Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Cost Recovery Fee Notice for the Western Alaska Community Development Quota and Trawl Limited Access Privilege Programs, 94710-94712 [2024-28198]

Download as PDF 94710 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2024 / Notices Background On April 23, 2024, Commerce initiated an LTFV investigation of imports of epoxy resins from China.1 The period of investigation is October 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. On November 13, 2024, Commerce published its Preliminary Determination of sales at LTFV of epoxy resins from China.2 Postponement of Final Determination khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES Section 735(a)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2) provide that a final determination may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by the exporters or producers who account for a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by the petitioners. Further, 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2) requires that such postponement requests by exporters be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional measures from a fourmonth period to a period of not more than six months, in accordance with section 733(d) of the Act. On November 18, 2024, Huntsman Advanced Materials (Guangdong) Company Ltd. (Huntsman), the mandatory respondent in this investigation, requested that Commerce postpone the deadline for the final determination until no later than 135 days from the publication of the Preliminary Determination, and extend the application of the provisional measures from a four-month period to a period of not more than six months.3 In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) the Preliminary Determination was affirmative; (2) the request was made by an exporter or producer who accounts for a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final 1 See Certain Epoxy Resins from the People’s Republic of China, India, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand: Initiation of Less-Than-FairValue Investigations, 89 FR 33324 (April 29, 2024). 2 See Certain Epoxy Resins from the People’s Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, 89 FR 89594 (November 13, 2024) (Preliminary Determination). 3 See Huntsman’s Letter, ‘‘Request to Postpone Final Determination,’’ dated November 18, 2024. VerDate Sep<11>2014 21:22 Nov 27, 2024 Jkt 265001 determination until no later than 135 days after the date of the publication of the Preliminary Determination, and extending the provisional measures from a four-month period to a period of not more than six months. Accordingly, Commerce will issue its final determination no later than March 28, 2025. Notification to Interested Parties This notice is issued and published pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(g). Dated: November 22, 2024. Abdelali Elouaradia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. [FR Doc. 2024–28021 Filed 11–27–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [RTID 0648–XE494] Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Cost Recovery Fee Notice for the Western Alaska Community Development Quota and Trawl Limited Access Privilege Programs National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of standard prices and fee percentage. AGENCY: NMFS publishes standard prices and fee percentages for cost recovery for the Amendment 80 Program, the American Fisheries Act (AFA) Program, the Aleutian Islands Pollock (AIP) Program, and the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program in the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. The fee percentages for 2024 are 1.86 percent for the Amendment 80 Program, 0.24 percent for the AFA inshore cooperatives, 0 percent for the AIP program, and 1.38 percent for the CDQ Program. This notice is intended to provide the 2024 standard prices and fee percentages to calculate the required payment for cost recovery fees due by December 31, 2024. DATES: The standard prices and fee percentages are valid on November 29, 2024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charmaine Weeks, Fee Coordinator, 907–586–7231. SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Section 304(d) of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes and requires that NMFS collect cost recovery fees for limited access privilege programs and the CDQ Program. Cost recovery fees include NMFS’ actual costs directly related to its management, data collection, and enforcement of the programs. Section 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act mandates that cost recovery fees not exceed 3 percent of the annual ex-vessel value of fish harvested under any program subject to a cost recovery fee and that the fee be collected either at the time of landing, filing of a landing report, or sale of such fish during a fishing season or in the last quarter of the calendar year in which the fish is harvested. NMFS manages the Amendment 80 Program, AFA Program, and AIP Program as limited access privilege programs. On January 5, 2016, NMFS published a final rule to implement cost recovery for these three limited access privilege programs and the CDQ program (81 FR 150). The designated representative (for the purposes of cost recovery) for each program is responsible for submitting the fee payment to NMFS on or before December 31 of the year in which the landings were made. The total dollar amount of the fee due is determined by multiplying the NMFS published fee percentage by the ex-vessel value of all landings under the program made during the fishing year. NMFS publishes this notice of the fee percentages for the Amendment 80, AFA, AIP, and CDQ programs in the Federal Register by December 1 each year. Standard Prices The fee liability is based on the exvessel value of fish harvested in each program. For purposes of calculating cost recovery fees, NMFS uses a standard ex-vessel price (standard price) for each species. A standard price is determined using information on landings purchased (volume) and exvessel value paid (value). For most groundfish species, NMFS annually summarizes volume and value information for landings of all fishery species subject to cost recovery to estimate a standard price for each species. The standard prices are described in U.S. dollars per pound for landings made during the year. The standard prices for all species in the Amendment 80, AFA, AIP, and CDQ programs are provided in Table 1. Each E:\FR\FM\29NON1.SGM 29NON1 94711 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2024 / Notices landing made under each program is multiplied by the appropriate standard price to arrive at an ex-vessel value for each landing. These values are summed together to arrive at the ex-vessel value of each program (fishery value). TABLE 1—STANDARD EX-VESSEL PRICES BY SPECIES FOR THE 2024 FISHING YEAR Species Gear type Reporting period Arrowtooth flounder ................................ Atka mackerel ........................................ Flathead sole .......................................... Greenland turbot .................................... CDQ halibut ............................................ Pacific cod .............................................. All .......................................................... All .......................................................... All .......................................................... All .......................................................... Fixed gear ............................................. Fixed gear ............................................. Trawl gear ............................................. All .......................................................... All .......................................................... All .......................................................... All .......................................................... Fixed gear ............................................. Trawl gear ............................................. All .......................................................... January to December ............................ January to December ............................ January to December ............................ January to December ............................ January to December ............................ January to December ............................ January to December ............................ January to December ............................ January to December ............................ January to March .................................. April to December ................................. January to December ............................ January to December ............................ January to December ............................ Pacific ocean perch ................................ Pollock .................................................... Rock sole ............................................... Sablefish ................................................. Yellowfin sole ......................................... khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES Fee Percentage Annually, NMFS calculates the applicable fee percentage for each of the four programs according to the factors and methods described at 50 CFR 679 under §§ 679.33(c)(2) for CDQ, 679.66(c)(2) for AFA, 679.67(c)(2) for AIP, and 679.95(c)(2) for Amendment 80. NMFS determines the fee percentage that applies to landings made during the year by dividing the total costs directly related to the management, data collection, and enforcement of each program (direct program costs) during the year by the fishery value. NMFS captures direct program costs through an established accounting system that allows staff to track labor, travel, contracts, rent, and procurement costs. For 2024, the direct program costs for each program were tracked from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024 (the end of the fiscal year). The decline in fishery values caused an increase from the 2023 fee percentage for Amendment 80 Program and CDQ. A decline in both fishery values and direct costs caused a slight decline from the 2023 fee percentage for AFA. The 2024 percentage for the AIP Program is zero because there was no AIP fishery in 2024, thus no associated harvest. NMFS will provide an annual report that summarizes direct program costs for each of the programs in early 2025. NMFS calculates the values for each fishery as described earlier under the Standard Prices section of this notice. Amendment 80 Program Standard Prices and Fee Percentage The Amendment 80 Program allocates total allowable catches (TACs) of groundfish species, other than Bering VerDate Sep<11>2014 21:22 Nov 27, 2024 Jkt 265001 Sea pollock, to identified trawl catcher/ processors fishing in the BSAI. The Amendment 80 Program allocates a portion of the BSAI TACs of six species: Atka mackerel, Pacific cod, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, and Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean perch. In recent years, participants in the Amendment 80 sector have established a cooperative to harvest these allocations. Each Amendment 80 cooperative is responsible for payment of the cost recovery fee for fish landed under the Amendment 80 Program. Cost recovery requirements for the Amendment 80 Program are at § 679.95. For Amendment 80 species other than rock sole, NMFS annually summarizes volume and value information for landings of all fishery species subject to cost recovery in order to estimate a standard price for each fishery species. Regulations specify that for rock sole, NMFS shall calculate a separate standard price for two periods, January 1 through March 31 and April 1 through October 31, which has historically accounted for a substantial difference in estimated rock sole prices during the first quarter of the year relative to the remainder of the year. The volume and value information are obtained from the First Wholesale Volume and Value Report submitted by catcher/processors that harvested Amendment 80 or CDQ species, and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel Volume and Value Report submitted by shoreside processors and motherships that processed landings of BSAI or CDQ Pacific cod. Using the fee percentage formula described generally above, the estimated percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2024 calendar year PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Standard ex-vessel price per pound ($) 0.26 0.24 0.18 0.59 4.15 0.30 0.25 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.17 1.22 0.69 0.16 is 1.86 percent for the Amendment 80 Program. For 2024, NMFS applied the fee percentage to each Amendment 80 species landing that was debited from an Amendment 80 cooperative quota allocation between January 1 and December 31 to calculate the Amendment 80 fee liability for each Amendment 80 cooperative. The 2024 fee payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2024. Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set forth in § 679.95(a)(3)(iv). AFA Standard Price and Fee Percentages The AFA Program allocates the Bering Sea directed pollock fishery TAC to three sectors: catcher/processor, mothership, and inshore. Each sector has established cooperatives to harvest the sector’s exclusive allocation. In 2024, each cooperative for the inshore sector is responsible for paying the fee for Bering Sea pollock landed under the AFA Program. Cost recovery requirements for the AFA sectors are found at § 679.66. NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator’s Annual Report and compiled in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings data. Due to the time required to compile the data, there is a 1-year delay between the gross earnings data year and the fishing year to which it is applied. For example, NMFS used 2023 gross earnings data to calculate the standard price for 2024 pollock landings. E:\FR\FM\29NON1.SGM 29NON1 94712 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2024 / Notices Under the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2024 calendar year is 0.24 percent for the AFA inshore sector. To calculate the 2024 fee liabilities, NMFS applied the respective fee percentages to the landings of Bering Sea pollock debited from each cooperative’s fishery allocation that occurred between January 1 and December 31. The 2024 fee payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2024. Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set forth in § 679.66(a)(4)(iv). khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES AIP Program Standard Price and Fee Percentage The AIP Program allocates the Aleutian Islands directed pollock fishery TAC to the Aleut Corporation, consistent with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108–109) and implementing regulations. Annually, prior to the start of the pollock season, the Aleut Corporation provides NMFS with the identity of its designated representative for harvesting the Aleutian Islands directed pollock fishery TAC. The same individual is responsible for the submission of all cost recovery fees for pollock landed under the AIP Program. Cost recovery requirements for the AIP Program are at § 679.67. NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator’s Annual Report and compiled in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings data for Aleutian Islands pollock. As explained above, due to the time required to compile the data, there is a 1-year delay between the gross earnings data year and the fishing year to which it is applied. For the 2024 fishing year, the Aleut Corporation did not select any participants to harvest or process the Aleutian Islands directed pollock fishery TAC, and most of that TAC was reallocated to the Bering Sea directed pollock fishery TAC. Since there was no fishery for the AIP Program in 2024, the fee percentage is zero. CDQ Standard Price and Fee Percentage The CDQ Program was implemented in 1992 to provide access to BSAI fishery resources to villages located in Western Alaska. Section 305(i) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act identifies 65 villages eligible to participate in the CDQ Program and the six CDQ groups to represent these villages. CDQ groups receive exclusive harvesting privileges VerDate Sep<11>2014 21:22 Nov 27, 2024 Jkt 265001 of the TACs for a broad range of crab species, groundfish species, and halibut. NMFS implemented a CDQ cost recovery program for the BSAI crab fisheries in 2005 (70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005) and published the cost recovery fee percentage for the 2023/2024 crab fishing year on July 2, 2024 (89 FR 54785). This notice provides the cost recovery fee percentage for the CDQ Program with respect to groundfish and halibut. Each CDQ group is subject to cost recovery fee requirements and the designated representative of each CDQ group is responsible for submitting payment for their CDQ group. Cost recovery requirements for the CDQ Program are at § 679.33. For most CDQ groundfish species, NMFS annually summarizes volume and value information for landings of all fishery species subject to cost recovery in order to estimate a standard price for each fishery species. The volume and value information are obtained from the First Wholesale Volume and Value Report and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel Volume and Value Report. For CDQ halibut and fixed-gear sablefish, NMFS calculates the standard prices using information from the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Ex-Vessel Volume and Value Report, which collects information on both IFQ and CDQ volume and value. Using the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2024 calendar year is 1.38 percent for the CDQ Program. For 2024, NMFS applied the calculated CDQ fee percentage to all CDQ groundfish and halibut landings made between January 1 and December 31 to calculate the CDQ fee liability for each CDQ group. The 2024 fee payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2024. Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set forth in § 679.33(a)(3)(iv). Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: November 26, 2024. Karen H. Abrams, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2024–28198 Filed 11–27–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Report of Whaling Operations The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. 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. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on July 17, 2024 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce. Title: Report of Whaling Operations. OMB Control Number: 0648–0311. Form Number(s): None. Type of Request: Regular submission [extension of a current information]. Number of Respondents: 95 (There are approx.165 whaling captains, but many of them do not strike or land a whale in any given year). Average Hours per Response: 30 minutes for reports on whales struck or on recovery of dead whales, including providing the information to the Native American whaling organization; 1 hour for the Native American whaling organization to type in each report; and 21⁄2 hours for the Native American whaling organization to consolidate and submit reports. Total Annual Burden Hours: 61. Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a current information collection. Native Americans may conduct certain aboriginal subsistence whaling under the Whaling Convention Act in accordance with the provisions of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). In order to respond to obligations under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the IWC, and the Whaling Convention Act, whaling captains participating in these operations must submit certain information to the Native American whaling organization about strikes and E:\FR\FM\29NON1.SGM 29NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 230 (Friday, November 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 94710-94712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28198]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE494]


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

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

ACTION: Notice of standard prices and fee percentage.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS publishes standard prices and fee percentages for cost 
recovery for the Amendment 80 Program, the American Fisheries Act (AFA) 
Program, the Aleutian Islands Pollock (AIP) Program, and the Western 
Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program in the Bering Sea 
Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. The fee percentages for 2024 
are 1.86 percent for the Amendment 80 Program, 0.24 percent for the AFA 
inshore cooperatives, 0 percent for the AIP program, and 1.38 percent 
for the CDQ Program. This notice is intended to provide the 2024 
standard prices and fee percentages to calculate the required payment 
for cost recovery fees due by December 31, 2024.

DATES: The standard prices and fee percentages are valid on November 
29, 2024.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

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

Standard Prices

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

[[Page 94711]]

landing made under each program is multiplied by the appropriate 
standard price to arrive at an ex-vessel value for each landing. These 
values are summed together to arrive at the ex-vessel value of each 
program (fishery value).

                     Table 1--Standard Ex-Vessel Prices by Species for the 2024 Fishing Year
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                 Standard  ex-
                Species                          Gear type               Reporting period      vessel price  per
                                                                                                   pound ($)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arrowtooth flounder....................  All......................  January to December......               0.26
Atka mackerel..........................  All......................  January to December......               0.24
Flathead sole..........................  All......................  January to December......               0.18
Greenland turbot.......................  All......................  January to December......               0.59
CDQ halibut............................  Fixed gear...............  January to December......               4.15
Pacific cod............................  Fixed gear...............  January to December......               0.30
                                         Trawl gear...............  January to December......               0.25
Pacific ocean perch....................  All......................  January to December......               0.18
Pollock................................  All......................  January to December......               0.18
Rock sole..............................  All......................  January to March.........               0.18
                                         All......................  April to December........               0.17
Sablefish..............................  Fixed gear...............  January to December......               1.22
                                         Trawl gear...............  January to December......               0.69
Yellowfin sole.........................  All......................  January to December......               0.16
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fee Percentage

    Annually, NMFS calculates the applicable fee percentage for each of 
the four programs according to the factors and methods described at 50 
CFR 679 under Sec. Sec.  679.33(c)(2) for CDQ, 679.66(c)(2) for AFA, 
679.67(c)(2) for AIP, and 679.95(c)(2) for Amendment 80. NMFS 
determines the fee percentage that applies to landings made during the 
year by dividing the total costs directly related to the management, 
data collection, and enforcement of each program (direct program costs) 
during the year by the fishery value. NMFS captures direct program 
costs through an established accounting system that allows staff to 
track labor, travel, contracts, rent, and procurement costs. For 2024, 
the direct program costs for each program were tracked from October 1, 
2023 to September 30, 2024 (the end of the fiscal year). The decline in 
fishery values caused an increase from the 2023 fee percentage for 
Amendment 80 Program and CDQ. A decline in both fishery values and 
direct costs caused a slight decline from the 2023 fee percentage for 
AFA. The 2024 percentage for the AIP Program is zero because there was 
no AIP fishery in 2024, thus no associated harvest.
    NMFS will provide an annual report that summarizes direct program 
costs for each of the programs in early 2025. NMFS calculates the 
values for each fishery as described earlier under the Standard Prices 
section of this notice.

Amendment 80 Program Standard Prices and Fee Percentage

    The Amendment 80 Program allocates total allowable catches (TACs) 
of groundfish species, other than Bering Sea pollock, to identified 
trawl catcher/processors fishing in the BSAI. The Amendment 80 Program 
allocates a portion of the BSAI TACs of six species: Atka mackerel, 
Pacific cod, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, and Aleutian 
Islands Pacific ocean perch. In recent years, participants in the 
Amendment 80 sector have established a cooperative to harvest these 
allocations. Each Amendment 80 cooperative is responsible for payment 
of the cost recovery fee for fish landed under the Amendment 80 
Program. Cost recovery requirements for the Amendment 80 Program are at 
Sec.  679.95.
    For Amendment 80 species other than rock sole, NMFS annually 
summarizes volume and value information for landings of all fishery 
species subject to cost recovery in order to estimate a standard price 
for each fishery species. Regulations specify that for rock sole, NMFS 
shall calculate a separate standard price for two periods, January 1 
through March 31 and April 1 through October 31, which has historically 
accounted for a substantial difference in estimated rock sole prices 
during the first quarter of the year relative to the remainder of the 
year. The volume and value information are obtained from the First 
Wholesale Volume and Value Report submitted by catcher/processors that 
harvested Amendment 80 or CDQ species, and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel 
Volume and Value Report submitted by shoreside processors and 
motherships that processed landings of BSAI or CDQ Pacific cod.
    Using the fee percentage formula described generally above, the 
estimated percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 
2024 calendar year is 1.86 percent for the Amendment 80 Program. For 
2024, NMFS applied the fee percentage to each Amendment 80 species 
landing that was debited from an Amendment 80 cooperative quota 
allocation between January 1 and December 31 to calculate the Amendment 
80 fee liability for each Amendment 80 cooperative. The 2024 fee 
payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2024. 
Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set forth 
in Sec.  679.95(a)(3)(iv).

AFA Standard Price and Fee Percentages

    The AFA Program allocates the Bering Sea directed pollock fishery 
TAC to three sectors: catcher/processor, mothership, and inshore. Each 
sector has established cooperatives to harvest the sector's exclusive 
allocation. In 2024, each cooperative for the inshore sector is 
responsible for paying the fee for Bering Sea pollock landed under the 
AFA Program. Cost recovery requirements for the AFA sectors are found 
at Sec.  679.66.
    NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most 
recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of 
Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report and compiled 
in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings 
data. Due to the time required to compile the data, there is a 1-year 
delay between the gross earnings data year and the fishing year to 
which it is applied. For example, NMFS used 2023 gross earnings data to 
calculate the standard price for 2024 pollock landings.

[[Page 94712]]

    Under the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated 
percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2024 
calendar year is 0.24 percent for the AFA inshore sector. To calculate 
the 2024 fee liabilities, NMFS applied the respective fee percentages 
to the landings of Bering Sea pollock debited from each cooperative's 
fishery allocation that occurred between January 1 and December 31. The 
2024 fee payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 
2024. Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set 
forth in Sec.  679.66(a)(4)(iv).

AIP Program Standard Price and Fee Percentage

    The AIP Program allocates the Aleutian Islands directed pollock 
fishery TAC to the Aleut Corporation, consistent with the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108-109) and implementing 
regulations. Annually, prior to the start of the pollock season, the 
Aleut Corporation provides NMFS with the identity of its designated 
representative for harvesting the Aleutian Islands directed pollock 
fishery TAC. The same individual is responsible for the submission of 
all cost recovery fees for pollock landed under the AIP Program. Cost 
recovery requirements for the AIP Program are at Sec.  679.67.
    NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most 
recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of 
Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report and compiled 
in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings data 
for Aleutian Islands pollock. As explained above, due to the time 
required to compile the data, there is a 1-year delay between the gross 
earnings data year and the fishing year to which it is applied.
    For the 2024 fishing year, the Aleut Corporation did not select any 
participants to harvest or process the Aleutian Islands directed 
pollock fishery TAC, and most of that TAC was reallocated to the Bering 
Sea directed pollock fishery TAC. Since there was no fishery for the 
AIP Program in 2024, the fee percentage is zero.

CDQ Standard Price and Fee Percentage

    The CDQ Program was implemented in 1992 to provide access to BSAI 
fishery resources to villages located in Western Alaska. Section 305(i) 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act identifies 65 villages eligible to 
participate in the CDQ Program and the six CDQ groups to represent 
these villages. CDQ groups receive exclusive harvesting privileges of 
the TACs for a broad range of crab species, groundfish species, and 
halibut. NMFS implemented a CDQ cost recovery program for the BSAI crab 
fisheries in 2005 (70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005) and published the cost 
recovery fee percentage for the 2023/2024 crab fishing year on July 2, 
2024 (89 FR 54785). This notice provides the cost recovery fee 
percentage for the CDQ Program with respect to groundfish and halibut. 
Each CDQ group is subject to cost recovery fee requirements and the 
designated representative of each CDQ group is responsible for 
submitting payment for their CDQ group. Cost recovery requirements for 
the CDQ Program are at Sec.  679.33.
    For most CDQ groundfish species, NMFS annually summarizes volume 
and value information for landings of all fishery species subject to 
cost recovery in order to estimate a standard price for each fishery 
species. The volume and value information are obtained from the First 
Wholesale Volume and Value Report and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel Volume 
and Value Report. For CDQ halibut and fixed-gear sablefish, NMFS 
calculates the standard prices using information from the Individual 
Fishing Quota (IFQ) Ex-Vessel Volume and Value Report, which collects 
information on both IFQ and CDQ volume and value.
    Using the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated 
percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2024 
calendar year is 1.38 percent for the CDQ Program. For 2024, NMFS 
applied the calculated CDQ fee percentage to all CDQ groundfish and 
halibut landings made between January 1 and December 31 to calculate 
the CDQ fee liability for each CDQ group. The 2024 fee payments must be 
submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2024. Payment must be made 
in accordance with the payment methods set forth in Sec.  
679.33(a)(3)(iv).
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: November 26, 2024.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-28198 Filed 11-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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