[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 188 (Friday, September 28, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55170-55171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19252]



[[Page 55170]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 070907502-7503-01]
RIN 0648-XB01


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 (HG) for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone 
(EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of July 1, 2007, 
through June 30, 2008. This HG has been calculated according to the 
regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest levels for 
Pacific mackerel off the Pacific coast.

DATES: Comments must be received by October 29, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this proposed rule, identified by 
0648-XB01 by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include the identifier 
``0648-XB01'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Following the instructions for submitting comments.
     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 Pacific Mackerel (Scomber japonicus) Stock 
Assessment for U.S. Management in the 2007-2008 Fishing Year 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).
    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) Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team 
(Team), the Council's Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel 
(Subpanel) and the CPS Subcommitee of the Scientific and Statistical 
Committee (SSC). At that time, the biomass, the acceptable biological 
catch (ABC) and the status of the fisheries are reviewed and discussed. 
This information is then presented to the Council along with HG 
recommendations and comments from the Team and Subpanel. Following 
review by the Council and after hearing public comments, the Council 
makes its HG 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. The Pacific mackerel 
season begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of each year.
    A full assessment for Pacific mackerel was conducted this year and 
reviewed by a Stock Assessment Review (STAR) Panel in La Jolla, CA, May 
1-4. Public meetings of the Team and Subpanel were then held May 8-10 
in Long Beach, CA. During these meetings the STAR Panel report and 
current stock assessment for Pacific mackerel, which included a 
preliminary biomass estimate and ABC, were presented and reviewed in 
accordance with the procedures of the FMP. Based on a total stock 
biomass estimate of 359,290 metric tons (mt), the ABC for U.S. 
fisheries for the 2007/2008 management season is 71,629 mt. The 
estimated stock biomass for the 2006/2007 season was 112,700 mt, 
resulting in an ABC of 19,845 mt. The increase in ABC this management 
season is the result of changes to the modeling parameters recommended 
by the STAR Panel during their review of the current stock assessment 
for Pacific mackerel; adjusting stock recruitment variability to be 
more consistent with the biology of the species and an improvement in 
the catch-per-unit-effort in the commercial passenger fishing vessel 
time series.
    In June, the Council held a public meeting in Foster City, CA, 
during which time they reviewed the current stock assessment, biomass 
numbers and ABC and heard statements from the SSC, Team and Subpanel 
(72 FR 29130). The SSC endorsed the assessment as the best available 
science for use in management. Both the Team and Subpanel recommended 
setting the 2007/2008 HG below ABC and no higher than 40,000 mt. This 
HG recommendation is still roughly double the HG adopted by the Council 
for the 2006/2007 fishing year (19,845 mt) and much greater than the 
average U.S. harvest since the year 2000 (5,700 mt). Setting the 
harvest guideline substantially below the ABC was recommended as a 
precautionary measure in response to uncertainty associated with 
changes to assessment modeling parameters and the reference in the FMP 
that the domestic fishery appears to be market limited to roughly 
40,000 mt.
    Following the SSC, Team and Subpanel reports the Council adopted an 
HG of 40,000 mt for the 2007-2008 fishing year. The Council also 
adopted the Subpanel recommendation that in the event that the 40,000 
mt is attained by the fishery, that Pacific mackerel fishing be closed 
to directed harvest and only incidental harvest be allowed. The 
proposed incidental fishery would be constrained to a 45 percent by 
weight incidental catch rate when Pacific mackerel are landed with 
other CPS, except that up to one metric ton of Pacific mackerel could 
be landed without landing any other CPS.
    The Council may schedule an inseason review of the Pacific mackerel 
fishery for the March or April 2008 Council meeting, in order to 
consider either releasing a portion of the incidental allotment to the 
directed fishery or further constraining incidental landings to ensure 
total harvest remains below the ABC.
    The size of the Pacific mackerel population was estimated using the 
Age-Structured-Assessment-Program (ASAP) stock assessment model. ASAP 
was recommended as the most appropriate framework for conducting the 
Pacific mackerel assessment for the 2007/2008 management year by the 
STAR panel which met in May of 2007 at the Southwest Fisheries Science 
Center in La Jolla, California. Information on the fishery and the 
stock assessment are found in the report Pacific mackerel (Scomber 
japonicus) Stock Assessment for U.S. Management in the 2007-08 Fishing 
Season (see ADDRESSES).
    The harvest control rule formula in the FMP uses the following 
factors to determine the ABC:
    1. Biomass. The estimated stock biomass of Pacific mackerel age one 
and above for the 2007/2008 management season is 359,290 metric tons 
(mt).

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    2. Cutoff. This is the biomass level below which no commercial 
fishery is allowed. The FMP established this level at 18,200 mt.
    3. Distribution. The portion of the Pacific mackerel biomass 
estimated in the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast is 70 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 18,200 mt that may be harvested. The FMP established this at 30 
percent.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the CPS FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after 
public comment.
    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 2007/2008 
harvest guideline for Pacific mackerel in the EEZ off the U.S. West 
Coast. The CPS FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS to 
set an annual harvest guideline for the Pacific mackerel fishery 
based on the harvest formula in the FMP. The harvest formula is 
applied to the current stock biomass estimate to determine the ABC, 
from which the harvest guideline is then derived.
    Pacific mackerel harvest is a component of the CPS fisheries off 
the U.S. West Coast which includes the fisheries for Pacific 
sardine, Northern anchovy, Jack mackerel, and Market squid. Pacific 
mackerel are principally caught off southern California within the 
limited entry portion (south of 39 N. latitude; Point Arena, 
California) of the fishery. Sixty-one vessels are currently 
permitted in the Federal CPS limited entry fishery off California. 
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. 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. 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 mackerel ex-vessel price per 
mt. NMFS used average Pacific mackerel 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 2006/2007 fishing year, the harvest guideline was set at 
19,845 mt with an estimated ex-vessel value of approximately $2.7 
million. Around 8,000 mt of this harvest guideline was actually 
harvested during the 2006/2007 fishing season valued at an estimated 
$1 million.
    The proposed harvest guideline for the 2007/2008 Pacific 
mackerel fishing season (July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008) is 
40,000 metric tons (mt). This HG recommendation is roughly double 
the HG adopted by the Council for the 2006/2007 fishing year (19,845 
mt) and much greater than the average U.S. harvest since the year 
2000 (5,700 mt). If the fleet were to take the entire 2007/2008 
harvest guideline, and assuming no change in the coastwide average 
ex-vessel price per mt of $132, the potential revenue to the fleet 
would be approximately $5.3 million. However, the potential lack of 
availability of the resource to the fishing fleet could cause a 
reduction in the amount of Pacific mackerel harvested, in which case 
the total revenue to the fleet would be reduced. Additionally, if 
there is no change in market conditions (i.e., a lack in demand for 
Pacific mackerel product), it is not likely that the full harvest 
guideline will be taken during the 2007-2008 fishing year, in which 
case profits will be lower.
    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: September 24, 2007.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-19252 Filed 9-27-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S