[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 79 (Friday, April 23, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21975-21977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9297]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 031016262-4107-02; I.D. 100603E]
RIN 0648-AR08


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; 
Recordkeeping and Reporting

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to revise the descriptions of Gulf 
of Alaska (GOA) reporting areas 620 and 630 in paragraph b of Figure 3 
to 50 CFR part 679 to include the entire Alitak/Olga/Deadman's/Portage 
Bay complex of Kodiak Island within reporting area 620. This action is 
necessary to improve quota management and fishery enforcement in the 
GOA. This action is

[[Page 21976]]

intended to meet the conservation and management requirements of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) and to further the goals and objectives of the Fishery 
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP).

DATES: Effective May 24, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the regulatory impact review/initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis (RIR/IRFA) and the final regulatory flexibility 
analysis (FRFA) prepared for this action may be obtained from the NMFS 
Alaska Region, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668, Attn: Lori 
Durall, or by calling 907-586-7247.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patsy A. Bearden, 907-586-7008 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. groundfish fisheries of the GOA in 
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Alaska are managed by NMFS under 
the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management 
Council under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and is implemented by 
regulations at 50 CFR part 679. General regulations that also pertain 
to U.S. fisheries appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600.
    This action revises the description of reporting areas 620 and 630 
in paragraph b of Figure 3 to 50 CFR part 679 by including all waters 
of the Alitak/Olga/Deadman's/Portage Bay complex of Kodiak Island 
within reporting area 620 and excluding all such waters from reporting 
area 630. The background regarding this action is detailed in the 
preamble to the proposed rule (68 FR 62423, November 4, 2003). Public 
comments on the proposed rule were invited through December 4, 2003. No 
public comments were received on this rule.
    The boundary between GOA reporting areas 620 and 630 near Kodiak 
Island, Alaska, is 154[deg]00' W. longitude from the south side of the 
Alaska Peninsula, southward to the limits of the EEZ off Alaska. On 
Kodiak Island, this line of longitude bisects the Alitak/Olga/
Deadman's/Portage Bay complex on the southwestern end of the island.
    The division of the bay complex between reporting areas 620 and 630 
means that different parts of the bay open and close on different 
schedules. Openings and closings in the lower part of the bay complex 
are driven by reporting area 620 openings and closings, while openings 
and closings in the upper part, including Deadman's and Portage Bays 
and a tip of Olga Bay, are driven by openings and closings in reporting 
area 630. In recent years, the part of the bay in reporting area 620 
has tended to be open to fishing more days per year than the part of 
the bay in reporting area 630.
    Deadman's Bay has deep water that often provides good opportunities 
for pollock mid-water trawling. The waters are relatively protected, 
and suitable for small vessels. The deep water in reporting area 620 
(in Alitak Bay and the lower reaches of Deadman's Bay) is relatively 
constricted and dotted with pinnacles, making these waters less 
suitable for pollock fishing. This action would place the deeper waters 
in Deadman's Bay under the reporting area 620 openings and closings 
schedule, and should give fishermen more days of access to the deeper 
waters in a typical year than they would have otherwise.

Classification

    The Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS, determined that this final 
rule is necessary for the conservation and management of the groundfish 
fishery in the GOA and that it is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act and other applicable laws.
    An FRFA was prepared to address the requirements of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act at section 604(a). The FRFA incorporates the IRFA and a 
summary of the analyses completed to support the action. A copy of this 
analysis is available from the NMFS (see ADDRESSES). A summary of the 
FRFA follows:

Need for and Objectives of This Action

    The boundary between GOA reporting areas 620 and 630 near Kodiak 
Island, Alaska, is 154[deg]00' W. longitude from the south side of the 
Alaska Peninsula, southward to the limits of the EEZ off Alaska. On 
Kodiak Island, this line of longitude bisects the Alitak/Olga/
Deadman's/Portage Bay complex on the southwestern end of the island. 
This action is necessary to include all the waters of this complex of 
bays within one reporting area, thereby improving management and 
enforcement of groundfish quotas.
    The objectives of this action are to: (1) reduce the potential 
costs of harvesting pollock in reporting areas 620 and 630, and (2) 
maintain the biological integrity of fish stocks managed by NMFS under 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Issues Raised by Public Comments on the IRFA

    The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on November 
4, 2003 (68 FR 62423). An IRFA was prepared for the proposed rule and 
summarized in the Classification section of the preamble to that rule. 
The public comment period ended on December 4, 2003. No public comments 
were received in response to the IRFA.

Number and Description of Small Entities Affected by the Rule

    The directly regulated entities are groundfish vessels targeting 
pollock in Alitak and Deadman's Bays. Since inshore-offshore 
regulations assign GOA pollock harvests 100 percent to the catcher 
vessels harvesting pollock for processing by the inshore component, all 
directly regulated entities are catcher vessels.
    The information necessary to determine whether a vessel is 
independently owned and operated and has gross revenues of less than 
$3.5 million, in all its affiliated activities, is not available. 
However, by using estimates of Alaska groundfish revenue by vessel, it 
is possible to identify vessels that clearly are not small entities. In 
2001, 117 catcher vessels fished for groundfish in Federal waters in 
the GOA. None of these had more than $3.5 million in groundfish 
revenues from the GOA. Therefore, none of these vessels were clearly 
large vessels; all of them may be small entities. For this reason, all 
the vessels directly regulated by this action (a subset of the GOA 
trawlers) are treated as small entities.
    Harvest records indicate that a large proportion of the GOA pollock 
trawl fleet has been active in the Alitak, Olga, Deadman's, Portage Bay 
area. In the four Alaska Department of Fish and Game statistical areas 
that comprise the bay complex, 29 vessels were identified as having 
targeted pollock in 1998, 30 in 1999, 0 in 2000, and 29 in 2001. As 
noted above, all of these vessels are believed to be small entities.
    Average GOA trawl catcher vessel groundfish revenues were about 
$350,000 in 2001. Average revenues from targeted pollock trawling 
activity in the Alitak/Olga/Deadman's/Portage Bay complex were about 
$15,000 in 1998, about $18,000 in 1999, nothing in 2000, and about 
$15,000 in 2001.

Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements

    This regulation does not impose new recordkeeping or reporting 
requirements on the regulated small entities.

Description of Steps Taken to Minimize Significant Economic Impacts

    This action shifts the reporting area 630 waters in the Alitak Bay 
complex from reporting area 630 to reporting area 620. This action 
modifies existing regulations so as to reduce the burden of those 
regulations on the fleet of small

[[Page 21977]]

entities. These entities will benefit through reduced costs and 
potentially increased revenues. No alternative was identified that 
would accomplish the objectives of this action, with a smaller adverse 
impact on small entities. This analysis identified one alternative to 
this action: the status quo. Under this alternative the boundaries do 
not change, and fishing opportunities available to GOA pelagic trawlers 
are limited to a greater extent than under the preferred alternative. 
The status quo is thus inferior in this regard to the preferred 
alternative.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    This rule does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with other 
Federal regulations.
    This action does not impose new reporting, recordkeeping or other 
compliance requirements.

Small Entity Compliance Guide

    Small entities are not required to take any additional actions to 
comply with this action.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

    Dated: April 19, 2004.
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 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. Paragraph b to Figure 3 to Part 679 is revised as follows:

                                                 b. Coordinates
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                                                Code                                                 Description
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610................................................................................................  Western GOA
                                                                                                     Regulatory
                                                                                                      Area,
                                                                                                     Shumagin
                                                                                                     District.
                                                                                                     Along the
                                                                                                     south side
                                                                                                     of the
                                                                                                     Aleutian
                                                                                                     Islands,
                                                                                                     including
                                                                                                      those
                                                                                                     waters
                                                                                                     south of
                                                                                                     Nichols
                                                                                                      Point
                                                                                                     (54[deg]51'
                                                                                                     30'' N lat)
                                                                                                     near False
                                                                                                     Pass, and
                                                                                                     straight
                                                                                                      lines
                                                                                                     between the
                                                                                                     islands and
                                                                                                     the Alaska
                                                                                                     Peninsula
                                                                                                     connecting
                                                                                                        the
                                                                                                     following
                                                                                                     coordinates
                                                                                                     in the
                                                                                                      order
                                                                                                     listed:
                                                                                                      52[deg]49.
                                                                                                     18' N,
                                                                                                     169[deg]40.
                                                                                                     47' W;
                                                                                                      52[deg]49.
                                                                                                     24' N,
                                                                                                     169[deg]07.
                                                                                                     10' W;
                                                                                                      53[deg]23.
                                                                                                     13' N,
                                                                                                     167[deg]50.
                                                                                                     50' W;
                                                                                                      53[deg]18.
                                                                                                     95' N,
                                                                                                     167[deg]51.
                                                                                                     06' W;
                                                                                                      53[deg]58.
                                                                                                     97' N,
                                                                                                     166[deg]16.
                                                                                                     50' W;
                                                                                                      54[deg]02.
                                                                                                     69' N,
                                                                                                     166[deg]02.
                                                                                                     93' W;
                                                                                                      54[deg]07.
                                                                                                     69' N,
                                                                                                     165[deg]39.
                                                                                                     74' W;
                                                                                                      54[deg]08.
                                                                                                     40' N,
                                                                                                     165[deg]38.
                                                                                                     29' W;
                                                                                                      54[deg]11.
                                                                                                     71' N,
                                                                                                     165[deg]23.
                                                                                                     09' W;
                                                                                                      54[deg]23.
                                                                                                     74' N,
                                                                                                     164[deg]44.
                                                                                                     73' W; and
                                                                                                      southward
                                                                                                     to the
                                                                                                     limits of
                                                                                                     the US EEZ
                                                                                                         as
                                                                                                     described
                                                                                                     in the
                                                                                                     current
                                                                                                     editions of
                                                                                                     NOAA chart
                                                                                                     INT 813
                                                                                                     (Bering
                                                                                                       Sea,
                                                                                                     Southern
                                                                                                     Part) and
                                                                                                     NOAA chart
                                                                                                     500 (West
                                                                                                     Coast of
                                                                                                      North
                                                                                                     America,
                                                                                                      Dixon
                                                                                                     Entrance to
                                                                                                     Unimak
                                                                                                     Pass),
                                                                                                     between
                                                                                                     170[deg]00'
                                                                                                     W long and
                                                                                                     159[deg]00'
                                                                                                     W long.
 
620................................................................................................  Central GOA
                                                                                                     Regulatory
                                                                                                      Area,
                                                                                                     Chirikof
                                                                                                     District.
                                                                                                     Along the
                                                                                                     south side
                                                                                                     of the
                                                                                                     Alaska
                                                                                                     Peninsula,
                                                                                                     between
                                                                                                     159[deg]00'
                                                                                                     W long and
                                                                                                     154[deg]00'
                                                                                                     W long, and
                                                                                                     southward
                                                                                                     to the
                                                                                                     limits of
                                                                                                     the US EEZ
                                                                                                         as
                                                                                                     described
                                                                                                     in the
                                                                                                     current
                                                                                                     edition of
                                                                                                     NOAA chart
                                                                                                     500 (West
                                                                                                     Coast of
                                                                                                      North
                                                                                                     America,
                                                                                                      Dixon
                                                                                                     Entrance to
                                                                                                     Unimak
                                                                                                      Pass)
                                                                                                     except that
                                                                                                     all waters
                                                                                                     of the
                                                                                                     Alitak/Olga/
                                                                                                     Deadman's/
                                                                                                     Portage Bay
                                                                                                     complex of
                                                                                                     Kodiak
                                                                                                     Island are
                                                                                                     included in
                                                                                                     this area.
 
630................................................................................................  Central GOA
                                                                                                     Regulatory
                                                                                                      Area,
                                                                                                     Kodiak
                                                                                                     District.
                                                                                                     Along the
                                                                                                     south side
                                                                                                         of
                                                                                                     continental
                                                                                                     Alaska,
                                                                                                     between
                                                                                                     154[deg]00'
                                                                                                     W long and
                                                                                                     147[deg]00'
                                                                                                     W long, and
                                                                                                     southward
                                                                                                     to the
                                                                                                     limits of
                                                                                                     the US EEZ
                                                                                                         as
                                                                                                     described
                                                                                                     in the
                                                                                                     current
                                                                                                     edition of
                                                                                                     NOAA chart
                                                                                                     500 (West
                                                                                                     Coast of
                                                                                                      North
                                                                                                     America,
                                                                                                      Dixon
                                                                                                     Entrance to
                                                                                                     Unimak
                                                                                                      Pass)
                                                                                                     excluding
                                                                                                     all waters
                                                                                                     of the
                                                                                                     Alitak/Olga/
                                                                                                     Deadman's/
                                                                                                     Portage Bay
                                                                                                     complex of
                                                                                                     Kodiak
                                                                                                     Island and
                                                                                                     Area 649.
 
640................................................................................................  Eastern GOA
                                                                                                     Regulatory
                                                                                                     Area West
                                                                                                     Yakutat
                                                                                                     District.
                                                                                                     Along the
                                                                                                     south side
                                                                                                         of
                                                                                                     continental
                                                                                                     Alaska,
                                                                                                     between
                                                                                                     147[deg]00'
                                                                                                     W long and
                                                                                                     140[deg]00'
                                                                                                     W long, and
                                                                                                     southward
                                                                                                     to the
                                                                                                     limits of
                                                                                                     the US EEZ,
                                                                                                         as
                                                                                                     described
                                                                                                     in the
                                                                                                     current
                                                                                                     edition of
                                                                                                     NOAA chart
                                                                                                     500 (West
                                                                                                     Coast of
                                                                                                      North
                                                                                                     America,
                                                                                                      Dixon
                                                                                                     Entrance to
                                                                                                     Unimak
                                                                                                     Pass),
                                                                                                     excluding
                                                                                                     area 649.
 
649................................................................................................  Prince
                                                                                                     William
                                                                                                     Sound.
                                                                                                     Includes
                                                                                                      those
                                                                                                     waters of
                                                                                                     the State
                                                                                                     of Alaska
                                                                                                     inside the
                                                                                                     base line
                                                                                                         as
                                                                                                     specified
                                                                                                     in Alaska
                                                                                                      State
                                                                                                     regulations
                                                                                                     at 5 AAC
                                                                                                     28.200.
 
650................................................................................................  Eastern GOA
                                                                                                     Regulatory
                                                                                                      Area,
                                                                                                     Southeast
                                                                                                     Outside
                                                                                                     District.
                                                                                                     East of
                                                                                                     140[deg]00'
                                                                                                     W long and
                                                                                                     southward
                                                                                                     to the
                                                                                                     limits of
                                                                                                     the US EEZ
                                                                                                         as
                                                                                                     described
                                                                                                     in the
                                                                                                     current
                                                                                                     edition of
                                                                                                     NOAA chart
                                                                                                     500 (West
                                                                                                     Coast of
                                                                                                      North
                                                                                                     America,
                                                                                                      Dixon
                                                                                                     Entrance to
                                                                                                     Unimak
                                                                                                     Pass),
                                                                                                     excluding
                                                                                                     area 659.
 
659................................................................................................  Eastern GOA
                                                                                                     Regulatory
                                                                                                      Area,
                                                                                                     Southeast
                                                                                                     Inside
                                                                                                     District.
                                                                                                         As
                                                                                                     specified
                                                                                                     in Alaska
                                                                                                      State
                                                                                                     regulations
                                                                                                     at 5 AAC
                                                                                                     28.105
                                                                                                     (a)(1) and
                                                                                                       (2).
 
690................................................................................................  GOA Outside
                                                                                                     the U.S.
                                                                                                     EEZ. As
                                                                                                     described
                                                                                                     in the
                                                                                                     current
                                                                                                     editions of
                                                                                                     NOAA chart
                                                                                                     INT 813
                                                                                                     (Bering
                                                                                                       Sea,
                                                                                                     Southern
                                                                                                     Part) and
                                                                                                     NOAA chart
                                                                                                     500 (West
                                                                                                     Coast of
                                                                                                      North
                                                                                                     America,
                                                                                                      Dixon
                                                                                                     Entrance to
                                                                                                     Unimak
                                                                                                     Pass).
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NOTE: A statistical area is the part of a reporting area contained in the EEZ.

[FR Doc. 04-9297 Filed 4-20-04; 4:31 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S