[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 58 (Monday, March 27, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15152-15156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2928]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 060307059-6059-01; I.D. 030106B]
RIN 0648-AU15


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Seasonal 
Closure of Chiniak Gully in the Gulf of Alaska to Trawl Fishing

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 to close the Chiniak Gully region on the east 
side of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) to all commercial 
trawl fishing and testing of trawl gear from August 1 to a date no 
later than September 20 from 2006 through 2010. NMFS plans to conduct 
controlled experiments on the effects of commercial fishing on pollock 
distribution and abundance, as part of a comprehensive investigation of 
Steller sea lion (SSL) and commercial fishery interactions. This action 
is needed to support the proposed experimental design by prohibiting 
commercial trawl fishing in the control site of Chiniak Gully. The 
proposed research could improve information on pollock movements and on 
the potential impacts of commercial pollock harvests

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on prey availability to SSLs. This action is intended to improve 
information used to evaluate fishery management actions to protect SSLs 
and their designated critical habitat.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be received by April 26, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional 
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 
Attn: Records Officer. Comments may be submitted by:
     Hand delivery: 709 West 9th Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line the following document identifier: Chiniak Gully RIN 
0648[dash]AU15. E-mail comments, with or without attachments, are 
limited to 5 megabytes.
     Webform at the Federal eRulemaking Portal: 
www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions at that site for 
submitting comments.
     Fax: 907-586-7557.
     Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
    Copies of the environmental assessment/regulatory impact review/
initial regulatory flexibility analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) prepared for this 
action are available from NMFS at the above address or from the NMFS 
Alaska Region website at www.fakr.noaa.gov.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The groundfish fisheries in the exclusive 
economic zone of the GOA are managed by NMFS under the Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the GOA. The FMP was prepared 
by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing U.S. 
fisheries and implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.

Background and Need for Action

    NMFS proposes to conduct a controlled experiment to improve the 
information available to evaluate management actions to protect SSLs 
and their designated critical habitat. The proposed action would close 
the control site of Chiniak Gully to commercial trawling, including the 
testing of trawl gear, between August 1 and a date no later than 
September 20 from 2006 through 2010. To minimize impacts on the fishing 
industry, the area would be open to trawl fishing when the Regional 
Administrator determines that the experiment would not be conducted 
that year or that the experiment has been concluded prior to September 
20. The experiment is likely to be conducted only in three of the years 
from 2006 through 2010.
    Pollock is an important prey species for SSLs. Pollock also is one 
of the most abundant groundfish species in the GOA and supports the 
largest fishery in waters off the coast of Alaska. This action is 
needed to facilitate research conducted by NMFS to determine whether 
commercial trawl fishing results in localized depletion or disturbance 
of walleye pollock. The research is part of a comprehensive 
investigation of sea lion and commercial fishery interactions. The goal 
of the experiment is to identify and quantify the effects of commercial 
trawl fishing on the availability of pollock to SSLs within a finite 
area. Information obtained from the experiment may result in a better 
understanding of fisheries impacts on pollock as SSL prey and may 
assist in the evaluation of current fishery management measures to 
protect SSLs and their critical habitat.
    The experiment would be conducted on the east side of Kodiak Island 
in the Chiniak and Barnabus gullies. These gullies were chosen because 
they are adjacent, they have similar topographical features, and 
commercial pollock fisheries occur in both gullies. Barnabas Gully 
would serve as a treatment site where trawl fishing would be allowed, 
and Chiniak Gully would serve as a control site where trawl fishing 
would be prohibited.
    The fishery interaction experiment would occur from August to mid-
September. This period was chosen because post-weaning SSL juveniles 
(one-year-olds) are considered vulnerable to nutritional stress in late 
summer due to their high caloric needs and their inexperience at 
capturing prey. Also, fishery management regulations specify an August 
opening for the area(s commercial pollock fishery, which would coincide 
with the experiment.
    This experimental design allows analysts to differentiate responses 
due to fishing from responses due to natural variability because 
Chiniak Gully and Barnabus Gully are reasonably similar and 
geographically proximate. Without a control provided by a Chiniak Gully 
closure, changes in pollock abundance, depth, or school characteristics 
from fishing or natural causes could not be determined. Thus, the 
proposed closure is essential to the success of the experiment.
    NMFS conducted pollock fishery interaction experiments in Chiniak 
Gully in 2001, 2002, and 2004. These experiments were accompanied by 
regulatory closures. The closures were established by emergency interim 
rules in 2001 (66 FR 37167, July 17, 2001) and in 2002 (67 FR 956, 
January 8, 2002); and in a final rule published in 2003 (68 FR 204, 
January 2, 2003). The closure established by the final rule expired on 
December 31, 2004.
    Results from 2002 were not used because commercial removals from 
Barnabus Gully were negligible (about 300 mt). Sufficient commercial 
removals (2,000 to 3,000 mt) occurred in 2001 and 2004, but the results 
are equivocal. Results from 2001 do not suggest a significant link 
between fishing activities and changes in pollock distribution and 
biomass. Results from 2004, however, do suggest a link between fishing 
activities and pollock biomass.
    More field work is needed to reach a conclusion about the effects 
of commercial trawl fishing on pollock distribution and abundance. 
Multiple years of study are necessary to determine why similar 
commercial removals resulted in an effect in some years but not in 
others.
    The portion of the Kodiak Trawl Gear Test Area that lies within the 
proposed Chiniak Gully Research Area also would be closed during the 
experimental period. This closure is necessary to eliminate as many 
anthropogenic effects on pollock as possible at the control site. 
Fishermen may test their trawl gear in other nearby locations during 
the closure period.

Proposed Changes to Regulations

    In Sec.  679.22, NMFS proposes to revise paragraph (b)(6) to 
describe the area of the proposed closure, to identify the vessels 
subject to the proposed closure, to identify the activities that would 
be prohibited, and to specify the dates of the proposed closure. The 
procedure for rescinding the proposed closure when the relevant 
research activities have been completed for a particular year or will 
not be conducted that year also would be included in Sec.  
679.22(b)(6). A map showing the Chiniak Gully Research Area in relation 
to the Kodiak Trawl Gear Test Area also would be added as Figure 22 to 
part 679.

Classification

    NMFS has determined that the proposed rule is consistent with the 
FMP and determined that the rule is consistent with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

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    NMFS prepared an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) as 
required by section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The 
IRFA describes the economic impact this proposed rule, if adopted, 
would have on small entities. A description of the action, the reasons 
why it is being considered, a statement of the objectives of, and the 
legal basis for, this action are contained at the beginning of this 
section in the preamble and in the SUMMARY section of the preamble. A 
summary of the analysis follows. A copy of this analysis is available 
from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). The experiment itself is not expected to 
have effects on small entities or the fishery beyond those caused by 
the closure.
    The regulated entities are the commercial fishing entities that 
operate vessels with the capability or potential capability to trawl 
that may participate in the GOA trawl groundfish fisheries. Any of 
these vessels may trawl for groundfish in the Chiniak Gully area. In a 
more precise sense, however, the regulated entities are the fishing 
entities that are likely to fish in Chiniak Gully in the absence of the 
proposed action. This group may be approximated by the number of 
vessels that reported fishing in this area during August and September 
in recent years.
    In 2005, 93 vessels trawled for groundfish in the GOA. Of these, 77 
were catcher vessels, and 16 were catcher/processors. All of the 
catcher vessels are estimated to be small, as defined by the Small 
Business Administration (total annual gross receipts under $4.0 
million), while three of the catcher/processors are assumed to be 
small. Fewer vessels reported fishing within Chiniak Gully than in the 
entire GOA. From 1999 through 2005, 49 unique vessels fished at least 
once in at least one of the three Alaska Department of Fish and Game 
groundfish/shellfish statistical areas (stat areas) that include the 
proposed Chiniak Gully closure, during August 1 through September 20. 
In 2005, 16 vessels fished in at least one of the three stat areas 
during this time period. The count of 49 vessels may serve as an 
alternative estimate of the number of small entities that may be 
directly regulated by this action.
    This action is expected to have a small adverse impact on the cash 
flow or profitability of these 49 trawl vessels. From 1999 through 
2005, during the proposed closure period of August 1 through September 
20, average revenues from fishing in the three stat areas that include 
Chiniak Gully were about 2.7 percent of the average annual fishing 
revenues of about $14.8 million for these 49 vessels. The percent of 
revenues from the Chiniak Gully area overstates the impact of the 
proposed action because fishing operations in Chiniak Gully have the 
ability to fish in other areas around Kodiak Island during this period. 
Also, because the three stat areas encompass an area larger than the 
Chiniak Gully closure area, basing the impact on revenues from the 
three stat areas overestimates the potential loss of revenue caused by 
the proposed closure. Opening the experimental area after research is 
concluded for a year would further reduce the potential loss.
    Anecdotal information from industry representatives suggests that 
fishermen displaced from the Chiniak Gully area would likely fish in 
other areas and be able to make up significant portions of any lost 
revenues. Although displacement to other areas would involve increased 
operating costs, particularly for fuel, costs of the action to 
fishermen would still remain below 2.7 percent of gross revenues. 
Fishermen displaced from the Chiniak Gully area may move to other 
fishing areas and potentially create crowding externalities in those 
areas. However, because the Chiniak Gully fishery is a modest part of 
the overall regional trawl fisheries (accounting for an average of 15.8 
percent of gross GOA revenues in August and September from 1999 to 
2005), the impact caused by displacement is not expected to be large. 
Moreover, data from previous years when Chiniak Gully was closed 
suggest that some effort will continue in areas near the closure.
    This proposed regulation does not impose new recordkeeping or 
reporting requirements on the directly regulated small entities.
    This proposed action does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 
other Federal rules.
    The IRFA analyzed the ``no action'' alternative and the proposed 
action. An additional alternative that would exempt small entities from 
the proposed time and area closures was considered by NMFS, but 
rejected. The entities fishing in this area during August and September 
are all small. Exempting small entities from the closure would result 
in trawl fishing in the control area of Chiniak Gully. For the 
experiment to yield usable results, there should be no trawl fishing 
activity in Chiniak Gully to enable comparison with Barnabus Gully, 
where trawl fishing will occur. A small entity exemption would 
undermine the intent of the action to allow a controlled experiment to 
assess the effects of trawl fishing on the availability of prey for 
SSLs, and would, thus, not meet the objectives of this action.
    Alternative 1, no regulatory change, would have no direct impact on 
small entities. However, it would make it impossible for NMFS to 
conduct a controlled experiment off Kodiak Island. Therefore, NMFS 
would be prevented from obtaining information that may be used to 
further evaluate management actions to protect SSLs and their 
designated critical habitat. Because of this, Alternative 1 would not 
meet the objectives of this action.
    As part of the IRFA analysis, consultation with two fishing 
industry groups representing about 80% of the small entity vessels that 
trawled for groundfish in Chiniak Gully during the proposed closure 
period, indicated that impacts on small entities would be minimized by 
including a provision to relieve the trawl restrictions when the 
experiment is concluded for a particular year rather than continuing 
the closure automatically until September 20. This provision was 
included in Alternative 2, the proposed action.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: March 21, 2006.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA

    1. The authority citation for part 679 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1540(f); 1801 et seq.; 1851 
note; 3631 et seq.

    2. In Sec.  679.22, revise paragraph (b)(6) to read as follows:


Sec.  679.22  Closures.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (6) Chiniak Gully Research Area (applicable through December 31, 
2010).
    (i) Description of Chiniak Gully Research Area. The Chiniak Gully 
Research Area, as shown in Figure 22 to this part, is defined as the 
waters bounded by straight lines connecting the coordinates in the 
order listed:

57[deg] 48.60 N lat., 152[deg] 22.20 W long.;

57[deg] 48.60 N lat., 151[deg] 51.00 W long.;

57[deg] 13.20 N lat., 150[deg] 38.40 W long.;

56[deg] 58.80 N lat., 151[deg] 16.20 W long.;

57[deg] 37.20 N lat., 152[deg] 09.60 W long.; and hence 
counterclockwise along the

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shoreline of Kodiak Island to 57[deg] 48.60 N lat., 152[deg] 22.20 W 
long.
    (ii) Closure. (A) No vessel named on a Federal fisheries permit 
issued pursuant to (679.4(b) shall deploy trawl gear for purposes of 
either fishing, or of testing gear under (679.24(d)(2), within the 
Chiniak Gully Research Area at any time from August 1 through September 
20.
    (B) If the Regional Administrator makes a determination that the 
relevant research activities have been completed for a particular year 
or will not be conducted that year, the Regional Administrator shall 
publish notification in the Federal Register rescinding the Chiniak 
Gully Research Area trawl closure, described in paragraph (b)(6)(i) of 
this section, for that year.
    3. In part 679, add Figure 22 to Part 679--Chiniak Gully Research 
Area (applicable through December 31, 2010) to read as follows:
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP27MR06.026

[FR Doc. 06-2928 Filed 3-24-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-C