[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 7 (Monday, January 12, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1812-1813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-621]



[[Page 1812]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 971223311-7311-01; I.D. 120997B]
RIN 0648-AK18


Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific 
Halibut Fisheries; Remove Regulatory Areas 4A and 4B From the Catch 
Sharing Plan

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

ACTION: Proposed rule and amendment to the catch sharing plan; request 
for comments.

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SUMMARY: This proposed action would amend the halibut catch sharing 
plan (CSP) by removing Halibut Regulatory Areas 4A and 4B, leaving the 
specification of catch limits for Pacific halibut in these areas to the 
International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), and making a 
corresponding change to the implementing regulations. This action is 
necessary to facilitate new stock assessment methods developed by the 
IPHC to determine catch limits for the Pacific halibut resource in 
Regulatory Area 4. This action is intended to further the goals and 
objectives of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
with respect to the Pacific halibut fishery, consistent with the 
regulations and resource management objectives of the IPHC.

DATES: Comments on the proposed amendment to the CSP and the proposed 
change to the implementing regulations must be received by February 11, 
1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to the Assistant Regional 
Administrator for the Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, 
NMFS, Room 453, 709 West 9th Street, Juneau, AK 99801, or P.O. Box 
21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attention: Lori J. Gravel.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Hale, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) is responsible for 
implementing the Convention between the United States of America and 
Canada for the Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the Northern 
Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, as provided by the Northern Pacific 
Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act), at 16 U.S.C. 773c. Section 773c(c) 
authorizes the Regional Fishery Management Council having authority for 
the geographical area concerned to develop regulations governing the 
allocation of Pacific halibut among U.S. fishermen. Such regulations 
may be in addition to, but must not conflict with, regulations 
developed by the IPHC and must be approved by the Secretary before 
being implemented. Accordingly, the Council developed a halibut fishery 
management regime that established for IPHC Areas 2C through 4E an 
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) limited access system and, for IPHC 
Areas 4B through 4E, a Community Development Quota (CDQ) program for 
certain western Alaska communities. The IFQ and CDQ programs were 
designed to allocate specific harvesting privileges among U.S. 
fishermen to resolve conservation and management problems that stem 
from ``open access'' management and to promote the development of the 
seafood industry in western Alaska. Both programs were approved by the 
Secretary on January 29, 1993, and were initially implemented by rules 
published in the Federal Register on November 9, 1993 (58 FR 59375). 
Fishing for halibut under the IFQ and CDQ programs began on March 15, 
1995.
    The CSP was approved by the Secretary and published in the Federal 
Register on March 20, 1996 (61 FR 11337). The CSP apportions the catch 
limit specified by the IPHC for Regulatory Area 4 among Areas 4A, 4B, 
4C, 4D, and 4E, in accordance with the Halibut Act. In February 1995, 
the IPHC informed the Council that no basis existed other than 
allocation based on historical commercial harvests for distribution of 
catch limits among regulatory areas 4C, 4D, and 4E. Given indications 
of separate halibut populations in Areas 4A and 4B, IPHC staff 
recommended moving toward a biomass-based method of setting catch 
limits for these two areas, while as yet no biological or conservation 
basis exists for setting separate catch limits for Areas 4C, 4D, and 
4E. At that time, the IPHC staff indicated that it was still reviewing 
its methods of calculating biomass for Areas 4A and 4B and that they 
were 1- to 2 years away from making final recommendations to the IPHC 
on a biomass-based methodology for Area 4. The IPHC staff acknowledged 
no evidence of harm to the Area 4 halibut resource due to the 
traditional method of apportioning the catch limit among areas. In 
order to achieve the socio-economic objectives of the IFQ and CDQ 
programs, the historical apportionment of catch limits among areas must 
be considered, and the Halibut Act authorizes the development of 
regulations that have allocation of harvesting privileges as a primary 
objective. Therefore, the Council initiated an analysis of a CSP as an 
interim method for setting catch limits for Areas 4A-4E. In December 
1995, the Council approved the Area 4 CSP while the IPHC staff refined 
its biomass-based methodology for determining catch limits in Area 4. 
NMFS implemented the CSP beginning in March 1996 (61 FR 11337, March 3, 
1996).

The Proposed Revision of the CSP

    Halibut Areas 4A and 4B would be removed from the CSP. The revised 
CSP would thus constitute a framework applied to the annual combined 
Areas 4C, 4D, and 4E catch limit established by the IPHC. The purpose 
of the revised CSP would be to provide for the apportionment of Area 
4C, 4D, and 4E catch limits apart from Areas 4A and 4B as necessary to 
carry out the objectives of the IFQ and CDQ programs, which allocate 
halibut among U.S. fishermen. The IPHC, consistent with its authority 
and responsibilities, would implement the measures specified in this 
CSP at its next annual meeting in January 1998. This revised CSP would 
continue in effect until amended by the Council or superseded by action 
of the IPHC.
    Areas 4C, 4D, and 4E: For purposes of this revised CSP, definitions 
of these areas are republished as follows:
    Area 4C includes all waters in the Bering Sea north of Areas 4A and 
north of the closed area, as defined in 62 FR 12759 (March 18, 1997), 
that are east of 171 deg.00'00'' N. lat., and west of 168 deg.00'00'' 
W. long.
    Area 4D includes all waters in the Bering Sea north of Areas 4A and 
4B, north and west of Area 4C, and west of 168 deg.00'00'' W. long.
    Area 4E includes all waters in the Bering Sea north and east of the 
closed area, defined in 62 FR 12759 (March 18, 1997), east of 
168 deg.00'00'' W. long and south of 65 deg.34'00'' N. lat.
    Catch limit apportionments: The catch limits for Areas 4C, 4D, and 
4E would be allocated as the percentages of the combined Area 4C-E 
catch limit specified annually by the IPHC, as follows:

Area 4C, 46.42 percent
Area 4D, 46.42 percent
Area 4E, 7.14 percent

Removal of Areas 4A and 4B from the CSP would have a secondary effect 
on the additional 80,000 lb (36.3 mt) allocation to Area 4E CDQ 
fishermen. The CSP currently provides that the

[[Page 1813]]

amount of the Area 4 catch limit greater than 5,920,000 lb (2,685.3 mt) 
but less than or equal to 6,000,000 lb (2,721.6 mt) be allocated to 
Area 4E. With the proposed removal of Areas 4A and 4B from the CSP, the 
amount of the combined area 4C-E greater than 1,657,600 lb (752 mt, 
based on 28 percent of the total 1995 Area 4 catch limit) and less than 
1,737,600 lb (788.2 mt) would be assigned to Area 4E. The amount of the 
combined area 4C-E catch limit greater than 1,737,600 lb (788.2 mt) 
would be distributed among areas 4C, 4D, and 4E according to the 
revised CSP apportionment schedule.
    Example: If the IPHC specified the Area 4 catch limit to be 
5,920,000 lb (2,685.3 mt), 31.1 percent or 1,859,780 lb (843.6 mt) of 
this total would be apportioned to the combined area 4C-4E. Of that 
combined area 4C-4E catch limit, 1,657,600 lb (752 mt) plus 122,180 lb 
(55.4 mt, the remaining amount over 1,737,600 lb (788.2 mt)) would be 
distributed among Areas 4C, 4D, and 4E according to the revised CSP 
apportionment schedule, and 80,000 lb (36.2 mt) added to the Area 4E 
apportionment, as follows:

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                Area                                                                         Lb            Mt   
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4C.................................  .4642 x 1,779,780...........................   =         826,174      374.8
4D.................................  .4642 x 1,779,780...........................   =         826,174      374.8
4E.................................  .0714 x 1,779,780+80,000....................   =         207,076       93.9
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    Totals.........................  .9998.......................................  ..       1,859,324      843.4
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Classification

    The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the 
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration that this proposed revision to the 
CSP would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities as follows:

    The 1996 CSP set aside the first 80,000 lb (36.3 mt) of the 
total Area 4 catch limit greater than 5,920,000 lb (2,685.3 mt), and 
so distributed the impact of removing those pounds from the Area 4 
catch limit among the 720 IFQ and 159 CDQ fishermen in Areas 4A-4D. 
The revised CSP would set aside the first 80,000 lb (36.3 mt) of the 
combined Area 4C-4E catch limit over 1,657,600 lb (752 mt). The 
analysis prepared by the Council for this proposed revision of the 
CSP indicates that the impact of the removal of that 80,000 lb (36.3 
mt) would, under the revised CSP, be borne by the 146 IFQ and 119 
CDQ fishermen in the remaining CSP Areas 4C and 4D. All of these 
entities are considered small entities, and all would be affected by 
this action. Thus, this action would affect a substantial number of 
small entities. However, the analysis indicates that the potentially 
foregone amounts of halibut from fishermen in Areas 4C and 4D would 
amount to less than 5 percent of the annual gross revenues for 
fishermen in these areas. The proposed revision of the CSP would not 
increase compliance costs for any IFQ or CDQ fishermen.

Therefore, an initial 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 300

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Treaties.

    Dated: January 5, 1998.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 300 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 300--INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.

    2. In Sec. 300.63, paragraph (b) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 300.63  Catch sharing plans and domestic management measures.

* * * * *
    (b) The catch sharing plan for area 4 allocates the annual TAC 
among Areas 4C, 4D, and 4E, and will be implemented by the Commission 
in annual management measures published pursuant to Sec. 300.62.

[FR Doc. 98-621 Filed 1-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P