[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 15, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42833-42835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20436]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 080201E]
RIN 0648-AM40


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; License 
Limitation Program for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands Area

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 67 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 
Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (BSAI). 
Amendment 67 is necessary to stabilize the fully utilized fixed gear 
Pacific cod fishery in the BSAI. This will be accomplished by issuing 
endorsements for exclusive access to longtime participants. The 
intended effect of Amendment 67 is to conserve and manage the Pacific 
cod resources in the BSAI in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). NMFS is 
requesting comments from the public on Amendment 67, copies of which 
may be obtained from the Council (see ADDRESSES).

DATES: Comments on Amendment 67 must be submitted by October 15, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on proposed Amendment 67 should be submitted to Sue 
Salveson, Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 
Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK, 99802, Attn: Lori 
Gravel, or delivered to room 401 of the Federal Building, 709 West 9th 
Street, Juneau, AK. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-
mail or Internet. Copies of Amendment 67 and the Environmental 
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis prepared for Amendment 67 are available from the North Pacific 
Fishery Management Council, 605 West 4th Avenue, Suite 306, Anchorage, 
AK 99501; telephone 907-271-2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Lepore, 907-586-7228 or e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each 
Regional Fishery Management Council submit any fishery management plan 
or plan amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, 
disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also 
requires that NMFS, after receiving a fishery management plan or plan 
amendment, immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register that 
the fishery management plan or plan amendment is available for public 
review and comment. This action constitutes such notice for Amendment 
67 to the BSAI FMP. NMFS will consider the public comments received 
during the comment period in determining whether to approve Amendment 
67.

Background

    The Council recommended, and NMFS approved, the License Limitation 
Program (LLP) to address concerns of excess capital and capacity in the 
groundfish and crab fisheries off Alaska. Fishing under the LLP began 
on January 1, 2000. More information on the specifics of the LLP and 
the problems it was designed to resolve can be found in the final rule 
implementing the LLP (63 FR 52642, October 1, 1998).
    The LLP, as implemented on January 1, 2000, was always considered 
by the Council and NMFS as an initial stage in a multi-staged process 
designed to reduce capacity and capital in the

[[Page 42834]]

affected fisheries. The LLP requires that a person hold a license to 
participate in the groundfish fishery. Under the original provisions of 
the LLP, a groundfish license was specific as to the area in which a 
person could participate, but not as to the gear or species. The 
Council anticipated that specific fisheries within the LLP complex of 
fisheries would need further management controls to respond to concerns 
of overutilization. One such example is the fixed gear Pacific cod 
fisheries in the BSAI.
    In 1996, the Council recommended Amendment 46 to the BSAI FMP. 
Amendment 46 allocated the total allowable catch (TAC) for BSAI Pacific 
cod among participants who used jig gear (2 percent), trawl gear (47 
percent), and fixed gear (51 percent). Amendment 46 further split the 
trawl gear allocation equally between catcher vessels and catcher/
processor vessels. Amendment 46 was approved by NMFS, and implemented 
in January 1997 (61 FR 59029, November 20, 1996).
    Although Amendment 46 initiated a process to address issues 
regarding the allocation of BSAI Pacific cod fisheries among various 
participants, it did not address all issues. Issues that were not 
increased included prices for Pacific cod, reduced crab guideline 
harvest levels, shortened or cancelled crab seasons due to low resource 
abundance, and intensified use of Pacific cod resources by participants 
using pot gear.
    In response to these issues, the Council recommended Amendment 64. 
Amendment 64, approved by NMFS and implemented by final rule in 
September 2000 (65 FR 51553, August 24, 2000), further divided the 51 
percent of the TAC for BSAI Pacific cod allocated to fixed gear as 
follows: Hook-and-line catcher/processor vessels, 80 percent; hook-and-
line catcher vessels, 0.3 percent; pot gear vessel, 18.3 percent; and 
hook-and-line or pot catcher vessels less than 60 ft (18.3 meters 
(m))(length overall (LOA), 1.4 percent. Amendment 64 also contained 
specific provisions for the accounting of directed fishing allowances 
and the transfer of unharvested amounts of these allowances.
    Both Amendments 46 and 64 established allocations for different 
gear sectors of the BSAI Pacific cod fisheries. However, neither 
amendment prevented movement among those sectors or the entrance of new 
participants who held a groundfish license for the BSAI into BSAI 
Pacific cod fisheries.
    In April 1999, the Council initiated an analysis to add Pacific cod 
endorsements to BSAI groundfish licenses to address the concern of new 
participants and movement among fixed gear sectors. This analysis 
reviewed the status of Pacific cod stocks and catch, the history of 
Pacific cod allocations, and the economic, social, and environmental 
impacts of various limited access alternatives. A copy of this analysis 
can be obtained for further review (see ADDRESSES).
    In April 2000, the Council recommended its preferred alternative 
for the BSAI Pacific cod fixed gear fisheries (Amendment 67). Amendment 
67 is currently being reviewed by NMFS for approval.

Amendment 67

    As explained, the BSAI fixed gear Pacific cod fisheries are fully 
utilized; therefore, any new participant increases the competition for 
an already fully utilized resource. Although new participants are often 
discouraged from entering a fishery that is already fully utilized, the 
current economics of the Pacific cod fishery and the downturn in the 
crab fisheries have provided incentives for new participants to enter 
the BSAI Pacific cod fixed gear fishery.
    The Council reviewed various alternatives to limit entry into the 
BSAI Pacific cod fixed gear fisheries. These alternatives were designed 
to prevent a person who holds a groundfish license, but who has not 
participated in the BSAI fixed gear Pacific cod fisheries in the past, 
or who has not participated at a level that could constitute 
significant dependence on those fisheries, from participating in those 
fisheries in the future.
    After receiving public testimony concerning this action, the 
Council recommended requiring a Pacific cod endorsement to harvest 
Pacific cod in the BSAI directed fishery with fixed gear. A Pacific cod 
endorsement would also be required to harvest Pacific cod in the 
commercial bait fishery. Eligibility for a Pacific cod endorsement 
would be based on past participation in the fishery. Four different 
endorsements would be available, depending on the fixed gear used to 
harvest the Pacific cod (longline or pot), and whether or not the 
Pacific cod was processed on board the harvesting vessel (catcher 
vessel or catcher/processor vessel).
    The Council recommended that the years 1995 through 1999 be used as 
past participation for Pacific cod endorsements, except for hook-and-
line catcher processors for which the qualifying years would be 1996, 
1997, 1998, or 1999. The Council also recommended minimum landing 
amounts that had to be achieved in those years to qualify for a 
specific Pacific cod endorsement. Properly documented harvests of 
Pacific cod, including commercial bait landings, would count toward the 
landing requirements for a Pacific cod endorsement. A Pacific cod 
endorsement would not be required to harvest Pacific cod for personal 
use bait.
    The Council recommended several exemptions to the Pacific cod 
endorsement requirement. A license holder deploying a catcher vessel 
less than 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA to conduct directed fishing for BSAI 
Pacific cod with fixed gear does not need a Pacific cod endorsement on 
his or her groundfish license. The Council decided to exempt this class 
of vessels because of concern over the ability of small entities to 
compete under the current fishery management regime. Also, exemptions 
to the LLP apply to the Pacific cod endorsement. That means that a 
vessel that is exempt from the LLP does not need a groundfish license 
with a Pacific cod endorsement aboard to conduct directed fishing for 
BSAI Pacific cod with fixed gear. These exemptions include: (1) less 
than 32 ft (9.75 m)LOA general exemption to the LLP; and (2) the less 
than 60 ft (18.3 m)LOA jig vessel exemption to the LLP. Specific 
information concerning these exemptions can be found at 50 CFR 679.4 
(k)(2).
    The Council recommended that a person be allowed to combine catch 
histories only when the vessel that was used as the basis of 
eligibility for the original groundfish license sank and was replaced 
with another vessel. The Council decided not to allow any other 
combining of catch histories because of the potential of increasing 
participation in an already fully utilized resource. The Council 
determined that allowing for the combining of catch histories in the 
limited circumstances of sunken vessels would not greatly increase the 
number of participants. However, it would provide equitable 
consideration to those persons who would have participated if their 
vessels had not sunk.
    Another provision recommended by the Council concerns unavoidable 
circumstances. This hardship provision is similar to one provided for 
general LLP eligibility and would enable a person to receive a Pacific 
cod endorsement even though that person would not qualify for an 
endorsement based on landings. Please refer to proposed Amendment 67 
and the analysis for Amendment 67 for further details concerning 
eligibility requirements, exemptions, and other provisions (see 
ADDRESSES).
    Public comments are being solicited on Amendment 67 through the end 
of

[[Page 42835]]

the comment period specified in this notice. A proposed rule that would 
implement Amendment 67 may be published in the Federal Register for 
public comment following evaluation by NMFS under Magnuson-Stevens Act 
procedures. All comments received by the end of the comment period 
specified in this notice, whether specifically directed to Amendment 67 
or to the proposed rule, will be considered in the decision to approve, 
disapprove, or partially approve Amendment 67.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: August 8, 2001.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-20436 Filed 8-14-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S