[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13132]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: May 31, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 676
[Docket No. 940546-4146; I.D. 050494A]
RIN 0648-AD19
Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of
Alaska
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 30 to
the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands area (BSAI) and Amendment 34 to the FMP
for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), and to make regulatory
amendments affecting the Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries in and
off of the State of Alaska (Alaska or State). This action is necessary
to raise the sablefish community development quota (CDQ) allocation
limit for qualified applicants from 12 percent to 33 percent, and to
clarify the evidence that may be used to verify vessel leases for the
Pacific halibut and sablefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) program.
It is intended to allow total allocation of the sablefish CDQ reserve
and to provide IFQ program applicants with information about the
evidence required for vessel lease verification.
DATES: Comments must be received by July 11, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Ronald J. Berg, Chief, Fisheries
Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 709 W. 9th, Room 453, Juneau,
AK 99801 or P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attention: Lori J.
Gravel. Copies of Amendments 30 and 34 to the FMPs and the Regulatory
Impact Review may be obtained from the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council, P.O. Box 103136, Anchorage, AK 99510.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Lepore, Fisheries Regulations
Specialist, Alaska Region, NMFS, at 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Pacific halibut and sablefish CDQ program was designed to
promote the revitalization of rural communities in Western Alaska by
providing those communities access to nearby fishery resources. The
program was developed under the authority, and is consistent with, the
management objectives of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act (Halibut Act). The
current regulations permit the NMFS to allocate up to 12 percent of the
total sablefish CDQ reserve to any one applicant. This action would
implement Amendment 30 to the Bering Sea FMP, raising the sablefish CDQ
allocation limit for qualified applicants to 33 percent. Amendment 34
to the Gulf of Alaska FMP would correct the inadvertent inclusion of
the CDQ program in that FMP by removing and reserving section
4.4.1.1.8.
The 12 percent limit was designed to prevent monopolization of the
CDQ allocations and to ensure an adequate distribution of benefits from
the CDQ program (57 FR 57130, December 3, 1992). The 12 percent limit
for sablefish CDQ allocations was set by the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council) during the development phase of the
Pacific halibut and sablefish IFQ program, when 55 communities were
initially determined to be eligible to apply for sablefish CDQ
allocations. The 12 percent limit was designed to ensure that
sufficient amounts of the sablefish CDQ reserve would be available for
all communities without excessive, and inefficient, competition.
No limit was set for Pacific halibut CDQ allocations because the
Pacific halibut CDQ reserve will be allocated to eligible applicants
according to their geographical proximity to an International Pacific
Halibut Commission (IPHC) management area. This means that the Pacific
halibut CDQ reserve from an IPHC management area will generally go to
the community group or groups within that management area.
The pollock CDQ program was implemented while the Pacific halibut
and sablefish CDQ program was awaiting Secretarial approval. In
anticipation of participating in the pollock CDQ program, the 55
eligible communities decided to pool their efforts in producing
Community Development Plans (CDP) and managing CDQ harvest; they joined
together in six groups. The 12 percent limit on allocation in the
Pacific halibut and sablefish CDQ program is no longer feasible,
because allocations to the six groups would allocate only 72 percent of
the CDQ reserve resources.
The Council thus recommended raising the limit on sablefish CDQ
allocations in the Pacific halibut and sablefish CDQ program.
Proposed Action Raising the Sablefish CDQ Allocation Limit
The proposed action would also change the terms ``community'' and
``communities'' to ``CDQ applicant'' and ``CDQ applicants,''
respectively. It would allow the Pacific halibut and sablefish CDQ
program to operate under the same CDQ reserve allocation limits as the
pollock CDQ program.
The proposed action would not change the amount of sablefish
available for harvest by fishermen participating in the Pacific halibut
and sablefish IFQ program. The sablefish CDQ reserve, 20 percent of the
annual fixed-gear total allowable catch of sablefish for each
management area in the BSAI, would be the same amount under the
proposed action as it is under the current management program.
Inclusion of IPHC Area 4A as a Compensating Non-CDQ Area
Currently, 50 CFR 676.24(i)(1) provides that:
The Regional Director will compensate persons that receive a
reduced halibut QS in IPHC regulatory areas 4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E
because of the halibut CDQ program by adding halibut QS from IPHC
regulatory areas 2C, 3A, and 3B. This compensation of halibut QS
from areas 2C, 3A, and 3B will be allocated in proportion to the
amount of halibut QS foregone due to the CDQ allocation authorized
by this section.
No halibut quota from area 4A is being made available to the
halibut CDQ program, so area 4A should have been included with areas
(2C, 3A, and 3B) that compensate persons who receive reduced halibut QS
because of CDQ allocations.
To correct this omission, area 4A is added in the regulatory text
as an area that will provide halibut QS as compensation in proportion
to the amount of halibut QS foregone due to CDQ allocations.
Vessel Lease Verification
The current regulatory language, found at 50 CFR 676.20(a)(1)(iii),
provides that:
Evidence of a vessel lease shall be limited to a written vessel
lease agreement or a notarized statement from the vessel owner and
lease holder attesting to the existence of a vessel lease agreement
at any time during the QS qualifying years.
The proposed change to 50 CFR 676.20(a)(1)(iii) would provide that:
Conclusive evidence of a vessel lease will include a written
vessel lease agreement or a notarized statement from the vessel
owner and lease holder attesting to the existence of a vessel lease
agreement at any time during the QS qualifying years. Conclusive
evidence of a vessel lease must identify the leased vessel and
indicate the name of the lease holder and the period of time during
which the lease was in effect. Other evidence, which may not be
conclusive, but may tend to support a vessel lease, may also be
submitted.
The types of evidence that can be submitted to verify a vessel
lease would be expanded. The Council intends to open the appeals
process to persons who claim they had a lease but who are unable to
produce the specific evidence required under the current regulatory
language. Other types of evidence that could be submitted under the
proposed rule include canceled checks or receipts for IPHC or
Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission permits, Internal Revenue Service
tax forms showing a business deduction for the lease, or 1099 tax forms
demonstrating the payment of crew.
The proposed language, like the current language, would not assure
that the evidence submitted would verify the vessel lease claimed. NMFS
will carefully evaluate all evidence submitted to verify a vessel lease
agreement.
Classification
The General Counsel of the Department of Commerce has certified to
the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted,
will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The 55 communities eligible to apply for sablefish CDQ
allocations are expected to apply as six groups. This creates an
inability to allocate all of the sablefish CDQ reserve, with the 12
percent limit, to achieve 100 percent allocation. Of the affected
entities, only the estimated six CDQ applicants (made up of the 55
eligible communities) would be affected. While a substantial number of
the CDQ groups would be affected by this action, there is no evidence
that any of the criteria for significant economic impact on the CDQ
groups would occur.
This proposed rule is exempt from prepublication review for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 676
Fisheries; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: May 24, 1994.
Charles Karnella,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 676 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 676--LIMITED ACCESS MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL FISHERIES IN AND OFF
OF ALASKA
1. The authority citation for part 676 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq. and 1801 et seq.
2. Section 676.20(a)(1)(iii) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 676.20 Individual allocations.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(iii) Conclusive evidence of a vessel lease will include a written
vessel lease agreement or a notarized statement from the vessel owner
and lease holder attesting to the existence of a vessel lease agreement
at any time during the QS qualifying years. Conclusive evidence of a
vessel lease must identify the leased vessel and indicate the name of
the lease holder and the period of time during which the lease was in
effect. Other evidence, which may not be conclusive, but may tend to
support a vessel lease, may also be submitted.
* * * * *
3. Section 676.24 is amended by revising paragraphs (b), (e)(1) and
(i)(1) to read as follows:
Sec. 676.24 Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program.
* * * * *
(b) Sablefish CDQ Program. In the proposed and final harvest limit
specifications required under Sec. 675.20(a) of this chapter, NMFS will
specify 20 percent of the fixed gear allocations of sablefish in each
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands subarea, as provided under
Sec. 675.24(c) of this chapter, as a sablefish CDQ reserve, exclusive
of issued QS. Portions of the CDQ reserve for each subarea may be
allocated for the exclusive use of CDQ applicants in accordance with
CDPs approved by the Governor in consultation with the Council and
approved by the Secretary. NMFS will allocate no more than 33 percent
of the total CDQ for all subareas combined to any one applicant with an
approved CDQ application.
* * * * *
(e) Secretarial review and approval of CDPs. (1) Upon receipt by
the Secretary of the Governor's recommendation for approval of proposed
CDPs, the Secretary will review the record to determine whether the CDQ
applicant eligibility criteria and the evaluation criteria set forth in
paragraph (f) of this section have been met. The Secretary will then
approve or disapprove the Governor's recommendation within 45 days of
its receipt. In the event of approval, the Secretary will notify the
Governor and the Council in writing, including the Secretary's reasons
for approval. The decision, including the percentage of the sablefish
and halibut CDQ reserves allocated to each CDP and the availability of
the findings, will be published in the Federal Register. NMFS will
allocate no more than 33 percent of the sablefish CDQ reserve to any
one applicant with an approved CDP. A CDQ applicant may not
concurrently receive more than one halibut CDQ or more than one
sablefish CDQ, and only one application for each type of CDP per CDQ
applicant will be accepted.
* * * * *
(i) Compensation for CDQ allocations. (1) The Regional Director
will compensate persons who receive a reduced halibut QS in IPHC
regulatory areas 4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E because of the halibut CDQ program
by adding halibut QS from IPHC regulatory areas 2C, 3A, 3B, and 4A.
This compensation of halibut QS from areas 2C, 3A, 3B, and 4A will be
allocated in proportion to the amount of halibut QS forgone due to the
CDQ allocation authorized by this section.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-13132 Filed 5-25-94; 10:10 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F