[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 166 (Monday, August 29, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51004-51006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17142]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 050819225-5225-01; I.D. 080505A]
RIN 0648-AS59


Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a regulation to implement the annual harvest 
guideline for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone 
(EEZ) off the Pacific coast. The Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) and its implementing regulations require NMFS to 
set an annual harvest guideline for Pacific mackerel based on the 
formula in the FMP. The intended effect of this action is to propose 
allowable harvest levels for Pacific mackerel off the Pacific coast.

DATES: Comments must be received by September 13, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this proposed rule identified by 
I.D. 080505A by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include I.D. 080505A in 
the subject line of the message.
     Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: (562) 980-4047.
     Mail: Rodney R. McInnis, Regional Administrator, Southwest 
Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 
90802.
    The report Assessment of the Pacific Mackerel (Scomber japonicus) 
Stock for U.S. Management in the 2005-2006 Season, and an economic 
analysis may be obtained at the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tonya L. Wick, Southwest Region, NMFS, 
(562) 980-4036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP, which was implemented by 
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register on December 15, 
1999 (64 FR 69888), divides management unit species into the categories 
of actively managed and monitored. Harvest guidelines of actively 
managed species (Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel) are based on 
formulas applied to current biomass estimates. Biomass estimates are 
not calculated for species that are only monitored (jack mackerel, 
northern anchovy, and market squid).
    At a public meeting each year, the biomass for each actively 
managed species is reviewed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council's 
(Council) CPS Management Team (Team). The biomass, harvest guideline, 
and status of the fisheries are then reviewed at a public meeting of 
the Council's CPS Advisory Subpanel (Subpanel). This information is 
also reviewed by the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee 
(SSC). The Council reviews reports from the Team, Subpanel, and SSC, 
then, after providing time for public comment, makes its recommendation 
to NMFS. The annual harvest guideline and season structure are 
published by NMFS in the Federal Register as soon as practicable before 
the beginning of the appropriate fishing season. The Pacific mackerel 
season begins on July 1 of each year and ends on June 30 of the 
following year.
    The Team meeting took place at the office of the NMFS, Southwest 
Fisheries Science Center, in La Jolla, California, on May 18, 2005. The 
Subpanel and SSC meetings took place in conjunction with the June 13-
18, 2005, Council meeting in Foster City, California.
    The size of the Pacific mackerel population was estimated using a 
newly modified version of the integrated stock assessment model called 
Age-structured Assessment Program (ASAP). Using this new ASAP model was 
recommended by the Coastal Pelagic Species Stock Assessment Review 
panel meeting held on June 16, 2004, in La Jolla, California. This new 
ASAP model replaces the old modified virtual population analysis stock 
assessment model used in previous years. ASAP is a flexible

[[Page 51005]]

forward-simulation that allows for the efficient and reliable 
estimation of a large number of parameters. ASAP uses parameters such 
as fishery dependent (commercial and recreational landings) and fishery 
independent (e.g., aerial spotter survey index, commercial passenger 
fishing vessel logbook catch per unit effort, and California 
Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations surveys) data to obtain 
annual estimates of Pacific mackerel abundance, year-class strength, 
and age-specific fishing mortality for 1983 through 2004. The biomass 
was calculated through the end of 2004, then estimated for the fishing 
season that begins July 1, 2005, based on (1) the number of Pacific 
mackerel estimated to comprise each year class at the beginning of 
2005, (2) modeled estimates of fishing mortality during 2004, (3) 
assumptions for natural and fishing mortality through the first half of 
2005, and (4) estimates of age-specific growth. Based on this approach, 
the biomass for July 1, 2005, would be 101,147 metric tons (mt). 
Applying the formula in the FMP results in a harvest guideline of 
17,419 mt, which is 32 percent greater than last year but similar to 
low harvest guidelines of recent years.
    The formula in the FMP uses the following factors to determine the 
harvest guideline:
    1. The biomass of Pacific mackerel. For 2005, this estimate is 
101,147 mt.
    2. The cutoff. This is the biomass level below which no commercial 
fishery is allowed. The FMP established the cutoff level at 18,200 mt. 
The cutoff is subtracted from the biomass, leaving 82,947 mt.
    3. The portion of the Pacific mackerel biomass that is in U.S. 
waters. This estimate is 70 percent, based on the historical average of 
larval distribution obtained from scientific cruises and the 
distribution of the resource obtained from logbooks of fish-spotters. 
Therefore, the harvestable biomass in U.S. waters is 70 percent of 
82,947 mt, that is, 58,063 mt.
    4. The harvest fraction. This is the percentage of the biomass 
above 18,200 mt that may be harvested. The FMP established the harvest 
fraction at 30 percent. The harvest fraction is multiplied by the 
harvestable biomass in U.S. waters (58,063 mt), which results in 17,419 
mt.
    Information on the fishery and the stock assessment are found in 
the report Assessment of the Pacific Mackerel (Scomber japonicus) Stock 
for U.S. Management in the 2005-2006 Season, which may be obtained at 
the address above (see ADDRESSES).
    For the last three years, the fishing industry has recommended 
dividing the harvest guideline into a directed fishery and an 
incidental fishery, reserving a portion of the harvest guideline for 
incidental harvest in the Pacific sardine fishery so that the Pacific 
sardine fishery is not hindered by a prohibition on the harvest of 
Pacific mackerel. At its meeting on June 15, 2005, the Subpanel 
recommended for the 2005-2006 fishing season that a directed fishery of 
13,419 mt and an incidental fishery of 4,000 mt be implemented. An 
incidental allowance of 40 percent of Pacific mackerel in landings of 
any CPS would become effective if the 13,419 mt of the directed fishery 
is harvested. The Subpanel also recommended to allow up to 1 mt of 
Pacific mackerel to be landed during the incidental fishery without the 
requirement to land any other CPS. This provision provides Pacific 
mackerel for small specialty markets. The Subpanel recommended that an 
inseason review of the Pacific mackerel season be completed for the 
March 2006 Council meeting, with the possibility of reopening the 
directed fishery as an automatic action if sufficient amount of the 
harvest guideline reserved for the incidental fishery remains 
unharvested. At that time the NMFS Southwest Regional Administrator 
will review the fishery to assess whether there is a sufficient amount 
of the unharvested portion of the harvest guideline (i.e., anything in 
excess of the amount needed to support incidental harvest) to warrant a 
reopening of the directed fishery. As of June 7, 2005, approximately 
4,808 mt of Pacific mackerel had been landed; therefore, an incidental 
fishery was not necessary.

Classification

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
as follows:

    The purpose of the proposed rule is to implement the 2005-2006 
harvest guideline for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. EEZ off the 
Pacific coast. The CPS FMP and its implementing regulations require 
NMFS to set an annual harvest guideline for Pacific mackerel based 
on the formula in the FMP. The harvest guideline is derived by a 
formula applied to the current biomass estimate. The formula leaves 
little latitude for discretion except when errors are found in the 
calculations or in the data. There is no alternative to the harvest 
guideline as specified; there is no discretion to use an adjusted 
formula. Further, there is only one stock assessment method 
recommended for use to establish the adult biomass used to derive 
the harvest guideline. No changes are proposed in the regulations 
governing the fishery.
    The harvest guideline would apply to approximately 90 small 
fishing vessels coastwide that fish for Pacific mackerel within U.S. 
waters. This proposed rule has an equal effect on all of these small 
entities and therefore will impact a substantial number of these 
small entities in the same manner. These vessels fish for small 
pelagic fish (Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel) all year and for 
market squid in the winter, and may harvest tuna in the U.S. EEZ 
seasonally when they are available, usually late in the summer and 
early fall. These vessels are considered small business entities by 
the U.S. Small Business Administration since the vessels do not have 
annual receipts in excess of $3.5 million. Therefore, there would be 
no economic impacts resulting from disproportionality between small 
and large vessels under the proposed action.
    There is no limit on the amount of catch that any single vessel 
can take; the harvest guideline is available until fully utilized by 
the entire CPS fleet. The small entities that would be affected by 
the proposed action are the vessels that compose the West Coast CPS 
finish fleet. The profitability of these vessels as a result of this 
proposed rule is based on the average Pacific mackerel ex-vessel 
price per mt. NMFS used average Pacific mackerel average ex-vessel 
price per mt to conduct a profitability analysis because it lacked 
cost data for the harvesting operations of CPS finfish vessels.
    For the July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, fishing year, the 
harvest guideline was set at 13,268 mt with an estimated ex-vessel 
value of $2.1 million based. As of June 7, 2005, only 4,808 mt had 
been harvested, valued at an estimated $741 thousand, reflecting the 
relatively poor market conditions for Pacific mackerel relative to 
other species of interest (e.g., Pacific sardine, market squid) and 
the lack of market orders.
    The 2005-2006 Pacific mackerel season began on July 1, 2005, and 
ends on June 30, 2006, or when the harvest guideline is caught and 
the fishery is closed. The proposed harvest guideline for the 2005-
2006 fishing season is 17,419 mt, which is higher than the 13,268 mt 
harvest guideline for the prior year. If the fleet were to take the 
entire 2005-2006 harvest guideline, and assuming no change in the 
coastwide average ex-vessel price per mt of $154.35, the potential 
revenue to the fleet could be approximately $2.69 million. However, 
if there is no change in market conditions (i.e., a lack in demand 
for Pacific mackerel product), it is not likely that the full 
harvest guideline will be taken in the 2005-2006 fishing year in 
which case profits may be lower than if the entire harvest guideline 
were to be landed. Additionally, the full harvest guideline may not 
be taken because of the lack of availability of the Pacific mackerel 
resource in the area of the fishery. The potential lack of 
availability of

[[Page 51006]]

the resource to the fishing fleet could also cause reduction in the 
amount of Pacific mackerel that could be harvested in which case 
would reduce total revenue to the fleet. NMFS does not anticipate a 
drop in profitability based on this rule as, if anything, it allows 
fishermen to harvest more than last year. Based on the 
disproportionality and profitability analysis above, NMFS does not 
believe that there will be a significant economic impact to a 
substantial number of these small entities. As a result, an Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required and none has been 
prepared.

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

    Dated: August 24, 2005.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-17142 Filed 8-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S