[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 6, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56039-56040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27849]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 010220043-1132-02; I.D. 102501A]
RIN 0648-AN78


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring 
Fisheries; 2001 Specifications; Adjustment

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

ACTION: Inseason adjustment of the 2001 Atlantic herring 
specifications.

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

SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the 2001 specifications for the Atlantic herring 
fishery by transferring 10,000 mt of U.S. at-sea processing (USAP) to 
joint venture processing (JVP). The intent is to reapportion allowable 
catches of herring within the fishery sectors to allow for the 
achievement of the objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for 
Atlantic Herring (FMP).

DATES: Effective November 6, 2001 through December 6, 2001. Comments 
must be received by December 6, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the inseason adjustment should be sent to 
Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional 
Office, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark on the outside of 
the envelope ``Comments on Inseason Adjustment of 2001 Atlantic herring 
specifications.'' Comments may also be sent via facsimile (fax) to 
(978) 281-9371. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail 
or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
978-281-9288, fax at (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Joint Venture Processing (JVP) is the amount 
of herring purchased over the side from U.S. vessels and processed by 
foreign vessels in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); IWP is the amount 
of herring purchased over the side from U.S. vessels and processed by 
foreign vessels at anchor in state waters; the total amount allocated 
to processing by foreign ships (JVPt) is the sum of JVP and IWP; and 
USAP is the amount of herring purchased over the side from U.S. vessels 
and processed in the EEZ by vessels of the United States that are 
larger than 165 ft (50.29 m) in length or 750 gross registered tons. 
JVP operations are restricted to Areas 2 and 3.
    The regulations found at 50 CFR 648.200(e) allow NMFS, after 
consulting with the New England Fishery Management Council (Council), 
to adjust annual Atlantic herring specifications and TACs during any 
fishing by publishing notification in the Federal Register stating the 
reasons for such action and providing an opportunity for prior public 
comment. Any adjustments must be consistent with the FMP objectives and 
other FMP provisions.

JVP and JVPt

    For the 2001 herring fishery, NMFS specified 10,000 mt of JVP. As 
of October 6, 2001, six U.S. vessels had delivered 5658.8 mt of herring 
or 56.6 percent of the allocation to 3 vessels of the Russian 
Federation. Recently, NMFS has received several letters from boat 
owners, processors, and JVP domestic partners requesting an increase of 
10,000 mt to the JVP specification. These requests are based on the 
success of ongoing JVP operations in allowing additional markets for 
herring harvested by U.S. vessels.
    The New England Fishery Management Council (Council), through its 
Herring Oversight Committee (Committee), recommended not to increase 
the 2001 JVP specification. The Committee felt that herring acquired by 
foreign processing vessels could compete directly with herring sold by 
shoreside processors, thus, inhibiting those processors from increasing 
their supply to existing markets or entering new markets. Most of the 
opponents of the JVP increase expressed concern it could affect future 
prospects for the new herring plant that opened in Gloucester this 
year. Other Committee members disagreed and noted that one plant cannot 
process the amount of herring currently being harvested. The Council, 
in a tie vote, concurred with the Committee's recommendation. The Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) voted unanimously on 
October 11, 2001, to recommend an increase in JVP. They believe that an 
increase in JVP will benefit U.S. vessels from Mid-Atlantic ports 
currently involved in JVP operations. Several of these vessels hope to 
continue to work with foreign operators.
    The public was notified in meeting notices that it would have prior 
opportunity to comment on the subject action at the Committee meeting 
on June 6, 2001, and at the September, 2001, Council meeting. Several 
concerned citizens, addressing impacts of an increase in JVP, presented 
verbal testimony at those meetings.

[[Page 56040]]

    After careful consideration of public comments and prior analyses 
regarding biological, economic, and social impacts of an increased JVP, 
NMFS has determined that there is no basis to conclude that an increase 
in JVP will have a substantially negative impact on shoreside 
processors. Furthermore, sufficient evidence exists to conclude that 
increasing JVP will have a substantially positive economic impact on 
the domestic harvesting sector and those entities that service vessels 
participating in the JVP. Descriptions of the economic and social 
impacts of this action are provided below.

USAP

    The FMP requires a USAP specification to allow a specific amount of 
herring to be allocated to large U.S. processing vessels. The Council 
specified 20,000 mt of USAP, since specifying USAP at zero would have 
precluded large U.S. vessels from taking fish over the side while large 
foreign vessels are allowed to do so. Since the USAP specification has 
not been utilized, NMFS has determined that it is appropriate to 
transfer 10,000 mt from the USAP specification. This would leave 10,000 
mt available for USAP.

Biological Impacts

    Since the optimum yield (OY) of 250,000 mt is not affected by this 
inseason action, there would be no biological impacts to herring stocks 
that were not already contemplated in the environmental assessment 
accompanying the 2001 herring specifications. The only distinction 
between JVP and USAP, which does not alter the environmental assessment 
of the herring fishery in any significant way, is that JVP operations 
are restricted to Areas 2 and 3, while USAP operations could take place 
in any area.

Economic and Social Impacts

    As of October 6, 2001, six U.S. vessels had delivered 5,658.8 mt of 
herring or 56.6 percent of the allocation to 3 vessels of the Russian 
Federation. Based on an estimated price of $110 per mt, this results in 
$622,468 in gross revenue earned collectively by the 6 vessels or, on 
the average, $103,745 per vessel. Using an average of gross revenue 
earned over the last 4 weeks to project the amount that could be 
harvested in the future, NMFS estimates that the full allocation of 
10,000 mt, valued at around $1,100,000, could be harvested by early 
November. This additional 10,000 mt could potentially double gross 
revenues earned by domestic vessels.
    As discussed in the economic analyses accompanying the 2001 
submission for herring specifications, profits to U.S. vessels would be 
calculated by deducting the costs of participating in the JVP from 
revenues earned by selling over-the-side to foreign vessels. The 
calculation of economic value of the JVP to U.S. vessels requires a 
comparison of JVP and shoreside processing profitability. If there is 
limited shoreside processing demand, it is likely that vessels would 
derive substantial economic benefits from participating in joint 
venture operations. A positive impact of increased JVP is increased 
employment opportunities in affected communities. The JVP would benefit 
fuel and food providers and vessel servicing facilities as measured by 
economic multiplier effects.
    If harvesting capacity was less than shoreside processing demand, 
and vessels that are participating in JVP operations would 
alternatively have landed herring in communities with processing 
facilities, negative economic and social impacts from reduced supply 
could result in reduced profits to shoreside processors, and reduced 
employment in processing plants, vessel servicing facilities, including 
stevedoring, and fuel and food vendors. However, as noted in the 
analyses accompanying the 2001 specifications, there is no evidence 
that shoreside processing demand is sufficient to meet harvesting 
capacity such that substantially negative economic and social impacts 
to processors or communities would ensue. Shoreside processing demand 
appears to be limited to the extent that the harvesting sector can 
easily participate in both an ongoing JVP and meet the demand of 
shoreside processors with limited economic impact on shoreside 
processing facilities and communities. In the future, this could change 
if shoreside facilities are able to increased the demand for their fish 
by developing export markets.
    The 2001 Atlantic Herring Specifications adjusted for this inseason 
action are presented in the table below.

        Table 1. 2001 Atlantic Herring Specifications (adjusted)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Specification                        Amount (mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC                                                             300,000
OY                                                              250,000
DAH                                                             245,000
TALFF                                                             5,000
DAP                                                             221,000
USAP                                                             10,000
BT                                                                4,000
JVPt                                                             30,000
JVP-Area 2 and Area 3                                            20,000
IWP                                                              10,000
Reserve                                                               0
TAC-Area 1A                                                      60,000
TAC-Area 1B                                                      10,000
TAC-Area 2                                                       50,000
                                                             (80,000 TAC reserve)
TAC-Area 3                                                       50,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under E.O. 12866.
    Because this action received prior public comment at Council 
meetings and any further delay would likely jeopardize the ability of 
U.S. and foreign vessels to access this increased herring allocation, 
there is good cause to waive additional opportunity for prior public 
comment pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), as 
such procedures would be contrary to the public interest. Similarly, 
because the inseason adjustment only provides for a transfer of the 
herring allocation from USAP to JVP and does not establish any 
requirements for which a regulated entity must come into compliance, it 
is unnecessary to delay for 30 days the effective date of this action. 
Therefore, the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good 
cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delayed 
effectiveness period for the inseason adjustment.

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

    Dated: October 31, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-27849 Filed 11-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S