[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 123 (Monday, June 26, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39342-39346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16114]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 300 and 679

[Docket No. 000616184-0184-01; I.D. 050500A]
RIN 0648-AK74


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Prohibition 
of Groundfish Fishing and Anchoring in the Sitka Pinnacles Marine 
Reserve

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 59 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP), and 
to make changes to the regulations governing the halibut fishery. This 
action would designate a 2.5 square nautical mile (nm) area of Federal 
ocean water above and surrounding the Pinnacles off Cape Edgecumbe in 
the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) as the Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve. This 
area, which is an unusually productive and highly fragile marine 
habitat, would be closed to fishing for groundfish or anchoring by 
vessels holding a Federal fisheries permit. The area would also be 
closed to commercial or sport fishing for Pacific halibut, and to 
anchoring by sport or commercial halibut vessels. The intent of this 
action is to protect an area containing important fish habitat from 
degradation due to fishing and anchoring impacts, and to create a 
groundfish reserve.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received by August 10, 
2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Susan Salveson, Assistant Regional 
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 
P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668, Attn: Lori Gravel. Comments may 
also be sent via facsimile (fax) to 907-586-7465. Comments will not be 
accepted if submitted via e-mail or Internet. Courier or hand delivery 
of comments may be made to NMFS in the Federal Building, Room 453, 
Juneau, AK. Copies of Amendment 59 and the Environmental Assessment/
Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) 
prepared for the amendment by the North Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council) and NMFS are available from the Council, 605 West 
4th Avenue, Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501-2252; telephone 
907-271-2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nina Mollett, 907-586-7462, fax 907-
586-7465, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the domestic 
groundfish fisheries appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. Regulations 
governing the domestic halibut fisheries appear at 50 CFR 300.60 to 
300.65. These regulations supplement the annual fishery management 
measures adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) 
under the Convention between the United States and Canada for the 
Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and 
Bering Sea.
    The Council has submitted Amendment 59 to the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) for review. NMFS published a notice of availability (NOA) 
of the FMP amendment on May 12, 2000 (65 FR 30559), with comments on 
the FMP amendment invited through July 11, 2000. Written comments may 
address the FMP amendment, the proposed rule, or both, but must be

[[Page 39343]]

received by July 11, 2000, to be considered in the approval/disapproval 
decision on the FMP amendment.

Management Background and Need for Action

    The Sitka Pinnacles area, in the Southeast Outside District of the 
GOA near Cape Edgecumbe, provides highly productive habitat for many 
species at different stages of their life cycles. Information collected 
during manned submersible surveys of groundfish habitat by the Alaska 
Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) indicates that the diversity and 
density of fish in that area is much greater than is typical of the 
eastern continental shelf. The area could easily be overfished because 
of the concentration of fishes in a relatively small, compact space. 
State and Federal biologists have recommended that the Sitka Pinnacles 
and surrounding waters be given protective status as a marine refuge.
    Accomplishing this requires cooperation among NMFS, ADF&G, and the 
IPHC, because different species are managed under different 
jurisdictions (see Table 1).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Species                    Agency                Law
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial and recreational       ADF&G.............  These fisheries
 fishing for lingcod and black                         are closed under
 rockfish                                              5 AAC 28.150.
Groundfish                        NMFS..............  Would be
                                                       accomplished by
                                                       proposed Amd. 59
                                                       and proposed
                                                       regulatory
                                                       amendments at 50
                                                       CFR 679.2 and
                                                       679.22.
Halibut                           NMFS and IPHC.....  Would be
                                                       accomplished by
                                                       proposed
                                                       regulatory
                                                       amendments at 50
                                                       CFR 300.63 and
                                                       679.22.
Scallops                          ADF&G.............  Under Amd. 3 to
                                                       the Fishery
                                                       Management Plan
                                                       for Scallop
                                                       Fisheries off
                                                       Alaska, NMFS
                                                       delegates
                                                       responsibility to
                                                       the State for
                                                       managing the
                                                       scallop fishery.
                                                       Scallop dredging
                                                       has been closed
                                                       under 5 AAC
                                                       38.120 in the
                                                       ``Central
                                                       Southeast
                                                       Outside'' area,
                                                       which includes
                                                       the proposed
                                                       reserve, since
                                                       July, 1994.
Commercial and Recreational       NMFS and ADF&G....  The Alaska State
 Salmon                                                Board of Fish
                                                       considered
                                                       closure to salmon
                                                       fishing at its
                                                       February 2000
                                                       meeting and
                                                       rejected the
                                                       proposal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Sitka Pinnacles (also called the Cape Edgecumbe Pinnacles) 
consist of two large volcanic cones that rise abruptly off the 
seafloor. The top of one is less than 70 meters below the sea surface, 
and the other is less than 40 meters below the sea surface. The area 
from the sea surface to the seafloor provides a variety of rich habitat 
suitable for different species. Large numbers of juvenile and adult 
bottom-dwelling rockfish find shelter among the algae, anemones, and 
other flora and fauna that cover portions of the rock walls. The field 
of boulders on the bottom provides a spawning bed for lingcod and 
refuge for large numbers of commercially valuable species like 
yelloweye and tiger rockfish, along with non-commercial species such as 
prowfish.
    Juvenile and adult rockfish and huge concentrations of lingcod use 
the flat, irregular tops of the pinnacles as a feeding platform. 
Schooling species, such as yellowtail and widow rockfish, feed along 
the pinnacle walls and in the water column between the top of the 
pinnacles and the surface. The area has been used for fishing, 
especially with hook-and-line gear, for decades. In the late 1980s, a 
directed fishery for lingcod developed on the pinnacles. The high 
density and aggressive feeding behavior of lingcod made them extremely 
susceptible to capture; hourly catch rates of lingcod at the site 
exceeded catch rates in the surrounding area by threefold. In 1991, the 
State of Alaska began attempting to preserve lingcod populations in 
nearby State waters (the Sitka Pinnacles are in Federal waters) through 
closures during winter when male lingcod are nest guarding, and, in 
1994, through spring/summer in-season closures of State-regulated 
fishing in areas that included the pinnacles. In 1995, ADF&G included 
the pinnacles area in the winter closure as well. In 1997, ADF&G issued 
an emergency order closing the area to all State-regulated groundfish 
fishing for the entire season. However, the sport fishing industry was 
not affected by any of the State's management actions and continued to 
take lingcod and Pacific halibut. In May of 1998, the commercial and 
sportfish divisions of ADF&G submitted joint proposals to the Alaska 
State Board of Fish and the Council to close the Sitka Pinnacles area. 
The Board of Fish closed the area to fishing for lingcod and black 
rockfish, which are species under its jurisdiction. It took up the 
question of closing the area to commercial and recreational salmon 
fishing in February 2000, but decided against such a closure.
    This action would complement State regulations by designating a 2.5 
square nm area of Federal waters above and surrounding the Sitka 
Pinnacles as the Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve. The area would be 
closed to fishing or anchoring by vessels required to have a Federal 
fisheries permit under Sec. 679.4(b). The area would also be closed to 
fishing for halibut or anchoring by vessels required to have on board 
an individual fishing quota (IFQ) halibut permit under Sec. 679.4(d). 
In addition, the area would be closed to sport fishing for halibut as 
defined at Sec. 300.61, or anchoring by vessels having halibut on 
board. The IPHC manages Pacific halibut under the Northern Pacific 
Halibut Act. The Act states that the Regional Fishery Management 
Council may develop regulations governing U.S. waters ``which are in 
addition to, and not in conflict with, regulations adopted by the 
Commission'' (16 U.S.C. 773c(c)).
    The combined effect of State and Federal regulations would be to 
allow the Sitka Pinnacles ecosystem to maintain its natural levels of 
production by eliminating the harvest or bycatch of fish during 
critical portions of their life cycle. The prohibition on anchoring 
would eliminate a source of potential degradation of the area's fragile 
habitat.

Classification

    At this time, NMFS has not determined that the amendment this 
proposed rule would implement is consistent with the national standards 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable law. NMFS, in making 
that determination, will take into account the data, views, and 
comments received during the comment period.
    Nothing in this proposed action would result in any changes in 
reporting or recordkeeping requirements. The analysis for this proposed 
action did not reveal any existing Federal rules that duplicate, 
overlap, or conflict with the actions proposed in the alternatives.

[[Page 39344]]

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    NMFS has prepared an IRFA that describes the impact this proposed 
rule, if adopted, may have on small entities. NMFS estimates the total 
number of entities to which this rule would apply to be 2,618, which 
includes 1,048 fixed gear groundfish vessels and 1,570 halibut vessels, 
based on 1998 data for vessels that fished in the GOA. This figure does 
not include trawl vessels, which are already prohibited from fishing in 
this area under Amendment 41 (63 FR 8356, February 19, 1998). Of the 
non-trawl vessels, the great majority (90 percent) are catcher vessels 
under 60 feet in length overall. Although this rule would apply to all 
vessels that can fish in the GOA, only a portion of these vessels have 
fished in the statistical area (S.A.) the rule would affect. Therefore, 
NMFS estimates that it is likely that, at most, only 688 entities could 
be affected. This number represents 224 commercial groundfish vessels, 
67 halibut IFQ vessels, and 397 charter companies that fished in the 
area in 1998. NMFS lacks the necessary data on ownership, affiliation, 
contractual relationships, etc., to determine which of these operations 
are ``small entities'' for Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes, and 
some of these 2,618 vessels might not qualify under Small Business 
Administration criteria. However, for the purposes of the IRFA 
analysis, NMFS assumes all of these groundfish and commercial halibut 
vessels to be small entities, given the nature of the fisheries they 
participate in and the unlikelihood that many of them would reach 
annual gross revenues in excess of $3 million.
    The actual number of vessels affected by this proposed rule would 
likely be even smaller. Few commercial fishing vessels currently use 
the area. Most, if not all, groundfish longliners, and halibut 
fishermen as well, have voluntarily avoided the pinnacles area for the 
past 2 years, since ADF&G regulations prohibiting the take of 
groundfish species under its jurisdiction took effect.
    Even if a few vessels were still fishing in the proposed reserve, 
it is unlikely that any of them would be adversely affected by the 
closure to any significant extent, as the area constitutes less than 1 
percent of the grounds in S.A. 355631, and less than a thousandth of 1 
percent of the total available fishing grounds in the GOA (about 
340,000 square nm). To the extent that any halibut IFQ vessels may be 
displaced, similar opportunities to fish for halibut exist throughout 
the area. It is unlikely that any lost fishing opportunity or increase 
in fuel costs would be incurred. For groundfish vessels, however, there 
are no comparable fishing grounds that offer the density of groundfish 
that occur on the pinnacles. To the extent that there are any 
groundfish vessels targeting rockfish other than those prohibited by 
the State, this rule could result in an unquantifiable loss of fishing 
opportunity.
    In addition to the commercial fishing vessels, 588 charter vessels, 
owned by 397 businesses, fished for halibut in 1998 in IPHC Area 2C, in 
which the Sitka Pinnacles are located. Of the charter vessels, 364 were 
homeported in Sitka, and 191 of the Sitka vessels targeted bottomfish, 
including Pacific halibut. Although the opportunity of charter boat 
operators, as well as individual anglers, to fish for Pacific halibut 
could be affected by this proposed action, few, if any, of these 
charter boats have been fishing on the pinnacles since the State closed 
the area to lingcod and to State-managed rockfish species in the summer 
of 1998. The aggregations of lingcod present on the pinnacles were an 
incentive to travel to this site. Although halibut do occur on the 
pinnacles, they do not aggregate there in any greater numbers than 
elsewhere in S.A. 355631. Thus, as is the case for halibut IFQ vessels, 
these vessels are not expected to experience negative economic impacts 
as a result of displacement from the pinnacles.
    In summary, the cost to small entities of the proposed closure and 
prohibition on anchoring is expected to be quite low, as the area being 
proposed for closure constitutes an extremely small percentage of 
available fishing grounds. Few, if any, vessels have been fishing in 
the area since ADF&G promulgated regulations prohibiting fishing for 
groundfish species under its jurisdiction in 1998. Lingcod was the 
primary incentive for charter vessels to fish in this area, which 
congregated on the pinnacles and created an easy target. For species 
that may be found in the area but not in special concentrations, such 
as halibut and some groundfish species, little if any cost would be 
incurred to those vessels targeting these species to avoid this area. 
There are ample fishing grounds nearby that require no additional fuel 
or other costs.
    The prohibition on anchoring would protect from damage the fragile 
structures growing on the pinnacles.
    NMFS considered one alternative that could have had less economic 
impact on small entities--maintaining the status quo. Maintaining the 
status quo could minimize economic impacts on small entities. This 
alternative would not affect small entities except that some fishermen 
who have been avoiding the area because of local support for the marine 
reserve might resume fishing on the pinnacles. Some small economic 
advantage might be gained by small entities, on the theory that 
increasing the options for business entities always increases the 
potential for making profit-maximizing decisions. As previously stated, 
the proposed reserve is small and other productive fishing grounds are 
available and equally accessible.

List of Subjects

50 CFR Part 300

    Administrative practice and procedure, Exports, Fish, Fisheries, 
marine resources.

50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

    Dated: June 20, 2000.
Penelope D. Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, 50 CFR parts 300 and 679 
are proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 300--INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES REGULATIONS

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

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773-773k.

    2. In subpart E, Pacific Halibut Fisheries, Sec. 300.63, is amended 
by adding paragraph (e) to read as follows:


Sec. 300.63  Catch sharing plans, local area management plans, and 
domestic management measures.

* * * * *
    (e) Prohibition on halibut fishing and anchoring in the Sitka 
Pinnacles Marine Reserve. (1) For purposes of Sec. 300.63(e), the Sitka 
Pinnacles Marine Reserve means an area totaling 2.5 square nm off Cape 
Edgecumbe, defined by straight lines connecting the following points in 
a counterclockwise manner:
    56 deg.55.5'N lat., 135 deg.54.0'W long;
    56 deg.57.0'N lat., 135 deg.54.0'W long;
    56 deg.57.0'N lat., 135 deg.57.0'W long;
    56 deg.55.5'N lat., 135 deg.57.0'W long.
    (2) No person shall engage in sport fishing, as defined in 
Sec. 300.61, for halibut within the Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve.
    (3) No person shall anchor a vessel having halibut on board in the 
Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve.

[[Page 39345]]

PART 679-FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA

    3. 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.

    4. In Sec. 679.2, a new definition for the ``Sitka Pinnacles Marine 
Reserve'' is added in alphabetical order, to read as follows:


Sec. 679.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve means an area totaling 2.5 square nm 
in the GOA, off Cape Edgecumbe, in Statistical Area 650. See Figure 18 
to this part.
* * * * *
    5. In Sec. 679.22, paragraph (b)(5) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 679.22  Closures.

* * * * *
    (b)* * *
    (5) Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve. (i) No vessel required to have 
a Federal fisheries permit under Sec. 679.4(b) may fish for groundfish 
or anchor in the Sitka Pinnacles Marine Reserve, as described in Figure 
18 to this part.
    (ii) No vessel required to have on board an IFQ halibut permit 
under Sec. 679.4(d) may fish for halibut or anchor in the Sitka 
Pinnacles Marine Reserve, as described in Figure 18 to this part.
* * * * *
    6. In part 679, Figure 18 is added to read as follows:

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F

[[Page 39346]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP26JN00.000

    a. Map
    b. Coordinates
    An area totaling 2.5 square nm off Cape Edgecumbe, defined by 
straight lines connecting the following points in a counterclockwise 
manner:
    56 deg.55.5'N lat., 135 deg.54.0'W long;
    56 deg.57.0'N lat., 135 deg.54.0'W long;
    56 deg.57.0'N lat., 135 deg.57.0'W long;
    56 deg.55.5'N lat., 135 deg.57.0'W long.
[FR Doc. 00-16114 Filed 6-23-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F