[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 17, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2510-2511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-419]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No 060109004-6004-01; I.D. 010406E]
RIN: 0648-AT76


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.

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

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a regulation to implement the annual harvest 
guideline for Pacific sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off 
the Pacific coast for the fishing season of January 1, 2006, through 
December 31, 2006. This harvest guideline has been calculated according 
to the regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest levels 
for Pacific sardine off the Pacific coast.

DATES: Comments must be received by February 1, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this proposed rule, identified by 
I.D. 010406E by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include the I.D. number 
010406E in the subject line of the message.
     Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Following the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Rodney R. McInnis, Regional Administrator, Southwest 
Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-
4213.
     Fax: (562) 980-4047.
    Copies of the report Assessment of Pacific Sardine Stock for U.S. 
Management in 2006 and the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact 
Review may be obtained from the Southwest Regional Office (see 
ADDRESSES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua B. Lindsay, Southwest Region, 
NMFS, (562) 980-4034.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS 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 two 
categories: actively managed and monitored. Harvest guidelines for 
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 the reports from the Team, Subpanel, and 
SSC, provides time for public comment, and then 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 sardine season begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 of 
each year.
    Public meetings of the Team and Subpanel were held at NMFS 
Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, CA on October 5 and 6, 
2005 (70 FR 55335, September 21, 2005). The Council reviewed the report 
at its November meeting in San Diego, CA, and listened to comments from 
its advisory bodies and the public. The Council then adopted the 2006 
harvest guideline for Pacific sardine. Based on a biomass estimate of 
1,061,391 metric tons (mt), the harvest guideline for Pacific sardine 
for January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006, is 118,937 mt.
    The size of the sardine population was estimated using an 
integrated stock assessment model called Age-structured Assessment 
Program (ASAP). ASAP is a flexible forward-simulation that allows for 
the efficient and reliable estimation of a large number of parameters. 
ASAP uses fishery dependent and fishery independent data to obtain 
annual estimates of sardine abundance, year-class strength, and age-
specific fishing mortality. The ASAP model allows one to account for 
the expansion of the Pacific sardine stock northward to include waters 
off the northwest Pacific coast and for the incorporation of data from 
the Mexican sardine fishery. Information on the fishery and the stock 
assessment are found in the report Assessment of Pacific Sardine Stock 
for U.S. Management in 2006 (see ADDRESSES).
    The formula in the FMP uses the following factors to determine the 
harvest guideline:
    1. The biomass of sardines age one and above. For 2006, this 
estimate is 1,061,391 mt.
    2. The cutoff. This is the biomass level below which no commercial 
fishery is allowed. The FMP established this level at 150,000 mt.
    3. The portion of the sardine biomass that is in U.S. waters. For 
2006, this estimate is 87 percent. It is based on the average larval 
distribution obtained from scientific cruises and the distribution of 
the resource obtained from logbooks of aerial fish-spotters.
    4. The harvest fraction. This is the percentage of the biomass 
above 150,000 mt that may be harvested. The fraction varies from 5 to 
15 percent, depending on current ocean temperatures. The higher 
fraction is used for warmer ocean temperatures, which favor production 
of Pacific sardine, and the lower fraction is used for cooler 
temperatures. Based on the last three seasons of sea surface 
temperatures at Scripps Pier, California, a fraction of 15 percent was 
used for 2006.
    Based on the estimated biomass of 1,061,391 mt and the formula in 
the FMP, a harvest guideline of 118,937 mt was determined for the 
fishery beginning January 1, 2006.
    Amendment 11 to the CPS FMP, which is now undergoing Secretarial 
review, would change the framework for the annual apportionment of the 
Pacific sardine harvest guideline along the U.S. Pacific coast and set 
up a new long-term allocation scheme. A proposed rule to implement 
Amendment 11 was published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2005 
(70 FR 69502). Based on this new long-term allocation scheme, 35 
percent of the harvest guideline would be released coastwide on January 
1; 40 percent of the harvest guideline, plus any portion not harvested 
from the initial 35 percent would be released coastwide on July 1; and 
on September 15 the remaining 25 percent, plus any portion not 
harvested from the earlier releases would then be available for 
harvest.
    If the total harvest guideline or these apportionment levels for 
Pacific sardine

[[Page 2511]]

are reached at any time, the Pacific sardine fishery shall be closed 
until either it re-opens per the allocation scheme or the beginning of 
the next fishing season. The Regional Administrator shall announce in 
the Federal Register the date of the closure of the directed fishery 
for Pacific sardine.
    Normally, an incidental landing allowance of sardine in landings of 
other CPS is set at the beginning of the fishing season. The incidental 
allowance would become effective if the harvest guideline is reached 
and the fishery closed. A landing allowance of sardine up to 45 percent 
by weight of any landing of CPS is authorized by the FMP. An incidental 
allowance prevents fishermen from being cited for a violation when 
sardine occur in schools of other CPS, and it minimizes bycatch of 
sardine if sardine are inadvertently caught while fishing for other 
CPS. Sardine landed with other species also requires sorting at the 
processing plant, which adds to processing costs. Mixed species in the 
same load may damage smaller fish.

Classification

    These proposed specifications are issued under the authority of, 
and NMFS has preliminarily determined that it is in accordance with, 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, 
and the regulations implementing the FMP.
    This proposed rule is exempt from review under 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 establish the 2006 
harvest guideline for Pacific sardine off the Pacific coast. The CPS 
FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS to set an annual 
harvest guideline for Pacific sardine 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, at which time adjustments may be made. 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 available to establish the adult biomass 
used to derive the harvest guideline.
    The proposed harvest guideline for the 2006 fishing season is 
118,937 mt. Although this is 13 percent lower than the 2005 harvest 
guideline, it is still 22,049 mt higher than the largest recent 
harvest by the United States. If the fleet were to take the full 
harvest guideline, and assuming no change in average exvessel price 
from the current level, the total revenue to the fleet would be just 
over $15 million. Whether this occurs depends on market forces and 
the ability of the fishing fleet to find pure schools of Pacific 
sardine. However, even if there is no change in market conditions, 
it is not likely that the full harvest guideline will be taken in 
the 2006 fishing year (because of the availability of the fleet to 
find pure schools of Pacific sardine), in which case total revenue 
would likely be lower. The Pacific sardine season begins on January 
1, 2006, and ends on December 31, 2006, or when the harvest 
guideline is caught and the fishery is closed.
    Approximately 104 vessels were permitted to operate in the 
Pacific sardine fisheries off the U.S. West Coast in 2004; 63 
vessels were permitted in the Federal CPS limited entry fishery off 
California (south of 39[deg] N. lat.), while 41 vessels were 
permitted in Oregon and Washington's state Pacific sardine 
fisheries. All of these vessels would be considered small businesses 
under the Small Business Administration standards since the vessels 
do not have annual receipts in excess of $3.5 million. Therefore, 
NMFS does not anticipate any disproportionate economic impacts 
resulting between small and large vessels under the proposed action. 
Additionally, this proposed action is not likely to significantly 
affect (both positive and negative effects) these small entities.
    As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required 
and none has been prepared.

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

    Dated: January 11, 2006.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-419 Filed 1-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S