[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 16, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67107-67108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25431]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 110904D]
RIN 0648-AS37


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Aleutian 
Islands Directed Pollock Fishery

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 82 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of 
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). Amendment 
82, if approved, would establish a framework for management of the 
Aleutian Islands subarea (AI) directed pollock fishery. This action is 
necessary to implement provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act of 2004 that require the directed pollock fishery in the AI to be 
allocated to the Aleut Corporation for economic development of Adak, 
Alaska. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), the FMP, Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004, and 
other applicable laws. Comments from the public are welcome.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 82 must be received by close of business 
on January 18, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional 
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 
Attn: Lori Durall. Comments may be submitted by:
     Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802;
     Hand delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9th 
Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK;
     Fax: 907-586-7557; or
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line the following document identifier: AI pollock NOA. E-mail 
comments, with or without attachments, are limited to 5 megabytes.
    Copies of Amendment 82, the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory 
Impact Review (EA/RIR) for the amendment, and the 2000 and 2001 
Biological Opinions on the groundfish fisheries may be obtained from 
the same address or from the Alaska Region NMFS website at 
www.fakr.noaa.gov.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each 
Regional Fishery Management Council submit any FMP amendment it 
prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon 
receiving a FMP amendment, immediately publish a notice in the Federal 
Register that the amendment is available for public review and comment.
    The Council adopted Amendment 82 in June 2004 and clarified it in 
October 2004. If approved by NMFS, this amendment would establish a 
framework for management of the AI

[[Page 67108]]

directed pollock fishery. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 
(Public Law (Pub. L.) 108-199, Sec. 803) requires the AI directed 
pollock fishery to be allocated to the Aleut Corporation for economic 
development of Adak, Alaska. This action would establish the allocation 
of the directed pollock fishery to the Aleut Corporation and would 
specify the management provisions for this fishery.
    Public Law 108-199 requires the Aleut Corporation's selection of 
participants in the AI directed pollock fishery and limits 
participation to American Fisheries Act (AFA, Pub. L. 105-277, Title II 
of Division C) qualified entities and vessels equal to or less than 60 
feet (18.3 m) in length overall (LOA) with certain endorsements. 
Section 803(b) restricts the annual harvest of pollock in the AI 
directed pollock fishery by vessels equal to or less than 60 feet (18.3 
m) LOA to less than 25 percent until 2009, and to less than 50 percent 
prior to 2013. These vessels must receive 50 percent of the directed 
pollock fishery allocation starting in 2013 and beyond. An FMP 
amendment and associated regulatory amendments are needed to implement 
these and other measures necessary to manage this fishery pursuant to 
provisions specified in Pub. L. 108-199.
    Prior to Pub. L. 108-199, the AI directed pollock fishery was 
managed pursuant to the AFA. The AFA allocated the AI directed pollock 
fishery to specific harvesters and processors named in the AFA and 
specified in regulations at 50 CFR part 679. Public Law 108-199 
allocates all of the AI directed pollock fishery to the Aleut 
Corporation. The implementation of Pub. L. 108-199 requires the 
amendment of AFA provisions in the FMP and in the regulations at 50 CFR 
part 679 to provide for the allocation of the AI directed pollock 
fishery to the Aleut Corporation and for the management of this 
fishery.
    The management provisions of Amendment 82 include:
    1. Allocation of the AI directed pollock fishery to the Aleut 
Corporation;
    2. Harvest specifications provisions including limits on the size 
of the annual total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock, the seasonal 
apportionment of pollock TAC, the Council's policy on the methods of 
funding the AI directed pollock fishery within the 2 million metric ton 
(mt) maximum annual optimum yield for groundfish of the BSAI, and the 
Council's policy on reallocating unharvested amounts of the AI pollock 
allocation to the Bering Sea pollock allocation;
    3. Fishery monitoring provisions including restrictions on having 
pollock from more than one area on a vessel at one time, observer and 
scale requirements, catch monitoring control plans for shoreside and 
stationary floating processors, and the Aleut Corporation's 
responsibilities for ensuring the harvest does not exceed the quotas;
    4. Limitations on the pollock allocation to AFA qualified vessels 
and to vessels equal to or less than 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA until 2013, 
when at least 50 percent of the allocation must be to vessels equal to 
or less than 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA;
    5. Reporting requirements; and
    6. A new AI Chinook salmon prohibited species catch limit and 
revisions to Chinook salmon savings areas closure requirements.
    Pollock is an important prey species for the endangered and 
threatened Steller sea lion populations. The Steller sea lion 
protection measures evaluated in the 2000 and 2001 Biological Opinions 
(see ADDRESSES) were considered in the development of the management 
provisions of Amendment 82. The protection measures for Steller sea 
lions include spatial and temporal dispersion of pollock harvest. The 
pollock fishing closure areas in the AI would remain unchanged under 
Amendment 82 to ensure spatial dispersion of fishing effort. To 
temporally disperse harvest of prey species, the Steller sea lion 
protection measures implemented in the BSAI apportion 40 percent of 
pollock harvest to the A season and 60 percent to the B season. 
Amendment 82 would continue to temporally disperse pollock harvest with 
no more than 40 percent of the acceptable biological catch (ABC) 
authorized to be harvested in the A season. The total harvest of 
pollock in the Bering Sea subarea, including any rollover of 
unharvested AI pollock, also would remain well below the ABC so that 
overall harvest would be in proportion to biomass and less likely to 
compete with Steller sea lions for prey. Both of these harvest 
provisions satisfy the intent of the Steller sea lion protection 
measures.
    Public comments are being solicited on proposed Amendment 82 
through January 18, 2005. A proposed rule that would implement 
Amendment 82 will be published in the Federal Register for public 
comment at a later date, following NMFS' evaluation under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act procedures. Public comments on the proposed rule must be 
received by the end of the comment period on the amendment in order to 
be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on the amendment. 
All comments received on the amendment by the end of the comment 
period, whether specifically directed to the amendment or to the 
proposed rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision. 
Comments received after that date will not be considered in the 
approval/disapproval decision on the amendment. To be considered, 
comments must be received not just postmarked or otherwise transmitted 
by close of business on the last day of the comment period.

    Dated: November 10, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-25431 Filed 11-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S