[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 122 (Friday, June 23, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39107-39110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15857]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 991228352-0182-03; I.D. 121099C, 011100D]
RIN 0648-AM83


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Emergency 
Interim Rules to Implement the American Fisheries Act; Extension of 
Expiration Dates

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

ACTION: Extension and revision of emergency interim rules; revision to 
2000 final harvest specifications; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On January 5, 2000, and January 28, 2000, NMFS published 
emergency interim rules, effective through June 27, 2000, and July 20, 
2000, respectively, that implemented major provisions of the American 
Fisheries Act (AFA) for the 2000 fishing year. This action revises and 
extends these two emergency interim rules through December 24, 2000, 
and January 16, 2001, respectively. This action also revises the 2000 
final harvest specifications for the pollock fisheries off Alaska to 
make final allocations of pollock to inshore cooperatives. This 
emergency action is necessary to provide inshore pollock cooperatives 
with allocations of pollock for the second half of the 2000 fishing 
year as required by the AFA. This emergency action also is necessary to 
maintain sideboard restrictions to protect participants in other Alaska 
fisheries from negative impacts as a result of fishery cooperatives 
formed under the AFA.

DATES: The expiration date of the emergency interim rule published 
January 5, 2000 (65 FR 380), is extended from June 27, 2000, to 
December 24, 2000. The expiration date of the emergency interim rule 
published January 28, 2000 (65 FR 4520), is extended from July 20, 
2000, to January 16, 2001. The amendments in this rule are effective 
July 20, 2000, through January 16, 2001, except that the amendments for 
Sec. 679.4 are effective June 28, 2000, through December 24, 2000. 
Comments must be received by July 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional 
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 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 the 
environmental assessment/regulatory impact review (EA/RIR) prepared for 
these emergency rules may be obtained from the same address. The EA/RIR 
also is available on the Alaska Region home page at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent Lind, 907-586-7228 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The AFA, Div. C, Title II, Subtitle II, Pub. 
L. No. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681 (1998), made profound changes in the 
management of the groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands (BSAI) and, to a lesser extent, the groundfish fisheries of the 
Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and crab fisheries of the BSAI. NMFS implemented 
the AFA for the 2000 fishery through two emergency interim rules. The 
first emergency interim rule (65 FR 380, January 5, 2000) established 
permit requirements and pre-season permit application procedures for 
AFA vessels, processors, and inshore catcher vessel cooperatives.
    The second emergency interim rule (65 FR 4520, January 28, 2000) 
implemented the major AFA-related management measures for the 2000 
fisheries including: a new formula to allocate the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) pollock total allowable catch 
(TAC) among the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) 
program and the inshore, catcher/processor, and mothership industry 
sectors; new recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the BSAI 
pollock fishery and for processors that receive groundfish from AFA 
catcher vessels; new observer coverage and scale requirements for AFA 
catcher/processors, AFA motherships, and AFA inshore processors; new 
regulations to govern BSAI pollock fishery cooperatives formed under 
the AFA; harvesting restrictions on AFA catcher vessels and AFA 
catcher/processors to

[[Page 39108]]

limit effort by such vessels in other groundfish and crab fisheries; 
crab processing restrictions on AFA motherships and AFA inshore 
processors that receive pollock harvested by a cooperative in a BSAI 
directed pollock fishery; revised interim groundfish harvest 
specifications for the BSAI and GOA; and interim allocations of pollock 
TAC to inshore pollock cooperatives.
    At its April 2000 meeting, the North Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council) voted to recommend extension of these two emergency 
rules for an additional 180 days. The Council also recommended 
revisions to the emergency interim rules to impose December 1 permit 
application deadlines as described below.
    The preambles to the original emergency interim rules provide a 
detailed description of the purpose and need for these two actions. 
This action extends the expiration date of the first emergency interim 
rule (65 FR 380, January 5, 2000) from June 27, 2000, to December 24, 
2000; and extends the expiration date of the second emergency interim 
rule (65 FR 4520, January 28, 2000) from July 20, 2000, to January 16, 
2001.
    This action also makes two changes to the permit application 
deadlines set out in the first emergency interim rule (65 FR 380. 
January 5, 2000). Finally, this action establishes final annual 
allocations of Bering Sea subarea pollock to inshore cooperatives and 
to the ``open access'' vessels not fishing in cooperatives. These 
changes are described here.

December 1, 2000, Deadline for AFA Vessel and Processor Permits

    The first emergency interim rule (65 FR 380, January 5, 2000) is 
revised to establish a one-time application deadline of December 1, 
2000, for all AFA vessel and processor permits. Applications for AFA 
vessel or processor permits will not be accepted after this date and 
any vessels or processors for which an application has not been 
received by this date will be permanently ineligible to receive AFA 
permits. The purpose of this application deadline is to finalize the 
list of vessels and processors to which AFA fishing privileges and 
sideboard restrictions apply. A final list of AFA-permitted vessels is 
necessary because inshore cooperative allocations and catcher vessel 
sideboards are based on the aggregate catch histories of the various 
AFA permitted fleets. The Council recommended imposition of this 
December 1, 2000, deadline so that the size and composition of the 
various AFA fleets would be known prior to the adoption of permanent 
AFA sideboard and cooperative regulations. The Council believed it was 
important to know the size and composition of the various AFA fleets so 
that the appropriateness of sideboard and cooperative measures might be 
more effectively evaluated before final AFA regulations are issued.
    A December 1, 2000, deadline is also necessary to allow NMFS to 
finalize 2001 cooperative allocations and sideboard amounts in the 2001 
proposed, interim, and final specifications. Allowing vessels to apply 
for and receive AFA permits after December 1, 2000, would require that 
NMFS publish revisions to the published sideboards and cooperative 
allocations each time a new vessel receives an AFA permit. Such 
inseason revisions to cooperative and sideboard amounts could be 
disruptive to attempts by catcher vessel cooperatives to manage pollock 
and sideboard fishing in a cooperative manner.

December 1 Annual Deadline for Inshore Catcher Vessel Cooperative 
Permit Applications

    The first emergency interim rule (65 FR 380, January 5, 2000) is 
revised to establish an annual application deadline of December 1 prior 
to the year in which the cooperative fishing permit will be in effect 
for inshore catcher vessel cooperative permit applications. 
Applications for annual cooperative fishing permits and revisions to 
such applications to add or subtract member vessels would not be 
accepted after December 1 of each year. The current emergency rule has 
an application deadline of December 31 prior to the year in which the 
cooperative fishing permit will be in effect. This December 31 deadline 
was necessary for 1999, because the emergency interim rule was not 
effective until December 30, 1999. An annual December 1 deadline is 
necessary: (1) to provide the Council with the opportunity to review 
cooperative contracts at its annual December meeting prior to making 
final TAC recommendations for the upcoming fishing year, and (2) 
because the membership of each cooperative must be finalized before 
interim pollock TAC allocations can be made to inshore catcher vessel 
cooperatives. Because the interim specifications must be published 
prior to January 1 of each year, NMFS cannot wait until December 31 to 
finalize membership in inshore cooperatives.

Final 2000 Inshore Allocations of Bering Sea Subarea Pollock

    Tables 1 and 2 of the emergency interim rule (establishing general 
AFA regulations) (65 FR 4520, January 28, 2000) contained interim 2000 
Bering Sea pollock allocations to the cooperative and open access 
sectors of the inshore pollock fishery. These interim TAC allocations 
were based on the BSAI interim 2000 harvest specifications for 
groundfish published on January 3, 2000 (65 FR 60). Since then, NMFS 
has published BSAI final 2000 harvest specifications for groundfish (65 
FR 8282, February 18, 2000). This action amends the BSAI final 2000 
harvest specifications for groundfish by establishing final 2000 Bering 
Sea pollock allocations to the cooperative and open access sectors of 
the inshore pollock fishery as set out in Tables 1 and 2.

[[Page 39109]]



Table 1.--Final C/D Season Bering Sea Subarea Pollock Allocations to the Cooperative and Open Access Sectors of the Inshore Pollock Fishery. Amounts are
                                                                Expressed in Metric Tons
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                                                                     C/D season TAC            C season inside SCA \1\          D season inside SCA
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Cooperative sector
Vessels > 99 ft                                                                       n/a                            n/a                         53,273
Vessels  99 ft                                                             n/a                            n/a                          8,157
Total                                                                             274,200                         36,858                         61,430
Open access sector                                                                 17,953                          2,582                       4,304\2\
Total inshore                                                                     292,153                         39,440                         65,734
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\1\ Steller sea lion conservation area established at Sec.  679.22(a)(11)(iv).
\2\ SCA limitations for vessels less than or equal to 99 ft LOA that are not participating in a cooperative will be established on an inseason basis in
  accordance with Sec.  679.22(a)(11)(iv)(D)(2) which specifies that ``the Regional Administrator will prohibit directed fishing for pollock by vessels
  catching pollock for processing by the inshore component greater than 99 ft (30.2 m) LOA before reaching the inshore SCA harvest limit during the A, B
  and D seasons to accommodate fishing by vessels less than or equal to 99 ft (30.2 m) inside the SCA for the duration of the inshore seasonal
  opening.''

    The first emergency interim rule (65 FR 380, January 5, 2000) 
establishes procedures for AFA inshore catcher vessel pollock 
cooperatives to apply for and receive cooperative fishing permits and 
inshore pollock allocations. NMFS received applications from seven 
inshore catcher vessel cooperatives by the application deadline of 
December 31, 1999. Table 2 makes final 2000 Bering Sea subarea 
allocations to the seven inshore catcher vessel pollock cooperatives 
that have been approved and permitted by NMFS for the 2000 fishing 
year. Final allocations for cooperatives and vessels not participating 
in cooperatives are not made for the Aleutian Islands subarea because 
the Aleutian Islands subarea has been closed to directed fishing for 
pollock under the emergency interim rule to implement Steller sea lion 
protection measures (65 FR 3892, January 25, 2000; 65 FR 36795, June 
12, 2000).

                     Table 2.--Bering Sea Subarea Final 2000 Inshore Cooperative Allocations
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                                                                Sum of member
                                                                   vessel's      Percentage of   Final annual co-
             Cooperative name and member vessels                official catch   inshore sector   op  allocation
                                                                histories \1\      allocation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akutan Catcher Vessel Association
ALDEBARAN, ARCTIC I, ARCTIC VI, ARCTURUS, BLUE FOX, COLUMBIA,         258,508          28.257%          137,590
 DOMINATOR, DONA LILIANA, DONA MARTITA, DONA PAULITA, EXODUS,
 FLYING CLOUD, GOLDEN DAWN, MAJESTY, PACIFIC VIKING, VIKING
 EXPLORER, GOLDEN PISCES, LESLIE LEE, MARCY J, MISS BERDIE,
 PEGASUS, PEGGIE JO, PERSEVERANCE, PREDATOR, RAVEN, ROYAL
 AMERICAN, SEEKER
Arctic Enterprise Association
ARCTIC III, ARCTIC IV, OCEAN ENTERPRISE, PACIFIC ENTERPRISE            50,008           5.466%           26,615
Northern Victor Fleet Cooperative
NORDIC FURY, PACIFIC FURY, GOLDRUSH, EXCALIBUR II, HALF MOON           62,545           6.837%           33,291
 BAY, SUNSET BAY, COMMODORE, STORM PETREL, POSEIDON, ROYAL
 ATLANTIC,
Peter Pan Fleet Cooperative
AMBER DAWN, AMERICAN BEAUTY, OCEANIC, OCEAN LEADER, WALTER N            6,584           0.720%            3,506
Unalaska Cooperative
ALASKA ROSE, BERING ROSE, DESTINATION, GREAT PACIFIC,                 106,714          11.665%           56,799
 MESSIAH, MORNING STAR, MS AMY, PROGRESS, SEA WOLF, VANGUARD,
 WESTERN DAWN
UniSea Fleet Cooperative
ALSEA, AMERICANEAGLE, ARCTICWIND, ARGOSY, AURIGA, AURORA,             220,361          24.087%          117,285
 DEFENDER, GUN-MAR, NORDIC STAR, PACIFIC MONARCH, SEADAWN,
 STARFISH, STARLITE, STARWARD
Westward Fleet Cooperative
A.J., ALASKAN COMMAND, ALYESKA, CAITLIN ANN, CHELSEA K,               153,917          16.824%           81,920
 HICKORY WIND, FIERCE ALLEGIANCE, OCEAN HOPE 3, PACIFIC
 KNIGHT, PACIFIC PRINCE, VIKING, WESTWARD1
Open access AFA vessels                                                56,215           6.145%           29,921
Total 2000 inshore pollock allocation                                 914,851             100%         486,922
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Under Sec.  679.61(e)(1) the individual catch history for each vessel is equal to the vessel's best 2 of 3
  years inshore pollock landings from 1995 through 1997 and includes landings to catcher/processors for vessels
  that made 500 or more mt of landings to catcher/processors from 1995 through 1997.


[[Page 39110]]

    Details concerning the basis for this action are contained in the 
preambles to the original emergency rules and are not repeated here.

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), has 
determined that the extension of these emergency interim rules is 
necessary to respond to an emergency situation and that it is 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act and other applicable laws.
    The extension of these emergency interim rules is exempt from 
review under E.O. 12866.
    The AA finds that providing prior notice and opportunity for public 
comment on this action is impracticable. Failure to extend these two 
emergency rules and establish final pollock TAC allocations to inshore 
cooperatives by June 10, 2000, would result in a lapse of necessary AFA 
regulations for the Bering Sea Subarea C/D season, which opens on June 
10, 2000. This emergency action is necessary to meet the AFA 
requirement to provide inshore pollock cooperatives with allocations of 
pollock for the 2000 fishing year. Inshore sector cooperatives will 
provide the inshore industry with the ability to more effectively meet 
the temporal and spatial dispersion objectives of NMFS' Steller sea 
lion conservation measures that became effective January 20, 2000 (65 
FR 3892, January 25, 2000; 65 FR 36795, June 12, 2000). If this rule is 
not extended for the Bering Sea subarea combined C/D pollock season, 
the inshore sector of the BSAI pollock industry will be denied the 
opportunity to fish under cooperatives during the second half of the 
2000 fishing year. Therefore, this sector of the industry would lose an 
economically valuable method of meeting the temporal and spatial 
dispersion objectives of NMFS' Steller sea lion conservation measures.
    Delay of the C/D season pollock opening to provide for prior notice 
and public comment on this emergency rule extension would impose 
significant economic cost on the fishing industry for two reasons. 
First, by regulation, the ending date for pollock fishing is November 1 
of each year to prevent pollock fishing during a winter time period 
that is critical to Steller sea lions. If the C/D season pollock 
openings are delayed for a significant period of time, the fleet may 
have insufficient time to harvest the remaining TAC before November 1 
and a significant portion of the TAC could go unharvested. Further, any 
delay in the season opening will impose significant operational costs 
on vessels, processors, employees, and other support industries that 
must plan for and deploy equipment and crews to remote parts of Alaska 
well in advance of the season opening date. Finally, delay of the C/D 
season to provide opportunity for public comment would be contrary to 
the temporal dispersion objective of NMFS' Steller sea lion protection 
measures because pollock fishing would be concentrated later in the 
year.
    Accordingly, the AA finds that the need not to delay the pollock 
season openings constitutes good cause to waive the requirement to 
provide prior notice and an opportunity for public comment pursuant to 
the authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), as such procedures would 
be impracticable and contrary to the public interest. For the same 
reasons, the AA finds good cause pursuant to the authority set forth at 
5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the requirement for a 30-day delay in 
effective date.
    Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not 
required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the 
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq., are inapplicable.
    The President has directed Federal agencies to use plain language 
in their communications with the public, including regulations. To 
comply with that directive, we seek public comment on any ambiguity or 
unnecessary complexity arising from the language used in this emergency 
interim rule.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

    Dated: June 16, 2000.
Andrew A. Rosenberg,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.

    For reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended as 
follows:

50 CFR Chapter VI

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

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

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


    2. In 50 CFR part 679, remove the phrase ``applicable through July 
20, 2000'' and add ``applicable through January 16, 2001'' in each of 
the following locations:
    Sec. 679.2, under the definitions of ``Appointed agent for service 
of process,'' ``Designated cooperative representative,'' and paragraph 
(4) of the definition of ``Directed fishing'';
    Sec. 679.5(a)(4)(iv);
    Sec. 679.5(f)(3);
    Sec. 679.5(i)(1)(iii);
    Sec. 679.5(o);
    Sec. 679.20(a)(5)(i)(D);
    Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iv);
    Sec. 679.21(d)(8);
    Sec. 679.21(e)(3)(v);
    Sec. 679.50(c)(5);
    Sec. 679.50(d)(5);
    and the heading for subpart F of 50 CFR part 679.

    3. In Sec. 679.4(l), the paragraph heading is revised, paragraph 
(l)(1)(v) is added, and paragraph (l)(6)(v) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 679.4  Permits.

* * * * *
    (l) AFA permits (applicable through December 24, 2000).
    (1) * * *
    (v) Application deadline. All AFA vessel and processor permit 
applications must be received by the Regional Administrator by December 
1, 2000. AFA vessel and processor permit applications received after 
December 1, 2000, will not be accepted by the Regional Administrator 
and the applicant will be permanently ineligible to receive the 
requested AFA permit.
* * * * *
    (6) * * *
    (v) Application deadline. An inshore cooperative fishing permit 
application and any subsequent contract amendments that add or subtract 
vessels must be received by the Regional Administrator by December 1 
prior to the year in which the inshore cooperative fishing permit will 
be in effect. Inshore cooperative fishing permit applications or 
amendments to inshore fishing cooperative permits received after 
December 1 will not be accepted by the Regional Administrator for the 
subsequent fishing year.
* * * * *

    4. In Sec. 679.20, paragraph (a)(5)(i)(D) is redesignated as 
paragraph (a)(5)(i)(C).

[FR Doc. 00-15857 Filed 6-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F