[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 42 (Friday, March 3, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10867-10869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1996]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 600 and 648

[Docket No. 051130316-6047-02; I.D. 110905C]
RIN 0648-AT21


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring 
Fishery; 2006 Specifications

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

ACTION: Final rule; 2006 Atlantic herring specifications.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces final specifications for the 2006 fishing year 
for the Atlantic herring fishery. The intent of this final rule is to 
promote the development and conservation of the herring resource.

DATES: Effective April 3, 2006, through December 31, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, including the Environmental 
Assessment, Regulatory Impact Review, Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA), and Essential Fish Habitat Assessment are 
available from Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery 
Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. The 
specifications document is also accessible via the Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov. The Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(FRFA)consists of the IRFA, public comments and responses contained in 
this final rule, and the summary of impacts and alternatives contained 
in this final rule. Copies of the small entity compliance guide are 
available from Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, Northeast 
Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, One Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930 2298.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Jay Dolin, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9259, e-mail at [email protected], fax at 978-281-
9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Proposed 2006 specifications were published on December 15, 2005 
(70 FR 74285), with public comment accepted through January 17, 2006. 
These final specifications are unchanged from those that were proposed. 
A complete discussion of the development of the specifications appears 
in the preamble to the proposed rule and is not repeated here.

2006 Final Initial Specifications

    The following specifications are established by this action: 
Allowable biological catch (ABC), optimum yield (OY), domestic annual 
harvest (DAH), domestic annual processing (DAP), total foreign 
processing (JVPt), joint venture processing (JVP), internal waters 
processing (IWP), U.S. at-sea processing (USAP), border transfer (BT), 
total allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF), and total allowable 
catch (TAC) for each management area and subarea.

   Specifications and Area TACs for the 2006 Atlantic Herring Fishery
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Specification                       Allocation (mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  ABC                                           220,000
                  OY                                            150,000
                  DAH                                           150,000
                  DAP                                           146,000
                  JVPt                                                0
                  JVP                                                 0
                  IWP                                                 0
                  USAP                            20,000 (Areas 2 and 3
                                                                  only)
                  BT                                              4,000
                  TALFF                                               0
                  Reserve                                             0
                  TAC - Area 1A                   60,000 (January 1-May
                                                    31, landings cannot
                                                          exceed 6,000)
                  TAC - Area 1B                                  10,000
                  TAC - Area 2                      30,000 (No Reserve)
                  TAC - Area 3                                   50,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments and Responses

    There were four comments received. Commenters included Garden State 
Seafood Association, Atlantic Pelagic Seafood, one fisherman, and one 
other individual.
    Comment 1: One commenter supported setting OY at 180,000 mt, and 
TALFF at zero, as recommended last year by the New England Fishery 
Management Council (Council).
    Response: Based on past performance of the fishery, NMFS finds that 
the recommendation to set DAH at 150,000 mt is appropriate. TALFF is 
that portion of the OY of a fishery that will not be harvested by 
vessels of the United States, thus, TALFF is set at zero.
    Comment 2: One commenter stated that USAP should be set at zero, as 
the Council recommended last year.
    Response: Setting USAP at zero would inappropriately favor one 
segment of the U.S. processing sector over another, without any 
justifiable reasons. Landings from Areas 2 and 3 (where USAP is being 
authorized, as in previous years) have been considerably lower than the 
allocated TACs for each of the past several years. USAP could provide 
an additional outlet for U.S. harvesters, particularly those who 
operate vessels that do not have refrigerated seawater systems (RSW) to 
maintain catch quality for delivery to onshore processors. Such vessels 
could offload product to USAP vessels near the fishing areas, 
increasing the benefits to the U.S. industry. Given the significant gap 
between the DAH and recent landings in this fishery, the allocation of 
20,000 mt for USAP should not restrict either the operation or the 
expansion of the shoreside processing facilities.

[[Page 10868]]

    Comment 3: One commenter urged NMFS to closely monitor the needs of 
the fleet and consider industry requests for inseason adjustments to 
USAP and Area 2/3 TACs.
    Response: NMFS agrees that it will be important to closely monitor 
herring landings in 2006 so that an in-season adjustment, if necessary, 
can be implemented. NMFS will utilize all available data sources and 
landings projection techniques to identify the need for such an 
adjustment.

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 648 and has been 
determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    Included in this final rule is the FRFA prepared pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 604(a). The FRFA incorporates the discussion that follows, the 
comments and responses to the proposed rule, and the IRFA and other 
analyses completed in support of this action. No comments were received 
on the IRFA. The FRFA uses the fishing year 2003 for comparison 
purposes because the analysis that this action is based on was 
completed in 2004. At that point, the Council voted to maintain the 
2005 specifications for 2006, unless stock and fishery conditions 
changed substantially. As described in the proposed rule for this 
action, NMFS concurred with the Council's decision as to maintaining 
the specifications. Therefore, the analysis done in 2004, to establish 
the potential for two-year specifications, is what is used below. A 
copy of the IRFA is available from the Council(see ADDRESSES). A 
summary of the analysis follows:

Statement of Objective and Need

    A description of the reasons why this action is being considered, 
and the objectives of and legal basis for this action, is contained in 
the preamble to the proposed rule and is not repeated here.

Description and Estimate of Number of Small Entities to Which the Rule 
Will Apply

    During the 2003 fishing year, 154 vessels landed herring, 38 of 
which averaged more than 2,000 lb (907 kg) of herring per trip. There 
are no large entities, as defined in section 601 of the RFA, 
participating in this fishery. Therefore, there are no disproportionate 
economic impacts between large and small entities.

Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 
Requirements

    This action does not contain any new collection-of-information, 
reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements. It does not 
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any other Federal rules.

Minimizing Significant Economic Impacts on Small Entities

    Impacts were assessed by the Council and NMFS by comparing the 
measures to the Atlantic herring landings made in 2003. The 
specifications are not expected to produce a negative economic impact 
to vessels prosecuting the fishery because they allow for landings 
levels that are significantly higher than the average landings achieved 
by the fishery in recent years. The 2006 specifications allow for 
incremental growth in the industry, while taking into consideration 
biological uncertainty.
    The specification of OY and DAH is 150,000 mt for 2006. At this 
level, there could be an increase of up to 50,000 mt in herring 
landings, or $7,150,000 in revenues, based on an average price of $143/
mt. This could allow individual vessels to increase their profitability 
under the 2006 specifications, depending on whether or not new vessels 
enter the fishery (the herring fishery will remain an open-access 
fishery for the 2006 fishing year). The magnitude of economic impacts 
related to the 146,000-mt specification of DAP will depend on the 
shoreside processing sector's ability to expand markets and increase 
capacity to handle larger amounts of herring during 2006.
    The potential loss associated with eliminating the JVPt allocation 
(20,000 mt for 2003 and 2004) could approximate $2.9 million (based on 
an average price of $143/mt) if all of the 20,000-mt allocation would 
have been utilized (10,000 mt for JVP and 10,000 mt for IWP). However, 
very little of the 10,000-mt JVP allocation was utilized in 2002 and 
2003, and no JVP activity occurred during the 2004 fishing year. The 
Council received no indication that demand exists for the JVP 
allocation in 2006. As a result, no substantial economic impacts are 
expected from reducing the JVP allocation to 0 mt in 2006, as vessels 
that sold fish in the past to JVP vessels could sell to U.S. 
processors.
    The Area 1A and 1B TACs of 60,000 mt and 10,000 mt, respectively, 
have been unchanged since the 2000 fishery. In 2002 and 2003, the Area 
1A TAC for the directed herring fishery was fully utilized and is 
expected to be fully utilized for the 2006 fishery. Therefore, no 
change is expected in profitability of vessels as a result of the 2006 
Area 1A specification. Since only 4,917 mt of herring were harvested in 
Area 1B in 2003, the 2006 specification of 10,000 mt should allow for 
increased economic benefits to individual vessels prosecuting the 
fishery in this management area. The potential economic gains 
associated with allocating 20,000 mt for USAP could approximate $2.9 
million (based on an average price of $143/mt) if all of the 20,000-mt 
allocation is utilized in 2006.
    The Council analyzed four alternatives for OY and the distribution 
of TACs. One alternative would have retained the specifications 
implemented during the 2003 and 2004 fishing years, which would have 
maintained the OY at 180,000 mt. This OY is still roughly 80 percent 
greater than the average historical landings for this fishery and 
therefore, that level of OY would not pose a constraint on the fishery. 
The three other alternatives considered by the Council would set the OY 
at 150,000 mt. This is still roughly 50-percent greater than the 
average historical landings for this fishery, and, therefore, that 
level of OY would not pose a constraint on the fishery. Each of the 
alternatives that would set the OY at 150,000 mt would establish 
varying levels for the area TACs.
    One alternative would have established the following TACs: Area 1A, 
60,000 mt; Area 1B, 10,000 mt; Area 2, 20,000 mt; and Area 3, 60,000 
mt. The only area TAC that would be lower than 2004 under this option 
is the Area 2 TAC. The most recent year in which the landings from this 
area were greater than 20,000 mt (the proposed TAC) was 2000 (27,198 
mt). The average landings from 2001 2003 were 14,300 mt, with 2003 
landings at 16,079 mt. Under current market conditions, the new TAC may 
become constraining if the fishery in 2006 is similar to that in 2000. 
If this is the case, then the Area 2 TAC fishing season could end 
before the end of the year, creating a potential economic constraint on 
the fishery, especially if vessels are forced to travel farther 
(increased steaming time) to harvest in Area 3.
    Another alternative considered would have established the following 
TACs: Area 1A, 45,000 mt; Area 1B, 10,000 mt; Area 2, 35,000 mt; and 
Area 3, 60,000 mt. With a 15,000-mt decrease in the combined Area 1 
TACs, the economic impact of this option could be relatively large on 
vessels in the fishery that depend on herring in Area 1A, especially if 
those vessels are not able

[[Page 10869]]

to move to other areas to obtain fish. Even if vessels could fish in 
other areas, their operating costs would be increased because of 
increased steaming time. An Area 2 TAC of 35,000 mt under this 
alternative would not be constraining, given recent landings history.
    The final alternative considered would have established the 
following TACs: Area 1A, 55,000 mt; Area 1B, 5,000 mt; Area 2, 30,000 
mt; and Area 3, 60,000 mt. With a 10,000-mt decrease in the combined 
Area 1 TACs, the impact of this alternative would be very similar to 
the impact of the prior alternative, although not as severe. An Area 2 
TAC of 30,000 mt under this alternative would not be constraining, 
given recent landings history.

Small Entity Compliance Guide

    Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996 states that, for each rule, or group of related rules, for 
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish 
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule 
and shall designate such publications as ``small entity compliance 
guides.'' The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is 
required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of 
this rulemaking process, a small entity compliance guide will be sent 
to all holders of permits issued for the herring fishery. In addition, 
copies of this final rule and guide (i.e., permit holder letter) are 
available from the Regional Administrator (see ADDRESSES) and may be 
found at the following web site: http://www.nero.noaa.gov.

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

    Dated: February 27, 2006.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 06-1996 Filed 3-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S