[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 146 (Wednesday, July 30, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44666-44667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19425]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 030416087-3176-02; I.D. 032603C]
RIN 0648-AQ75


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Amendment of 
Eligibility Criteria for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management 
Area Pacific Cod Hook-and-Line and Pot Gear Fisheries

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 amend eligibility criteria for 
Pacific cod endorsements to groundfish licenses issued under the 
License Limitation Program (LLP). These endorsements are necessary to 
participate in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area 
(BSAI) Pacific cod hook-and-line or pot gear fisheries with vessels 
greater than or equal to 60 feet (18.3 m) length overall (LOA). This 
action is necessary to allow additional participation in the BSAI 
Pacific cod hook-and-line or pot gear fisheries, as intended by the 
North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). The intended effect 
of this action is to prevent unnecessary restriction on participation 
in the BSAI Pacific cod hook-and-line or pot gear fisheries and 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).

DATES: Effective on August 29, 2003.

ADDRESSES:  Copies of the Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (RIR/IRFA) and the Final Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (FRFA) prepared for this action are available from NMFS, 
Alaska Region, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attn: Lori Durall, 
telephone 907-586-7247. Copies of the Environmental Assessment (EA)/
RIR/IRFA prepared for Amendment 67 and the 2002 Stock Assessment and 
Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report are available from the North Pacific 
Fishery Management Council, 605 W. 4th Avenue, Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 
99501; telephone 907-271-2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Brown, 907-586-7228, or email 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the 
exclusive economic zone of the BSAI under the Fishery Management Plan 
for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
Management Area (FMP). The Council prepared the FMP under the authority 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and 
implementing this FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.

Background

    The background regarding this action is detailed in the preamble to 
the proposed rule published April 25, 2003 (68 FR 20360). Public 
comments on the proposed rule were invited through May 27, 2003. 
Background regarding the LLP may be found in the final rule 
implementing the LLP (63 FR 52642, October 1, 1998).
    This action amends the regulatory language at Sec.  
679.4(k)(9)(iii)(F) to specify that a person who owns the qualifying 
harvest history of Pacific cod from a vessel, but who also owned a LLP-
qualifying groundfish fishing history from a different vessel at the 
time the qualifying Pacific cod threshold harvests were made, is 
eligible for the Pacific cod endorsement on the person's LLP groundfish 
license. To prevent an increase in the number of LLP groundfish 
licenses, the regulations also are amended to restrict the LLP 
qualifying history and the Pacific cod qualifying history of any one 
vessel to no more than one LLP groundfish license endorsed for Pacific 
cod hook-and-line and/or pot gear fisheries. This amendment limits the 
number of vessels allowed to participate in the Pacific cod hook-and-
line and/or pot gear fisheries, as intended by the Council in 
developing the LLP.

Comments

    The only comment received on the proposed rule is summarized here.
    Comment : The author of the comment supports the intent to allow 
additional participation in the BSAI Pacific cod hook-and-line and pot 
fisheries, but is concerned that part of the new regulatory amendment 
would be overly restrictive. The author states that the regulatory 
amendment would alter the effects of the existing exemptions for 
eligibility for a Pacific cod endorsement, including the hardship 
provisions. The language at Sec.  679.4(k)(9)(iii)(F)(3) may be 
inconsistent with some circumstances of the hardship provision. The 
author stated that the hardship provisions allow Pacific cod harvested 
from a single vessel to be used to meet the

[[Page 44667]]

eligibility criteria for a Pacific cod endorsement on more than one LLP 
license and that language at Sec.  679.4(k)(9)(iii)(F)(3) may not allow 
for this application of the hardship provisions.
    Response: NMFS has determined that the proposed regulatory language 
has no effect on the current exemptions for Pacific cod endorsement 
eligibility or on the ``hardship'' (unavoidable circumstance) 
provisions. The current regulation at Sec.  679.4(k)(9)(v)(A) 
authorizes, in limited instances, the combination of qualifying 
harvests from a sunken vessel with harvests from a replacement vessel 
to satisfy the endorsement requirements. This final rule does not 
change that section. Section 679.4(k)(9)(v)(B), in very limited 
situations, allows the agency to make conjectures regarding qualifying 
harvests, for circumstances beyond the applicant's control, if an 
applicant can demonstrate on the record that qualifying harvests would 
have been made. This ``hardship'' provision is not affected by this 
final rule. This final rule simply clarifies, consistent with Council 
intent, that the fishing activities of one vessel may not give rise to 
Pacific cod endorsements on more than one LLP license.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    Section 679.4(k)(9)(iii)(F)(2) was changed in the final rule from 
the proposed rule to improve the clarity of the text. The phrase ``by 
that vessel'' was considered redundant and is removed. To clarify the 
type of endorsement-qualifying harvest history, the words ``Pacific 
cod'' were inserted before the text ``endorsement-qualifying harvest.'' 
These changes provide clarity and are not substantial.

Classification

    NMFS prepared a FRFA to evaluate the impact of this action on small 
entities, in accordance with the provisions of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act of 1980, as modified by the Small Business Regulatory 
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 604(a)). The intentions of 
this action were explained in the preamble to the proposed rule (68 FR 
20360, April 25, 2003).
    An IRFA was prepared for the proposed rule and was described in the 
Classification section of the preamble to the proposed rule. The public 
comment period ended on May 27, 2003. No comments were received on the 
economic impacts of the proposed rule.
    The entities regulated by this action are those that did not 
qualify for a Pacific cod endorsement under a final rule published on 
April 15, 2002 (67 FR 18129), and would qualify under the approach as 
proposed by the Council in October 2002. According to an analysis 
prepared to support the Council's October 2002 deliberations, six 
entities appear to be affected by this action. Two of these are freezer 
longliners (hook-and-line catcher-processor vessels); one is a pot 
catcher processor vessel and three are pot catcher vessels. The 
economic appendix to the 2002 SAFE Report (see ADDRESSES) indicates 
that 31 hook-and-line catcher processor vessels active in the BSAI 
harvesting of Pacific cod were worth less than $3.5 million each in 
2001, while 14 harvesting of Pacific cod were worth more than $3.5 
million each. All BSAI pot catcher processor vessels and pot catcher 
vessels are small entities. Thus, about two-thirds of the vessels in 
this class in the BSAI are small entities. All six entities were 
treated as small entities for the purpose of this analysis.
    This regulation does not impose new recordkeeping or reporting 
requirements on the regulated small entities.
    This action has no adverse economic impacts on these entities. Each 
of these six small entities would be allowed to claim additional annual 
harvests to qualify for the BSAI Pacific cod endorsements to the LLP.
    A status quo alternative to the action was considered but not 
adopted. It does not achieve the stated objective of the Council for 
this action or reduce the potential adverse economic burden on the 
small entities identified as subject to direct regulation by this 
action.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 24, 2003.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

0
For reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended to read 
as follows:

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

0
1. The authority citation for part 679 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.; 3631 et seq.; 
Title II of Division C, Pub. L. 105-277; Sec. 3027, Pub. L. 106-31; 
113 Stat. 57; 16 U.S.C. 1540(f); and Sec. 209, Pub. L. 106-554.

0
2. In Sec.  679.4, paragraph (k)(9)(iii)(F) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  679.4  Permits.

* * * * *
    (k) * * *
    (9) * * *
    (iii) * * *
    (F) Harvests within the BSAI Would count toward eligibility amounts 
in the table at paragraph (k)(9)(ii) of this section if:
    (1) Those harvests were made from the vessel that was used as the 
basis of eligibility for the license holder's LLP groundfish license, 
or
    (2) Those harvests were made from a vessel that was not the vessel 
used as the basis of eligibility for the license holder's LLP 
groundfish license, provided that, at the time the endorsement-
qualifying Pacific cod harvests were made, the person who owned such 
Pacific cod endorsement-qualifying fishing history also owned the 
fishing history of a vessel that satisfied the requirements for the LLP 
groundfish license.
    (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (k)(9)(iii)(F)(2) 
of this section, the LLP groundfish license qualifying history or the 
Pacific cod qualifying history of any one vessel may not be used to 
satisfy the requirements for issuance of more than one LLP groundfish 
license endorsed for the BSAI Pacific cod hook-and-line or pot gear 
fisheries.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 03-19425 Filed 7-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S