[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 125 (Monday, June 30, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36702-36718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15185]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 130424402-4509-01]
RIN 0648-BD23
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Amendment 105; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Flatfish Harvest Specifications Flexibility
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 issues a proposed rule that would implement Amendment 105
to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP). If approved, Amendment 105
would establish a process for Western Alaska Community Development
Quota (CDQ) groups, and cooperatives established under the Amendment 80
Program (Amendment 80 cooperatives), to exchange harvest quota from one
of three flatfish species (flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
[[Page 36703]]
sole) for an equal amount of another of these three flatfish species,
while maintaining total catch below acceptable biological catch (ABC)
limits. This action would modify the annual harvest specification
process to allow the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
to establish the maximum amount of flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole that may be exchanged based on social, economic, or
biological considerations. This action is necessary to mitigate the
operational variability, environmental conditions, and economic factors
that may constrain the CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives from
achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield (OY) in the BSAI
groundfish fisheries. This action is intended to promote the goals and
objectives of the BSAI FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), and other applicable law.
DATES: Submit comments on or before July 30, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by, NOAA-NMFS-2013-0074,
by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0074, 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.
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 the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), and the Categorical Exclusion
prepared for this action, the supplemental information report prepared
for the final 2014 and 2015 harvest specifications (Harvest
Specifications Supplemental Information Report (SIR)), or the Alaska
Groundfish Harvest Specifications Final Environmental Impact Statement
(Harvest Specifications EIS) may be obtained 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
action 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: Seanbob Kelly, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulatory Authority
NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 105 to the BSAI
FMP. NMFS manages the U.S. groundfish fisheries of the Exclusive
Economic Zone off Alaska under the BSAI FMP and the Fishery Management
Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. The Council prepared the
BSAI FMP pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable law.
Regulations implementing the BSAI FMP appear at 50 CFR part 679.
General regulations governing U.S. fisheries also appear at 50 CFR part
600.
Background
The proposed action would revise Federal regulations and amend the
BSAI FMP to:
Define an amount of flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole in the BSAI, that is the difference between each
species' annual ABC and annual total allowable catch (TAC), as the ABC
surplus for that flatfish species.
Allow the Council to recommend, and NMFS to specify, that
some, none, or all, of the ABC surplus for flathead sole, rock sole, or
yellowfin sole in the BSAI be set aside each year through the annual
harvest specifications process. The amount of ABC surplus set aside for
a species is the ABC reserve.
Allow CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives to apply to
NMFS to receive a portion of the ABC reserve for flathead sole, rock
sole, or yellowfin sole in the BSAI if they exchange a portion of their
unused annual allocations of one or two flatfish species for an equal
amount of another flatfish species (e.g., exchange an amount of unused
annual allocation of flathead sole or allocations of flathead sole and
rock sole for an equal amount of yellowfin sole ABC reserve). This
exchange would be defined as a Flatfish Exchange.
Allow a Flatfish Exchange only if it would not cause a CDQ
group or an Amendment 80 cooperative to exceed the ABC or ABC reserve
amount for flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole.
Limit the number of Flatfish Exchanges that each CDQ group
or Amendment 80 cooperative could undertake in a calendar year.
Require that Amendment 80 cooperatives provide an annual
report on the use of Flatfish Exchanges.
The purpose of this proposed action is to maximize catch,
retention, and utilization of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole while maintaining catch at, or below, the ABC and ABC reserve for
each species. The following sections provide necessary background to
describe the effects of the proposed action. These sections are: (1)
The annual harvest specification process; (2) the CDQ Program; (3) the
Amendment 80 Program; (4) the objectives for and effects of the
proposed action; and (5) the proposed action. The proposed action
section includes a description of: The process for setting the ABC
surplus and the ABC reserve; the method for determining the portion of
the ABC reserve for each flatfish species available to each CDQ group
and Amendment 80 cooperative; the Flatfish Exchange process each CDQ
group and Amendment 80 cooperative must use; and annual Amendment 80
cooperative Flatfish Exchange reporting requirements.
Annual Harvest Specification Process
General Annual Harvest Specifications Process
Section 3.2.3 of the BSAI FMP and its implementing regulations at
Sec. 679.20(c) require that the Council recommend and NMFS specify an
overfishing level (OFL), an ABC, and a TAC for each stock or stock
complex (i.e., species or species group) of groundfish on an annual
basis. The OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for BSAI groundfish are specified
through the annual harvest specification process. A detailed
description of the annual harvest specification process is provided in
the Harvest Specifications EIS, the Harvest Specifications SIR, and the
final 2014 and 2015 harvest specifications for groundfish of the BSAI
(79 FR 12108, March 04, 2014) and is briefly summarized here.
Section 3.2.1 of the BSAI FMP defines the OFL as the level above
which
[[Page 36704]]
overfishing is occurring for a species or species group. NMFS manages
fisheries in an effort to ensure that no OFLs are exceeded in any year.
Section 3.2.4.3 of the BSAI FMP clarifies that if catch is approaching
an OFL, NMFS will prevent overfishing by closing specific fisheries
identified by gear and area that incur the greatest catch. Closures
expand to other fisheries if the rate of take is not sufficiently
slowed. Regulations at Sec. Sec. 679.20(d)(1), (d)(2), and (d)(3)
define the process NMFS uses to limit or prohibit fishing to prevent
overfishing and maintain total catch at or below the OFL.
Section 3.2.1 of the BSAI FMP defines the ABC as the level of a
species or species group's annual catch that accounts for the
scientific uncertainty in the estimate of OFL and any other scientific
uncertainty. The ABC cannot exceed the OFL as described in section
3.2.3.3.1 of the BSAI FMP. NMFS attempts to manage all fisheries so
that total catch does not exceed the ABC by monitoring fisheries,
imposing necessary closures, and other limitations. Regulations at
Sec. Sec. 679.20(d)(1) and (d)(2) describe the range of management
measures that NMFS uses to maintain total catch at or below the ABC.
Section 3.2.1 of the BSAI FMP defines the TAC as the annual catch
target for a species or species group, derived from the ABC by
considering social and economic factors and management uncertainty.
Section 3.2.3.4.1 of the BSAI FMP requires that the TAC must be set
lower than or equal to the ABC. Section 3.2.4.3 of the BSAI FMP
clarifies that NMFS may use a variety of management measures to limit
catch to avoid exceeding the TAC. Regulations at Sec. Sec.
679.20(d)(1) and (d)(2) describe the range of management measures that
NMFS uses to maintain total catch at or below the TAC.
The development of the OFLs and ABCs are based on annual Stock
Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) reports compiled by the
Council's BSAI Groundfish Plan Team (Plan Team) and reviewed by the
Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Advisory Panel
(AP). The SAFE report contains a review of the latest scientific
analyses and estimates of each species' biomass and other biological
parameters, as well as summaries of the available information on the
BSAI ecosystem and the economic condition of the groundfish fisheries
off Alaska. The Plan Team publicly reviews the SAFE reports, receives
input from the public, and recommends any needed revisions to the SAFE
reports, estimates an OFL and ABC for each species or species group,
and provides those recommendations to the Council.
Annually at the December Council meeting, the Council, the SSC, and
the AP, publicly review the Plan Team's recommendations. During this
meeting, the Council adopts OFLs and ABCs that cannot exceed the
amounts recommended by the SSC. In setting specific TAC levels, the
Council considers the best available biological and socioeconomic
information, including projected biomass trends, information on assumed
distribution of stock biomass, and revised technical methods used to
calculate stock biomass.
Section 3.2.2.2 of the BSAI FMP and regulations at Sec.
679.20(a)(2) require the sum of the TACs in all BSAI groundfish
fisheries to be set within a range from 1.4 to 2 million metric tons
(mt). This regulation implements the statutory requirement that ``[t]he
optimum yield for groundfish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area shall not exceed 2 million metric tons'' (See section
803(c) of Pub. L. No. 108-199). Pursuant to Section 3.2.3.4.1 of the
BSAI FMP, the Council may recommend TACs that are lower than the ABCs
recommended by the SSC if setting TACs equal to ABCs would cause TACs
to exceed 2 million mt. NMFS adheres to the statutory provision by
limiting the sum of the TACs for all BSAI groundfish to 2 million mt.
Generally, the sum of the ABCs for BSAI groundfish exceeds 2 million
mt. For example, in 2014 the sum of all BSAI groundfish ABCs was
2,572,819 mt (79 FR 12108, March 04, 2014). In recent years, the
Council and NMFS have specified TACs for several species below their
respective ABCs to ensure that the sum of the TACs for groundfish in
the BSAI does not exceed 2 million mt.
In addition to public comment received and considered by the
Council during the development of annual harvest specifications, NMFS
provides the public with notice and an opportunity to comment when it
issues a proposed rule to implement the annual harvest specifications,
which covers the Council's OFL, ABC, and TAC recommendations. The
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) will approve the final rule
implementing the Council's recommended OFLs, ABCs, and TACs if she
finds them consistent with the FMP, MSA, and other applicable law. The
final 2014 and 2015 harvest specifications provide additional detail on
this process (79 FR 12108, March 04, 2014).
Annual Specification Process for Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, and
Yellowfin Sole
Flatfish in the BSAI are harvested by vessels primarily using trawl
gear. In this mixed species fishery, operators target certain species
of flatfish but also take a variety of species incidentally, including
halibut and crab (species that are prohibited for harvest by vessels
fishing for groundfish), and other groundfish that typically occupy the
same habitat at the same times of year. The composition of groundfish
species taken in the BSAI flatfish fisheries varies by season and by
fishing year.
Three of the most valuable BSAI flatfish fisheries, and the focus
of this proposed action, are flathead sole, rock sole (Lepidopsetta
polyxystra), and yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera). In the BSAI, flathead
sole represents two morphologically similar species managed by NMFS as
single species group. The flathead sole referred to in this document,
and targeted in BSAI flatfish fisheries, is comprised of flathead sole
(Hippoglossoides elassodon) and Bering flounder (Hippoglossoides
robustus); the harvest of both species accrues toward a flathead sole
TAC.
Typically the Council has recommended, and NMFS has approved,
setting flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole TACs below the
ABCs for those species for a variety of factors summarized here and
described in greater detail in Sections 1.5 and 1.6 of the RIR/IRFA
prepared for this action. In the Bering Sea, pollock is the target of a
highly valued fishery; therefore, the Council often recommends, and
NMFS approves, a TAC that is at, or near, the ABC for Bering Sea
pollock, and that TAC is almost always completely harvested each year.
The pollock TAC accounts for a large portion of the total groundfish
available for harvest under the OY range for all BSAI groundfish. For
example, in 2014 the Bering Sea pollock ABC is 1,369,000 mt and the TAC
is 1,267,000 mt (79 FR 12108, March 04, 2014). This TAC level means
that the sum of the TACs for all remaining BSAI groundfish in 2014 must
not exceed 733,000 mt to ensure that the sum of the TACs for all BSAI
groundfish does not exceed 2 million mt. It follows that setting TACs
equal to ABCs for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole would
further limit or eliminate harvest opportunities in the remaining non-
pollock groundfish fisheries that also must be accommodated within the
2 million mt TAC limit. Although there is a relatively large biomass of
flathead sole, rock sole,
[[Page 36705]]
and yellowfin sole, and relatively large ABCs, compared to other BSAI
groundfish species, the TACs set for these three flatfish species have
not been fully harvested in recent years. Some of the reasons for the
relatively limited harvests of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole include the uncertain nature of harvest in these multi-species
flatfish fisheries, operational factors specific to the CDQ Program and
Amendment 80 fisheries, and economic conditions. These factors are
described in more detail below in the ``CDQ Program'' and ``Amendment
80 Program'' sections of this preamble. For these reasons the Council
did not recommend setting the TAC equal to ABC for flathead sole, rock
sole, and yellowfin sole in 2014.
During the annual harvest specification process, the Council and
NMFS must apportion the flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole
TAC according to specific regulatory requirements. First, regulations
require that NMFS reserve 10.7 percent of the TAC for each of these
species for use by CDQ groups (see regulations at Sec. Sec.
679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C) and 679.31). Second, the remaining TAC for each of
these species is reduced by an incidental catch allowance (ICA) to
account for incidental catch of flathead sole, rock sole and yellowfin
sole by non-CDQ and non-Amendment 80 Program participants (see
regulations at Sec. Sec. 679.20(a)(8) and (10)). For the purposes of
this proposed action, incidental catch refers to the flatfish caught
and retained while targeting another species or species group. For
example, NMFS must accommodate incidental catch of yellowfin sole in
the Bering Sea pollock fishery by including an amount in the ICA that
will accommodate incidental catch in that fishery; NMFS must also add
an amount to the yellowfin sole ICA to accommodate incidental catch in
all other non-CDQ and non-Amendment 80 fisheries. Third, the remainder
of the TAC is assigned to Amendment 80 Program and non-Amendment 80
Program participants as required for each species. Regulations require
that the flathead sole and rock sole TACs remaining after establishing
the CDQ reserves and ICAs are fully assigned to the Amendment 80
Program (see Table 33 to part 679). The yellowfin sole TAC remaining
after establishing the CDQ reserve and the ICA is apportioned between
the Amendment 80 sector and the BSAI trawl limited access sector (i.e.,
non-Amendment 80 trawl vessels) according to a specific formula that
varies with the abundance of yellowfin sole (see Table 34 to part 679
for additional detail).
CDQ Program
The CDQ Program is an economic development program associated with
federally managed fisheries in the BSAI. The purpose of the CDQ Program
is to provide western Alaska communities with the opportunity to
participate and invest in BSAI fisheries, to support economic
development in western Alaska, to alleviate poverty, to provide
economic and social benefits for residents of western Alaska, and to
achieve sustainable and diversified local economies in western Alaska.
Regulations establishing the CDQ Program were first implemented in
1992 (57 FR 46133, October 7, 1992). Additional provisions applicable
to the CDQ Program were incorporated in the Magnuson-Stevens Act in
1996 through the Sustainable Fisheries Act (Pub. L. 104-297).
Regulations implementing the CDQ Program provide an exclusive harvest
privilege for a portion of the groundfish, crab, and halibut annual
catch limits for use by non-profit entities representing specific
eligible western Alaska communities. These exclusive harvest privileges
are known as CDQ allocations. A total of 65 communities are authorized
under section 305(i)(1)(D) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to participate
in the CDQ Program. These communities participate in the CDQ Program
through six nonprofit corporations (CDQ groups) that manage and
administer the CDQ allocations, investments, and economic development
projects. These communities, and their CDQ groups, are identified in
the Magnuson-Stevens Act at section 305(i)(1)(D).
The CDQ Program is defined as a catch share program because it
provides an exclusive harvest privilege (i.e., a CDQ allocation) to a
specific fishery participant (i.e., a CDQ group) for its exclusive use.
The CDQ Program allocates a portion of commercially important BSAI
groundfish species, including flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole, to the CDQ groups. Specific to this proposed action, section
305(i)(1)(B) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires an annual allocation
of 10.7 percent of the TAC of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole to the CDQ Program. Section 305(i)(1)(C) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act clarifies that 10 percent of the TAC for flathead sole, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole is allocated among the six CDQ groups, based on the
percentage allocations that were in effect on March 1, 2006, while the
remaining 0.7 percent of the TAC for each of these species is
distributed among CDQ groups based on the percentage allocations agreed
on by a Board of Directors, serving in its capacity as the
Administrative Panel or is allocated by the Secretary based on the
nontarget needs of eligible CDQ groups in the absence of an
Administrative Panel decision (see section 305(i)(1)(G) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act). Currently, the Western Alaska Community
Development Association (WACDA) serves as the Administrative Panel
specified in the Magnuson-Stevens Act and defines the allocation of 0.7
percent of the TAC for each of these species among the CDQ groups.
Section 1.6.1 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action provides
additional detail on the CDQ allocations of flathead sole, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole to the CDQ Program as a whole, and to each CDQ
group.
NMFS prohibits any CDQ group from exceeding its CDQ allocation (see
regulations at Sec. 679.7(d)(3)). NMFS established this regulatory
prohibition to hold CDQ groups accountable for maintaining their catch
below their CDQ allocations. NMFS determined that this management
measure is appropriate because CDQ groups have greater control over
their harvesting activities, and are not engaged in a ``race for fish''
that can occur in fisheries that do not receive an exclusive harvest
privilege. The CDQ allocations allow CDQ groups to make operational
choices to improve fishery returns, reduce bycatch, and reduce fish
discards. These operational changes are not likely to occur under a
race for fish. Since the implementation of the CDQ Program, CDQ groups
have maintained all harvests within their CDQ allocations with very few
overages.
CDQ groups can also transfer their CDQ allocation among CDQ groups
to provide an opportunity for CDQ groups to more fully harvest their
allocations (see regulations at Sec. 679.5(n)). This transfer
provision helps CDQ groups ensure that they can receive a transfer if
needed and have adequate allocations to avoid exceeding their CDQ
allocation.
Currently, the six CDQ groups harvest their flathead sole, rock
sole, and yellowfin sole CDQ allocations through contracts with
Amendment 80 and non-Amendment 80 harvesting partners. Although the CDQ
groups vary individually in the degree to which they harvest their
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole CDQ allocations, the six
CDQ groups have not collectively harvested their allocations in recent
years. For example, from 2008 through 2012, CDQ groups have
collectively harvested approximately 12 percent of their flathead sole,
30 percent of their rock sole, and 39 percent of their
[[Page 36706]]
yellowfin sole CDQ allocations. Section 1.6.1 of the RIR/IRFA provides
additional detail on the dynamics that can affect the ability of CDQ
groups to fully harvest their flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole CDQ allocations. Those dynamics are also summarized in the
``Amendment 80 Program'' section of the preamble.
Amendment 80 Program
In June 2006, the Council adopted Amendment 80 to the BSAI FMP,
which was implemented in 2008 with a final rule published in 2007 (72
FR 52668, September 14, 2007) and is commonly known as the Amendment 80
Program. Among other measures, the Amendment 80 Program authorized the
allocation of six BSAI groundfish species to trawl catcher/processors
(C/Ps) that are not specifically listed as authorized to conduct
directed fishing for Bering Sea pollock under the American Fisheries
Act of 1998 (AFA) (Pub. L. 105-227, Title II of Division C). The
minimum participation requirements to enter this non-AFA trawl C/P
subsector were established by Congress in section 219(a)(7) of the BSAI
Catcher Processor Capacity Reduction Program, which is contained within
the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
2005 (Pub. L. No. 108-447). Based on these criteria, NMFS determined
that 28 non-AFA trawl C/Ps originally qualified for the Amendment 80
Program. These non-AFA trawl C/Ps are commonly referred to as Amendment
80 vessels or the Amendment 80 sector. The final rule implementing
Amendment 80 provides additional detail on the Amendment 80 Program (72
FR 52668, September 14, 2007). Key elements of the Amendment 80 Program
applicable to this proposed action are summarized here.
NMFS issued an Amendment 80 quota share (QS) permit to each person
holding the catch history of an original qualifying Amendment 80 vessel
beginning in 2008. The amount of QS issued was based on the qualifying
Amendment 80 vessel's catch history of six license limitation
groundfish species, known as Amendment 80 species (i.e., Aleutian
Islands Pacific ocean perch, Atka mackerel, flathead sole, Pacific cod,
rock sole, and yellowfin sole), in the BSAI from 1998 through 2004. The
sum of all Amendment 80 QS issued for an Amendment 80 species is
defined as the Amendment 80 QS pool.
The Amendment 80 Program is intended primarily to improve retention
and utilization of fishery resources; encourage fishing practices with
lower discard rates; and improve the opportunity for increasing the
value of harvested species while lowering operational costs. The
Amendment 80 Program accomplishes these goals by encouraging the
formation of cooperatives and the development of cooperative fishing
practices among all persons holding Amendment 80 QS permits. Amendment
80 cooperatives are eligible to receive cooperative quota (CQ), which
represents an exclusive harvest privilege for a portion of the TAC for
each Amendment 80 species annually. Throughout this preamble, the term
CQ is used to refer to Amendment 80 CQ. An Amendment 80 cooperative
receives an allocation of CQ for a specific Amendment 80 species based
on the proportion of the total amount of Amendment 80 QS assigned to
that cooperative (e.g., an Amendment 80 cooperative would receive 60
percent of the flathead sole CQ if the members of the cooperative held
60 percent of the flathead sole QS). In any given fishing year,
Amendment 80 sector participants who do not choose to join a harvesting
cooperative must fish in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery,
without an exclusive harvest privilege. Participants in the Amendment
80 limited access fishery race for fish with other participants in that
fishery. Amendment 80 cooperatives receive CQ that allows vessel
operators to make operational choices to reduce discards, reduce
bycatch, and improve the value of Amendment 80 species harvests because
the incentives of the Amendment 80 limited access fishery--to maximize
catch rates to capture a larger share of the available catch--are
removed. Amendment 80 cooperatives, like CDQ groups, operate as catch
share fisheries. The Amendment 80 Program provides an exclusive harvest
privilege (i.e., CQ) to a specific fishery participant (i.e., an
Amendment 80 cooperative) for its exclusive use. The benefits realized
by the Amendment 80 Program are described more fully in the final rule
implementing Amendment 80 (72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007).
NMFS prohibits any Amendment 80 cooperative from exceeding its CQ
allocation (see regulations at Sec. 679.7(o)(4)(iv)). NMFS established
this regulatory prohibition to hold Amendment 80 cooperatives
accountable for maintaining their catch below their CQ allocations.
NMFS determined that this management measure is appropriate because
Amendment 80 cooperatives have greater control over their harvesting
activities, and are not engaged in a race for fish that can occur in
fisheries that do not receive exclusive harvest privileges. No
Amendment 80 cooperative has exceeded any of its CQ allocations since
the implementation of the Amendment 80 Program.
Although the Amendment 80 Program has met many of its goals,
Amendment 80 cooperatives have found it difficult to predict the amount
of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole that can be taken when
specifically targeting those species, while ensuring adequate CQ
remains to accommodate incidental harvest of these species while
targeting other species (e.g., an Amendment 80 cooperative must ensure
that it has adequate yellowfin sole CQ to accommodate both a targeted
yellowfin sole fishery and all incidental harvest of yellowfin sole in
all other BSAI fisheries). Section 1.5.3 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for
this action provides additional detail on specific conditions that can
constrain the full use of a cooperative's flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole CQ. Those factors are briefly summarized here.
As an Amendment 80 cooperative approaches the maximum harvest
permitted under its CQ, all participants in the cooperative must modify
their fishing behavior to avoid exceeding that CQ allocation. Amendment
80 cooperative members rely on their cooperative managers to assist
them in their multi-species flatfish fisheries to ensure cooperatives
do not exceed their CQ allocation. Prior to the start of the fishing
year, Amendment 80 cooperative managers consider the specific fishing
plans of cooperative members, and anticipated incidental catch of
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole by cooperative members in
other fisheries in the BSAI. However, the relative catch composition of
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole can be unpredictable from
month to month, and from year to year. Because of this uncertainty,
Amendment 80 cooperative managers may recommend cooperative members
limit the harvest of certain species early in the fishing year. For
example, Amendment 80 cooperative members may choose to stop fishing in
the valuable rock sole roe fishery that occurs in the early part of the
year (winter), to ensure adequate rock sole CQ is available to
accommodate incidental harvest of rock sole while fishing for yellowfin
sole from late summer through fall. If rock sole incidental catch is
lower than expected in the fall fisheries, too much rock sole CQ may
have been set aside and there may no longer be adequate opportunity for
cooperative members to target rock sole at the end of the fishing year
and fully use the remaining rock sole CQ. The economic loss of this
foregone
[[Page 36707]]
harvest may be amplified because the Amendment 80 cooperative members
did not harvest as much of the higher value roe-bearing rock sole as
could have been possible earlier in the fishing year.
Variations in environmental conditions also can constrain the
ability of cooperative managers and cooperative members to predict
changes in catch composition over time and space. The location of
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole aggregations on fishing
grounds, particularly those that can be harvested with limited bycatch
of halibut, is affected by the location of colder water, ``cold pool,''
on the Eastern Bering Sea shelf. Ice conditions in the Bering Sea,
which can vary substantially from year to year, can effectively
preclude vessels from reaching specific fishing grounds where flathead
sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole are typically harvested. Vessel
operators may have to shift harvesting to other non-flatfish species
during these conditions. This shift could increase incidental harvest
of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole, and decrease the
number of opportunities for cooperative members to target these
flatfish later in the fishing year. The unpredictable nature of
environmental conditions limits the ability of cooperative managers and
vessel operators to predict harvest rates or harvest amounts.
Market conditions may also affect harvests. BSAI flatfish are sold
into a global market, and a wide array of factors may make harvests of
a given flatfish species more or less economically desirable, or not
economically viable to harvest. These market conditions may change
throughout the year, and cooperative managers may have a difficult time
coordinating fishing plans to accommodate uncertainty in incidental
harvest rates, unpredictable environmental conditions, and changing
market conditions.
As the fishing year progresses, vessel operators and cooperative
managers can better predict whether they will fully harvest their
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole CQ. However, harvest
opportunities later in the year may be limited due to the lack of time
to fully harvest CQ for a specific species before the end of the year
and the expiration of the annual CQ permit. As noted earlier,
environmental conditions could limit access to fishing grounds for
specific species, and changing market conditions may make it uneconomic
to harvest a species later in a year.
During the development of the Amendment 80 Program, the Council and
NMFS recognized the broad range of intra- and inter-annual factors that
can affect catch composition. As noted in the preamble to the final
rule for the Amendment 80 Program, this variability could be addressed
within cooperatives and between cooperatives through non-regulatory
contractual agreements (72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007). Specifically,
Amendment 80 cooperatives have established private contractual
arrangements stipulating processes and procedures cooperative members
use to share information on catch rates and ensure access to CQ issued
to the cooperative (i.e., intra-cooperative transfers) as needed, while
ensuring other members are not unduly constrained.
The Amendment 80 Program incorporates regulatory provisions that
are designed to facilitate the harvest of flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole. Regulations provide that if, during a fishing year,
NMFS determines that a portion of the flathead sole, rock sole, or
yellowfin sole ICA or yellowfin sole TAC assigned to the BSAI trawl
limited access sector is unlikely to be harvested, NMFS may reallocate
that remaining amount to Amendment 80 cooperatives in proportion to the
amount of Amendment 80 QS for that flatfish species assigned to that
cooperative (see regulations at Sec. 679.20(a)(10)(iii)(B)). This
provision provides additional harvest opportunities to Amendment 80
cooperatives to the extent there are remaining amounts of ICAs or BSAI
trawl limited access yellowfin sole TAC.
The Amendment 80 Program established provisions that allow the
transfer of CQ between cooperatives to allow more efficient use of
Amendment 80 species among cooperatives (72 FR 52668, September 14,
2007, see regulations at Sec. 679.91(g)). Inter-cooperative transfers
have been used to maximize the harvest of flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole CQ. Beginning in 2011, and in each year since, each
Amendment 80 QS holder has been a member of one of the two Amendment 80
cooperatives. Since 2011, the use of inter-cooperative transfers
increased (see Section 1.4.1 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action).
In 2009, the Council recommended, and NMFS adopted, revisions to
the inter-cooperative transfer provisions to allow post-delivery
transfers in the Amendment 80 Program (74 FR 42178, August 21, 2009).
These revisions mitigate potential overages, reduce enforcement costs,
and provide for more precise TAC management and more value from the
harvests for participants. Post-delivery transfers also increase fleet
flexibility and allow more efficient use of resources. The flexibility
to complete transfers after deliveries reduces the potential that some
CQ will remain unharvested if a cooperative is not able to harvest its
CQ allocation without the risk of an overage, and minimizes the
potential for CQ overages because a CQ account can be balanced after
delivery (see regulations at Sec. 679.7(o)(4)(v)). Section 1.4.1 of
the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action provides additional detail on
non-regulatory and regulatory measures used to maximize the harvest of
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole CQ.
Although a broad range of non-regulatory arrangements exist and
regulatory measures have been implemented to aid in the more complete
harvesting of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole CQ, these
measures do not fully address the range of conditions summarized here
that can constrain harvest. Although annual harvest rates by Amendment
80 cooperatives can vary, from 2008 through 2012, Amendment 80
cooperatives harvested approximately 21 percent of their flathead sole,
55 percent of their rock sole, and 48 percent of their yellowfin sole
CQ. The fact that harvests of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole are substantially below the available CQ suggests that existing
management measures may not provide the flexibility needed to allow
more complete harvest.
The factors discussed here that limit Amendment 80 cooperatives
from fully harvesting their allocations also apply to the CDQ groups.
As noted in the ``CDQ Program'' section of this preamble, CDQ groups
contract with both Amendment 80 and non-Amendment 80 vessels to harvest
their flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole CDQ allocations.
Both Amendment 80 vessels and non-Amendment 80 vessels fishing CDQ
allocations are affected by the same uncertain operational conditions
(e.g., difficultly predicting harvest rates of flatfish in target and
non-target fisheries), unpredictable environmental conditions, and
market conditions that can limit harvest. Recent harvests of flathead
sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole by the six CDQ groups have been
substantially below CDQ allocations, as described in Section 1.6.1 of
the RIR/IRFA and the ``CDQ Program'' section of this preamble. This
indicates that existing management measures applicable to CDQ groups
may not provide the flexibility needed to allow more complete harvest.
[[Page 36708]]
Objectives of and Rationale for This Proposed Action
The objective of this proposed action is to establish a new
accounting methodology that would provide CDQ groups and Amendment 80
cooperatives with additional opportunities to fully harvest flathead
sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole allocations, while ensuring ABCs
cannot be exceeded. This proposed action would establish regulatory
limits to ensure that the individual ABCs for flathead sole, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole would not be exceeded, while facilitating a more
complete harvest of one or more of these flatfish species, up to the
ABC for a species, if specific conditions are met. Although an
individual TAC (not ABC) may be exceeded, this proposed rule would
establish a regulatory mechanism designed to prevent the sum of all
TACs for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole from being
exceeded, thereby ensuring the sum of BSAI groundfish TACs does not
exceed 2 million mt. Moreover, because no exchange can exceed the ABC
reserve and because the action requires the consideration of flathead
sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole catch during the harvest of
groundfish and incidental catch of non-groundfish species prior to any
flatfish exchange, this proposed action would ensure that the ABC for
each flatfish species would not be exceeded. This proposed action is
designed to provide the tools necessary to maximize the sustainable
harvest of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole, and thus
continues to achieve the OY in the BSAI groundfish fisheries.
The rationale for this proposed action follows. Flathead sole, rock
sole, and yellowfin sole are valuable species that are not fully
harvested due to a variety of statutory and regulatory constraints on
the setting of TACs and operational, economic, and environmental
limitations described previously in this preamble and detailed in
Sections 1.5 and 1.6 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action. The
proposed modifications provide additional flexibility to existing
management practices and are appropriate given the fact that CDQ groups
and Amendment 80 cooperatives are participating in catch share
fisheries that are capable of limiting their overall harvests within
specific catch limits, and CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives are
subject to strict management controls that prohibit fishing beyond
these catch limits as described in the ``CDQ Program'' and ``Amendment
80 Program'' sections of this preamble.
Although CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives have a range of
regulatory tools available to maximize harvests, such as the ability to
transfer allocations of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole
between CDQ groups or between Amendment 80 cooperatives to increase
overall harvesting opportunities, the existing harvest patterns
indicate that neither CDQ groups or Amendment 80 cooperatives are
likely to fully harvest their existing allocations (see the ``CDQ
Program'' and ``Amendment 80 Program'' sections of this preamble and
Sections 1.5 and 1.6 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action). The
Council and NMFS expect that additional regulatory tools will promote
increased harvest of CDQ and CQ allocations. This proposed action is
not intended to completely resolve the complex issues that have
constrained the CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives from fully
harvesting their flatfish allocations. This proposed action is intended
to provide the flexible management necessary to mitigate a diverse
range of conditions that may limit catch of flathead sole, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole.
This proposed action is also intended to preserve the Council's and
NMFS' ability to consider a broad range of factors when determining how
much flexibility to provide CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives
through the annual harvest specifications process. For example, the
Council could recommend setting the ABC reserve below the ABC surplus
for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole to account for any
management uncertainty as a precautionary measure. If approved, this
action promotes the Council's and NMFS' ability to ensure a transparent
annual harvest specification process and articulate the criteria by
which the Council and NMFS are making those decisions.
The objectives of this proposed action are consistent with the 10
National Standards established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The
proposed action addresses the Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standards
and would balance a number of competing objectives for fishery
conservation and management. These include National Standard 1,
National Standard 8, and National Standard 9. National Standard 1
requires that conservation and management measures shall prevent
overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield
from each fishery for the U.S. fishing industry. The ability to harvest
the entire TAC for each groundfish fishery, in any given year, is not
determinative of whether the BSAI groundfish fishery achieves optimum
yield. Providing the opportunity for the CDQ groups and the Amendment
80 cooperatives to maximize catch, retention, and utilization of
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole while maintaining catch at
or below the ABC for each species is one aspect of achieving optimum
yield in the long term. National Standard 8 requires considering the
importance of fishery resources to fishing communities and minimizing
adverse economic impacts on such communities. This action is intended
to improve the ability of CDQ groups to harvest their allocations,
which could increase the economic benefits that CDQ groups and western
Alaska communities derive from the BSAI groundfish fisheries. National
Standard 9 requires that conservation and management measures shall, to
the extent practicable, minimize bycatch. This proposed action is
intended to result in higher retention and utilization of groundfish
without increasing overall bycatch of groundfish or non-groundfish
species beyond existing limitations, such as the ABCs.
Other species of flatfish that are harvested by CDQ groups and the
Amendment 80 sector would not be subject to this proposed action,
because only Arrowtooth flounder and Bering Sea Greenland turbot are
allocated to the CDQ groups, and no other flatfish species are
allocated to the Amendment 80 Program. Therefore, these other flatfish
species are still subject to a race for fish. This limits the ability
of CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives to constrain harvests of
non-allocated flatfish species, and reduces the management and
enforcement tools available to NMFS to ensure harvests do not exceed an
ABC. In addition, other flatfish fisheries are not allocated to CDQ
groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives and are not prosecuted in the same
manner as mixed-stock flatfish fisheries that include flathead sole,
rock sole, and yellowfin sole (see Sections 1.5.3 and 1.6.1 of the RIR/
IRFA prepared for this action). Therefore, there is no need to provide
the same management flexibility to the other flatfish fisheries as this
proposed action would provide to the CDQ groups and Amendment 80
cooperatives. Participants that do not join an Amendment 80 cooperative
and participate in an Amendment 80 limited access fishery would not be
subject to this proposed rule and would not receive the opportunity to
access an ABC reserve (see Section 1.4.2 in the RIR/IRFA prepared for
this action). The
[[Page 36709]]
participants in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery would continue
in a race for fish. Such participants are not subject to the strict
management controls that apply to CDQ groups and Amendment 80
cooperatives, such as prohibitions against fishing once a CDQ or CQ
allocation is reached. Similarly, the BSAI trawl limited access sector,
which is allocated a portion of the yellowfin sole TAC, is not assigned
an exclusive harvest privilege as are CDQ groups and the Amendment 80
cooperatives. The lack of exclusive harvest privileges in the Amendment
80 limited access fishery and the BSAI trawl limited access sector
limits NMFS' ability to strictly manage harvests to ensure an ABC is
not exceeded; therefore, those sectors would not be eligible for
Flatfish Exchanges.
Proposed Action
Summary of Regulatory Changes
This action proposes the following changes to the existing
regulatory text at 50 CFR part 679:
Add definitions for ``ABC reserve,'' ``ABC surplus,''
``Amendment 80 ABC reserve,'' ``CDQ ABC reserve,'' and ``Flatfish
Exchange'' to Sec. 679.2.
Add Sec. 679.4(p) to establish the Flatfish Exchange
Application requirements and annual limitations on the number of
Flatfish Exchanges.
Add requirements for the Preliminary Amendment 80
Cooperative Flatfish Exchange Report to Sec. 679.5(s)(7).
Add Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(iii) to establish the ABC reserves,
CDQ ABC reserves, and Amendment 80 ABC reserves as part of the general
limitations.
Revise Sec. 679.20(c)(1)(iv) to include Flatfish Exchange
specifications in the annual proposed groundfish harvest
specifications.
Revise Sec. 679.20(c)(3)(iii) to include Flatfish
Exchange specifications in the annual final groundfish harvest
specifications.
In Sec. 679.31, revise the headings of paragraphs (a) and
(b) to be consistent with this proposed rule.
Add Sec. 679.31(a)(5) to establish the CDQ ABC reserve as
part of the CDQ allocations.
Add Sec. 679.31(b)(4) to allocate CDQ ABC reserves among
CDQ groups.
Add Sec. 679.31(d) to allow CDQ groups to access the CDQ
ABC reserves.
Add Sec. 679.91(i) to establish the Amendment 80 ABC
reserves as annual harvest privileges allocated to Amendment 80
cooperatives, and to allow Amendment 80 cooperatives to access the
Amendment 80 ABC reserves.
ABC Surplus
NMFS proposes revising regulations at Sec. 679.2 to define the ABC
surplus for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole in the BSAI as
the difference between each species' annual ABC and TAC. NMFS proposes
to revise regulations at Sec. 679.20(c)(1)(iv) to clarify that the ABC
surplus would be specified in the annual harvest specifications. Under
this proposed action, the Council would continue to set the OFLs, ABCs,
and TACs, and allocations of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole in the annual harvest specifications process, and once those
amounts are determined, the annual harvest specifications would also
specify an ABC surplus for each flatfish species. The ABC surplus would
represent the maximum additional amount of flathead sole, rock sole or
yellowfin sole that could be harvested above the TAC. However, the
actual amount available for harvest would be the ABC reserve.
ABC Reserve
NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec. 679.2 to define the
ABC reserve for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole in the
BSAI as an amount equal to or less than the ABC surplus, depending on
whether the Council and NMFS reduce the surplus for social, economic,
or ecological considerations during the determination of the annual
harvest specifications. NMFS proposes to revise annual harvest
specifications regulations at Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(iii)(A) to clarify
that the ABC reserve would be set after consultation with the Council.
Unless the Council recommends otherwise, or NMFS determines there is a
need to set the ABC reserve below the ABC surplus, NMFS would set the
ABC reserve equal to the ABC surplus for each species. Setting the ABC
reserve as a portion of the ABC surplus, or equal to the ABC surplus,
would ensure that the total amount of each species that is accessible
would not exceed the ABC.
Section 1.4.3 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action provides
additional detail on why the ABC reserve may be set below the ABC
surplus, and those factors are briefly summarized here. The Council or
NMFS could choose to establish a precautionary buffer to accommodate
uncertainty in harvests under an ICA, or to address a range of
socioeconomic considerations. As noted in the ``Annual Harvest
Specifications'' section of this preamble, the amount of harvest in the
ICA can be uncertain from year to year because it is difficult to
predict specific incidental harvest rates in the non-CDQ and non-
Amendment 80 fisheries. The Council and NMFS may deem it appropriate to
set the ABC reserve below the ABC surplus to accommodate potential
harvests of non-target species greater than the ICA. Similarly, the
Council may recommend establishing an ABC reserve less than the ABC
surplus to accommodate market conditions. For example, the Council may
be concerned that setting an ABC reserve for a given species at a
specific harvest level could increase supply, and thereby reduce demand
and reduce the ex-vessel value of that flatfish species. These effects
could affect CDQ groups, Amendment 80 cooperatives, and other fishery
participants differently. The Council and NMFS could evaluate these
socioeconomic considerations when setting the ABC reserve. The specific
recommendation to set an ABC reserve below the ABC surplus for a
specific flatfish species would be described in the annual harvest
specifications.
Once the ABC reserve is identified for a flatfish species, the ABC
reserve for that flatfish species would then be apportioned among CDQ
groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives. NMFS would publish the allocation
of ABC reserve available to CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives in
the proposed and final harvest specifications. NMFS proposes revising
annual harvest specification regulations at Sec. Sec. 679.20(c)(1)(iv)
and (3)(iii) to clarify that the proposed and final harvest
specifications would include the ABC surplus, the ABC reserve, the CDQ
ABC reserve, the apportionment of the CDQ ABC reserve among CDQ groups,
the Amendment 80 ABC reserve, and the apportionment of the Amendment 80
ABC reserve among Amendment 80 cooperatives. This revision would be
necessary to clearly inform the public about the specific proposed and
final allocations. Section 1.4.2 of the RIR/IRFA provides additional
detail on the process for allocating the ABC reserve among CDQ groups
and Amendment 80 cooperatives.
CDQ ABC Reserve
NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec. 679.2 to define a
``CDQ ABC reserve'' as 10.7 percent of the amount of the flathead sole,
rock sole, or yellowfin sole ABC reserve that is allocated among CDQ
groups as annually calculated according to the methods described at
Sec. 679.31(b)(4). As noted in the ``CDQ Program'' portion of the
preamble, the CDQ Program is currently allocated 10.7 percent of the
TAC for these flatfish species. This proposed rule would allocate 10.7
percent of the ABC reserve of each of these flatfish species to the CDQ
[[Page 36710]]
Program to be consistent with section 305(i)(1)(B) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act that requires that 10.7 of the TAC be assigned to the CDQ
Program.
NMFS proposes to revise annual harvest specification regulations at
Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(iii)(B) to clarify that an amount equal to 10.7
percent of the ABC reserves for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin
sole would be allocated to CDQ ABC reserves for each species. The CDQ
ABC reserves would be further allocated to each CDQ group as described
under Sec. 679.31(b)(4). NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec.
679.31(b)(4) to clarify that NMFS would allocate each CDQ ABC reserve
among CDQ groups consistent with the requirements in section 305(i)(1)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act for allocating TAC among CDQ groups.
Specifically, 10 percent of the ABC reserve would be allocated in fixed
percentages to specific CDQ groups as described in section 305(i)(1)(C)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, while the remaining 0.7 percent of the ABC
reserve would be allocated among CDQ groups according to WACDA
agreements (i.e., the Administrative Panel established in section
305(i)(1)(G) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act). Alternative methods for
calculating catch limits and allocating the CDQ ABC reserve were
considered by the Council and NMFS and rejected because they would not
be consistent with 305(i)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (see Section
1.4.6 of the RIR/IRFA for additional information).
Amendment 80 ABC Reserve
NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec. 679.2 to define an
``Amendment 80 ABC reserve'' as the amount of the flathead sole, rock
sole, or yellowfin sole ABC reserve that remains for each species after
designating the amount assigned to the CDQ ABC reserves. The Amendment
80 ABC reserve would be allocated among Amendment 80 cooperatives
annually as calculated according to the methods described at Sec.
679.91(i)(2).
NMFS proposes to revise annual harvest specification regulations at
Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(iii)(C) to clarify that the Amendment 80 ABC reserve
would be calculated as the ABC reserves as reduced by the CDQ ABC
reserve. Given the allocation of 10.7 percent of the ABC reserve to the
CDQ ABC reserve, 89.3 percent of the ABC reserve would be allocated to
the Amendment 80 ABC reserve. The Amendment 80 ABC reserves would be
apportioned to each Amendment 80 cooperative as described under Sec.
679.91(i)(2).
NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec. 679.91(i)(2) to
clarify that the amount of Amendment 80 ABC reserve for each species of
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole assigned to an Amendment
80 cooperative is equal to the amount of Amendment 80 QS units of that
species assigned to that Amendment 80 cooperative by Amendment 80 QS
holders divided by the total Amendment 80 QS pool for that species
multiplied by the Amendment 80 ABC reserve for that species. For
example, if 60 percent of the flathead sole, 30 percent of the rock
sole, and 20 percent of the yellowfin sole Amendment 80 QS were
assigned to an Amendment 80 cooperative by Amendment 80 QS holders,
that Amendment 80 cooperative would receive access to 60 percent of the
flathead sole, 30 percent of the rock sole, and 20 percent of the
yellowfin sole Amendment 80 ABC reserves. This approach would ensure
that each Amendment 80 cooperative would receive access to a portion of
the Amendment 80 ABC reserve in proportion to its Amendment 80 QS
holdings of a species, and in turn would provide flexibility for
Amendment 80 cooperatives to engage in exchanges to maximize their
overall harvest of flatfish. Alternative methods for allocating the
Amendment 80 ABC reserve among Amendment 80 cooperatives were
considered and rejected because they did not provide an equitable
allocation of the Amendment 80 ABC reserve in proportion to Amendment
80 QS holdings (see Section 1.4.6 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this
action for additional information).
Under these proposed regulations, it is important to note that if
all Amendment 80 QS holders have not joined an Amendment 80
cooperative, not all of an Amendment 80 ABC reserve would be allocated.
Using the example provided in this section of the preamble, if there is
only one Amendment 80 cooperative in the Amendment 80 sector that is
assigned 60 percent of the flathead sole, 30 percent of the rock sole,
and 20 percent of the yellowfin sole Amendment 80 QS, and all other
Amendment 80 QS holders are participating in the Amendment 80 limited
access fishery, then NMFS would allocate only 60 percent of the
flathead sole, 30 percent of the rock sole, and 20 percent of the
yellowfin sole Amendment 80 ABC reserve to that Amendment 80
cooperative. The remaining 40 percent of the flathead sole, 70 percent
of the rock sole, and 80 percent of the yellowfin sole Amendment 80 ABC
reserve would not be allocated. NMFS notes that this example differs
from the one previously provided to the Council in the Section 1.4.2 of
the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action when the Council recommended
Amendment 105. Under both examples, the scenario is identical (i.e.
some Amendment 80 QS holders are not members of the single
cooperative). Unfortunately, the example in the RIR/IRFA prepared for
Amendment 45 that was available to the Council at that time did not
consider that allocating 100 percent of the Amendment 80 ABC reserve to
a portion of the Amendment 80 QS holders is inconsistent with overall
Council intent that the apportionment of the Amendment 80 ABC reserve
for a species be in proportion the amount of the Amendment 80 QS pool
the Amendment 80 cooperative is assigned for that species. Allocating
all the Amendment 80 ABC reserve to a cooperative out of proportion to
its Amendment 80 QS holdings could create incentives for members of the
sole Amendment 80 cooperative to exclude Amendment 80 QS holders from
an Amendment 80 cooperative to increase the amount of the Amendment 80
ABC reserve available to it. These effects on Amendment 80 cooperative
formation and membership were not considered or addressed by the
Council at the time it recommended Amendment 105. The example and
method for apportioning the Amendment 80 ABC reserve provided above in
this preamble is consistent with Council intent and would instead
assign the Amendment 80 ABC reserve in proportion to the amount of the
Amendment 80 QS pool an Amendment 80 cooperative is assigned.
Additional detail on this example and the consistency of this example
with the Council's overall recommendation for Amendment 105 is provided
in Section 1.4.2 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action.
In years where no CQ is assigned, Flatfish Exchanges could not
occur among Amendment 80 Program participants. Since the establishment
of the Amendment 80 Program, one or two Amendment 80 cooperatives have
been established each year. Since 2011, all Amendment 80 QS holders are
members of an Amendment 80 cooperative. However, it is possible that
Amendment 80 QS holders may be unwilling or unable to establish a
cooperative. In years when no Amendment 80 cooperatives are
established, NMFS would not assign any Amendment 80 ABC reserve because
there would be no Amendment 80 cooperatives receiving CQ.
[[Page 36711]]
Example of an Annual Harvest Specification of ABC Surplus, ABC Reserve,
CDQ ABC Reserve, and Amendment 80 ABC Reserve
To aid the reader in understanding this proposed action, this
section provides a hypothetical example of the annual harvest
specification process and the allocation of the ABC surplus, ABC
reserve, CDQ ABC reserve, and Amendment 80 ABC reserve. This example
uses the 2014 OFLs, ABCs, and TACs established for flathead sole, rock
sole, and yellowfin sole in the final 2014 and 2015 harvest
specifications (79 FR 12108, March 04, 2014). This example also uses
the 2014 apportionments of CDQ among CDQ groups, and the allocation of
CQ among Amendment 80 cooperatives that existed at the time of
publication of the final 2014 and 2015 harvest specifications (79 FR
12108, March 04, 2014). Specifically, there are six CDQ groups, and two
Amendment 80 cooperatives that include all of the Amendment 80 QS
holders. For this example, the flathead sole and rock sole ABC reserves
are set 1,000 mt below the ABC surpluses for those species, the
yellowfin sole ABC reserve is set 500 mt below the yellowfin sole ABC
surplus.
Table 1 describes the OFLs, ABCs, ABC surpluses, ABC surpluses, CDQ
ABC reserves, and Amendment 80 ABC reserves based on the proposed
allocation methodologies described previously in this preamble. Table 2
shows the allocation of the TAC among the ICA, CDQ Program, Amendment
80 Program, and the BSAI trawl limited access sector.
Table 1--Example of Allocation of ABC Surplus, ABC Reserve, CDQ ABC Reserve, and Amendment 80 ABC Reserve for Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, and Yellowfin Sole Using Final 2014 Harvest
Specification Amounts in Metric Tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CDQ ABC reserve Amendment 80 ABC
Species OFL ABC TAC ABC surplus ABC reserve (10.7% of ABC reserve (89.3%
reserve) of ABC reserve)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flathead sole..................................................... 79,633 66,293 24,500 41,793 40,793 4,365 36,428
Rock sole......................................................... 228,700 203,800 85,000 118,800 117,800 12,605 105,195
Yellowfin sole.................................................... 259,700 238,800 184,000 54,800 54,300 5,810 48,490
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2--Example of Allocation of TAC Among ICA, CDQ Program, Amendment 80 Program, and BSAI Trawl Limited Access Fishery Allocations for Flathead Sole,
Rock Sole, and Yellowfin Sole Using Final 2014 Harvest Specification Amounts in Metric Tons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSAI trawl
CDQ program Amendment 80 limited access
Species TAC ICA allocation program fishery
allocation allocation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flathead sole................................................. 24,500 5,000 2,622 16,879 0
Rock sole..................................................... 85,000 8,000 9,095 67,905 0
Yellowfin sole................................................ 184,000 2,400 19,688 132,205 29,707
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 3 describes the allocation of the ABC reserve among the six
CDQ groups based on the CDQ allocations that existed at the time of
publication of the final 2014 and 2015 harvest specifications (79 FR
12108, March 04, 2014). A matrix describing the specific allocations to
each CDQ group, for each CDQ species, is available on the Alaska Region
Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/cdq/allocations/annualmatrix2014.pdf. As noted earlier in this preamble, the CDQ ABC
reserve is equal to 10.7 percent of the ABC reserve for each of these
flatfish species. Table 3 describes the allocation of the CDQ ABC
reserve based on the CDQ allocations to CDQ groups applicable in 2014.
Table 3--Example of CDQ ABC Reserve Allocations to CDQ Groups for Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, and Yellowfin Sole Using Final 2014 Harvest Specification Amounts in Metric Tons
[The allocations to each CDQ group are provided as a percentage within the parentheses]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CDQ group and allocation of CDQ ABC reserve
Species CDQ ABC reserve -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APICDA BBEDC CBSFA CVRF NSEDC YDFDA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flathead sole..................................................... 4,365 875 921 387 654 653 875
................ (20.05%) (21.09%) (8.87%) (14.98%) (14.96%) (20.05%)
Rock sole......................................................... 12,605 3,034 2,900 1,004 1,379 1,382 2,907
................ (24.07%) (23.00%) (7.96%) (10.96%) (10.96%) (23.06%)
Yellowfin sole.................................................... 5,810 1,610 1,390 465 369 423 1,552
................ (27.71%) (23.92%) (8.00%) (6.35%) (7.29%) (26.72%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aleutian Islands Pribilof Community Development Association (APICDA), Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation (BBEDC), Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association (CBSFA), Coastal Villages
Region Fund (CVRF), Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC), Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association (YDFDA).
Table 4 describes the allocation of the Amendment 80 ABC reserve
between the two Amendment 80 cooperatives that applied for CQ in 2014.
In 2014, all Amendment 80 QS holders are members of one of these
cooperatives. The allocation of ABC reserve is based on the proportion
of the Amendment 80 QS of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole
that each Amendment 80 cooperative is assigned. As noted earlier in
this preamble, the Amendment 80
[[Page 36712]]
ABC reserve is equal to 89.3 percent of the ABC reserve for each
species.
Table 4--Example of Amendment 80 ABC Reserve Allocations to Amendment 80 Cooperatives for Flathead Sole, Rock
Sole, and Yellowfin Sole Using Final 2014 Harvest Specification Amounts in Metric Tons
[The allocations to each Amendment 80 cooperative are provided as a percentage within the parentheses]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amendment 80 cooperative
allocation of amendment 80 ABC
reserve
Amendment 80 ABC -----------------------------------
Species reserve Alaska
groundfish Alaska seafood
cooperative cooperative
(AGC) (ASC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flathead sole............................................. 36,428 7,151 29,277
................ (19.63%) (80.37%)
Rock sole................................................. 105,195 30,054 75,141
................ (28.57%) (71.43%)
Yellowfin sole............................................ 48,490 20,826 27,664
................ (42.95%) (57.05%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flatfish Exchange Application
This proposed action would require that a CDQ group or an Amendment
80 cooperative would have to submit a Flatfish Exchange Application to
NMFS. That application would have to be approved by NMFS, and revised
TACs would have to be published in the Federal Register, before unused
CDQ or CQ would be exchanged for a portion of its CDQ ABC reserve or
Amendment 80 reserve. NMFS' approval of a Flatfish Exchange Application
is necessary to ensure that ABC's are not exceeded. As proposed, NMFS
would have the authority to disapprove an application if it is likely
that an ABC will be exceeded. This section describes this process and
associated, proposed regulations, and provides an example of a Flatfish
Exchange.
NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec. 679.2 to define a
``Flatfish Exchange'' as the exchange of unused CDQ, or Amendment 80
CQ, of flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole in the BSAI for an
equivalent amount (in metric tons) of CDQ ABC reserve or Amendment 80
ABC reserve, respectively, for flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin
sole in the BSAI other than the species listed for exchange on the
Flatfish Exchange Application as described in a notice of adjustment or
apportionment in the Federal Register.
NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec. 679.4(p) to describe
the Flatfish Exchange Application. NMFS would process any completed
Flatfish Exchange Application submitted by a CDQ group or Amendment 80
cooperative. The Flatfish Exchange Application must specify the amounts
of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole to be exchanged, and
certify the information submitted is true, correct, and complete. The
specific requirements of the Flatfish Exchange Application are provided
on the form that would be posted at the Alaska Region Web site: http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov once Amendment 105 and its implementing
regulations become effective. All Flatfish Exchange Applications would
be submitted electronically through the Alaska Region Web site: http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. Currently, CDQ groups and Amendment 80
cooperatives submit a range of applications and reports electronically.
This provision would be consistent with existing electronic submittal
requirements applicable to CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives and
would reduce administrative burden and costs.
NMFS' approval of a Flatfish Exchange Application would be required
prior to the use of the CDQ or CQ subject to the Flatfish Exchange.
NMFS would approve the Flatfish Exchange Application if: (1) The CDQ
group or Amendment 80 cooperative exchanging flathead sole, rock sole,
or yellowfin sole has sufficient CDQ ABC reserves or Amendment 80 ABC
reserves for the flatfish species for which it is requesting to
increase its CDQ or CQ; (2) the CDQ group or Amendment 80 cooperative
requesting an exchange of flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole
exchanges an equal amount of unused CDQ allocation or unused CQ for the
amount of flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole received from the
CDQ ABC reserve or Amendment 80 ABC reserve; and (3) the CDQ group or
Amendment 80 cooperative has not submitted three Flatfish Exchange
applications, as described in the next section of this preamble. NMFS
notes that unused CDQ allocation could only be exchanged for CDQ ABC
reserve, and unused CQ could only be exchanged for Amendment 80 ABC
reserve. Furthermore, NMFS notes that a CDQ group could only submit a
Flatfish Exchange Application for an amount of CDQ ABC reserve assigned
to that CDQ group, and an Amendment 80 cooperative could only submit a
Flatfish Exchange Application for an amount of Amendment 80 ABC reserve
assigned to that Amendment 80 cooperative.
Proposed regulations at Sec. 679.4(p)(4) would provide that no
Flatfish Exchange would take effect until notification has been
published in the Federal Register with a statement of the findings on
which the apportionment or adjustment is based. This provision would
provide clear notification to the public and the affected CDQ group or
Amendment 80 cooperative that the Flatfish Exchange Application has
been approved and display the resulting adjustment in CDQ ABC reserve
and CDQ allocation for that CDQ group, or the resulting adjustment in
Amendment 80 ABC reserve and CQ for that Amendment 80 cooperative.
Proposed regulations at Sec. 679.4(p)(5) would provide that each
NMFS-approved Flatfish Exchange Application is debited as one Flatfish
Exchange, and that an approved Flatfish Exchange is effective on the
date of publication of the notice of adjustment or apportionment in the
Federal Register. NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec.
679.31(d) to note that CDQ groups would need to submit and have NMFS
approve a Flatfish Exchange Application to access their CDQ ABC
reserve. Similarly, NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec.
679.91(i)(3) to note that Amendment 80 cooperatives would need to
submit and have NMFS approve a Flatfish Exchange Application to access
their Amendment 80 ABC reserve.
[[Page 36713]]
To aid the reader, an example of a Flatfish Exchange is provided in
Table 5. For this example, NMFS assumes that the Amendment 80
cooperative, Alaska Seafood Cooperative (ASC), has submitted, and NMFS
has approved, a Flatfish Exchange Application. This example assumes the
2014 allocations of Amendment 80 ABC reserve that ASC would receive are
based on the final 2014 and 2015 harvest specifications and described
in Table 4 of this preamble. This example assumes that ASC has not
previously engaged in any Flatfish Exchanges, has an adequate amount of
unused CQ remaining, and has adequate ABC reserve. In this example, ASC
is requesting an additional 3,500 mt of yellowfin sole CQ from its ABC
reserve, for which it would exchange 1,500 mt of unused flathead sole
CQ, and 2,000 mt of unused rock sole CQ. No net change in the total
flatfish available for harvest to the ASC would result, but the
Amendment 80 cooperative would gain additional access to yellowfin sole
and forego access to flathead sole and rock sole.
Table 5--Example of Flatfish Exchange by an Amendment 80 Cooperative (ASC) for Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, and Yellowfin Sole Using Final 2014 Annual
Harvest Specification Amounts in Metric Tons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before exchange Exchange After exchange
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species ASC ABC reserve ASC CQ before Adjustment to ASC ABC reserve ASC CQ after
before flatfish flatfish ABC reserve Adjustment to CQ after flatfish flatfish
exchange exchange amount amount exchange exchange
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flathead sole............................... 29,277 13,566 +1,500 -1,500 30,777 12,066
(+1,500) (-1,500)
Rock sole................................... 75,141 48,505 +2,000 -2,000 77,141 46,505
(+2,000) (-2,000)
Yellowfin sole.............................. 27,664 75,426 -3,500 +3,500 24,164 78,926
(-3,500) (+3,500)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum..................................... 132,082 137,497 0 0 132,082 137,497
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As noted earlier in this preamble and illustrated in Table 5, under
this proposed action there would be no net change in the total
available sum of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole available
for harvest as CDQ or CQ. However, CDQ groups or Amendment 80
cooperatives could use Flatfish Exchanges to increase the available CDQ
or CQ of one or two flatfish species, by foregoing an amount of unused
CDQ or CQ for another flatfish species, but not maximize the harvest of
all three flatfish species during a calendar year. In the example
provided in Table 5, the ASC cooperative has increased the amount of
yellowfin sole available for harvest. In this example, ASC would reduce
the amount of yellowfin sole ABC reserve available to exchange for
flathead sole or rock sole CQ in future exchanges. As is clear from the
example, there is no net increase in the ABC reserve, as summed across
the three flatfish species as a result of this exchange. Moreover,
Table 5 clarifies that Flatfish Exchanges will result in the same sum
of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole available for harvest
before, and after the exchange.
NMFS is proposing regulations at Sec. 679.4(p)(3) to provide that
NMFS would not approve any Flatfish Exchange that could result in
exceeding an ABC or ABC reserve for a species. As proposed, this method
for implementing Flatfish Exchanges is designed to ensure that although
an individual flatfish TAC could be exceeded, the ABC will not be
exceeded. As proposed, NMFS would have the authority to disapprove an
application if NMFS determines it is likely that an ABC will be
exceeded because of fishing effort in another groundfish fishery. For
example, the risk of exceeding an ABC could arise if incidental catch
of the allocated flatfish species in other fisheries (e.g., catch of
yellowfin sole by AFA vessels in the BSAI pollock fishery) was much
higher than anticipated. NMFS will review each Flatfish Exchange
Application and consider approval or disapproval in light of incidental
catch levels occurring in other groundfish fisheries. NMFS would
consider the amount of incidental harvest under the ICAs and the amount
of harvest in the yellowfin sole BSAI limited access fishery before a
Flatfish Exchange Application would be approved. For example, if the
ICAs for flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole were exceeded, or
the BSAI trawl limited access fishery exceeded its yellowfin sole
allocation, NMFS would not approve a Flatfish Exchange Application to
harvest from an ABC reserve if the exchange would cause a species' ABC
to be exceeded. Moreover, NMFS would consider increases in an Amendment
80 cooperative's CQ from unused ICAs or reallocations of yellowfin sole
from the BSAI limited access fishery, and inter-cooperative CQ or CDQ
transfers, before approving a Flatfish Exchange Application to ensure
accurate amounts in CDQ allocation and CQ accounts.
As noted earlier in this preamble, Flatfish Exchanges would not be
effective until publication of a notice in the Federal Register. The
requirement for publication in the Federal Register would allow NMFS to
fully consider the Flatfish Exchange Application and total catch of
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. NMFS could disapprove the
Flatfish Exchange if, upon further review of the Flatfish Exchange
Application and all other sources of catch, approval of the Flatfish
Exchange Application could cause an ABC or ABC reserve to be exceeded.
NMFS believes that any such situation is highly unlikely given methods
in place to accurately track catch, but this provision would ensure
proper accounting before any Flatfish Exchange is approved.
To further simplify the catch accounting for Flatfish Exchanges,
NMFS proposes regulations at Sec. 679.4(p)(3)(vii) to clarify that
Flatfish Exchanges would not be approved unless the Flatfish Exchange
Application is received and approved by NMFS during the same calendar
year that the Flatfish Exchange would be implemented. As described
earlier in this preamble, CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives have
initiated CDQ and CQ transfers at the end of the year to account for
catch that occurred earlier during the year. This proposed provision
would clarify that all Flatfish Exchanges would need to be completed
and received by NMFS prior
[[Page 36714]]
the end of the calendar year to ensure proper accounting for catch and
ABC reserves. NMFS notes that CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives
would need to submit a Flatfish Exchange Application prior to the end
of the calendar year that the exchange would occur to allow for at
least 10 business days for NMFS review and approve (or deny) the
Flatfish Exchange Application (i.e., publication in the Federal
Register).
The Council considered and rejected alternatives that would have
either limited the ability to exchange flathead sole or rock sole ABC
reserve for yellowfin sole CQ, or limit the maximum amount of yellowfin
sole CQ that could be received through a Flatfish Exchange (see Section
1.8.4 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action). These measures were
considered as a way to mitigate potential adverse impacts of additional
harvest opportunities that a Flatfish Exchange could provide to
Amendment 80 cooperatives relative to other fishery participants.
Participants in the yellowfin sole fishery in the BSAI trawl limited
access sector raised specific concerns. The Council and NMFS rejected
these alternative approaches because the Council and NMFS have the
ability to set the TAC amounts and modify the yellowfin sole ABC
reserve under this proposed action based on a broad range of biological
and socioeconomic factors, including the potential impact on the
yellowfin sole BSAI trawl limited access fishery during the annual
harvest specifications process. Section 1.4.6 of the RIR/IRFA provides
additional detail on these alternatives considered but not selected for
this proposed action.
Flatfish Exchange Limits
NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec. 679.4(p)(5) to limit
to three the number of Flatfish Exchanges each CDQ group or Amendment
80 cooperative could execute within a fishing year to limit the
administrative burden associated with Flatfish Exchanges. The Council
and NMFS considered an option that would not limit the number of
Flatfish Exchanges. However, as noted in Section 1.8.3 of the RIR/IRFA,
unlimited Flatfish Exchanges would increase administrative burden and
costs for NMFS, and was not deemed as necessary to provide adequate
opportunities for CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives to engage in
Flatfish Exchanges for additional harvest opportunities. For example, a
CDQ group could exchange unused yellowfin sole CDQ allocation for an
equal tonnage of rock sole CDQ ABC reserve early in the year if such a
need is projected. Subsequently, the same CDQ group could exchange any
unused yellowfin sole CDQ allocation for an equal tonnage of flathead
sole or rock sole ABC reserve if needed later in the year. This would
still provide CDQ group an opportunity for a final Flatfish Exchange by
the end of the calendar year if needed. The Council recommended, and
NMFS proposes an annual limit of three Flatfish Exchanges based on
input from CDQ groups, Amendment 80 cooperatives, and the need to
balance the administrative concerns raised by NMFS. Assuming that the
same number of CDQ groups (six) and Amendment 80 cooperatives (two)
that existed in 2014 exist in future years, NMFS could process a
maximum of 24 Flatfish Exchanges per year.
Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative Flatfish Exchange Report
NMFS proposes to revise regulations at Sec. 679.5(s)(7) to require
each Amendment 80 cooperative to submit annually to the Council a
Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative Flatfish Exchange Report reviewing
the use of the cooperative's Amendment 80 ABC reserve for flathead
sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. Each Amendment 80 cooperative
would report the number of vessels used to harvest the Amendment 80
cooperative's quota; the number of Flatfish Exchanges and dates those
exchanges were approved; the types and amounts of CQ and Amendment 80
ABC reserve used; and the dates, types, and amounts of inter-
cooperative CQ transfers. This report would be due to the Council by
December 1 of each year. This report would allow the Council, during
the annual harvest specifications process, to assess the use of
Flatfish Exchanges, the use of CQ, and weigh the potential
socioeconomic impact of Flatfish Exchanges before establishing the ABC
reserve. The Council would make this report available to the public.
NMFS is not proposing to require Amendment 80 cooperatives to
disclose catch data that may be considered confidential. When the
Council recommended this proposed action, it requested that NMFS
implement Federal regulations that would require each Amendment 80
cooperative to provide catch information for flathead sole, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole catch as part of this new proposed reporting
requirement. However, Amendment 80 cooperative catch data at this level
of fisheries participation currently is considered confidential and
therefore protected under section 402 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16
U.S.C. 1881a). Therefore, these data cannot be disclosed to the Council
or the public. NMFS notes that information on aggregate catch by all
vessels operating in the BSAI are available by species at NMFS Web site
at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov or could be provided to the Council
on request at the December meeting, or any time prior to that meeting.
NMFS has issued a proposed rule that, if implemented, will provide
additional clarification on the release of catch information under
``limited access privilege'' programs, as defined under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act (see 77 FR 30486, May 23, 2012). As proposed, that rule
addresses the release of catch information collected under the
Amendment 80 Program. NMFS is currently in the process of developing a
final rule for that proposed rule. Because that proposed rule broadly
addresses the release of confidential data under section 402 of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, it could provide for the release of the
currently-confidential catch information on flathead sole, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole the Council requested when it recommended this
proposed action. If that final rule provides additional clarification
on the amount and type of data that may be released by Amendment 80
cooperatives prior to the publication of a final rule for this proposed
action (if approved), then NMFS would amend the rule proposed here so
that the final rule accommodates the specific catch information
requests made by the Council.
The proposed reporting requirements are intended to maintain a
transparent groundfish harvest specifications process while providing
the Council and the public additional information that could be used to
identify any fishery impacts of this proposed action on non-Amendment
80 cooperative participants. The Council and NMFS acknowledged that the
use of the flexibility provided by this proposed rule could have
impacts on other fishery participants, which were previously assessed
(see Categorical Exclusion, see Addresses), but could be better
understood by obtaining information on the use of CQ transfers and
Flatfish Exchanges by Amendment 80 cooperatives. For example, the use
of Flatfish Exchanges could allow additional access to markets or
modify the timing of harvests that may have socioeconomic impacts on
non-Amendment 80 Program fisheries (see Sections 1.8.2.3 and 1.8.2.4 of
the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action for more detail).
The Council and NMFS determined the best way to monitor potential
socioeconomic changes in non-
[[Page 36715]]
Amendment 80 Program fisheries would be to review the transfers of
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole CQ among Amendment 80
cooperatives, and the amount of Amendment 80 ABC reserves used by
Amendment 80 cooperatives. Reporting the amounts and frequency of
Flatfish Exchanges (and CQ transfers) could aid the Council, NMFS, and
the public in providing a greater understanding of the relative impacts
of this proposed action on harvests of flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole. The Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative Flatfish
Exchange Report would provide the Council, NMFS, and the public with
specific data on the timing and amount CQ transferred between
cooperatives, and the number and amounts of flathead sole, rock sole,
and yellowfin sole exchanged through Flatfish Exchanges.
The proposed Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative Flatfish Exchange
Report would be integrated into the annual harvest specifications
process. The Council would receive the reports, receive public comment
on these reports, and incorporate that information in its ABC reserve
decisions. Under this proposed action, the Council would use these data
when deciding whether to recommend ABC reserve amounts below the ABC
surplus amounts for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. This
proposed reporting requirement is intended to maximize the Council's
ability to consider factors that it may not otherwise have available
relating to the use of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole
when it considers establishing an ABC reserve during its December
Council meeting.
This proposed action would not modify existing reporting
requirements for the CDQ groups. The Council did not recommend, and
this proposed rule would not propose a similar report from CDQ groups,
given the small amount of the ABC reserve (10.7 percent) allocated to
CDQ Program, and the limited impact that the use of Flatfish Exchanges
by CDQ groups would be likely to have on other fishery participants.
The potential impact of the use of the CDQ ABC reserve is limited by
the fact that the CDQ ABC reserve is allocated among six CDQ groups,
and no one CDQ group is likely to be able to substantially increase its
harvests relative to the TAC for any species under this proposed action
(see Tables 1 and 3 of this preamble for an example of the amount of
TAC and ABC reserve available to each CDQ group). This proposed rule
would not modify existing regulations that require each Amendment 80
cooperative to submit an Annual Amendment 80 cooperative report (see
regulations at Sec. 679.5(s)(6)).
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) and 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, the NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that Amendment 105
to the BSAI FMP and this proposed rule are consistent with the BSAI
FMP, 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 12866.
An IRFA was prepared, as required by section 603 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA). The IRFA describes the economic impact this
proposed rule, if adopted, would have on small entities. A description
of the action, why it is being considered, and the legal basis for this
action are contained at the beginning of this section and in the
SUMMARY section of the preamble and are not repeated here. Each of the
statutory requirements of section 603(b) and (c) has been addressed and
is summarized as follows. A copy of the complete IRFA is available from
NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
Number and Description of Small Entities Regulated by the Proposed
Action
CDQ groups and Amendment 80 cooperatives are directly regulated
through this proposed action through their allocations of harvesting
privileges for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
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.
All the vessels and companies participating in the Amendment 80
sector have been affiliated with one of two Amendment 80 cooperatives,
the Alaska Seafood Cooperative or the Alaska Groundfish Cooperative,
since 2011. The most recent gross revenue data for Amendment 80
cooperatives is from 2011, and these data indicate that the total gross
revenues earned by the vessels in each of the Amendment 80 cooperatives
exceed $19.0 million. Thus, the vessels and companies participating in
Amendment 80 cooperatives are all large entities, either by virtue of
their own gross revenues or by virtue of their affiliation with other
large entities through their cooperative membership. Therefore, this
analysis addresses the impact on the directly regulated small entities
(i.e., CDQ groups) and not Amendment 80 cooperatives.
The six CDQ groups are all small entities by virtue of their non-
profit status. These groups include Aleutian Pribilof Island Community
Development Association, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation,
Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association, Coastal Villages Region
Fund, Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation, and Yukon Delta
Fisheries Development Association. Each of these groups is organized as
an independently owned and operated not-for-profit entity and none is
dominant in its field; consequently, each is a ``small entity'' under
the RFA.
All six CDQ groups annually are allocated groundfish, halibut, and
crab CDQ allocations. These groups participate, either directly or
indirectly, in the commercial harvest of these allocations.
Commercially valuable allocations include (among others) Alaska
pollock, Pacific cod, sablefish, Pacific halibut, Greenland turbot,
Atka mackerel, various flatfish species, as well as king and Tanner
crab. CDQ groups receive royalties from the successful harvest of CDQ
by commercial fishing companies, as well as access to employment and
training opportunities for their communities' residents. Royalties and
income from CDQ harvesting activities are used to fund economic
development projects in CDQ communities. In 2011, the six CDQ groups
earned approximately $311.5 million in royalties (i.e., gross revenues)
from the harvest of CDQ allocations. CDQ Program activities are
discussed in detail in Section 1.6 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this
action.
Duplicate, Overlapping, or Conflicting Federal Rules
No duplication, overlap or conflict between this proposed action
and existing Federal rules has been identified.
Description of Significant Alternatives That Minimize Adverse Impacts
on Small Entities
An IRFA also requires a description of any significant alternatives
to the preferred alternative (Alternative 3, option 1 described below)
that accomplish the stated objectives, are consistent with applicable
statutes, and that would minimize any significant economic impact of
the proposed rule on small entities. The suite of potential
[[Page 36716]]
actions includes three alternatives and associated options. A detailed
description of these alternatives and options is provided in Section
1.4 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action.
Alternative 1 is the status quo, and does not provide additional
harvesting flexibility for flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole
to CDQ groups. Alternative 2 would establish a CDQ ABC reserve for
flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole that is allocated among CDQ
groups equal to 10.7 percent of the ABC surplus for each species, while
Alternative 3 would allow the Council or NMFS to establish a CDQ ABC
reserve for flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole that is
allocated among CDQ groups that may be less than or equal to 10.7
percent of the ABC surplus for each species after considering
socioeconomic or biological considerations.
Alternative 2 is less restrictive, and thus has fewer adverse
impacts on the directly regulated CDQ groups. While Alternative 2 may
be less restrictive to CDQ groups, Alternative 3 was adopted because it
provides the Council flexibility to address socioeconomic or biological
considerations during the annual harvest specifications process. The
Council and NMFS may deem it appropriate to set the ABC reserve below
the ABC surplus to accommodate potential harvests of non-target species
greater than the ICA. Similarly, the Council may recommend establishing
an ABC reserve less than the ABC surplus to accommodate market
conditions.
The Council also considered three options that could apply to
either Alternative 2 or Alternative 3; however, options 2 and 3 are
mutually exclusive. Option 1 would establish an ABC surplus, ABC
reserve, and CDQ ABC reserve for flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole, but limit the number of Flatfish Exchanges to no more
than three Flatfish Exchanges per CDQ group per calendar year. Option 2
would create an ABC surplus, ABC reserve, and CDQ ABC reserve only for
flathead sole and rock sole. Option 3 limits the maximum amount of the
ABC surplus, ABC reserve, and CDQ ABC reserve for yellowfin sole
available to CDQ groups. Options 2 and 3 are more restrictive than
Option 1 and provide fewer opportunities for CDQ groups to use Flatfish
Exchanges to maximize their harvests, particularly their harvests of
yellowfin sole. Therefore, Options 2 or 3 would have more adverse
impacts on CDQ groups than the preferred alternative, which combines
Alternative 3 and Option 1.
Option 1, which limits CDQ groups to three Flatfish Exchanges
during a year, is more restrictive than the adoption of Alternative 3
without the option. Alternative 3 without Option 1 would not limit the
number of Flatfish Exchanges that a CDQ group could undertake each
calendar year. However, Option 1 was meant to limit the potential
administrative burden and costs on NMFS of the proposed action. As
explained in Section 1.8.3 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action,
the Council determined and NMFS agreed that a maximum of three Flatfish
Exchanges per calendar year per CDQ group would meet the goals and
objectives for the proposed action, would not unduly constrain CDQ
groups, and would reduce administrative burden and costs on NMFS. The
Flatfish Exchange limits are intended to allow the CDQ groups to make
an adequate number of exchanges needed to accommodate uncertain
harvesting conditions throughout the year as described earlier in the
preamble and in Section 1.6.1 of the RIR/IRFA prepared for this action.
Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Requirements
This action is projected to have a negligible impact on the
recordkeeping and reporting requirements of CDQ groups participating in
the BSAI groundfish fisheries. The regulations proposed under this
amendment directly impact the recordkeeping and reporting requirements
of Amendment 80 cooperatives, but not those of the CDQ groups. Under
this action, NMFS would not require the directly regulated small
entities (i.e., CDQ groups) to annually report data on Flatfish
Exchanges. Moreover, the decision to submit a Flatfish Exchange
Application is entirely voluntary on the part of all affected entities.
If a CDQ group chooses to submit a Flatfish Exchange Application, it
will need to submit the information required. The information required
in a Flatfish Exchange Application is similar to the information
already required by for transfers of CDQ allocations among CDQ groups
(see regulations at Sec. 679.5(n)). Some recordkeeping and reporting
requirements would be required by Amendment 80 cooperatives, which are
considered large entities and is not addressed further here.
Collection-of-Information Requirements
This proposed rule contains collection-of-information requirements
subject to review and approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA). These requirements have been submitted to OMB for approval under
OMB Control Number 0648-0565. Public reporting burden is estimated to
average 30 minutes for the Flatfish Exchange Application and 25 hours
for Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative Flatfish Exchange Report. The
estimated response times include the time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
Public comment is sought regarding: Whether this proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will
have practical utility; the accuracy of the burden estimate; ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and ways to minimize the burden of collecting the
information, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Send comments on these or any
other aspects of the collection of information to NMFS at the ADDRESSES
above, and email to [email protected], or fax to (202) 395-
7285.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays
a currently valid OMB Control Number.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679
Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: June 24, 2014.
Eileen Sobeck,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 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 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.; 3631 et seq.;
Pub. L. 108-447.
0
2. In Sec. 679.2, add definitions for ``ABC reserve''; ``ABC
surplus''; ``Amendment 80 ABC reserve''; ``CDQ ABC reserve''; and
``Flatfish Exchange'' in alphabetical order to read as follows:
Sec. 679.2 Definitions.
* * * * *
[[Page 36717]]
ABC reserve means, for purposes of flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole in the BSAI, an amount, not to exceed the ABC surplus,
that may be reduced for social, economic, or ecological considerations
according to Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(iii).
ABC surplus means, for purposes of flathead sole, rock sole, and
yellowfin sole in the BSAI, the difference between each species' annual
ABC and TAC.
* * * * *
Amendment 80 ABC reserve means the amount of the flathead sole,
rock sole, or yellowfin sole ABC reserve that remains after designating
the amount assigned to the CDQ ABC reserve and that is allocated among
Amendment 80 cooperatives as calculated annually as described at Sec.
679.91(i)(2).
* * * * *
CDQ ABC reserve means 10.7 percent of the amount of the flathead
sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole ABC reserve that is allocated among
the CDQ groups as calculated annually as described at Sec.
679.31(b)(4).
* * * * *
Flatfish Exchange means the exchange of unused CDQ, or Amendment 80
CQ, of flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole in the BSAI for an
equivalent amount (in metric tons) of CDQ ABC reserve or Amendment 80
ABC reserve, respectively, for flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin
sole in the BSAI other than the species listed for exchange on the
Flatfish Exchange Application as described in a notice of adjustment or
apportionment in the Federal Register.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 679.4, add paragraph (p) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.4 Permits.
* * * * *
(p) Flatfish Exchange Application. (1) Completed application. NMFS
will process only completed Flatfish Exchange Applications submitted by
CDQ groups or Amendment 80 cooperatives.
(2) Certification. The designated representative must log into the
Alaska Region Online application Web site and complete an exchange
application form provided on the Web site. By using the NMFS ID,
password, and Transfer Key and submitting the Flatfish Exchange
Application, the designated representative certifies that all
information submitted is true, correct, and complete.
(3) Approval. A CDQ group or Amendment 80 cooperative must receive
NMFS' approval of a Flatfish Exchange Application prior to using the
CDQ or Amendment 80 CQ subject to the Flatfish Exchange. NMFS will
approve the Flatfish Exchange Application if:
(i) The CDQ group has sufficient CDQ ABC reserves of flathead sole,
rock sole, or yellowfin sole;
(ii) The Amendment 80 cooperative has sufficient Amendment 80 ABC
reserves of flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole;
(iii) The CDQ group receiving flathead sole, rock sole, or
yellowfin sole from its CDQ ABC reserve exchanges an equal amount of
unused CDQ of flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole, other than
the species received from its CDQ ABC reserve;
(iv) The Amendment 80 cooperative receiving flathead sole, rock
sole, or yellowfin sole from its Amendment 80 ABC reserve exchanges an
equal amount of unused Amendment 80 CQ of flathead sole, rock sole, or
yellowfin sole, other than the species received from its Amendment 80
ABC reserve;
(v) The CDQ group or Amendment 80 cooperative has not received at
least three approved Flatfish Exchanges during that calendar year, as
described at paragraph (p)(5) of this section;
(vi) Approval of the Flatfish Exchange Application will not cause
flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole to exceed an ABC or an ABC
reserve for that species; and
(vii) NMFS receives a completed Flatfish Exchange Application from
a CDQ group or Amendment 80 cooperative during the calendar year for
which the Flatfish Exchange would be effective, and NMFS can approve
that Flatfish Exchange Application before the end of the calendar year
in which the Flatfish Exchange would be effective.
(4) Notification. (i) No exchange, adjustment, or apportionment of
flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole may take effect until a
notice of adjustment or apportionment has been published in the Federal
Register with a statement of the findings on which the apportionment or
adjustment is based.
(ii) Each NMFS approved Flatfish Exchange is debited as one
Flatfish Exchange. An approved Flatfish Exchange is effective on the
date of publication of the notice of adjustment or apportionment in the
Federal Register.
(5) CDQ ABC reserve and Amendment 80 ABC reserve exchange
limitations. Each CDQ group and each Amendment 80 cooperative is
limited to no more than three Flatfish Exchanges per calendar year.
0
4. In Sec. 679.5, redesignate paragraph (s)(7) as (s)(8) and add a new
paragraph (s)(7) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.5 Recordkeeping and reporting (R&R).
* * * * *
(s) * * *
(7) Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative Flatfish Exchange Report--
(i) Applicability. An Amendment 80 cooperative issued a CQ permit must
submit annually to the Council a Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative
Flatfish Exchange Report reviewing the use of the cooperative's ABC
reserve for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
(ii) Time limits and submittal. (A) The Preliminary Amendment 80
Cooperative Flatfish Exchange Report must be submitted to the North
Pacific Fishery Management Council at 605 West 4th Avenue, Suite 306,
Anchorage, AK 99501.
(B) The Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative Flatfish Exchange
Report must include a review of the Flatfish Exchanges for that
calendar year through October 31.
(C) The Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative Flatfish Exchange
Report must be received by the Council not later than 1700 hours,
A.l.t., December 1 of each year.
(iii) Information required. Each Preliminary Amendment 80
Cooperative Flatfish Exchange Report must include all of the
information required on the Preliminary Amendment 80 Cooperative
Flatfish Exchange Report form and all required additional
documentation.
* * * * *
0
5. In Sec. 679.20, add paragraph (b)(1)(iii) and revise paragraphs
(c)(1)(iv) and (c)(3)(iii) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.20 General limitations.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(iii) ABC reserves. (A) ABC reserves are annually established for
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. For each flatfish
species, the ABC reserve is calculated as an amount less than or equal
to the ABC surplus. NMFS, after consultation with the Council, may set
the ABC reserve for flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole below
the ABC surplus for that species based on social, economic, or
ecological considerations.
(B) CDQ ABC reserves. An amount equal to 10.7 percent of the ABC
reserves for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole will be
allocated to a CDQ ABC reserve. The CDQ ABC reserves will be:
(1) Calculated during the annual harvest specifications described
at
[[Page 36718]]
paragraph (c) of this section, as allocations to CDQ groups; and
(2) Allocated to each CDQ group as described under Sec.
679.31(b)(4).
(C) Amendment 80 ABC reserves. Amendment 80 ABC reserves shall be
calculated as the ABC reserves described under paragraph (b)(1)(iii)(A)
of this section as reduced by the CDQ ABC reserves under paragraph
(b)(1)(iii)(B) of this section. The Amendment 80 ABC reserves will be:
(1) Calculated during the annual harvest specifications described
at paragraph (c) of this section, as allocations to Amendment 80
cooperatives; and
(2) Allocated to each Amendment 80 cooperative as described under
Sec. 679.91(i)(2).
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(1) * * *
(iv) BSAI. (A) The proposed harvest specifications will specify for
up to two fishing years the annual TAC for each target species and
apportionments thereof, PSQ reserves and prohibited species catch
allowances, seasonal allowances of pollock, Pacific cod, and Atka
mackerel TAC (including pollock, Pacific cod, and Atka mackerel CDQ),
and CDQ reserves.
(B) The proposed harvest specifications will specify for up to two
fishing years the ABC surpluses, ABC reserves, CDQ ABC reserves, CDQ
ABC reserves for each CDQ group, Amendment 80 ABC reserves, and
Amendment 80 ABC reserves for each Amendment 80 cooperative for
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
* * * * *
(3) * * *
(iii) BSAI. (A) The final harvest specifications will specify for
up to two fishing years the annual TAC for each target species and
apportionments thereof, PSQ reserves and prohibited species catch
allowances, seasonal allowances of pollock (including pollock, Pacific
cod, and Atka mackerel CDQ), and CDQ reserves.
(B) The final harvest specifications will specify for up to two
fishing years the annual ABC surpluses, ABC reserves, CDQ ABC reserves,
CDQ ABC reserves for each CDQ group, Amendment 80 ABC reserves, and
Amendment 80 ABC reserves for each Amendment 80 cooperative for
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.
* * * * *
0
6. In Sec. 679.31, revise paragraphs (a) heading and (b) heading and
add paragraphs (a)(5), (b)(4), and (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.31 CDQ and PSQ reserves, allocations, and transfers.
(a) CDQ, PSQ, and CDQ ABC reserves. * * *
(5) CDQ ABC reserves. (See Sec. 679.20(b)(1)(iii)(A)).
(b) Allocations of CDQ, PSQ, and CDQ ABC reserves among the CDQ
groups. * * *
(4) Annual allocations of CDQ ABC reserves among the CDQ groups.
(i) An amount equivalent to 10 percent of the ABC reserve for flathead
sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole as determined under the annual
harvest specifications at Sec. 679.20(c) shall be allocated among the
CDQ groups based on the CDQ percentage allocations under 16 U.S.C.
1855(i)(1)(C), unless modified under 16 U.S.C. 1855(i)(1)(H); and
(ii) An amount equivalent to 0.7 percent of the ABC reserve for
flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole as determined under the
annual harvest specifications at Sec. 679.20(c) shall be allocated
among the CDQ groups by the panel established in section 305(i)(1)(G)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
* * * * *
(d) Accessing CDQ ABC reserves. Each CDQ group may request that
NMFS approve a Flatfish Exchange to add flathead sole, rock sole, or
yellowfin sole to its CDQ account in exchange for reducing its CDQ
account by an equal amount of flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin
sole. CDQ groups may request Flatfish Exchanges by submitting a
completed Flatfish Exchange Application as described at Sec. 679.4(p).
0
7. In Sec. 679.91, add paragraph (i) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.91 Amendment 80 Program annual harvester privileges.
* * * * *
(i) Amendment 80 ABC reserves. (1) General. The Regional
Administrator will determine the Amendment 80 ABC reserves for flathead
sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole that will be assigned to the
Amendment 80 sector as part of the annual harvest specifications
described at Sec. 679.20(c). Amendment 80 ABC reserves will be further
allocated to Amendment 80 cooperative(s), as described in paragraph
(i)(2) of this section.
(2) Allocation of Amendment 80 ABC reserves to Amendment 80
cooperatives. The amount of Amendment 80 ABC reserve for each species
of flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole assigned to an
Amendment 80 cooperative is equal to the amount of Amendment 80 QS
units of that species assigned to that Amendment 80 cooperative by
Amendment 80 QS holders divided by the total Amendment 80 QS pool for
that species multiplied by the Amendment 80 ABC reserve for that
species.
(3) Accessing Amendment 80 ABC reserves. An Amendment 80
cooperative may request that NMFS approve a Flatfish Exchange to add
flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole CQ to its Amendment 80 CQ
account in exchange for reducing its Amendment 80 CQ by an equal amount
of flathead sole, rock sole, or yellowfin sole. An Amendment 80
cooperative may request Flatfish Exchanges by submitting a completed
Flatfish Exchange Application as described in Sec. 679.4(p).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2014-15185 Filed 6-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P