[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 6, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24936-24937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9970]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 080428607-8609-01]
RIN 0648-AW69


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Allocation of Trips to Closed Area II Yellowtail 
Flounder Special Access Program

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to allocate zero trips in the Closed Area (CA) 
II Yellowtail Flounder Special Access Program (SAP) during the 2008 
fishing year (FY) (i.e., May 1, 2008, through April 30, 2009). This 
action is based on a determination that the available catch of Georges 
Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder is insufficient to support a minimum 
level of fishing activity within the CA II Yellowtail Flounder SAP for 
FY 2008. The intent of this action is to help achieve optimum yield 
(OY) in the fishery by maximizing the utility of available GB 
yellowtail flounder TAC throughout FY 2008.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before 5 p.m., local time, May 
21, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 0648-AW69, by any one 
of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov
     Fax: 978-281-9341, attn: Douglas Potts, Fishery Management 
Specialist.
     Mail: Written comments (paper, disk, or CD-ROM) should be 
sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, 1 Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, ``Comments on 
CA II YT SAP, 0648-AW69.''
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF file formats only.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The final rule implementing Framework 
Adjustment (FW) 40B (70 FR 31323; June 1, 2005), authorized the 
Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) to 
determine the allocation of the total number of trips into the CA II 
Yellowtail Flounder SAP based upon several criteria, including: GB 
yellowtail flounder total allowable catch (TAC) level, as established 
through the U.S./Canada Resource Sharing Understanding; and the amount 
of GB yellowtail flounder caught outside of the SAP. A formula was 
developed in FW 40B to assist the Regional Administrator in determining 
the appropriate number of trips for this SAP on a yearly basis. The 
formula is intended to allow the SAP to be adjusted for changing stock 
conditions to help achieve OY for GB yellowtail flounder.
    FW 40B authorizes the allocation of zero trips to this SAP if the 
available GB yellowtail flounder catch (GB yellowtail flounder TAC 
projected catch of GB yellowtail flounder outside the SAP) is not 
sufficient to support 150 trips with a 15,000-lb (6,804-kg) trip limit 
(i.e., if the available GB yellowtail catch is less than 1,021 mt), as 
required. The U.S./Canada GB yellowtail flounder TAC for 2008, as 
recommended by the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee and the 
Council, is 1,950 mt (73 FR 16571; March 28, 2008). During FY 2007, 
vessels fishing outside of the SAP landed over 901 mt, 100 percent of 
the U.S./Canada GB yellowtail flounder TAC. However, this number does 
not reflect the potential catch outside of this SAP as the FY 2007 TAC 
of GB yellowtail flounder was caught by January 24, 2008, and 
possession was prohibited in the U.S./Canada Management Area for the 
remainder of the fishing year. The total catch of GB yellowtail 
flounder outside of this SAP in FY 2006 was 1,851 mt, 89 percent of the 
U.S./Canada GB yellowtail flounder TAC for that year. Using an average 
of these two years as a more realistic approximation of potential catch 
of GB

[[Page 24937]]

yellowtail flounder by all vessels outside of the SAP in FY 2008, there 
would be insufficient available catch to allocate to this SAP (1,950 mt 
1,376 mt <1,021 mt) in FY 2008. Therefore, zero trips should be 
allocated to the CA II Yellowtail Flounder SAP for FY 2008.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries has determined that this proposed 
rule is consistent with the NE Multispecies FMP, other provisions of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further 
consideration after public comment.
    This proposed rule is exempt from review under EO 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration (SBA) that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is 
not required and none has been prepared.
    The SBA size standard for small commercial fishing entities is $ 
4.0 million in gross receipts. Individuals that would be impacted by 
this proposed action include all limited access NE multispecies day-at-
sea permit holders. All commercial fishing entities affected by this 
proposed rule would fall under the SBA size standard for small 
commercial fishing entities and there would be no disproportionate 
impacts between small and large entities. The proposed action would 
affect a substantial number of small entities, as approximately 66 
percent of the vessels affected by this action (i.e., 100 out of 150) 
had participated in the CA II Yellowtail Flounder SAP when it was open 
during FY 2004. However, the proposed action will not significantly 
reduce profit for affected vessels.
    The proposed allocation of zero trips into the SAP would help 
ensure that the GB yellowtail flounder TAC is available throughout the 
fishing year, minimizing the impacts of depressed prices that could 
otherwise be caused by temporary floods of yellowtail flounder on the 
market, and therefore would help avoid the premature closing of the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area due to catching the available GB yellowtail 
flounder TAC. This would enable vessels greater opportunity to fully 
harvest the available GB cod and GB haddock TAC allocated to the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area and to achieve the full economic benefit from 
the U.S./Canada Management Area by more efficiently using the small GB 
yellowtail flounder TAC. Analysis prepared for FW 40B indicates that 
flexibility for vessels to target species other than yellowtail 
flounder is seen as critical to maintaining the profitability of vessel 
operations within the U.S./Canada Management Area, including the SAP, 
given the costs associated with fishing far offshore. Because the 
proposed action would maintain access to the Eastern U.S./Canada Area 
throughout the fishing year, this action attempts to preserve the 
flexibility for vessels to operate in an efficient and cost-effective 
manner that would maximize the profitability of vessel operations. 
Since the SAP was closed to fishing for FY 2007, there would be no 
change in profitability to individual vessels (compared to last year) 
resulting from the proposed zero allocation, thus, no economic impact 
to affected small harvesters.
    Two alternatives were considered for FY 2008: The proposed 
allocation of zero trips into the SAP and the no action alternative. 
The no action alternative would mean the default measures in the 
regulations become effective, allowing one trip per month per vessel 
with a yellowtail flounder trip limit of 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) per trip. 
Although the no action alternative would provide some additional 
fishing opportunity in the short term, the no action alternative is not 
a reasonable alternative because it is inconsistent with the trip 
allocation formula as specified in the FMP and would likely lead to the 
premature harvest of the GB yellowtail flounder TAC and the closure of 
the Eastern U.S./Canada Management Area as previously described. Such a 
closure would prevent vessels from fully harvesting the available GB 
cod and GB haddock TAC allocated to the Eastern U.S./Canada Area . As 
such, the no action alternative would likely provide less economic 
benefits to the industry in the long term than the proposed 
alternative.
    This proposed rule does not contain any new, nor revised existing 
reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements.

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

    Dated: April 30, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-9970 Filed 5-5-08; 8:45 am]
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