[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 199 (Monday, October 17, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-25616]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 17, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 675

[Docket No. 941089-4289; I.D. 092694A]
RIN 0648-AF02

 

Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would implement Amendment 21a to the 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering 
Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI), and would prohibit the 
use of trawl gear in specified areas surrounding the Pribilof Islands. 
This action is necessary to protect areas of biological importance to 
certain crab stocks and to reduce interference with seabird and marine 
mammal populations. It is intended to promote the objectives of the 
FMP.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by November 28, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to Ronald J. Berg, Chief, Fisheries 
Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 
99802 Attn: Lori Gravel, or delivered to the Federal Building, 709 West 
9th Street, Juneau, AK. Copies of Amendment 21a and the environmental 
assessment/regulatory impact review (EA/RIR) prepared for the amendment 
are available from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, P.O. 
Box 103136, Anchorage, AK 99510, telephone: 907-271-2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen R. Varosi, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fishing for groundfish by U.S. vessels in 
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the BSAI is managed by NMFS 
according to the FMP for the Groundfish Fishery of the BSAI. The FMP 
was prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.) (Magnuson Act), and is implemented by regulations 
governing the U.S. groundfish fisheries at 50 CFR parts 675 and 676. 
General regulations that pertain to U.S. fisheries are codified at 50 
CFR part 620.
    This action proposes regulations to implement Amendment 21a to the 
FMP. If approved, this amendment would prohibit the use of trawl gear 
in specified areas of the EEZ surrounding the Pribilof Islands. A 
description of, and reasons for, the proposed measures are presented 
below.
    Fishing for groundfish using trawl gear is authorized in the waters 
off St. Paul, St. George, Walrus, and Otter Islands (Pribilof Islands 
area) under regulations at 50 CFR part 675. In addition to providing 
habitat for commercially important groundfish, the Pribilof Islands 
area provides the necessary habitat for blue king crab, juvenile 
groundfish, Korean hair crab, marine mammals, seabirds, and their prey 
species. The rocky benthic habitat immediately surrounding the Pribilof 
Islands area provides essential food resources and protection for 
juvenile crab and fish species, which are prey species for marine 
mammals and seabirds.
    NMFS trawl surveys indicate that during 1975, the historic 
estimated abundance of blue king crab in the Pribilof Islands area 
decreased significantly. During 1980-1992, the abundance decreased from 
106 million animals to 10 million animals, according to the estimates 
obtained from NMFS trawl surveys. Unlike other crab species, blue king 
crab populations do not extend uniformly across the Bering Sea shelf, 
but are found in isolated populations located in waters surrounding the 
Pribilof, St. Matthew, and St. Lawrence Islands. As a result of the 
decrease in crab abundance, commercial crab fisheries in the Pribilof 
Islands area have not been authorized since 1987. Continued trawling 
under the current FMP for groundfish in the Pribilof Islands area could 
jeopardize the recovery of depressed blue king crab stocks and the 
productivity of marine resources living in this habitat.
    The Pribilof Islands area contributes an essential food resource of 
prey species that allows for optimal foraging and breeding 
opportunities for marine resources dependent on the habitat in this 
area. Fish, crab, seabird, and marine mammal populations are dependent 
on the habitat that the Pribilof Islands area provides. Although sea 
lions and red-legged kittiwakes are listed as a threatened species and 
as a candidate for threatened species, respectively, this action would 
further protect these species. The northern fur seal is listed as 
depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. During the breeding 
season, approximately two-thirds of the northern fur seal population, 
and an estimated 88 and 92 percent of red-legged kittiwakes and Alaskan 
thick-billed murre, respectively, breed in the Pribilof Islands area. 
The Pribilof Islands area also provides the rocky habitat necessary to 
protect fish and crab populations during their juvenile stages.
    In 1989, the Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association initiated a 
proposal to establish areas closed to trawling in the Pribilof Islands 
area. The intent of this proposal was to protect this unique habitat 
and ecosystem so that it could contribute long-term benefits to the 
fisheries surrounding the waters of the Pribilof Islands area.
    At its meeting in September 1991, the Council requested that an 
analysis be prepared to identify those areas needing protection. The 
State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game prepared a draft EA/RIR for 
that proposal. The Pribilof Islands habitat conservation area was 
determined by the Council at its April 1992 meeting, based on an 
analysis of the distribution of crab and groundfish species.
    The analysis was released for public review on October 29, 1992, 
and again in September 1993. During both review processes, the Council 
recommended that additional alternatives be studied to define the areas 
that would protect a majority of the species and habitat, while 
providing access to groundfish resources. The analysis identified areas 
of high blue king crab bycatch and low groundfish harvests.
    The analysis indicated that the proposed Pribilof Islands habitat 
conservation area would not significantly impact groundfish fishermen 
because it would affect only 14 vessels in the entire BSAI groundfish 
fleet and the operators of these vessels would have the opportunity to 
fish in the remainder of the BSAI.
    At its meeting in December 1993, the Council again reviewed the 
draft EA/RIR and sent the document out for public review. At its 
meeting in April 1994, the Council considered the testimony and 
recommendations of its Advisory Panel, Scientific and Statistical 
Committee, fishing industry representatives, and the general public on 
alternative habitat protection zones and how these areas would be 
defined, established, and managed. The Council reviewed information 
about the distribution and habitat of blue king crab in the NMFS annual 
trawl surveys, and on observer data. The proposed trawl closure 
encompasses a major portion of the historic blue king crab distribution 
during years of low abundance and during years when the population was 
expanding.
    Amendment 21a would prohibit trawling within the EEZ in an area 
bounded by a straight line connecting the following pairs of 
coordinates in the following order: 

Latitude                             Longitude                          
                                                                        
57 deg.57.0' N.                      168 deg.30.0' W.                   
56 deg.55.2' N.                      168 deg.30.0' W.                   
56 deg.48.0' N.                      169 deg.2.4' W.                    
56 deg.34.2' N.                      169 deg.2.4' W.                    
56 deg.30.0' N.                      169 deg.25.2' W.                   
56 deg.30.0' N.                      169 deg.44.1' W.                   
56 deg.55.8' N.                      170 deg.21.6' W.                   
57 deg.13.8' N.                      171 deg.0.0' W.                    
57 deg.57.0' N.                      171 deg.0.0' W.                    
57 deg.57.0' N.                      168 deg.30.0' W.                   
                                                                        


    The Council determined that this area protects most of the crab 
habitat in the Pribilof Islands area, without significant adverse 
impacts on trawl operations for groundfish. This action balances the 
protection of the marine resources dependent on this habitat with the 
needs of the groundfish fishery. The Council voted to recommend that 
Amendment 21a, which prohibit trawling in this area, be submitted to 
NMFS for approval.
    Section 304(a)(1)(D) of the Magnuson Act requires the publication 
of regulations proposed by a Council within 15 days of receipt of the 
FMP amendments and regulations. At this time, NMFS has not determined 
that the FMP amendment these regulations would implement are consistent 
with the national standards, other provisions of the Magnuson Act, and 
other applicable laws. NMFS, in making a final determination about the 
FMP amendment and in implementing a final rule, will take into account 
the data, views, and comments received during the comment period.

Classification

    The Assistant General Counsel of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel of the Small Business Administration 
that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The proposed 
action would not have a significant economic impact on the fishing 
industry because less than 3 percent of the Bering Sea groundfish is 
harvested in the Pribilof Islands area by 14 vessels in the groundfish 
fleet. The volume of groundfish historically caught in this area can be 
harvested elsewhere in the Bering Sea. As a result, a regulatory 
flexibility analysis was not prepared.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 675

    Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: October 11, 1994.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
    For reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 675 is proposed to 
be amended as follows:

PART 675--GROUNDFISH OF THE BERING SEA AND ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AREA

    1. The authority citation for part 675 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    2. In Sec. 675.22, paragraph (i) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 675.22  Time and area closures.

* * * * *
    (i) Time and area closure. Trawling is prohibited at all times 
within the EEZ in the area bounded by a straight line connecting the 
following pairs of coordinates in the following order: 

Latitude                             Longitude                          
                                                                        
57 deg.57.0' N.                      168 deg.30.0' W.                   
56 deg.55.2' N.                      168 deg.30.0' W.                   
56 deg.48.0' N.                      169 deg.2.4' W.                    
56 deg.34.2' N.                      169 deg.2.4' W.                    
56 deg.30.0' N.                      169 deg.25.2' W.                   
56 deg.30.0' N.                      169 deg.44.1' W.                   
56 deg.55.8' N.                      170 deg.21.6' W.                   
57 deg.13.8' N.                      171 deg.0.0' W.                    
57 deg.57.0' N.                      171 deg.0.0' W.                    
                                                                        


[FR Doc. 94-25616 Filed 10-12-94; 3:34 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-W