[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 145 (Wednesday, July 29, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40377-40380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20196]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 980603145-8186-02; I.D. 052998C]
RIN 0648-AL33
Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific;
Western Pacific Crustacean Fisheries; Bank/Area-Specific Harvest
Guidelines
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule to implement a regulatory amendment
under the framework procedures of the Fishery Management Plan for the
Crustacean Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. This rule allocates
the overall 1998 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) harvest guideline
of 286,000 lobsters (spiny and slipper combined) among three individual
fishing banks and a fourth combined area. Specifically, no more than
70,000 lobsters may be harvested from Necker Island; no more than
20,000 lobsters may be harvested from Gardner Pinnacles; no more than
80,000 lobsters may be harvested from Maro Reef; and no more than
116,000 lobsters may be harvested from all the other remaining NWHI
banks combined within Crustaceans Permit Area 1. This rule is intended
to protect the lobster resources at each fishing ground, to obtain
better data on the lobster stocks, and to conserve the resource.
DATES: This final rule is effective from July 23, 1998 through December
31, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact
Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and the Final Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis for this action are available from Alvin Katekaru,
Fishery Management
[[Page 40378]]
Specialist, Pacific Islands Area Office, NMFS, 2570 Dole St., Honolulu,
HI 96822.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alvin Katekaru at (808) 973-2985 or
Kitty Simonds, Executive Director, Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council at (808) 522-8220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 9, 1998, NMFS published a proposed
rule in the Federal Register (63 FR 31406) proposing to reallocate the
overall harvest guideline of 286,000 lobsters (spiny and slipper
lobster combined) for the 1998 NWHI lobster fishery. The harvest
guideline was published in the Federal Register on June 3, 1998, at 63
FR 30147. Under this final rule, the 1998 harvest guideline is
distributed among four lobster banks/areas whereby no more than 70,000
lobsters may be harvested at Necker Island; no more than 20,000
lobsters may be harvested at Gardner Pinnacles; no more than 80,000
lobsters may be harvested at Maro Reef; and no more than 116,000
lobsters may be harvested from all the other remaining NWHI banks
combined. Once a harvest guideline for a specific bank/area (fishing
grounds) is reached or projected to be reached, the Southwest Regional
Administrator, NMFS, will announce, at least 24 hours in advance,
closure of the fishing grounds via electronic communication to each of
the vessels participating in the 1998 fishery. The entire lobster
fishery will close when the entire harvest guideline of 286,000
lobsters is attained.
The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
recommended bank/area-specific harvest guidelines as its preferred
alternative in the NWHI lobster fishery to help prevent local bank
depletion at Necker Island, Gardner Pinnacles, and Maro Reef; to
promote broader distribution of fishing effort among the remaining NWHI
banks; to obtain better data on the lobster stocks; and to conserve the
resource. This action applies only to the 1998 lobster season, which
began July 1, 1998, and will end on December 31, 1998.
The Council also considered two other alternatives which were
rejected: no action (NWHI-wide fishing area), and full bank-specific
harvest guidelines (covering 11 of the 14 lobster grounds for which
exploitable population estimates are available). Comments on the
proposed rule and on an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA)
and an environmental assessment were solicited through June 24, 1998.
Comments and Responses
No written comments were received from the public on the proposed
rule during the comment period.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
There is no change in the regulatory text between the final rule
and proposed rule.
Classification
The NMFS prepared a final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) in
compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The FRFA provides
additional data/analysis supplementing the IRFA, which was summarized
in the Federal Register on June 9, 1998 (63 FR 31406). No comments were
received from the public on the IRFA; however, written comments were
received from the Small Business Administration (SBA) on the IRFA. The
FRFA expands the IRFA and responds to comments by SBA.
The final rule applies to a maximum of 12 NWHI lobster fishery
limited access permit holders who are small business entities. The ex-
vessel revenue of a permit holder, based on a prototypical NWHI lobster
vessel, is approximately $208,000 based on current operating patterns.
Lobster vessel captains are required to maintain and submit, after each
trip, logsheets containing daily lobster catch and effort information
associated with their fishing and, if needed, information on
interactions with protected species. While at sea, they must also
provide to NMFS daily reports of their catch and lobster fishing
effort. A report indicating the ex-vessel revenues obtained from the
catch sold must be submitted to NMFS. All lobster fishermen are subject
to the same requirement; no special professional skills are needed to
identify the species of lobster caught, to record catch and effort, or
to submit written or oral reports, as required.
The FRFA analyzes three alternatives for utilizing harvest
guidelines in the 1998 fishery. It provides quantitative information
for the analyses of the preferred alternative (bank-specific harvest
guidelines for four lobster grounds) and two alternative actions (no
action and full bank-specific guidelines). The FRFA is based on several
assumptions, the validity of which will be tested under the final rule.
For example, it is assumed that vessels will move only once to another
fishing ground when a harvest guideline is reached, and then return to
port; it is assumed that ``other remaining NWHI banks'', which have not
been fished since the early 1990s, will have the same catch-per-unit-
effort as at the traditional fishing grounds (Necker Island, Gardner
Pinnacles, Maro Reef); it is assumed that market prices for live
lobsters and frozen tails are the same as during the previous season;
and finally, it is assumed that vessels participating in the 1998
fishery will operate in the same manner as vessels that fished in 1997.
For purposes of the FRFA, a ``trip'' refers to the period of time from
when a fishing vessel leaves port until it lands its catch. It is
expected that most vessels in this fishery will make one trip during
the lobster season.
The expanded analysis in the FRFA shows the relative effect of the
three alternatives in a static, prototypical income statement approach
(data in the Appendices are shown on a typical single vessel basis).
The following percentages reflect the difference between the Preferred
Alternative or Full-Bank Alternative and the No Action Alternative.
These percentages were calculated using revenue and cost data contained
in Appendices A1, A2, and A3 to the FRFA and are summarized in Appendix
B. The Preferred Alternative is expected to increase shared operating
costs (i.e., all operating costs except crew share and captain's bonus)
per trip by roughly 2 percent ($775) and total costs by about 0.3
percent ($469). Net revenue per trip is projected to decrease by
approximately 1.8 percent ($470), assuming an increase of two non-
fishing days per trip as the fishing vessels are forced to move between
the banks/areas as a result of meeting the harvest guideline for any
individual bank. No change is expected in annual gross revenue per
vessel between the Preferred and No Action Alternatives.
The harvest guideline under the Full-Bank Alternative (i.e., the
sum of the specific harvest guidelines for each of 11 lobster grounds
where exploitable population estimates are available), which was
developed prior to the determination of the 1998 harvest guideline,
would be about 6 percent lower than under the No Action Alternative.
Therefore, under the Preferred Alternative, fleet-wide gross revenue
from the lobster fishery would also be roughly 6 percent lower under
the Full-Bank Alternative. This could result in an equivalent decrease
in annual gross revenue per vessel under the Full-Bank Alternative.
Under the Full-Bank Alternative, the lower harvest guideline could be
met by vessels taking shorter or fewer trips, and as a result, those
vessels would be able to go into another fishery (e.g., NWHI bottomfish
or distant-water pelagic longline)
[[Page 40379]]
earlier, and thus make up a portion of the decreased gross revenue.
The three alternatives are not expected to affect different sizes
of vessels or companies in a differential manner. Compliance costs
(shared operating costs) as a percent of total revenue under the
Preferred Alternative are expected to increase about 0.4 percent ($775/
trip) compared to the No Action Alternative, and approximately 0.8
percent ($1,124/trip) under the Full-Bank Alternative.
The economic analysis in the FRFA is based on some reasonable
assumptions, however, the actual impacts are impossible to calculate.
Based on the expanded analysis of the FRFA, this action is not
projected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number
of small entities. Of course, the entire program is tailored after
considering the possible negative impacts and weighing those against
the possible benefits. On balance, the potential benefits seem to
outweigh the potential costs. Therefore, at this time, the agency has
not taken any steps to minimize impacts. This final rule action is for
1998 only and this agency will monitor its impacts. If necessary and
appropriate, NMFS will consider whether minimizing steps are
appropriate in future actions of this type for this fishery.
Under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NMFS, finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness for this rule. In order to ensure the health of the
lobster stocks this fishing season, the rule must be in effect as soon
as possible; the fishing season started July 1. The allocation of the
harvest guidelines themselves does not require action by any fisherman;
rather it determines when the Southwest Regional Administrator, NMFS,
must close an allocated area. All participants have actual notice of
this rule. Therefore, delaying this rule would be contrary to the
public interest and unnecessary.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries,
Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives, Indians, Northern Mariana Islands,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: July 23, 1998.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended
as follows:
PART 660 - FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES AND IN THE WESTERN
PACIFIC
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. Section 660.12 is amended by adding a definition of ``lobster
grounds'', in alphabetical order, to read as follows:
Sec. 660.12 Definitions.
* * * * *
Lobster grounds refers, singularly or collectively, to the
following four areas in Crustaceans Permit Area 1 that shall be used to
manage the 1998 lobster fishery:
(1) Necker Island Lobster Grounds-- waters bounded by straight
lines connecting the following coordinates in the order presented:
24 deg.00' N. lat., 165 deg.00' W. long.; 24 deg. 00' N. lat., 164 deg.
00' W. long.; 23 deg. 00' N. lat., 164 deg. 00' W. long.; and 23 deg.
00' N. lat., 165 deg. 00' W. long.
(2) Gardner Pinnacles Lobster Grounds-- waters bounded by straight
lines connecting the following coordinates in the order presented:
25 deg. 20' N. lat., 168 deg. 20' W. long.; 25 deg. 20' N. lat.,
167 deg. 40' W. long.; 24 deg. 20' N. lat., 167 deg. 40' W. long.; and
24 deg. 20' N. lat., 168 deg. 20' W. long.
(3) Maro Reef Lobster Grounds-- waters bounded by straight lines
connecting the following coordinates in the order presented: 25 deg.
40' N. lat., 171 deg. 00' W. long.; 25 deg. 40' N. lat., 170 deg. 20'
W. long.; 25 deg. 00' N. lat., 170 deg. 20' W. long.; and 25 deg. 00'
N. lat., 171 deg. 00' W. long.
(4) General NWHI Lobster Grounds-- all waters within Crustaceans
Permit Area 1 except for the Necker Island, Gardner Pinnacles, and Maro
Reef Lobster Grounds.
* * * * *
3. Section 660.42 is amended by adding new paragraphs (a)(1)(vi)
and (a)(13), to read as follows:
Sec. 660.42 Prohibitions.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(vi) In a lobster grounds after closure of that grounds as
specified in Sec. 660.50(b).
* * * * *
(13) Possess, on a fishing vessel that has a limited access permit
issued under this subpart, any lobster trap in a lobster grounds that
is closed under Sec. 660.50(b), unless the vessel is operating a VMS
unit certified by NMFS.
* * * * *
4. Section 660.48 is amended by suspending paragraph (a)(7) and
adding a new paragraph (a)(10), to read as follows:
Sec. 660.48 Gear restrictions.
(a) * * *
(10) A vessel whose owner has a limited access permit issued under
this subpart and has an operating VMS unit certified by NMFS may
transit the Crustaceans Permit Area 1, including the Crustaceans Permit
Area 1 VMS Subarea, with lobster traps on board for the purpose of
moving to another lobster grounds or returning to port following the
closure date, as specified in Sec. 660.50, providing the vessel does
not stop or fish and is making steady progress to another lobster
grounds or back to port as determined by NMFS.
* * * * *
5. Section 660.50 is amended by suspending paragraph (b)(4) and
adding new paragraphs (b)(5) through (b)(8) to read as follows:
Sec. 660.50 Harvest limitation program.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(5) For the 1998 fishing season, the following harvest guidelines
apply to the four lobster grounds in Crustaceans Permit Area 1:
(i) No more than 70,000 lobsters may be harvested from the Necker
Island Lobster Grounds;
(ii) No more than 20,000 lobsters may be harvested from the Gardner
Pinnacles Lobster Grounds;
(iii) No more than 80,000 lobsters may be harvested from the Maro
Reef Lobster Grounds; and
(iv) No more than 116,000 lobsters may be harvested from the
General NWHI Lobster Grounds.
(6) The Regional Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, shall
determine, on the basis of the information reported to NMFS by the
operator of each vessel fishing, when the harvest guideline for each
lobster grounds will be reached.
(7) Notice of the date when the harvest guideline for a lobster
grounds is expected to be reached, and specification of the closure
date of the lobster grounds, will be provided to each permit holder
and/or operator of each permitted vessel at least 24 hours in advance
of the closure. After a closure, the harvest of lobster in that
[[Page 40380]]
lobster grounds is prohibited, and the possession of lobster traps on
board the vessel in the lobster grounds is prohibited unless allowed
under Sec. 660.48(a)(10).
(8) With respect to the notifications in paragraphs (b)(3) and
(b)(7) of this section, NMFS shall provide each permit holder and
operator of each permitted vessel with the following information, as
appropriate:
(i) Determination of when the over-all harvest guideline for
Crustaceans Permit Area 1 will be reached;
(ii) Closure date after which harvest of lobster or possession of
lobster traps on board the vessel in a lobster grounds is prohibited;
(iii) Closure date after which the possession of lobster traps on
board the vessel in Crustaceans Permit Area 1 is prohibited by any
permitted vessel that is not operating a VMS unit certified by NMFS;
and
(iv) Specification of when further landings of lobster will be
prohibited by permitted vessels not using VMS units certified by NMFS.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-20196 Filed 7-23-98; 4:58 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F