[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 110 (Monday, June 9, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31367-31369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14920]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 900833-1095; I.D. 052997D]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific
Halibut and Red King Crab Bycatch Rate Standards for the Second Half of
1997
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Pacific halibut and red king crab bycatch rate standards;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces Pacific halibut and red king crab bycatch rate
standards for the second half of 1997. Publication of these bycatch
rate standards is required under regulations implementing the vessel
incentive program. This action is necessary to implement the bycatch
rate standards for vessel operators who participate in the Alaska
groundfish trawl fisheries. The intent of this action is to reduce
prohibited species bycatch rates and promote conservation of groundfish
and other fishery resources.
DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), July 1, 1997,
through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 1997. Comments on this action
must be received at the following address no later than 4:30 p.m.,
A.l.t., June 30, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Ronald J. Berg, Chief,
Fisheries Management Division, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-
1668, Attn: Lori Gravel; or be delivered to 709 West 9th Street,
Federal Building, Room 401, Juneau, AK.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan J. Salveson, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The domestic groundfish fisheries in the
exclusive economic zone of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
management area (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) are managed by NMFS
according to the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of
the Bering Sea and Aleutians Islands Area and the Fishery Management
Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMPs). The FMPs were
prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act and are implemented by regulations
[[Page 31368]]
governing the U.S. groundfish fisheries at 50 CFR part 679.
Regulations at Sec. 679.21(f) implement a vessel incentive program
to reduce halibut and red king crab bycatch rates in the groundfish
trawl fisheries. Under the incentive program, operators of trawl
vessels may not exceed Pacific halibut bycatch rate standards specified
for the BSAI and GOA midwater pollock and ``other trawl'' fisheries,
and the BSAI yellowfin sole and ``bottom pollock'' fisheries. Vessel
operators also may not exceed red king crab bycatch standards specified
for the BSAI yellowfin sole and ``other trawl'' fisheries in Bycatch
Limitation Zone 1 (defined in Sec. 679.2). The fisheries included under
the incentive program are defined in regulations at Sec. 679.21(f)(2).
Regulations at Sec. 679.21(f)(3) require that halibut and red crab
bycatch rate standards for each fishery included under the incentive
program be published in the Federal Register. The standards are in
effect for specified seasons within the 6-month periods of January 1
through June 30, and July 1 through December 31. For purposes of
calculating vessel bycatch rates under the incentive program, 1997
fishing months were specified in the Federal Register on December 16,
1996 (61 FR 65989).
Halibut and red king crab bycatch rate standards for the first half
of 1997 also were published in the Federal Register (61 FR 65989,
December 16, 1996). As required by Sec. 679.21(f)(3) and (4), the
Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), has
established the bycatch rate standards for the second half of 1997
(July 1 through December 31). These standards were recommended by the
Council at its April 1997 meeting and are set out in Table 1. The
bycatch rate standards are based on the following information:
1. Previous years' average observed bycatch rates;
2. Immediately preceding season's average observed bycatch rates;
3. The bycatch allowances and associated fishery closures specified
under Sec. 679.21(d) and (e);
4. Anticipated groundfish harvests;
5. Anticipated seasonal distribution of fishing effort for
groundfish; and
6. Other information and criteria deemed relevant by the Regional
Administrator.
Table 1. Bycatch Rate Standards By Fishery for the Second Half of 1997
for Purposes of the Vessel Incentive Program In the Bsai and GOA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bycatch
Fishery rate
standard
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halibut bycatch rate standards (kilogram of halibut/metric ton of
groundfish catch)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSAI Midwater pollock......................................... 1.0
BSAI Bottom pollock........................................... 5.0
BSAI Yellowfin sole........................................... 5.0
BSAI Other trawl.............................................. 30.0
GOA Midwater pollock.......................................... 1.0
GOA Other trawl............................................... 40.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 1 red king crab bycatch rates standards (number of crab/metric ton
of groundfish catch)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSAI yellowfin sole........................................... 2.5
BSAI Other trawl.............................................. 2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bycatch Rate Standards for Pacific Halibut
The halibut bycatch rate standards for the July 1-December 31, 1997
trawl fisheries are unchanged from those implemented for the July 1-
December 31, 1996 trawl fisheries. The Regional Administrator based
standards for the second half of 1997 on anticipated seasonal fishing
effort for groundfish species and 1993-1997 halibut bycatch rates
observed in the trawl fisheries included under the incentive program.
In determining these bycatch rate standards, the Regional Administrator
recognized that directed fishing for BSAI Pacific cod by catcher
vessels using trawl gear is closed for the remainder of the year (62 FR
24058, May 2, 1997). Directed fishing for Pacific cod and flatfish
species in Bycatch Limitation Zone 1 (Zone 1) by vessels using trawl
gear also is closed because 1997 bycatch allowances of Chionoecetes
bairdi Tanner crab specified for these fisheries have been reached (62
FR 10479, March 7, 1997; 62 FR 22896, April 28, 1997; 62 FR 27210, May
19, 1997). Given the present status of halibut bycatch in the yellowfin
sole fishery, the Regional Administrator anticipates that the third
seasonal allowance for this fishery will be reached by mid June (62 FR
16112, April 4, 1997. The fishery will remain closed until August 15
when the remainder of its halibut bycatch allowance becomes available.
The Regional Administrator also considered the September 1 opening date
of the 1997 Bering Sea pollock non-roe season (Sec. 679.23(e)(2)).
Directed fishing for GOA groundfish by vessels using trawl gear
other than pelagic trawl gear is closed until July 1 (62 FR 25138, May
8, 1997), when the third seasonal allowance of Pacific halibut bycatch
specified for the deep water and shallow water fisheries becomes
available (62 FR 8179, February 24, 1997).
The halibut bycatch rate standards for the BSAI yellowfin sole and
``bottom pollock'' trawl fisheries are each set at 5 kilogram (kg)
halibut/metric ton (mt) of groundfish. These standards approximate the
average annual rates observed on trawl vessels participating in these
fisheries since 1992.
The halibut bycatch rate standard for the BSAI and GOA midwater
pollock fisheries (1 kg halibut/mt of groundfish) is higher than the
bycatch rates normally experienced by vessels participating in these
fisheries. This standard is intended to encourage vessel operators to
maintain off-bottom trawl operations and limit further bycatch of
halibut in the pollock fishery when halibut bycatch restrictions at
Sec. 679.21 prohibit directed fishing for pollock by vessels using non-
pelagic trawl gear.
A bycatch rate standard of 30 kg halibut/mt of groundfish is
established for the BSAI ``other trawl'' fishery. This standard has
remained unchanged since 1992. A bycatch rate standard of 40 kg
halibut/mt of groundfish is established for the GOA ``other trawl''
fishery, which is unchanged since 1994. The considerations that support
these bycatch rate standards for the ``other trawl'' fisheries are
unchanged from previous years and are discussed in the Federal Register
publications of 1995 bycatch rate standards (60 FR 2905, January 12,
1995, and 60 FR 27425, May 24, 1995).
Observer data collected from the 1996 GOA ``other trawl'' fishery
show average third and fourth quarter halibut bycatch rates of 25 and
47 kg halibut/mt of groundfish, respectively. The first quarter rate
from 1997 was lower, at 20 kg halibut/mt of groundfish. Observer data
from the 1996 BSAI ``other trawl'' fishery show third and fourth
quarter halibut bycatch rates of 6 and 12 kg halibut/mt of groundfish,
respectively. The first quarter rate from the 1997 BSAI ``other trawl''
fishery was 6 kg halibut/mt of groundfish.
Bycatch Rate Standards for Red King Crab
The red king crab bycatch rate standard for the yellowfin sole and
``other trawl'' fisheries in Zone 1 of the Bering Sea subarea is 2.5
crab/mt of groundfish during the second half of
[[Page 31369]]
1997. This standard has remained unchanged since 1992.
The red king crab savings area in Zone 1 is closed to directed
fishing for groundfish by vessels using trawl gear other than pelagic
trawl gear (Sec. 679.22(a)(3)). This closure is effective for the
remainder of 1997 and has limited the number of red king crab taken in
the Zone 1 trawl fisheries. Through May 10, 1997, the rock sole/
flathead sole/other flatfish fishery category had taken 75 percent of
its annual red king crab bycatch allowance. The Pacific cod and
yellowfin sole fisheries have taken only 25 percent and 38 percent,
respectively, of their bycatch allowances. As a result, NMFS does not
anticipate that the red king crab bycatch allowances specified for the
1997 trawl fisheries (62 FR 7168, February 18, 1997) will be reached.
Furthermore, red king crab bycatch rates should remain low given that
the intensive flatfish and Pacific cod trawl fisheries in Zone 1 are
closed for the remainder of the year. Nonetheless, as in past years,
the Regional Administrator is maintaining the 2.5 red king crab/mt of
groundfish bycatch rate standard to support any exploratory fishing in
Zone 1 by vessel operators attempting to avoid relatively high halibut
and C. bairdi bycatch rates typically experienced in other areas of the
BSAI.
The Regional Administrator has determined that the bycatch rate
standards set out in Table 1 are appropriately based on the information
and considerations necessary for such determinations under
Sec. 679.21(f)(4). These bycatch rate standards may be revised and
published in the Federal Register when deemed appropriate by the
Regional Administrator, pending his consideration of the information
set forth at Sec. 679.21(f)(4).
Classification
This action is taken under 50 CFR 679.21(f) and is exempt from
review under E.O. 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.,1801 et seq.
Dated: June 2, 1997.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries.
[FR Doc. 97-14920 Filed 6-6-97; 8:45 am]
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