[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57106-57126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22362]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 120723270-3765-01]
RIN 0648-BC39
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish
of the Gulf of Alaska; Amendment 95 to the Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 95 to the
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP).
This proposed action would modify halibut prohibited species catch
(PSC) management in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) to establish halibut PSC
limits for the GOA in Federal regulation; reduce the GOA halibut PSC
limits for trawl and hook-and-line gear; proportionately reduce a
subset of trawl halibut PSC limits (also called ``sideboards'') for
American Fisheries Act, Amendment 80, and Central GOA Rockfish Program
vessels; and adjust the accounting methods for halibut PSC sideboard
limits for Amendment 80 vessels, as well as halibut PSC used by trawl
vessels from May 15 through June 30. This action is necessary to reduce
halibut bycatch in the GOA, and is intended to promote the goals and
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, the FMP, and other applicable law.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than October 17, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by FDMS
Docket Number NOAA-NMFS-2012-0151, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2012-0151, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau,
AK 99802-1668.
Fax: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Fax comments to 907-586-7557.
Instructions: 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 by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information,
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender
will be publicly accessible. 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, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
Electronic copies of Amendment 95 to the FMP, and the Environmental
Assessment (EA), the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) (collectively, Analysis)
prepared for this action are available from http://www.regulations.gov
or from the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this
proposed rule may be submitted to NMFS at the above address and by
email to [email protected] or fax to 202-395-7285.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Baker or Obren Davis, 907-586-
7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the
exclusive economic zone of the GOA under the FMP. The North Pacific
Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared this FMP under the
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations
implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR part 679. General regulations
governing U.S. fisheries also appear at 50 CFR part 600.
The Council has submitted Amendment 95 for review by the Secretary
of Commerce, and a Notice of Availability of this amendment was
published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2013 (78 FR 53419) with
comments invited through October 28, 2013. All relevant written
comments received by the end of the applicable comment period, whether
specifically directed to the FMP amendment, this proposed rule, or
both, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision for
Amendment 95 and addressed in the response to comments in the final
decision.
Background
Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) is fully utilized in the
directed sport, subsistence, and commercial fisheries off Alaska and is
of significant social, cultural, and economic importance to communities
throughout the geographical range of the resource. The International
Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage fishing for Pacific
halibut through regulations established under authority of the Northern
Pacific Halibut
[[Page 57107]]
Act of 1982 (Halibut Act). The Halibut Act, at section 773c(c), also
provides the Council with authority to develop regulations that are in
addition to, and not in conflict with, approved IPHC regulations. The
Council has exercised this authority in the development of Federal
regulations for halibut such as (1) subsistence halibut fishery
management measures, codified at Sec. 300.65; (2) the limited access
program for charter vessels in the guided sport fishery, codified at
Sec. 300.67; and (3) the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program for
the commercial halibut and sablefish fisheries, codified at 50 CFR part
679, under the authority of section 773 of the Halibut Act and section
303(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS manages halibut PSC in
groundfish fisheries under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
The FMP and implementing regulations currently authorize the Council to
recommend, and NMFS to approve, annual halibut PSC limits as a
component of the proposed and final groundfish harvest specifications.
Consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act's National Standard 1 and
National Standard 9, NMFS uses halibut PSC limits to minimize halibut
bycatch in the groundfish fisheries to the extent practicable, while
achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from the groundfish
fisheries. The use of halibut PSC limits in the groundfish fisheries
reduces halibut bycatch and promotes conservation of the halibut
resource. This provides the maximum benefit to fishermen and
communities that depend on both halibut and groundfish resources, as
well as U.S. consumers.
Current Management of Halibut PSC in the GOA Groundfish Fisheries
Prohibited species catch in the GOA is catch that may not be
retained unless required under section 3.6 of the FMP. A PSC limit is
an apportioned, non-retainable amount of fish provided to a groundfish
fishery to limit the bycatch of that prohibited species (i.e., halibut)
in a fishery. The Magnuson-Stevens Act defines bycatch as ``fish which
are harvested in a fishery, but which are not sold or kept for personal
use, and includes economic discards and regulatory discards. The term
does not include fish released alive under a recreational catch and
release fishery management program.'' 16 U.S.C 1802 3(2). NMFS
establishes halibut PSC limits to constrain the amount of halibut
bycatch in the groundfish fishery. As described in section 3.6 of the
FMP, when a halibut PSC limit is reached in an area, further fishing
with specific types of gear or modes of operation is prohibited by
those who take their halibut PSC limit in that area. In other words,
halibut PSC limits impose an upper-limit on bycatch.
Although halibut bycatch is incurred by vessels using trawl, hook-
and-line, pot, and jig gear, halibut bycatch primarily occurs in the
trawl and hook-and-line groundfish fisheries. Halibut bycatch in the
groundfish fisheries may affect commercial, sport, and subsistence
halibut fishing opportunities by decreasing the amount of halibut
available for those fisheries.
NMFS manages halibut bycatch in the GOA by (1) establishing annual
halibut PSC limits, and (2) apportioning those limits to fishery
categories and seasons to accommodate halibut PSC needs in specific
groundfish fisheries.
GOA Annual Halibut PSC Limits, Fishery Categories, and Seasonal
Apportionments
The Council recommends groundfish harvest specifications in October
each year for the subsequent 2-year period. A 2-year harvest
specification cycle allows harvest limits to be specified for a
sufficient duration to ensure that catch limits are in place at the
start of the second year. This allows fisheries to begin on January 1,
pending the final publication of the subsequent set of harvest
specifications. The proposed harvest specifications are published in
the Federal Register for a 30-day comment period and final harvest
specifications are published between mid-February and March of each
year. The total annual halibut PSC limit in the GOA was set at 2,273 mt
in the final 2013 and 2014 harvest specifications for the GOA (78 FR
13162, February 26, 2013). Of this amount, 1,973 mt is apportioned to
trawl gear and 300 mt is apportioned to hook-and-line gear.
The FMP authorizes the Council to exempt specific gear types from
the halibut PSC limits that are established through the annual harvest
specifications process. In past annual consultations with the Council,
NMFS has exempted pot gear, jig gear, and the sablefish IFQ hook-and-
line gear fishery categories from the non-trawl halibut PSC limit. The
rationale for exempting these gear types from halibut PSC limits is
contained in the final 2013 and 2014 harvest specifications (78 FR
13162, February 26, 2013). NMFS proposes to continue annual
consultations with the Council to determine whether the pot gear, jig
gear, and the sablefish IFQ hook-and-line gear fisheries will be exempt
from the non-trawl halibut PSC limit. Therefore, this rule does not
propose changes to current regulations authorizing NMFS to establish
PSC limits for these fisheries through the harvest specifications
process.
From 1989 through 2012, the annual harvest specifications process
established a 2,000 mt trawl halibut PSC limit. Beginning in 2013, the
annual harvest specifications established a 1,973 mt trawl halibut PSC
limit. This reduction of 27 mt from the 2,000 mt annual halibut PSC
limit was made in conjunction with the implementation of the Central
GOA Rockfish Program in 2011 (76 FR 81248, December 27, 2011). Under
the Central GOA Rockfish Program, a portion of the trawl halibut PSC
limit was specifically reserved and not assigned for use by any person,
effectively conserving that halibut biomass for future stock abundance
(see Table 28d to part 679). NMFS has accommodated this regulatory
provision by decreasing the annual trawl halibut PSC limit as part of
the annual harvest specifications (78 FR 13162, February 26, 2013).
Additional detail on the Central GOA Rockfish Program is provided in
this preamble under the heading ``Allocations of Halibut PSC to the
Central GOA Rockfish Program''.
Section 679.21(d)(5) authorizes NMFS to seasonally apportion the
annual trawl and hook-and-line halibut PSC limits after consultation
with the Council. The FMP and these regulations require that the
Council and NMFS consider the following information in seasonally
apportioning halibut PSC limits: (1) seasonal distribution of halibut;
(2) seasonal distribution of target groundfish species relative to
halibut distribution; (3) expected halibut bycatch needs on a seasonal
basis relative to changes in halibut biomass and expected catch of
target groundfish species; (4) expected bycatch rates on a seasonal
basis; (5) expected changes in directed groundfish fishing seasons; (6)
expected actual start of fishing effort; and (7) economic effects of
establishing seasonal halibut allocations on segments of the target
groundfish industry. Under the final 2013 and 2014 harvest
specifications for the GOA (78 FR 13162, February 26, 2013), the
halibut PSC limits have been seasonally apportioned into five seasons
for trawl gear and three seasons for the other hook-and-line fishery.
During the annual harvest specifications process the specific amount of
halibut PSC limit is assigned to each of these seasons. The halibut PSC
limit established for the demersal shelf rockfish (DSR) fishery is not
subject to seasonal apportionment.
Section 679.21(d)(3) and (4) establishes the annual halibut PSC
limit apportionments to trawl and hook-and-line gear in the GOA through
the annual
[[Page 57108]]
groundfish harvest specification process. The apportionment of halibut
PSC limits by gear, fishery category, and seasons under the annual
harvest specifications process provides the opportunity for groundfish
harvests in specific fisheries. This apportionment process ensures that
halibut PSC limit is available for use in groundfish fisheries earlier
in the year (e.g., the trawl deep-water fisheries in the first season),
but limits that use so that halibut PSC limit remains to support other
groundfish fisheries that occur later in the year (e.g., the trawl
shallow-water fisheries in the fourth season). The limits assigned to
each season reflect halibut PSC likely to be taken during specific
seasons by specific fisheries. For example, a larger seasonal
apportionment is provided for the first season trawl shallow-water
fisheries than deep-water fisheries to provide halibut PSC limit to
support Pacific cod and pollock fisheries that occur at the start of
the year. Any underages or overages of a seasonal apportionment of a
halibut PSC limit are added to, or deducted from, the next respective
seasonal apportionment within the fishing year. Additional detail on
the annual apportionment of halibut PSC limit by season and fishery is
provided in the final 2013 and 2014 harvest specifications for the GOA
(78 FR 13162, February 26, 2013).
Reaching an annual trawl or hook-and-line halibut PSC limit results
in closure of groundfish directed fisheries using that gear in the GOA
for the remainder of the year, even if some of the groundfish TAC
assigned to that gear for that fishery remains unharvested. If a
seasonal halibut PSC limit is reached for a fishery category in that
season, then groundfish directed fishing is closed for the remainder of
that season for that fishery category (e.g., if the second season deep-
water fishery halibut PSC limit is reached during the second season,
then trawl vessels may not directed fish for species in the deep-water
fishery until the third season deep-water fishery halibut PSC limit
becomes available). Some target fisheries close before the attainment
of the TAC, and other target fisheries do not fully utilize the halibut
PSC limits. Since 2000, NMFS has routinely closed directed fisheries
for hook-and-line and trawl gear because a seasonal or annual halibut
PSC limit was reached.
Regulations at Sec. 679.21(d) further apportion the annual trawl
PSC limit to deep-water and shallow-water species fishery categories
that are made available seasonally throughout the year. The deep-water
species fishery (deep-water fishery) includes sablefish, rockfish,
deep-water flatfish, rex sole, and arrowtooth flounder. The shallow-
water species fishery (shallow-water fishery) includes pollock, Pacific
cod, shallow-water flatfish, flathead sole, Atka mackerel, skates, and
``other species'' (see Sec. 679.21(d)(3)(iii)). The regulations define
halibut PSC apportionment for these two categories because these two
groups of fisheries have differing halibut PSC rates. Apportioning
specific limits to these fisheries allows NMFS to establish specific
limits in one fishery (e.g., the deep-water fishery) that would not
result in closures in the other fishery (e.g., the shallow-water
fishery) if the halibut PSC limit for one category is reached.
Of the 300 mt of halibut PSC limit currently assigned to hook-and-
line gear, this amount is further apportioned between the DSR fishery
in the Southeast Outside District, and all other hook-and-line
groundfish fisheries in the GOA (i.e., the non-DSR hook-and-line
fisheries). Existing regulations at Sec. 679.21(d)(4)(iii) use the
term ``other hook-and-line fishery'' to describe the non-DSR hook-and-
line fishery, and the term ``other hook-and-line fishery'' will be used
in this preamble for consistency. The final 2013 and 2014 annual
harvest specifications for the GOA apportion 290 mt of the halibut PSC
limit to the other hook-and-line fishery and 10 mt of the halibut PSC
limit to the DSR hook-and-line fishery (78 FR 13162, February 26,
2013).
Regulations at Sec. 679.21(d)(4)(iii)(B) further apportion the
annual halibut PSC limit for the other hook-and-line fishery between
catcher/processors and catcher vessels. The method for apportioning
halibut PSC limits between catcher/processors and catcher vessels was
established in regulations implementing Amendment 83 to the FMP (76 FR
74670, December 1, 2011). Amendment 83 established gear and sector
apportionments for the GOA Pacific cod fisheries. It also implemented
formulas to annually divide the other hook-and-line halibut PSC limit
between catcher/processors and catcher vessels based on their
respective Pacific cod allocations and the annual Pacific cod TACs in
the Western GOA and Central GOA. A comprehensive description and
example of the calculations necessary to apportion the other hook-and-
line halibut PSC limit between catcher/processors and catcher vessels
were included in the proposed rule to implement Amendment 83 (76 FR
44700, July 26, 2011) and are not repeated here.
The DSR fishery is defined at Sec. 679.21(d)(4)(iii)(A). The DSR
species group is comprised of seven species of nearshore bottom
dwelling rockfishes. The DSR fishery has been apportioned 10 mt in
recognition of its small-scale of harvests and expected low rates of
halibut PSC use. NMFS estimates low halibut PSC bycatch in the DSR
fishery because (1) the duration of the DSR fisheries and the gear soak
times are short; (2) the DSR fishery occurs in the winter when less
overlap occurs in the distribution of DSR and halibut; and (3) the
commercial DSR directed fishery has a low total allowable catch (TAC).
Table 1 lists the 2013 and 2014 Pacific halibut PSC limits and
apportionments published in the final 2013 and 2014 harvest
specifications for the GOA (78 FR 13162, February 26, 2013). Table 2
lists the current seasonal apportionment between the trawl deep-water
and shallow-water fisheries. As noted in Table 2, under the current
harvest specifications, there is not a specific apportionment of
halibut PSC to the fourth season deep-water fishery; instead, vessels
are limited to any halibut PSC that may remain after the end of the
third season deep-water fishery. The fifth season halibut PSC
apportionment to trawl gear is available for use by vessels fishing in
either the deep-water or shallow-water fisheries.
Table 1--Final 2013 and 2014 Pacific Halibut PSC Limits, Allowances, and Apportionments
[Values are in metric tons]
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Trawl gear Hook-and-line gear
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Other than DSR DSR
Season Percent Amount ---------------------------------------------------------------
Season Percent Amount Season Amount
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January 20-April 1.......... 27.5 543 January 1-June 86 250 January 1- 10
10. December 31.
April 1-July 1.............. 20 395 June 10- 2 5 ............... ........
September 1.
[[Page 57109]]
July 1-September 1.......... 30 592 September 1- 12 35 ............... ........
December 31.
September 1-October 1....... 7.5 148 ............... ........ ........ ............... ........
October 1-December 31....... 15 296 ............... ........ ........ ............... ........
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Total................... ........ 1,973 ............... ........ 290 ............... 10
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Table 2--Final 2013 and 2014 Apportionment of Pacific Halibut PSC Trawl Limits Between the Trawl Gear Deep-Water
Species Fishery and the Shallow-Water Species Fishery Categories
[Values are in metric tons]
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Season Shallow-water fishery Deep-water fishery Total
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January 20-April 1............. 444 99........................... 543
April 1-July 1................. 99 296.......................... 395
July 1-September 1............. 197 395.......................... 592
September 1-October 1.......... 148 Any remainder................ 148
Subtotal January 20-October 1.. 888 789.......................... 1,677
October 1-December 31.......... ....................... ............................. 296
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Total...................... ....................... ............................. 1,973
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Allocations of Halibut PSC Limit to the Central GOA Rockfish Program
The Central GOA Rockfish Program (76 FR 81248, December 27, 2011)
requires NMFS to assign 191.4 mt of the deep-water fishery's halibut
PSC limit apportionment to participants in the Central GOA Rockfish
Program. This fixed amount is used to support fishing for specific
allocations of groundfish species under that program. Of that, 117.3 mt
of the annual trawl halibut PSC limit is assigned to the catcher vessel
sector, and 74.1 mt is allocated to the catcher/processor sector (see
Table 28d to part 679). Under the Central GOA Rockfish Program, 27.4 mt
of the halibut PSC limit that could have been assigned to the deep-
water fishery was instead reserved and is no longer annually
apportioned for use by any fisheries in the GOA. Under the annual
harvest specifications process, halibut PSC limit assigned to the
Central GOA Rockfish Program has been debited from the third season
deep-water trawl PSC limit apportionment because halibut PSC used in
the Central GOA rockfish fisheries has historically occurred in the
third season.
Regulations implementing the Central GOA Rockfish Program allow
NMFS to reapportion some of the halibut PSC limit assigned to that
program to the general, non-Rockfish Program GOA trawl fisheries if it
has not been used to fish for groundfish species allocated under the
Central GOA Rockfish Program (see Sec. 679.21(d)(5)(iii)(B)). In
recent years, not all of the halibut PSC limit assigned for exclusive
use in the Central GOA Rockfish Program has been used to fully harvest
the program's groundfish allocations. Therefore, reapportioning the
unused halibut PSC limit from the Central GOA Rockfish Program allows
for additional harvest opportunities in other trawl fisheries. No more
than 55 percent of the unused annual halibut PSC limit apportioned to
Central GOA Rockfish can be reapportioned for use by other non-Rockfish
Program trawl fisheries during the last season (i.e., the fifth season)
of the year (see Sec. 679.21(d)(5)(iii)(B)). The remaining 45 percent
of the unused Central GOA Rockfish Program halibut PSC limit is
unavailable for use by vessels directed fishing with any gear for the
remainder of the fishing year, effectively conserving that halibut
biomass for future stock abundance.
Halibut PSC Sideboard Limits
Over time, a variety of halibut PSC use limits, commonly known as
sideboard limits, have been implemented to limit the amount of halibut
PSC available to specific participants in GOA groundfish fisheries.
Sideboard limits serve as fishery-specific limits that require
participants subject to the sideboard limit to stop fishing for
specific groundfish once that sideboard limit is reached. Sideboard
limits were adopted as part of the AFA, Amendment 80, and Central GOA
Rockfish catch share programs to prevent program participants from
using the flexibility provided by catch share allocations to increase
their harvests in fisheries not subject to exclusive allocations.
Additional detail on the rationale and calculation for specific
sideboard limits in these catch share programs is available in the
final rules implementing these catch share programs and is not repeated
here (for the AFA see 67 FR 79692, December 30, 2002; for the Amendment
80 Program see 72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007; and for the Central GOA
Rockfish Program, see 76 FR 81248, December 27, 2011).
In the GOA, AFA catcher vessels are split into two categories:
those subject to halibut PSC sideboard limits and those exempt from
halibut PSC sideboard limits. Sideboard limits for AFA catcher vessels
subject to sideboard limits (non-exempt AFA catcher vessels) are
calculated based on the catch histories of the non-exempt AFA catcher
vessels (see Sec. 679.64(b)(4)). Halibut PSC sideboard limits for non-
exempt AFA catcher vessels are established as a percentage of each
seasonal apportionment assigned to trawl gear deep-water and shallow-
water fisheries, rather than as a percentage of the annual trawl PSC
limit. There is no seasonal apportionment for trawl gear deep-water
fishery in the fourth season, so there is no AFA halibut PSC sideboard
limit.
[[Page 57110]]
Instead, non-exempt AFA catcher vessels are limited in the fourth
season to any AFA halibut PSC sideboard limit that may remain after the
end of the third season deep-water fishery. Additionally, the deep-
water and shallow-water fisheries are combined for trawl gear in the
fifth season; therefore, there is a combined halibut PSC sideboard
limit for deep-water and shallow-water fisheries for non-exempt AFA
catcher vessels. If AFA halibut PSC sideboard limits in one season are
not fully used then the remaining amount of that sideboard limit may be
added to the next seasonal sideboard limit. Conversely, if a seasonal
AFA halibut PSC sideboard limit is exceeded then the overage amount is
deducted from the next season's AFA halibut PSC sideboard limit. AFA
catcher/processors are not assigned a halibut PSC sideboard limit
because they are prohibited from fishing any species of groundfish in
the GOA (see Sec. 679.7(k)(1)(ii)).
Halibut PSC sideboard limits are established for vessels fishing
under the Amendment 80 Program, which includes only trawl catcher/
processor vessels (see the definition of ``Amendment 80 vessels'' at
Sec. 679.2). Halibut PSC sideboard limits for the Amendment 80 Program
are based on a percentage of the annual halibut PSC limit for trawl
gear. This halibut PSC sideboard limit is further apportioned by deep-
water and shallow-water fishery, and among the five trawl seasons (see
Table 31 to part 679). Unlike the AFA halibut PSC sideboard limits,
there are specific sideboard limits established for the deep-water and
shallow-water fisheries in the fourth and fifth seasons. Any remaining
amount of an Amendment 80 halibut PSC sideboard limit is not added to
the next seasonal sideboard limit.
Catcher/processors participating in the Central GOA Rockfish
Program are also subject to halibut PSC sideboard limitations. Catcher/
processors are subject to halibut PSC sideboard limits for the trawl
deep-water and shallow-water fisheries from July 1 through July 31 (see
Sec. 679.84(e)(5)). These halibut PSC sideboard limits only apply when
a catcher/processor is not fishing under the authority of a Central GOA
Rockfish Program cooperative quota permit in the Central GOA (see Sec.
679.84(e)). Halibut PSC sideboard limits for the Central GOA Rockfish
Program are established as a percentage of the annual trawl halibut PSC
limit. Halibut PSC sideboard limits are not established for catcher
vessels in the Central GOA Rockfish Program because those vessels are
prohibited in July from fishing for specific flatfish species that
typically have higher rates of halibut PSC use (see Sec. 679.84(d)).
Table 3 summarizes the halibut PSC sideboard limits assigned to the
AFA, Amendment 80, and Central GOA Rockfish Programs. Table 3 lists the
percentage of the trawl halibut PSC limit assigned as Amendment 80 and
Central GOA Rockfish Program sideboard limits, the percentage of the
seasonal trawl apportionment assigned as an AFA halibut PSC sideboard
limit, and the specific amount of the limit. The amount of the halibut
PSC sideboard limit assigned to each of these fisheries is calculated
using an annual trawl halibut PSC limit of 1,973 mt as specified in the
final 2013 and 2014 harvest specifications for the GOA (78 FR 13162,
February 26, 2013).
Table 3--Final 2013 and 2014 Pacific Halibut PSC Sideboard Limits
[Values are in metric tons]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFA (Non-exempt catcher vessels only) Amendment 80 program (cather/processors only) Central GOA rockfish program (catcher/processors
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ only)
---------------------------------------------------
Deep-water fishery Shallow-water fishery Deep-water fishery Shallow-water fishery Deep-water fishery Shallow-water fishery
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 20-April 1.............. 34.0% 7.0% 1.15% 0.48% N/A.
of 444 mt of 99 mt (23 mt) (9 mt)
(151 mt) (7 mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 1-July 1.................. 34.0% 7.0% 10.72% 1.89% N/A.
of 99 mt of 296 mt (212 mt) (37 mt)
(34 mt) (21 mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1-July 30 (Central GOA N/A
Rockfish Program only).
N/A 2.5% 0.1%
(49 mt) (2 mt).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1-September 1.............. 34.0% 7.0% 5.21% 1.46% N/A.
of 197 mt of 395 mt (103 mt) (29 mt)
(67 mt) (28 mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 1-October 1........... 34.0% 7.0% 0.14% 0.74% N/A.
of 0 mt of 148 mt (3 mt) (15 mt)
(0 mt) (21 mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1-December 31........... 20.5% of 296 mt (61 mt) 3.71% 2.27% N/A.
(73 mt) (45 mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives of and Rationale for Amendment 95 and This Proposed Rule
The following objective was adopted by the Council with respect to
this proposed action:
The Council has long been cognizant of, and continues to
recognize the extreme importance of halibut to all resource user
groups. The Council also acknowledges that, for a wide variety of
reasons, the dynamics of the directed and non-directed halibut
fisheries have changed significantly since halibut PSC limits were
first established. Given concerns with the current halibut PSC
limits in the GOA, and the effect this PSC has on both directed
fishing opportunities and productivity of the stock, there is a need
to evaluate existing halibut PSC limits and the way in which these
limits are established.
[[Page 57111]]
The objective of the proposed action is to reduce halibut PSC
limits for the GOA groundfish fisheries. In years of low halibut PSC
use, the PSC limit reduction may not be a constraint. In those years
the groundfish sectors would not be affected by the proposed
changes. Reductions in the halibut PSC limit will generate halibut
savings in years of relatively high halibut PSC. In years that
halibut PSC savings occur, they will benefit the halibut resource
and the halibut directed fisheries dependent on the GOA halibut
resource. Conversely, groundfish harvesters will have their harvest
constrained in those years. The reductions in groundfish harvest
will impact revenue generated from the fisheries. The magnitude of
the revenue change will depend on the quantity of groundfish harvest
foregone and the price flexibility of those groundfish species.
The proposed halibut PSC limit reductions are necessary to minimize
halibut bycatch to the extent practicable in the GOA groundfish
fishery, while at the same time achieving optimum yield from the
groundfish fishery. The Council considered a range of alternatives to
assess the impacts of minimizing halibut bycatch to the extent
practicable while preserving the potential for the full harvest of the
TACs assigned to the trawl and hook-an- line sectors. The Council
considered changes in groundfish and halibut management programs and
fishing patterns, environmental conditions, fishing technology, and
knowledge of halibut and groundfish stocks. The Council considered the
potential trade-offs between the halibut saved and the forgone
groundfish catch. The Council believes, and NMFS agrees, that the
proposed PSC limit reductions minimize halibut bycatch to the extent
practicable given the management measures currently available to the
fleet, the derby-style prosecution of some components of the groundfish
fishery, the uncertainty about the extent to which halibut bycatch in
the groundfish fishery has adverse effects on the halibut resource, and
the need to ensure that catch in the trawl and hook and line fisheries
contributes to the achievement of optimum yield in the groundfish
fisheries.
The Council considered changes to the halibut resource, and the
needs of the directed halibut fishery user groups, including the
commercial, charter, subsistence, personal use, and unguided sport
sectors. The halibut resource is fully allocated. Recent declines in
halibut exploitable biomass, particularly in the GOA, underscore the
need to minimize bycatch of halibut in the groundfish fisheries to the
extent practicable. Since the existing GOA halibut PSC limits were
established, the total biomass and abundance of halibut has varied, and
in recent years the stock is experiencing an ongoing decline in size-
at-age for all ages in all areas. Although the cause of this decline in
size-at-age is not fully understood, the commercial halibut sector has
experienced decreased catch limits as a result. The IPHC accounts for
incidental halibut catches in the groundfish fisheries, recreational
and subsistence catches, and other sources of halibut mortality before
setting commercial halibut catch limits each year. From 2002 to 2011
the commercial catch limit for halibut in the GOA in combined IFQ
Regulatory Areas 2C (Southeast Alaska), 3A (South central Alaska), and
3B (Southwest Alaska) declined by almost 50 percent. In addition, the
guideline harvest level, which establishes a benchmark for harvests in
the charter halibut fishery, has been reduced, particularly in IPHC
Regulatory Area 2C. Further, the charter halibut sector has experienced
increased catch restrictions in the GOA in recent years. Additional
detail on the status of halibut stocks, commercial catch limits, and
the guideline harvest level, is provided in the final rule establishing
IPHC annual management measures for the Pacific halibut fishery in 2013
(see 78 FR 16423, March 15, 2013 and 78 FR 18323, March 26, 2013).
Although catch limits for the commercial and charter halibut
fisheries have declined in recent years, GOA halibut PSC limits have
remained relatively constant. The proposed action would require trawl
and hook-and-line sectors to minimize halibut bycatch during the
prosecution of their respective groundfish fisheries. The Council
balanced a number of competing objectives for fishery conservation and
management in its selection of its Preferred Alternative. These include
(1) achieving the optimum yield from each groundfish fishery without
overfishing the stocks, (2) considering the importance of fishery
resources to fishing communities and minimizing adverse economic
impacts on such communities, and (3) minimizing bycatch to the extent
practicable. As discussed in section 4.6.4 of the Analysis, the Council
considered the ability of trawl and hook-and-line groundfish fisheries
to reduce halibut PSC use, how much of the halibut PSC limit had been
left unused by each sector in the past, and the potential effects of
reduced PSC limits on GOA groundfish catch and revenue.
The Analysis included a retrospective evaluation of the impacts of
PSC limit reductions on GOA ground fish catches from 2003 through 2010.
This evaluation provided estimates of groundfish catch and revenue that
would have been foregone in the GOA groundfish fisheries if halibut PSC
limits had been reduced from current levels from 2003-2010. However,
while historical catch and halibut PSC information can be used to
assess whether and when fisheries would close if reduced PSC limits had
been in place in previous years, the Council and NMFS believe
groundfish trawl and hook-and-line fishery participants can modify
their behavior to avoid a closure. The Analysis reviewed potential
measures that could be adopted by participants to reduce halibut PSC
use and factors that are likely to affect the willingness of
participants to adopt those measures. Although the proposed halibut PSC
limit reductions may result in earlier season closures and an attendant
reduction in target groundfish catches when the lower seasonal PSC
limit is reached, the frequency and extent of early season closures and
effects of such closures will vary across gear types and segments of
the fleets to the extent that fleets are willing to change fishing
behavior in response to lower PSC limits. If sector participants are
successful in taking action to control halibut PSC use to avoid a
closure, additional gross revenues may be gained.
Notwithstanding measures that the trawl and hook-and-line sectors
can take to avoid halibut PSC use and potential fishery closures, the
Council and NMFS recognize that reducing halibut PSC limits will likely
come at a cost to individual participants and to the hook-and-line and
trawl sectors as a whole. The proposed action could potentially impact
revenue generated from the groundfish fisheries and some groundfish
fisheries may not harvest their full TAC. The Analysis considered not
only changes in gross revenues, but also changes in costs resulting
from the fleets' altered fishing behavior to minimize halibut bycatch.
The Council and NMFS balanced these potential financial effects of
reduced groundfish harvests and increased costs to groundfish fleets
with the benefits of maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem for
fishermen and communities that depend on the halibut resources. The
proposed reduction in halibut PSC limits could benefit participants in
the directed halibut fisheries, such as the commercial and charter
sport fisheries, if it results in increased levels of harvestable
halibut and increased catch limits for directed halibut fisheries.
Halibut processors might also benefit from this proposed action, along
with
[[Page 57112]]
halibut charter clients, and consumers of halibut harvested in the
directed fisheries. As described later in the preamble, the proposed
action minimizes adverse economic impacts to the extent practicable for
groundfish sectors that will experience the greatest halibut PSC
reductions through measures such as phasing-in reductions over three
years, allowing for roll-overs of halibut PSC sideboard limits from one
season to the subsequent season, and allowing for the aggregation of
halibut PSC limits during the second season deep-water and shallow-
water fisheries.
During public testimony, some members of the public recommended
greater reductions of halibut PSC limits. However, halibut bycatch
cannot be avoided completely, and the Council and NMFS believe that
even more stringent PSC limit reductions would severely limit the
groundfish fleet. Currently, most of the groundfish fleet in the GOA is
involved in competitive fisheries and does not have available tools,
such as catch share programs or fishery cooperatives, that have been
demonstrated to successfully reduce halibut PSC and still maintain
current harvest levels of groundfish (for an example see the discussion
of the Central GOA Rockfish Program in section 4.5.5 of the Analysis).
As noted above, the Council and NMFS anticipate that participants in
the GOA trawl and hook-and-line groundfish fisheries will need to
modify their fishing behavior in response to lower PSC limits. Based on
public testimony received from industry participants on the extent to
which individual vessels are able to change their fishing behavior to
reduce PSC use, the Council and NMFS believe that the proposed halibut
PSC reductions minimize halibut bycatch to the extent practicable.
The Proposed Action
This proposed action would: (1) Establish GOA halibut PSC limits in
Federal regulation; (2) reduce the GOA halibut PSC limits for vessels
using trawl and hook-and-line gear; (3) proportionately reduce trawl
halibut PSC sideboard limits for American Fisheries Act (AFA),
Amendment 80, and Central GOA Rockfish Program vessels; and (4) modify
the accounting for halibut PSC sideboard limits for Amendment 80
vessels, and halibut PSC used by trawl vessels from May 15 through June
30 to maintain groundfish harvest while achieving the halibut PSC limit
reductions intended by this action. This action would reduce halibut
PSC limits to the extent practicable consistent with National Standard
9, while at the same time achieving, on a continual basis, the optimum
yield from the groundfish fishery. The preceding four actions are
discussed in detail in the following sections of this preamble.
Action 1: Establishing the GOA Halibut PSC Limits in Federal Regulation
This proposed action would modify the process by which the GOA
halibut PSC limits are set. As previously discussed, the GOA halibut
PSC limits currently are established through the annual GOA groundfish
harvest specifications process. This action proposes including the
overall annual GOA halibut PSC limits for the trawl and hook-and-line
sectors in Federal regulations, a process that would mirror the current
process for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands halibut PSC limits.
Once the GOA halibut PSC limits are published as Federal regulations,
those limits could then be modified only by amending those regulations.
The Council acknowledged, and NMFS agrees, that publishing the annual
halibut PSC limits in Federal regulation will streamline the harvest
specifications process and provide greater certainty about what annual
PSC limits would be for those sectors subject to such limits. The
groundfish harvest specifications process is complex and time-
sensitive, as the final harvest specifications have to be in place as
soon as possible each year. Addressing potential changes to GOA halibut
PSC limits during the harvest specifications process carries the risk
of delaying the harvest specification of annual groundfish harvest
limits, which is the primary objective of the harvest specifications
process.
Publishing the annual halibut PSC limits in Federal regulation is
expected to:
Resolve implementation and timing issues inherent in the
current two-year harvest specification schedule. The first season to
which NMFS applies halibut PSC limits on the trawl groundfish fishery
occurs from January 20 to April 1, and the first season to which NMFS
applies halibut PSC limit on the hook-and-line halibut PSC limit occurs
from January 1 to June 10 of each year. Currently, GOA halibut PSC
limits are set for two consecutive years (as are groundfish catch
limits), so that groundfish fishing begins on January 1 based on
groundfish TACs and PSC limits that were approved by the Council over a
year earlier. Once the next 2-year set of harvest specifications are
finalized in February or March, the initial annual groundfish TACs are
superseded by new catch limits. For example, the final 2013 and 2014
harvest specifications for the GOA published on February 26, 2013, well
after the opening of the hook-and-line groundfish fishery season on
January 1, 2013. Establishing the GOA halibut PSC limits for trawl and
hook-and-line gear sectors in Federal regulation would ensure the
halibut PSC limits are in place at the start of the fishing year. This
would eliminate the potential that NMFS would have to modify a halibut
PSC limit once fishing has already begun for a year should there be
changes to that limit during the development of the annual harvest
specifications.
Facilitate potential development of long term PSC
management tools for the groundfish fisheries. Such development would
benefit from a stable regulatory environment, rather than annual
halibut PSC limits that could be subject to change during the annual
harvest specification process. Should it become apparent that further
halibut bycatch reductions are practicable, regulations could be
amended to further revise halibut PSC limits.
NMFS notes that once the annual halibut PSC limits are established
in Federal regulation as proposed by this action, the Council and NMFS
will continue to use the harvest specification process to apportion
annual halibut PSC limits between fisheries and gear categories. The
Council will consider the best available information when recommending
these apportionments of halibut PSC limits consistent with existing
regulations at Sec. 679.21(d)(5).
Action 2: Reducing the GOA Halibut PSC Limits for Trawl and Hook-and-
Line Sectors
This proposed action would reduce the GOA halibut PSC limits for
vessels harvesting groundfish in the GOA. The proposed GOA halibut PSC
limit for each gear and fishery category would be reduced from the
current annual halibut PSC limits specified in the final 2013 and 2014
harvest specifications in the GOA (78 FR 13162, February 26, 2013) and
established in regulation as follows:
Hook-and-line catcher/processor: 7 percent reduction.
Hook-and-line catcher vessel: 15-percent reduction, phased
in over 3 years with a 7 percent reduction the first year, an
additional 5 percent reduction the second year, and a final 3 percent
reduction in the third year.
Hook-and-line demersal shelf rockfish Southeast Outside
District: 1 metric ton reduction.
Trawl: 15-percent reduction, phased-in over 3 years with a
7 percent reduction the first year, an additional 5 percent reduction
the second year, and
[[Page 57113]]
a final 3 percent reduction in the third year.
The following sections describe the proposed halibut PSC limit
reductions for the trawl and hook-and-line gears.
Phase-in Schedule for the Proposed Halibut PSC Limit Reductions for the
Trawl and Hook-and-Line Sectors
The Council recognized that giving the groundfish fleets additional
time to individually and collectively adapt to the newly reduced
halibut PSC limits under this proposed action would minimize some of
the adverse consequences for sectors with the largest halibut PSC limit
reductions. This phased-in approach would mitigate the impact the
halibut PSC limit reductions have on groundfish fishery revenue and, as
a result, mitigate the loss to communities reliant on groundfish
resources. For this reason, the Council recommended phasing-in the
reductions of halibut PSC limits for the trawl and catcher vessel hook-
and-line sectors because these sectors will experience the largest
halibut PSC limit reductions. The phased-in implementation would allow
additional time for these sectors to develop management tools and
modify their fishing practices. As described below, NMFS intends that
the phased-in approach to halibut PSC limit reductions would provide
the groundfish sectors subject to the largest halibut PSC limit
reductions with continued participation in the groundfish fisheries as
they adapt to the lower halibut PSC limits, and would, to the extent
practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts of the halibut PSC limit
reductions.
The specific annual amounts of the phased-in reductions are
intended to reduce halibut PSC while also taking account of the needs
of affected groundfish fisheries to efficiently adapt to the
reductions. The Council considered a broad range of potential
reductions to halibut PSC limits, including no reduction relative to
the current halibut PSC limits and a 15-percent reduction for all trawl
and hook-and-line fisheries in the first year of implementation. The
phase-in approach and timeline proposed under this rule would result in
the largest percentage reduction in the first year, a slightly smaller
percentage reduction in the second year, and the smallest percentage
reduction in the third year, to provide meaningful reductions in
halibut PSC limits as quickly as possible. This approach would allow
groundfish fisheries to adapt to the proposed changes by, for example,
improving on-the-ground communication of halibut PSC rates to reduce
groundfish harvests in areas of high halibut PSC, developing and using
halibut excluder devices, or developing other measures that could
reduce halibut bycatch in the GOA groundfish fisheries.
The Council intended for the initial halibut PSC limit reductions
to be in effect for the 2014 fishing year. This preamble assumes that
2014 will be the first year the proposed reductions would be effective
for purposes of the examples provided. Table 4 portrays the proposed
halibut PSC limit reductions for the trawl gear sector and the hook-
and-line gear catcher vessel sector. NMFS would implement the 7-percent
reduction in the first year of implementation of this proposed action,
and then take the second and third phase of reductions relative to the
2013 annual halibut PSC limits. NMFS would not take the additional
percentages of the second and third year off of the already reduced PSC
limits from the first year. Examples of the amounts associated with
each percentage reduction are depicted in subsequent tables.
Table 4 also shows that the 7-percent proposed halibut PSC limit
reduction for the hook-and-line catcher/processor sector and the 1 mt
reduction for the hook-and-line DSR fishery would be effective in the
2014 fishing year, or the first year of implementation of a final rule
for this action. The Council elected to reduce the halibut PSC limit
for the DSR fishery by 1 mt instead of a percentage that would increase
over time. The rationale for this fixed reduction in the halibut PSC
limit for the DSR fishery is described in the following section of this
preamble.
Table 4--Proposed Phase-in Schedule of Halibut PSC Reductions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total proposed reduction Reduction second year Reduction third year (2016
Sector or fishery relative to 2013 Reduction first year (2014) (2015) and each year thereafter)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hook-and-line demersal shelf 1 mt 1 mt * *
rockfish Southeast Outside
District.
Hook-and-line catcher/processor 7 percent 7 percent * *
sector.
Hook-and-line catcher vessel 15 percent 7 percent 5 percent 3 percent
sector.
Trawl sector.................... 15 percent 7 percent 5 percent 3 percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hook-and-Line DSR Fishery Proposed Reduction
This action would reduce the halibut PSC limit for the hook-and-
line DSR fishery in the Southeast Outside District by 1 mt, from 10 mt
in 2013, to 9 mt in 2014 and each year thereafter. The 1 mt reduction
in the halibut PSC limit for the DSR fishery would accommodate the
purpose of this action, i.e., reduce halibut PSC limits in the
commercial groundfish fisheries to the extent practicable. The Council
believed that it was necessary to apply the halibut PSC limit
reductions to all components of the hook-and-line fisheries, including
the commercial DSR fishery. A 1 mt reduction in the halibut PSC limit
apportioned to the DSR fishery should not have an adverse impact on the
directed fishery for DSR, given the decreasing participation in this
fishery in recent years. In consideration of the small amount of
halibut PSC limit assigned to the DSR fishery, and the relatively low
estimated amount of halibut PSC use in the DSR fishery, the Council did
not recommend phasing-in reductions over a period of time, or
establishing a percentage of a reduction. Reducing halibut PSC limits
beyond 1 mt for the directed DSR fishery could potentially curtail
harvest of the annual DSR TAC. Given the estimated low amount of
halibut PSC use in the DSR fishery, the Council and NMFS believe that
the benefits of further halibut PSC reductions in the DSR fishery would
not justify the potential costs of greater reductions for this fishery.
The State of Alaska and NMFS jointly manage DSR. DSR is also caught
incidentally in other commercial fisheries, such as the IFQ halibut
fishery, and in sport fisheries. Since 2004, the majority of annual DSR
landings were taken as incidental catch in other fisheries. For
example, of the
[[Page 57114]]
293 mt TAC for DSR in 2012, 128 mt were available for the DSR
commercial directed fishery, of which 105 mt were harvested. Because
harvesters may use much of the available DSR as incidental catch in the
halibut IFQ fishery, reducing the DSR directed fishery's halibut PSC
limit should not result in changes in the management of the DSR
directed fishery.
Other Hook-and-Line Fisheries Proposed Reductions
This action proposes to reduce the other hook-and-line catcher/
processor and catcher vessel sectors' current overall halibut PSC
limits, but by different percentage amounts. As depicted in Table 4,
the other hook-and-line catcher/processor sector would be subject to a
total halibut PSC limit reduction of 7 percent, with the reduction
fully implemented in 2014. The other hook-and-line catcher vessel
sector would be subject to a phased-in halibut PSC limit reduction of
15 percent, beginning with a 7 percent reduction in 2014. These
percentage reductions would be specified in regulations at Sec.
679.21. The reductions would be made in conjunction with the existing
method used to annually apportion the other hook-and-line PSC limit
between the hook-and-line catcher vessel and catcher/processor sectors.
A. Other Hook-and-Line Annual PSC Limit Apportionments to the Catcher
Vessel and Catcher/Processor Sectors
Section 679.21(d)(4)(iii) contains formulas that NMFS uses to
apportion the annual other hook-and-line halibut PSC limit between the
catcher vessel and catcher/processor sectors. This approach was
designed to integrate annual differences in how the combined Western
and Central Pacific cod biomass is apportioned between the Western GOA
and Central GOA, based on the findings of the annual Pacific cod stock
assessment. This stock assessment calculates, among various other
biological factors, how the overall Pacific cod biomass is distributed
between these two management areas. The formulas set forth in
regulation provide a means to annually adjust the apportionment of the
other hook-and-line halibut PSC limit based on annual Pacific cod
distribution. The hook-and-line catcher/processor sector receives a
larger annual share of the total Pacific cod TAC in the Western GOA
than the hook-and-line catcher vessel sector. Conversely, the hook-and-
line catcher vessel sector receives a larger annual share of the total
Pacific cod TAC in the Central GOA.
The Council recommended, and NMFS agrees, that NMFS should continue
to use this methodology to apportion the Pacific cod TAC between the
other hook-and-line catcher vessel and catcher/processor sectors before
the proposed halibut PSC limit reductions are calculated under the
proposed action. The formulaic distribution of the other hook-and-line
halibut PSC limit would allow the reduced other hook-and-line PSC limit
to be apportioned differently each year to better match the potential
halibut PSC use by each sector. This change is intended to align the
annual allocations of Pacific cod between the two hook-and-line sectors
with their respective allotments of the other hook-and-line halibut PSC
limit, which is consistent with National Standard 1 to achieve optimum
yield from the GOA groundfish fisheries. For example, if the annual
stock assessment determines that there is a greater proportion of
Pacific cod in the Central GOA than the Western GOA (based on the
average biomass distribution estimated in the stock assessment), then
the hook-and-line catcher vessel sector would receive more of the other
hook-and-line halibut PSC limit than the hook-and-line catcher/
processor sector. This methodology is described in the final rule
implementing Amendment 83 to the FMP, which established Pacific cod
sector splits in the GOA (76 FR 74670, December 1, 2011).
To implement this component of the action, NMFS proposes to place
in regulation the existing other hook-and-line halibut PSC limit of 290
mt. This amount would be integrated into the formulas that apportion
this limit between the hook-and-line catcher vessel and catcher/
processor sectors, consistent with the intent of Amendment 83 to the
FMP and its implementing regulations. This formula would then be used
to annually apportion the other hook-and-line halibut PSC limit between
sectors prior to making the actual percentage reductions also proposed
in this action. Applying the proposed other hook-and-line halibut PSC
limit reductions to the current 290 mt halibut PSC limit prior to
apportioning it between the other hook-and-line sectors is not possible
because (1) the division of this limit varies according the annual
apportionment of the Western GOA and Central GOA Pacific cod TACs, and
(2) the catcher vessel and catcher/processor sectors would operate
under different PSC limit percentage reductions after the first year of
the reduction phase-in. This methodology is also described in detail in
Section 4.6.3.2 of the Analysis.
Once the other hook-and-line halibut PSC limit is divided between
the hook-and-line catcher vessels and catcher/processors, the halibut
PSC limit percentage reductions proposed in this action would then be
applied to each individual sector's halibut PSC limit. These reduced
limits would then be annually specified as halibut PSC limit
apportionments by fishery category and season in the annual harvest
specifications.
B. Applying the Proposed Halibut PSC Limit Reductions to the Other
Hook-and-Line Catcher/Processor Sector
This action proposes to reduce the halibut PSC limit for the hook-
and-line catcher/processor sector by 7 percent the first year of
implementation under this proposed action, and retain that level
thereafter. For example, using the 2013 Pacific cod apportionment in
conjunction with the other hook-and-line halibut PSC limit
apportionment formulas in Sec. 679.21(d), the proposed hook-and-line
catcher/processor halibut PSC limit would be reduced to 115 mt in 2014
from 124 mt in 2013.
The Council recommended different percentage reductions for other
hook-and-line catcher/processors (7 percent) versus other hook-and-line
catcher vessels (15 percent) because the catcher/processor sector
already received a halibut PSC limit reduction under regulations
implementing Amendment 83 to the FMP (76 FR 74670, December 1, 2011),
and has collectively taken measures to reduce its halibut PSC usage in
recent years. The hook-and-line catcher/processor sector has been able
to reduce its PSC use with management tools not available to the trawl
gear sector or hook-and-line catcher vessel sector. Specifically, the
hook-and-line catcher/processor sector decreased its halibut PSC use by
forming a voluntary cooperative in 2010. The voluntary hook-and-line
catcher/processor cooperative members agreed to divide the available
halibut PSC limit, and to a variety of other measures (e.g., avoid
fishing in areas with known concentrations of halibut and at times of
relatively high halibut PSC rates). These measures are intended to
reduce the chance that this sector's halibut PSC would result in a
fishery closure.
The Council recommended reducing the hook-and-line catcher/
processor sector by 7 percent for this proposed action to acknowledge
the PSC limit reductions implemented under Amendment 83, and the
voluntary steps already taken to decrease the sector's halibut PSC use
in recent years. A reduction greater than 7 percent could further
reduce halibut bycatch by the
[[Page 57115]]
hook-and-line catcher/processor sector, but at increased potential for
adverse economic impacts on this sector, either through foregone
groundfish catch or increased operating costs as this fleet attempts to
avoid halibut bycatch. As discussed in section 4.6 of the Analysis, the
informal hook-and-line catcher/processor sector cooperative in the GOA
have undertaken measures to reduce halibut PSC use in that sector since
2010. Additional measures to further reduce halibut bycatch could
result in increased operating cost for this sector and forgone
groundfish catch. The Council and NMFS believe that a 7 percent
reduction from current halibut PSC limits in addition to this sector's
previous halibut bycatch use reductions will minimize halibut bycatch
in the hook-and-line-sector to the extent practicable.
C. Applying the Proposed Halibut PSC Limit Reductions to the Other
Hook-and-Line Catcher Vessel Sector
The proposed halibut PSC limit reduction for the other hook-and-
line catcher vessel sector would be phased-in over 3 years at 7 percent
in 2014, or the first year of implementation of this action, an
additional 5 percent in 2015, or the second year, and an additional 3
percent in 2016, or the third year, for a total reduction of 15 percent
from the 2013 levels effective beginning 2016 and remaining effective
thereafter. Table 5 shows how the other hook-and-line PSC limit would
be apportioned between the catcher vessel and catcher/processor
sectors, as well as by season. Using the 2013 Pacific cod
apportionments as an example, the proposed hook-and-line catcher vessel
halibut PSC limits would decrease from 166 mt in 2013, to 154 mt in
2014, to 146 mt in 2015, and to 141 mt in 2016 and each year thereafter
under this action. The 15 percent reduction of the halibut PSC limit
apportioned to the other hook-and-line catcher vessel sector would
achieve this action's objective of minimizing halibut bycatch in the
GOA groundfish fisheries to the extent practicable. The Council and
NMFS determined that the proposed PSC limit reduction would provide the
hook-and-line catcher vessel sector with incentives to reduce PSC use
by modifying fishing behavior to avoid groundfish fishery closures. As
discussed in section 4.6.4 of the Analysis, some catcher vessels
currently undertake efforts to avoid halibut through informal
arrangements, in which vessels share on-the-grounds information
concerning halibut encounter rates, helping vessels to avoid areas with
relatively high halibut PSC. The Council and NMFS expect participants
in the hook-and-line catcher vessel sector to modify fishing behavior
and increase coordination to expand their use of these types of bycatch
avoidance tools to reduce halibut PSC use.
Table 5 provides an example of the 2013 apportionment of Pacific
cod TACs in the Western and Central GOA to demonstrate how the proposed
other hook-and-line halibut PSC limit reduction would be applied to the
hook-and-line catcher vessel and catcher/processor sectors. The amount
of halibut PSC that could be used by the other hook-and-line fishery
after implementation of this action is also shown in Table 5.
Effectively, the amount of halibut PSC that could be used would
decrease under this action to 269 mt in 2014, to 261 mt in 2015, and
finally to 256 mt in 2016. These amounts are based on the premise that
there is no change in the apportionment of the Pacific cod biomass
between the Western and Central GOA during those years.
Table 5--Example of the Other Hook-and-Line Halibut PSC Limits (in mt) Under This Proposed Action Based on the 2013 Apportionment of the Western and
Central GOA Pacific Cod TACs and Associated Distribution of the Annual Other Hook-and-Line Halibut PSC Limit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd season
Proposed Total allowance 1st season 2nd season June September 1 to
Year Sectors reduction \1\ January 1 to 10 to September December 31
(percent) June 10 (86%) 1 (2%) (12%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013................................. Total Allowance........ ................ 290 249 6 35
Catcher vessel......... N/A 166 143 3 20
Catcher/processor...... N/A 124 106 2 15
2014................................. Total Allowance........ ................ 269 232 5 32
Catcher vessel......... 7 154 133 3 19
Catcher/processor...... 7 115 99 2 14
2015................................. Total Allowance........ ................ 261 225 5 32
Catcher vessel......... 12 146 126 3 18
Catcher/processor...... 7 115 99 2 14
2016 and each year thereafter........ Total Allowance........ ................ 256 220 5 31
Catcher vessel......... 15 141 121 3 17
Catcher/processor...... 7 115 99 2 14
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The total allowance reflects the sum of the amount available to each sector. After 2013, the 290 mt limit would remain in regulation at Sec.
679.21(d) as part of the formulas that provide the basis for apportioning the annual halibut PSC limit between the hook-and-line catcher/processor and
catcher vessel sectors. The actual annual PSC limit would decrease (in this example) to 256 mt in 2016.
Trawl Sector Proposed Reduction
The amount of the proposed trawl halibut PSC limit reduction would
be based on reductions from the current trawl halibut PSC limit of
1,973 mt as established in the final 2013 and 2014 harvest
specifications for the GOA (78 FR 13162, February 26, 2013). This base
amount includes a reduction of 27.4 mt from the trawl halibut PSC limit
implemented under the Central GOA Rockfish Program (76 FR 81248,
December 27, 2011). Similar to the other hook-and-line catcher vessel
sector, the proposed halibut PSC limit reduction for the trawl sector
would be 15 percent and phased-in over 3 years. The halibut PSC limit
would be reduced by 7 percent in 2014, or the first year of
implementation, an additional 5 percent in 2015, or the second year,
and a final 3 percent in 2016, or the third year, for a total reduction
of 15 percent from the status quo. This new PSC limit in 2016 would
remain in effect each year thereafter. In selecting trawl halibut PSC
limit reduction, the Council balanced the broad goal of minimizing
halibut bycatch to the extent practicable with trawl fishery
participants' need for a
[[Page 57116]]
sufficient amount of halibut PSC to harvest available GOA groundfish
TACs, and thereby support the achievement of optimum yield from the GOA
groundfish fishery.
A. Rockfish Program Halibut PSC Apportionment
The trawl halibut PSC limit of 191.4 mt apportioned to the Central
GOA Rockfish Program would not be reduced by this action. The Rockfish
Program was exempted from the proposed halibut PSC limit reductions
because participants in the Rockfish Program already had their
apportionment of halibut PSC limit reduced relative to historic use of
halibut PSC in the Central GOA rockfish fisheries when the Council
adopted the program. NMFS implemented the Rockfish Program on December
27, 2011 (76 FR 81248) and reduced the halibut PSC limit apportionment
by 12.5 percent of the fishery's historical annual use (during the 2000
through 2006 qualifying period). The 12.5-percent reduction resulted in
27.4 mt of halibut PSC limit that is not allocated for use annually,
leaving 191.4 mt to support the Central GOA Rockfish Program.
In addition, the Central GOA Rockfish Program limits the maximum
amount of any unused halibut PSC limit from Central GOA Rockfish
Program participants that may be made available to the non-Rockfish
Program trawl fisheries. This reallocation of unused halibut PSC limit
is commonly known as a reapportionment. The annual reapportionment of
any unused portion of the 191.4 mt Rockfish Program halibut PSC limit
is reduced by 45 percent, and as a result only 55 percent of the
annual, unused halibut PSC limit may be available for reapportionment
to non-Central GOA Rockfish Program fisheries during the fifth season.
The halibut PSC reductions already implemented through the Rockfish
Program minimize halibut bycatch in the rockfish fishery to the extent
practicable. These reductions limit halibut mortality both by limiting
the amount of halibut PSC that is initially allocated as halibut PSC CQ
and by limiting the amount of halibut PSC that may be reassigned. In
developing the Rockfish Program, the Council sought to balance the need
to provide adequate halibut PSC for use by rockfish cooperatives,
recognize patterns of reduced halibut PSC use once exclusive harvest
privileges were established, and meet broader goals to reduce halibut
mortality. The Analysis supporting the current proposed action projects
that the 45-percent reduction of unused halibut PSC limit would be
equal to, or greater than, the 15-percent reduction applied to the
general trawl halibut PSC limit under this action based on a review of
the amount of unused halibut PSC limit in the Central GOA Rockfish
Program (see Section 4.5.5 of the Analysis for additional detail).
Additional details on the specific rationale and methods for halibut
PSC limit allocations and reapportionments in the Central GOA Rockfish
Program are provided in the final rule implementing that program and
are not repeated here (see 76 FR 81248, December 27, 2011).
B. Applying the Proposed Halibut PSC Limit Reductions to the Trawl
Sector
The proposed reductions to the annual trawl halibut PSC limits do
not include a reduction to the current amount of trawl halibut PSC
apportioned to the Rockfish Program. NMFS proposes to subtract 191.4 mt
of the halibut PSC limit that is apportioned to the Rockfish Program
from the overall trawl halibut PSC limit before calculating the
percentage reduction to the trawl halibut PSC limit. The 191.4 mt
amount would be added back to the trawl halibut PSC limit after
calculating the 7, 12, and 15 percent annual reduction during the
phased-in implementation of the trawl halibut PSC limit reductions.
This would prevent the percentage reductions being proposed for overall
annual GOA trawl halibut PSC limit from being applied to the halibut
PSC limit apportioned to the Central GOA Rockfish Program.
The total trawl halibut PSC limit would be calculated using the
following formula:
Trawl Halibut PSC Limit = ((1,973 mt - 191.4 mt) * X) + 191.4 mt
In this formula, X is the percentage of the original allocation the
trawl gear sector would receive of the phased-in percentage PSC limit
reductions (7 percent the first year, 12 percent the second year, and
15 percent the third and each year thereafter). In the first year of
implementation of this action, the trawl gear sector would receive
1,848 mt, or 93 percent (0.93) of the 2013 trawl PSC limit of 1,973 mt.
In the second year, the trawl gear sector would receive 1,759 mt, or 88
percent (0.88) of the 2013 trawl PSC limit of 1,973 mt. Finally, in the
third and each year thereafter, the trawl gear sector would receive
1,706 mt, or 85 percent (0.85) of the 2013 trawl PSC limit of 1,973 mt.
The annual halibut PSC limits for the deep-water fishery, shallow-water
fishery, and each of those fisheries respective seasonal apportionments
would continue to be recommended by the Council and published in the
annual harvest specifications, rather than in Federal regulations. The
proposed halibut PSC limit reductions also would result in changes to
the trawl sector's seasonal apportionments of halibut PSC limits. Those
changes are discussed below. Table 6 shows the proposed halibut PSC
limits for the trawl sector each year for the implementation of this
action, if this proposed action is implemented in 2014.
Table 6--Proposed Halibut PSC Limits for the Trawl Sector
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual trawl gear PSC
Effective dates limit (mt) * Percent reduction
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013 (status quo)............................................. 1,973 N/A
2014.......................................................... 1,848 7
2015.......................................................... 1,759 12
2016 and each year thereafter................................. 1,706 15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* This amount retains the existing 191.4 mt annual halibut PSC limit allocated to the Rockfish Program without
any reduction to this allocation.
C. Changes in Trawl Seasonal Apportionments
As discussed earlier in this preamble in the ``Background'' section
under ``GOA Annual Halibut PSC Limits, Fishery Categories, and Seasonal
Apportionments,'' section 679.21(d)(5) authorizes NMFS to seasonally
apportion the annual trawl halibut PSC limits after consulting with the
Council. During the annual harvest specifications process the Council
recommends and NMFS assigns the specific amount of halibut PSC limit to
each of these seasons. Section 679.21(d)(3) and (4) establishes the
annual halibut PSC limit apportionments to trawl gear in the
[[Page 57117]]
GOA through the annual groundfish harvest specification process.
Table 7 portrays the proposed reduction of annual halibut PSC limit
to the trawl sector and the resulting changes to apportionments to the
deep-water fishery and shallow-water fishery in each season. Table 7
assumes that the apportionments to the deep-water and shallow-water
fishery categories and seasons specified in the final 2013 and 2014
harvest specifications for the GOA (78 FR 13162, February 26, 2013)
would be retained in future annual harvest specifications. As shown in
Table 7, halibut PSC limit reductions for the trawl sector would result
in the deep-water species fishery allowance decreasing from 789 mt in
2013, to 682 mt in 2016 and each year thereafter under this action. The
shallow-water species fishery allowance would be reduced from 888 mt in
2013, to 767 mt in 2016 and each year thereafter under this action. The
undesignated fifth season allowance would be reduced from 296 mt in
2013, to 256 mt in 2016 and each year thereafter under this action.
Table 7--Trawl Fishery and Seasonal Halibut PSC Limits Based on 2013 Apportionments of the Overall Halibut PSC
Limits
[All values are metric tons, except where noted as percentages]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5th season
Total Trawl Halibut PSC 1st season 2nd season 3rd season 4th season October 1
limit January 20 April 1 to July 1 to September 1 through
to April 1 July 1 September 1 to October 1 December 31
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual limit, all categories Seasonal share
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27.5% 20% 30% 7.5% 15%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013 (status quo)........... 1,973 543 395 592 148 296
2014 (7% reduction)......... 1,848 508 370 554 139 277
2015 (12% reduction)........ 1,759 484 352 528 132 264
2016 and each year 1,706 469 341 512 128 256
thereafter (15% reduction).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deep-water species fishery Seasonal share
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.5% 37.5% 50%* 0%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013 (status quo)........... 789 99 296 395 ............ ............
2014 (7% reduction)......... 739 92 277 178 [370] ............ ............
2015 (12% reduction)........ 704 88 264 160 [352] ............ ............
2016 and each year 682 85 256 150 [341] ............ ............
thereafter (15% reduction).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shallow-water species fishery Seasonal share
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
50% 11.1% 22.2% 16.7% ............
-----------------------------
2014 (7% reduction)......... 832 416 92 185 139 ............
2015 (12% reduction)........ 791 396 88 176 132 ............
2016 and each year 767 384 85 170 128 ............
thereafter (15% reduction).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Undesignated by deep-water or shallow-
water species fishery Seasonal share
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
100%
2013 (status quo)........... 296 ............ ............ ............ ............ 296
2014 (7% reduction)......... 277 ............ ............ ............ ............ 277
2015 (12% reduction)........ 264 ............ ............ ............ ............ 264
2016 and each year 256 ............ ............ ............ ............ 256
thereafter (15% reduction).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Number in bracket includes the 191.4 mt Rockfish Program halibut PSC limit.
The Council noted that between 2006 and 2011 (the most recent years
available for the Analysis), the deep-water fishery used, on average,
about 85 percent of its available halibut PSC limit over the first
through fourth seasons. The shallow-water fishery used about 89 percent
of its available halibut PSC limit over the same time period. For all
five seasons, the entire trawl sector used about 93 percent of its
available halibut PSC limit. Although the proposed reductions would
likely constrain the trawl sector in the second and third year after
implementation, NMFS believes the trawl fisheries could potentially
operate longer and produce larger volumes of fish if this sector
changes its fishing practices. Historical records and NMFS' management
experience in the trawl fisheries indicates that the amount of halibut
PSC in the GOA groundfish fisheries can be reduced by increased
communication among industry participants and coordination of fishing
activities and effort (see section 4.6.4 of the Analysis for additional
detail).
Action 3: Reducing Halibut PSC Sideboard Limits for AFA, Amendment 80,
and Rockfish Program Vessels
As described above in the section titled ``Halibut PSC Sideboard
Limits,'' a variety of halibut PSC use limits (commonly known as
sideboard limits) have been implemented to restrict the amount of
halibut PSC available to specific participants in GOA groundfish
fisheries. This proposed rule would not revise the current regulations
that establish the methodology for calculating the specific percentage
of the annual trawl halibut PSC limit
[[Page 57118]]
apportioned to the AFA Program, Amendment 80 sector, or Central GOA
Rockfish Program as halibut PSC sideboard limits. Rather, the AFA
Program, Amendment 80 sector, and Rockfish Program halibut PSC
sideboard limits would continue to be calculated during the annual
harvest specifications process as percentages of the GOA halibut PSC
limit. However, because the annual trawl PSC limit would be reduced
under this proposed action, the amount (in metric tons) of each of
these management program's halibut PSC sideboard limit would also be
reduced. Regulations that establish halibut PSC sideboard limits are at
Sec. 679.64(b)(4) for non-exempt AFA catcher vessels subject to GOA
halibut PSC sideboard limits, Sec. 679.92(b)(2) for the Amendment 80
sector, and Sec. 679.82(e) for catcher/processors that opt-out of a
Rockfish Program cooperative and are subject to GOA halibut PSC
sideboard limits.
The Council considered but rejected an option to specify the
sideboard limits in Federal regulation as a fixed limit in metric tons,
rather than as percentages of the GOA trawl halibut PSC limit. The
Council recommended that applying the sideboard limits as a percentage
in Federal regulations would allow the proposed reductions to the
annual trawl halibut PSC limit to carry through to those respective
sideboard limits. Applying the current methodology prescribed in
regulation for establishing halibut PSC sideboard limits against a
lower trawl halibut PSC limit proportionately reduces the sideboard
limits available to the AFA Program, Amendment 80 sector, and Rockfish
Program. The Council and NMFS therefore determined that the proposed
halibut PSC sideboard limit reductions minimize halibut bycatch to the
extent practicable. Participants in the AFA Program, Amendment 80
sector, and the Rockfish Program have the ability to reduce halibut PSC
use through halibut avoidance methods similar to those described above
for other participants in the GOA trawl sector, including increased
communication among industry participants, coordinated fishing
activities and effort, and improved fishing technology (see section
4.6.4 of the Analysis for additional detail).
The following sections explain how the proposed halibut PSC
sideboard limit reductions in this action would be applied to the AFA,
Amendment 80, and Rockfish Programs. Additional detail on the potential
impacts of the halibut PSC sideboard limits is available in section
4.3.2 of the Analysis. The examples provided in the following sections
assume that the apportionments to the deep-water and shallow-water
fishery categories and seasons specified in the final 2013 and 2014
harvest specifications for the GOA (78 FR 13162, February 26, 2013) are
retained in future annual harvest specifications. If the Council
recommends a different range of apportionments for those fishery
categories, the actual amounts in the following examples would likewise
change.
NMFS determined that these apportionments are appropriate for
purposes of this action because they are consistent with the objective
to apportion halibut PSC to ensure that it is available for use in
groundfish fisheries earlier in the year (e.g., the trawl deep-water
fisheries in the first season), but limits that use so that the halibut
PSC limit remains to support other groundfish fisheries that occur
later in the year (e.g., the trawl shallow-water fisheries in the
fourth season). The limits assigned to each season reflect that halibut
PSC likely to be taken during specific seasons by specific fisheries.
This approach is consistent with the FMP and regulations at Sec.
679.21(d)(5), which require that the Council and NMFS consider a number
of factors in seasonally apportioning halibut PSC limits (see ``GOA
Annual Halibut PSC Limits, Fishery Categories, and Seasonal
Apportionments'' section above). Any future changes to apportionments
during the harvest specifications process would be evaluated consistent
with Sec. 679.21(d)(5). The following sections use 2014 as the first
year of implementation of halibut PSC sideboard limit reductions.
A. Amendment 80 Halibut PSC Sideboard Limit
Table 8 provides estimates of the proposed annual, fishery
category, and seasonal halibut PSC sideboard limit reductions for the
Amendment 80 sector. The phased-in 15-percent reduction in the deep-
water fishery would result in a 61 mt annual reduction in the halibut
PSC sideboard limit, from 418 mt in 2013, to 357 mt in 2016 and each
year thereafter. The same reduction in the shallow-water fishery
sideboard limits would result in a 20 mt annual reduction in the
halibut PSC sideboard limit, from 137 mt in 2013, to 117 mt in 2016 and
each year thereafter.
Table 8--Proposed Halibut PSC Sideboard Limits for the Amendment 80 Sector
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5th season
Total sideboard 1st season 2nd season April 3rd season July 4th season October 1
Amendment 80 sideboard limits limit January 20 to 1 to July 1 1 to September 1 September 1 to through
April 1 October 1 December 31
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deep-water species fishery:
2013 (Status Quo)....................... 418 23 214 104 3 74
2014 (7% Reduction)..................... 387 21 198 96 3 69
2015 (12% Reduction).................... 368 20 189 92 2 65
2016 and each year thereafter........... 357 20 183 89 2 63
(15% Reduction).........................
Shallow-water species fishery:
2013 (Status Quo)....................... 137 10 38 29 15 45
2014 (7% Reduction)..................... 127 9 35 27 14 42
2015 (12% Reduction).................... 120 8 33 26 13 40
2016 and each year thereafter (15% 117 8 32 25 13 39
Reduction).............................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 57119]]
Amendment 80 vessels subject to the halibut PSC sideboard limits
are most active in the deep-water fishery, where they primarily fish
for arrowtooth flounder, rex sole, and rockfish. The third season has
the largest number of participating Amendment 80 vessels, because that
is the season most vessels fish in the rockfish fishery. Participation
in the shallow-water fisheries by Amendment 80 vessels is much smaller,
with only one to three vessels targeting these fisheries. Historical
data indicates that only during the third season of the 2008 deep-water
species fishery did halibut PSC sideboard limit use exceed 89 mt,
which, according to Table 8, is the amount available under the 15-
percent proposed reduction of the halibut PSC limit. That year was the
first year of the Amendment 80 Program and the most active year for
Amendment 80 vessels in the GOA. The Amendment 80 sector is expected to
have a sufficient deep-water fishery halibut PSC limit to harvest
rockfish in the third season. Under this proposed action, the decision
of when to fish for groundfish under the halibut PSC limit remains with
the Amendment 80 sector as it continues to monitor its halibut PSC
under its existing cooperative agreements.
B. Rockfish Program Catcher/Processor Opt-Out Sideboard Limits
Table 9 shows the proposed July Rockfish Program catcher/processor
halibut PSC sideboard limit reductions for those catcher/processors
that choose to opt-out of participating in a Rockfish Program
cooperative. These sideboard limits are separate and distinct from the
Rockfish Program halibut PSC limit apportionment of 191.4 mt. The
proposed phased-in 15-percent reduction would result in a 7 mt
reduction for the deep-water fishery Rockfish Program catcher/processor
opt-out halibut PSC sideboard limit, from 50 mt in 2013, to 43 mt in
2016 and each year thereafter. The shallow-water fishery Rockfish
Program catcher/processor opt-out halibut PSC sideboard limit would
remain at 2 mt during the 3 years of phased-in reductions. The reason
that the shallow-water fishery PSC sideboard limit would not change is
due to the fact that regulations establish the sideboard limit as 0.1
percent of the annual trawl halibut PSC limit (see regulations at Sec.
679.84(e)). Once a 15-percent reduction is applied the resulting amount
does not change due to rounding to the nearest metric ton.
Table 9--Proposed Rockfish Program Catcher/Processor Halibut PSC Sideboard Limits for July
[Values are in metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July sideboard limits
-------------------------------------------------
Rockfish sideboard limits Deep-water species Shallow-water species
fishery fishery
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013 (Status Quo)............................................. 50 2
2014 (7% Reduction)........................................... 46 2
2015 (12% Reduction).......................................... 44 2
2016 and each year thereafter (15% Reduction)................. 43 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Council and NMFS believe that these halibut PSC limit
reductions minimize halibut bycatch to the extent practicable taken by
catcher/processors choosing to opt-out of participating in a Rockfish
Program cooperative. Any reduction from the current 50 mt sideboard
limit for the Rockfish Program catcher/processor opt-out halibut PSC
sideboard limit in the deep-water fishery will likely constrain the
catcher/processors subject to the sideboard limit. During 2007, 2008,
and 2009, halibut PSC by the catcher/processors in the Central GOA
Rockfish Program would have exceeded the 50 mt halibut PSC sideboard
limit. Given that the halibut PSC for the deep-water fishery exceeded
the status quo halibut PSC sideboard limit in those three years, there
is a high likelihood that the deep-water fishery would be constrained
by the reduced halibut PSC sideboard limit during July, particularly as
the halibut PSC sideboard limit is reduced. However, in more recent
years the Rockfish Program halibut PSC sideboard limits have not been
exceeded, as catcher/processors that have opted-out of joining a
Rockfish Program cooperative have either changed their fishing
practices or decreased their participation in the fisheries subject to
these halibut PSC sideboard limits. The fleet's altered fishing
practices and improved communications about halibut bycatch among
vessels and managing companies have resulted in decreases in halibut
bycatch.
C. Non-Exempt AFA Catcher Vessel Halibut PSC Sideboard Limits
The proposed 15-percent reduction to the trawl halibut PSC limit
would proportionately reduce the halibut PSC sideboard limits
established for non-exempt AFA catcher vessels during the annual
harvest specifications process. Table 10 shows the proposed non-exempt
AFA catcher vessel halibut PSC sideboard limit reductions. The total
reduction, once applied to the deep-water fishery, would result in an 8
mt AFA halibut PSC sideboard limit reduction, from 56 mt in 2013, to 48
mt in 2016 and each year thereafter. The same 15-percent halibut PSC
limit reduction applied to the shallow-water fishery would result in a
45 mt AFA halibut PSC sideboard limit reduction, from 306 mt in 2013,
to 261 mt in 2016 and each year thereafter. The 15-percent halibut PSC
limit reduction applied to the fifth season (undesignated by species
fishery) would decrease 10 mt, from 62 mt in 2013, to 52 mt in 2016 and
each year thereafter.
[[Page 57120]]
Table 10--Non-exempt AFA Catcher Vessel Halibut PSC Sideboard Limits
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5th season
Non-exempt AFA catcher vessel sideboard 1st season 2nd season April 3rd season July 4th season October 1
limits Total sideboard January 20 to 1 to July 1 1 to September 1 September 1 to through
April 1 October 1 December 31
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deep-water species fishery:
2013 (Status Quo)....................... 56 7 21 28 0 ................
2014 (7% Reduction)..................... 50 6 19 25 0 ................
2015 (12% Reduction).................... 49 6 18 25 0 ................
2016 and each year thereafter (15% 48 6 18 24 0 ................
Reduction).............................
Shallow-water species fishery:
2013 (Status quo)....................... 306 153 34 68 51 ................
2014 (7% Reduction)..................... 282 141 31 63 47 ................
2015 (12% Reduction).................... 270 135 30 60 45 ................
2016 and each year thereafter (15% 261 130 29 58 44 ................
Reduction).............................
Undesignated by species fishery:
2013 (Status quo)....................... 62 ................ ................ ................ ................ 62
2014 (7% Reduction)..................... 57 ................ ................ ................ ................ 57
2015 (12% Reduction).................... 54 ................ ................ ................ ................ 54
2016 and each year thereafter (15% 52 ................ ................ ................ ................ 52
Reduction).............................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In recent years, non-exempt AFA catcher vessels have been the most
active in the shallow-water fishery, with up to 10 vessels
participating, particularly in the first, third, and fourth seasons.
Participation in the deep-water fishery is more limited, with only two
vessels targeting these fisheries in recent years. Only the deep-water
fishery exceeded a current seasonal sideboard limit; this happened
three times from 2003 through April 2012. For this reason, the proposed
halibut PSC sideboard limit reductions are expected to minimally
constrain the non-exempt AFA catcher vessels if current fishing
practices continue. The reductions would still allow the vessels
subject to these halibut PSC sideboard limits to continue to fish,
rather than be subject to fishery closures due to reaching the
decreased halibut PSC limits proposed by this action. Most of the
participation in the shallow-water fishery occurs in the pollock and
Pacific cod fisheries. The pollock fishery has relatively low halibut
PSC use compared to other shallow-water fisheries. A large amount of
the halibut PSC limit is apportioned to seasons when Pacific cod target
fishery apportionments are issued, which attempts to match potential
halibut bycatch needs with the amount of Pacific cod available. In
addition, given that NMFS is authorized to roll over unused halibut PSC
sideboard limits for the non-exempt AFA catcher vessel from season to
season, the proposed reductions appear to pose little constraint for
these deep-water or shallow-water fisheries. Thus, even with the
application of the maximum percent reduction considered as part of this
action (15 percent), the corresponding reductions to the non-exempt AFA
halibut PSC sideboard limits would still allow the vessels subject to
these sideboard limits to operate in the deep-water and shallow-water
fisheries.
Action 4: Adjusting the Accounting for Halibut PSC Sideboard Limits for
Amendment 80 Vessels, and Halibut PSC Apportionments Used by Trawl
Vessels From May 15 Through June 30
This proposed action also includes two management measures that are
intended to provide relief to trawl sectors that are constrained by
current regulatory restrictions associated with halibut PSC sideboard
limits and the segregation of trawl halibut PSC apportionments between
the deep-water and shallow-water fisheries. These measures would (1)
allow the Amendment 80 sector to roll over unused halibut PSC sideboard
limits from one season to the next season, and (2) allow available
trawl halibut PSC limit apportionments in the second season deep-water
and shallow-water fisheries to be combined and made available for use
in either fishery from May 15 through June 30. These management
measures are meant to help maintain groundfish harvest while minimizing
halibut bycatch by these sectors to the extent practicable. They also
are meant to provide additional flexibility as an incentive to
participate in fisheries at times of the year that may have lower
halibut PSC rates relative to other times of the year. Both proposed
measures are described in detail below.
A. Allow the Amendment 80 Sector To Roll Over Unused Halibut PSC
Sideboard Limits From One Season to the Next Season
This management measure would allow the Amendment 80 sector to roll
over unused halibut PSC sideboard limits from one season to the next
season so that the Amendment 80 sector could maximize their groundfish
catch by using their reduced halibut PSC sideboard limits more
efficiently. Non-exempt AFA catcher vessels, Central GOA Rockfish
Program vessels, and vessels not operating under sideboard limits
already have this flexibility. Currently, NMFS monitors halibut PSC by
species fishery and seasons. Regulations at Sec. 679.92(b)(2) prevent
Amendment 80 vessels from using more
[[Page 57121]]
halibut PSC sideboard limit than is available in each deep-water or
shallow-water fishery and season. If the Amendment 80 deep-water or
shallow-water seasonal halibut PSC sideboard limit is reached, then all
directed fishing for all species in that fishery close in the GOA for
that season. If an Amendment 80 seasonal halibut PSC sideboard limit is
exceeded then the amount over the limit is deducted from the next
season's halibut PSC sideboard limit. NMFS reopens a species fishery in
the following season with the halibut PSC sideboard limit applicable
for that season.
Allowing the Amendment 80 sector to roll over unused halibut PSC
sideboard limits from one season to the next season may allow for an
increased availability of halibut PSC sideboard limits in some seasons.
Any unused seasonal deep-water or shallow-water fishery halibut PSC
sideboard limit available to roll over to the next season would remain
in the same fishery category to which the limit was originally assigned
during the harvest specifications process. This would preclude such
roll overs from affecting the overall halibut PSC limit seasonal
apportionments that are established for the GOA trawl sector as whole.
Table 11 uses data that was presented in the Analysis from the 2009
through 2010 fishing years to provide an example of how this measure
would have been applied to the Amendment 80 sector fisheries in those
years. Table 11 indicates that 132 mt of deep-water fishery and 86 mt
of shallow-water fishery halibut PSC sideboard limits would have been
available to roll over during the 2010 fishing year under this proposed
option. However, the amount of the sideboard limit available to roll
over from season to season in future years would be reduced under this
proposed rule with the proposed phase-in of halibut PSC limit
reductions. Under the 15-percent halibut PSC limit reduction proposed
in this action, the amount of halibut PSC sideboard limits established
for the Amendment 80 sector that would have been available for roll
over in 2010 decreases from 132 mt to 112 mt for the deep-water
fishery.
Table 11--Amendment 80 Halibut PSC Sideboard Limit (mt) That Would Have Been Available To Roll Over to the Next Season Under This Proposed Action During
the 2009 and 2010 Fishing Years
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5th season
Total sideboard 1st season 2nd season April 3rd season* July 4th season October 1
available to January 20 to 1 to July 1 1 to September 1 September 1 to through
roll over April 1 October 1 December 31
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deep-water fishery 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status Quo.................................. 132 13 52 64 3 N/A
7% Reduction................................ 123 12 48 60 3 N/A
12% Reduction............................... 116 11 46 57 3 N/A
15% Reduction............................... 112 11 44 55 3 N/A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shallow-water fishery 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status Quo.................................. 86 9 33 29 15 N/A
7% Reduction................................ 80 8 30 27 14 N/A
12% Reduction............................... 75 8 29 26 13 N/A
15% Reduction............................... 73 8 28 25 13 N/A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deep-water fishery 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status Quo.................................. 135 23 73 36 3 N/A
7% Reduction................................ 126 21 68 34 3 N/A
12% Reduction............................... 119 20 65 32 2 N/A
15% Reduction............................... 115 20 62 31 2 N/A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shallow-water fishery 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status Quo.................................. 64 0 20 29 14 N/A
7% Reduction................................ 59 0 19 27 13 N/A
12% Reduction............................... 56 0 18 25 13 N/A
15% Reduction............................... 54 0 17 24 12 N/A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Excludes Rockfish Program halibut PSC limit.
The ability to roll over unused halibut PSC limits from one season
to the next season would likely benefit the Amendment 80 sector. This
management measure offers the Amendment 80 sector the ability to more
efficiently use its halibut PSC sideboard limit. The inability to roll
over halibut PSC limits from one season to the next season currently
may create an incentive for the Amendment 80 sector to incur more
halibut PSC during a given season, absent the flexibility to roll over
unused limits of the sector's halibut PSC sideboard limit
apportionments to the next season. The Amendment 80 sector
traditionally fishes early in the season until the entire halibut PSC
limit is reached because all trawl sectors are competing with each
other for groundfish while the halibut PSC limit is available, and
other sectors' catch could cause the deep-water (primarily) or shallow-
water halibut limit to be reached before the Amendment 80 sector
reaches its halibut PSC sideboard limit. The Amendment 80 sector's
current inability to roll over unused halibut PSC, and the race to
catch as much of their groundfish halibut PSC sideboard limit and non-
sideboarded flatfish species as possible may create economic incentives
that do not allow the best use of their halibut PSC sideboards. A
rollover provision may help provide positive incentives to maximize
Amendment 80 sector groundfish harvests with available halibut PSC. The
Council included this management measure to the flexibility of proposed
Measure 1 to provide the Amendment
[[Page 57122]]
80 sector with the ability to respond more efficiently to the proposed
halibut PSC limit reductions in this proposed rule and other recent
changes in GOA groundfish management. These changes include the
regulations implementing Amendment 83 to establish GOA Pacific cod
sector allocations, and the Central GOA Rockfish Program. The ability
to roll over seasonal halibut PSC would provide the Amendment 80 sector
with the opportunity to take advantage of available halibut PSC
sideboard limits later in the year if halibut PSC is avoided in
previous seasons. The Amendment 80 sector could develop methods to
avoid halibut PSC or modify its fishing patterns, which could result in
more target groundfish catch.
However, the flexibility to roll over halibut PSC sideboard limits
to subsequent seasons does not guarantee the halibut PSC limit will be
available to the Amendment 80 sector for future seasons. Under this
management measure, all sectors would continue to compete for
groundfish while the overall trawl halibut PSC limit is available. Use
of halibut PSC by other non-Amendment 80 trawl vessels could cause the
deep-water or shallow-water fisheries halibut PSC limit to be reached.
This would result in a closure for all trawl gear before the Amendment
80 sector reaches its halibut PSC sideboard limit. Also, it is possible
that the Amendment 80 sector could reach its halibut PSC sideboard
limit early in the year, which would reduce the amount of the halibut
PSC sideboard limit available to roll over to the next season.
B. Combine Management of the Deep-Water and Shallow-Water Halibut PSC
Limits From May 15 to June 30 To Allow Available Trawl Halibut PSC
Limit in the Second Season Deep-Water and Shallow-Water Fisheries To Be
Made Available for Use in Either Fishery Category
This management measure would allow all GOA trawl participants to
access remaining halibut PSC limits in either the deep-water fishery or
shallow-water fishery during the second season from May 15 through June
30. Currently, NMFS manages the deep-water and shallow-water fishery
complexes separately in the second season by closing directed fishing
for the deep-water and shallow-water fishery complexes when the
respective second season fishery halibut PSC limit is reached. Once a
particular fishery complex is closed, vessels may not directed fish for
species in their respective deep-water or shallow-water fishery complex
until the third season deep-water fishery halibut PSC limit becomes
available on July 1.
Historically, the deep-water trawl fishery reached its second
season halibut PSC limit in April. The shallow-water trawl fishery
halibut PSC limit has remained untouched in the second season because
members of the trawl sector have not targeted shallow-water complex
species due to the low economic value of these species. Combining
management of the deep-water and shallow-water halibut PSC limits from
May 15 to June 30 would allow the trawl sector to use remaining second
season halibut PSC limits in either fishery complex and would provide
the trawl sector with greater opportunity to fully harvest TAC for more
economically valuable species.
Under combined management of halibut PSC limits from May 15 through
June 30, GOA trawl gear vessels could use halibut PSC limits that
remain in the deep-water complex or shallow-water complex in either the
deep-water or shallow-water fisheries. The second season would remain
open under combined management as long as halibut PSC is available.
Once the total second season halibut PSC limit is reached, NMFS would
close all directed fishing for groundfish using trawl gear in the GOA
until the third season deep-water fishery halibut PSC limit becomes
available on July 1 (except Rockfish Program cooperative quota and
vessels directed fishing for pollock using pelagic trawl gear, which
are exempt from halibut PSC limit closure notices under existing
regulations at Sec. 679.21(d)(7)(i)). Closure notices would not be
separately issued to deep-water or shallow-water fisheries, since they
would be managed as a combined trawl halibut PSC limit from May 15
through June 30.
Halibut PSC sideboard limits for the Amendment 80 and AFA vessels
would continue to be defined for deep-water and shallow-water fisheries
in the second season. Since shallow-water flatfish is primarily
targeted by catcher vessels, much of the benefit derived from this
management measure would result if catcher vessels minimize their use
of halibut PSC while fishing in the shallow-water fishery. For the
trawl fleets to benefit from this measure it would be necessary for
some amount of the shallow-water halibut PSC limit to remain in the
second season. As currently allowed for other trawl sectors, if the
Amendment 80 sector were allowed to roll over unused deep-water halibut
PSC sideboard limit from the first season, as proposed above, then it
also may benefit from this proposed change.
After the second season is complete, NMFS would re-specify halibut
PSC limits for the third season, and would resume separate management
of halibut PSC limits in the deep-water and shallow-water fishery
complexes. NMFS would reduce the halibut PSC limit in the third season
to account for any overage of the original apportionment of deep-water
or shallow-water halibut PSC limits in the second season. An overage of
the second season halibut PSC limit would decrease the halibut PSC
limit available for the third season fisheries.
For example, the deep-water fishery could close in mid-April
because it reached that fishery's second season halibut PSC
apportionment. The shallow-water fishery may have 100 mt of halibut PSC
limit remaining, which would be available for use by either the deep-
water or shallow-water fishery beginning on May 15 under this
management measure. In this case, the trawl sector could start fishing
for deep-water species on May 15 and use the halibut PSC limit of 100
mt that was available from the shallow-water fishery's seasonal halibut
PSC apportionment instead of waiting until July 1 for the third season
deep-water fishery halibut PSC limit to become available. However, if
the deep-water fishery used this extra amount, NMFS would issue an
inseason action to reduce the third season deep-water fishery halibut
PSC limit available on July 1 from 181 mt to 81 mt to account for the
100 mt used by that fishery during May 15 through June 30. This
methodology would also apply to the shallow-water fishery's seasonal
halibut PSC limit. This measure is not expected to result in closure of
the third season deep-water or shallow-water fisheries based on the
current halibut PSC seasonal apportionments. If there is unused second
season halibut PSC limit available after June 30, then it would be
rolled over to the same species fishery from which it was initially
assigned (e.g., if 50 mt of halibut PSC derived from the shallow-water
fishery remained after June 30, that 50 mt would be added to the amount
available at the start of the third season shallow-water fishery
halibut PSC limit).
The Council selected May 15 as the date to remove the deep-water
and shallow-water restrictions in order to allow for a period without
potential fishing effort. Historically, the second season deep-water
fishery has closed during the third week in April. Delaying the re-
opening of the deep-water fishery, even if some amount of the shallow-
water halibut PSC limit was available for the deep-water fishery, may
provide
[[Page 57123]]
two benefits. First, the groundfish species in the deep-water fishery
could re-aggregate if they had dispersed during the beginning of the
second season deep-water fishery. Second, Pacific halibut migrate to
shallower waters during the spring and summer months. Thus, opening the
deep-water fishery on May 15 may allow for greater groundfish catch per
unit of fishing effort (i.e., increased fishing efficiency for target
species), as well as potentially decreasing halibut bycatch (since
there has been additional time for halibut to move into shallower
waters).
The flexibility created from this management measure could
potentially provide sectors with the ability to reduce halibut PSC
rates by fishing at times of the year when halibut PSC rates are lower
and the halibut PSC limit has not typically been available. Allowing
fishing during times of lower halibut PSC rates would provide the trawl
sector with greater opportunity to access groundfish TACs despite the
reduction in halibut PSC limits. Also, allowing shallow-water fishery
halibut PSC limits to be used in the deep-water fishery after May 15
each year during the second season should extend the deep-water fishery
during that season. Increasing the overall amount of deep-water fishery
halibut PSC limit available may extend fishing for arrowtooth flounder
and rex sole for both catcher vessels and catcher/processors.
The Council considered but rejected an option to account for
halibut PSC from May 15 through June 30 by deducting the halibut PSC
from the fishery category where it was initially available. The Council
rejected this option because NMFS would have been required to revise
its catch accounting system, and those revisions could have resulted in
substantial costs to NMFS. Measure 2 as recommended by the Council, and
proposed in this rule, would not require substantial revisions to NMFS'
catch accounting system to re-specify halibut PSC limits.
Summary of Regulatory Changes
This action proposes the following changes to the existing
regulatory text at 50 CFR part 679:
Revise Sec. 679.21, prohibited species bycatch
management, to incorporate explicit annual GOA halibut PSC limits for
the trawl and hook-and-line fisheries, add the incremental reduction of
the annual PSC limit over a 3-year period, and provide NMFS the ability
to re-specify halibut PSC limits in the second season deep-water and
shallow-water species fishery categories to aggregate available halibut
PSC limits for use in either fishery.
Revise Sec. 679.92, Amendment 80 Program halibut PSC use
caps and sideboard limits, to remove restrictions on the roll over of
seasonal halibut PSC sideboard limits from one season to the next
season.
Revise Table 38 to 50 CFR part 679 to incorporate in this
table the seasonal halibut PSC sideboard limit roll over provisions
made in Sec. 679.92.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act,
and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after public
comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of Executive Order (E.O.) 12866.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
An Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was prepared for
this action, as required by section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility
Act. The IRFA describes the economic impact this proposed rule, if
adopted, would have on small entities. The IRFA describes the reasons
why this action is being proposed; the objectives and legal basis for
the proposed rule; the number of small entities to which the proposed
rule would apply; any projected reporting, recordkeeping, or other
compliance requirements of the proposed rule; any overlapping,
duplicative, or conflicting Federal rules; impacts of the action on
small entities; and any significant alternatives to the proposed rule
that would accomplish the stated objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and any other applicable statutes, and would minimize any
significant adverse impacts of the proposed rule on small entities.
Descriptions of the proposed action, its purpose, and the legal basis
are contained earlier in this preamble and are not repeated here. A
summary of the IRFA follows. A copy of the IRFA is available from NMFS
(see ADDRESSES).
On June 20, 2013, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a
final rule revising the small business size standards for several
industries effective July 22, 2013. 78 FR 37398 (June 20, 2013). The
rule increased the size standard for Finfish Fishing from $4.0 to 19.0
million, Shellfish Fishing from $4.0 to 5.0 million, and Other Marine
Fishing from $4.0 to 7.0 million. Id. at 37400 (Table 1). The new size
standards were used to prepare the IRFA for this action.
Number and Description of Small Entities Directly Regulated by the
Proposed Action
The entities directly regulated by this proposed action are those
entities that participate in harvesting groundfish from the Federal or
parallel groundfish fisheries of the GOA with trawl gear or hook-and-
line gear (excluding sablefish). These directly regulated entities
include the groundfish catcher vessels and groundfish catcher/processor
vessels active in the GOA. Also considered directly regulated are those
entities with halibut PSC sideboard limits, which include non-exempt
AFA catcher vessels that operate in AFA inshore cooperatives, catcher/
processors operating in Amendment 80 cooperatives, and catcher/
processors operating in Central GOA Rockfish Program cooperatives.
Fishing vessels are considered small entities if their total annual
gross receipts, from all their activities combined, are less than $19.0
million. The IRFA estimates the number of harvesting vessels that are
considered small entities, but these estimates may overstate the number
of small entities because (1) some vessels may also be active as tender
vessels in the salmon fishery, fish in areas other than Alaska and the
West Coast, or generate revenue from other non-fishing sources; and (2)
all affiliations are not taken into account, especially if the vessel
has affiliations not tracked in available data (i.e., ownership of
multiple vessel or affiliation with processors) and may be
misclassified as a small entity. The Analysis for this proposed action
identified an estimated 486 total vessels considered directly regulated
small entities in 2012, the most recent year of available data on the
size of regulated entities.
There are 65 Western Alaska communities that work through six non-
profit Community Development Quota (CDQ) groups that are considered
small entities for Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes. The CDQ groups'
ownership of harvesting vessels that operate in the GOA means that some
of the CDQ groups' activities could be directly regulated in the same
manner as other small entities that own vessels harvesting groundfish
in the GOA.
The AFA, Amendment 80, and Central GOA Rockfish fisheries
cooperatives receive sideboard limits of halibut PSC and are therefore,
directly regulated. These cooperative entities are structured to
increase the joint profits to their members. In 2012, there were seven
inshore AFA cooperatives, two Amendment 80 cooperatives, and two
Central GOA Rockfish cooperatives that
[[Page 57124]]
are considered large entities for this proposed action.
Impacts of the Action on Small Entities
This proposed rule is meant to reduce halibut PSC mortality by
decreasing halibut PSC limits available for use in the GOA groundfish
fisheries. Publishing the halibut PSC limits in Federal regulation
would reduce regulatory uncertainty as to what the final halibut PSC
limit would be each year and may benefit small entities as they plan
their annual fishing strategy. Any reductions in harvest by groundfish
harvesters would impact revenue generated from the GOA groundfish
fisheries. The small entities regulated under this proposed action may
or may not be constrained by the halibut PSC limit and generate less
revenue than under the status quo alternative, depending on the halibut
PSC used in the groundfish fisheries each year. The GOA trawl and hook-
and-line vessels regulated by this action would need to use their
halibut PSC limits more efficiently to mitigate the impacts of this
proposed action. The extent to which the regulated fleets are
successful in limiting halibut PSC use in the near and longer terms
will determine the constraints this proposed action has on small
entities. Given variations in the amount of available groundfish
resources on an annual basis, and the amount of halibut PSC that may be
used harvesting these resources, the impacts of the alternatives are
assessed relative to historic rates of halibut PSC use.
Description of Significant Alternatives Considered
The Council considered an extensive series of alternatives,
options, and suboptions to reduce halibut PSC limits in the GOA,
including the ``no action'' alternative. The RIR presents the complete
set of alternatives (see ADDRESSES). Alternative 1 is Status Quo/No
Action alternative, which would retain the process of changing GOA
halibut PSC limits through the annual groundfish harvest specification
process. Alternative 2 would amend the FMP to remove setting GOA
halibut PSC limits from the annual harvest specification process and
instead establish the limits in Federal regulation. Alternative 2
includes two options. Option 1, Status Quo/No Action would retain the
existing 1,973 mt trawl and 300 mt hook-and-line gear halibut PSC
limits provided in the final 2013 and 2014 annual harvest
specifications for the GOA and place them in Federal regulation. Option
2 would revise the current GOA halibut PSC limits and write the new
limits into Federal regulation. Alternative 2, Option 2, contained a
number of suboptions for the amount of halibut PSC limit reduction by
trawl and the hook-and-line fisheries, and additional measures. Other
significant alternatives to the proposed rule that were considered are
discussed in Section 2.1.4 of the Analysis. The preferred alternative
includes a suite of options and suboptions that considered a range of
different halibut PSC limit reductions and modifications to halibut PSC
sideboard limit management (Alternative 3).
All of the alternatives and options that were considered, other
than the Status Quo, including the Council's preferred alternative,
would implement the halibut PSC limits through Federal regulation to
reduce uncertainty about the final annual halibut PSC limit, which may
benefit small entities. Based on the best available scientific data and
information, none of the alternatives to the preferred alternative
appear to have the potential to accomplish the stated objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable statutes (as reflected in the
proposed action), while minimizing any significant adverse economic
impact on small entities beyond those achieved under the proposed
action. The proposed action would minimize bycatch to the extent
practicable while providing mechanisms to reduce the impacts on small
entities in the GOA groundfish fisheries by phasing-in reductions to
these halibut PSC limit reduction measures over several years and
establishing other measures described in this proposed rule to ensure
more efficient use of the available halibut PSC limits.
Recordkeeping and Recording Requirements
This action does not modify recordkeeping or reporting
requirements. Federal Rules that may Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict
with the Proposed Action.
The Analysis did not reveal any Federal rules that duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with the proposed action.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679
Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: September 9, 2013.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, performing the functions and
duties of the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA
0
1. The authority citation for part 679 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., 3631 et seq.;
and Pub. L. 108-447.
0
2. In Sec. 679.21,
0
a. Remove paragraph (d)(2);
0
b. Redesignate paragraphs according to the following table;
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Redesignate paragraph As paragraph
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(d)(4) (d)(2)
(d)(5) (d)(4)
(d)(6) (d)(5)
(d)(7) (d)(6)
(d)(8) (d)(7)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0
c. Revise newly redesignated paragraphs (d)(2) (d)(4)(iii)(C) and
(d)(6)(ii);
0
d. Revise paragraphs (d)(1), (d)(3) heading, (d)(3)(i), (d)(3)(ii); and
0
e. Add paragraph (d)(4)(iii)(D) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.21 Prohibited species bycatch management.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
(1) Notification and public comment--(i) Proposed and final
apportionments. NMFS will publish in the Federal Register proposed and
final apportionments of the halibut PSC limits in paragraphs (d)(2) and
(3) of this section in the notification required under Sec. 679.20.
(ii) Modification of apportionments. NMFS, by notification in the
Federal Register, may change the halibut PSC apportionments during the
year for which they were specified, based on new information of the
types set forth in this paragraph (d).
(iii) Public comment. NMFS will accept public comment on the
proposed halibut PSC apportionments for a period specified in the
notice of proposed halibut PSC apportionments published in the Federal
Register. NMFS will consider comments received on proposed halibut PSC
apportionments and, after consultation with the Council, will publish
notification in the Federal
[[Page 57125]]
Register specifying the final halibut PSC apportionments.
(2) Hook-and-line gear and pot gear annual halibut PSC limit. (i)
The annual total PSC limit of halibut caught while conducting any hook-
and-line gear fishery for groundfish in the GOA is an amount of halibut
equivalent to the amount of halibut mortality established for each of
the fishery categories in paragraphs (d)(2)(i)(A) and (B) of this
section. The notification at paragraph (d)(1) of this section also may
specify a halibut PSC limit for the pot gear fisheries.
(A) Demersal shelf rockfish, Southeast Outside (SEO) District. The
halibut PSC limit in the demersal shelf rockfish fishery in the SEO
District is 9 mt.
(B) Other hook-and-line fishery. The halibut PSC limit in the other
hook-and-line gear fishery is established according to the provisions
of paragraphs (d)(2)(iii) and (d)(2)(iv) of this section.
(ii) Hook-and-line fishery categories. For purposes of apportioning
the hook-and-line halibut PSC limit among fisheries, the following
fishery categories are specified and defined in terms of round-weight
equivalents of those GOA groundfish species for which a TAC has been
specified under Sec. 679.20.
(A) Demersal shelf rockfish, SEO District. Fishing with hook-and-
line gear in the SEO District of the Eastern GOA regulatory area during
any weekly reporting period that results in a retained catch of
demersal shelf rockfish that is greater than the retained amount of any
other fishery category defined under this paragraph (d)(2)(ii).
(B) Other hook-and-line fishery. Fishing with hook-and-line gear
during any weekly reporting period that results in a retained catch of
groundfish and is not a demersal shelf rockfish fishery defined under
paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(A) of this section.
(iii) Apportionment of the GOA halibut PSC limit among other hook-
and-line catcher vessels and catcher/processors.
(A) Catcher vessels using hook-and-line gear in the other hook-and-
line fishery will be apportioned part of the GOA halibut PSC limit in
proportion to the total Western and Central GOA Pacific cod
allocations, where X is equal to annual TAC, as follows:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP17SE13.000
(B) Catcher/processors using hook-and-line gear in the other hook-
and-line fishery will be apportioned part of the GOA halibut PSC limit
in proportion to the total Western and Central GOA Pacific cod
allocations, where X is equal to annual TAC, as follows:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP17SE13.001
(C) No later than November 1, any halibut PSC limit allocated under
paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(B) of this section not projected by the Regional
Administrator to be used by one of the hook-and-line sectors during the
remainder of the fishing year will be made available to the other
sector.
(iv) Other hook-and-line fishery annual PSC limit reductions. The
annual halibut PSC limits established for the other hook-and-line
fishery under paragraph (d)(2)(iii) of this section are reduced, as
follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual PSC limit
percent reduction from
the annual halibut PSC
Vessel category limit established under Effective years
paragraph (d)(2)(iii)
of this section
(percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) Catcher vessel.......................... 7 2014.
12 2015.
15 2016 and each year thereafter.
(B) Catcher/processor....................... 7 2014 and each year thereafter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Trawl gear annual halibut PSC limit. (i) The annual total PSC
limit of halibut caught while conducting any trawl gear fishery for
groundfish in the GOA is an amount of halibut equivalent to 1,973 mt of
halibut mortality. This amount is reduced as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual trawl gear PSC
Percent reduction from 1,973 mt limit (mt) \1\ Effective years
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7........................................... 1,848 2014.
12.......................................... 1,759 2015.
[[Page 57126]]
15.......................................... 1,705 2016 and each year thereafter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This amount maintains the 191 mt annual allocation to the Rockfish Program (see Table 28d to this part) from
the 1,973 mt halibut PSC limit, while reducing the remainder of the annual trawl gear halibut PSC limit by the
percentage listed in the first column.
(ii) PSC allowance. The halibut PSC limit specified for vessels
using trawl gear may be further apportioned as PSC allowances to the
fishery categories listed in paragraph (d)(3)(iii) of this section,
based on each category's proportional share of the anticipated halibut
PSC mortality during a fishing year and the need to optimize the amount
of total groundfish harvest under the halibut PSC limit. The sum of all
PSC allowances will equal the halibut PSC limit established under
paragraph (d)(3)(i) of this section.
* * * * *
(4) * * *
(iii) * * *
(C) The amount of unused halibut PSC not reapportioned under the
provisions described in Sec. 679.21(d)(4)(iii)(B) will not be
available for use as halibut PSC by any person for the remainder of
that calendar year.
(D) Combined management of trawl halibut PSC limits from May 15
through June 30. NMFS will combine management of available trawl
halibut PSC limits in the second season deep-water and shallow-water
species fishery categories for use in either fishery from May 15
through June 30 during the current fishery year. Halibut PSC sideboard
limits for the Amendment 80 and AFA sectors will continue to be defined
as deep-water and shallow-water species fisheries from May 15 through
June 30. NMFS will re-apportion the halibut PSC limit between the deep-
water and shallow-water species fisheries after June 30 to account for
actual halibut PSC use by each fishery category during May 15 through
June 30. The Regional Administrator will issue a Federal Register
notice to reapportion the amounts of trawl halibut PSC to each species
fishery category.
* * * * *
(6) * * *
(ii) Hook-and-line fisheries. If, during the fishing year, the
Regional Administrator determines that U.S. fishing vessels
participating in any of the three hook-and-line gear and operational
type fishery categories listed under paragraph (d)(2) of this section
will catch the halibut PSC allowance, or apportionments thereof,
specified for that fishery category under paragraph (d)(1) of this
section, NMFS will publish notification in the Federal Register closing
the entire GOA or the applicable regulatory area, district, or
operation type to directed fishing with hook-and-line gear for each
species and/or species group that composes that fishing category.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 679.92, revise paragraph (b)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.92 Amendment 80 Program use caps and sideboard limits.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(2) GOA halibut PSC sideboard limits. All Amendment 80 vessels,
other than the fishing vessel GOLDEN FLEECE as specified in paragraph
(d) of this section, may not use halibut PSC in the fishery categories
and management areas, greater than the amounts specified in Table 38 to
this part during January 1 through December 31 of each year. Any
residual amount of a seasonal sideboard halibut PSC limit may carry
forward to the next season limit. This restriction on halibut PSC usage
does not apply to the following two exceptions:
* * * * *
0
4. Revise Table 38 to 50 CFR part 679 to read as follows:
Table 38 to Part 679--GOA Amendment 80 Sideboard Limit for Halibut PSC for the Amendment 80 Sector
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The maximum percentage of the total GOA halibut PSC limit that
may be used by all Amendment 80 qualified vessels subject to
the halibut PSC sideboard limit as those seasons \1\ are
In the . . . established in the annual harvest specifications is . . .
----------------------------------------------------------------
Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5
(percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shallow-water species fishery as defined in 0.48 1.89 1.46 0.74 2.27
Sec. 679.21(d)(3)(iii)(A) in the GOA or
adjacent waters open by the State of Alaska
for which it adopts a Federal fishing season..
Deep-water species fishery as defined in Sec. 1.15 10.72 5.21 0.14 3.71
679.21(d)(3)(iii)(B) in the GOA or adjacent
waters open by the State of Alaska for which
it adopts a Federal fishing season............
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Any residual amount of a seasonal sideboard halibut PSC limit may carry forward to the next season limit
(see Sec. 679.92(b)(2)).
[FR Doc. 2013-22362 Filed 9-16-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P