[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15687-15690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4576]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 040610180-6065-02; I.D. 030806A]
RIN 0648[dash]AR09


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; 
Recordkeeping and Reporting; Tagged Pacific Halibut and Tagged 
Sablefish

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 amend regulations for excluding tagged 
halibut and tagged sablefish catches from deduction from fishermen's 
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) and from Western Alaska Community 
Development Quota (CDQ) accounts. This action is necessary to ensure 
that only halibut and sablefish that are tagged with an external 
research tag are excluded from IFQ deduction, and to extend the same 
exclusion to halibut and sablefish harvested under the CDQ Program, 
which allocates specific harvesting privileges among U.S. fishermen and 
eligible western Alaska communities. This action is intended to improve 
administration of the IFQ and CDQ Programs, to enhance collection of 
scientific data from external tags, and to further the goals and 
objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering 
Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI), the Fishery Management 
Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMPs), and the halibut 
management program.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be received by April 28, 
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: Tagged Halibut RIN 0648 
AR09. 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 Categorical Exclusion (CE) and Regulatory Impact 
Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (RIR/IRFA) prepared for 
this action are available from NMFS at the above address or from the 
NMFS Alaska Region Web site at www.fakr.noaa.gov.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this 
proposed rule may be submitted to NMFS at the addresses above and by e-
mail to [email protected], or fax to 202-395-7285.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The groundfish fisheries in the exclusive 
economic zone of the BSAI and the Gulf of Alaska are managed by NMFS 
under the FMPs for these areas. The FMPs were 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 FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
    Management of the Pacific halibut fisheries in and off Alaska is 
governed by an international agreement between Canada and the United 
States. This agreement, entitled the ``Convention Between the United 
States of America and Canada for the Preservation of the Halibut 
Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea'' (Convention), 
was signed at Ottawa, Canada, on March 2, 1953, and was amended by the 
``Protocol Amending the Convention,'' signed at Washington, D.C., March 
29, 1979. The Convention is implemented in the United States by the 
Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act). The directed 
commercial Pacific halibut fishery in Alaska is managed under an IFQ 
Program, as is the fixed gear sablefish fishery. The IFQ Program is a 
limited access management system. Both species are also a part of the 
annual apportionment under the CDQ Program. These programs are codified 
at 50 CFR part 679.
    The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) develops 
halibut fishery management regulations pursuant to the Convention and 
submits those regulations to the U.S. Secretary of State for approval. 
NMFS publishes approved IPHC regulations in the Federal Register as 
annual management measures pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62.

[[Page 15688]]

NMFS published the IPHC's current annual management measures on 
February 25, 2005, at 70 FR 9242. The Halibut Act also authorizes the 
Council to develop Pacific halibut fishery regulations in and off 
Alaska that are in addition to, but not in conflict with, the approved 
IPHC regulations (Halibut Act, section 773c(c)). Regulations developed 
by the Council pursuant to the Halibut Act are implemented only with 
the approval of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce (Secretary).

Background

IFQ and CDQ Programs

    In December 1991, the Council adopted a limited access system for 
managing the Pacific halibut and sablefish fixed gear fisheries in and 
off Alaska. The Council designed the IFQ and CDQ Programs to allocate 
specific harvesting privileges among U.S. fishermen and eligible 
western Alaska communities to resolve management and conservation 
problems associated with ``open access'' fishery management, and to 
promote the development of fishery-based economic opportunities in 
western Alaska. Acting on behalf of the Secretary, NMFS initially 
implemented the IFQ Program and CDQ halibut and sablefish programs 
through regulations published in the Federal Register on November 9, 
1993 (58 FR 59375), and fully implemented beginning in March 1995.
    NMFS and the State of Alaska jointly manage the CDQ Program that 
was adopted by the Council in 1991 for halibut, fixed gear sablefish, 
and pollock in the BSAI. The CDQ Program for pollock was implemented 
beginning in 1992, and for halibut and fixed gear sablefish in 1995. 
The CDQ Program has expanded several times and now includes allocations 
of all FMP groundfish and crab species, and allocations for bycatch of 
prohibited species. Currently, 65 communities, representing about 
27,000 western Alaska residents, are eligible to participate in the CDQ 
Program. These communities are located within 50 nautical miles of the 
Bering Sea coast and are predominantly populated by Alaska Natives. The 
eligible communities formed six non-profit corporations, known as CDQ 
groups, to manage and administer allocations, investments, and economic 
development projects.

Tagged Halibut

    The IPHC tags Pacific halibut with external research tags to obtain 
general information on their life history. Tagging information also is 
used to improve the estimates of halibut incidental catch mortality 
rates or to evaluate the survival of halibut released by longliners 
that use the prescribed ``careful release techniques'' (i.e., careful 
shaking, gangion cutting, and hook straightening). Over the years, the 
IPHC has used several types of external research tags, including 
spaghetti-wire tags, metal- or plastic-tipped dart tags, and electronic 
Pop-up Satellite-transmitting Archival Tags.
    In 2003, the IPHC also began using internal tags called Passive 
Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags, which are inserted into the heads of 
the fish. These PIT tags cannot be identified from any external marking 
and cannot be recovered by fishermen. Only shoreside scan samplers 
using special electronic equipment can locate the PIT tags after the 
fish are landed.

Tagged Sablefish

    NMFS has been tagging and releasing sablefish in waters adjacent to 
Alaska since 1972 under the Sablefish Tag Program. Each year, NMFS 
catches thousands of fish in the course of NMFS surveys. NMFS weighs 
and measures the fish, determines their sex, and tags them before 
releasing them. Fishermen and seafood processors subsequently find the 
tagged fish. Since 1972, about 300,000 tagged sablefish have been 
released, of which nearly 26,000 have been recovered. Additionally, the 
Alaska Department of Fish and Game has used PIT tags for sablefish 
studies off Alaska.
    Sablefish tagging supports estimates of important biological 
parameters such as fishing and natural mortality, growth, and migration 
of fish among management areas. These parameters are incorporated into 
stock assessment models that are used to recommend harvest levels. 
Information derived from tagging results in stock assessments that 
enhance the fishery management process and decrease costs associated 
with under- and over-harvest of groundfish resources. The common types 
of external tags used for sablefish include plastic T-bar tags, and 
tags alerting fishermen to the presence of surgically implanted 
electronic tags in particular fish.

Need for Action

    The purposes of this action are: (1) To eliminate an inconsistency 
between Federal and IPHC regulations, and (2) to include the CDQ 
Program in the exemption from deduction of halibut and sablefish tagged 
with external research tags.
    IPHC regulations at Section 21(3) require externally tagged halibut 
and sablefish harvested in commercial fisheries to count against 
Individual Vessel Quotas (used in Canada), CDQs, IFQs, or daily bag or 
possession limits ``unless otherwise exempted by state, provincial, or 
federal regulations.'' Federal regulations at 50 CFR 679.40(g) exempt 
any tagged halibut and sablefish landed in Federal commercial IFQ 
fisheries from counting against a person's IFQ. The regulatory language 
currently included in the Federal exemption is inconsistent with that 
in the IPHC regulations because it does not specifically identify 
``external'' tags for halibut. This Federal regulatory text was written 
when only external tags were used on Pacific halibut and sablefish. 
Now, various types of internal and external tags are used to identify 
fish for scientific purposes. The proposed action would amend Federal 
regulations so only halibut and sablefish that are ``externally'' 
tagged may be excluded from quota deduction.
    The exemption from quota deduction for tagged fish currently 
provided in Federal regulations for IFQ halibut and IFQ sablefish does 
not extend to CDQ halibut and CDQ sablefish. Halibut CDQ and sablefish 
CDQ are allocated to Western Alaska CDQ groups as fixed percentages of 
the annual total allowable catch of halibut and of sablefish. IFQ 
holders and CDQ groups operating in the Western Alaska CDQ region 
target essentially the same stock of fish and either may harvest 
externally tagged fish. However, CDQ groups do not currently receive 
the incentive of a deduction exemption for externally tagged fish from 
CDQ limits. Thus, to encourage recovery of scientific information used 
to evaluate and manage the halibut and sablefish fisheries, the 
exemptions from deduction of harvested halibut and sablefish with 
attached external research tags would be extended to CDQ catches.
    This action will improve governmental processes. Externally tagged 
halibut and sablefish are not counted against a fisherman's IFQ 
allocation if they are reported when landed. This exemption from quota 
deduction is intended to give fishermen an incentive to take the time 
to report tagging information that is important to the management of 
the halibut and sablefish fisheries. The original tag exemption 
regulations were prepared prior to the introduction of internal tags. 
Because fishermen are unaware of the tags' presence prior to discovery 
by scan samplers, this incentive does not apply to internally tagged 
fish. This regulatory change would eliminate the potential for 
ambiguity and confusion over the

[[Page 15689]]

exemption status of fish. Extension of the exemption to the CDQ 
fisheries will provide an incentive for fishermen operating in these 
programs to return tags.

Proposed Changes to Regulations

    NMFS proposes to amend the current regulations on tagging at 50 CFR 
679.40(g) by removing ``Tagged'' and adding in its place ``External 
research tags for.'' This action would specify that only halibut or 
sablefish bearing an external research tag issued by any state, 
Federal, or international agency, are excluded from program quota 
deduction.
    In section 679.40 paragraph (g)(1), the phrase ``a research tag'' 
would be revised to read ``an external research tag'' to ensure that 
only halibut and sablefish bearing external research tags are exempt 
from quota deduction.
    Paragraph (g)(1)(i) would be amended by removing ``50 CFR 300.18'' 
and adding in its place ``50 CFR 300.62 and 50 CFR part 679.'' The 
reference to ``50 CFR 300.18'' is an artifact from when the IPHC 
regulations for annual management measures were codified in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR). NMFS publishes the IPHC regulations as 
annual management measures in the Federal Register, but now does not 
codify them in the CFR.
    Paragraph (g)(1)(ii) would be revised to require fishermen to 
comply with all sablefish regulations at 50 CFR part 679 in addition to 
turning in a tagged sablefish.
    Paragraph (g)(2) would be amended by removing ``Tagged halibut and 
sablefish'' and adding in its place ``Halibut and sablefish bearing an 
external research tag from any state, Federal, or international 
agency.'' In addition a reference to 50 CFR 679.5(l) would be added. 
Section 679.5 paragraph (l) describes the recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements for the IFQ Program. Language specifying which quotas 
would not be debited by harvest of externally tagged halibut or 
sablefish would be broken out into two separate paragraphs (g)(2)(i) 
and (g)(2)(ii). The first would address halibut IFQ and sablefish IFQ, 
while the second would address halibut CDQ and sablefish CDQ.
    Additional language would be added to Sec.  679.40(g)(1) and (g)(2) 
to improve the clarity of the regulations.

Classification

    NMFS has determined that the proposed rule is consistent with the 
Halibut Act and the FMPs, and preliminarily 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.
    An initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) was prepared, 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 legal 
basis for, this action are contained in the preamble and are not 
repeated here. A summary of the analysis follows. A copy of this 
analysis is available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
    The entities that would be directly regulated by this action are 
the Western Alaska CDQ groups that annually receive halibut and 
sablefish quota, and those entities harvesting halibut and/or sablefish 
under the IFQ and CDQ Programs. There were six Western Alaska CDQ 
groups in 2004. Each of these groups is organized as a not-for-profit 
entity, and none is dominant in its field, thus, each group is 
considered to be a directly regulated small entity.
    In 2004, 1,524 unique vessels harvested halibut and/or sablefish. A 
total of 1,304 unique vessels were used to harvest IFQ halibut, 199 to 
harvest CDQ halibut, and 1,489 to harvest IFQ halibut and/or CDQ 
halibut (i.e., 14 harvested both). A total of 396 unique vessels were 
used to harvest IFQ sablefish, 18 to harvest CDQ sablefish, and 403 to 
harvest IFQ and/or CDQ sablefish (i.e. 11 harvested both). Contractual 
arrangements, ownership information, and any resulting affiliations 
between such parties are proprietary. Though affiliation status for 
these entities is not well known, vessel operations are believed to be 
small entities and will be treated as such for the purposes of this 
action.
    This action would amend regulations to provide that only halibut or 
sablefish that are externally tagged with research tags would be exempt 
from deduction from IFQ or CDQ accounts. The exemption is believed to 
provide an economic incentive for fishermen to take the additional time 
to notify fishery managers about the tags and about the tagged fish 
they encounter during their fishing operations. This information is 
important for the conservation and management of the halibut and 
sablefish fisheries.
    The benefits of this action are as follows: (1) Regulatory 
consistency leading to the potential for fewer disagreements and lower 
transactions costs during landings, (2) potentially improved fisheries 
management via improved collection of scientific data, and (3) a 
potential, although very slight, economic benefit to CDQ groups, which 
recover and turn in external halibut and/or sablefish research tags, 
accruing from the exemption from quota deduction. The benefits to the 
CDQ groups are expected to be small due to the overall low numbers of 
halibut and sablefish external tag returns.
    This regulation appears to impose no costs on directly regulated 
small entities. IFQ fishermen currently voluntarily bear the small 
burden of collecting and returning tags. Fishermen in the IFQ halibut 
and IFQ sablefish fisheries are accustomed to IFQ exemptions for 
delivery of externally tagged fish, and would continue to enjoy this 
benefit. CDQ groups harvesting CDQ halibut and CDQ sablefish would, 
under the proposed action, also benefit from this exemption. CDQ groups 
would not be required to return tags, so no costs would be imposed on 
them. Overall, this action would have no known adverse impacts on the 
profitability or competitiveness of small regulated entities.
    This proposed regulation does not impose new recordkeeping or 
reporting requirements on the directly regulated small entities. 
Affected small entities may choose to ignore external research tags and 
are not under any obligation to report them. However, if affected small 
entities wish to benefit from this regulation, they must report the 
presence of external research tags to IPHC port samplers, to the IPHC 
directly, to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, or to NMFS as 
appropriate.
    This proposed action does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 
other Federal rules.
    The no action alternative would have no direct impact on small 
entities. Under this alternative the regulations would not be changed 
to eliminate the inconsistency between IPHC and Federal regulations, 
nor would CDQ groups be eligible for exemptions from quota deduction 
for halibut or sablefish tagged with external tags issued by any state, 
Federal, or international agency. Therefore, the no action alternative 
would not meet the objectives of this action to eliminate inconsistency 
in the regulations and to extend the exemption from quota deduction to 
the CDQ groups.
    An alternative that would leave the CDQ program fisheries out of 
the proposed action was considered but was rejected. This alternative 
would not encourage all fishermen that harvest

[[Page 15690]]

halibut and sablefish in quota fisheries to return tagged fish. 
Moreover, this alternative would provide less benefit to CDQ groups, 
which are small entities under SBA guidelines. This alternative, 
therefore, would not meet the objectives of this action.
    This rule contains a collection-of-information requirement subject 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), which has been approved by OMB 
under control number 0648-0276. Public reporting burden for tag 
information is estimated to average five minutes per response, 
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data 
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and 
reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this 
burden estimate, or any other aspect of this data collection, including 
suggestions for reducing the burden, to NMFS (see ADDRESSES) and by e-
mail to [email protected], or fax to 202-395-7285.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, and no person shall be subject to penalty for 
failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

    Dated: March 24, 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.  679.40, paragraph (g) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  679.40  Sablefish and halibut QS.

* * * * *
    (g) External research tags for halibut and sablefish. (1) Nothing 
contained in this part shall prohibit any person at any time from 
retaining and landing a Pacific halibut or sablefish that bears at the 
time of capture an external research tag from any state, Federal, or 
international agency, provided that the halibut or sablefish is one of 
the following:
    (i) A Pacific halibut landed pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62 and 50 CFR 
part 679; or
    (ii) A sablefish landed in accordance with the Tagged Groundfish 
Research Program, and in compliance with all sablefish requirements of 
50 CFR part 679.
    (2) Halibut and sablefish bearing an external research tag from any 
state, Federal, or international agency, landed pursuant to paragraphs 
(g)(1)(i) or (g)(1)(ii) of this section, and in accordance with Sec.  
679.5(l), shall be excluded from IFQ or CDQ deduction as follows:
    (i) The fish shall not be calculated as part of a person's IFQ 
harvest of halibut or sablefish and shall not be debited against a 
person's halibut IFQ or a person's sablefish IFQ; or
    (ii) The fish shall not be calculated as part of the CDQ harvest of 
halibut or sablefish and shall not be debited against a CDQ group's 
halibut CDQ or a CDQ group's sablefish CDQ.
[FR Doc. E6-4576 Filed 3-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S