[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 157 (Monday, August 15, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50449-50450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20678]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

RIN 0648-BB13


Fisheries off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 
Management Plan; Trawl Rationalization Program; Program Improvement and 
Enhancement; Amendment 21-1

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

ACTION: Availability of an amendment to a fishery management plan; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendment 21-1 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for review by the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary). Amendment 21-1 would further revise the FMP to support the 
trawl rationalization program, a catch share program, implemented in 
January 2011 through Amendments 20 and 21. Amendment 21-1 would modify 
the FMP to clarify that Amendment 21 supersedes the limited entry/open 
access allocations for groundfish species allocated through Amendment 
21. Amendment 21-1 would also revise the formula in the FMP to allocate 
Pacific halibut bycatch to the limited entry trawl fishery.

DATES: Comments on Amendment 21-1 must be received no later than 5 
p.m., local time on October 14, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-BB13 by any 
one of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
    Fax: 206-526-6736, Attn: Jamie Goen.
    Mail: Barry Thom, Acting Administrator, Northwest Region, NMFS, 
7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070, Attn: Jamie Goen.
    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). Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamie Goen, phone: 206-526-4656, fax: 
206-526-6736, and e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access

    Background information and documents are available at the Pacific 
Fishery Management Council's Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org/.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each regional fishery management 
council submit any FMP or plan amendment it prepares to NMFS for review 
and approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens 
Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or amendment, 
immediately publish a notice that the FMP or amendment is available for 
public review and comment. NMFS will consider public comments received 
during the comment period described above in determining whether to 
approve Amendment 21-1 to the FMP.
    Amendment 21-1 would further revise the FMP to support the trawl 
rationalization program, a catch share program, implemented in January 
2011 through Amendments 20 and 21. Amendment 21-1 would modify the FMP 
to: (1) Clarify that Amendment 21 supersedes the limited entry/open 
access allocations for groundfish species allocated through Amendment 
21; and (2) revise the formula in the FMP to calculate the Pacific 
halibut bycatch mortality limit for the limited entry trawl fishery.
    Amendment 21 to the FMP established allocations to the limited 
entry trawl fishery participants. As part of Amendment 21, allocations 
were established between the trawl and non-trawl sectors for certain 
groundfish species in preparation for the trawl rationalization program 
(called Amendment 21 species). In a letter to the Council dated August 
9, 2010, NMFS disapproved part of Amendment 21 because the FMP language 
available to the public and to the Council during its decision making 
did not clearly state that Amendment 21 allocations supersede the 
previous limited entry/open access allocations for Amendment

[[Page 50450]]

21 species. In other words, the partial disapproval of Amendment 21 was 
because of a concern over the public record and procedural issues 
regarding the record. This issue has since been addressed through the 
Council process by providing FMP and regulatory language at the 
Council's March, April, and June 2011 meetings.
    Amendment 21-1 would modify the FMP to explicitly state that, for 
Amendment 21 species, allocations decided under Amendment 21 supersede 
allocations previously decided between limited entry and open access 
fisheries. Limited entry and open access allocations were initially 
decided under Amendment 6 to the FMP, which established the limited 
entry fishery.
    Amendment 21-1 would also revise the formula in the FMP to 
calculate the amount of Pacific halibut bycatch available to the 
limited entry trawl fishery. The allocation of Pacific halibut to the 
trawl fishery was initially implemented through Amendment 21 to the 
FMP. Halibut allocations under Amendment 21 set a total catch limit of 
Pacific halibut in the limited entry trawl fishery for the trawl 
rationalization program in order to reduce trawl bycatch of halibut in 
future fisheries to provide more yield to directed Area 2A (Washington, 
Oregon, and California) halibut fisheries (i.e., primary use of halibut 
is to provide fish for the directed tribal, commercial, and 
recreational fisheries). However, as the start date of the trawl 
rationalization program, January 2011, was getting closer, the Council 
and industry were concerned that the allocation established in 
Amendment 21 was too restrictive. In response, NMFS implemented interim 
measures for the 2011 groundfish fishery which interpreted the halibut 
allocation to be legal halibut of 130,000 lb net weight. This was in 
comparison to Amendment 21 language which stated legal and sub-legal 
halibut set at 15% of the International Pacific Halibut Commission's 
(IPHC's) constant exploitation yield (CEY) for legal sized halibut 
(over 32 inches in length), not to exceed 130,000 lbs annually for the 
first four years and not to exceed 100,000 lbs annually beginning in 
the fifth year. This resulted in a two part calculation of the limit by 
converting from net weight to round weight and by converting legal 
sized halibut to legal and sublegal sized halibut. This calculation 
reflects the difference between the total constant exploitation yield 
(TCEY) established by the IPHC (net weight of legal fish) and NMFS 
management of groundfish and halibut (round weight of legal and 
sublegal fish).
    Because the interim measures are temporary and will expire at the 
end of 2011, the Council has recommended a long term solution by making 
further revisions to Amendment 21 for the calculation of halibut 
bycatch mortality available to the trawl fishery. For 2012 and beyond, 
the Council recommended amending the FMP through Amendment 21-1 to: (1) 
Specify that the total net weight of legal sized halibut would then be 
expanded, converting to total round weight of legal and sublegal sized 
halibut, and (2) by making the percentage cap based on the best 
estimate of TCEY from the IPHC (i.e., preliminary IPHC estimate from 
their interim meeting of TCEY).
    A proposed rule to implement the provisions of Amendment 21-1 has 
been submitted by the Council for Secretarial review and approval. NMFS 
expects to publish and request public review and comment on the 
proposed regulations to implement Amendment 21-1 in the near future. 
Public comments on the proposed rule must be received by the end of the 
comment period on the amendment to be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on the amendment. The decision on the amendment 
must occur within 30 days of the end of the comment period on the 
notice of availability for the amendment. All comments received by the 
end of the comment period for the amendment, whether specifically 
directed to the amendment or the proposed rule, will be considered in 
the approval/disapproval decision.

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

    Dated: August 10, 2011.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-20678 Filed 8-12-11; 8:45 am]
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