[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 124 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35419-35421]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12566]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 070607119-7119-01]
RIN 0648-AV11


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species 
Fisheries; Annual Specifications

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

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a regulation to implement the annual harvest 
guideline for Pacific sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 
off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of January 1, 2007, 
through December 31, 2007. This harvest guideline has been calculated 
according to the regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species 
(CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest 
levels for Pacific sardine off the Pacific coast.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 30, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments on this proposed rule, identified by 0648-
AV11, by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include the identifier 
``0648-AV11'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Following the instructions for submitting comments.

[[Page 35420]]

     Mail: Rodney R. McInnis, Regional Administrator, Southwest 
Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-
4213.
     Fax: (562) 980-4047.
    Copies of the report Assessment of Pacific Sardine Stock for U.S. 
Management in 2007 may be obtained from the Southwest Regional Office 
(see ADDRESSES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Lindsay, Southwest Region, 
NMFS, (562) 980-4034.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS FMP, which was implemented by 
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register on December 15, 
1999 (64 FR 69888), divides management unit species into two 
categories: actively managed and monitored. Harvest guidelines for 
actively managed species (Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel) are 
based on formulas applied to current biomass estimates. Biomass 
estimates are not calculated for species that are only monitored (jack 
mackerel, northern anchovy, and market squid).,/P>
    During public meetings each year, the biomass for each actively 
managed species within the CPS FMP is presented to the Pacific Fishery 
Management Council's (Council) CPS Management Team (Team) and the 
Council's CPS Advisory Subpanel (Subpanel). At that time, the biomass, 
the harvest guideline (HG), and the status of the fisheries are 
reviewed and discussed. This information is then presented to the 
Council along with recommendations and comments from the Team and 
Subpanel. Following review by the Council and after hearing public 
comments, the Council makes its recommendation to NOAA's National 
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The annual HG is published in the 
Federal Register as close as practicable to the start of the fishing 
season.
    Public meetings of the Team, Subpanel and CPS Subcommitee of the 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) were held in October 2006. 
During these meetings the current stock assessment update for Pacific 
sardine, which included a preliminary biomass estimate and HG, was 
presented and reviewed in accordance with the procedures of the FMP. In 
November, the Council held a public meeting in San Diego, California 
(71 FR 62998) during which time the Council reviewed the current stock 
assessment, biomass numbers and proposed harvest guideline. Following 
the Team and Subpanel reports and hearing public comments, the Council 
adopted the Team's recommended harvest guideline for the 2007 Pacific 
sardine fishing season (January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007) of 
152,564 metric tons (mt). Although this HG is 28 percent higher than 
the HG for 2006, it is over 50,000 mt greater than the largest recent 
harvest by U.S. west coast fisheries. The Council also adopted the 
Subpanel recommendation of an incidental catch allowance for Pacific 
sardine of up to 45 percent by weight in other CPS fisheries in the 
event that the coastwide harvest of Pacific sardine exceeds a seasonal 
allocation prior to the next scheduled reallocation.
    The size of the sardine population was estimated using the Age-
Structured-Assessment-Program (ASAP) stock assessment model. ASAP was 
recommended as the most appropriate framework for conducting future 
Pacific sardine assessments by the stock assessment review (STAR) panel 
which met in June of 2004 at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in 
La Jolla, California. The ASAP model uses a forward-projection that 
evaluates the relationship between the species' population dynamics and 
associated fishery operations. Information on the fishery and the stock 
assessment are found in the report Assessment of Pacific Sardine Stock 
for U.S. Management in 2007 (see ADDRESSES).
    The formula in the FMP uses the following factors to determine the 
harvest guideline:
    1. Biomass. The estimated July 1, 2006, stock biomass of Pacific 
sardine age one and above 1,319,072 metric tons (mt).
    2. Cutoff. This is the biomass level below which no commercial 
fishery is allowed. The FMP established this level at 150,000 mt.
    3. Distribution. The portion of the Pacific sardine biomass 
estimated in the EEZ off the Pacific coast is 87 percent and is based 
on the average historical larval distribution obtained from scientific 
cruises and the distribution of the resource according to the logbooks 
of aerial fish-spotters.
    4. Fraction. The harvest fraction is the percentage of the biomass 
above 150,000 mt that may be harvested. The fraction used varies (5-15 
percent) with current ocean temperatures; a higher fraction for warmer 
ocean temperatures and a lower fraction for cooler temperatures. Warmer 
ocean temperatures favor the production of Pacific sardine. For 2007, 
the fraction used was 15 percent, based on three seasons of sea surface 
temperature at Scripps Pier, California.
    Based on the estimated biomass of 1,319,072 mt and the formula in 
the FMP, a harvest guideline of 152,564 mt was determined.
    The Pacific sardine HG is apportioned based on the following 
allocation scheme established by Amendment 11 (71 FR 36999) to the CPS 
FMP: 35 percent (53,397 mt) is allocated coastwide on January 1; 40 
percent (61,025 mt), plus any portion not harvested from the initial 
allocation is reallocated coastwide on July 1; and on September 15 the 
remaining 25 percent (38,141 mt), plus any portion not harvested from 
earlier allocations is released.
    If the total harvest guideline or these apportionment levels for 
Pacific sardine are reached at any time, the Pacific sardine fishery 
shall be closed until either it re-opens per the allocation scheme or 
the beginning of the next fishing season. The Regional Administrator 
shall publish in the Federal Register, through appropriate rulemaking 
procedures, the date of the closure of the directed fishery for Pacific 
sardine.

Classification

    These proposed specifications are issued under the authority of, 
and NMFS has preliminarily determined that it is in accordance with, 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, 
and the regulations implementing the FMP.
    These proposed specifications are exempt from review under 
Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
as follows:
    The purpose of this proposed rule is to implement the 2007 
harvest guideline for Pacific sardine in the U.S. EEZ off the 
Pacific coast. The CPS FMP and its implementing regulations require 
NMFS to set an annual harvest guideline for the Pacific sardine 
fishery based on the formula in the FMP. The harvest guideline is 
derived by a formula applied to the current biomass estimate.
    The HG is apportioned based on the following allocation scheme: 
35% of the harvest guideline is allocated coastwide on January 1; 
40% of the harvest guideline, plus any portion not harvested from 
the initial allocation is then reallocated coastwide on July 1; and 
on September 15 the remaining 25%, plus any portion not harvested 
from earlier allocations will be released. If the total harvest 
guideline or these apportionment levels for Pacific sardine are 
reached at any time, the Pacific sardine fishery is closed until 
either it re-opens per the allocation scheme or the beginning of the 
next fishing season. There is no limit on the amount of catch that 
any single vessel can take during

[[Page 35421]]

an allocation period or the year; the harvest guideline and seasonal 
allocations are available until fully utilized by the entire CPS 
fleet.
    The harvest guideline would apply to approximately 86 small 
fishing vessels (105 permits) coastwide that fish for Pacific 
sardine within U.S. waters; 61 permits in the Federal CPS limited 
entry fishery off California (south of 39 N. lat.), and a combined 
44 permits in Oregon and Washington's state Pacific sardine 
fisheries. This proposed rule has an equal effect on all of these 
small entities and therefore will impact a substantial number of 
these small entities in the same manner. These vessels are 
considered small business entities by the U.S. Small Business 
Administration since the vessels do not have annual receipts in 
excess of $4.0 million. Therefore, there would be no economic 
impacts resulting from disproportionality between small and large 
business entities under the proposed action.
    The profitability of these vessels as a result of this proposed 
rule is based on the average Pacific sardine ex-vessel price per mt. 
NMFS used average Pacific sardine ex-vessel price per mt to conduct 
a profitability analysis because cost data for the harvesting 
operations of CPS finfish vessels was unavailable.
    For the 2006 fishing year, the harvest guideline was set at 
118,937 mt with an estimated ex-vessel value of approximately $15 
million. Around 90,000 mt (49,000 in California and 41,000 in Oregon 
and Washington) of this harvest guideline was actually harvested 
during the 2006 fishing season valued at an estimated $10 million.
    The proposed harvest guideline for the 2007 Pacific sardine 
fishing season (January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007) is 
152,564 metric tons (mt). This HG is 28 percent higher than the HG 
for 2006, but is over 50,000 mt greater than the largest recent 
harvest by U.S. west coast fisheries. If the fleet were to take the 
entire 2007 harvest guideline, and assuming no change in the 
coastwide average ex-vessel price per mt of $116, the potential 
revenue to the fleet would be approximately $18 million. Whether 
this occurs depends greatly on market forces within the fishery and 
on the regional availability of the resource to the fleets and the 
fleets ability to find pure schools of Pacific sardine. A change in 
the market and/or the potential lack of availability of the resource 
to the fleets could cause a reduction in the amount of Pacific 
sardine that is harvested, in turn, reducing the total revenue to 
the fleet.
    NMFS does not anticipate a drop in profitability based on this 
rule due to the fact that it allows fishermen to harvest more than 
last year. Based on the disproportionality and profitability 
analysis above, this rule if adopted, will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of these small entities.
    As a result, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not 
required and none has been prepared.

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

    Dated: June 22, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-12566 Filed 6-27-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S