[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 4, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20337-20338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8106]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 120312181-2228-01]
RIN 0648-BC00 and 0648-BC01


Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish 
Fishery; Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding the 
Reconsideration of the Allocation of Whiting

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

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[[Page 20338]]

SUMMARY: A court order issued February 21, 2012, remands for agency 
reconsideration the regulations addressing the initial allocation of 
whiting for the shorebased individual fishing quota (IFQ) fishery and 
the at-sea mothership fishery of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl 
Rationalization Program (Program) and requires that NMFS implement 
revised regulations before the 2013 Pacific whiting fishing season 
begins on April 1, 2013. The purpose of this advanced notice of 
proposed rulemaking (ANPR) is to announce that the Pacific Fishery 
Management Council (Council) will be reconsidering the initial 
allocation of whiting at its April, June, and September 2012 meetings, 
and that NMFS is considering two rulemakings in response to the court 
order. The affected public should be aware of potential reallocation of 
whiting, as well as potential reallocation of a portion of the initial 
allocation of Quota Share (QS) for some incidentally caught, nonwhiting 
species. Additionally, this ANPR announces that the affected public 
should review, and if necessary, correct their data, which may be used 
for reconsideration and any reallocation that may occur.

DATES: Comments on this ANPR must be received no later than 5 p.m., 
local time on May 4, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2012-0062, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal, at http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 
first click the ``submit a comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2012-
0062 in the keyword search. Locate the document you wish to comment on 
from the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on 
the right of that line.
     Fax: 206-526-6736; Attn: Ariel Jacobs.
     Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional Administrator, 
Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-
0070; Attn: Ariel Jacobs.
    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 (if submitting comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking 
portal, enter ``N/A'' in the relevant 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: Ariel Jacobs, 206-526-4491; (fax) 206-
526-6736; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On February 21, 2012, Judge Henderson issued a court order in 
Pacific Dawn, LLC v. Bryson, No. C10-4829 TEH (N.D. Cal.). The court 
order remands the regulations addressing the initial allocation of 
whiting for the shorebased IFQ fishery and the at-sea mothership 
fishery ``for further consideration'' consistent with the court's 
December 22, 2011, summary judgment ruling, the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), and all other governing 
law. Further, the court order requires that NMFS implement revised 
regulations before the 2013 Pacific whiting fishing season begins on 
April 1, 2013. In the interim, the existing regulations remain in 
effect, unless suspended or revised by NMFS.
    In light of the court order, the Council will be reconsidering the 
initial allocation of whiting at its April, June, and September 2012 
meetings. The Council is scheduled to select a range of alternatives at 
its April meeting, a preliminary preferred alternative at its June 
meeting, and a final preferred alternative and recommendation to NMFS 
at its September meeting. Depending on Council recommendations and NMFS 
actions, some of the nonwhiting QS issued for the shorebased whiting 
fishery in proportion to the whiting allocations, could also be 
affected by the reallocation of whiting. Further information regarding 
the Council meetings may be found at http://www.pcouncil.org/council-operations/council-meetings/.
    NMFS plans to publish at least two rulemakings in response to the 
court order, referred to as Reconsideration of the Allocation of 
Whiting, Rules 1 and 2 (RAW 1 and RAW 2). The rulemaking for RAW 1 
would delay at least two elements of the current regulations until 
reconsideration of the initial allocation has concluded, including the 
transfer of QS or Individual Bycatch Quota (IBQ) between QS accounts 
and the ability to change mothership catcher vessel (MS/CV) endorsement 
and associated catch history assignment from one limited entry trawl 
permit to another. In addition, NMFS may need to hold back sufficient 
quota pounds for whiting and all other incidentally caught species from 
the annual allocation of quota pounds (QPs) to QS accounts made on or 
about January 1, 2013 in order to allocate the appropriate final 
amounts based on recalculation of QS allocations. NMFS may also need to 
consider whether it is necessary to restrict limited entry trawl permit 
transfers for a period of time during this reconsideration. For the at-
sea mothership fishery, NMFS may need to recalculate the whiting catch 
history assignments which may have an impact on processor obligations 
and coop formation, both of which occur before April 1, 2013.
    In the proposed rule for RAW I, NMFS will announce further details 
on the process for data review and corrections. As occurred in 2009-
2010, prior to the implementation of the current Program, the affected 
public will be advised to review, and if necessary, correct their data 
that may be used for initial allocation, or reallocation. NMFS 
anticipates publishing the proposed rule for RAW 1 in late April, and 
the final rule in July 2012.
    The rulemaking for RAW 2 would take in to account the Council's 
September 2012 recommendation and reconsideration of the dates used for 
initial allocation of whiting for the shorebased IFQ and at-sea 
mothership fisheries. The proposed rule for RAW 2 is scheduled to 
publish in November 2012, and the final rule in March 2013. This rule 
would be effective by April 1, 2013, consistent with the court order.
    This advance notice of proposed rulemaking has been determined to 
be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: March 29, 2012.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-8106 Filed 4-3-12; 8:45 am]
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