[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 169 (Thursday, August 31, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51804-51806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7326]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 082106C]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Western 
Alaska Community Development Quota Program

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notice to inform the public about the 
Community Development Quota (CDQ) percentage allocations among the six 
CDQ managing entities (CDQ groups) that are in effect as a result of 
recent amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). On July 11, 2006, the Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 amended the Magnuson-
Stevens Act to establish percentage allocations for groundfish, crab, 
and halibut allocated among the CDQ groups at those percentage 
allocations in effect on March 1, 2006. In addition, this notice 
provides information about the percentage allocations for prohibited 
species quota (PSQ) allocated among the CDQ groups that were not 
affected by the Magnuson-Stevens Act amendments, but continue in effect 
under an administrative determination issued by NMFS on August 8, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Copies of section 416 of the Coast Guard and Maritime 
Transportation Act of 2006 and the August 8, 2005, initial 
administrative determination (IAD) extending the 2003-2005 groundfish, 
halibut, crab, and prohibited species CDQ percentage allocations may be 
obtained by mail from NMFS Alaska Region, Attn: in-person at Ellen 
Walsh, Records Officer, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802; NMFS Alaska 
Region, 709 W. 9\th\ Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK; or at the NMFS 
Alaska Region web site at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/cdq.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Obren Davis, 907-586-7241 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 (Public Law 
109-241) was signed by the President on July 11, 2006. Section 416 of 
this legislation amended section 305(i)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 
The Magnuson-Stevens Act is the primary statute governing management of 
the nation's marine fisheries within the U.S. exclusive economic zone. 
Section 305(i)(1) establishes the Western Alaska CDQ Program, which 
provides western Alaska communities with allocations of Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands (BSAI) groundfish, halibut, crab, and prohibited 
species. These allocations provide such communities with the 
opportunity to participate and invest in BSAI fisheries in support of 
economic development activities. Revised section 305(i)(1) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act contains a broad range of changes to various 
aspects of the CDQ Program. These include elements associated with CDQ 
Program administration and oversight, percentage allocations of annual 
CDQ Program catch limits, permanent eligibility status for current CDQ 
communities, and CDQ fisheries management measures. Subparagraph (C) of 
section 305(i)(1), ``Allocations to Entities'' directs that:

Each entity eligible to participate in the program shall be 
authorized under the program to harvest annually the same percentage 
of each species allocated to the program under subparagraph (B) that 
it was authorized by the Secretary to harvest of such species 
annually as of March 1, 2006, except to the extent that its 
allocation is adjusted under subparagraph (H).

    Subparagraph (H) addresses the decennial review and adjustment of 
entity allocations beginning in 2012. This notice does not address the 
process that will be used to make such adjustments; that process will 
be addressed in future rulemaking. Once such a decennial review is 
completed, the percentage allocations contained in this notice may be 
revised through the adjustment process described in subparagraph (H).

Purpose

    Annual CDQ Program allocations for approximately 36 quota 
categories of BSAI groundfish, halibut, crab, and prohibited species 
are distributed among CDQ groups based on CDQ and PSQ percentage 
allocations. Historically, percentage allocations have been established 
through periodic CDQ application processes. Section 305(i)(1)(c) 
establishes the CDQ percentage allocations for BSAI groundfish, 
halibut, and crab at the same levels that were in effect on March 1, 
2006. The CDQ and PSQ percentage allocations for all quota categories 
(except two) that were in effect on that date were originally approved 
by NMFS on January 17, 2003, as part of the 2003-2005 CDQ allocation 
process. The expiration date for those CDQ and PSQ percentage 
allocations was December 31, 2005.
    On August 8, 2005, NMFS issued an IAD that removed the December 31, 
2005, expiration date from these CDQ and PSQ percentage allocations. 
This administrative determination, which was effective on September 7, 
2005, established the CDQ percentage allocations that were in effect on 
March 1, 2006, for all BSAI groundfish, halibut, and prohibited 
species, as well as for all crab species except Eastern Aleutian 
Islands (EAI) golden king crab and Adak red king crab. This IAD is 
available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
    EAI golden king crab and Adak red king crab were allocated to the 
CDQ Program on April 1, 2005, as part of the crab rationalization 
program (70 FR 10174; March 2, 2005). These two crab species had not 
previously been allocated to the CDQ Program, so they were not included 
in the CDQ

[[Page 51805]]

percentage allocations that were originally approved by NMFS on January 
17, 2003. On October 12, 2005, NMFS issued a final agency decision that 
established CDQ percentage allocations for these two crab species 
through June 30, 2006. These were the CDQ percentage allocations in 
effect for EAI golden king crab and Adak red king crab on March 1, 
2006.
    The prohibited species allocated to the CDQ Program are not 
allocations for directed fisheries under sections 305(i)(1)(B) and (C) 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Therefore, they are not included among the 
species allocated to the program under section 305(i)(1)(B). Existing 
PSQ percentage allocations will remain in effect under the 
administrative determination issued on August 8, 2005, unless revised 
through some future final agency action.

Allocation Percentages

    The tables below identify the CDQ and PSQ percentage allocations in 
effect for each CDQ group. Table 1 lists the CDQ percentage allocations 
of BSAI groundfish, crab, and halibut. Table 2 lists the PSQ percentage 
allocations of BSAI prohibited species.

          TABLE 1--CDQ PERCENTAGE ALLOCATIONS OF BSAI GROUNDFISH, CRAB, AND HALIBUT AS OF MARCH 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                          CDQ Group\2\
             Species                 Area\1\   -----------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  APICDA      BBEDC      CBSFA      CVRF      NSEDC      YDFDA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 GROUNDFISH\3\                     ......       ......      ......     ......     ......    ......     ......
Pollock                            BS           14%         21%        5%         24%       22%        14%
                                   AI           14%         21%        5%         24%       22%        14%
                                   Bogoslof     14%         21%        5%         24%       22%        14%
Pacific cod                        BSAI         15%         21%        9%         18%       18%        19%
Sablefish (from trawl gear         BS           21%         22%        9%         13%       13%        22%
 allocation)
                                   AI           26%         20%        8%         13%       12%        21%
Sablefish, fixed gear              BS           15%         20%        16%        0%        18%        31%
                                   AI           14%         19%        3%         27%       23%        14%
Atka mackerel                      EAI/BS       30%         15%        8%         15%       14%        18%
                                   CAI          30%         15%        8%         15%       14%        18%
                                   WAI          30%         15%        8%         15%       14%        18%
Yellowfin sole                     BSAI         28%         24%        8%         6%        7%         27%
Rock sole                          BSAI         24%         23%        8%         11%       11%        23%
Greenland turbot                   BS           16%         20%        8%         17%       19%        20%
                                   AI           17%         19%        7%         18%       20%        19%
Arrowtooth flounder                BSAI         22%         22%        9%         13%       12%        22%
Flathead sole                      BSAI         20%         21%        9%         15%       15%        20%
Other flatfish                     BSAI         26%         24%        8%         8%        8%         26%
Alaska plaice                      BSAI         14%         21%        5%         24%       22%        14%
Pacific ocean perch                BS           17%         21%        6%         21%       19%        16%
                                   EAI          30%         15%        8%         15%       14%        18%
                                   CAI          30%         15%        8%         15%       14%        18%
                                   WAI          30%         15%        8%         15%       14%        18%
Other rockfish                     BS           21%         19%        7%         17%       17%        19%
                                   AI           21%         18%        8%         17%       17%        19%
 CRAB                              ......       ......      ......     ......     ......    ......     ......
Red king                           Adak         8%          18%        21%        18%       21%        14%
Red king                           Bristol Bay  17%         19%        10%        18%       18%        18%
C. bairdi (Tanner) crab            BS           10%         19%        19%        17%       18%        17%
C. opilio crab                     BS           8%          20%        20%        17%       18%        17%
Golden king                        EAI          8%          18%        21%        18%       21%        14%
Red king                           Norton       0%          0%         0%         0%        50%        50%
                                    Sound
Red and blue king                  Pribilof     0%          0%         100%       0%        0%         0%
                                    Is.
Blue king                          St. Matthew  50%         12%        0%         12%       14%        12%
 PACIFIC HALIBUT                   ......       ......      ......     ......     ......    ......     ......
                                   4B           100%        0%         0%         0%        0%         0%
                                   4C           15%         0%         85%        0%        0%         0%
                                   4D           0%          26%        0%         24%       30%        20%
                                   4E           0%          30%        0%         70%       0%         0%
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\1\Management area abbreviations: AI = Aleutian Islands, BS = Bering Sea, CAI = Central AI, EAI = Eastern AI,
  and WAI = Western AI.
\2\CDQ groups: APICDA = Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Corporation, BBEDC = Bristol Bay Economic
  Development Corporation, CBSFA = Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association, CVRF = Coastal Villages Region
  Fund, NSEDC = Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation, and YDFDA = Yukon Delta Fisheries Development
  Association.
\3\Certain BSAI groundfish species allocated to the CDQ Program are not allocated among CDQ groups. Program
  allocations for northern rockfish, shortraker rockfish, and rougheye rockfish were not allocated among the CDQ
  groups on March 1, 2006, per NMFS's January 17, 2003, administrative determination that approved 2003-2005 CDQ
  allocation percentages. No percentage allocations were in effect on March 1, 2006, for the ``other species''
  category, which is no longer allocated among CDQ groups per the recommendation of the North Pacific Fishery
  Management Council (68 FR 69974, December 16, 2003). NMFS now manages these species at the CDQ program level.
  Finally, squid was removed from the CDQ Program in 2001 (66 FR 13762, March 7, 2001).


[[Page 51806]]


                         TABLE 2--PSQ PERCENTAGE ALLOCATIONS OF BSAI PROHIBITED SPECIES
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                                                                           CDQ Group
             Species                  Area   -------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 APICDA       BBEDC      CBSFA      CVRF      NSEDC      YDFDA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. opilio crab                     BS         25%          24%         8%         10%       8%         25%
Pacific halibut                    BSAI       22%          22%         9%         12%       12%        23%
Chinook salmon                     BSAI       14%          21%         5%         24%       22%        14%
Non-Chinook salmon                 BSAI       14%          21%         5%         24%       22%        14%
Red king crab                      Zone 1     24%          21%         8%         12%       12%        23%
C. bairdi (Tanner) crab            Zone 1     26%          24%         8%         8%        8%         26%
C. bairdi (Tanner) crab            Zone 2     24%          23%         8%         11%       10%        24%
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CDQ groups: APICDA = Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Corporation, BBEDC = Bristol Bay Economic
  Development Corporation, CBSFA = Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association, CVRF = Coastal Villages Region
  Fund, NSEDC = Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation, and YDFDA = Yukon Delta Fisheries Development
  Association.


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

    Dated: August 25, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 06-7326 Filed 8-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S