[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 24, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60283-60284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20929]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 0612242903-7445-03; I.D. 112006I]
RIN 0648-AU48


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod 
Allocations in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; 
Correction

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

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal 
Register on September 4, 2007. The final rule implemented Amendment 85 
to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) as partially approved by NMFS, 
and implemented recent changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). Amendment 85 
modified the current allocations of Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
Management Area (BSAI) Pacific cod total allowable catch, and seasonal 
apportionments thereof, among various harvest sectors. The final rule 
also included the congressionally mandated increase in the allocation 
of BSAI Pacific cod to the Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2008.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    A final rule published on September 4, 2007 (72 FR 50788), 
implemented Amendment 85 to the FMP by modifying the current 
allocations of BSAI Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) among 
various harvest sectors and seasonal apportionments thereof. The rule 
also established a hierarchy for reallocating projected unharvested 
amounts of Pacific cod from certain sectors to other sectors, revised 
catcher/processor (CP) sector definitions, modified the management of 
Pacific cod incidental catch that occurs in other groundfish fisheries, 
eliminated the Pacific cod nonspecified reserve, subdivided the annual 
prohibited

[[Page 60284]]

species catch (PSC) limits currently apportioned to the Pacific cod 
hook-and-line gear fisheries between the catcher vessel and CP sectors, 
and modified the sideboard restrictions for American Fisheries Act 
(AFA) CP vessels. In addition, the rule increased the percentage of the 
BSAI Pacific cod TAC apportioned to the CDQ Program. That final rule is 
effective January 1, 2008.
    After publishing the final rule to implement Amendment 85, NMFS 
published a separate final rule to implement Amendment 80 to the FMP on 
September 14, 2007 (72 FR 52668). Amendment 80 primarily allocated 
several BSAI non-pollock trawl groundfish fisheries among fishing 
sectors, facilitated the formation of harvesting cooperatives in the 
non-AFA trawl CP sector, and established a limited access privilege 
program for that sector. Most provisions of the Amendment 80 final rule 
were effective October 15, 2007.

Need for Corrections

    Among other regulatory changes, the final rules implementing 
Amendment 80 and Amendment 85 modified current regulations under Sec.  
679.21(e) that concern PSC bycatch management. The regulatory changes 
made by the Amendment 85 final rule included a rearrangement of 
portions of Sec.  679.21(e) to improve the organization of the 
regulations. The proposed rule for Amendment 85 published on February 
7, 2007 (72 FR 5654), explained some of this reorganization on page 
5668: ``The information in Sec.  679.21(e)(1)(i) and (e)(2)(ii), 
concerning the reserves in the BSAI for the CDQ Program, would be moved 
to Sec.  679.21(e)(3)(i)(A) and (e)(4)(i)(A) respectively. This 
regulatory text would be moved from the paragraphs allocating PSC by 
species, to the more appropriate location under the paragraphs making 
PSC apportionments to the various fishery categories.'' However, 
because Amendment 85 has a later effective date than Amendment 80, an 
unintended result of this reorganization is that some regulatory 
changes made by the Amendment 85 final rule will overwrite some 
regulatory changes made by the Amendment 80 final rule. Specifically, 
the final rule for Amendment 85 as published will remove regulatory 
text allocating prohibited species quota to CDQ groups, a reference to 
PSC cooperative quota assigned to Amendment 80 cooperatives, and 
paragraphs concerning Amendment 80 sector bycatch limitations.
    The preservation of the new regulatory text approved under 
Amendment 80 in light of the non-substantive reorganization intended by 
Amendment 85 is the goal of this correction notice. In other words, the 
intent of the regulatory reorganization made by Amendment 85 was not to 
change the substance of existing regulations but to move and 
consolidate several existing regulatory provisions. Therefore, two 
paragraphs in the Amendment 85 final rule will be corrected to reflect 
new regulatory language approved under Amendment 80 and an instruction 
for Sec.  679.21 will be inserted. First, the new regulatory text at 
Sec.  679.21(e)(1)(i) resulting from Amendment 80 will become Sec.  
679.21(e)(3)(i)(A) under this action, with changes made to reflect the 
new cross-references. Second, the new regulatory text at Sec.  
679.21(e)(3)(i) resulting from Amendment 80 will become Sec.  
679.21(e)(3)(i)(B) under this action, with a heading added to the 
paragraph. Last, an instruction will be inserted to prevent the 
deletion of a new paragraph added at Sec.  679.21(e)(3)(vi) by the 
Amendment 80 final rule.

Classification

    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant Administrator of 
Fisheries finds good cause to waive prior notice and opportunity for 
public comment otherwise required by the section. NOAA finds that prior 
notice and opportunity for public comment are unnecessary because the 
editorial changes made by this rule are non-substantive. Neither 
Amendment 85 nor Amendment 80 intended to remove regulations allocating 
a portion of the trawl gear PSC limits to the CDQ Program. This action 
will preserve regulatory language approved in the Amendment 80 final 
rule when the regulations approved under the Amendment 85 final rule 
become effective.
    Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not 
required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the 
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq., are inapplicable.

Correction

    Accordingly, the final rule, FR Doc. E7-17140, published on 
September 4, 2007, at 72 FR 50788, to be effective January 1, 2008, is 
corrected as follows:
Sec.  679.21 [Corrected]
    1. In Sec.  679.21, on page 50817, columns 1 and 2, revise 
paragraphs (e)(3)(i)(A) and (B) to read as set forth below and in 
column 2, add five asterisks in between paragraphs (e)(3)(v) and (e)(4) 
to account for text not being amended.
Sec.  679.21 Prohibited species bycatch arrangement.
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) PSQ reserve. The following allocations of the trawl gear PSC 
limits are made to the CDQ Program as PSQ reserves. The PSQ reserves 
are not apportioned by gear or fishery.
    (1) Crab PSQ. 10.7 percent of each PSC limit set forth in 
paragraphs (e)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section.
    (2) Halibut PSQ. (i) 276 mt of the total PSC limit set forth in 
paragraph (e)(1)(iv) of this section in each year for 2008 and 2009.
    (ii) 326 mt of the total PSC limit set forth in paragraph 
(e)(1)(iv) of this section effective in 2010 and each year thereafter.
    (3) Salmon PSQ--(i) Chinook salmon. 7.5 percent of the PSC limit 
set forth in paragraph (e)(1)(vi) of this section.
    (ii) Non-Chinook salmon. 10.7 percent of the PSC limit set forth in 
paragraph (e)(1)(vii) of this section.
    (B) Fishery categories. NMFS, after consultation with the Council 
and after subtraction of PSQ reserves and PSC CQ assigned to Amendment 
80 cooperatives, will apportion each PSC limit set forth in paragraphs 
(e)(1)(i) through (vii) of this section into bycatch allowances for 
fishery categories defined in paragraph (e)(3)(iv) of this section, 
based on each category's proportional share of the anticipated 
incidental catch during a fishing year of prohibited species for which 
a PSC limit is specified and the need to optimize the amount of total 
groundfish harvested under established PSC limits.
* * * * *

    Dated: October 19, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-20929 Filed 10-23-07; 8:45 am]
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