[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 13, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56322-56327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-23369]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 100923469-1543-05]
RIN 0648-BA27


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast (NE) 
Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment (FW) 45; Adjustments for 
Fishing Year (FY) 2011

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

ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the differential days-at-sea (DAS) rate for 
common pool vessels for FY 2011 due to overages of FY 2010 catch 
levels. This measure will help prevent FY 2011 catch levels from being 
exceeded. NMFS also announces the amount of unused FY 2010 annual catch 
entitlement (ACE) carryover available to each sector in FY 2011, and 
adjusts the final number of vessels fishing in a sector in FY 2011.

DATES: Effective September 8, 2011 through April 30, 2012. Written 
comments must be received on or before September 28, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2010-0198, 
by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 
first click the ``submit a comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2010-
0198 in the keyword search. Locate the document you wish to comment on

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from the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on 
the right of that line.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Patricia A. Kurkul, 
Regional Administrator, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
     Fax: (978) 281-9135; Attn: Sarah Heil.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on http://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will 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 or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 
formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Heil, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9257.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

FY 2011 Differential DAS Counting for Common Pool Vessels

    Based on preliminary FY 2010 common pool catch information 
available in February 2011, NMFS previously estimated that common pool 
catch of witch flounder would exceed the common pool sub-annual catch 
limit (sub-ACL) by 32 percent. Based on this information, the final 
rule for FW 45 (76 FR 23042, April 25, 2011) implemented a differential 
DAS rate of 1.3 on May 1, 2011, in the Offshore Gulf of Maine (GOM), 
the Inshore Georges Bank (GB), and the Offshore GB Differential DAS 
areas for common pool vessels. These areas are where witch flounder are 
predominately caught. The differential DAS rate applies to all Category 
A DAS used by common pool vessels, and is applied to the time spent in 
the applicable DAS counting area where a vessel fishes. Updated end-of-
year 2010 catch estimates show that the common pool sub-ACL for witch 
flounder was only exceeded by 20 percent, and the total ACL for 
northern windowpane flounder was exceeded by 27 percent. Therefore, 
this rule reduces the differential DAS rate to 1.2 in the Offshore GOM 
and the Inshore GB Differential DAS areas due to the overage of witch 
flounder. This lower rate will be applied retroactively to all 
applicable trips taken since the start of FY 2011 on May 1, 2011. The 
differential DAS rate for the Offshore GB Differential DAS area will 
remain at 1.3 due to the overage of northern windowpane flounder. 
Northern windowpane flounder are predominately caught in this area. 
These accountability measures (AMs) are meant to prevent overages of FY 
2011 catch levels. Further adjustments to the common pool differential 
DAS rate are likely based on final 2010 catch estimates for components 
of the groundfish fishery that have not yet been fully evaluated, such 
as the recreational fishery, exempted fisheries, non-groundfish vessels 
(e.g., scallop vessels), and state-only permitted vessels.

FY 2011 Final Sector Rosters

    A final rule was published on June 15, 2011 (76 FR 34903), 
announcing the FY 2011 sector and common pool sub-ACLs based on final 
sector rosters as of May 1, 2011. On the same day, a permit issued to a 
vessel that had previously elected to fish in a sector in FY 2011 was 
permanently cancelled and was removed from the FY 2011 roster for the 
particular sector. This rule announces the final number of permits (as 
tracked by moratorium right identifiers (MRIs)) participating in each 
sector during FY 2011 (see Table 1). Calculation of potential sector 
contributions (PSCs) for FY 2012 for each limited access permit will 
include the re-distribution of any PSC associated with this cancelled 
permit. This rule does not change the FY 2011 sector or common pool 
catch limits.

              Table 1--Final Sector Membership for FY 2011
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Moratorium
                                                               right
                      Sector name*                          identifier
                                                               count
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FGS.....................................................              96
MPBS....................................................               8
NCCS....................................................              29
NEFS 2..................................................              83
NEFS 3..................................................              93
NEFS 4..................................................              41
NEFS 5..................................................              32
NEFS 6..................................................              21
NEFS 7..................................................              20
NEFS 8..................................................              20
NEFS 9..................................................              60
NEFS 10.................................................              51
NEFS 11.................................................              46
NEFS 12.................................................              11
NEFS 13.................................................              35
PCCGS...................................................              39
SHS 1...................................................             108
SHS 3...................................................              16
TSS.....................................................              19
                                                         ---------------
All Sectors Combined....................................             828
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*Georges Bank Cod Fixed Gear Sector (FGS), Maine Permit Bank Sector
  (MPBS), Northeast Coastal Communities Sector (NCCS), Northeast Fishery
  Sectors (NEFS), Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector (PCCGS),
  Sustainable Harvest Sector (SHS), and Tri-State Sector (TSS).

FY 2010 Sector ACE Carryover

    The regulations allow each sector to carry over up to 10 percent of 
its initial allocation for all but one groundfish stock into the 
following fishing year. Unused ACE for GB yellowtail flounder cannot be 
carried over because catch levels for this stock are set each year by 
the U.S./Canada Resource Sharing Understanding. The amount of unused FY 
2010 ACE was calculated as the difference of a sector's final FY 2010 
ACE for each stock, including all ACE trades, and the sector's FY 2010 
catch. FY 2010 ACE carryover information for all sectors combined is 
presented in Table 2. FY 2010 ACE carryover amounts for each sector are 
presented in Table 3 and Table 4.
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Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS 
Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is 
consistent with the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, other 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA finds good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3) to waive prior notice and the 
delayed effectiveness for this action because notice and a delayed 
effectiveness would be unnecessary, impracticable, and contrary to the 
public interest. Both the FW 45 final rule and the FY 2011 adjustment 
rule based on final sector rosters indicated that future adjustments 
may be made based on updated FY 2010 catch estimates and final sector 
rosters; these catch estimates and final rosters only recently became 
available, and this rule implements the anticipated adjustments. Prior 
opportunity for public comment is unnecessary and impracticable because 
the public was provided the opportunity to comment on the possibility 
of the anticipated adjustments, including the basis for such 
adjustments. However, NMFS is requesting public comment on this action 
because the actual adjustments in this rule were not specifically 
stated.
    NMFS also finds good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive 
the delay in effectiveness of this action as contrary to the public 
interest. Any delay in making these adjustments would cause Category A 
DAS common pool vessels to operate under a more restrictive 
differential DAS rate than required in certain areas. Fishermen 
participating in the common pool fishery make business decisions based 
on the number of DAS available to them. A delay in this action would 
prolong the time period that the fishery would be operating under an 
incorrect differential DAS rate, which may prevent a vessel from 
gaining the maximum benefit from available fishing opportunities during 
the summer months, which generally have better weather conditions. NMFS 
is making this adjustment now because FY 2010 catch information 
supporting the change only recently became available.
    A delay in the announcement of the FY 2010 ACE carryover is also 
contrary to the public interest because a delay could disrupt sector 
operations and prevent sectors from planning for the fishing year based 
on the amount of ACE available to them in FY 2011. FY 2010 ACE 
carryover may increase the fishing opportunities available to each 
sector in FY 2011, especially if a sector has a small allocation for 
particular stocks. A delay in this action could result in foregone 
fishing opportunities during the summer months, when weather conditions 
are generally better. Because ACE may be traded between sectors, a 
delay in this action could also affect the ACE available to the market 
for trading, to the economic detriment of the fishery.
    Because prior notice and an opportunity for 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.

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

    Dated: September 7, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-23369 Filed 9-8-11; 4:15 pm]
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