[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58372-58373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16291]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 080106C]
RIN 0648-AS84


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

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

[[Page 58373]]


ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 67 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of 
the Gulf of Alaska (FMP). If approved, Amendment 67 would amend the 
limitations on use of quota share (QS) and individual fishing quota 
(IFQ) in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Under current regulations, IFQ 
derived from category B QS must be used on vessels greater than 60 ft 
(18.29 m) length overall (LOA) in Area 2C and the Southeast Outside 
District, unless the QS is a block of less than or equal to 5,000 lb 
(2.27 mt), based on 1996 total allowable catches (TACs). This action 
would allow all category B QS to be fished on a vessel of any length in 
all areas, including Area 2C, and is intended to promote the goals and 
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the FMP, and other applicable laws. 
Comments from the public are welcome.

DATES: Comments on the amendment must be received on or before December 
4, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional 
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 
Attn: Ellen Walsh. Comments may be submitted by:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line the following document identifier: GOA 67 NOA. E-mail 
comments, with or without attachments, are limited to 5 megabytes.
     Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802.
     Hand delivery: 709 West 9th Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.
     Fax: 907-586-7557.
    Copies of Amendment 67 and the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory 
Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) for 
the amendment may be obtained from the mailing address specified above 
or from the Alaska Region NMFS Web site at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay Ginter, 907-586-7172 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each 
Regional Fishery Management Council submit any FMP amendment it 
prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon 
receiving an FMP amendment, immediately publish a notice in the Federal 
Register that the amendment is available for public review and comment.
    The Council recommended Amendment 67 in December 2004. Under the 
current FMP and regulations, sablefish category B QS IFQ must be used 
on vessels greater than 60 ft (18.29 m) LOA in Area 2C and the 
Southeast Outside District, unless the QS is a block of less than or 
equal to 5,000 lb (2.27 mt), based on 1996 TACs. If approved by NMFS, 
this amendment would allow all sablefish category B QS to be fished on 
a vessel of any length in all areas, including Area 2C.

Background

    In 1996, NMFS implemented regulations (61 FR 43312, August 22, 
1996) that allow under 60 ft (18.29 m) LOA vessels to fish IFQ derived 
from category B QS. This is known colloquially as the ``fish down'' 
provision. However, at that time, the Council recommended excluding 
Southeast Outside District sablefish and Area 2C halibut fisheries from 
the fish down provision to ensure market availability of category B QS 
for vessels over 60 ft (18.29 m) LOA. Area 2C and Southeast Outside 
District fishermen subject to the restriction recently identified the 
``fish down'' exclusion as unnecessary, inefficient, and burdensome 
because the market conditions originally perceived to occur that 
justified the provision never materialized.
    Under current regulations, IFQ derived from category B QS must be 
used on vessels greater than 60 ft (18.29 m) LOA in Area 2C (for 
halibut) and the Southeast Outside District (for sablefish), unless the 
QS is a block of less than or equal to 5,000 lb (2.27 mt), based on 
1996 TACs. Category B QS represents a small percentage of total halibut 
QS in Area 2C and a relatively small proportion of total sablefish QS 
in the Southeast Outside District. Only IFQ derived from category B QS 
blocks of less than 5,000 lb (2.27 mt), based on the 1996 TACs, is 
eligible to be fished down on vessels smaller than 60 ft (18.29 m) LOA. 
Currently, 75 percent of halibut IFQ derived from category B QS and 96 
percent of sablefish IFQ derived from category B QS cannot be fished 
down. Of the halibut IFQ derived from category B QS that must be fished 
on a vessel greater than 60 ft (18.29 m) LOA, about half is blocked, 
with block sizes ranging from 6,000 lb (2.72 mt) to 17,000 lb (7.71 
mt), based on the 2004 TACs. For sablefish, only 7 percent of the IFQ 
derived from category B QS that is ineligible to be fished down is 
blocked. The affected fishing industry and the Council contend that the 
discrepancy between the use restrictions on category B QS in Southeast 
Alaska compared to the rest of the State is discriminatory because the 
intended effect never occurred and assert that all category B QS should 
be eligible for fish down to achieve equity.
    This action proposes to allow QS holders to fish all IFQ derived 
from category B QS on a vessel of any length in all areas, including 
Area 2C and the Southeast Outside District. Over time, this action 
might contribute to a change in the diversity of the IFQ fleet in 
Southeast Alaska by decreasing the number of large catcher vessels that 
are typically greater than 60 ft (18.29 m) LOA. A maximum of 1,414 
category B, C, and D halibut QS holders operate in Area 2C and a 
maximum of 440 category B and C sablefish QS holders operate in the 
Southeast Outside District. A total of 1,996,568 QS units of halibut 
and 12,891,624 QS units of sablefish would become eligible for the fish 
down provision under this action.
    Public comments are being solicited on proposed Amendment 67 
through the end of the comment period stated (see DATES). A proposed 
rule to implement the amendment will be published in the Federal 
Register for public comment concurrently or at a later date. Public 
comments on the proposed rule must be received by the end of the 
comment period on the amendment in order to be considered in the 
approval/disapproval decision on the amendment. All comments received 
by the end of the comment period on the amendment, whether specifically 
directed to the amendment or to the proposed rule, will be considered 
in the approval/disapproval decision. Comments received after that date 
will not be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on the 
amendment. To be considered, comments must be received--not just 
postmarked or otherwise transmitted--by close of business on the last 
day of the comment period.

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

    Dated: September 27, 2006.
C. M. Moore,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-16291 Filed 10-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S