum number of LLP   A minimum of three LLP licenses
 licenses required to form a              are needed to form a
 cooperative?                             cooperative.
(iii) How many unique LLP license        There is no minimum number of
 holders are required to form a           unique LLP license holders
 cooperative?                             required to form a
                                          cooperative.
(iv) Is there a minimum amount of PCTC   No.
 Program QS units that must be assigned
 to a PCTC Program cooperative?
(v) What is allocated to the PCTC        A and B season CQ for Pacific
 Program cooperatives?.                   cod, halibut PSC limits, and
                                          crab PSC limits, based on the
                                          total QS units assigned to the
                                          cooperative by its members.
(vi) Is this CQ an exclusive catch and   Yes, the cooperative has an
 use privilege?                           exclusive privilege to
                                          collectively catch and use
                                          this CQ. A cooperative can
                                          transfer all or a portion of
                                          this CQ to another
                                          cooperative.
(vii) Is there a period in a calendar    Yes, any cooperative vessel may
 year during which PCTC Program           harvest CQ during the during
 cooperative vessels may catch Pacific    the A and B seasons specified
 cod?                                     at Sec.   679.130(a)(2).
(viii) Can any vessel catch a PCTC       No, only vessels that are
 Program cooperative's Pacific cod?       listed on the cooperative's
                                          Application for PCTC Program
                                          CQ may catch Pacific cod
                                          assigned to that cooperative.
(ix) Can a member of a PCTC Program      No, only the designated
 cooperative transfer CQ individually     representative of the
 without the approval of the other        cooperative, and not
 members of the cooperative?              individual members, may
                                          transfer CQ to another
                                          cooperative, and only if that
                                          transfer is approved by NMFS.
(x) Are GOA sideboard limits assigned    Existing sideboard limits apply
 to specific persons or PCTC Program      to individual vessels or LLP
 cooperatives?                            license holders, not
                                          cooperatives.
(xi) Can PCTC Program QS assigned to an  QS assigned to an LLP license
 LLP license or QS held by processors     may be assigned to only one
 be assigned to more than one PCTC        cooperative in a calendar
 Program cooperative in a calendar        year. Multiple QS permits or
 year?                                    LLP licenses held by a single
                                          person are not required to be
                                          assigned to the same
                                          cooperative. A processor may
                                          associate with more than one
                                          cooperative and any QS held by
                                          the processor would be divided
                                          between the associated
                                          cooperatives in the same
                                          proportion as the CQ derived
                                          from the LLP licenses.
(xii) Which members may catch the PCTC   Use of a cooperative's CQ is
 Program cooperative's CQ?                determined by the cooperative
                                          contract signed by its
                                          members. Any violations of
                                          this contract by a cooperative
                                          member may be subject to civil
                                          claims by other members of the
                                          cooperative.
(xiii) Does a PCTC Program cooperative   Yes, a cooperative must have a
 need a membership agreement or           membership agreement or
 contract?                                contract. A copy of this
                                          agreement or contract must be
                                          submitted to NMFS with the
                                          application for CQ. The
                                          membership agreement or
                                          contract must specify: (A) How
                                          the cooperative intends to
                                          harvest its CQ; and (B) The
                                          obligations of QS holders, who
                                          are members of a cooperative,
                                          to ensure the full payment of
                                          fee liabilities that may be
                                          due.
(xiv) What happens if the PCTC Program   A copy of the amended
 cooperative membership agreement or      membership agreement or
 contract is modified during the          contract must be sent to NMFS
 fishing year?                            in accordance with Sec.
                                          679.131.
(xv) What happens if the cooperative     A cooperative is not authorized
 exceeds its CQ amount?.                  to catch Pacific cod or use
                                          halibut or crab PSC limits in
                                          excess of the amount on its CQ
                                          permit. Exceeding a CQ permit
                                          is a violation of the
                                          regulations.

[[Page 53741]]

 
(xvi) Is there a limit on how much CQ a  No, but each QS holder is
 PCTC Program cooperative may hold?       subject to ownership caps, and
                                          a vessel may be subject to
                                          vessel use caps. See Sec.
                                          679.133.
(xvii) Is there a limit on how much      Yes, generally a vessel may not
 Pacific cod a vessel may catch?.         catch more than 5 percent of
                                          the Pacific cod assigned to
                                          the PCTC Program for that
                                          calendar year. See Sec.
                                          679.133 for use cap
                                          provisions.
(xviii) Are there any special reporting  The designated representative
 requirements?.                           of the cooperative may submit
                                          an annual PCTC Program
                                          cooperative report to the
                                          North Pacific Fishery
                                          Management Council.
(xix) Is there a requirement that a      Yes, see Sec.   679.135 for the
 PCTC Program cooperative pay PCTC        provisions that apply. PCTC
 Program cost recovery fees?              Program cooperatives are
                                          responsible for paying cost
                                          recovery fees.
(xx) Is there any restriction on         Sometimes, if the AI CQ set-
 deliveries of CQ?.                       aside is in effect for the
                                          fishing year as specified at
                                          Sec.   679.132. Cooperatives
                                          must establish, through an
                                          inter-cooperative agreement,
                                          how 12 percent of the BSAI A
                                          season CQ will be set aside
                                          for delivery to an Aleutian
                                          Islands shoreplant.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (4) Successors-in-interest. If a member of a PCTC Program 
cooperative dies (in the case of an individual) or dissolves (in the 
case of a business entity), the CQ derived from the QS assigned to the 
cooperative for that year from that person remains under the control of 
the cooperative for the duration of that calendar year as specified in 
the cooperative contract. Each cooperative is free to establish its own 
internal procedures for admitting a successor-in-interest during the 
fishing season due to the death or dissolution of a cooperative member.


Sec.  679.132  Aleutian Islands CQ set-aside provisions in the PCTC 
Program.

    (a) Aleutian Islands CQ set-aside provisions in the PCTC Program--
(1) Calculation of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ ICA and 
DFA. Each year, during the annual harvest specifications process set 
forth at Sec.  679.20(c), the Regional Administrator will specify the 
AI Pacific cod non-CDQ ICA, the DFA from the AI Pacific cod non-CDQ 
TAC, and the AI set-aside as follows:
    (2) Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ ICA. The AI Pacific cod 
non-CDQ ICA will be deducted from the aggregate portion of the AI 
Pacific cod non-CDQ TAC annually allocated to the non-CDQ sectors 
identified at Sec.  679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A).
    (3) Aleutian Islands Pacific cod non-CDQ DFA. The AI Pacific cod 
non-CDQ DFA will be the amount of the AI Pacific cod TAC remaining 
after subtraction of the AI Pacific cod CDQ reserve and the AI Pacific 
cod non-CDQ ICA.
    (4) Calculation of the Aleutian Islands CQ set-aside. The Regional 
Administrator will specify the AI set-aside in either of the following 
ways:
    (i) When the AI DFA exceeds 12 percent of A season CQ, the AI set-
aside is 12 percent of the PCTC Program A season CQ and is in effect 
during the A and B seasons.
    (ii) If the AI non-CDQ DFA is below 12 percent of the PCTC Program 
A season CQ, then the AI set-aside will be set equal to the AI non-CDQ 
DFA and is in effect during the A and B seasons. When the AI set-aside 
is in effect and set equal to the AI non-CDQ DFA, directed fishing for 
Pacific cod in the AI may only be conducted by PCTC Program vessels 
that deliver their catch of AI Pacific cod to an Aleutian Islands 
shoreplant. After June 10, the Regional Administrator may open directed 
fishing for AI non-CDQ Pacific cod for other sectors.
    (b) Annual notice of intent to process Aleutian Islands Pacific 
cod--(1) Submission of notice. The provisions of this section will 
apply if a representative of either the City of Adak or the City of 
Atka submits to the Regional Administrator a timely and complete notice 
of its intent to process PCTC Program Pacific cod during the upcoming 
fishing year.
    (2) Submission method and deadline. The notice of intent to process 
PCTC Program Pacific cod for the upcoming fishing year must be 
submitted in writing to the Regional Administrator by a representative 
of the City of Adak or the City of Atka no later than October 15 of 
each year in order for the provisions of this section to apply during 
the upcoming fishing year. Notices of intent to process received later 
than October 15 may not be accepted by the Regional Administrator.
    (3) Contents of notice. A notice of intent to process PCTC Program 
Pacific cod for the upcoming fishing year must contain the following 
information:
    (i) Date of submission,
    (ii) Name of city,
    (iii) Statement of intent to process PCTC Program Pacific cod,
    (iv) Identification of the fishing year during which the city 
intends to process PCTC Program Pacific cod,
    (v) Contact information for the representative of the city, and
    (vi) Documentation of authority to represent the City of Adak or 
the City of Atka.
    (4) NMFS confirmation and notice. On or before November 30, the 
Regional Administrator will notify the representative of the City of 
Adak or the City of Atka, confirming receipt of their official notice 
of intent to process PCTC Program Pacific cod. Then, NMFS will announce 
through notification in the Federal Register whether the AI set-aside 
will be in effect for the upcoming fishing year.
    (5) AI CQ set-aside PCTC Program cooperative provisions. If the 
representative of the City of Adak or the City of Atka submits a timely 
and complete notice of intent to process in accordance of this section, 
then the following provisions will apply for the fishing year following 
the notice:
    (i) The PCTC Program cooperative(s) are required to set-aside an 
amount of CQ calculated by the Regional Administrator pursuant to 
(a)(4) of this section for delivery to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant 
as defined at Sec.  679.2.
    (ii) All cooperatives must enter into an inter-cooperative 
agreement that describes how the AI set-aside will be administered by 
the cooperatives to ensure that the PCTC Program harvests from the BS 
do not exceed the minimum set-aside. This inter-cooperative agreement 
must establish how the cooperatives intend to harvest the AI set-aside 
when it applies. This inter-cooperative agreement must be provided as 
part of the annual PCTC Program cooperative application as specified at 
Sec.  679.131(a)(4) and is required before NMFS can issue CQ.
    (iii) The inter-cooperative agreement must establish how 
cooperatives would ensure that trawl catcher vessels less than 60 ft 
(18.3 m) LOA assigned to an LLP license with a transferable AI trawl 
endorsement have the opportunity to harvest 10 percent of the AI set-
aside for delivery to an Aleutian Islands shoreplant.
    (c) PCTC Program A season CQ set-aside limitations. (1) If the 
Regional Administrator has approved a notice of intent to process, 
vessels authorized under the PCTC Program shall not harvest the amount 
of the AI set-aside in the BS subarea.

[[Page 53742]]

    (2) PCTC Program cooperatives may not deliver more than the PCTC A 
season CQ minus the AI set-aside established under this section to 
processors in the BS subarea when the AI CQ set-aside is in effect.
    (3) The City of Adak or the City of Atka may withdraw their annual 
notice of intent to process prior to the end of B season.
    (4) The Regional Administrator may remove the delivery requirement 
for some or all of the projected unused AI CQ set-aside if the Regional 
Administrator determines that the Aleutian Islands shoreplants will not 
process the entire AI CQ set-aside.
    (5) In the event all notices of intent to process are withdrawn, 
the Regional Administrator will remove the delivery requirement for CQ 
that was set-aside for that calendar year.
    (6) To remove the AI CQ set-aside delivery requirement for that 
calendar year, the Regional Administrator will publish a document in 
the Federal Register.


Sec.  679.133  PCTC Program ownership caps, use caps, and sideboard 
limits.

    (a) Ownership and use caps--(1) General. (i) Ownership caps limit 
the amount of PCTC Program QS that may be owned by a harvester or 
processor and their affiliates. Use caps limit the amount of CQ that 
may be harvested by a vessel or received and processed by a processor.
    (ii) Use caps do not apply to halibut or crab PSC CQ.
    (iii) Ownership and use caps may not be exceeded except as provided 
under paragraph (a)(6) of this section.
    (iv) All QS ownership caps are a percentage of the initial PCTC 
Program QS pool established by NMFS at Sec.  679.130(e).
    (v) The CQ processing use cap is a percentage of the total amount 
of CQ issued to cooperatives during a calendar year.
    (vi) The vessel use cap is a percentage of the amount of CQ 
assigned to the PCTC Program during a calendar year.
    (2) Harvester PCTC Program QS ownership cap. A person may not 
individually or collectively own more than 5 percent of the PCTC 
Program QS initially assigned to harvesters unless that person 
qualifies for an exemption to this ownership cap under paragraph (a)(6) 
of this section based on their qualifying catch history. Processor-
issued QS does not count toward this ownership cap.
    (3) Vessel use cap. A catcher vessel may not harvest an amount of 
CQ greater than 5 percent of the CQ issued to the PCTC Program during a 
calendar year unless that vessel qualifies for an exemption to this use 
cap under paragraph (a)(6) of this section based on their qualifying 
catch history.
    (4) Processor ownership cap. A person may not individually or 
collectively own more than 20 percent of the PCTC Program QS initially 
assigned to processors unless that person qualifies for an exemption to 
this ownership cap under paragraph (a)(6) of this section based on 
their qualifying processing history.
    (5) Processing use cap. A processor, at the firm or company level, 
may not process more than 20 percent of the CQ assigned to the PCTC 
Program during a calendar year unless that processor qualifies for an 
exemption to this use cap under paragraph (a)(6) of this section based 
on their qualifying processing history. The amount of CQ that is 
received by a PCTC Program processor is calculated based on the sum of 
all landings made with CQ received or processed by that processor and 
the CQ received or processed by any person affiliated with that 
processor as that term is defined at Sec.  679.2.
    (6) Cap exemptions. (i) A person may receive an initial allocation 
of PCTC Program QS in excess of the harvester ownership cap. This 
exemption is non-transferable.
    (ii) A person may receive an initial allocation of PCTC Program QS 
in excess of the processor ownership cap. This exemption is non-
transferable.
    (iii) A vessel designated on an LLP license that received an 
initial allocation of PCTC Program QS in excess of the harvester 
ownership cap may harvest CQ in excess of the vessel use cap up to the 
amount of CQ resulting from QS assigned to the LLP license. This 
exemption is non-transferable.
    (iv) Processor use cap exemptions. A processor that received an 
initial allocation of PCTC Program QS in excess of the processor 
ownership cap may process more than 20 percent of CQ during a calendar 
year up to an amount of CQ proportional to the ratio of QS held by the 
processor to the total amount of QS held by processors. This exemption 
is non-transferable. An Aleutian Islands shoreplant is not subject to 
this processor use cap.
    (7) Transfer limitations. An eligible harvester that receives an 
initial allocation of PCTC Program QS that exceeds the ownership cap 
listed in paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall not receive any PCTC 
Program QS by transfer unless and until the eligible harvester's 
holdings of PCTC Program QS in the PCTC Program are reduced to an 
amount below the use cap specified in this paragraph (a).
    (b) Sideboard limits--general. The regulations in this section 
restrict the holders of LLP licenses issued PCTC Program QS from using 
the increased flexibility provided by the PCTC Program to expand their 
level of participation in GOA groundfish fisheries.
    (1) Sideboard limit restrictions for LLP licenses authorizing AFA 
non-exempt catcher vessels. LLP licenses that authorize AFA non-exempt 
catcher vessels will be subject to the sideboard limitations specified 
at Sec.  679.64(b)(4)(i).
    (2) At-Sea Processing Sideboard Limit. A sideboard limit will be 
specified on each LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership 
endorsement. Each LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership 
endorsement may receive CQ deliveries from a catcher vessel not to 
exceed 125 percent of a catcher/processor's processing history as 
defined at Sec.  679.130 and subject to eligibility requirements under 
BSAI FMP Amendment 120 to limit CPs acting as motherships.


Sec.  679.134  PCTC Program permits, catch monitoring, catch 
accounting, and recordkeeping and reporting.

    (a) Permits. For permit information, please see Sec.  679.4(q).
    (b) Catch monitoring requirements for PCTC Program catcher vessels. 
The owner and operator of a catcher vessel must ensure the vessel 
complies with the observer coverage requirements described at Sec.  
679.51(a)(2) at all times the vessel is participating in a PCTC Program 
cooperative.
    (c) Catch monitoring requirements for motherships receiving 
unsorted codends from a PCTC Program catcher vessel--(1) Catch 
weighing. All catch, except halibut sorted on deck by vessels 
participating in the halibut deck sorting described at Sec.  679.120, 
must be weighed on a NMFS-approved scale in compliance with the scale 
requirements at Sec.  679.28(b). Each haul must be weighed separately 
and all catch must be made available for sampling by an observer.
    (2) Additional catch monitoring requirements. Comply with catch 
monitoring requirements specified at Sec.  679.93(c).
    (d) Catch monitoring requirements for shoreside processors. All 
groundfish landed by catcher vessels described at Sec.  679.51(a)(2) 
must be sorted, weighed on a scale approved by the State of Alaska as 
described at Sec.  679.28(c), and be made available for sampling by an 
observer, NMFS staff, or any individual authorized by NMFS. Any of 
these

[[Page 53743]]

persons must be allowed to test any scale used to weigh groundfish to 
determine its accuracy.
    (e) Catch accounting--(1) Pacific cod. All Pacific cod harvests by 
a vessel that is named on a PCTC Program CQ application and fishing 
under a CQ permit will be debited against the CQ for that cooperative 
during the fishing seasons as defined at Sec.  679.130(a)(2).
    (2) PCTC Program halibut and crab PSC. All halibut and crab PSC 
used by a vessel that is named on an Application PCTC Program CQ and 
fishing under a CQ permit will be debited against the CQ for that 
cooperative during the fishing seasons as defined at Sec.  
679.130(a)(2).
    (3) Groundfish sideboard limits. All groundfish harvests in the 
BSAI and GOA that are subject to a sideboard limit for that groundfish 
species as described under Sec.  679.133(c), except groundfish 
harvested by a vessel when participating in the Central GOA Rockfish 
Program, will be debited against the applicable sideboard limit.
    (f) Recordkeeping and reporting. The owners and operators of 
catcher vessels and processors authorized as participants in the PCTC 
Program must comply with the applicable recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements of this section and must assign all catch to a PCTC 
Program cooperative as applicable at the time of catch or receipt of 
Pacific cod. All owners of catcher vessels and processors authorized as 
participants in the PCTC Program must ensure that their designated 
representatives or employees comply with all applicable recordkeeping 
and reporting requirements.
    (1) Logbook--(i) DFL. Operators of catcher vessels participating in 
the PCTC Program fishery must maintain a daily fishing logbook for 
trawl gear as described at Sec.  679.5.
    (ii) ELB. Operators of a catcher/processor designated on an LLP 
license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement or a 
mothership receiving CQ must use a combination of NMFS-approved 
catcher/processor trawl gear ELB and eLandings to record and report 
groundfish and PSC information as described at Sec.  679.5 to record 
PCTC Program landings and production.
    (2) eLandings. Managers of shoreside processors that receive 
Pacific cod in the PCTC Program must use eLandings or NMFS-approved 
software as described at Sec.  679.5(e) to record PCTC Program landings 
and production.
    (3) Production reports. Operators of a catcher/processor designated 
on an LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement 
that receives and purchases landings of CQ must submit a production 
report as described at Sec.  679.5(e)(10).
    (4) Product transfer report (PTR), processors. Operators of a 
catcher/processor designated on an LLP license with a BSAI Pacific cod 
trawl mothership endorsement and managers of shoreside processors that 
receive and purchase landings of CQ must submit a PTR as described at 
Sec.  679.5(g).
    (5) Vessel monitoring system (VMS) requirements. Operators of 
catcher vessels assigned to a PCTC Program cooperative or that are 
subject to sideboard limits detailed at Sec.  679.133 must use 
functioning VMS equipment as described at Sec.  679.28(f) at all times 
when operating in a reporting area off Alaska during the A and B 
season.
    (6) PCTC Program cost recovery fee submission (See Sec.  679.135).
    (7) Pacific cod Ex-vessel Volume and Value Report. A processor that 
receives and purchases landings of CQ must submit annually to NMFS a 
complete Pacific cod Ex-vessel Volume and Value Report, as described at 
Sec.  679.5(u) for each reporting period for which the PCTC processor 
receives CQ.


Sec.  679.135  PCTC Program cost recovery.

    (a) Cost recovery fees--(1) Responsibility. Each PCTC Program 
cooperative must comply with the requirements of this section.
    (i) Subsequent transfer of CQ or QS held by PCTC Program 
cooperative members does not affect the cooperative's liability for 
noncompliance with this section.
    (ii) Non-renewal of a CQ permit does not affect the cooperative's 
liability for noncompliance with this section.
    (iii) Changes in the membership in a PCTC Program cooperative, such 
as members joining or departing during the relevant year, or changes in 
the amount of QS holdings of those members does not affect the 
cooperative's liability for noncompliance with this section.
    (2) Fee collection. PCTC Program cooperatives that receive CQ are 
responsible for submitting the cost recovery payment for all CQ 
landings made under the authority of their CQ permit.
    (3) Payment. (i) A cooperative must submit any cost recovery fee 
liability payment(s) no later than August 31 following the calendar 
year in which the CQ landings were made.
    (ii) Make electronic payment payable to NMFS.
    (iii) Submit payment and related documents as instructed on the 
NMFS Alaska Region website as defined at Sec.  679.2.
    (iv) Payment must be made electronically in U.S. dollars using an 
approved payment method available on the payment website.
    (b) Pacific cod standard ex-vessel value determination and use. 
NMFS will use the standard prices calculated for Pacific cod based on 
information provided in the Pacific Cod Ex-vessel Volume and Value 
Report described at Sec.  679.5(u)(1) from the previous calendar year.
    (c) PCTC Program fee percentage--(1) Fee percentage. The fee 
percentage is the amount as determined by the factors and methodology 
described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section. This amount will be 
announced by publication in the Federal Register. This amount must not 
exceed 3.0 percent of the gross ex-vessel value pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 
1854(d)(2)(B).
    (2) Calculating fee percentage value. Each year NMFS shall 
calculate and publish the fee percentage following the fishing season 
in which the CQ landings were made, according to the following factors 
and methodology:
    (i) NMFS must use the following factors to determine the fee 
percentage:
    (A) The catch to which the PCTC Program cost recovery fee will 
apply;
    (B) The ex-vessel value of that catch; and
    (C) The costs directly related to the management, data collection, 
and enforcement of the PCTC Program.
    (ii) NMFS must use the following equations to determine the fee 
percentage:

100 x DPC/V

where:

DPC = the direct program costs for the PCTC Program for the previous 
calendar year with any adjustments to the account from payments 
received in the previous year.
V = total of the standard ex-vessel value of the catch subject to 
the PCTC cost recovery fee liability for the current year.

    (iii) The calculated fee percentage is applied to the ex-vessel 
value of CQ landings made in the previous calendar year.
    (3) Applicable fee percentage. The cooperative must use the fee 
percentage applicable at the time a PCTC landing is debited from a CQ 
allocation to calculate the cost recovery fee liability for any 
retroactive payments for CQ landed.
    (4) Fee liability determination for a cooperative. (i) All 
cooperatives are subject to a fee liability for any CQ debited from a 
CQ allocation during a calendar year.
    (ii) The PCTC Program fee liability assessed to a PCTC Program 
cooperative

[[Page 53744]]

is based on the proportion of the standard ex-vessel value of Pacific 
cod debited from the cooperative's CQ relative to all cooperatives 
during a calendar year as determined by NMFS.
    (iii) NMFS will provide a fee liability summary letter to all 
cooperatives by no later than August 1 of each year. The summary will 
explain the fee liability determination including the current fee 
percentage, details of CQ pounds debited from CQ allocations by permit, 
species, date, and prices.
    (d) Underpayment of fee liability. (1) Pursuant to Sec.  679.131, 
no cooperative will receive any CQ unless that cooperative has made 
full payment of cost recovery liability at the time it applies for CQ.
    (2) If a cooperative fails to submit full payment for PCTC Program 
cost recovery fee liability by the date described in paragraph (a)(3) 
of this section:
    (i) At any time thereafter the Regional Administrator may send an 
IAD to the cooperative stating the amount of the cooperative's 
estimated fee liability that is past due and requesting payment. If 
payment is not received by the 30th day after the date on the IAD, the 
agency may pursue collection of the unpaid fees.
    (ii) The Regional Administrator may disapprove any application to 
transfer CQ to or from the cooperative in accordance with Sec.  
679.130.
    (iii) No CQ permit will be issued to that cooperative for that 
following calendar year and the Regional Administrator may continue to 
prohibit issuance of a CQ permit for any subsequent calendar years 
until NMFS receives the unpaid fees.
    (iv) No CQ will be issued based on the QS held by the members of 
that PCTC Program cooperative to any other CQ permit for any subsequent 
calendar years until NMFS receives the unpaid fees.
    (e) Over payment. Payment submitted to NMFS in excess of the annual 
PCTC Program cost recovery fee liability for a cooperative will be 
credited against the cooperative's future cost recovery fee liability 
unless the cooperative requests the agency refund the over payment. 
Payment processing fees may be deducted from any fees returned to the 
cooperative.
    (f) Appeals. A cooperative that receives an IAD for incomplete 
payment of a fee liability may appeal the IAD pursuant to 15 CFR part 
906.
    (g) Annual report. Each year, NMFS will publish a report describing 
the PCTC Program cost recovery fee program.


0
13. Revise table 40 to part 679 to read as follows:

Table 40 to Part 679--BSAI Halibut PSC Sideboard Limits for AFA Catcher/
                   Processors and AFA Catcher Vessels
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   The AFA catcher/     The AFA catcher
 In the following target species   processor halibut  vessel halibut PSC
  categories as defined at Sec.      PSC sideboard    sideboard limit in
679.21(b)(1)(iii) and (e)(3)(iv)    limit in metric   metric tons is . .
              . . .                  tons is . . .             .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
All target species categories...  286...............  N/A
Pacific cod trawl...............  N/A...............  N/A
Pacific cod hook-and-line or pot  N/A...............  2
Yellowfin sole..................  N/A...............  101
Rock sole/flathead sole/``other   N/A...............  228
 flatfish'' \1\.
Turbot/Arrowtooth/Sablefish.....  N/A...............  0
Rockfish \2\....................  N/A...............  2
Pollock/Atka mackerel/``other     N/A...............  5
 species''.
------------------------------------------------------------------------



0
14. Revise table 56 to part 679 to read as follows:

 Table 56 to Part 679--GOA Species and Species Groups for Which Directed
    Fishing for Sideboard Limits by Non-Exempt AFA Catcher Vessels is
                               Prohibited
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Management or regulatory area
        Species or species group           and processing component (if
                                                   applicable)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pollock................................  Southeast Outside District,
                                          Eastern GOA.
Pacific cod............................  Eastern GOA, inshore component.
                                         Eastern GOA, offshore
                                          component.
Sablefish..............................  Western GOA.
                                         Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Shallow-water flatfish.................  Western GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Deep-water flatfish....................  Western GOA.
                                         Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Rex sole...............................  Western GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Arrowtooth flounder....................  Western GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Flathead sole..........................  Western GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Pacific ocean perch....................  Western GOA.
                                         Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Northern rockfish......................  Western GOA.
Shortraker rockfish....................  Western GOA.

[[Page 53745]]

 
                                         Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Dusky rockfish.........................  Western GOA.
                                         Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Rougheye rockfish......................  Western GOA.
                                         Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Demersal shelf rockfish................  Southeast Outside District.
Thornyhead rockfish....................  Western GOA.
                                         Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Other rockfish.........................  Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Atka mackerel..........................  GOA.
Big skates.............................  Western GOA.
                                         Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Longnose skates........................  Western GOA.
                                         Central GOA.
                                         Eastern GOA.
Other skates...........................  GOA.
Sculpins...............................  GOA.
Sharks.................................  GOA.
Octopuses..............................  GOA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[FR Doc. 2023-16526 Filed 8-3-23; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P