[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 118 (Monday, June 21, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34335-34336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13941]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 040112010-4114-02; I.D. 061004C]


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast (NE) 
Multispecies Fishery; Georges Bank (GB) Cod Hook Sector Operations Plan

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

ACTION: Notification of Sector Operations Plan and allocation of GB cod 
Total Allowable Catch (TAC); request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The final rule implementing Amendment 13 to the NE 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 13) authorized 
allocation of up to 20 percent of the annual GB cod TAC to the GB Cod 
Hook Sector (Sector). Pursuant to that final rule, the Sector has 
submitted an Operations Plan and Sector Contract titled ``Georges Bank 
Cod Hook Sector Operations Plan and Agreement'' (Sector Agreement), and 
a draft Environmental Assessment (EA), and has requested an allocation 
of GB cod, consistent with regulations implementing Amendment 13. This 
document provides interested parties an opportunity to comment on the 
proposed Sector Agreement prior to final approval or disapproval of the 
Operations Plan and allocation of GB cod TAC to the Sector for the 2004 
fishing year.

DATES: Comments must be received at the appropriate address or fax 
number (see ADDRESSES) on or before July 6, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope 
``Comments on GB Cod Hook Sector Operations Plan.'' Comments may be 
sent via fax to (978) 281-9135, or submitted via e-mail to the 
following address: [email protected]. Comments may also be submitted 
electronically through the Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Copies of the Sector Agreement and the EA are available from the NE 
Regional Office at the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Warren, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9347, fax (978) 281-9135, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS announces that the Administrator, 
Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary 
determination that the Sector Agreement, which contains the Sector 
Contract and Operations Plan, is consistent with the goals of the FMP 
and other applicable law and is in compliance with the regulations 
governing the development and operation of a sector as specified under 
50 CFR 648.87. The final rule implementing Amendment 13 (69 FR 22906, 
April 27, 2004) specified a process for the formation of sectors within 
the NE multispecies fishery and the allocation of TAC for a specific 
groundfish species (or Days-at-Sea), implemented restrictions that 
apply to all sectors, authorized the GB Cod Hook Sector, established 
the GB Cod Hook Sector Area (Sector Area), and specified a formula for 
the allocation of GB cod TAC to the Sector. The principal Amendment 13 
regulations applying to the Sector are as follows: Vessels with a valid 
limited access NE multispecies DAS permit are eligible to participate 
in the Sector, provided they have documented landings of GB cod through 
valid dealer reports submitted to NMFS of GB cod during the fishing 
years 1996 to 2001 when fishing with jigs, demersal longline, or 
handgear. Membership in the Sector is voluntary, and each member would 
be required to remain in the Sector for the entire fishing year and 
could not fish outside the NE multispecies DAS program during the 
fishing year, unless certain conditions are met. Vessels fishing in the 
Sector (participating vessels) would be confined to fishing in the 
Sector Area, which is that portion of the GB cod stock area north of 
39[deg] 00' N. lat. and east of 71[deg] 40' W. long. Participating 
vessels would be required to comply with all pertinent Federal fishing 
regulations, unless specifically exempted by a Letter of Authorization, 
and the provisions of an approved Operations Plan.
    While Amendment 13 authorized the Sector, in order for GB cod to be 
allocated to the Sector and the Sector authorized to fish, the Sector 
must submit an Operations Plan and Sector Contract to the Regional 
Administrator annually for approval. The Operations Plan and Sector 
Contract must contain certain elements, including a contract signed by 
all Sector participants and a plan containing the management rules that 
the Sector participants agree to abide by in order to avoid exceeding 
the allocated TAC. An additional analysis of the impacts of the 
Sector's proposed operations may be required in order to comply with 
the National Environmental Policy Act, and the public must be provided 
an opportunity to comment on the proposed Operations Plan and Sector 
Contract. Amendment 13 provides that, upon completion of the public 
comment period, the Regional Administrator will make a determination 
regarding approval of the Sector Contract and Operations Plan. If 
approved by the Regional Administrator, participating vessels would be 
authorized to fish under the terms of the Operations Plan and Sector 
Contract.
    On May 24, 2004, the Sector submitted the Sector Agreement and a 
Draft EA which analyzes the impacts of the proposed Sector Agreement. 
The Sector Agreement would be overseen by a Board of Directors and a 
Sector Manager. The Sector Agreement specifies, in accordance with 
Amendment 13, that the GB cod TAC for the Sector would be based upon 
the number of Sector members and their historic landings of GB cod. The 
GB cod TAC is a ``hard'' TAC, meaning that, once the TAC is reached, 
Sector vessels could not fish under a DAS, possess or land GB cod or 
other regulated species managed under the FMP (regulated species), or 
use gear capable of catching groundfish (unless fishing under charter/
party or recreational regulations). As of June 1, 2004, 58 prospective 
Sector members had signed the Sector Contract. The allocation 
percentage was calculated, as specified in Amendment 13, by dividing 
the sum of total landings of GB cod by Sector members for the fishing 
years 1996 through 2001 (when fishing with jigs, demersal longline, or 
handgear)(14,285,443 lb)(6,480 mt), by the sum of the total accumulated 
landings of GB cod harvested by all NE multispecies vessels for the 
same time period (113,278,842 lb)(51,382 mt). The resulting number is 
12.611 percent. Based upon these 58 prospective Sector members, the 
Sector TAC of GB cod would be 372 mt (12.611 percent times the fishery-
wide GB cod target TAC of 2,949 mt). The fishery-wide GB cod target TAC 
of 2,949 mt is less than the GB cod target TAC specified in Amendment 
13 (3,949 mt) because the

[[Page 34336]]

3,949 mt included Canadian catch. The fishery-wide GB cod target TAC of 
2,949 mt was calculated by subtracting the GB cod TAC specified for 
Canada under the U.S./Canada Resource Sharing Understanding for the 
2004 fishing year (1,000 mt), from the overall GB cod target TAC of 
3,949 mt specified in Amendment 13. Because the proposed Sector Manager 
stated that some prospective members of the Sector may change their 
minds after the publication of this notice and prior to a final 
decision by the Regional Administrator, it is possible that the total 
number of participants in the Sector and the TAC for the Sector may be 
slightly reduced from the numbers above.
    The Sector Agreement contains procedures for the enforcement of the 
Sector rules, a schedule of penalties, and provides the authority to 
the Sector Manager to issue stop fishing orders to members of the 
Sector. Participating vessels would be required to land fish only in 
designated landing ports and would be required to provide the Sector 
Manager with a copy of the Vessel Trip Report (VTR) within 48 hours of 
offloading. Dealers purchasing fish from participating vessels would be 
required to provide the Sector Manager with a copy of the dealer report 
on a weekly basis. On a monthly basis, the Sector Manager would 
transmit to NMFS a copy of the VTRs and the aggregate catch information 
from these reports. After 90 percent of the Sector's allocation has 
been harvested, the Sector Manager would be required to provide NMFS 
with aggregate reports on a weekly basis. A total of 1/12 of the 
Sector's GB cod TAC, minus a reserve, would be allocated to each month 
of the fishing year. GB Cod quota that is not landed during a given 
month would be rolled over into the following month. Once the aggregate 
monthly quota of GB cod is reached, for the remainder of the month, 
participating vessels could not fish under a multispecies DAS, possess 
or land GB cod or other regulated species, or use gear capable of 
catching regulated multispecies. Once the annual TAC of GB cod is 
reached, Sector members could not fish under a multispecies DAS, 
possess or land GB cod or other regulated species, or use gear capable 
of catching regulated multispecies for the rest of the fishing year. 
The harvest rules would not preclude vessels from fishing under the 
charter/party or recreational regulations, provided the vessel fishes 
under the applicable charter/party and recreational rules on separate 
trips. For each fishing trip, participating vessels would be required 
to fish under the NE multispecies DAS program, and are required to call 
the Sector Manager prior to leaving port, in addition to calling into 
the DAS program. There would be no trip limit for GB cod for 
participating vessels. All legal-sized cod caught would be retained and 
landed and counted against the Sector's aggregate allocation. Those 
species that do not meet the minimum size restrictions specified in the 
regulations would be returned to the sea as quickly as possible to 
minimize, to the extent practicable, the mortality to such species. 
Participating vessels would not be allowed to fish with or have on 
board gear other than jigs, non-automated demersal longline, or 
handgear. Participating vessels would be limited to using 4,500 hooks 
within an inshore area, but may use an unlimited number of hooks in the 
rest of the Sector Area. NE multispecies DAS used by participating 
vessels while conducting fishery research under an Exempted Fishing 
Permit during the 2004 fishing year would be deducted from that Sector 
member's individual DAS allocation. Similarly, all GB cod landed by a 
participating vessel while conducting research would count toward the 
Sector's allocation of GB cod TAC. Participating vessels would be 
exempt from the GB Seasonal Closure Area during the month of May. In 
addition, the Sector Agreement provides that participating vessels must 
fish under their Amendment 13 DAS allocation to account for any 
incidental groundfish species that they may catch while targeting GB 
cod.
    The draft EA prepared for the Sector operations concludes that the 
biological impacts of the Sector will be positive because the hard TAC 
and the use of DAS will provide two means of restricting both the 
landings and effort of the Sector. Implementation of the Sector would 
have a positive impact on essential fish habitat and bycatch by 
allowing a maximum number of hook vessels to remain active in the hook 
fishery, rather than converting to (or leasing DAS to) other gear types 
that have greater environmental impacts. The analysis of economic 
impacts of the Sector concludes that Sector members would realize 
higher economic returns if the Sector were implemented. The draft EA 
asserts that fishing in accordance with the Sector Agreement rules 
enables more efficient harvesting of GB cod with hook gear than would 
be possible if the vessels were fishing in accordance with the common 
pool rules. The social benefits of the Sector would accrue to both 
Sector members as well as the Chatham/Harwichport, MA, community, which 
is highly dependent upon groundfish revenues and is likely to be 
negatively affected by the reduced cod trip limit that was implemented 
by Amendment 13. The draft EA concludes that the self-governing nature 
of the Sector and the development of rules by the Sector enables 
stewardship of the cod resource by Sector members. The cumulative 
impacts of the Sector are expected to be positive due to a positive 
biological impact, neutral impact on habitat, and a positive social and 
economic impact. In contrast, the cumulative impact of the no action 
alternative is estimated to be neutral, with negative social and 
economic impacts.
    Should the Regional Administrator approve the Sector Agreement as 
proposed, a Letter of Authorization would be issued to each member of 
the Sector exempting them, conditional upon their compliance with the 
Sector Agreement, from the GB cod possession restrictions and the 
requirements of the Gulf of Maine trip limit exemption program, limits 
on the number of hooks, and the GB Seasonal Closure Area, as specified 
in Sec. Sec.  648.86(b), 648.80(a)(4)(v), and 648.81(g), respectively.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: June 16, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-13941 Filed 6-18-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S