[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 180 (Friday, September 17, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56976-56978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23254]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 100830407-0410-02]
RIN 0648-XY51


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. This HG is proposed 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. The proposed total HG for the 
2010-2011 fishing year is 11,000 metric tons (mt) and is proposed to be 
divided into a directed fishery HG of 8,000 mt and an incidental 
fishery of 3,000 mt.

DATES:  Comments must be received by October 18, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this proposed rule identified by 
0648-XY51 by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov
     Mail: Rodney R. McInnis, Regional Administrator, Southwest 
Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.

[[Page 56977]]

     Fax: (562)980-4047, Att: Amber Morris
    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 (enter N/A in the required 
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to 
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF 
file formats only.
    Copies of the report Pacific Mackerel (Scomber japonicus) Stock 
Assessment for U.S. Management in the 2009-2010 Fishing Year may be 
obtained from the Southwest Regional Office (see ADDRESSES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Amber Morris, Southwest Region, NMFS, 
(562) 980-3231.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS FMP, which is implemented by 
regulation at 50 CFR part 660, subpart I, divides management unit 
species into two categories: actively managed and monitored. The HGs 
for actively managed species (Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel) are 
based on formulas applied to current biomass estimates.
    The biomass and harvest specifications for each actively managed 
species within the CPS FMP are reviewed every year by the Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (Council) at their public meetings. The 
Scientific and Statistical Committee's (SSC) CPS Subcommittee, the 
Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (Team) and the Council's 
Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel (Subpanel) review and discuss 
the biomass, the acceptable biological catch (ABC) and the status of 
the fisheries and present their comments to the Council. Following 
review by the Council and after hearing public comments, the Council 
makes its HG recommendation to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS). A rule implementing the annual HG is published in the Federal 
Register as close as practicable to the start of the fishing season.
    A full assessment for Pacific mackerel was conducted and then 
reviewed by a Stock Assessment Review (STAR) Panel in May 2009. This 
assessment estimated the biomass of Pacific Mackerel to be 282,049 
metric tons (mt). Based on this estimated biomass, the harvest control 
rule in the CPS FMP produced an ABC of 55,408 mt. The Council depended 
on the 2009 full assessment and 2009 landings to make management 
decisions for the 2010 fishing season. Based on this information, the 
Council recommended an ABC of 55,408 mt (calculated from the 2009 
biomass estimate of 282,049 mt) and an overall HG for the July 1, 2010, 
through June 30, 2011, fishing season of 11,000 mt with 8,000 mt 
allocated to a directed fishery and 3,000 mt set aside for incidental 
landings in other CPS fisheries should the 8,000 mt directed fishery HG 
be attained. These proposed harvest levels are nearly identical to 
those implemented in 2009, for which the HG was 10,000 mt with 8,000 mt 
for the directed fishery and 2,000 mt for the incidental landings. The 
proposed 1,000 mt increase in the set aside for incidental landings 
this season was in response to comments by industry that Pacific 
mackerel availability to the fleet may be increasing and that fishing 
opportunities for other CPS could be forgone if the mackerel season 
closed early.
    The Council also recommended the following specifications for the 
2010-2011 management of Pacific mackerel: First, NMFS will close the 
directed fishery if the 8,000 mt directed fishery HG is attained, and 
second, a 45-percent incidental catch allowance will be established for 
landing Pacific mackerel with other CPS (in other words, no more than 
45% by weight of the CPS landed per trip may be Pacific mackerel) with 
the exception that up to 1 mt of Pacific mackerel could be landed per 
trip without landing any other CPS.
    NMFS proposes to set the overall HG for the Pacific mackerel 2010-
2011 fishing season at 11,000 mt with 8,000 mt allocated to a directed 
fishery and 3,000 mt set aside for incidental landings in other CPS 
fisheries should the 8,000 mt directed fishery HG be attained. If 8,000 
mt are landed the directed fishery for Pacific mackerel will close and 
a 45-percent by weight incidental trip allowance for landing Pacific 
mackerel with other CPS will be implemented, with the exception that 1 
mt may be landed per trip without any other CPS.
    Information on the fishery and the stock assessment can be found in 
the report Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus) Stock Assessment for 
U.S. Management in the 2009-10 Fishing Year (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
    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 for Fisheries 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 explained below:
    The purpose of this proposed rule is to implement the 2010-2011 
HG for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast. The 
CPS FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS to set an 
annual HG 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 HG is 
then derived.
    Pacific mackerel harvest is one component of CPS fisheries off 
the U.S. West Coast which primarily 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[deg] N. latitude; 
Point Arena, California) of the fishery. Sixty-two vessels are 
currently permitted in the Federal CPS limited entry fishery off 
California. All of 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. Therefore, 
there would be no disporportionate impacts on large and small 
business entities under the proposed action.
    The profitability of these vessels as a result of this proposed 
rule is based on the average

[[Page 56978]]

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.
    During the 2008/2009 fishing year approximately 4,000 mt of 
Pacific mackerel were landed with an estimated ex-vessel value of 
$780,000 and during the 2009/2010 fishing year approximately 3,190 
mt of Pacific mackerel were landed with an estimated ex-vessel value 
of $622,230. The proposed HG for the 2010/2011 Pacific mackerel 
fishing season (July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010) is 11,000 mt. If 
the fleet were to take the entire 2010/2011 HG, and assuming no 
change in the coastwide average ex-vessel price per mt of 
approximately $200, the potential revenue to the fleet would be 
approximately $2 million.
    The amount of Pacific mackerel caught each year depends greatly 
on market forces within the fishery, as well as the other CPS 
fisheries, and on the regional availability of the species to the 
fleet and the fleets' ability to easily find schools relatively 
close to port. If there is no change in market conditions (i.e., an 
increase demand for Pacific mackerel product), it is not likely that 
the full HG will be taken during the 2010-2011 fishing year, in 
which case profits will be lower than if the entire HG were taken. 
Additionally, the potential lack of regional availability of the 
resource to the fleet can cause a reduction in the amount of Pacific 
mackerel that is harvested, in turn, potentially reducing the total 
revenue to the fleet.
    The annual average U.S. Pacific mackerel harvest from 2001 to 
2009 is 4,886 mt with average annual ex-vessel revenue of $861,775. 
Based on this catch and revenue history for Pacific mackerel over 
the nine years, NMFS does not anticipate a drop in profitability 
based on this rule as the 2010/2011 available harvest (11,000 mt) is 
twice the average catch during that time.
    In addition, the revenue derived from harvesting Pacific 
mackerel is only one factor determining the overall revenue of the 
CPS fleet and therefore the economic impact to the fleet from the 
proposed action cannot be viewed in isolation. CPS vessels typically 
harvest a number of other species, including Pacific sardine, market 
squid, northern anchovy, and tuna, with the focus on Pacific 
sardine, which had an estimated ex-vessel of $12.5 million in 2009 
and market squid which had an estimated ex-vessel of $56 million in 
2009. Therefore, Pacific mackerel is only a small component of this 
multi-species CPS fishery.
    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 13, 2010.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-23254 Filed 9-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S