[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 144 (Tuesday, July 28, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40190-40192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20027]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 980414096-8173-02; I.D. 032698A]
RIN 0648-AJ99


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Gear 
Allocation of Shortraker and Rougheye Rockfish in the Aleutian Islands 
Subarea

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to implement Amendment 53 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea 
and Aleutian Islands Area (FMP). This rule allocates shortraker 
rockfish and rougheye rockfish (SR/RE) in the Aleutian Islands subarea 
(AI) between vessels using trawl gear and vessels

[[Page 40191]]

using non-trawl gear. This action is necessary to prevent the 
incidental catch of SR/RE in trawl fisheries from closing non-trawl 
fisheries and is intended to further the objectives of the FMP.

DATES: Effective July 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 53 and the Environmental Assessment/
Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) prepared for this action are 
available from the Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 
P.O. Box 21668, Juneau AK 99802, Attn: Lori J. Gravel, or by calling 
the Alaska Region, NMFS at 907-586-7228.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Kinsolving, NMFS, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the domestic groundfish 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands management area (BSAI) under the FMP. The North Pacific Fishery 
Management Council (Council) prepared the FMP pursuant to the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 
Regulations governing the Alaska groundfish fisheries appear at 50 CFR 
parts 600 and 679.
    NMFS published a Notice of Availability of Amendment 53 in the 
Federal Register on April 2, 1998 (63 FR 16223), and invited comments 
through June 1, 1998. On April 28, 1998, NMFS published a proposed rule 
to implement Amendment 53 (63 FR 23261) and invited comments through 
June 12, 1998. NMFS did not receive comments on either the rule or the 
FMP amendment. The final rule text is unchanged from the proposed rule.
    In 1997, unanticipated high harvest rates of SR/RE in the Pacific 
ocean perch (POP) and Atka mackerel trawl fisheries undermined the 
effectiveness of inseason management and monitoring of fisheries in the 
AI. These higher than anticipated catch rates resulted in harvest 
amounts that exceeded the acceptable biological catch. Estimates of SR/
RE bycatch through mid-1997 indicated that the overfishing level would 
be reached if all fisheries that took these species were not closed. As 
a result, NMFS prohibited the retention of Atka mackerel, Pacific cod, 
and rockfish by vessels using trawl gear and retention of Pacific cod 
and Greenland turbot by vessels using hook-and-line gear in the AI. 
Thus, although overfishing concerns stemmed primarily from the bycatch 
of SR/RE in the POP and Atka mackerel trawl fisheries, lucrative non-
trawl fisheries that also take incidental amounts of SR/RE were closed, 
or threatened with closure, to prevent reaching the overfishing level 
for SR/RE. These overfishing closures disrupted fishing plans and 
created a loss of economic opportunity for both the trawl and non-trawl 
fishing industry.
    Concerns about the overall management of the SR/RE total allowable 
catch (TAC) have prompted the Council to take two actions. Based on 
Council's recommendations, NMFS published a final rule to reduce 
maximum retainable bycatch percentages for SR/RE on March 31, 1998 (63 
FR 15334). This action should reduce the incentive to ``top off'' 
target catch with SR/RE and result in lower catch rates for SR/RE. 
Nonetheless, overall bycatch amounts still could pose concerns because 
the TAC amounts annually specified for SR/RE are small in comparison to 
the high volume POP and Atka mackerel trawl fisheries. Consequently, 
representatives of the trawl and non-trawl industry recommended that 
SR/RE be allocated among gear groups. At its February 1998 meeting, the 
Council adopted Amendment 53 to the FMP. This amendment allocates 30 
percent of SR/RE TAC to non-trawl gear and 70 percent of SR/RE TAC to 
trawl gear.
    The industry-recommended allocation of SR/RE TAC between trawl and 
non-trawl vessels is intended to provide an allocation to non-trawl 
fisheries in excess of actual relative harvest in recent years, so that 
these operations will have adequate opportunity to harvest their full 
allocations of Pacific cod and sablefish. Trawl industry 
representatives endorsed this split, recognizing that trawl bycatch 
rates likely will decrease as a result of the reduction in SR/RE MRB 
percentages, and a gear specific allocation of SR/RE will allow more 
effective management of SR/RE bycatch in both the trawl and non-trawl 
fisheries.
    The preamble to the proposed rule and the EA/RIR contain additional 
information on this action (see ADDRESSES). Upon reviewing Amendment 
53, the Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS, has determined that 
Amendment 53 is necessary for the conservation and management of the 
groundfish fisheries of the BSAI, and is consistent with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and with other applicable laws.

Amendment to Final 1998 BSAI Harvest Specifications

    To implement this final rule in 1998, this action also amends the 
final 1998 harvest specifications for groundfish of the BSAI (63 FR 
12689, March 16, 1998). Table 1 of the final specifications sets the 
1998 TAC for SR/RE in the AI at 965 mt. After subtraction of reserves, 
820 mt remains. Under this final rule, the 1998 harvest specifications 
are amended to allocate 574 mt to trawl gear and 246 mt to non-trawl 
gear.

Classification

    This action was developed and supported by both the trawl and non-
trawl sectors of the fishing industry and does not significantly revise 
management measures in a manner that would require time to plan or 
prepare for those revisions. Without immediate effectiveness, it is 
possible that harvest of SR/RE in trawl fisheries could result in 
unnecessary closures and disruption within the non-trawl sector of the 
fishing industry. The immediate effectiveness of this action is 
required to provide consistent management and conservation of fishery 
resources and to give the fishing industry the earliest possible 
opportunity to plan its fishing operations. Accordingly, the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds there is good cause to waive 
the 30-day delayed effectiveness period under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
    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 rule would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The rationale for this determination appeared in the proposed rule. No 
comments were received regarding this certification. As a result, a 
regulatory flexibility analysis was not prepared.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

    Dated: July 22, 1998.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended 
as follows:

PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA

    1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., and 3631 et seq.

    2. In Sec. 679.20, paragraph (a)(9) is redesignated as paragraph 
(a)(10), and a

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new paragraph (a)(9) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 679.20  General Limitations.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (9) BSAI shortraker rockfish and rougheye rockfish. After 
subtraction of reserves, the TAC of shortraker rockfish and rougheye 
rockfish specified for the Aleutian Islands subarea will be allocated 
30 percent to vessels using non-trawl gear and 70 percent to vessels 
using trawl gear.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-20027 Filed 7-22-98; 4:47pm]
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