[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 145 (Thursday, July 28, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45219-45220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19126]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-BA18


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea 
and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Limited Access Privilege Program

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Amendment 93 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of 
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) would amend 
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Amendment 80 Program to modify the 
criteria for forming and participating in a harvesting cooperative. 
This action is necessary to encourage greater participation in 
harvesting cooperatives, which enable members to more efficiently 
target species, avoid areas with undesirable bycatch, and improve the 
quality of products produced. This action is intended to promote the 
goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, the Fishery Management Plan, and other applicable law.

DATES: Comments on the amendments must be submitted on or before 
September 26, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to James W. Balsiger, Ph.D., Administrator, 
Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. You may submit comments, 
identified by ``RIN 0648-BA18,'' by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802.
     Fax: (907) 586-7557.
     Hand delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9th 
Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.
    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 (e.g., name, address) 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). Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats only.
    Copies of Amendment 93, the Environmental Assessment (EA), 
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (IRFA)--collectively known as the Analysis--for this action 
are available from the Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gwen Herrewig, (907) 586-7091.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each regional 
fishery management council submit any fishery management plan amendment 
it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). The Magnuson-Stevens 
Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving a fishery management plan 
amendment, immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register 
announcing that the amendment is available for public review and 
comment.
    The Amendment 80 Program for Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
Management Area (BSAI) groundfish fisheries was recommended by the 
North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) in June 2006 as 
Amendment 80 to the FMP. NMFS published a final rule to implement 
Amendment 80 on September 14, 2007 (72 FR 52668), and fishing began 
under the Amendment 80 Program in 2008.
    The Amendment 80 Program is commonly known as a limited access 
privilege program. Eligible fishery participants may receive exclusive 
access to specific fishery resources if specific conditions are met. 
Under the Amendment 80 Program, NMFS issues a quota share (QS) permit 
to a person holding the catch history of an original qualifying non-
American Fisheries Act trawl catcher/processor that met specific 
criteria designated by Congress under the Capacity Reduction Program 
(CRP) (Pub. L. 108-447). NMFS determined that 28 vessels met the 
criteria specified in the CRP. These vessels comprise the originally 
qualifying Amendment 80 vessels. Each of the 28 originally qualifying 
Amendment 80 vessels may be issued a QS permit by NMFS based on their 
catch history of the six Amendment 80 species (Atka mackerel, Aleutian 
Islands Pacific ocean perch, flathead sole, Pacific cod, rock sole, and 
yellowfin sole) in the BSAI, if the Amendment 80 vessel owner applies 
to NMFS to receive a QS permit.
    Under the Amendment 80 Program, NMFS allocates a specific portion 
of the BSAI total allowable catch (TAC) for harvest by QS holders, the 
Amendment 80 sector, for each of the six defined Amendment 80 species. 
In addition, NMFS allocates a specific portion of the allowable bycatch 
of BSAI halibut, Bristol Bay red king crab, snow crab, and Tanner crab 
to the Amendment 80 sector. This allowable bycatch is commonly known as 
prohibited species catch (PSC) because these species may not be 
retained, but are known to be incidentally taken in BSAI trawl 
fisheries.
    Each year, a person assigns each QS permit, Amendment 80 vessel, 
and any associated license limitation program (LLP) licenses to either 
an Amendment 80 cooperative, or the Amendment 80 limited access 
fishery. Generally, the Amendment 80 Program is intended to facilitate 
the formation of cooperatives that will receive exclusive harvest 
privileges for a portion of the Amendment 80 species TAC and PSC known 
as cooperative quota (CQ). A person who does not choose to join a 
harvesting cooperative must fish in the Amendment 80 limited access 
fishery, without an exclusive harvest privilege, and must continue to 
race for fish with other participants in that fishery.
    In order to form a cooperative, the cooperative must apply for a CQ 
permit by November 1 of the year prior to fishing. The cooperative must 
be comprised of:
     At least three unique persons not affiliated with one 
another through direct or indirect ownership of more than 10 percent; 
and
     At least nine (of the 28 potentially available) QS permits 
in the Amendment 80 sector must be assigned to the cooperative.
    Amendment 93 would result in two modifications to the Amendment 80 
Program. First, it would allow a cooperative to form with a minimum of 
two unique persons holding seven QS permits. The current requirement is 
that a minimum of three unique persons and nine QS permits must be 
assigned to a cooperative. Reducing the number of

[[Page 45220]]

unique persons and number of QS permits can provide additional 
opportunities for QS holders to establish cooperative relationships 
that could reduce the number of participants engaged in the race for 
fish.
    Second, Amendment 93 would require that a person holding multiple 
QS permits, Amendment 80 vessels, and LLP licenses assign all of those 
QS permits, vessels, and LLP licenses to either one or more 
cooperatives or the limited access fishery. Under this proposed change, 
an Amendment 80 QS permit holder would be prohibited from assigning 
some QS permits to one or more cooperatives and some to the limited 
access fishery. Under the current provisions, a vessel owner 
participating in both a cooperative and the limited access fishery has 
an incentive to exclude participants in the limited access fishery from 
joining an existing cooperative or creating an additional cooperative 
because the vessel owner could lose access to fish that would otherwise 
be available in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery. This provision 
would reduce the incentive for a cooperative member to exclude another 
person from forming a cooperative in order to force them into a race 
for fish in the limited access fishery. If approved, this provision 
would not be applicable until the first fishing year 2 years after the 
effective date of the final rule implementing Amendment 93. For 
example, if the final rule became effective in October 2011, this 
requirement would not apply until the start of the 2014 fishing year 
and QS holders would have to assign all QS permits and vessels to 
either a cooperative or the limited access fishery by the Amendment 80 
annual cooperative application deadline of November 1, 2013.
    Public comments are being solicited on proposed Amendment 93 
through the end of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends to 
publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register for public comment that 
would implement Amendment 93, following NMFS evaluation under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act procedures. Public comments on the proposed rule 
must be received by the close of the comment period on Amendment 93 to 
be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 93. All 
comments received by the end of the comment period on Amendment 93, 
whether specifically directed to the FMP amendment or the proposed 
rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on 
Amendment 93. Comments received after the end of the public comment 
period for Amendment 93, even if received within the comment period for 
the proposed rule, will not be considered in the approval/disapproval 
decision on the Amendment. To be considered, comments must be received 
by NMFS, not just postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the close of 
business on the last day of the comment period.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.; 3631 et seq.; 
Pub. L. 108-447.

    Dated: July 25, 2011.
 Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-19126 Filed 7-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P